In Bloom

by BlackRoseRaven

The Answer

Apple Bloom grumbled under her breath as she glared at the colt in the mirror: he just seemed especially scruffy today. She slapped at her cheeks, and the colt smacked his own before they both stopped and leaned towards each other, her nose almost touching the reflective surface as she muttered: “I hate you. And you just keep growin' every day. Just look at you.”

Apple Bloom grimaced as she rose a foreleg, flexing it slowly: were her muscles getting bigger? And her face was changing a little, wasn't it? She swore she saw a closer resemblance to Big Mac than Applejack in the mirror now...

But after fixing her mane and doing just a little bit of makeup, the colt in the mirror started to resemble the filly she felt like, Apple Bloom relaxing the smallest bit-

“Uh, Bloom, your friends are here!” Applejack's voice called, with the barest hint of uncertainty, and Apple Bloom flinched. “You want me to send them up?”

“Horseapples.” Apple Bloom whispered: what were they doing here so early? “Uh... I'll be right down in a minute!”

Apple Bloom winced at the sight of herself in the mirror, then she hurriedly scrambled to the cabinet at the side of the bathroom, where she kept the cosmetics she used to help cover up her more noticeably coltish parts. She dug wildly through them, then winced when there was a knocking at the bathroom door before Sweetie Belle's chipper voice greeted: “Hi there, Apple Bloom!”

“Uh, Sweetie! I'm uh, a little... busy here!” Apple Bloom's voice cracked, and she winced at this, feeling tears of frustration stinging at her eyes before she forced herself to calm down, even as Sweetie giggled a little right outside the door.

“Well, no harm in a bit of company, right?” Sweetie said, oblivious and cheerful as ever, and Apple Bloom's eye twitched as she knocked over a few bottles before grabbing a box of stickies. “Scootaloo and I were thinking we'd walk out of the village today and maybe go visit that Changeling who lives on the hill and learn all about Changelings and Changeling magic and Changeling culture! So we had to come by and get you early. We would've told you last night but it was pretty late when we finally decided.”

“Great.” Apple Bloom grumbled, and then she complained: “Why are you still talking to me through the door? You should go wait with Scoots-”

“Oh, I can come in?” Sweetie asked, and Apple Bloom blanched as the unicorn fumbled at the doorknob-

“Hey hey hey, hold your horses there, missy!” Applejack's voice rang out, and there was a clomp of hooves followed by the sound of Sweetie being snatched up with a squawk. “You go wait with Scoots in the living room. Let's leave Apple Bloom alone for now, ain't polite to go messin' around with a pony while they're trying to do the you-know-whats in the bathroom.”

Sweetie whined something as she was probably half-carried away, and Apple Bloom gave a sigh of relief as she dropped her head with a thunk against the cabinet door. That had been too close.

Apple Bloom went through the last of her preparations quickly but a little more carefully, and when she left the bathroom, she was looking – and feeling – a lot more like the filly she wanted to be. She hurried to the living room, and smiled awkwardly as she found Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo waiting for her, the unicorn foal kicking her legs childishly at the air and the pegasus slouched and half-asleep.

“There you are! That took forever!” whined Sweetie as she flung herself off the couch and almost landed on her face instead of her hooves, and Scootaloo blinked and flailed wildly as she was surprised out of her doze and almost knocked off the furnishing. “Are you ready?”

“I'm ready, I'm ready.” Apple Bloom stopped for a moment, and only then did it really register what Sweetie Belle wanted to do, the filly blinking before she added: “Marina doesn't live on the hill, though. That's Moonbeam. The uh... the glass-lady. The Changeling is Marina and she lives with Vinyl Scratch and Octavia. And she's probably working today. She sells candy and stuff.”

“Changeling candy?” Sweetie asked dubiously, and Scootaloo yawned loudly, clearly not as enthused about the conversation or the idea as Sweetie was. “But I always see her going out into the hills. Are you sure she doesn't secretly live out there?”

“She visits Moonbeam pretty regularly.” answered Apple Bloom with a shrug. “Why are you so interested in her, anyway? I mean. She's basically just a pony.”

“A pony who can turn into other ponies! Imagine if you could get a Changeling cutie mark! Imagine if she could actually like, change our cutie marks!” Scootaloo said suddenly, finally seeming interested in the conversation. “Maybe it would mean like... we could... um... change?”

Apple Bloom slowly raised an eyebrow at Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle stared for a moment before she said awkwardly: “I don't think that means we'd be able to turn into Changelings, Scootaloo. I was thinking that maybe we could do some monster watching.”

“Hey, she ain't no monster!” Apple Bloom scolded, and Sweetie looked away, embarrassed.

“I mean, I don't mean like monster monster, I just mean... you know, not-monster monster!” Sweetie attempted to explain awkwardly, before she added quickly: “Maybe she could help us with disguises then, how about that?”

“Marina's no good at disguises, though. I mean, they're Changelings, they just use magic to change into whatever. That's like saying Rarity must be able to make dresses without using magic.” Apple Bloom said pessimistically.

“Rarity can make dresses without magic!” Sweetie Belle defended, and there was a pause for a moment before she admitted: “They're not very good dresses but they're kind of dresses all the same. She just needs her magic to... you know. Um...”

“Do stuff.” Scootaloo said, and neither foal was really sure whether that was in defense or aggravation. “Can we just go see the Changeling? I think I'm the only one who hasn't actually met her. It sounds like you both have.”

Apple Bloom glanced curiously over at Sweetie Belle, who nodded several times with a beaming smile. “Yep, I met her last night! That was how I got the idea, as a matter of fact! She came over to talk to Rarity and get some new leggings made for her metal-chanical limbs.”

Scootaloo looked curiously over at Apple Bloom, and the filly answered after a moment: “We sell her apples and some other odds and ends. She candies the apples and makes things out of the wood and other things we give her.”

Sweetie nodded, adding: “Some of the stuff she makes is really good, too. Maybe we could find out how she makes them at least?”

Apple Bloom looked mildly at her friend for a few moments, and then she asked dryly: “Do you just want to get food from her?”

“No!” Sweetie burst out, blushing slightly as she looked awkwardly away. “But I mean, you know, if we're going to be there and all and she's selling things, it's good to be prepared, right?”

“You're the worst.” Apple Bloom sighed and shook her head, and then she looked over at Scootaloo as the pegasus yawned again. “Hey, what's up with you? Why are you so tired?”

“Just a late night, that's all. And it's so early!” Scootaloo complained, looking blearily up at the ceiling. “It's gotta be what, seven, eight in the morning?”

“It's nine thirty.” Sweetie said, glaring over at Scootaloo. “I had to get you up, too!”

“Not all of us get our beauty sleep every night, you know.” grumbled the pegasus as she rubbed at her face, and then she complained: “So we don't even know where Marina's going to be, we don't even know what to say to her, we don't even know what we're going to do when we get there, you just want to go and bother the Changeling and what, hope for the best?”

“Why are you being so negative? You thought it was a good idea.” defended Sweetie.

“Yeah, right up until I realized that we weren't going to get any Changeling powers or anything. I mean, she's basically just another pony, anyway. I know you guys don't even care but it's not like I've never met her, either. I bought one of those shiny trinkets from her because it was supposed to bring me good luck.”

Scootaloo halted, then mused for a moment before she muttered: “Actually, it did kind of work. I didn't hit any trees while I was out on my scooter, for once. And I even managed to cut down my time by a second or two!”

“That might be from the not hitting trees thing, Scoot.” Apple Bloom pointed out, and Scootaloo huffed but nodded awkwardly after a moment. “But I heard that Moonbeam is the one who makes a lot of those trinkets, actually. You know. The lady on the hill.”

“The mare who lives in the opsbervatory?” Sweetie asked curiously, and Apple Bloom looked at her blankly. “You know. The opsbervatory. The place where you look at stars and stuff.”

“I think that's called an astrolab, actually.” Scootaloo said, and she looked proud of herself when both Apple Bloom and Sweetie stared at her. “I learned that from Rainbow Dash! Well, okay, I learned it from Twilight while Rainbow and I were having our secret meeting with her. Don't tell anyone!”

“About the astrolab or the secret meeting?” asked Apple Bloom, and then she paused before looking back at her cutie mark, frowning as she touched it and asked grouchily: “What are we doing all this stuff for, anyway? You've never cared about filly scouts all that much and this doesn't seem like it's real mare-lady stuff.”

“It might be! You don't know!” Sweetie argued, and then she bit her lip before admitting finally: “Okay, maybe I just want to find out more about Marina. But I don't know how to approach her. She seems really nice, but she's still a Changeling, isn't she? I don't see how you can be so nice to her when the Changelings attacked us-”

“Like, years ago. Years and years ago. Do you still hold a grudge against Diamond Tiara for...” Apple Bloom gave Sweetie a flat look when she scowled horribly. “Of course you do. That's also not very ladylike, you know.”

“I learned it from watching Rarity.” whined Sweetie, and then she winced when Scootaloo snorted and shouldered her.

“Hey, wait a minute, you didn't say 'monster watching' last night. That was what I said!” Scootaloo said, and when Apple Bloom cocked an eyebrow at her, she shrugged. “I didn't mean 'monster' monster, I just couldn't think of a better way to phrase it. I mean I know she's basically a pony, but is she really like, a pony pony?”

“I think she is.” Apple Bloom said grouchily, and Sweetie and Scootaloo both looked at her curiously, but the filly only huffed and shifted a little. “Well, she is.”

The other two fillies traded looks again, but before they could say anything, Apple Bloom shook her head quickly and added: “We could go look for her in the town square, at least. And if she's not there, she might be at Octavia's. But I don't know if we should, you know, go trekking out of town for her or anything. Moonbeam's kind of grumpy, I hear.”

“Since when has grumpiness ever stopped us?” asked Sweetie as Scootaloo gave a lopsided grin, but the two fillies nodded, then fell in step behind Apple Bloom as she turned to lead the way out of the house.

As they headed into the village, Sweetie hesitated and bit her lip before she looked pointedly at Scootaloo, and Scootaloo looked back at her blankly for a moment until Sweetie almost headbutted her, making her wince before she rolled her eyes and asked: “Apple Bloom, uh... what's up?”

Apple Bloom cocked her head, and Sweetie added quickly: “Yeah, you've been... you know. Kind of weird lately.”

Apple Bloom halted and scowled even as she shifted nervously on her hooves, but Sweetie only smiled as Scootaloo asked bluntly: “Is something wrong? You just seem really on edge. Y'know, if you want to talk about it at all, we're here for you and stuff.”

“Yeah, we're all in this together.” Sweetie added with a smile, nodding firmly. “Besides, Rarity says it's easier for us to deal with things when we're together and all. I just imagine it's hard for-”

“It's hard.” Apple Bloom cut off the unicorn unintentionally, and she grimaced a bit as she looked away when the two frowned at her uncertainly. “Sorry. I just got a lot on my mind and uh... I mean, you want to go see Marina, right?”

“Well, we wanted to go spy on Marina, technically.” Sweetie corrected, before she added: “That reminds me, though, there is one thing I didn't really understand... the book I was looking at on Changelings-”

“Oh, so that's why you want to go look at Marina.” Apple Bloom said, and she felt oddly relieved for some reason, even as Sweetie huffed a little.

“I mean, that's part of it, maybe. I got the book from Scootaloo!” Sweetie said lamely, as if that was either a reason or an explanation, but Scootaloo just shrugged agreeably. “It said 'monsters such as Changelings-'”

“They're not monsters.” Apple Bloom corrected, exasperation seeping into her voice.

“I'm just quoting the book!” whined Sweetie, before she cleared her throat. “Okay, not-monsters like Changelings are apparently almost all male, with just a few reproducing females in charge. So that means Marina must be a princess or something, right?”

Apple Bloom stumbled to a halt and stared dumbly over her shoulder at Sweetie, who looked seriously back at her as Scootaloo cocked her head curiously. There was silence for a few moments, and then Apple Bloom finally asked dumbly: “What?”

“Yeah!” Sweetie burst out. “She's a monster princess, right?”

Apple Bloom stared for a few more moments, then she burst out laughing as Scootaloo cleared her throat, and Sweetie Belle scowled between the two of them before she whined: “What? She has to be, that's what she is! I read all about it, there's a Queen, like Chrysalis, and then she has underling Princesses sometimes basically, and so Marina must be a Princess and that's why she's in exile here and she's either going to steal all the stallions in town away to create her new Changeling army or she gave up because of love and she really loves some dashing knight in shining armor but not Shining Armor because that would be weird but he convinced her to leave the Changelings forever and-”

“Uh, Sweets? Breathe.” Scootaloo said delicately as she gently nudged the unicorn, who wheezed for breath before she looked at Apple Bloom almost defiantly as the earth pony stared back, trying to process what the unicorn had just said.

“Uh... how did you figure all that out?” Apple Bloom said slowly, before she asked: “And uh, what makes you think that Marina isn't just a drone?”

“That would be weird! A boy couldn't turn into a girl!” Sweetie replied with a huff. “I'd know right away that something was wrong!”

Apple Bloom gave a crooked smile, then she shook her head briefly before she turned away, muttering: “Wrong, huh?”

Sweetie frowned at this, trading a look with Scootaloo before they both fell in step behind the filly, Sweetie adding almost uncertainly: “I just mean... I don't think a drone would keep pretending to be a mare, that's all. That's silly. How could a stallion pretend to be a mare, anyway? I mean, it's always pretty obvious. Stallions are big and bulky and dreamy and just different from mares, you know? And how would a Changeling even hide its... parts? That's just silly.”

“Just silly.” Apple Bloom muttered, and then she shook her head shortly, hating that there were tears stinging her eyes, because colts weren't supposed to cry and if she was a real filly she wouldn't have to feel this at all. “Yeah. I guess you're right.”

They walked down the road in silence for a little while, but just outside of Ponyville, Scootaloo asked hesitantly: “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Fine.” Apple Bloom said without looking up, and Sweetie and Scootaloo traded looks as the earth pony dropped her head slightly and turned her face away. “Let's go to the square.”

As they walked through the town in silence, Apple Bloom wondered if they really felt that Marina was a monster. But even if she was a monster, she was a monster that they were excited about. Not shocked at the thought of, like a stallion being a mare. Shock, and disgust, Apple Bloom thought bitterly. So what did that make her? Worse than a Changeling?

Sure, Marina tried to comfort her. Her family loved and accepted her. But even her friends thought she was a freak of nature. Worse than a monster.

What if society was right, she wondered. God, what if everything she wanted to believe was wrong, and they were right? What if she was some mentally-ill freak of nature? What if the problem wasn't with society accepting her, but with the fact that she was so different, and not only different, but broken. Why couldn't she just accept the fact she was a colt? She was a colt. She was a colt and she could never, would never be a filly. She just wasn't and there was nothing she could do about it and all the love and support in the world wasn't going to change that.

Maybe it wasn't even really love and support. Maybe Marina, the monster, just wanted to feel like there was someone, something out there stranger and sicker than she was. Maybe her family worked so hard to keep it a secret and keep her safe because they wanted her to be secret; not safe, as in protected, but safe, as it stashed away from the light, like an embarrassment you never talked about, never showed anyone the true face of.

That was really all she was, and it was stupid to think otherwise, wasn't it?

That realization hurt. That made her stomach twist. That made her want to throw up and made the tears want to rise, but she knew she shouldn't cry.

Colts weren't supposed to cry.

Apple Bloom bit her lip so hard it bled, before she looked up and tensed as Sweetie said quietly: “Um, Apple Bloom, we walked right through the square.”

“Oh.” Apple Bloom looked around, automatically rubbing at her face with a hoof. She could see Rarity's boutique just a short distance away... how had they even gotten here? Had she been that lost in her own thoughts?

“Are you okay?” asked Sweetie Belle, before she added quietly: “I mean, I know you're not. And um, you might not want to talk about it. But um. I'm gonna keep asking if you're okay or not until you tell us what's going on. Are you okay?”

Apple Bloom shook her head shortly, and then she mumbled: “I'm fine.”

“You're kind of obviously not.” Scootaloo said helpfully, and Apple Bloom scowled and looked back over her shoulder at her, even if she was careful not to raise her head too much, not wanting those tears in her eyes to glisten and give herself away. “Um... we're your friends, you know, and-”

“Hey, let's go into the boutique!” Sweetie burst out suddenly, and Apple Bloom scowled in the direction of the shop, but Sweetie only ran on in her not-quite-oblivious way, Scootaloo shrugging and following after a moment.

The two fillies stopped at the door to the store, and Apple Bloom shifted a little, then finally dropped her head and sighed, grudgingly following the two to the door of the boutique and following them in.

She scowled and rubbed at her face as Sweetie Belle trotted a quick circle through the open floor of the building before she shouted: “Hi Rarity!”

“Sweetie? What are you doing here? I didn't think you were going to be back until at least noon.” came Rarity's voice, followed by the sound of hoofsteps. The mare poked her head out from the back of the boutique, and then she gave an awkward smile to the fillies, her eyes lingering on Apple Bloom as she greeted: “Well uh, hello there, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo. Do you need help with something? I thought you were going to visit Marina.”

“We were, but uh...” Sweetie Belle blanked for a moment, unable to stop herself from looking over at Apple Bloom, and Rarity softened even as Scootaloo winced and quickly shouldered the unicorn.

“We needed... stuff. I need to use the bathroom!” Scootaloo said hurriedly, and then she gave a big, dumb grin as Rarity cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Why don't you go do that, then. Sweetie, take your friend to the bathroom.” Rarity instructed, and Sweetie looked dumbly at Rarity for a moment before she brightened and nodded, winking very obviously at her sister as Apple Bloom scowled and wandered towards a corner of the room.

“Okay! Um. We're going to the bathroom!” Sweetie announced, and then she shouldered into Scootaloo, pushing her along as she continued loudly: “The bathroom is this way and we're going to it.”

Rarity sighed and rolled her eyes, but then she gave a small smile as she turned her eyes towards Apple Bloom, remarking: “Even if you're growing up, you're still all very much fillies-”

“I'm not a filly.” whispered Apple Bloom, and Rarity frowned as she walked over to the young foal, who stared resolutely at the ground even as her body trembled. “I'm not and I don't need anyone... pretending.”

“What happened?” Rarity asked gently, reaching up to touch Apple Bloom's back. The filly shivered under that touch, biting her lip as she looked away, and Rarity studied her silently before she added quietly: “I think you're very much-”

“I'm not!” snapped Apple Bloom, looking sharply away, but she was shaking, her eyes clenching shut as hard as they could to try and keep in the tears, to convince herself she was strong. “I'm just a... a...”

“Now stop. Stop.” soothed Rarity as she gently hugged the foal, who wriggled helplessly for a moment before she took a trembling breath, clutching almost desperately into those forelegs that were gently but firmly encircling her.

And for a little while, Rarity just held her like that, and Apple Bloom's shakes subsided and her mind cleared a little of the fog of self-loathing, staring at the ground as she whispered: “I guess I just realized today that there's something wrong with me. There's just... there's really something wrong with me, isn't there?”

“I don't think so. And I don't know why you'd think that, Apple Bloom. You're a beautiful young filly and-”

“But I'm not!” Apple Bloom blurted out, before she dropped her head and whispered: “But I'm not. No matter how hard I try or pretend, I'm just... I'm a freak. No one will ever accept me. I'm sick, aren't I? I'm not... I'm not right.”

“Apple Bloom.” Rarity gently slipped in front of the filly, dropping down to look eye-to-eye with her. “I don't want to hear you saying things like that. Now, I don't know what you're going through, and your family certainly has been concerned about you. But never because you're 'broken' or a 'freak.' I don't know where you'd even get that kind of idea. You're a little different, Apple Bloom, and I and your family certainly don't understand why, but we do know this isn't a 'sickness' and you're not 'faking for attention' or anything like that. You act like any other filly your age does and should. You just don't have the... the same body as other fillies.”

Apple Bloom shook her head and looked down, murmuring: “But that's all being a filly or a colt is. What body you have. It's my brain. It's my brain not working right and making me think I'm not-”

“Stop.” Rarity said, firmer this time, and Apple Bloom shrank her head a bit as she looked back up at the unicorn. “All we can know is what you tell us, dear, and what we see. And what I see is a filly going through a terribly hard time. And I'm awfully sorry for that, and wish I could do more for you than just make you clothes.

“I don't know what's 'wrong' with you, so to speak, but I don't think it's a sickness or anything that needs to be fixed. Do you remember what it was like for you, when you were trying to find your cutie marks?” Rarity asked, and Apple Bloom frowned uncertainly as she looked up at the mare. “You tried all these different things, but none of them were really you. And yet you always kept coming back to the same thing, that one thing you were really good at; you did it naturally, you just never had that moment of eureka, where you fully embraced it, that it was what you were. But it was always what you were inside, who you were, inside. I think this is the same way. Even if you tried to be a colt... you'd still end up being a filly. Gravitate towards the kind of filly you just are: one who doesn't mind getting dirty and doesn't like dresses but still has... a femininity, and a beauty about her.”

Rarity smiled as Apple Bloom lowered her head a little, and then she said quietly: “And it's up to you how you deal with things and your particular... condition, but have you ever thought about letting your friends know? Being open with them. So they can support you, Apple Bloom, and because... then maybe we would have fewer... misunderstandings.”

“I can't.” Apple Bloom whispered. “I'd be a monster to them. It'd just... they'd think I was wrong and-”

“You might be surprised what you find out when you give ponies a chance, dear.” Rarity said gently, and Apple Bloom shifted as her eyes roved away, the filly biting her lip for a moment before the unicorn encouraged: “Try. That has something to do with all this, doesn't it? So why don't you try, at least: not for them, but for you.”

There was silence for a few moments as Apple Bloom looked uncomfortably away, and then she winced when a voice asked anxiously: “Yeah, what do you need to say, Apple Bloom?”

Apple Bloom stared resolutely in the direction opposite of the doorway Sweetie and Scoots were leaning out of, and Rarity smiled a bit as she looked down at the filly in front of her, and then she gently patted her on the head before excusing herself without a word. It left Apple Bloom sitting quietly by herself, slowly rubbing at one foreleg, feeling suddenly cold, afraid, alone... until Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo came up on either side of her, their bodies close, a hoof gently touching her back as Sweetie leaned towards her face, asking: “Apple Bloom?”

“Yeah?” Apple Bloom didn't raise her head or her eyes, but she knew she couldn't really hide the tears or the trails down her cheeks or... anything at this point, really. And yet she strove to, all the same, because hiding things had become like second nature to her.

“Hey.” Scootaloo said in a low, gentle voice. “We're your friends, you know? And you guys... have always been there for me, so let me be there for you, Bloom.”

Sweetie bit her lip as Apple Bloom visibly tried to will herself away from them, before the unicorn added: “And I'm sorry if I said something wrong. You know I don't think Changelings are monsters or anything. And you know that if you just talk to and tell us what's wrong, we can figure all this out and-”

“You can't.” Apple Bloom whispered, looking away. “You can't understand, so why even try?”

“Because I guess... we're friends and we gotta try. And I mean, even if we can't understand or anything, I mean...” Scootaloo fumbled for her words, then she shrugged before saying finally: “Maybe we'll feel better. And we're, you know, worried about you.”

“You don't know until you try.” Sweetie Belle added stubbornly, and Apple Bloom scowled a little, but at least she also rose her head a bit. “We're... you know, we're all growing up too, so we should rely on each other and be there for each other. Cutie Mark Crusaders until the end, right?”

“This is different.” Apple Bloom said finally, looking away, and then she shook her head and shrugged away the two fillies, stepping forwards and muttering: “Let's just... come on, why don't we-”

“No.” Sweetie Belle said firmly, and Apple Bloom glared over her shoulder at her as Sweetie dropped on her rump, looking defiantly at the earth pony foal. “I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on.”

Scootaloo shrugged and sat down, but looked just as imploringly at Apple Bloom, and the earth pony ground her teeth together before she snapped: “Hey, when you two want to be left alone, I always leave it alone, don't I? So why do I have to be the one to fess up to something that... that's just going to make you think I'm a freak anyway!”

“What? I would never call you a freak.” Sweetie answered, clearly flabbergasted. Scootaloo blinked in surprise, before the unicorn added sharply: “And well, if you never tell us, we're never going to be able to-”

“You don't understand!” Apple Bloom shouted, but she was trembling, tears in her eyes. “You just don't get it!”

“Of course we don't, because you won't tell us!” Scootaloo shot back, before she bit her lip and said: “But maybe you're the one who doesn't know us, Apple Bloom, because... because you should know I'd never make fun of you, just like you guys never make fun of me for my wings.”

Apple Bloom's mouth snapped shut at that as Scootaloo shook her head quickly, and Sweetie shifted a little before she started: “There's nothing wrong with-”

“There's nothing wrong with me, I know. Doesn't mean it doesn't... bother me sometimes. Whoever heard of a pegasus that can't...” Scootaloo halted, then she shook her head and said finally: “But this isn't about me. It's about you, Apple Bloom. I trust you and... you should trust us too. No matter how different you are. Even if you are a... Changeling?”

Scootaloo stared at Apple Bloom, and Apple Bloom stared back before she couldn't help but crack a smile, shaking her head and saying finally: “Now that's real dumb.”

“You're dumb.” Scootaloo retorted, and Sweetie Belle laughed in spite of herself as some of the tension finally dissipated from the room.

Apple Bloom shifted, rubbing at her leg for a moment and looking down, and before she was even aware she was forming the words, she said: “I'm a boy.”

The other two stared at her for a few moments, and then Scootaloo said dubiously: “Come again?”

“I'm a... I'm a colt.” Apple Bloom said, almost defiant as she rose her head ever so slightly, even as a flush suffused her cheeks, and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo traded looks before they both turned their eyes back to the filly with confusion.

“Wait... you're a colt?” Sweetie said slowly, and before Apple Bloom could nod, the unicorn continued: “So you want to be a colt? You wish you were actually-”

“No!” Apple Bloom snapped, stomping a hoof in frustration. “I'm a colt! I'm... I'm actually a colt! I don't want to be a colt, I want to be a filly but I'm... I'm a colt.”

There was silence for a few moments, Scootaloo and Sweetie looking at each other, and then Sweetie looked back at Apple Bloom and pronounced: “That's dumb.”

Apple Bloom's heart thudded in her chest as tears threatened her eyes, before she looked up in disbelief as Sweetie continued firmly: “You're a filly. You've always been a filly. I know the difference between a colt and a filly and you're definitely a filly.”

“N-No, aren't you-” But Apple Bloom was shushed by Scootaloo stepping forwards to cover her mouth with a smile.

“Hey, you heard Sweetie. You're a filly. I mean, you're kind of getting big and you're a little weird-shaped but you're definitely a filly.” Scootaloo said, and Apple Bloom stared at her even as she removed her hoof, before the pegasus added, blushing slightly as she scraped a hoof against the ground: “And um... you're my friend, whether you're a filly or a colt, because you're Apple Bloom first and uh... you know. A boy or a girl second and uh... yeah.”

“Yeah.” Sweetie echoed, before she repeated in a firmer voice: “Yeah! So... don't worry about a thing, Apple Bloom! You're my friend and you're... you can be whatever you want to be. So don't worry about a thing. That's dumb to worry about. You've always been a filly. And even if you grow up you can still be a filly if you want. Rarity sometimes calls herself a filly, after all!”

“I... I think I'll be fine with becoming a mare when I grow up.” Apple Bloom said with a small laugh, and then she blushed and lowered her head, murmuring: “As long as I have friends like you with me. Thanks, guys.”

Sweetie smiled, and Scootaloo shrugged, and Apple Bloom lowered her head in gratitude. Because whether or not they could understand what she was going through, they were still here for her, and they gave her a place where she belonged.

And they reminded her, too, that she was a filly. Not a colt, but a filly. That was just who she was.

And there was nothing wrong with her.

Comments

[Will Rufus]

I like the ending. Very in character for the CMC's.

[BlackRoseRaven]

8290877

I agree. I think it's too easy to forget sometimes that people can always at least try.

[BlackRoseRaven]

8292878

Thanks very much. And it's good of you to try and be there for your friend; recognizing that is really important, that maybe you can't understand, but you can at least be there to offer support.

[BlackRoseRaven]

8293300

Thank you kindly. I was worried about getting the right feel to it, but it eventually sort of fell into place on its own.

[Aatxe360]

8352396

My fault. I didn't read the tenses correctly.