Sweet Apple Acres, a well-known farm of Canterlot City, and the Apple family’s pride and joy. The farm’s been around for many generations since the founding of Canterlot City. While the Apple’s farm grew their best-tasting apples, they were most famous for brewing their own apple ciders and their apple jams for the locals.
This morning, every member of the Apple Family was busy working on their daily chores for the farm. While the young siblings were busy working outside, the elder member, Granny Smith, was busy finishing up the meal for their breakfast. Once she had completed her task, she opened the kitchen's back door and loudly rang her bell for everyone on the farm to hear.
"Soups on, everyone!" Granny Smith hollered.
Granny slowly headed for her seat by the table just as Applejack and Big Mac entered the kitchen from the back door.
"Hmm… smells good Granny!" Applejack sniffed, smiling in approval. "All that work on the farm made me hungry!"
"Eeyup!" Big Mac nodded in agreement.
"Well, dig in before your food gets cold," Granny Smith gestured to the table with her wooden spoon.
Not needing to be told twice, the two siblings quickly grabbed their chairs and sat down near the table.
Before they started to dig into their food, Granny suddenly spoke up.
"Hang on, where's yer sister?"
"She's finishing up cleaning our pig's pen," Applejack answered with a sigh.
"Eeyup," Big Mac nodded.
They suddenly heard their back door open, revealing Apple Bloom who was covered in dirt and hay and looked a little exhausted.
"Agh… pig pen's done," Apple Bloom sighed in a tired tone Before taking her seat. "It is now completely spotless just as you instructed, Granny."
"Good," Granny Smith nodded. "After lunch, yer next task is to clean out the entire cow's barn! Both floors!"
Apple Bloom let out a loud groan of distress. "C'mon, Granny, have some mercy! Ah've been doing chores non-stop since early this morning!"
"Sorry, Apple Bloom,” Granny Smith said with a stern look but also a gentle tone. “But after that stunt you and yer friends pulled last night at school, yer punishment is to do most of the chores without yer siblings' help. And you can expect that for the rest of the summer."
"WHAT!?" Apple Bloom cried. "The whole summer!?"
Granny nodded with a frown. "That's right! And you're not getting any help from your siblings, so don't expect this to be easy."
"This is so unfair!" Apple Bloom complained, throwing her arms up. "My friends and I have plans for the summer!"
"Well, you should've thought of that before you set our whole school on fire due to your stunt!" Applejack interjected with her fierce look before rubbing her hatless head. "Even poor Bessie didn't make it because of you!"
Apple Boom cocked an eyebrow with a deadpanned look. "You mean that old hat of yours? You won that old thing from an Apple Bobbing contest during Canterlot City’s Country Fair! You could replace that with any hat!"
"Not that one!" Applejack argued, offended as if she was told to replace her pet. "That hat was important to me! How would you feel if your bow was on fire!"
Apple Bloom stood up, slamming the table. "Hey! You leave my bow out of this!"
Applejack also stood up, slamming the table as she did so. "Which ones? You have over a dozen of them in your closet!"
"Girls! That's enough!" Granny Smith shouted, causing the two sisters to stop arguing.
Granny narrowed her eyes at Applejack with a stern expression. "Applejack, you better keep your temper in check!"
Applejack huffed and sat back down.
Granny Smith then shifted her eyes toward Apple Bloom. "And Apple Bloom, Ah'm sorry, but you and your friends went too far with your antics this time! And you would have been in much bigger trouble if not for Vice Principal Luna and Shining Armor backing you up, so you should consider yourself lucky that working on our farm for the whole summer is your only punishment!"
Apple Bloom threw her arms up. "This is bullcrap! Ah get punished for trying to help out a school while that so-called hag of our 'Principal' is making everybody miserable, leaving everyone behind during a fire, and getting away with it!?"
"First off, language missy!" Granny Smith scolded, causing Apple Bloom to roll her eyes from that. "Second, we're angry about Spoiled too, but we're not talking about her! And third, you still don't seem to grasp the kind of trouble you're in, young lady!"
Before Apple Bloom could open her mouth to respond, Applejack interjected.
"Do you have any idea how idiotic and dangerous that stunt ya pulled? Trapping Spoiled in the supply room, throwing a wild party, and letting out many animals on the dance floor which caused a fire!?" Applejack shook her head in disbelief. "Ah still can't comprehend how and what processed ya to include those critters to the party!"
"Well…putting together our secret senior party wasn't easy," Apple Bloom revealed sheepishly. "Ah made a deal with Angel Bunny that he and his friends can join the party if he gets me the layout map of the school."
Applejack, as well as Big Mac and Granny Smith, were flabbergasted by Apple Bloom's revelation.
"Ya made a deal with Fluttershy’s pet!?" Applejack exclaimed before rubbing her temples. "Good grief! Ah'll have to talk to Shy about that rabbit of hers!"
"Okay! Ah'll admit that we didn't think this through," Apple Bloom admitted, trying to smooth her sister's temper. "B-but you and yer friends used your geode powers to save everyone from the fire. So it all worked out!"
"And what if Ah or any of us didn't have our geodes? Then what!?" Applejack roared, causing Apple Bloom to flinch. "And even so, we still risk our lives to get everyone out!"
Apple Bloom, as well as the rest of the family, were taken aback by Applejack’s loud furious yelling. When Apple Bloom didn't respond, Applejack continued on with her angry rant.
"Rarity was nearly crushed by that burning pillar back there! And heck! You could've been burnt alive if we hadn't shown up! What would ya say to Sweetie Belle if she lost her sister!? What would Ah say to Big Mac or even Granny if Ah lost ya!? You nearly got everyone killed because of your recklessness! Could you live with yourself if anyone got hurt or lost their lives there?" Her face leaned close to her sister's trembling face. "Well, would ya!?"
Applejack immediately stopped her rant the moment she saw her sister's body shaking violently and tears leaking from her eyes.
"Ah–Ah… Ah didn't mean… Ah…"
With a sob escaping from her lips, Apple Bloom fled from the kitchen and ran upstairs to her room.
Applejack, now full of regret, tried to call her sister back. "Apple Bloom! Apple Bloom, come back!"
"Applejack! That's enough!" Granny snapped.
Applejack turned towards her grandmother and winced at the sight of her grandmother's glare that could scare even a bear away. Even Big Mac had a look of disapproval for the way she handled Apple Bloom.
"Granny…" Applejack uttered in a remorseful tone. "Ah–"
"Ah told ya to keep that temper of yours!" Granny Smith scolded with a deep frown. "While she made a huge blunder, you're being way too harsh on her! Don't forget… she's still just a child! We're supposed to help guide her towards the right path, not make her feel like a mule!" Her eyes narrowed. "Would your ma and pa want you to talk to your sister that way?"
Big Mac nodded in agreement with a firm hum.
Before Applejack could respond, her phone went off. She silently checked her phone and saw a text coming from Rainbow Dash, requesting her to come down by Canterlot City’s Pier to have a group "chat" with Sonic. With a frown, Applejack looked back up towards the stairs where her sister went, guilt weighing in her heart for how she was acting.
She let out a long sigh. Her friends would have to wait.
She had more urgent matters to attend to.
Near the lake of Canterlot City, Sunset, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash waited near the boat rentals on the Pier with their fishing supplies. After Rainbow Dash told them her plan, they were both skeptical and unsure at first, but considering that Sonic dodged their conversations time and again, they felt that they had no choice.
They've sent a group chat to their friends as an "emergency friendship meeting" to get Sonic to talk by fishing. After a half hour of waiting, every member of the Rainbooms, except for one, arrived at the scene.
"Thank you girls for coming," said Sunset with a grateful look. "I hope we didn't take up your time!"
"Nonsense, Darling!" Rarity assured with a smile. "We're your friends. We'll be happy to help… even if fishing isn't my thing."
"Yeah!" Pinkie popped up from behind Rarity with a cheerful grin. "Whatever problem we have, we'll tackle them together! And how can we possibly say no to something fun like fishing?"
"...I can think of a few things," Rarity mumbled.
"Where's Applejack?" Twilight asked, surveying the area.
"Just got a text from her," Rainbow Dash answered. "She said there is a problem back at home that she needs to resolve."
"Is she okay?" Fluttershy asked in concern. "What kind of problem?"
"Two words: Apple Bloom."
There were collective "ahs" around the pier.
"That's understandable," Rarity nodded before frowning. "My parents and I had a long talk to Sweetie Belle about her actions before my parents grounded her… it wasn't fun."
"Yeah… same with me," Rainbow Dash sighed. "Scoots' Aunts invited me over that night to have a chat with her before grounding her as well." She paused. "Well… more of me watching than talking. While they're generally nice and friendly people, but when they're angry…"
She then shuddered, reliving that moment.
"Well, while those three caused a big stir last night, I hope these two talked it out okay," Fluttershy said softly.
“Probably for the best,” Rarity frowned, thinking of her friend in pity. “The poor dear gets seasick easily.”
“Even on a lake?” Rainbow Dash questioned in disbelief.
“You’d be surprised,” Twilight stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "Anyway, is Sonic coming?"
Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yep! Sent him a message a while ago! Pretty much told him that we were doing a group activity near the lake, which is technically true. He won't suspect a thing!"
Sunset frowned. "Well let's hope that he won't bail before that happens."
"Hey! Here comes Sonic now!" Pinkie announced, pointing towards the woods near the lake.
The girls turned towards Pinkie’s direction to see a cloud of dirt and a blue blur from Canterlot's lake, heading right towards them. By the time they blinked, the blue hedgehog in question appeared standing right in front of them.
"Hey there, girls!" Sonic greeted with a small yawn escaping from his lips. "Sorry to keep you all waiting, I–"
Sonic paused the moment he spotted a boat near a dock, which was ready to be departed before slowly looked at each of the girls in the eyes.
"Uh… what is all this?" Sonic inquired.
“It’s a boat, silly!” Pinkie Pie chirped.
Sonic rolled his eyes. “I get that, but why am I standing near a boat?”
The girls glanced nervously at each other as they were coming up with a response. Luckily, Rainbow Dash answered for the group.
“Well, Sonic… we all haven’t hung out together for a while and were super stressed dealing with finals and pre-graduation, so I proposed we all have some fun by sailing around and fishing near the coast."
While the girls silently nodded in approval, Sonic raised his brow.
“You proposed this, Skittles?” Sonic asked in disbelief, wondering if this was a joke. “No offense, but I don’t see you as a fishing type.”
“Neither do we,” Sunset muttered quietly that only Twilight could hear.
“I get that a lot,” Rainbow Dash acknowledged with a nod. “While I may be a speedster, even I like some downtime every now and then.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie nodded eagerly. “Since Dashie was the one who came up with this idea, then it must be fun!”
Sonic narrowed his eyes. “If this is for everyone to have fun, then where’s Cowgirl?”
“Family emergency,” Twilight responded. “Don’t worry, they’re fine, but AJ said we can go without her.”
Sonic frowned in suspicion. While he agreed that he and his friends hadn't been hanging out due to the upcoming graduation and it was also understandable that the Cowgirl was having a family emergency, he felt that something strange was going on with his friends. And the fact that they're going fishing around the coast, despite them knowing that he can't swim, was a huge red flag for him.
“Listen… while it’s cool that you like fishing,” Sonic stated, raising his hands. “But in case you forget… water and blue hedgehogs don’t mix. I can’t even stay afloat!”
“Oh, no worries, we brought life vests!” Fluttershy assured, holding one of the vests to demonstrate. “So you should be safe, even if you can’t swim.”
“And a nautical dictionary, which I memorized so that we won’t get lost!” Twilight added with a proud smile, causing Sunset to smirk in amusement.
“...Twilight, we’re only going near the center of the lake!” Rainbow Dash deadpanned.
“Well, even so… I’m not interested," Sonic turned away, ready to run off again. “As I said, the water and I don’t mix. So if you excuse me–”
“Today is the anniversary of my Uncle’s departure!”
Sonic stopped himself from taking off and then he slowly turned around towards Rainbow Dash who had a forlorn expression.
“Ten years ago today… my uncle was summoned on a mission, which was meant for my dad, and… he hasn’t returned since. I… thought we can all do some fishing together not only for us to spend time before graduation… but also to pay tribute to…him.”
The girls stared at their friend with sorrow. Not long after their adventure to Manehatten, Rainbow Dash finally opened up to them about her missing uncle as she did with Sonic. While the girls felt pity towards her friend, they still supported her and let her know that they were there for her. They were surprised however that today happened to be the tenth year anniversary of Rainbow’s uncle leaving her behind, making their hearts break for her.
“Oh, Dashie…” Fluttershy whispered, her eyes wet from unshed tears.
As for Sonic, his heart was heavy as he looked at his friend with sad eyes. He was aware of Skittles’ story about her uncle ever since the talk they had eight months ago at the motel. Both of them can relate to losing the people that they care for and love at a young age, which was how they bonded in the first place. However, he had no idea that today was the anniversary of Skittles’ uncle's disappearance from her life. He suddenly felt guilty for nearly abandoning an event that was so important to his friend, even after she invited him.
“You… really wanted me to join you that much on this day?” Sonic asked softly.
Rainbow Dash nodded with a soft look. “Yeah… it would really mean a lot to me and the others.”
“We even got some caramel cream puff as snacks!” Pinkie added while holding a basket of various baked sweets to lighten the mood.
Sonic felt torn. He sensed that there was a trap with this so-called “fishing trip” and he wanted to bail out right then and there. But he was also aware of how important this activity was to Skittles’ remembrance of her Uncle. After his inner debate with himself, Sonic let out a resigned sigh.
‘I think I’m going to regret this!’ He thought.
Some time passed and the gang’s rental boat was floating in the middle of the lake. Most of the girls, including Sonic were busy fishing all around their boat with their own fishing poles, hoping to get a catch. None of them caught a single fish, but despite that, everyone had a relaxing time which was well-needed due to recent events.
“The ocean!” Pinkie monologed, staring out into the lake while holding her fishing pole. “Vast, mysterious, wild! We may never fully understand her, but nonetheless, she commands respect!” She grabbed one of her cream puffs and took a bite, her eyes brightening from its taste. “Oooh! Salted caramel!”
Sunset shook her head in amusement at Pinkie’s antics before focusing on her fishing. “I must say, this turned out to be a wonderful day!”
“Indeed!” Rarity commented, who was busy sunbathing on her chair instead of fishing. “And it’s a perfect day for some sunbathing for my skin. It’s looking a little pale as of late!”
Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow at her fashionista friend. “Rares… your skin is always pale!”
“I may not be the fishing type, but I just love seeing all these sea creatures out in the water just swimming by,” Fluttershy said softly as she waved to a school of fish who were swimming by.
“Too bad that none of them wanted to take a bite of our bait,” Twilight sighed, disappointed in another failed attempt to catch a fish. “I feel like I may have miscalculated on how to approach this fishing technique.”
Sunset gave Twilight a friendly bump on the shoulder. “Don’t worry if you didn’t catch any, Twilight. I haven’t caught anything either!” She then smiled. “The important thing is to have fun and spend time with your friends, right?”
Twilight nodded but smiled herself. “Right!”
Rainbow Dash smiled at her friend’s enthusiasm and turned to Sonic who had his back towards her. “Thank you again for coming, Sonic! With everything going on, we haven’t spent much time together as of late.”
“I agree!” Pinkie chirped. “We should all try to hang out more when we have the chance!” Pinkie then zoomed near Sonic. “Did you catch anything, Sonic? All I got was some seaweed, a twig, a shoe, and a half-eaten sandwich, which probably won’t be so tasty if it was in the water!”
When there was no response from the blue hedgehog, the girls became concerned.
“Uh… Sonic?” Sunset pressed gently.
They eventually heard a loud snore, coming from the hedgehog. Sonic’s body leaned back a bit revealing that he was fast asleep with some drool dripping from the corner of his mouth, causing Rarity to cringe somewhat. Despite that, Sonic was still hanging on to his fishing pole in both of his gloved hands.
“Aw… the poor dear, he must be exhausted,” Fluttershy exclaimed quietly.
“Gee… I wonder why?” Sunset remarked sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “We better wake him up.”
Before Sunset could walk up to Sonic, Fluttershy stopped her. “Um… I think we should let him rest a little longer.”
Sunset frowned. “Fluttershy, you know why we’re here in the first place!”
“I know, but I’m just saying that we should let him sleep a little longer,” Fluttershy reasoned gently. “Besides, wouldn’t it be better to talk to him when he wasn’t cranky?”
Before Sunset could argue, Rainbow Dash spoke up. “I think Flutters has a point. Maybe we should let him rest a little?”
While the girls were debating whether to wake Sonic or not, they failed to notice that Sonic’s pole felt a snag, getting a bite from a really big fish. Unfortunately, the tugging from this fish was really strong. And because Sonic was sleeping throughout this event, he was fully unprepared as the fish pulled him even harder until his whole body was pulled out of the boat. The girls did not notice him falling off the boat until they heard a loud splash, follow by some shouting from Sonic himself.
Sunset turned and gasped at the sight. “Sonic!”
“Hedgehog overboard!” Pinkie screamed, alerting the others.
“HELP!” Sonic cried, splashing his arms wildly. “IF I DIE, DON’T LOOK IN MY CLOSET!”
“It’s okay, we got you!” Twilight exclaimed as she grasped her geode necklace, activating her magic.
As the purple arua surrounded Sonic, he still waved his arms around in a panic. He calmed down the moment he was lifted from the water and slowly floated back on the boat towards Rarity’s chair. As soon as he sat on a chair, Fluttershy and Rarity gave the wet blue hedgehog a bunch of towels who was shivering badly due to the cold water.
“It’s okay, take it easy!” Fluttershy cooed, wrapping Sonic up like a burrito.
Sunset sighed in relief after checking Sonic before approaching him gently. “You’re okay?”
Sonic nodded. “J-just a little… c-cold, b-but I’m okay!”
“You know, Darling… you really should be taking lessons on how to swim so you won’t have to worry about drowning,” Rarity commented.
Sonic frowned indignantly. “Maybe if I have fins and gills, I’ll consider it, but I much preferred being on solid ground thank you very much!”
Sunset frowned at Sonic’s attitude. “Well, Sonic, now that you have a nap and a bath… I think it’s finally time we talk!”
Sonic blinked. “Uh… what about?”
Sunset rolled her eyes at his ignorance before getting straight to the point. “Sonic… we know you snuck out last night!”
Sonic’s eyes widened. “W-what!? How?”
Sunset crossed her arms. “Well, after our… memorable evening at school last night, I stopped at our local comic store to get you some new Filly-Second comics as promised.” Her eyes then narrowed. “But when I went up into your room as soon as we got home, well…”
After a long night at Canterlot High, the girls went their separate ways and headed back to their homes. Sunset and Twilight, however, decided to take a quick stop at the town's local comic shop and get a new issue of Filly-Second for Sonic. The two girls already arrived home and headed up the stairs to the attic, aka Sonic's room to deliver the comic. But as soon as they stepped into the attic, they noticed that something was strange with “Sonic”.
In front of them, “Sonic appeared to be holding a newspaper, which was upside down, wearing blue pants with white stripes, a different set of red sneakers instead of his usual ones, and white gloves that looked bulkier than usual.
“...what the?” Sunset muttered as she took a single step into the attic.
She suddenly felt her leg pull some string, followed by a sound of a tape player rewinding. A second later, they heard Sonic's voice, which was obviously pre-recording, coming from the “Sonic” in front of them.
“Whoa Whoa Whoa! Stop right there!” ‘Sonic’ spoke, waving his left hand somewhat. “I wouldn’t come any closer because this little hedgehog had way too many chili dogs!”
Before any of the girls could react to what they were seeing, “Sonic” began to make noises like he was passing gas.
“Oh no! Oh no! Pffffft! I’m so embarrassed! Get out of here, quick!”
However, as “Sonic” was talking, part of the newspaper folded back, revealing the rest of his body with a poorly drawn face, causing the girls to frown with a lack of amusement.
“Oh no! Here comes another one! Pfffft! Go now! Save yourself!”
The audio recording of Sonic began to loop, but the audio became deep and messed up due to the audio tape slowly breaking down. As “Sonic” collapsed to the side, Sunset, and Twilight looked at each other with deadpanned expressions.
“...he snuck out again,” they stated simultaneously.
“Ugh! I knew I should use real farts!” Sonic groaned, disappointed in himself that his plan didn’t work.
“...I don’t think that would’ve mattered,” Rarity muttered, a little disgusted at the thought of Sonic 'passing wind'.
“But an A for trying!” Pinkie chirped, earring looks from her friends. “What?! He really put a lot of effort into his little plan!”
Sunset rolled her eyes before she took out her phone and showed him an Equestria Daily news page right in front of his face with the bold headline said:
-MAYHEM IN SEADDLE-
Crime Doesn’t Spray!
Sonic stared at Sunset’s phone for what felt like a minute before he slowly looked up at Sunset’s unamused expression. He tried giving Sunset his sheepish look, but Sunset’s expression remained unchanged as she puts away her phone. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Sunset spoke in a strained tone.
“Sonic… how many times do we have to do this?”
“What? Cast your line and not catch anything? Seems like a billion!” Sonic joked while trying to play dumb, but Sunset saw through it.
“Sonic! You know what I’m referring to!” Sunset said impatiently before listing things with her fingers. “Lying, sneaking out, pretending to be the Masked Matter-Horn?”
“Blue Justice!” Sonic clarified with a smirk. “Trademark pending.”
“Whatever!” Sunset remarked, narrowing her eyes. She had enough of Sonic’s ridiculous game, so she decided to get to the point. “You’re being reckless, Sonic!”
Sonic let out an annoyed groan. “Oh, not this conversation again!”
Sunset flared her nose in aggravation. “Believe me, it’s not fun for me either! But if you continue to be irresponsible, we’re gonna keep having this conversation!”
The exchange between the two of them made the girls feel uneasy. Before Twilight could try to calm them down, Sonic interjected.
“How is it irresponsible to use my power?” Sonic argued.
“Sonic! You destroyed an entire city block!” Sunset scolded, nearly shoving her phone at Sonic’s face again. “Their streets were practically underwater!”
“That block was already messed up! Who cares!?” Sonic argued before pushing Sunset’s phone aside and turning away. “Look, I stopped a robbery!” Sonic posed proudly. “I was a hero!”
“No! You put a lot of people in danger!" Sunset yelled, causing everyone including Sonic to jump from her angry tone. "And that is not what a hero does!”
All was silent on the boat until Sonic turned back around with a sigh.
“You’re supposed to be my friend… stop trying to be my mom!”
The girls winced sharply at Sonic’s words.
“...Ouch!” Pinkie muttered sadly, feeling bad for her friend.
As for Sunset, her anger immediately vanished from Sonic’s statement and was replaced with a hurtful frown. While Sonic was technically true, something from the way he said was like a knife stabbing through her heart. And worse of all, for a brief moment, instead of seeing Sonic in front of her, she was seeing herself as a filly while yelling at her former mentor with almost those similar words.
“You're supposed to be my mentor! …stop trying to act like my mom!”
Guilt weighed in Sunset's heart from the memory. 'Was this how she felt when I treated her that way? I was the worst!'
As for Sonic, he felt guilty after seeing Sunset’s hurt expression. Sonic looked away with a sigh. “Look… I can take care of myself!”
The girls don’t know what to do as they watched the two of them in concern and uncertainty. There was so much tension throughout the boat, it nearly suffocated them. Rainbow Dash's eyes were back in forth between a stubborn but guilted hedgehog and a saddened and hurt friend. While Rainbow Dash was usually a carefree person, she hated seeing her friends having a conflict and felt like she needed to do something to help. After gathering up her thoughts, she softly cleared her throat.
"Listen Sonic… I know Sunset can be a pain in the butt!" Sunset glared at Rainbow Dash for that statement, but Rainbow Dash ignored her. "She was right… but I also understand that you want to use your power to do awesome things like kicking butt or putting it to good use!”
Sonic cocked an eyebrow at Rainbow’s statement.
“Believe me, I do!” She insisted. “But you have to understand that there is more than just kicking butt! You have to consider how you use your powers without having anyone be caught in a crossfire."
Rainbow Dash briefly glanced at Sunset fondly before continuing.
"A good friend once taught me this very important lesson: stop looking for a problem when there isn't one. You just have to be patient and the problem will eventually come to you… and I'm usually an impatient person half the time, so that said something."
Rarity smirked. "Half the time!? More like all the time!"
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes but smiled. "Oh, haha!"
"Rainbow Dash has a point," Sunset gave Rainbow Dash her grateful smile before continuing. "And Sonic… taking care of yourself… is not what being a hero is about. It's about taking responsibility for other people. And right now, whether you wanna hear this or not, you are still just a kid. You got some more growing up to do before you're ready to be a hero. Trust me, when I tell you, there will come a time when your powers will be needed. But you don't choose that moment. That moment chooses you.”
Sonic stared both at Sunset and Rainbow Dash with an awed expression. “Woah… look at you!” He quickly checked his arms. “Look, I just got-- I just got goosebumps!” He paused, before giving both girls his knowing look. “Wait a second! …did you two steal that from one of your video games or any of the Daring Do movies?”
Sunset shook her head. “No, it's… from somepo– somebody else.” She let out a longing sigh, thinking about her formal mentor. “She is very special to me… which I have taken for granted.”
“And in my case, it was from my uncle,” Rainbow Dash added, smiling fondly at the thought of her uncle. “It came from his boat on this very lake. He would always try and steer me in the right direction.”
“And that's what the girls and I always try to do with you,” Sunset explained in a much gentle tone now. She then looked at Sonic in the eye. “So, until your moment arrives, I want you to work on being a little more responsible. Okay… for me?”
Sonic thought for a moment, considering Sunset’s words. "Okay… for you Equestrian Girl," he smiled, raising his right hand. "High five on it!"
Sunset smiled in amusement as she raised her right hand and the two of them then high-fived.
"Yeah! Equestrian Girl and the Blue Blur are back at it again!" Sonic cheered.
“Hey, what am I? Chopped liver?” Rainbow Dash joked.
Sonic chuckled, raising his right hand. “Put 'er there, Skittles!”
As the two of them high-fived, the girls smiled in relief.
"Oh, thank goodness!" Fluttershy sighed with a smile. "I'm so glad that everything worked out well."
"That remains to be seen, Darling," said Rarity. "But I suppose all wells that ends well!"
"It's so good to see our friends reconcile!" Pinkie chirped, wiping her tear. "It always warms my heart!"
Pinkie then heard choked-up noises, coming from Twilight who stood next to her. "Aw, are you crying Twilly? You can have one of my tissues!"
Twilight shook her head. "No, I'm not crying, Pinkie! I'm coughing." Twilight coughed a few times again at a much louder volume, and the girls winced from that. "Agh! My dang allergies are acting up already!"
"Oh, dear!" Rarity commented, concerned for her friend. "You want me to give you something for your allergies, Darling?"
"Thanks, but no need," Twilight said politely as she took out a pill from her pocket. "I've already got my medicine from Cadance earlier."
Twilight placed her pill in her mouth and then took a sip from a bottle of water. She swallowed the pill and let out a relieved sigh. "Ahhh… much better!"
Before Rarity could comment on it, they heard some choking sounds from the boat’s engine. They turned to see Rainbow Dash trying to turn the boat’s key a few times, only to hear the same choking sound again and again. After about the sixth time, Rainbow Dash banged the boat’s steering wheel in frustration.
"Aw, nuts! The engine's busted!" Rainbow Dash huffed.
“Oh my, that does sound bad!” Fluttershy frowned.
Twilight opened the side panel of the control panel and frowned at the sight. “Looks bad too! I don’t think even my knowledge of a six-hundred-page online emergency handbook will help me fix this one!”
“Wish Applejack is here to fix it," Rarity sighed.
“Me too,” Sunset frowned. “But there’s nothing we can do from here. Guess I'll have to call the coast guard."
"No need ladies!" Sonic assured with a cocky smile. "I got this!"
Before they could ask what he meant by that, Sonic leaped off the boat, much to their shock. But Sonic managed to hold on to the back of the boat and leaned against it.
"Hang on!" Sonic announced loudly as he began to rev his feet against the water. "Speedboat!"
With his super speed and strength, Sonic was able to push the boat across the water toward the coast. Unfortunately, Sonic pushed the boat so fast, it caused the girls to stumble over and some even held on to the side of the boat for their lives.
"Wait! Sonic!" Sunset screamed.
The girls screamed all the while in fear, all except for Pinkie Pie who cheered loudly with glee like a kid on a ride in Equestria Land.
"Weeeeeeeeeeeee!"
Ever since her argument with Applejack, Apple Bloom was hiding in her bedroom, crying her eyes out. She doesn’t know how much time she has lost and knew that she’ll be in trouble for skipping out on her chores, but she doesn’t care. What her sister said to her earlier was harsh and hurt her a lot. But the worst part of it was that her sister was right, as much as this pained her.
She didn’t think things through with her plan to throw everyone their ultimate pre-graduation party. She never thought about the possibility of her plan going wrong once they did it. And on top of that, she and her friends almost died in that fire. She couldn't even imagine how devastated her sister will be, or her whole family for that matter after she had perished. And even if she survived but not others, how will she face Sweetie Belle if her sister is the one who has perished? Or anyone else who has lost their friends and family?
Or even… herself?
Apple Bloom was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. She frowned when she heard her sister’s voice coming from behind the door in a softer tone.
“Um… Apple Bloom?”
“Go away!” Apple Bloom shouted tearfully, burying her face into her pillow. “Ah want to be left alone!”
Applejack sighed from behind the door. “Apple Bloom, Ah… Ah just want to talk.”
Apple Bloom sniffed. "So that you can yell at me again!?”
"No! No, Ah… Ah won't yell at ya again. Ah promise!” Applejack assured gently. “Ah just want us to have a proper conversation."
Apple Bloom lifted her head towards the door for a moment, before turning away again with a scoff. "Ah still don't want to talk to ya!"
"That's fine… you can just listen," Applejack offered. "Can ya open the door… please?"
Apple Bloom paused for a moment. A part of her stubbornly wanted to tell Applejack to leave or to keep ignoring her, but the other part of her was telling her to just hear her out and get their “conversation” over with. After a brief war within herself, Apple Bloom sighed as she got up from her bed, power walked towards her door to unlock it, and then quickly got back on her bed with her back towards her door.
Apple Bloom heard her door open but still refused to turn around and look at her sister. She remained looking away even as Applejack gently made her way next to her bed.
"...Do ya mind if Ah sit here?" Applejack asked softly, gesturing towards the bed.
Apple Bloom shrugged wordlessly, patting a spot next to her.
As Applejack took her seat beside her, Apple Bloom still refuse to face her sister.
There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment. For Apple Bloom, her guilt, anger, and sadness are what held her back from saying anything. And even so, she doesn’t even know what to say after their “pleasant conversation” from this morning and doesn’t know how to make it better without making everything worse. Applejack didn’t say anything yet either, but Apple Bloom suspected that she was taking her time to gather up her words before giving Apple Bloom another lecture. Apple Bloom waited and anticipated whatever Applejack was going to say in addition to what she did wrong from last night and this morning.
But instead, Applejack started with a different opening.
"Ah see ya looking at our old family photo… back when Ma and Pa were around."
Apple Bloom blinked at her sister’s words, caught off guard.
Her mind had become fully aware once she realized that she was staring at her picture frame without even realizing it until now. The picture itself was a family picture, which took place in front of a combined Apple and a Pear tree. There was Applejack and Big Mac as kids, a younger Granny Smith, and most importantly, there was herself as a baby, which was held by both her Ma and Pa… back when they were still around. From the looks of their smiling faces, it was a very happy memory.
Applejack let out a small chuckle. "Heh. Dat was my favorite memory of them, and I'm sure it's yours and Big Mac's too. We all had a lovely picnic near their tree, which is the same tree where they got married. Ma even made us a bunch of Apple Fritters for the picnic. She warned me not to eat too much of them, but they tasted so good, Ah had over a dozen of them. The next thing Ah knew, Ah was having a tummy ache and Ah kept throwing up quicker than a bird who had a feast of worms."
She paused for a moment before sighing solemnly.
"Ah still miss them. Even now… it hurts to be without them around. While Ah was just a kid, part of me believed that it was mah fault that Ah got sick fer eating those fritters. They had granny watch over me while they went out of town to get me medicine. They've been gone for so long… we were worried sick. It wasn't until the next morning that the cops arrived at our door. They say that there was an accident… and that they…"
Applejack choked up, trying to prevent herself from crying. With a shuddering breath, she continued.
"Ah was always told that it wasn’t my fault… but Ah couldn't help but think that it was. Even so, I've sworn to never lose another one Ah love again."
Apple Bloom finally turned to look at her sister and her eyes widened when she saw that Applejack had tears in her eyes.
"When you and your friends were trapped in our burning school… Ah had never been so terrified in my life! Ah really thought Ah lost ya…" her voice wavered, tears trailing down her cheeks. "Ah don't want to lose you or anybody… like how we lost our parents. If anything happens to you Ah… Ah–"
Not wanting to see her sister in pain anymore, Apple Bloom suddenly flew herself over to Applejack and hugged her tightly.
"Applejack! Ah'm so sorry!" Apple Bloom sobbed, her tears soaking through her sister's shirt. "Ah didn't mean to cause this whole mess! And ah didn't mean to scare ya! Ah just wanted to help out giving ya and your friends the fun y'all truly deserved! Honest!"
"Ah know, Sugarcube… Ah know," Applejack soothed softly, hugging her sister lovingly. "And Ah'm sorry for yelling at ya so harshly! Ah can't help but remember what happened last night."
They broke their hug but Applejack looked her sister in the eye. "When Ah didn't see ya come out of the building during the fire… Ah couldn't help but fear for the worst. Ah haven't been so scared of losing ya since… since–"
"When Dr. Robotnik held us up over the roof of that building in Manehatten?" Apple Bloom guessed.
"...yeah," Applejack confirmed. "Now, Ah know you were trying to help giving back the fun to us seniors, but ya gotta understand that despite that you had good intentions, what ya did was reckless. There are better ways to solve this, you know."
Apple Bloom huffed. "AJ, you know we tried. Every time we complained, we were ignored. It's been this way ever since Spoiled Rich became our new Principal and made our lives miserable! And as graduation day is approaching, Ah… Ah felt that Ah had to do something! So Ah thought throwing that secret party was the only way!"
Applejack frowned. "Well, I'm not exactly happy with Mrs. Rich's role either, but it ain't worth getting yourself in trouble and setting our school on fire."
"Ah don't care what kind of punishment that Devil Lady gave me, it's still not fair that she took away that pre-graduation party! That day was meant for you and your friends, not for her!"
Applejack cocked an eyebrow. "Devil Lady?"
"Sonic's idea!" Apple Bloom explained. "If yer going to tell me to stop calling her that, then Ah'm afraid that's ain't going to happen!"
"...who said that I want you to stop?" Applejack smirked before becoming serious. "But jokes aside, Ah understand yer frustration and also discouraging, but you can't get involved in something big like this. The only thing you can do is to let Vice Principal Luna handle this and have a little faith."
"But what good does that do!" Apple Bloom argued. "She'll just get away with it like she always does! And why can't Ah be involved?"
Applejack sighed tiredly. "Because, Apple Bloom, to put it nicely… yer just a kid. And quite frankly, you shouldn't be worried about this stuff."
Apple Bloom threw her arms up. "But Ah'm not a kid! Ah'm fourteen years old and I'm a freshman in high school!"
"That may be so, but you still have a lot of growing up to do!" Applejack said sternly. "Especially after what happened last night!"
Apple Bloom opened her mouth to argue but then she slumped her shoulders in shame after remembering about that night.
Applejack sighed after seeing her sister's upset face and draped her arm over Apple Bloom's shoulder. "Look, what Ah'm trying to say is… that every decision or action we make, whether big or small… always has consequences. And they can affect not just you… but also everyone around ya. So until yer ready to grow up, Ah want you to really think about what you are planning and try to be more responsible before you make a decision. Do you understand?"
Apple Bloom paused for a moment, considering her sister's words before nodding. "Ah… Ah understand. Ah'll try to be more responsible."
Applejack nodded. "That's all Ah needed to hear." She then smiled. "Are we good?"
Apple Bloom smiled back. "We're good!"
"Good!" Applejack hugged her sister who also hugged her back.
"So does this mean that my grounding is reduced?" Apple Bloom asked.
Applejack chuckled. "Not a chance!"
