Apple Bloom's Day In Food Court

by Wise Cracker

Splitting Heirs

Grand Pear found a quiet spot near a corner, behind an ice cream stand.

“What’s the matter, Apple Bloom?” he asked.

She gulped. “Umm, that boy you were talking about? String Bean? I ran into him. We talked, and… I think I may have messed him up kinda badly.”

“Really, he’s here? Huh. Didn’t think he’d ever get this far.” The old stallion’s teeth clenched ever so slightly, making her shiver. “Messed him up, how?”

Apple Bloom scratched her head and tried to gather up her words as best she could before answering, “Well, first he was making regular fruit juice with this machine of his, because he wanted to find out what his talent was, what his cutie mark meant. He said he didn’t like making juice, exactly, but he knew it was close. So I told him to make it more his own thing, try something traditional. You know, Unicorn-y.”

“Sounds reasonable,” Grand Pear said with a smile. “Nothing wrong with encouraging a little pride in your history, within reason.”

“It worked. Except then he made old recipes, from, umm, well, he made Earth pony recipes. And he still didn’t think that was really his talent. So I maybe kinda told him to try something more wizardly again.”

The stallion’s smile faded. “I see. And he didn’t take that too well, did he?”

Apple Bloom’s chest ached at the thought. “He did, actually, at first. He went the health nut route, started listing off all this good stuff he put in, makin’ herbal tonics and medicinal juices. I didn’t even know that was a Unicorn thing. He sold a lot more, but he still didn’t feel right about it, and he still did everything the same way: with magic and machine. So I thought maybe him using magic in the first place was the whole problem. If he wants to do Earth pony things, he should be doing them like Earth ponies do, you know? So then I kinda, sorta… challenged him to Cherry Jubilee’s rodeo set-up. With a ‘no magic’ rule. And that’s where it went really wrong.”

Grand Pear nodded knowingly. “He couldn’t do it, huh? He’s not a particularly strong boy, from what I’ve seen of him. Fast runner, though, very mobile, which is an essential trait for a wizard.” He rolled his eyes. “’Specially nowadays.”

“Uhuh. I think… I’m worried I got it into his head that he can’t be a farmer because he keeps doing things with magic.”

Rather than frowning, Grand Pear looked pensive. He waited until a pair of nearby Pegasi had passed out of earshot before continuing. “You just said if he wanted to do Earth pony things, he should do them like Earth ponies do. Why wouldn’t he get that into his head?”

She shrugged. “I figured maybe there was some kinda farming Unicorns did that Earth ponies don’t do, like Mister Fleet, that would be perfect. I thought I could get him to find his own thing, figure out his real talent. I didn’t think he’d take it that way.”

Grand Pear fell silent, thinking it over some more. “Still not making any sense there, Apple Bloom. You told him the honest truth, how was he supposed to take it, then?”

“I don’t know.” She groaned. “To be totally honest, I think Sweetie Belle’s the one who should talk to him, she’s seen this kinda situation before. Rarity makes her dresses with machines and with magic, but there’s plenty of Earth pony dressmakers, too. Not a lot of Unicorn farmers, though.”

“That, I do understand. It’s a tough gig, especially now. Between Princess Luna returning, and all those evils from a millennium ago coming back, not to mention the new ones, there’s a lot of pressure on colts to become Royal Guards. That’s doubly true for Unicorns.”

“But I didn’t know that. I didn’t know any of this. If I had, I’d have said something different.”

“What does it matter? You tried your best, you gave your honest opinion. What more could anyone ask?”

“Somethin’ better. I’m not supposed to make that kind of mistake anymore. I’m supposed to...” She wiped her nose, lost for words.

Grand Pear lifted her chin up. “You’re supposed to be a proud member of the Apple family, is that it?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I’m always gonna be that. But I’m more than that. I’m… I’ve got my duties, and I’ve got a talent, my talent, all mine. I help other ponies with cutie mark problems. My friends do, too, but I’m the only one who does it my way, there’s only one of me and there’s only ever gonna be one of me. I spent a long time trying to find out who I was deep down, what I was meant to do. It’s not exactly saving Equestria like my sister or pulling houses like my brother, sure, but it’s still something that counts. That’s still something I can do, something special. And I thought maybe if I did that today, I could show you, and you’d be proud of me. But I didn’t want to force String Bean to stop using magic.”

He snorted. “Why not? You’ve seen how much trouble it causes, how vain some Unicorns get over it.”

Apple Bloom looked around to make sure there weren’t any Unicorns around to overhear them. “Sure, some of them, but Unicorns don’t fix everything with magic, grandpa. It’s only a few of them who get really powerful, and that kinda power comes with a price. Rarity can’t even teleport, neither can Sweetie Belle. Twilight Spa- I mean, Princess Twilight Sparkle’s an absolute mess sometimes, and she’s not powerful enough to deal with everything just like that. Starlight Glimmer is even worse, and that’s without being a Canterlot pony. It’s not fair that some ponies are expected to fix everything just because they’re born with a horn. It’s not fair that they’d have to spend days cooped up in some book tower, studying new spells just to fix something other ponies are too lazy to do for themselves. That’s not their responsibility. And it’s not fair that some pony’s expected to give up their whole future just because of how they were born, either.”

Grand Pear smiled. “Huh. That’s a pretty good argument, Apple Bloom. Where’d you get so smart?”

“I paid attention to my friends, is all. And I listen to a lot of stories. You didn’t mean that, did you? About Unicorns?”

“Of course not. Well, mostly.” He patted her on the back and sighed. “Unicorns have their virtues and vices, same as any creature in this world that’s smart enough to talk. But everypony has their place, Apple Bloom, everyone’s got their strengths and weaknesses. It’s easy to forget sometimes, though. Pride’s a funny thing like that.”

“So you’re not disappointed I messed up?”

“It’s an honest mistake, and the day’s not over yet. You can still talk to the boy, reason with him now that you know the whole story. And for the record: I am proud of you, Apple Bloom, prouder than you know. Always have been. I’ve been saving news articles about you since the first time you hit the papers. Sure, your sister helps save the world every now and then, and your brother is… not a stallion I’d lightly trifle with, but Applejack’s a pony chosen by destiny, and Big Mac is a pony blessed with strength. You? A little filly like you has no business trying to measure up to that, nopony in their right mind would expect you to, and yet there you are, makin’ the papers even more regularly than they do. I’ve always been proud of you, Apple Bloom. You look so much like...” The stallion smiled, sighed, and wiped his eyes.

Apple Bloom’s ears flicked. “Like my mom?”

He nodded. “More than Applejack and Big Mac do, so much more.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “What?”

“Your brother and sister? It’s there, sure, but they’ve got more of your father in’em. And as much I’ve wanted to remember your father as a no-good cretin for stealing my daughter away, the fact of the matter is he was an honest stallion, a pony of his word, and honourable to a fault. He got that from the Apple side of the family, and so did your siblings. But you?” He chuckled. “Not quite the same. You’re not afraid to skirt the rules if you think you’re doing the right thing. You’ve got a bit of a sneaky streak to you, and you can be downright thieving with your eyes. I’ll bet that zebra friend of yours never has to show you anything twice when it comes to brewing potions.”

“Well, I don’t mean to brag, but, yeah, I am pretty good at that sort of thing. Did I get that from you?”

“No, no.” He averted his eyes. “You’ve got my sense of pride, that’s for sure. A very powerful thing to have, too, but dangerous. Pride like mine can ruin your life if you’re not careful. No, you got your cleverness from your grandmother. Your looks, too.”

This was where she lost him. “I dunno, I’ve seen Granny Smith’s old pic-oh.” She gasped as it dawned on her. “Oh.”

“I’m sure some of the ponies around here have told you already, or maybe they didn’t quite know how to say it, but you’re the spitting image of my Moonglow when she was young. Same mane, same tail, same way with words, and the same curious eyes. Your mother inherited that clever streak from her. Any pony who knew Moonglow back in the day would recognise you as her grandchild without a second glance. Applejack and Big Mac, not so much.” Grand Pear shuddered. “And if that sneaky streak skips a generation, they’re gonna have one heck of a time keeping tabs on any great-grandfoals they give me.”

“Umm, they did. The ponies around here. Mention it, I mean.” She tensed up and leaned closer to him, lowering her voice. “But, come to think of it, they mentioned something else, too.”

Silence fell between them for a moment. Grand Pears ears fell back, before pricking back up as he spoke. “I thought they might.”

Apple Bloom bit her lip. “Why’d you bring me here, Grand Pear? Really?”

“The short story? I wanted to see how you’d act. The long story? We don’t have time for that.”

“But-”

He gently pushed her away and lowered his head so he could speak on her level. “It’s fine, Apple Bloom. I’m fine. I know you’ve probably heard some scary things about my ticker and whatnot, but nothing’s the matter. We’ve already spent precious time debating and if I know Poppy’s schedule to these events, we don’t have long before she’ll come check up on her son again, and he might do something he can’t undo. Matter of fact, I suspect she was planning on just that, letting him show up here in the first place. You go and say what you meant to say, we can talk about all this other stuff after.”

---

String Bean still had his sign up, he still kept up his salespony smile for every customer who asked for some healthy, freshly made juice. His eyes looked sunken now, though, and he seemed to have trouble keeping his head up. Whether that was the sadness or exhaustion from using his magic, Apple Bloom couldn’t tell.

He stopped smiling when it was her turn. There was no one behind her, no need to keep up appearances.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“I want to apologise for giving you the wrong idea,” she replied. “I didn’t mean it like that, I should have been more careful.”

He glared at her, nose curled. “You wanted me to join the Royal Guard, too.”

“No, I didn’t. I never even mentioned the Royal Guard.”

“You want me to be a wizard, which is the same thing, just like everypony else. The first thing you said to me when I showed you all this was that it was a waste.”

She groaned in frustration. “Yeah, I said it was a waste, but I didn’t mean it was a waste of magic: I meant the seeds.” She pointed a hoof at the pots and bags he had in the back of his stand. “You’re using exotic plants here, and just throwin’ away perfectly good plant stock for a little cup of juice. Every single one of those could be a full-grown tree, you’ve got a small orchard going just for lemonade. I didn’t mean your magic. If you want to grow things, you can. You wouldn’t believe the magic they’re using to farm trees nowadays. Magic trees, sometimes.”

“I tried that already, it’s not my talent. It doesn’t feel right,” he argued.

“Are you sure? Because, you know, turns out grafting’s still a good craft to learn. And a rare one, too.”

He let his head rest on his hooves, body draped over the counter. “I know, doesn’t matter. The EEA wouldn’t let a Unicorn become a grafter.”

“You mean your mom wouldn’t let you.”

He threw up one of his arms for dramatic effect. “Even if she didn’t, you have to go outside of Equestria to find anyone certified in growth magic, nobody wants that kind of Unicorn anymore. But everyone wants more Royal Guards, and it’ll be easy for me to get into any academy, so I guess I’m gonna be a Royal Guard. My mom’s been sending me flyers and magazines all day about how great it is.”

Apple Bloom walked behind the counter to check the flyers, and the mirror they’d been sent to. A whole pile of leaflets and brochures littered the floor, all for ‘prep camp’ this and ‘bright future’ that. Every single one had eager colts on the front, all with sword or shield or helmet cutie marks.

She looked at her own cutie mark, then his. A nagging thought started to form in her mind, but she couldn’t quite figure out how to word it. “But is that what you want?”

“I’ll learn to like it.”

“That doesn’t answer my question. Is that what you want?”

He took in a deep breath, curling his nostrils. “No.”

“Then what is?”

“I want to know what I’m good for!” he snapped, rising up on his hind hooves. “There, is that what you wanted to hear? I want to know what this stupid bean on my side means if nothing I do or like doing has anything to do with beans. I want to know what I’m supposed to do with my life if I’m so weak I can’t even compete with an Earth pony girl.”

She winced at his tone. That hurt pride cut deep. “You know, Earth ponies are usually pretty strong compared to Unicorns. And even in my own league, I’m actually pretty strong for a girl, plus technically you were exhausted already when we did that game. And even if I can beat you now, you’ll grow up eventually, and grow strong. Plenty of Earth ponies would love to have a Unicorn around to help out.”

“With magic, sure,” he snapped. “Can’t do anything the Earth pony way, because I’m not an Earth pony.”

Saw that one comin’ a mile away, still couldn’t dodge it. Okay, Apple Bloom, you got this. Just remember Scootaloo when she was down. “No, you’re not, and nothing you do is gonna change that, and that’s not a bad thing. You are who you are, and you can still be a great grafter or gardener or growth wizard or whatever. You don’t have to throw your life into one thing right now, into any one thing. You don’t have to be what somepony else thinks you ought to be. And… I am so sorry if I made you think otherwise. That’s not the kind of pony I am, or the pony I want to be. I shouldn’t have told you to stick to wizardly things, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Why not? You’re right: it’s the only thing I’m good at, it’s all I can do.” He closed his eyes, ears aquiver. “And that’s all that matters. All anyone wants is what you can do for them. You’re only worth what someone’s willing to pay to have you. All I can do is magic, ponies do it all the time. And magic like mine belongs in Canterlot. Colts like me belong in the Royal Guard.”

“Look, I’m trying to apologise here.”

He looked her in the eyes. Even without him using magic, she could feel the anger radiating from him, a cold anger of defeat. “You did, and I accept your apology. But that doesn’t change the facts: my talent is magic. You told me to be a wizard before you knew all that other stuff.”

“No, I said you should do more wizardly things. There’s a big difference between something you are and something you do.”

He rolled his eyes. “Tomater, tomato. Call it what you want, that was your first instinct. You can’t seriously tell me you didn’t have any ideas about what I should do just because I’m a Unicorn.”

“Maybe. But that’s only because it’s worked on every other Unicorn I’ve ever had to deal with,” she argued. “If you were an Earth pony doing all this with potions, I’d have told you the same thing. If you were a Pegasus doing this with, I don’t know, cloud magic, I’d have told you the same thing. I’ve got a dragon friend who’s had problems finding where he belonged, I’d have told him the same thing. You being a Unicorn is just a coincidence.”

“So it doesn’t matter to you? At all?”

Apple Bloom looked away. I’ve gotta be honest here. He’ll know if I don’t. “I’m not gonna lie, it does matter a little, but not the way you might think. To tell you the whole truth, my family’s got a bad history with Unicorns using magic to cut corners. These two brothers tried to scam us, they roped us into some shady things, it got ugly. I don’t want to think about that, but I can’t forget it, either.”

His shoulders drooped. “Oh, right. Of course.” He nodded in resignation. “Flim and Flam, huh?”

“Yup. You know them?”

“Sure. He’s my dad.”

Apple Bloom felt light-headed hearing that.

Poppy’s divorced. His dad couldn’t afford to keep him. And his dad is...

"All anyone wants is what you can do for them. You’re only worth what someone’s willing to pay to have you.”

That’s where that came from? Oh, this is just gettin’ worse and worse.

So he’s Flim’s son, or Flam’s. Guess that explains the resemblance, too. Did Grand Pear mention that? No. Did anypony else? No. Unless I really haven’t been paying attention. “W-which one? Flim or Flam?”

He gulped and sniffled, the fight seemed to drain out of him like a deflating balloon. “I don’t know. I was too young to remember him ever being there, they’re always together anyways, and nopony’ll tell me. But everypony tells me I look like him, and that’s obviously not a good thing, no matter which one it is. I know I don’t want to turn out like him, but… look around. I’m already trying to scam ponies with a machine that runs on my magic, and that’s my first instinct.”

Runs in the family. Right, of course. She went to sit next to him, close enough for their cutie marks to touch. “You’re not running a scam, though. You’re trying hard.”

“How would you know?”

“Well, for one thing: you’re a smart pony, like me. If you really wanted to, you could have cut corners on everything. You could make the fruits smaller, make the portions smaller to make it look more expensive, raise your prices through the roof and make up some story about how special it all is. But you didn’t. You do it all in plain sight, and at full power, so everypony can see how good you are.”

“Full power with a machine and magic, and fancy words to hide it. Same as my dad, just not as refined.”

“So, what, you’re gonna avoid ending up like him by going to Canterlot and being miserable?” she argued. “Just like that? Prep camp here, then boot camp, then Royal Academy? Non-stop wizard of the Royal Guard stuff? Even normal ponies who want to sign up don’t do it when they’re our age.”

“What’s stopping me?” He asked. “Nopony wants me, and I can’t make anyone want me if I can’t figure out what my talent is. I’ve done everything I could think of involving beans, I’ve tried farming and growing trees when that didn’t work. I’ve gone over the list, and it all just feels hollow. I don’t know who I am, or what I’m supposed to be. Why shouldn’t I let my mom decide? Nothing I decide is ever going to be right. At least I can get into Princess Celestia’s school.”

Yeah, and that’s turned out so well for so many ponies. Apple Bloom scooted away a little to look at his cutie mark again, comparing it to hers. That nagging thought she had finally congealed into a properly worded remark. I’ve got a shield for a cutie mark, too, but nopony expects me to be a Royal Guard. Then again, there’s an apple there, too. Technically, you could say my cutie mark is an apple, or a heart, or a shield.

Of course.

“Are you sure your cutie mark is a bean?”

“Of course it is, it’s right there.” He pointed to it. “It’s got a leaf and everything.”

She ran her hoof in a circle gesture at it, then around the coiling vine of the plant. “No, I mean, how do you know your cutie mark is about the plant, and not the stick?”

“Huh?”

“Think about it. You’ve got growth magic, which makes weak plants grow, same as how a bean vine needs a pole to grow around. Maybe you’re overthinking it and your talent really is just that: growth magic. And like I said, there’s unicorn grafters, you know.”

“Don’t you think I know that? I’ve been trying to tell you, I’ve done that, too, but...”

“But what?”

His jaw clenched in anger. “It’s still not good enough.”

“Are you sure? Because you don’t sound sure.”

“Yes, I’m sure I feel bad and hollow about it,” he hissed.

“Okay, but that bad feeling might not be you. That might be your mom talking it into you.”

“How would you know?”

“How would you?” she retorted. “Are you really saying it feels hollow because you think it feels hollow, or because you keep thinking about some pony who tells you it is?”

He closed his eyes again and sighed. “It’s not just some pony, Apple Bloom. It’s my mom, and her friends. And it’s my teachers, and the EEA. It’s even newspapers. Everyone says the same thing: a powerful colt like me should be a wizard in the Royal Guard. Are they all wrong?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.” She gestured with a hoof, as if holding a book in front of him. “Look at how many times our history books have needed changing the past couple of years. I remember having to learn the history of the Crystal Empire two weeks after it came back. We knew more about Crystal ponies than the Crystal ponies did by then.”

“That’s different,” he argued.

“Is it? They were still wrong then, and they can be wrong now. There’s no war going on, String Bean, there’s no draft, there’s no duty except the one you decide to carry. There’s no reason for you to be a Royal Guard if you don’t want to. And take it from a gal with pioneers in her ancestry: you’re probably gonna become a lot stronger as a civilian militia member than a soldier anyway. I mean, heck, with your kinda talent, if you develop that right, you could probably turn any forest or orchard into death trap in case we get invaded. We got Plunder Seeds once and I hear those things mopped the floor with the Royal Guard in Canterlot. You wouldn’t even need to do that much if you can just aim the darn things.”

“Not helping.”

She cleared her throat before she got too carried away. “What I mean to say is, you’ve got better options. Your talent is obviously growth magic, and you’re not gonna get to learn more of that if you go down this path. You know you’d basically be cheating to get into Princess Celestia’s school, and failing every step of the way beyond that. You must have figured out that much by now. Unless you’ve got other magic talents you haven’t shared yet.”

“It’s crossed my mind, sure.” His ears flicked and twitched in an annoyed concession. “I don’t have any special magic besides this. I’m not even that good at lifting yet, to be honest.”

“Thought so. If you’re so dead set on doing something ponies want or what they’ll pay you for, do this.” She gestured to his pots. “I only found out today it’s getting rare, and I’d hate to see it disappear altogether.”

“Says you. You’re only one pony. Try telling that to the two dozen schools for magic in Canterlot. Try telling that to Princess Celestia herself.”

“Well, I…” She tried to think. Nothing came. Her ears drooped, and she had to nod in defeat. “I guess you got me there, I can’t compete with her. I mean, I could try sending a letter, mind you, but point taken. Still, for what it’s worth, you looked like you were having fun when you were showing off your magic to me. You looked happy, genuinely happy, and confident. And I was impressed, honest, but it’s not something I know, so I didn’t realise how much of a bigshot you were.”

“I’m not.”

“Your talent is so rare and so hard to develop as a skill, it’s literally something Princess Celestia uses for an entrance exam, you know that. If you wanna act like I’m some bigshot because of my family, I’m gonna return the favour because of your magic. Just because all anypony sees is a fine result doesn’t mean it’s easy to get at, even if you make it look easy. I’ve seen painters, sculptors, even dancers make their stuff look easy, but it’s not. It takes effort to get that good, and you deserve to be proud of it. You should try it again sometime, without thinking about your mom, about anything. Get even better at it, really make it special. Try to graft something, weave some branches together, make a lemon and lime tree on one stump. Or try whicker, grow a basket on the plant. That’d be really cool to see.”

He snickered at the prospect, and she knew she’d hit home.

Then his body shook, his teeth ground together with a sickening noise, and he snorted. At the back of her mind, Apple Bloom thought he looked like he was fighting some kind of control, like in faerie tales. “Nice try, but you don’t know my mom.” He turned to pick up some of the flyers. “It doesn’t matter what I do. She’s already decided what my talent is, like she decides it for everypony else. Just leave me alone, please. You did what you were supposed to do. I know what I need to do now, and you can’t talk me out of it or argue me out of it or… whatever it is you were planning.”

Apple Bloom stomped a hoof on the ground.

Darn it, how am I supposed to get through to him? I’m so close, if I can just get him to try this magic one more time… but how?

She took a deep breath in and thought.

What would Scootaloo do? No, can’t do that, I left my trebuchet at home. What would Sweetie Belle do? I can’t try sweet-talking him now: he’s already mad at me, and sad. But who wouldn’t be, if his mom’s anything like-

She stopped that train of thought, and smirked to herself.

What would Diamond Tiara do?

“How about a bribe, then?”

He stopped. “I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me. How about a bribe? Your dad’s a scam artist, and your mom’s a politician. If you’ve really got that kinda blood runnin’ through your veins, you know you can’t say no to a little extra pocket money. I’m sure your mom would be proud of you bringing home a good paycheck already.”

He growled. “Maybe. What did you have in mind?”

“Ponyville, Summer Harvest Parade. You bring your juicer, and any little plants you want. You’ve still got a few months to graft together some little trees to sell as souvenirs, or some plants for the tourist ponies to take home. You wouldn’t need to waste seeds if you had some product made in advance.”

His ears flicked up and down in a wavy motion, his curiosity piqued. “I’m listening.”

“Me and my family can get you a good spot for a stand, and some apples to mix in, juice apples with low sugar, just to dilute the stuff, so you wouldn’t need to waste your magic growing oranges for the volume. You’d have to negotiate with my granny about the prices, but you’d be able to show off your talent, your way, and keep any of the profits. She’ll probably shave off a few bits from the prices if you agree to help with the floats for the parade.”

“Sure. And then I can get chewed out about using magic and machines by the whole Apple family this time, no thanks.”

She rolled her eyes. “No one’s gonna chew you out over using magic. My big brother’s dating a Unicorn, actually, so nopony’s gonna dare badmouth you for your magic even if they wanted to. As for your machine, if I could make one tiny little suggestion?”

He groaned. “I knew it. What?”

“Put up a drive-wheel on the side so you can power it by galloping. That way, you can sell it to an Earth pony, too, broaden your market.”

He looked to the contraption next to him.

“I mean, if you are gonna join the Royal Guard anyway, you’ll want to sell this machine eventually, too, right? Even if you don’t, more bits is always a good thing. Plus, it’ll give other ponies a chance to take off some pressure.” She reached up to rub his forehead. “You don’t want to burn your horn out, String Bean. It’d be a shame to waste.”

String Bean blushed when he was touched, but grumbled once it stopped. “This isn’t really a bribe, is it? It’s just a trick to get me to graft more stuff.”

She flashed him a sheepish smile. “Depends. Is it working?”

He huffed and pouted, but eventually he relented. “I guess I might possibly, maybe… agree to those terms, and I may potentially have an idea of two.”

“I’ll sweeten the deal some more for ya: books. Princess Twilight’s got a personal library, and one in her school. She has material straight from Celestia, old stuff, maybe even a few books about what you wanna do. You know, from back when it wasn’t that rare. I know a pony who can make copies for ya.”

“That would be nice. I’ve never had the chance to look into that kind of thing.” He mulled it over, eyes firmly pointed at the ground until his thoughts hit a snag. “But what do I tell my mom?”

“Tell her the truth: you need more time to think.”

“That’s not gonna be good enough. She can send me to prep camp even if I don’t want to go.”

“Oh, right. How about you tell her you’ll be trying to make some connections?” Apple Bloom suggested.

He glared at her. “She’s in the EEA. They’re not exactly chummy with Princess Twilight.”

It didn’t take Apple Bloom long to think of the next best thing. “But they respect the Wonderbolts, don’t they? There’s two in Ponyville.”

The colt raised an eyebrow at that. “You can hook me up with two Wonderbolts?”

“Probably not.” She grinned. “But you can tell her I can, and I’ve got enough clout to make her think I can. Or you can claim to be looking into old battle strategy books to get the upper hoof on any future competitors at the academy. Think she’d fall for a line like that?”

“Knowing my mom? Hook, line, and sinker.”

“That’s that, then.” She raised a hoof towards him. “What do you say? Do we have a deal?”

He sighed and reached up to shake her hoof. “Deal. And I’ll give you my address so you can stay in touch in case anything changes, I’ll send a letter to Princess Twilight if anything changes on my end. But this isn’t over yet.” He jotted down some notes on a piece of paper and gave it to Apple Bloom.

She made sure she read the note carefully and committed it to memory before slipping it into her bow, just in case. “Good thinking. And I know, you’ve still got a lot on your plate. But I look forward to seeing you do what you wanna do anyway, and I’m sure my friends will love to see you in action, too.”

---

Apple Bloom trotted over to Grand Pear just as he was talking a Bat pony. A Bat pony who was mostly a very dark brown, except for his right hind hoof, which appeared to be a bright silver grey.

“I think I fixed it,” she said. “Not right away, but I know how to get it right for next time. And I told him he might find some books on grafting in Princess Twilight’s library in the meantime. Probably gonna wanna make some reservations when I get back, in case Twilight decides to reorganise again. It’s been two weeks already, after all, she’s way overdue.”

Grand Pear chuckled. “Good thinking, Apple Bloom. Bribing the boy into sticking with his talent, that’s exactly the kind of shenanigans your mother used to pull. Your grandmother, too, although she would have waited for Poppy to show up and make a public scene of it.” He shuddered. “Poor governor never stood a chance.”

“Heheh. Wait, you heard all that?” She looked back as they started on their way. Grand Pear and his friend must have been standing at least twenty paces away.

“No, I didn’t. But you’d be surprised what you learn when you have friends with big, pointy ears.”

The Bat pony. Of course.

“You must be Mister Sock,” she said to his bat-winged companion. “Another one of my grandpa’s friends?”

“I see logical thinking runs in the family… to some extent,” he replied. His voice had an odd ring to it, more mechanical, somehow, not a lot of emotion but very calm and calculated, even in only a hoofful of words, yet strangely warm on top of it.

“Well, if I ever find a Bat pony with a cutie mark problem, I’ll have to remember that eavesdropping thing. So, umm, about that other question?”

“Shall I leave you two?” Silver Sock asked.

Grand Pear shook his head. “No, Sock, you don’t need to leave, I’m not gonna say anything you haven’t heard already. What exactly did you hear, Apple Bloom?”

“Umm, Miss Poppyhock mentioned your heart, and the lady at the Quartz Quince stand said something about your ticker winding down?”

Mister Sock grumbled. “That is nothing to worry about, little one. Ponies of their ilk let their emotions get the better of themselves. The facts are much less dramatic.”

Grand Pear nodded. “He’s right. It’s not winding down, Apple Bloom. I had a little fright when I was here last year. My own fault, too. Got a little too excited, let some ponies get under my skin over some silly words. I got a little faint, and I had to sit down and take it easy for a while. That’s all.”

“As I have warned you on several occasions, Grand Pear,” Silver Sock chided with all the emotion of a block of obsidian. “You never did take up my offer for that spa visit.”

“Pardon me if my first idea to calm a heart is not to go bathing near a volcano.”

Apple Bloom stifled a pout. “So, you’re not...”

“I’m not laying my head down for a good long while, youngin’. The doctors say I’m fine, and again, I have friends with good ears.” Grand Pear tapped his chest. “If this thing starts missing beats, they’ll know before I do. It was a fright, nothing more. But it did bring a few things into perspective.”

“Your grandfather has many virtues, Apple Bloom,” Sock said. “However, his irrational pride is a mixed blessing at best. He wanted you to see some of the world around him. Given the obvious influence of your maternal line, he felt the experience would be more efficiently spent on you rather than your siblings.”

While it sounded Equestrian, Apple Bloom didn’t quite catch the Bat pony’s meaning. “Huh?”

“You wanted to know why I brought you here,” Grand Pear started. “Well, here’s the long story: I wanted you to get to know the ponies around me, so you’d have an idea of how big the world really is, and what kind of ponies, and other interesting creatures, are in it. And I wanted to see how you’d behave somewhere new. Us Pears, you see, we’re not pioneers, exactly, we have more of an explorer’s blood. Apples were always looking to set up shop, to settle down and make a new home. The Pears travelled more, traded more. We’d have our homebase to fall back on, but wanderlust creeps up on us every now and then. That need to go where you’ve not gone before, that can be a dangerous thing, almost as dangerous as pride.”

She looked away, embarrassed. “Right. And I’ve got more of a Pear in me than an Apple. Guess today kinda proves that, huh? How’d I do?”

“You have a boldness in your gait and curiosity in your eyes,” Grand Pear said, ruffling her mane. “Which is more than I’d ever hoped for. And I’d love to see it some more.”

She walked closer to him, to rub her head against his neck. “Well, good, because the feelin’s mutual. Next time you’re in Ponyville, I’ll introduce you to my friends. There’s a Unicorn fashion expert, a Pegasus athlete, and I’ve got tonnes of connections, lots of interesting ponies I helped out with their cutie mark problems. Oh, that reminds me: you know I’ve got my own little enterprise going with my friends, solving cutie mark problems, right? You’ve got to see it sometime.”

Grand Pear laughed. “I had heard, but I wasn’t aware it was, err, an enterprise. But it sounds delightful, nothing makes me smile quite like seeing a good, working enterprise. I’ll be sure to pop by.”

“Are you not omitting something, Captain Cork?” Sock asked. “The other reason you brought your granddaughter along?”

“Again with the Cork thing. Where’d that come from?” Apple Bloom nudged her grandfather playfully.

Grand Pear rolled his eyes. “From some boat rides around here, like I told you, and some very unfortunate happenstances involving Parasprites and a tornado. But what are you on about, Sock? I’ve already explained myself.”

“Hrm. A simple practical matter you’ve neglected to tell her, and frankly I find it scandalous that you’d keep her from knowing.”

Apple Bloom froze. “Grandpa, what’s he talking about?”

“You’re getting old, Grand Pear, and yet you’ve made stops all over, I heard.”

“Oh, right.” Grand Pear cricked his neck. “All those orders.”

“Noblesse oblige,” Sock said. “I am quite comfortable in my status: I have sired enough pack mules. You, however...”

Apple Bloom caught the hint. “Right. Don’t worry, I’ve got a strong back from both sides of the family, I’ll help you carry all the bags. Including all the ones I saddled ya with behind your back. You don’t mind if I put a little ginger ale on your tab, do ya?”

The old stallion let out a hearty laugh and pulled her closer for a quick hug, not even breaking his pace. “That’s my girl.”

The End.

Author's Note:

So, the 'bribe' thing was conceived quite early in the outlining stages, because I wanted Apple Bloom specifically to start considering Diamond Tiara as a source of inspiration. Seemed funny at the time.

I don't know when this story turned into a Star Trek reference fest, but it was around the editing stage, for sure.

Originally this story ended with Applejack visiting the boy's mother after the confrontation between him and Apple Bloom. AJ would have had the big talk, and the realisation that her sister was only copying some of the behaviour between AJ and Rainbow Dash.

But the colt's mother was, as I've said earlier, a lot more malicious and kind of a boy-hater in that version, and she'd already shipped him off to Canterlot, something she brags about to a shocked Applejack. Not quite as openly as Straight Lace, but definitely high on the harpy chart.

That version ended with Apple Bloom writing a letter of apology, and begging the colt to please reconsider. Open downer ending.

Then more Seasons happened, new ideas were given a chance, and it turned into this. A salvaged story, it gave me some reminders of technical faults I try to avoid in other stories (there's one major fault in this story in general, see if you can find it). Maybe a little too close to my CMC/Starlight story, but it stands on its own slightly more thanks to Grand Pear and the farmers. It's still my way of trying episode-style, but without a B-plot, which has its perks and faults, I'm finding.

Comments

[Winter Quill]

Having her make the jump to thinking like Diamond Tiara was a great idea. Not only does it provide an unexpected answer to her problems, it also shows she gotten to know Diamond better, to see her past the scheming bully she used to be.

On the whole, this was a really enjoyable story. Good character pieces, and world building. Apple Bloom had a strong character arc, and the ending is hopeful. Good job all around.

[Wise Cracker]

9697315
Glad you enjoyed it It was fun to write, especially some of the outright comedy bits.

[Dxinsider]

Wait a minute. That can't be it? What about him coming to Ponyville and selling his stuff? Does it work out for him? Come on it can't be over.

[Wise Cracker]

9697378
Aww, geez, not again . Okay, if I get a good idea and some time for it, maybe I'll add an extra chapter or do a sequel. But you have to understand, I aim for episode style, and episodes often end just with setting something up. I'll need to think up a good scenario first if I'm going to expand on this.

Maybe a crossover with the pair from Stub and Snub, toss Starlight Glimmer in there and/or Discord to make more Star Trek references with Grand Pear. Has anyone done that yet? I feel like someone should have done that by now

Anyway, glad you enjoyed! Going to be taking a small break from pony fic for a while, see blogs for more info.

[redfox45]

it took me a bit but i saw the star trek refence. good story

[new55]

That was a good story.

[edgeman]

I really like how smart Apple Bloom is. Like, not just intellectually but also emotionally. So many stories have the characters act stupid to further the plot, but this one has everyone behave intelligently.