Apple Bloom paced her room impatiently, while Granny Smith and Applejack cooked supper downstairs. Her mind raced with a million different thoughts and feelings, some in direct conflict with others:

Will Whiteshadow mind that I live on a farm?...

Should I clean my room...or if I do, will it seem obvious that I did it just for the visit?...

Should I have asked what she liked to eat?...Oh golly, what if she doesn't like apples...or is allergic to 'em?...

Should I wear a dress?...no, of course not! But maybe it would be the proper thing to do...

What if she just said yes to be nice, and she's not really going to come?...Horsefeathers, what time is it? Is she late?

Apple Bloom stopped pacing and looked at herself in the mirror. "What's the matter with ya?" she asked of her reflection, "This ain't no different than when Scootaloo or Sweetie Belle comes over for supper!"

The truth, though, is that it felt different to Apple Bloom. There was no denying that she never got pains in her belly when Scootaloo came to Sweet Apple Acres for supper; she never got hot in the cheeks when she invited Sweetie Belle over to play. As much as she tried to pass it off to getting the flu, or being nervous about starting school again, there was no doubt in Apple Bloom's mind that these new feelings and thoughts seemed directly related to the new filly in her class. The more days passed, the more she seemed to think about her: those little half-smiles, those doodles that she drew in class, those Super-pony comics that she read...those blue eyes...

She stared at herself in the mirror again and whined aloud, "I don't even know the colour of Sweetie Belle's eyes!"

"What was that, sugarcube?"

Apple Bloom let out a yelp, spun around quickly - her face flushed - to see Applejack standing in her doorway.

She jumped back a bit with surprise and said, "Well golly, little sis, ah didn't mean to startle ya! Ah was just comin' to letcha know that supper will be ready in about half an hour. When didja say your friend was coming over?"

"S...six-thirty...I think." Apple Bloom stammered, trying to recover from the surprise of Applejack's arrival. She felt a wave of shame come over her, like she'd been caught doing something bad.

"Well, alrighty then..." Applejack said, raising an eyebrow and slowly started closing the door.

"Wait!" Apple Bloom called, causing Applejack to stop.

"Um...well...oh, nevermind..."

Applejack shot her little sister a confused look and closed the door the rest of the way.

The red-headed filly sat down on her bed and put her face in her hooves. She began to wonder if inviting Whiteshadow over was a good idea after all.

*****

Her wonders, however, were interrupted as there was a knock at their front door a few minutes later.

"Ohmigosh!" Apple Bloom said aloud, popping off her bed and pacing around her room, "Do ah go downstairs and let her in, or should ah stay up here? If ah run downstairs too fast, she might think I'm weird, but if I don't..."

"Apple Bloom! Can yeh get the door? We're a might busy in the kitchen!" came the yell from downstairs.

Apple Bloom galloped down the stairs so fast that she almost tripped on the bottom step and fell on her face. She slowly opened the door, trying to appear casual despite being out of breath from running at top speed from her room.

When she saw Whiteshadow standing on the other side of the doorway, she smiled and, catching her breath, said, "Hey...um...how's it goin'?"

The white filly smiled back at her - not one of her usual half-smiles but an actual full smile - and said, "Hey. Been running in a race or something?"

Apple Bloom took a deep breath and shook her head, "Naw...just...actually, nevermind. Did ja wanna come in?"

Whiteshadow walked slowly past Apple Bloom, all the while looking around and taking in her surroundings.

Apple Bloom felt suddenly worried about her home.

What if she doesn't like it? What if she thinks I'm some kind of country hick?

"Sorry it ain't much," Apple Bloom said, feeling embarrassed, "It's an old house that's been in our family for generations and..."

"Naw, this place is amazing!" the filly said, cutting her off, "You can really feel the history in here. I've only seen places like this in old western movies."

Apple Bloom didn't know whether to be flattered or ashamed of that remark, but the fact that she was happy made her feel happy too...and it gave her a funny feeling in the pit of her belly that she tried to pass off to being hungry.

Applejack and Granny Smith came out of the kitchen and smiled at the two fillies.

"Well, howdy!" said Applejack to Whiteshadow, "You must be the new pony in town that Apple Bloom's been tellin' us 'bout! Whiteshadow, right?"

Apple Bloom saw the filly's cheeks flush beneath the veil of black mane in her face, and she said softly, "Yes, ma'am. Pleased to meet you."

"Ain't be needin' to be bashful there, youngin!" Granny Smith said to the filly in her typical boisterous drawl, "When ye come onto Sweet Apple Acres, yer like part of the family! And I hope ye brought an Apple family appetite cuz we got a humdinger of a supper cookin'!"

Apple Bloom worried that her friend was getting uncomfortable, so she quickly interjected, "Well, now that y'all are acquainted, can I take Whiteshadow to see my room?"

Applejack nodded, "Sure, but not for too long, fillies; supper's nearly done."

Apple Bloom nodded in response and, motioning with her head up the stairs, the two ponies went up to Apple Bloom's room.

When they got in there, Apple Bloom closed the door behind her and sat on her bed while her friend wandered around, looking at the knick-knacks scattered here and there.

She looked up after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence and said, "Sorry about my kin. They can be a bit...loud sometimes."

The white filly flicked her hair back and smiled at Apple Bloom, "Actually, they seemed pretty nice. Everybody in this town seems really welcoming, actually."

Apple Bloom felt some of her nervousness go away. Things seemed to be going well - frankly, she was curious why she was so worried that it wouldn't.

"So...did you want to play a game? I have Dragons & Unicorns." Apple Bloom offered.

Whiteshadow exclaimed, "That was my favourite board game back home! I never lost to anybody, but I haven't played it in years!"

Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes and said in a playfully aggressive voice, "Well, you haven't played me yet. Bet I can wipe the floor with you."

She brought down the board game and set it up, then after both ponies picked their pieces and took turns rolling the dice. As they played, Apple Bloom kept looking over at Whiteshadow as she concentrated on her next move, bit her lip when she landed on a dragon square and lost some bits, and smiled gleefully when she got an extra jewel for her chest. At first, Apple Bloom was just trying to read her so she could get an advantage over her in the game, but she found herself casting glances over at her even when it was her own turn. She wasn't sure why, but something about Whiteshadow made her feel compelled to look at her. Even when she tried to stop, her eyes kept wandering over in her direction.

"What's going on?" she thought to herself..

She found herself intrigued by the way her raven-black mane contrasted with her bright white coat, and how sometimes you could make out the blueness of her eyes beneath the strands of hair that hung in her face.

"Apple Bloom?"

Apple Bloom's eyes shifted and she could see the filly looking at her with a quizzical expression, her head slightly tilted so her mane hung down and she could see her eyes looking at her.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" Apple Bloom responded, defensively, her cheeks turning a deep crimson.

"Like...I dunno...like weird or something."

Apple Bloom stood up and tapped her hoof nervously, "Ah...ah don't know what yer talkin' about! But...um...maybe we should go downstairs. Supper is probably ready."

"Oh. Well, okay. Maybe we can finish the game afterward?" Whiteshadow replied, standing up and walking toward the door.

"Maybe..." Apple Bloom mumbled to herself, suddenly feeling very angry, or hurt, or...something that she just couldn't figure out.

She followed Whiteshadow to the door, and her eyes seemed to unconciously drift toward her friend's flank.

I know there's nothing there! Why do I keep looking?

She opened the door and the two fillies made their way downstairs toward the kitchen.

*****

Supper was a warm, pleasant affair. They had apple and oat casserole, with baked apples, apple bread with apple jam, and hot apple pie for dessert. Granny Smith and Applejack kept asking Whiteshadow questions about herself and Califoalnia, and the shy filly answered politely, but shortly. Apple Bloom, meanwhile, spent the meal trying to figure out what had happened up in her room. She wasn't sure what it was about this pony that was making her feel so strange, but she didn't like it one bit! None of her other friends made her feel this way!

She stuffed a piece of apple pie in her mouth and thought to herself with frustration, "I've never once been compelled to look at Scootaloo's rump!"

When supper was done, Whiteshadow turned to Apple Bloom and said, "So, do you want to finish our game?"

Apple Bloom didn't like the idea of being alone in her room with this pony again, and feeling compelled to stare at her. She tried to think of someway of getting out of it, and came up with, "Ah don't know, Whiteshadow. My family made this nice meal for us, so ah feel it'd only be proper if we offered to help wash up."

"Horsefeathers!" said Applejack, carrying dishes into the kitchen, "I'll get Big Mac to come in and help clean up! Whiteshadow is our guest, and guests don't need to worry about dishes! You fillies can go play!"

"Son of a donkey!" Apple Bloom thought to herself, then turned to Whiteshadow and said, "Sure, let's go upstairs."

She must have let her disappointment creep into her voice, though, as the filly frowned and said, "Well, not if you don't want to." and then added, "It's getting kind of late anyway, so maybe I should head home before it gets too dark."

Apple Bloom felt bad about the way she responded, and interjected, "No, no...I mean, I don't mind finishing the game with you."

Whiteshadow shrugged, "It's fine. Thanks for inviting me over; supper was very good."

Apple Bloom followed as the pony headed toward the door. She felt a new emotion in her stomach and chest that she wasn't quite sure what to make of. "Well...didja want me to walk you home?"

Whiteshadow smiled a half-smile and gently nudged Apple Bloom with her hoof, "Hey, it's fine! It's a school night anyway. I'll...see you tomorrow, Apple Bloom." then opened the door and left.

Apple Bloom remained standing, staring at the closed door for several minutes. The feeling inside of her made her chest burn and her stomach pound feel like she was an apple tree being bucked over and over again. She began to feel nauseous.

"Aw, didjer friend leave already?" asked Applejack, coming up behind her.

Apple Bloom opened her mouth to respond, but was unable to form the words. She tried again and mumbled, "I'm not feeling well; Imma go to bed."

"Oh...well, see you in the mornin', I 'spose."

Apple Bloom walked slowly up to her room and closed the door. She didn't know what was wrong, or why she felt this way.

"There was nothin' wrong with the food...the visit went okay, except for me being all weird...I'm not sure..."

Her thoughts drifted off as she looked down at her floor and spotted the half-finished game of Dragons & Unicorns that her and Whiteshadow were playing. She just stared at it for nearly a minute, and then suddenly a really weird and scary thing happened to her.

It started out as the feeling in her chest and stomach getting worse, feeling like something was fixing to rip itself right out of her chest. The feeling rose up her body until it was in her throat, then filled her face up and she realized that she was having trouble breathing. And then, just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, every ounce of pain and frustration released itself as her eyes began to water. Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face as she looked down at the game on the floor and felt angry and confused and a bunch of other things she didn't understand. She bucked the game across the room as hard as she could - the board snapping in half and the pieces flying in every direction - and she ran over to her bed and sobbed into her pillow until she fell asleep.

Author's Note

Another part done. I hope I haven't lost all of you yet! I'm really focused on characters and emotional development in this story, so it's a bit of a slow build.

Let me know what you like, don't like,etc....