Waking up the next morning after having time to contemplate your thoughts on the weird illusion, you decided to push it aside for now and try to find your positive mood through the negativity that your mind was currently rolling in.
Mornings never were your thing and especially not when you are as tired as you are this morning, still feeling exhausted from your emotional breakdown after the talk you had with Scootaloo. Trying to keep your emotions in check and on the side for now, you proceeded with your morning as you normally would do - shower, brush teeth, gel up your hair for your signature look and do what you do.
After you went through those traditional stages for your morning, you made your way down the stairs and was immediately greeted by a pleasant aroma in the morning air that teased your nostrils with its intoxifying, sweet scent, one that you knew all too well - apple pancakes with a hint of cinnamon! Your favourite!
Letting the thick and sweet scent guide you, you followed it as it had you under its spell through the living room and into the kitchen where you found your mother setting out two plates of the delectable sugary goodness onto their surfaces. Noticing your presence, she smiled sweetly to you, a smile only a mother could manage.
You smiled back and when she motioned over to an empty seat around the table, you wasted no time in placing yourself on top of it, eager to get a bite of the pancakes you craved so much. In fact, you were so eager to eat them that you did so without even bothering to get a fork first and it only took you a few seconds at the most to wolf down the whole stack in one go, giving a loud belch afterwards.
Watching you all the while, your mother rolled her eyes at you and you blushed an embarrassed blush. ''Excuse you.'' She said with a soft giggle and you giggled too. ''By the way, Cerulean, honey, there's a note for you over there.'' She nodded towards the end of the table where a small, lined piece of paper was folded and stuck beneath a small plate.
Curiously, you eyed it before gently pulling it from under the plate and unfolding it, reading what was on it.
Hey, Cerulean, just in case you forgot, I want to see if you can meet me and my friends at Sweet Apple Acres today, you know, in case you forgot after last night. We'll meet you at Apple Bloom's house. Don't be long!
-Scootaloo
You blinked and suddenly remembered about her mentioning Sweet Apple Acres and something about a clubhouse. You made a mental note to ask her about that later on in the day. With nothing to do or with anything planned for the day, you decided it was best to get a move on if you were to meet Scootaloo and her friends. However, you thought it would be easier if she gave you a specific time to be over there.
Picking yourself from your seat, you carried your plate to the sink and gave it a quick wash before giving your mother a peck on the cheek and telling her you were going to meet your friends. As you headed to the door and was about to take your leave, your mother called out to you, ''Have fun with your fillyfriend, hon.''
That stopped you dead in your tracks and you could feel the heat of a blush begin to rise up to your white cheeks, glowing radiantly. Turning to face your mother with a shocked expression at what you heard her say. ''Muuuuuum!'' You whined. ''She is not my filly friend!'' You said with a soft stomp of your hoof on the wooden flooring.
It only seemed to amuse your mother further and she giggled at how cute you looked when you were like this. ''What ever you say, sweetie. What ever you say.'' She said in fake belief, obviously knowing about how you felt about Scootaloo, although you thought it wasn't that obvious. Well, at least not to your mother who never really bothered much to pay mind to what you do with and how you are around your friends, let alone a female friend who happens to be one of the few female friends you had that she has met so far.
You felt like saying something back after hearing her remark but cooled yourself down and tried to ignore one word in particular that she said in that sentence: Fillyfriend.
Before leaving your house, you took your racing helmet and strapped it under your chin until it was tight and secure before grabbing your treasured scooter and kicking yourself off with it almost the second you got outside into the inviting warmth provided by the sun, on route to Sweet Apple Acres where your friends said they'd meet you.
*** *** ***
Arriving at Sweet Apple Acres, you marveled at the pure beauty and tranquility of the land. In the orchards, hundreds of thousands of trees stood tall and straight, the light provided from the sun pouring over them and keeping them healthy whilst shiny, red apples hung from their leaves like the bourbles on a Hearths Warming tree.
As you neared closer to the farm, coming up just past the entrance, you saw a farmhouse that stood slap bang in the middle of the farm, painted in an ageing red that was fading into a paler shade than what it used to be, indicating that it has previously been painted numerous times over the years.
It may look like a rotten old farmhouse but it was evidently clear that this rickety, old house has been well maintained by the current owners of the Apple family and despite the signs of age that shows upon its bodily structure that display the amounts of varying abuse it has taken over the years, it still stands strong and serves as a functioning household even after it was first built.
Some short distance away from the farmhouse was located a barn of the same colours and slightly bigger in size, presumably used as storage for farming equipment like most barns were for.
Coming to the front of the old farmhouse, from the first hoof you placed on it after dismounting your scooter, you could feel how fragile the structure actually was and how much history must come from the entire building. Folding up your scooter, you placed it on your back and knocked on the front door and waited for an answer.
Moments after your knocking on the rickety but surprisingly stable front door, it opened with a soft creak and you saw that a familiar orange pony with a blonde mane and emerald green eyes with a Stetson cowpony hat was standing there with a gentle smile on her face when she saw you. This pony you knew from Apple Bloom was her big sister, Applejack who did most of the work in the orchards with her brother, Big Macintosh.
''Well, howdy, youngun, you must be Cerulean.'' She greeted in a sweet, southern accent, shared amongst all of the members of the Apple family in Equestria. ''Come on in, your friends are all upstairs, second door on you right.''
She moved aside to allow you entry to the household and you smiled thankfully at her and she shut the door behind you. Just like it was on the outside, the interior of the farmhouse was very well maintained and had fresh coats of paint on the wall that was a light shade of green and the floorboards were made up of what you could easily tell was aged oak.
Applejack led you to the stairs and let you go up alone, the just as old boards creaking beneath your weight. Coming to the top, you came to a simple corridor with a small window at the end and three doors on the left and two on the right. Following what Applejack said, you moved for the second door on the right side and knocked against it and awaited a response.
When the door opened, you didn't have time to react before you felt a hoof wrap around your waist and pull you inside with a crack as quick as a bullwhip and closing the door behind you with a speed to match.
The inside of the room served as a bedroom that you guessed was owned by Apple Bloom. At least, that's what you could tell from the contents of the room. There was a small dresser that had various hair grooming accessories and tools with a mirror attached to it and in the middle of the room, placed snugly against the wall was a large bed that by a logical calculation could possibly fit more than ten Apple Blooms in it.
Beside the door was a medium sized cabinet that looked as though it was as old or nearly as old as the house itself. And speaking of the house, the interior of the room's walls were painted in the same way as the downstairs area of the building, the paint being just as old looking but if not, fresher.
You were even more surprised to see that the three Crusaders, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were wrapped around your body in a tight hug, taking you aback.
''You're here!'' You heard the voice of Sweetie say happily as she, along with her friends, released you and gave you a moment to regain your composure. ''Now we can finally get on with what we have planned!'' She bounced in unexplained joy and you looked at her in confusion, unsure of if you should feel curious or weary about that last word. Probably both, you thought.
''H-Hang on! Planned? What do you mean by that?'' You asked, feeling a little anxious.
''We can't tell ya yet, Cerulean.'' Apple Bloom said with a beaming smile of her own. Looking next to her towards Scootaloo, she saw that she wasn't even paying attention. Not going unnoticed by your eyes as well, you saw that she had a somewhat dreamy look in her purple eyes as she stared at you as if she was under some kind of mind control spell. ''Scoots?'' She nudged her shoulder and she jumped with a startled expression as she returned to reality. ''You alright?''
A bright blush was starting to burn her cheeks and she looked away from me nervously, feeling pretty embarrassed. ''Uh...y-yeah. Never better.'' She said quickly, doing her best to act like nothing happened and averting her gaze from the rest of us. Apple Bloom shrugged and Sweetie giggled, trying to suppress herself with a hoof and Scootaloo turned to glare daggers at her in warning but it only made her giggle harder.
''Soooo, anyway, Ah suppose ya'll wanna know why your fillyfriend over there wanted ya to come over here?'' She said with a smirk and a wink, much to your embarrassment and a blush that matched the intensity of the newly ignited one on Scootaloo's cheeks as well as yours.
''Hey! He's not my coltfriend! It's not like that!'' Scootaloo protested, earning a laugh out of her two friends as her fuse was slowly lit by burning anger at the torment she was receiving.
''Are ya suuuurrrre?'' Apple Bloom continued to torment her friend, saying the last part like a purr, causing the anger in her pegasus friend to become hot and taking her by surprise, Scootaloo tackled the country filly and pinned her to the floor with her anger burning behind her purple eyes like fire.
''Apple Bloom! I'm gonna kill you!''
''Break it up, you two.'' Sweetie said, the last bits of her laughter dying down before she levitated the infuriated orange pegasus from on top of Apple Bloom whom was still giggling at how she reacted. ''We need to get down to business.'' She turned to you, clearly going to be the only one to say to you what the point of you being here was. ''Cerulean, we asked you to come here because we wanted to ask you something.''
By 'something', you hoped that didn't mean a question such as 'Hey, Cerulean, as blunt as it sounds, do you love Scootaloo?'. In your cautious mind, you hoped it wouldn't be something like that and odds were that it probably wasn't that.
''W-What?'' You asked slowly, feeling weary.
''We want you to become the newest member the the Cutie Mark Crusaders!'' Apple Bloom said in a cheerful voice. Confused at first, you remembered them saying that name someplace before. You didn't know much by what was meant by it, but from a random and logical guess from what you currently knew about them, you thought it was something to do with their special talents, specifically something to do with finding them.
''Yeah, and that means that you'll be able go with us on crusades to find our talent!'' Sweetie chimed in with hardly any concealed excitement. Not knowing how to react, you felt somewhat skeptic about all of this. Apple Bloom caught on.
''Something wrong?'' She asked, raising a brow at you and you immediately dropped your expression to a more neutral look.
''N-No. Nothing.'' You reacted fast, lightly coughing into your hoof. ''I don't have a clue how to be a Crusader.'' You admitted and she only smiled back at you.
''Then we'll show you how! Right, Crusaders?'' She said, looking to both her associates and Sweetie gave a cute 'Yeah!' whilst Scootaloo sat with crossed hooves, still averting her gaze from either of us. She momentarily glanced into Apple Bloom's eyes with that same, fire burning in them before turning back and letting out an irritated 'Hmph'. ''Aw, come on, Scoots, Ah was only joking.''
Slowly, she began to get onto her hooves and she angrily rolled her eyes, walking past the two of them and going past you, towards the door. ''Whatever.'' She huffed, not even taking the time to look at you as she walked by. Something told you that this wasn't the first time she was teased about this.
You looked to the remaining two in the room after she had left and they shrugged, obviously used to her attitude. You rolled your own eyes before turning around and about to take your own leave when you felt the hoof of Apple Bloom tap you on the shoulder, causing you to turn back to look at her.
She didn't say anything but instead pointed towards your cheeks where your blush was still burning with embarrassment from earlier. You blinked before covering it with a hoof, much to the amusement and curiosity of the other two in the room.
''You like her, don't you?'' She asked innocently, making the already intense blush darken in colour. Beside her, Sweetie held the same expression as her friend.
''W-What?! I-No, I mean yes, oh, I just-'' You stammered uncontrollably and Apple Bloom understandingly placed her hoof on your shoulder and caused you to stop and look at her to surprisingly see she was smiling with a knowing look in her eyes.
''Relax, Cerulean. We both know ya like her.'' She admitted, a small blush appearing on her own cheeks. Though light on her cream-coloured coat, it was still visible.
''W-Wait, what?!'' You exclaimed in surprise. ''You knew?!'' At that, she rolled her eyes at you.
''Well, duh.'' She said as though it was more than obvious. ''Ah've seen how you two look across at each other in class and it didn't really take that long for us to figure it out.'' She looked over to Sweetie who smiled to her.
Oh, great, they both knew... You thought. What next, the whole class?
''Apple Bloom! Celestia, please don't tell her! If she finds out, she'll think I'm some kind of weirdo and she won't wanna be friends anymore and-'' You ranted in panic before she shoved her hoof in your mouth, silencing you.
''Whoa! Calm it down, ya big goof! You know that she wouldn't ever not want be friends with you. Besides, that goes especially since she likes you, too.'' She said with a wink and you could have sworn that your heart froze and your mouth went numb, rendering you speechless.
She...likes me, too?
Looking back on all the times you've spent hanging around with her, you did recall her sneaking a few dreamy glances at you and that goes for especially in school.
Though you were shocked upon hearing this from one of her closest friends, you would be lying if you said you didn't feel a pang of hope in your heart along with a smile that you could feel creeping onto your lips ever so slowly.
''Now, come on, enough mushy talk. We've got somethin' to show ya.'' Apple Bloom declared, bumping you softly on the nose before walking past you and motioning for you to follow her out of the door, Sweetie following closely behind you.
*** *** ***
Taking you outside, the trio of friends led you a short way away from the main land that made up the farm, they took you on the brink of the edge of a nearby clearing of trees and towards a tree house of some sort that you guessed has been here for some time but was greatly maintained and appeared to be clean down to the last spec of dust.
A ramp that led from the ground to a small landing to another set of stairs that steered up connected to the main building itself in a similiar greenish-blue colour that was used on the interior of the farmhouse and the main structure of the building was painted in a canary yellow that contrasted nicely with the rose paint that masked the wooden door and the shutters on the windows.
On the outside of the entire structure was a small balcony and railing to go with it.
With all you have seen so far with what the Apple family can do with manual labor and some tools, there was no denying that you were amazed with their handiness skill when it came to renovation work.
''So, this is what you wanted to show me?'' You asked, looking the structure over.
Turning around to face you, Apple Bloom nodded with a smile. ''Sure is! Come on, we'll show ya'll around before we get started!'' And just like that, without any time to react, her hooves wrapped around your shoulders and you found yourself being dragged at incredible speed up the ramp and straight through the door of the building before you were planted on your rump, causing you to wince a little from the forceful blow to your hindquarters.
The inside wasn't all that big and consisted of only a small, hoof-drawn map created by the use of crayons against paper and nailed to the far wall from the front of the clubhouse. To the left were a set of ladders that led to the upper level of the building and the only other thing rather than the map on the wall was a lantern above a white and red painted circle that was directly beneath it.
''This is the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse!'' Apple Bloom and Sweetie announced proudly, bumping their hooves together. As for Scootaloo, she didn't bother engaging with them as she stayed outside on the ground with her back towards us and leaning against the tree that the clubhouse was built into.
Sweetie turned to you with a beaming smile. ''And we want you to become a member!'' She pulled you in and hugged you and you were surprised by the sudden embrace, still comprehending all of what was happening at this current moment in time.
''And that means you get your own cape!'' Apple Bloom joined her and pulled out a red-maroon cape with a golden material layer underneath that gleamed like glitter and on the back on either side, a small blue shield with a yellow filly rearing on her back hooves with a flowing cape behind her was stitched into it.
Looking around for a moment, she looked as though she's forgotten something and all of a sudden, her eyes went wide and she looked down. Sweetie looked at her confusedly.
''We need Scoots ta do the initiation but she's outside.'' She said quietly. Sweetie nudged her shoulder.
''I'll go get her.'' And like that, Sweetie left me and Apple Bloom alone and went to see how her missing Crusader friend was. Meanwhile, that frown on Apple Bloom's face curled back into that sweet smile of hers and she looked back over to you. She came closer to you and sat on the floorboards in front of you.
She didn't say anything for a while but only smiled at you. You raised a brow at her in confusion, expecting her to say something, but much to your even greater surprise, rather than her saying something, she did something.
She leaned closer to you and planted a kiss to your lips.
The brief moment of her lips lightly pressing against yours left an apple-like taste on your lips and you were amazed by how soft they were. Largely taken aback by this sudden affection from one of your crush's best friends, your eyes went wide and your wings shot out from their concealed positions to their full spans, a feather or two falling free from the force of the uncontrollable reaction that was normal in a pegasus.
Blushes burned both of your cheeks and you didn't know how else to react, nor did she. A million thoughts were running through your mind on this display of affection towards you. You had no idea what to do and unexpectedly, Apple Bloom kept her gaze averted from you as she ran from the clubhouse and out of sight within seconds, you only getting a small glimpse of the tip of her red tail on her way out.
Getting up and rushing to the balcony, you saw her charge past a surprised Sweetie and Scootaloo with her head down as she headed back towards the farmhouse. Despite Sweetie running along after her in hopes of finding out what was wrong, she didn't slow down.
With a flap of your wings, you lifted yourself from the balcony and hovered down to the ground where Scootaloo was watching the two running off. With one last flap and your hooves thumping lightly against the ground as you landed and catching Scootaloo's attention, she turned to face you.
For a second, she smiled but the next it turned to a frown and she developed an inquisitive look in her eyes. ''Hey, Cerulean, I--- Why are you blushing?'' She asked softly.
''Uh...um, no reason!'' You blurted, arousing a suspicious look from the pegasus. ''How come you didn't come up? Are you alright?'' You asked but she shrugged, her expression shifting to an uncomfortable one.
''T-That doesn't matter. But what's up with AB?'' That blush on your cheeks intensified and only increased her suspicions.
''I dunno! She said she wasn't feeling too good and - oh, pony feathers...'' Feeling incredibly uncomfortable under the gaze of Scootaloo, you spread your wings and flapped them. ''Igottago,bye!'' You blurted, taking off and blasting away from the farm as fast as your wings would allow.
''Cerulean, wait!'' You heard Scootaloo shout from below in a startled voice but you didn't turn or look back. You just kept going and going, until you were nothing but a spec in the sky from her eye.
You flew high above Ponyville and past it towards some nearby woodlands that were sheeted over with a thick layer of trees and you flew down towards it, knowing that nopony would think to look for you in such a place. You may not have ever ventured into such a place but it seemed good giving your current mixed and confused thoughts.
Finding a large, open space from overhead, you landed and was amazed by how quiet it was. The trees were circling around the borderline of the desolate patch of grass and there was a small lake along with a small waterfall beside it that broke the silence with the rushing sound of water.
Coming up beside the lake, you took off your helmet and your scooter from your body and placed them aside and looked at your reflection in absolute absentmindedness.
Looking into your own cerulean-ice eyes, you could see how confused you looked and all the thoughts behind them. To you, it was bizarre. If Apple Bloom knew you liked Scootaloo, then why did she kiss you?
After all the times the four of you spent together, you have seen them sneaking glances and giggling at the two of you, even once you overheard them mentioning how cute you were together. So from there, it became obvious to them that you did like Scootaloo somewhat more than a friend and that you were falling for her.
Even more importantly, you really wanted to confess to Scootaloo and tell her what you really think of her but other than your nerves that stopped you from doing so, there was a new barrier that came from that kiss from Apple Bloom. The two of them were best friends and have known each other for a long time, so surely this would create a tragic tension in their friendship once Scoots finds out.
Annoyed, you stamped your hoof against the ground and let out a growl of frustration, releasing the anger from your body. However the situation was, you could tell that it wouldn't end well. Especially since you knew that Apple Bloom had feelings for you, too.
As to why, you couldn't wrap your mind around. Over the years of your life in Manehatten, you were reminded of the many times some fillies would ask you out, much to your surprise, of course, and disappointedly, none were what you liked in a fillyfriend and you would always try to turn them down in the politest manner you could.
You sat down and rubbed your temples with your hooves, wanting nothing more than for this to go away. It was too much for your brain to handle and it made your head hurt with all these mixed and bottled up emotions.
On your own for a while, you tried to clear your thoughts by laying down on the grass and staring up at the clouds, allowing your mind to relax and unwind from today's tensions.
Cloud watching was something you used to do when you were a little younger than the age you are now and it always helped you through both thick and thin, like an escape from the troubles of reality when you needed it the most. An example of when you used to do this was back at school in Manehatten when you were teased down to your core. It was the only thing you found that kept you from going insane from the ridicule of others.
Watching the patterns in the clouds of vapor float across the blue sky, you could have sworn you saw one in the shape of a heart. Blinking and thinking you were seeing things, you continued to look on but soon figured out it wasn't a trick of your mind. The cloud was very much in the shape of a heart but what really got your heart thumping along with your attention was what followed.
A cloud in the shape of Scootaloo and you.
You knew it was the two of you because you knew every last trim of her mane and tail, her height and how toned her body was in comparison to a colt's. You continued to watch the two clouds and blushed when you saw them come close and touch lips in a passionate kiss.
At first, you were sure you were only seeing things but then it hit you - was it some kind of sign? As in, what's to come? You knew that she likes you but she didn't know that you returned those feelings for her. As a mental conclusion to all the signs you've seen so far, your only end in the line of questioning led up to one thing:
''She loves me.'' You breathed, getting up from your laid back position and began to pace in thought.
She loves me, she loves me... The words echoed in your head. I love her! Oh, what do I do? I've never felt this way about any pony! How do I tell her? Will she hate me? Never talk to me again? Or... You looked into the pond, seeing your own reflection and the pained expression upon your face.
''If you love her, tell her.''
You jumped back in shock. Regathering your composure, you looked back into the eyes of your reflection, seeing them stare right back.
Did...Did my own reflection just...talk to me?
''Tell her how you feel, Cerulean.'' It said with a weak smile. Gasping in disbelief at what you were seeing, you stumbled back a bit, coming away from the water.
''Okay...I really need a break from this mushy stuff.'' You said tiredly, your voice slightly shaken. Picking your helmet back up and strapping it under your chin and grabbing your scooter, you unfolded it and took off to the skies on it with a powerful flap from your wings.