It didn’t take long for Bifröst to get a construction crew to begin working on the ideal house for his beloved daughter, Rainbow Dash, and her husband Bookworm. As they finished laying the foundation and began to work on the frame of the house, they were given a surprise visit from Ponyville’s tiniest troublemakers, the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
“Hey there, Mr. Dash,” greeted Scootaloo.
“Hello there, Scootaloo,” Bifröst greeted back. “I’ve told you time and again, that it’s alright to call me Bifröst.”
“Well, you know how it is,” began Scootaloo. “You go to school and the teachers tell you refer to grownups by their surnames or whatever.”
“I suppose that’s true,” he thought. “What bring you and your friends here?”
“Apple Bloom heard about the construction going on and wanted to see it for some reason,” said Scootaloo.
“What? Ah like buildin things,” said Apple Bloom. “Sides that, new houses don’t get built in Ponyville that often. Most I ever worked on was a tree house.”
“You did add that second floor to the tree house,” said Sweetie Belle.
“You really did that?” asked an impressed Bifröst.
“Well, it wasn’t too hard,” said a modest Apple Bloom. “Ah mean, the tree provided most of the structure for it.”
“Still, pretty impressive for a little filly,” Bifröst pointed out. “Your friend Spike mentioned the other day you were good with tools. Wanna take a look around the site?”
“You betcha!” exclaimed Apple Bloom.
“Great, let’s have a look then,” said Bifröst, obtaining hard hats for the little fillies.
Bifröst took the Crusaders around the construction site, where many of the workers got distracted by the overall adorableness.
“Hey, Bifröst,” exclaimed the foreman of the construction team. “Who are the adorable little fillies?”
“They’re friends of my daughter,” explained Bifröst.
“I’m more than just a friend,” interrupted Scootaloo. “I’m the personal protégé of Equestria’s greatest flyer!”
“Well, aint that somethin,” said the foreman.
“Hey mister,” interrupted Apple Bloom.
“What is it little gal?” he asked. “And you can call me Hard Hat.”
“One of yer workers is messing up with those beams, Mr. Hard Hat,” she said, pointing to a young stallion working on a wall frame.
“Whaddya mean?” asked Hard Hat.
“Those beams are way too far apart from one another,” she went on. “That far apart, the walls of the house will crack up in no time.”
The foreman went to inspect the work the young stallion was doing. Upon closer inspection, he saw that Apple Bloom was indeed correct in her assumption.
“How’s a little filly no so much about this stuff?” he asked.
“Ah read a lot of books on the subject,” explained Apple Bloom. “Mah sister in law, Twilight, works at the Golden Oaks Library. So ah borrow book from er all the time.”
“There anything else you can point out to me, kid?” the foreman asked.
“Ah spose so,” replied Apple Bloom.
Hard Hat showed Apple Bloom around the site, and to everyone’s amazement the youngest Apple sibling pointed out many other inconsistencies with the construction work.
“Little lady, I am damn impressed,” exclaimed Hard Hat. “Pardon my language.”
“Ah live on a farm,” retorted Apple Bloom. “Nothin ah aint heard before…and occasionally said.
This remark caused the foreman to let out a hearty laugh.
“You got spunk, kid,” he said. “How’d you like to work with me?”
“Really?” she said in amazement.
“Really!?” exclaimed Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo at once.
“Well, work I suppose wouldn’t be the appropriate word,” explained Hard Hat. “More so, I’d like to make you my apprentice.”
Apple Bloom went crazy wide eyed, and grinned ear to hear.
“Ya really mean it!?” she jumped around in excitement.
“I wouldn’t joke about something like that,” he said. “Though we will need to get some permission from your parents or guardians.”
“Ah’m sure my brother and sister will be more than happy to let me work for ya!” she said with excitement.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Are ya’ll crazy!?” exclaimed Applejack. “Yer too young ta be workin at some construction site!”
“Aw, come on Applejack!” her little sister begged. “Ah help around the farm already!”
“That aint the same as workin at some construction site, Apple Bloom!” the elder sister yelled some more. “There’s a lot more dangerous things to worry about!”
“If I could say something,” interrupted Hard Hat. “I wouldn’t be letting her work on the actual site.”
“Huh!? Whaddya mean!?” exclaimed Apple Bloom in confusion.
“You’re too young and inexperienced for that right now,” he explained. “I’d start you off in my workshop, teaching you some of the basics. I’ll also have you lookin at blueprints for any flaws and ways to improve things. Once I feel you’re ready, then I’ll have you workin on site.”
“Well…that’s fine too!” exclaimed Apple Bloom. “So long as ah get to work with ya!”
“Apple Bloom, ah don’t think…” Applejack began to say, but then was interrupted by her brother.
“Apple Bloom is old enough to make her own choices, AJ,” he said.
“Big Mac!” exclaimed Applejack. “Ya’ll can’t be serious!”
“Course ah am,” said the eldest Apple sibling. “Plenty of ponies start learnin a trade at her age. You and ah weren’t much younger than her when dad started teachin us how to apple buck.”
“But apple buckin aint as dangerous,” responded Applejack.
“He just said he won’t be havin her on site right away,” retorted Big Mac. “He knows what he’s doin, Applejack; he’ll make sure she’s plenty safe.”
“Well…what do you think Granny Smith’ll think!” asked Applejack.
“Sounds like a mighty fine opportunity to me,” replied Granny Smith in her rocker. “In mah day, plenty ah young fillies and colts were startin the trades practially outa the womb.”
Applejack had nopony else turn to for some excuse as to why Apple Bloom couldn’t become Hard Hat’s apprentice. She finally let out a sigh.
“Alright, Apple Bloom,” she said. “Ya can work with Hard Hat.”
Apple Bloom began jumping like crazy in excitement.
“Ah can’t believe it! Ah can’t believe it!” exclaimed the littlest Apple Sibling. “This is the best day of mah life! Can’t get any better than this!”
When she stopped hopping, she was confused to see her friends and family staring at her in awe.
“What the heck is wrong with ya’ll?” she asked.
“Apple Bloom…” began Scootaloo.
“…Look,” finished Sweetie Belle, pointing to Apple Bloom’s flank.
Apple Bloom looked at her flank and her jaw practically dropped to the floor. There, on her flank, was an apple with a hammer in the middle. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo embraced their friend and all of them cheered with all their might.
“Ah finally got mah cutie mark! Ah finally got mah cutie mark!” exclaimed Apple Bloom.
“You’re the first to get your cutie mark!” exclaimed Scootaloo.
“You did it! You did it! You did it!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle.
Then Applejack and Big Macintosh embraced their little sister, both tearing up from all the excitement.
“I’m so proud of ya, Apple Bloom!” exclaimed Applejack.
“Eeyup!” exclaimed Big Macintosh.
“But, you’re still gonna help us get our cutie marks, right?” asked Sweetie Belle with a little worry.
“Course ah am!” exclaimed Apple Bloom. “CUTIE MARK CRUSDERS FOREVER!”
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS FORVERE! YAY!” the little fillies all shouted in unison, and high hoofed.