//------------------------------// // ClearBloom. // Story: Chrysalis' unexpected Life // by coto616 //------------------------------// --------------------------------- ClearBloom. An idea proposed by Lord King Cocoon --------------------------------- It had been a little over a year since the opening of the Friendship School and everything was in perfect working order, there were the usual problems that every school in Equestria had, such as quarrelsome students, crazy villains and monster invasions, but otherwise it was a quiet place. The queen came back from looking for Clear Spark at school and they both walked home, the colt had grown a bit and could move around Ponyville without any problems, he could recognize almost every sound perfectly and the ponies had been kind enough to leave marks on the lamp posts so the colt could find his way if necessary. No one had any problem helping him to show him the right way, but just like the queen, every pony wanted Clear Spark to be as independent as possible. Normally, Clear Spark returned home accompanied by one of his classmates, and half the time that classmate was specifically Apple Bloom, who said it was a small detour before returning to the farm on the other side of town, but it had been a little over a week, and the colt was much quieter than usual, and the filly seemed to have been avoiding little Spark all those days, The queen and AppleJack were concerned about the matter, and they had both agreed to talk to the little ones to find out if anything bad had happened between them. That was the main reason the queen was picking up her son from school today. Chrysalis walked home a little slower than usual, and Clear Spark walked a little farther behind his mother, and even when the queen picked up the pace or slowed it down, the foal somehow managed to always stay two or three steps behind his mother, even though he was blind, his hearing allowed him to measure perfectly how far behind his mother was, and he regulated his pace so as not to be left behind, always keeping his head down and saying nothing, but when he least expected it, the queen suddenly stopped, and Clear Spark could not avoid colliding with his mother. "Sorry." Spark said as he rubbed at his muzzle. "Don't worry about it, but you're a lot quieter than usual, is there something wrong with you?" "Something's wrong? Nothing's wrong, I just don't feel like talking." The colt replied before heading home. "Did you get into a fight with Apple Bloom? "With Apple Bloom?" The colt asked as he quickly turned around in the direction of his mother. "Emmm no?, nothing is wrong, nothing bad happened." It didn't take AppleJack's lie detection skills to know that Clear Spark was lying, the colt replied very quickly and nervously. "Then you're not going to mind if I ask AppleJack how her little sister is doing, are you?" The queen said, tapping the ground with her hooves in an attempt to fool Clear Spark into thinking she was on her way to the farm. "WAIT!" The colt yelled, trying to make her stop. "You want to tell me what happened?, I'm not going anywhere." The colt hesitated for a long time whether to talk to his mother or not, just saying "mmmm..." every now and then while tapping the ground with his hooves, all the while the queen waited patiently for him. "You know I can help you with anything you want, but first you have to tell me what's going on. I'm not going to..." "Mom, how do you know if you like a filly or not?" Clear Spark asked, cutting her mother off. "That's simple, first you must WHAT?" The queen shouted, a little taken aback by the question, which caused the colt to jump back. "Sorry honey for the yell, but you did take me a bit by surprise, could you repeat the question for me?" "It's just that the other day I was with Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara near Carrot Farm waiting for Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon but they took too long and Scootaloo went for Sweetie Belle while Diamond Tiara went for Silver Spoon and then I... I think I accidentally kissed Apple Bloom on the cheek, and she got mad at me," the colt finished with a bit of regret. "What, did you try to overdo it with her?" The queen asked in a surprised and angry tone. "I thought you knew how to respect the boundaries of a filly, no wonder she's mad at you, right now we're going to the farm to..." "That's not it." The colt said, cutting his mother off. "It's something else." "What then?" "When we were alone, we started talking about schoolwork, and I told her that I like doing homework with her because she helps me a lot, but she was closer than I thought, and she wanted to ask me something, and when I turned my head to find out what she wanted, I... accidentally kissed her on the cheek." "I don't think it bothered her that much..." "BUT I APOLOGIZED TO HER." The colt said, shouting. "I told her I did not mean to kiss her, I did not mean to kiss her and I would never do it again and she started to cry and ran off I don't know where to and... she won't talk to me anymore." "Hmmm I see." Chrysalis said quietly. "Come with me sweetie, we need to talk." Chrysalis walked over to the colt and helped him onto her back to take him to a tree and have a talk in the shade, now she knew why Apple Bloom didn't want to be around her son, he had unknowingly broken the filly's heart and she now thinks Clear Spark doesn't want to be with her. "You like being with Apple Bloom, do you?" The queen asked as she lowered her son from her back. "Emmm... yes?" "And you have feelings for her that are a little different than the feelings you have for other fillies?" "Different feelings?" The filly asked a little confused. "I mean you're happy to hear her voice, you like spending more time with her than with some of your other friends, and you feel bad because you think you hurt her feelings." "Hmmm..." Was all the foal said nervously, and the queen could feel the love coming from the colt at the thought of her friend. It wasn't as strong as Apple Bloom's for Clear Spark, but there was undoubtedly something there. "You hurt Apple Bloom's feelings, but it wasn't because of something bad you did or something she did. It was because of a misunderstanding, and you both better talk about it before you regret it in the future." "But what should I talk about?" The colt asked, though he had no idea what his mother was referring to. "Sometimes I forget that you are too young to have an understanding of some things." The queen said to herself, laughing slightly. "You feel bad for Apple Bloom, don't you?" "Yes." Replied the colt. "I tell you what, why don't you invite Apple Bloom for a walk around Ponyville, just the two of you? That way you can talk quietly and clear up any misunderstandings you have, say something nice to her, compliment her mane or something." The queen said with all the optimism and the best of intentions in the world. "And do you have any idea what kind of effect that will have?" The colt asked in the same way. "Of course, I'm sure it was a stupid misunderstanding and it's not good to get angry about that." The queen replied with a smile. "Great, I'll go to Apple Bloom's right now..." "Wait!" The queen shouted at her son, who ran off in a random direction out of excitement. "Where do you think you're going?" "I'm going to the farm to..." The colt tried to answer, realizing it was a very bad idea for someone in his condition to wander. "I'd better talk to her at school tomorrow." "I think that's a much better idea." With the best intentions of her heart, and without knowing it, the queen, with those simple words, forever linked the life of her son with the little filly that came from the apple farm. -------------------------------------------------------------------- The next day, all the students were in class solving the math problems the teacher had written on the board, while Clear Spark was solving the same math problems on a special sheet Cheerilee had prepared. But the colt had something else on his mind, on a small piece of paper he had written a message in Braille, and after folding it and concentrating on his magic, he levitated it to the table of his classmate next to him. "Hey, Scoot." The foal whispered to her winged friend as he pointed his hoof at the note he had passed. "What?" Said the Pegasus, whispering back to the foal, but louder than she wanted to in order to earn a scolding from the teacher. "Please give the note to Apple Bloom." Even though the foal couldn't see what Scootaloo was doing, she nodded. Without the teacher noticing, she passed the note to Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom was trying to figure out the math problem when Scootaloo dropped a small piece of paper on her desk. "What is this?" Apple Bloom asked, a little confused as she picked up the note with her hoof. "The meaning of life, the universe, and everything." Scootaloo replied. "Really?" She asked back, intrigued, to which Scoot just rolled her eyes in the most sarcastic way possible. "Of course not dummy, it's just a note, read it." Apple Bloom was angry with Clear Spark, even she didn't know why, but she was sure it was his fault, after all she didn't do anything wrong, she just didn't listen to anything the colt said after he kissed her on the cheek, she just started crying and stormed off without listening to what her beloved colt had said, surely being alone he told her he liked her and she stormed off in fear, But none of that was her fault, it was his and she wouldn't talk to him until he apologized, which didn't make much sense if she tore herself away from Clear Spark every time he came near, but she had promised AppleJack that she would give Spark a chance to apologize for his dastardly deed of making her cry and surely that little piece of paper had those words written on it. When Apple Bloom started learning Braille, it took her a little while and like everypony else, she had to run her hoof over the letters several times to know what it said, but over the years, she could read it as easily as any other written language, some ponies in Ponyville learned a little bit of the language, mostly out of curiosity, but the only ones who could read it perfectly besides the colt were Chrysalis, Cheerilee and Apple Bloom, so when the filly opened the note, she could read what it said without any problem. "Apple Bloom, I'll be waiting for you at the-" That was all the filly managed to read before she collapsed on her desk. --------------------------------------------------------------- It had been a couple of hours since the end of class, and Apple Bloom was on her way to the place where she would be alone with Clear Spark. "Apple Bloom, I'll be waiting for you at the picnic gazebo at sunset." That was what the colt's note had said, and she had not been able to read it to the end, but her friends had read it, as had Cheerilee, and after she had woken up and they had told her what had happened, she had made them promise not to tell anyone, which some of them obviously had not kept. She knew where she was going and no one in town paid any attention to the filly as she crossed the square with no apparent direction, no one said a word about what had happened to her at school, no one said anything about why she had been avoiding Clear Spark lately, of course no one said anything because the streets were deserted, everyone already knew that she would be alone with Clear Spark in the most romantic place in Ponyville and all the curious wanted a piece of the latest Ponyville gossip. As Apple Bloom walked past many bushes with pony tails, including one with the tails of Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, Scootaloo, Lyra, and Derpy, who not only had a tail, but half a pony peeking out of it, but of all of them, the one that caught her attention the most was one that had two characteristic shades of pink. The filly approached the bush to talk to it. "Ms. Cheerilee." Said the filly. "I'm not Cheerilee, I mean ..... Meow!" The bush whispered back at the filly, who just rolled her eyes in response. "Cheerilee Cat, I'm sorry about what happened at class today." "Don't worry about it, and thank you, I mean... Meow, best of luck." Cheerilee Cat answer did nothing to ease the filly's nerves, and she wanted to ask her for some mare-to-filly advice, but she had to get going, she knew Clear Spark was waiting for her. Apple Bloom followed her path and at the end of it she could see the colt sitting patiently in the gazebo watching the trees, the filly's heart racing as she approached and she began to sweat with every step she took, thinking all the while whether to keep going or to run, to keep going or to run, to keep going or to... "Ow!" The colt said as he felt someone bump him. "Apple Bloom, is that you?" He asked as he turned his head. "Sorry, I...ummm...hi." The filly replied very nervously. "I'm glad you came, I wanted to talk to you in private." He said embarrassed. "I know." "Come on, let's walk a little while we talk." The colt took a couple of steps forward and stopped when he wasn't sure where the end of the gazebo was. "Um... will you help me down? I don't want to fall." "Oh yeah, sure, sorry." The filly replied, moving quickly to the bottom of the gazebo and holding out her hoof for Clear Spark to grab hold of. "Here." The colt reached out his hoof, searching for his friend's, and found it, grabbing it firmly to go down. Apple Bloom's heart skipped a beat as she felt the contact with Clear Spark. "Thank you." Clear Spark said as he started to walk, Apple Bloom quickly following. The colt was about the same size as her friend and he knew the village quite well, but he had only walked this part of it a few times and had no landmarks to orient himself, always in these situations he would bite someone else's tail to guide him, but since he wanted to talk to the filly as they walked, he used his second option, he had done this many times with his mother, so the queen was hardly worried about him getting lost, only this time, instead of standing behind his companion, he stood at her side, almost touching her body. The place was beautiful at this time of year, the trees were in full bloom and a gentle breeze carried the pink petals dancing in the air before hitting the ground, giving off a soft scent of carmine with a hint of caramel and everything was bathed in the golden glow of the sunlight, it really was the most romantic place in Ponyville for a first date or to propose to the mare of your dreams, could it be that Clear Spark preferred this place to declare his love?, Apple Bloom's mind was flooded with emotions that only made her redder and more nervous. Sometimes she was thankful that the colt was blind and couldn't see all the times she blushed in front of him. Clear Spark for his part loved this place because it was very quiet and not very busy, there was almost no noise and even though he could not see the beauty of the trees he could smell their exquisite scent, he had come here other times with his friends but this was the first time he did it alone with Apple Bloom, he also felt a little nervous being next to his friend but he was sure it was because he had to excuse himself and make her understand that he did not want to upset her. As they continued through the trees, they came to the tree that the group sometimes used as a meeting place and sat down under its shade. A sudden breeze hit them, causing them to cover their faces, but Apple Bloom's mane hit the colt's face. "Ahhh, my eye!" The colt complained as he closed his eyes and instinctively brought his hoof up to his face. "Sorry!" The filly cried as she stood up and faced the foal. "It's just the wind...and my mane...and...sorry, let me have a look at you." Clear Spark stopped as the filly approached. She began to check his face with her hooves. Other times, the colt's face had been checked by other ponies in case of an accident, such as his mother, Nurse Redheart, Cheerilee, and Twilight, who, when she had the time, tried to find a way for the colt to see, even though being blind was not an obstacle to him enjoying a full life, but unlike all those times, Apple Bloom's touch felt different, it was much softer, It was softer, warmer, and it gave a feeling of affection and security, but not like the one his mother gave him, it was something a little wilder, bolder, more seductive and intoxicating. It was a completely new sensation that warmed his heart and he loved it, he didn't want to let go of her and without realizing it, he closed his eyes as the filly searched his face. Apple Bloom had had physical contact with her friends before when they were playing or doing one of their crazy things, but this time it felt different, much more personal, more intimate, she let herself be carried away by the thought and closed her eyes while she felt the colt's face, she wanted to see the world as he saw it, to feel it as he felt it, to create the same mental image of him as he had created hers days after they met, as she moved her hooves gently over his face she could feel the softness of his fur, his small imperfections, She wanted to know the exact shape of his ears, the silkiness of his mane, the length of his horn, she was slowly learning the details of the colt's face that she couldn't know in any other way. She understood at that moment that even if Clear Spark was blind in this way, he could see and know more about a pony than any other, in a way he could see much more than others, all these new sensations allowed the filly to calm her heart and lose her nervousness. The filly didn't know how long she did this, but when she felt it was enough, she lowered her hooves gently and they both took a deep breath. "I didn't know you saw the world like that." The filly said with a smile. "Is that why you asked us to check our faces when we first met?" "Even though it's sometimes hard for me to know who I'm talking to, it's the only way I have to get a mental picture of the pony in front of me. But I have a question." "What is it?" The filly said, raising an eyebrow. "I have something in my eye? It's still burning a little." "Ohh, sorry." Apple Bloom reached over again to check the colt's eye, and aside from a bit of irritation, the filly noticed something that it seemed no one else had ever noticed before. "Emerald." She said softly. "What is it?" "Your eyes, I hadn't noticed before, but when the sun shines on them, they glow emerald, just like your magic does." "And that's a good thing?" "I like it, and you don't have anything but a little irritation from getting hit." "Thank you." Apple Bloom smiled slightly and sat down next to the colt again. They both stood in silence for a long time, staring into the void, Apple Bloom enjoying Clear Spark's company, while the colt thought about how to talk to Apple Bloom, and especially what to say to her. "I don't remember this place being so quiet and peaceful. It's nice to stop and enjoy these moments." "That's why I like this place, I don't know what color the trees are or the grass is, but I like how it smells, it's something I don't find in any other place in Ponyville." Apple Bloom turned her head to see the colt looking towards the horizon, his silhouette cutting through the sunlight and marking his build, his mane, though short, moved slightly in the breeze and a few tree petals fell on him, even though he was very similar to the other colts in the class, he had slight physical differences that could not be seen at first glance, but she was lucky enough to know them, Apple Bloom knew that he would be a big and strong stallion, not as much as his older brother, but he would be strong enough to take care of himself and whoever was willing to share his life with him, and she wanted to be the one to share it with him, she knew that he was sometimes clumsy and forgetful, she had to repeat things to him more than once for him to remember them, He didn't understand clues and when he got too excited he got carried away, but he was also very cheerful, honest, never backed down when he stood up for what he thought was right and had a great ability to make friends, all these things were why the filly liked Clear Spark and wanted to be with him. It was a pity that she had run away days ago when he had kissed her, but today would be different. Today she would not run away, if he did not make the first move, she would, even if it meant hearing a "no" for an answer. The minutes passed and the filly decided to take the first step, little by little she approached the colt and laid her head on him, her heart was beating a thousand times an hour and she could feel how the colt became tense when he felt the physical contact, she got very nervous waiting for his reaction but he did nothing and just stayed still, little by little they both started to calm down and a moment later when both felt more comfortable with the presence of the other Apple Bloom glued her body to Clear Spark and sighed. The colt was nervous when he felt Apple Bloom's head on his shoulder and didn't know how to respond, his body instinctively freezing for a long time, but he didn't mind the sudden physical contact with the filly, it just took him by surprise and as the seconds passed he started to like the feeling of having the filly lean on his shoulder and when he felt her body against his he took the opportunity to make himself more comfy. "Are you cold?" The colt asked to her friend. "Your body is warm, I'm fine, thanks." The filly replied. "Are you cold?" "I don't, I feel your body warm too." "That's a good thing, we can keep warm together." "And what are we going to do when we get hungry?" "Then let's go to Sugarcube Corner or the farm to get something to eat, although I think your house is closer, do you think your mom has something to eat?" "I don't think so, she likes to do the cooking later." "I understand, but are you hungry?" The colt gave a shake of his head. "Okay." Apple Bloom said before she let out another sigh and closed her eyes. "This feels good, thank you so much for inviting me to this place." She said quietly. "No problem." Clear Spark replied, but the filly's words made him remember why he had called her to this place. He had something important to tell her and this was the best place to do it. "Hey Apple Bloom." The colt said with a serious tone in his voice. "Yeah?" The filly asked as she raised her head. "I need you to listen to me because I have something important to tell you." Clear Spark turned his head to look over at the place where her friend was standing. "Something important to say?" Apple Bloom's heart began to beat fast, she stopped leaning on the colt and sat down in front of him, she could feel her body temperature rising and as she began to sweat uncontrollably. ---------- Apple Bloom POV ---------- The little filly's heart was pounding and her breathing was quickening, her body was at the limit of its endurance. The eagerness to hear those sweet words from the colt's mouth didn't help at all, and then she heard them. "Apple Bloom... I love you..." Was all she was able to hear before she collapsed to the side. ----------Clear Spark POV---------- Clear Spark was very nervous, he had spent a good afternoon with the filly and had gotten to know her better, he really wanted to apologize to Apple Bloom, but he didn't know what to say to her, and he remembered his mother's advice, "Say something nice, flatter her mane or something like that," and surely, being older and wiser, it would be much better than anything he thought at the time. Among all the things he could feel at that moment, something that caught his attention was a light fruity smell, he knew that smell perfectly and it was one of the smells he liked best, it was the smell of the raspberry shampoo Apple Bloom sometimes used and that together with her natural scent and the scent of the apples from her farm created a perfect mix of sweet, citrus and earthy smells that he would never forget and it was something he wanted to tell her how much he liked the way her mane smelled. "Apple Bloom... I love your mane and how it smells in the..." Was all the colt had time to say before he felt his friend collapse in front of him. --------------------------------------------------------------- "My son is a heartbreaker." A bush in the distance murmured with pride. "What are you talking about, something your son did to my little sister to make her faint, and surely those mental powers he learned from you." Another bush muttered back. "What?, And how is he supposed to learn that from me?" The bush mumbled again. "Photosynthesis through proximity." "What?" "Plants get energy from the sun by photosynthesis, Clear Spark has acquired some of your mental abilities by living with you and used them against my little sister, now he will surely drag her into a cave and make her his wife by force, just look at him, those movements are not normal." The bush pointed his orange hoof at the foal, who was nervously pawing the ground and looking in all directions. "You know that's stupid, don't you?" "And why are you so sure of that, oh so mighty bush of wisdom?" "First of all, because we changelings don't have mental powers of mind control, secondly, if we did, it would be a changeling thing, it's like living with a pegasus with the intention of sprouting wings, and thirdly, there are no caves near Ponyville where he could drag your little sister, and what are you doing here?, weren't you the one who told me at the beginning to give them more space and have more faith in the little ones?" The royal bush whispered a little louder. The farmer bush was silent for a few seconds, thinking of an answer. "Emmm... I'm not spying on my little sister... I was just... taking a walk and... hiding here... to... protect myself from the sun... yes, that." "Really, that's your best answer?, I know you're a bad liar, but please, AppleJack, try a little harder." "And what do you want me to do?, I care about my little sister and I wanted her first romantic date to end well." "Well, apparently you made a very bad..." "Will you two shut up?" A much lower voice murmured from a bush a little further back. Applebush quickly identified the voice. "Bic Mac, is that you?" "Emmm... Noooooope?..." he muttered in reply. "I'm a cat... Meow!." Applebush would roll her eyes if she could see them. "We'd better go and check on the little ones, Clear Spark's getting pretty nervous about your sister passing out." "Yeah, I think we'd better." --------------------------------------------------------------- "Apple Bloom, are you okay?" The colt asked, gently moving her friend in an attempt to wake her up, but there was no response. He was getting very nervous, he didn't know what to do, he needed help but he didn't know how to get it, there was no one around to ask for it and he couldn't run off in any direction or he would get lost easily. Besides, he didn't want to leave the filly alone. The colt tapped nervously on the ground, trying to listen for hoofsteps of someone nearby, he knew that eventually someone would show up and help them, but the waiting seemed to go on forever and he was getting more and more worried about Apple Bloom's safety. He tried to concentrate on the sounds around him and could hear a couple of hoofsteps approaching. "Is there a pony in there?" He asked, raising his voice. "Hi son, how's the conversation with Apple Bloom going?" The queen asked, feigning ignorance. She knew the colt's attention was elsewhere and he would never wonder why his mother would appear out of nowhere at the best possible time. "Mother, is that you? Mother, you have to help Apple Bloom, she's fainted and I don't know what to do." Said the colt as he approached his mother and bumped into her. "Hush, sweetie, but can you tell us what happened?" "I was talking to Apple Bloom and when I told her I liked the smell of her mane she fainted and I don't know why." He replied, clearly worried. It was at that moment that AppleJack approached his sister and examined her for a few seconds before she laughed softly and looked at the queen, letting her know that it was only out of excitement. "Hey, Spark, my little sister is all right, she just fainted, probably from the sun and exhaustion, you know, farm work is hard work." "But nothing bad happened to her?" "Nothing at all, she just needs some rest." With the queen's help, they lifted the filly onto AppleJack's back. "I'd better take her to her room, you two coming?" The farm pony asked. "YES!" The colt shouted without realizing it. "I mean...Mom, can we take Apple Bloom home?" The queen asked later in a softer tone, only flashing a smile. "Get on my back, we'll get there a lot faster that way." The queen crouched down a bit and helped her son settle in between her wings. Then the group headed off in the direction of the farm. --------------------------------------------------------------- Apple Bloom woke as she felt the sun on her cheek, she opened her eyes and saw through the window that it was later than she was used to waking up, even on weekends she woke up at the crack of dawn, but by the position of the sun she knew it was around ten in the morning, she uncovered herself and stretched her limbs as she did every morning when she got up, but when she did it with one of her hind legs she hit something hard. "Ouch!" Somepony yelled as he felt the kick. Apple Bloom was startled to hear the scream, she shrank her body and raised her head only to see that she had kicked Clear Spark in the head. The colt had entered her room and laid down at the foot of her bed without her noticing. "Spark?, what are you doing here?" "Yesterday when we were under the pink trees you fainted and then my mom and your sister showed up, we brought you home and I didn't want to leave until I knew you were okay, so they let me sleep here, but I didn't expect you to kick me in the head, you kick too hard." The colt replied, rubbing his forehead. With every word from Clear Spark the filly remembered what had happened the day before and with every word she grew redder and redder, that was the moment her mind had the best idea of her life, she quickly rolled up the bedding into a kind of cocoon and began to scream and kick in all directions, only to fall off the bed in pain and fall silent, the colt took a step back in surprise. "AW!" Apple Bloom said as she fell to the ground, cocooned in her fabric. "Are you okay?" The colt asked as he slowly approached her, feeling around with his hoof as he searched for his friend. "I'm fine." The filly replied, moving a little. "Can you get me out of here? I'm stuck." "Give me a second." Spark said, slowly moving closer until he found the cocoon of cloth and was able to untangle it to save his friend, moving just enough of the fabric so that Apple Bloom could stand up. "I'm sorry." Apple Bloom said with regret as she looked down at the floor. "Apple Bloom, what's wrong?" The colt asked, her friend had been acting strangely a few days ago, and he wanted to know why. The filly was silent for a long time, thinking. The colt was waiting for her to say something. "Can I ask you something?" "What is it?" "The other day when you kissed me on the cheek and I ran off, it was because I got nervous and didn't know what to do, just like yesterday when you invited me to go for a walk, and recently when I saw you in my bed, I like spending time with you and I try to do it every chance I get, but I don't know if you know how I feel and..." Apple Bloom was silent for a few seconds. It was time to put everything on the line. "...do you think I'm pretty?" "Do I think that you're pretty?" The colt asked intrigued. "Yes, do you think I'm pretty?" She asked again, standing in front of Clear Spark. "Emmm... I don't know, you know I cannot see you." This answer completely discouraged the filly, causing her to lower her head sadly. "But I can tell you what I like in you." Those words brightened her face a little. "I like your overflowing energy, your desire to try new things, that you always want to help others, your strong personality, and that you stand up for your friends. I like your joy, your stubbornness, your courage, your honesty, and most of all, that you don't let anyone tell you what to do, like when you told me the story of Zecora, where you disobeyed your sister to show everypony that she was not the scary zebra that everypony believed her to be just because she was different, because in your heart you knew it was the right thing to do, you have a strong heart and I like that more than anything. " A smile formed on the filly's face and she gave a kiss on the cheek to Clear Spark who turned completely red, Apple Bloom let out a giggle and walked happily past the colt towards the door, at that moment something 'clicked' in the colt's mind and he finally realized everything that had happened between her and him. "Wait." He said aloud, and Apple Bloom returned and stood before him. "That means that you and I... that we are... that we are now..." "Bonk. A yellow hoof gave the colt a gentle tap on the forehead. "Aww!" Clear Spark complained at the unexpected tap on his forehead. "What was that about?" He asked a little annoyed. "Besides apples, I like pears and cookies, so you can work with that for our next date. Now I'd like something to eat." The filly turned and walked back. "But you didn't give me an answer to what I wanted to ask you." Said the colt, who was still rubbing his forehead. "I think it will take you a little longer to realize what we are, but I'm really hungry. Are you coming?" She said with a smile as she walked out of the room and waited for the colt at the top of the stairs. `Mom will let me use the oven one day?, I didn't know she liked pears or cookies`, were the colt's thoughts as he left the room and headed for the stairs, the colt didn't need any help to move around the farm, this place was like a second home to him and he knew it perfectly. --------------------------------------------------------------- "You think it was a good idea letting your son stay with my sister after what happened?" AppleJack asked as she sipped a cup of cider-sweetened coffee. "Those two needed a little push to get their relationship going, my son especially needs a very big push or he'll keep breaking your little sister's heart because he still doesn't realize he likes Apple Bloom, everyone knows the two of them will end up being a couple and I personally don't want to wait ten years or more before I can call you mother-in-law... aunt-in-law... or... legally speaking, when those two get married, what family relation would we have?" The queen said, scratching her chin as she ate a piece of apple pie. "Twilight has a book on family parentage, I've used it before." "You have? For what?" The queen asked, sipping coffee. "Pinkie Pie is my cousin, do you want to know how she's related to me?" "I'd rather not know, although I would like to have some more cider, my coffee's a little weak." AppleJack was moving the bottle closer to the queen when they heard Apple Bloom coming down the stairs, followed closely by Clear Spark, both of the little ones went into the kitchen, not knowing that the queen and AppleJack were in there. "Good morning both of you, did you sleep well?" The queen asked, causing the two foals to turn completely red. "Yes, thanks Ms. Chrysalis." The filly replied. "Apple Bloom, we're basically family. You don't have to be so formal with me, you can just call me Chrysalis." "Okay." "Were you able to work out your problems?" AppleJack asked. "I'm not sure, I'm still struggling to understand what happened." "You'll understand with time, don't worry." "Are the two of you hungry?, we have saved some food for you to eat when you wake up." AppleJack opened the fridge and took out a few slices of apple pie along with some vegetables. The queen set some bread on the table for them and poured them two large glasses of milk. --------------------------------------------------------------- Apple Bloom didn't get the answer she was hoping for, but it wasn't a negative either, and thanks to that she could see that the colt did have feelings for her, he just hadn't realized his own feelings yet. That thought made her calm and very happy, the queen and AppleJack looked at each other for a few seconds and laughed to themselves, they had both known for months the feelings of these two and how everything would end, the colt was still a little confused and tried to understand what had happened but one thing he was sure of, of all the places he could be right now he was right where he wanted to be and that was with Apple Bloom.