A Tale of Two Apples

by The Blue EM2

Coney Island Baby

Morning came once again, and the sun opened his dim eye upon a rising world. And so, with the radiant beams of the sun, the city of New York and the surrounding communities slowly came to vibrant life, the Big Apple demonstrating why it was, in the words of Frank Sinatra, ‘the city that never sleeps’.

In Edison, Apple Bloom and Babs Seed pulled themselves out of bed and went to shower, finally having figured out that you don’t both go in once. Upon having done so, and having got dressed for another day, headed downstairs to get breakfast. To their astonishment, they saw that Sunflower was already seated at the table.

“Yer up early!” Apple Bloom exclaimed.

“I didn’t fancy having you two shoutin’ in my ear again,” Sunflower replied.

“But it clearly worked,” Babs retorted, “as your up.”

Sunflower groaned. “Yes I am. And it’s the holidays. And I’m meant to be seeing my boyfriend today, but I’m an absolute mess!”

Apple Bloom nudged Babs. “She reminds me of Rarity. Ya know, Sweetie Belle’s sister?”

Babs sighed. “Now that you mention it, I do see the resemblance.”

Breakfast concluded, it was time to go and do something a little different. Babs and Apple Bloom travelled out of the city, toward a place close to the heart of any New Yorker.

Apple Bloom looked in amazement when they emerged into the light and saw where she was. “Coney Island!” she said. “Ya brought me ta Coney Island!”

Babs laughed. “No trip to NYC is complete without it.” As they went toward the district, Babs began giving a historical brief.

“Coney Island was first settled in the 1700s, but really began to take off in the tears following the American Civil War. Before then, it was so remote that Herman Melville went there to avoid distraction whilst writing Moby Dick!”

They went further in, Babs continuing her history talk. “It really boomed when it became a seaside resort, complete with roller coasters. It went downhill a bit from 1950 onwards, but the city revived it in 2003, and now it’s booming again. Well, the glory days are long gone, but the feel of the place is still there.”

So, they spent a day on the amusements and generally having fun, as cousins should. It took a little bit of persuading Apple Bloom to go on Cyclone, but safe to say, she enjoyed the experience of riding on America’s oldest rollercoaster. Sadly, the Thunderbolt was unfinished, but that wasn’t so much of a problem.

On their way back, Babs leaned in. “So, Bloom, whatta ya think of New York?”

Bloom smiled. “Well, it’s a wonderful town!”

Babs groaned. “I knew you were gonna reference that at some point.”

Apple Bloom went on the defensive. “What? It’s a good musical. How many other times do ya get that combination like Sinatra, Kelly, and Munshin?”

“Who’s the last one?”

Apple Bloom shrugged. “Ah don’t know. His name’s in the Wikipedia cast list.”

There was a moment’s silence. “So, why haven’t we gone up the Empire State Building?”

Babs shrugged her shoulders. “It’s not that great a view, not to mention the queues are always very long. But you can get near-identical views by going up the Rockefeller Tower. Ya wanna do that?”

After a long, long day, the girls came home, to find their friends waiting for them once again.

“Howdy!” Apple Bloom called over to them.

“Did you two enjoy your day?” Silverstream asked. “IT SOUNDED AMAZING!”

“Wait, how do you know what they did?” Featherweight asked, visibly confused.

“Oh, Sunflower told us,” Raindrops answered. “She’s inside, by the way.”

Babs shook her head. “Can’t she keep her mouth shut?”

Stepping back indoors, they went into the music room, to find Sunflower in there.

“Oh, you’re back already?” she said, sounding mildly disinterested. “I thought you’d be out for a while longer.”

“Well, it was a long day,” Babs told her, “and Bloom and I weren’t so keen on freezin’ our tits off until sundown.”

Sunflower shrugged. “I take it you and your noisemakers will disturb us from now? The only thing you lot are good at is making a racket, after all.”

If Sunflower thought this was a good thing to say, she was very quickly proven wrong. “Hey!” Babs barked. “That’s not how you talk ta my friends!”

Sunflower looked up in shock, a very clear look of surprise on her face. “Well, you do make a massive noise. Can’t you just play the piano quietly for a bit instead?”

Babs sighed. “This isn’t a jazz lounge, but fine.” She took her seat at the keyboard, and started playing. She started by playing Fur Elise fairly normally, then abruptly launched into a ragtime infused version that had a lot more energy and vibe to it than most performances.

“And that is what I am referring to,” Sunflower remarked sarcastically. “You always have to take a classic and change it.”

“There is no one way of playing a piece, Sunflower,” Babs answered. “If anything, you stick too slavishly to what is written on the page.”

Sunflower shook her head. “You lot are utterly unbelievable. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to adjust my makeup, as Mark will be here any minute now and I cannot afford to look awful.” She walked out of the door, and then stopped. “I’ll see you later, my little brother.” She then resumed her exit, keen to avoid Babs’ annoyance.

Babs shook her head. “Asshole,” she muttered. She got up, and let Featherweight take his place at the keyboard. “So, what shall we practice for this evenin’s concert?”

“Springsteen, maybe?” Tender suggested. “That usually gets people up on their feet, and gets them joining in, even if they do lose the meaning of the original lyrics.”

“Why not Born in the USA?” Silverstream added. “That is a good one to get everyone joining in and participating.”

Babs picked her guitar up, and the others set up their instruments. They then began to play.