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Arrival1,819 words
A day in Manhattan1,802 words
They're coming through the walls!1,331 words
Coney Island Baby1,008 words
Heading Home1,297 words
Credits31 words

A day in Manhattan

The next morning arrived in New York, with the sound of city slowly waking up. Apple Bloom pulled herself of bed, looking around her.

“Well, here Ah am, in the city that never sleeps,” she smiled.

“Well, you slept pretty solidly,” Babs commented, who was just sitting up. “Applejack tells me that ya talk in ya sleep.”

“That ain’t true!” Apple Bloom replied.

“I’m part-Apple, remember,” Babs commented. “And that means I can tell yer a terrible liar.”

Apple Bloom nodded. “Yeah.”

Babs yawned. “Still, I get that number quoted to me an awful lot.”

Apple Bloom laughed. “Ah suppose ya don’t need ta go ta New York, or want to wake up there, as ya do that every day.”

“I’m not exactly top of the heap though,” Babs admitted.

“Do ya need ta be, when ya have family?”

Babs couldn’t deny her cousin’s logic. “C’mon, let’s get in the shower. Mom’s probably gonna cook us somethin’.”

“Ain’t there somethin’ a bit wron’ about two cousins bein’ in the shower at the same time?”

Babs facepalmed. “Not at the same time cuz’!”

After clearing up that embarrassment, it was time for breakfast. And Mrs Orange had rather laid it on, considering the piles of bacon, sausage, and cheese.

“You’ve cooked enough to feed an army on campaign!” Mr Orange joked, as Babs and Apple Bloom appeared.

“An Army, yes,” Mrs Orange nodded. “But two growing girls? I’m not too sure.”

“I don’t eat that much!” Babs protested, her face going red.

“Same here!” Apple Bloom added.

“Well, Bright Mac tells me they call you the Hoover,” Mr Orange countered. “Speakin’ of which, where is Sunflower?”

Babs snickered, and motioned to Apple Bloom. Both of them vanished back upstairs and went into Sunflower’s bedroom, to see the older Orange girl lying asleep in her bed, looking an utterly unkempt mess. Both of them snuck across the floorboards and positioned themselves next to the other girl.

“Buzz off Babs,” Sunflower murmured.

At which point, both of the pre-teens shouted at once, “RISE AND SHINE SUNFLOWER!”

Sunflower shrieked and fell out of her bed, hitting the floor with a loud thud. “Seriously Babs, what the fuck?” She got up, looking utterly furious.

Meanwhile, Babs and Apple Bloom were laughing incredibly hard. “Well, ya needed ta get up!” Apple Bloom pointed out.

“I don’t understand how you get up so early,” Sunflower groaned, as she headed for the shower.

“I don’t understand how you go to bed so late,” Babs answered. They went back downstairs and stayed in the sitting room whilst they waited for Sunflower.

Apple Bloom looked over. “Does she always get up this late?”

Babs nodded. “Yeah. We’re polar opposites in that regard. She gets up and goes to bed late, I rise and retire early.”

“That’s not the only way in which you two are different,” Mr Orange added. “Besides, Babs is sorta the boy I never got. She likes machines and stuff like that, which Sunflower wouldn’t go anywhere near.”

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom said. “Seein’ as she and her friends restored a GG1 to workin’ order, Ah doubt there’s anythin’ mechanical she can’t do.”

“We did get a lot of help,” Babs murmured.

Mrs Orange came over and looked up the stairs. “Sunflower, hurry up!” she shouted. “The food is going cold!”

“Almost done!” her eldest daughter replied.

Mrs Orange shook her head. “Heaven knows how many different types of conditioner she puts in her hair,” she said. “That’s another way in which she and Babs are Polar Opposites,” she explained. “Sunflower is keen on fashion and makeup, whereas Babs is not. No matter what I tried, I simply couldn’t persuade Babs to wear a dress for a school formal event.”

Babs had gone even redder. “I wouldn’t be seen dead in one!” she answered, just as Sunflower appeared, looking utterly unkempt. “His sis, applyin’ 50 different types of shampoo this time?”

Sunflower shook her head. “Your hair is half an inch long and dries out in seconds. Mine needs careful monitoring and conditioning to stay as good as possible. I don’t want it going all greasy!”

After that, they sat down at the table for breakfast. Once everyone had had their fill, Mr Orange addressed Babs.

“Where were ya plannin’ on takin’ Apple Bloom today?” he asked.

“Down to 42^nd Street and back up via Times Square,” came the reply.

“Ah, the Great White Way,” Mr Orange smiled. “Course, it used to be a dump. Did I mention that I met Hondo Flanks there in the 1980s?”

Suddenly, a bell went in Apple Bloom’s head. “That’s Sweetie Belle’s dad!” she exclaimed. When the others looked at her flatly, she added, “Sweetie Belle is one of mah friends.”

“I hope you enjoy yourselves,” Mrs Orange added. “What did you have planned for the afternoon?”

Babs looked over to Apple Bloom. “Did ya bring yer fiddle?”

“Yup!” Apple Bloom added. “Ah was wonderin’ if Ah could participate in one of yer band rehearsals?”

“One of the original Crusaders playin’ alongside us? We’d be honoured!” Babs replied.

“Rehearsing here?” asked Sunflower. “You make such a racket.”

Babs laughed. “Babs Seed, Babs Seed-”

“NO!” Sunflower screamed. “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, NO!”

We shall leave the rest of the meal to charity, and Babs and Apple Bloom pulled their coats on, ready to head out. “Yer boots better have good grip,” Babs mentioned. “We don’t want to end up crashin’ inta stoops.”

“Stoops?” Apple Bloom asked.

“The stairs that run down from the front of a property to the street level,” Babs explained. “From the Dutch ‘stoep’, meaning step.”

They trudged over to the station, where Babs showed her season pass and Apple Bloom bought a ticket, then boarded a waiting train to take them to Grand Central.

Once there, they travelled onto the subway, where they got off at 42^nd Street. Babs looked back to her cousin and smiled as they ascended the steps.

“Come and meet those dancin’ feet,” she laughed. As they reached the surface, she continued. “To the avenue I’m takin’ ya to.”

As the street became visible, they finished together. “42nd Street!”

The place was unbelievably busy, thronged with people. The cold wind blew through the streets, and Apple Bloom shivered. “It’s very cold!” she said.

“The streets are incredibly long here,” Babs explained. “That, combined with the cold weather comin’ off Hudson Bay, makes the winds whip down here at incredible speed, which makes them in turn very cold.”

As they walked along the street, the bright lights of the buildings threatened to overwhelm Apple Bloom’s eyes. At Sweet Apple Acres, it was entirely possible to see the stars, such was the lack of artificial light. Only having been briefly into a city of comparable size, Los Angeles, for a girl raised on a farm, it was rather overwhelming.

After a walk round, they arrived in Times Square, which was full of billboards and bright lights (oddly, most of them were owned by Disney). After a stop for lunch, it was time to return to Edison.

The two girls were walking back to the Orange family house when they suddenly saw four individuals stood outside the house. Babs waved to them.

“Hey guys!” she called. “How are ya?”

“Hi!” replied one of them, a boy with orange skin and purple hair. Apple Bloom did a double take.

“Scootaloo?” she asked.

“Who’s Scootaloo?” he asked. “I’m Tender Taps, and this is Raindrops, Silverstream, and Featherweight. We’re the East Coast Crusaders!”

Babs looked back. “We named them in honour of your group,” she replied. As they went indoors, they went into the music room on the far side of the house, which was soundproofed so as to avoid annoying the other family members. Featherweight sat down at the piano whilst Babs, Raindrops ad Tender Taps plugged in their guitars. Elsewhere, Silverstream set up her drumkit, calibrating the instrument to sound best.

“So, what we gonna rehearse?” Featherweight asked.

“Somethin’ by a local band, maybe?” Silverstream suggested.

“Any suggestions, Apple Bloom?” prompted Raindrops.

“Nothin’ from me.”

Then Tender Taps had an idea. “Perfect!” he cried, and whispered in Babs’ ear.

“Sounds good.” Babs then looked pale. “But let’s do the clean version, OK?”

“Sure,” Tender nodded. “I’ve got lead on this, from memory. Let’s have some Fun!”

“Some nights I stay up cashing in my bad luck,

Some nights I call it a draw.

Some nights I wish my lips could build a castle,

Some nights I wish they’d just fall off.

But I still wake up, I still see your ghost

Oh, Lord, I'm still not sure what I stand for, oh

What do I stand for?

Most nights, I don't know anymore...”

The sound was truly stunning, given how small the group was. Apple Bloom clapped when they finished.

“Ya’ll sound great!” she said.

“Thanks, cuz’,” Babs replied. “Of course, we can’t perform the original.”

“You mean the one where they ask who the f-”

“Don’t say it!” Silverstream shouted.

Featherweight looked sheepish. “Apple Bloom, we were wondering if you wanted to join us for one of them. We here you have the fastest fingers in the West.”

“Ah wouldn’t say that,” Apple Bloom admitted. “Ah play mostly fer fun.”

“As do we!” Raindrops noted. “So, you ready to Rock All Over the World?”

“Well, a-here-ee-yup, a-here-ee-yup, a-here we go

All aboard, justa hittin' the road

Here we go-oh! Rockin' all over the world!

Well, a-geedeeup, a-geedeeup, a-get away

We're goin' crazy, and we're goin' today, here we go-oh!

Rockin' all over the world!

Well I like it, I like it, I like it, I like it

I la-la-like it, la-la-like, here we go-oh! Rockin' all over the world!

Yeah! Yeah!

Well, I'm gonna tell your Mama what I'm gonna do

We're goin' out tonight with our dancin' shoes

Here we go-oh! Rockin' all over the world!

And I like it, I like it, I like it, I like it

I la-la-like it, la-la-like, here we go-oh! Rockin' all over the world!

And I like it, I like it, I like it, I like it

I la-la-like it, la-la-like, here we go-oh! Rockin' all over the world!

And I like it, I like it, I like it, I like it

I la-la-like it, la-la-like, here we go-oh! Rockin' all over the world!

And I like it, I like it, I like it, I like it

I la-la-like it, la-la-like, here we go-oh! Rockin' all over the world!”

“Truly stunnin’!” Babs said, with a smile on her face.

As the band members put their instruments away, Tender turned to speak to Apple Bloom. “Hey, we were gonna go out tonight ta do somethin’ fun together. You wanna tag along? We’ve got room for one more.”

Author's Note:

This chapter is inspired by my interactions with my brother, who is just like Sunflower in terms of being a sleepyhead.

See you tomorrow!

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