//------------------------------// // The Grey Paint Incident // Story: Ask Lovey Applebloom // by Discorded SheepcityUSA //------------------------------// The pain residing in Chrome’s gut was starting to subside, and was getting into a good recovery. His injuries that he had endured from the Crusaders antics had been worse before, so he wasn’t all too concerned. All the while though, Applejack practically demanded that he stay out of farm work for a little bit. Unfortunately, that also left him in the dust with nothing to do right now, seeing as he also needed to stay out of the Crusader’s antics for the moment due to his injury. Right now, he was reduced to striking up idle conversation with Granny Smith and answering the occasional text bubble. “Wait wait wait. You need to hop over watering can in bunny outfits while singing the alphabet?” Chrome asked the elderly mare with one of the biggest “What the buck?” faces he had. “Mmhm. Just one of the many necessary steps necessary in the process of making Zap Apple Jam.” Granny said with a tone of voice that conveyed she didn’t believe what just came out of her mouth was even the slightest bit out of the ordinary. It wasn’t quite the same on Chrome’s end, as critical amounts of “Wut” began to pump through his brain. Fortunately, he didn’t have to dwell too much on the subject, as a text bubble appeared before him. Hey, Mr. Hoof, you got a mare? *Wink* Chrome’s ears flattened and his face clearly showed he was a tad annoyed, and a slight blush was growing on his cheeks. “Not funny.” He said with a little aggravation in his voice. To Chrome: Yo buddy! You said you have one heck of a right hook right? So I'm just wondering, is that all you can do with your right hoof?....If You know what I mean The blush on Chrome’s face grew much more noticeable, and he appeared to be getting a lot more flustered. “Whoawhowhoa, keep it clean! Jeez…can these things get any more disturbing than that?” To Chrome: I think that you should take Applejack on a date, that may probably solve your problems about the opposite sex, she was the one who gave you your Cutie Mark after all, what do you think? Chrome could’ve sworn he could hear glass breaking somewhere in his skull, and he got so freaked out that he rolled right off the couch and flat on his face. “...Note to self: Text Bubbles can ALWAYS get worse.” Chrome grumbled. “What? What wuzzit this time?” Granny asked as she reached to the side of her rocking chair, pulled out a pair of reading glasses, and put them over her eyes. She scanned her eyeballs across the bubble’s question, and let out a huge laugh. “Hahahaha! T’aint no reason to get all worked up Chrome. Personally, Ah think it’s a good idea.” She said. As if Chrome wasn’t completely red before, he definitely was now. “Wh-what?! Applejack and I are just friends! That’s it!...even if she is really cute.” “What was that last part sonny?” Granny Smith asked with a sly grin. “Uhhh…can we change the subject? Pleeeease?” Chrome asked, practically sweating bullets now. To Chrome: Don't be scared of Pinkie pie, she just wants to be your friend. Plus WHY are you scared of her? To Chrome: Hey, there's no reason to be scared of Pinkie, she's a really sweet mare. Energetic, yes, but she means well and she only wants to make friends. But...and this is a big BUT so listen up, Boxer Boy. If she says anything like "your number is coming up" or if you see her mane go straight, run. Don't question me. Bucking RUUUUUUUUUN. “Oh thank Celestia, something that isn’t related to my crappy love-life. Anyway, let me enlighten you on why I mostly keep my interaction with Ms. Pie to a minimum. I know she has her best intentions, but whenever that mare is around, every last rule of reality goes out the window, and that terrifies me. Basically, Pinkie could pop her head out of a mouse hole or something at any second and give me a panic attack; and from all my time in the ring, I’ve become a little jumpy when somepony sneaks up on me and I can’t stand a shock like that.” To Chrome Hoof: Have you ever fought Seikimatsu Kyuseishu? You know that one pony that has that super punching barrage and goes "ATATATATATATATATATATATA!"? “There was blood and teeth EVERYWHERE…I couldn’t even tell if they were mine or his.” To Chrome: Did you think about training with Bulk Biceps and Iron Will? They could help you. If you do not know who are them, ask to Applejack or Apple Bloom Chrome deadpanned and gestured to his injured hoof. “What part of ‘Fired by the boxing committee’ didn’t you get?” After their little mishap with the punching bag, the Crusaders had decided to try a few things that were a little less on the dangerous side to get their Cutie Marks right now. In this case it was artwork…And Scootaloo was hating every second of the boringness. Standing still was NOT something that came easy to her. “Oh come on Scootaloo it isn’t that bad.” Sweetie Belle said to a quite aggravated looking Scootaloo… Whose coat appeared to be completely grey. “Friends do NOT use each other as canvases Sweetie Belle. I can’t even put into words how ticked off I am at you two right now.” Scootaloo growled. Applebloom rolled her eyes. She could understand Scootaloo being angry about something like this, but it was starting to get a little ridiculous. “C’mon Scootaloo, it was an accident! So what if Sweetie Belle spilled a little grey paint on ya? It doesn’t look TOO bad.” Applebloom said. “But look at me! I look so depressing! And it’s covering up all of my awesome orange coat!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “Relax Scootaloo, we can get you to my place and get you cleaned up. If I know Rarity, she’ll have what we need to get that stuff off you.” Sweetie Belle assured her. Scootaloo seemed to calm down after hearing that there was a possible solution. “Alright. Let’s hope she can get this off. I don’t want to be grey EVER again.” Scootaloo said. Applebloom picked up a pencil and clipboard which contained the following list of things the Crusaders had tried to get their marks. Beekeeping: [Results: Stuck to Chrome] [Conclusion: Considering the results, a minor victory.] Boxing [Results: Possibly ruptured Chrome’s stomach] [Conclusion: EPIC FAIL] Painting [Results: Grouchy and grey Scootaloo] [Conclusion: Colossal failure] To Applebloom: Hey! Listen! Ok...you know, I'm probably breaking WAY too many laws of time and space by telling you this...maybe I'm not... ugh, wibbly wobbly timey wimey. ANYWAY... SPOILER ALERT, Chrome's taking you to Sugarcube Corner. I think this is the part where you make yourself look pretty. Apple bloom: GUESS WHAT!?!?! Chromes gonna take you somewhere!! So you might wanna try and look nice but don't over do it. Some guys hate girls that over do it when they are going some where simple. This made Applebloom’s jaw drop, which caused the pencil she had in her mouth to fall to the floor. “W-What? C-Chrome’s going to take me out?!” Applebloom asked in a state of shock. A large blush started to creep its way onto her face. “Oh my gosh Applebloom that’s fantastic! Oooooh. You two are gonna be so cute together!” Sweetie Belle squealed. Scootaloo, still not one for the all the mushyness of the conversation, cleared her throat. “Ahem. Yeah Applebloom that’s great, but I’m still…ya know.” Scootaloo said gesturing to her currently grey coat. Both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked at their friend and smiled sheepishly. “Hehe. Oh right. We still need to get you cleaned off. Well, let’s get you to the boutique.” Sweetie Belle said, about to lead the way out of their clubhouse, Scootaloo being last in line, muttering some things that a filly REALLY should not be saying under her breath as she looked at her tarnished coat. *Ding!* The bell above the door to Carousel Boutique gave a loud ring upon the fillies’ entrance into the shop. “Rarity! Rarity, are you home?!” Sweetie Belle yelled for her sister. “Sweetie Belle is that you?! What are you doing back so soo-OH MY GOODNESS!” After hearing her little sister’s commotion, Rarity came downstairs, sporting the red glasses she always wore whenever she worked. Only to be greeted with the sight of the lackluster state of Scootaloo’s fur, which could only be described as an “atrocity.” “Oh dear Scootaloo! Whatever happened to your coat?! It looks so…drab!” Rarity gasped in pure horror. While Scootaloo was never one for the incredibly girly, she DID agree with Rarity that she didn’t look her best, considering her friend’s previous antics. All the while though, she still wore that “You don’t say.” look. “Yeah umm…we tried getting our Cutie-Marks in painting, and well…this happened.” Scootaloo muttered. “Look Rarity, Sweetie Belle told us you might have something that can get this off of her. Would you mind helpin’ Scootaloo out?” Applebloom asked. Rarity couldn’t say she was surprised that somehow the Crusaders had tried something so simple but still managed to make a mess… But…wow. “Oh but of course! Scootaloo, go upstairs into the bathroom and wash yourself off. There should be a case labeled ‘Emergency Shampoo’ next to the sink. Sun knows you need it.” Rarity said, pointing toward the stairs. Scootaloo thanked Rarity and trotted up the stairs, incredibly grateful that she would see her orange coat again once this was over with. And Rarity, with her back turned to the remaining fillies, didn’t notice the text blocks appear before Applebloom. To Applebloom: You should ask Rarity for advice on how to get Chrome’s attention. “Ah’m gettin’ ta that.” Applebloom said quietly through her teeth, hoping beyond hope she could get the bubble to go away before Rarity turned back around. She was definitely going to get Rarity’s help, seeing as she was the go-to pony on all things romantic, but nothing said she had to know WHO Applebloom was crushing on. Thankfully it disappeared before Rarity returned her gaze. “Honestly, how do you three get into such predicaments? Chrome Hoof must really have his hooves full watching over you three.” Rarity stated that which was quite obvious. “Getting our Cutie-Marks may be a little difficult, but the struggle is going to be worth it.” Sweetie Belle. Applebloom wasn’t exactly too sure about how to go about asking for Rarity’s help, so she decided to just try directly asking. “Ummm…Rarity?” Applebloom started. “Hm? What is it Applebloom?” Rarity asked. “Umm…You know a lot about love don’t you?” Applebloom asked, a little bit of nervousness in her question. Rarity’s interest was suddenly peaked, raising an eyebrow in response. Of all the ponies to ask her on this matter, one of the last ponies Rarity expected was this little filly. “I might have a great deal of knowledge on the subject of romance. But tell me darling, why do you ask?” Rarity asked. “W-Well, there’s this pony that I really REALLY like-“ Applebloom was cut off by the sound of Rarity giving out an over-exaggerated and dramatic gasp. “Oh my! That is just glorious! And finding love at such a young age! Oh please do tell. Who is this colt you have your eyes on?” Rarity asked, now wearing a questioning “duck-face” “Oh Oh Oh! Applebloom likes Ch-“ Before Sweetie “Big Mouth” Belle could say another word, a pink hoof quickly covered her mouth. Sweetie Belle looked in front of her to see the owner of said hoof, being Pinkie Pie, staring at her with a very rare serious expression. “Foooorevvverrrr.” Pinkie whispered menacingly. Pinkie removed her hoof from Sweetie’s mouth, to which Sweetie Belle understood. “Uhhh…Nevermind” Pinkie’s demeanor quickly changed back to her usual, quirky and bubbly self. “That’s better!” Pinkie said while happily hopping up and down. Applebloom and Rarity were at a loss for words when they saw their friend SPAWN in front of them the second Sweetie Belle was about to reveal Applebloom’s crush , and while Applebloom was relieved, she was still baffled… Considering the circumstances. “Erm…Pinkie? What are ya doin’ here?” she asked. Pinkie turned her attention to Applebloom, continuing to smile. “Just making sure no Pinkie Promises are being broken this day. Looks like I showed up just in time too! Anyway, I’d love to stay and chat girls, but there’s work to be done! The whole lot of ‘strange’ things just happened at once a moment ago, and I need to get back to business.” Pinkie said, thinking back to the events that had unfolded at Sugarcube Corner… “Hm. Sort of a slow day isn’t it honey?” Carrot Cake asked his wife, who stood by his side at the register of Sugarcube Corner. Cup Cake couldn’t agree more. Not many ponies had come into the store today, and standing at the register, just waiting for something to happen could wear quite much on a pony’s nerves. And so far, neither pony was fairing very well in this matter. And that’s when one of THEM appeared. To Mr. and Mrs. Cake: *Hands two coupons for a free day at the spa followed by VIP tickets to the Wonderbolts display show*:Take the day off, Pinkie can hold the fort while you're gone. The tickets mentioned in the text bubble appeared before the two ponies and fluttered to the counter in front of them. The Cakes were pretty taken back by what had just taken place. From the looks of it, a few words had appeared and created coupons to the spa and tickets to a Wonderbolt air show out of complete nothingness, and was now prompting them to leave the store. This is one of the strangest things they’ve seen yet… And they live with Pinkie. “Ummm…alright?...Pinkie dear, can you come here please?”Cup Cake called to her employee, who then emerged from the kitchen in the back, with the usual bounce in her step, and what appeared to be whipped cream on her face. “Pinkie, we’re going to…Pinkie why is there whipped cream on your face?” Carrot Cake asked. Pinkie’s eyes darted to said topping which coated almost her entire mouth and chin and gave a sheepish grin. “Ummm…Because there’s always whipped cream on my face?” She said, whilst licking all of it off in one fell flick of her tongue across her muzzle. “...True. Anyway, seeing as it’s kind of a slow day, we’ll be taking the day off, and if it isn’t too much trouble, would you mind looking after everything here?” Cup Cake asked. Pinkie stood on her hind legs and gave an army salute to her employer. “Yes ma’am! I’ll see to it that everything stays as ship-shape as a shippity-shape can be!” Pinkie assured. Both Cakes chuckled at Pinkie’s “Sincere Randomness”, thanked her for the help, and trotted out the doors of Sugarcube Corner, which left Pinkie by herself. Seeing as nopony was around to see, Pinkie took out a few cupcakes and shoved them all into her mouth at the same time, chewing hard on the soft pastries. Then all of a sudden, a bubble of text, not unlike the one presented to the Cakes, appeared in front of her, stating the following. To Pinkie Pie: Yes, I am here on behalf of Chrome Hoof. He is showing Applebloom the ways of fine dining so that she can eat dinner with Sweetie Belle at Rarity's without upsetting her, in preparation, I am relying on you to set up ALL the tables to have on top of them, a vase of roses in between 2 candles all of the supplies will be available in the storage room Also, take this *puts Octavia's band in the room along with the sheet music to a romantic symphony*. I bid you adieu In a flash of light similar to what appeared to bring in the text bubble, Octavia and her band appeared in the corner of the room, continually playing the same, romantic-sounding song, as if they were in some sort of loop. Pinkie was quite bewildered at seeing this and swallowed her cupcakes. “Oh, hi Tavi!...Hello?” Pinkie got no response out of the mare, and she continually strung at her cello Pinkie then moved her attention to the text bubble and read the whole thing over. “Hmmm…Oh! I think I got it! You’re some ponies from an alternate dimension outside of our time and space that can only communicate with us through these text bubbles, and are currently trying to help Applebloom with a crush through these things!...Just a hunch.” Pinkie said all in one breath, having figured out the bubble’s true intentions. “Hehehe. Don’t worry. I won’t tell Chrome about this. It’ll be a nice surprise!” Pinkie giggled. To Pinkie: Here is a secret apple cupcake recipe. *Hands it to her* You should make this for Applebloom. A piece of paper stating that which was said appeared in Pinkie’s hoof. She looked it over and smiled in anticipation. “Hehehe. Dis gun be guud.” Pinkie said… Pinkie was still in Carousel Boutique, recalling the events that had occurred a while earlier. Rarity tapped the pink mare on her head and shook her out of her trance. “Erm, Pinkie Pie darling…are you alright?” Rarity asked. Pinkie blinked a few times and shook her head, clearing her thoughts long enough to get back to the conversation with her friend. “Yup! Just providing the bubble-ponies with an explanation through my thoughts!” Pinkie said cheerfully with an ear-to-ear smile. “…Alright?...Wait Pinkie, you said you had work to do?” Rarity pointed out. Realizing that she still had a lot of preparation to go through back at Sugarcube Corner, and hit a hoof to her forehead. “Oh where is my head today? I got so caught up in exposition that I nearly forgot I had go back to Sugarcube Corner! See you later everypony!” Pinkie said as she trotted her way out of Carousel Boutique, leaving a room of confused ponies behind. “Well…That just happened.” Applebloom said. “Uh-huh.” Sweetie Belle said while she slowly nodded her head. “…So Applebloom, you said you required my ‘Romantic Expertise’ no?” Rarity asked. Applebloom shook her thoughts of Pinkie’s abrupt entrance and exit, and got back to the matter at hoof. “Uhhh…yeah. Ah was thinkin’ you could give me some advice, and…maybe…get me to look pretty.” Applebloom said as her face turned a bright shade of crimson. After hearing that sentence, Rarity was practically beaming. “Oh absolutely! I would be more than happy to help win the heart of your beloved! Applebloom, when I am done, no colt in Equestria will be able to resist you!” Rarity confidently declared. ‘...Ah hope to Celestia she’s right.’ Applebloom thought to herself.