Black Mane

That day, the Cutie Mark Crusaders learned that there are more pressing priorities than simply getting one's Cutie Mark; at least for one Crusader in particular. Apple Bloom spent the better part of the evening with her friends, mostly answering questions, talking about her feelings and, more than once, crying on Sweetie Belle's shoulder. It was nice to have the support of her friends as she tried to work through her emotions and the way they made her feel. Neither of her friends particularly understood why she was having these feelings for another filly, instead of a colt like they were all taught, Sweetie Belle tried her best to offer support. Scootaloo, however, seemed to have a much harder time understanding, and dealing, with Apple Bloom's feelings.

"Do you ever stare at my backside when I'm not looking?"

"So, are you going to marry the new pony?"

"How do two fillies...you know...do stuff without a thingie to stick somewhere?"

She was quite uncomfortable with those sorts of questions, so she mostly just shrugged and avoided them. To be honest, she really just wanted to talk to Applejack about it; however, she felt that it would make her family think she was not normal.

*****

Sunday...Sunday was a slow day on the farm. Applejack and Big Mac had gone to town to sell apples at the market, and Granny Smith had locked herself in the kitchen to fill a huge order for apple jelly. So Apple Bloom found herself alone in her room, looking out at the window at the grey, overcast sky. She figured the pegasi must be planning a storm for that night, because the sky looked like it was ready to explode at any moment. While talking to her friends the previous evening had made her feel a bit better, it still left many questions unanswered and she wasn't particularly looking forward to facing Whiteshadow the next day at school without having some better understanding of things.

A knock at the door sent her grumbling downstairs, annoyed that something would distract her from her reverie.

Cheerilee said growing up is hard sometimes, but she never said it would be this hard!

With frustration and impatience, she flung open the door to see a familiar white pony with her hoof up, ready to knock again.

Her eyes becoming wide with surprise, and her stomach doing flipflops, she stammered, "Sh...shadow! Um...what're you doin' here?"

The white filly brushed her black mane out of her face with a foreleg and smirked, "Dad sent me to the market to pick up some stuff, and I saw your sister selling apples there, and I thought of you so I thought I'd stop over and see you."

"Y...you did?" she stuttered, desperately willing herself not to blush.

Whiteshadow laughed, looking past Apple Bloom into the house, "Did I catch you at the bad time or something?"

Apple Bloom shook her head emphatically, "No, not at all! What...what did you want?"

The white filly motioned with her head at a bag she had over her back, "Actually, I found something at the market that I wanted to show you."

Apple Bloom's thoughts went back to the last time her friend had wanted to show her something, and she felt her cheeks flushing despite every attempt to stop it.

"O...okay."

"You sure you're okay, Apple Bloom?" her friend asked, looking at her curiously, "Your face has gone all red and you seem like you're out of breath."

"For the love of Equestria, Apple Bloom! Stop it!" she internally chastised herself.

"I'm fine...really! So, um...you had something to show me?" Apple Bloom said, trying to distract herself and her friend from her current condition.

"Let's go outside somewhere where nobody will see us." Whiteshadow said, turning tail and trotting off toward the orchard.

Apple Bloom swallowed a lump in her throat, took a deep breath and followed her friend into the trees. After they had travelled deep into the orchard, Whiteshadow spun around and produced a bottle from her saddlebag.

"Check it out!" she said, laying it on the ground between them.

Apple Bloom looked at the green glass bottle below and read: "Vinter Acres Red Wine"

She looked up at Whiteshadow and frowned, "Why do you have a bottle of wine? I didn't think anybody would sell that stuff to foals."

The white pony smiled, "I found it on a cart in the market, and...I was thinking we could try it."

"Found it?" Apple Bloom asked, suspicious, "Shadow...did you..."

She lowered her voice to a whisper...

"...did you...steal this?"

Whiteshadow frowned, "Um...well, I guess so. But they had lots, so I don't think they'd miss one little bottle."

Apple Bloom's eyes opened wide, "Shadow! Stealin' is wrong! You have to take this back!"

Her friend rolled her eyes, "Come on! It's just one, and back home my friends used to take stuff all the time and nobody ever missed it."

Apple Bloom stepped closer to Whiteshadow and looked at her harshly, "In Ponyville, we don't do stuff like this! Ah just...cain't believe you'd do something...so stupid!"

Whiteshadow turned around, "So, I'm stupid now? I just don't see what the big deal is. I guess you don't want any, then."

Apple Bloom sighed, "It's dumb to take stuff without askin', Shadow! And besides...foals shouldn't be drinkin' alcohol. Could you...please just take it back?"

Shadow shook her head, "I have it now, so I might as well keep it. If you want to be like that, though, I won't do it again."

Apple Bloom took a deep breath and felt a tightening in her chest. She was so frustrated and upset, both with what Whiteshadow did and the way she felt about her and...just everything. She felt herself getting sick and stammered, "I...I gotta go, Whiteshadow. I just...I can't be here right now." before walking off.

The white filly stayed sitting by an apple tree with her bottle of wine, while Apple Bloom stamped away. She only got a few feet away before the tears started flowing down her face, and she took off in a run toward her house. A part of her felt like turning around and showing the white filly the pain she had caused her, but another part didn't want to give her the satisfaction of seeing the conflict within her. She hated the way she felt, and she hated her body for making her feel this way...and she hated...life.

She was nearly past the last row of trees when she heard Whiteshadow's voice calling behind her. She wanted to take off in a gallop, race into her house and slam the door. She wanted to spin around and buck Whiteshadow as hard as she could with her back legs. She wanted...she ached to have anybody understand what she was feeling.

"Slow down, Apple Bloom! Can we just talk for a second!"

"That tears it! Ah'm gonna wallop that no-good thief!" she thought to herself as she slowed down enough to let Whiteshadow catch up to her.

When she felt a hoof on her back, she spun around and readied herself to smack the filly as hard as she could. But when she turned around, she saw Whiteshadow's eyes shine with concern.

"Are...are you crying?"

She tried to respond, but couldn't speak as the tears flowed anew down her cheeks and soaked into her red mane that was now a tangled mess on her face. She shook her head and tried to look away.

"I'm...I didn't know it would upset you this much. I'm sorry."

Apple Bloom sat down on the ground and wiped at her face with her hooves, and Whiteshadow sat beside her and looked away, appearing uncomfortable and nervous and confused. The two fillies sat in silence for nearly a minute, looking at the grass, the sky, and the trees around them; anything to avoid looking at each other. Occasionally, Apple Bloom would look over at her friend, but then quickly look away, her head and jumbled mess of emotional turmoil.

Suddenly, raindrops began to fall from the sky - gently at first but then more steadily. Both ponies looked at each other, trying to find the words to break the silence, and finally Apple Bloom spoke...

"Well...ah suppose you should come inside until the rain stops."

Whiteshadow shook her head and stood up, "Naw, it's not that far to walk home. Plus, my dad must be wondering where I am."

Apple Bloom stood up too and shrugged, "Oh. Well, okay then. I reckon you should go, then, before it gets worse."

Whiteshadow nodded and the two started walking in opposite directions.

"Apple Bloom, wait!"

The farm filly turned around and saw her friend set the wine bottle on the ground in front of her, "Look...um...could you maybe return that to the market next time you're there? Maybe...say you noticed it had fallen off the cart or something?"

"You know, most of those folks know my family well. Ah could get in trouble if they think ah was the one that stole it." Apple Bloom, responded, crossing her forelegs in front of her.

"You're right..." Whiteshadow said, moving toward her, "I'll drop it off. I should just be honest anyway. I'm such an idiot!"

Apple Bloom smiled, "No, you're not. Everybody makes mistakes. Ah'll drop it off for you."

Whiteshadow smiled, "Thanks...now, you should get home. You're getting all wet."

She reached out a hoof and moved some of Apple Bloom's mane out of her face.

"So are you, dummy!" Apple Bloom responded, smiling, and moved some of Whiteshadow's black mane away from her eyes.

Her hoof lingered on the side of Whiteshadow's muzzle. Her smile slowly recessed and was replaced with another expression: that of confusion mixed with longing.

"Shadow...you have beautiful eyes."

The white filly smiled and Apple Bloom could see her cheeks blushing even beneath the rain and the black fur stuck to her face.

Apple Bloom felt like if she didn't say what was on her mind - what had been on her mind for quite a while - she was going to start crying again. And she was tired of crying all the time.

"Shadow..."

"Yeah?"

Apple Bloom took a deep breath, her cheeks turning red to match the face of the filly in front of her...

"I...I love you."

As soon as she said it, she closed her eyes tight and waited for the inevitable moment when she felt Whiteshadow move away from her and never speak to her again. She waited to be hit, or yelled at. She waited to be told that she was a weird, disgusting pony and that nobody could ever love her.

Her heart sank when she felt Whiteshadow take her hoof away from the side of her head.

"This is it..." she thought to herself.

Her eyes popped open, however, when she felt lips pressing against her own. She saw the white filly had moved forward and was kissing her, awkwardly but full of passion. Apple Bloom wrapped her forelegs around Whiteshadow's body and held her tightly. The rain pouring down on them soaked their manes, faces and bodies, but it did not stop Apple Bloom from returning the kiss with all the pent-up passion, love and emotion that she had felt since the first moment she met the white filly.

All too soon, Whiteshadow pulled her face away from Apple Bloom's. With sad eyes, and a half-smile she said, "I...I really do have to get home."

Apple Bloom grudingly unwrapped herself from Whiteshadow and sighed, "K..."

"I'll see you tomorrow..."

Apple Bloom nodded and turned to walk away, but Whiteshadow turned her back around to face her.

"I love you too, Apple Bloom." she said, biting her lower lip.

And with that, she turned around and gallopped away toward the road, leaving Apple Bloom standing in the orchard, alone in the rain.

Apple Bloom's stomach was a swirl of emotions, but she suddenly realized what had happened and she smiled. Then, she looked down and saw the abandoned wine bottle on the ground beside her. She began to laugh to herself, then picked up the bottle and carried it with her back to the house.