Sweat caused the sunscreen on her forehead to drip into Apple Bloom’s eyes. It stung horribly. She kept her hooves protectively close to her pupils.
Applejack kept warning her, “Don’t touch it.”
“I know, I know.” Apple Bloom whined. “Will you please hoof me the water canteen, so I can flush it out.”
“The canteens empty. I, uh, drank the last of it four shakes back.”
Applejack looked around. The nearest source of water was a hoof press pump in Strawberry Sunrise's yard. AJ hesitated slightly, though concern for her sister eventually won out. That and she didn’t want to be reminded that she passed on the no tears sunscreen in favour of a brand that was on special.
AJ pushed on her little sisters backside, leading her to the pump. “It’s market day so maybe she’s not home.”
“Who are you talking about?” Apple Bloom asked.
Just that moment, Strawberry Sunrise came along from out back. She was pulling her cart, taking baskets of her wares to market.
Looking her way, Applejack began pumping harder than she had meant to.
“Whaah! sis, that’s ice cold.”
In a moment, Apple Bloom was drenched.
Strawberry ran around her cart and grabbed a towel. In moments she presented it to Apple Bloom, and even helped her dry herself.
Applejack, why are you playing pranks on this cute little fily.
It was Apple Bloom that answered. “This is my sister ma’am. Sorry we used yer pump without asking. I had sunscreen in my eye, and it stung.”
“Oh that’s fine sweetness. I let ponies use my pump all the time. In fact, the wells out front just incase anyone needs it.”
Strawberry Sunrise looked at Applejack, then at Apple Bloom, then back to Applejack.
“Something the matter!” AJ drawled.
When next she spoke, Strawberry addressed Apple Bloom instead of Applejack. “Did you say you were sisters?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
There was no mistaking that their accents were similar.
“But you’re so cute….” Strawberry whispered so low AJ barely heard it. In the back of her mind, Strawberry figured she must mean half sisters, or adopted sisters, or AJ was a paid ringer at the sister hooves social.
“What was that, you said?”
“Oh never mind; so where are you heading?”
“We’re going to market.” AJ answered, proudly displaying her cart filled with bushels of apples. If Ms. Sunrise even had enough strawberries to fill a cart that big, there is no way she would have been able to haul it. Stawberry turned up her nose slightly. She didn’t want to make a scene, she just really didn’t like apples.
“Jealous, I see your harvest is a bit small this week.”
At this Apple Bloom kicked her sister. It was a type of love tap which told Applejack to behave herself. AJ understood why she deserved that. Apple Bloom didn’t know this pony and up to now Strawberry Sunrise had been nothing but hospitable. If only her sister knew what she thought about apples. Seriously, how can any pony hate apples.
At this point, Strawberry Sunrise looked a little dejected. She lowered her nuzzle.
“No, my harvest is fine. I usually take more, but I was getting hip pains for a while, and the doctor told me I shouldn’t carry so much.”
“That is such a shame. Oh look at the time we better be…”
“If I help you then you can haul more.” Apple Bloom declared.
Applejacks mouth hung agape. A fly flew in and she didn’t react at all.
“Oh, no sweetness, I couldn’t impose like that.” Strawberry insisted.
Apple Bloom just laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I’m getting real strong, just like my big sis. Why I bet I can put another fifty baskets on and haul it all by myself.”
“That would be amazing.”
“It’s no problem really.”
Applejack tried to argue, but Apple Bloom faced her. “Aren’t you always saying we should be hospitable to our fellow ponies.”
Again Applejack tried to say something, but Strawberry cut in.
“Hold on, I can’t just let you do this and get nothing in return.”
At this Applejack relaxed a little.
“So how about I pay you with two baskets of my best strawberries.”
“That would be great.”
Now AJ was pulling her hair.
“Who doesn’t love strawberries? They’re so sweet.”
Not much seemed to come of that odd day. Sometime after Applejack arrived at market, Apple Bloom rejoined her. She had her two baskets, and a new hair ribbon. AJ didn’t ask about the hair ribbon. She didn’t want to feel her family was indebted to an apple hater.
She worried that this might become a weekly thing, but the next market day Apple Bloom stayed with her sister. Apparently Apple Bloom knew several ponies who would gladly haul a cart for even one quart of her delicious strawberries. Strawberry Sunrise knew this and had many friends as well. She was just too proud to ask.
A few days later, Apple Bloom was by herself. Sweetie Belle had knitting club, Scootaloo was off with Rainbow Dash, and so Apple Bloom had to entertain herself.
There was a knock on the trap door of the clubhouse. Apple Bloom used a pulley to open the door from a distance. That was something Scootaloo came up with, so that they could all sit at a desk like professionals while taking cmc cases.
Into the tree house came Twist. Twist had thick purple brimmed glasses, and a tangly mane of red. She smiled at Apple Bloom.
They were close friends once. They drifted apart, though not so far apart that Apple Bloom didn’t think she might come over just to play once in a while. Heck, nowadays, it wasn’t strange for even Diamond Tiara to come play. Apple Bloom greeted her, and Twist greeted back.
A while later, they were both trotting through town.
“So what’s this place you want to show me?”
“I told you, it’s a surprise.”
“Well, can you give me a hint?”
“You want a hint. Okay. When I first got my cutie mark, my dad told me I was finally grown up enough to be let in on a little secret.”
“A secret!” Apple Bloom thought about this. No secrets were revealed to her when she first got her mark. The idea that it was tied to a cutie mark just made her feel that she had to know all the more. They went into the ‘Quills and Sofa’s’ store, then to the far back.
Twist lifted the mattress on a plaid display sofa, then lifted a trap door underneath, to reveal a secret passage way.
Now Apple Bloom was getting nervous. She took a whiff of the air, it smelled like strawberries. Cautiously she followed her friend in descending down the torch lit staircase.
When they reached the bottom, the area was dark. They took two steps forward, before the lights went on.
There was a banner, which read “Welcome Apple Bloom”. A bunch of ponies gathered around a table of baked goods called “Surprise.” Some blew on party streamers.
“Oh my gosh! Are you throwing me a ‘Cutecenera’?”
Everyone paused for a moment. It was Strawberry Sunrise who answered her. “No sweetness, were inviting you to join the Red Mane League.”
“The Red Mane League? What’s that?”
Now that she thought about it, most of the ponies here did have red manes, not all, but most. There was the obvious Twist, Strawberry Sunrise, Roseluck, a pony she didn’t recognize, Flim, Flam, Cherry Jubilee, Berry Punch and that pony with the braces. A few ponies barely qualified, like Fluttershy’s mom, Mrs Cake, and Gloriosa Daisy. Inexplicably, there was also Derpy, Time Turner, and Mayor Mare.
“Hold on a sec. If you’re the Red Mane League, then what’s up with those three.” She pointed to Derpy, Time Turner, and Mayor Mare.
Mayor Mare giggled a little, then lifted her bangs to show Apple Bloom the roots. “I’m undercover.”
Apple Bloom giggled at that. It seemed more pink when she exposed the secret as Gabby gums, but no, the Mayors hair was a brilliant titian.
Next Time Turner pulled her aside. “I’m here because the league is sponsoring me in a scientific endeavour. Look at this.” He grabbed a Cobb of corn from the buffet table. “This corn is called peaches and cream. If you count you’ll find that there is roughly 1 cream kernel for every four peach kernels. I believe that understanding this is the first step to gaining working understanding of why only certain ponies with a red maned parent have red mane hair.”
Apple Bloom nodded, not quite getting it.
Flam whispered to Apple Bloom, “Don’t get to chummy with the doc. With crackpot theories like that, his funding could get pulled any day now.”
She turned to Roseluck, who she knew a little better from town. “So this is a secret club right?”
“Yes it is.”
“And we’re not allowed to tell anypony about it.”
Roseluck nodded. “First rule of RML is you never talk about RML. Second rule of RML is you never talk about RML.”
“So you haven’t even told you’re closest friends about it.”
“Nope.” Roseluck took a sip of her beverage.
“Not even Lily or Daisy?”
Roseluck did a spit take. “I’m not joined those girls at the hip you know!”
At that moment Daisy turned her head and started whistling. The large red afro wig she was wearing slipped slightly. She pulled it back on quickly, giving Apple Bloom only the smallest hint of the lime green hair underneath. Maybe she should have bought a better wig. The flower mare didn’t want to be seen in a wig store and had opted for the clown wig at a Nightmare Night shop.
Next she turned to Derpy, “Are you undercover too?” She asked.
Derpy pulled up her bangs to reveal: moment of suspense She really is blonde.
“Derpy found our hideout, so we made an exception, and let her join.” Twist explained.
“Okay”
In the time that followed, they ate, drank, played twister, and taught Apple Bloom more about the league. They didn’t answer the questions she really wanted to answers to, like why does the league exist? And do they want anything from her? They told her what they felt it was appropriate for a child member to know, like the secret password to get discounts at Sugarcube Corner.
The last thing Apple Bloom did was take a dessert from the buffet table.
“You really put out this big spread just for my welcome party.”
“Not quite sweetness,” Strawberry explained. “We have buffets all weekend, and hot lunches on regular days.”
“Oh, uh should I pay a club dues?” This made her a little worried.
“No, It’s free to all members.”
Apple Bloom reached for the apple pie, almost by instinct.
“I made all the baked goods myself.”
“You made an apple pie.”
“Well,” Strawberry Sunrise blushed. “I woudn’t usually, but I thought you might like it.”
Apple Bloom thanked twist again before she left. “It’s gonna be hard not telling the girls about this place.”
Once she was gone, Time Turner asked Strawberry Sunrise, “Did you use it?” He was referring to a drug she had requested.
“Yes, I put it in the apple pie.”
“How did you know that no other pony would eat apple pie?”
“I don’t care if they do.” She laughed.
Daisy went tense. She had taken a big bite of apple pie herself just before overhearing those two.
“That drug,” said Time Turner, “will cause ponies to have allergic reactions to apples.”
“Non-lethal allergic reactions, I know what I’m doing here. Trust me my darling, in a few months that adorable filly will be calling me momma.”