My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship

by Danieru

83. Foalsitter Star Twinkle

Unlike almost any other day, there was nothing unusual planned for today. No special event was happening today and Star Twinkle wasn't invited by anypony to spent time with them. It was a pretty normal day. So Star Twinkle spend the day quietly at home. Right now, he was playing a little party of chess.

"It's your turn..." Star Twinkle said as he waited for his opponent to make his turn. And his opponent happened to be his pet goldfish, Comet who would usually think very carefully about his next move. "Don't worry, take your time," Star Twinkle said as he waited patiently and focused his sight on the chessboard. But his focus was shaken after he heard some knocks on the front door, causing him to look at the door in surprise. "Wonder who that is..." he said before he looked back at the chessboard for a moment only to realize that he was now in checkmate and that Comet won. But Star Twinkle didn't seem too surprised. "I just can't ever beat you, I suppose..." he said after he lost and he stood up to get the door to see who was visiting him.

Once he opened the door, Applejack stood in front of him. "Hey, Star Twinkle," she greeted with a smile on her face.

"Yes?" Star Twinkle asked, wondering what the reason was for the mare's visit. He could swear that this was the very first time that Applejack actually paid him a visit at home. Normally she would be busy working on the farm at this time so there must be some reason for her visit.

"Busy today?" She asked.

"Not really," Star Twinkle replied while shrugging his shoulders.

Applejack seemed kinda relieved to hear that, judging from the sudden grin on her face. "I was hoping that you would say that!" She said happily. "Because...I really need to ask you for a favor..." she then said a little hesitantly.

Star Twinkle was preparing himself for a quiet day but with Applejack standing right in front of him, he couldn't just ignore her and her favor. It was rare that Applejack was asking Star Twinkle to do something for her. Normally she would be the one doing favors for others. After listening to some of her explanation, however, he quickly realized that she was asking him for help because she was literally not able to do it herself, due to her being away from Ponyville for a while.

She explained what exactly he wanted him to do, and it actually didn't sound too bad, in fact, it sounded like a rather simple task so Star Twinkle was actually kinda looking forward to it.

That is...until he arrived at Applejack's home...

Later, in the Apple family household...

It was a little awkward...

There was Star Twinkle standing in the middle of the room and Apple Bloom stared directly at him with a glare on her face which made the stallion feel a little uncomfortable.

The little filly then looked over to her big sister with the same glare on her face. "You asked Star Twinkle to foalsit me?" She asked almost insulted.

"Now, now, Apple Bloom," Applejack replied trying to get on her little sister's good side again. "I just asked Star Twinkle to keep an eye out on you while me, Big Mac and Granny are away," she explained.

"But that is what foalsitting is!" Apple Bloom replied frustrated. This was awkward as well, for Star Twinkle. He didn't like being in the middle of this while the two were arguing like that. Although, there wasn't much arguing going on because Applejack was the one who was pretty much in command of the situation. It was like the mare was just expecting her little sister to accept everything that she had planned. In fact, it was just left like that, Applejack walked away from her sister and expected Star Twinkle to take over from here on out.

"Here, take this," Applejack said before she gave Star Twinkle a list.

"What is that?" Star Twinkle asked confused before he opened up the scroll only to see the end of it rolling across half the room, much to his surprise.

Applejack explained. "Just a few things that I want you to take care of so that Apple Bloom will be safe and sound," the mare explained proudly while Apple Bloom had a confused look on her face.

Star Twinkle quickly glanced over some points of the list. "Make sure that Apple Bloom eats enough, but not too much! Make sure that everything she eats is not too hot, it would be best if you taste the food before you give it to her..." But only after reading that, Star Twinkle figured that Applejack was maybe going a little too far with her concern.

"Also, make sure to help her with the chores, alright?" Applejack then added before Star Twinkle could even get to the list.

Apple Bloom finally spoke up again after she overheard that. "But Applejack, I thought you were trusting me with all the chores today!" She said, feeling completely left out by now.

Applejack didn't seem to notice the reaction of her little sister and just petted her head. "I know, I just want Star Twinkle to help you out a little, that is all," she said with a smile on her face.

But Apple Bloom got even more frustrated after that. "I can do the chores on my own! I'm not a baby after all!" She exclaimed, trying to get the message across the point by stomping on the ground with her hoof.

Shortly after, Granny Smith's voice could be heard from outside the house. It seemed to be time to leave for the rest of the family. "I would really like to stay longer but we have to go and deliver those pies now," Applejack said before she walked towards the door but not without turning towards Star Twinkle for one moment. "Star Twinkle, I'll trust you to take care of Apple Bloom so that she won't hurt herself, right?" She asked.

"Hey!" Apple Bloom said offended in an angry tone.

Applejack then left and joined Big McIntosh and Granny Smith who were both still waiting outside with two carts filled with apple pies. Big McIntosh had one of the carts behind him and Granny Smith was sitting inside a taxi cart while Applejack walked up to the one cart that was still empty and joined her family so that they could finally be on their way.

From what Star Twinkle understood, Applejack and Big McIntosh were each supposed to deliver a cart of apple pies to different towns, and Granny Smith would be away visiting another family member. This only left Apple Bloom to be home alone but since Applejack was too worried about her little sister, she asked Star Twinkle to look over her, much to Apple Bloom's disappointment. Star Twinkle couldn't help but get dragged into a little family feud.

The two ponies waited until Applejack, Big McIntosh and Granny Smith were all out of sight. Apple Bloom then quickly glared at Star Twinkle and made sure that he would know how she felt about all this. "This is the moment where I would have danced and laughed in excitement after realizing that my family was trusting me so much that they let me stay home alone..." she said before she went inside her home again with an angered expression on her face.

Even though Star Twinkle only wanted to help to do this favor for Applejack, he felt like his mere presence was upsetting Apple Bloom, something that he really didn't want to cause. The stallion walked inside the house again and saw how Apple Bloom took a look at the list that Applejack left behind. As soon as Star Twinkle was standing at the door, however, the filly threw a glare at him again, much to Star Twinkle's discomfort.

"Hey, don't look at me like that, okay? This was your sister's idea," Star Twinkle said after he started to feel bad for her now.

Apple Bloom groaned in frustration. "Yeah, I know..." she said before she sighed with a frown on her face. "It's just...I really thought that by now, they would start to trust me of taking care of everything myself...but now I am stuck with you as my foalsitter...nothing personal by the way..."

"I know," Star Twinkle replied. The stallion could only imagine how Apple Bloom must have felt right now. She was part of the apple family, a really hard working and independent family, sooner or later she would have to prove that she was able to take care of things on her own. But knowing her, the filly couldn't wait but to prove that now, it was like with her hunt for a Cutie Mark, it was something she probably couldn't wait for.

Apple Bloom took a look at Applejack's notes and could only shake her head. "I mean, listen to that," she said before she read out loud. "There's some soup for you in the 'frigerator. Be sure not to heat it up too much. If it's hot, blow on it to cool it off. And take little sips — if you gulp, you could get hiccups," she read out loud, causing Star Twinkle to lower his eyebrows confused.

"I'll have to admit, that Applejack might have gone a little overboard about all that but that's just because she is a little worried about you. It's the first time that you stay home alone, after all, right?" Star Twinkle replied, trying to cheer the filly up.

But it didn't work. "Yeah...maybe," Apple Bloom replied with a frown on her face.

Star Twinkle felt more and more bad about the situation. He didn't want to disappoint Applejack and had to keep an eye on Apple Bloom but at the same time, he didn't want to ruin Apple Bloom's day. There was one fact that gave the stallion an idea, and that fact was, that Applejack was not there and Star Twinkle was the one who was supposed to take care of Apple Bloom, meaning that he was in charge of making all the decisions. Apple Bloom told Star Twinkle that they should take care of the chores now, and that gave Star Twinkle an idea.

"Alright, think you can handle them on your own?" He asked, much to Apple Bloom's confusion.

"But my sister said that you have to help me with them," she said.

"Yeah, but your sister is not here," Star Twinkle replied with a grin on his face. "You wanted to do them alone originally, right? Here is the idea..." Star Twinkle started before he shared what he had in mind. "I let you do all the chores, and all I do is watching you, that way, I can tell Applejack later that you took care of everything yourself and that you didn't need my help at all. And maybe then she will realize that she was too concerned about you," he explained.

Although Apple Bloom really liked the idea, she still had some doubts. "But what if Applejack doesn't believe you?" She asked.

"Doesn't hurt to try, doesn't it?" Star Twinkle replied while shrugging his shoulders.

Finally, Apple Bloom smiled again. "Right!" She said before she went to the stallion to give him a big hug, much to his surprise. He was just glad that he didn't have to look at Apple Bloom having a frown the whole day.

Apple Bloom got really excited to get to those chores now and Star Twinkle did his best to not interrupt so that she can do them all herself. In a way, Star Twinkle actually benefited from this situation. He didn't have to work and could just relax while Apple Bloom did everything on her own. It was perfect and Star Twinkle actually was proud of himself the way he how he dealt with the situation. And as long as Apple Bloom didn't do anything wrong, everything would turn out well in the end.

A little later...

"Number one seventy-two: Make sure to pump the bellows to keep the stove warm," Star Twinkle read out loud from Applejack's list.

"Got it!" Apple Bloom replied before she hopped on said bellows a few times, heating up the stove.

"Check," Star Twinkle said before he literally checked this task off from the list and went to the next one. "Make sure the hats and bows closet is fully stocked," he read out loud, not sure what this was about.

But of course, Apple Bloom knew exactly what to do and walked to the main hallway of the house with Star Twinkle following her close by. She then opened a door in this hallway and revealed a closet that was completely filled with stetsons hats and bows, that both Applejack and Apple Bloom were wearing, along with some different looking hats and bows in the mix.

"So that is how Applejack managed to get a new hat, one day after I burned it..." Star Twinkle said in his realization.

Apple Bloom looked at the stallion confused. "Burned? How did you manage to do that?" She asked.

"Long story..." Star Twinkle quickly replied without getting into any details. "Anyway, check! That was the last thing that was left to do. We are done!" He said before he closed the list again.

"Alright!" Apple Bloom exclaimed excitedly before formed a confused expression. "Now what?" She then asked.

"I don't know," Star Twinkle replied. "What do you want to do?" He asked.

Apple Bloom still didn't seem to get it. "But you are my foalsitter so don't I have to listen to you or something?"

Star Twinkle was happy that Apple Bloom was willing to behave like that but he didn't intend to ruin her day or anything so he continued his plan further. "You did all the chores on your own and proved that you can take care of yourself. Also, this is your house, so you can do whatever you want," he explained.

There was a beaming smile forming on Apple Bloom's face after those words were spoken. The words that she probably waited to hear for so long. "You mean...If I wanna listen to music, I can!?" She asked, causing Star Twinkle to nod. "If I wanna read a book, I can!?" She asked, causing Star Twinkle to nod again. The filly then jumped up on the table in the middle of the room. "Or, if I wanna just stand here in the kitchen talkin' to myself, I can!?" She asked once more, causing Star Twinkle to nod again.

But in the middle of that, the door was suddenly slammed open. "Apple Bloom!" Applejack said who turns out to be the mare that opened the door.

This sudden entrance caused Apple Bloom to fall down the table, she was standing on, knocking over everything that was on it in the process.

"Applejack?" Star Twinkle asked confused after seeing Applejack back again already. He figured that there was no way that she already delivered the pies since it wasn't even an hour since she left.

But Applejack explained herself shortly after. "I came back to check on you, and I'm so glad I did! I never thought about how dangerous things are around here!" She said after she took a look at everything that was knocked down from the table, including some broken glass or food.

"Were are actually doing pretty well, Applejack," Star Twinkle informed.

"Yeah, what he says," Apple Bloom added as she got up again.

"You are now!" Applejack said before she rushed over to her sister to hug her. "Because I'm here and I'm stayin'! No way am I leavin' my little baby sister home alone all by herself!"

"Um...you do realize that I am still here, right?" Star Twinkle said, in order to remember Applejack why he was supposed to stay here.

"Besides, I'm not a baby!" Apple Bloom added. "I can take care of myself! Just ask Star Twinkle!" She said to which Star Twinkle proudly nodded.

"Seriously, Applejack, I don't even think there was any reason for me to stay here. She did everything that she was supposed to do on her own," Star Twinkle explained.

But Applejack didn't seem to listen to that one bit, for some reason. "Star Twinkle, you're just saying that so that you could talk your way out of working," she then boldly said at his face.

"Yeah, normally..." Star Twinkle admitted, even though this time this was not the case. "And what about those pies you're supposed to deliver?" Star Twinkle then asked.

"Pies? Ha! Family's way more important than pies!" Applejack replied almost offended.

"But I'm fine!" Apple Bloom said after feeling a little offended being called a baby by her sister. "I don't need you lookin' after me. I'm perfectly capable of stayin' home alone. Really! Just look!" She said before she grabbed the list and read out some random task to prove Applejack how capable she was. "There's some soup for you in the 'frigerator," she read out loud. The filly then went to the refrigerator in order to grab a soup that was inside. However, Applejack was not even paying attention and just cleaned the room with a broom. But since Apple Bloom was doing that so that she could prove to her sister how capable she was, she needed to get her big sister's attention. "Watch me!" She said as she was moving her hoof inside the refrigerator.

However, in the most unlucky moment ever, the filly managed to knock the soup over because she was paying too much attention to Applejack and covered herself in the soup. And of course, Applejack saw that and quickly rushed towards her little sister. "Oh, no! This is worse than I thought!" She said in concern before she hugged her little sister in order to protect her. "Well, don't worry, Apple Bloom, I'm here now and I'm not leavin' you home alone ever again. I'm stickin' right by your side, always!"

Now it was Apple Bloom who had a worried expression on her face. The little filly accepted Star Twinkle as her foalsitter and didn't try to bother About it anymore but now this happened. She certainly didn't expect her day to be like this and just wished that her sister would believe in her. In the end, doing all the tasks on her own didn't help either because Applejack wouldn't even listen to Star Twinkle.

And if that wasn't bad enough, Applejack wanted to do some changes around the farm with the help of Star Twinkle...changes that were probably not to Apple Bloom's liking.

A little later...

"Do you really think that this is necessary?" Star Twinkle asked after he was done with the changes on the farm, that Applejack wanted him to do.

"Yep! Everything to keep my little sister safe!" Applejack replied.

And speaking of which, Apple Bloom appeared next to the two ponies outside so that she could prove to Applejack that she didn't need her to look over her all the time."Look!" She said before she grabbed a rake and tried to work with it. However, this rake was included in one of the changes that Star Twinkle and Applejack did around the farm and Apple Bloom quickly noticed that. "Huh? Hey! Who put pillows on this rake?" She asked after she saw that ridiculous change.

Applejack took full credit for that and chuckles. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe someone who really loves her little sister and doesn't want her to get an owie?" She said with a smile on her face before she rubbed Apple Bloom's cheeks and put a safety helm on her head.

Apple Bloom began to growl because of how Applejack was treating her but she didn't give up and tried to do something else to convince her over concerned sister. This time she walked up to a tree. "Hey, Applejack! Watch me buck these apples on my own without anythin' bad happenin' to me!" She said before she kicked the tree in front of her, waiting for some apples to fall down. But nothing fell down except some leaves, much to the filly's surprise. The reason for that was because there were safety nets under every single tree that would prevent apples to fall to the ground. Again, Apple Bloom growled at the sight of that.

This continued for a while...

Apple Bloom continuously attempted to prove how capable she was to work at the farm, but every time she tried to do something, she stumbled across the changes that Star Twinkle and Applejack did around the farm. Star Twinkle didn't like to put Apple Bloom in this situation but he was kinda trapped in Applejack's crazy imagination that the filly would hurt herself. It's also not as if she would listen to him in her concern.

Apple Bloom didn't even see the worst thing yet. As soon as she entered her house again, she noticed how every sharp or pointy edge of every object in the house was covered in bubble wrap to prevent Apple Bloom from taking any kind of damage. "Oh, for the love of...! She've gone and baby-proofed everythin'!" She said after she saw how much her home has changed thanks to the concern of her big sister. Star Twinkle was actually putting some bubble wrap around some more objects, the moment Apple Bloom was inside. Of course, the filly quickly confronted him about this issue. "What are you doing Star Twinkle!? Don't tell me you think I can't take care of myself too!" She asked, having enough to deal with Applejack alone.

"Sorry, but whenever I'll try to talk with Applejack, I somehow end up doing something like this. She won't listen to me," the stallion explained as he continued his work around the house.

"So you think she is going overboard as well?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Yeah, of course, I do! I mean, look at that!" He said while he showed Apple Bloom a lamp that he had worked on. "She asked me to cover the lamps with something so that you wouldn't go blind! That's just crazy!" He admitted.

Apple Bloom was having enough of this and asked Star Twinkle to come with him. They both went to her room and discussed what to do next. Apple Bloom was clearly having enough of all this and Star Twinkle had to agree that Applejack was going overboard as well, so they had to come up with a plan to make the mare realize that.

But as soon as they were in Apple Bloom's room, Applejack quickly opened the door. "Hey, Apple Bloom! You need anything? A snack? A hoof massage? Maybe a snack and a hoof massage?" She offered.

Star Twinkle gladly took that offer. "Well, actually I am kinda hungry so-"

"No thank you!" Apple Bloom interrupted before she forcefully closed the door again with Applejack being on the other side.

"Okay, well you can count on me bein' close by if'n you need anythin'!" Applejack said from the other side of the door.

Apple Bloom then walked up to Star Twinkle and whispered so that her sister wouldn't notice anything if she happened to enter the room again. "Star Twinkle, you need to help me! I can't stand having Applejack constantly hovering over me!"

"Yeah, I have to admit that she is going a little too far," Star Twinkle whispered back. "I already tried talking with her about that but she doesn't listen to me because she is too concerned about you,"

The filly then clenched her teeth in anger. "Great..." she said angrily before she walked past Star Twinkle and laid on her bed in frustration.

It was clearly visible for Star Twinkle that Apple Bloom was not happy about this situation at all. He honestly wanted to help her but he didn't know-how. "This all wouldn't have happened if Applejack just continued her pie delivery..." Star Twinkle said while he still tried to come up with something.

But there was no more reason for that because there was an idea popping up in Apple Bloom's head. "That's it!" She said before she jumped out of the bed and looked out of the window. She spotted the cart of pies that was standing outside, the one that Applejack was supposed to deliver. "The pies! I'll sneak out and deliver them!" She suggested.

"Deliver them?" Star Twinkle asked. "But aren't they supposed to be delivered to some hard-to-reach-town?"

"Yes, that's just it!" Apple Bloom replied. "And if I can do it alone, that'll show Applejack I don't need somepony watchin' over me!" She explained.

"I don't know..." Star Twinkle said, not thinking that this would be a really good idea.

"Come on, Star Twinkle!" Apple Bloom almost begged. "You saw how Applejack was treating me! She still thinks I'm a little baby and that I can't survive without her watching me every minute!"

"I know, I know!" Star Twinkle said, trying to calm the filly down again. "But in case you forgot, Applejack is checking up on you constantly, so if you're out delivering the pies, Applejack will know!" He pointed out.

Apple Bloom rubbed her cheek and began to think before she then came up to a conclusion. "I think I know how to take care of that," she then said with a grin on her face.

Eventually, Star Twinkle just gave in and agreed with Apple Bloom's plan to deliver the pies. He was also eager to hear what she had in mind to take care of the problem that Applejack would always come to check on her.

But as he listened to Apple Bloom's plan...he wished he never agreed to this plan...

A little later...

Apple Bloom was gone for a few minutes now, to deliver Applejack's pies and trying to prove that she is old enough to take care of herself. In order to do that, however, Star Twinkle had to make sure that Applejack was not noticing how her sister was gone. For that, he had to make her believe that Apple Bloom was still home.

"So this is what I am right now?" Star Twinkle thought after he looked at his current situation and wondered why he ever agreed to it.

In order to make Applejack believe that Apple Bloom was still home, they just had to make sure to let her believe that Apple Bloom was still inside her room. But since Apple Bloom was going on her way to deliver the pies, of course, there was no way that she was doing that.

That's where Star Twinkle came in...

The full-grown stallion laid in Apple Bloom's bed with one of her bows on his head and covered his body under the sheets. He was supposed to convince Applejack that he was Apple Bloom. There were many things that Star Twinkle was thinking about while he looked at the ceiling with the bedsheets covering his body. Like, why he agreed to that idea in the first place, or if he was more embarrassed or mad about his current situation, and, of course, if this plan will actually work. The latter question would soon be answered with another visit from Applejack.

"Everythin' okay in there, sugarcube?" Applejack asked from the other side of the door.

Star Twinkle jumped and quickly pulled the bed sheets above his head, letting only the bow on his head sticking out. Shortly after Applejack entered the room and checked up on her sister. Star Twinkle's heart was racing more and more the closer the mare got to him. All he could do was to stay still and pray to Celestia that Applejack wouldn't suspect anything.

Applejack was now standing next to the bed but she didn't lift the bed sheet so she couldn't see Star Twinkle beneath it. "I guess you must've been so tuckered out, you sent Star Twinkle home and went to bed. Then again, you are a delicate flower," she said before she walked away towards the door again. "Sleep tight, Apple Bloom. I'll check on you again in a bit,"

Shortly after, Star Twinkle could hear the door closing so Applejack must have left the room again. Star Twinkle released a huge sigh and couldn't believe that it worked. Unfortunately, he couldn't quite relax yet because a minute later, the door opened again...

"Just checkin' in on you again!" Applejack said before she closed the door again a few seconds later.

...

"Need anythin' now?"

...

"How 'bout now?"

...

"Need another blanket?"

...

"Did I hear a cough?"

...

"Want a glass of water?"

This went on for like an hour now. Applejack kept checking on Star Twinkle over and over again and each time Star Twinkle feared that Applejack would see through all of this.

"How often is she gonna check up on me?" Star Twinkle wondered. Applejack's concern for the well-being of her sister was starting to get out of hoof. If the stallion wasn't supposed to pretend to be Apple Bloom right now, he would certainly ask Applejack to stop it.

And of course, a minute later, Applejack checked up on Star Twinkle again. The mare must have felt a little exhausted because she started yawning as soon as she entered the room. "Just... checkin' in on you again," she said as she walked up to the stallion. "Look at you, dozin' so peaceful-like. Here I am, checkin' up on you every five seconds, and you're totally fine. Maybe you don't need me frettin' over you all the time," she said.

"Finally!" Star Twinkle thought before he realized that this wouldn't change anything at his current situation because Apple Bloom was still out there and he was still in here, pretending to be her. Maybe if Applejack would go to sleep herself Star Twinkle would have some time finding the filly so that she could return.

But as Star Twinkle was looking ahead of what to do next, Applejack began to question some things that he really didn't want to hear now. "Now that I look at it...you certainly look more grown-up..." she said after she realized that the pony under the bedsheets was a lot bigger then she remembered. "A lot more...grown up..." she added even more cautiously. "Wait a minute!"

Then, before he knew it, Applejack lifted the bed sheets and revealed Star Twinkle who was curled down on the bed and had an embarrassing expression on his face. Of course, Applejack had no idea how to respond to this and stood there with her mouth open.

"Star Twinkle?" Applejack asked confused.

"Uh...No..." Star Twinkle cleverly replied with an awkward expression on his face.

But Applejack didn't even question why Star Twinkle was in her little sister's bed or why he was wearing one of her bows because she got quickly worried about Apple Bloom. "Where's Apple Bloom? She's not here! She could be anywhere! She could be lost, cold, hungry, itchy, stuffed up, needin' to go to the bathroom!" She said in a panic while she rushed through the room and looked everywhere to find her sister.

"Don't worry, I know where she is right now," Star Twinkle said in order to calm the stressed out mare down again. "She's making your pie delivery,"

But instead of calming down, Applejack got even more concerned and rushed towards Star Twinkle. "What?! No! Didn't she hear how difficult and dangerous it was?! I may never see my little sister again!" She said with a shocked expression on her face.

"Calm down Applejack!" Star Twinkle said after getting a little tired of Applejack's worry over nothing. "She is just delivering some pies,"

Applejack actually calmed down a little and carefully thought about the situation. "Yeah, you're right...everything will be alright...she did bring flameproof boots, did she?" She then asked, much to Star Twinkle's confusion.

"What?" Star Twinkle asked confused, not seeing a reason for her to bring something like that.

Applejack got quickly nervous again. "Okay, how about a lion tamer's chair?" She then asked.

"Huh?" Star Twinkle replied confused.

"A snake charmin' flute?! A hunk of ricotta?!" Applejack further asked, confusing Star Twinkle even more.

"Why would she need stuff like that in order to deliver some pies!?" Star Twinkle asked.

"I think the better question would be, why did you let her go?" Applejack asked in an angry tone towards the stallion. "Why did you thought it was a good idea to let her go in the first place!?"

Star Twinkle didn't know how to reply to that. He could understand that Applejack was angry at him and there was no way that he could come up with a good explanation in the first place. He could just straight out say that this was partly Applejack's fault for pressuring Apple Bloom in this situation but this would change the fact that Apple Bloom was still out there and in potential danger.

Applejack was aware of that as well and focused on Apple Bloom instead of getting angry at Star Twinkle. "Okay, maybe there's still time to catch her before she gets there. When did she leave?" She asked in a little panic.

"Around an hour ago..." Star Twinkle replied with a concerned look on his face.

Of course, Applejack got even more worried after hearing that. "Oh no! then we don't have time to lose! Let's go!" She said before she rushed outside the room

"R-right!" Star Twinkle replied before he followed the mare in a rush.

Before the two ponies left, however, they needed to pick up the things that Applejack mentioned before, which included, fireproof boots, a lion tamer's chair, a charming flute and a hunk of ricotta. Of course, Star Twinkle was not really sure why those things were needed in the first place so he asked Applejack about them.

"I'll explain everything on the way! We can't lose any more time!" She said before she picked up all the stuff and gave some of it to Star Twinkle to carry. The stallion agreed that they had to move quickly so he just took some of the stuff and followed Applejack who was running outside already. The goal was to catch up with Apple Bloom and protect her from the dangers that would await her on this pie delivery.

Hopefully, they would not be too late...

Later...

With Star Twinkle being up to date with the situation now, he could completely understand why Applejack was worried this time. Not only was the place where Apple Bloom went filled dangerous but it was also filled with dangerous creatures. The place where they ended up was like a burning forest, literally. There was fire coming out of the ground, which is why the two ponies needed to wear their fireproof boots. However, that was the least of their worries now.

"You got everything down what I told you?" Applejack asked as she led the way through the forest.

"Yeah," Star Twinkle replied.

Thankfully, Applejack had the route completely down in her mind, making it pretty easy to predict where Apple Bloom could have gone to. This was good because the two of them quickly found the filly after they entered this burning forest.

"There she is!" Star Twinkle exclaimed after he spotted the filly. And not a second too late either because she was already attacked by something. It was a strange beast that looked like a mix of multiple animals. It was walking on all fours and had a Saber-tooth tiger head and front legs, a goat's head and hind legs, and a snake's head for a tail. Applejack already informed Star Twinkle about this creature and he knew what to do once he spotted one. "So that's a Chimera?" Star Twinkle asked.

"Yes, you know what to do right? Let's do this!" Applejack said before she grabbed a flute and played a tune on it.

This caused the snake part of the Chimera to quickly fall asleep before it even knew what happened. The other two heads, however, were still awake so they quickly focused their attention towards Applejack and charged right at her.

This is exactly what the two wanted though.

Star Twinkle positioned himself between the Chimera and Applejack and pulled out the lion tamer's chair and put it right inside the saber-tooth's mouth, stopping it in its track. But unfortunately, the chair got destroyed pretty fast and only angered the beast so Star Twinkle ran away and hoped that Applejack would know what to do now.

"Howdy!" She said causing the Chimera to charge at her once more.

Applejack made the beast follow her and jumped over some tree branches. The Chimera jumped over it as well and accidentally got its tail stuck between the branches. But the beast didn't notice anything and kept charging at Applejack who was now standing in front of another tree. The Chimera quickly jumped at the mare and tried to strike its teeth into her but Applejack jumped to the side just a second ago and caused the Saber-tooth head to get stuck into the tree now.

With this, the Chimera was now unable to move, even though the goat head was still eager to attack the two Earth Ponies. In response to that, Applejack pulled out some ricotta and threw it right at the goat head who quickly ate it and smiled after having a taste. "Mm, ricotta!" The goat head said while it munched away happily and completely forgot the situation that the rest of her body was in.

After dealing with the Chimera, the two ponies walked up to Apple Bloom in order to make sure that she was safe. Of course, Applejack was the first one to went up to her sister and inspected every inch of her body to see if she had a scratch. "Are you okay?" She asked shortly after.

"Thanks to you two," Apple Bloom replied.

"It was really close, though..." Star Twinkle said as he kept his eyes open to any danger that could be around him. However, he was completely unaware of the danger right next to him.

"Yeah, it was! And this all wouldn't have happened if you let her go to a place like this!" Applejack said angrily towards the stallion after she remembered how it even came to this situation.

Even though Star Twinkle had no idea that this place was so dangerous, he couldn't deny that it was partly his fault so he apologized. "Sorry..."

But Apple Bloom quickly defended the stallion. "Don't be mad at him. It was my idea!"

This caused Applejack to now get angry at her sister. "Well, that only proves that you need your big sister lookin' after you if you come up with crazy ideas like that!" She said, scolding her sister. "I'm just glad this wasn't a whole lot worse. I mean, sure we lost the cart and all the pies, but at least you're—"

"Um...Applejack," Star Twinkle interrupted as he pointed towards Apple Bloom, who was pulling the cart out of a bush without Applejack noticing it as she scolded her sister.

Applejack was highly surprised to see that. "Huh, the cart! And all the pies! You actually got them all the way up here? In the dark? Through the Flame Geyser Swamp? Past that monster? ...By yourself?" She asked surprised.

"Well... yeah," Apple Bloom replied as if she was confused by how she managed to do it herself.

"Huh, wow," Applejack said dumbfounded by how Apple Bloom managed to do that. Suddenly, she was no longer mad but instead proud of her little sister. "That's mighty impressive! Anypony who can do that on her own, well, she don't need somepony like me babyin' her," she admitted, much to the delight of Apple Bloom who was just happy to hear those words from her sister.

The little filly then hugged her sister, who happily returned a hug herself and was just happy that her sister was safe.

"Um...girls..." Star Twinkle said, hating to interrupt this moment. "Shouldn't we get out of here? And, I don't know...talk in a more safe place?" He advised after taking a look at the place they were in.

Figuring that a forest with flames coming out of the ground wasn't the best place to talk, the two ponies agreed and decided to continue the pie delivery. It wasn't really far away anyway and they were further away from Ponyville then they were to the town where the pies were supposed to be delivered so they might as well continued on their way. But this time...together...

Later...

The three Earth Ponies arrived at the destined town and successfully delivered the pies, much to the town locals delight who were all highly enjoying the pies.

Happy to see this, Applejack made sure to let everypony know who to thank for those pies. "Just remember, you fellas wouldn't be enjoyin' these pies if it weren't for my sister," she said proudly.

"And my sister!" Apple Bloom added, wanting Applejack to get some praise as well.

However, instead of getting into a good mood, that was created now, Applejack still was a little mad at her sister. "But this doesn't change the fact that tryin' to make this delivery on your own was a plumb crazy thing to do!" She scolded.

"I know..." Apple Bloom said with a frown on her face.

But despite seeing how sad Apple Bloom was, Applejack continued. "I bet Granny Smith grounds you for a month for sneakin' out! And if Big Mac, Granny Smith 'n I ever have to be away for the day again..." she said, causing Apple Bloom to already get sad since she knew where this was going to go.

"Oh, boy..." Star Twinkle said once he had a guess what Applejack would say next as well.

But to the surprise of both of them, Applejack's sentence ended differently...

"I would totally trust you to stay home and take care of things on your own," she said, putting a smile on her little sister's face. "I guess I did get a little carried away watchin' over you, and if you hadn't snuck out as you did, maybe I wouldn't have figured that out," she admitted.

"Yes!" Apple Bloom exclaimed cheerfully. "Now that is the kind of 'looking after me' that I can definitely appreciate!" She said before she hugged her big sister in response. "So... we're good?" She asked.

"Little sister, we're always good," Applejack replied who had already forgiven her little sister.

But while they were hugging, Apple Bloom whispered some words into her sister's ear. "And what about him?" She asked, referring to Star Twinkle, who was standing a little further away because he didn't know if Applejack was still mad at him for putting her sister in this dangerous situation.

Applejack quickly got the hint and walked up to Star Twinkle. She removed her hat and decided to apologize. "Maybe I was a little too harsh with you, Star Twinkle," she said sincerely and with some regret in her voice. "I know you would never purposely put my sister in danger or anything, and in the end, it actually helped me to realize that I was the one who was in the wrong...think you can forgive me?"

But Star Twinkle was never mad at Applejack, to begin with, so there was no reason for that apology. "Don't worry about it, I'm just glad that nothing bad happened," he replied.

"Yeah...me too," she agreed before she looked over to Apple Bloom who seemed to have fun with the rest of the townsfolk in the meantime.

When Applejack asked Star Twinkle to foalsit her sister, he would never imagine this day to end like this. Whether it was exhausting or not, in the end, he was just glad that both Applejack and Apple Bloom got closer by this experience, and was worth something as well.

Author's Note:

Alrighty, another chapter is done, that's good, right?
I thought the end result was pretty meh but if you think otherwise then please tell me. I would really like to hear your opinion on the chapter or the overall story.

With that said...
See you all in the next chapter.
Bye Bye ^^.

Reading Order:

My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship Season 1 + 2(Chapter 1 - 53)

My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship - Diary of The Storm Wings

My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship Season 3(Chapter 54 - 65)

Equestria Girls - The Legend of Friendship

My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship - Outcasts

My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship Season 4(Chapter 66 - 91)