Things Drift Away

by mylittleeditor

Act 1: Apple Bloom - Chapter 1

Act 1: Apple Bloom

Chapter 1: Change on the Horizon

The afternoon stretched endlessly on as Miss Cheerilee droned on about fractions. Normally, Apple Bloom would be doing her best to pay attention to her favourite teacher, but the rays of beautiful sunshine streaming in through the schoolhouse windows carried a promise of fun and adventure with her friends. Compared to visions of their next crusade, the issue of common denominators seemed profoundly unimportant. Casting a glance to her left, Apple Bloom realized that she was far from the only filly having trouble focusing, as Scootaloo lay face down on her desk, her eyes closed and a thin line of drool pooling under her snout. Luckily, she wasn't snoring too loud, and Cheerilee didn't seem to notice her snoozing student.

“And remember, my little ponies, we'll be having a test on fractions this Friday, so make sure you study,” Cheerilee said, erasing the last of the fractions from the board. She beamed at her students in her usual cheerful manner, until her eyes drifted over Scootaloo. Her smile flickered and took on a strained appearance before the teacher let out a sigh. “Class dismissed. Have a great day everypony!”

The class let out a sigh of relief before the assembled colts and fillies erupted in happy chatter and darted for the door. Apple Bloom was about to nudge her pegasus friend to wake her up when she felt a heavy hoof settle on her withers. With a nervous chuckle, Apple Bloom looked up at her teacher, who simply shook her head, gently guiding the filly to the door. “Why don't you wait outside? I'd like a word with Scootaloo...when she wakes up.”

The chilly tone of Cheerilee's voice made Apple Bloom gulp and hurry out into the sunny schoolyard, quickly joining a confused Sweetie Belle.

“What was that about?” Sweetie asked, sitting down in the grass and turning her head to one side.

“Ah think Scoots is in trouble,” Apple Bloom said, taking a seat beside her unicorn pal and looking back at the bright red schoolhouse. A moment later, there was a tremendous BANG inside, followed by the high pitched scream of a terrified filly. Despite their empathy for their friend, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle fell into a fit of giggles. By the time they managed to compose themselves, an orange pegasus was bolting out the door.

“Wow, that was a rude awakening,” Scootaloo said, her ears twitching, “She dropped that heavy dictionary of hers right on my desk.”

“Oh, so that's what all that screaming was about,” Apple Bloom said, grinning as Scootaloo ruffled her feathers.

“Screaming? Nah, that must have been somepony else. It takes more than that to scare me,” Scootaloo said, shuffling her hooves in the dirt and puffing out her chest.

“Sure, whatever you say,” Apple Bloom said, throwing herself flat on her back in the grass and sighing as the sun warmed her underside. Sweetie Belle was quick to join her, and soon all three fillies were staring at the bright blue sky, arranged in a triangle on the soft grassy earth.

“So, what are we going to do today to earn our cutie marks?” Sweetie Belle asked, her eyes laz1ily drifting between the puffy white clouds that dotted the sky.

“Well, we could try sky diving again. We never got to try it out last time, because Spike kept interrupting us,” Scootaloo suggested, her small wings gently sweeping through the grass. Something about her comment started gnawing away at the back of Apple Bloom's mind.

“Or Cutie Mark Crusader coal miners. Fluttershy didn't let us try it out during our sleepover,” Sweetie Belle suggested, closing her eyes and relaxing in the sun, “Of course, Rarity would kill me if I stained my coat black.”

The mention of Fluttershy and Rarity nagged at Apple Bloom too, but she still couldn't quite place it. What was it about Spike's critter sitting mishap that seemed so important right now? And why would Fluttershy and Rarity be important? The gears ticked away for a moment, all three fillies pondering something different, when the thoughts in Apple Bloom's head clicked.

“Oh mah gosh! Applejack and her friends! They're goin' on their trip today!” Apple Bloom shouted, bolting upright.

“Oh no! I totally forgot! We're supposed to meet them at the train station!” Sweetie Belle said, reaching a similar revelation. To her credit, Scootaloo wasted no time retrieving her wagon and scooter.

“Hop on girls! I don't want to miss saying goodbye to Rainbow Dash, we can't be late!”

With that, the little pegasus' wings buzzed, and the three close friends tore off down the lane together, hoping they hadn't wasted too much time after school.

“Almost there,” Scootaloo called back to her friends, who knew what that meant. Bracing themselves against the wagon, they heard the tell-tale sound of the scooter's brakes. The hurtling scooter screeched through the Ponyville streets, sending ponies fleeing from its path. The two cowering passengers closed their eyes as the train station loomed closer, but the practised eye of their pilot had them grind to a halt safely within a hoof's breadth from the station walls.

“Here we are,” Scootaloo said, grinning devilishly at her slightly queasy friends.

“Th-thanks Scoots,” Sweetie Belle groaned, pouring out of the wagon onto the ground. “You'd think I'd be used to that by now...”

“Let's go find our sisters an' their friends,” Apple Bloom said, helping Sweetie get back up. It didn't take long to spot the excited blue pegasus swooping in lazy arcs over the platform, and soon the rest of the group of mares was visible, plus a purple dragon. They were standing by two piles of luggage. One pile was an assortment of colours and styles, clearly belonging to the majority of group of friends. The other pile was all in matching white with complementary blue piping, and teetered precariously behind the familiar purple-maned fashionista, who today was sporting an elegant ivory sun-dress.

“Hi guys!” the Cutie Mark Crusaders shouted in unison, drawing skittish glances from the other passengers.

“Why girls, we were wondering where you had gotten to,” Rarity said with a casual flip of her mane, “We had expected you sooner.”

“Oh, uh, I...” Sweetie Belle started before Scootaloo cut in.

“Sorry guys, I kindda got in trouble with Miss Cheerilee and had to stay after class.”

“Scootaloo,” Twilight admonished, “what did you do to upset Cheerilee?”

“Well...I guess she was mad that I slept through her lesson on fractions,” Scootaloo said, at least having the good sense to guiltily shuffle her front hooves, even if she was still wearing a smirk.

“Ha! I know how that goes,” Rainbow Dash said, swooping down to put an arm around the little filly's neck in a casual half-hug, “Don't worry about it kid.”

“Rainbow, education is important,” Twilight said, her wings ruffling with agitation as she fixed her friend with a withering glare, “You shouldn't be encouraging her to sleep in class like that!”

“Oh, ok, geez,” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes, “Don't do it again, kid. Alright?” Though she was talking to Scootaloo, she was returning Twilight's glare defiantly. It brought about an exasperated sigh from the librarian princess, and a casual agreement from the filly.

“All aboard!”

The conductor's call cut through the air, just as a pair of porters began to load the mares' luggage. Sweetie Belle rushed to her sister's side and they shared a loving embrace.

“I'll miss you, sis!” Sweetie Belle said, gently nuzz1ing her sister's neck while being careful not to muss up her mane.

“And I'll miss you as well, Sweetie. You keep out of trouble, and I'll see you when I get back,” Rarity replied, returning the sisterly affection with misty eyes.

“So long big sis,” Apple Bloom said, sharing a more subdued hug with her sister, “have fun on your trip.”

“Ah will, don't you worry 'bout me. Now you help Big Mac out around the farm. He may be big, but he can't do it all on his lonesome,” Applejack responded, trying her best to look stern, “And you mind Granny Smith, ya hear?”

“Applejack, this is your sister Apple Bloom yer talking to. The most loyal of siblings and most dependable of ponies. Ah'll be fine!”

“I don't know 'bout all that, but I'm sure you'll be fine, sugarcube.” Applejack gave her sister one more quick hug, before following Fluttershy onto the train.

“So long, Twilight,” Spike said, shrugging his shoulders in indifference, “See you when you get back.”

“Oh Spike,” Twilight rolled her eyes before scooping the young dragon up in her wing, pulling him bodily into a hug. Hidden from prying eyes by the alicorn's wing, Spike returned the hug earnestly. “Keep an eye on Owlowiscious for me.”

“You got it Twilight, you can count on me.”

With their goodbyes said, the Crusaders and Spike stood together, watching their friends and family board the train. They older mares were all headed out for a special vacation to a faraway place called Cervinia, a gift from Princess Celestia herself. Despite their best efforts, the group of youngsters couldn't help but feel profoundly jealous as they watched the train board. Suddenly, all four of them found themselves pressed uncomfortably pressed together as strong pink limbs scooped them into a big group hug.

“Bye guys!” Pinkie said, her ever exciteable self, “I bet you'll all have a super-duper fun adventure together while we're gone! I'm almost jealous I won't get to see it myself! Promise me you'll tell me all about it when I get back?”

“Can't...breathe...” Apple Bloom wheezed. With a giggle, Pinkie released them, leaving them all gasping for air.

“Promise?” she said, miming the motions of a Pinkie promise.

“We promise,” the four said solemnly, hoping to avoid another crushing hug,

“Okie dokie lokie!” the pink mare beamed, hopping lightly aboard the train.

As the train pulled away from the station, the Crusaders sat with Spike, waving to their friends and family. Pinkie's words rang in their minds.

A super-duper fun adventure. Mischievous grins were shared all around.

They could do that.

“Urgh, why can't we do this?” Scootaloo shouted at the sky, her hooves lightly rapping against her skull as if to shake the ideas free.

After leaving the train station, the Crusaders and Spike had made their way to the Ponyville park. They had taken Pinkie Pie's words to heart, and quickly decided that they needed to do something spectacular to rival whatever stories the others would bring back from their trip to Cervinia. That was proving to be much easier to say than it was to do. After nearly an hour of putting their heads together, the group found themselves stretched out in the grass, heads together, in the shape of a diamond.

“I think we finally ran out of ideas,” Sweetie moaned, absentmindedly swishing her tail through the grass.

“I didn't think that was possible,” Spike said, cracking his claws to try and alleviate his boredom, “You three are always doing crazy stuff in order to get your cutie marks, I didn't think you'd ever run out of wacky schemes.” That brought a snort from Scootaloo, but Spike couldn't tell if she was laughing or if he'd made her angry.

“Well, Ah didn't think so neither, but here we are,” Apple Bloom said, sighing heavily.

They all sat silent for a while longer, the sun slowly lowering toward the western horizon. Eventually, Spike's impatience boiled over, and he sat up. The three fillies turned their heads to look at him, hoping he was about to suggest something to cut through the oppressive atmosphere of boredom that had blanketed them.

“Well, it's been fun and all, but I'm starving. I'm headed back to the library, see you girls later.” With that, Spike was on his way, a chorus of goodbyes seeing him off, as well as a disappointed 'aww' from the white unicorn. Scootaloo snickered and nudged her friend with a hoof.

“You miss your boyfriend already?” she teased, bringing out a bright pink blush in Sweetie Belle's cheeks, but the embarrassed filly bit her tongue and remained silent.

“Aw, leave her alone, Scoots” Apple Bloom said, “T'aint nice to tease somepony 'bout that sort of thing.”

“Oh come on guys, I didn't mean anything by it, I was just playing,” Scootaloo said, flopping onto her belly. Her legs began sweeping through the grass, as though she were swimming through it.

“It's okay,” Sweetie said, getting to her hooves, “but I need to be getting home for supper.”

“Me too,” Apple Bloom said through a yawn, “I'll see y'all tomorrow.”

“Aww, already? We didn't even do anything today!” Scootaloo moaned, burying her snout in the grass.

“We'll figure out something to do by the time school's out tomorrow,” Sweetie said, “Besides, won't your Aunt Dizzy be expecting you home?”

“Yeah, I guess,” grumbled Scootaloo, “But we'd better come up with something super-duper fun by then.”

“Ah'm sure we will, and maybe we can invite Spike along.” This brought out a bashful smile from Sweetie Belle, and the three friends said their goodbyes before setting off in different directions.

Though the first day without their older siblings hadn't gotten off to a good start, Apple Bloom made a commitment to herself that tomorrow she would do something to change all that. Never would she have anticipated how right she was, nor just how much change tomorrow would bring.

Apple Bloom awoke to a depressing slate-gray sky, and the light patter of rain on the homestead roof. The weather ponies must have worked overnight to provide the morning showers, and even though she knew how crucial rain was to the farm, Apple Bloom was having trouble being thankful for it. After their abysmal failure at planning yesterday and the dull grind of evening chores, Apple Bloom found herself pining for the beautiful afternoon wasted with indecision.

Pulling herself out of bed, she began her morning routine: hurrying to the bathroom before Granny Smith could take it, washing up in the copper wash basin, struggling to keep the slippery soap in hoof. Today she found the water to be much warmer than she was used to, and took her time to enjoy it. Big Mac was always the first to rise in the mornings, and was always the one to fetch the water and fill the basin. By the time he and Applejack were done with it, Apple Bloom was left with the tepid bathwater. She'd always complained about this arrangement, especially since Big Mac would always draw a fresh bath for Granny Smith, but the one day she decided to let Granny Smith go first had left her with a frigid and incredibly bracing bath that she did not wish to repeat.

“Maybe Ah should wake up earlier,” she thought to herself, finishing up and draining the basin, “These warm baths sure are nice, 'specially on these cold, rainy mornings.” Once her hair was brushed and her bow in place, the farm filly shot downstairs. Her big brother was in the kitchen, struggling to prepare breakfast for the three of them. Breakfast was usually Applejack's job.

“Ah'll take care of the food, if you want to draw Granny's bath,” she said brightly, giving her brother an affectionate punch in the shoulder. He shot her a relieved smile.

“Eeyup.” He said, in his typical no-nonsense drawl. With a quick hoof, he mussed Apple Bloom's hair, earning an 'eep' and a scowl that made him smile even wider.

“Hey, Ah just brushed that! You have any idea how much work Ah put into my mane?”

“Nope.”

With that, the stallion lifted the kettle filled with boiling water off of the stove and filled a thick wooden bucket to deliver the boiling water upstairs. He refilled the kettle and returned it to the stove, and soon left the kitchen.

With practised ease, Apple Bloom retrieved a heavy pot, half full of water, and placed it on the stove. She'd helped Applejack with breakfast dozens of times, and was perfectly comfortable preparing a hearty oatmeal for the Apple family. Filled with cubed apple, rolled oats, and perhaps a little too much of the family's apple spice blend, the kitchen was soon filled with the enticing aroma of a rapidly cooking breakfast.

“Smells good sis,” Big Mac said, wandering into the kitchen once more.

“Thanks, Big Mac,” Apple Bloom muttered around the wooden spoon in her mouth as she stirred the thickening oatmeal, “It'll be ready soon enough.”

While Apple Bloom finished cooking the oatmeal, Big Mac went to the pantry and retrieved a tattered bag, carefully bringing it to the counter. With a great deal of caution, the big stallion measured out the rich brown powder into a fine mesh sieve, and poured the boiling water over it into an old ceramic pot. Big Mac was licking his lips in anticipation as he set the serving pot on the table, the pungent odour of coffee competing with the sweet smell of the oatmeal. Apple Bloom had just finished serving the oatmeal when Granny Smith finally arrived.

“Mornin' Granny,” Apple Bloom said.

“Mornin' Applejack,” Granny said, taking her seat while Big Mac poured her a cup of coffee. Apple Bloom shot the old mare a curious glance while she was taking her first sips of the hot beverage.

“Ah'm Apple Bloom, Granny. Applejack's away on a trip.”

“What's that now? Oh right, Apple Bloom, a'course. That's what I meant,” she said, taking another sip, “You're growing up so fast, seems like only yesterday that Applejack was just a little filly herself.”

“Ah'm not a little filly anymore, Granny,” Apple Bloom said, taking her seat at the table while Big Mac dug into his breakfast. The workhorse always ate enthusiastically, needing the energy for the day ahead. “Big Mac, pour me a cup of coffee, if'n you please.”

That earned her no more than a snort from her brother, and a hearty laugh from her grandmother.

“Ah mean it! Ah'm old enough to make breakfast alone, and Ah'm old enough to have coffee!”

“Now, hold on there silly billy,” Granny started, but stopped when she noticed Big Mac pouring a third cup of coffee and sliding it to his little sister, “What d'ya think yer doing, Macintosh?”

“She wants to try it, she can try it,” he said. While the Apple siblings had nothing but respect for Granny Smith, Big Macintosh was also a full grown stallion, and he spoke in a voice that said that he was not entertaining objections.

“Well alright, if you think so,” Granny said, lifting a spoonful of the oatmeal to her lips. Despite herself, she grinned, “Ah supposed if you can make such a tasty breakfast we can let you try some of that there coffee.”

“Really?” Apple Bloom said, smiling from ear to ear, looking into the murky brown beverage before her with awe.

“Eeyup.”

Taking the mug in both hooves, Apple Bloom took a hearty swig, causing her older family members to smirk. Whatever Apple Bloom had expected coffee, the mysterious grown-up only breakfast drink, to taste like, it sure wasn't this. The hard bitter taste felt like it was stinging her mouth, the hot liquid doing it's best to make her spit it out. Her muzzle scrunched up, and her eyes watered, but she forced the mouthful down her throat.

“Gah, blergh...Ah mean...delicious,” she said, her tongue sticking out, the aftertaste refusing to go away. Perhaps if she'd had a fine cup of Canterlot coffee with cream and sugar she would have enjoyed it, but the weathered, aged, and impossibly bitter cup of farmhand brew was anything but enjoyable. She quickly shovelled oatmeal into her mouth to soak up the taste, and stared at the evil beverage.

Big Mac and Granny Smith shared a knowing glance, and happily returned to their meal.

After cleaning up the breakfast dishes, Apple Bloom had rushed to school. Normally she'd dally about, taking her time, but on a cold, miserable, rainy morning like that one, the schoolhouse offered the promise of a warm, dry sanctuary. Her hooves squelching in the mud, she hurried down the lane towards the Ponyville schoolhouse, her wet mane sticking to her face. By the time the schoolhouse loomed out of the mists ahead, Apple Bloom was shivering and cursing herself for ever getting out of bed.

“Horseapples!” came another small voice from behind her. Turning her head, Apple Bloom spotted her friend Scootaloo, who was in much the same state as herself. Scootaloo's normally perky mane was plastered over one of her eyes, and several streaks of mud attested to her failed attempts to sweep it aside. Her signature scooter was nowhere to be seen; with roads so muddy, the tiny vehicle would have soon bogged down and gotten stuck. So instead, the flightless pegasus was trudging through the mud, muttering curses.

“Hey Scoots,” Apple Bloom said, falling in beside her friend.

“Oh hey Apple Bloom. Dumb rain. This is awful!” she returned, making another unsuccessful attempt to wipe the hair from her eyes. With a heavy sigh, the pair entered the schoolyard and walked up to the door.

Inside, most of the young ponies were in much the same state. Twist's normally curly mane had lost its bounce and hung dejectedly at her sides. Featherweight looked even thinner, were that at all possible, and shivered uncontrollably at his desk. His friend Rumble offered a sympathetic hoof on his shoulder. Only three fillies in the room looked anything other than miserable: Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Sweetie Belle sat clean and dry at their desks. While Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were sneering and laughing at their bedraggled classmates, Sweetie Belle was looking at her own clean hooves in embarrassment.

“Hey Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom said, taking her seat on Sweetie's left.

“Hey guys,” Sweetie said, sounding guilty, “Wow, you guys look pretty bad too.”

“Yeah, it's crazy muddy out there,” Scootaloo said, trying again to brush her sopping mane from her face, “How did you get here without getting muddy?”

“Oh, let me get that,” Sweetie said, her clean and gentle hoof finally succeeding at pushing Scootaloo's mane back behind her ear, “and Rarity made be a raincoat and boots a while back for my birthday.”

A glance to the side of the room saw three sets of soiled rain gear sitting side-by-side, all bearing the signature intricate style of the elder unicorn. One was in a light purple that matched the highlights in Sweetie's mane, another was shimmering silver where it wasn't plastered with mud. The third set was the same soft pink as its owner's coat.

“Oh,” was all Scootaloo could say about that, shooting a glare at the snickering duo of rich fillies. Sweetie Belle once again seemed embarrassed about not being muddy.

“Ah'll have ta ask Rarity to make me a set just like that when she gets back,” Apple Bloom said, beaming at her friend even as the water dripped off her face.

“Like you could afford it,” Diamond Tiara quietly shot.

Apple Bloom had noticed how uncomfortable Sweetie Belle was about the raincoat, and decided against responding to Diamond Tiara's muttered jab. Luckily, Miss Cheerilee chose that moment to begin class.

With the sun hidden behind storm clouds, the classroom was cast in a dark, soothing gray light. The gentle white noise of the rain on the windows was a constant backdrop for Cheerilee's lecture on verb tenses, and soon nearly half the class had their heads down, lost either in sleep or daydreams of brighter days. Even the ever attentive Sweetie Belle was snoring softly by lunchtime.

The sudden booming notes of a heavy bronze bell had the young ponies spring back to attention, sheepishly looking at their frowning teacher. Cheerilee sighed, realizing that no more than half of that morning's lesson would have stuck.

“Ok, time for lunch, and we'll try something more exciting for this afternoon's math lesson,” she said, retrieving her own packed lunch from her desk. Apple Bloom's ears had perked up at the mention of lunch, and her belly rumbled to remind her how long it had been since breakfast.

The young ponies began to eat, simple sandwiches and bottles of juice scattered on tiny desks. Apple Bloom rushed to the spot on the rear wall that was reserved for her lunchbox, only to be met with an empty cupboard.

“What the...” she said, blinking. It was silly, but she'd hoped closing her eyes and opening them again would conjure the lunchbox into being. Of course, it didn't. Groaning, she returned to her seat and put her head down.

“What's up, Apple Bloom?” Scootaloo said from beside her. Her desk was as bare as it always was. Scootaloo never brought a lunch to school, and never seemed at all bothered by it. The increasingly insistent rumbles in her own stomach only made Apple Bloom stare in wonder that her friend could do this every day.

“Ah forgot mah lunch,” she said, “Applejack usually makes it, and Ah guess I forgot all about it.”

“Would you like some of mine?” a soft voice from behind her offered. The slate grey pegasus colt, Rumble, had an apple in hoof. With a shrug, he extended to towards her, “Here, I've got plenty.”

Forgetting her manners for a moment, Apple Bloom opened her mouth wide and clamped down on the apple. It was most certainly not a ladylike bite, and was in fact a bigger bite than would be considered polite for anypony.

“Mmrf,” she said through her very full mouth, “Fanks Mumble.”

The colt just laughed, and turned back to his conversation with Featherweight. As she was swallowing, Apple Bloom heard Scootaloo snort.

“That was nice of him,” Sweetie Belle suggested, but Scootaloo just snorted again.

“What's your problem?” Apple Bloom asked, giving the orange filly an odd look.

“He thinks he's so great,” she muttered, almost too soft for Apple Bloom to hear, but shook her head and quickly changed the subject, “So what are we doing to earn our cutie marks today?”

“Ooh, I had an idea!” Sweetie Belle said, perking up. It was unusual for her to be so eager to offer her suggestions, so the other two immediately paid attention, “What about Cutie Mark Crusader Cartographers? We can make a map of Ponyville!”

“We did that already, didn't we?” Scootaloo said, scratching her head, “At least, I thought we already had a map of Ponyville.”

“Oh, did we?” Sweetie Belle said, shoulders slumped.

“What about Cutie Mark Crusader lumberjacks?” Apple Bloom offered.

“Yeah, we can go cut down trees in the Everfree forest!” Scootaloo said, a mischievous glint in her eye.

“Yeah, and we can go visit Zecora while we're out there!” Sweetie Belle added.

“Alright, it's decided,” Apple Bloom said, sticking one hoof out in front of her. The other two crusaders each reached out a hoof to bump hers.

“Cutie Mark Crusader Lumberjacks are go!”

The afternoon had involved Cheerliee dividing the class in half and drilling them on fractions in a competition. It had been far more exciting than the morning's lecture, and once Scootaloo's competitive streak was indulged, fractions might as well have been made of cake. She dove eagerly into the lesson. Every pony in the room, Cheerilee most of all, was amazed at Scootaloo's knowledge of math. Evidently, the orange pegasus could learn math in her sleep. Or she was cheating, but Cheerilee was never one to think the worst of her students.

By the time the school day had come to a close, the rain had stopped. The ground was still a mess of thick, sucking mud as the young ponies headed home. The three friends found themselves walking down the road to Sweetie Belle's house, the unicorn decked out in her rainy weather wear. Several times she had nearly lost one of her boots, but eventually they made it to the quaint home on the shores of the Ponyville lake. Her father waved to her from his usual place on the pier, fishing pole in hand. The three fillies waved back, and Sweetie Belle unceremoniously dumped the raincoat and boots inside. Finally freed of the confining boots, Sweetie Belle started bouncing towards the Everfree forest, the mud squishing underhoof. Her friends followed close by.

Apple Bloom didn't really know what being a lumberjack entailed, but she was sure Zecora could offer some advice. She was pondering the question of whether her brother would notice if the axe went missing when a whistling sound from above them caught her attention.

“Look out below!” a shrill voice shrieked, and the three fillies dove off the path, their coats quickly becoming drenched by the sodden grass. Behind them, some heavy object slammed into the road, sending a wave of mud in all directions. Messy as it was, the soft mud made for a gentler crash landing than the normally hard packed and dusty road.

When the wave of mud had come to a rest, Apple Bloom finally managed to recognize the projectile. It was the grey pegasus from school. Rumble groaned, and spit out a mouthful of mud. His forelegs had vanished, buried in the mud. His wings flapped lazily, working out the shock of the landing. One of his rear legs was stuck nearly straight behind him, the other tucked under his body.

“Umm...sorry?” he said, looking up at the three shocked fillies in front of him. He shifted his weight, trying to push himself up, but the sucking mud held him tight. Rumble's wings pumped wildly, trying to lift his body out of the mud, but to no avail. After a moment of wiggling and squirming, the colt let out a defeated sigh.

“A little help?”

With that, the stunned silence was broken by Scootaloo's raucous laughter. The pegasus flopped onto her back, laughing uncontrollably, rolling around in the wet grass. Sweetie Belle was at least trying to keep her giggling contained, though it resulted is several loud snorts. Apple Bloom just kept staring.

She hadn't really known Rumble in their time as classmates. Most of the time, she hadn't even noticed that he even existed. Today though, he'd offered her his apple, and now here is was, almost crashing into her out of nowhere before getting trapped in the mud. It was so absurd that it should be laughable; Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had no reservations about laughing. Apple Bloom wasn't laughing though. Looking at the muddy colt, she noticed the grey coat on his face darken in a blush as the laughter continued. Sweetie Belle was regaining her composure, but Scootaloo showed no sign of stopping.

'He looks so sad...like a lost puppy,' Apple Bloom found herself thinking. Cute? Was that the word? She'd never really thought that about colts before. They had always been lame or gross, but cute? She couldn't put her hoof on what it was, but the helpless pegasus trapped in the mud, looking at her with those big watery eyes was doing something to her.

After much too long, she put on a kind smile and walked over to him.

“Here, let me help,” she said, plunging her hooves into the mud under his chest. She wasn't expecting to get so much resistance from the mud, but she managed to get enough leverage to pry the colt up. With a loud sucking noise, the air rushed in to fill the space the colt no longer occupied. “There ya go, good as new.”

“Thanks,” Rumble said, pawing at the ground with his forehoof and staring at the mud. Apple Bloom tried to smile at him, but he wasn't looking at her. That made her feel sad, as odd as it sounded. Not really thinking, she reached out and started to brush the mud off his chest. This was a rather futile effort, as her hooves were no less muddy than his chest, but it succeeded in getting him to look at her. His purple eyes were filled with relief and gratitude, and they sent her heart racing.

“No problem. Hey, we're headed out to try an' get our cutie marks at being lumberjacks. Wanna come?” She asked. 'Now why did Ah do that?' she thought to herself. She didn't know why she'd asked, or why she was staring at him so expectantly. Wait, was she staring? She quickly looked down at the mud. After a moment of silence, she looked up at him again. She hadn't noticed Scootaloo stop laughing. “Well?”

“I...uh, I'd love to but I've got to go meet up with my brother. He promised to teach me how to do corkscrews,” Rumble replied, scratching his foreleg nervously, “But...uh, thanks. I'll see you at school tomorrow?” Beneath the mud, his entire face had darkened, nearly as dark as his sleek black hair.

“Uh...yeah, see you tomorrow then...” Apple Bloom said. Another moment of awkward silence passed, before Rumble gave her a little wave, and took to the air. Apple Bloom watched him go until she felt a hoof poking her in the ribs.

“Huh? I uh...wha?” she said eloquently, turning to see Scootaloo wearing a confused scowl. Behind her, Sweetie Belle was practically vibrating with excitement, a giddy smile plastered across her face.

“What was that all about?” Scootaloo asked, poking her again.

“Ah don't rightly know,” Apple Bloom said, shrugging it off.

“I do,” Sweetie Belle said in a sing-song voice, “Apple Bloom and Rumble, sitting in a tree...”

“Don't you say it,” Apple Bloom growled.

“K-I-S-” she didn't get to finish, Apple Bloom's muddy hoof clamping down over her mouth.

“Keys? What do keys have to do with anything? And why are you spelling?” Scootaloo said, looking even more confused, and increasingly angry that she was the only one who seemed out of the loop.

“It's nothin', now don't we have some trees to cut down?” Apple Bloom said, trying to change the topic. Sweetie Belle shot her a smug look, but nodded her agreement to let the subject drop.

Together, the three friends continued down the road towards the Everfree forest, Apple Bloom lost in thought about what it all really meant.

Suddenly, she wished Applejack hadn't gone on that trip. She needed somepony to talk to.

Comments

[DigitalChaos]

Great job dude! I can't wait to see where this goes next!

[frizzkitten]

Nice!

[DigitalChaos]

Wait, wait, wait. I JUST realized you labeled this with uhhh.... you know, at the bottom, next to "Teen". And the only characters in this are 3 little girls and one little boy. I'm concerned,

[mylittleeditor]

2616073

Yeah, I've never uploaded a story here, so I don't really know what the community standards draw as the line. They'll be a couple "birds and the bees" style jokes at some point, and I didn't want to under-label and get in trouble later on.

I figured it was better to over-shoot and give it the stricter label than get an angry message from some admin later on.

[DigitalChaos]

2616123
Oh, okay haha. You don't put that tag on there unless there is an actual instance of said word, like a scene or something. Birds and bees jokes with CMCs are fine (and hilarious), but I'd keep the teen rating just in case, or ask someone experienced for rating assistance. I'm new and was insanely confused when I uploaded my story a couple days back, haha