//------------------------------// // Chapter Eight // Story: Floret // by Crystal Moose //------------------------------// Apple Bloom trudged silently behind the cart. Big Mac was pulling the wagon to market, as it was his turn to run the stall. Both Big Mac and Applejack had persuaded her to join them. Well, to join Big Mac, as Applejack would be doing the shopping. “Ya never know, Bloom,” Applejack called back with cheer, “Big Mac here outsells me in apples nearly every time. If anypony can help ya get yer cutie mark sellin’ apples, it’s ol’ Mac here!” “Eeyup.” Cutie marks. They hadn’t really been on Apple Bloom’s mind the past few months. She hadn’t spent a lot of time with Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo. They didn’t understand. They just wanted the old Apple Bloom back, but the filly wasn’t sure who the old Apple Bloom was… or if she ever existed. Miss Cheerilee had told her it wasn’t healthy to ‘withdraw’, and encouraged her to spend time with her friends. Apple Bloom hadn’t had the energy needed to spend much time with the Crusaders, which had now grown to include Berry Pinch and Dinky, along with Alula there for support. She had, though, started spending a little more time with Dinky. The unicorn filly had told Apple Bloom that sometimes it’s okay to feel sad, that sometimes she felt sad and her mom said that that was okay. Applejack slowed down to match pace with the filly, pulling Apple Bloom out of her thoughts. “If’n ya ask me,” Applejack whispered conspiratorially, “Ah reckon it’s ‘cuz all th’ mares wait till he’s on th’ stand jus’ t’ talk ta him.” Applejack nudged the filly, winking as they walked. “Not that it does ‘em much good, eh?” “Yeah…” Apple Bloom responded, weakly. They continued in silence for a while longer, before Applejack trotted back to Big Mac’s side. “Howdy, Rose.” Big Mac gave the young mare a nod as she passed the stall. “Oh! Hi, Big Mac.” Roseluck returned the stallion’s nod with a smile. “How’s business been?” he asked. “Business has been good. Could be better, if Lily and Daisy didn’t keep arguing over what’s going to be ‘in’ this season.” “An’ roses are on that list, Ah bet!” Big Mac chuckled. “Always! They’re for more than just Hearts and Hooves Day, you know,” Roseluck laughed. “Wanting to ask that young sweetheart out? Roses. Your wedding anniversary? Roses. Forget your wedding anniversary… roses, and a nice box of I’m-really-sorry chocolates.” “Sounds like they’re th’ most versatile of all th’ flowers.” “Of course!” Roseluck winked. “So, when is Big Mac going to come and visit our little stand? Hmmm, no mare caught your eye yet?” She laughed as Big Mac’s cheeks darkened. “Hmmm? Still no pony claimed the heart of Ponyville’s most eligible bachelor?” Roseluck started to pick through the apples. “Hmmm, these are quite nice,” she said, as she slipped three into a paper bag. “So there really is no chance we’ll be seeing you soon?” “Not for a few months, no,” Big Mac chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, I’m sure my sisters will be happy to see you again soon.” The mare placed the paper bag on the stall. “I’ll take these, thank you.” “That’ll be six bits, thanks.” Big Mac took the offered bits, and placed them into the float. “See you later, Big Mac,” Roseluck said, as she resumed her trot. “How did ya do that‽” Apple Bloom asked in awe. “She wasn’t even gonna stop here.” Big Mac smiled knowingly. “Y’see, Bloom,” Big Mac lectured, “a good salespony talks with his customers. By sayin’ hello t’ Roseluck as she was walkin’ by, she stopped to say hello back.” “But how did ya know she was gonna buy somethin’?” “Ah didn’t. She might’ve stopped t’ say hi, and kept on goin’,” he explained. “But by sayin’ hello, she stopped for a moment, an’ in th’ end she bought some apples.” “But what if she doesn’t buy some apples?” “Then Ah at least got t’ have a chat with a friend,” Big Mac replied. “Even if Ah didn’t sell her any apples, it’s still good t’ be neighbourly an’ all.” “Huh…” Apple Bloom scratched her chin. Big Mac bent down to whisper in the filly’s ear. “Th’ secret t’ sellin’ apples…” he explained, “… is t’ not try t’ sell em. Jus’ talk with ponies. Jus’ be friendly an’ ask ‘em how they’re doin’. If ya get somepony who does want t’ buy apples, serve them, an’ come back. Good way t’ get t’ know yer neighbours, and a good way t’ get them t’ know you.” “Hello? Big Mac?” “Sorry, Minuette,” Big Mac replied as he got back to his hooves. “Ah was jus’ teachin’ Bloom here some things. What can Ah do ya for t’day?” “Could I please have three gala, and five ginger golds?” “Sure thing… Apple Bloom, can ya bag that up fer Minuette?” Big Mac asked. Apple Bloom nodded, packing the eight pieces of fruit into a paper bag and hoofing it to him. “Oh, Apple Bloom, I didn’t see you there!” Minuette smiled. “Are you taking good care of your teeth? Staying away from sweets?” Apple Bloom groaned. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Miss Colgate, as a pony, but Doctor Colgate the dentist… that was something else. Both Minuette and Big Mac chuckled at her reaction. “Eeyup,” Big Mac answered for her. “Bloom’s been takin’ good care of her teeth. Brushes every night, an’ th’ only sweets she eats are good old Sweet Apple Acre apples!” Apple Bloom looked away, slightly embarrassed. It wasn’t exactly true— Miss Cheerilee had gotten into the habit of bringing a bag of sweets to share during their counselling sessions… and she’d always brush her teeth extra hard on Thursday evenings to make up for it. So technically, Big Mac wasn’t lying to… The filly shook her head. She was having a good day today; she didn’t want to think about that! “Bloom, ya okay?” Apple Bloom looked up to see Big Mac standing over her. “Where’s Doctor Colgate?” she asked, noticing the mare was gone. “Minuette left about a minute ago.” Big Mac furrowed his brow, and pressed his fetlock to her forehead. “Ya feelin’ okay? She said g’bye t’ ya when she left.” “Eeyup! Everythin’s okay, Mac.” The filly put on her best everything-is-okay smile and nodded. “… alright then.” Big Mac lifted her onto his back. “Well, if ya noticed, Minuette knew exactly what she wanted. Some customers are gonna be like that, so ya gotta be able t’ tell the difference. But even if they know what they want, ya still gotta be friendly with ‘em. Understand?” Apple Bloom nodded. “Good!” Big Mac gave her a beaming grin. “‘Cause here comes yer first customer!” Apple Bloom spun around in a panic. She wasn’t ready for this, she wasn’t ready to serve— “Miss Cheerilee?” she gasped. “Hello, Apple Bloom. And to you too, Big Mac!” “Wanna buy some apples?” Apple Bloom asked, excitedly jumping up on the counter. A loud clearing of his throat drew Apple Bloom’s attention back to Big Mac. “Oh, ummm… right,” she responded sheepishly, as she remembered the lessons he had just taught her less than a few minutes ago. “Can Ah start again?” she asked. Big Mac nodded quietly, smiling at Cheerilee’s expression of suspicion. “Hi, Miss Cheerilee!” Apple Bloom tried again. “Uhhh… havin’ a good day?” “I am indeed, Apple Bloom,” the teacher replied. “Are you helping Big Mac sell apples today?” Darn it! She saw right through mah ruse! “Eenope!” Apple Bloom responded, her voice hitched higher than normal. “Nope, not selling apples, just talkin’ an’ bein’ friendly.” Big Mac’s chuckle behind her brought a blush to her cheeks. She was bombing, badly. Her first customer, and she was getting everything wrong. “Eeyup,” Big Mac said, startling the filly from her thoughts. “Ah’m teachin’ Bloom how t’ sell apples. Yer her first potential customer.” “Oh, my!” Cheerilee gasped as she turned to the filly. “Well, I could never say no to a learning opportunity, and I am honoured to be your first customer.” Technically, Miss Cheerilee wasn’t her first customer. Her first customer was that mare… what was her name? Sweetie Drops? Bon Bon? No, that mare wasn’t sweet at all… she was actually pretty mean. Sweetie Belle was anything but mean, so it stood to reason her name must have been Bon Bon. And she’d walked away with all of their apples… For free. She had to get this right. “Hi, Miss Cheerilee. How has yer day been?” Apple Bloom asked. “It’s been going very well, thank you,” her teacher responded. Okay, so Ah asked her if she were havin’ a good day… her bags! “Ya out shoppin’?” she asked. Apple Bloom felt a little silly… of course Miss Cheerilee had been shopping— she was at the markets. “Ah mean, uhh, are ya makin’ somethin’ special?” “Yes, yes I am,” Cheerilee laughed. “Ms. Mayor and I are catching up with a friend from high school tonight, so I thought I’d make something nice.” “Has yer friend ever had Sweet Apple Acres apples before?” Apple Bloom asked enthusiastically, which earned a chuckle from both Big Mac and Cheerilee. “Why no… no she has not! And we can’t let that slide now, can we?” Cheerilee gasped. The mare cast a glance over the apple selection available. “But I have no idea what I should serve. Do you have any suggestions, my little grocer?” she asked with a smile. This was it! She was actually going to sell apples! “Uhhh, Ah think…” She looked around at the selection. “Ah think some Cortland would be nice: they’re sweet an’ crisp, if yer gonna serve ‘em fer t’night. Or maybe some Honeycrisp?” Apple Bloom looked up to her teacher. “I think I might have two Cortlands and one Honeycrisp, thank you.” Apple Bloom placed the three apples gently in a paper bag. This was her first sale. Her first sale! She couldn’t go and do something silly like bruise the apples. “That’ll be… uhh, six bits, please,” Apple Bloom said, as she placed the paper bag on the counter in front of her teacher. Cheerilee hoofed over the bits; Apple Bloom counted them before dropping them into the float. “Ah did it!” Apple Bloom squealed with delight. “Ah did it, Big Mac. Ah sold apples!” “You did so well, I think you should write a report on it, hmm?” Cheerilee asked. “That would make a lovely holiday assignment.” “Awwwww!” the filly groaned. She blushed when both Big Mac and Cheerilee laughed. “I’m only teasing, Apple Bloom,” her teacher said. “I will see you when school resumes.” She leaned in and whispered quietly, “And you are still welcome to come visit me if you need to, okay?” Apple Bloom nodded, stealing a glance at Big Mac, who hadn’t seemed to notice. Cheerilee waved back as she trotted off. “Bye, Apple Bloom! Good bye, Big Mac.” Apple Bloom was invigorated about her successful sale to Miss Cheerilee, and her mood carried on through the morning. She continued to help around the stall while Big Mac taught her tips and tricks to selling apples that he’d picked up over the years. She spoke at length with Mister Biceps when he came to buy some of their apple brown bettys. He was bulking up for a bodybuilders’ competition in Las Pegasus, and found Applejack’s apple brown bettys perfect for carb-loading. Apple Bloom wasn’t entirely sure where he would be bulking up, because he looked pretty huge already. It was coming close to lunchtime, and Apple Bloom’s stomach was rumbling. “Hungry there, Bloom?” Big Mac asked. Apple Bloom blushed, nodding sheepishly. She hadn’t thought it had been that loud. “Well, we’ll have lunch soon. Applejack should be back soon, and we can take a break.” “Hello there, Big Mac, Apple Bloom!” “Doctor Goodall?” Big Mac snapped back around. “Good t’ see ya.” “Good to see you, too!” “How can Ah help ya t’day?” Big Mac asked. “I was wondering if you had any older, bruised apples,” the vet explained. “The shelter is running low on supplies for the animals, and—” “Say no more,” Big Mac responded, holding up a hoof. “We don’t got no old apples—” “Oh,” she replied, slumping as she started to walk away. “That’s okay, thank you anyway…” “Wait!” he called out to her. Big Mac chuckled. “Ah was sayin’, we don’t have any bruised apples, but Fluttershy said ya might be goin’ stall t’ stall lookin’ fer donations, so on behalf of th’ Apple family…” Big Mac pulled out two hessian sacks filled with apples. “They’re only cookin’ apples, but they’re in good condition.” “Oh, my… Big Mac, I could never—” “Ah won’t hear a word of it!” Big Mac frowned, shaking his head. “Y’all did right settin’ Winona’s leg after that last stampede, so consider it fair trade.” Apple Bloom smiled, seeing the large grin plastered across the veterinarian’s face. Her brother was a regular old Pinkie Pie… just much, much quieter. “Apple Bloom,” Big Mac said, turning towards the filly. “Why don’t ya give th’ Doc here a hoof gettin’ these back t’ the clinic? Applejack should be here with lunch by then.” “Yes, Sir!” Apple Bloom snapped off a crisp salute. Apple Bloom slung one sack over her back, while Doctor Goodall slung the other over hers. “Well, let’s be off then!” Doctor Goodall thanked Apple Bloom for her help with a few bits. After giving promises to the mare that she and her friends would volunteer some time at the shelter (Fluttershy would be so happy to hear the Cutie Mark Crusaders would be trying to get their animal shelter volunteer cutie marks!), Apple Bloom decided to reward herself for a job well done. It was almost lunchtime, and chocolates were a kind of food— dairy. That’s important, right? The bits that she’d been given were burning a hole in her pockets, and the poor filly didn’t even have pockets. So she had potentially dangerous money that could— nay, should— be spent. She’d have enough for a small box of chocolates to share. Probably share… She did earn them, after all. With a smile on her face that felt somewhat strange to her, given her recent mood, Apple Bloom skipped towards Bon Bon’s Bonbonniere Boutique. Maybe Ah’ll get some peanut butter cups. Or chocolate-coated cherries. Maybe Ah should get some fudge. In her chocolate daydream, Apple Bloom almost missed Applejack coming out of the door of Bon Bon’s shop. Almost. The filly dove under a bush as Applejack exited the shop. She would just tell Apple Bloom off for spending money on candy, then probably organise an appointment with Doctor Colgate, and Apple Bloom had only just narrowly avoided that earlier this morning. She dashed for the door before it closed, hoping Applejack wouldn’t look back. “Applejack!” somepony huffed. “Can you believe that mare?” Apple Bloom stopped in the doorway. Somepony was talking about Applejack, though Apple Bloom didn’t quite recognise the voice. She pushed herself up against the half-wall separating the entrance from the shop main. “Hmm?” she heard Bon Bon ask from the counter. “I can’t believe it,” the voice said. “All this time, keeping that dirty little secret.” “What dirty secret?” another voice asked. “Lyra,” Bon Bon moaned, “please don’t encourage her.” “But Bonnie-booooooooo,” Lyra whined, “I want to know!” “It’s not that big a deal—” “Are you kidding‽” the unknown mare’s voice rang out. “It’s huge!” “Carrot Top—” “Whaaaaaaat‽” Lyra whined. “Tell me tell me tell me tell me!” “I give up!” Bon Bon huffed. “Lyra, please keep an eye on the counter. I’ll be out back, making sure Miss Doo is delivering my stock, and not eating it.” “Sooooo… what’s the gossip?” Lyra stage-whispered. “I can’t believe Bon Bon didn’t tell you!” Carrot Top muttered. “It was all over Ponyville last month, everypony was talking about it. “Did you know Applejack had a foal?” Carrot Top whispered, loud enough to still be heard around the empty store. “Really‽” Lyra asked. “Wow, she’s looking pretty fit for it, then. Took my sister months to work off—” “No no no,” Carrot Top hissed. “Not recently. Years ago. Before you even came to Ponyville.” A loud crash came from the door to the kitchen. “You alright in there, honey?” Lyra called out. A voice rang out from the doorway. “I just don’t know what went wrong…” “We’re okay,” Bon Bon called out tersely. “You’ll be having extra chocolate for dessert tonight, though.” “Yes!” Lyra squealed. “I don’t know how you stay in shape with the amount of chocolate you eat,” Carrot Top huffed. “I work it off with Bonnie in be—” “Eugh! Enough of that, thanks!” “So Applejack had a foal, what’s the big deal?” “What do you mean, what’s the big deal?” “It happened in Canterlot a lot, young mothers would bring foals into the orphana— oh wait, was it Scootaloo‽” “What?” Carrot Top asked. “No! Why would it be Scootaloo?” “I dunno,” Lyra replied. “Never see her parents around. Makes sense to me.” “That’s just… I don’t… ugh! Are you going to let me finish the story or not?” “Meh, whatever,” Lyra said. “Mine was cooler. Wicked plot twist!” Apple Bloom sat there in the awkward silence, unable to tear herself away. She could hear what she presumed was Carrot Top’s frustrated breathing. The filly knew ponies had been talking about it… but everypony‽ She wanted to leave… she had to! But her hooves weren’t moving. Her chest tightened as she sat there. “Apple Bloom!” Carrot Top practically shouted. Apple Bloom froze, certain she had been caught. “Apple Bloom is her filly,” Carrot Top huffed. “Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?” Lyra gasped. “What’s all this shouting about?” Bon Bon growled as she exited the kitchen. “Sign here,” another voice said quietly. “I was just telling Lyra,” Carrot Top explained, “that the Apple family has been hiding a dirty little secret all these years. So much for their vaunted ‘Apple Family Values’.” Apple Bloom could hear the sarcasm dripping off Carrot Top’s final words. “It’s hardly—” Bon Bon started to object. “Oh, come on!” Carrot Top huffed. “Nopony knows who the father is! She’s an unwed mothe—” “And just what is wrong with that‽” the fourth voice hissed. The silence was deafening, and Apple Bloom cautioned a chance to look out from behind the wall. Dinky’s mother was standing there, wings flared, one eye glaring angrily at Carrot Top. “Oh, umm, Ditz… I didn’t mean—” “No!” Ditzy Doo snapped. “You obviously did mean something by it.” “I… I just, it’s—” “So, you have a problem with unwed mothers?” Apple Bloom could hear Ditzy’s heavy hooffalls as she stomped across the room. “You’ve never said anything to me!” “W-Well, you’re different…” “And just how am I any different?” “Well, you raised Dinky as your daughter… and they—” “Gave Apple Bloom a chance at a normal life!” Ditzy Doo shouted. “You, of all ponies, know how hard Dinky has it at school because of my decision. I would have thought— do you talk about me this way, behind my back? Or… or my daughter?” “I don’t, Ditz,” Carrot Top pleaded. “I promise!” “Well, you don’t say anything to Applejack’s face,” Ditzy growled. “And this is how you talk about her behind her back. And even if you don’t say it about me, you obviously have a problem with ponies like me. “I… I don’t want you around me or my daughter for a while.” Ditzy’s voice was quieter, but Apple Bloom could still hear the anger lurking. “She’s become friends with Apple Bloom, and it would crush her to hear her auntie talking this way about one of her friends.” “I’m sorry—” Carrot Top whimpered. “I’m leaving,” Ditzy interrupted. “I can’t— I just can’t be around you right now.” Apple Bloom watched, teary-eyed, as Ditzy Doo came around the corner of the half wall, glaring back at her friend. The grey pegasus tripped, crashing into the door. “Ditzy!” Lyra and Bon Bon shouted at once. “Are you okay?” Carrot Top asked in a quiet voice. “I just tripped on…” Ditzy opened her eyes and focused. “Apple Bloom?” Finally shocked out of her daze, the filly scrambled back to her hooves and ran out the door.