//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Apple Bloom and the Forbidden Fruit // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// It had been a day like any other. Wake up early as the rooster crowed. Make the bed. Go downstairs for breakfast. Eat breakfast. Listen to Granny Smith talk about the good old days. Clean up after breakfast. Do the morning chores. It was the same thing that Apple Bloom did every day, each day was the same as the previous and it seemed like nothing ever changed, or would ever change. She had gone to school, sat in class, done her schoolwork, got bullied by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and then suffered through the rest of the day until school was over, waiting for the bell to ring. There were times when Apple Bloom felt that the clock was running backwards. And then, with the ringing of the bell, school ended. Feeling peckish, Apple Bloom roamed the Ponyville market, looking for something to eat. She wasn’t in the mood for sweets, those were too sweet, and she didn’t have a lot of money. Carrots were right out. There were of course, apples, but truth be told, Apple Bloom was sick of apples, even though she would never, ever, under any circumstances whatsoever, admit it to anypony in her family. Such an admission would cause no end of grief. And then, as she roamed the market, she saw it. It looked cool and inviting. Tantalising. The forbidden fruit. The one thing that Apple Bloom was warned to never eat. The one thing she had always been denied. The one thing that Applejack claimed would get Apple Bloom disowned. A pear. It was beautiful. The skin was green and shiny. The stem was a most pleasing shade of brown. The skin was smooth, but had a few dimples. It was skinny at the top, and then grew wider towards the bottom. And the most important thing of all, it was not an apple. Apple Bloom felt her mouth flood with drool. She stared at the forbidden fruit, feeling tempted. Unbeknownst to her, her pupils had taken on a pear shaped appearance as Apple Bloom was gripped with pear lust. She stared, almost devouring the pear with her eyes, her lower lip trembling as her mouth filled with saliva and an almost mad sense of desire took the filly over. “How much for that pear?” Apple Bloom asked. The gruff looking older stallion glanced down at Apple Bloom. “Eh, for you, one bit. Yer a cute one. Tell no one I gave you a discount, I gotta reputation to look after.” Snapping out her right front hoof, Apple Bloom tossed her bit up on the wooden counter and took the pear. She held it to her muzzle, sniffed it, and she felt every muscle in her body quiver. Sticking out her tongue, she gave the pear a curious lick, her tongue lingering over a dimple on the pear’s taut flesh. Drooling, Apple Bloom closed her eyes and took her first bite. The filly squealed as she was overcome with bliss. Her mouth filled with the pear’s succulent juices, combined with her own saliva, and dribbled down her chin in rivulets. She slurped, sucking in the runny juices, and wrapped her lips about the gash she had opened in the pear. She ran her tongue over the firm flesh, licking away the excess moisture and then she took another bite. And then another. The filly moaned in pleasure… who knew that forbidden fruit could be so delicious? She nibbled at the edges, where the pear still had skin, tearing away little slivers of tender flesh. Each bite was ecstasy. For Apple Bloom, this was an awakening, a whole new way of life dawned for her. She savoured each bite, nipping, tugging at the little flaps of skin that clung to the sundered flesh that existed inside, sucking and slurping away at the juices that the pear surrendered to her and her alone. There, in the marketplace, surrounded by ponies, Apple Bloom was alone with her pear, devouring her forbidden fruit, the one thing she had been told to never eat, lest she face the most dire of consequences. Ponies stopped and stared at the filly eating the pear, some in awe, some jealous, knowing they would never know Apple Bloom’s happiness as she consumed the luscious green pear. With much sucking and slurping, Apple Bloom devoured the whole thing, and then regretted it was gone. “Nice cutie mark,” Matilda the donkey said as she passed. A dreadful feeling of panic overtook Apple Bloom and the filly sucked in a deep breath. She grimaced as she turned her head to look at her backside. Much to her shock and horror, she saw that she bore a mark of guilt, a confession to her crime, evidence that she had eaten the fruit forbidden to all Apples. “Nooo!” Apple Bloom cried as she stared at the green pear that stood out in sharp relief against her pale yellow pelt. “It was just one pear! Just one!” “Tough luck kid,” the produce seller said as he began to chuckle. “That’ll learn ya not to eat pears!” Dragging her hooves, Apple Bloom approached Applejack with a creeping sense of worry and caution. She kept her head low and made certain that she never presented herself at an angle where her sister might see. “Hullo Apple Bloom. How was school?” Applejack asked as she worked the pump handle, filling up a bucket of water. “School was fine,” Apple Bloom replied in a squeaky voice. “Uh, Applejack, we have other fruits in our family, right? Like Aunt Orange?” “Yeah we do.” Applejack wiped her brow as she took a breather from operating the pump handle. “I wonder how Aunt Orange is doing?” “Um, Applejack, do we got any pears in our family?” Apple Bloom asked. “WHAT?” Applejack’s eyes went wide. “Why I oughta wash yer mouth out with soap! Such language! We’re Apples. Well, a few of us is Oranges, but Apples and Oranges put aside their differences long enough for ma and pa to get married. But we don’t mess with no pears!” Apple Bloom shuddered, fearing the worst. She turned sideways, showing herself to Applejack. “I’m sorry!” Seeing the pear, Applejack responded in the only way she could. “Oh daggum it!” Applejack threw her hat down in the dirt. “Why did ya have to go and do a thing like that for?” “I can’t help it! It just showed up!” “Apple Bloom, you was told, never, ever, ever eat a pear! How could you?” Applejack stared in wide eyed shock at her sister. “It just happened!” “But your name is Apple Bloom and you’ve gone and messed up! How’s a pony with a name like Apple Bloom supposed to go through life with a pear cutie mark!” Applejack stomped her hoof into the dirt and them kicked over her bucket of water. “Couldn’t you have tried not being a pear? Now our family name is all messed up!” “I can’t help who or what I am Applejack!” Gritting her teeth, Applejack groaned in frustration, stomped forward, and then wrapped a foreleg around Apple Bloom’s neck. She squeezed her sister tight, kissed her on the ear, and then gave her a sisterly nuzzle. “Aw, nuts and gum,” Applejack swore. “Do you still love me?” Apple Bloom asked. “Well shucks, of course I do,” Applejack replied. “Gonna have to start callin’ ya Pear Bloom though.” “Are we still sisters?” “We’ll always be sisters.” “Even if I grow a pear orchard?” “Woah nelly, don’t push your luck, Pear Bloom!”