//------------------------------//
// First Chapter 
// Story: Element of Jealousy 
// by HeartShieldFiM 
//------------------------------//

The soft rays of the sun broke through the cloudy sky. It wasn't quite a beautiful morning, but at least it didn't rain and the wind had calmed down a little. The streets of Ponyville were quiet and muddy, and nopony actually wanted to step outside. Some of them had to, though.

'Naaaaah! Ah don't wanna go to school!' Applebloom tossed her saddlebag in the corner of her bedroom. 'School's stupid.'

'Whatcha talkin' bout?' her sister asked in surprise. The yellow filly never had any trouble going to school, then why today? 'Is it the weather?' Applejack continued, when her sister didn't answer.

Applebloom shook her head. 'Weather's fine,' she muttered, after dropping herself on her bed. She buried her face in her pale pink pillow and sighed.

Applejack walked to the corner and picked up her sis' saddlebag. Sweetie Belle had tried to stitch the CMC-logo on it, and failed miserably. 'Iph ih Cheewiwee?' AJ asked with the bag in her mouth. Of course, Cheerilee was the nicest happiest teacher a pony could have, and according to Rarity she had been this way since she was just a filly, but you could never be too sure.

The filly didn't want to answer. It was unusual for Applebloom to be in such a bad mood, she was used to getting up early and tended to be pretty eager to go to school. 

'Wha's happening?' Big Mac entered the room, his mane messy and his eyes half-closed. 'Ya'll know I'm havin' a day off, could you be, y' know, quiet?'

'Ah'm sorry, Mac,' Applejack said, still confused. 'Ah'm 'fraid our lil' sister is goin' through an early stage of puber-tay.' She said the last word with a Canterlot accent, implying that it was a rich pony's problem and not something that belonged on a farm.

Mac shook his head. 'Applebloom is way too young to have this puber-tay thing, y' know that.' He walked up to his little sister, who was still in bed smothering herself with the pillow. 'Wha's wrong now, sissy?'

His "sissy" groaned, and from under the pillow she muttered, 'Ah jus' don't wanna go t' school. Ah'm goin' tomorrow, but not t'day.'

'T'morrow is Saturday, y'know. But if you wanna go to school on a Saturday that's fine with me,' Applejack replied.

'Don't ya wanna show off your cutie mark?' Mac asked. Applebloom had gotten her cutie mark about a week ago, right after Babs got hers. It was a bright red apple with two white flowers on top of it. She had no idea what it had to do with her talent - which seemed to be fixing broken things - but it was a mark on her flank so it was good enough. Babs got her cutie mark for growing bonsai apple trees on her balcony, which actually produced small apples.

'It's old already, everypony has seen it,' Applebloom told her brother. Good, she was the first Ponyville Crusader who got her flankmark, but a week's old is a week's old. 'Ya can't keep an apple for a week or it begins to rot.'

'Well, those bullies are still showin' off theirs,' Big Mac tried. 'Y'know, Rich Filly and Silver Spork.'

Despite her anger and frustration with who-knows-what, Applebloom laughed at her brother's awful joke. 'Spork makes a good nickname for 'er,' she said, but realized she almost felt happy. She curled up on her bed and groaned again. 'What-ever. Ah'm not goin'.'

'Applebloom...' AJ started, and she sounded a little angry. No, not angry, rather annoyed. It was way past normal breakfast time and Applejack was getting hungry.

'Y'know an apple has a core, right?' Big Macingtosh said, and he yawned. 'Y' should stop convincing her t' go t' school and find out why she refuses instead. If ya can't find it out t'day, then t'morrow. Or after t'morrow.' He turned around, and with his tail facing the other two ponies, he mumbled, 'Ah'm goin' back t' bed, be a little quiet on the stairs, would ya?'


***


Applebloom won and had the day off. Well, not exactly, since Applejack made her do half of her chores and told her to do her homework too. Apart from that, Applebloom also had to help Granny Smith making apple pies for Mac's upcoming birthday.

'Granny?' Applebloom asked, while playing with the pile of apples on the table. 'Why is yer cutie mark an apple pie, and not a zap apple?'

She had to repeat this question, before Granny answered, 'Ah was the only pony who could make apple pie without burnin' it. That's why your siblings still ask...' Granny dozed off and Applebloom softly poked her on her shoulder. The green pony shook her head. 'Ah! They always ask me for apple pie.'

'Still doesn't make much sense t' me, honestly,' Applebloom protested. 'Your special talent is... well, zap apples!'
'Zap apples are rare,' Granny replied. 'Apple pie is not. Ya wouldn't wanna 'ave a cutie mark nopony understands?'
'Then how's my cutie mark an apple?' Applebloom asked. The filly was kneading the dough for the pies, it was so much her whole forelegs disappeared in the bowl, and she occasionally nibbled it off her knees.

Granny Smith squinted, and seemed to think about her granddaughter's useful and intelligent question. Then she shrugged and muttered something about cinnamon, before carelessly slicing apples again.

Applebloom groaned and she angrily beat up the dough. 'It's fine now, it's mixed.' She jumped off her stool and licked off her hooves. It didn't taste as well as it should, and with dirty hooves and all she walked into the living room.

'Hey, whatcha doin' in that kitchen?' Mac, who was enjoying his free day repairing the old plow he had, pretended not to know about the pies.

Applebloom sighed and dropped herself on the sofa. 'Y'know darn well wha's happenin' in that kitchen,' she muttered, and then leaned back and closed her eyes.

For Mac it was still quite a mistery why Applebloom behaved like she did, but he just assumed it would pass. Maybe she felt uncomfortable as the only Ponyville Crusader with a cutie mark - althoug the other two just saw this as extra motivation. But maybe, maybe he should try to find out what was wrong.