//------------------------------// // He Said, She Said // Story: The Other Side // by HopeFox //------------------------------// Apple Bloom ran and ran, not bothering to look where she was going. She just wanted to get away from that hateful place, full of angry, hateful ponies. How could her friends turn out to be so mean? She liked Gold Watch and Blue Chip. If she had to be honest with herself, she really liked Gold Watch. Her heart raced when he smiled at her in a way that it never had for Pipsqueak. Blue Chip had never been less than a gentlecolt to her either. How could they have called Scooteroll... that? Was that how they thought of her, too? On the other hand, it wasn’t as though Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were the only ones who ever called her and her friends “blank flanks”. They might have popularised the insult, but just about everypony in school who had their cutie marks had used it too, except for Twist... and, now that she thought about it, Snips and Snails. Maybe it was just as common here, even without Diamond Tiara to spearhead things. And Scooteroll! How could he say something so hurtful to anypony, even a pony he seemed to hate? She had never heard Scootaloo use that word. Was Scooteroll just a naturally meaner pony than Scootaloo? Maybe Scootaloo just never said it when she was around. She really thought her friends knew better than that, though. Apple Bloom looked up as the shade of a large tree loomed over her. The familiar branches of Twilight Sparkle’s library treehouse were a comforting sight to her, and she nestled down in its exposed roots with a sigh. Sunny Smiles would probably come and fetch her soon, or send somepony after her, and the town library was as good a place as any to be when they found her. She rested her head against the trunk and closed her eyes, trying to calm her breathing and tears. After a few minutes of this, a young girl’s voice came to her. “Hey, you’re Apple Bloom, right? Are you okay?” Apple Bloom looked up at the unfamiliar voice, and saw, not a pony, but a young dragon, with purple scales and a ridge of delicate green spines along her head and neck. “Oh, hi, um... Spike?” she ventured, doing her best to blink away her tears. “Spines. Nice to meet you!” the dragon said, extending a clawed hand to Apple Bloom. “Dusk told me all about you. I guess Spike is Twilight Sparkle’s assistant in your world?” The filly nodded. “Anyway, what’s wrong?” Apple Bloom allowed Spines to help her back to her hooves. “Boys,” she said simply. “They’re always fighting and being mean to each other, and I just want everypony to get along!” Spines grinned and ushered Apple Bloom towards the library entrance. “Oh, I know how that is. Dusk and his friends fight all the time.” Apple Bloom blinked in surprise. “They do? But aren’t they supposed to be the Elements of Harmony? Like, the greatest examples of friends in Equestria?” Spines shrugged. “I guess so? Doesn’t mean they aren’t in each others’ faces all the time. You should have seen what happened when Prince Solaris sent Dusk two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala. The way they were fighting over the second ticket... even Butterscotch was shouting at us, and he’s normally the quietest pony in town! Of course, I always have to be the sensible one when the guys are all being idiots. Honestly, this place would go to pieces without me. Hey, Dusk!” she called as they made their way into the library. Dusk Shine was standing in front of his lectern, consulting three different texts at once. “Back already, Spines?” he asked, without looking up from his work. “Did you get that extra ink I wanted?” “No, but I found something else you might want to take a look at, if you can tear your muzzle out of that book for a second.” Spines gave Apple Bloom a quick hug around her neck, then wandered into the kitchen. Dusk turned around and looked taken aback to see the young filly in his library. “Apple Bloom? What are you doing here? Did something happen at school?” Apple Bloom nodded silently, biting her lip in an attempt to keep herself from crying again. “Oh, Apple Bloom, honey, come here,” crooned Dusk softly, kneeling in front of her. “Spines! Can you get some...” “On it!” the young dragon called back. Apple Bloom laid her head against Dusk’s neck, letting the tears flow. “Everypony at school is really mean to each other, and I can’t do anything about it!” she cried. “I tried really hard to get everypony to be friends, but stupid Scooteroll and stupid Gold Watch just ruined everything!” Dusk Shine groomed Apple Bloom’s mane gently as she told the story, and was soon joined by Spines and three mugs of hot chocolate. Apple Bloom found herself calmed by Dusk and Spines’ soothing company, and was able to complete the story in some semblance of composure. “... and then Gold Watch called Scooteroll a blank flank, and Scooteroll called Gold Watch lame, and then they just started hitting each other. Like, really hitting each other, not just the way I fight with the Crusaders sometimes. I couldn’t take any more of it, so I came here. I just want to go home.” Dusk Shine looked both surprised and thoughtful at Apple Bloom’s story. “Oh my,” he said once Apple Bloom had finished. “That is serious. Scooteroll always struck me as such a nice young colt.” He paused and gazed at his mug in contemplation for a moment. “He does have quite the temper, though, much like Rainbow Blitz. I think I’ll have to have a chat with Blitz about the sort of language he uses around his fans. I don’t think I know Gold Watch. Wasn’t his father the last mayor?” Apple Bloom nodded. “And they’re both really nice colts! I mean, they’ve both been really good to me. I don’t know why they hate each other so much! Can’t you help? Applejack told me how you got him and Elusive to stop fighting.” Dusk shook his head sadly. “I don’t know if I can, sweetheart. Applejack and Elusive were only ever fighting over silly little things like getting muddy and wearing nice suits. It sounds like these two have something deeper going on. You’ll have to get to the bottom of that if you want them to be friends.” “Do you think I can?” asked Apple Bloom, taking a long slurp of her hot chocolate. “I think that if anypony can, you can,” Dusk replied, giving Apple Bloom a solemn nod. “Applebuck has done some pretty impressive things in the time I’ve known him, and he’s learned a lot along the way. If you’re anything like him – and logically, you must be – then you just might be able to make these two colts see reason.” “Like I did with Zecora? Yeah, Applejack mentioned that too.” “Zecora? Is she... your world’s version of Zircon? Then yes, just like her. You do have a knack for making friends, even when everypony else is being hostile and ridiculous.” He turned to face the large mirror that stood next to his lectern. “I’ve tried opening another portal for you to go home, and I can see into your world just fine, but I’m sorry, I can’t get you home yet.” Just then, a knock came at the library door. Spines opened it to reveal two fillies Apple Bloom recognised from school – the Trottingham earth pony filly Half Pint, and Flash, a light grey pegasus filly with a dark grey mane. “Hi, Mister Dusk!” said Half Pint, idly toying with a loose strand of her mane, which seemed to have been dyed a midnight blue, clashing with her pinto coat. “Is Apple Bloom here?” Apple Bloom turned and waved to her school friends. “Hey, guys. Yeah, I’m okay. Dusk and Spines took care of me.” “Are you sure you’re alright to go back to school, Apple Bloom?” asked Dusk, still looking concerned. Apple Bloom nodded. “I’ll be fine. I reckon I’ll go and try what you said – get to the bottom of what’s causing all this ruckus. Thanks for everything, Dusk, Spines.” She gave both of her friends a quick hug, then went to stand with the fillies from school. Half Pint dragged a scroll out of her saddlebags and scuffed the floor with one hoof awkwardly. “Umm, Mister Dusk? Do you think maybe Spines could...” Dusk Shine raised an eyebrow. “Is that another poem for Prince Artemis, Half Pint?” The tiny filly blushed and nodded. Spines rolled her eyes. “Fine, give it here. Honestly, this moping around after an old stallion is just sad. Why don’t you look for somepony your own age?” Everypony in the room turned to stare at Spines. “What?” she asked. “Why are you looking at me like that? I don’t even like Elusive that way! You don’t know about that for sure!” Blushing madly, she incinerated the poem and let the smoke flow out the door, then stomped off to the kitchen again. Dusk chuckled and sighed. “Well, I for one think that Prince Artemis very much appreciates your letters, Half Pint. After so long away from Equestria, it’s good that he feels welcomed back. Give my best to Sunny Smiles, girls!” The three fillies waved and trotted out the door towards school. Dusk watched them leave, then turned to the mirror. His horn glowed and his reflection in the mirror shimmered, then cleared to show a unicorn mare standing in the same position. “Twilight! I thought you’d be there. Listen... this Zecora mare... is she seeing anypony?” Apple Bloom trotted along the path back to school with Half Pint and Flash. “Thanks for coming to get me, guys. Am I in trouble with Sunny Smiles?” Flash shook her head. “You’re just about the only pony who isn’t. Scooteroll and Gold Watch are on detention for, like, the rest of the year, and Mister Smiles gave everypony else a huge lecture. Somehow he found out what those two said when they were fighting, and he’s really, really angry. He said that you’re the only pony who tried to break it up.” The pegasus filly stared at the ground as she walked. “I guess we should have done something, huh?” Apple Bloom had never seen Cheerilee truly angry, even when she’d been giving Apple Bloom detention. “It’s okay. I don’t think anypony could have stopped it. Those two really wanted to fight each other. So the whole class is in trouble?” “Pretty much,” agreed Flash. “Mister Smiles has cancelled all of the lunchtime and after-school clubs for today, and he says that if we don’t behave ourselves, he’ll cancel everything for the whole week. Scooteroll has to sit by himself all day, and so will Gold Watch once he gets back from seeing Red Crescent.” Apple Bloom shuddered. “Gold Watch is seeing the nurse? You mean Scooteroll really hurt him?” Half Pint nodded emphatically. “It was awful. Nurse Crescent had to carry him to hospital on a stretcher. I just hope he recovers alright. It was so stupid of him to pick a fight with Scooteroll!” “Why didn’t any of y’all stop him, then?” Apple Bloom asked, looking at Flash. “You’re nearly as fast as Scooteroll, and you can fly already. Couldn’t you have done something?” Flash stared at Apple Bloom in disbelief. “Get involved in the colts’ fights? Are you crazy? Then they’d try to get involved in our fights and... no way! We let the colts do their own thing.” Just like how the colts at home don’t care if Diamond Tiara is making my life miserable, they won’t get involved. “And I guess Gold Watch would rather end up in hospital than let me fight Scooteroll for him, huh?” Both fillies nodded in agreement. “Colts are stupid.” Neither filly disagreed with her. Apple Bloom had never seen the classroom so silent. Scooteroll was sitting in one corner of the classroom, his muzzle wrapped in bandages. He was looking between the blackboard and his textbook, writing awkwardly with a pencil strapped to one hoof. The rest of the class was studiously working through their mathematics problems, most of them not even looking up when Apple Bloom arrived. Gold Watch was nowhere to be seen. Sunny Smiles nodded to Apple Bloom as she entered, and indicated that she should take her seat. Sugar and Spice looked up only briefly as she sat down next to them, and then returned to their work without a word. Sugar in particular looked very subdued compared to her usual bubbly demeanour. The class worked silently through their morning lessons, interrupted only by Mister Smiles indicating the next set of problems. Nopony even moved when the lunch bell rang, instead waiting to be dismissed, which Apple Bloom had never seen happen. “Scooteroll, remain in your seat,” the teacher announced at the sound of the bell. “Apple Bloom, I’d like to speak to you in my office. Everypony else is dismissed.” The dark rose stallion waited for the rest of the class to file out into the playground, then waited for Apple Bloom to follow him into his office. “Please, come in, Apple Bloom,” he said, indicating the chair in front of his desk. “You’re not in trouble.” Apple Bloom took the offered seat and looked across the desk at her teacher, fidgeting nervously. “Is Gold Watch going to be okay?” she asked. Sunny Smiles nodded. “His mother met him at the hospital. Nurse Crescent says that he has a fractured cannon bone, but he should be alright as long as he stays off it.” The stallion leaned across the desk, fixing Apple Bloom with an inquisitive gaze. “Can you tell me what happened this morning, Apple Bloom?” Apple Bloom shrank back and stared at the desk. “I’m not a tattletale, Mister Smiles.” Sunny Smiles sighed heavily. “Of course you’re not. The Prince forfend you children should actually help me to help you.” He shook his head, then laid a gentle hoof on Apple Bloom’s shoulder. “I’m already punishing Scooteroll and Gold Watch in every way I know how, and they should count themselves lucky that only Prince Solaris can banish ponies to the moon. I know exactly what they did, and what they said. I just want to know why.” Apple Bloom shook her head. “I don’t understand it either. Everything was fine up until this morning.” “You were there when it started. You even tried to calm things down, which is more than anypony else did. Were they fighting because of you?” Apple Bloom scratched her head. “I don’t think so...” Sunny Smiles placed his hooves gently on his desk and gave Apple Bloom a sympathetic, but serious look. “Were they fighting over you?” “What? Of course not!” replied Apple Bloom indignantly. “I mean... I don’t think so... but Spice did say that she thought Gold Watch was ‘defending my honour’. It was so stupid, though! Scooteroll just shoved me, which I don’t care about, but Gold Watch took it personally and got up in Scooteroll’s face about it. I guess maybe it was over me, but...” “But what?” “But I think it stopped being about me pretty quickly. I really think they just wanted an excuse to fight each other.” Sunny Smiles sighed deeply, looking as if he hadn’t smiled for quite some time. “I think you’re right, Apple Bloom. I don’t understand why those two are always snarling at each other. Scooteroll and the Cutie Mark Crusaders are some of the kindest, most considerate colts I know. Gold Watch and Blue Chip are fine, upstanding young gentlecolts, credits to their families, and I sometimes think this school would fall apart without them. To see them always fighting with each other just... breaks my heart, Apple Bloom. I’ve tried to make things right between them, but they won’t listen to me. I know you’re friends with all of them. Maybe you can get through to them.” “I hope so, Mister Smiles.” The afternoon passed as quietly as the morning had. Gold Watch came limping back into the classroom shortly after lunch, his front right leg sealed in a cast. He took a seat in the corner opposite Scooteroll, under Sunny Smiles’s watchful eye. The entire class worked diligently until they were dismissed in the afternoon, trotting away to leave the two fighters in detention. Apple Bloom found herself lounging by the schoolyard fence with Blue Chip and Sweepy Bell, waiting for her friends to finish their detention. “Boy, this sure feels familiar,” she commented, twisting her hooves idly in the dirt. “I bet y’all have done this plenty of times.” “Waiting for Scooteroll or Applebuck to get out of detention?” replied Sweepy. “A few times. Usually I’m in there with them, though.” “Gold Watch doesn’t get into trouble much,” commented Blue Chip, sitting on the other side of Apple Bloom from Sweepy Bell. “We sometimes wait for Final Lap after he’s gotten into a fight. Flash, too.” “Final Lap’s a jerk,” muttered Sweepy Bell. “He picks fights with Applebuck all the time.” “He kind of is,” Blue Chip admitted. The two colts lapsed into silence, trying to avoid looking at each other. Finally, Sweepy Bell spoke. “I’m sorry about what happened to Gold Watch, Blue Chip. Nopony deserves to end up in hospital over a stupid fight. And Scooteroll shouldn’t have said what he said, either.” Blue Chip nodded solemnly. “I’m sorry that Gold Watch started the whole thing, too. It was just stupid, and... we shouldn’t have to be enemies, Sweepy.” He looked over at Apple Bloom, who was grinning like Pinkie Pie on the day the Cake foals were born. “Apple Bloom’s right. We should try to be friends.” “We should,” agreed Sweepy Bell. “I don’t want to fight with you guys anymore.” He looked at the schoolhouse, then back to Blue Chip. “I think Scooteroll actually enjoys fighting with you and Gold Watch, and that’s... not what I want. Can we just call it quits?” Sweepy extended his right front hoof to Blue Chip, who met it with his own and shook it solemnly. Apple Bloom squealed happily and threw her front legs around the two colts’ necks, hugging them tightly. “See? I knew you guys could be friends! You four are the nicest colts I know!” Blue Chip grinned awkwardly, but returned the hug. “I don’t know about friends, but I think we can get along without sniping at each other all the time. Besides, I’m going to have to get along with you guys if I’m ever going to ask Spice out.” “Wait, you like Spice?” asked Apple Bloom, looking surprised. “I didn’t think she was your type. I thought you’d want somepony...” “Smarter?” supplied Blue Chip, making Apple Bloom blush. “You’d think so, but not really. She’s a good listener, and once you get her talking about something she likes, like cooking or flowers or Presto, she’s a really good conversationalist, too. And I really like her mane.” “Why don’t you ask her out, then? She talks about you a lot.” The grey colt sighed. “I’ve tried, believe me. She just pretends as though I haven’t said anything, if she even notices me.” “You just gotta keep trying,” said Sweepy Bell. “It’ll be worth it. Look at Sugar and Scooteroll. I’ve never seen him so happy to have a filly paying attention to him.” “Hey, I think they’re done in there!” exclaimed Apple Bloom, pointing to the schoolhouse. Sure enough, two colts were walking – limping in one case – out of the building, accompanied by their teacher, who said a few words to them and then retreated back into his office. The three friends ran to greet them, Blue Chip nuzzling Gold Watch carefully while Sweepy Bell hugged Scooteroll. Apple Bloom stood her ground between them, her smile fading to a stern frown as her anger at the two colts returned. “Hey, you two,” she greeted them. “How bad was it?” Scooteroll grimaced. “Awful. Mister Smiles gave us a big lecture, then made us apologize to each other, then write a bunch of lines, and then we had to sing the Heart’s Carol three times! I can hardly even talk with my muzzle like this!” “Serves y’all right,” Apple Bloom said. “So are you gonna apologize now?” “Um, Apple Bloom?” said Gold Watch. “We already did that in detention, like Scooteroll said.” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “That was a teacher apology. Those don’t count, you know that.” Gold Watch turned to stare at Scooteroll for several moments, then sighed. “Very well. Father always said a day like this would come. Blue Chip, may I have some assistance here?” Blue Chip obligingly stepped up and leaned his flank against Gold Watch’s, so that he could extend his uninjured left front hoof to Scooteroll. “Scooteroll, I apologize for my unseemly behaviour this morning. I should never have gotten involved in your fight with Apple Bloom, and I certainly should never have called you a blank flank, or any of those other things. I hope we can put this incident behind us and move on.” Apple Bloom held her breath, watching Scooteroll’s face. The pegasus colt looked taken aback by Gold Watch’s apparent sincerity, and slowly extended his left hoof in return. He hesitated, though, and then slapped Gold Watch’s hoof away with an angry whinny. “No! You can’t just pretend all that stuff you did never happened! You’ve made my life miserable all through school, and I’m not going to let you get away with it! I hate you! You’re a bully and you’ll always be a bully, and...” “That’s it!” shouted Apple Bloom, stepping up to Scooteroll and shoving her head against his. “I’ve had enough! I’ve only met one bully in this school, and he’s a big dumb orange pegasus!” Sweepy Bell gasped, and Scooteroll looked indignant. “Me?” he cried, stepping back from Apple Bloom and pointing at Gold Watch and Blue Chip. “But... but they...” “They apologized, Scooteroll! They want to make things right, and so does Sweepy Bell! You’re the one making things worse now. Why can’t you just let it go?” Scooteroll snarled and stamped his hoof. “Applebuck would understand! You’re nothing like him. Sweepy, we’re leaving!” Sweepy Bell looked crestfallen. “But Scooteroll...” “But nothing! Are you a Cutie Mark Crusader or are you one of them?” Sweepy sighed and walked over to join Scooteroll. “I’m sorry, guys,” he said to Apple Bloom and the other colts, shaking his head forlornly. “I’ll see you later, I guess.” Scooteroll glared over his shoulder at Apple Bloom as they trotted away. “I was wrong about you, Apple Bloom. You could never be a Crusader like us.” “But... but...” stammered Apple Bloom as she watched her friends leave. She blinked rapidly, trying to hold back tears. A pink muzzle pressed against her neck comfortingly. “You tried really hard, Apple Bloom,” Gold Watch murmured. “You did more than I was willing to do.” Apple Bloom nudged Gold Watch with her head, then took a step back. “I think it’s about time you told me exactly why you and Scooteroll fight all the time. The whole story.” Gold Watch looked at the ground anxiously. “I really don’t want to.” “She’s got a right to know, Goldie,” said Blue Chip. “This has gone way too far as it is.” “Alright, fine. Can we at least go sit down somewhere, though? My legs are killing me.” “Let’s go grab a bite to eat at Sugarcube Corner, then,” suggested Blue Chip. “My shout. That reminds me, have you met Berry Bubble yet, Apple Bloom?” “Um... pink stallion who works at Sugarcube Corner?” asked Apple Bloom as they walked towards town, slowing their pace for Gold Watch’s sake. “I’ve heard all about him, haven’t met him.” “That’s weird. I thought he’d have thrown you a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party by now. He knows everypony in Ponyville, you know.” A short while later, the three friends were sitting around a table at Sugarcube Corner, sipping from milkshakes as they waited for their pastries to arrive. Blue Chip had just finished regaling the others with one of his mother’s stories about the antics of the Manehattan elite when a pink head popped up from under the table, balancing a tray of food. “Hi there everypony! Here are your orders! That’s an orange tart for you, Blue Chip, and an apple turnover for you, Apple Bloom! Your peach danish is just coming out of the oven, Gold Watch!” “Thanks, Pinkie!” said Apple Bloom without thinking, as she took the tray from the pink stallion serving them. “Um, I mean... thanks, Berry! Wait, how do you know my name?” Berry Bubble grinned and took a deep breath. “Well, I know everypony in Ponyville! You should know that! Besides, Sugar was here last Wednesday afternoon helping her mother deliver a batch of raw sugar and molasses, and she said that you and she got to watch Scooteroll fall off the top of the school bell tower, and then on Friday Half Pint and Flash were talking about how cool you are and how awesome it is that you hang out with these guys!” He pointed at the two colts as he finished his speech, grinning the whole while. Ponies at school think I’m cool? wondered Apple Bloom. “Hey, Berry, how come you haven’t thrown Apple Bloom one of your big ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ parties yet?” asked Blue Chip. “If you know all about her already.” “Don’t be silly!” the bouncy stallion replied. “Apple Bloom isn’t a new pony in Ponyville!” Apple Bloom felt her heart skip a beat. “I’m not?” “Of course not!” Berry said, putting his front hooves up on the table. “If you were a new pony in Ponyville, my fetlocks would be itching! And they’re not, so logically you can’t be new here! Even if I’ve never seen you before.” “Um, Berry? I think you should talk to Dusk Shine about that, before you tell anypony else that I’m not new here. Maybe your, uh, ‘Berry Sense’ is out of tune or something.” Berry Bubble’s eyes went wide. “Oh my gosh, you’re right! If my Berry Sense started going wrong, it’d be a disaster! Lives are at stake!” Without another word, he dashed out of Sugarcube Corner in a pink blur. “That was weird,” mused Blue Chip. “Why would he think you’re not new in town, Apple Bloom? Eh, I guess he’s just being Berry Bubble.” Gold Watch blinked, bewildered by the entire exchange. “But... my danish?” “A thousand apologies, Mister Gold,” said the tall, gangly proprietor of the bakery as she came trotting in with Gold Watch’s order on her head. “His shift isn’t even meant to be over for another three hours, but, well, you know Berry Bubble.” “I do,” the pink colt agreed. “Um, Mrs Cake, can you call me Gold Watch, or Goldie? Mister Gold was my father, not me.” “Oh, I’m sorry, dearie,” Mrs Cake replied, giving Gold Watch a gentle nudge with her head. “It’s just that your father did so much for us when we were starting out. I don’t think we’d even have Sugarcube Corner if not for him.” Gold Watch gave Mrs Cake a smile, but Apple Bloom could see that it was forced. “We’re just glad to do what we can for the community, Mrs Cake.” Mrs Cake smiled and patted Gold Watch’s mane. “You’re a credit to your family, Mister... I mean, Goldie. Enjoy your meal!” Apple Bloom placed a hoof against Gold Watch’s shoulder as Mrs Cake returned to the kitchen. “Are you okay, Goldie? You looked really upset just now.” Gold Watch nodded and pressed his head against Apple Bloom’s fetlock. “I’m okay, it’s just... this keeps happening. Everypony who remembers Gold Chain talks about how great he was, and what a difference he made to the community, and... what if I can’t live up to that? Are ponies going to be telling my foals how great I was one day? I don’t think they will.” “Hey, now, don’t be like that,” murmured Apple Bloom, wrapping her front legs around Gold Watch’s shoulders. “You’re doing great at school, with all the clubs and things you’re running, and everypony at school looks up to you!” Blue Chip edged around the table and pressed his nose against his friend’s neck, whickering comfortingly. “Not everypony,” he grumbled, but he slowly smiled from his friends’ affection. “The Crusaders still want nothing to do with me, and ponies listen to them, too.” Apple Bloom hugged Gold Watch again, then went back to her seat. “Alright. Time to spill the beans. Why do you and Scooteroll hate each other so much?” Gold Watch pursed his lips, then nibbled thoughtfully on his danish while considering the question. “Fine, I’ll tell you, but you’re not going to like it. The thing is, Scooteroll isn’t the real problem.” “He’s not?” asked Apple Bloom, surprised. “But he’s the one who’s always getting in your face, starting fights, talking about how mean you are.” “No, he’s just a brute,” Gold Watch explained. “The real problem is your cousin, Applebuck.” “Cousin Applebuck?” said Apple Bloom, after sitting in shock for several moments. “But he’s a nice pony!” “I’m sure he is to his family,” said Gold Watch. “Everypony knows how well he and Applejack work together, and Applejack’s one of the greatest ponies in Ponyville. But he’s different at school. I don’t know if it’s just me, or if he treats everypony like that... but every time something bad has happened to me at school, he’s been behind it. He’s had it in for me ever since I got my cutie mark.” “Oh. Well... maybe he’s just jealous that you got your cutie mark before he did. I know it’s a big deal for him.” “It is, and I get that! I feel sorry for him! But he shouldn’t take it out on me. My cutie mark represents my family. He’s got no reason to be jealous of that, he’s got a great family himself. But when he makes fun of my cutie mark, he’s making fun of my family, and that’s just mean. You know he’s been telling ponies that my special talent is being able to tell the time?” Apple Bloom swallowed hard. This was difficult to believe, yet Gold Watch seemed so earnest, and Blue Chip was nodding in confirmation with everything he said. “You’re right, that is mean. He wouldn’t want somepony saying mean things about his talent once he finds it.” “Exactly! I even invited him to my cuteceañera – Mother insisted on it – and he ruined the whole thing! He made everypony pay attention to him the whole afternoon, when it was my party. It was supposed to be a celebration that I’d finally started to follow in my father’s hoofsteps as a community leader, but instead... nothing. It was humiliating.” “Wow, that’s... pretty selfish of him,” Apple Bloom admitted. “I’m really sorry. I had no idea that he’d do something like that. Do you think, maybe, he didn’t realise what he was doing? That just doesn’t sound like him.” It doesn’t sound like me, either. “Oh, that’s not all. You want to hear the worst of it?” “Sure, I guess.” Worse? I don’t like the sound of this. It all has to be a big misunderstanding, though. If Applebuck is just me as a colt, then he wouldn’t do anything too terrible. “Alright. This is going to be hard to believe, but I swear it’s true. You can ask anypony in town about it. One day, Applebuck came to school with a fake cutie mark.” Oh. That. “And I don’t just mean a cutie mark drawn on with eyeliner or something. I mean, who hasn’t done that?” continued Gold Watch, oblivious to the expression of guilt and remorse on Apple Bloom’s face. “No, he actually had a talent to go with it – spinning a coopering hoop around his waist, or something stupid like that. Everypony else thought this was brilliant, of course. So he spent all morning showing off like the Great and Powerful Presto. He even got Mister Smiles eating out of his hoof, too – he actually cancelled morning classes so Applebuck could give a ‘demonstration’ to everypony at school.” It was all true. Apple Bloom had been showing off without even thinking about it, that day. She’d been so excited about having her cutie mark that she just wanted to show everypony how great her new talent was, after so long being teased and ignored for not having one. She had never really thought about how it would look to anypony else, though. “So what happened then?” she asked, deciding that she might as well get the whole story out and deal with it all at once. “Well, not only did Mister Smiles put him in charge of showing off his ‘technique’ to the whole class, but he made us all try it, too! Now, I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m not exactly the most coordinated colt in Ponyville. Sure, I’m captain of the polo team, but that’s more about teamwork and tactics than anything else, and I’m a decent runner. But this was... just embarrassing. I tried my best, but I was terrible at it, and so was Blue Chip. And Applebuck said... I’m sorry, it probably seems really petty of me to remember all of this...” “No, go on,” Apple Bloom assured him. “I want to know what he said.” Gold Watch took a long sip of his milkshake, then sighed. “He said that if we both kept practising, maybe one day we’d be half as good as he was. And then everypony laughed at us! It was so humiliating! Nopony took us seriously for days afterwards. And if nopony takes me seriously, then what good is my special talent? How can I be a community leader if I can’t even get the ponies at school to listen to me?” “I know what that’s like, Goldie,” murmured Apple Bloom. “Not about your talent, but about everypony laughing at me. It’s no fun at all. I’m really sorry that I... I mean... I’m sorry Applebuck did all that. I think he feels really bad about it, though.” “I hope so. Do you know how it happened, anyway? Turns out he stole some herbs from Mister Zircon, the zebra who lives in the Everfree Forest, and brewed a potion to give himself a contagious disease called ‘Cutie Pox’. It ended up giving him dozens of cutie marks, and forcing him to perform the talents that came with them. Zircon had to come to town to fix it.” “Wait a minute... did you say contagious?” “Apparently. The whole town was in a biohazard lockdown once his extra cutie marks started showing. We’re just lucky that Father equipped every house with environment suits while he was Mayor. Who knows how far it could have spread otherwise?” Apple Bloom shrank back in her chair. She knew what she did was wrong, but when Gold Watch talked about it like that, it sounded downright irresponsible. She pushed the remnants of her apple turnover around her plate dejectedly. “I had no idea. I feel awful.” “Why? It’s not your fault what Applebuck does.” Gold Watch reached across the table and placed his hoof against Apple Bloom’s. “Come on. You’re a great pony. You’re a great friend. I know you’d never do anything like that.” “I wish I believed that,” Apple Bloom replied, getting to her hooves. “I think I’d better go home.” “Are you sure?” asked Blue Chip. “You haven’t even finished your milkshake!” “I’m sure. I’ve got a lot to think about.” She nuzzled her friends warmly, then headed for the door. “I’ll see you guys at school tomorrow. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I hope your leg gets better soon, Goldie.” Apple Bloom trotted back to Sweet Apple Acres, deep in thought. As she passed the pool where she first saw Applebuck, she stopped and knelt down beside it. Without Dusk Shine’s magic or the shooting star, it merely showed her own reflection – a distraught yellow filly with a red bow in her hair. She gazed at it for a long time, thinking. Either there’s something different about this world, and Applebuck is a worse pony than I am, or... Or I’m kind of a jerk.