• Published 9th Dec 2013
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Half-Hour Horses - HoofAndQuill



A collection of short prompt-based stories, from Thirty Minute Ponies.

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Crossing The Line [Slice of Life, Drama?]

(The Prompt: I didn’t mean to make her cry.)

(Writing this one was slow and the time limit sort of bit me, but I wanted to get back in the saddle, so to speak, and start posting again.)

Apple Bloom sat alone in the middle of her bed, in her room. It was real quiet in the house, which probably meant everypony already knew what happened. The stairs out in the hallway creaked, and Apple Bloom hunkered down against her bedcovers a bit more. She counted the steps across the wood floor outside, and then listened really carefully. The pony outside her door paused for a second, and let out a sigh. Apple Bloom knew who it was, then.

"Come on in, Applejack."

Apple Bloom didn't budge as Applejack opened the door and stepped inside. She could have faked she wasn't home, or tried to go out the window, but that would just be putting it off. Applejack closed the door behind her before she walked slowly over toward Apple Bloom's bed, and then reached up and laid a hoof gently on Apple Bloom's back.

Apple Bloom sometimes forgot how much bigger other ponies were than her. "I'm real sorry, Applejack, I know I'm not s'posed to go hittin' other ponies, but she-"

"No buts, Apple Bloom. You're not supposed t' hit other ponies an' that's it. But I know you never done it before now, an' I want to hear what happened."

Apple Bloom turned her head to look at her sister, and instead of looking angry, Applejack just looked... sympathetic. Or sad, or something. It was hard to tell with how blurry the room was getting. Apple Bloom wiped her eyes with the back of her pastern. "Miss Cheerilee didn' tell you already?"

Applejack hesitated a moment, and then climbed up onto Apple Bloom's bed, and pulled the little filly against her. "She told me you up an' hit Diamond Tiara, an' that Diamond Tiara said she didn't say nothin' to start it, but I reckon she did."

"She's always talkin' about us bein' blank flanks an' how we're no good at anythin'. You know how she went an' talked t' Scootaloo about not bein' able to fly. But today she uh..." Apple Bloom fidgeted a little against her sister. "She said Ma and Pa ran off 'cause I wasn't good enough."

Apple Bloom felt her sister's body tense up for a second, but Applejack took a deep breath, and then shook her head. "You know it weren't like that. Listen, Apple Bloom, some ponies don't think b'fore they speak. I don't even blame ya for hittin' her, but you can't go doin' that to every fool that bothers you."

Apple Bloom sank down against the covers and sighed. "Th' worst part is I know she ain't even sorry. Diamon' Tiara always does whatever she wants an' never gets in trouble."

"I'm bettin' she wishes she hadn' said anything to you at all right now. Even if it's only 'cause of that black eye y' gave her."

Apple Bloom put her hoof over her mouth, but it wasn't enough to stop a giggle from breaking out. She looked up at Applejack in a panic, but her sister didn't seem mad. Applejack just sighed instead, and looked up at the ceiling. "When I was a little filly, just a little after I got my cutie mark, a colt in my class said somethin' about Ma and Pa, too. Now mind you, I started workin' on the farm earlier than you, seein' as how, well, we couldn't let just Big Macintosh do everythin'."

"Who was it?"

Applejack shook her head. "Caramel. But don't you worry, he's got a lot better now he's grown up. Ponies your age don't know what they're sayin' half the time. Caramel didn't, an' I broke his nose for it."

Apple Bloom's eyes widened, and she pressed her hoof to her own muzzle. "Y' broke his nose? Applejack!"

"See, that's why y' have to be careful about it, Apple Bloom. I felt jus' terrible about it, an' there was nothin' I could do to make things right again. Now, I'm bettin' Diamond Tiara's gonna want to apologize to you, an' you know you need to at least listen to 'er."

Apple Bloom nodded, and then laid her head back down on the bed. "I'm real sorry, Applejack."

Applejack hugged her little sister close, and then got up out of the bed. "I know, now come on, there's another pony y' need to talk to."

Apple Bloom stood up on her bedcovers, and then hopped down and walked alongside Applejack. She didn't want to talk to anypony else about this, she just wanted it to have never happened to start with. Applejack stopped at Apple Bloom's door, and then opened it slowly.

Diamond Tiara was standing just outside, looking low and miserable. She kept her head hung down low, and Apple Bloom couldn't help but wince a little at the purplish, puffy bruise around her left eye. Behind her stood Big Macintosh, looking placid as usual, but with the slight furrow of his brow that only his family would pick up on. Apple Bloom guessed that Diamond Tiara had already had a firm talking-to.

Apple Bloom looked up at her big sister, and then to her brother, and then back to Diamond Tiara. She rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. "Um, Diamond Tiara, I uh... didn' mean t' hit you like that. I'm just... I don't like hearin' ponies talk about Ma an' Pa that way."

Diamond Tiara looked up to meet Apple Blooms eyes, and then frowned and looked away for a second, before looking back. To Apple Bloom's surprise, Diamond Tiara's eyes glistened with tears. "I'm... sorry too, I didn't know they were-" Diamond Tiara swallowed hard. "Gone. Like my mother... I wouldn't have said anything about them if I knew that."

Apple Bloom hesitated a moment longer than she should have, but then stepped forward and hooked her forelegs around Diamond Tiara in a hug. Diamond Tiara pressed into it and reached one foreleg around Apple Bloom as well. Applejack looked down at the two fillies, and smiled.

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