The Last Night
Babs Seed had never tasted apple pie before. Applejack told no tales when she said she could bake up everything from fritters to pies in a blink of an eye. She scarfed down her first serving like it was the last piece of apple pie left in Equestria. (Celestia would tolerate such an extinction, as long as there was still some apple cake left.)
“Heh, heh, heh.” Applejack chuckled, watching Babs devour the pastry. “You sure do like apple pie, don’t ya, Babs Seed?”
“Yes, ma’am,” she muttered between bites, searching for every morsel and crumb left on the plate and shoveling the dessert into her mouth.
“Applejack makes the best apple pie in all o' Ponyville!” Apple Bloom chipped in, smiling proudly at her sister, who promptly blushed and averted her eyes.
Even the soft-spoken Big Macintosh agreed. “Eeyup!”
“Now what’s that now, young’un?” Granny Smith mumbled, grabbing her ear trumpet.
“SHE LIKES THE PIE, GRANNY!” Apple Bloom shouted into the antique instrument.
“Ooh, okay, then,” Granny Smith said, her pupils going wild from the vibrations. The old mare put a hoof on Babs’ shoulder and smiled. “What are ya waitin’ fer? There’s more where that came from! We need ta put some mo' meat on them bones!”
Babs felt her tail swish to cover her (in her mind, at least) ridiculously large flank. … Dat’s the opposite o' what dey say in Manehatten.
Apple Bloom noticed and hugged Babs Seed. “Aww, Babs, don’t be shy. Granny’s jus' old-fashioned like that. Ah think you’re great jus' the way ya are!” Babs Seed blushed and released her bobtail from its hiding place.
Applejack nodded, again unable to contain her chuckles. “Aww, ain’t that sweet? See, Ah knew you two would get along jus' great!”
Big Macintosh cut another two slices of the pie, one on Babs’ plate and a larger on his. “Eeyup! Family’s what’s most important, after all.”
“Yes… family..."
Babs Seed took another bite of her pie, slower now, observing the dinner table before her. The four members of the Apple Family varied greatly in appearance, mannerisms, personality, and prowess.
Big Macintosh, the stallion of the house, was quiet and even-tempered, although he spoke with a wise and cutting tongue when necessary. He was strong, powerful, and masculine. However, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had caught him cuddling “Smarty Pants” more than once, revealing that he wasn’t such a flat character after all.
Granny Smith, the matriarch and elder, was, as Greyhoof would say, “getting too old for this,” but she kept on anyway. Her ways were strange and foreign, even within her own clan, but she was welcomed and loved dearly, looked to for assistance in times of crisis and chaos.
Applejack—the Element of Honesty—adored her grandmother and brother, although she, too, was their contrast. Applejack maintained that humility was a virtue, though she had let her pride drag her down at times. Always eager to help somepony, hard-working, forgiving, and wise, Applejack would do the Apple Family name proud, keeping the family farm running like a well-oiled machine.
Last, but not least, Apple Bloom. The youngest of the clan, the blossom that was beginning to discover itself and unfurl, was the most unique of all. Cutiemark or none, Apple Bloom was talented in many aspects. Babs Seed still couldn’t believe that the Cutie Mark Crusaders could construct not just one, but two Harvest Day’s Parade floats on their own, and one within a matter of hours.
Unlike Babs, Apple Bloom didn’t let her lack of a cutiemark stop her or change her behavior. No, she just plowed through the days, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo loyal to her side, all three of them searching for meaning in a vast world.
Time after time, Apple Bloom took her hoof to a new hobby, sport, or activity, and would glance upon her flank for destiny’s imprint. Nothing. But that didn’t halt her journey. That’s what Cutie Mark Crusaders did; they continued in the face of their own uncertainty.
Dat, Babs Seed thought, is what true courage is.
“Ya alright, Babs?” Applejack asked, seeing her young cousin staring blankly at her empty plate.
Babs shook herself away from the depths of her observations. “Uh, yeah! Jus' spacin’ out, I guess…”
“Hmm.” Applejack eyed her suspiciously. “You sure yer okay?”
“Do ya want some mo' pie?” Apple Bloom held a piece out to her.
“Um, no, I’m fine… I’m jus' gettin’ tired, I guess.”
“Tired?!” Apple Bloom groaned. “But… but, the sun hasn’t even gone down yet!”
“Y’all have had a long day. Maybe it’s time fer bed.” Applejack rose from the table and began to put the dirty plates in the sink. “Come on, y’all, help me clean up the kitchen. Then it’s straight ta bed fer you two!”
In unison, both foals rolled their eyes and mumbled, "Fine," to the laughter of the adults.
~
Apple Bloom set to work making the spot on the floor she’d called “bed” for the past week and half comfortable, fluffing the coarse hay with her hooves and straightening the newspaper out of its tangled mess.
Babs Seed was helping Big Macintosh check the barn before lights out on the farm. Normally, Apple Bloom would have leapt at the task and would be out under the slowly setting sun with her cousin and brother, but several thoughts pressed heavy on her mind and ordered her to retreat upstairs.
Apple Bloom knew that she didn’t have to sleep on the floor—she was sure Babs wouldn’t mind if she could, possibly, sleep in her own bed for a night—but, ultimately, Apple Bloom didn’t mind. It was a trivial thing, anyway, and Babs Seed was her guest. A good host must make sure her guest is taken care of, first things first.
In spite of their mutual confessions of wrongdoing, and Babs's initiation and inclusion into the CMC’s bumbling little group (cape and all), Apple Bloom still couldn’t help but feel awful about what she mentally marked as “the parade incident”. Ponyville residents would be talking about it for days (if not weeks). Although Babs would be back home in Manehatten, the whispers and laughter would plague Apple Bloom with guilt for some time. She hadn’t felt this bad about anything she had done since the wretched “Gabby Gums incident”.
Apple Bloom made a glaring mental note to stop getting into situations that later needed to be referred to as “incidents”.
“At least Babs won’t be here while Ponyville is still laughin’ 'bout it, the poor gal,” she offered her guilty conscience, the bed on the floor at long last comfortable enough to her liking. She laid her head on the pillow and snuggled into the newspaper. “She don’t deserve ta be made fun o' like that. She’s got enough on her plate at home…”
Just about to close her eyes, Apple Bloom’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of little hooves trotting up the stairs. She silently cursed her hesitation. As the door to her bedroom began to creak open, part of her wanted to feign sleep and forego any conversation with her cousin. She wasn’t exactly sure why. The other half of her, was more forceful, and it rolled her over to smile at Babs Seed as she entered.
“Hey, Babs...”
“Apple Bloom… why are youze sleepin’ on the floor?” Babs asked, surprised by the familiar sight of the makeshift bed. “Youze can sleep in your bed, youze know." A forehoof dug at the unforgiving wooden planks below. Babs needed a new nervous tic to replace her compulsive flank-covering. The floor is too cold fo' youze anyway… why did youze let me kick youze outta youze bed ta begin wit'?
“Oh, heh heh, um..." Apple Bloom awkwardly laughed. “Well, since it’s yer last night here, Ah figured ya could go ahead an' have the bed again. Ah don’t mind, really. Ya have that long train ride tomorrowa an' all. Sleeper cabs ain’t real comfy, are they?”
Train ride. Tomorrowa. Much too soon.
“They’re alright, I s’pose,” Babs said quietly.
“Ya see? So go ahead, Babs. You can sleep there again tonight. Ah'm not gonna make ya sleep on the floor.” Her cousin put on the bravest, most convincing smile she could generate from the depths of her white lie.
Babs sighed and shook her head. “Alright, Apple Bloom, iffa youze say so.”
Babs Seed climbed into Apple Bloom’s bed as she had every night she had been in Ponyville. This time, it felt wrong.
Babs had been a bully, a brute, an unrelenting victimizer to Apple Bloom and her friends. She had been little better than Card Slinger and the other rotten foals back home. Unable to endure more nightmares here in Ponyville, where she’d sought refuge from her troubles at the Orange Family Mansion, Babs Seed had sided with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. The spoiled brats had little on their side but words, and would have been eaten alive by the Manehatten streets. The city would’ve chomped them down, accessories and all, with a smile on its demonic face.
Her cousin and her friends had tried to welcome her, to make her feel wanted and needed—desires she dreamed of fulfilling—but had brushed it off, all due to some opposition from those spoiled little brats.
An'… an' I broke Turner’s promise.
Settling into Apple Bloom’s plush bed, Babs Seed was ashamed of her failure to uphold her savior’s end of the bargain the most.
Things were good between Babs and the CMC, the three fillies thankfully accepting her offer of a “reset”. All her sins had been forgiven and forgotten with a long list of synonyms and lots of erratic drumbeats, but that didn’t change the heavy feelings in her heart.
Glancing over at her cousin, Babs felt shame burning within her. She has ta sleep on dat cold floor, all ‘cause o' youze, ‘cuz she feels sorry fo' youze. An' youze the one who made her an' her friends miserable, all cause youze got youze own issues ta solve!
She looked at the ceiling, searching for a pattern among the wood grain. All of the heaviness that had been dragging her eyelids to the ground while she performed night-checks with Big Mac had disappeared. Babs Seed was awake, with no intents of sleeping, guilty thoughts swarming in her brain like the Windigoes of legend.
A thought came to her mind, and left a small blush on her cheeks in its wake. Maybe…?
“Apple Bloom?”
Apple Bloom rolled over, her eyes bearing no sign of fatigue either. “Yes, Babs?” she whispered back in the dark.
“Could youze… um…” Babs dug one of her forehooves into the covers next to her. “Could youze sleep wit' me ta-night? I, um… I don’t wanna sleep alone.”
If they had been in the clubhouse, Scootaloo would have flicked on a light above Apple Bloom’s head.
“Sure, Babs,” she replied sweetly, rising from her makeshift bed and climbing next to her cousin under the covers.
“Heh, thanks.” Babs turned and faced the other wall as the other foal settled in behind her. She gasped as ice brushed roughly against her flank. “Ahh! Youze back hooves are freezin’!”
Giggling, Apple Bloom retracted her hindhooves. “Sorry, cuz. How 'bout this?” Apple Bloom snuggled in closer to her, wrapping her forehooves around Babs' shoulder.
Now, there was that heat in her cheeks again. What did it mean?
“Um, Apple Bloom…” Babs Seed muttered awkwardly, her voice trailing off as she felt Apple Bloom snuggling into her back and shoulders.
“What is it, Babs?”
“What are youze doin’?”
“Just gettin' comfy, that’s all.” The twang in Apple Bloom’s voice was silenced, giving way to a softer, gentler tone, smooth and musky.
What the hay is she doin’?
Babs shifted awkwardly on her side of the bed. She had been to a sleepover once before, for a classmate’s slumber party, but all of the guests had slept on the floor. Citrus, though affectionate, almost never slept in the same bed as her, at least not for a long time. This stay at Sweet Apple Acres had been one of the few nights in a long time where Babs Seed did not sleep alone in a room.
“Apple Bloom…” She felt her cousin’s breath upon her neck, creating a strange nervousness gnawing in her belly that she didn’t recognize. Yet, the anxiety coupled with the guilt, churning it into a strange concoction that demanded to slip past her vocal cords. She could not stay silent and resist.
“There’s summat I need ta tell youze.”
Apple Bloom had found so far, in her short, relatively peaceful life that the particular combination of words her cousin had just uttered usually led to trouble, or, at the very least, a long conversation.
She gulped and replied, “Well, Ah think ya can go ahead an' tell me.”
Babs flipped herself so that she was face-to-face with Apple Bloom, snouts mere inches from each other. Anxiety became a wild foal in her chest, hooves pounding upon the cobblestones, causing her heart rate to increase. In the dark, she hoped Apple Bloom could not see the beads of sweat forming on her forehead. A moment passed between them in silence.
Come on, now, Babs, youze need ta start talkin’.
Carrying on in spite of the thundering hooves in her chest, Babs said, “I still feel real awful ‘bout everythin’ I did ta youze an' youze friends. I mean… it ain’t right, youze know? It’s not youze fault what happens ta me back home in Manehatten.”
Babs Seed paused briefly, gulping down painful memories. In her mind, she was lying on the street again, Fencer holding her mane taut…
No, not dat, not now.
Apple Bloom said nothing, waiting patiently for her to finish.
Shaking her head, Babs continued, “An' youze didn’t deserve how I treated youze, how I made youze lives miserable fo' damn near two weeks. An' I know I’m a Cutie Mark Crusada an' all, now, but I still… I don’t deserve ta be one, much less youze cousin, o' youze friend, Apple Bloom…” A tear formed in her eye and threatened to take the plunge down her cheek, even as she felt more swelling behind it.
No, please, not now… Babs Seed squeezed her eyes, trying to will it all away, refusing to let anypony see her cry again.
Apple Bloom found a spark of bravery within her and rolled her guest gently onto her back, then climbed on top of her. Babs turned an even darker shade of red, her heart and breath missing a beat.
Babs Seed's mind went blank; she had never been this close to another pony before.
Apple Bloom...
“Tell me 'bout home,” Apple Bloom whispered.
“Huh?”
“Tell me… 'bout home. What life is like fer you there.”
Babs hesitated before answering. Can I tell her these kinda things? Can I tell her all o' it? Will she laugh at me? A devilish pony appeared on her mental shoulder, shaking his head disapprovingly. There were some secrets that should just be kept in the dark where they belong.
And, yet…
Babs Seed looked back into her cousin’s eyes, searching the windows of her soul for deceit. She had grown skilled at reading other ponies, finding what intentions lay beyond their pupils. Apple Bloom had beautiful, red-orange eyes, a shade of which was only slightly brighter than Babs’s own fur. They were connected by genes, but only slightly—one-eighth a part of the other. Nevertheless, Babs Seed found it comforting to see a part of herself in another pony, and to have that part look right back at her.
In those eyes, she detected no malice.
But that still left the question: should she speak? She had lied to Citrus Blossom, or, at least, omitted the truth. She had kept quiet about what basically amounted to assault, had not been the snitch she accused Apple Bloom of being, not wasting time on the corrupt law enforcement ponies back home. She had gone this long with silence. Perhaps silence would serve her now.
An angel appeared on her mental shoulder opposite the devil. The angel looked a lot like Turner, and whispered telepathically into her flattened ear, Maybe it’s time fo' some windows ta be opened… time ta let the air in…. don’t youze think, kid?
At that thought, Babs Seed whimpered as she could hold a tear back no longer, the glistening pearl slipping down her cheek.
Apple Bloom wiped Babs's tear with her forehoof and whispered softly into her ear, sending a chill down her spine, “Ya don’t have ta talk 'bout it if ya don’t want ta, Babs…”
“No…” Babs whispered back, her voice shaking, “It’s jus'… I… I…”
She couldn’t finish. She felt her breath being stolen from her by some demon in her chest, leaving her to shallow, ragged inhalations and rapid exhalations. Trying her best to keep her breathing even, Babs willed herself to focus, to do her mental exercise, to keep herself conscious.
Worriedly, Apple Bloom wrapped her forehooves around Babs' neck, pressing her body against her. She held her tight, whispering soothing words into ears as her cousin continued to hyperventilate. Apple Bloom had no idea what to do or say, so she stayed silent, stroking Babs's back until she began to breathe normally.
Feeling Babs Seed come back down to Equestria, Apple Bloom loosened her grasp as she embraced her. She gently moved the long strand of red-and-pink mane out of her beautiful green eyes, the pools of emerald shining with the flood they could barely hold.
“Ah'm all ears fer ya now, Babs, if you want ta. Ah'm here fer ya.”
Babs Seed surprised herself and threw her hooves around Apple Bloom, pulling her closer in the darkness. She felt a new and brief boldness, even as her heartbeat quickened beneath her coat. Strength came to her from somewhere deep in her heart, urged by the little Turner-angel, which whispered in her mind, What betta time than now, kid? What betta time than now?
The tears rushed through the gates with a vengeance, and Apple Bloom wiped them all. Babs Seed’s story had no coherent flow, no meter or rhyme or reason. It was just her story. And she told it all, everything that she could remember, about the bullies. About Card Slinger, Lucky Toss, and Fencer’s crude knife. About Citrus Blossom and her failed attempts to reach her. About her parents, their absences both physical and emotional. About Manehatten itself, its mean streets, cut-throat attitudes, and the empty space that dominated the Orange Family Mansion.
Apple Bloom listened all the while, wiping her tears away, saying nothing, feeling her own heart sink and break with Babs Seed’s.
At some point in those long moments, during that longest of nights, Babs Seed felt fresh, new tears from above mixing with hers, and could not help but pause and smile.
“W-w-what are ya smilin’ 'bout, silly filly?” Apple Bloom asked, trying to stop the flood of tears that were roaring at the gates of her own eyelids. She wasn’t sure if she could handle her own sorrow alongside everything else.
“Youze… youze was cryin’ wit' me,” Babs answered, feeling a slight grin light upon her face.
“Well… o' course Ah was! You don’t deserve all o' that, Babs.”
Babs wished there was a hard surface nearby, so she could fiddle her hooves on it.
“Ah, but, yes, I do, Apple Bloom. I… Dey’re right. Dey’re all right. I’m… I’m… worthless.”
A forehoof silenced her lips. “No. Don’t ya ever think that.”
Another forehoof, this one stronger, pushed the first away. “Why not? It’s true.”
“No, Babs Seed, don’t—“
“Don’t what? Believe everythin’ I’ve been told since I can remember?!” Babs felt the foal in her chest start to awaken again, quickening, releasing adrenaline-laced blood through her muscles.
Apple Bloom frowned and began stroking her cousin’s mane, trying to distract her. “Ah’m sure that’s not true, Babs.”
“Iffa it’s not,” Babs Seed snapped back, Apple Bloom flinching back at the anger in her voice, “why does everypony say it ta me, in mo' ways than one?”
Oh, youze done it now.
Sobs wracked Babs Seed's body, her deepest fear and insecurity revealed. The first cut is the deepest, and this was, indeed, the first one she had experienced. She knew that her parents would never explicitly say it, but she knew it was true, all the same. Babs Seed was not their favorite foal, or their favorite anything. She had no interest in becoming the mare they wanted; she had heard their conversations.
Apple Bloom's head swam, holding Babs tighter to herself. She had no idea what to do, as sob after sob cut through the dark night like an unrelenting knife. Her heart broke at each cry. Apple Bloom had no words to calm Babs Seed, but she knew she had to do something to calm her down, to give peace, relief, reassurance and love to the beautiful foal in her hooves.
A thought came to her, and her cheeks blushed bright red in its wake.
“Babs Seed,” Apple Bloom whispered, her voice smooth as still waters.
Swallowing her tears, Babs looked into her eyes and whispered back, “W-w-what?”
Babs Seed realized that Apple Bloom was close to her. So close, so close, I could… She blushed crimson in the darkness. No, dat’s not… I….
She could feel Apple Bloom's exhalations upon her face and her heartbeat pounding against hers, matching the speed of the foal thundering down the cobblestones of her heart. She could hear her breathing quicken in time with her own.
The moment seemed to freeze in time, no longer bound by the laws of Luna, Celestia, Mother Galaxia or even Discord in all his chaos.
Apple Bloom pressed her lips to Babs Seed’s own.
~
Babs Seed was devoid of all thoughts anymore. She felt warmth spreading through her, slowing her mind and empowering her hooves. Cold fire, molten ice filled her veins. She could do anything, and she was safe. In this moment, she was right where she belonged.
Babs Seed kissed Apple Bloom back, just as hard.
~
The two fillies swam up from the depths of their first kiss, coming up for air from an ocean of mindlessness, warmth, and need.
Apple Bloom realized what she had done and began to panic. “Babs! Ah... I’m so sorry! I’m, I’ll, Ah, uh..." She fumbled, blushing furiously, beginning to raise herself off Babs Seed, beside herself. Oh, she would be in so much trouble…
Strong hooves yanked her back down, landing on Babs Seed roughly, chest-to-chest.
“Wait… Apple Bloom…” Babs Seed said, her face reddening in spite of herself.
Now she was trapped. “Babs, Ah, um, well, you were cryin’ an' Ah didn’t know what ta do, an' Ah jus' wanted ta make ya feel better so, Ah, um—“
Babs Seed took Apple Bloom's muzzle in her forehooves and kissed her again, softer this time.
She felt Apple Bloom melt in her hooves, her body go slack. Then, she came back to Equestria again and met a pair of soft green eyes with her own, feeling strong hooves wrap around her waist.
“Dat was ‘thank-youze’,” Babs Seed whispered, smiling gently. “Because… youze did make me feel betta.”
Returning the embrace, tension ebbing away from her, Apple Bloom nuzzled Babs Seed’s neck, breathing in the sweet scent of her fur, committing it to memory. She counted the passing minute, expecting in any second to wake up in a pile of hay on the floor.
The two fillies laid there in silence, the moon beginning to rise, minds wiped clean, tears dried. For what seemed like an eternity, they shared the moment, not sure if it was real, not sure if it would last... just feeling right.
Sometime between now and never, Apple Bloom finally spoke.
“So… yer not mad?”
“Why… why would I be mad?”
“Because…”
“Because why?”
“Ah… Ah…”
“Youze…?”
“… Ah really like you, Babs.”
“…”
“…”
“I really like youze, too.”