//------------------------------// // Past Fifteen - Something More // Story: Heart and Mind // by Quick Fix //------------------------------// March 5th The silence in the desert air usually felt uncomfortable, blanketing anypony with a sense of almost suffocating isolation. Today though, something felt different, a more peaceful atmosphere was prevalent across the sands, giving off the sense that for once nothing was wrong. Apple Bloom smiled slightly as she woke up, relaxing slightly at the feeling as she stretched her front legs out. The two of them had their current base camp set up at the foot of a rocky outcrop, making use of the shade for cover and the fact it was just about climbable to recon the area. It was certainly the best spot they'd found since leaving the oasis and was closer to Los Pegasus in the event they needed to leave the desert for supplies. She glanced over at Pinkie Pie, curled up asleep against the rock and snoring softly. It was nice to see her looking so peaceful and happy, wearing her typical grin even in her sleep. Apple Bloom couldn't bring herself to disturb her just yet, getting her neckerchief on her before starting to head up the rocks for a fresh look. It wasn't too hard to find ledges to pull herself up with, the fact it was at least fifty five foot high at it's peak was the part that caused the most concern. After ten minutes she reached the flat top of the outcrop and sat down for a breather, scanning the horizon. The desert formed into a small valley to the south, allowing for miles of relatively unrestricted vision, the sun was still fairly early in it's descent and clouds had gathered off to the west, not ideal circumstances for searching but far from the worst they'd had. She had time to think out here, about just what she was going to do once this adventure was over. It wasn't as simple as just going back to how things were, running her carpentry shop, helping the CMC out, this time she would be going back with a possible relationship. Pinkie had been taking everything in stride so far and even gave off the impression that she liked the attention more than just accepting it. Apple Bloom smiled slightly to herself at the memories and sat back, simply enjoying the times they'd shared together so far. She didn't know how long she'd sat there, but the sun was three quarters of the way below the horizon before the sound of somepony climbing up made her look round. Pinkie poked her head over the edge and quickly clambered up to the top, sitting down next to her friend and looking out at the view. The two of them simply sat there for a while longer, enjoying the gentle breeze, letting the last rays of light warm their fur, Pinkie occasionally looking round behind her as if expecting somepony to be there. Neither of them said a word for sometime, simply enjoying each other's company, before Pinkie sighed quietly and looked over at Apple Bloom. "I've been thinking. About, you know, that itty bitty thing between us." She grinned sheepishly as Apple Bloomed looked back at her with a small glint of hope in her eye. Was this finally the moment she'd been waiting for, the heart to heart that would put their feelings out in the open? "Okay. I'll just say that, the fact you've been so accepting of this means a lot to me. The fact you've been able to go on without it affecting things between us is just...It's amazing, really." "It's only fair, I mean you've made me smile so many times through all this," Pinkie's smile became a bit softer as she sat forward, dangling her hooves over the edge of the rock. "Even when you started out really nervous about it, it's all worked for us both." "Yeah...Wait, when was I nervous?" Apple Bloom tried to sound calm but warning bells were going off in her head. She had only ended up feeling nervous twice and if Pinkie was implying what she thought she thought she was implying, she might have ended up wasting so much time skirting the issue. "Oh you know, when you came into Sugarcube corner back in October and you said 'surprise me' and I was all 'okay, why the frowny face?' and then you asked to hang out and I went off on a tangent about ears. It was cute and sweet but looking back, I can't believe I didn't notice you were already asking me out." "I..." Apple Bloom folded her ears back and looked away. She hadn't meant to be so transparent about her feelings but apparently that's all she'd been from the start. Suddenly all that effort she'd taken to come to terms with this and admit it felt somewhat...Pointless. Pinkie noticed the look on her face and put a hoof on Apple Bloom's shoulder, giving a reassuring smile "If it helps, I appreciated the attention right from the start. I thought you deserved something back in return, a little something that was just for you." "...Oohhhhhh. Well, I really liked it, especially coming from you," The constant use of the Bloomie name made a lot more sense now, especially considering she'd never used it before. Apple Bloom looked back at Pinkie and smiled back. "I'll admit I was curious at that time, but I just wanted to see if I was really feeling something for you." "I don't blame you. After you commented that I was the kind of pony you were into, I was actually kind of curious if something would come of that...I'm actually glad it did. Otherwise I would have been going it alone for this whole investigation and we both know how badly that would have gone. Instead I got a super awesome detective partner who connects with me on a besties level." "Yeah, good thing." Apple Bloom looked back out at the view and waited until Pinkie did the same before letting a quiet sigh of disappointment out the side of her mouth. For all she might have hoped otherwise, it looked like Pinkie still saw her as just a friend, albeit one she remained on good terms with in the aftermath. "But..." Pinkie added, smiling softly as Apple Bloom swung her head round quickly in response. "But...?" She asked, rubbing her neck to try and loosen a muscle that hadn't quite kept up with the head turn. The two of them stared each other down for a moment, the wind gently whistling between them and out into the sandy expanse. "...Buuuuuuttt?" "Too much dramatic pause?" Pinkie chuckled and adjusted her sitting position, shuffling a little closer in the process. "But, even before what happened at the farm, I'd been thinking a lot about you. About how dependable you've been for me, sticking through all this no matter what, you could say it was due to your feelings for me but, something tells me you'd stick around anyhow. Not to mention you're smart without coming off as overbearing, pretty level headed, strong and brave...A lot of quirks I respect, a few I wish I could do myself. The point is, there's a lot I like about you, Bloomie." Apple Bloom blushed softly, silently hoping this was going where she thought it was. Even with the temperature dropping as the sunset progressed, her whole body felt a lot warmer. Pinkie slowly reached out and put a hoof on her chest, holding it right over her heart. It was a small moment but the meaning of it was clear. Apple Bloom brought her own hoof up and placed it on Pinkie's, trying the make the moment last as long as she could. "Pinkie Pie, are you saying that...That you're...?" "I'm not quite totally sure yet, because even with all my experience I haven't felt anything as tingly as this. But when I look at you, your smile, your happy eyes, your...Surprisingly fit body. I know, that I feel something about you too. Maybe I've felt it since you first said anything and never quite accepted it. I think I just need to give it a little longer to figure it all out." "Okay, that's...That's better than I thought it was gonna go," Apple Bloom grinned slightly and relaxed as Pinkie smiled back and brought her hoof back down. "Thank you, Pinkie." "Awww, you're welcome." Pinkie sat back further on the rock and sighed happily, looking over as Apple Bloom got back to her hooves. "I'll err, I'll let you think about it a little more while I get everything set up for tonight." Apple Bloom gave Pinkie a wave before starting to make her way back down the outcrop. As soon as she was out of sight, she stopped and sat down, burying her muzzle in her hooves in a futile effort to try and stifle her giddy laughter. She half expected Princess Luna to appear at any moment because she had to be dreaming. She'd spent so long wondering if Pinkie was going to make her own feelings known and now, now she'd shown that there was every chance the two of them could have a future together. There wasn't a word in existence for how happy she felt right now, though given time they could probably think one up. For now she recovered her composure and lowered herself down to the next ledge, making sure to keep moving slow and careful on the way down. It wouldn't be smart to round off such a great moment by falling to her death after all. The climb down was uneventful though and Apple Bloom soon felt her hooves make contact with the sand again as she clambered down from the last rock. As she wiped the dust off her neckerchief, thinking about if they had any daisy sandwiches left, her ears twitched at the sound of something walking nearby. Normally she wouldn't give it a second thought, but the fact that they hadn't encountered anything larger than a lizard out here so far meant this was something different, unknown, quite possibly dangerous. Apple Bloom pressed herself against the outcrop and slowly peeked out to see if whatever it was would stick around. As the camp came back into view, she could see a pony looking round at the various items left out. A unicorn mare, she was a light amber colour to the point that had it been the sand instead of another rock behind her, she probably wouldn't have been noticed at a glance. Her mane and tail were crimson with a bright yellow streak running down them, her eyes a shining cyan, her cutie mark a red and yellow sun. Wrapped around her neck was a brass pendant with an abnormally long chain, enough that it needed to rest partway down her back. She touched nothing but took in everything, her face locked in an expression of focus as she muttered something to herself. Apple Bloom hesitated as she weighed up her options. Calling for Pinkie would give her away and force her to wait several minutes for the climb back down to take place. Besides, there were towns on the edge of the desert, maybe she'd just come from one of them. Whatever the case, she wouldn't get anywhere by waiting and it was just another pony. She just had to be civil and things would be fine. "Excuse me." She said as she trotted out, the unicorn swinging round quickly but relaxing somewhat at the sight of her. "Oh...Sorry, you made me jump." The unicorn seemed to have a bit of a Canterlot accent, odd to hear all the way out here. "Sorry, it's just that you wandered into my camp. Do you need help with something?" "Your camp...Ohhh, so you're Bloom?" She nodded over at the canteen that had been left out by her saddlebags, making Apple Bloom wince internally at leaving it like that. "A-apple Bloom, yes. And you are?" "Apple Bloom? As in, sister to the Element of Harmony, Applejack? Interesting..." The stranger's eyes widened slightly and took a step closer, her horn glowing faintly before flashing into life, her magic aura the same colour as her eyes. The same colour as the mind control magic Discord had uncovered. Apple Bloom tensed and made to rush back behind the rock as a shot of magic was fired at her. Her shifting position meant the first shot missed her side by a few inches, the second came before she knew it and impacted her square in the side, knocking her off her hooves. It didn't actually hurt, yet her whole body felt drained, struggling to summon the energy to so much as gasp or raise her head. The unicorn slowly walked over and levitated her neckerchief off, tossing it aside before looking down at the floored Apple Bloom. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry about this. You're too important to let go though, having an Element's family member on my side...You and me, we're gonna be heroes once we succeed." Apple Bloom didn't have the strength to respond, trying to figure out just what the stranger was talking about before they fired another beam straight into her chest. For one horrific moment, her heart felt like it had stopped before her whole body went numb and her mind was blown into the dark silence of unconsciousness.