//------------------------------// // Love Unlimited // Story: Love Will Set You Free / L'amore รจ femmina (Out of Love): Side Stories // by Ospero //------------------------------// Sweet Apple Acres, 4.30 a.m., 9th March, two and a half years after the Doubt incident "Hey, AB. Going anywhere?" Apple Bloom turned around in alarm. After her and Spike's reconciliation the day before, she'd spent the night at the library, none too eager to see either of her siblings. She'd snuck out in the very early morning, hoping to arrive back home before anypony else was awake. Those four words had dashed that hope. She slowly turned towards the kitchen, where she could dimly make out the shape of her brother by the table, half shrouded in darkness. Anger boiled up inside her - granted, Applejack had been the main force behind her break-up, but Mac certainly had supported AJ in this. "What do you want?" she spat. "To apologize." The words were just whispers, but they seemed to resonate in the otherwise deathly quiet house. "Apologize?" Apple Bloom kept her voice down as well, fighting an urge to scream at her brother. "You and AJ nearly destroyed what Spike and I had, Mac. How do you think you can apologize for something like that?" "I don't know." He rose and stepped out into the hall, and in spite of herself, Apple Bloom gasped. Big Macintosh's eyes were bloodshot, and he was trembling slightly. By the bags under his eyes, he hadn't slept very well this night - or the night before. "I could say a lot of things, but they wouldn't really make a difference. I screwed up, and it's your call if you forgive me." "What were you thinking?" Apple Bloom stared into his eyes until he turned away. "Why did you do it? How could you do something like this to me?" "I wasn't thinking," Mac admitted. "That was the problem, I guess. I thought AJ knew best. I had no idea that she was getting to you because she was afraid of Spike." "What was that?" Apple Bloom could hardly believe her ears. "AJ is afraid of Spike?" "She's scared of what he might become. Remember his birthday three years ago?" Mac finally managed to meet Apple Bloom's eyes again. "Sure, but we know what happened back then, and it's not gonna happen again." Apple Bloom was still trying to wrap her head around all of this. "There's gotta be something else. That alone wouldn't have gotten her to do what she did." "I think so too, but I honestly have no idea what else there is," Mac said. "You're gonna have to talk to her to get to the bottom of it." "Oh, I will." Apple Bloom's eyes were blazing. "I never would have thought you two could do something like this to me. You were just being an idiot, but Applejack knew full well what she was doing, and I'm not gonna let her off the hook easily." "First, though, you should get some sleep." At Apple Bloom's quizzical stare, Big Macintosh actually smiled. "Apple Bloom, I swear by all that I hold dear, I'll never meddle in your love life again. But I am still your big brother, and right now, I can tell that you need rest." He yawned. "Come to think of it, so do I." He turned away. Big Macintosh was already halfway up the stairs when his sister's voice drifted to his ears again. "I believe you." He turned his head and saw that Apple Bloom was still standing at the foot of the stairs, eyes wide and a thin smile on her face. "You really meant well, didn't you?" "I thought so at the time." He found he couldn't bear her gaze, lowering his head. The next thing he knew, Apple Bloom was holding him in a tight hug. "I couldn't forgive you if this had worked as AJ planned, but it didn't. You're still my brother." "And you're my sister." He released the hug. "Thank you, AB." "Don't count your chickens before they're hatched, Mac." Apple Bloom looked at a certain door. "The worst of this is still to come." *** Six hours later Apple Bloom woke. The dreams that had haunted her sleep for the past six weeks were no longer troubling her, but now others had taken their place - one in particular, where she was ... somewhere, certain that she would never see Sweet Apple Acres ever again. A glance at the clock confirmed that it was already mid-morning. Sunday or not, the family should long since have shaken her out of bed, ready for the day's work. She looked out the window and saw Applejack at work in the western fields, while Big Macintosh was just a speck of red on the northern horizon. They're working. Why am I here? She made for the door, but was interrupted by a knock. "Bloomy? You awake?" "Gran?" Apple Bloom opened the door and saw Granny Smith standing there. "I'm sorry I slept in. Why didn't you wake me?" The old mare smiled. "These old ears don't hear everything anymore, but I saw you and Mac this morning, and I thought you could do with a little more sleep today." "Thanks." The smell of roasting apples reached Apple Bloom's nostrils. "You're cooking? On a Sunday?" "I'm not letting Applejack or Big Macintosh near their mother's kitchen until this whole mess is sorted out." Granny Smith fixed Apple Bloom with a stare that would have done Fluttershy proud. "And you will get this sorted out, one way or the other. It's poisoned the ground and the air round here for long enough. AJ will be coming in for lunch at midday, and she knows I want her to talk to you then." Apple Bloom was speechless for a second, then anger boiled up inside her. "And I don't get a say in this?" Granny Smith's gaze softened slightly, yet she didn't give way. "What kind of a grandmother would I be if I let this hang over the family for longer than it needs to?" Apple Bloom sighed. "You're right, it's just..." The older mare waited for a few seconds, finally realizing that a little prodding was needed. "What is it, Bloomy?" "I don't know if I can forgive Applejack for what she did, Gran. How can I ever trust her again?" "She'll have to work hard for that, true enough," Granny Smith replied, gazing past Apple Bloom and out the window. "In the end, it's your decision. You're not a little filly anymore, Bloomy." She hesitated, and her next words came haltingly, as though she were stumbling over them. "You're growing into a fine young mare, and your ma and pa would be mighty proud of you." She turned and shuffled down the stairs, gone before Apple Bloom could think of an answer to that. *** One and a half hours later "Apple Bloom? Can I come in?" Granny Smith had told her to wait in the old living room, the one they rarely used anymore - the kitchen was big enough for the four of them plus guests. At the sound of her sister's voice, Apple Bloom raised her head and swallowed, steadying herself. Here goes nothing. "Yeah." The door screeched open - that one needs some oil -, and there she was, stetson drawn low over her face, head bowed in obvious shame. "Hello, AB." "Don't call me that." Apple Bloom launched the words at her sister like throwing knives, each one sharper and more cutting than the last. "That's what my friends and family call me." Applejack shrunk back, wincing visibly. "I did you wrong, Apple Bloom." "Oh yes, you sure did." Apple Bloom found that she couldn't face the older mare, keeping her gaze fixated on the old, dusty photograph over the mantelpiece. "I know I'm young, and I know how love goes at my age - all the fillies in my class are still searching for that special somepony." She gritted her teeth. "You thought it was only puppy love, a little filly crush that goes away, didn't you?" Applejack just nodded, which made Apple Bloom angrier for some reason. "Two and a half years, Applejack! I've been with Spike for two and a half years now, and you never guessed that that might mean it was more than that? I love him!" Those last three words came out as an anguished scream, a release for all the fear and despair Apple Bloom had gone through in the past month. "I know that now." The strange shift in Applejack's tone made Apple Bloom finally look at her again. All traces of her usual accent were gone, replaced by an artificial Manehattan sound. "Twilight and Rarity were here yesterday, and they..." She pointed to her face, and Apple Bloom saw a bruise on her sister's lower jaw, a sight that filled her with vindictive glee for a second. "They made me realize something." "Oh?" Apple Bloom decided it was time to take a page out of Spike's book, adding a layer of bitter sarcasm to her voice "And what was that? That meddling in your sister's love life was a bad idea? As Pinkie Pie might put it, duh! You should have known that from the start." "How?" Apple Bloom took a second to work through the meaning of the simple one-word question. "What...you really didn't know it wasn't a good thing?" She suddenly realized why her sister was putting on the old Manehattan accent - Applejack was trying to keep it together with all her might. "How should I have known?" The country accent began to slip through again. "I've never had anything like that, Apple Bloom. I really thought you'd be over it soon." The last piece of the puzzle slid into place. "You were jealous." "Yes," Applejack whispered. "Celestia forgive me, because I know you can't, but I couldn't take it anymore. I tried to break what you had because I couldn't have anything like it." "Oh, this is rich!" Apple Bloom approached her sister until they were face to face. "You're a hero of Equestria, Applejack. You've saved the world, twice if not more often. How in the world could you be jealous of me?" "It doesn't make sense, does it?" Applejack smiled weakly. "But it's true. I lied, even to myself, about why I really did it, but Rarity knocked a bit of sense into me and made me see the truth, and doesn't that sound weird?" "You bet it does." The tension seemed to lessen a bit. "You mean Rarity did that to you?" Apple Bloom pointed to the bruise. "That mare has one mean right hook, let me tell you." Applejack rubbed her jaw. "Don't ever get on her wrong side." "Wasn't planning to." Apple Bloom laughed briefly before snapping back to reality. "You know what the worst thing about this is, Applejack? I can't trust you anymore." She bit her lower lip, tears rising to her eyes. "I always knew I could rely on you. You were my big sister, the best in the world, and you went and tore that down." She stared into Applejack's eyes. "How can I be sure you won't try anything like that again?" "Never." Applejack managed to hold her sister's gaze. "I'm not perfect, but I do learn from my mistakes." Apple Bloom could tell that there was no ulterior motive behind it this time. Applejack was baring her soul, and the feeling of barren despair emanating from her was enough to cut through the anger Apple Bloom still felt. "You better hope you do. I'll never let anything get between me and Spike, ever again, family or not. I promised him, and the Apples keep their promises." She forced a smile. "You're still my sister, AJ. This isn't done with, but it will turn out alright." She stretched out a hoof and pulled Applejack into a hug. "If you manage to avoid getting killed by Spike, that is." They broke the hug, turned, and left the room.