As the Apple Blooms

by The FraudulentBrit

Roseluck

Walking with her bike down the streets of Allspark Wells, Apple Bloom took a deep breath, inhaling the warm air. “Ah gotta admit, the air hear is much better than back home.” She said to herself as she took in the sights around her. As she passed many of the store fronts, the red haired girl was pleasantly greeted by the sights of a few children running around.

“Guess school around here is lettin’ out.” Apple Bloom said to herself. After all, it had been almost four months since she arrived in Allspark Wells, and now that the days were getting longer and the temperature was rising, the signs were telling the former farm girl one thing; Summer was approaching fast.

As she approached a gardening shop, she inspected her bike’s basket, filled with packages and small trinkets Ironhide had asked her to deliver. Pulling one out of the basket, Apple Bloom said to herself, “Alright, this one here is supposed to go to Knockout and Breakdown.” She then set the package back in the basket and, taking a deep breath, said, “Alright, time to make a delivery.”

Unfortunately, Apple Bloom wasn’t exactly paying attention to the sights and sounds around here, and before she could react, she bumped into someone walking out of the gardening shop. Managing to regain some of her composure from the collision, the former farm girl walked up to the other person, who had fallen onto the ground, and extended her hand as she pleaded, “Oh mah goodness! Ah’m so sorry! You alright?”

The other person, a teenage girl with cream skin, maroon hair, a dark green beanie, yellow boots, and white gloves, accepted her help as she replied, “Thanks.” Once she was back on her feet, she continued, “Sorry about that. Guess I should watch where I’m going eh?” She then extended her hand and introduced herself with, “Oh, where are my manners? I’m Roseluck.”

Shaking this new girls hand, Apple Bloom replied, “Good to meet you Roseluck. Ah’m Apple Bloom.” The moment that last sentence left the red haired girl’s lips, Roseluck’s pupils shrank as the pleasant smile began to slowly morph into a look of absolute terror. Confused, Apple Bloom asked, “Uh, you alright?”

As she stood there in abject horror, Roseluck could only nervously mutter, “You!” Confused and concerned, Apple Bloom tried to approach her, but the cream girl backed away in fear before turning and running off.

“That was weird.” Apple Bloom said to herself. As she turned to face her bike, however, something clicked in her head. She didn’t know how exactly, but somehow, she had a feeling she’d seen Roseluck before.

Roseluck couldn’t believe it. “Why?!” She angrily asked herself as she approached the gym. No sooner had she arrived in Allspark Wells to spend a few weeks with her father than she ran in to one of the girls behind Anon-A-Miss.“Of all the towns in all the world, I had to run into one of those little brats here!”

Now, some people would say Roseluck was just overreacting a bit. Of course, none of those people had someone post information about their parent’' divorce on the internet and imply they were the reason it happened. And the bullying, oh the bullying. Just the thought of all the name calling and pranks just made her blood boil.

Still, there was no point in just brooding out in the sun. Sighing in resignation, Roseluck made her way up to the front door and entered the gym.

Once she was inside, Roseluck found herself drawn to the center boxing ring. There, she found a gray man in a yellow sweatshirt and green sweatpants coaching two younger teenage boys geared up with boxing gloves and head gear.

“Come on! Put your backs into it!” The older man called out to his students. “You wanna win?! Then you gotta give it your all!” The two teens continued their training match, each one trading blow after blow. Turning to one of the teens, specifically one dressed in blue, the grown up barked, “Don’t tire yourself out Rumble! You’re leaving yourself open!” He then turned to the other kid, this one dressed in black and red, and continued, “Keep it up Frenzy! You’re starting to slow down!”

Before either Rumble or Frenzy could deliver the finishing blow, all three were distracted by the sound of a teenage girl calling out, “Hello?” As the two other teens paused in confusion, all three turned to see the cream girl who was staring at them. Turning to his brother, Rumble asked, “Who’s this?”

Brawn, on the other hand, began to slowly walk up to Roseluck. Once he was right up to her he did the one thing neither Rumble nor Frenzy expected.

He wrapped the teenage girl in a bone crushing hug as he happily exclaimed, “Oh sweetheart! It’s so good to see you again!” As he lifted her up and began to twirl her around, Roseluck managed to squeak out, “Thanks dad.”

“Dad?” Rumble and Frenzy asked in perfect unison. Turning back to face his students and proudly answered, “Why yes. This lovely young lady here is my daughter Roseluck.” Both teens gave each other confused looks as they shrugged.

As he released his daughter, however, Brawn realized something was bugging her. “Rosey? You alright?” he asked.

Roseluck shook her head as she replied, “Ugh, can we talk in private dad?” Nodding, Brawn turned to Rumble and Frenzy and said, “Hey guys, something’s just come up. See you two next week?” Both teens dejectedly nodded as they exited the boxing ring and made their way to the locker room.

Once his two students were gone, Brawn turned back to his daughter and asked, “What’s wrong sweetie?” Roseluck sighed as she looked down and answered, “So, once I got off the bus here, I went to that garden supplies store I like. On the way out….” She paused for a moment before continuing, “You know those girls who, well, posted that stuff about me online around the holidays?”

Resting a hand on her shoulder, Brawn took a deep breath as he said, “Let me guess, you ran into a red haired girl in a pair of overalls?” Roseluck’s eyes widened as she asked, “Wait, you mean you know her?” The older man nodded as he replied, “Unfortunately, I do. A few months back, I overheard one of those scrapper idiots going on about how they were taking a girl in who had done something incredibly stupid.” He then paused as he quickly added, “It was that Wheeljack idiot. I think he was drunk.”

Roseluck couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle as she replied, “I bet.” She then sighed as she remarked, “But yeah, I bumped into her and, I guess I just got overwhelmed and ran over here.”

Pulling his daughter back into another (albeit far gentler) hug, Brawn reassured her, “It’s alright sweetie. The moment I laid eyes on her, I knew she was bad news, and I doubt she’ll show up around here.” As Roseluck allowed herself a gentle chuckle, Brawn continued, “And if she does, I’ll pull a code red on her.” Rolling her eyes, the cream girl playfully remarked, “You don’t have to go that far dad.”

At that moment, Roseluck’s stomach began to grumble. Hearing this, Brawn asked, “You know, I have some of that strawberry short cake you love in the fridge. How about I fix you up a few slices?” Nodding, the cream girl answered, “I’d like that dad.”

“There we are!” Knockout happily exclaimed as he took the package from Apple Bloom. “I really have to hand it to your uncle. He knows his way around a forge.” As he set the package on the counter, he noticed something; Apple Bloom was distracted. Concerned, the older man asked, “You alright there kid?”

Shaking her head, Apple Bloom answered, “Ah ran into someone on the way here, this girl by the name of Roseluck.” After taking a deep breath, she continued, “Ah don’t know exactly why, but for some reason Ah recognized her.” She then paused for a moment before finishing with, “And before Ah could say anythin’ to her, she just said “You” and ran off.”

Taking everything in, Knockout offered a suggestion. “Well, given your…. Unique history, and if what you said is true about this Roseluck, I think we all know why someone might have a bone to pick with you.”

Apple Bloom thought on why Roseluck would have a reason to distrust her. Of course, just about everyone in Allspark knew what she’d done back in Canterlot City, so that didn’t exactly narrow anything down. Then again, she swore she’d seen Roseluck before she ever came here. Now that she thought of it, Roseluck somehow reminded her of Applejack. It was as if…..

At that moment, Apple Bloom’s pupils shrank as she realized something; she actually knew who Roseluck was. Worse, she knew why she would have a reason to have a problem with her.

Huddled around a laptop in a dark bedroom, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle found themselves staring at the screen. Turning to her friends, Scootaloo asked, “Uh, you girls sure we should be doing this?”

Groaning, Apple Bloom answered, “Should we? No. Do we have to?” She paused for a moment before getting up into her friend’s face as she continued, “Yeah! If we don’t post somethin’ juicy, people are gonna start puttin’ things together!” Backing up, the young farm girl ended with, “You want Rainbow Dash to know what we’ve been up to?”

Sweetie Belle, on the other hand, was rubbing her face as she spoke up. “I don’t know Apple Bloom. I mean, there’s a difference between spying on Rarity’s rejects and someone going through their parent’s divorce.” She then looked over her shoulder in shame as she continued, “Besides, I doubt Sunset ever picked on anyone for something like this. How would we even make this convincing?”

Deep in thought, Apple Bloom struggled to figure it out. How did someone make a post mocking someone for having divorced parents and successfully make it look like someone else did it? After a few moments, she had an idea.

Taking a deep breath, Apple Bloom began to speak. “Alright, Ah think Ah know what to do….”

Apple Bloom was (Thankfully) distracted by the memories of her past sins when Knockout interrupted her with, “Wait a minute! I think I caught a glimpse of that post. Didn’t you say something about her parent’s divorce and how it was somehow her fault?”

Turning to face the adult, the former farm girl took a deep breath as she asked, “Would you mind not mentionin’ everythin’ Ah’ve done?” Knockout shook his head as he replied, “Sorry kid, but you reap what you sow.” Apple Bloom could only sigh as she muttered, “Ah know.”

At that moment, a thought entered Apple Bloom’s mind. It was a long shot and foolishly optimistic thought, but one that she felt was worth taking. Turning to face Knockout, the former farm girl asked, “You wouldn’t happen to know where Roseluck is stayin’ around here, would you?”

Raising his hand, Knockout spoke up with a firm, “No! Considering what you girls did to her, I think the best thing to do would be for you to just leave her alone.” Though deep down she knew his answer was right, Apple Bloom found she just couldn’t accept the issue. Getting right up into Knockout’s face, she pleaded, “Awh, come on. Please?”

Defiantly shaking his head, Knockout answered, “Seriously kid, you running up to her is like asking a girl to forgive her abusive ex boyfriend!” He then paused for a moment before quickly adding, “Or girlfriend. Same difference.” He then allowed a smug smirk to form on his face as he asked, “Besides, don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“What do you mean by that?” Apple Bloom asked, thinking that Knockout was just making up an excuse to get her to leave. However, she quickly remembered the packages that were still in her bike’s basket. “Oh mah goodness! Mah deliveries!” She practically screamed as she ran towards the door, grabbed her helmet, and exited the building.

Letting out a gentle chuckle, Knockout quipped to himself, “Oh Knockout, you still got it.”

Sitting in her room, Apple Bloom found herself deep in thoughts of confusion, doubt, and frustration. “Where would Ah find Roseluck?” She asked herself. “Ah mean, without commin’ off as intimidatin’ or creepy.” Of course, deep down, she knew that was basically impossible. “Ugh!” She groaned. “Why can’t things be simple?”

She was distracted by the sound of Chromia calling out, “Apple Bloom! You mind helping me with dinner?!” Letting out a sigh of relief, the former farm girl called back, “Ah’ll be right down Aunt Chromia!” Deciding her internal turmoil was best left for another time, Apple Bloom pushed it out of her mind as she made her way towards the kitchen, wondering what she’d be helping her aunt prepare for dinner.

“Let me get this straight.” Ironhide began as he made a cup of coffee. “You mean you want to run more errands today?” Apple Bloom nervously scratched the back of her neck as she replied, “Ah mean, if there isn’t anythin’ else you got planned for today, Ah’d like to be able to stretch mah legs an’ get a little fresh air.”

Taking a gulp, Apple Bloom hoped her plan would work. Deep down, she had a feeling Ironhide wouldn’t allow her to try and seek out Roseluck, and while it was a long shot, she needed to try and apologize to her. Of course, the only way she could do that was if she could leave the Chop Shop, and that could only happen if Ironhide allowed her to do so.

The older man pondered his niece’s suspicious request for a moment before he shrugged and replied, “Well, I think we have a few things we need to deliver to a few people. I suppose you can deliver them.” Apple Bloom felt herself overcome with joy as she wrapped her uncle in a tight hug and called out, “Thank you Uncle Ironhide!” The older man let out a gentle sigh as he replied, “Yeah. Now then, I’d like to try and make some coffee without giving anyone massive burns.”

Walking down the streets of Allspark Wells in the blazing sun, Apple Bloom found herself understanding the meaning of the phrase “be careful what you wish for.” Indeed, she had finished the deliveries Ironhide had asked her to run, the former farm girl found herself running all around town, hoping in vain hopes that she could find the one person on her mind; Roseluck.

“Ugh.” She groaned to herself as she sat down next to her bike on the sidewalk. “Alright Apple Bloom, maybe this wasn’t the best idea.”

At that moment, the red haired girl noticed something. Right across the street was Brawn’s gym, the first place she visited when she first arrived in Allspark Wells. “Huh, haven’t been around here since that Brawn guy threw Tender and Ah out.” As she took a closer look at the building, Apple Bloom noticed that there seemed to be a fence around the back of the building. Getting back up to her feet, the former farm girl said to herself, “Well, at least this’ll be worth a try.”

Making her way to the fence, Apple Bloom set her bike against it as she began to tiptoe around the wooden barrier, trying to find some sort of opening or a hole. After a few minutes, she managed to find a small tree that looked climbable. Noticing the tree, Apple Bloom thought to herself, ‘Well, maybe Ah can use this to get the lay of the land a bit.’

As she began to climb the tree, the red haired girl turned to see if anyone was on the other end of the yard. Luckily, Apple Bloom found just what she was looking for; a cream girl a few years older than her with maroon hair tending to a row of roses. Allowing a satisfied smile to form on her lips, she whispered to herself, “Alright, now all Ah gotta do is get over to her and try to climb over to an outward branch and try to get her attention.

Once she managed to cross the fence, Apple Bloom called out to Roseluck, “Hey!” The cream girl immediately froze with fear as she looked up towards her new guest. As the older girl’s face began to morph from fear to anger, Apple Bloom nervously asked, “Uh, how’s it goin’?”

Before either teen could say anything else, Apple Bloom felt herself suddenly dropping a few inches as she heard the sound of bending and cracking wood. Turning to face the rest of the tree, the former farm girl found that the branch she was on was buckling under her weight. Realizing what was about to happen, she could only mutter to herself, “Oh crap.”

The moment those words escaped her lips, Apple Bloom found herself falling all the way down to the ground as the tree branch gave out. This quick experience with weightlessness ended with a sudden (and somewhat painful) stop.

As Apple Bloom lay on the ground, Roseluck walked up to her and asked, “You alright?” The former farm girl managed to get back on to her feet as she answered, “A bit sore, but otherwise Ah think Ah’m alright.”

“That’s good.” Roseluck replied. However, her face began to morph into a frown as she continued, “Then you won’t have anything to worry about on top of this!” Before Apple Bloom could react, she found herself on the receiving end of a punch to the face, knocking her back down to the ground.

Recoiling in pain, Apple Bloom angrily asked, “What the hell was that for?” Roseluck crossed her arms as she defiantly answered, “That’s for posting everything online!” Sighing in exhaustion and shame, Apple Bloom replied, “Yeah, Ah know. About that….”

Pausing for a moment, Apple Bloom took a deep breath and said, “Roseluck, Ah’m sorry for postin’ that information on you online.” For a few moments, both girls stood there in total silence. Once it passed, Apple Bloom continued, “Ah know Ah messed up, and Ah’m sorry for everythin’.”

Roseluck hesitated to answer for a moment. When she did answer, however, she shook her head and bluntly answered, “I don’t forgive you.” Stunned, Apple Bloom began to stammer, “But, but Ah…”

“You just don’t get it, do you?” Roseluck interrupted as she raised her hand to Apple Bloom’s face. “You violated my privacy! You posted information about my family online! You framed Sunset Shimmer for it, and from what I heard, you did it just to get at your DAMN SISTER!” The cream girl practically shouted this, practically forcing Apple Bloom to step backwards. Taking a deep breath, Roseluck continued, “Do you have any idea what it’s like getting bullied for something out of your control?!”

Apple Bloom wanted to give an answer, but deep down, she didn’t. She didn’t know what it was like to go through the kind of bullying Roseluck went through. True, there was Diamond Tiara, but before she found out all she really did was just pick on her and her friends in the halls.

Seeing that she’d managed to make her point clear, Roseluck took a deep breath as she finished, “Exactly. You don’t know what it’s like to find out one day your parent’s are splitting up or feeling like it’s somehow your fault!” Sighing, Apple Bloom answered, “You’re right.” If anything, it seemed the maroon haired girl was just spelling out the hard truth.

And then Roseluck angrily blurted out, “For fuck’s sake, you don’t even know what it’s like to even have parents! Your parents are dead!”

The millisecond those words escaped Roseluck’s mouth, two things happened. The first was the realization the cream girl had just said something undeniably disrespectful and rude. The other was that Apple Bloom found herself consumed by an anger she hadn’t ever felt in her life before. Realizing what was about to happen, Roseluck tried to defuse the situation with a nervous, “Oh my goodness! I’m sorry I said that, I just got caught up in the moment and…”

She was interrupted by Apple Bloom slamming her fist into her face. As Roseluck fell to the dirt, the former farm girl furiously shouted, “Don’t you DARE insult mah parents!” She knew that she had done something terrible. She knew she had just struck someone in anger. But as she stood over the older girl, she was just too angry to care.

Before Apple Bloom could do anything else, both she and Roseluck heard the sound of Brawn’s voice nervously call out, “Sweetheart! What happened?” As he ran up to his daughter, he bent down and gently asked, “Rosey! Are you alright?” Roseluck didn’t verbally answer, but she did weakly shake her head.

Turning to face a now pale Apple Bloom, Brawn furiously asked, “You want to explain to me what the hell just happened?” Gently setting his daughter down, the gray man raised his head as he suggested, “You know what? How about we discuss this with Ironhide?”

All Apple Bloom could do was gulp in fear.

Sitting outside of Brawn’s gym, Apple Bloom found herself consumed by guilt, fear, shame, and self hatred. “Damnit Apple Bloom!” She chastised herself. “Ya just had to try and seek Roseluck out. Now you’re in another world of trouble!” Of course, she wasn’t that worried about what was brewing inside her.

What was worrying her was the knowledge that inside the gym behind her, Ironhide was speaking with Brawn about what happened. She would have been in there, but at Roseluck’s insistence, she was asked to wait outside. Now all the former farm girl could do was just wait for the inevitable.

The sound of a door opening signaled to Apple Bloom that someone was exiting. Turning around, she found a very disappointed Ironhide exiting with an equally annoyed Brawn. The gray scrapper turned to the gym owner and said, “I am so sorry all of this happened. I promise you Apple Bloom will stay away from your gym and daughter from now on.” Brawn folded his arms as he replied, “She better, because otherwise I’m cracking her damn skull!” He then reentered his gym, slamming the door.

Sighing, Ironhide turned to his niece and sighed, “I guess this explains some things.” Rising back to her feet, Apple Bloom began, “Uncle Ironhide, Ah….” She was stopped when Ironhide raised his hand and sternly ordered, “Not another word until we get in the van.” Knowing there was no point in fighting with her uncle, Apple Bloom simply nodded and followed him to his red van.

Once they were in the van, Ironhide let out a sigh of disappointment as he began to speak. “I like to think I’ve been more than fair with you Apple Bloom.” When Apple Bloom didn’t say anything in response, he continued, “I try to be nice, I let you get away with a lot of things, don’t I? I let you go out every now and then, and don’t forget Sparkplug.” He then turned to face his niece and asked, “And is good behavior too much to ask for in return?”

When Apple Bloom didn’t immediately answer, he angrily asked, “Is it?!” The former farm girl nervously answered, “N-n-n-no sir!” The older man sighed as he continued, “Sorry kid, but I expected……” He paused for a moment, trying to find the right words before he finished with, “I expected better from you.”

“Ah know.” Apple Bloom dejectedly replied. Ironhide felt he’d made his disappointment clear, simply turned on the van and began the long, quiet drive home.

As Ironhide and Apple Bloom entered the shop front, the older man began to speak, “Stay right here. I need to inform the others.” He then left for the garage, leaving the former farm girl to sulk in her own misery. Now all alone, Apple Bloom began to sniffle as she processed what exactly she’d done. “Practically stalked someone you bullied? Check.” She quietly muttered to herself. “Got in a fight? Check. Let Uncle…” She was interrupted by her sniffling starting to turn into true tears. “Let Uncle Ironhide down? Check check.”

At that moment, Ironhide, Chromia, Wheeljack, and Ratchet emerged from the garage and began to approach her. As the four adults began to stare down at her, Ironhide began to speak, “Now then, I don’t think we need to spell out everything you did, but I cannot overstate how disappointed I am in you Apple Bloom.” As the former farm girl held her head in shame, Ratchet added, “This is absolutely unacceptable behavior young lady.” Even Wheeljack couldn’t help but add, “For Primus’s sake kid! This is a new low, even by your standards.”

Apple Bloom wanted to try and defend herself, but she knew she couldn’t. After all, what was the point? Ironhide then stepped towards his niece and said, “And for this, you are grounded young lady.” Nodding, Apple Bloom simply answered, “Yes sir.”

Chromia then spoke up with, “I’ll call Soft Shoe and tell her to make sure Tender Taps knows she won’t be visiting this week.” As she began to leave, Ironhide turned to face his niece as he added, “And speaking of phone calls….” He then pulled out his cell phone and began to dial a number. Apple Bloom was momentarily confused, wondering who he would be trying to call.

Sadly, she found her answer when he brought the phone to his ear and said something that terrified her more than anything in the world.

“Hey Applejack. We’ve had a problem here.”