The Book of AppleDash

by Twinsez

Chapter 7- Ice Cream

Make Applejack Come Out

Have Applejack Get Rainbow Dash a Stetson

Tell Twilight Sparkle To Visit Sweet Apple Acres to give Apple Bloom Friendship Advice

Throw An Apple At Rainbow Dash During the Nightmare Night Party at Sugarcube Corner. Must Be When Walking Towards Applejack, Make Sure You Are Not Seen.

---

“Can we trust Apple Bloom to do it? I mean, she did give up on this whole book thing a week ago.”

“Scootaloo, she said she’ll give it a shot. So stop complaining about her.”

“Okay, well I also still think we should focus on the length of this step. It’s never been this direct before. Do you think we’re leveling up now?”

“Leveling up? Seriously? Who says that?”

“I mean, do you think things are going to get harder and more difficult? Maybe the closer Applejack and Rainbow Dash get together, the harder it is to keep them that way.”

“Maybe, but we just started this whole thing. I don’t think there’s a difficulty spike just yet. Apple Bloom, didn’t you say Applejack and Rainbow Dash are getting a lot closer?”

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked across the diners' booth to Apple Bloom. More specifically, a sleeping Apple Bloom.

Scootaloo searched around the table, looking for something to wake Apple Bloom up. Finding a container of sugar packets in the middle, Scootaloo grabbed a hoof full of them and flung them at the sleeping filly. Some found their mark on Apple Bloom's head, while others bounced harmlessly on the chair or the floor.

That seemed to do the trick. Apple Bloom slowly raised her head up, rubbing at her eyes. “Huh? Wha? Is it mornin already?” When she finally returned to most of her senses and realized it was not, in fact, morning, she began to look around at her surroundings. They were at a table in Sugarcube Corner, which was at its usual full capacity. Apple Bloom remembered they came here for some after-school shakes. She must have fallen asleep because of… something. Hopefully nothing important.

“Ah-ah’m sorry, ah must have dozed off. What were y'all talking about?”

“We were talking about the book,” Sweetie Belle replied. “Didn’t you say Applejack and Rainbow Dash were getting a lot closer?”

Apple Bloom groaned. “Y’all gotta be kiddin’ me! No wonder ah fell asleep. Ah don wanna hear this nonsense!”

“Then why did you agree to help us with the book again?” Scootaloo asked somewhat confrontationally.

“Ah’m fine with this doin this whole thang again, but that’s all you girls are talkin about! What about recess the other day?”

---

“Rainbow told me she was going to Canterlot on Nightmare Night, so I don’t know how she could be at Sugarcube Corner.”

“I don’t know Scoots. The book seems like it knows what it’s doing.”

“Hmm, I wonder…”

“Wonder what?”

“Huh?”

“What were you just wondering about?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Sweetie.”

“Are you serious? You just said ‘I wonder' and then looked at the sky for a couple of seconds! Do you not remember that?”

“...I don’t know what you think you’re gaining from lying like this, but you could stop now.”

“So you’re accusing me of lying?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, wow. I’m trying really hard to remain calm here. Apple Bloom, what do you have to say about all this?”

“Aww, cmon! Can’t y’all leave me out of this? Just let me enjoy my swing in peace. Besides, everypony's starin at us, and ah don’t want to get in tr-“

“Scootaloo, just admit you forgot what you were thinking about.”

“But I wasn’t thinking about anything, you stupid… silly… graham cracker!”

“...what?”

“Sorry. When I get mad, I yell at ponies the first insult that comes to my head. So, uh… you bitch!”

“Oh wow, I’m wounded!”

“Uh, girls? Ah think Miss Cheerilee’s lookin at us. She looks mighty upset.”

“Okay fine. If I said it, then show me the evidence.”

“Well, I don’t have any evidence, bu-“

“Ha! So that means I never said anything! I win!”

“That’s not. How it. WOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRKKKKKK-“

---

Apple Bloom shuddered. “We all got in trouble because of that, even me! Ah wasn’t even doin anything! So now you know why… that, uh… girls?”

“I swear, if this is going to be as difficult as convincing Twilight to go to the farm, I’m going to punch something.”

“Yeah, and if Apple Bloom messes up, then I’m-“

“THAT’S IT!” Apple Bloom yelled, throwing her hooves up in exasperation. “Ah’m done with this talk. ah’m leavin. See you girls later!”

Scootaloo waved a limp hoof in Apple Bloom's general direction. She didn’t even take her eyes off of Sweetie Belle. “Yeah, okay. Bye. So anyway, I’m starting to wonder how long it will be until this is finished. Are we going to be using up the whole book or…?”

Apple Bloom grumbled and pushed herself out of her chair, only to find everypony in Sugarcube Corner staring at her with confused expressions. Mrs. Cake was glaring at the filly, and Mr. Cake was doing his best to act like there was nothing awkward going on. He wasn’t doing a very good job.

Normally, Apple Bloom would be red with embarrassment in a situation like this, but her anger from the table hadn’t quite run out yet.

“Don’t y’all look at me like that. Haven't you heard of an argument?”

Nopony said nothing, and Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “Okay, ah’ll leave. Ah didn’t even get to finish my shake, so how do you think I feel?”

With that, Apple Bloom stormed out of Sugarcube Corner.

---

Slam

“Another one.”

The cream-colored mare behind the bar stared at Apple Bloom with concern. “Hey, c'mon kid. You’ve already had two fudge sundaes, I think you’ve had enough.”

Apple Bloom slammed her empty sundae glass against the bar table again, looking at the mare with tired yet angry eyes. “Hey now, you’re supposed to be getting me ice cream, not ask me questions.” The filly pushed a couple of bits across the bar.

The mare took the bits and Apple Bloom's empty sundae glass with a roll of her eyes before making Apple Bloom's third sundae of the day.

‘Milk and Cream Ice Cream Bar’ was a nice alternative to Sugarcube Corner. The ice cream was phenomenal, and it never got nearly as crowded as Sugarcube Corner. Apple Bloom liked to sit right up close to the counter so she could see all the Ice Cream up close. And in this case, she could order the mare behind the counter to give her more ice cream easier.

Apple Bloom's stomach gurgled, and she winced. Okay, maybe she did have too much ice cream. But she still didn’t want to stop. She didn’t get to finish her shake, so this was what she had to do. She slumped her head into her arms on the bar and tried her best not to fall asleep while waiting for her sundae. She didn’t even look up when she heard the clank of glass on the bar. She’d get to it once her stomach stopped hurting so bad.

“Bad day, huh?”

The voice came from Apple Bloom's right, and it bore a familiarity to it, though in her state, Apple Bloom couldn’t settle it on exactly who it was. In fact, it took a solid couple of seconds before she realized the voice was addressing her.

“Yeah, ah guess you could say that,” Apple Bloom muttered, struggling to lift her head up.

“Heh, I hate to say my day hasn’t been so great either.”

“Oh?”

The voice sighed. “I’m trying to talk to a friend, but she just won’t listen. I just… have no idea what to do anymore.”

With her head fully raised, Apple Bloom blinked a couple of times to clear her vision. She didn’t really feel her stomach ache anymore. “Yeah, ah guess you could say ah’ve been in somethin similar.”

“You have?”

“Yeah, ah guess ah have. Me and mah friends have been doin somethin for a while now, and ah’m startin to think of quitting.”

“Huh, quitting is probably a little brash, isn’t it?”

Apple Bloom shrugged. “Ah mean, ah guess it kinda is, but everythin has just been so frustratin recently. Like, Scootaloo just isn’t taking anything seriously, and then Sweetie Belle acts like she’s been serious, but she’s actin just as stupid as Scootaloo.

“An there’s nothing to be stupid about. We’re-“ Apple Bloom suddenly faked a cough, realizing she almost gave out way too much information. “Uh, we’re… helpin out mah sister with somethin personal.”

Apple Bloom wondered if mentioning Applejack was a good idea, but she decided it was probably harmless. As long as she didn’t mention the book, she’d probably be fine.

“Ah actually quit a while ago, and ah was pretty sure ah wasn’t goin to come back.”

“Well, what made you change your mind?”

“...ah realized somethin about mah sister. Ah was always mad at her stubbornness, but ah realized that it’s so much more… ah don’t know, complex then I thought it would be. There’s so much more to mah sis than ah ever thought there was, and ah guess ah just… wanted to help her with it.

“...ah mean, this is mah sis we’re talkin about!” Apple Bloom said, her temper suddenly rising. “This ain’t some experiment, this is a pony’s emotions! This is goin to be like Hearts and Hooves Day all over again, an ah don’t want to be a part of it again.”

“Sounds like you’ve been thinking about this for a while now.”

Apple Bloom sighed, her temper now lowering. “Yeah, ah guess. There’s jus been so many crazy happenings in mah life in such a short amount of time, ah jus don’t know how to deal with any of this. Ah’m even startin to question mahself now.”
Apple Bloom slumped her head back on the bar, her ears drooped.

The voice took a while to respond, so much so that Apple Bloom wondered if the voice just left and she didn’t know it. Then, finally, it answered, it’s voice l like a therapist comforting a distraught patient.

“Apple Bloom, I understand what you’re going through. Ever since I first ditched Diamond, I had no idea what to even do. There were just so many changes, so many things to do. How to make new friendships, what to do with my parents, just so many things. I was scared for a while, but then I realized something.”

Apple Bloom's ears perked up just a bit. “What was it?”

“I realized there was no point in fearing things that I couldn’t solve right away. This is a world full of exceptions, and I don’t think there’s one way to do anything. There’s always answers, Apple Bloom, but if we spend so long asking questions, we’ll never find them.

Apple Bloom raised her head up, replaying the voice's words in her mind. “Ah’m… still not entirely sure what you’re sayin.”

The voice sighed. “Just do something. Talk to your friends, confront your feelings, just do something that actually helps. I’m certain that everything will make sense for you in the end. It mostly did for me, and I’m happier than I’ve been for a long time. You just have to do something.”

Apple Bloom smiled, and she finally understood. You know what? Maybe she was gay! And Sweetie and Scoots had no idea about Penny, so no wonder they weren’t taking this seriously. Sitting here in her misery wasn’t going to do anything.

Apple Bloom turned her head towards the voice next to her. “Y’know, ah think that’s some goo-“

And then her jaw dropped.

“WHA- SILVER SPOON!”

The silver filly raised an eyebrow. “Wait, did you just realize who I was?”

“YES!”

“I mentioned Diamond Tiara in my whole monologue! How did you not catch that?”

“Ah was just tryin to understand the overall theme of the story, I wasn’t focusing on individual names! And since when did you get all philosophical like that?”

Now Silver Spoon looked offended. “Hey, I’ve always enjoyed monologuing about the inner workings of life! You’ve only heard my insults before.”

Apple Bloom was about to yell about something else before she suddenly realized that they were both in a public place. Blushing with embarrassment, Apple Bloom looked over Silver Spoons body for what she thought would be ponies glaring daggers at the two. Instead, to her surprise, nopony seemed to care, not even the bartender, who was too busy at the cash register.

“Huh,” Apple Bloom muttered as she looked at Silver Spoon again. This place must hear this type of stuff often.

“So,” Apple Bloom continued, taking careful attention to speak much more quietly than before, “you mentioned somethin about having trouble with a friend. Ah’m guessin that's Diamond Tiara?”

Silver Spoon's eyes widened at the mention of Diamond Tiara, and she hung her head. “Yeah,” she mumbled sadly.

Apple Bloom decided to press on. “You just told me there was no point in quittin when you haven’t don anythin about it. Now, how’s your situation different?”

“I can’t tell you how many times I talked to her, but she just won’t listen to me! She’s too infatuated with that Gold Case.”
Silver Spoon spat out that name like it was venom.

“Gold Case? Her girlfriend?”

Silver Spoon sneered. “Oh, she’s a total bitch! She just forces DT to do everything for her, and Diamond’s too infatuated with her that she doesn’t see how much of a bitch she really is.”

Huh, nopony was telling them to shut it yet. Apple Bloom was beginning to like this place more and more.

Silver Spoon still wasn’t done with her rant. She was now shaking her hooves with anger, and her glasses were sliding down her muzzle. “She doesn’t even talk about Buckball anymore, not even with me!”

Apple Bloom tilted her head. “Uh, Buckball?”

“Yeah, Buckball! The thing she won’t shut up about? You hung out with her for a while, she must have mentioned it to you, right?”

Apple Bloom shook her head, and somehow that was all it took to get rid of Silver Spoon's anger, and she dropped her arms and head on the bar in front of her. “Wow, I didn’t realize it was this bad with her.

“I’ve tried all I can to help DT, but I have nothing left to do. Maybe the answer to this is to let this whole thing die.”

Apple Bloom didn’t know exactly what was going on with Diamond Tiara, but she knew what to do with Silver Spoon: be a friend.

Apple Bloom gently tapped the sulking filly’s shoulders. “Hey, it’ll be fine. Ah’m sure there’s another option or whatever,” she said. “Say, ah got some leftover bits, how about ah buy you an Ice Cream?”

Silver Spoon slowly looked up at Apple Bloom, the barest of smiles on her face. “Y-yeah. I-I’d like that.”

Apple Bloom couldn’t help but grin as she loudly tapped the bar. The cream-colored mare walked towards the two fillies, wearing her own smile.

“One ice cream please!” Apple Bloom said cheerfully.

The waitress gestured towards the forgotten sundae in front of Apple Bloom, partially melted. “You gon eat that?”

Apple Bloom's stomach ache returned with a vengeance, making her body pay for its frosty transgressions. She winced and waved the waitress off.

“Ah… think ah’m good.”

Comments

[Mittens of flabbergast]

10738136
It's rude to show up on a persons story just to talk about a completely different book. You should be ashamed.

[Mittens of flabbergast]

Ah, I'm all caught up now. XD
I kept putting this fan fic down but then I kept needing to pick it back up again. I hope it updates soon. I mean, no rush or anything. I just really liked it.

[Myrkin]

Apple Bloom muttered as she looked at Diamond Tiara again.

Isnt that supposed to be Silver Spoon?

Anyway, I'm loving the story so far. I will be following it with great interest. 🙂

[Sheendough]

It's been almost a year and I hunger for my AppleDash.