At least I had somewhere to live.
Pip’s parents were accommodating, and understood my circumstances, even though they seemed to think I was just here for a sleepover at first. I got the spare room, but I wasn’t too fussed. As long as I had a bed, I was fine. But school would be a challenge, given there were now two of me wandering around CHS.
Trying to convince the Apples of what had happened was problematic. I got Granny Smith on the other end of the line, which was awkward.
“Hello, this is Sweet Apple Acres?”
“Hi Granny, this is Apple Bloom.”
“Is this some sorta prank?”
“No, really, it’s me!”
“Well, Apple Bloom came in a few moments ago, so you can’t be her.”
“There are two Apple Blooms! Ah’m just one of them!”
“Flibberty-Flabberty put you up to this, didn’t he?”
I sighed. “They’re two people, Granny. Flim and Flam.”
“Ah won’t dabble in this silliness any longer, youngin’.” There was a loud click as the receiver was put down.
I put my phone down, and dropped to the floor. “Oh, for Pete's sake!” I exclaimed in frustration.
Pip came into the room. “What’s happening?” he asked.
“Ah can’t even get Granny Smith ta believe me!” I turned to him, my eyes burning with tears of frustration. “And she’s a livin’ lie detector! If Ah can’t convince her, who will be?”
I am,” Pip replied. “That other girl who looks like you, talks like you and lives at Sweet Apple Acres is not the Apple Bloom I know. For a start, that girl is rude and bossy.”
“And you think Ah’m not?” I asked.
“No!” he replied. “You’re honest, quick to stand up for others, and stubborn.” When I looked annoyed, he rapidly continued. “But in a good way! You never give up, and inspire others to keep going when they would give up! It’s almost as if you can show others what they’re good at!”
I paused. If what Pip was saying was true, I truly was Apple Bloom. But had I always been this way, or was it an aspect of the charade?
Pip continued. “You are also the girl I love. I know we may have had some rocky times, but overall I know my heart was right.”
Just then, the lights dimmed, and in stepped three more people. They were Rumble, Button Mash, and Featherweight, all dressed in Barbershop outfits with straw hats.
Then, through the gloom, I could see that Pip was dressed the same way.
“I may not always love you,” he sang.
I then realized exactly what was going on. This was God only Knows, as heard in Bioshock Infinite. This meant that Pip truly loved me, or else why would he go to such efforts to make his point clear?
They sang it beautifully, even if they went through 3 different keys and were a bit sharp at the end.
Pip smiled as he stepped forward. “Does this convince you of how I feel for you?”
I didn’t reply. I simply moved forward, wrapped my arms around his shoulders and kissed him.
“Ah hope that cleans that one up,” I replied, as we broke from each other’s embrace.
“It certainly does.”
A few days passed by, and life in Pip’s house was pretty fun. The other girls kept me filled in on what was happening at CHS, including that everyone was truly inspired to participate in the Friendship Games after Rainbow Dash sang a song which was a wonderful work of motivation. She’d even gained wings at the end of it, which was a little surprising.
“So, anythin’ else?” I asked.
“We have to put up with the other Apple Bloom, but boy is she bossy!” Scootaloo groaned.
“She doesn’t exactly work by consent,” Sweetie Belle explained. “It’s all ‘do this, do that’! But Applejack is convinced that’s her, and won’t listen to our protests.”
“Well, we tried,” Scootaloo started, “but she simply said we can’t believe that ‘imposter’. Her words, not mine!”
I sighed. “She can be real stubborn, but she ain’t stupid. Ah hope she’ll see sense someday.”
Sweetie Belle cut in. “If you want, you can come to the Friendship Games. We know a place where you’ll be able to watch without being seen.”
I nodded. “Sounds good to me,” I said.
For fairly obvious reasons, I did not witness the Axcademic Decathlon. Middle Schoolers were shut away in Mr Cranky Doodle’s class, which must have been very boring. I met with my friends at the side of the stands.
“My word, that session with Cranky was boring,” Scootaloo complained. “That must be what detention is like.”
“I imagine it’s worse,” Sweetie Belle added. “We need to go around the back to find the spot in question.”
We wandered around the back of the stands, and arrived at the location in question. The only problem was, the Wondertones were there as well.
“What are ya doin’ here, imposter?” asked Big Mac.
“I told you Sweetie Belle, I want you nowhere near that creep,” Rarity added.
“She just wants to watch,” Sweetie Belle protested.
“Is that really too much to ask?” added Scootaloo.
Big Mac looked displeased. “Ah strongly advise you scram.”
A smirk grew across Scootaloo’s face. “If you keep quiet about my friend here, you can sing at my aunt’s birthday party. How does that sound?”
There was a pause. And then something truly extraordinary happened.
“Sure!” started Big Mac, on a low Bb.
“Sure!” Toe Tapper joined in, on a D.
Torch Song joined as well, singing an F.
And finally, Rarity, on a high Bb. In short, there was a range of approximately two octaves. Having sung in barbershop and acapella groups before (and hoping to join the female one here at CHS), to hear them so perfectly in tune without the need for a piano or an ocarina was truly marvellous.
Toe Tapper looked at his watch. “Well, we’d better go perform our set!” he said, heading off into the distance.
I sat down next to the bleacher. “Ah’ll be fine here, just go and enjoy yerselves.”
“Sure thing, Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo replied.
I heard them walk off, then suddenly a voice cut over the noise. I poked my head around to see what it was.
“Where have you been?” asked the other Apple Bloom.
“We...er...” Sweetie Belle stalled.
“Had to get popcorn!” Scootaloo cut in, immediately producing a carton of it from nowhere.
I snorted with laughter. Scootaloo always had a trick up her sleeve.
“Well, yer late,” Apple Bloom said.
“Yes, Miss Bossyboots,” Scootaloo replied.
Well, the Wondertones put down a spirited performance of Barbershop classics, as well as some rock and roll hits. But when that was over, and the applause concluded, Dean Cadence stepped up to the microphone.
“Good afternoon students!” she called. “For today’s Tri-Cross Relay, our contestants will have to compete in three separate sections.”
She pointed to the centre. “First, they will need to brave the Obstacle Course, and land two bullseyes on the moving targets. Then, the speed skaters will have to complete 10 laps, and finally the Motocross will have to brace a thrilling track with twists, turns, and muddy ponds!”
She raised a klaxon. “If all are ready?” she asked. She then pressed down on the klaxon, which sounded a loud, thunderous note.
Proceedings occurred as expected, with Twilight being unable to hit the targets and Applejack assisting her. But having said that, I noticed something off. Pinkie Pie and Rarity seemed to be going at a fraction of the speed they were supposed to be, as if the track was made of sludge. When the other contestants were sent off, Twilight moved to hug Applejack.
“NO!” I cried. “DON’T!”
But with the noise of the crowds and the roller skates, my pleas fell on deaf ears. Applejack returned in kind, causing Twilight’s pendant to activate which in turn was dropped.
What followed next was an utter mess as the pendant bounced back and forth. Eventually, it bounced over to me, and I picked it up.
“Twilight!” I shouted. “Catch!”
She registered, before I threw it to her. She caught it, but managed to drop it, causing it to open and generate a portal.
I looked in horror as the massive plants appeared all over the place. When I’d last witnessed this scene, I’d had the safety of a screen in the way. Now, there was a very real danger of death. In the moment, I knew what I had to do.
I charged forward over the track, calling to Twilight. “Ya need to close the pendant, or more of those things will pour through!”
She nodded. “Who are you?”
“Mah name’s Apple Bloom! Now we need to shut that thin’, or we’re mincemeat!”
As Twilight danced around vines, and Rainbow Dash flew through the air smashing into the plant creatures, I jumped into the air, rolled past some of the vines, and found the pendant before it was dragged away. My hands closed around it, and with a desperate push, finally forced the pendant shut.
The monsters vanished all around, and everything returned (sort of) to normal, bar a wrecked motorbike and some frazzled students.
Celestia activated the intercom. “Can all students please report to the school hall for an emergency registration, thank you.”
As the students began to file out, Twilight looked up at me. “Hey, thanks for the help,” she said.
“No probs,” I said, and I extended my hand.
Before I knew what was going on, I was on the ground, clutching the side of my face, and Applejack’s boot was on my chest.
“Why’d you come here?” she asked.
“AJ, Ah-”
“You’ve been playin’ with mah emotions for far too long, imposter.”
“Ah just saved yer butt! You’d been eaten by a plant by now!” I protested.
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t be here,” Applejack snarled. “Just go back to where you came from.”
“Ah can’t go back,” I whimpered. “There is no way Ah can go back.”
Applejack just walked away. “Well, why should Ah care?”
It was too much. I had been rejected again. I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing out of my eyes. Twilight reached over and pulled me into an embrace.
“You’re from another world?”
“Y-yeah,” I sobbed. “Ah don’t belong here. There are two a’ me, but AJ won’t even consider me.”
Twilight nodded. “Take it easy there, we all know what it’s like to be lost. I had the same with my brother when he got married.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yep,” Twilight replied. “They wouldn’t believe me when I found out that Shining’s ex was trying to wreck the wedding. She nearly succeeded too.”
I suddenly became aware of somebody walking over. It was Vice-Principal Luna.
“Apple Bloom, what are you doing out here?” she asked. “You need to report to the hall for registration.”
I wiped the tears from my eyes, and stood up. “OK, Miss.” I looked back at Twilight. “Thanks, I needed that.”
“No problem,” Twilight said. Hopefully she wouldn’t be too badly affected by what came next.
That evening, we met up again for the conclusion of the Friendship Games.
“Since the scores are tied,” spoke Dean Candence, “we have organised a tiebreaker event.”
“Somewhere around campus,” said Luna, “the school pennant has been hidden. The first team to find theirs and bring it back wins.” I briefly snorted, remembering what happened in the blooper reel.
“If our teams are ready, we’ll begin!” Cadence called.
I looked out from my hiding place. The other members of the CMC were up in the bleachers, and I knew the Main 6 were standing between them. On the other side, Principal Cinch was berating her students. I knew exactly what was coming next.
But what came next was surreal. When Cinch began singing, not only could we all hear it clearly, but there was the sound of a harpsichord playing in the background.
Well, that settles the question of whether the characters hear the songs they sing,” I thought.
The rest of the song played out more or less as in the movie, complete with the massive ball of energy and Midnight Sparkle. As with Sunset, actually witnessing the creation of Midnight was all the more horrifying when you were within close proximity.
The creature had a strange electronic tone to its voice. “Hahahaha! You were right! I didn’t understand magic before, BUT I DO NOW!” It then fired a beam that blew up the Wondercolt statue, causing portals to open up.
Portal after portal opened, as the Mane 6 charged into action. They dodged around the beams like acrobats, and saved several students.
Then Midnight laughed. “Time to die, Applejack! You deserve this for how you treated your sister!” A beam charged up in her hand, and she fired.
“NOOOOO!” I cried, sprinting forward and determined to prevent things from getting worse. I ran into Applejack and pushed her out of the way.
But a portal opened up, breaking open the floor. I grabbed onto the rock but began to slip. But as I fell, Applejack grabbed my hand.
“Ah got ya Sugarcube!” she called.
As I was held above oblivion, I could see London below me. And that’s when the pain hit, as my boots suddenly became uncomfortable to wear. I realised, to my horror, that I was being changed back!
“Pull me up!” I cried.
“Ah’m trying’, but the portal-my strength-Ah can’t lift ya!”
I flailed back and forth over this opening. I called one last thing to Applejack. “Know that...Ah don’t regret a thing!” I cried, as Applejack’s hand failed and I tumbled into oblivion.
“Sugarcube! SUGARCUBE!”