//------------------------------// // Carbon Fire // Story: Bloom Filter // by ferret //------------------------------// The dream was still on her mind clear as crystal, when Apple Bloom woke up into the sunlight. She squirmed to all fours and jumped down from her bed, gallopping all the way to Big Mac’s room, pounding on his door again. She wasn’t sure how he became the designated dream recorder, but he never objected, so when he opened the door Apple Bloom let him have it. He patiently wrote down for her all the juicy details of her most unusual dream. The day, that day, was a Big Macintosh day. It was a school day that is, where Apple Bloom got to look forward to not going to school at all and being watched over by Big Macintosh. Sacrificing his schooling for her, Apple Bloom didn’t even want to ask what kind of unholy bargains her family was having to make with the administrative faculty, to avoid flunking the lot of them. Big Macintosh let Apple Bloom watch him working at the sewing machine, now that the surprise was over. After lunch he was sewing her up a bow that Apple Bloom could—in theory—just slip in place, instead of having to get someone to tie it. It was really slow work though, and as patient as Big Mac was with everything, Apple Bloom found herself about as patient as a weasel in a cocaine factory these days. So she just went outside to play instead. She ought to have paid attention to her surroundings probably, instead of just kicking the ball around, until she got so enthusiastic that it rocketed off and fell into the creek. She probably shouldn’t have killed so much time splashing around in the cool but pleasant, almost belly deep water to get it. She was laughing up a storm though as the ball jittered and bounced in the water, despite her efforts to rouse it from its watery bed. Eventually, a calculated application of her hind legs ejected it and Apple Bloom chased it right up the bank. She ran after the ball out of the creek, shaking herself off then... ...stopping short, as Apple Bloom realized that she just shook off like a dog. Then she just shrugged, and continued to run after it. When in Rome. As Apple Bloom nose-bumped the dripping ball ahead of her with a half gallop, down around the side of the farm house, it probably shouldn’t have been a total surprise to her what she saw. But it was. Diamond Tiara out of nowhere! Screeching to a halt, Apple Bloom found herself facing off with none other than Diamond Tiara just walking up like she owned the place. The two of them stood there for a timeless moment, staring at one another in speechless astonishment: one on two legs, one on four; one stunned by what she saw, and the other paralyzed with the anxiety of being singled out, and ridiculed. “I—ah can explain, it’s just,” Apple Bloom was the first to speak, but the young, reedy sound of her voice shocked her into silence again, reminded her of just how different she was now. That broke Diamond Tiara out of her trance though, and the girl exclaimed loudly and without restraint, “Apple Bloom?!” Apple Bloom’s horsey voice caught in her horsey throat, looking up at Diamond Tiara sheepishly, with her ears no doubt at the angle that made them looked like sheep ears, instead of horse ears. “I...uh...yeah,” she mumbled haplessly. “Why are you a horse?” Tiara demanded, suddenly furious with her. “You’re not supposed to be like, all the way a horse!” she accused, glaring down at Apple Bloom. “You’re just supposed to have the ears! And the tail!” She seemed outright outraged with Apple Bloom, making Apple Bloom shrink down even more, mumbling out confusedly, “I... uh... what?” “Never mind,” Tiara snapped irritably, flouncing around, and just storming off without another word. “I really thought I was onto something too,” she mumbled quietly to herself, once she was out of earshot. Of course, Apple Bloom heard it, because nothing was out of her earshot. Yet Apple Bloom still had no idea what just happened. She just sat there like a lump, watching Diamond Tiara storming off, without a clue of what to do. Then she got to her hooves, and stood there silently, watching Diamond Tiara storming off. Then Apple Bloom tilted her head, still watching Diamond Tiara storming off, down the road away from their farm house. Where was her vehicle? Didn’t someone drive her here? Apple Bloom certainly didn’t recall a car pulling up. She didn’t... Diamond didn’t walk the whole way here, did she? “Somethin’ goin on out here?” Big Macintosh said, poking his head out the front door. Apple Bloom couldn’t spare him an explanation though, and just shouted, “Diamond, wait up!” Then, Apple Bloom charged down the road after that pink girl, after that bouncing, retreating mop of purple hair and its white highlights. Diamond Tiara didn’t wait, and if anything she seemed to walk even faster. But Diamond Tiara didn’t have four legs, or whatever it was that let Apple Bloom run around this fast, this easily. “Diamond, stop!” Apple Bloom called out without effect, trotting up to the retreating girl, asking her, “Did you walk here? Why aren’ you at school? What’s going on?” “Leave me alone!” Diamond shouted angrily, picking up her pace to a run, and literally running away from Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom stayed there in shock for a moment, but then charged determinedly after the fool girl. There was something seriously wrong here, and it wasn’t Apple Bloom being a pony. She didn’t have to run very far, anyway. It wasn’t long before Diamond Tiara stumbled to a halt, bending over with her hands on her knees and gasping for breath. And Apple Bloom settled to a halt beside her, not even winded, looking over the exhausted girl worriedly. The soft weave purple jeans Diamond Tiara wore were all filthy with road dust. Her hair was in such disarray that even her tiara was crooked. And she looked about ready to drop on her feet. She had walked here! From where, the bus stop? Further than that? “Ah ain’t lettin’ you alone until you tell me what’s wrong, Diamond Tiara,” Apple Bloom said stubbornly. It felt so wrong taking what amounted to a parental role, when she was half the other girl’s height, and with such a little voice. Diamond had to hear her though. Apple Bloom wasn’t going to let her run away from... whatever Diamond Tiara was running away from. “Maybe I’ll... to town and then... you’ll have to leave me alone...” Diamond said quarrelsomely, while catching her breath. “Well, we got about three miles to go, so why don’t you tell me about it on the way?” Apple Bloom said with an unsympathetic simper. When Diamond Tiara looked with measurable dismay down the road, Apple Bloom added lightly, “Or, we could go home right over there, and talk about it over a snack.” Diamond Tiara held out for a few more seconds, but sighed in resignation, shooting a glance at Apple Bloom saying, “Well you’re clearly as sneaky as ever.” “Ah take offense to that!” Apple Bloom protested loudly. It wasn’t very convincing. The walk back to the farm house was slower than the run away. Which itself was disturbing because Diamond was in fact, barely limping along. It gave Apple Bloom a chance to catch up on her friend’s life, at least. Even catching up with current events wasn’t working very well though. “So, how’s school been?” Apple Bloom asked while trotting in quick steps alongside the steadily walking girl. “Fine,” Diamond answered, looking forward fixedly, despite Apple Bloom down there to her side looking up at her. “Anything new going on?” Apple Bloom asked hopefully, and a little nervously. “Not really,” Diamond said flatly, sticking her hands in the pockets of her purple jeans. They walked along silently, and Apple Bloom piped up again, “So about Silver Sp–” “Can we not talk about me please?” Diamond said grumpily, thus causing a small body of readers to stand up in disgust and unfavorite a certain fanfic. “What about you?” she offered nosily, “Did you really dream up a golden apple and then, then— this?” Diamond didn’t say what she meant, just waving vaguely over Apple Bloom’s diminutive form. Apple Bloom had a good idea what she was talking about, though. “Sure did,” Apple Bloom answered confidently, “It was when ah first changed. Ah mean, not for real, but in the dream. Soon as ah laid hands on that dream apple, poof, ah was lookin’ up at Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, and they were looking at a pony between ‘em.” “They were in your dream too?” Diamond asked uncertainly. “Yeah, an’ tha’s how ah knew it was special,” Apple Bloom said excitedly, “Because they remembered it too when they woke up. So it was like, a magic dream.” “Did they have horse ears in your dream?” Diamond said hopefully... overly hopefully. “Uh, no it was just me that touched the apple,” Apple Bloom said, “An’ it disappeared when ah turned into a pony, in a big ol’ flash of light.” “So, neither of them had like, horse ears, or a tail?” Diamond continued to confirm. Apple Bloom shook her head. It occurred to her that, without being willing to look down at her, Diamond wasn’t going to see Apple Bloom shaking her head. “No they didn’t,” Apple Bloom also confirmed verbally. “How about Applejack?” Diamond responded quickly. “She wasn’ even in the dream!” Apple Bloom squealed sharply. “What is it with you and horse ears?” “It...” Diamond’s face firmed up. “Never mind,” she grumbled, hunching her shoulders. They were at the farm house then, and Apple Bloom had run out of ways to try and get Diamond Tiara to open up. Big Mac was standing out on the porch when they got there, and Apple Bloom looked up at him, saying “This is mah friend Diamond Tiara.” Diamond stood stiffly by Apple Bloom’s side, looking straight at Big Macintosh, her fists clenched at either side of her. You couldn’t really tell, but she was trembling, just a bit. “She came all this way to see me,” Apple Bloom continued, giving him as knowing a look as she could give, “So ah was hoping she could stay over a bit. Ah don’t suppose you would mind fixing us a little snack? She’s been on the road a while.” “Nope,” Big Macintosh said. It took Apple Bloom a while to process that, in which time her brother turned around, and walked into the house, heading for the kitchen. “C’mon in,” Apple Bloom said then, trotting easily into the open doorway and turning back to Diamond with a happy smile. “Ah wanna show you aroun’!” Diamond was still looking after Big Macintosh with something of a perplexed look on her face, but she masked it off and said neutrally, “Okay, fine,” and followed Apple Bloom into the house. “Mah room is upstairs,” Apple Bloom said confidently. “We can hang out there until he’s got something ready, and ah can also get mah–” She paused, her tail switching back and forth confoundedly. “...never mind,” she finished. “Just follow me.” It was halfway up the stairs that Apple Bloom noticed Diamond Tiara covering her mouth, to hold back a smile. “Somethin’ wrong?” Apple Bloom asked with an eyebrow raised. Or however Apple Bloom’s huge freaky eyes worked, now. “It’s just going up the stairs, you look like, kinda like a cat,” Diamond said amusedly. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “They sure are big for you now,” Diamond suggested, “I don’t know how you even manage.” “Ah. been. like. this. for a. week,” Apple Bloom said, punctuating each of her words with a leap up the stairs, turning around to look down at the top, “Two weeks, ah mean... easy to lose track of time. Ah’ve had plenty of time to get used to it.” Down the hallway, Apple Bloom paused briefly at her door, which had a thick layer of socks sort of nailed and wrapped around the corner so it wouldn’t close right. “Honestly climbing’s even easier,” she said offhandedly to Diamond Tiara behind her, pulling the door open with the edge of her hoof. “It’s doors that are lots harder now.” Apple Bloom walked in through the door. On reaching the center of the room, she turned her head around to wait for Diamond to finish coming in. Which of course prompted Diamond to tease her with, “Wow. How far can you turn your head around?” Actually it didn’t really... sound like teasing at all. Diamond had a look of incredulity, more than amusement. Apple Bloom looked down at her own butt, and walked on her hooves in place to turn totally around. “Ah don’t really know,” she said, now entirely facing Diamond, a hoof lifting up anxiously despite herself. “Not all the way around, but lots further. Ah’m not much like a horse at all in some ways,” she admitted, asking snarkily, “You ever seen a horse who could look at their own buh...uh... hold on.” Blushing quickly, Apple Bloom darted over to the other reason she came up to her room. Biting down on it with her teeth and pulling the sewn cloth off from where it was laying flat against the top of her dresser, she gave it a few shakes before tossing it up so it’d fall over her head. “What on earth?!” Diamond exclaimed, while Apple Bloom’s head was still surrounded by cloth. “What?” Apple Bloom said self consciously, struggling through it and sticking her front hooves out the sleeves. Her head came next and... dang it, she always forgot to take off the bow! She’d just have to squeeze it through this time. No way she was going to repeat her usual awkward dressing ritual for Diamond. Her head popped out, and the bow came askew in her hair but held in place barely. “Is that a dress??” Diamond Tiara demanded of Apple Bloom. “Of course it is!” Apple Bloom said tinnily, trying not to appear too ashamed or weak or anything. “Somethin’ wrong with a pony wearin’ a dress?” She shook the bottom of it down over her hindquarters, and curled her tail up like a snake to thread it through the hole in the back. Then she twisted around to bite down on the crude hitch threaded around the tail hole, pulling it to cinch it up, so nobody was going to see her ...pony bits or anything. As if she hadn’t already been giving Diamond an eyeful, going up the stairs just now. Darn it! “Ah’m sorry Diamond,” Apple Bloom said a bit more apologetically, standing straight. “It’s the only dress ah got, an’ ah cain’t go gettin’ it filthy or anything, so I only been wearing it when we got guests over. Didn’t expect you were coming, so uh... sorry about that.” Boy howdy, running around naked in the woods. If Diamond didn’t think Apple Bloom was an uncultured hick yet, she sure did now! And yet, Diamond didn’t seem... concerned with that at all. “You call that a dress?!” Diamond continued to utter shrilly, staring bug-eyed, and Apple Bloom wasn’t sure if Diamond sounded furious or horrified. It was like Diamond cared more about the dress than Apple Bloom being decent! “W-well it’s a little stained,” Apple Bloom admitted, lifting a hoof. “A little?!” Diamond exclaimed. “A-and the sleeves aren’t quite aligned, but it’s okay if it wrinkles a bit,” Apple Bloom said, shifting uneasily against both the attention, and the ill fitting seams. “A bit?!” Diamond continued to blurt unbelievingly. “Hey, if it works, it works!” Apple Bloom said touchily. “It’s not that bad ...is it?” “Apple Bloom, that dress is a disaster,” Diamond Tiara said emphatically. “Are those grass stains? You used white fabric? It looks like you just tore off some window curtains!” Apple Bloom fidgeted uncomfortably, saying, “W-well that’s why the downstairs window ain’t got no more–” “My god, you did use window curtains,” Diamond said, sinking to her knees before the little pony. Almost on reflex she reached out and started adjusting Apple Bloom’s loose bow, griping, “How can you even bear to walk around in that thing?” “It’s all I got!” Apple Bloom shouted suddenly at Diamond Tiara, making the other girl jerk back. It surprised even Apple Bloom with the way it belted out of her, her heart just aching in her chest. “Just... let me have this,” she pleaded, “Let me have this one thing, Diamond. Please!” Apple Bloom pleaded, staring at the ground, both furious and sad. Though Apple Bloom couldn’t bear to look her in the eyes, she was still surprised at how Diamond didn’t have any sharp snarky replies to that. She risked a look at Diamond, only to find the girl had the cheesiest most insincere smile on her face. “It looks really...” Diamond said, struggling mightily with her impulses, “...functional?” Apple Bloom squinted at Diamond, who attempted to smile wider. “Okay, fine,” Apple Bloom said, blinking and turning away. “Just—let’s not talk about it any more. Let’s talk about something else.” “Like what?” Diamond said, flopping carelessly back on Apple Bloom’s bed. “Like why you walked three miles just to yell at me.” Diamond didn’t answer, just staring up at the coverlet silently. “Y’all wanna come down?” came Big Mac’s voice. The older boy poked his head into the room slightly, drawing both their attention. He ducked out once they saw he had the snacks ready. Diamond Tiara stood up and made to leave, but Apple Bloom got in her way then, and fixed her gaze, saying, “This ain’t over. You cain’t just leave that stuff bottled up. This ain’t just a silly little thing. Something is really botherin’ you.” “How’s it any of your business?” Diamond sniffed, folding her arms and turning her nose up and away. “Don’t matter if it’s mah business,” Apple Bloom said grumpily. Diamond lost her aloof look and glared down at her angrily, ready to retort, so Apple Bloom qualified, “It’s about you not me. You need to talk to someone, and ah’m your friend, so it just might as well be me.” They stared at each other challengingly, and Apple Bloom looked away this time, turning for the door and saying, “C’mon let’s go eat.” Yet another thing Diamond didn’t protest at all. Apple Bloom descended the stairs all on her own, much again to Diamond’s surprise and amusement. At least this time she wasn’t getting flashed by Apple Bloom all the way down. The snack meal was a bit of an odd experience. It could be said that Apple Bloom was a lot smaller now, and most of her diet was taken up by silage, but it could also be said that Diamond Tiara was eating the cheese and crackers like there was no tomorrow. She started out eating them delicately and daintily, but you could see the girl had worked up an appetite. Probably by walking three miles just to yell at Apple Bloom. Diamond did pause eating, when Big Mac set down a second plate of crackers with cheese already spread on them in front of Apple Bloom, sitting up there in her high chair. Apple Bloom craned down to lip up one of the crackers taking a bite out of it and enjoying the way the gummy cheese melted the crunchy cracker while the cracker smoothed out the stickiness of the cheese, and Diamond Tiara said, “So... you can still eat anything, now?” “Juth abouth,” Apple Bloom said glancing over to the girl. She paused to finish her mouthful and said, “Just about, yeah. Ah tell you, it was a sore situation we started out in.” Apple Bloom paid mind to Big Macintosh as she talked, who was trying not to hover just off in the other room. “Ah thought ah could only eat hay and grass, ‘cause I’m a horse and all. But half a week later, and ah was eatin’ stuff just fine.” She wasn’t going to specifically mention the chocolate cake incident, for her dignity and that of her family. “You afe hyy?” Diamond said through a mouthful of crackers. She took a drink from her glass and said, “You ate hay?!” “Yeap,” Apple Bloom agreed frankly, “And grass too. Still do, in fact. Ah can only eat a couple of these cheese cracker things, and then well...” she pointed over to her hay bale, where about a tenth of it was gone. “Ah gotta eat that stuff.” Diamond followed her hoof’s direction with her gaze and said, “That’s gotta be so weird.” “Y’have no idea,” Apple Bloom mumbled, taking another bite of cheese and crackers. After the snack, Apple Bloom got down from the table, where she went to fill up her water bucket. That got the salty stickiness out of her mouth, and sure as rain Diamond Tiara got to stand there impatiently, while Apple Bloom went and bit off pieces of hay. She made sure to chew them placidly, keeping quiet with a wan eye on Diamond Tiara. “How long is this gonna take?” Diamond said predictably. Apple Bloom stuck the bolus in her cheek and said, “Ith takes a while, sorry. Maybe while ah eat, you can tell me what brought you here today.” She resumed innocently chewing then, and Diamond’s glare got more vehement. “You sneaky little pony,” she said, but... gave a half smile and said, “Alright, fine. You got me.” She pulled up a chair and sat backwards in it, saying waving a hand unsurely, “So I have these weird... dreams.” “Say what?!” Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh exclaimed. Somehow without making a sound, her brother had come right up, listening to them in a completely absorbed manner. Diamond actually looked at him fearfully, as he blushed full in the face and said, “Right...sorry.” He retreated then, going upstairs to his room no doubt, leaving Apple Bloom alone with Diamond Tiara, and her hay. Apple Bloom swallowed, and repeated, “Say what?” in a more level tone. “You weren’t in mah dream, were ya?” “No, it’s not a dream,” Diamond Tiara corrected, scrunching the palm of her fist against her forehead. Apple Bloom bit off another mouthful of hay as Diamond explained. “It’s– it’s more like something that really happened, except it didn’t. Like I remember that it didn’t happen, but I still remember what didn’t happen even though I can’t remember.” Apple Bloom... had no idea what the fuck Diamond Tiara just explained. Diamond looked aside, frowning angrily and saying, “I’m not crazy.” Apple Bloom paused her hay, and carefully worded out, “Ah never said you were,” going back to chewing it. She took another sip out of the water bucket. “You were thinking it though,” Diamond said snidely. Apple Bloom sighed inwardly and paused again, saying, “Ah wasn’t thinking it, but I sure am now. Diamond Tiara, what’s wrong? You can tell me.” And there was that little tremble again. Now or never, it looked like. So Apple Bloom got to stand there and chew on some hearty alfalfa while Diamond Tiara sat there in a chair and poured her very conflicted heart out. “So I have these things,” she attempted to clarify. “It feels like they’re a dream, but I know they’re not? But they have to be, because they’re things that never even happened. It feels like they did happen, but it also feels like they didn’t. And your sister had horse ears.” That made Apple Bloom’s ears perk. Diamond was having dreams about Applejack? She still didn’t really understand what Tiara was saying though, and Diamond didn’t make it any easier, by correcting herself again with, “I don’t mean... she didn’t for real, but just like in these not-dream things? Your sister, and Rarity and like... some other students too. And there was something really scary and dangerous that they were fighting? It looked like a demon! And—” Diamond paused, pressing her fingers to her temples, “I can’t remember. It’s all just in pieces. I think she like... did something bad to everyone, to... to me, and then ...it was like it never happened. Everyone was just going to school every day, and nobody remembered, and... and...” Diamond opened her eyes, looking at Apple Bloom with terror blurting out, “I think she wiped everyone’s mind!” Apple Bloom had stopped chewing her hay. Diamond Tiara scrunched her face up, turning aside and saying, “No, that’s not right, that’s just stupid. I don’t know why it didn’t work on me I don’t... I don’t think it happened at all. I just... I just remember. But I’m like the only one who remembers, and it just doesn’t like, remember, the right way! And the worst thing about it is, this all happened at the Fall Formal.” Apple Bloom frowned at that. She swallowed, and said, “...but you’re a Freshman,” as if that weren’t obvious. “I think I’m just going crazy,” Diamond said in a defeated tone, “I remember it happened at the next Fall Formal. The one coming up next month. The one I actually go to. That makes like, no sense at all.” “Maybe you’re psychic!” Apple Bloom suggested, trying to sound encouraging. “Yeah, well, there are only two kinds of psychic,” Diamond said acidly, giving Apple Bloom a disgusted yet distant look, as if Apple Bloom wasn’t the one Diamond was looking at with disgust at all. “The crazy ones who are just babbling nonsense,” Diamond jeered, “And the liars.” Apple Bloom stared at Diamond silently. And it all seemed so clear to her now, she just couldn’t imagine how Diamond Tiara is even having a problem. “Diamond,” she said flatly, “You’re psychic.” “I’m not crazy though!” Diamond said anxiously, covering her head in her arms. “I don’t want to be crazy!” “No, you’re not crazy,” Apple Bloom said, standing and sticking her neck forward. “You really are psychic!” “That’s impossible,” Diamond Tiara said dismissively, rolling her eyes at Apple Bloom and crossing her arms across the chair. “Psychics don’t really exist,” she pouted, looking away. “Diamond, look at me,” Apple Bloom said encouragingly. “Just do it!” she added at the girl’s hesitance, and Diamond Tiara looked at Apple Bloom steadily if uneasily. “Ah’m a little pony,” Apple Bloom explained, tapping her chest emphatically. “Ah had a dream a couple weeks ago, where ah psychically communicated with mah friends, and they confirmed it the next day, without me even asking. And then ah just magically turned into a little pony. Ah been livin’ life as... this... whatever ah am, for the last two weeks, and ah haven’t woke up from it, and no one who saw me said ah was crazy for claiming to be a little pony.” “Look,” Apple Bloom admitted, moving her hoof to massage at her forehead exasperatedly, “It sounds like you been dealing with this for a long time, tellin’ yourself you ain’t psychic, an’ not wanting ta be crazy, but you’re talking to a pony right now. A little human colored pony who is your friend, and who can talk.” “Diamond Tiara,” Apple Bloom said evenly, “Magic is real. You’re psychic. Deal with it.” The little pony then looked at her leadingly, and started to say, “Now what’s this about—” but that’s as far as she got, before she saw Diamond Tiara’s chest heaving and her eyes dripping with tears. “I have to, like I... I have to,” Diamond said unsteadily. Apple Bloom looked away politely, waving a hoof saying, “Go into mah room ah’ll make sure no one bothers you in there.” Diamond stood, and almost fell. She was practically running up the stairs then, and Apple Bloom heard a door slam... poorly. She winced at that, hoping it wasn’t stuck again. Then she sighed, and it was a shuddering sigh, Apple Bloom’s own emotions bubbling up again from the sounds coming through the ceiling. Good lord that Diamond Tiara could wail. Swallowing dryly, despite just having drank a bunch of water with her hay, Apple Bloom trotted over to the stairs. She ran up them determinedly, and sure enough her brother was already starting across the hall, called to the unprecedented sound of Diamond Tiara, crying her eyes out in Apple Bloom’s room. Apple Bloom shoved her hooves against her brother’s shins, stopping him in his tracks and shaking her head silently at him. Then she sort of slid him back into his room, not that he was resisting in particular. There, she tried her best to fill him in on what little she knew. “Diamond Tiara walked here,” Apple Bloom said gravely. “Like, all the way here. Ah don’t know where from.” “What–” he said but she interrupted, saying, “No, let me finish. She’s been havin’ some kind of visions or something. Ah think it’s connected to what happened to me, more of that crazy magic stuff. Somethin’ terrible is gonna happen and it’s been eating her up for ah don’t know how long. She thought she was crazy, so she came out all this way for... something about her visions ah didn’t really get it, but ah told her that magic was real and ah’m a little talking horse so she couldn’t deny it. So she just found out that she ain’t crazy and um... something, so she’ll be fine. She just needs some time to let it out... ah think.” Apple Bloom started out confidently, but her grasp of the facts was weaker than she thought, and she was curling her tail against her dress by the end of it. Big Macintosh sat down at his swivel chair at his desk, sat there and looked down at her quietly as she finished saying her peace. “Eeyup,” was his answer, turning back to his desk and pulling his chair in. He was working on engine designs, if the scattered papers on the floor were any indication. Just the sort of thing he did, when Big Macintosh was feeling worried or anxious about something. Apple Bloom fidgeted there, and said quietly, “...thanks for the snacks. It really helped, ah think.” He turned and looked down at her again, and gave her a warm smile. His smile faltered at a particularly loud sob from Diamond Tiara though, and he just turned back to his desk and started running his pencil along the edge of his T-square. Apple Bloom just waited there on the floor quietly. And then waited there on her back quietly. And then sighed, and waited there on her side, quietly. After an interminable amount of time, Diamond finally sounded like she was calming down. The sounds of her cries and Big Mac’s pencil scratches diminished to only Big Mac’s pencil scratches. Apple Bloom lifted her head, struggling to her feet and craning her ears. All she heard were sniffles though, quiet sniffles she had no right to hear, were it not for those darned ears on her head. Eventually, they too came to a halt. Apple Bloom took that as the best hint she was going to get. She stood, looking at Big Macintosh, who gave her a silent thumbs up, and then Apple Bloom walked herself out of his room, and down the short hall to her door. Apple Bloom’s door had gotten wedged shut, go figure, but that was Apple Bloom’s fault for using this stupid sock to hold it from latching. After a moment of consternation, and a serious consideration to call Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom finally just bit down on the corner of the door sticking out, and pushed her little legs backward, falling on her butt as the door jerked unstuck again. She trotted in to find Diamond Tiara sitting on her bed looking, well, deflated is a good word for it. She definitely wasn’t liable to burst into tears after that little episode back there. Apple Bloom was trying to think of something to say to comfort her, but Diamond spoke first. “I stole a laptop,” she said dimly. Like it wasn’t even any big thing. “I stole a laptop, because I couldn’t think of any other way,” she continued. “I heard about the news broadcast and I just like had to see it and... I couldn’t sleep I—I started remembering again. So I had to steal the laptop. There was no other way to watch it at the orphanage. They only have like TVs, not computers or anything. So I found the news broadcast online and downloaded it, and you were like, a girl with horse ears. Just like what I remembered. Except it was Applejack, not you.” She sighed, saying, “My roommates hate me it’s just... it’s nothing special it’s just a little like, competitive there. Everyone wants to be adopted, even if you’re like... even if it’s too late. I was okay for a while, but then they found where I was hiding it, and the laptop disappeared. I thought they were going to tell on me; I didn’t think they were going to steal it. I guess I did think they were going to steal it, but I like—I didn’t care I had to have something to tell me I’m not... like... crazy.” “So they stole it,” Diamond reiterated, with a hint of anger in her exhausted voice, “And I couldn’t watch it anymore. And I couldn’t stop thinking how crazy I was and get any sleep. I know I like, stole it, but I just like, took it from some kid who just, like, used it for games. I really needed it!” She looked at Apple Bloom, who was already back on her haunches, ears lowered, as Diamond finished her story. “So they found out I stole it. The laptop, I mean,” Diamond said hesitantly, “The school found out, I mean. So when I went to school I had to see the principal, and I couldn’t give back the laptop, so I got suspended.” “So then I came here,” she finished quietly. “And... um...” Apple Bloom said in that stupidly tiny voice of hers, but she just had to know. “How did you pay for bus fare?” she asked weakly. Diamond paused again an uncomfortable amount of time, before admitting, “I didn’t take the bus.” “Diamond...” Apple Bloom said warningly, “It’s a long way from here to Canterlot High.” “I don’t care,” she said hastily. “I had to see you! I had to know whether or not I really was... like...” “You are crazy,” Apple Bloom said, standing up and pausing significantly for the girl’s eyes to widen in alarm, “Crazy in a good way! You know what ah was talkin’ about last night? You couldn’t come to visit!” She walked slowly towards Diamond as she talked. “Ah was stuck here at the farm, and you were stuck there with all sorts of paperwork and rigamarole. Ah wasn’t gonna get to see you for weeks! And you’re just like fuck that noise and you came here. It’s an honest to gosh Christmas miracle!” She put a hoof on Diamond Tiara’s denim wrapped shin, from where the girl’s legs were dangling over the edge of her bed. “You’re the most stubborn girl ah know,” Apple Bloom said to her as she looked down at her. “You can do things nobody else in the world can do, just because you never give up. If that’s crazy, then ah want you to be crazy. Because that’s who you are!” She took a look at Diamond’s face and, oh hell no. She had that dumb silly smile that Apple Bloom had become all too accustomed to seeing in people these past two weeks. Apple Bloom made a show of trying to escape, but Diamond Tiara just compulsively reached down and picked her up like a giant doll, and hugged her tight enough that Apple Bloom thought she was gonna pop. Diamond Tiara lay back on Apple Bloom’s own bed and, wouldn’t you know, the girl did find it in her to start crying again, just quietly this time. Apple Bloom just curled her hooves above her passively, held by Diamond Tiara, trying not to feel disgusted by the fact that she was being used as a teddy bear right now. She also had to fight not to think about how nice it felt, once Diamond stopped crushing her and just lay there, gently stroking the fur where her belly was unprotected by the dress. Apple Bloom was still laying there awkwardly, with Diamond’s hand just resting against her, when a quiet snore started to issue from the girl underneath. “Oh for the love of Betsy!” Apple Bloom wanted to shout. But instead, she just quietly wiggled out from under her friend’s limp arms, and rolled right off both her and the bed. Apple Bloom winced as she landed on all fours with a loud clump, but Diamond Tiara didn’t even stir. She must have been really tired. Apple Bloom tip toed out of her room. Well, to be fair she was always tip-toeing, but she sort of—somehow sort of... walked, quieter-like. Apple Bloom closed her door as best as she was able, without getting it jammed again, then went to check on Big Macintosh, to fill him in. As much as she thought she had any right to fill him in, at least. “She walked all the way from high school,” Apple Bloom said quietly, to the even quieter fussy brother of hers. He hunched his shoulders, before turning to look at Apple Bloom and saying uneasily, “That’s almost 20 miles away.” “Yeah, all the way across town,” Apple Bloom said, morosely. “She had plenty of time, on account’a she got–” Apple Bloom bit her lip looking aside, then said, “...suspended this morning.” “What about?” Big Macintosh asked neutrally. Apple Bloom didn’t answer right away, thinking really hard about what she should say about this. “Nothin’ that was her fault,” Apple Bloom said, her throat feeling tight as she said it. “She okay?” Big Macintosh said concernedly, and much to Apple Bloom’s relief he was kind enough not to press any further. Apple Bloom looked behind her quickly, then said to him quietly “She’s sleepin’ in mah room. Ah’m gonna go play outside, so as not to disturb her. If she gets up, you can let her know, right?” Big Macintosh nodded, with that stolid, even look of his. Apple Bloom smiled back gratefully saying, “Thanks. Ah hope this is ain’t too imposing on you.” “Ain’t your fault either,” he said raising an eyebrow. Apple Bloom blushed at that, saying, “T-thanks,” as she backed away out the door into the hall. Before going downstairs, she snuck into her room again on an afterthought. She couldn’t exactly leave a note without hands to write with, but what she did was turn her head sideways, so she could get at the bow there. Pulling it undone, she took it in her mouth and reared up as gently as she could against the side of her bed, tossing the ribbon onto Diamond’s chest. The girl may have stirred fitfully, but she didn’t awaken. Apple Bloom didn’t take her dress off in her room for fear of waking her. She hurried downstairs instead, and slipped out of it in the relative privacy of the living room, leaving it draped up on the couch, so she wouldn’t mess the thing up while she was running around out there. Then, Apple Bloom trotted through the door and out to the world, where she stood blinking in the bright light of the afternoon. The sun was shining through the silver white clouds boiling all over across the sky. It seemed... inappropriately pleasant. Apple Bloom went over to her ball and kicked it unenthusiastically. All the creek water had dried off it, though it still picked up moisture from the grass as it rolled around. Apple Bloom shook her head and left the ball where it rolled to a stop. She headed restlessly out to the pasture, instead. She got herself into that gallop, and really picked up speed fast. She didn’t want to let Diamond Tiara know, but it was real easy to keep up with the exhausted, fleeing girl. Apple Bloom didn’t know if it was the four legs or what, but she ended up running so fast, it was exhilirating. Coming down out of the cover of the trees into the broad, wide pasture that separated the Acres from town, Apple Bloom tore across the land like a little ketchup and lemon torpedo. It made her want to laugh out loud. It was just so easy to leave her troubles behind, when she could run around like this! Apple Bloom stopped by a couple of the cows, who were standing around grazing unconcernedly. The cows had warmed up to Apple Bloom’s new shape real quick, not that much of anything phased them, long as it wasn’t a snake. “Hey there Mooella, Moohilda,” she said all friendly-like. “Gettin’ yourselves big and strong, huh?” They didn’t even look at her. Mooella just lowed deeply, walked a few more paces to the not yet chewed down grass. Apple Bloom didn’t mind though. One thing cows were good at, and that’s grazing. They didn’t judge you or make trouble. They were like big dumb grazing machines. Even with Apple Bloom’s new habit of sampling the terrain, she couldn’t hold a candle to how quickly these cows could mow down a field. Made sense, considering how big they were. It occurred to Apple Bloom that cows were in fact even bigger than horses, at least in terms of mass. But for some reason, they weren’t nearly as intimidating. Probably because she was part horse now or something. Maybe it was like, looking at chimpanzees or something. Apple Bloom remembered seeing pictures of those wizened faces in her biology book, and going and visiting them in the primate exhibit at the zoo. It was a real creepy experience actually, like they could stare into your soul. Apple Bloom made a note that she was going to have to pull out the ape section of her Biology book, to see if she didn’t have a different reaction to them now. Maybe after Diamond Tiara was done sleeping off that really long walk. For now, Apple Bloom just ran freely across the fields, pausing now and again to graze, to keep her energy up. And before she knew it, she had meandered all the way to the long white painted fence delineating the cow pasture and Apple Family property. Beyond it was a small stand of trees, and then the main road into town. The road the bus ran along. Apple Bloom reared up and dangled her hooves over the fence slats, poking her head through the thing to look towards town. The sounds of cars were a lot louder here. “3 miles...” she murmured, pulling her head back to check the sky, but the angle of the sun had hardly even changed. She had half a mind to keep running, crossing the fence and just going into town, and running all the long way across, to where Canterlot High was nestled far in the southeast. Just to see if she could do it too. Of course, she wasn’t even a quarter of the way there yet. But still... the one thing Apple Bloom liked the most about this transformation is how much further, and faster she could run without even feeling winded. Sure the actual horses could leave her in the dust no doubt, and so could the cows if they cared to, but Apple Bloom could just keep going. It was great having so much energy, and a body that just wouldn’t quit. Putting on an impish grin, she ran for the gate to the farm road, down which a certain green pickup truck would be travelling pretty soon. She stayed there in wait, just killing time by kicking rocks around, seeing if she could hit trees with them. When the sound of a familiar engine started to get louder in approach, Apple Bloom backed up, standing right at the entrance to the Acres, waving at them with a hoof as they approached and smiling cheekily, shouting “Hey Applejack! Hi Granny!” The rumbling pickup turned onto the gritty crumble of the farm road, and rolled to a stop. Applejack stuck her head out the passenger seat window then, saying, “Apple Bloom, what happened?! Why you all the way out here? Did something happen back at the house?” Apple Bloom’s smile twisted guiltily and she stopped mid-wave saying, “O-oh, right. Everything’s fine! Ah was just runnin’ around the pasture this afternoon, and made it all the way out here. Just thought ah’d say hi. Sorry, I guess it does look sort of worrisome.” “Near gave us a heart attack, you did!” Applejack admonished in a relieved tone. “You uh...” she touched her mouth with a finger pensively, saying “You want a ride back?” “Thanks sis,” Apple Bloom said, “But ah wanna run back! Ah’ll meet you there.” “You’re gonna be okay?” Applejack said uncertainly. “Yeah, it’s fun!” Apple Bloom assured her. Behind Applejack in the driver’s seat, Granny Smith smiled approvingly and said, “That’s the spirit, young’n!” “Oh, hey,” Apple Bloom asked quickly, after Applejack had already started to pull her head in. Her sister paused at her, and Apple Bloom said “If you get back before ah do, I uh... I got a guest over. Just uh... just ask Big Macintosh about it.” Apple Bloom ran off before they could ask any questions, shouting over her shoulder, “And be quiet because she might be sleepin’ still!” And with that, the race was on. It wasn’t really a race. Apple Bloom just found it fascinating how she could actually keep up with the truck if she really pushed herself. She followed the road from an increasing distance keeping pace as the truck trundled along. She knew that truck had trouble with the uneven dirt of the road so couldn’t exactly go blazing along, plus Granny was with Applejack, so she would be keeping Granny from really putting the pedal to the metal. But still, that had to be pretty fast! Apple Bloom found herself tiring quickly at this speed though, and stopped to catch her breath, watching the truck pull ahead of her. Then she gave a small smile and started galloping again, letting the truck continue to pull ahead of her, but still making a lot better time than she ever could if she was walking there on just two legs. Apple Bloom’s favorite part about being a pony was definitely running, hands down. Hooves down. Whatever. The truck was parked and empty when she arrived at the farm house, and she just kept running through the gate and charging up through the front door. Applejack and Granny Smith were standing there both facing Big Macintosh. From the frustrated look on Applejack’s face, it was clear he hadn’t managed to spill the beans just yet. Apple Bloom had already thought of what to say during the run here though. So Apple Bloom ran up, sliding to a halt once her hooves hit the floorboards, and saying quickly, “Diamond Tiara thought she was goin’ crazy but she really was having visions of the future which might be terrible and they had to do with me being a pony so she got in trouble because I wasn’t there to confirm it and all she could do was watch the news broadcast, but the orphanage only had televisions so she had to snatch a laptop and then it got double stolen and she got suspended for it and she was so upset that she walked all the way here, so ah thought maybe she could stay over until she gets better from walking.” All eyes were on her, and Apple Bloom just waited for someone to disapprove of her decision, so she could start taking apart their argument. “Uh,” Applejack said bemusedly, “Could you run that by me, again?”