ACT 1: Roll Call
Joe's POV
Schoolhouse
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I flipped a page in the planner that the teacher had on her desk. It was incredible how organized this ‘Ms. Cheerilee’ actually was despite the clutter of papers on her desk.
She had school assignments planned throughout an entire semester of classes. Right after the day marked ‘last day of class,’ the very next day had ‘plan syllabus’ written down. It would be impressive if it wasn’t so sad.
As I continued reading I heard a tap and drag of chalk across the blackboard behind me.
“That’s ten,” the girl behind me informed.
This girl’s name was Applebloom. After I had my little panic attack with the...scenario I had discovered outside, I came back into the classroom to see the girl trying to crawl across the floor.
As I had found out, and dreaded, she really thought that she was a pony. She even thought that I had something to do with her now being human.
It took some talking but I was able to explain to her that I really did not have anything to do with that. In fact, I was as lost for answers as she was. I did not know where I was or anything about colorful ponies.
When she finally started to believe me, I tried asking a few questions myself. Through them, we introduced ourselves. Applebloom found out about the dome and somehow seemed less concerned about that then her own fingers, while I learned that the nearby town’s name was…
Ugh. Ponyville.
“Joe? Uh, I’m done,” Applebloom repeated.
“I heard you.” I looked up from the planner and at the girl. As I saw her now, she was standing on her own two feet with an awkward look on her face.
Over the last half hour I have been helping her figure out how to move around like a normal human being. Whether or not she was actually a pony or only sad and delusional, I could not simply leave a young girl to crawl around a schoolhouse floor alone.
So I stayed to help her out. Once she was comfortable to stand I gave her some small tasks to do while I busied myself with going through the teacher’s desk.
First, I had her pick up all the supplies that were on the floor. Around each of the student desks were papers, pencils, and, I assumed, saddlebags. She would pick everything up and put them on the desks. It would get her used to squatting, standing up, and using her hands.
The next thing I had her do was pick three random desks and knock them over. It would help keep her balance and get her used to problem solving as a person if her pony story was actually true. I’m not going to lie though; hearing a child scream like they were pretending karate while kicking a desk was hilarious to watch.
And lastly, the task she just finished was moving ten laps around the room. I said 'move' specifically because I wanted her to decide whether to run or walk. To my surprise and her sore chin, she chose to run at first. Before I could reach her, she was already using her arms to pull herself up.
Then she walked ten laps.
Currently, I was looking between the piece of chalk in her hand and the blackboard. She had made a tally mark on the board every time she passed it. That was her own call, not mine.
I frowned. “Don’t those tally marks look a little...Crooked, to you?”
“They don’t gotta be straight. Jus’ marks,” she reasoned.
I nodded along. “Point made.” I looked back at her. “What did you want to ask me?”
“Wuh-What?” She blinked.
“You’re giving me a look that says you don’t know whether or not to tell me something. Go ahead. Tell me.”
Applebloom’s eye darted back and forth as she tried finding her courage. “Well. Ah mean, it’s just.” Her shoulders slumped. “Shouldn’t we be tryin’ ta figure out what’s goin’ on?”
“And how would we do that?” I returned.
“Well, sittin’ here at school ain’t gonna do much good. An’ Ah don’t know why there’s that magic dome in the sky but sh-shouldn’t we…” Her voice trailed off. She looked completely lost. “Ah don’t know, do more than hunker down here? Like, try ta find somepony else?”
Somepony, I hung onto for a moment. She said that one or two other times too. I really hope that pun doesn’t last for too long. Pony or not.
I looked back at the planner I looked through. It mentioned a few errands that the teacher had thrown in so I was able to find out that the last entries were made around the beginning of September. I could still be off by several weeks though.
Maybe there’s somewhere in that town that has an up-to-date calendar, I imagined. Although if we’re humans and that town really is nothing but ponies then what would their reaction be? And if there are no ponies and this girl’s simply crazy, what is that town like? I can’t imagine the town is going along ‘business as usual’ with a giant purple dome in the sky. Would it be—
“Joe?” Applebloom called out, breaking my train of thought.
“I heard you,” I repeated. “Sorry. Thinking to myself.”
Hold on. I looked at Applebloom. Would she—“Know what day it is?” I asked, verbalizing my thoughts.
Applebloom raised an eyebrow. “Ah...Guess not. Why?”
I clicked my tongue. "‘Course it wouldn’t be that easy." I shook my head. “In that case, let me try a different question: What’s the last thing that you remember?”
Applebloom squinted. “Uh. Well.” She closed one of her eyes, almost like peeking into her own mind palace. “Ah think. Ah rem. Remember…”
She didn’t keep her eye closed for long. She gave up on that expression and started looking lost. “Huh. Ah don’t. Know,” she admitted.
“Don’t know or forgot?” I pressed.
“Ah mean, Ah should know what the last thing Ah remember doin’ was. It’s weird," she admitted. "Like Ah’m. Like there’s this…”
“Wall?”
“Yeah! A wall,” She frowned. “Ah’m tryin’ ta think back but it feels like my head jus’ stops.”
“That’s the same as me,” I admitted. “I got as far as one or two details then my mind gives up on itself. I got as far as reading a book on my porch.”
“It’s somethin’,” Applebloom eased.
“Not if I fail to remember the name of the book. That’s a detail I wouldn’t forget so easily.”
“Well,” Applebloom trailed off so much that she started looking around the room. When it seemed like her eyes caught something, I could see the idea forming in her head. “How’s ‘bout we try findin’ somepony else ta ask?”
Somepony…
“In the town?” I frowned. “Not sure that’s the safest plan. We don’t know what everything else looks like right now.”
“Well, what about the farms then?” She tossed the chalk onto the teacher’s desk and walked up to the window. “Ah can’t say fer certain, but Ah think Sweet Apple Acres is still inside this dome thingy.”
“Sweet Apple Acres,” I let those three words sink in. Does everything have this ‘rainbow and lollipop’ sweetness to it?
“Yep. It’s where me an’ mah family live,” she explained.
I cringed. “I. I and my family,” I corrected.
“Huh?”
“I and my family. Du lieber, there was a grammar lesson on the board not thirty minutes ago.”
Applebloom’s face lost all interest. “Ya sound like mah friend, Sweetie Belle.”
“Well, it sounds like Ms. Belle’s doing great in this class. But back on topic, how far is that apple farm?”
“Only ‘bout ten minutes from here. Fifteen if we should swing by mah clubhouse.”
Before I signed off on that plan, I thought over her words. “Is that ten minutes travelling by ‘pony’ or as a human?”
Applebloom opened her mouth to answer but then looked confused. “Is there a difference?”
For several reasons, I thought but dialed back the harsh reply. “Considering how you’re still learning to walk, we might want to assume longer. We should probably take some things with us too. Just in case.”
“Like what?”
“Well, one or two of those little packs might be a good idea,” I said as I pointed to the saddlebags now piled on the desks. “Maybe some paper and pencils too. Actually…”
I squatted down beside the desk and opened the side cabinet. “Aha! There’s a first aid kit in here too.”
“Wha—now hold on a sec.” As I stood up, Applebloom tried taking the kit out of my hands. Too bad she wasn’t too good at holding things yet. “We can’t jus’ take everything with us!”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Why not?!” She parroted. “Cause it ain’t right! Granny taught me better than ta let ponies get away with stealin’.”
Well I’m not a pony. Your argument is invalid, I wanted to say that but sadly I knew better.
“It’s not stealing,” I started.
“Ya can’t call it borrowin’, neither,” she stopped me cold.
“Okay. First, you interrupted me. Rude,” I scolded. “Second, double negative. ‘Ya can’t call it borrowin’, either,’ would be correct.”
She huffed. “Borrowin’. Ain’t. Right,” she spoke slower but at least her grammar was correct.
“Well, good thing we’re not borrowin’ it, either.” I finished standing up and tucked the first aid kit under my sleeve. “After all, this first aid kit is meant to be for the students. Am I wrong?”
Applebloom rolled her eyes. “No,” she drolled.
“And you are a student, yes?”
Her annoyance didn’t fade. “Yeah. And?”
“And, if this first aid kit could be used to help a student that is in pain, then wouldn’t it be for the best that we take it so that it can be used for its given purpose?”
Applebloom blinked but her frown never faltered. “Now yer soundin’ like mah other friend, Scoots.”
I shrugged. “Maybe so. But still, am I wrong?”
“...No. Ya ain’t wrong,” she admitted. “But how do you explain takin’ the paper an’ such from all the fillies an’ colts?”
“Simple. You do it.” I nodded.
“What?!” Her frown became full-blown anger. “Now hold on a moment! Why would Ah do such a thing?!”
“Easy,” I calmed. “The students all left their bags here when they left, yes? That means that they’re unaccounted for and thus, there won’t be any bad blood with us using them.”
“But they’ll be stolen. And Ah’ll know that they were stolen,” Applebloom pressed.
“Yes. However,” I went on. “As long as you’re the one who takes them, then they’ll be in your protection and care. You’ll know who they belong to and, if we find them, you can return the bags to their rightful owner immediately.”
She didn’t look convinced. I didn’t blame her either. “You’re sayin’ all that hoopla jus’ ta make me believe that takin’ somepony’s stuff is a good thing, ain’t it?”
Blunt and sharp at the same time, I acknowledged. I can get along with this person.
“Yes. Everything I said is nothing but hot air,” I admitted. “But even hot air can make a balloon fly. Am I wrong?”
She turned her head to the side in frustration. It almost hurt her for me to be right but wrong at the same time.
I need to be more honest otherwise we’ll be arguing all day. “Ms. Bloom.”
I looked Applebloom in the eyes and cut as much of my off-putting attitude as I could. “This room is full of abandoned school supplies. Even Ms. Cheerilee left her things behind. And you see that rancid apple sitting on the corner of that desk, yes?”
Applebloom looked over at it and noticeably cringed.
“There’s no way anyone let that sit there to rot during a class. There is dust on top of the rotten apple.” Her attention left the apple as she stared down at the floor. “You and I both know that something is not right. We need to find out what. I agree with you on that. But worrying about some student upset that their bag isn’t where they left it is not the biggest issue right now.
“Whether or not there’s something going on out in this dome, I would rather risk an angry parent bearing down on me then being unprepared. At least understand where I’m coming from,” I finished.
Applebloom didn’t look at me. She instead brushed past me and looked over at the desks ahead of her.
I didn’t add anything further. I wasn’t trying to convince her what I was doing was a morally good thing. It wasn’t. Only greed would convince someone that it was. But I was not about to lie either.
So, for about ten seconds she kept scanning the desks, thinking to herself. Then, when she saw one of the desks towards the front, she groaned and walked over to it.
“We ain’t takin' more than we need,” she told me.
I nodded. “Yes mam.”
“And. An’ Ah’ll pick what ones we take.”
“Sounds fair,” I agreed. “After all, it would be better to take the bags from friends you mutually trust. As twisted as it sounds, that would be—”
“Ah get it,” she cut me off with an awkward tone. “...Twist an’ Rumble’s bags. Ah know ‘em an’ Ah can get the bags back ta their homes if Ah need to.”
I frowned. “What about your bag? You’re a student here too, yeah?”
She nodded with this ‘somewhat’ expression on her face. “Well, sure, but Ah’m not in this class. Ms. Cheerilee has three different classes she rotates around. For some reason, Ah woke up here on a day Ah don’ even have class.
“Besides,” she went on. “Twist is much more prepared than Ah am. Every now an’ then Ah gotta borrow paper from Sweetie Belle. An’ Rumble’s got a whole pencil box somewhere in his bag.”
“Actually, those we can leave on their desks.”
Applebloom turned back to look at me. “Didn’t ya say that we needed pencil an’ paper?”
“Yeah, but…” I walked over to the counter on the side of the room. On top of it was a cup with pencils and a small box with scrap paper. “Wouldn’t recycling leave a better conscience?”
She gave out a weak chuckle. “Ya know? No pony ever used that stuff anyhow. It always sits there without so much as a gander.”
“Oh, good. So I won’t feel bad about breaking its rule then.” With one hand I picked up every pencil in the cup. I even fished out the piece of eraser that was crammed in the bottom.
“Rule?” Applebloom leaned her head to the side.
With my other hand I scooped out as much paper from the box and turned around. “It says take one of each.” I gave a comedic shrug. “Oops.”
Her weak chuckle got a little stronger as we packed all the paper and pencils. When that was done, each of us took a saddle bag and slung it over our shoulders.
“So, we all good ta go?” She looked over to me.
I ran over a small checklist and frowned. “Well, there is something else I’d like to try and get. Although it’s not necessary.”
Applebloom’s mouth twitched. “We’re already takin’ bags. What more could ya want?”
I thought back on the group photos on the teacher’s desk. “Well, I don’t know the area at all. A map would be nice. And, at the same time, it’d help to find a camera. Getting some shots of landmarks and maybe the—” I cleared my throat and adjusted my glasses. “The...magic dome, would be nice.”
Applebloom seemed to mull over the idea. “Makes sense, Ah guess. Ah don’ know of any map ‘round here though. Oh, and, magic don’t show up in film. That’s somethin’ Sweetie Belle told me.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. Of course it doesn’t. That would make it too simple.
But before I could dismiss the thought, Applebloom’s face lit up with a bright smile. “However, Ah think a camera’s the one thing Ah don’ mind taken with us. Follow me.”