//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Simple Kind Of Life // Story: Apple Blossom // by Closer-To-The-Sun //------------------------------// Chapter 6: Simple Kind Of Life Applebloom woke up to Celestia’s sun shining into her room. Rubbing her orange eyes, she noticed she had not slept under her quilt, but rather just on top of it. She hopped down from her bed and looked at herself in the dresser mirror. Applebloom’s red mane was frizzled and her bow flattened from her sleep. With a sigh at her reflection, the yellow pony undid the pink bow in her mane and began to straighten the fibers of her mane with a brush. “Ah really should find Spike an’ apologize ta him. Ah guess ah was downright mean ta the little dragon….he really didn’t deserve it….” Applebloom talked to herself, dragging the brush through her mane. Placing the brush down, she looked at her reflection in the mirror again. Without her bow, Applebloom noted that she looked different, older even. She looked down at the bow ribbon that she placed on the dresser. With a quick turn, she left both the ribbon and her room. Downstairs, Applejack was sitting at the table in the kitchen, making a crust for an apple pie. She saw her little sister come down the staircase, looking crestfallen and distant. “Howdy, sugarcube, how are ya this mornin’?” Applebloom mumbled incoherently. “Beg pardon?” Applejack paused in her baking. The yellow pony reiterated, “Ah’m just feelin’ a bit down is all….” “Ya still out of it after yesterday?” the orange pony looked with concern to her sister. The younger mare nodded in silence. “Well, do ya plan on doin’ somethin’ ‘bout this or ya just goin’ mope ‘round the house all day?” “Ah do wanna go an’ tell Spike ah’m sorry an’ all….fer bein’ mean ta him an’ all,” Applebloom admitted. Applejack smiled, “Ya certainly are an Apple, sugarcube. Ya can’t leave a friend hangin’.” With her flour-coated hoof, she touched Applebloom’s nose, leaving some of the flour on her face. Applebloom quickly used her hooves brush the flour off her face, “Well, he’s one of mah best friends, so ah just havta say sorry ta the little guy.” “Ya certainly are becomin’ more mature,” the orange pony smiled. “Doesn’t mean that it’s easy….” Applebloom commented as she hung her head low. “Most things that are worth doin’ are never simple or easy, sugarcube,” her sister insisted, “But remember what ah said last night? We all just gotta deal with what life throws at us. It makes us who we are.” “Thanks fer all yer help, Applejack,” Applebloom looked up to her older sister. “Of course, sugarcube.” Applebloom left Sweet Apple Acres, trotting towards Ponyville. She wasted no time as she moved along the dirt path, quickly made her way into the bustling town. Seeing her destination, she trotted up to the library door. Knocking on the door, the yellow pony took a deep breath. The door opened to reveal a purple unicorn, “Oh, hello there Applebloom. What brings you around to the library?” “Hiya, Miss Twilight. Is Spike in by chance?” Applebloom asked. Twilight Sparkle shook her head, “No, sorry. He left a while ago after finishing his chores. I think he said something about going for a walk, but truth be told, I was too wrapped up in reading a new book to pay attention.” Applebloom sighed, “Oh, okay. Thanks anyway, Miss Twilight.” “Anytime, Applebloom,” the unicorn said, “By the way, you look very nice without your bow in your mane. Very grown-up.” The yellow pony smiled as she nodded, “Thank ya.” She turned around and trotted away. With no dragon and no leads to his whereabouts, Applebloom began to wander around Ponyville. The yellow pony trotted around to the town square, watching ponies going their own separate ways. As she ponywatched, for some reason, she kept seeing a number of couples walking together, such as a brown stallion and a grey pegasus mare together. Frustrating the yellow pony, she turned her direction and trotted towards a place she had not visited in a while. Passing through the town and Sweet Apple Acres, she headed to the old Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse. She trotted up to the old treehouse. She almost didn’t recognize the clubhouse, the crusaders had abandoned the treehouse after Sweetie Belle had attempted to use her magic inside, causing a small explosion that destroyed a quarter of the clubhouse. After that, the girls didn’t really wish to rebuild their clubhouse and since then, it had fallen into ruin. Carefully trotting up the plank up into the treehouse, Applebloom could already tell the house was in worse shape than when they left it. Stepping on the noisy, wooden floor, she entered the house itself. Inside, Applebloom looked straight at the location where Sweetie Belle tried to use her magic. It was apparent where she was sitting at the time, as there now was a huge hole in the roof over where she was. Applebloom’s eyes were caught by something else in the small room. Posters drawn up by the crusaders and Spike covered the walls and the floor. It reminded her when the purple dragon would help the crusaders come up with new ideas for getting their cutie marks. Of course, each time they would fail miserably, but Spike nevertheless was willing to aid them in whatever way he could think of. A couple of tears formed in Applebloom’s eyes and some even rolled down and fell onto the wooden planks below. Quietly weeping, she spoke in a hushed voice, “Why can’t it all just be simple like it was back then? Ah miss that time when it was just us bein’ kids….ah just….ah just don’t know how it got ta this point….ah just want the simple things again….a simple kind of life….” Amongst her crying, Applebloom’s ears perked up. Quieting herself and wiping her tears away, she carefully trotted to the railing. It was from there, she saw Spike down on the ground below. “Spike?” she called down, her voice sounding a little distorted from her crying. The dragon looked up to see the yellow pony in the treehouse. “Oh, hey, Applebloom,” he greeted the pony, “I’ve been looking for you for a while.” He paused as he fiddled with his claws, “I wanted to say sorry about yesterday….”