Thanks to PolarisFlare For editing.
Blooming Love
Chapter 2 - Reasoning with her
You stood still, motionless of what just happened. You looked back to the note, which was a tad soaked. You suspect it was from Apple Bloom's tears. At first, your heart was telling you to follow her, but your head decided to stay frozen. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo came out of the class moments before the 'incident' happened. They had faces of worry and frustration.
“Come on Sweetie Belle! We gotta find her!” Scootaloo said. As she was about to gallop, she was stopped by a white hoof.
“I think we should leave her alone. Something inside my head tells me that we should give her some time”, Sweetie said. Scootaloo was about to object but took a minute to think.
“Bu-but Swee—”
“No Scoots. Just give her some space,” Sweetie Belle interrupted.
The two of them both parted from each other walking separate ways. You were about to do the same, having no reason to stay any longer. Scootaloo and I started to walk home, until a familiar voice was heard stopping both of us in our tracks.
“Hey, Scoots! Wait up!” Rumble yelled.
Scootaloo's ears perked up. She looked towards the pony who said her name. Realizing it was Rumble, her face blushed a crimson red and looked to the ground.
“Oh! Uh, hey Ru-Rumble!” she said, stumbling through her words.
“I-I was wondering....if y-you'd like to hang out for a bit?” he asked, rubbing his foreleg.
“R-really? You'd hang out with me?” She asked in confusion.
“Really,” he said with a smile. “Come on!”
As you watched them disappear towards Sugarcube Corner, Rumble turned back and mouthed the word "bye" to you. Nopony else was around the school anymore. They had all rushed home eagerly wanting to start their weekend. With no other choice, you headed home.
While you were walking, you couldn't help but notice the sun gleaming through the branches of trees. It gave the scenery a summer feel. Birds would chirp a tune that was all too familiar at this time of day. A cool breeze would flow through your mane and coat every now and then, giving a refreshing sensation. You looked across the landscape. Everything just seemed so natural, like if nothing had touched it before. You gave out a sigh of relief and continued your way home.
But your thoughts wandered off to the incident that happened a while ago back at school. Specifically involving a certain pony:
Apple Bloom.
Why was she on your mind? More importantly, would she be okay after what happened. Of course, if anyone got rejected by the pony they loved, you would feel sad, broken, and depressed. But when you saw Apple Bloom cry, it felt ten times worse. You wondered what Aero would've been feeling. Being the ignorant pony, he probably didn't even have the slightest pity or sorrow for her, just disgust and pity. You started to get annoyed of the things he would've said if Apple Bloom did not gallop away.
*sniff*
Suddenly, your thoughts had been broken and you returned back into reality.
“*Sniff* M-maybe Ah'm n-not good enough for no po-pony, I'm just pathetic and a n-no good, talentless bl-blank flank.”
The voice seemed familiar to your ears. The southern accent: the sweet soothing sound of her voice. You knew who it belonged to. You frantically looked around for the filly who appeared to be crying from her voice, until a red bow stuck out from a nearby bush. You realized that only one pony had a bow that big, and it must be her.
“Apple Bloom?” you said quietly.
“Wha-what? Who’s there?” she said surprised looking left and right.
“Me,” you said revealing your face to her. She saw your face and blushed slightly, It was hard to tell though, Just seeing her like this was saddening. Her once shiny clean red mane, now dirty with a few leaves stuck on it. Her coat seemed to have lost her vibrant color. She needed a bath, but now was not the time to mention it. She wiped the tears away from her eyes and spoke.
“Oh. Hey there.”
“Are you okay, Apple Bloom?” you asked.
“Ah'm f-fine.” she said defensively.
“You've been crying though, so I don't think you are.”
A moment of silence ensued. Only the sniffs of the filly and the rustling of the bushes were heard. You decided to continue to talk to her, so as to break the silence.
“I saw you gallop away from the school, crying. You dropped a note, and I saw... why. I'm sorry, Apple Bloom.”
Her eyes started to leak tears again. She started to say something that would back her up, but to no avail. She couldn't hold it any longer; she broke down into tears once again and cried on the ground.
“Ah d-don't understand! I loved him ever since I laid my eyes on him, an-and he just crushed me. Is it because Ah’m not beautiful? That I'm just an ugly blank flank?” She asked in a low depressed tone.
“Apple Bloom...”
“That’s it, isn't it? No one will ever like me or love me. Ah'm just a big stupid failure. Maybe Diamond Tiara was right. I—”
“Apple Bloom! You're not stupid, ugly or a failure, you're one of the prettiest fillies I know or seen before. You're also smart, talented and so fun to be around. You don't need that ignorant stubborn colt! You deserve better than him! If he doesn't like you, then it’s his loss! ” you said, close to yelling. Apple Bloom was silent. She had a very confused look on her face, but she remained still.
“Y-you really mean that?” she said almost surprised. You lifted her chin with your hoof.
“Of course I do. Now come on, I'll walk you home,” you said with a smile. As she got back onto her hooves, she smiled back at you in return.
* * * * *
The two of you arrived in front of Sweet Apple Acres. Luckily, the sun had not set, but its descent draws near. Night would soon follow.
“Hey, um... Thanks for walking me home and all,” she said.
“It’s okay, that’s what friends do: look after each other,” you said.
“Yeah...” she said, starting to trail off a bit. “One more thing, Were you actually telling the truth back there? Or were you just being nice?”
“That you deserve somepony better than Aero? Of cour—”
“No no no, I mean when you called me... Pretty, smart and talented?” she said shyly, a visible blush formed on her cheeks.
“Well... yeah. I mean, you are pretty, smart and talented.”
“Nopony has ever said that to me before,” she said, a little embarrassed.
You looked back into the sky. The sun has gone down which meant you were due to go home now.
“Look, I have to go now. My mom might have a heart attack if I'm not home soon. See ya!” you said.
As you were about to walk away, Apple Bloom walked up and brought you into a warm hug.
“Thanks for makin' me feel better. Ah appreciate it, and Ah was wondering. Maybe we could hang out tomorrow afternoon or something?”
At first, you thought about it. You weren't really somepony who would go out on weekends. You broke free from the embrace and faced her.
“Sounds fun! But mom wants me for something tomorrow, I'll see if I can hang out. See ya, Apple Bloom!”
As you walked away, Apple Bloom waved goodbye.
“Bye.”