//------------------------------//
// Blue Stem: Playdate 
// Story: My Little Pony: Onverse 
// by Goat Carnival 
//------------------------------//

Upon hearing the door to his room slam shut upstairs, Blue Stem sighed and sat down at the dinner table. He continued to glare daggers at his family, who had been eavesdropping on the fight he'd just had with his twin brother. 
"I can't believe y'all were listening in on us like that!" he scolded, trying his best not to sound too angry. The day he was born into the Apple family, he had basically signed the "Big Meddling Family" contract, that had no loopholes or outs as long as he was an Apple. And he liked it that way. Sure, it becomes a bit of a nuisance when his family gets defensive, protective, or clingy, but if it wasn't the best display of familial love and loyalty he'd ever heard of then he didn't know what was.
"Sorry, Sketcher..." Rainbow Dash apologized with a chuckle. The rest of the family gathered at the dinner table, voicing their apologies as well. Though he felt overwhelmed by the mass amounts of attention, Stem forgave his family and smiled at them warmly.
Truth be told, he was only really mad at Blitz, but not in a petty way. He was mad that Blitz would be so ignorant as to feel entitled to Stem's attention and friendship at all times. But at the same time, Stem understood that his brother would want to have a while to forget about the fight.
The family avoided consoling Stem during and after dinner. He waited a few hours before trotting up the stairs to his room, luckily finding that Blitz was already asleep. Space was all Blitz needed for now, even if, deep down, Stem desperately wanted to talk to his brother about their argument. But he loved his brother more than anything, and he knew what was best for him in this moment.
As he settled into bed, though, Stem's mind began to race with thoughts about his disagreement with his brother. Was there anything truly wrong with wanting to have fun outside of the family? He liked hanging out with Golden Strokes and Two Pair. They made his life less of a formulaic hassle. Was there anything really wrong with that?
The answer to that was simple and straight; no. All Stem wanted was for Blitz to come to that understanding soon. But he could be a stubborn pony when he wanted to...
Stem sighed quietly and closed his eyes, drowning his negative thoughts of his brother's mindset with excitement for tomorrow with Strokes and Ace.





Stem trotted into town with his ma, a blue saddlebag draped over his back containing a nearly-full sketchbook and a completely empty sketchbook as a backup, as well as a number of colorful pens and pencils. It was really early in the morning. Celestia's sun was only just starting to peak over the mountains. Stem had insisted on leaving this early for Blitz's sake.
He and his friends had decided on meeting up at Sugarcube Corner, which would conveniently provide a substitute for his unplanned absence from breakfast. Hooray for convenient planning! he thought.
As Stem and Applejack got closer to the sweets shop, he noticed his two friends sitting on the front steps looking through Strokes's sketchbooks and both enjoying some muffins.
"Hey guys!" Stem called as he shot ahead of his mother.
Strokes and Ace both looked up excitedly at their friend running towards them. They stood up and leaped off the steps, Ace shoving his muffin in his mouth, knocking over their best friend and laughing. Stem loved his friends like they were part of his family. He hugged them tightly, keeping his mouth closed so as to not accidentally catch the crumbs that were flying out of Ace's mouth.
Applejack slowly walked up to them, laughing at the antics of the three foals in front of her. "Howdy you two!" She greeted Stem's friends with a warm smile. They hardly acknowledged her, and she ended up having to pry the foals apart. "Hecklin' hyena's, kiddos! It's as if ya hadn't seen each other in an entire lifetime!"
The three friends looked at each other and smiled. They had to admit, they may have overreacted to seeing each other, considering it hadn't been an entire 24 hours since they saw each other last.
Applejack gave Stem a quick kiss on the forehead and started to walk off. "Have fun you three!" she called as a pink mare emerged from Sugarcube Corner.
Stem waved goodbye to his mom and turned around to greet his --  though still not officially confirmed to even be distantly related -- aunt Pinkie Pie. Even this early in the morning, the energetic mare was always excited to greet anyone. She hugged Stem tightly, greeting him with her trademark, friendly, ear-to-ear grin.
"You kids here to have tons-a-fun today?" she asked cheerfully.
The three all nodded in unison, though they knew their definition of fun was very far off from Pinkie Pie's. They all loved sitting in the middle of town makings crafts and playing the latest card or board game Ace had mastered.
Pinkie Pie kept up her friendly smile and shuffled Stem's hair. "Alrighty, then! Just pop in the shop if you need me-- or a delicious cupcake!"
"Actually, Aunt Pie!" Stem called before the pink mare could step through the doorway. "Could you get me a muffin too? Lemon-poppy seed, please!" Pinkie Pie nodded and closed the door.
"Lemon-poppy seed?!" Ace scoffed in fake bewilderment. "Strokes, we're gonna have to throw this one out. We've got a traitorous apple."
Stem punched his friend lightly on the shoulder. "Can't I just appreciate fruits outside of my family's primary export?"
Strokes groaned mockingly and leaned against the large brown colt affectionately. "Always with the big words, Stem!" she chuckled. "Ah thought chu werr eh cuhntree pony!"
Stem laughed at Strokes's horrible attempt at a southern accent as they all sat down at the nearest table. Stem excitedly pulled out his sketchbook as his muffin order dropped onto the table in front of him.
"Y'all wanna see my newest drawings? My moms say they really admire 'em, they said I could even be a comic artist one day!" Stem prompted.
The three foals doodled and played throughout the morning, though mostly playing as Two Pair introduced them to the complicated yet addicting world of Appleoosa Hold-Em Poker. Before they knew it, it was eleven, just an hour before Stem had to start heading back.
They didn't let it bother them though. They continued to do their work, listening to some grungy stable rock over a radio Pinkie Pie had given them and drinking some Fresh Lemonadetm.
As Stem finished his glass, he turned to his sketchbook. He was finally on the last page. He'd seen Strokes finish her sketchbooks many times before, but this was the first time he actually got to finish one of his own. He excitedly picked up his pen in his mouth, starting on the basic shape of a pony. He drew a strong looking earth pony mare in a white, pink, and blue dress, and he was smiling the entire time at the whole concept of a mare like the one before him on the paper. He hoped to be as happy as he'd drawn her. The joy he got from drawing this even filled him with some confidence in himself to talk to and make up with his brother.
Stem closed his book as he felt a satisfying shiver run down his spine to his flanks. "Hey guys! I finally filled up the sketchbook!"
"Really?" Strokes asked excitedly. "Can I see?" She shifted around the table to stand by her friend's side. After shoving past Ace's game of Solitaire, Strokes got a quick glance at Stem's sides. "Stem, take a quick look around at your flanks buddy," she told him, slyly.
"What's wrong? Snake bite? Splinters?" Stem turned to both sides before standing up to get a better look. His eyes nearly glossed over the image of a blue pen drawing a lightning bolt rested on his mottled brown flank. "Holy high-flyin' haystacks, a cutie mark!" he exclaimed.
Stem danced excitedly, happy that he finally got his cutie mark. "I can't wait to tell aunt Applebloom! She'll be so proud!" He quickly turned his head back to Strokes, putting on a fake concerned expression. "I must say, though, it is rather disconcerting that ya had yer eyes on my flank."
Strokes laughed and hugged her friend, brushing off the sarcastic comment.
"Yo, Sketcher!" It was Rainbow Dash. She was a little early to pick him up, but Stem didn't care. In fact, the timing couldn't be more perfect. He REALLY wanted to show off his new cutie mark to his family. He rushed happily over to his mom and hugged her tight. "The family started cooking up some cider. They sent me out here to keep me from -- well, doing that thing I always do!" she explained with an awkward chuckle. Stem didn't quite know what she meant by that, but it didn't matter to him. He was too excited by the events that had just transpired.
"Mom! Guess what!" he started, brimming with enthusiasm. "I got my cutie mark!"
"No kidding? Let me see!" Stem let his mom eye the marking proudly. "Congratulations, sport!" she commented proudly. "I gotta get you back to the farm! Everypony will be so proud!"
After Stem grabbed his stuff, the two of them started rushing back to Sweet Apple Acres, Rainbow Dash stating over and over again how proud she was of her sketcher.





Once they'd reached the orchard, they were greeted by Applejack with a jug of cider.
"AJ!" Rainbow Dash called. She took off and picked up speed, landing next to Applejack. She landed a loving kiss on her cheek before turning back to Stem, who struggled to catch up on hoof. Applejack hugged and kissed her son on his forehead. Behind her, still in the air, Rainbow Dash signaled to Stem to tell his ma the great news.
"OH! Ma, guess what!"
"What is it, sug'r?"
Stem turned so his ma could get a good view of his cutie mark. Upon seeing this, Applejack's face lit up and she pulled her son in for a tight squeeze. "Congratulations, kiddo!" She quickly ebbed her smile, keeping it at a small grin. Eyeing her wife, Applejack gestured for the two of them to follow her inside. "How about a jug a' cider to celebrate?" she offered, leading them through the door.
Stem happily followed his mother inside, bounding with every step. As the orange mare in front of him moved aside, however, Stem stopped suddenly. There, before him, stood Cider Blitz. He was standing in front of the stove, facing the door with a wide-eyed expression on his face. Strangely, though, there was no air of worry or hatred anywhere in the room.
"H-hey, Blitz!" Stem greeted. Blitz smiled and burst across the room, hugging his brother as tightly as he could.
"I'm so sorry for last night, Stem!" Blitz apologized. Stem couldn't believe how relatively quick his brother had changed his attitude.
"Oh, yea! It's okay, bro. I for-"
"But guess what!" Blitz interrupted, pulling his brother away from his embrace. "I got my cutie mark!"
Stem couldn't believe his ears. "You did?! No way! L-let me see!"
Blitz stepped back and turned to the side, letting his brother get a good angle of his new marking. His flank bore the image of a jug of cider with a pair of wings and a lightning bolt coming out of the top.
Stem leaped forward and repeated the hug. "Congratulations, bro! And check it out--" he turned to show off his cutie mark as well. "--I got mine too!
"Awesome!" Blitz echoed the word often spoken again and again by his mom as he picked his brother up about an inch off the floor. Stem could hear his present family giggling at the antics of the twins.
He remembered hearing a lecture from Princess Twilight once about how significant it is for ponies to get their cutie marks in the same day. He recalled how the Cutie Mark Crusaders had all earned their matching cutie marks. He remembered the story of how his mom's Sonic Rainboom had not only earned her and Applejack their cutie marks, but their other four friends as well.
Stem knew how important it tended to be to earn one's cutie mark on the same day as somepony else. He rested his head in his brother's mane, knowing that in sharing such an important event with him, their friendship would never falter.