//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: As the Spring Bloom Withers // by Jinzou //------------------------------// When I woke up the next morning, the gift I left outside Applejack’s door was gone. I went to school with a smile on my face. School went very well. We were practicing exponents and I got almost every single question right. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were surprised. Cheerilee was surprised. I was surprised. The day went by pretty quickly with no incidents. Diamond Tiara’s injuries had healed and she glared at Scootaloo with pure hatred slightly less often. She also focused a lot less on me and more on her.  This suited Scootaloo fine, as she could almost effortlessly piss Diamond Tiara off now.  Scootaloo loved that. At the end of the day, Cheerilee asked me to stay back for a moment. She said she didn’t know what was different today, but it was obvious something real had changed, and she was proud of whatever I’d done to improve. So it was understandable while I walked out of the schoolhouse at the end of the day with a giant grin on my face. For the first time since the accident, things were going my way. That was until I came face to face with a very unhappy looking Twilight Sparkle. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were sitting off to her side, looking anxious. This could only mean bad things. “Applebloom, sweetie, can I speak to you alone for a moment?” Twilight asked, struggling to keep her face neutral.  I simply nodded and quietly followed Twilight as she led me to the shade under a nearby tree, out of earshot of anypony else. Twilight sat and waited for me to get comfortable before sighing. “Applebloom, what happened between you and Applejack this morning?” She simply asked. I pretended not to understand. “Why, nothin’. I haven’t even seen her all day.” Twilight frowned.  “That’s funny, because she came by the library to pick up a book earlier, which by itself is pretty off, but you know the weirdest thing? She was crying.” I didn’t respond. “I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen her cry, but after I prodded her for what was bothering her, she started bawling. She pulled a belt buckle out of her saddlebags and said you left it in front of her door last night. Is this true?” My happy mood faded away, and I broke eye contact with Twilight. “So she does know what those are then, huh?” I chuckled weakly. “I didn’t know.” Twilight took a slow, deep breath. “Applebloom, honey,” Twilight’s tone softened. “I’m not going to tell you that you can’t be upset over what happened. Considering your circumstances, I wouldn’t expect you to just suddenly be over it. But it was an accident, and your continued hostility toward Applejack is destroying her. She barely sleeps, she barely eats, and she spends most of her time trying to think of how to make things up to you. The girls and I are starting to worry about both her physical and mental health. She can’t keep going on like this.” “So?” I stared at the ground. “She had me stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. Why should I care if she loses a bit o’ sleep? She ain’t the only one sufferin’.” “Applebloom.” Twilight raised my gaze to match hers with a hoof. “I know she still means a lot to you, and that all of this must feel like she stabbed you in the back…” “She did,” I interrupted. “If I weren’t literally stabbed through the back in th' crash, I could be a normal pony.” “Applebloom…” Twilight frowned again. “I understand, but this is still the pony that you grew up with. I know she raised you since you were four months old, and basically took the role of your mother. And I know that she sees you in the same light, even if she does only refer to you as her sister. With that in mind, can you imagine how much pain she feels?” I looked away again.  “Accident or not, she still hurt me.” “And now you’re hurting her.” I didn’t respond. Twilight retracted her hoof and sighed.  “Look Applebloom, I’m not going to ask you to forgive her. Right now, I’m not even asking you to apologize to her, although I think that’d be a good idea. But please, just talk to her at least.” I poked at the ground for a few moments. “...Okay.” Twilight exhaled slowly.  “Thank you, Applebloom. I hope you two can improve your relationship soon.” And then Twilight silently led me back to my friends, who in turn silently started following me as Twilight took her leave. “Applebloom?” Sweetie asked after a minute. “Are you going to be okay?” I didn’t know what to say, so I stayed quiet. “Applebloom?” Scootaloo asked. “Will you… can we help?” “I…” I hesitated, not knowing what to say. “I need to talk to Applejack. I jus’… don’t know if I can handle it.” “Will it help if we’re there? Or waiting outside, maybe?” Scootaloo questioned with a half smile. I chewed my lip and nodded. "I, uh..." I heard Scootaloo say, then fall silent. I sighed and turned to face her. "What?" "We overheard Twilight talking to you. You left a belt buckle outside Applejack's door?" "Yeah." I huffed, turning around and continuing to walk. "So?" I heard Scootaloo take a deep breath, before she said something that stopped me in my tracks. "That sounds like something Diamond Tiara would do." I froze, before violently whipping around and glaring at Scootaloo, who winced in result. "What." My tone was icy. It wasn't a question. "W-well..." Scootaloo stammered. "The silent treatment and the anger I get, and I won't disagree with. But... leaving a buckle? It kinda seems..." "Less like you're furious with her, and more like you just want to see her in pain?" Sweetie Belle offered. Scootaloo nodded. "Less of a reaction, more like... well, bullying. It's not you, Applebloom." Scootaloo took a breath and stood a little taller. "Just because you were hurt doesn't mean you need to turn into another Diamond Tiara to get back at ponies." "Don't" I stalked closer to Scootaloo. She shrunk back quickly. "You DARE" I pushed myself up, towering over the now scared-looking pegasus. "Compare me to that... that terrible excuse of a pony!" I grit my teeth and tensed my entire body. I don't know what I was about to do, but I was raring to go. "Stop it!" Sweetie cried, forcing her way between me and Scootaloo. "This is what we're talking about! First you pour salt in Applejack's wound, now you're scaring your friends!" Her words were like a slap in the face. I gazed down into the eyes of Scootaloo, who was shaking a little bit, and saw fear. Fear. "Oh.. my stars... Scoot, I'm... I'm sorry!" I gasped, backing up. "I..." I turned away. I couldn't face her. We were silent until we reached the house. Big Mac was out in the fields and Granny was probably taking a nap. I hoped I could find Applejack in her room and didn’t have to search for her out in the orchard. That hope seemed dashed as I gingerly knocked on her door and didn’t get an answer. I paused, knocked again and called out in a weak voice. “Applejack? Are y’all in there? I wanna talk.”  No answer. I slowly pushed the door open, and what I saw made my heart stop. Bottles. Bottles littered all over the floor. I started hyperventilating as I picked one up and read the label. It was honey whiskey. “Oh no. Nononononono,” I mumbled. “Applebloom, what’s wrong? Some ponies drink when they’re upset.” Scootaloo piped up quietly. “I’m sure she’s fine.” “Not Apples!” I replied more loudly than intended. “After Mom died, Dad followed her jus’ a few months later due to alcohol poisonin’! The entire family swore off drinking after all that! And if Applejack is drinking now…” I started running around the room, looking for any indication of where Applejack might have gone. On the far side of her bed I discovered a book lying open. I pulled it over to me and started reading one of the pages out loud. Wolfsbane: These illusive plants are often found in timberwolf territory. They are yellow in color, emit a pungent odor, and are often the sign of less fertile land. They are classified as a curative plant. Though not much scientific data has been found to back it up, many legends have been told on how this plant can be used to help cure paralysis when mixed with several other curative plants, such as Amethyst.” “M-maybe she’s just out in the orchard?” Scootaloo suggested. “Go look!” I ordered, panic starting to set in. “Find Big Mac, and he can probably tell you! If not…” I turned to Sweetie Belle as Scootaloo zipped off. “Didn’t you say timberwolves are ‘specially aggressive ‘round this time?” Sweetie Belle nodded slowly, her ears flattened against her head and her eyes wide. “Uhm, okay… so…” I began pacing back and forth. If Applejack had been drinking, and wandered into timberwolf territory to try and find this plant… “Sweetie Belle, I need you to go and find Twilight! Tell her what’s goin' on!” “O-okay!” Sweetie Belle gasped before running off. This was bad. What if Applejack got in trouble just because of me? What if she got hurt? Or… worse? What if she didn’t survive? Before I knew it I was running toward the Everfree Forest.