Heart and Mind

by Quick Fix

Past Two - Unexpected Opportunity

October 8th

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"That was easy enough." Apple Bloom said to herself as she stepped back and wiped some sweat off her brow. Two days of work and she had transformed a large but average block of wood into the rough model of an stylish closet. She hadn't even done any of the details yet and this was a work she was extra proud of. The doors were off and placed to one side, ready to be screwed into place at the end once the rest was perfect. She picked up a wood shaver and stepped inside the closet, getting to work on the rougher parts.

"Apple Bloom? You in?" A voice called from the front of the shop, Apple Bloom recognised it easily enough.

"Work room, Scootaloo." She called back, looking over to the door as Scootaloo stepped through, wearing the same kind of look she used to have when they'd been dealing with Diamond Tiara during their fillyhood, exasperated and really wanting a cold drink.

"Thanks, hey that's looking good so far, even with my eye for lack of detail," Scootaloo chuckled slightly and leaned against the wall, flexing her wing out before looking at her friend. "Apple Bloom, I need the perspective of somepony who understands me and, well, is okay with breaking the rule."

Apple Bloom paused and looked over at Scootaloo. The 'rule' was a unspoken agreement the former crusaders had to never bring up Scootaloo's incapability to fly. Sweetie Belle had stuck to it so hard that she didn't even mention wings when she was with them, Apple Bloom was a bit more lax about it and while she wouldn't break it on her own, she knew Scootaloo was being serious if she was giving a green light to do so.

"Okay, so it's about your flying, what's happened? Are you onto something?"

"Maybe, when I got home after meeting with Mayor Tiara there was a note from somepony claiming they could help with that. Me and Trixie went to check it out today and it was from some stallion called Quick Fix."

"Rings a bell, red coat, blond mane, was in the new class after we left school?" Apple Bloom clarified as she resumed the wood shaving, focused but keeping an ear on Scootaloo.

"Yeah, sounds like him. Was a repairpony from the looks of him, hammer cutie mark and all."

"Okay, so what's the problem, was he just using it to ask for an autograph face to face?"

"The problem," Scootaloo pushed herself off the wall and started pacing. "Is that he was serious, claimed that he'd been learning about wings from Twilight. Okay he knew some things but I ended up letting him talk me into a follow up at the athletics circuit tomorrow morning, see if he could spot something all those doctors couldn't. A repairpony, claiming he can understand what's wrong with my wings in one day and probably fix it too. I mean, do you have any idea how ridiculous it all sounded?"

Apple Bloom paused for a moment, thinking it over. Scootaloo's tone had made it clear she was stressed from the mix of hope and frustration boiling up at the possibility this was for real. As for this Quick Fix, she didn't know enough to make a reasonable call yet. She resumed shaving as she came to a decision, grunting slightly at a resistant patch.

"Ok, I'll admit it sounds off, but maybe he does have an idea. You'd be surprised how some ponies' cutie marks look way different to their talents. I mean, look at miss Cheerilee."

"I guess, so you think I should go through with it?"

"I'll tell you what," Apple Bloom put the wood shaver down and stepped out of the closet, glancing over her work and nodding before looking back at Scootaloo. "I can hang around as well if you like, been meaning to get a good run in recently."

"Thanks, Apple Bloom. With you and Trixie there, this is either going to be a fantastic breakthrough, a day of status quo, or a hilariously one sided scuffle. Whichever way it ends up, I'm almost looking forward to seeing how this goes."

Apple Bloom grinned and put a hoof out, Scootaloo grinned in return and eagerly hoofbumped her. It felt good for the two of them to be planning things together again, taking on the world, just like the old days. Both of them silently wished that Sweetie Belle was still here, rather than in Manehatten.

"Thanks again, glad I can always count on you having my back. I'll let you get back to work. The meet is at ten so I'll see you there." Scootaloo said as she moved to leave. Apple Bloom followed her to the entrance and waved, smiling happily and stepping back once she was out of sight. A break would be nice after two days of non-stop working and she had just the thing in mind. At least she did until another pony entered the store. Ok, business first, plan after.

---

Sugarcube Corner was a hive of activity, just as it always had been. Quite a few ponies had wondered if the bakery would be able to survive after Cup Cake and Carrot Cake had retired four years ago, but those ponies had reckoned without the sheer determination of their successors. Pound Cake, Pumpkin Cake and, of course, Pinkie Pie. Together the trio had managed to build up a reputation of their own and ensure that business was as good as ever.

Pinkie was manning the counter when Apple Bloom entered the store, looking a little flustered but still cheery. Even as she pushed the door shut behind her she was trying to figure out how she was going to go about the idea running through her mind.

"Hi Bloomie! What'll it be?" Pinkie said happily, waving eagerly. Apple Bloom chuckled at the new nickname and stepped up to the counter, already feeling more relaxed in the pleasant atmosphere that constantly seemed to permeate the building.

"Hey, Pinkie. Surprise me." Apple Bloom replied, sighing slightly. Pinkie watched her with a little concern as she started packing muffins into a paper bag.

"What's with the frowny face? Is your shop okay?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, things are fine over there. I was just...I mean, Pinkie Pie, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Apple Bloom was mentally kicking herself as the pink pony eyed her up. It had seemed like a good idea to ask Pinkie Pie to come along for company tomorrow at the time, then all of a sudden she had been standing outside Sugarcube Corner for ten minutes straight trying to work up the nerve to go inside and ask.

What was the big deal here? It was just her friend, her friend that brought up that same weird feeling every time she looked at her. Apple Bloom took a quick breath and focused herself, managing to make the feeling subside for now. Thankfully, Pinkie didn't pursue the matter further either and simply gave one of her usual happy grins.

"Okey-dokey-lokey! Find yourself a seat," Apple Bloom gave a small sigh of relief at hearing those words and got some bits out to pay for the bag of muffins while Pinkie put her head through the door to the kitchen. "Pound, can you watch the counter for a few minutes?"

"No problem!" A voice called back, leaving Pinkie free to bounce over to the table where Apple Bloom was sitting down and trying one of the muffins. She sat down opposite and relaxed, waiting for something to be said.

"Hmm..." Apple Bloom took a bite of the muffin, trying to think of how she was going to start with her request. After a few seconds she came up with what she was going to say. "Are these strawberry muffins?"

"Surprised? I mean I hope you are, ponies have been saying strawberry worked so I'm trying it in as many things as I can right now."

"It's, definitely a surprise," Apple Bloom waited as Pinkie clapped her hooves together and giggled in glee. She'd never appreciated just how...There had to be a better word for Pinkie's laugh than cute. Focus was needed right now, the last thing Apple Bloom needed was a loss of nerve. "So, about what I wanted to talk about before."

"Oh yeah, what's shaking?"

Me, Apple Bloom thought as she took a quick breath and focused. She was calm on the outside but if she looked like she did on the inside, she'd be shaking hard enough to fall out her chair.

"Well I was wondering...I mean, firstly. Pinkie Pie, are you busy tomorrow?"

"Let me check my schedule," Pinkie reached into her mane and pulled out a notepad and diary. After a few seconds of scanning the pages and talking to herself, she looked up and smiled. "Nothing big, unless you want to plan a party, then I'll have something super ginormous."

"Not quite, but hopefully something almost as good." Apple Bloom rubbed the back of her head and hoped this wouldn't be too akward, it was time to see if this was for real.

"I'm all ears. Well not really, because then I wouldn't be able to do anything but sit here and listen all day and then I wouldn't get to go and do whatever you've got in mind."

"Good to know, because there's a lot of nicer parts of you than just the ears...I-I mean, I was, wondering if you wanted to hang out tomorrow morning."

"The time and place?" Pinkie asked, pulling a pencil from under the table and putting it in her mouth while she checked her diary.

"Ten o'clock, Ponyville Athletics Circuit." Apple Bloom sat back and watched as Pinkie Pie studied her diary for several before moving over to the notepad and starting to sketch what she could only describe as a circle with a line bisecting it vertically and two more branching off halfway down, moving diagonally downward to the four-thirty and seven-thirty positions.

"Yeap, I can be there." Pinkie said once she put the pencil down, looking up to see Apple Bloom with a look of confusion on her face. To be fair, it was also the most relaxed she'd looked since entering the store.

"Cool...Why did you draw that symbol before answering?"

"Pinkie sense, I just thought of it and then my shoulder went shivery, which means something really important is on my mind. I thought it might be to do with that so I drew it before I forgot."

"Okay then. So, you'll be there?" Apple Bloom gave a small squee in anticipation before seeing Pinkie nod again. "Great! Thanks Pinkie."

"No problem, I'm sure we can come up with something super fun. See you there!" Pinkie replied, moving to get up. Apple Bloom let her go for now, knowing that she needed to get back to work before one of the Cakes decided to try another crazy recipe idea.

She sighed happily and sat back. In truth, she hadn't thought that would work as well as it had. That familiar feeling was creeping back in as she watched Pinkie take over counter duty from Pound Cake again. There was no need for it though, Apple Bloom told herself, it's not like she was asking Pinkie out on a date, right? No, they were just friends hanging out, right? She put her head on a hoof and sighed, confused by how she felt. Right now, she had a distraction at least, picking the muffin up and finishing it off.

As for her feelings, she was going to need some more help on this one.

Author's Note:

So yeah, this took a few rewrites but it definitely marks the point I got back into the flow of writing. Hopefully you're all still enjoying!