Act 1: Apple Bloom
Chapter 5: Armistice
“It all started way back before we were the Cutie Mark Crusaders...”
“Man, what a lame way to start a story,” Rumble mumbled, interrupting Scootaloo, who was being slightly overly dramatic for Apple Bloom's taste.
“Hey, I'm telling the story, and I'll tell it the way I want!” Scootaloo shot back. Rumble just rolled his eyes, and Scootaloo got back on track.
“So, like I was saying, it all started way back before we were the Cutie Mark Crusaders. One day, I was out riding the brand new scooter that Aunt Dizzy had gotten me for my birthday. I was pulling some wicked tricks when I got to the park.
“I was flying along down the path, when some jerk, who was always a jerk and will always be a jerk, decided he was going to be an even bigger jerk and jumped in front of me. He practically tried to tackle me off my scooter, so I swerved to get away.
“Well, I hit a rock, and the front wheel of the scooter broke, and I got thrown over the handlebars. I must have gone thirty feet before I hit the ground. It was wicked...mean. Yeah, wicked mean of Rumble to do that.”
“I didn't do that! And I'm not a jerk, you jerk!” Rumble cried out, stomping his hoof against the table.
“Just let her finish her story, then you get your turn,” Apple Bloom said, gently patting his hoof to calm him down. Once Rumble was settled, Scootaloo picked up where she'd left off.
“So anyway, I was really, really mad at him, and I went stomping over to where he and Featherweight were laughing at me. I said 'Hey, what's your problem?' and he started making fun of me. He said some really mean things, so I shoved him and ran home. Ever since then, he's been a showoff, and is always trying to make me feel bad about myself. He's a jerk, Apple Bloom.”
“Oh, what a load of horse sh-”
“Rumble!” Apple Bloom stared at him in shock, and nervously looked over to where the Cakes were to make sure he hadn't gotten them into any more trouble. “What d'you mean he said mean things? What did he say?”
“I didn't say anything!” Rumble protested, but Scootaloo ignored him.
“He said...” she paused, a look of genuine hurt creeping across her face, “Didn't your parents ever teach you how to fly right?”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both gasped in shock, and turned horrified faces to look at the confused colt.
“What?” was all Rumble managed to say before Apple Bloom started her lecture.
“Rumble! What a thing to say! How could you even think it was okay to say anything like that?” Apple Bloom's anger was quickly fanned by her instinct to protect her friend from such a painful, thoughtless jibe. “What's wrong with you?”
“What do you mean?” Rumble asked, shrinking underneath the glare from the filly who would be his special somepony, “I...I don't understand why you're getting so mad...”
“You don't...Rumble, Ah cannot believe that you're so thoughtless and...and...cruel that you'd say something like that to Scootaloo.”
“I...but...why?” Rumble whimpered. Apple Bloom's glare only started to slacken when she saw the tears start to well up in his eyes. Slowly, her heart slowed, and her mind could once again think of something other than a desire to protect Scootaloo.
“You...you really don't understand why what you said was bad?”
“No, I don't,” Rumble said, sniffling.
“Liar, how could you not!” Scootaloo spat at him, causing the colt to flinch away.
“You're being honest with me, right Rumble?” Apple Bloom said, setting her hoof atop his once again. He nodded, and Apple Bloom chose her words carefully. “Did you say that to Scootaloo?”
“I guess I might have, when she shoved me and started yelling at me...” Rumble said, looking Apple Bloom in the eyes. “Why is that so bad?”
“It's so bad because...because Scootaloo's parents ain't around anymore. Not since she was a little foal.”
The silence that settled over the table was uncomfortable for all the ponies present. Sweetie Belle looked sympathetically at Scootaloo, who was just staring at her hooves. Apple Bloom's mind was racing, trying to decide if she needed to say more, or if she'd said too much already. Rumble's eyes slowly grew wider, his mouth dropping open as the gravity of his words became apparent.
“I...I didn't know that! I didn't mean for it to be that mean, it's just something that Featherweight and I would say to each other all the time. I didn't even think that it might...Scootaloo?” The sound of Rumble's voice caused the depressed filly to look up. “I'm sorry.”
The silence that followed was just as uncomfortable, but was now tinged with anticipation as all the other ponies looked to Scootaloo to see what her reaction would be.
“You're still a jerk.”
“What? I apologize to you and you're still going to call me a jerk?” Rumble roared, knocking the plate of cookies to the floor.
“Well you are! You said it, and apologizing won't make it any better!” Scootaloo shrieked.
“Get out of my bakery!” Mrs Cake bellowed, before retrieving a rolling pin and chasing the whole group of young ponies out the front door. Apple Bloom couldn't even begin to figure out whose side she should be on, and the look on Sweetie Belle's face told her that she wasn't alone. Even as the door to Sugarcube Corner slammed behind them, Scootaloo was picking up where she left off.
“You knock me off my scooter, and then you make fun of the fact that my parents are d...not around anymore!” she shouted, her nose so close to Rumble's own that they were almost touching.
“I didn't knock you off your scooter, and I didn't know that! You shoved me and called me a greasy blockhead!” Rumble screamed back with equal ferocity.
“Well you are, feather-brain!”
“You should watch where you're going, numb-skull!”
“Maybe you should watch where you're going...uh...feather-brain!”
“You already said that one!”
“I...yeah, well...urgh!” Her list of unpleasant insults exhausted, Scootaloo reared and brought one of her forehooves down on Rumble's forehead with a resounding thud. Apple Bloom gasped, and was about to rush to his side when Rumble flexed his wings, and tackled Scootaloo, sending them both tumbling through the dirt of the street. Both young ponies were still yelling, but words had failed them, and it was nothing but wordless cries of battle as their hooves rained down on one another.
In a move that Apple Bloom instantly recognized, Scootaloo brought her hind legs around and bucked Rumble hard in the chest. Unlike when she'd bucked Scootaloo, Rumble's wings flared, caught the air, and a tight aerial loop brought the colt swooping back into the fray. The pair went rolling off in a new direction.
Apple Bloom couldn't move. She knew she had to do something, but she didn't know what, and her brain refused to let her body move until she did. Should she just dive in the middle and pull them away from each other? Should she be shouting at them to stop? She looked at Sweetie Belle for guidance, and found her friend looking back, no less confused. Frozen by indecision, she watched as the two pegasi battled into a stalemate.
Scootaloo had Rumble in a headlock, but Rumble had gotten a hold on one of her hind legs and was twisting it back at an unnatural angle. Both ponies were yelping in pain, each reciprocating every injury back on the other.
Apple Bloom finally made up her mind on how to stop the fight. It was a silly plan, one that Pinkie would have been proud of, but she could think of nothing better.
“Gosh, if you two wanted to cuddle like that, you should've just told us,” she said, smirking at Scootaloo and Rumble. It took them a moment to realize what Apple Bloom had said, but as they looked down at the tangle of legs and bodies that their fight was, they scrambled to untangle themselves. Soon, they were lying far enough away from one another for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to stand in between, panting heavily to try and catch their breath.
“That...that's not what we...we were doing, Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo shouted between breaths.
'Yeah, I'd never do that with her!” Rumble said, seemingly pleading with Apple Bloom for understanding.
“What's wrong with me?” Scootaloo demanded, insulted by his words even though she would have hated the alternative even more. Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes.
“You two are so alike, it's scary,” she said, grinning back at Apple Bloom.
“We are not!” the two pegasi exclaimed in unison. “Stop that! Cut it out! Quit copying me!”
Apple Bloom couldn't help but laugh when they both turned to her, demanding she make the other one stop. As frightening as the fight had been for her, the absurdity of Rumble and Scootaloo being so perfectly in sync left her falling on the ground, caught up in a gale of giggles. Sweetie Belle soon followed.
Scootaloo looked over at Rumble, and then back at her friends. They had gone completely bonkers. She was nothing like Rumble.
“It's not funny!” they both shouted.
It had taken a great deal of time for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to compose themselves, and by then the aches and pains of the tussle had set in, leaving Rumble and Scootaloo groaning on the grass beneath a nearby tree. Rumble was leaning heavily against the trunk of the tree, his left eye slowly swelling shut from where Scootaloo's hooves struck home.
“Aw, you okay Rumble?” Apple Bloom asked, her hoof gently prodding just above his eye. The colt hissed and pulled away.
“No,” he said, his mouth set in a firm pout, “My eye hurts.”
“My leg hurts,” Scootaloo said, gently massaging her flank. “You're good at fighting, Rumble.”
“Yeah, Thunder Lane made sure I learned...” Rumble grumbled, letting Apple Bloom continue gently prodding his many scrapes and bruises.
“Now, you two know you were acting like idiots, right?” Sweetie Belle said. Apple Bloom nodded her agreement, laughing as Rumble batted her hoof away from a particularly sore bump behind his ear.
“I guess,” he groaned. Scootaloo just stared at the ground.
“Now Scoots, Rumble didn't mean to be that mean back them, and he didn't mean to knock you off your scooter,” Apple Bloom said as she put a foreleg around her friend's neck, “He even apologized for it, and you were being pretty mean to him too. Do you think maybe you could accept his apology, and apologize yourself? For me?”
“I...I'm still really mad at him, Apple Bloom.”
“And Ah'm still pretty mad at you for getting us kicked out of Sugar Cube Corner, but Ah forgive you for that. You think we can all just try to get along and be friends? Ah really like Rumble, but you're one of my best friends. Ah want us all to be able to be friends together.”
“I'm not sure I can, Apple Bloom, but I'll try...” Scootaloo looked up at Apple Bloom with an uncertain frown, before turning to Rumble “I'm sorry Rumble...about the eye.”
“I'm sorry too, about the leg.”
“Aw, this is great!” Apple Bloom said, throwing her other foreleg around Rumble's neck, and pulling both her friends into a tight hug. Too tight, in fact.
“Ow, Apple Bloom, cut it out!” Scootaloo cried.
“My neck! My neck still hurts! Apple Bloom, let go!” Rumble joined in.
Apple Bloom ignored their squirming and protests, her eyes closed and a broad grin on her face. All the stress and uncertainty of that last few days drained away in an instant, and there was nothing but sunshine and fun adventures with her friends on the horizon.
By the time Rumble had walked her home, it had started raining. Apple Bloom wasn't disappointed though. As she and Rumble darted between the apple trees, screaming in delight and mock-fear of the gentle downpour, her smile was as big as ever. Breathless and giddy, she bounded onto her front porch, Rumble right on her tail. Together they collapsed into a giggling heap.
“Ah'm sure glad you and Scoots made up,” Apple Bloom said with a smile on her face. Rumble scratched at his mane, looking away.
“Well, I wouldn't say we made up just yet...but I'm glad we won't be fighting anymore. Her hooves are hard.”
Apple Bloom laughed at that admission; she knew exactly how hard Scootaloo's hooves could be, and she had no desire to provoke them again either. The mention of Scootaloo's hooves brought something else to mind, and Apple Bloom sat up, studying the colt stretched out on the porch below her.
“Something wrong, Apple Bloom?” Rumble said when he took note of the serious expression on the filly's face.
“How's your eye? It doesn't still hurt, does it?”
“Oh,” Rumble said, self-consciously covering his black eye with a hoof. The swelling had stopped, but it hadn't yet gone away. Apple Bloom used her nose to push his hoof away, and found herself staring into the bashful violet eye that was ringed with an ugly purple bruise.
“It does, doesn't it? At least it hasn't gotten any worse,” Apple Bloom said as she lifted the colt's chin in order to get a better look. Rumble was blushing, and Apple Bloom could see the gentle flush of colour rise up in his cheeks, even against the dark bruise. It set her heart fluttering, and her stomach felt like it had twisted itself into knots. Her hooves were shaking, but all the odd sensations were strangely welcome as she sat with Rumble's face in her hoof. She smiled into his half swollen eye, and he had no choice but to smile back.
With tender care, Apple Bloom's nose drifted closer, and Rumble's eye slid closed. Her lips gently brushed over the closed lid, the barest of touches so she wouldn't hurt him. It sent shivers down her spine, and a warm glow built in her chest and cheeks.
“Ah...Ah've never had a first kiss before...y'know, a proper one,” she whispered, and she felt Rumble's whole head shake as she pulled away. The colt had a wide, goofy grin, and his whole body was vibrating, either from anticipation or nervousness. Probably both.
As the rain sprinkled down, the gentle patter on the porch roof soothed the two ponies. Nervousness turned to conviction as they looked into each others eyes, and their snouts crept ever closer. Apple Bloom closed her eyes, and Rumble did the same. Apple Bloom let out a soft, contented sigh. Her first kiss. The atmosphere, the colt, the feeling in her chest, it was all perfect. Nothing would ruin this moment.
Instead of the soft, tender lips of a pegasus colt, Apple Bloom found her lips pressed roughly against the weathered old hooves of a pony who spent their whole life working the farm. When her eyes sprang open, she saw Rumble scrambling back away from her, and a green leg wrapped firmly around her mouth.
“Ye' fresh lil whipper snapper! Get! Ye should be ashamed o' yerself, tryin' that with my lil Applejack!” Granny Smith screeched. Rumble scrambled all the way to the edge of the steps, and tumbled down them into the muddy yard. “My Applejack's a good girl, and she don't need no colt sniffing about with mischief on his mind! Now get! Don't let me catch you 'round here no more!”
Rumble spared the time to give Apple Bloom a longing look, but took to the sky and soon was lost against the grey clouds above.
“Granny!” Apple Bloom shouted, shoving the old mare's hoof away, “What it the hay was that about?”
“Applejack, you mind your manners, missy!” Granny Smith barked back. Normally, Apple Bloom would have listened, but having just suffered the injustice of a ruined first kiss, she was in no mood for following orders.
“Ah can't believe it, you ruined everything!”
“Don't you talk to me like that! An' don't think Ah don't know you were part of that tomfoolery. Shame on you, young'un. Yer too young for that, Applejack!” Granny Smith said, narrowing her eyes. She wasn't used to her grandchildren talking back like this.
“Ah'm not too young! Heck, Ah'm not even gonna be in school much longer! Rumble's a nice colt, and if Ah wanna kiss him, Ah'm gonna!” Apple Bloom said, stomping her hoof for emphasis. “And Ah'm Apple Bloom, not Applejack, you old coot!”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew it had been a mistake.
“Apple Bloom? Apple Bloom's just a foal, don't go tryin' to blame yer sister, missy. Yer grounded till you learn yerself some manners. Ah forbid you from seein' that pegasus fella, or from goin' into town 'cept for school.”
“That's not fair!” Apple Bloom cried. Big Mac, having heard the shouting, came around the side of the house just then, looking puzzled. “Big Mac, Granny just grounded me for trying to kiss Rumble! You gotta help me!”
“Oh...Granny, Ah know this Rumble colt, and he seems as trustworthy as you could hope to find...” Big Mac started, but a wave of the old mare's hoof caught him off guard.
“Lil Macintosh, you go in the house right now, this is between me and Applejack!” Granny ordered. Big Mac just stared at her. “You heard me, now don't you make me tell you twice. Get going!”
Big Mac frowned heavily at this, but started toward the house as he had been asked.
“Big Mac, say somethin'!” Apple Bloom said, pleading for her brother's intercession.
“Now's not the time, Bloom. You just do as she says, and Ah'll talk with you about it later.”
Abandoned by her brother, the angry filly deflated. The angry mare on the other hand was just getting started.
“You know that colts like that only got one thing on their mind...”
Apple Bloom was sulking in her bedroom when the knock came. She almost hadn't heard it over the rumbling of her stomach, an uncomfortable condition that had the frustrating side effect of reminding her of a certain colt. Granny had sent her off to bed without supper, and Big Mac hadn't raised a hoof in her defence.
“Go away,” Apple Bloom muttered, but of course the door opened anyway. “Ya know, what's the point of knocking if you're just gonna walk in anyway?”
“To give you a chance to hide Rumble under your bed,” Big Mac replied, wearing an optimistic smile. The dark scowl he got from his sister told him in no uncertain terms that such jokes were in poor taste at the moment. “Sorry.”
“Why are you here?” Apple Bloom groaned, turning her back on him. She was still very angry with him for not backing her up with Granny Smith. Now she was grounded for a month, and had twice as many chores to do. The only time she was going to get to see Rumble would be at school.
“Ah need to talk to you about something. Something serious, Bloom.” Big Mac's stoney expression had broken, and the stallion wore a look of deep worry and concern. “You've noticed that Granny's mind hasn't exactly been as sharp as usual lately, right?”
“Well yeah,” Apple Bloom said, growing worried about the direction the conversation was going. “She keeps calling me Applejack.”
“Eeyup. And just tonight she called me 'Little Mac'. She ain't done that since...well since our parents were still around...”
Apple Bloom sat quietly, while Big Mac seated himself beside her. It was getting to be a common occurrence, and Apple Bloom wasn't sure she could take much more bad news.
“So...what does it mean?” she asked, and Big Mac looked away.
“Ah think she's sick, Bloom.”
“Like, the pony pox?”
“Nope, not like the pony pox. Ah think it's her memory that's sick. Ah'm gonna take her to the doctor tomorrow, and we'll figure all this out, don't you worry none. It's just...until we can get Granny better, Ah want to ask you a favour Bloom. Is that okay?”
“What is it?” Apple Bloom said, examining her brother for some sign of what was really going on. Normally, Big Mac was unreadable, his emotions a closed book. But in the dim light of her room, Apple Bloom could see the tears welling in the corner of his eyes.
“Ah...Ah just think you should try not to upset her. Ah know she's being unfair, but it ain't her fault. Ah want you to keep quiet about being grounded. Just until the doctor figures our what to do. Can you do that for me, Bloom?”
“Ah...Ah think so,” Apple Bloom's voice caught in her throat, “She's gonna be alright, though, ain't she?”
Big Mac nodded, and wrapped the little filly into a tight embrace. Apple Bloom could feel the strong arms around her shaking as her brother held her tight to his chest. When he finally spoke again, his voice trembled.
“Eeyup, everything...everything is gonna be fine.”
“Ah miss Applejack.”
“Ah miss her too, Bloom.”
The two Apple siblings sat in silence for a while, Big Mac still clinging to his little sister. Eventually his arms stopped shaking, and he let her go. As hollow and false the smile he gave her was, Apple Bloom was grateful to have it. The idea of her Granny being sick terrified her, and not knowing what was wrong only made it worse. Any comfort she could get, Apple Bloom clung to it.
Big Mac staggered onto his hooves, and started for the door. He stopped when Apple Bloom spoke up.
“Ah love you, Big Mac. Thanks.”
“Ah love you too, Bloom. You don't worry about it none, and get some sleep, okay?”
“Okay,” Apple Bloom said, before turning out her light. Big Mac slipped out into the hallway, and gently closed the door behind him.
In the darkness, Apple Bloom curled up tight underneath the covers, wishing for someone, anyone, to be there to wrap her up in their hooves and whisper that everything would be alright.
“That's a foal's dream,” she said to herself, letting sleep come fitfully on, “and it's time I grew up.”
It was Monday before Apple Bloom saw any of her friends again. If Granny Smith had trouble remembering things, she didn't seem to have any trouble remembering that Apple Bloom was grounded. The concern that Apple Bloom had had for the old mare had been slowly worn away by the endless string of chores. Big Mac had taken on a lot of Applejack's chores while she was on her trip, but by the end of the day on Sunday, Apple Bloom was doing Applejack's job all on her own.
Monday morning, she was exhausted, and every muscle in her body ached and refused to budge. It hurt so much to move that she'd asked Big Mac if she could just stay in bed, but he had just shook his head. Getting ready for school was an ordeal, her legs seizing up if she tried to move too quickly. Eventually Big Mac had drawn her a bath and gently plopped the filly into it. As embarrassed as she was that Big Mac had to give her a bath, she could do nothing but sigh in relief as the warm water relaxed her muscles, and Big Mac gently brushed out her mane.
After breakfast, Apple Bloom had made the walk to school. It had taken her nearly twice as long as usual, and she was very late when she finally found her seat. Cheerilee gave her a stern look, but didn't say anything as she watched Apple Bloom hobble across the classroom.
For all she could remember of the morning's lesson, Apple Bloom might as well have stayed home. By the time she staggered outside, leaning heavily on Sweetie Belle for support, she felt like collapsing on the spot and sleeping the week away.
“Wow Apple Bloom, what happened?” Scootaloo asked. Apple Bloom scowled, and took a deep breath. Rumble was off talking to Featherweight, so Apple Bloom decided that she was going to give her friend's the whole story.
“Well Rumble walked me home yesterday, and we had a lot of fun. He was so cute and adorable with his little black eye that Ah just wanted to kiss him. So Ah tried, but Granny Smith stopped us and chased Rumble off. Ah was mad, so Ah called her an old coot, and now Ah'm grounded and Ah have to so all of Applejack's chores!”
“Oh my, that's a lot of chores...can't Big Mac help you out?” Sweetie Belle offered, as she pulled Apple Bloom into a supportive hug.
“No, he can't. He says Granny Smith might be sick, so until he can get a doctor to fix it, we should just try not to upset her. Ah tried, but Ah bucked forty-seven apple trees yesterday, and Ah can't feel nothing but sore.”
“Is she going to be okay?” Sweetie said, looking concerned.
“Big Mac says she will, and Ah hope she is, but Ah don't think Ah can handle this many chores. Oh, but you guys can't tell Rumble! He's so sweet, he'll blame himself or something. Don't tell him Granny's sick, okay?”
“Apple Bloom, you shouldn't lie to your special somepony,” Sweetie said.
“Yeah Apple Bloom, he should know,” Scootaloo chimed in.
“Ah know, and Ah'll tell him soon, just not now, okay?” Apple Bloom turned loose her puppy-dog eyes on the other Crusaders. Though they just rolled their eyes at her, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle promised that they wouldn't tell Rumble about Granny Smith being sick.
Apple Bloom was relieved, but she didn't really know why she wanted to keep it a secret. She knew that Sweetie Belle was right, and keeping it a secret did feel wrong, but Apple Bloom couldn't get over the feeling that she had to protect Rumble from worrying. Apple Bloom didn't even stop to think why she hadn't tried to protect the other Crusaders the same way.
They were halfway through lunch when Rumble and Featherweight joined the three fillies. Apple Bloom smiled at Rumble, who looked away bashfully.
“It's not fair, you being that cute,” Apple Bloom said to herself, only too late realizing she'd said it out loud. Scootaloo made loud retching noises, Sweetie Belle and Featherweight giggled, and Rumble just blushed with a goofy grin on his face. Apple Bloom buried her face in the grass. “Ah can't believe Ah just said that.”
“It's okay, Apple Bloom,” Rumble said, putting a hoof on her withers. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, so the other young ponies wouldn't hear, “I think you're cute too.”
The whispered words sent a tingle down Apple Bloom's spine, and her mane felt that it was standing on end. As Rumble settled in beside her, Apple Bloom scooted closer on aching legs. Rumble noticed her wince, and after a second of hesitation, wrapped a comforting wing across her back. Both ponies were blushing furiously, but Apple Bloom wouldn't have traded that feeling of comfort for anything, not even her cutie mark.
“Thanks,” she said, and Rumble nodded.
“Aww...” Sweetie Belle cooed, before puckering her lips and kissing the air in their general direction.
“Eww...” Scootaloo groaned, her tongue stuck out. “Why don't you two go find somewhere private to be gross. We're trying to eat lunch here.”
“Oh hush, Scoots, we're not that bad,” Apple Bloom said, snuggling closer to the colt beside her. “Besides, if you don't like it, maybe you should go.” Apple Bloom grinned at her friend, and stuck her own tongue out.
“Urgh, next thing you know these two are going to start kissing...” Scootaloo moaned, looking to Sweetie Belle for support. The wide-eyed, hopeful grin on Sweetie Belle's face told her that she would find none there. Turning to Featherweight, the pegasus colt seemed a little uncomfortable with the affectionate couple, but didn't speak up on Scootaloo's behalf.
“Don't worry Scoots, we'll keep our lips to ourselves,” Rumble assured her, chuckling.
“Yeah, Ah want our first real kiss to be special. And putting on a show for you lot ain't all that special.”
Sweetie Belle looked a little disappointed, but Scootaloo just looked confused.
“Special?” she said, “What do you mean special? A kiss is a kiss, it doesn't matter where you are or who else is there.”
“It does too matter!” Apple Bloom shot back, “Applejack says you only ever get one first kiss, and you'll remember it forever, so Ah want mine to be just so. And it would've been too, if Granny Smith hadn't ruined it.”
“Urgh, why don't you just kiss him now and then you can stop talking about it?” Scootaloo wrinkled her nose as though she'd smelled something unpleasant.
“Why Scoots, Ah never would have thought you would be the kind of pony who'd wanna watch other ponies kiss...” Apple Bloom said with a sly grin.
“I am not! I just...I don't want to talk about it anymore, and...uh, so Featherweight, that's a cool cutie mark, what's it mean?” Scootaloo's attempt to change the subject backfired spectacularly when Sweetie Belle chimed in.
“Ooh, Scootaloo's looking at his flanks. Is there even more love in the air?”
“Hey, cut it out!”
“Scoots and Featherweight, sitting in a tree...” Sweetie Belle started to sing, while Featherweight looked like he wanted to disappear.
Apple Bloom just watched with a smile on her face. It was so nice to have them all sitting together on the grass as friends. Soon enough, the teasing came to an end, and a happy Scootaloo regaled them with the story of how Rainbow Dash fought a dragon. It didn't help that they all knew that she'd lost, and that it was Fluttershy who put an end to the fight, but Scootaloo's eagerness held their attention despite her obvious embellishments.
When it was time for class to begin again, Apple Bloom found her legs as painfully obstinate as they had been that morning, and it took the help of both Rumble and Scootaloo to get her standing again. Sandwiched between her two favourite pegasi, Apple Bloom grinned through the pain of walking, and counted herself as one lucky filly.
After a week of doing Applejack's chores, Apple Bloom because accustomed to the work. She was still aching and exhausted at the end of the day, but she no longer suffered from cramps the following morning.
Big Macintosh had had mixed success at getting Granny Smith to the doctor. She'd gone, but the doctor hadn't been able to help yet. Apple Bloom had heard from her brother that the doctor had run a number of tests, but that it would be a while before they confirmed anything. As the chores got easier, Apple Bloom resigned herself to being perpetually grounded at the old mare's behest. It soon became clear that Granny Smith was forgetting the previous day's punishment by morning, as Apple Bloom was getting the same lecture over breakfast as she had that first morning after her near kiss.
She still hadn't kissed Rumble. She only ever saw him at school now. They'd eat lunch together, usually with the other Crusaders, and sometimes with Featherweight too, but they always seemed to wind up on the edge of the group, whispering to each other as they snuggled against the trunk of the playground tree. Apple Bloom was just as happy to sit on the sidelines with Rumble; she hadn't had a chance to do any crusading all week, and hearing about the latest Cutie Mark Crusader antics just made her feel like she was missing out.
As much as she loved her friends, being left out just hurt a whole lot less when she wasn't trying to join in. Rumble never talked about all the fun things he did that she wasn't allowed to do, but Apple Bloom was finding her friends talked about nothing else.
Until Granny Smith got better, Apple Bloom wasn't allowed to be a Crusader, and every story from Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo about how they tried to get their cutie mark made it sting even worse. She wanted to spend more time with them, but as every new day passed, Apple Bloom felt less and less of a connection with the other Crusaders.
But even as the girls became more distant, she and Rumble were getting closer. Their whispered conversations spoke of their hopes, their dreams, and their fears. Apple Bloom learned about Rumble's absent father, who left when he was a little foal. She learned about his dream of being the foreman of the Cloudsdale weather factory, to be in charge of the most important weather production facility in Equestria. She learned about how he'd been afraid of the dark until as little as three months ago, a confession that earned him both an affectionate nuzzle and no small amount of teasing.
Apple Bloom also found herself telling him things she never thought she'd tell a colt. She told him about the time Applejack had tickled her so much that she'd wet herself, and was paid back in kind for making fun of his fear of the dark. Secrets flowed freely between them, and Apple Bloom was quickly beginning to feel like she could trust Rumble more than anyone else she knew.
She had even told him about Granny Smith being sick, despite her insistence that the girls keep it a secret a week prior. She'd known it was wrong from the start, and wrapped in the reassuring embrace of his wing, she couldn't bare to keep it a secret any longer.
Apple Bloom hadn't been sure at first, but she knew now that this was what having a very special somepony was all about. It wasn't about kisses or cuddles, or at least not entirely. It was about having someone there to talk to, who would listen and always support her.
Apple Bloom was barely a Crusader anymore, and she was still grounded, but she was happy.