The Book of AppleDash

by Twinsez

Chapter 2- The Dinner

“Uh, sis? Can ah ask you a question?”

Applejack looked up from her early dinner of leftover apple soup and across the table to Apple Bloom. She smiled, “What kind of question is that? Of course, you can ask me a question, we’re sisters! You don’t need to ask!”

Instead of asking the intended question, Apple Bloom fixed her gaze on the floor, tapping her hooves diligently together. “Uh, what if it’s kinda personal?”

This got Big Mac’s attention as he now looked up from the other end of his table and stared at Apple Bloom with newfound curiosity. Granny Smith still remained oblivious to all surroundings, choosing instead to take small sips of her soup.

Applejack's smile didn’t waver. She leaned across the table and layed a gentle hoof on Apple Bloom’s slumping shoulders. “C’mon sugarcube! We’ve lived together for fourteen years now! Ain’t nothing going to be too personal to ask me!” Apple Bloom looked up from her gaze on the floor, staring at Applejack with wide eyes.

“Are you sure sis?”

Applejack’s smile somehow managed to widen even further. “Ah’m sure!” Applejack leaned back into her chair and lifted a mug of cider. “Now, run that question by me.”

Big Mac was leaning on the edge of his seat, hanging on to every word between his two sisters. He had to know what was on his little sis’s mind! Granny Smith still paid no attention to her grandchildren’s intensity.

Apple Bloom shakily exhaled. Well, here goes nothing. All at once, Apple Bloom slammed her tiny hooves on the table, hoisted herself up a couple of inches, and loudly asked “Applejack, do you need to come out!?”

“PBBBBFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!”

“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH!”

“Ah come on sis!” Apple Bloom complained as she wiped away the apple juice dripping from her face. “I didn’t expect a reaction like that. An’ Big Mac! What’s so funny?” The red stallion was hanging on the wooden table for dear life, his laughing fit threatening to cause him to crash on the floor below. He rarley ever lost control of his emotions so violently, especially when it came to humor. Quite frankly, it terrified both Apple sisters. Granny Smith looked up from her soup to her grandchildren, watching the chaos unfold as a silent observer.

“Ah- ah’m sor-sorry, hehe,” MacIntosh stammered out trying, and failing miserably, at keeping his laughter in check. Finally, the red stallion managed to compose himself to a certain degree of calm, letting loose shaky breath after shaky breath. Meanwhile, Applejack was coughing madly from her sudden spit-take. She finally managed to turn to Apple Bloom and asked a simple question: “What in the hay do you mean ‘I didn’t expect a reaction like that?’ You can’t just ask that type of question willy-nilly to anypony!”

Apple Bloom felt herself getting defensive. “C’mon sis! Ah get you don’t like anypony messin’ around in your personal business, but you comin’ out has been a long time comin’.”

“A long time com-” Applejack face hoofed. Another burst of giggles arose from Mac’s side of the table but was silenced quickly with a glare from his little sis. Applejack then turned to Granny Smith, who still maintained her stance as a silent observer. In fact, she looked as if she would return to her now cool soup any minute.

Applejack turned her glare back at her little sister. “Apple Bloom, now you listen here young filly. You know I ain’t comfortable with talkin’ about my personal life. If I had anything to say, then ah’ll say it on my own darn time. But you listen here Apple Bloom, I ain’t-”

Applejack’s explanation was cut short with Apple Bloom’s own hurried retort. “Y’know sis, I find it kinda ironic I’m more comfortable with my own personal life than you.”

Applejack cocked a curious eyebrow. “Oh yeah? An’ whatever do you mean by that?”

“That ah’m comin’ out before you!”

WHAT!?” the older siblings yelled in unison. Big Mac, who after his brief giggling fit, was now stuck in the middle between anger and confusion, glaring at Apple Bloom with big green eyes. Meanwhile, Granny Smith finally did something different than staring. She leaned back into her rocking chair, which she always brought to the dinner table, and watched Apple Bloom, and only Apple Bloom, with a sense of curiosity.

“Apple Bloom, what in the hay would make you say such things? You can’t actually be serious?” The orange earth pony struggled to keep her sudden anger from leaking into her words.

Most fillies would have caved in by now. They would have apologized and promised they would refrain from asking such stupid topics ever again. However, Apple Bloom was not like most fillies. She had a question to ask and darn it she would get answers.

“Applejack, ah’ve been thinking about this for a while, and I’m sure as sure can be that I’m ready to get into the dating game. Ah’m fourteen years old! Not only that but ah’ve got a cutie mark now! You’re older than me by several years now, an’ I’m more in touch with my romantic life than you are. It’s time to confess now Applejack, and ah’m not going to take no for an answer!”

Shock. That was probably the best way to describe the Apple siblings, especially the mare in question. Applejack’s mouth was hanging wide open, only able to stutter the beginnings of some sort of retort. A ruby red blush began to blossom quickly away from her orange muzzle across her face. Big Mac had his face planted on the dinner table, threatening to send it crashing on his forgotten soup bowl at any moment.

Even Apple Bloom herself was in shock. She fell back into the chair in a daze, not even feeling her flank hit the seat. She began wondering if she took it too far. She lost herself in her outburst, and she didn’t even feel like it was her who actually said any of it. Besides, the book could still be a load of hooey for all she knew, and she was still acting all wild with it. Not only that, but that word, “coming out”, seemed to pack a lot more emotional bite than Apple Bloom thought it would. Sure, she expected Applejack to get a little embarrassed, but Applejack was as red as her namesake right now. Apple Bloom wondered if she should apologize, and hope to Celestia this wouldn’t put a permanent dent in their sisterly relationship.

The awkward atmosphere finally ended by none other than Granny Smith, who couldn’t keep herself from chuckling as she rocked. “Well, ah havta say ah sure wasn’t prepared for that. But it was neva’ mah business what Apples did in their free time. If’n you’re sure about this Apple Bloom, I guess it’s aright with me. I take it it’s alright with everypony else around this here table?”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac apologized, a kindly smile on his face as he slowly lifted his muzzle from the tabletop. He then, like every other pony around the table, turned to look at Applejack for a similar answer. The orange pony seemed unaware of her sudden placement in the spotlight, instead preferring to watch herself twist her hooves together and mumble something incoherent.

“Applejack? Your answer?” Granny Smith croaked. She tapped her hooves impatiently against the table, waiting for Applejack to answer. Finally, after a couple more tense seconds, Applejack looked up, noticeably pale and sweaty.

“Uh actually I have somethin’ I need to get off mah chest, an’ I think if I don’t say it now, I may never give myself this chance again.”

Despite herself, Apple Bloom couldn’t help but smile victoriously. ‘It worked! See, why did ah ever doubt mahself? Ah jus’ convinced mah sister to come out. Ah better check on that book after dinner then, see if anythin’ changed.

Granny Smith raised an eyebrow at the sweaty Applejack, before giving her a nod for her to start talking. Mug Mac was leaning on the edge of his chair, desperately waiting to hear his sister's new secret.

Applejack sighed before nervously laying her hooves down on the table, and spoke. “Ah’ve known about this since I was maybe Apple Bloom's age, an’ I’ve been keepin it to myself for around a decade now. Ah was gonna tell y'all eventually, and under less… hostile conditions, but ah think if I don’t spill it out now, it’s going to be a long while before I bring up the courage to confess again. Ah’m… ah'm gay.”

‘Yes! Yes! Ah did it! She came out! She came… wait. What did she say now?’ Apple Bloom’s smile vanished and was replaced with a frown of confusion. “Uh, Applejack? Why did you-” She was cut off with a venomous glare from Granny, and the filly collapsed back into the chair. Her mind was racing a mile a minute, trying to find the mistake she made.

Apple Bloom’s frantic inner thoughts were cut off as Applejack began to speak once again with a shaky breath. “Y’know, ah always thought that when ah eventually came out, I would have a lot of things to tell y'all about it. Now ah’ve finally done it, an’ honestly? Ah can’t think of anything to say! Ah just…

“... it’s just that ah’ve kept from telling everyone for so long now because ah was afraid of what y'all would say. Now I know how supportive you seem to be of this now, but back then… ah was scared of how you react. Even then ah kinda’ knew ya’ll would be fine with it, but there was this... doubt ah still had. Kinda like mah own lie ah’ guess, just this irrational fear yall would hate me if ah told ya’ll ah was a fillyfooler.”

After several seconds of silence, Apple Bloom decided now was a good time to dispel this confusion about her being a fillyfooler. She lifted her gaze from the floor to across the dinner table and was shocked to find big green, tear-stained eyes staring at her. Applejack bore a small smile and when she spoke, it was with a grateful tone, as if somepony had just lifted a great burden from her mind.

“Apple Bloom, ah can’t thank you enough for tonight. Even if you kind of put me on edge with your yellin’ and all, the end result certainly helped me out a ton. Mentally, maybe even physically. An’ hey, ah just want to let you know ah’ve got your flank here little sis. Now you're young, so still keep your options open, but ah’m proud you were able to come out at such an earlier age than me. You’re a bigger pony than ah ever was in that regard” Applejack then reached across the table and gently ruffled Apple Bloom’s hair, straightened her bow, and fell back into her chair without a sound

Apple Bloom kept her mouth shut based on basic principles. She finally understood the mistake she made, an’ some stupid pegasus was going to sure get it tomorrow. However, now was not the time to correct it. Applejack needed familial support right now, and she decided telling everypony she wasn’t actually gay wouldn’t help in any way for Applejack. Still, it nearly broke the filly’s heart that her sister’s newfound trust in her was built on a misunderstanding of words. A lie.

Applejack blinked her eyes several times in surprise. “Heh heh, guess ah said a lot about it after all.”

Big Mac chuckled on Applejack’s left side. “Heh, ah guess you did sis.”

“Don’ worry about it none Applejack. Jus’ like lil Apple Bloom over yonder, we’re all fine with it. Apples are meant to support each other, after all.’ Granny Smith grinned wildly, and Applejack couldn’t help but feel a sudden rush of calm wash over her. The apple fell off the tree, and her family was okay with it, even supportive. Even Apple Bloom and she now had something new in common, something they could both relate to. Sure, Apple Bloom was still young, and this could be just experimentation, but it wasn’t right to dwell on such matters now. What mattered was that now, after ten years, Applejack was finally comfortable with her sexuality. There were just some other ponies that needed to know.

Applejack wiped the flow of tears from her eyes, and trotted over to the opposite side towards the front exit, lifting her hat from the metal coat rack.

“Where you goin’ sis?” MacIntosh called from the other room.

“It’s still early evening out,” Applejack called back. “I reckon I can get to all mah friends' houses before it gets too dark, an’ make some arrangements for brunch at SugarCube Corner tomorrow mornin’. To tell them about this whole thing. About damn time ah did so.” With one final glance and smile at the dinner table, Applejack finally made her leave.

Big Mac left the table soon after, giving some excuse about closing the barn for the night. Maybe he just needed some to think about dinner. Apple Bloom then helped Granny Smith to her favorite napping chair in the small but cozy living room.

“Now you be a doll dearie and head to bed right after you're done tucking me in, you hear? It’s been a long day for everyon’”.

“Yes Granny,” Apple Bloom replied obediently. After making sure the blanket was firmly wrapped around Granny, Apple Bloom wasted no time dragging herself up the oak stairs and sliding under her covers. Even when comparing it to harvest season, Apple Bloom swore her bed never felt more comfortable than that night. In the midst of her current mood, the little filly forgot all about the book in her nightstand next to her bed. The next morning, drowsiness would give way to excitement as she would fling open the nightstand for the notebook, hoping for proof that the book was the real deal. For now, Apple Bloom would give herself to sleep, hoping that tomorrow, things would make so much more sense than they did now.

Comments

[rockpigeon]

I made an account just to make this comment. This story made me laugh out loud, not unlike Big Mac here! Love it, these predicaments are a riot. The premise is unique, too.

[Mittens of flabbergast]

Awe, that was sweet. And hilarious xD