The Dreadful Poets’ Society
Chapter 1: Putting Faith in a Pegasus
A collective groan echoed throughout the school house one Thursday morning. Fillies and colts alike let their faces fall flat onto the hard surface of their desks. Some buried their faces into their hooves like they were pretending not to be there, most likely imagining that they misheard what their cheerful teacher had just announced. There was only one word in all of Equestria that could create such frustration among school-aged ponies.
Poetry.
The equivalent of torture to most young ponies still suffering through academia, save for the creative few that took joy in the art form. It was a fatal mix of boring and difficult. Truly the most horrendous subject covered in any curriculum. Even the most difficult of sciences were nothing compared to the terror that was poetry.
Apple Bloom possessed an even greater disdain for the art of poetry than most of her classmates. The ambiguity, the pretentious feel it gave off whenever she tried reading it. And, most of all, the elitist snobs that would read poems and act like they were geniuses for getting one out of a possible thousand meanings out of it. Nothing about this form of writing appealed to the filly in the slightest.
She looked to her right to see Scootaloo sitting at her desk. The tomboy pegasus shot Apple Bloom a look of pure disgust. She stuck out her tongue and pointed a hoof down her throat and made tiny gagging sounds. Watching her friend, Apple Bloom couldn’t help but smile. Perhaps there was a filly that hated poetry more than she did.
She then turned to her left to see Sweetie Belle. The studious little unicorn still had her eyes locked onto Miss Cheerilee as if she was ready and willing. Though by looking into Sweetie Belle’s eyes, Apple Bloom could tell that her friend wasn’t looking forward to the topic either.
Which was rather telling, as Sweetie Belle generally enjoyed writing- though her love was for prose, and song lyrics. She even spent some time at the Apple household editing the novel Applejack was in the middle of writing. It was quite a sight, seeing an older mare take literary advice from a young filly, but Apple Bloom never complained about it. Applejack was her sister and Sweetie Belle was her close friend, so really it was a treat to have them both around.
Sighing, the yellow filly turned her attention back to the front of the class. Cheerilee continued with her instructions. No matter how angry the class clearly was, her smile was persistent.
“Now, I understand the general stigma attached to poetry,” she said. “But I’m hoping that through working together on this assignment, you will gain a new perspective on it.”
The entire class started to murmur at the mention of a mystery assignment. Apple Bloom was confused as well. However, based on the fact that it would most likely have something to do with poetry, she assumed that it wasn’t going to be fun.
Cheerilee trotted over to her small chalkboard, picked up a piece of chalk with her mouth and scribbled out the assignment.
“In groups of three, you work together to write a poem on the wonders of winter that will be due at the end of class tomorrow,” she finished writing and turned back to the class who let out an annoyed ‘awwwww’.
But Cheerilee wasn’t finished. “Each group will also be required to present it to the class in a unique and creative way.”
“Awww!” The entire class groaned even louder.
Apple Bloom sighed and looked down at her desk, her hooves placed atop it. She knew that she wasn’t the most gifted filly when it came to writing, and this assignment would most likely push her to the limit.
“Oh come now,” Cheerilee said. “This assignment shouldn’t be something you dread. All I ask is for you to do your best. And write what comes from your heart. So let your imagination run wild and free!”
Scootaloo leaned to Apple Bloom and whispered, “I’d rather run wild and free away from this assignment.”
Apple Bloom snickered a little as Cheerilee continued.
“And most importantly, have fun with it!” Cheerilee said with a smile, though her class didn’t share an ounce of her enthusiasm. “So please, get into groups of three. Once you’re all set we can continue with our lesson on westward expansion into the frontier and the founding of Dodge Junction.”
Immediately, the class started to segment off, some students journeying across the room to join up with their friends. One particular colt tripped over a chair-leg on his way over to join his two friends. Blushing, he got to his feet, looked from side-to-side. Once certain hardly anypony noticed him, he sighed and carried on.
Apple Bloom stayed put, content that she didn’t have to go anywhere, as the two fillies on each of her sides were the only ones she would ever want to work with. Her feeling of satisfaction was interrupted by a familiar, arrogant voice from behind her.
“Pfft, like, I assume you will use this as another attempt to get your cutie marks?”
Apple Bloom turned around to see Diamond Tiara sitting behind her with a smug smile on her face. Silver Spoon sat beside her, using her hoof to stifle a laugh- it was the laugh of a typical follower.
“Actually, ah think we’ll just work on this assignment for completion,” Apple Bloom said flatly. “We all hate poetry, right girls?”
Sweetie Belle slowly nodded while Scootaloo did so furiously, like she had a cobweb stuck in her mane and was trying desperately to get it out.
“Yeah, well I’m sure that’ll stop you,” she said with a knowing smile that made Apple Bloom want to smack the glitter from her face, and the tiara from her neatly coiffed mane. But she bottled up her rage and stowed it away for another time. She turned to her friends, or rather looked from one to the other since Scootaloo was on one side of her and Sweetie Belle was on the other.
“So what do you think?” Scootaloo asked.
“Ah think it stinks. Ah mean, we only have one day to write a poem. How in the hay are we gonna do that?” Apple Bloom asked.
“I have no idea.” Scootaloo said. “Cheerilee has never given us less than a week to write stuff, and now she expects us to come up with a poem in one night? It’s so dumb.” Scootaloo pressed her hoof against her forehead.
Sweetie Belle looked down at her desk while Apple Bloom glanced over to see looks of despair on both of her friends’ faces. Sweetie Belle carried an expression of silent dread while Scootaloo expressed a perfect blend of rage and annoyance. She knew both of her friends were dreading the assignment as much as she was- if not more so.
However, she also knew that she couldn’t afford to just mope around like a sad-sack. Not only would it accomplish nothing, but it would send out a negative message to her fellow crusaders. That they couldn’t accomplish something no matter how much effort they put into it, and that didn’t sit right with her.
“Ya know,” she started, causing both of her pals to look over in her direction, “maybe it won’t be as bad as we’re making it out to be.”
“Are you kidding?” Scootaloo asked. “It’s probably going to be worse.”
“Ah’m serious. Ah mean, we’re workin’ together.” Apple Bloom said, nudging Sweetie Belle, causing her to smile.
“And when we work together,” Sweetie Belle said, some of her enthusiasm returning, “there isn’t anything that’s too difficult to accomplish. Three heads are better than one, after all.”
Both fillies turned to their tomboy friend, who slowly lowered her hoof from her forehead. Her violet eyes had a look of determination and a rising confidence.
“You know something? You’re right!” Scootaloo turned to her friends with a grin. “It’s like what Rainbow Dash always tells me during my flight lessons. As long as you work hard and leave it all in the skies, you can totally do whatever you set your mind to.”
“Yeah,” Apple Bloom said with a nod. “Though since it we’re dealin’ with writin’ a poem, it would probably be more like ‘leave it all on the paper’ or ‘leave it all in the classroom’.”
“You get my drift,” Scootaloo smiled, letting out a soft chuckle. She was joined by Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Once their laughter subsided, they looked at each other with a renewed sense of confidence.
“So what do you think?” Sweetie Belle asked, sticking her hoof out, “Cutie Mark Crusader Poets? Just for this assignment?”
“Oh yeah!” Scootaloo said excitedly, putting her orange hoof atop of Sweetie Belle’s white one. “I’m so in! Apple Bloom?
“Let’s do this!” Apple Bloom said, putting her hoof in to create the tri-fecta.
“Cutie Mark Crusader Poets!” The three friends rose their hooves. “Yay!”
“Girls!” Cheerilee said from the front of the room. The three fillies looked over to see her giggling. “I love the enthusiasm you’re expressing for this assignment, but perhaps you could hold off on expressing it until after class?”
Apple Bloom and the others looked around to see the entire class staring at them. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were both stifling laughter. Apple Bloom slouched back in her chair in an attempt to avoid the piercing glares of her classmates, her cheeks reddened.
After school was let out for the day, Apple Bloom and her friends headed over to Sugarcube Corner to start working their poem. Once they got there, they each bought a delicious-looking, frothy milkshake, they took their place at one of the circular tables located near the front of the shop. It was pressed up against one of the windows, so they got a good view of everypony that passed by.
The whole rest of shop was devoid of life, save for the area behind the front counter where Pinkie Pie and Mrs. Cake were busy. Both were diligently working, though Pinkie Pie managed to do so while also humming a merry tune to herself. It was a tune Apple Bloom had recognized from several parties she attended.
Finally situated, both with a place to work as well as delicious shakes, the three friends got down to working on their arduous assignment.
“Okay, so how do we start writing this thing?” Scootaloo asked, gesturing to the blank sheet of paper.
“First we need to decide whether we want this to rhyme or not.” Sweetie Belle said.
“Ah vote that it doesn’t rhyme,” Apple Bloom said. “It’s gonna be hard enough to write without us tryin’ to make similar-soundin’ words fit.”
“That depends.” Sweetie Belle said. “Are we looking for what’s easiest, or what will give us the best grade?”
“Easiest.” Both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo said in unison.
Sweetie Belle nodded, though her expression was rather dubious. “Okay, then...then I guess non-rhyming works best. Okay, the next thing we need to discuss is a topic.”
“Well it has to be somethin’ related to winter.” Apple Bloom said, staring down at the blank sheet of paper, just begging to be written on. “But what specifically? Hmmm...”
The three filles pondered what they could write about. Each looking off into space, rummaging through the vast complexes of their minds for any stray idea that they could use. Though their attention could only stay on the topic of poetry for so long before they started to drift off into thinking about things that actually interested them, like relaxing or- in Scootaloo’s case- flying with a certain polychromatic pegasus.
“S-snow?” Sweetie Belle asked, an inflection of uncertainty in her voice.
Scootaloo slowly started to nod and turned to face her friend. “Yeah, snow. That’s a good one there, Sweetie Belle. There’s nothing more wintery than snow, right?”
The three fillies all nodded in agreement.
“Excellent,” Apple Bloom said. “Now we have somethin’ to work with.”
“Something to work with what?” Pinkie Pie asked, trotting over to the table with a plate of cookies balancing on top of her head. She lowered her head and let the plate slide off.
"Oh! Are you talking about love? Because if you need some advice,” Pinkie Pie pointed to herself with pride, “Pinkie Pie the date doctor is at your service.”
Apple Bloom wanted to face-hoof so badly at Pinkie’s odd conclusion which, in her opinion, made no sense as to how she reached it. So she simply responded the way that she normally did when facing a situation that was both weird and annoying at the same time.
“Seriously?” She asked, raising an eyebrow and hoof to illustrate her confusion.
“Uh-huh!” Pinkie Pie said, nodding. “I’m such a success that I set up a griffon with a donkey. Take a look.” Pinkie Pie reached behind her and pulled out of nowhere a photo showing a happy female griffon kissing a male donkey on the cheek. She held the picture out to the fillies, causing them to lean back lest they get smacked in the face with the polaroid. “Look how happy they are, don’t they make a cute couple?”
The three fillies couldn’t help but stare at the photo. Finally, Sweetie Belle came to her senses. Sweetie Belle reached out and pushed the photo down so she could look into Pinkie’s baby blue eyes, though Scootaloo kept staring at the photo- unable to look away.
“Uh, Pinkie Pie,” Sweetie Belle started, “Look, it’s impressive what you are able to to with...cross-species relationships.”
“Is that griffon using her tongue?” Scootaloo asked, earning an elbow to the gut from Apple Bloom. She scowled at Apple Bloom. “Ow!”
“Quit yer bellyachin’ ya pansy,” Apple Bloom hissed. “That was nothin’. Ya should see what Applejack does to me when Ah act out. It involves a belt and mah flank.”
“Girls!” Sweetie Belle interrupted, silencing both of her friends so she could continue explaining the situation to Pinkie Pie. “Anyway, we aren’t having relationship problems. We’re having poetry problems.”
But Pinkie Pie’s excitement only grew, like the certainty of what the three friends needed help with made her no longer hold back her enthusiasm.
“Poetry? I love poetry!” she said, hopping up into the air. “Did you know back when I lived with my parents on the rock farm, we had an entire library filled with poetry books?”
“Really?” Scootaloo asked.
Pinkie Pie nodded, “Yep. Everypony from Edgar Articulate Pony to Mareily Dickinson. I would spend entire days reading poems by them.”
“You read poetry?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Yep, it’s fun really,” she said, “when you’re as random as I am, there are so many meanings you can find in each piece of work. It’s all about thinking outside the chimney,” she said, surprising the fillies with her supposed intelligence in the area of poems. But before they could get too stunned Pinkie Pie spoke up again, “Plus every now and then I find a poem filled with puns. Hehe, I love puns.”
The three fillies nodded, the universe suddenly making sense again.
“Well, good luck,” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing off when Apple Bloom called out to her.
“No wait Pinkie Pie! Don’t leave yet, we need yer help.”
Pinkie Pie skidded to a halt, a sound like wheels screeching accompanied her sudden stop. She turned around with a huge grin on her face that made Apple Bloom, for the briefest of moments, regret asking the mare for assistance.
“Sure. What do you need for me to do?”
“Could you possibly help us write this poem for class?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Oh, I would love to,” Pinkie Pie responded, causing the three fillies’ expressions to light up into hopeful smiles, as if they didn’t notice the look of excitement vanish from the pink mare’s face.
“But...”
That single utterance caused all three girls’ expressions to fall back to looks of disappointment.
“I’m not the best poet around, trust me I’ve tried plenty of times to write some works of my own but I just can’t get into it. It’s like what my father told me.” Pinkie cleared her throat and spoke in a deeper tone in imitation of her father.“Pinkie Pie, just because you like cupcakes, doesn’t mean you’ll like watching them get made.”
The mare then returned to her typically hyperactive state. “But unlike poetry, I enjoy eating cupcakes, as well as making them! And that’s why I work here at Sugarcube Corner, instead of a stuffy old office.”
As if she didn’t just admit her own failure at something, Pinkie Pie happily trotted off, humming a cheerful tune. The three fillies were back to being alone, and once the pink mare was out of earshot, each of them let out a groan.
“Well that stinks,” Apple Bloom complained.
“Hey, Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo said, looking at her unicorn friend. “You’re good at coming up with song lyrics off the top of your head. Maybe you could do the same with this poem.”
Sweetie Belle put her hoof to her chin and closed her eyes, taking on the appearance of some deep philosopher. Her face turned red as she seemed to be straining in thought. She pondered for about a minute before her eyes opened and her hoof fell. She let out a sigh and shook her head.
“Sorry,” she said in defeat. “I can’t do it.”
“But you came up with song lyrics so quickly before.” Scootaloo asked.
“And if Ah remember correctly, songs and poems aren’t too different.” Apple Bloom pointed out.
“Yeah, they’re basically the same thing!” Scootaloo said. “Come on, you just need to try harder.”
“That’s not how you come up with lyrics or lines or whatever,” Sweetie Belle scolded, “it’s not about how hard you think about it, it’s how invested and passionate you are in the topic. I’m sorry but poetry stinks and snow is too cliched.”
“Then how were you able to come up with lyrics to the Cutie Mark Crusader song off the top of your head?” Scootaloo asked, her voice increasingly frustrated.
“That’s the point I’m trying to make. It is because the topic was our club, and I am passionate about it, so the lyrics just came to me.” she replied. “And besides, look how crummy our song and dance routine turned out anyway.”
Apple Bloom shuddered at the memory of their interesting performance at the talent show, but immediately shrugged it off and got back to the topic at hand. “But the lyrics were fine. It was how we pulled it off that made us laughingstocks, not the song itself.”
Sweetie Belle shook her head, “It was terrible. I don’t want to screw up like that again. Especially with a graded assignment.”
“But you won’t!” Scootaloo encouraged. “Give it another shot, please?”
Sweetie Belle looked up at her friends, both of whom had their hooves together like they were praying to her. Their grins were big and full of desperation. Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to respond, but stopped herself.
She groaned, “Fine.”
But before she had a chance to brainstorm, she was interrupted when the door to Sugarcube Corner opened. Rarity ran into the shop with a look of panic on her face. She scanned the inside before she finally spotted the table with her little sister and her friends. She let out a sigh and hastily trotted over.
“Sweetie Belle, where on Earth have you been?” She asked.
“Right here with my friends,” Sweetie Belle replied, pointing down at the table. She looked at her sister in confusion as the unicorn mare stopped in front of their table, panting a little.
“I’ve been running all over town looking for you! Everypony probably thinks I’m a mental patient. Not to mention now I’m all sweaty” Rarity said, wiping her forehead with the back of her hoof.
“You know I come here all the time,” Sweetie Belle said. “And most of the time I don’t tell you or Mom and Dad, why are you so panicked now?”
“Because tonight we need to meet Mom and Dad for dinner at five.” Rarity said, pointing at a nearby clock. “And I promised that I’d get us both there on time and make us look presentable.”
“That’s tonight!?!” Sweetie Belle asked in a panic. “But...but we still have to get started on our assignment.”
“It’s okay,” Apple Bloom told her friend reassuringly. “We could work on it later tonight in the clubhouse.”
Sweetie Belle gave Apple Bloom a worried look. “Are you sure?”
Both of her friends nodded in unison.
“No, go and have fun.” Apple Bloom said, grinning.
“And tell your parents we said hi.” Scootaloo said, flashing a matching grin to Apple Bloom.
“There, you see?” Rarity said with a smile, gesturing at the still-grinning Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“Alright then,” Sweetie Belle said, now allowing herself to smile. “What time should I stop by?”
“Be at mah house at around seven.” Apple Bloom said, turning to Scootaloo. “Does seven work for you, Scoots?”
“Definitely.” Scootaloo answered.
Sweetie Belle nodded. “Okay, I’ll see you then,” she said before Rarity snatched her by the back of her mane and pulled her towards the door. Once they were gone, the shop door closing behind them, both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo’s grins vanished, replaced with looks of annoyance.
“Ugh, it’s just our luck,” Scootaloo said, leaning back in her chair and staring up at the ceiling with the most exhausted look on her face. “Right before she could come up with anything of value, the Queen of Prissiness drags her off.”
“Don’t fret,” Apple Bloom said encouragingly. “Ah’m sure we can get a decent start if we work real hard for the rest of the time that we’re here.”
“Even without Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo asked, looking over at her friend. “I mean, she is the only one of us that’s any good at creative writing.”
“Absolutely,” Apple Bloom nodded. “There’s still two of us here, and we ain’t dopes. We can come up with something if we really try our darndest. Besides, we have two hours before Ah need to head home. That’s plenty of time”
Both fillies turned back to the blank sheet of paper, staring it down like it was a disobedient student and they were strict teachers. They continued to stare down at the paper, thinking about snow and what the fluffy, white substance meant to them. But whenever either filly came up with an idea they thought was decent, they’d re-read it in their mind and realize it didn’t work. It would be either too wordy or too cheesy. They would then, as they had before, drift off into a mental state best known as the ‘void of procrastination’, where they daydreamed about the most random of things in an attempt to forget about the task at hoof.
Apple Bloom spotted a fly buzzing around the shop and spent a good ten minutes for the sole reason that it was more interesting than the assignment. Scootaloo stared at her milkshake. Never before had she been so fascinated with the appearance of the frothy chocolate drink. After a good while Scootaloo drowsily turned towards Apple Bloom.
“How long has it been?” Scootaloo asked.
“Um,” Apple Bloom said, letting out an obnoxious yawn as she glanced up at the clock. “About an hour and a half.”
Scootaloo's jaw fell and her otherwise tired-looking eyes bulged from their sockets.
“Are you kidding me?” Apple Bloom nodded. Scootaloo looked away, eyes darting as she tried to make sense of where the time had gone. “But...but we haven’t even come up with a single line! Heck, we haven’t even come up with a title!”
“Ah know,” Apple Bloom said flatly. “Ah’ve been workin’ right beside ya the entire time.”
“For the love of...” The pegasus face-hoofed and let out a long groan,” ugh! Maybe we should just wait until we have Sweetie Belle back.”
Apple Bloom sighed in defeat, “Ah think yer right.”
Apple Bloom trotted through the street leading up to the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres. The sky was grey and gloomy, only adding to the dread that the young filly felt. The air was brisk and the town had been mostly empty. It was after five so most shops were either closed or in the process of closing. Smoke billowed out of the chimneys that extended out of the roofs of the small cottage-like homes of Ponyville that Apple Bloom had gone by earlier.
Even as she passed through the gate of her family’s farm, she imagined everypony in town snuggling up in front of a roasting fire, relaxing without the worries of that day or the next bogging them down. They didn’t have to write a poem unless they wanted to, and to those that did want to write poetry for recreation, Apple Bloom had one question for them.
Are ya outta yer mind!?!
But that wasn’t the most prominent thought racing through her mind. For thinking about the relaxing citizens of Ponyville made her feel an enormous amount of envy. She trotted down the dirt path running between the two parallel line of apple trees, their shadows looming over her tiny frame. Her attitude only worsened as she got closer and closer to the front door of her house, the fact that she still had such a difficult assignment to accomplish kept nagging her. She knew that she wouldn’t even able to enjoy the brief reprieve she had for the next hour or two while her friends had dinner, the assignment would never stop bothering her until it was completed. It was like a rash that begged to be scratched. Ponies would say that if you got your mind off it, eventually the itching would go away. But the mere presence of such an irritation made it impossible for the affected pony to think about anything other than the raw patch of red skin beneath their fur.
Tonight’s gonna be a nightmare. Apple Bloom thought with a sigh as she opened the door and entered her house. The tiny clopping of her hooves against the hardwood floor were a welcome sound.
She was home.
The enticing scent of apples met her nostrils almost as soon as she passed through the doorway. Her tongue hung out and she licked her lips in anticipation of whatever Granny Smith and Applejack were cooking up.
She trotted towards the kitchen, where she heard a conversation between Applejack and a familiar-sounding, raspy voice that didn’t belong to any member of the Apple family.
“Ugh, I just can’t believe I have to get up at four in the morning to do this,” the raspy-voiced individual complained.
“Well if ya ask me,” Applejack countered, “gettin’ up that early will teach ya some good discipline.”
Apple Bloom reached the kitchen. Inside she saw her older sister standing in front of a tray covered in what appeared to be apple fritters. She wore a baker’s hat and apron, both of which were smeared in globs of batter and other unknown foodstuffs. Standing beside her with a look of irritation on her face was Rainbow Dash- the owner of the raspy voice. Apple Bloom trotted closer to her sister, but Applejack failed to notice her presence as Rainbow Dash kept complaining.
“That’s easy for you to say,” the pegasus spat. “When was the last time you had to get up that early to work?”
“Gosh, where do Ah start?” Applejack put her hoof to her chin in thought. “Ah had to get up at three-thirty two days ago to apple buck because I was busy helping Twilight at the library later that day, so Ah had to make sure Ah didn’t fall behind. Last week Ah got up at four to bring a few crates of apples down to the train station so they could be delivered to Canterlot.”
Rainbow Dash’s jaw fell in shock as Applejack pressed on. “Again last week Ah had to get up early because one of our pigs was sick and needed to be tended to. And the week before that Ah had to- ”
“Alright! Alright!” Rainbow Dash said, waving her hooves. “You made your point. Sheesh, I do not envy you.”
“The life of a farmer ain’t for the faint of heart, sugarcube.” Applejack said.
“What are you saying I couldn’t handle it?” Rainbow Dash asked competitively, flying up in the air a little bit. “Because I totally could.”
Applejack snickered. “When yer complainin’ about getting up at four one day out of the entire year?” She asked before giving her friend a smug grin. “Ah doubt it. Ya would probably give up before ya finished yer first day.”
Applejack winked before she turned her attention back to making the fritters. Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to retort, but stopped herself. She looked down at her hooves, scowling and muttering under her breath before she looked back up.
“Well I could if I wanted to, I mean...I’m strong enough.” she said.
“Physical strength is only part of what’s needed,” Applejack said, “if ya don’t have the mental strength as well, ya will get nowhere.”
Applejack continued to roll the dough for the fritter. Rainbow Dash stuck her tongue out at the back of her friends head and then turned to see Apple Bloom standing in the kitchen. Her annoyed expression vanished and was replaced with a friendly one.
“Oh, hey there Apple Bloom,” she said with a smile. “What’s up?”
Applejack placed another ready-to-bake fritter aside and turned around to face her sister. She smiled warmly. “What’s going on lil’ sis?”
“Nothin’ much,” Apple Bloom responded with a sigh.
“How was school?” Applejack asked. “Did ya learn anythin’ important?”
Rainbow Dash turned to her friend and laughed, “Important? In school? Pfft, yeah right.” She then looked down at Apple Bloom. “Trust me, kid. If you ever want to learn something of use, the only way to do so is by experiencing the outside world first-hoof.”
“Can it Rainbow,” Applejack hissed at her cocky friend. “She don’t need to listen to any of yer flight school dropout garbage.”
“School itself wasn’t too bad,” Apple Bloom said, trying to move on and quell the flames of the argument that threatened to arise between the two mares. “But Ah did get an assignment that is due tomorrow and it’s shaping up to be a pain in mah flank.”
“Really?” Rainbow Dash asked, reaching out to the counter and snatching an apple before bringing it to her lips and taking a massive chomp out of it. “Whawt kwind asnginment iswsh itsh?”
Applejack turned to see Rainbow Dash with her cheeks full of apple, some juice dribbling down her lips, and the fruit itself in her hoof.
She scowled. “Would it kill ya to ask before ya go snatchin’ up apples like ya own the place?”
Rainbow Dash turned to Applejack, “Whant iwt bwack? Hwere.”
Before the earth pony could say otherwise, Rainbow stuck her tongue out, revealing a glob of apple mush sitting on her tongue. Applejack retched at the sight.
“Gah! Rainbow that’s disgustin’!”
“I twake thwat as a nwo.” Rainbow Dash mumbled before retracting her tongue and swallowed the apple much before laughing. Applejack sighed and turned her attention back to her little sister.
“So yeah, back to RD’s question before she got all rude on us,” the country pony hissed before she turned back to Apple Bloom with a smile, “what is this horrendous assignment, exactly?”
The way she said ‘horrendous’, with an infliction of sarcasm, made it clear that Applejack thought her little sister was exaggerating the matter.
“Miss Cheerilee said we have to write a poem and present it to the class tomorrow.”
As soon as these words passed the little filly’s lips, Applejack’s kind expression fell to one of pure terror, like she had seen a ghost. Rainbow Dash’s reaction wasn’t much different. Her eyes bulged and she spit out the apple that was in her mouth.
“P-poetry!” They both shouted in a equally horrified tone.
“That’s the worst subject of all!” Rainbow Dash shouted, biting down on her hoof in fear.
“Mah goodness gracious!” Applejack continued. “Ah thought the Ponyville council was gonna deem it a form of foal abuse and remove it from the grade-school curriculum.”
“Ah know, right!?!” Apple Bloom shouted, taking some relief in the fact that her older sister felt the same way on the subject as she did. “And now me, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo need to come up with somethin’ before tomorrow and then find a creative way to present it, and we can’t even write one line!”
Apple Bloom clutched her head in a panic before she started flailing her arms wildly as all of her bottled-up stresses of the day exploded in a single moment. “We’re doomed. Doomed ah tell ya!”
Exhausted, she fell backwards and let out a sigh, her hooves falling to her side as her body finally relaxed. As she stared up at the ceiling, Apple Bloom watched as the cyan form of Rainbow Dash circled around her like a hawk. But her horrified expression was gone, and she was even chuckling.
“Well, maybe you’ll have some more time to work on it over the weekend.”
“Didn’t ya hear me?” Apple Bloom asked sitting up with an annoyed expression on her face, “it ain’t due Monday. It’s due tomorrow.”
“Yeah but there might not be any school tomorrow,” Rainbow Dash said nonchalantly. “What with the blizzard and all.”
Apple Bloom’s ears perked up, an excitement welling up within her. “Blizzard? Did ya just say blizzard? What blizzard?”
“Yeah, why do you think I was complaining about getting up early.” The pegasus said, landing beside Applejack, who was still staring at her sister with the same shell-shocked expression she had once she learned what lovely subject her sister was learning. “The sky patrol has a bunch of us pegasi getting up so we can organize a snowstorm that is going to last until tomorrow evening. The entire town will be buried by six, you can count on that.”
Rainbow Dash took a final bite of the apple in her hoof and flipped it into the air before kicking it into the trash bin with her hind-hoof. “So yeah, you probably won’t have any classes tomorrow, anyway. No use in getting worked up about it.”
“So many ambiguous meaning and...vague metaphors...” Applejack muttered, her left eye twitching as she continued to stare off into nothingness- it was a thousand-mile stare.
“Yo AJ,” Rainbow Dash called out, causing Applejack to shake her head and snap out of her lapse in mental state.
“Sorry RD, ah just got lost in one of mah poetry flashbacks,” she said with a shudder.
“Hold on a sec!” Apple Bloom said before jumping at Rainbow Dash and snatching her by the cheeks and pulling the pegasus’s face close to her so they were muzzle to muzzle. “So yer telling me that we might not have school tomorrow?”
Rainbow Dash pushed the filly’s hooves away slightly so she could speak clearly. “More like probably won’t have school.”
“Like a fifty percent chance?” Apple Bloom asked, her hopes rising.
Rainbow Dash shook her head, but her smile persisted. “Closer to ninety-five percent chance.”
Apple Bloom’s eyes lit up with a renewed life. She completely let go of Rainbow Dash’s cheeks and started jumping for joy.
“Oh mah gosh yes! Yes!” She shouted. “Do ya know what this means? Ah don’t have to worry about gettin’ that stupid poem done for tomorrow. Ah can actually relax and work on it over the weekend!”
“Now hold yer horses there, Apple Bloom,” Applejack said, her face and tone that of a concerned older sibling, “don’t tell me ya ain’t gonna work on yer homework tonight.”
“Why would Ah?” Apple Bloom asked. “Ah have an entire weekend to work on it now that school is cancelled.”
“But school ain’t cancelled yet,” Applejack said. Apple Bloom’s smile fell with her sister’s input.
“But it probably will be.” Rainbow Dash said with a wink, causing Apple Bloom’s smile to return.
“But you don’t know that, Rainbow.” Applejack retorted,glaring at her friend.
“But I’m part of the team controlling the weather, Applejack.” Rainbow Dash said with a smirk, “And I say she should just chill out for the night.” She flew over to Apple Bloom and gave her a tiny pat on the head.
“Yer such a great influence.” Applejack muttered.
Rainbow Dash turned to Applejack with a prideful grin, placing both her hooves behind her back.
“Eh, I try my best,” she said in the most arrogant, Dash-like way possible. She was either blissfully unaware of, or intentionally ignoring, Applejack’s sarcasm. Regardless, the pegasus continued to eat the apple still in her hooves as Applejack continued to scold her for putting bad ideas into her little sister's head.
But Apple Bloom didn’t care about any conversation between her sister or Rainbow Dash that did not involve her. In fact, she was already half-way up the stairs, racing to her room before the two competitive friends realized that she had left. Once she reached her bedroom, her sanctuary, she closed the door. She then unclipped her saddlebag with her teeth and pushed it to the corner with her hind-hooves. She then leapt up and landed with a soft ‘plop’ onto her bed back-first, a grin on her face as she began to laugh.
“Ah’m gonna have off tomorrow, ah’m gonna have off tomorrow.” She repeated in a sing-song way, never feeling better and not caring at all that the snow day was still up in the air. The relief that she didn’t have to worry about writing her poem overshadowed any inkling of uncertainty she had felt before.