Honorary Dreams

by Lonely Fanboy48

Honorary Party

Everything seemed set. Oliver got everything he needed from the store, and then some. Rarity had found a pen in the center console of her car, and allowed Oliver to use it for his card.

For the entire trip, Oliver was mulling over what he was to write, and for minutes at a time wrote nothing, until he quickly jotted something down. He wanted to write something that he truly meant, but for his young age could not think of the right words. And it was more difficult to think with all the prying eyes.

“This isn’t an Olympic event!” Oliver said, hiding his card from Spike, who was seated to his side; and Sweetie Belle, who was peering over the front seat.

“I just want to see what you’re writing for Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle said.

“It’s not for Apple Bloom!” Oliver asserted.

“Sure it’s not. And I’m a talking plant that drinks blood.”

“Sweetie Belle! Don’t be vulgar,” Rarity admonished her sister.

“But, she’s right. Oliver’s got it so bad, he needs surgery to remove it,” Spike said.

“Speaking of: I think this pup’s ready to get fixed,” Oliver said.

Spike yipped quietly, and ran to the safety of Rarity’s lap.

“Now, now, that’s enough from all of you,” Rarity said. “We’re almost back to the cabin now, and we can let whatever happens next happen.”

None of the younger passengers knew what she meant by that, but the rest of the ride passed in relative silence, with only the occasional scratching of Oliver’s pen to be heard.

The car arrived back at the cabin, where Rarity parked her car next to the bus in the clearing. When they walked inside, there to greet them was the other girl Oliver first saw Sweetie Belle with.

“Hey, Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle greeted her.

“Hey! You guys are back,” the girl called Scootaloo responded. She looked past Sweetie to see the boy from back at the lake busily writing in a small greeting card. “So, how’s our casanova doing? Working on mash notes now?”

Oliver stopped writing and glanced up at Scootaloo.

“You bet he is. He’s been working on that thing for Apple Bloom the whole ride here,” Spike answered.

“Jeez, just go on and break Fluttershy’s heart. We’ll be hearing about it for months,” Scootaloo said.

Oliver rolled his eyes again. How long was everyone going to go on about the Fluttershy business?

“Children. Children, please. Give Oliver some privacy with this matter. If anything is to come of this, we cannot be pressuring him. And besides, Fluttershy is much too old for our young friend,” Rarity said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must be making our outfits for tonight.”

“Thanks, Rarity. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Oliver said, before taking his leave.

Oliver left to the next room, and closed the door behind him. When he turned, he found he wasn’t alone. There were Wallflower and Twilight sitting peacefully, reading from a stack of books. Both were holding books that pertained to gardening. Oliver didn’t see what book Twilight had, but he could see a picture of a ladybug and a mantis on the book Wallflower held.

“Oh. Hi, Oliver,” Twilight greeted him. “Wallflower and I were just researching more about garden care after those tips you gave her. Do you want to join us?”

Any other time, Oliver would have happily helped his new friends, but had a pressing matter to attend to.

“Sorry. I’m a little preoccupied right now,” Oliver answered.

“I see,” Wallflower answered. “What’s that in your hand?”

“My preoccupation,” Oliver said, hiding the card behind his back, as he exited out the door on the other side of the room, leaving the others to wonder what was going on.

Oliver was going to have to search a little harder for a quiet place to continue his work. His next stop was the kitchen. That wouldn’t do, since everyone would be regularly coming in here for a snack at some point or another. Instead, he chose the bathroom next. But, when he rattled the doorknob, he found it to be locked.

“No room at the inn,” Rainbow Dash’s voice came from inside.

“Hrm…” Oliver muttered to himself. He was running out of options, and decided to try again.

He went back to the kitchen, and found Applejack there raiding the fridge, just as he knew someone would do at some point that day. He got past her without her noticing, and went out to the veranda beyond the dining area.

This was going to be the spot where he would have some quiet time to finish writing in his card. The only thing to do out here was watch the birds flying across the sky. However, that’s exactly what Fluttershy was doing out there.

Oliver quickly went back inside and walked past Applejack again, just before she turned around and set out half the contents of the refrigerator onto the counter for a sandwich. There was one place that Oliver realized he hadn’t thought of before: the guest room where he had woken up earlier. That would be his private spot to finish his card.

With a renewed spring in his step, Oliver started walking to where he remembered that room being. Surely, nobody would bother him there.

He approached the door, turned the knob, and opened it to walk inside.

“SURPRISE!!!” Came the shout that blew Oliver backwards.

The boy had to fumble to catch his card, which was drifting down from the air.

Everybody else that Oliver hadn’t yet seen since his return trip, including Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Spike, all came pouring out of the room he intended to enter.

“What’s going on!? Are we under attack!?” Oliver said, recovering from the shock.

“Did you forget already? This is to celebrate your honorary membership as a Rainboom!” Pinkie answered.

“Also, Rainbow Dash and Applejack kind of wanted to make up for what happened earlier today” Sunset said.

“So, I made ya this,” Applejack said, presenting an enormous sandwich to Oliver.

“Thanks,” Oliver said, as he took the plate with the sandwich on it. “But, I can’t--”

Before he could continue, he was forcibly pulled aside by Pinkie grabbing his wrist. So great was the force, he nearly dropped both items he held. After grasping for the card, and balancing the sandwich on its plate, he found himself face to face with Pinkie Pie.

“Don’t be such a party pooper, Oliver. This party’s for you. And we’ve already set up a bunch of activities to do,” Pinkie said.

“Let’s kick this pig!” Dash said, as she entered the room and turned on the stereo.

The music thumped loudly through the room, and quicker than Oliver could comprehend, everyone in the room started dancing. As much as the boy appreciated the effort that everyone put into the festivities, he still had to finish his card.

Carefully, he started traipsing through the room. A more hazardous task than he would have liked.

Applejack was already dancing madly in the middle of the room, and bumped hard into Oliver.

The boy had to stumble to keep the sandwich he was holding atop its plate, and continued past.

Twilight and Sunset were both swing dancing back to back, and Oliver raised his arms to squeeze between the two.

Rainbow Dash was holding Scootaloo by her hands, and swinging her through the air. Oliver had to duck, to avoid getting kicked in the head. Unfortunately, he also dropped his card.

Terror struck him as the card drifted to the floor, among the dancers. Keeping low, Oliver crouched his way through the crowd, trying to reach for his card, which kept getting swept away by his unwitting friends. His search was stopped when he bumped into somebody’s back.

“Ow! What the heck’re ya thinkin’ ya--” the back’s owner said, as she turned around. “Oliver. I been lookin’ for ya since I heard ya got back.”

Of all the luck, he had to bump into Apple Bloom. Of all the more luck, she was looking for him. Apprehension hit the boy, as he debated whether or not to stay and talk with Apple Bloom, but the sight of his card getting away from him made his decision for him.

“Hate to keep you searching, but I have something else to do,” Oliver said, before he ducked out of view and resumed following his card.

Finally, Oliver dove forward, and slid across the floor. He successfully grabbed the card, and continued to slide past everyone else. He kept his momentum going by rolling out of the room, and standing up in the doorway, before quickly taking his leave back to the kitchen.

“Whew,” Oliver huffed, as he sat down at the counter. Finally, he would be able to finish his card. He set his pen to the paper, and slowly started the first stroke.

“Oliver?”

Oliver nearly scratched his pen across the card when he heard the soft voice behind him. Quickly and discreetly as he could, he quickly stuffed the card into the drawer just in front of himself and turned around to see--

“Fluttershy? Why aren’t you at the party with everyone else?” Oliver asked his guest.

“I was actually wondering why you weren’t. Don’t you like Pinkie’s party?” Fluttershy asked.

“Actually, I haven’t had a chance to even start,” Oliver answered.

“What do you mean? I thought I saw you bump into Apple Bloom in there. I almost thought you were going to ask her to dance.”

Oliver grumbled quietly and flushed red. Were this a cartoon, this would be where a plume of smoke rose from his head.

“Well, that’s the thing,” the boy answered. “I’ve been trying to think of a way to talk to Apple Bloom and clear up some things that people have been talking about. But, I never get the chance to think about what to say.”

“Oh. I see. You must really care about her.”

“I just want us to be friends, without all this weird stuff floating around.”

“Well. I think she was looking for you just now, before you left. Maybe, you could try talking to her away from all of the others. I mean, if you want to.”

Oliver grumbled again. Fluttershy was right. If anything was to be done, he would have no time to prepare for it.

“You’re right, Fluttershy,” the boy declared as he picked up a bottle of apple juice and drank the entire contents. Artificial courage, on his part. “It’s like Applejack says: it’s time to hitch up my britches and mosey like a man,” Oliver said.

“Applejack said that?” Fluttershy wondered.

“No. But, it sounds like something she would say.”

Fluttershy giggled, knowing Oliver was right and watched as he confidently strode out of the room with the empty bottle in his hand.

“He’s going to be such a hit with girls when he’s older,” Fluttershy thought to herself.

When she first entered the room, she had seen Oliver holding something. She didn’t like to invade on other’s privacy, but she was curious as to the nature of the item he was holding. She looked left and right, then quietly opened the drawer to retrieve the card within.

As Oliver was approaching the living room, he heard a new tune playing. One that was country western, complete with fiddles and a washboard. There in the middle of the room, he saw the Apple sisters dancing merrily about the floor. Both were equally impressive, making Oliver wonder how long the two of them had been dancing.

In seconds, the others all joined in. Oliver would normally dive for a chance to honk the tonk for a hootenanny, but he had other matters to attend to. He wove his way through the crowd, looking for Apple Bloom. Until she found him.

“Oliver!” she greeted him. “Yer just in time fer the hodown!”

“That sounds like it would hurt if you did it wrong,” Oliver said.

“Huh?” Apple Bloom answered.

“Can we talk somewhere? It’s not easy talking over the dueling fiddles.”

“Alright. Let’s go,” Apple Bloom said.

Oliver and Apple Bloom almost started walking away, when Applejack stepped in front of them.

“Hold on there, kiddos. You ain’t goin’ nowhere ‘til ya had yer first dance together,” Applejack said, with a mischievous grin.

This was what Oliver wanted to stop. And he wasn’t about to let Applejack delay him. Thinking quickly, he held up the empty apple juice bottle and offered it to Applejack.

“You know, this music’s kind of dull. Why don’t you liven it up a bit,” Oliver suggested.

“An’ how,” Applejack said, as she enthusiastically took the bottle and started blowing into it in tune with the music on the stereo.

They were free to go now. The two children quietly slipped outside and made their way to a tree that had a swing set up underneath of it.

“So, what’d ya wanna talk about?” Apple Bloom wondered.

This was it. Oliver wanted to cross the rubicon, and here he was at the shores. With a deep breath, he started speaking his mind.

“Apple Bloom: what did you think about me when we first met?” he asked.

He felt his chest clutch when Apple Bloom didn’t answer right away. It became worse when she actually began to answer.

“Um...Well, I liked the cupcakes ya made my sister,” she said.

“But, what about me? I’m asking what you thought about me.”

“Ya want honesty? I thought you looked like some kinda shmoe. Like, a big, dumb, doofus who didn’t know when to keep his mouth shut.”

“Well, I guess I brought that on myself,” Oliver said, after his own stint of silence.

“You bet ya did. An’ I only knew I was right after ya almost got yerself killed durin’ that water ski fiasco.”

“Actually, I almost get killed once a week. But, you know, if you’re going to be dumb, you better be tough,” Oliver said.

“See, that’s what I’m talkin’ about! Ya run yer stupid mouth, an’ ya make everyone else mad at ya!”

Apple Bloom needed to blow off some steam, and sat down on the nearby swing with her back to Oliver.

It was true. His friends often told him about when he would run a string of humorous witticisms, often at inappropriate times. However, his friends often found themselves laughing anyway, no matter how annoyed they were with him. And he knew he could do the same with Apple Bloom, even if he had just met her.

Apple Bloom felt Oliver’s hands gently push on her back, and slowly swing her forward.

“Apple Bloom,” Oliver began, “I can understand how much of a pain that can be. Especially when you were so scared earlier.”

Apple Bloom didn’t say anything, but peered over her shoulder to glance at Oliver. She caught sight of him gently placing his hands on her back again, then felt him push her forward on the swing.

“But, that’s just what I’m like. You know. It’s who I am. You pretty much had me nailed when you first met me. That’s something my other friends only learned later, to their frustration,” Oliver said.

Oliver couldn’t see it, but when Apple Bloom faced forward, she was smiling. She knew she always had a propensity for judging character, and was happy to hear it validated.

“The thing is, that’s what they all like about me. I’m not really sure why, but I think it’s all part of accepting someone as your friend. You just have to take them, flaws and all.”

Apple Bloom waited until she was further away from Oliver to giggle, so he wouldn’t hear her. When she swung back, she finally answered.

“Well, alright. I guess ya got a point. But, if ya pull anymore stunts like that, yer gonna hear all about my flaws. Loud, angry, violent flaws,” Apple Bloom said.

“I thought that didn’t start until girls turn thirteen,” Oliver said.

Apple Bloom pushed her feet on the ground, and bumped into Oliver hard enough to knock him down.

“Oh, I’m going to be a hit with girls when I’m older. Or just get hit,” Oliver groaned.

Apple Bloom laughed from her seat on the swing, as Oliver stood up.

“I’ll give you something to laugh about. Here: a one way trip to the moon!” Oliver said, before he placed his hand on Apple Bloom’s back, and pushed as hard as he could.

Apple Bloom yelped loudly as she swung higher than before, and laughed as she came back down.

“Higher!” she said to Oliver, who obliged and pushed Apple Bloom again.

Unknown to either of them, the other girls were all watching them. None of them said anything to one another. They all knew that Oliver and Apple Bloom simply wanted nothing more than to be children together, without the others pressuring them to be something more.

“Hey! That looks like fun,” Scootaloo said, “Come on, Sweetie Belle.”

The other two children rushed down the cabin’s steps and toward the swing.

“Wait for me!” Spike called after, as he followed behind.

The children all played around the swing in the noon day sun. So far, the day was looking pretty good.

Behind everyone else in the cabin, Fluttershy stepped into the adjacent room and opened Oliver’s card to read.

“Dear Apple Bloom

I know we only met today, but I think that I learned something from meeting you. You were so friendly when we first met, but not in the same way as your sister and her friends. You were genuinely pleased to meet me, for only the first time. I learned that just by meeting certain people, you want them in your life always. I think that if I’m right, then we can be--

And that seemed to be all that Oliver had time to write. Whatever he planned to say next, Fluttershy knew that whatever happened now was all for the better as she looked out the window to watch the children play.