Apple Bloom and The Huntsman

by Newenglandee

Show and Tell Escalation

Everyone has special little things dear to them. Hand-me-downs, heirlooms, precious items full of sentimental value. Sometimes expensive, sometimes cheap, yet all priceless in their own way. And Apple Bloom was quite happy to finally get to look at the Huntsman's most precious item...or at least his most second, after an old, faded photograph of him and his sister.

The necklace. It throbbed and hummed in her hold, Apple Bloom's eyes wide in delight and awe as she felt how oddly cool and comforting it was to hold. She rubbed the top of one of the majestic gems that made up the light blue/white crystal necklace the Huntsman wore, the thing humming more loudly as she let out an "Oooh" at it.

"I crafted it with my father, truth be told. It took me a while. Several days straight of solid work, but, at long last, I'd formed the cosmic matter into what you now hold." The starry-bodied being informed her, his ethereal voice wafting across the lake as he sat atop a stump, getting a fishing pole ready before launching the baited hook through the air. "You like it?"

"Oh, it's just amazing!" The young foal admitted. "You made this from planets?"

"Dead planets, yes. We're living galaxies, using dead planets and stars is far easier to manipulate than it would be for any of your race. It's as easy for us as your kind can smith a horseshoe." The alien hunter remarked before blinking, pale blue eyes narrowing as he reeled the hook back in, holding up a large Salmon and grinning, tossing the catch into a bucket he had with him. "You know, many of the stars in the night sky are actually dead themselves." He said, gesturing at the sky, the sun beginning to set over the horizon, the first stars popping up in the velvet of night above.

"They don't look it." Apple Bloom admitted, looking back at the necklace, then up at the sky.

"Just because something isn't alive, "with us" anymore doesn't mean it can't be beautiful." The Cosmo Sapien informed her, letting out a yawn as he tossed out the line over the lake once more, a fish falling for the bait once again. Thwoop! He yanked it back. "My, the fish here are very, very stupid. They keep falling for the same bait."

"What kind of bait ARE you using?" Apple Bloom wished to know, trotting over to him, the necklace put around her own neck as he put some of his bait onto the hook again, Bloom sniffing it. "...EWWW. That smells like rotten fish!"

"It IS a type of fish, actually."

"...wait, so these fish are cannibals?!" Apple Bloom asked, cringing. "Yechhh!"

"I'm kidding. It's a type of peanut butter I mixed with fish pheromones. The smell wafts through the water, making the fish attracted, thinking it's a girl fish...or a boy fish. And then-POW! Peanut butter." The Huntsman chuckled, tossing the line back into the lake as the moon began to make its way across the sky above, the alien hunter grinning at Apple Bloom. "They can't resist. Peanut butter works amazingly well with smaller animals. Try it if you want to catch some mice or squirrels. They go "nuts" for it. Pun intended."

Apple Bloom nodded, looking down at the necklace as she took it off her neck, biting her lip. "Um...Mister Neh-Buh-Loh? Do you mind if I take this, you know, into class tomorrow? It's show and tell, and I'd really like to show something interesting for it. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon always show me up and it would be nice to just finally bring in something really cool for everyone to see."

"Of course." the Huntsman told her, reeling in a final fish and plopping it into the bucket before kneeling down and patting her atop her head with a playful little smile. "As long as you are careful with it, you may show it off. Just say it's from a friend. And perhaps you would like me to tell you how my family forged these?"

"Oh, yes, I would!" Apple Bloom said, eagerly nodding as her alien friend picked the fish and fishing pole up, the two making their way through a long, winding forest path. The moonlight filtered softly through the canopy above, a soft wind blowing as she and her friend kept talking into the night, almost totally past her bedtime. Tomorrow was going to be a good day.

---

Apple Bloom waited patiently, the necklace in her little backpack as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon showed off what they'd brought into the yellow and green-painted walls of Ms. Cheerilee's classroom. She had to admit, it was pretty impressive: they'd gotten hold of tiny little statues that they'd had carved from ivory and and Diamond Tiara wouldn't stop talking about it, the young pink coal grinning broadly as she stroked her own statue slowly as if petting it. Her purple and white hair was finely arranged today just like Silver Spoon's own lovely grey hair was tied into a perfect ponytail, Silver Spoon adjusting her glasses to look over at Apple Bloom, who confidently smirked as she put her hoof on her backpack.

"Why's she so...smug?" Diamond Tiara thought inwardly with a slight frown before Ms. Cheerilee nodded her magenta head at the two and they put their little statues away in their backpacks. "Did she or one of her blank flank friends bring in something that could top...no. No, they can't possibly mess this up for us the way she did Pet Day."

Indeed, Pet Day had been rather infamous. Apple Bloom had brought in Wynona as her pet, the delightful dog winning over most of the class whilst Sweetie Belle had brought in Opal the Cat and...well...er...

Things had not looked good because the two kept giving each other looks and were on the verge of a full-on attack, both growling darkly as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle tried to keep them restrained. But Scootaloo didn't really have a pet, so she'd just grabbed hold of a green frog whilst Diamond Tiara had snootily shown off her own acquisition.

"My presentation is this adorably majestic Orchestral Cricket strain, worth 100 bits alone." She'd explained to Ms. Cheerilee, the cricket on the table playing a perfect imitation of a violin with its legs as soft music drifted through the room. Scootaloo simply sat nearby with her plain ol' green frog, "harrumphing" at the sight as Diamond Tiara smirked. "He can perform any type of symphony you ask of him, and he's a special present from my father. There's only a thousand of them in existence and they normally sell for ten times what I got him for, but the owner owned my daddy a favor. AND!" She gave Apple Bloom the biggest smirk she and her friends ever saw, every inch of the smile oozing smugness like a chemical spill. "It can dance."

However, it could not hop away to safety to save it's life, because Scoot's plain ol' green frog leapt free of the little unicorn's grip, plopping onto the table and swallowing the cricket in a single gulp.

"HEY!" Diamond Tiara shrieked.

"Wow. This is almost a religious experience." Scootaloo admitted to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle as the frog burped, Diamond Tiara tugging at her hair as the other foals in the room gasped or laughed or stared in stunned silence.

"ARRRRRRRGGGHHHH!"

No, Diamond Tiara didn't want a repeat of that day. So she watched Apple Bloom closely as she and Silver Spoon sat down, gaping in surprise as Apple Bloom pulled out an enormous and majestic necklace of an unknown crystal that shimmered in the light of the room.

"This is a gift, a real nice necklace that-" Apple Bloom hesitated before continuing on. "That I made for a friend. I crafted it out of this meteorite that fell in our field a while back. Took me a long time, but...I did it!"

"Oh my, it's positively dazzling!" Ms. Cheerliee remarked as she clasped her hooves together and beamed, Diamond Tiara frowning as the kids all crowded around, Apple Bloom letting them and Ms. Cheerilee examine the necklace.

"It's warm. How's it so warm?"

"It's kinda vibrat-y, you know?"

"Can I lick it? It kinda smells nice too."

"NO, Snips."

"You really made this?"

"Yeah! I made it!" Apple Bloom said, inwardly flinching. What was the harm? It was just show and tell. Not a big deal. Not really. So she smiled at them all before putting the necklace back in her backpack and heading back to her chair, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle smiling broadly at her.

"What a great show and tell presentation." Sweetie Belle admitted, nodding eagerly. "Everyone thinks its so beautiful. And to think you crafted it all by yourself? Did you get a cutie mark from it-oh, no, you didn't, obviously, but still!"

"I guess not all our gifts have to be broadcasted on our sides." Scootaloo admitted. "I'm jealous you're so good at that stuff."

Apple Bloom nervously rubbed the back of her neck, blushing. "Well, you know, I...I try."

Inwardly, she felt kind of queasy. Applejack had always insisted that she be honest and decent. Especially with her friends. And the Huntsman had been straight-up honest with her about who he was, what he was, and what he could do. He'd only had one rule: say this stuff was from "a friend". And she was breaking it. It was only show and tell, but...

...still...

Meanwhile, the Huntsman was in the woods, a bunny tied down to a tree stump as he sharped a knife made of cosmic matter on his claws, sighing as the thing began struggling to get free. "Look, please don't make this difficult." He insisted quietly. "I'll snap your neck and I promise, you won't feel a thing. But I need to eat something to slightly stave off my hunger even if it means eating a cute little bunny."

"Can't we talk about this?"

The Huntsman frowned, blue eyes slightly narrowing. He really, really hated this. He needed to feed on sentient beings to keep alive and he had figured that a barely sentient animal wouldn't make him feel guilty. But now, hearing this thing's begging, he was hesitating. "I-look, I simply cannot let you go. I have to stave off entropy somehow. When you're a living galaxy, the needs of your body are great."

"Can't you just go on a diet? You know, lettuce is very good for dieters. Celery's even better. My owner Fluttershy always insists I eat more celery but I'm too into those little tomatoes."

"You've an owner?" The Huntsman asked quietly. "...not...wild?"

"No. My name is Angel and my owner is Fluttershy. She lives by the edge of the forest, I was out trying to find some wild truffles for dinner tonight. I might not be a pig, but I can track them down pretty well!"

The Huntsman sighed, then leaned down, cutting Angel free with a swift motion of his claws, waving his hand in the air. "Just go, get-get going." He mumbled, Angel giving him a simple nod before leaping away, the Huntsman sitting on the stump and holding his head in his hands. This was going to be problematic. He needed to eat something sentient in at least two weeks, and if he didn't, he'd start to starve. What was he going to do?

An appetite suppressant would help keep hunger pains away. But did this country advance enough to sell appetite suppressants, he wondered. He'd ask Apple Bloom. It was good to have someone trustworthy in this world he could immediately turn to for help.

...

...

...

...Apple Bloom, naturally, had been quite happy to talk to the Huntsman about her amazing presentation. But she wanted more. She wanted to show off even more fantastic stuff to her classmates. The look in their eyes, how their pupils had lit up upon seeing the necklace, the way they'd all crowded around her, fascinated, voices filled with awe and wonder and joy, she wanted to relieve that again. So she of course had asked

"Do you have anything else I could give to them for show and tell?"

The Huntsman ceased cutting up the slice of chocolate cake he'd been making in his little abode, holding up the cosmic knife he'd been carrying around since yesterday, and he gave a small little smile as he put it down next to Apple Bloom, then passed his hand over his chest, carefully pulling out a small ball of light. It glimmered brightly before he put it into a piece of himself he carefully peeled off, forming a tiny cage of cosmic matter that wrapped about the ball like a birthday present. The starry-bodied being tied it neatly up before giving it to Apple Bloom, giving the little filly a small smile. "A star. Very small, compressed to fit inside this cage, but a star nontheless. Feel."

He handed it to Apple Bloom, who grunted as she struggled to hold it up. "OOH. It's heavy!"

"It has it's own center of gravity. Observe." The Huntsman admitted as he took the star from her, holding up a fork nearby, the fork humming and twitching back and forth before flying right into the cage, now circling around it like a moon did to a planet. "It's own gravitational pull. Here, here, let's try this." He chuckled, caaaarefully pouring a tiny bit of chocolate milk towards the cage as the milk droplets whizzed about the cage like little dancers. Apple Bloom giggled as they whizzed about, the Huntsman taking the fork away, then gobbling up the droplets of chocolate milk with careful, deliberate bites. "Mmm. Yummy!"

"Wow. Amazing!"

Apple Bloom poured a few more droplets over the cage before her class as they whizzed about the little star, Apple Bloom putting the cider to the side before twirling about, then holding the cage up high. The star twinkled in the cage, the droplets sweeping about it in perfect symmetry as Apple Bloom danced about, twirling like a ballerina. Sweetie Belle had quite happily provided some lovely concerto music to fit the mood whilst Scootaloo's scooter had helped get the star into the room. After all, the thing was pretty darn heavy!

But it was worth it. Silver Spoon's attempt to show off her new pearl necklace had been nothing compared to this majestic and beautiful thing in her hooves. The class sat in their chairs in absolute awe of this little wonder that Apple Bloom was showing off from the "meteorite in her backyard".

"Can you believe it? A little star." She said at last, putting the cage onto Ms. Cheerilee's desk, as the desk slightly creaked under the weight, Cheerilee examining the cage and quickly scribbling notes. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"You are most definitely getting an 'A Plus' on your presentation." Ms. Cheerilee complimented with a sage nod, Apple Bloom positively beaming with delight. Everyone was loving what she had to show, and she was soaking in every moment of their praise.

And so it continued over the week. First had come the necklace, then a little star. Then she'd brought in a ball of cosmic matter that would shape itself to anything she wished. Then the next day after that, a tiny little planet, with everyone crowding around the table she put it on as Ms. Cheerilee examined the world under a microscope. And unbeknownst to her, gave the planet it's new god.

"ALL HAIL THE PONY!" Came the cry from below.

"Praise it's cuteness! It's muzzle! It's strong and bouncy hair!"

"Especially that strong and bouncy hair."

"Are they...saying something down there?" Ms. Cheerilee murmured before she noticed the inhabitants of the city she was looking down at were definitely getting on bended knee and bowing up at her. "Oh! Uh...um...well!" She blushed. "I, er...might want to, ah...keep this overnight." She mumbled out.

"GRRRR." Diamond Tiara muttered darkly as she and Silver Spoon made their way out of the schoolhouse, the foal stomping down hard as she sulked in frustration. "That stupid blank flank is totally showing us up! What next? An entire miniature galaxy?"

"You know if I actually find one in that meteorite, I'll bring it in!" Apple Bloom said, popping up between the two before heading out with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara tugging at her hair.

"GAAAAAAAH! We need to put her in her place before she gets too big for her britches!" Diamond Tiara snarled. "But how? What could we get that's even greater than what she's shown?"

Silver Spoon suddenly got a dark smirk. "That meteorite she talks about. Let's follow her and see where it is, and steal it from her. Then WE can have all the nice things to bring in to show and tell and she'll be reduced to just bringing in stupid frogs and stuff!"

"..."

"Sorry. Too soon?"

"No kidding!"

And so, bags slung over their back, tools at the ready, the two kept hidden in the dark recesses of the forest, carefully slinking along in the shadows as evening began to fall. Yet Apple Bloom made her way not back towards her home, but instead took a detour towards a house the two didn't recognize, a house almost utterly overgrown in undergrowth as a figure seemed to stand illuminated in the doorway. A figure with a body like a galaxy and bright blue eyes-

With a very familiar necklace around his neck.

The two colt's eyes went wide before they nodded at each other, tiptoeing across the front lawn after Apple Bloom and the odd person headed inside the house, and they put their ears to the door, listening in through some of the cracks upon it.

"They loved the little planet, Mr. Huntsman."

"Well, it's my pleasure, Apple Bloom. I'm happy to let my talents be shared for a friend. Thanks for getting these appetite surpressants for me, I'm, well...not entirely sure I could safely enter the town without attracting undue attention. I don't quite believe the ponies here would be ready for the knowledge that an alien is here among them. Not until I've talked to Princess Celestia and Luna."

"Oh, the letter! Right!" Apple Bloom slapped her forehead. "I should check the mailbox and see if that letter you gave me to send came back with a reply! I'll do it tomorrow, I promise." She swore. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Would you, perhaps, like to bring ME in for show and tell when things have settled?" The Huntsman asked bemusedly.

"Oh, definitely! But for now, what could top a little planet? The week's over but I want something really good to show off for next week that'll really set the bar!"

"How about a little solar system? It'd take some effort, and a full day of careful searching and focus, but I could hold a solar system in a cage of cosmic matter the same way I did for the star or the planet I gave you. Would you like that?"

Diamond Tiara's eyes narrowed as she turned to Silver Spoon, nodding. Silver Spoon carefully slunk up the undergrowth growing on the side of the wall, aiming their camera at the window, taking several pictures. Snap-snap-snap. Thank goodness they took the flash off or they'd get caught for sure!

A few moments later and the footage was theirs, the two racing off as the Huntsman seemed to briefly glance at the door before turning to Apple Bloom. "Apple Bloom, you've been saying these are gifts I gave you, correct?" He asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Apple Bloom quickly insisted with some firm nodding. "Absolutely. And that way when I introduce you for real everyone will think you're really nice! Heh-heh...heh."

The Huntsman rubbed his chin thoughtfully before giving her a nod. "There's something better I think I'd like to show you. Here."

He slowly reached into his chest before his hand carefully pulled out a sepia-toned photograph that appeared to be of himself and a younger type of alien like he was, with tiny little stubby horns on her forehead in addition to the mighty ones on the side of her skull, and with a cute little set of crystal wristbands around her wrists. "Go ahead. Touch it." He said, holding it out for Apple Bloom as she reached out with her hoof as it passed over the table, brushing up against-

The picture now moved, Apple Bloom hearing the unmistakable sound of the Huntsman and a very chipper and feminine voice ringing through the air, as if a scene was playing out before her, the two getting into position.

"Okay, just sit right up here on my lap!"

"You're sure it's going to take the picture?"

"I'm sure, Nee."

"Okay. One! Two! Three! CHEEEESE!"

"And it's done!"

"My smile captured for all eternity. Think people will think I'm cute?"

"How can anyone not? But you're not dating anyone until you turn 18."

"Hey! No fair." A pout from the female as the Huntsman rubbed "Nee's" head with a laugh and she giggled. "Oh, you!"

"Don't ever change." He chuckled.

"Is that your sister?" Apple Bloom asked, withdrawing the hoof as she felt a slight cold settle over her like a blanket that had been assaulted for hours by an air conditioner.

"Yes. Her name is Nee-Buh-Loh. I'm sort of still trying to find her. And I had heard a rumor she was here, so..." The Huntsman rubbed the back of his neck as he put the photo on the table. "I hope to find her before I starve, honestly. Could take some time, but...she's the only family I have left and the only other one of my species. The rest of us died off because we were very...selfish. And very cruel. We were punished and only I and my sister survived."

Apple Bloom hung her head, biting her lip.

"But you don't need to know of such sad things. I just wanted to share the photo with you. My species could take a moment and enshrine it like that, and that memory is a very dear one to me." He admitted. "And now I can share it with you. I'm really enjoying sharing all this with you."

"...you've been giving and giving and all I've done is take and take." Apple Bloom realized. "Even taking credit."

The Huntsman folded his arms over his chest. "Whatever do you mean?"

Apple Bloom hesitated, then began to talk.

...

...

...

... "Dear Princess Celestia..."

"Did not see this coming." Diamond Tiara admitted quietly, she and Silver Spoon gaping at the sight of the Princesses as they walked out of the forest with the starry-bodied being by their side as he waved slightly at them all before getting on one knee before the princesses.

"It's good we got your letter. Apple Bloom's handwriting was slightly sketchy, but we understood what needed to be done. We'll try and find some sustenance for you whilst sending out scouts to find your sister." Princess Celestia proclaimed, her rainbow mane flowing freely in the breeze as she put a golden hoof upon her chest, Luna bowing her head.

"I've learned something. You can't take advantage of your friends, and you need to be honest and grateful with them for all they do for you."

"And all things considered, it's very good to see you again." The lunar diarch admitted as her nightly mane drooped slightly down, the Huntsman rising up. "You know, I never did ask you. I know your father once visited here many eons ago. Did he, by any chance..." She pointed at her mane, raising an eyebrow up as the Huntsman scratched his head.

"That would be quite the discovery. I never got the chance to ask him. Would you be able to take a blood sample to test for such a thing? I think I'd just absorb the needle by accident."

"He's...he's a living galaxy? REALLY?" The purple-furred Twilight Sparkle gaped as she looked from the princesses to the Huntsman before Apple Bloom nodded, standing nearby to her alien friend. "I...this raises so many questions!"

"I'll try and give answers."

"It's easy to get swept up in the moment and to enjoy the great things your friends do for you, but you can't let that keep you from thanking them for all you did. And you certainly shouldn't take credit for what they did just to make yourself feel better."

"Young lady...I think you got a lotta explainin' to do yourself." Apple Bloom's sister remarked with a slight frown, pointing at her with an orange hoof as Apple Bloom blushed. "Why didn't y'all just tell me you were helpin' to hide an alien in the forest?"

"Well, I wanted to cover for him because he was my friend. I felt I kind of owed it to him because he was so nice to me." Apple Bloom admitted. "But I guess I should have been honest sooner. It would have been a lot easier."

Even if you make mistakes, if you're honest about them, real friends will understand.

The ponies of Ponyville murmured amongst each other as Apple Bloom deeply blushed. She wasn't quite sure what would happen now. But hopefully now that everyone knew and the Princesses were here, things wouldn't be too scary for them all. But most of all, she was glad that Neh-Buh-Loh had been so forgiving. Now there was just one thing left to do.

"I think you'll all really love him though. I mean, he can do this!" Apple Bloom admitted, putting her hoof squarely into his leg as it sank in firmly as it passing through water, the hoof then sticking out of his chest as she waved it about. "Helloooo!"

"Well this beat's MY show and tell." Snips sighed as he put down the cardboard box he'd brought before a frog leapt out of it and landed right in front of Diamond Tiara, letting out a loud "ribbet" as her eyelid twitched, her mouth slowly opening.

...at first they thought it was a WOLF howling...