The Other Side

by HopeFox

Rating: teen
Tags: Diamond Tiara, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Romance, Silver Spoon, Apple Bloom, Cutie Mark Crusaders
Length: 38114

Desperate to escape Diamond Tiara, Apple Bloom wishes on a star and escapes to a new Ponyville.

Desperate to be free from Diamond Tiara's bullying, Apple Bloom wishes on a star and escapes to a new Ponyville, filled with strangely familiar colts and stallions. As a filly in a school full of colts, she comes to see a new side to both her friends and her enemies.

Inspired by Conner Cogwork's "On a Cross and Arrow", but not intended to be part of the same world or follow the same story.

Published 2012-04-03 01:24:28 UTC
Last updated 2012-10-19 22:41:22 UTC

Wish Upon a Star

Apple Bloom had just had the worst day of her life.

The day had started out no worse than usual, or maybe just a little bit worse. Diamond Tiara had been her usual obnoxious self at school, drawing attention to her bare flank and her lack of expensive accessories in front of the other fillies in their class. Silver Spoon had chimed in as she always did, of course, but what made it worse was that so many of the other fillies at school seemed to be on Diamond Tiara's side. Her fellow Crusaders and Twist were the only fillies she could rely on to have her back all day, every day, and Twist and Sweetie Belle weren't very good at standing up for themselves, let alone anypony else. It was really only with Scootaloo that Apple Bloom felt safe from Diamond Tiara's teasing. The colts, of course, never got involved in the fillies' fights, which only made things worse.

She trudged down the path leading to the Sweet Apple Acres farmhouse, sniffling to herself and thinking about the awful turn the afternoon had taken after school finished.

"Meet me behind the gym at six o'clock tonight," said the note that Apple Bloom had found in her desk as she was packing up to go home. "Wear something nice. Love, Pipsqueak." Apple Bloom had been overwhelmed with excitement. A love letter, from Pipsqueak, and it wasn't even Hearts and Hooves Day! It never occurred to her to ask Pipsqueak if the note were really from him, or even to verify if it matched his mouthwriting. And so she had run home to fetch her best party dress, the one Applejack had bought her two years ago and had let out several times to keep up with her growing frame. It was far from the latest fashion, and was starting to wear at the haunches, but she knew that Pipsqueak, fine Trottingham gentlecolt that he was, would tell her that she looked delightful nonetheless.

Of course, when the appointed hour came, she was met behind the gymnasium not by the colt of her dreams but by a herd of fillies led by none other than Diamond Tiara herself. They mocked her for thinking that a colt like Pipsqueak would ever pay attention to a blank flank farmpony like her, and laughed at the state of her "best" dress even before Chequered Flag had shoved her into a mud puddle, ruining both the dress and her mane. Diamond Tiara cruelly stepped on her tail when she tried to get up, making her fall back onto her rump. "This is for Family Appreciation Day," the pink filly hissed in her ear. "Nopony makes a foal out of Diamond Tiara." Unable to cope with the stares and laughter of so many fillies, Apple Bloom ran straight for home.

Now she stopped by a pond just off the path, looking down at her muddy reflection. "I hate this place," she muttered, as she sat down and pulled off the ruined dress. "I hate Ponyville and I hate Diamond Tiara and I hate my life."

She looked up at the night sky as she tossed her dress aside. Princess Luna had just brought out the moon to decorate the sky, and she sat and watched the stars for a few minutes, trying to find the willpower to get up and go home. As she watched, she saw a bright spark streak across the sky, leaving a long trail before fading away.

A shooting star! Apple Bloom thought. I gotta make a wish!

She looked back at the pond in front of her, eyeing her reflection. The shooting star had given her a brief moment of hope, against the dejection and despair of her awful day. Well, here goes nothing.

"I wish I could go someplace where there ain't no Diamond Tiara."

A tear slipped from her muzzle and dropped into the pond, sending out ripples across the water's surface. When the ripples cleared, Apple Bloom could see her reflection once more... except that it wasn't her. The pony in the pond had the same yellow coat and red mane as she did, but a red baseball cap rested atop his – definitely his – head.

The colt in the pond stared back at her with the same expression of surprise that she knew she wore right then. Slowly, she reached her front right hoof towards the surface of the pond, and the colt mirrored her movements. As she touched the surface, she felt a fetlock wrap around hers, and she was pulled into the water with a mighty splash.

Apple Bloom's head spun as she sank into the water. Normally she was a very good swimmer, but she seemed to have lost all sense of which way was up. She flailed wildly until she felt her hooves touch air, and kicked her way up, gasping as her head broke the surface.

Had her wish come true? Had that strange – yet distressingly familiar – colt in the water dragged her to a new place where she could be free of Diamond Tiara's torment?

No, she was still at Sweet Apple Acres. Nothing had changed, except that she was now wet and cold, as well as muddy and miserable. Disgusted with herself for getting her hopes up, she walked home and threw herself into bed with only a cursory mumbled "Goodnight" for Applejack as she passed the kitchen. She didn't even bother to pick up her party dress from the side of the pond, or she would have been surprised to find a tattered, faded old suit jacket there instead.

Apple Bloom woke up the next morning before dawn, feeling substantially better. Maybe Diamond Tiara wasn't going to go away, but today was a new day, after all, and at least she would get to spend time with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Maybe she could catch Applejack or Big Macintosh before they started their morning chores and tell them what had happened.

She stumbled through her morning routine in the pre-dawn gloom, giving her mane and tail a brief brush and placing her bow carefully atop her mane. As she was getting ready for the day, she noticed that her poster of Calamity Mane seemed somehow different, but she chalked that up to the light.

Apple Bloom was raiding the pantry for oatmeal when she heard the familiar heavy gait of Big Macintosh entering the kitchen behind her. "G'morning, Big Macintosh!" she called out, her mood lightening already. "You had breakfast yet?"

She squeaked in surprise when she felt a pair of jaws clamp over her mane, hoisting her off her feet and onto the kitchen table, to stare into the eyes of a large red mare who definitely wasn't Big Macintosh. "Who are you and why are you in my kitchen?" demanded the mare, glaring at her.

Apple Bloom shrank back in fear, although something told her this mare would never actually harm her. "I'm Apple Bloom, and this is my kitchen! Who are you?"

The large mare blinked and softened her gaze, offering Apple Bloom a hoof. "Oh. Mighty sorry about that. You're Apple family, then? Applejack didn't say nothin' about having family to visit. I'm Red Gala. AJ and I run this farm."

"But... but... Big Macintosh is..." stammered Apple Bloom, hopelessly confused at this stranger – definitely Apple family, but still a stranger – in her home, acting as though she lived here. When things went wrong at Sweet Apple Acres, there was one way to fix everything, and it seemed that this Red Gala knew it too.

"APPLEJACK!" they both called.

"Hold yer horses, I'm coming," grumbled a tall orange stallion as he cantered into the kitchen. "What's got yer manes in a tangle?

The stallion drew up short as he spotted Apple Bloom on the kitchen table. "Woah, Nellie," he gasped. "You ain't Applebuck. Sure look like him, though. Well, I'm Applejack, welcome to Sweet Apple Acres. Where's my little brother gotten himself to?"

"I don't know!" admitted Apple Bloom, drawing herself up onto her haunches on the table. "I live at Sweet Apple Acres! This is my home! You ain't Applejack, Applejack's a mare!"

Applejack and Red Gala exchanged a glance. "Red Gala, you'd better run to town and fetch Dusk Shine. Tell him something's happened to Applebuck and it's an emergency." Red Gala nodded and galloped out the door, not even stopping to sling on her work collar.

Apple Bloom was shifting about on the kitchen table, her head winnowing from side to side. "I don't understand what's going on!" she wailed. "You're not Applejack, and my home's gotten all crazy! I want my sister!"

"It's alright, little filly," Applejack tried to reassure Apple Bloom. "I can see plain as day that you're Apple family, and any Apple is welcome in Sweet Apple Acres. You're in good hooves."

"No I'm not!" shrieked Apple Bloom, her eyes darting about in confusion. "This looks like Sweet Apple Acres, but it can't be, 'cause you ain't Applejack and that wasn't Big Macintosh!"

"Now listen to me, haystack, 'cause what I'm tellin' you now is the honest truth. You're at Sweet Apple Acres, and you're with your family. Nothin' bad is gonna happen to you here."

Apple Bloom felt something shift and settle in her heart as this new stallion spoke, and she knew that he spoke the truth. "You are Applejack," she whispered, leaning forward to press her head against his. "So why are you a stallion?"

"That sounds like one of them exee-stenchal questions, and I ain't good at those," grumbled Applejack. "What say we take a walk and see if we can figure out where my little brother has gotten to?"

Apple Bloom and Applejack had arrived at the pond by the path where Apple Bloom had seen a colt's reflection, who matched the description Applejack gave of his younger brother. Applejack nosed around in the grass and picked up a muddy, faded suit jacket in his teeth. "Aha!" he exclaimed, laying the suit out in front of him. "This is Applebuck's jacket. He came racing home last night to put it on – said something about meeting a filly after school. Wonder how it got all muddy?"

Apple Bloom snorted. "Diamond Tiara probably pushed him in the mud too," she muttered. Suddenly, everything started to come together in her mind. "Wait a minute! This is Sweet Apple Acres, right?"

Applejack nodded. "Sure as sugar it is."

"And over there... that's Ponyville?"

"Yep."

"And you live here with Applebuck... your little brother... and your big sister Red Gala... and your granny?"

"Ah, nope. Granny died years ago. It's just the three of us and Grandpa Smith here."

"Grandpa Smith? Then... this really is home. Just... different."

Apple Bloom was growing more and more confident in her understanding of her predicament when a purple flash burst in the air a few yards away, and Red Gala appeared alongside a lavender-coloured unicorn stallion. Apple Bloom whinnied in surprise and jumped away from the pair, while Applejack merely looked relieved.

"Boy, am I glad to see you, Dusk. This here's Apple Bloom. I know she's an Apple, but darned if I can figure out where she's from."

The unicorn stallion smiled at Applejack, then turned his attention to Apple Bloom. "Hello, little filly... my goodness. You do look just like Applebuck. My name is Dusk Shine."

"And you look just like Twilight Sparkle!" exclaimed Apple Bloom. "Except that she's a mare. So is this a dream, where all the mares I know are stallions instead?"

"Well, you're not dreaming," Dusk said with a grin. "Although, if you were, no doubt I'd say that, because I'm just a figment of your imagination. I suppose there's no way I can prove that I'm real, but even if I'm just a dream, does that mean I'm not real?"

Applejack reached over and shoved Dusk with one hoof. "None o'that, haystack. Keep your hooves on the ground, now."

"Sorry," muttered Dusk. "If you're not dreaming, then you're probably from another world, another version of Equestria. I've read some theories that such places exist, but nothing's ever been confirmed. Do you have any idea how you got here?"

Apple Bloom looked deep into the pond before answering, the ramifications of exactly where she was still churning through her brain. "Well... I was on my way home from... from school," she mumbled, not wanting to discuss her humiliation with Twilight Sparkle or her weird stallion counterpart. "I stopped at this pond and... there was a falling star, and I kind of made a wish that I could go someplace else. But wishing on stars don't actually work... does it?"

Dusk Shine pursed his lips nervously. "On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars themselves will aid in his escape... but I'm sure stars aren't all bad! Now let's see what I can get from this pond. Maybe it served as some kind of conduit."

Dusk knelt by the pond and placed the tip of his horn against the surface of the water, concentrating. A soft purple aura surrounded his horn, and was matched by a similar glow from deeper in the water. His eyes widened in surprise as the water cleared to show a unicorn mare with the same colours as him.

"That's Twilight Sparkle!" said Apple Bloom, bouncing happily. "I'm not dreaming or crazy, then!"

Dusk seemed deep in thought, as if speaking without moving his lips. A few minutes passed in silence, save for Apple Bloom's excited capering around the edge of the pond. Finally the reflection cleared and Dusk released his magic.

"Good news, Applejack! Applebuck is safe. I was right – Apple Bloom is from another world! Just like this one, but ruled by a Princess, with mares for each of our stallions. Isn't that fascinating?"

"I guess so, Dusk... but what about Applebuck? Is he really safe? Who's looking after him?"

"Why, you are, Applejack! Or, rather, the other you, who's also called Applejack for some reason. Silly name for a mare if you ask me. My counterpart, 'Twilight Sparkle', says that Applebuck is disoriented but happy, and he trusts their Applejack to look after him."

"Well, what if I don't trust her?" asked Applejack. "How do I know that she's going to look after my little brother properly?"

Dusk looked at Apple Bloom, then back to Applejack. "Are you going to take care of Apple Bloom?"

"What? Of course I am! It don't matter where she's from, she's Apple family, and we take care of our kin!"

"Then the other Applejack will take care of Applebuck just the same way, Applejack. You're the same pony – you'll do the same things."

Applejack tilted his head to one side. "I guess so. So how long is Apple Bloom going to be here?"

Dusk looked at Apple Bloom, then at the pool. "Twilight Sparkle and I will work on opening the link again, but there's a powerful magical force opposing us. I think the wish that Apple Bloom made is what's keeping her here."

Apple Bloom looked guilty as Applejack narrowed his eyes at her. "Didn't your sister ever teach you to be careful what you wish for?"

"Um... nope?" ventured Apple Bloom. "And it's not all bad, right? I mean, I'm okay, Applebuck's okay... nothing bad has happened, has it?"

"I suppose not," Applejack conceded. "Well, as long as you're here, you're welcome to Applebuck's room. I guess you already know all of Applebuck's chores?" The filly nodded. "Good – you can get started on them when you're home from school."

"School?" squeaked Apple Bloom. "I just found out I'm stuck in another universe and you want me to go to school?"

"I certainly ain't about to let Applebuck laze around all day in that other world, and I gotta treat you the way I want your sister to treat him."

"But Applejack!"

Applejack shook his head. "Land sakes, you sound just like Applebuck. Doesn't work for him neither. Come on, let's get you some breakfast. Dusk, you mind walking Apple Bloom to school? There's some pancakes in it for you."

A short time later, Dusk Shine and Apple Bloom were full of breakfast and on their way to the Ponyville schoolhouse. "You probably already know everything I could tell you about Ponyville," admitted Dusk, after Apple Bloom had told him all about her world. Dusk had been especially interested in Apple Bloom's description of Princess Celestia. "I suppose you'll figure most things out as you go along. Incidentally, you should tell everypony that you're Applebuck's cousin from Hoofington – I really don't want rumours of this other world getting out until I've heard back from Prince Solaris. Not even the Crusaders..."

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders?" asked Apple Bloom, prancing happily. "They're here too?"

"Scooteroll and Sweepy Bell? Of course! Applebuck's been friends with them for months now! Always getting into scrapes together, you three... I've never seen such close, loyal friends as you. I'm sure those two will treat you just like Applebuck. Between them and the Apples, you'll do fine here."

Apple Bloom nodded as the schoolhouse came into view. "Alright, I guess this place ain't so different from my Ponyville. Say... have you heard of anypony called Diamond Tiara, or anything like that?"

Dusk pursed his lips, thinking. "I don't think so, no. Why, is she a friend of yours?"

"Not exactly." Apple Bloom grinned. "It sounds like I got my wish after all."

Despite Dusk's assurances, Apple Bloom could not help but feel apprehensive as she stepped into the school playground. The bell was not due to ring for another half an hour, but already the yard was half full of colts and fillies scampering around, yelling and playing. There seemed to be more colts at the school than fillies, which made sense – Apple Bloom was sure the fillies outnumbered the colts at home. She looked for familiar faces in the crowd, but her closest friends were nowhere to be seen. She spotted a frizzy-maned colt who bore a certain resemblance to Twist, but he was playing with a small herd of unfamiliar colts, whom Apple Bloom couldn't bring herself to approach.

Apple Bloom was still scanning the crowds, when she unexpectedly made eye contact with one light pink earth pony colt at the centre of the largest group. He exchanged a few words with the children near him, then weaved his way out of the crowd and approached Apple Bloom, accompanied by another earth pony colt, this one grey.

"Good morning, miss!" the first colt greeted her. He inclined his head to her and bowed one knee, in quite the most gentlecoltish fashion that Apple Bloom had ever seen. Even Pipsqueak, with his Trottingham charm, couldn't come close to matching this colt's elegance and poise. Unlike most of the children in the yard, he had dressed up for school, wearing a charcoal grey waistcoat. The coat ended just short of the colt's cutie mark, which was an image of a gleaming gold watch on a golden chain. A real chain of the same design was attached to his collar, running into his pocket.

"My friend and I noticed you standing all by yourself, and thought we should say hello," he continued, smiling genially to Apple Bloom. "Unless we miss our guess completely, you're new to Ponyville. I am Gold Watch, and this is my good friend Blue Chip." He indicated the grey colt at his side, who wore elegant glasses and a pearl-studded brooch, and bore a cutie mark of a pile of blue counters of some kind.

"I'm Apple Bloom," she replied, still a little taken aback by the warm and elegant greeting. "Yeah, I'm new here, I'm from Hoofington. I'm visiting my family at Sweet Apple Acres. I, ah, guess I don't know anypony here yet..."

"Oh, you're staying at Sweet Apple Acres!" exclaimed Blue Chip. "I guess you're an Apple, then? Has Grandpa Smith told you the story of how his family founded Ponyville?"

Gold Watch rolled his eyes. "Blue Chip, you're always going on about that story!" He turned and gave an apologetic smile to Apple Bloom. "I'm sorry. My mother's always talking about that story too. Speaking of the Apples, though, is Applebuck with you? I would have thought he'd be showing you around."

Apple Bloom noticed both colts tense up at the mention of Applebuck, and Blue Chip looked over his shoulder nervously. "No, he's gone to, um, visit my family in Hoofington. Sort of a... trading places kind of thing. Are you his friends?" she asked, although she suspected the opposite.

Gold Watch scuffed the ground with a front hoof briefly, then smiled. "We don't always get along, but that's no reason why we can't be friends with you! Come on, Blue Chip and I were just about to get a round of hopscotch started, you should come and play!"

Apple Bloom felt a faint blush rising to her cheeks, but grinned and nodded happily. "Sure! I love a good game of hopscotch!"

Blue Chip got a crafty look on his face, and eyed the school bell. "Oh, but Gold Watch," he said, nodding knowingly, "do we have enough time for a game of hopscotch before class?"

The pink colt laughed out loud. "Alright, alright," he said, tugging on the gold chain attached to his collar. Out of the pocket of his waistcoat, he drew a large gold watch, matching his cutie mark precisely. He nudged it open with a deft press of his muzzle, revealing the intricately detailed clock face inside, the numbers inlaid with gold, indicated by silver hour and minute hands.

"Wow," breathed Apple Bloom, afraid to speak too loudly in the presence of something so fine. "That's beautiful. And it matches your cutie mark perfectly!"

Gold Watch nodded. "Isn't it, just? I got my cutie mark on the day I received this. It's been in my father's family for generations." He smiled happily, and made a show of reading the time before slipping the watch back into his waistcoat pocket. Apple Bloom looked at Blue Chip, who smiled gratefully at her and gave his friend an indulgent nuzzle. Soon enough, Gold Watch was paying attention to them again, and led Apple Bloom towards the centre of the playground.

"Hey, everypony!" he shouted, gathering the attention of the colts and fillies around them. "This is my new friend Apple Bloom. She's visiting from Hoofington, so I want everypony to make her feel at home here in Ponyville."

Apple Bloom immediately tried to shrink behind Blue Chip as everypony started looking at her, but instead of laughing or jeering at her, they were smiling, and urging her to join in their games, and showing her their books and toys.

So this is what being popular feels like, mused Apple Bloom as she skipped across the hopscotch course, cheered on by colts and fillies alike. Why aren't there any nice colts like these two in my Ponyville?

A few minutes before the bell was due to ring, Apple Bloom was deep in a game of jacks with Gold Watch, Blue Chip and a pegasus colt named Slingshot, when the familiar whirring of wheels and pegasus wings made her look up. Sure enough, ponies were making way for a scooter driven by an orange pegasus colt, towing a white unicorn colt in a wooden trailer. That must be Scooteroll and Sweepy Bell, just like Dusk Shine said, thought Apple Bloom. Finally, some ponies I already know well!

Apple Bloom picked herself up off the ground and turned around to greet her friends – or at least, the local versions of her friends. Looking back at Gold Watch and Blue Chip, though, she saw a marked change come over her friends. The colts' ears were laid back against their skulls, and their nostrils flared aggressively. She could swear she even saw Blue Chip pawing at the dirt of the playground with a front hoof.

Meanwhile, Scooteroll had dismounted from his scooter and was stomping over to the group, flaring his wings angrily. "Hey, you two!" he growled at Gold Watch and Blue Chip. "Leave Applebuck alone!"

Gold Watch rolled his eyes, although he took a couple of steps back from the enraged pegasus colt. "For one thing, that isn't Applebuck," he shot back, indicating Apple Bloom with a pointed hoof. "For another, why should we? It's her first day in this school and we wanted her to feel welcome."

Apple Bloom found herself edging out from between Gold Watch and Scooteroll, not liking the aggressive posture of either colt. "Er, hi!" she managed to squeak, smiling shakily at the two new colts. "I'm Applebuck's cousin, Apple Bloom! You must be Scooteroll and Sweepy Bell. Applebuck told me to look for you guys!"

Sweepy Bell trotted over to Apple Bloom and shook her hoof. "Of course he did! The Cutie Mark Crusaders will look after you, for sure."

Scooteroll nodded, then glared at Gold Watch and Blue Chip. "And she doesn't need you two pretending to be her friends. Come on, Apple Bloom. We'll tell you everything you need to know about Ponyville."

Apple Bloom looked at Gold Watch and shrugged helplessly. "I guess I'll see you two around later, then?" The two colts nodded and waved, their body language still highly aggressive towards Scooteroll.

The two Crusader colts led Apple Bloom into the schoolhouse as the bell began to ring. "So you and Applebuck have swapped places, yeah?" asked Scooteroll.

Apple Bloom nodded. "Something like that. He told me all about you two, about the Cutie Mark Crusaders and stuff like that. Look... I appreciate you two wanting to be my friends when you hardly even know me, but why did you shout at Gold Watch and Blue Chip like that? They were really nice to me!"

"Nice?" squeaked Sweepy Bell, his voice cracking in disbelief. "Those two?"

Scooteroll shook his head. "It's a good thing you've got us to show you around. It looks like we got to you just in time."

Apple Bloom blinked. "Why? What's the problem?"

"The problem?" Scooteroll stopped and turned his head back towards the playground. "The problem is that Gold Watch and Blue Chip are the two worst bullies in this school."

Gold Watch ground his hooves into the dirt as he watched Apple Bloom walk off with Scooteroll and Sweepy Bell. "Darn that Scooteroll!" he muttered angrily. "Why does he hate me so much? Why can't he let me have new friends?"

"He's just jealous of you," Blue Chip reassured his friend, nuzzling his shoulder gently. "He's jealous that you've got so many friends while he's only got Applebuck and Sweepy Bell. Don't let that stupid blank-flank get to you."

"I guess," mumbled Gold Watch, accepting the nuzzle gratefully. "How mean can a pony be, though? All we were doing was making friends with the new filly!"

Blue Chip chuckled. "I was making friends. You were making eyes."

Gold Watch stomped his hooves, although a genuine smile lurked under his indignant pout. "Was not!"

"Were too! You were exactly the same way when Half Pint moved to Ponyville!"

"Yeah, well, she's always talking about Prince Artemis now. And all the other fillies at this school are in the Rainbow Blitz fan club. Why shouldn't I be excited when there's a new filly in town?"

Blue Chip laughed and nuzzled Gold Watch again. "I think she likes you."

Gold Watch chewed his lip nervously. "You really think so?"

"Of course she does! What's not to like? You were really nice to her when she didn't know anypony here." Blue Chip sighed and leaned against his friend. "You have to have more faith in yourself, Goldie. You're the most popular colt in school, no matter what Applebuck and Scooteroll say."

Gold Watch sighed and smiled. "You're right. Thanks." He started to prance in place, hooves tapping happily. "She really does like me! This is so great!" He held his front hooves out to his long-time companion, who met them with a resounding clatter of horseshoes, going through their traditional ceremony of celebration.

"Bump! Bump! Sugar lump! Rump!"

A Better Day

"Gold Watch and Blue Chip are bullies?" asked Apple Bloom as she walked to class with the two colts who looked and acted just like her Crusader friends at home. "I don't get it. Everypony seems to like them."

Scooteroll tossed his head, his purple mane rippling. "Well, of course everypony likes them. You know what these popular colts are like. That's how they can get away with everything they do. Nopony wants to be the first colt to say anything bad about them, because then everypony else will make fun of him. Even Mister Smiles never gives them detention – instead, we're the ones who get into trouble for standing up to them."

Apple Bloom looked back at Sweepy Bell, who nodded in agreement. "Well, gee," mused Apple Bloom uncertainly. "That does sound pretty bad. I guess I'd better be careful around them, then. I should still try to be friends with them, though. I might be making a big mistake if I don't," she continued, thinking about how things had almost gone so very wrong with Zecora when they first met.

Scooteroll shrugged. "It's up to you, but don't say I didn't warn you. Those two colts are bad news for everypony."

Sweepy Bell nudged her way in between the earth pony filly and the pegasus colt. "I don't wanna talk about Gold Watch and Blue Chip anymore. Why don't you tell us about where you're from, Apple Bloom?"

"Where I'm from? Gosh, I suppose so," replied Apple Bloom, her mind racing. How much could she say without giving away where she was really from? Twilight's stallion version had been awfully insistent that she not let slip the existence of another Equestria. "Well... I live on an apple farm just outside Hoofington. It's a lot like Sweet Apple Acres, really. I live there with my big sister and big brother, and our grandmother. I, ah... I don't really remember my folks, they died when I was just a little foal."

Sweepy Bell leaned over and gave Apple Bloom a gentle nuzzle, while Scooteroll nodded sympathetically. "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. Applebuck lost his parents when he was little too. Is your big brother as cool as Applejack? He's gotta be the coolest pony in Ponyville after Rainbow Blitz. Did you know Applejack's won ten blue ribbons in rodeo competitions?"

"Oh, uh... yeah, I might have heard something about that," Apple Bloom said airily, feeling like she was walking through a field full of rabbit holes. "My big sister wins a lot of rodeo events too. My brother doesn't do much except work on the farm. So Applejack is pretty popular around Ponyville, then?"

"Yeah!" agreed Sweepy Bell. "He stopped a cattle stampede once! And he gave the Crusaders our very own clubhouse. I used to be really jealous of Applebuck for having such an awesome big brother, until I realised how lucky I was to have a brother like Elusive. He's a fashion designer, and I'm going to be just like him one day!"

"And everypony's parents and big brothers and sisters know Applejack, of course. Applebuck should be the most popular colt in school, but Gold Watch ruins everything for him. I just want to buck him in his stupid face and step on his stupid watch!"

Apple Bloom was taken aback by Scooteroll's vehemence, and looked back at Sweepy Bell, expecting him to object. Instead, the unicorn colt had fallen silent again, staring at the floor. Sweepy Bell sure doesn't say much when Scooteroll is talking, she thought. I wonder if Sweetie Belle is like that when I'm not around?

Fortunately, the awkward silence was broken by the three ponies arriving at their schoolroom. A tall stallion with a bright smile and a dark rose-coloured coat was waiting at the door, and nodded in greeting to Apple Bloom, while the other fillies and colts found their desks. "You must be Apple Bloom!" the stallion greeted her. "Dusk Shine told me to expect you. I'm Sunny Smiles, and I'll be your teacher while you're in Ponyville."

A quick glance at Mister Smiles's cutie mark – three smiling flowers – confirmed that this was Miss Cheerilee's stallion counterpart, and Apple Bloom breathed a sigh of relief. Outside of her family, Cheerilee was the adult she trusted more than anypony else. This new world was looking more and more safe – between the Apple family, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and her teacher, nothing too bad was likely to happen to her before she could go home.

"Oh, Mister Smiles!" replied Apple Bloom, nodding in recognition. "Yeah, Applebuck talks about you a lot! He says you're the greatest teacher in Equestria!"

A few of the nearby students giggled, while Sunny Smiles gave an embarrassed grin. "Oh, my, I didn't realise my students talked about me so much. Well, if you have any difficulties here in Ponyville, just ask me for help. Now, I'll sit you with..."

The stallion looked over the schoolroom. Scooteroll and Gold Watch were both waving their front hooves frantically in Apple Bloom's direction, while pointedly ignoring each other. Sunny Smiles passed over both of them and pointed to a pair of unicorn fillies near the back of the room. "... Sugar and Spice. There should be pencils and paper in your desk."

Apple Bloom thanked Sunny Smiles and went to her assigned seat. She had barely put her front hooves on her desk when the short, teal-coloured unicorn filly next to her greeted her. "Hi! You're Apple Bloom! I didn't get to meet you before school because everypony else was talking to you, but everypony says you're awesome! I just think it's great that there's another filly at school. Most of the colts don't want to talk to us. I'm Sugar! This is Spice."

The tall yellow filly sitting on the other side of Sugar nodded slowly and gave a lazy grin. "Hi," she offered. Apple Bloom waited to see if she would elaborate, but nothing more was forthcoming. "Well, I'm Apple Bloom, and it's real nice to meet ya'll," Apple Bloom replied. "So what do you fillies do for fun around here if the colts don't want to hang out with you?"

"Oh, we've got plenty to do! Sometimes we pick flowers from the garden at the edge of the schoolyard. Spice loves flowers. She's such a great cook – it's her special talent, you know! And look how nicely they go in her hair!" Sure enough, Spice's long turquoise mane was delicately braided and decorated with flowers from all colours of the rainbow. The tall filly patted her hair with one hoof, tossing her head playfully. "And we've got plenty of colouring books for when it's raining. Oh, and on the first Saturday of every month, there's the Rainbow Blitz fan club over at Sweet Apple Acres! Have you met Rainbow Blitz yet? He's only the coolest, fastest, awesomest, handsomest stallion in Ponyville!"

"You mean in all of Equestria, right?" interjected Spice.

"Oh, no, no, no!" objected Sugar. "That honour belongs to nopony but the Great and Powerful Presto!" Sugar grinned at Apple Bloom and drew a small poster out of her saddlebags, unrolling it on her desk. The poster showed an azure unicorn stallion in a star-studded magician's cape and hat. The picture reminded her of the travelling show pony who came to Ponyville last autumn – this must be the stallion version of the so-called Great and Powerful Trixie. It was odd to see these two fillies so excited about him, though – the only ponies in her Ponyville who still talked about Trixie were...

Snips and Snails?

Apple Bloom drew her head back and regarded the two unicorn fillies, who were grinning happily at her and arguing with each other as to whether Rainbow Blitz or Presto was the more "dreamy" of the pair. Now that she thought about it, their physical resemblance to the two goofiest colts in school was obvious – Spice was a lot taller than Apple Bloom, and Sugar quite a bit shorter. Their cutie marks were different, Sugar sporting a stalk of sugar cane for her mark, while Spice had a stick of cinnamon. Sugar had Snips's excitable way of talking, whereas Spice was as slow in her speech as Snails was.

But Snips and Snails had always been too aggravating for her to spend much time around. They seemed to epitomize everything that defined colts – they were loud, brash, bad-mannered even by Applejack's standards, and simply not very bright. Scootaloo ran the Rainbow Dash fan club with Snips and Snails, but other than that, the Crusaders didn't have much to do with them.

Sugar and Spice, though – as Apple Bloom was to discover in the hours leading up to lunch – were, well, nice. Their hobbies seemed to be the sort of thing that Fluttershy always foisted onto the Crusaders when she had them for sleepovers, but she had to admit that Spice's mane really did look pretty. Their enthusiasm was simply infectious, too. Apple Bloom had to hold herself back from telling them all about her karate training with Rainbow Dash, and she ended up promising her new friends that she would try to talk Rainbow Blitz into hanging out with them soon, through their mutual association with Applejack and Dusk Shine. Sunny Smiles's classes soon demonstrated that neither Sugar nor Spice was particularly clever either, but Apple Bloom was able to help them along with their mathematics and writing, earning an approving comment from the cheerful stallion when he saw how well the three fillies were working together.

The lunch bell rang almost too soon for Apple Bloom. Usually she would rush outside with her fellow Crusaders, but today she felt spoiled for choice for friends to hang out with. Sugar and Spice? Scooteroll and Sweepy Bell? Gold Watch and Blue Chip? She had never felt so welcomed and popular outside of an Apple family reunion.

Of course, Scooteroll and Gold Watch hated each other, and the Crusaders probably didn't want the "girly unicorns" slowing them down, and she doubted the popular colts even knew that Sugar and Spice existed. But then, hadn't Apple Bloom been the one to help Zecora make friends with the ponies of Ponyville, when nopony else would talk to her? Maybe she could make a difference here.

Apple Bloom ran into Gold Watch first as she shuffled out of the classroom, Sugar and Spice hot at her hooves. "Hey, Gold Watch!" she greeted him brightly. "You want to hang out for lunch?"

Gold Watch smiled, but scuffed his front hooves against the floor. "I'd love to, but... we're having a school newspaper meeting at lunchtime today. I'm really hoping to make editor-in-chief next semester, so I need to put in the hours now. We'll see you after school, though, right?"

Apple Bloom nodded. "Of course! That sounds really cool, I think you'll be a great editor! How about you, Blue Chip?"

The grey colt smiled awkwardly. "History club with Half Pint. Sorry, Apple Bloom." He waved a hoof to Spice, giving her a grin. "We should hang out soon, though!" Spice simply nodded and grinned back, almost as if she hadn't heard him.

Apple Bloom weaved her way through the crowd of students until she came to Scooteroll and Sweepy Bell. "Hey, guys! You got any lunchtime crusades lined up?"

Scooteroll offered Apple Bloom a high hoof, which the filly met without even thinking, feeling more and more at home with her old friends. "Totally! Applebuck said he had something planned for today, but he didn't say what it was. Did he tell you?"

Apple Bloom did, in fact, have a crusade planned for today, from before her humiliation at Diamond Tiara's hooves and subsequent journey into a new world. If she trusted Applebuck to have made the same preparations as she had, the equipment they needed should all be ready. "He did! Say... do you guys mind if Sugar and Spice tag along? I mean, they've got their cutie marks and all, but it could still be fun, right?"

Sweepy Bell nodded eagerly, but Scooteroll looked uncertain. "Sugar and Spice?" he asked, lowering his voice. "I dunno, Apple Bloom... Crusades are meant to be awesome and daring. A couple of fillies will just get in the way."

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. "Ya'll know I'm a filly, right? Besides, I reckon we'll need them to keep watch, to make sure Mister Smiles doesn't catch us."

Scooteroll's face lit up. "Wow, sounds dangerous. I am so there! Alright, fine. Hey, you two!" he called to Sugar and Spice, who had been milling around aimlessly while the Crusaders talked. "You can come hang out with us on today's crusade, just don't get in the way, alright?"

Sugar squealed happily, cantering along beside the orange pegasus colt. "You're the boss, Scooteroll! This is going to be awesome!"

A few minutes later, Apple Bloom had found the stash of ropes and climbing equipment that Applebuck had concealed in the school's basement, exactly where she expected it to be. The Crusaders and Sugar were standing at the back of the schoolhouse, away from the playground, gazing up at the bell tower on top of the roof, while Spice stood on lookout for Sunny Smiles.

"You really think we can get up there, Apple Bloom?" asked Sweepy Bell, eyeing the tower uncertainly.

"Of course we can! And do you know what's waiting for us up there?"

"A wall climbing cutie mark!" exclaimed Scooteroll. "This time we're gonna get it for sure! Gimme that rope!" The pegasus colt grasped the lasso in his teeth and stepped back, whirling the rope around his head three times before letting go. The rope sailed several yards into the air but failed to latch onto the bell or the weathervane on top of it.

Scooteroll cursed and gathered up the rope. "I can do this! I just have to get enough speed." She trotted away from the wall, then galloped towards it, flinging the rope wildly. The lasso sailed straight up and landed on Scooteroll's back, tangling in his mane. Sugar giggled as she watched him struggling with the rope.

"Hey, what are you laughing at?" demanded the pegasus, glaring at Sugar.

"You looked really awesome doing that!" gushed Sugar. "You're almost as fast a runner as Rainbow Blitz!"

Scooteroll blinked. "You really think so?" Sugar just nodded, grinning.

"Maybe we should let Apple Bloom throw the rope," suggested Sweepy Bell. "You know, since she does cow herding and stuff."

"No, I got this!" snapped Scooteroll, picking up the rope once more. He trotted back to his starting point and reared dramatically, giving a sidelong glance to Sugar, then charged at the schoolhouse, whirling the lasso around his head and tossing it at the bell tower. The loop flew straight and true, settling around the weathervane and tightening with a tug from Scooteroll. The pegasus laughed and flared his wings in triumph, eliciting coos of admiration from Sugar. Only Apple Bloom seemed to have noticed the faint orange glow around Sugar's horn as Scooteroll made his throw.

The four ponies clustered together and threw their front hooves in the air, executing a four-way high hoof. "Yeah! Cutie Mark Crusader Wall Climbers are go!" cheered Apple Bloom, hustling Scooteroll towards the wall. She knelt down and boosted Scooteroll up onto her shoulders, giving him a start in slowly ascending the wall, rope grasped firmly between his teeth and wrapped around his waist.

Apple Bloom, Sugar and Sweepy Bell all held their breaths as they watched Scooteroll ascend the wall. His hooves picked their way carefully up the wooden surface, finding a few places to gain purchase. "This is awesome!" commented Sugar, dancing from hoof to hoof in nervous anticipation. "I think he's gonna make it!"

"Of course he's going to make it!" exclaimed Sweepy Bell. "Scooteroll's the best athlete in school! Well, except maybe Applebuck. Look, he's almost at the top!"

Indeed, Scooteroll was just now teetering on the edge of the bell chamber itself. He stopped to wave to his friends on the ground, for just long enough to lose his balance. The young pegasus slammed into the side of the bell, eliciting a dull tone from the huge brass shape. He vibrated with the bell for half a second, then fell off the side of the tower, bumping down the roof and plummeting to the ground, dangling a few feet off the grass from a rope tangled around his fetlocks.

Apple Bloom skilfully extracted Scooteroll from the rope when Spice sounded the alarm, and the four children were standing around playing an innocent game of hacky sack by the time Sunny Smiles rounded the corner. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the two colts. "Have you lads been playing with the school bell?" he asked, his gaze briefly flicking to Apple Bloom as well.

"No, Mister Smiles!" said Sweepy Bell glibly, putting on his most angelic expression. "I think it must have been a bird hitting the bell!"

"Or maybe it was Rainbow Blitz!" suggested Sugar. Scooteroll nodded emphatically in agreement.

"Hmm, that wouldn't surprise me," admitted Sunny Smiles. He fixed Scooteroll with a firm glance. "I don't want to see you leading the new filly into any mischief, Scooteroll. I've glad you've made so many friends so quickly, Apple Bloom."

The children breathed a sigh of relief as Sunny Smiles disappeared back into the schoolhouse. "That was awesome!" Sugar said, prancing in excitement. "We should hang out with you guys more often!" Spice nodded her agreement as she came back to join them.

"I guess that'd be okay," Scooteroll conceded. "You two are pretty cool too. Any luck with the cutie marks, Sweepy?"

The unicorn colt shook his head. "Nothing. Sorry, Scooteroll."

"Ah, it's okay. We had fun, right? And you all got to see how awesome I am at climbing." He gave Sugar a wink, eliciting a surprised giggle in return.

That went well, thought Apple Bloom. We're definitely going to have to hang out with Snips and Snails more when I get home. I just hope getting Scooteroll and Gold Watch to talk to each other will be this easy.

Afternoon classes passed as quickly as the morning had. Sugar gushed about Scooteroll's climbing exploits at every break between lessons, and Apple Bloom shared her ideas for future crusades with the two unicorn fillies. Everypony who heard the story agreed that Scooteroll was daring and awesome, except for Gold Watch, who insisted that Scooteroll should be ashamed of breaking school rules, and Blue Chip, who didn't pass any comment at all.

The Crusaders met up with Apple Bloom in the schoolyard after the final bell rang, both grinning excitedly. "That was so cool, Apple Bloom! It's like you've been a Crusader as long as we have! What are we going to do now?"

Apple Bloom smiled apologetically. "I gotta get home. Applejack has me doing all of Applebuck's chores while I'm here. Sorry, guys. I'll try to get some time off for tomorrow afternoon, okay?"

Scooteroll nodded and butted his head against Apple Bloom's. "Sure thing. See you then!"

Apple Bloom reached the gate to the schoolyard and found Gold Watch and Blue Chip waiting there. "Hey guys!" she greeted them brightly. "Were you two waiting for me?"

The two elegant colts nodded. "Yes, we just thought we should wait until... you know." Blue Chip indicated Scooteroll and Sweepy Bell with a nod of his head.

The yellow filly sighed. "I'm sorry about that. Scooteroll really seems to hate you both, and I just don't get why."

Blue Chip exchanged a glance with Gold Watch. "It's a really long story," he said finally. "You don't want to hear the whole thing on your first day at school. Scooteroll's always just been kind of a bully when it comes to us."

Apple Bloom felt a chill settle in her chest at those words. "Scooteroll's a bully? That's... so weird. He said the same thing about you guys."

Gold Watch snorted angrily, stomping his hooves on the ground. "Us? Us? He's the bully here! He's the one who..."

Blue Chip cut his friend off with a gentle hoof placed on his shoulders. "Come on, Goldie. Let's not drag that whole thing out into the open, shall we?"

The pink colt took a deep breath, then nodded to his friend. "You're right. I'm so sorry, Apple Bloom. There's just a lot of history here that you shouldn't have to worry about. Anyway, we were wondering if you'd let us walk you home? We know you've got a lot of chores to do."

"That'd be real neighbourly of you!" replied Apple Bloom, smiling brightly. The previous topic of conversation still weighed heavily on her, but with her new friends trying so hard to be amiable, she didn't let herself think about it too much. "Are you sure you don't mind? I don't know where ya'll live, but it can't be anywhere near Sweet Apple Acres."

Blue Chip shrugged. "It's not like either of us have any chores to do. It's no trouble."

Apple Bloom laughed as they set off down the road towards the apple farm. "I guess not. You two are both pretty rich, ain't ya? What do your folks do?"

"Oh, my parents don't do anything," said Blue Chip. "They're old money, not like Mister Nouveau Riche here." He gave Gold Watch a playful shove with his shoulder, causing him to stumble off the path.

"Well, excuse the Lucres for having talent instead of good breeding!" he shot back, charging at Blue Chip with his head lowered. The two colts strained against each other for a few seconds, looking just like Applejack and Rainbow Dash in one of their many competitive moods, until they both grinned and then burst out laughing. Apple Bloom couldn't help but laugh along with them.

"Seriously, though, Blue Chip's family has got old, old money," Gold Watch explained once they had all caught their breath.

"Older than Granny... I mean Grandpa Smith?" asked Apple Bloom, impressed.

Blue Chip laughed. "Try older than Prince Solaris."

Apple Bloom felt her jaw drop. Older than Princess Celestia? She's over a thousand years old! How can that be possible?

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" continued Blue Chip. "But we've got proof. There's a letter in a display case at home from Chancellor Cream Puff, thanking one of our ancestors for funding the expedition to found Equestria."

"That's amazing!" replied Apple Bloom, figuring that this must be the local version of the ancient earth pony Chancellor Puddinghead. "Chancellor Cream Puff? That's the oldest bit of history I know! Umm... but wasn't he a bit... y'know... crazy?"

"She," corrected Blue Chip. "They usually get a stallion to play her, like Berry Bubble this year, but she was a mare. And... yeah, a bit. She settled down a lot once the tribes got together, though, and her secretary helped a lot. Anyway, my family owned a lot of farmland in those days, and since we earth ponies are the only ones who can grow food, that made them awfully wealthy. We've diversified since then, naturally. Investing is my special talent, so my father's put me in charge of a few of our portfolios. It's actually a lot of fun!"

"That's really cool," said Apple Bloom, still trying to come to terms with Blue Chip's ancient pedigree. "So that's all they do? Hang on to their money and invest it and stuff?"

"Oh, we do a lot of charity work. We just don't do anything for pay, because we don't want to take work away from ponies who need it. And then there's... well..." The grey colt fell silent and started looking over his shoulders cautiously.

"It's okay, Blue," Gold Watch reassured him. "We're all earth ponies here."

Blue Chip chewed his lip nervously. "Well, there is something else, but you have to be under Berry Bubble Bond not to talk about this to any unicorns, okay? Not Sugar and Spice, not Sweepy Bell or Elusive, nopony."

Apple Bloom blinked, suddenly not liking where this conversation was going. "Not even Dusk Shine?"

Blue Chip shook his head. "Especially not Dusk Shine. You'll understand why once I explain."

I don't like the sound of this, but I'm probably better off knowing than not knowing. "Okay then... um... cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, I won't tell any unicorns about this." She stopped walking for long enough to wave her front legs and apply a hoof to her closed eye.

Gold Watch smiled. "I didn't know they had Berry Bubble Bonds in Hoofington! That's pretty cool."

Blue Chip looked over his shoulder again, then leaned in closer to Apple Bloom, lowering his voice. "The thing is, we make sure we've got lots of money, invested all over Equestria, so that we're safe if the unicorns in Canterlot try anything."

Apple Bloom felt a shiver go down her spine. "What do you mean, 'if they try anything'?"

"It's like this," the grey colt explained. "The unicorns of Canterlot have a lot of power, both political and financial. If they decided they wanted to go back to the bad old days of us – earth ponies – versus them, they could do a lot of damage to our economy. A lot of damage. They'd eat Ponyville for breakfast and Hoofington for lunch, and without strong financial backup, there's nothing we could do to stop them."

"Is... is that something that's going to happen?" asked Apple Bloom. This sounded like tribal nonsense, but it made far too much sense, and that scared her.

"I hope not. We're not looking for a fight, but we need to be prepared if the unicorns start one. Plenty of the old families in Manehattan are with us, too. I just don't want to see anything bad happen to Ponyville."

Apple Bloom nodded slowly. "What about Prince Solaris, though? He wouldn't do anything like that."

Blue Chip smiled and nudged Apple Bloom's shoulder with his nose. "Don't worry about that. Prince Solaris is an earth pony. He's one of us."

"Wait... what?" Now I'm really confused.

Gold Watch chimed in. "It's true. The Prince is an earth pony with wings and a horn, more than anything else. He's always been on our side."

Blue Chip nodded. "Who gave Grandpa Smith's family – a family of seed gathering earth ponies – the land grant that founded Ponyville? Prince Solaris, that's who. He's the only earth pony with any real power in Canterlot."

"And Frou-Frou," added Gold Watch. "Can't forget the fashion queen of Canterlot."

"Well, yes, alright. Prince Solaris and Frou-Frou. It's not exactly a huge list, is it?"

"I guess not," admitted Apple Bloom. "And I can't tell Dusk Shine because he's from Canterlot, right?"

"That's right," nodded Blue Chip. "Don't get me wrong, I really like Dusk Shine, and I know he loves Ponyville. But if he mentioned it to any of his friends back in Canterlot – especially his big sister – we could be in a lot of trouble with the nobility. So keep it under your hat."

"I ain't wearin' a... oh, right. Sure thing."

The three young ponies walked out of Ponyville and started along the hill leading to Sweet Apple Acres. They fell silent for a minute while Apple Bloom ruminated on what Blue Chip had told her. To break the silence, she turned her attention back to the other colt. "So what about your folks, Gold Watch? What do they do?"

The pink colt waved a hoof in the direction of Ponyville. "Mother runs her business, 'Greasy Lucre's Ponyville Produce'. We've pretty much cornered the market on agricultural supplies and equipment. We sold your cousin Red Gala her new plough last spring – she's wanted that for years. We also buy a lot of fresh produce and sell it retail. In today's economy, it just doesn't make sense for farmers to be running their own stalls in the market. Speaking of which, I don't suppose you could prevail upon Applejack to let us handle their cider sales next season?" Gold Watch grinned hopefully at Apple Bloom with that last suggestion.

Apple Bloom couldn't help but blush a little. "Yeah... sorry, but Applejack always says that runnin' the cider stall is part of the earth pony magic that makes the cider so good. And that having the family face out front is what builds goodwill in the community."

"It wasn't community goodwill that kept the Razzle-Dazzle Sisters from driving Sweet Apple Acres out of business last cider season, though. I really think Applejack should do more deals with Mother." He stopped and shook his head. "I'm sorry, that's none of my business."

"Nah, it's okay, you're just bein' helpful. And your mother sounds like a real decent pony, too."

Gold Watch smiled brightly, his blue eyes shining with admiration. "She's amazing. She built Ponyville Produce from the ground up. She could have used Grandmother's money to get herself started, but she did it all by herself. That's a Lucre family tradition – we're all self-made ponies. One day I'm going to take everything Mother taught me and use it to start my own business. She's such an inspiration."

"Well, that's just so cool! I really wanna meet her sometime, then. And what does your pa do?"

Blue Chip grimaced awkwardly, and Gold Watch lowered his voice. "He feeds the wolves in Whitetail Wood," he replied, his ears drooping.

Good job, Apple Bloom. Whitetail Wood was where Apple Bloom's own parents had been left after their funeral, to feed the wolves, raccoons and other scavengers that lived there, in accordance with earth pony tradition. Apple Bloom had been too young then to remember much about her parents, but Granny Smith took her three grandchildren on a walk through the woods every year to commemorate them.

She sighed softly and nudged her head against Gold Watch's. "I'm real sorry I said anything, Gold Watch. You must miss him heaps."

"It's okay," the pink colt replied, smiling sadly and returning the nuzzle. "Mother and I remember him well. Mother taught me about business, but Father taught me about leadership. His name was Gold Chain. He was Mayor of Ponyville before he died. He did a lot for this town, and one day, I will too."

Apple Bloom nodded slowly. "I believe you. You're... you're the kind of pony who makes things happen. So... he gave you your watch?"

Gold Watch fished his namesake accessory out of his waistcoat, holding it carefully in one hoof. "His grandfather gave it to his father at his cuteceañera, and his father gave it to him on his. After he died, Mother was going to wait until I got my cutie mark to give it to me, but she thought I should have it sooner, because of how much it meant to me. Good thing she did, too, or I'd never have gotten this," he added, indicating his cutie mark.

"It sounds like you both have pretty awesome families," Apple Bloom said as they began walking again and Sweet Apple Acres slowly came into view. "You're really lucky. And so am I. The Ponyville Apples might only be my cousins, but they treat me like their little sister." She turned and nudged her head against the two colts, smiling. "Thanks for walking me home, guys. It's been real nice."

Blue Chip smiled brightly and nodded, while Gold Watch gave Apple Bloom a polite bow. "It has been our pleasure. I do hope we'll have you in Ponyville for a good while longer."

Apple Bloom waved to the two colts as she cantered up to the farmhouse. "I hope so too! See ya'll at school tomorrow!"

Applejack wandered out of the kitchen when he heard Apple Bloom's excited hooves against the wooden floor. "Well, you're sure in a chipper mood. How was school, haystack?"

How was school? Well, I hung out with the two most popular colts in school all morning. Then I got to meet the Cutie Mark Crusaders as colts, and found out that the guys I'd been hanging out with were apparently bullies. Then I met Snips and Snails as fillies, and talked the Crusaders into letting them join in on one of our crusades. Scooteroll almost climbed to the top of the bell tower and then almost killed himself falling off it, and I think maybe Sugar has a thing for him. Then I found out that the Crusaders are apparently bullies here, and got to hear all about two of the most awesome families in Ponyville, along with some business advice and a weird diatribe against Canterlot unicorns.

"Oh, you know. It was okay, I guess."

Crashing Down

The Apple family congregated on the farmhouse’s front porch for afternoon tea. Apple Bloom helped Grandpa Smith bring tea and oatcakes from the kitchen, while Red Gala made her way back from the field she had been harvesting since lunch. Grandpa Smith waved a hoof at the road leading towards Ponyville. “I saw them two colts walkin’ you home, Apple Bloom. Good to see you’re makin’ friends already.”

“Who, Gold Watch and Blue Chip? Yeah, they’re real nice,” said Apple Bloom, between pouring cups of tea. “We talked all about our families and stuff. Gold Watch said his pa used to be Mayor.”

“Mayor Gold Chain?” asked Applejack. “Why, he was Mayor when I was just a colt. Pa always spoke real good of him. Said he really believed Ponyville could be a great town. He made a lot of difference around here. Darn shame he died so young.”

Apple Bloom nodded. “What happened to him?”

“Rattlesnake bit him in the middle of the Running of the Leaves. It was an accident, nopony blamed the poor critter for it, but they just didn’t get Gold Chain to the hospital in time. I guess that’s life out here in the country.”

“His little colt turned out alright, though,” added Grandpa Smith. “They didn’t make colts that handsome when I was a lad.”

“Grandpa!” objected Apple Bloom, blushing.

“You know I could have married his grandmother?” the old stallion continued, oblivious to Apple Bloom’s embarrassment. “Why, that Rotten Lucre was a pretty young thing, battin’ her eyelashes and flirtin’ her tail at me every chance she got. Kept tellin’ me I was the bravest, smartest, handsomest stallion she’d ever met. I knew she only wanted one thing from me, though.”

By this time, Applejack had buried his nose in the oatcakes to avoid having to look at Grandpa Smith, and even Red Gala was somehow managing to blush through her bright red coat. Apple Bloom found herself unable to look away. “And what was that, Grandpa?” she asked, reluctantly.

“Why, the secret to making zap apple jam, of course!” Grandpa replied, stamping his front hoof. “Everypony wanted to know how to get the trees to give up the fruit right on time, and make it into the best jam in Equestria. There was big money in it. We’d never have made Sweet Apple Acres the size it is today without that jam, and Rotten Lucre was the sharpest businesspony in town. She wanted a slice of that pie. The money pie, that is, not zap apple pie. She had plenty of that too, when she came a’courting.”

“Gold Watch said the Lucres were all self-made ponies, building their businesses without their family’s money backing them up,” said Apple Bloom thoughtfully. “She wanted to make zap apple jam into her business?”

“Oh, my pa was already sellin’ plenty of zap apple jam to her ma, old Filthy Lucre. But Rotten Lucre figured if she married me, the whole orchard would be hers one day. Now, don’t get me wrong. Rotten was a real nice girl. Well-mannered, hard-working, with the nicest long black mane you ever did see. I thought long and hard about marryin’ her. She’d have made a pretty good wife and mother.”

“So why didn’t you, Grandpa?” Applejack managed to ask. “If she was so nice and all?”

“She might have been right for me, but she wouldn’t have been right for Sweet Apple Acres!” Grandpa exclaimed, stamping his hoof again. “She didn’t love the land and the trees the way we do. It takes more than hard work and good business sense to make a farm like this work. You have to remember that making plants grow ain’t just a business, it’s part of what we are. Earth ponies! She didn’t understand that, and she wouldn’t in a hundred years.

“So I married that nice Hamilton lady instead. She weren’t quite so pretty, nor so business-savvy. And I know she wanted the zap apple secrets right where she thought they belonged – in the hooves of the Apple family. But when I showed her around the orchard, I knew she was the right one for Sweet Apple Acres. She’d care about the trees for themselves, not just for what she could sell. I never regretted marrying that mare for one second. Even now.” He stared at the wooden floor of the porch, sighing wistfully. “I miss her so much, and our little filly and her husband. But I got me three fine grandchildren now. Four, now that you’re here, young’un.”

Apple Bloom trotted forward and laid her neck against Grandpa Smith’s. “I’ve never had a grandpa before,” she said softly. “Thanks for letting me be your grandchild.”

“Well, of course, whippersnapper! You’re family! Let that purple unicorn lad figure the hows and whys of it, it’s plain as day you’re one of us.”

After tea, Red Gala went back to the southern fields, while Apple Bloom accompanied Applejack down to the corn fields behind the farmhouse. “Y’all know how the corn harvest works, right?” the young stallion asked. “We used to leave it until winter to harvest, so’s it would dry out properly, but this year we want to bring it in early, ever since that time Eris turned it all to popcorn.”

Apple Bloom nodded eagerly. “I push the stalks over with one hoof, until the stalk breaks, then pick it up with my teeth and throw it into the cart. That way the broken stalk stays in the ground, and breaks down so the nutrients and magic go back into the earth.”

Applejack nudged Apple Bloom with a hoof. “That’s right. Looks like your sister taught you well. Let’s get to it.”
The two ponies worked hard through the afternoon, swapping stories of their adventures as the corn piled up in the wagon. As Apple Bloom trotted over to the cart with three ears of corn balanced on her back, she stopped with a thoughtful look on her face.

“Applejack, what do you think about the unicorns in Canterlot?”

The orange stallion tilted his head to one side, as he pulled the wagon, regarding Apple Bloom quizzically. “They’re just like ponies anywhere else – some of them are nice, some of them ain’t. Most of them wouldn’t know a proper day’s work if it bit ‘em, though. Why do you ask?”

“Well,” the filly began, looking over her shoulder just as her friend had, “I was talking to Blue Chip on the way home, and he said that the Canterlot unicorns might try to use their money and power to, I dunno, do something bad to Ponyville and the earth ponies.”

“Oh,” Applejack said, stopping in his tracks. “That.”

“You know about that?” asked Apple Bloom. “So it’s all true?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s all true. Listen, Blue Chip... his pa is old money, ain’t he?”

Apple Bloom nodded. “Very old. Older than the Prince, he said.”

“No, that’s his name, Old Money. He lives in a big mansion not far from Butterscotch’s cottage. Old Money’s a good pony, but he’s got some... funny ideas about unicorns. Your sister never gave you this talk, did she? I guess she didn’t, if I ain’t given it to Applebuck.

“Alright,” he continued, unhitching himself from the wagon and kneeling down in the soil. “The thing is, Ponyville has had no shortage of unicorns coming to town and trying to make us prance to their tune. We had three just this last year, and they weren’t the first, and they won’t be the last. Presto was a loudmouth, all hat and no cattle, but he didn’t do no real harm. I can’t honestly blame him for the Ursa Minor – if anypony’s to blame for that, it’s Sugar and Spice, and they’re just a couple of silly fillies who didn’t know no better.”

“I met Sugar and Spice!” interrupted Apple Bloom. “I really like them! They are pretty silly, though,” she agreed.

“Anyhow, Presto weren’t no real trouble. But Razzle and Dazzle darn near ran us out of business. They knew exactly what they were doin’, too. Grandpa was a darned foal for making that bet with them, but when Razzle called him a chicken...” He snorted angrily, his ears flicking back for a second. “It’s unicorns like that who give the tribe a bad name. Now, there’s plenty of good unicorns in Canterlot, like that Fancy Dress lady we met at the garden party. But for every Fancy Dress or Trefoil, there’s a Razzle or a Dazzle, and these ones have money, and power. Ponies who’d sell our entire town if it meant lining their own saddlebags with a few more bits.”

Apple Bloom nodded slowly. “And there are families like Old Money’s who keep us safe from that? Blue Chip made it sound like some kind of huge anti-Canterlot conspiracy.”

Applejack laughed. “Oh, it ain’t nothin’ like that. I first heard about it from Aunt Orange when I was just a little colt, wanting to live the high life in Manehattan. It’s not exactly a conspiracy, but it is a secret. If Razzle and Dazzle had really driven us out of business, Old Money would have done all he could to help us keep Sweet Apple Acres. Not sure how much he could have helped – the sisters won the contest fair and square – but he’d have done something, that’s for sure.

“But there was another time that a Canterlot unicorn came to Ponyville, sayin’ he was in charge of things for the Summer Sun Celebration, with orders from the Prince himself. And then later he tried using his magic for Winter Wrap-Up on Sweet Apple Acres, and that was just a disaster. But that unicorn is one of my best friends now. So I don’t want to hear of you judgin’ anypony for where he’s from, or for having a horn, or wings for that matter.”

Apple Bloom knew she shouldn’t, but she simply couldn’t resist. “What about stripes?”

Applejack rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, you got me. I sure messed up when it came to Zircon, and Applebuck was the only one with the guts to go make friends with him. We all owe you one for that. I guess I don’t need to be teaching you any lessons about judging ponies by how they look.

“Still, though... the fact is, you’re growing up. It’s one thing to have an open mind about zebras when you ain’t never met one before. It’s another thing to have an open mind about unicorns when the last two you met almost took your home away from you. You’re gonna meet some pretty lousy ponies as you go through life, and it’s gonna be real easy to let that make you think bad of everypony you meet. I ain’t perfect like that – it took me a lot longer than it should have to realise just how good a friend Elusive was.”

“What went wrong with you and Elusive? I mean, Sweepy and I got on just fine as soon as we met.”

Applejack sighed. “It was just little things. Stupid things. I reckon we just started off wrong, what with him being a fancy unicorn and a flashy designer. I think he said something about dirt when we first met, I don’t remember. But because we started out wrong, it kept going wrong. Once you’ve got a bad impression of a pony, every little thing he does is gonna rub you the wrong way. It’s real easy to assume that anything he does that upsets you, he’s doin’ it on purpose. Before long, you’re in each other’s faces all the time and you wind up ruining your friend’s sleepover. But I could have just put it all aside and tried to make peace with him, and I’d have had a loyal, generous friend by my side much sooner. So I don’t want you making those same mistakes. Try to make friends with everypony, even the ones who don’t seem so friendly. They’re probably the ones who need friends the most.”

The rest of the week passed just as pleasantly as Apple Bloom’s first day had. Every day she made new friends, and was invited into more and more games and gatherings. She still sat with Sugar and Spice in class, helping them with their work and hearing all about their misadventures. The Crusaders had warmed up to the two unicorn fillies, and were happy to include them in their lunchtime activities. Scooteroll and Sugar spent Thursday afternoon sharing a pair of binoculars and a plate of Applejack’s apple turnovers as they watched Rainbow Blitz’s aerial exercises, while Apple Bloom helped Sweepy Bell and Spice practise their magic together.

Getting Gold Watch and Blue Chip to hang out with Sugar and Spice had been easy, too. Gold Watch took his personal grooming very seriously, and spent an entire morning before school trading mane care tips with Spice between rounds of hopscotch. Apple Bloom had been worried about how Blue Chip would get on with the two unicorns, but if his family’s prejudice extended to Ponyville unicorns, he showed no sign of it with his gentlecoltish attention to Spice, and his offer to treat the five of them to a trip to the spa on the weekend.

Apple Bloom’s attempts to reconcile the rich colts with the Crusaders were met with less success. Simply mentioning Gold Watch made Sweepy Bell’s ears twitch in agitation, and Scooteroll would always whinny aggressively and declaim the two earth pony colts as vicious bullies who made their lives miserable. For his part, Gold Watch refused to elaborate on how Scooteroll affected their lives, only muttering about how he always “ruined everything”. The two ringleaders would sometimes snipe at each other during school, pushing the limits of what Sunny Smiles would tolerate in his classroom.

The weekend was even more fun than school. Apple Bloom had only been to the Ponyville spa once, at Rarity’s insistence after the Sisterhooves Social, and hadn’t found the experience particularly entertaining, but having Sugar and Spice enjoying the treatment right next to her made all the difference, and she had to admit that she liked the way Gold Watch looked at her with her coat brushed and mane styled. They all ended up spending the evening in Blue Chip’s suite at his family’s mansion, dining on pizza and talking nonsense well into the night.

Sunday morning found the Crusaders and their new unicorn friends at their clubhouse on Sweet Apple Acres, planning their next adventure. Sugar’s mother owned a small boat that the filly sometimes used for visiting the nearby sugar cane plantations, and Sweepy decided that navigating the river would be a great way to earn a piloting cutie mark. The ponies loaded the vessel down with food, maps and binoculars, and it was only after they had pushed away from the bank and were in the middle of the current that they realised that they had forgotten to pack oars. They panicked and argued for a few minutes, and then Scooteroll swam for the shore towing a rope, and managed to drag the boat safely to the bank. The crusade was quickly adjourned to the Sweet Apple Acres farmhouse, where the drenched pegasus colt could curl up in front of the Apples’ warm hearth with a hot meal from Grandpa Smith.

Monday morning was when the trouble started.

Apple Bloom walked into the schoolyard, confident of another fun week of learning and spending time with her friends without the shadow of Diamond Tiara hanging over her. Many colts and fillies were cantering around, talking and playing, but a small knot of students was gathered around the corner that was the Crusaders’ usual lair. She could hear the raised voices of two colts coming from the crowd, and began trotting that way with a sigh.

Sure enough, once Apple Bloom shouldered her way through the crowd, she found Sweepy Bell and Scooteroll butting heads with each other, arguing about Sunday’s boating failure. “We could all have boat piloting cutie marks by now if you hadn’t forgotten the oars!” shouted Scooteroll, snorting angrily.

“If you’re so smart, why didn’t you bring them?” shrieked Sweepy Bell, his voice cracking briefly. “It’s not as if either of us knew what we were doing! You could have gotten a swimming cutie mark for all you know!”

“Well, I didn’t, did I?” Scooteroll shot back. “All I got was covered in river mud! That’s even worse than tree sap!”

Apple Bloom watched the two colts fighting, more than a little concerned. Sure, she fought with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo all the time, but that was harmless, and they were always laughing about it together within the hour. This looked different – more vicious, more spiteful.

But then again, maybe it only looked different because she wasn’t involved. Apple Bloom knew that she said and did things in her arguments and fights at home that she wouldn’t have done with a cool head. With the advantage of perspective, maybe it fell to her to smooth things over.

She trotted forward carefully, placing a hoof on Scooteroll’s shoulder. “Hey, guys, I don’t think what happened was anypony’s fault. I mean, we all had a good time, right?”

Scooteroll lurched to one side, slamming his flank into Apple Bloom and knocking her sprawling across the playground. “Nopony asked you, Apple Bloom!” he shouted, then whirled back to face Sweepy Bell.

Right, that’s it, thought Apple Bloom, all ideas of pacifying the situation flying out of her head. If it’s a fight he wants, it’s a fight he’ll get. She won about three out of five fights with Scootaloo, thanks to her farm-bred strength and Rainbow Dash’s karate training, and she probably knew most of Scooteroll’s tricks already. I’ll teach him to pick on Sweepy Bell.

Still, that flank slam had knocked the wind out of her. She twisted around on the ground in an attempt to get her hooves underneath her, then looked up in surprise when a pink fetlock was extended to help her up. She accepted the aid gratefully, allowing Gold Watch to pull her upright. “Thanks, Gold Watch!” Apple Bloom said as she dusted herself off, smiling at the pink colt. “Scooteroll and I were just...”

Gold Watch didn’t smile back. “I saw what Scooteroll was just. Blue Chip? Take my watch.”

Blue Chip groaned as he trotted up beside his friend. “Do we have to do this, Goldie? Apple Bloom’s fine, there’s no harm done...”

Gold Watch fixed the grey colt with an imperious glare. “Take it,” he instructed, his tone inviting no disobedience. Blue Chip sighed deeply and drew the watch from his friend’s pocket, unclasping the chain from his collar and cradling it delicately with one leg and his mouth.

Apple Bloom watched in confusion as Gold Watch strode up to Scooteroll, the other students quickly clearing a path for him. He tapped the pegasus on the shoulder and spoke loudly enough for the whole schoolyard to hear him.

“Scooteroll, tell me you did not just hit a filly.”

“Wait, what?” cried Apple Bloom, staring at the two colts in disbelief. “What the hay does he think he’s doing?”

“He’s defending your honour, of course!” said Spice, who had come trotting up to watch the commotion, along with, it seemed, the rest of the school. “Isn’t it romantic?”

“No, it’s not!” Apple Bloom insisted. “It’s ridiculous! If me and Scooteroll want to have a fight, Gold Watch shouldn’t butt in!”

The two angry colts were circling each other now, snorting and pawing at the air. “Don’t stick your muzzle where it’s not wanted, Gold Watch!” the pegasus shouted, stamping angrily.

“I’ll stick my muzzle wherever it’s needed if you’re going to beat up my friends, you belligerent ignoramus!”

“Don’t call me things I don’t know the meaning of, you stuck-up little twerp!”

“Stop it, both of you!” yelled Apple Bloom, trying to get between the two colts. They edged away from her and steadfastly ignored her, focusing their ire on each other. Apple Bloom felt a pair of jaws latch over her tail and gently draw her out of the fight. She turned around to see an apologetic looking Sweepy Bell letting go of her tail.

“I’m really sorry, Apple Bloom, but there’s nothing we can do. Gold Watch has had this coming for a long time.” The unicorn colt turned to watch the fight, his hooves shuffling anxiously.

Apple Bloom groaned in frustration and turned to Blue Chip. “What about you? Can’t you get Gold Watch to back down?”

Blue Chip shook his head. “Too late,” he mumbled around the chain in his mouth. “If he backs down, he’ll lose the respect of the whole school. Gotta go through with it now.”

“I already don’t respect him!” she cried. “This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen either of them do!”

The rest of the school had well and truly surrounded the pair now, stamping their hooves and cheering. “FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!” they yelled, all eyes fixed on the duelling colts. Sugar pranced happily behind Scooteroll, tossing flowers at him.

“Have y’all gone mad?” yelled Apple Bloom, staring at the crowd. Nopony answered her, so she turned back to the fight.

Scooteroll and Gold Watch were still slinging insults at each other, accompanied by the occasional hoof swipe. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes in annoyance and paid little attention to their words, until Gold Watch pitched his voice higher and gave Scooteroll a particularly vicious grin. “I’m not going to back down to the likes of you, you barbaric, good-for-nothing blank flank!”

Apple Bloom felt her jaw drop as Gold Watch brought out the insult that had made her life miserable since Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had started tormenting her. How could he say that?

“See what I mean?” said Sweepy Bell, pointing at Gold Watch. “I told you he was a jerk!”

“He knows I’m a blank flank, right?” asked Apple Bloom forlornly, her ears starting to droop. “That’s just... the meanest thing a pony who’s supposed to be my friend could say!”

Scooteroll snorted in rage at the insult, rearing up on his hind legs and flapping his wings to steady himself as he lashed out with both front hooves, landing a sold blow on Gold Watch’s muzzle. “I’d rather be a blank flank than a stuck-up, spoiled, money-for-brains, lame mamma’s colt like you!”

Apple Bloom turned to look at Blue Chip, who had the same appalled expression on his face as she did. The first and last time she had called another earth pony “lame”, Applejack had threatened to wash her mouth out with soap. “An earth pony lives and dies by the strength of her legs,” she had explained to her. “Calling an earth pony ‘lame’ is saying that she ain’t worth nothing at all.”

“I told you he was mean!” said Blue Chip, still holding the watch carefully. “He’s always like this!”

Apple Bloom looked at the gesticulating Blue Chip and Sweepy Bell, then back to the fight, which had finally escalated into violent blows. She stamped her hooves, staring at her friends in disbelief.

“Fine! Y’all can kill each other for all I care! I’m through with both of you! All of you!”

The young filly shouldered her way through the crowd and galloped away from the sounds of violence and hatred, tears streaming from her eyes.

He Said, She Said

Apple Bloom ran and ran, not bothering to look where she was going. She just wanted to get away from that hateful place, full of angry, hateful ponies.

How could her friends turn out to be so mean? She liked Gold Watch and Blue Chip. If she had to be honest with herself, she really liked Gold Watch. Her heart raced when he smiled at her in a way that it never had for Pipsqueak. Blue Chip had never been less than a gentlecolt to her either. How could they have called Scooteroll... that? Was that how they thought of her, too?

On the other hand, it wasn’t as though Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were the only ones who ever called her and her friends “blank flanks”. They might have popularised the insult, but just about everypony in school who had their cutie marks had used it too, except for Twist... and, now that she thought about it, Snips and Snails. Maybe it was just as common here, even without Diamond Tiara to spearhead things.

And Scooteroll! How could he say something so hurtful to anypony, even a pony he seemed to hate? She had never heard Scootaloo use that word. Was Scooteroll just a naturally meaner pony than Scootaloo? Maybe Scootaloo just never said it when she was around. She really thought her friends knew better than that, though.

Apple Bloom looked up as the shade of a large tree loomed over her. The familiar branches of Twilight Sparkle’s library treehouse were a comforting sight to her, and she nestled down in its exposed roots with a sigh. Sunny Smiles would probably come and fetch her soon, or send somepony after her, and the town library was as good a place as any to be when they found her. She rested her head against the trunk and closed her eyes, trying to calm her breathing and tears.

After a few minutes of this, a young girl’s voice came to her. “Hey, you’re Apple Bloom, right? Are you okay?”

Apple Bloom looked up at the unfamiliar voice, and saw, not a pony, but a young dragon, with purple scales and a ridge of delicate green spines along her head and neck. “Oh, hi, um... Spike?” she ventured, doing her best to blink away her tears.

“Spines. Nice to meet you!” the dragon said, extending a clawed hand to Apple Bloom. “Dusk told me all about you. I guess Spike is Twilight Sparkle’s assistant in your world?” The filly nodded. “Anyway, what’s wrong?”

Apple Bloom allowed Spines to help her back to her hooves. “Boys,” she said simply. “They’re always fighting and being mean to each other, and I just want everypony to get along!”

Spines grinned and ushered Apple Bloom towards the library entrance. “Oh, I know how that is. Dusk and his friends fight all the time.”

Apple Bloom blinked in surprise. “They do? But aren’t they supposed to be the Elements of Harmony? Like, the greatest examples of friends in Equestria?”

Spines shrugged. “I guess so? Doesn’t mean they aren’t in each others’ faces all the time. You should have seen what happened when Prince Solaris sent Dusk two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala. The way they were fighting over the second ticket... even Butterscotch was shouting at us, and he’s normally the quietest pony in town! Of course, I always have to be the sensible one when the guys are all being idiots. Honestly, this place would go to pieces without me. Hey, Dusk!” she called as they made their way into the library.

Dusk Shine was standing in front of his lectern, consulting three different texts at once. “Back already, Spines?” he asked, without looking up from his work. “Did you get that extra ink I wanted?”

“No, but I found something else you might want to take a look at, if you can tear your muzzle out of that book for a second.” Spines gave Apple Bloom a quick hug around her neck, then wandered into the kitchen.

Dusk turned around and looked taken aback to see the young filly in his library. “Apple Bloom? What are you doing here? Did something happen at school?”

Apple Bloom nodded silently, biting her lip in an attempt to keep herself from crying again.

“Oh, Apple Bloom, honey, come here,” crooned Dusk softly, kneeling in front of her. “Spines! Can you get some...”

“On it!” the young dragon called back.

Apple Bloom laid her head against Dusk’s neck, letting the tears flow. “Everypony at school is really mean to each other, and I can’t do anything about it!” she cried. “I tried really hard to get everypony to be friends, but stupid Scooteroll and stupid Gold Watch just ruined everything!”

Dusk Shine groomed Apple Bloom’s mane gently as she told the story, and was soon joined by Spines and three mugs of hot chocolate. Apple Bloom found herself calmed by Dusk and Spines’ soothing company, and was able to complete the story in some semblance of composure.

“... and then Gold Watch called Scooteroll a blank flank, and Scooteroll called Gold Watch lame, and then they just started hitting each other. Like, really hitting each other, not just the way I fight with the Crusaders sometimes. I couldn’t take any more of it, so I came here. I just want to go home.”

Dusk Shine looked both surprised and thoughtful at Apple Bloom’s story. “Oh my,” he said once Apple Bloom had finished. “That is serious. Scooteroll always struck me as such a nice young colt.” He paused and gazed at his mug in contemplation for a moment. “He does have quite the temper, though, much like Rainbow Blitz. I think I’ll have to have a chat with Blitz about the sort of language he uses around his fans. I don’t think I know Gold Watch. Wasn’t his father the last mayor?”

Apple Bloom nodded. “And they’re both really nice colts! I mean, they’ve both been really good to me. I don’t know why they hate each other so much! Can’t you help? Applejack told me how you got him and Elusive to stop fighting.”

Dusk shook his head sadly. “I don’t know if I can, sweetheart. Applejack and Elusive were only ever fighting over silly little things like getting muddy and wearing nice suits. It sounds like these two have something deeper going on. You’ll have to get to the bottom of that if you want them to be friends.”

“Do you think I can?” asked Apple Bloom, taking a long slurp of her hot chocolate.

“I think that if anypony can, you can,” Dusk replied, giving Apple Bloom a solemn nod. “Applebuck has done some pretty impressive things in the time I’ve known him, and he’s learned a lot along the way. If you’re anything like him – and logically, you must be – then you just might be able to make these two colts see reason.”

“Like I did with Zecora? Yeah, Applejack mentioned that too.”

“Zecora? Is she... your world’s version of Zircon? Then yes, just like her. You do have a knack for making friends, even when everypony else is being hostile and ridiculous.” He turned to face the large mirror that stood next to his lectern. “I’ve tried opening another portal for you to go home, and I can see into your world just fine, but I’m sorry, I can’t get you home yet.”

Just then, a knock came at the library door. Spines opened it to reveal two fillies Apple Bloom recognised from school – the Trottingham earth pony filly Half Pint, and Flash, a light grey pegasus filly with a dark grey mane. “Hi, Mister Dusk!” said Half Pint, idly toying with a loose strand of her mane, which seemed to have been dyed a midnight blue, clashing with her pinto coat. “Is Apple Bloom here?”

Apple Bloom turned and waved to her school friends. “Hey, guys. Yeah, I’m okay. Dusk and Spines took care of me.”

“Are you sure you’re alright to go back to school, Apple Bloom?” asked Dusk, still looking concerned.

Apple Bloom nodded. “I’ll be fine. I reckon I’ll go and try what you said – get to the bottom of what’s causing all this ruckus. Thanks for everything, Dusk, Spines.” She gave both of her friends a quick hug, then went to stand with the fillies from school.

Half Pint dragged a scroll out of her saddlebags and scuffed the floor with one hoof awkwardly. “Umm, Mister Dusk? Do you think maybe Spines could...”

Dusk Shine raised an eyebrow. “Is that another poem for Prince Artemis, Half Pint?” The tiny filly blushed and nodded.

Spines rolled her eyes. “Fine, give it here. Honestly, this moping around after an old stallion is just sad. Why don’t you look for somepony your own age?”

Everypony in the room turned to stare at Spines. “What?” she asked. “Why are you looking at me like that? I don’t even like Elusive that way! You don’t know about that for sure!” Blushing madly, she incinerated the poem and let the smoke flow out the door, then stomped off to the kitchen again.

Dusk chuckled and sighed. “Well, I for one think that Prince Artemis very much appreciates your letters, Half Pint. After so long away from Equestria, it’s good that he feels welcomed back. Give my best to Sunny Smiles, girls!”

The three fillies waved and trotted out the door towards school. Dusk watched them leave, then turned to the mirror. His horn glowed and his reflection in the mirror shimmered, then cleared to show a unicorn mare standing in the same position.

“Twilight! I thought you’d be there. Listen... this Zecora mare... is she seeing anypony?”

Apple Bloom trotted along the path back to school with Half Pint and Flash. “Thanks for coming to get me, guys. Am I in trouble with Sunny Smiles?”

Flash shook her head. “You’re just about the only pony who isn’t. Scooteroll and Gold Watch are on detention for, like, the rest of the year, and Mister Smiles gave everypony else a huge lecture. Somehow he found out what those two said when they were fighting, and he’s really, really angry. He said that you’re the only pony who tried to break it up.” The pegasus filly stared at the ground as she walked. “I guess we should have done something, huh?”

Apple Bloom had never seen Cheerilee truly angry, even when she’d been giving Apple Bloom detention. “It’s okay. I don’t think anypony could have stopped it. Those two really wanted to fight each other. So the whole class is in trouble?”

“Pretty much,” agreed Flash. “Mister Smiles has cancelled all of the lunchtime and after-school clubs for today, and he says that if we don’t behave ourselves, he’ll cancel everything for the whole week. Scooteroll has to sit by himself all day, and so will Gold Watch once he gets back from seeing Red Crescent.”

Apple Bloom shuddered. “Gold Watch is seeing the nurse? You mean Scooteroll really hurt him?”

Half Pint nodded emphatically. “It was awful. Nurse Crescent had to carry him to hospital on a stretcher. I just hope he recovers alright. It was so stupid of him to pick a fight with Scooteroll!”

“Why didn’t any of y’all stop him, then?” Apple Bloom asked, looking at Flash. “You’re nearly as fast as Scooteroll, and you can fly already. Couldn’t you have done something?”

Flash stared at Apple Bloom in disbelief. “Get involved in the colts’ fights? Are you crazy? Then they’d try to get involved in our fights and... no way! We let the colts do their own thing.”

Just like how the colts at home don’t care if Diamond Tiara is making my life miserable, they won’t get involved. “And I guess Gold Watch would rather end up in hospital than let me fight Scooteroll for him, huh?”

Both fillies nodded in agreement.

“Colts are stupid.”

Neither filly disagreed with her.

Apple Bloom had never seen the classroom so silent. Scooteroll was sitting in one corner of the classroom, his muzzle wrapped in bandages. He was looking between the blackboard and his textbook, writing awkwardly with a pencil strapped to one hoof. The rest of the class was studiously working through their mathematics problems, most of them not even looking up when Apple Bloom arrived. Gold Watch was nowhere to be seen.

Sunny Smiles nodded to Apple Bloom as she entered, and indicated that she should take her seat. Sugar and Spice looked up only briefly as she sat down next to them, and then returned to their work without a word. Sugar in particular looked very subdued compared to her usual bubbly demeanour.

The class worked silently through their morning lessons, interrupted only by Mister Smiles indicating the next set of problems. Nopony even moved when the lunch bell rang, instead waiting to be dismissed, which Apple Bloom had never seen happen. “Scooteroll, remain in your seat,” the teacher announced at the sound of the bell. “Apple Bloom, I’d like to speak to you in my office. Everypony else is dismissed.” The dark rose stallion waited for the rest of the class to file out into the playground, then waited for Apple Bloom to follow him into his office.

“Please, come in, Apple Bloom,” he said, indicating the chair in front of his desk. “You’re not in trouble.”

Apple Bloom took the offered seat and looked across the desk at her teacher, fidgeting nervously. “Is Gold Watch going to be okay?” she asked.

Sunny Smiles nodded. “His mother met him at the hospital. Nurse Crescent says that he has a fractured cannon bone, but he should be alright as long as he stays off it.” The stallion leaned across the desk, fixing Apple Bloom with an inquisitive gaze. “Can you tell me what happened this morning, Apple Bloom?”

Apple Bloom shrank back and stared at the desk. “I’m not a tattletale, Mister Smiles.”

Sunny Smiles sighed heavily. “Of course you’re not. The Prince forfend you children should actually help me to help you.” He shook his head, then laid a gentle hoof on Apple Bloom’s shoulder. “I’m already punishing Scooteroll and Gold Watch in every way I know how, and they should count themselves lucky that only Prince Solaris can banish ponies to the moon. I know exactly what they did, and what they said. I just want to know why.”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “I don’t understand it either. Everything was fine up until this morning.”

“You were there when it started. You even tried to calm things down, which is more than anypony else did. Were they fighting because of you?”

Apple Bloom scratched her head. “I don’t think so...”

Sunny Smiles placed his hooves gently on his desk and gave Apple Bloom a sympathetic, but serious look. “Were they fighting over you?”

“What? Of course not!” replied Apple Bloom indignantly. “I mean... I don’t think so... but Spice did say that she thought Gold Watch was ‘defending my honour’. It was so stupid, though! Scooteroll just shoved me, which I don’t care about, but Gold Watch took it personally and got up in Scooteroll’s face about it. I guess maybe it was over me, but...”

“But what?”

“But I think it stopped being about me pretty quickly. I really think they just wanted an excuse to fight each other.”

Sunny Smiles sighed deeply, looking as if he hadn’t smiled for quite some time. “I think you’re right, Apple Bloom. I don’t understand why those two are always snarling at each other. Scooteroll and the Cutie Mark Crusaders are some of the kindest, most considerate colts I know. Gold Watch and Blue Chip are fine, upstanding young gentlecolts, credits to their families, and I sometimes think this school would fall apart without them. To see them always fighting with each other just... breaks my heart, Apple Bloom. I’ve tried to make things right between them, but they won’t listen to me. I know you’re friends with all of them. Maybe you can get through to them.”

“I hope so, Mister Smiles.”

The afternoon passed as quietly as the morning had. Gold Watch came limping back into the classroom shortly after lunch, his front right leg sealed in a cast. He took a seat in the corner opposite Scooteroll, under Sunny Smiles’s watchful eye. The entire class worked diligently until they were dismissed in the afternoon, trotting away to leave the two fighters in detention.

Apple Bloom found herself lounging by the schoolyard fence with Blue Chip and Sweepy Bell, waiting for her friends to finish their detention. “Boy, this sure feels familiar,” she commented, twisting her hooves idly in the dirt. “I bet y’all have done this plenty of times.”

“Waiting for Scooteroll or Applebuck to get out of detention?” replied Sweepy. “A few times. Usually I’m in there with them, though.”

“Gold Watch doesn’t get into trouble much,” commented Blue Chip, sitting on the other side of Apple Bloom from Sweepy Bell. “We sometimes wait for Final Lap after he’s gotten into a fight. Flash, too.”

“Final Lap’s a jerk,” muttered Sweepy Bell. “He picks fights with Applebuck all the time.”

“He kind of is,” Blue Chip admitted.

The two colts lapsed into silence, trying to avoid looking at each other. Finally, Sweepy Bell spoke. “I’m sorry about what happened to Gold Watch, Blue Chip. Nopony deserves to end up in hospital over a stupid fight. And Scooteroll shouldn’t have said what he said, either.”

Blue Chip nodded solemnly. “I’m sorry that Gold Watch started the whole thing, too. It was just stupid, and... we shouldn’t have to be enemies, Sweepy.” He looked over at Apple Bloom, who was grinning like Pinkie Pie on the day the Cake foals were born. “Apple Bloom’s right. We should try to be friends.”

“We should,” agreed Sweepy Bell. “I don’t want to fight with you guys anymore.” He looked at the schoolhouse, then back to Blue Chip. “I think Scooteroll actually enjoys fighting with you and Gold Watch, and that’s... not what I want. Can we just call it quits?”

Sweepy extended his right front hoof to Blue Chip, who met it with his own and shook it solemnly. Apple Bloom squealed happily and threw her front legs around the two colts’ necks, hugging them tightly. “See? I knew you guys could be friends! You four are the nicest colts I know!”

Blue Chip grinned awkwardly, but returned the hug. “I don’t know about friends, but I think we can get along without sniping at each other all the time. Besides, I’m going to have to get along with you guys if I’m ever going to ask Spice out.”

“Wait, you like Spice?” asked Apple Bloom, looking surprised. “I didn’t think she was your type. I thought you’d want somepony...”

“Smarter?” supplied Blue Chip, making Apple Bloom blush. “You’d think so, but not really. She’s a good listener, and once you get her talking about something she likes, like cooking or flowers or Presto, she’s a really good conversationalist, too. And I really like her mane.”

“Why don’t you ask her out, then? She talks about you a lot.”

The grey colt sighed. “I’ve tried, believe me. She just pretends as though I haven’t said anything, if she even notices me.”

“You just gotta keep trying,” said Sweepy Bell. “It’ll be worth it. Look at Sugar and Scooteroll. I’ve never seen him so happy to have a filly paying attention to him.”

“Hey, I think they’re done in there!” exclaimed Apple Bloom, pointing to the schoolhouse. Sure enough, two colts were walking – limping in one case – out of the building, accompanied by their teacher, who said a few words to them and then retreated back into his office. The three friends ran to greet them, Blue Chip nuzzling Gold Watch carefully while Sweepy Bell hugged Scooteroll. Apple Bloom stood her ground between them, her smile fading to a stern frown as her anger at the two colts returned.

“Hey, you two,” she greeted them. “How bad was it?”

Scooteroll grimaced. “Awful. Mister Smiles gave us a big lecture, then made us apologize to each other, then write a bunch of lines, and then we had to sing the Heart’s Carol three times! I can hardly even talk with my muzzle like this!”

“Serves y’all right,” Apple Bloom said. “So are you gonna apologize now?”

“Um, Apple Bloom?” said Gold Watch. “We already did that in detention, like Scooteroll said.”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “That was a teacher apology. Those don’t count, you know that.”

Gold Watch turned to stare at Scooteroll for several moments, then sighed. “Very well. Father always said a day like this would come. Blue Chip, may I have some assistance here?”

Blue Chip obligingly stepped up and leaned his flank against Gold Watch’s, so that he could extend his uninjured left front hoof to Scooteroll. “Scooteroll, I apologize for my unseemly behaviour this morning. I should never have gotten involved in your fight with Apple Bloom, and I certainly should never have called you a blank flank, or any of those other things. I hope we can put this incident behind us and move on.”

Apple Bloom held her breath, watching Scooteroll’s face. The pegasus colt looked taken aback by Gold Watch’s apparent sincerity, and slowly extended his left hoof in return. He hesitated, though, and then slapped Gold Watch’s hoof away with an angry whinny.

“No! You can’t just pretend all that stuff you did never happened! You’ve made my life miserable all through school, and I’m not going to let you get away with it! I hate you! You’re a bully and you’ll always be a bully, and...”

“That’s it!” shouted Apple Bloom, stepping up to Scooteroll and shoving her head against his. “I’ve had enough! I’ve only met one bully in this school, and he’s a big dumb orange pegasus!”

Sweepy Bell gasped, and Scooteroll looked indignant. “Me?” he cried, stepping back from Apple Bloom and pointing at Gold Watch and Blue Chip. “But... but they...”

“They apologized, Scooteroll! They want to make things right, and so does Sweepy Bell! You’re the one making things worse now. Why can’t you just let it go?”

Scooteroll snarled and stamped his hoof. “Applebuck would understand! You’re nothing like him. Sweepy, we’re leaving!”

Sweepy Bell looked crestfallen. “But Scooteroll...”

“But nothing! Are you a Cutie Mark Crusader or are you one of them?”

Sweepy sighed and walked over to join Scooteroll. “I’m sorry, guys,” he said to Apple Bloom and the other colts, shaking his head forlornly. “I’ll see you later, I guess.”

Scooteroll glared over his shoulder at Apple Bloom as they trotted away. “I was wrong about you, Apple Bloom. You could never be a Crusader like us.”

“But... but...” stammered Apple Bloom as she watched her friends leave. She blinked rapidly, trying to hold back tears. A pink muzzle pressed against her neck comfortingly.

“You tried really hard, Apple Bloom,” Gold Watch murmured. “You did more than I was willing to do.”

Apple Bloom nudged Gold Watch with her head, then took a step back. “I think it’s about time you told me exactly why you and Scooteroll fight all the time. The whole story.”

Gold Watch looked at the ground anxiously. “I really don’t want to.”

“She’s got a right to know, Goldie,” said Blue Chip. “This has gone way too far as it is.”

“Alright, fine. Can we at least go sit down somewhere, though? My legs are killing me.”

“Let’s go grab a bite to eat at Sugarcube Corner, then,” suggested Blue Chip. “My shout. That reminds me, have you met Berry Bubble yet, Apple Bloom?”

“Um... pink stallion who works at Sugarcube Corner?” asked Apple Bloom as they walked towards town, slowing their pace for Gold Watch’s sake. “I’ve heard all about him, haven’t met him.”

“That’s weird. I thought he’d have thrown you a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party by now. He knows everypony in Ponyville, you know.”

A short while later, the three friends were sitting around a table at Sugarcube Corner, sipping from milkshakes as they waited for their pastries to arrive. Blue Chip had just finished regaling the others with one of his mother’s stories about the antics of the Manehattan elite when a pink head popped up from under the table, balancing a tray of food.

“Hi there everypony! Here are your orders! That’s an orange tart for you, Blue Chip, and an apple turnover for you, Apple Bloom! Your peach danish is just coming out of the oven, Gold Watch!”

“Thanks, Pinkie!” said Apple Bloom without thinking, as she took the tray from the pink stallion serving them. “Um, I mean... thanks, Berry! Wait, how do you know my name?”

Berry Bubble grinned and took a deep breath. “Well, I know everypony in Ponyville! You should know that! Besides, Sugar was here last Wednesday afternoon helping her mother deliver a batch of raw sugar and molasses, and she said that you and she got to watch Scooteroll fall off the top of the school bell tower, and then on Friday Half Pint and Flash were talking about how cool you are and how awesome it is that you hang out with these guys!” He pointed at the two colts as he finished his speech, grinning the whole while.

Ponies at school think I’m cool? wondered Apple Bloom.

“Hey, Berry, how come you haven’t thrown Apple Bloom one of your big ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ parties yet?” asked Blue Chip. “If you know all about her already.”

“Don’t be silly!” the bouncy stallion replied. “Apple Bloom isn’t a new pony in Ponyville!”

Apple Bloom felt her heart skip a beat. “I’m not?”

“Of course not!” Berry said, putting his front hooves up on the table. “If you were a new pony in Ponyville, my fetlocks would be itching! And they’re not, so logically you can’t be new here! Even if I’ve never seen you before.”

“Um, Berry? I think you should talk to Dusk Shine about that, before you tell anypony else that I’m not new here. Maybe your, uh, ‘Berry Sense’ is out of tune or something.”

Berry Bubble’s eyes went wide. “Oh my gosh, you’re right! If my Berry Sense started going wrong, it’d be a disaster! Lives are at stake!” Without another word, he dashed out of Sugarcube Corner in a pink blur.

“That was weird,” mused Blue Chip. “Why would he think you’re not new in town, Apple Bloom? Eh, I guess he’s just being Berry Bubble.”

Gold Watch blinked, bewildered by the entire exchange. “But... my danish?”

“A thousand apologies, Mister Gold,” said the tall, gangly proprietor of the bakery as she came trotting in with Gold Watch’s order on her head. “His shift isn’t even meant to be over for another three hours, but, well, you know Berry Bubble.”

“I do,” the pink colt agreed. “Um, Mrs Cake, can you call me Gold Watch, or Goldie? Mister Gold was my father, not me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, dearie,” Mrs Cake replied, giving Gold Watch a gentle nudge with her head. “It’s just that your father did so much for us when we were starting out. I don’t think we’d even have Sugarcube Corner if not for him.”

Gold Watch gave Mrs Cake a smile, but Apple Bloom could see that it was forced. “We’re just glad to do what we can for the community, Mrs Cake.”

Mrs Cake smiled and patted Gold Watch’s mane. “You’re a credit to your family, Mister... I mean, Goldie. Enjoy your meal!”

Apple Bloom placed a hoof against Gold Watch’s shoulder as Mrs Cake returned to the kitchen. “Are you okay, Goldie? You looked really upset just now.”

Gold Watch nodded and pressed his head against Apple Bloom’s fetlock. “I’m okay, it’s just... this keeps happening. Everypony who remembers Gold Chain talks about how great he was, and what a difference he made to the community, and... what if I can’t live up to that? Are ponies going to be telling my foals how great I was one day? I don’t think they will.”

“Hey, now, don’t be like that,” murmured Apple Bloom, wrapping her front legs around Gold Watch’s shoulders. “You’re doing great at school, with all the clubs and things you’re running, and everypony at school looks up to you!” Blue Chip edged around the table and pressed his nose against his friend’s neck, whickering comfortingly.

“Not everypony,” he grumbled, but he slowly smiled from his friends’ affection. “The Crusaders still want nothing to do with me, and ponies listen to them, too.”

Apple Bloom hugged Gold Watch again, then went back to her seat. “Alright. Time to spill the beans. Why do you and Scooteroll hate each other so much?”

Gold Watch pursed his lips, then nibbled thoughtfully on his danish while considering the question. “Fine, I’ll tell you, but you’re not going to like it. The thing is, Scooteroll isn’t the real problem.”

“He’s not?” asked Apple Bloom, surprised. “But he’s the one who’s always getting in your face, starting fights, talking about how mean you are.”

“No, he’s just a brute,” Gold Watch explained. “The real problem is your cousin, Applebuck.”

“Cousin Applebuck?” said Apple Bloom, after sitting in shock for several moments. “But he’s a nice pony!”

“I’m sure he is to his family,” said Gold Watch. “Everypony knows how well he and Applejack work together, and Applejack’s one of the greatest ponies in Ponyville. But he’s different at school. I don’t know if it’s just me, or if he treats everypony like that... but every time something bad has happened to me at school, he’s been behind it. He’s had it in for me ever since I got my cutie mark.”

“Oh. Well... maybe he’s just jealous that you got your cutie mark before he did. I know it’s a big deal for him.”

“It is, and I get that! I feel sorry for him! But he shouldn’t take it out on me. My cutie mark represents my family. He’s got no reason to be jealous of that, he’s got a great family himself. But when he makes fun of my cutie mark, he’s making fun of my family, and that’s just mean. You know he’s been telling ponies that my special talent is being able to tell the time?”

Apple Bloom swallowed hard. This was difficult to believe, yet Gold Watch seemed so earnest, and Blue Chip was nodding in confirmation with everything he said. “You’re right, that is mean. He wouldn’t want somepony saying mean things about his talent once he finds it.”

“Exactly! I even invited him to my cuteceañera – Mother insisted on it – and he ruined the whole thing! He made everypony pay attention to him the whole afternoon, when it was my party. It was supposed to be a celebration that I’d finally started to follow in my father’s hoofsteps as a community leader, but instead... nothing. It was humiliating.”

“Wow, that’s... pretty selfish of him,” Apple Bloom admitted. “I’m really sorry. I had no idea that he’d do something like that. Do you think, maybe, he didn’t realise what he was doing? That just doesn’t sound like him.” It doesn’t sound like me, either.

“Oh, that’s not all. You want to hear the worst of it?”

“Sure, I guess.” Worse? I don’t like the sound of this. It all has to be a big misunderstanding, though. If Applebuck is just me as a colt, then he wouldn’t do anything too terrible.

“Alright. This is going to be hard to believe, but I swear it’s true. You can ask anypony in town about it. One day, Applebuck came to school with a fake cutie mark.”

Oh. That.

“And I don’t just mean a cutie mark drawn on with eyeliner or something. I mean, who hasn’t done that?” continued Gold Watch, oblivious to the expression of guilt and remorse on Apple Bloom’s face. “No, he actually had a talent to go with it – spinning a coopering hoop around his waist, or something stupid like that. Everypony else thought this was brilliant, of course. So he spent all morning showing off like the Great and Powerful Presto. He even got Mister Smiles eating out of his hoof, too – he actually cancelled morning classes so Applebuck could give a ‘demonstration’ to everypony at school.”

It was all true. Apple Bloom had been showing off without even thinking about it, that day. She’d been so excited about having her cutie mark that she just wanted to show everypony how great her new talent was, after so long being teased and ignored for not having one. She had never really thought about how it would look to anypony else, though.

“So what happened then?” she asked, deciding that she might as well get the whole story out and deal with it all at once.

“Well, not only did Mister Smiles put him in charge of showing off his ‘technique’ to the whole class, but he made us all try it, too! Now, I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m not exactly the most coordinated colt in Ponyville. Sure, I’m captain of the polo team, but that’s more about teamwork and tactics than anything else, and I’m a decent runner. But this was... just embarrassing. I tried my best, but I was terrible at it, and so was Blue Chip. And Applebuck said... I’m sorry, it probably seems really petty of me to remember all of this...”

“No, go on,” Apple Bloom assured him. “I want to know what he said.”

Gold Watch took a long sip of his milkshake, then sighed. “He said that if we both kept practising, maybe one day we’d be half as good as he was. And then everypony laughed at us! It was so humiliating! Nopony took us seriously for days afterwards. And if nopony takes me seriously, then what good is my special talent? How can I be a community leader if I can’t even get the ponies at school to listen to me?”

“I know what that’s like, Goldie,” murmured Apple Bloom. “Not about your talent, but about everypony laughing at me. It’s no fun at all. I’m really sorry that I... I mean... I’m sorry Applebuck did all that. I think he feels really bad about it, though.”

“I hope so. Do you know how it happened, anyway? Turns out he stole some herbs from Mister Zircon, the zebra who lives in the Everfree Forest, and brewed a potion to give himself a contagious disease called ‘Cutie Pox’. It ended up giving him dozens of cutie marks, and forcing him to perform the talents that came with them. Zircon had to come to town to fix it.”

“Wait a minute... did you say contagious?”

“Apparently. The whole town was in a biohazard lockdown once his extra cutie marks started showing. We’re just lucky that Father equipped every house with environment suits while he was Mayor. Who knows how far it could have spread otherwise?”

Apple Bloom shrank back in her chair. She knew what she did was wrong, but when Gold Watch talked about it like that, it sounded downright irresponsible. She pushed the remnants of her apple turnover around her plate dejectedly. “I had no idea. I feel awful.”

“Why? It’s not your fault what Applebuck does.” Gold Watch reached across the table and placed his hoof against Apple Bloom’s. “Come on. You’re a great pony. You’re a great friend. I know you’d never do anything like that.”

“I wish I believed that,” Apple Bloom replied, getting to her hooves. “I think I’d better go home.”

“Are you sure?” asked Blue Chip. “You haven’t even finished your milkshake!”

“I’m sure. I’ve got a lot to think about.” She nuzzled her friends warmly, then headed for the door. “I’ll see you guys at school tomorrow. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I hope your leg gets better soon, Goldie.”

Apple Bloom trotted back to Sweet Apple Acres, deep in thought. As she passed the pool where she first saw Applebuck, she stopped and knelt down beside it. Without Dusk Shine’s magic or the shooting star, it merely showed her own reflection – a distraught yellow filly with a red bow in her hair. She gazed at it for a long time, thinking.

Either there’s something different about this world, and Applebuck is a worse pony than I am, or...

Or I’m kind of a jerk.

A Night to Remember

The next day at school was a little more lively than the previous afternoon had been, now that Mister Smiles was no longer on the warpath. Naturally, Monday’s fight had become the talk of the playground, although always out of earshot of the teacher. A few ponies – most prominently Sugar and Spice – were expressing their opinion of the two colts’ fighting prowess, admiring Scooteroll for his strength and speed, or Gold Watch for his tenacity and courage. The bulk of the students, however, seemed to take Sunny Smiles’s lecture to heart, and agreed that the boys had gone too far. A dust-up in the playground was part of school life, but a trip to the hospital shouldn’t have been.

According to the students who had been present for the lecture, Mister Smiles had been even more incensed about the two colts’ language than their violence. Nopony had ever told Mister Smiles that his lesson on cutie marks, and how everypony started life as a “blank flank”, was being used as an insult against the students who had yet to find their talents. Needless to say, he was not impressed, and he took the opportunity to revise that lesson, reminding the class that everypony possessed a special talent, even if they hadn’t yet found it. Once that lesson had sunk in, Mister Smiles followed it up with a lecture about Scooteroll’s language. He reviewed Ponyville’s history as an earth pony farming community, and explained the tragedy that struck when a farmer was too old or injured to work his own fields. Many of the students had never really given the idea much thought, and the ones from farming families were particularly chastened by the lesson.

The class’s behaviour seemed to satisfy Sunny Smiles, though, and no further discipline was imposed, save for Scooteroll and Gold Watch’s detentions after school for the rest of the week. Apple Bloom, Sweepy Bell and Blue Chip waited for them after school again, this time with Sugar and Spice waiting with them. The five children were getting along well, sharing stories about Applejack and Rainbow Blitz, but when their friends were released from detention, Scooteroll called to Sweepy Bell and they left without another word. Sugar trotted after them, followed by a very conflicted looking Spice.

On Wednesday afternoon, Sweepy Bell invited Apple Bloom back to Carousel Boutique, apparently at his big brother’s behest. “Aren’t you supposed to be hanging out with Scooteroll after school, Sweepy?” asked Apple Bloom when he made the suggestion at lunch. “Won’t he be mad that you’re hanging out with me instead, after everything that happened?”

The young unicorn shrugged. “It’s not like we can do anything after school anyway. His dad hobbled him as soon as he heard what happened – I think Rusty’s dad had a big talk with him the other night. He has to go straight home after detention, so there’s not much point.” Sweepy sighed and looked over at where Scooteroll was kicking a tennis ball against the wall by himself. “He’s still angry about you taking Gold Watch’s side, but he doesn’t hate you or anything. He’s really protective of Applebuck, and he doesn’t want to see Gold Watch treating you the way he treats him.”

Apple Bloom shuffled her hooves awkwardly, remembering her talk with Gold Watch on Monday. “Listen, Sweepy... did Applebuck ever do anything to make Gold Watch hate him? I really don’t think Goldie is a bad pony, and he gets really defensive whenever anypony mentions Applebuck.”

“What? No way!” exclaimed Sweepy, looking indignant. “Applebuck never did anything to Gold Watch! He’s probably still upset about Family Appreciation Day, but that was all Gold Watch’s fault. You don’t know what it’s like having a colt like him in your class! I guess it’s different for girls, though.”

Apple Bloom laughed and shook her head. “Oh, I should tell you about the fillies at my school some time. They can be real vicious. But look, has Gold Watch been giving you and Scooteroll any more trouble since Monday?”

Sweepy chewed his lip. “Well... no. I’m starting to think he meant what he said, about being sorry. I never thought that would happen. Scooteroll still doesn’t believe him, though.”

“Give him time, I guess. I still really want to be friends with both of you. I love being here, but I miss my Hoofington friends, too, and... you remind me of my best friends back there.”

Sweepy stopped and put his front legs around Apple Bloom’s shoulders. “You’re just like Applebuck, has anypony ever told you that? You’re just as friendly and nice as he is. Don’t worry about Scoots, he’ll come around.”

Apple Bloom returned the hug gratefully. “Thanks, Sweepy. I hope so.” She started for Carousel Boutique again, Sweepy trotting along beside her. “So what’s this afternoon about? Does Elusive want to meet me or something?”

Sweepy nodded. “He’s really happy that I’m making friends with more girls. I mean, he likes Scooteroll and Applebuck, but he thinks that if the Crusaders hang out with more fillies, we’ll be less...”

“Destructive?” asked Apple Bloom. Sweepy nodded, giggling. “He doesn’t know many fillies, does he?”

Sure enough, Elusive was very eager to meet Apple Bloom. After a quick round of tea and toast, Elusive had begun measurements on her, and Apple Bloom knew, from long experience with Rarity, not to argue about being fitted for anything. “Apple Bloom, darling!” he gushed as he worked, while Sweepy retreated upstairs to start on his homework. “You simply must tell me about the other fillies at school! I’m sorry to say that Sweepy Bell is turning into quite the young ruffian, with only those rough-and-tumble Crusaders to play with. He’s going to miss out on a world of sophistication at this rate! Not to mention romance. Is there anypony at school he’s taken a shine to, perhaps?”

Apple Bloom blushed as she held out her legs and neck for measurements. “I don’t think so? He never really talks about fillies. And colts aren’t that bad, are they? Some of them are real classy.”

Elusive nodded reluctantly. “I suppose... there is the Gold lad, after all. He’s in here an awful lot. I’ve never met a colt who understood the importance of proper accessorizing quite the way he does. The other colts could learn from his example. Listen,” he said, lowering his voice and checking that Sweepy was still out of the room, “Dusk Shine told me who you are and where you’re from. You’re friends with my... my sister, there?”

Apple Bloom nodded. “Sweetie Belle? Yeah. She and Scootaloo are my best friends. We pretty much do everything together.”

Elusive pranced in place, dancing happily on his hooves. “Oh, how delightful! I’m sure she’s just the most darling little princess, isn’t she? Your Rarity must have taught her everything she knows about fashion and style, no doubt.”

“Um... not really, no. We mostly do Crusading stuff together – rock climbing, bowling, that sort of thing.”

The tall unicorn stallion sighed. “Ah well, it was but an idle hope. Is she happy, though? Is Rarity spending time with her while she still can?” He pursed his lips anxiously, casting his eyes upstairs again.

“She is,” replied Apple Bloom, smiling brightly. “Sweetie Belle keeps saying how great it is that Rarity spends more time with her now, ever since the Sisterhooves Social. And she always makes time for when the three of us come around, even if we do get in her way. I’m sorry we’re so much trouble, though.”

“Oh, think nothing of it! I’m just grateful for any time I get to spend with my little brother. He won’t be a colt forever, and I’m glad he has such good friends.”

The rest of the afternoon passed pleasantly. Elusive sketched out a number of dress ideas he had for Apple Bloom, while she and Sweepy Bell attacked problems from Elusive’s side projects basket – mostly fixing buttons and restitching hems. After Elusive set his work aside, they sat together and sang a few songs to Elusive’s phonograph. Sweepy’s gentle, steady treble voice counterpointed Elusive’s rich tenor beautifully, while Apple Bloom did her best to fit in with her more shaky soprano. Finally Apple Bloom walked Sweepy back to his parents’ house before trotting home herself in time for dinner.

On Friday afternoon, Apple Bloom came home straight after school, to work on her farm chores. No matter what was going on at school, the pigs needed feeding, the chickens needed their eggs collected and bedding straightened out, and fallen apples needed to be gathered. Today, one of Applejack’s wagons had broken a pin fastening one wheel, and so Apple Bloom repaired it under Grandpa Smith’s watchful eye. Fixing things around the farm was one of Apple Bloom’s favourite chores – she found it engaging and relaxing at the same time.

When she returned to the farmhouse, about an hour before dinner, she found Applejack bringing a tray of teacups and muffins to the kitchen table for Red Gala and a grey pegasus stallion in a courier’s cap, which he dipped to Apple Bloom as she entered. “Hello, Apple Bloom!” the pegasus greeted her, then pointed to a large parcel on the table. “Got a special delivery for you.”

“For me, Mister Doo?” Apple Bloom asked, recognizing the father of one of the unicorn colts at school. “Ain’t this a bit outside usual delivery hours?” She took a pencil in her mouth and signed the delivery pony’s clipboard, then examined the envelope tucked into the top of the package. The envelope showed the insignia of Greasy Lucre’s Ponyville Produce, and was closed with a wax seal bearing the device of a clock face.

“Mrs Greasy always pays well for out-of-hours deliveries. I do a lot of courier work for Ponyville Produce, but I think this one’s a personal delivery. They said I should wait a couple of hours if you want to send a reply back, too, and Applejack invited me to stay for tea.”

Applejack chuckled. “Of course, Dizzy. We ain’t gonna make you sit outside on a cloud for hours when you could be enjoying Apple family hospitality. Now, Apple Bloom, this package is from that Gold Watch lad, ain’t it? Is there something you ain’t telling me about him?”

“Applejack!” said Apple Bloom indignantly. “It ain’t like that! He’s just a boy in my class, is all.” Blushing furiously, she set aside the envelope and bit through the string holding the package closed, then tore open the wrapping and ducked her head inside the box, drawing out its contents.

In her teeth, Apple Bloom held a dress. The body of the dress consisted of four layers of bright red silk, just a shade darker than Apple Bloom’s mane, decorated with a fine layer of diamond dust to make it sparkle in the lamplight. The dress closed at the front with forest green braided straps, fastened with a brooch in the shape of the red apple device of Sweet Apple Acres in silver and enamel. A second glance inside the box revealed a set of light red horseshoes with soft green sandal straps.

Apple Bloom stared at the dress in disbelief, struck speechless by the grand gesture.

“Just a boy in your class, is he?” asked Applejack, eyeing the dress sceptically.

Slowly, unsteadily, Apple Bloom tore open the envelope and read the elegantly mouthwritten letter out loud.

“Dear Apple Bloom,

I hope this letter finds you well.

Please accept the enclosed gift as a token of my regard and admiration for you. Your arrival in Ponyville has been a breath of fresh air for our school, and I consider myself honoured to be called your friend. I do not know how long we can expect your company in Ponyville, but while you are here, you should be able to wear something nice.

On a separate note, it would be my great pleasure to accompany you to dinner at Cordon Bleu’s Fine Dining tomorrow night. I await your response by return courier, and should you accept, I can pick you up at six o’clock tomorrow.

Please give my fondest regards to your cousins and grandfather.

Your devoted servant,

Gold Watch”

Apple Bloom pushed the letter aside, still at a loss for words.

“’Your devoted servant’?” wondered Applejack. “Who even talks like that anymore?”

“Oh, that’s how all the rich ponies talk in Manehattan,” said Dizzy, helping himself to a muffin. “I got invitations like that all the time when I worked there.”

While Applejack and Dizzy were discussing Dizzy’s modelling career in Manehattan, Red Gala came up behind Apple Bloom and quietly led her away from the kitchen. “Come on, honey. I think it’s time we had a talk, mare to mare.”

Apple Bloom followed Red Gala to her bedroom, and clambered onto the mare’s large four poster bed. “I didn’t ask for any of this, Red Gala,” she said, looking agitated. “Why is he paying me so much attention, and spending so much money on me?”

“Probably because he likes you,” Red Gala said simply. “Do you like him?”

“Well, yeah, I guess I do,” mumbled Apple Bloom. “But when you like a boy, you do him favours, play with him, tell him he’s cool. You don’t... spend hundreds of bits on dinner and dresses and things! It’s like he thinks he can just... buy me.”

“Because of the dress? Let me show you something.” Red Gala walked over to one of her wardrobes and slid the door open. Inside was a row of perhaps a dozen dresses, in many different styles, but all in a red and green colour scheme matching Red Gala’s coat and cutie mark.

“Wow! I didn’t know you even liked dresses, Red Gala! These are beautiful!”

“Well, sure I like dresses. I just don’t have much call to wear them, with work and all. Been a while since I’ve gone to anything fancy.”

Apple Bloom nosed through the dresses, noticing the similarities between them and the dress Gold Watch had sent her. “Did Elusive make all of these?”

“Eeyup.”

“Well, who bought them for you, then? Some stallion who wanted you to go out with him?”

“Nopony bought them for me. Elusive made them himself, for me.”

Apple Bloom looked over at Red Gala, startled. “Wait, Elusive was sweet on you? When was this?”

Red Gala sat down on her bed, smiling wistfully. “Few years back, when Elusive was just getting the Carousel Boutique off the ground. I honestly thought he was a bit young for me, but it was flattering, having such a fine gentlecolt courting me. We did all the usual couple stuff – long walks in Whitetail Wood, watching the sunrise together, that sort of thing. Now, I took things slow, of course – I can’t go rushing into things when I gotta think about the farm and my little brothers first and foremost. But he kept making these dresses for me, and I started to wonder if that was his way of trying to butter me up, buy his way into my...” She looked at Apple Bloom, then seemed to rethink her choice of words: “Heart.”

“But that’s not like him! I mean, I know our Rarity! Sure, she wants ponies to like her, but she makes ponies dresses because she’s generous, not because she’s trying to get something from them.”

Red Gala nodded sadly. “I figured that out too late, I reckon. But that’s how it felt at the time. I told him to stop sending me dresses, and he got upset that I didn’t want his gifts, and it all kind of fell apart from there. That wasn’t all, mind you. Sweet Apple Acres had me so busy that I barely had time for anypony outside the family, and of course Applejack never approved of him. We’re friends now, though, and that’s all that matters.

“The point is, giving me dresses was just his way of impressing me. I used to go around to Carousel Boutique and help him with heavy lifting, fixing his roof, that sort of thing, because I’ve got a talent for being strong and practical-like. And that was my way of impressing him. What does Scooteroll do to impress that Sugar girl?”

“Well... he does tricks on his scooter, and shows off his running and gliding and stuff,” said Apple Bloom, thoughtfully.

“Eeyup. And don’t try to tell me you ain’t never shown off your strength or your knack for fixing things to a colt you liked. Or your farmin’ knowledge.”

Apple Bloom blushed, remembering times when she had done exactly that for both Pipsqueak and Gold Watch. “So all Gold Watch is doing is trying to impress me with how rich and classy he is? Because that’s what he’s good at?”

“I reckon so. Besides, you ain’t a silly pony, no matter what Applejack says. You won’t fall for his tricks if he really is trying to bamboozle you with his money. If you really like him, just let him do his best to impress you. It’ll make him feel special, and everypony likes to feel special. Then maybe you can invite him over here some time and impress him right back with all your Apple family skills. It’ll all work out, if you’re right for each other.”

Apple Bloom turned and hugged Red Gala tightly. “Thanks, Red Gala. I reckon I know what to do now. Still nervous, though. Nopony’s ever asked me on a date before.”

Red Gala ruffled Apple Bloom’s mane. “You’ll do fine. You know I’ll do anything I can for you, right? I ain’t never had a little sister before. It’s nice to have somepony I can talk to about this stuff.”

Apple Bloom trotted off to her bedroom to compose a reply, doing her best to match Gold Watch’s fine mouthwriting. Between lines, it occurred to her that Red Gala must still be single. It seems such a shame, when she’s so nice and so hard-working. Just like Sunny Smiles, come to think of it. She made a mental note to mention that thought to Sweepy Bell the next time she saw him, then went back to her writing.

“Dear Gold Watch,

Thank you for your kind gift. It was most welcomely received, and I will be honoured to wear it when I accompany you to dinner tomorrow.

My family is well, and they all think that you are very nice.

Yours Sincerely,

Apple Bloom”

The Apple family didn’t have a seal as such, but Apple Bloom knew that Granny Smith had a stamp she used to mark business documents, so she wandered back into the kitchen to look for this world’s copy of it. Applejack and Dizzy Doo were still chatting over tea and muffins as she rummaged around.

“So that’s why I never work with Over Exposure anymore. He treats his models like tools, not ponies. Don’t get me wrong – being in every magazine, billboard, calendar and snow globe in Manehattan was pretty awesome – but I just couldn’t handle the pace, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. I came to Ponyville for some peace and quiet in the end.”

“Wish you’d told us about Over Exposure before he got his reins on Butterscotch,” muttered Applejack. “The poor guy was terrified of all that publicity.” Dizzy nodded sadly in agreement.

“All done!” said Apple Bloom, finding the stamp and sealing the letter with it. “Here you go, Mister Doo.”

The pegasus slid the letter into his saddlebags and tipped his cap to the Apple family again. “I’ll get this straight over to the Lucre mansion. Thanks for the muffins, Applejack!”

“Any time, Dizzy!” Applejack called back as he waved the pegasus goodbye. He then turned back to face Apple Bloom, looking concerned. “So what did you tell this boy?”

“I told him I’d be honoured to go to dinner with him. That’s okay, right?”

Applejack stepped forward and laid his head against Apple Bloom’s neck. “Of course it’s okay, haystack. I just worry about you, is all. And about Applebuck, if he’s getting himself tangled up with some smooth talking rich filly over in your world.”

“I’m sure she’s just as nice as Gold Watch,” Apple Bloom assured him. “Applebuck’s way too smart to fall for a mean girl just because she’s rich and pretty, ain’t he?” Who is she, anyway? There ain’t nopony I remember quite like Gold Watch.

“You’re right, he is. Don’t get too carried away with this whole dating thing, alright? Just try to have fun. He does seem like a nice boy.”

At ten minutes to six o’clock the following evening, Apple Bloom was pacing around the kitchen nervously, her new red horseshoes clicking against the wooden floor. “Do I look alright?” she fretted. “Is my mane straight?”

Spice looked up from the plate of apple pie that Red Gala had served for her. “You look great, Apple Bloom!” she assured her. “Trust me, I know what I’m doing!” Indeed, the unicorn filly had been a great help in getting Apple Bloom ready for her date. Her mane had been carefully washed and elegantly braided, and was adorned with tiny flowers and an apple hair clip that had belonged to Red Gala’s mother. Spice had taken the time to braid Apple Bloom’s tail too, even though it was hidden beneath the folds of her dress. Red Gala had made sure that every strap and layer of the dress was sitting straight and comfortably. Finally, Spice had even found a perfume that suited Apple Bloom’s body chemistry, a flowery scent that hinted at spiced apples without smelling like Applejack’s apple cellar.

“Sorry, I’m just so nervous. I’ve never been on a date before, is all. Gold Watch is such a nice colt, and I don’t want to mess this up.”

“He is, isn’t he?” said Spice dreamily. “Him and Blue Chip both. I wish Blue Chip would ask me out. He’s so handsome, and so smart! I could listen to him talk about Equestrian history for hours.”

“He hasn’t asked you out yet? I thought he had!”

“Uh... no?” hazarded Spice, furrowing her brow in concentration. “I thought he was going to once, but it turns out he just wanted to know if I was going to the Summer Sun Celebration. I told him I was, and then he just kind of looked awkward and wandered off.”

Apple Bloom started to put her face in her hooves, then eyed her new horseshoes and thought better of it. “Look, maybe you should just ask him out yourself. I really do think he likes you.”

Spice looked mortified. “I can’t do that! What if he says no?”

“Well... what if one of my Crusades doesn’t work out and I don’t get my cutie mark? At least I’ll have tried. You just have to be confident. Don’t let boys frighten you.”

Just then, a knock came at the front door to the farmhouse. Apple Bloom jumped three feet in the air, flailing her hooves in panic. “That’s him! What do I do? What do I do?”

“You just wait right here, darling,” Red Gala said. “I’ll go let him in.”

Spice nuzzled Apple Bloom comfortingly, and managed to calm her down by the time Red Gala led Gold Watch into the kitchen. The young gentlecolt wore a rose pink suit jacket, a few shades darker than his coat, with white ruffles at the collar and hems. His barrel was adorned with a dark purple formal saddle over a magenta saddle blanket, and his purple and white mane was carefully groomed and tied behind his neck. Apple Bloom thought that Gold Watch took his appearance seriously before, but she had never seem him look quite as handsome as he did that night.

Gold Watch bowed to Red Gala and the two fillies, and set a bouquet of flowers down on the kitchen table. “Good evening, Miss Apple!” he greeted the lady of the house. “Spice, lovely to see you too! And Apple Bloom... you look marvellous.” He turned to gaze at Apple Bloom, seeming rather taken aback by her makeover.

“You be careful with this one, Apple Bloom,” murmured Red Gala. “He told me he didn’t realise Applejack had a younger sister when I answered the door.” She smiled approvingly at the colt, though, and managed to slip a flower from the bouquet before Spice homed on in it with a mumble of “Mmm... dahlias.”

Apple Bloom made a rough curtsey to Gold Watch, trying not to blush. “Thanks, Goldie. You look great too.” Remembering what Spice had told her while getting ready, she took one of the smaller flowers and tucked it into a strap of her dress. “So... should we get going? It’s a bit of a walk to Cordon Bleu’s from Sweet Apple Acres.”

“Oh, we won’t be walking far,” Gold Watch said with a smile. “Have a good evening, Miss Apple, Spice. We won’t be out too late.” He offered Apple Bloom one hoof, and they stepped out into the cool evening air.

“Have fun!” Spice called to them as they walked down the path to the gate, waving to them along with Red Gala. The older mare simply smiled wistfully at the departing couple, then wandered back into the kitchen.

“So...” grinned Spice, turning to Red Gala. “I’ve still got my powders and crimping irons out, do you want a makeover?”

Red Gala peered down the corridor to make sure that Applejack was still in his workroom and Grandpa Smith was still napping, then smiled back at Spice. “Eeyup.”

Apple Bloom smiled awkwardly at Gold Watch as they made their way down the farmyard path. “So, Goldie... how’s your leg? You’re not wearing your cast anymore.”

Gold Watch nodded. “It’s doing a lot better. I can walk on it a bit, but not for too long. Don’t worry, though, we’re almost there.”

“Almost where?” Apple Bloom asked, looking up past the gate. “Wait a minute... is that your carriage?”

Just beyond the Sweet Apple Acres fence waited an elegant landau, decorated in polished mahogany with gold trim. The top was open, which displayed bench seats upholstered in deep purple fabric. Two earth pony mares in matching white shirts and purple vests had been playing a game of cards on the dashboard, and were now busy hitching themselves to the landau.

Gold Watch smiled proudly. “It is. Father left it to me. Of course, I can’t exactly afford to keep two professional draft horses on retainer, so I don’t get to use it much.” He waved to the two mares. “Apple Bloom, this is Chaise and Dodger. Chaise, Dodger, this is Miss Apple Bloom.”

“So, ya’ll work for Mrs Lucre, then?” asked Apple Bloom.

Chaise nodded. “Mostly we just pull wagon deliveries for Ponyville Produce, but it’s really nice to give the old landau a run. Goldie keeps it in perfect shape, don’t you, Goldie?” She nudged Gold Watch gently with her nose.

Gold Watch nuzzled the mare back, and Apple Bloom smiled at the easy familiarity between the colt and his mother’s employees. “I do a bit of sewing on the upholstery, but I have to hire ponies to maintain everything else. I don’t know the first thing about carriages, really.”

Apple Bloom peered underneath the carriage, careful not to let her dress drag in the dirt. “Oh, it’s got the new three-quarter elliptical leaf spring suspension! And proper Hackamore steering, too!”

Gold Watch blinked. “It does? Is that good?”

Apple Bloom laughed and put out one leg to assist Gold Watch into the carriage. “It’s only the best carriage mechanics on the market, silly! My sister lets me look at the mechanics magazines when they come in, but all I can actually work on is my brother’s hay wain.”

Gold Watch accepted Apple Bloom’s help gratefully, putting his weight onto her shoulders and hoisting himself onto the front seat of the landau, facing the rear. “I think every kid in Ponyville has been for a ride on Red Gala’s hay wain,” he said, looking down at Sweet Apple Acres. “She gives out rides on Nightmare Night and Hearth’s Warming Eve, and whenever ponies need cheering up, really. It’s a lot of fun.”

Apple Bloom climbed up into the carriage after Gold Watch, and as soon as she settled herself in the forward-facing seat, the landau started to move. Apple Bloom hardly felt the divots and bumps in the old road leading from Sweet Apple Acres into Ponyville proper. “This really is a great carriage,” she commented, leaning out to watch the town go by. “You’ve known Chaise and Dodger for a while, haven’t you?”

The pink colt nodded, his gaze following Apple Bloom’s as they watched the scenery together. “They worked for Father, ever since he bought this carriage, before I was born. They’ve known me since I was a foal. I don’t actually have my own butler like Blue Chip does, but Chaise and Dodger are really close to me.” He twisted around and gave the reins a gentle flick. The two mares responded with a playful toss of their heads and a friendly whinny, never missing a step in their quick, measured pace.

“That’s cool. They seem really nice, and really good at drawing this carriage. Hey,” she pondered, looking up the length of the carriage, “why do carriages even have reins, anyway? It’s not like you can’t just give them directions.”

Gold Watch laughed. “Dodger knows every road and short-cut in Ponyville, isn’t that right, Dodger?”

Dodger called back over her shoulder, still not missing a step. “Drove Mister Gold from the mansion to the hospital in three minutes flat when he got word that our lad here was on his way into the world. Most ponies don’t know you can jump the river between Sugarcube Corner and Quills and Sofas, if you get enough of a run-up.”

“See?” commented Gold Watch, smiling at Dodger before turning back to Apple Bloom. “Best draft horses in town. But about reins – they’re a holdover from military chariots.”

“Military chariots? Ponies used carriages for fighting?”

“They still do, sometimes! There’s nothing quite as dangerous as a team of two earth pony soldiers and two unicorn magicians, mounted on a Canterlot guard chariot pulled by two pegasi. But military chariots go way back. The old pegasus tribe used to fight everypony – the earth ponies, the unicorns, dragons, griffons, even each other before Commander Tempest united the city-states under one banner. So you had a pegasus battle chariot, going into combat against, let’s say a flock of griffons. Typically you had two draft pegasi, one driver and two ponies with spears or slings on a chariot. When you’re fighting griffons, speed and manoeuvrability are really important, and it’s the driver’s job to direct the chariot, so you can evade attacks and get to where the commander needs you. The draft pegasi can’t pay attention to the whole battlefield – they have to fly as fast as they can, and kick any griffons who get in the way. Even shouting orders takes time, and sometimes you just can’t hear them over all the fighting. But the driver can just pull the reins and the draft pegasi know to go left, right, up or down. And pretty much all modern vehicles descend from pegasus military designs.”

Apple Bloom listened to Gold Watch in rapt fascination as he explained the intricacies of pre-Equestrian military history. “Wow. That’s so cool! I don’t know about anything like that.”

Gold Watch chuckled. “No, you just know what a three-quarter spring... leaf... thingy is. I bet you’d know what to do if we lost a wheel, too.”

Apple Bloom blushed. “Yeah, I guess I do.” Red Gala was right, I am trying to impress him.

After a few more minutes of leisurely conversation, the landau arrived at the restaurant. Cordon Bleu’s Fine Dining consisted of a small indoor dining area and kitchen, surrounded by outdoor tables. Apple Bloom hopped down from the carriage and offered Gold Watch her hoof, assisting him to the ground. Chaise and Dodger trotted off to park the carriage and look for a bite to eat, while Gold Watch led Apple Bloom down to the circle of tables.

A pale earth pony mare with a glossy blue and black mane hurried out to greet them as they arrived. “Monsieur Gold! Always a pleasure to have you here! And Mademoiselle Apple, welcome to Cordon Bleu’s Fine Dining! I am, of course, Cordon Bleu. Your table is right over here.”

Gold Watch waited for Apple Bloom to be seated before sitting down himself, and Cordon Bleu supplied each of them with a menu, a glass of apple juice and a small vase of flowers before trotting back to the kitchen. “I don’t come here often by myself,” Gold Watch said as he made himself comfortable. “Mother sometimes meets important business partners here, and we come here for birthdays and things. The service is just great, don’t you think?”

“It is, and these chairs are real comfy too,” replied Apple Bloom, suddenly feeling self-conscious about her accent. She felt dressed for the occasion, though – most of the mares around her were wearing fine dresses, though none quite as sparkly as hers. She peered at her menu, then frowned. “Goldie, there aren’t any prices on this menu.”

“Oh, that’s normal,” he replied. “I told them you were my guest, so you should just order whatever you like without worrying about the price.” Apple Bloom opened her mouth to object, but Gold Watch shook his head. “I insist, don’t worry about it. I’ll just... wait, my menu doesn’t have prices either.” He waved a hoof and summoned Cordon Bleu back to their table. “Madam Cordon, I think you gave me the wrong menu.”

The elegant mare bowed her head and smiled to Gold Watch. “Not at all, Monsieur Gold. Your money is no good here. We will never forget what Monsieur Gold Chain did for us.”

Gold Watch looked crestfallen, his ears drooping. “If you insist, Madam Cordon. I can still leave a tip, though, right?”

“But of course! Please, take your time, order when you are ready.” Cordon Bleu bowed again and trotted over to another table.

Apple Bloom reached across the table and placed a front hoof against Gold Watch’s. “Your father left some pretty big horseshoes for you to fill, didn’t he?”

“He did. It feels like all the adults in Ponyville are watching me and waiting for me to turn into him. It’s not that I don’t want to be like him – I do, leadership is my special talent and I want to do good things for the community – but everypony acts as though it’s already happened and I’m already doing the things he did. I don’t want to disappoint everypony.”

“I don’t think you will, Goldie. You just gotta take things slow. Don’t let anypony rush you. Applejack says I spend too much time trying to be an adult and not enough time enjoying being a kid.”

“Mother says the same thing. She doesn’t try to push me... at least, I don’t think she means to. But her mother and grandmother were both important businessponies in Ponyville, and so is she, so I can’t exactly not live up to that, can I?”

“I guess not. You’ll do fine, anyway. I just know it.” She released Gold Watch’s hoof and looked at her menu for a few moments before closing it again. “Everything’s in Prench. How about you order?”

Gold Watch smiled. “No problem. We’ll start with an entree of foins frites aux herbes – that’s basically hay fries, but cooked in an amazing herb and oil batter. Then there’s the sautéed carrot with steamed broccoli au gratin, and the fresh garden salad with olives and...” He mused for a moment, eyeing the kitchen. “Yes, and shaved truffles. This is a special occasion, after all.”

He waved his hoof again, and soon Cordon Bleu returned to their table. Gold Watch recited their order in Prench, heavily accented but still perfect as far as Apple Bloom could tell. He looked very pleased with himself as Cordon Bleu hurried off to the kitchen. “I think you’ll like truffle. It’s a huge delicacy, so I don’t have it very often, but it’s simply amazing in the right dishes.”

“Oh, yeah, I love truffles!” Apple Bloom agreed. “I had some on my scrambled eggs this morning.”

Gold Watch’s jaw dropped.

“Is... is that bad? Are you not supposed to have truffles with eggs?”

“Well... yes!” stammered Gold Watch, his eyes wide. “Usually fried rather than scrambled, but that’s not the point! Truffles sell for fifty bits per ounce in Manehattan! How... where do you get...”

“They grow in the ground, and the pigs find them and dig them up like gemstones,” explained Apple Bloom, not sure why Gold Watch was getting so worked up. “I mean, sure, we sell some of them, but we have to keep some for ourselves.”

“Why? That’s just not good business sense!”

Apple Bloom smiled gently. “It’s a farming thing that Grandpa Smith taught me. When earth ponies work the land, they have to appreciate what the land gives them. Even if they sell most of the harvest, they have to keep enough for themselves so the land knows they’re grateful for it, and that they appreciate the food for itself, not just what they can sell it for. I thought you’d get that, bein’ an earth pony and all.”

Gold Watch looked thoughtful at that. “Grandpa Smith said that, huh? Well, I remember what happened last time I didn’t take him seriously. I guess there’s a lot I don’t know about farming and earth pony magic.”

“That’s okay, you ain’t a farmer type yourself. Maybe you could come over one day and we could do some of my chores together.” The words escaped her mouth before she realised what she was doing – suggesting a second date before the first one had even finished – but strangely, she felt no desire to take them back, her only emotion a sort of cheerful confidence.

“Oh, well... you know, I don’t really... dirt and manual labour and all that,” mumbled Gold Watch, but when he looked back at Apple Bloom’s eyes, he nodded. “But why not? With my business sense and your farming skills, we might even be able to turn a profit somewhere. And it’ll be fun, too!”

“Great!” exclaimed Apple Bloom, meeting Gold Watch’s good front leg with her own in a hoof bump. “I can’t wait! And here come our hay fries, too!”

At the end of the evening, Gold Watch and Apple Bloom sat together in the forward-facing seat of the landau, watching the lights of Ponyville drift by as they talked animatedly about zap apples, truffles, business ventures, school, Sugar and Spice’s latest escapades, and everything and nothing. Chaise and Dodger pulled the landau slowly but steadily, offering no comment, but the smiling, satisfied look on Chaise’s face whenever she looked back at the carriage told its own story.

Finally the carriage arrived at the gate of Sweet Apple Acres. Gold Watch started to stand up, but Apple Bloom put a hoof on his shoulders. “You don’t have to walk me to the door, Goldie. You need to rest your leg, I can tell it’s hurting by now.”

Gold Watch grimaced but nodded. “You’re right, it is. Thank you for such an amazing night, Apple Bloom. I had a lot of fun, and I learned a lot, too!”

Apple Bloom smiled, still resting her hoof of Gold Watch’s shoulder. “I had a great time too, Gold Watch. Living in Ponyville has been wonderful, most of all because of you. You’re a true gentlecolt and a really... good...”

She trailed off as she gazed into Gold Watch’s cornflower blue eyes. Her breath seemed to catch in her throat as she leaned forward and pushed her muzzle against his, bringing their lips together in a kiss.

After what seemed like hours, the two ponies pulled back from each other, both smiling awkwardly. “So, um,” said Apple Bloom, eloquently.

“Um,” agreed Gold Watch. “I’ll see you at school, then?”

“School! Yes. I’ll see you at school. Bye! Thanks for... everything!” Apple Bloom gave Gold Watch a happy grin, then waved to the draft ponies and jumped down from the carriage, cantering back to the farmhouse, feeling as though her hooves weren’t even touching the ground.

On Monday morning, Apple Bloom was the queen of the schoolyard.

Fundamental Attribution Error

Apple Bloom had never been as excited to get to school as she was this Monday morning. She could barely sit still long enough to eat her breakfast. Applejack whickered happily to see his new little sister in such good spirits. “You have a good time at school, now, haystack. Don’t get so excited ‘bout boys that you stop paying attention to your studies, mind.”

“Of course not!” Apple Bloom insisted, a cheerful grin on her face. “It ain’t just Gold Watch I’m excited about. School has just been really good to me here. I’ll see you this afternoon!” She pressed her neck against Applejack’s, and then scooped up her saddlebags and dashed out the door.

Gold Watch was waiting for Apple Bloom at the bridge near Quills and Sofas. She gave him a warm, confident smile and passed him an apple from her saddlebags. “Morning, Goldie!” she greeted him. “How are you doing?”

The pink colt eyed the apple hungrily. “Really good! My leg’s nearly better, but it’s still a bit tender. Still, it got me out of dressage practice on Sunday morning, so that’s some good from it!”

Apple Bloom laughed out loud, almost choking on her own apple. “You do dressage?” she asked, looking at Gold Watch incredulously. “Prancing around to music with ridiculous gaits that nopony uses in real life?”

Gold Watch blushed, busying himself with nibbling on his apple for a moment. “Mother says it teaches good coordination and deportment,” he mumbled defensively. “And it’s no more ridiculous than rodeo.”

The two children started to argue on their way to school, but quickly realised how silly they were being and laughed together instead. Gold Watch nuzzled Apple Bloom’s neck companionably, then tilted his face up to place a kiss on her cheek. “Listen, Apple Bloom,” he asked her, “am I... you know...”

The young filly blushed, scraping her hoof against the ground. “My special somepony? If that’s okay, then... yeah, I reckon you are.” She started walking towards the school again. “So who all do you think knows?”

Gold Watch brushed his head against Apple Bloom’s neck as they walked. “Well, Spice, obviously. Blue Chip came around for lunch yesterday, so he knows. I guess they’ve probably told a few of the ponies at school by now, but I doubt we’re exactly...”

As Apple Bloom and Gold Watch rounded the last bend before the schoolyard, a colt shouted, “There they are!” What seemed like the entire school population clustered around the gate, talking excitedly among themselves and waiting for the new couple to arrive.

Gold Watch chewed his lip awkwardly. “I... see. Perhaps I should have warned you that this was a possibility. It’s part of the price of popularity, I’m afraid. Do you think you’ll be able to manage?”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Apple Bloom said, waving a hoof airily. “It’s kind of nice having ponies talk about me for a change, you know?”

“Okay,” Gold Watch replied, and nudged his head against hers. “Time to face our public.”

As soon as Apple Bloom stepped into the schoolyard, a herd of fillies stampeded down upon her and dragged her away to the lunch area, ensconcing her on one of the tables. On the other side of the yard, she could see Gold Watch cornered on the polo field bleachers by the school’s colts, answering questions with an expression of resigned amusement.

“Oh my gosh, Apple Bloom!” shrieked Sugar, who seemed to be the designated spokesfilly for the crowd. “Spice says you had a date with Gold Watch! Did you really? What was it like?”

Apple Bloom looked around at the herd full of faces paying rapt attention to her, and felt the way she had felt when performing with her loop-de-hoop cutie mark – except that this time, it was all real, she had nothing to hide and everything to be proud of, and there was no Diamond Tiara to turn the school against her.

“Oh, it was great!” she answered, smiling at her audience. “He has this really neat carriage, with great suspension – it feels like you’re not touching the ground at all! And the restaurant we went to was just amazing. I never knew hay fries could taste that good!”

“Tell me more! Tell me more!” Sugar bounced up and down on her seat as she begged Apple Bloom for more details. “Was it love at first sight?”

Apple Bloom did her best to satisfy her classmates’ hunger for gossip and tales of romance, going into fine detail on some questions and remaining tactfully evasive on others. Eventually she had recounted the whole date three times, and the conversation had moved on to other topics, and yet, everypony was still paying attention to her. Some of the fillies from farming families wanted her opinion on upcoming harvests and Grandpa Smith’s earth magic lore, while others urged her to join in an impromptu game of polo or hoofball.

This is it, then, she thought to herself. I really am the most popular filly in school now. And not just because I’m dating the most popular colt either, although that sure helps. Ever since I got away from Diamond Tiara, ponies have been paying more and more attention to me, and they like me. Maybe I could have been this popular at home if she hadn’t always ruined everything for me.

Apple Bloom looked across the schoolyard and noticed one pegasus colt who wasn’t clustered around Gold Watch with the others. “Sorry, girls,” she told her admirers. “I have to go see to a good friend of mine. We’ll catch up at lunch!”

She trotted out to the side of the schoolhouse, where Scooteroll was bouncing a soccer ball against the wall dejectedly. “Hey there, Scoots,” she greeted him, hoping that he wasn’t still angry at her.

Scooteroll didn’t turn around, but kept kicking the ball. “Hey, Apple Bloom. What’s up?”

Apple Bloom slowly crept into Scooteroll’s field of vision. “You still mad at me, Scooteroll? I was hoping we could hang out for a bit.”

The young pegasus caught the ball and tucked it under one wing, turning to face Apple Bloom. “I’m not mad, just... lonely, I guess. Everypony is talking about you and Gold Watch now. Even Sweepy is over there, pestering Gold Watch for gossip about your date, and Sugar’s right in the middle of it all with the fillies. Where does that leave me?”

Apple Bloom cautiously stepped forward and nudged her head against Scooteroll’s. “You ain’t jealous, are you?”

“No,” he grumbled. “Well, yeah, I am, but not like that. It always used to be the three of us against the world, you know? Me, Sweepy and Applebuck, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I know you’re not Applebuck, but you’re just like him, no matter what I said last week. I really miss Applebuck, and it just feels like Gold Watch is ruining everything for us, like he always does.”

“I miss my Hoofington friends too,” Apple Bloom sighed, leaning against Scooteroll. “I know a filly there who’s just like you. I still want us to hang out. I know there’s been a lot of trouble between you and Gold Watch, and the same with him and Applebuck, but are you sure you can’t just put it in the past and get along with him now?”

Scooteroll scuffed his hoof against the ground thoughtfully for a few moments, then shook his head. “I’m sorry, Apple Bloom, but I just don’t trust him. I know he’s nice to you, but I still think he’s planning something nasty for me and Sweepy. I’ll leave him alone, for your sake, but I don’t think we can be friends.”

Apple Bloom sighed and nodded. “I get it. We’re still friends, though, right?”

Scooteroll grinned and hugged Apple Bloom. “Of course we are! And... y’know... I am happy for you and Gold Watch, no matter what I think of him.”

Apple Bloom hugged her friend back. “Thanks, Scoots.”

Apple Bloom’s popularity, and corresponding good mood, continued throughout the week. Everypony wanted to be her friend and spend time with her, to the point where she hardly had any time to herself. She was able to find the time to spend with her new coltfriend, though, and even managed to drag him out to Sweet Apple Acres to teach him about earth pony magic, as promised. She tried her hardest not to laugh at the refined, finicky colt poking awkwardly at the grape trellises, and then relaxed with him after an afternoon of solid work, over a plate of Grandpa Smith’s apple pie.

Friday brought a new surprise for Apple Bloom after school, in the form of a pair of gold earrings set with tiny emeralds. “Oh, Gold Watch!” beamed Apple Bloom, giving her coltfriend a kiss on the cheek. “These are gorgeous! You shouldn’t have!”

Gold Watch blushed and shuffled his hooves. “Yeah, um, technically I didn’t. Blue Chip was doing some shopping at Amethyst Comet’s jewellery shop, and he just happened to stumble across these, and thought they’d look nice.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet!” Apple Bloom gave Blue Chip a warm hug. “That’s real generous of you, Blue Chip.”

Blue Chip returned the hug, then glared at Gold Watch. “Yes, well, somepony should buy you nice things, and since Gold Watch can’t anymore, I have to pick up his slack.”

“It’s okay, nopony has to buy me things... wait, what do you mean, Gold Watch can’t?”

The pink colt looked even more embarrassed, staring at the ground. “I kind of... spent all of my allowance for the next month on our date last Saturday.”

“Precisely,” said Blue Chip, giving Gold Watch another withering glare. “I had to give him a thorough lecture on financial responsibility.”

“You held me out of the top floor window of Sugarcube Corner by my tail!”

“It was for your own good! My father would have disowned me if I’d pulled a stunt like that! Besides, Berry Bubble would have got a twitchy tail if you were going to fall.”

“I just wanted our date to be special,” Gold Watch grumbled. “Apple Bloom’s a really great filly.”

“I don’t care if you were on a date with Princess Bluebell! It was irresponsible.” Blue Chip snorted, then butted his head against Gold Watch’s. “It’s alright, Goldie, just be more careful next time, okay?”

Apple Bloom had been watching the argument with amusement, recalling some of Scootaloo’s fights with Sweetie Belle. “Y’all done now?” she asked. The two colts were nuzzling contentedly now, so all seemed to be forgiven. “Did you really spend your next month’s allowance on our date? You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know I didn’t, but I think it was worth it to make the night extra special. Of course, any dinner with you would be special, Apple Bloom.”

“Oh, stop it,” murmured Apple Bloom bashfully, blushing and batting at Gold Watch with one hoof. “It was really special, and so are you, Goldie. Say, Blue Chip, what were you doing at Amethyst Comet’s anyway? You don’t wear much jewellery yourself.”

Now it was Blue Chip’s turn to look embarrassed. “Looking for a horn ornament for Spice. I found something I really like, but I don’t know how to give it to her.”

Gold Watch gave an exasperated sigh, while Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “This again? You two are just hopeless, you know that?” She reared up on her hind legs and called out to where Sugar and Spice were playing. “Spice! Get over here!”

The tall unicorn filly came racing over to meet her, with Sugar hot at her hooves. “Yes, Apple Bloom? What’s up?”

Gold Watch gave Blue Chip a shove, making him come face to face with Spice. “Hi, Spice!” the grey colt managed. “It’s a nice mane today, isn’t it? Um... look, shiny!” He drew a silver chain out of his saddlebags and offered it to Spice, with the added benefit of preventing him from saying anything further.

“Oh, wow, for me?” asked Spice. When Blue Chip nodded, she enveloped the chain in a soft green glow and levitated it up to fasten around her horn. The silver chain nestled against her yellow coat, holding a small ruby in place on her forehead. “It’s really pretty! Thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome! I thought it would go well with your coat. So, um...”

“Hey, do you want to go to dinner tonight?” asked Spice, surprising everypony present. Apple Bloom grinned quietly to herself, glad that her friend had finally taken the initiative.

“Um... sure! I’ll pick you up at seven?”

“Okay!” Spice squealed and hugged Sugar, then ran off to show her new horn ornament to the other fillies.
Blue Chip stared at the retreating unicorn in mild shock. “Did Spice just ask me out?”

“Mmhm,” grinned Apple Bloom. “I told you she likes you!”

“Where am I going to take her, though? I can’t get a reservation at Cordon Bleu’s in four hours!”

“I can,” said Gold Watch smugly. “I’ll worry about that, you just worry about looking nice for your date.”

“You’d do that for me? You’re the best friend ever, have I told you that?”

“Hey, what are friends for?” Gold Watch put his front hooves out to meet Blue Chip’s. “Bump! Bump! Sugar lump! Rump!” they chanted, smiling all the while as they performed their friendship ritual.

Apple Bloom felt a chill grip her body, and her hooves shuffled a few paces back from the two colts. “W-w-what was that?” she stammered, staring at them with wide eyes.

“Oh, that’s just our little secret hoofshake,” explained Gold Watch, seemingly oblivious to Apple Bloom’s distress. “I don’t even remember how we came up with it.”

“Uh... okay. Look, I’d better go home and get onto my chores. Good luck with tonight, guys.” She gave Gold Watch a nervous smile, then headed off towards Sweet Apple Acres at a rapid canter.

Gold Watch can’t be Diamond Tiara. He just can’t be.

It simply didn’t make any sense. How could Gold Watch and Blue Chip have the same secret hoofshake as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?

For one thing, her wish had been to go to a place with no Diamond Tiara. The shooting star had carried her all the way to another world – surely it could have taken her somewhere without the filly who was making her life wretched?

And they weren’t anything alike. Diamond Tiara was a spiteful, stuck-up little snob who liked nothing more than to make Apple Bloom miserable. Gold Watch was a kind, generous gentlecolt, who had helped Apple Bloom make friends on her first day of school in this world. She couldn’t imagine two ponies being more different.

Outside of their personalities, though, she had to admit that the two were similar. She couldn’t match their faces to each other, but they had the same soft pink coat. They wore their manes in completely different styles, but they were both the same shade of purple, with a white streak. Greasy Lucre must be the mare version of Filthy Rich, which made a certain sense. Now that she thought about it, the signs were all there. They still acted completely differently, though. She hadn’t seen anything that linked the two ponies’ behaviours.

He called Scooteroll a blank flank, came the treacherous thought. And Scooteroll hates him. Why would he, if Gold Watch were as nice as I thought he was? On the other hoof, though, Scooteroll wasn’t exactly the nicest colt in school either. After what Scooteroll had called Gold Watch, it was easy to imagine that the conflict between the two colts wasn’t as black and white as it was in her world.

How could she find out the truth? Not by asking anypony at school, that was for sure. Blue Chip would stand by his friend no matter what, and Scooteroll would never say anything good about him. The rest of the school liked Gold Watch, but Diamond Tiara was also inexplicably popular at home, so that didn’t indicate anything. In fact, Apple Bloom had never been able to convince any adult that Diamond Tiara was a bully either, so she probably didn’t have anypony on her side here.

The one pony she could trust, she thought as she trotted into the farmhouse, was herself. If Gold Watch had tormented Applebuck the same way Diamond Tiara had tormented her, then there must be some evidence of it amongst Applebuck’s things. There was the muddy suit that Applejack had found by the pond, but that could have happened any number of ways. What else, though?

Apple Bloom went straight to her bedroom, and took her new earrings out of her saddlebags. No matter how Gold Watch turned out to be, they were still a lovely gift, and she should cherish them. She pulled open the drawer where she kept her treasures, then hesitated. Was it right to go through Applebuck’s things, looking for clues?

They were the same pony, right? And besides, he was probably doing the same with her things, and... no, that didn’t really bother her. There was hardly going to be anything in her own room that he hadn’t already seen.

She placed the box containing her earrings carefully in the drawer, then nosed through the rest of its contents. The letter from Gold Watch inviting her to dinner was already here, of course. There was her medal for Best Comedy Act in the school talent show. Another medal denoted her – or rather Applebuck – the Junior Rodeo Champion of Ponyville, and a third was for him and Applejack winning something called the “Brohoof Bash” the year before last. In one corner of the drawer, she found what she was looking for – a folded piece of paper that resembled her love letter from Pipsqueak.

Apple Bloom cautiously drew the paper out of the drawer with her teeth, then unfolded it against the surface of her dresser.

“Dear Applebuck,
Meet me behind the gym at six o’clock tonight. Wear something nice.
Love,
Half Pint.”

This was it, then. Somepony had written this note to lure Applebuck out after school and humiliate him in front of the other colts. If that somepony turned out to be Gold Watch, then the situation was just as bad as she feared. Part of her wanted to forget about this revelation and pretend that everything was alright, but that wasn’t the way that Applejack had raised her.

Apple Bloom took her letter from Gold Watch and scanned it carefully. She found the sentence she needed and laid the words next to those in the other letter.

“I do not know how long we can expect your company in Ponyville, but while you are here, you should be able to wear something nice.”

Every loop and stroke was identical. The refined mouthwriting, comparable in quality to a unicorn’s magical script, was unmistakable.

Gold Watch was Diamond Tiara, and had treated Applebuck exactly the same way that Diamond Tiara treated her.

Her very special somepony was the meanest, most spiteful bully in Ponyville.

Apple Bloom shrieked in rage and bucked the dresser, denting the drawers badly. She took her dinner invitation and shredded it with her teeth, scattering it all over the floor before throwing herself into bed and sobbing.

Applejack allowed Apple Bloom to sleep late the next morning. He had found his new sister consumed with rage and misery, cursing Gold Watch’s name. Red Gala had sat with her over a platter of ice cream and hot apple pie, letting her cry into the older mare’s mane until she was spent. In the morning, a little of the emptiness in her heart had been replaced by the warmth and comfort of her family’s love, but she still had a score to settle with the colt who had lied to her so badly.

“Are you sure you wanna do that, haystack?” Applejack asked her over their late breakfast, when she announced her plan to confront Gold Watch. “Maybe you’d be better off just tryin’ to get an apology, instead of chargin’ in there and snarlin’ at him.”

“An apology? After everything he did to Applebuck? I can’t just let that go! He’s a mean colt, Applejack, and I gotta make him pay for what he’s done!”

Applejack exchanged a worried glance with Red Gala. “Listen, sweetheart,” Applejack said slowly. “I know you feel you’ve got a right bone to pick with that Gold lad – and I’m on your side, I promise – but if there’s one thing that hanging around with Dusk Shine and the others has taught me, it’s that you don’t get anywhere in friendship by keeping score. Why, if I counted up all the times Rainbow Blitz has been a right stinker to me, I’d start wondering why I was friends with him at all. And you know what? I bet he could say the same thing about me. If you really want to be friends with somepony, you learn how to put these things in the past.”

“But I don’t want to be friends with him!” insisted Apple Bloom, stomping her hooves on the kitchen floor. “I want him to get what’s coming for the way he’s treated Applebuck, and for the way Diamond Tiara treated me!”

“Take it easy, now, lassie,” warned Grandpa Smith. “No sense getting your dander up over a bit of schoolyard to-and-fro. We all know where that sort of temper leads you.”

“Besides, do you really wanna be kicking a boy for something another girl did to you?” added Red Gala. “Does that really seem fair to you?”

Apple Bloom looked at each of her family members and sighed. “I know y’all want to help, and want me to do what’s right,” she said. “But I just gotta do this. I can’t let him – or her – keep making a foal out of me like this. It ain’t fair. I have to stand up to them, or it’ll just happen again and again. Y’all are probably right and I’m gonna regret this one day, but I gotta do it now.”

Blue Chip was relaxing at his table in Sugarcube Corner, indulging in a mid-morning pastry and milkshake. Gold Watch was begging him for titbits about his date with Spice, but Blue Chip simply insisted that “a gentlecolt never tells”, and continued to enjoy his brunch in smug silence. Berry Bubble puttered around the bakery, cleaning tables and trying not to look like he was listening.

“Come on, Blue, you gotta tell me something!” Gold Watch pleaded. “At least tell me that the food was good!”

“Oh, all right, Goldie. Yes, dinner was fantastic. Oh, and Spice actually got a chance to talk with Cordon Bleu, and they’re discussing the possibility of an apprenticeship! I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. You know how much Spice loves cooking.”

“I do,” agreed Gold Watch, sniffing the air. “Hey... is that a cinnamon cologne you’re wearing this morning?”
Blue Chip whistled innocently and turned back to his milkshake, but then looked up, startled, when Apple Bloom galloped into the bakery, snorting angrily.

“Apple Bloom!” exclaimed Gold Watch, smiling up at the filly. “How are you... hey, what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” shrieked Apple Bloom. “What’s wrong? You’re the worst colt in Ponyville and I want you out of my life, that’s what’s wrong!” She stormed over to Gold Watch and lashed out with her hooves, shoving him out of his chair. “I can’t believe I ever trusted you!”

Blue Chip and Berry Bubble exchanged a bewildered glance, while Gold Watch scrambled back from Apple Bloom’s wrath. “What did I do?” he asked, looking hurt. “I don’t understand.”

Apple Bloom pulled a piece of paper out of her saddlebags and spat it at Gold Watch. “You don’t remember this, then?”

Gold Watch scooped up the paper and read it, shaking. “ ‘Dear Applebuck, meet me behind the...’ Oh. That.” He set the letter aside and looked up at Apple Bloom, his face lined with guilt. “Look, Apple Bloom, I can explain about that.”

Apple Bloom stomped a hoof down inches from Gold Watch’s face. “Explain what? That you’re a bully? That Scooteroll was right about you all along? That you set Applebuck up to be humiliated by you and your cronies, just like at your cuteceañera, just like on Family Appreciation Day? You’ve been making him miserable ever since he started school!”

“You don’t understand!” shouted Gold Watch, tears streaming down his face as he struggled to stand up. “He’s trying to ruin my life!”

“No he ain’t!” cried Apple Bloom. “He just wants you to leave him alone! He never did anything to you!”

“It’s not like that! How do you know so much about what Applebuck wants and what Applebuck does, anyway?”

“Because I am Applebuck!”

Apple Bloom and Gold Watch stared at each other in silence for a few moments, then Apple Bloom muttered, “Dusk is gonna kill me,” and cantered hastily out of the bakery.

Blue Chip looked at his friend in bewilderment. “What in Equestria was all that about? What does she mean, she’s Applebuck?”

Gold Watch shook away his tears and started for the door. “I don’t know, but I need to talk to her. I’ll see you later, Blue! Apple Bloom, wait for me!”

Blue Chip looked back to Berry Bubble, who had abandoned all pretence of cleaning tables. “Berry? Do you know what’s going on?”

The pink stallion looked uncomfortable. “I do, but Dusk made me promise not to tell anypony. I think you should get to the library, though. Apple Bloom is going to need her friends with her.”

“Okay.” Blue Chip started packing up his saddlebags. “Say, Berry, you know where Scooteroll lives, right?”

Apple Bloom burst through the door of the library, skidding to a halt in the middle of the main book room. “Dusk!” she panted, looking up at the librarian in desperation. “I need to talk to you!”

Dusk Shine set aside the text he was studying and quickly trotted over to Apple Bloom’s side. “Of course, darling. What’s wrong?”

“Gold Watch is what’s wrong,” Apple Bloom said, leaning against Dusk’s front legs. “I thought he was a really nice colt, but now I know he’s just the colt version of the filly who made my life miserable in my world. I’m only here because I wished to go somewhere with no Diamond Tiara, but she’s here anyway, and... and I thought he really liked me!”

“Doesn’t he?” Dusk asked. “Has he ever actually done anything bad to you?”

Apple Bloom chewed her lip. “Well... no,” she admitted. “He’s always been really sweet to me. But everything Diamond Tiara did to me, Gold Watch did to Applebuck, right? And now I’ve got proof of some of it. And Scooteroll and Sweepy Bell said that Gold Watch was a bully, and now I feel so stupid ‘cause I didn’t listen to them! Oh, and... I kinda told Gold Watch that I’m Applebuck.”

Dusk gently nuzzled Apple Bloom’s mane. “I’m so sorry, Apple Bloom. I thought things were going really well for you here. I’d hate to see everything fall apart like this.” He turned away and walked over to the mirror next to his lectern. “Prince Solaris says that I can use my discretion in telling ponies about your world. Do you want me to explain it to Gold Watch?”

“I don’t want anything to do with him anymore,” complained Apple Bloom. “I just want to go home. I thought this world was better, but it’s just the same, with all the same ponies. Can I go home yet?”

Dusk faced the mirror and concentrated, his horn glowing purple. The mirror shimmered, then cleared to show the same library as was behind them, but with Twilight Sparkle and Applebuck standing together instead. Apple Bloom reached out a hoof toward Applebuck, and their hooves met at the surface of the mirror, but all she could feel was smooth glass. “I’m sorry, sweetie,” Dusk sighed. “I can communicate with your world, but I can’t get you there. Twilight Sparkle and I are doing everything we can, but something or somepony is holding our power back.”

As Apple Bloom stared into the mirror, the library door in the reflection opened, and Diamond Tiara stumbled into the image, panting heavily. Apple Bloom whirled around to see Gold Watch standing into the doorway. “Apple Bloom!” he gasped. “What’s going on? Please, just talk to me!”

“I don’t want to talk to you!” Apple Bloom cried. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

“Because you’re my friend, and more than that, and I don’t want you to hate me, and I don’t understand what’s going on. What’s with that mirror?” he asked, slipping past Dusk to stare at the image of Diamond Tiara. “Is that... is that me?”

Dusk Shine glanced at Apple Bloom, who shrugged. “It is you, in a way,” the unicorn stallion explained. “Apple Bloom isn’t actually from Hoofington. She’s from Ponyville, but not this Ponyville. The one on the other side of that mirror, in an Equestria ruled by Princess Celestia.”

Gold Watch peered at the mirror, then at Dusk Shine and the image of Twilight Sparkle. “Another Ponyville? Another world? With fillies instead of colts?” Dusk nodded. “So that really is me,” he mused, touching the glass, his filly counterpart mirroring his actions.

“That’s Diamond Tiara,” Dusk explained. “She is you, more or less. Everything that has happened in our world has happened in that one, too, roughly speaking.”

“And Apple Bloom really is Applebuck,” Gold Watch continued, looking at the two yellow earth pony children. “And everything that’s happened between me and Applebuck has happened between Diamond Tiara and you?”

“That’s right! I had no idea you were just like her!”

“And I never thought you were like Applebuck. So... can you explain just one thing to me?”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine. What?”

“Why are you so mean to Diamond Tiara?”

Apple Bloom opened her mouth to shout at Gold Watch again, but stopped when she noticed the honesty and pain in his face. He really thinks that I’m a bully, and he’s the victim, she thought. He honestly believes that. And he wasn’t lying all this time I’ve known him, either. He wasn’t pretending to like me, or be nice to me. That was genuine.

She looked up at Dusk Shine silently, thinking about everything that he had told her, and what Applejack and Red Gala had told her. She could either keep hating Gold Watch, or she could try to be friends with him, like Applejack and Elusive were now.

It would be so hard, though. She thought she could never trust Diamond Tiara, because she was just an awful pony who wanted to make her life terrible. Opening her heart to Gold Watch again was just asking for it to be broken once more.

Suddenly, she heard the whirring of wings outside, and Scooteroll trundled through the door on his scooter. Seated in the trailer were Sweepy Bell and Blue Chip, both wearing helmets. A quick glance in the mirror confirmed their identities – her fellow Crusaders and Silver Spoon.

The three colts rushed over to Apple Bloom, sweeping her up in a hug. “Apple Bloom!” cried Scooteroll. “Blue Chip said you’d gone crazy or something. Is everything okay?”

Apple Bloom returned the hug gratefully. “It’s better now that y’all are here. You three came here together?”

Blue Chip nodded. “We figured you needed all of us.” He placed a hoof on Scooteroll’s shoulder, and the pegasus colt flinched but didn’t pull away. “Being your friend is more important than being each others’ enemies.”

Apple Bloom stared at her friends, touched. “You’re right, it is.” She turned back to face Gold Watch, taking a deep breath. “Goldie? I think we should talk about what’s happened between me and Diamond Tiara, and you and Applebuck. Really talk, not just snarling at each other.” Behind her, Dusk Shine started talking with the other colts, pointing to the mirror and explaining who Apple Bloom really was.

Gold Watch took a step towards Apple Bloom and held out his front left hoof. “Alright. Well... I’m sorry about setting Applebuck up with that fake letter from Half Pint. It was an immature prank and I’m not proud of it. I only did it because Applebuck set me up to humiliate myself when he brought Grandpa Smith in for Family Appreciation Day.”

“But I...” Apple Bloom started to snap, then forced her temper down and brought her right hoof forward to meet Gold Watch’s left. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. I thought Granny Smith was going to embarrass me, not Diamond Tiara. I’m sorry that everypony laughed at her when her dad made her wear the bunny suit like everypony else.”

“Alright,” said Gold Watch, nodding. “I understand, and I accept your apology. I guess I shouldn’t have tried to get him to come in and embarrass you either. What about when you had your fake cutie mark, though? Why did you do all of that?”

Apple Bloom cast her gaze to the floor. “I just wanted my cutie mark so badly,” she mumbled. “I didn’t really think about what I was doing, or who I was hurting. I shouldn’t have made fun of you for being clumsy.”

“And I shouldn’t have called you out on your marks being fake. Even if they were, that wasn’t nice of me.” Gold Watch sighed and looked at Apple Bloom apologetically. “How did we end up like this?”

“I think... I think it all started at your cuteceañera,” said Apple Bloom. “I thought you only invited me so you could make fun of me for being a blank flank. But you didn’t even want me there at all. Why not?”

“Well, because...” Gold Watch looked at the floor, shuffling his hooves nervously. “Because everypony likes Applebuck better than me.”

“What?” asked Apple Bloom, surprised. “No way! Ponies talk about you all the time! Everypony wants to be your friend!”

“Only because I’ve got my cutie mark. Without that, nopony would pay attention to me.”

“Sure they would! You’re a really nice colt! And your father was the Mayor, and the most important pony in Ponyville! And your mother is a great business pony, and her grandmother was part of the founding, and...”

“I know, but that only gets ponies to respect me! There’s a difference between being respected and being popular. Look at Applebuck. He’s a junior rodeo champion, and he got Zircon to come to town when nopony else would talk to him. And look at his family! His grandfather founded Ponyville, and his brother saved the world! Twice!” He waved his front legs wildly. “How can I compete with that?”

“So that’s why you got everypony to make fun of me at the party? Because you thought everypony would pay attention to me instead of you?”

Gold Watch nodded guiltily. “Yeah. And then it happened anyway, and suddenly you had the Crusaders, and you were more popular than ever, and I just felt so... cheated, and so angry. It was supposed to be my special day.”

“I just wanted Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to leave me alone. That’s all. I didn’t mean to ruin your party. I thought you were just a mean filly who liked making me miserable.”

“And I thought you were a selfish colt who wanted everypony to love him and ignore me. That’s why...” He sighed and hung his head. “I guess that’s why I keep trying to get other ponies to make fun of him, because if I don’t, he’ll be the popular colt and I’ll be... I won’t be anypony at all, and then I’ll never be like Father.”

Apple Bloom walked forward slowly and laid her head against Gold Watch’s. “Why can’t we be popular together, Goldie? We’re both from really important families. We could do all sorts of great things together. Everypony would listen to us.”

Gold Watch looked surprised, then guilty. “You’re right, we could do that. I suppose I simply never considered that you would want to. I’ve thought the worst of you all this time, and I’ve treated you so badly.”

“It’s not just you, Goldie. I never thought you were worth trying to make friends with, and I was really wrong.”

The two young ponies put their front hooves together, while their counterparts in the mirror did the same, and spoke together.

“I forgive you for everything, and I want to be your friend.”

Behind them, the mirror shimmered and rippled.

“The portal!” exclaimed Dusk Shine, whirling around and pointing his horn at the mirror. “It’s open!”

“It is?” asked Apple Bloom excitedly, running to the mirror. “I can go home?”

“I think so,” said Dusk. “Whatever force was opposing my magic is gone now. You should be able to walk straight through it.”

“But... but I only just got things sorted out here. Do I have to go already?” She turned back to look at her friends, her heart feeling heavy again.

“If I can open the portal again later, then you can visit again. And if I can’t, then you’d better go now. Besides, don’t you want to get home to your old family and friends?”

Apple Bloom looked into the mirror, seeing the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon and Twilight Sparkle all looking at Applebuck expectantly. “I guess I do. Oh, you guys... I’m going to miss you so much.”

Sweepy Bell and Scooteroll ran forward and hugged Apple Bloom. “We’ll never forget you, Apple Bloom,” Scooteroll assured her. “You’ve been so awesome to have around.” Sweepy nodded eagerly in agreement.

“You too, guys,” said Apple Bloom, hugging them both back. “Everything was so different and weird here until you guys found me. I’ll make sure I tell Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle all about you! Oh, and Scooteroll? I’m sorry I thought you were a violent jerk.”

Scooteroll scuffed the floor with his hoof. “Maybe I am, a bit. I’ll try to do better.” The Crusaders stepped back and allowed Gold Watch and Blue Chip to approach Apple Bloom. “I have to thank you guys, too,” she told them. “You made friends with me when you had no idea who I was, and I didn’t know anypony at school. Hanging out with you two was really fun, and I got to find out what being popular is like. You’ve been really good to me.”

Blue Chip leaned forward and nuzzled Apple Bloom happily. “It’s been really great to be with you too. You convinced me to ask Spice out... well, she asked me out, actually, but it wouldn’t have happened without you. And, well...” He tilted his head towards Gold Watch. “You’ve made my best friend really happy, too. That means a lot to me.” He smiled and stepped back, giving her some space with Gold Watch.

The two earth ponies smiled awkwardly at each other for a few moments. “I’m really going to miss you,” Apple Bloom said. “You’ve been... just...”

“I know. So are you, Apple Bloom. I hope I get to see you again. I’ll miss you too.”

Apple Bloom leaned forward to put her front legs around Gold Watch’s shoulders, and pressed a gentle kiss against his lips. “Thank you for being you,” she whispered to him, before pulling away.

Dusk leaned down to nudge Apple Bloom with his head. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Apple Bloom. Will you give my best regard to Princess Celestia, and to Zecora?”

Apple Bloom laughed and hugged Dusk’s neck. “Of course I will, Dusk. You’ve taken really good care of me while I’ve been here. Tell the Apples that I love them and that I’m sorry I didn’t have time to say goodbye?” Dusk nodded solemnly.

“Alright, y’all,” said Apple Bloom as she approached the mirror. “This is it. I’ll miss all of you a whole lot! Hope I get to see you again soon!”

Apple Bloom faced Applebuck in the mirror, and stepped forward.

Passing through the mirror wasn’t disorienting in the same way that swimming in the pond had been. Apple Bloom felt dizzy, though, and managed to tangle up her legs and fall to the floor as she emerged from the portal. Immediately, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were at her side, helping her up.

“Apple Bloom!” they exclaimed, hugging her tightly. “You’re back!”

“I am!” Apple Bloom said, crying tears of relief. “It’s so good to see you girls again!”

“You too!” said Sweetie Belle. “I mean, Applebuck was nice, but we missed you so much.”

“I missed you too!” The Cutie Mark Crusaders nuzzled and chatted briefly, then stepped back as Apple Bloom turned to look at Diamond Tiara. Everypony else in the room seemed to be holding her breath, even Twilight Sparkle.

The two fillies took a few steps towards each other, then rushed together and hugged each other tightly, their eyes filling with tears.

“I’m so sorry!” cried Apple Bloom.

“So am I!” replied Diamond Tiara. “We could have been friends all this time!”

“We could have! But instead we just wanted to hurt each other and ruin each other’s lives!”

“Applebuck made me so happy. If hurting you means hurting him, then I don’t want to hurt you anymore.”

“I never realised what a nice pony you are, Diamond Tiara. Everypony else knew, but I just didn’t want to know.”

“Ugh, are you two finished?” groaned Scootaloo. “You’re sorry, everypony’s sorry, we get the idea!”

Apple Bloom poked her tongue out at Scootaloo, then moved over to give Silver Spoon a hug. Meanwhile, Scootaloo approached Diamond Tiara.

“Hey, look,” she began, casting a sidelong glance at Apple Bloom. “I’m sorry I, you know, broke your leg and called you lame.”

Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I don’t blame you. I’m sorry I broke your nose and stuff. Are we good?”

Scootaloo shrugged. “If you and Apple Bloom are really friends now, then I guess so.”

The five new friends milled about the library for a while, trading stories of what they had all gotten up to in their time apart, and their plans for the future. “So what are we going to do now?” asked Apple Bloom.

Diamond Tiara grinned. “Well, Silver Spoon and I are the most popular fillies in Ponyville, and you three are the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Sounds to me like we can do whatever we want! What say we grab Snips and Snails and go sailing?”

“Great idea!” exclaimed Scootaloo. “And I bet they’ll be happy to know that we’re friends now. Let’s go!”

Twilight Sparkle watched as the fillies laughed and rushed outside. “I’m so happy for you, Apple Bloom. I’ll get started on trying to open this portal on demand. Perhaps we could visit this other world together next time!”

Apple Bloom grinned. “So you can meet Zircon, right?”

Twilight blushed. “Well, he just sounds so wise, and... never you mind. I bet Princess Celestia would love to hear all about what you’ve learned.”

“You’re right!” Apple Bloom leaned out of the door to call to her friends. “You guys go on ahead, I gotta write to the Princess. Spines, take a letter!”

Spike wandered down from the bedroom, carrying his quill and a scroll. “Uh, it’s Spike. You know, big tough dragon guy?”

“Right, right. Take a letter, please?”

“You got it!”

“Dear Princess Celestia,

These last few weeks, I have been on an amazing journey, to another world. At first it seemed very different from our world, but eventually I figured out that it’s just like ours, but I was seeing it from a different perspective. Places look different when you’re looking at them from a new angle, and so do a lot of ponies.

When you only ever see one side of a pony, it’s easy to get the wrong idea about them. A pony might seem like the perfect friend, or the worst possible enemy. Ponies aren’t like that, though. Nopony is perfect, or a monster. They’re just ponies. Before you judge a pony for what you see, it’s worth thinking about whether there’s another side you’re not seeing.

When you come into conflict with a pony, that pony probably seems like the worst pony in the world. But that’s just the side you see when you’re fighting with them. And you know what? They probably see you the same way. You can just carry on fighting, but that won’t solve anything. You can say things like, “But she started it!” or, “But what she does is worse than what I do.” And you might even be right about that.

But being in the right doesn’t stop a fight. The only way to make the fighting end is to make peace, and that means imagining that maybe, the other pony doesn’t want to fight either. Even if you can’t see the other side, you have to believe that it exists. If you can find that other side, then you might just make a new friend, one who was there all along, if only you’d seen it sooner.

Your loyal subject,

Apple Bloom

P.S. Thanks for letting Applebuck visit your world, and I’m really grateful to Prince Solaris for letting me go to his. It was amazing.”

Princess Celestia chuckled to herself as she read the letter. “Young Apple Bloom is learning a great deal,” she commented to her sister as they relaxed in their dining hall. “I think she’s thanking the wrong Princess for this lesson, though.”

Princess Luna, for her part, was engrossed in a rather lengthy poem on another scroll. “’The brilliant stars that fill the skies / Shine in my Dark Lady’s eyes’... oh, he’s not going to give up, is he? Still, young Pipsqueak does have quite the talent.” She set the scroll aside and took the letter from Celestia, reading it swiftly.

“You’re right, sister. She has learned this lesson very well, if she has grown to love the pony she once hated.” Luna stood and walked to the window, peering out at the morning sky. “I didn’t think that my old tradition of wishing upon stars had lasted into these modern nights. It has been most wonderful to connect with our little ponies in that way again.”

“And a valuable lesson it has been, too,” agreed Celestia. A moment passed in silence, then Celestia trotted up beside her sister. “Luna... you know I never hated you, don’t you? No matter what you did?”

Luna turned and pressed her head against her sister’s. “I know, Celestia. Even when I hated you, I knew you still loved me. It must have been so difficult, to love a pony who caused you such grief.”

Celestia smiled, holding up the letter again. “Not as difficult as all that, if a child can do it.”

Epilogue: A Hearts and Hooves Day Miracle

“Goodbye, class!” Miss Cheerilee called as her class filed out of the schoolhouse. “Enjoy the rest of Hearts and Hooves Day!”

“What a great party!” said Sweetie Belle, trotting alongside her friends. “I love Hearts and Hooves Day, and Miss Cheerilee is the best teacher in Equestria!”

“I can’t believe Miss Cheerilee doesn’t have her own very special somepony!” said Apple Bloom. “If anypony deserves one, it’s Miss Cheerilee!”

“I can’t believe Diamond Tiara missed the party,” replied Silver Spoon, leaning against Snails as she walked. “She really loves Hearts and Hooves Day too. You know how romantic she can be.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Ugh, don’t remind me! Watching her making eyes at Applebuck was so painful. Snips, if I ever get like that, promise me you’ll throw me off a cloud or something?”

Apple Bloom sighed, looking back at the schoolhouse. Sweetie Belle moved around and nuzzled her shoulder. “You’re thinking about Gold Watch, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” she replied, giving another sigh. “I know he’d have something really romantic planned for Hearts and Hooves Day if I was in his world. Probably a trip to Manehattan or something. It was just really nice to have a colt paying that much attention to me, you know?”

“I know,” agreed Sweetie Belle. “Applebuck was always so happy around Diamond Tiara. But it’s okay – you’ve still got us! We’re all going to hang out together, right, guys?”

“Oh, I will, but Snips said not to tell anypony about his secret plans for this afternoon,” said Snails.

“Snails!” shrieked Snips, and headbutted his friend. The two unicorn colts erupted into a tangle of flailing hooves, tumbling along beside the others.

“Should we, like, stop them or something?” asked Silver Spoon, watching the colts fighting.

“Nah, they’ll get bored soon,” said Scootaloo. Sure enough, Snips and Snails were helping each other up and brushing themselves off in a matter of moments. “Sooooo... secret plans, huh?” she asked, nudging her head against Snips. “What kind of plans?”

“Oh, well, uh,” mumbled Snips, turning his head up to watch the sky as he talked. “Just, y’know... I thought we could get dinner and watch a show together.”

“Sounds cool,” the young pegasus admitted. “Where are we going?”

“How does Cloudsdale sound?” A rainbow blur streaked past the six friends, circled them once, and skidded to a halt, resolving itself into a familiar blue pegasus, hitched to a streamlined racing chariot.

“Rainbow Dash!” squealed Scootaloo. “Oh my gosh! Are you taking us to Cloudsdale?”

“Sure am! Snips and I have set up dinner at the Cloud Nine Restaurant, and tickets to see, pause for dramatic effect... the Wonderbolts!”

Scootaloo nearly fainted with excitement. “Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! This is going to be the best night ever! You’re the best coltfriend in the world, Snips!” The orange filly flapped her wings excitedly as she threw her front legs around Snips’s neck, kissing his cheek over and over.

“Hey, no problem,” said Snips, nuzzling her in return. “You’re the coolest filly in school! Who can I get to give you the best Hearts and Hooves Day ever except for the most superextremawesomazing pony in Ponyville?”

“And thank you too, Rainbow Dash! This is so awesome of you!” Scootaloo pounced on Rainbow Dash, hugging her idol fiercely.

“Yeah, well, you’d be surprised how many Rainbow Dash Points a colt can earn by doing all my laundry and grocery shopping for a month. And I wanted to see an old Cloudsdale friend for Hearts and Hooves Day anyway. Come on, hop aboard. Your parents packed a scarf for you in case it’s cold up there.”

Scootaloo and Snips scrambled into the seat of Rainbow Dash’s chariot, and waved frantically to their friends as the older pegasus carried them aloft. The others grinned and waved until the chariot was out of sight.

“Gee, I feel kind of outdone now,” sighed Snails. “All I was going to do was make you your favourite dinner.”

“Steamed aubergine and bok choi with a watercress and ginger garnish?” asked Silver Spoon, her ears pricking up in delight.

“You bet!” said Snails, grinning goofily.

Silver Spoon nuzzled Snails contentedly. “That’s so sweet of you,” she crooned. “Say, do you guys mind if we drop by Diamond Tiara’s place? I’m worried she might be sick or something.”

“Good idea!” said Apple Bloom. “I’m kinda worried too. I really thought she’d be at school today.”

The four friends walked together, chatting about Miss Cheerilee and Rainbow Dash, until the Rich mansion came into view. The front yard was empty of ponies, but two figures were playing on the tennis court to one side of the mansion. As they watched, the light brown adult lobbed a serve to the pink and purple child, who lunged for the ball and barely managed to beat it back over the net.

“Looks like Diamond Tiara is okay, if she’s up and playing tennis with her dad,” commented Sweetie Belle.
Silver Spoon squinted at the tennis court. “Hang on a minute, that’s not Diamond Tiara. That’s...”

“Gold Watch?” gasped Apple Bloom, galloping down the hill towards the court. Sure enough, Gold Watch dropped his tennis racquet when he heard Apple Bloom’s voice, and he ran to meet her with an excited squeal. “Apple Bloom! It’s so good to see you!”

Apple Bloom wrapped her front legs around Gold Watch’s shoulders and hugged him tightly, then kissed his cheek. “I was afraid I was never going to see you again, Goldie! Twilight Sparkle kept saying she couldn’t get the portal open again.”

“I thought I’d never get to see you again either, but Dusk Shine showed up at my house just after sunrise, and said he’d made it work! He can open it anytime he wants now, or at least every once in a while. I would have met you guys at school, but I wanted to spend some time with Dad.” He went to stand next to Filthy Rich as the stallion approached, leaning against his leg.

“Afternoon, Apple Bloom,” Filthy Rich greeted her. “My lad Gold Watch here tell me you two were quite good friends in his world.”

Apple Bloom blushed as she smiled at Filthy Rich. She had gotten to know Filthy Rich quite well since she and Diamond Tiara had become friends – and had learned to address him as “Mister Rich”, never “Mister Filthy” – but she had never needed to talk to either him or Greasy Lucre about her relationship with Gold Watch. “Yeah, we, um, yeah,” she stammered. “So... you two are getting on pretty well, then?”

Filthy Rich tousled Gold Watch’s purple and white mane with one hoof, and the colt responded by nudging his head against Filthy Rich’s leg. “Diamond Pendant and I always wanted a little brother for Diamond Tiara. It’s nice to know how he would have turned out.”

“Gold Chain will always be Father, but I think Filthy Rich can be Dad,” said Gold Watch. “It’s been pretty cool hanging out all day.”

“Here come your friends,” said Filthy Rich, pointing up the hill. “I’ll get you kids something to drink.” He wandered back into the mansion while Sweetie Belle, Snails and Silver Spoon trotted down to join Apple Bloom and Gold Watch.

“Hey everypony!” said Apple Bloom excitedly. “This is Gold Watch, my very special somepony from Applebuck’s world. He’s... well, he’s kind of the male version of Diamond Tiara. Goldie, this is Sweetie Belle...”

“A pleasure,” said Gold Watch, executing a graceful bow to Sweetie Belle, who hid her mouth behind her hoof and giggled.

“And this is Snails!” Apple Bloom continued, gesturing to her unicorn friend.

“It’s an honour to meet you, good sir,” said Gold Watch as he offered Snails his hoof to shake. He gave Apple Bloom a quick inquiring glance, evidently wondering who Snails was in his world.

“You too! Wow, you’re Gold Watch! Apple Bloom told us all about how awesome you are! I love your waistcoat!” Snails grinned excitedly as he shook Gold Watch’s hoof.

Gold Watch smiled in recognition. “Ah, I think I know who you are, now. Spice and I always have fun together, and I can just tell we’re going to be great friends!”

Apple Bloom beamed happily, thrilled that all of her friends were getting along so well. “And this,” she said, gesturing to the last filly to be introduced, “is Silver Spoon.”

Gold Watch and Silver Spoon met each other’s gazes and slowly moved together, looking at each other inquisitively. The pink colt reached out a front hoof towards the grey filly. “Bump?” he asked, tentatively.

“Bump...” replied Silver Spoon, meeting the outstretched hoof with her own.

“Sugar lump! Rump!” they finished together, then hugged each other tightly, laughing.

“It really is you!” exclaimed Gold Watch, nuzzling Silver Spoon’s shoulder tenderly. “This is amazing! Blue Chip is my best friend in my world. He’s always there for me when things go wrong, and he stops me from making some really bad decisions sometimes. I don’t know what I’d do without him. Diamond Tiara is really lucky to have you as her friend.”

“Really?” asked Silver Spoon, looking a little taken aback. “She never told me that.”

Gold Watch blinked. “What? Of course she did! I’ve said it to Blue Chip dozens of times! I mean... I’m sure I have... well, it was implied, right?” He looked at the ground, shifting his hooves awkwardly. “I just always thought that he knew how much he means to me.”

“He knows,” Silver Spoon assured Gold Watch, laying her neck against his. “It’s just nice to hear you say it.”

“Come on in, kids!” called Filthy Rich from the door to the mansion. “Drinks and cupcakes are up.”

The five children streamed into the house, and sat around the kitchen table, feasting on cupcakes, lemonade and apple juice. Apple Bloom dined happily with her friends, chatting about school, Crusades and other adventures and mishaps. Gold Watch’s news from his world wasn’t exactly novel, as almost the same things had happened in her world, but it was good to hear it all the same.

Apple Bloom’s eyes lit up as she remembered a package she had left with Twilight Sparkle for when she finally opened the portal again. “Hey, Goldie, did Dusk Shine give you anything to give to me? It would have been a box about so big, wrapped in butcher’s paper?”

Gold Watch perked up and dashed from the room, returning with a large box balanced on his back. “Oh, yeah, I almost forgot! I’m guessing this is the stuff you left behind when you had to go so quickly?”

The identical package Apple Bloom left with Twilight Sparkle had contained all of Applebuck’s leftover possessions, so Apple Bloom knew what to expect when she tore open the parcel. “It’s my dress!” she cried, holding the shimmering red and green outfit against her body. “I love it so much! Thank you again, it’s so gorgeous!”

Gold Watch chuckled and pressed a hoof against Apple Bloom’s fetlock. “You know that Elusive would have made it for you even if I hadn’t commissioned it. He wasn’t going to let me pay for it at all, but then he said something about ‘being generous with opportunities for generosity’. I’m so glad you like it. You looked beautiful in it.”

Apple Bloom nosed through the package some more. “Oh, and here are my earrings! I sent those cufflinks back to Applebuck with the rest of his stuff, Silver Spoon. I’m sure he liked them as much as I like these.” She turned her attention back to the box. “And here are all the photos we took! This is me and Spice just before my first date with Goldie, and this is the Crusaders, and here’s us at the spa... oh, we all had such a great time together. But I have great fun with you guys, too. I’m so lucky to have such good friends.”

All of her friends agreed, and they lounged around the mansion until it was time for Snails and Silver Spoon to head back to Snails’s house for dinner. Gold Watch and Sweetie Belle trotted out with them, but Apple Bloom stayed behind a little longer at Filthy Rich’s request.

“I believe I have you to thank for all of this, Apple Bloom,” said Filthy Rich, seated across the lounge room from the filly. “It was you who crossed into the other world and made friends with... well, with my son.”

“I still don’t quite know how it happened, but I guess so,” replied Apple Bloom. “I learned a whole lot while I was there, and now Diamond Tiara and I are good friends, and the most popular fillies at school, too!”

“So my daughter tells me,” Filthy Rich replied with a smile. “Listen, I am aware that Diamond Tiara’s behaviour has gone downhill since her mother passed away. She has her mother’s ambition, but not the perspective that comes with decades of leadership experience. She was trying too hard to be the next Diamond Pendant, and I’m sorry if you ever had to bear the brunt of that.”

Apple Bloom pondered. She could tell Filthy Rich about all of the times Diamond Tiara had humiliated her, made her look like a foal in front of the whole school, made her cry, made her wish she were anywhere but Ponyville. It was all true, it had all happened, and it still hurt.

“That’s okay, Mister Rich. It could have happened to anypony. We’re friends now, and that’s what matters.”

“It does matter, a great deal. Diamond Tiara may have always had the respect of most of her peers, but since you and she became friends, she’s been more compassionate, more understanding of other ponies’ viewpoints and problems.” He sighed deeply. “More like her mother.”

He waved a hoof in the air. “No need to listen to an old stallion getting all maudlin on Hearts and Hooves Day. You go and have fun with your friends, alright? And remember you’re welcome in this house anytime.”

“Thanks, Mister Rich!” said Apple Bloom, trotting over to give him a quick hug. “I’ll see you later!”

Apple Bloom rejoined her friends in the front yard, and they set off towards Snails’s house. “So what do you two want to do after we drop off Snails and Silver Spoon, guys?” she asked Sweetie Belle and Gold Watch. “Go listen to the Hearts and Hooves Day concert in the park?”

“I kinda want to do something for Miss Cheerilee,” said Sweetie Belle, tapping a hoof on her chin thoughtfully. “She must be really lonely without a very special somepony on Hearts and Hooves Day, and she deserves one more than anypony else.”

“I know how that goes,” said Gold Watch. “Mother is always really sad on Hearts and Hooves Day, thinking about Father. I know she loved him, but it’s been almost four years now. I keep telling her that she needs to move on, but she won’t listen to me. Dad feels the same way.”

Sweetie Belle nodded glumly. “That’s really sad. I wish there were somepony who...” She trailed off for a moment, then gasped loudly. “That’s it! Are you guys thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Yeah, but remember what happened last time an Ursa Minor came into town? And I don’t think Pinkie Pie will let us borrow her party cannon,” said Snails.

The unicorn filly blinked. “Umm... no, not that! Miss Cheerilee and Mister Rich should be each other’s very special someponies!”

The others all gasped as well. “Sweetie Belle, you’re a genius!” said Apple Bloom. “They’d be perfect for each other! They’re both super smart and really hard working. And it’ll make them both so happy!”

“So... Mother and Mister Smiles?” said Gold Watch, pondering. “You’re right, they would be perfect for each other. How did I not think of this before? Okay, then! Snails and Silver Spoon, you go have fun on your date. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, you need to convince Miss Cheerilee to come to dinner at the mansion. I’ll go back and get the cook to set up something nice and romantic. This day is going to be perfect!”

Silver Spoon and Snails hugged the other three, wished them luck, and cantered off towards Snails’s house. Apple Bloom gave Gold Watch another long hug. “This really is perfect, Goldie. I bet you made a special Hearts and Hooves Day wish to come here and see me, huh?”

Gold Watch tilted his head to one side. “No... I should have! I assumed that you’d made some sort of wish so that Twilight Sparkle could open the portal. You didn’t?”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Nope. Somepony must have, but who?”

Dusk Shine lay on a cushion over the packed dirt floor of the hut, the air heavy with incense from a faraway land. He leaned forward and lapped at the bowl of tea in front of him, savouring the taste as a pleasant warmth spread through his body. “I’ve never tasted this tea before, Zecora. Is it from a new herb?”

The zebra mare stretched out beside Dusk and sipped from the bowl herself, brushing the side of her head against his. “It is made from a plant named ‘Heart’s Desire’, sure to ignite a stallion’s fire,” she said, her voice low and almost hypnotic. “Long have I waited to share this brew, wishing for a stallion like you.”

“You are my heart’s desire,” murmured Dusk, turning to look into Zecora’s eyes. “I’m sorry, I must seem so forward to you. We only just met today, and...”

Zecora placed one hoof tenderly over Dusk’s mouth. “Do not regret your words, Dusk Shine. Our hearts already intertwine. Your Zircon is a friend most true, and so my mind you already knew. My heart waited but to see your face, when you came from your most distant place.”

Dusk tilted his head and pressed a tender kiss against Zecora’s grey fetlock. “I always knew I had a special connection with Zircon. Not the same as I have with Applejack, Butterscotch and the others, but something different. I wasn’t prepared for this, though.”

Zecora pushed her head forward and allowed Dusk Shine to stroke her striped mane. “This was surprising to me too, but I know that our love is true.” She closed her eyes and whickered softly at the contact, then wrapped one leg around Dusk’s neck and pulled him into a passionate kiss.

The young unicorn stallion returned the kiss eagerly, shifting his body closer to Zecora’s. Thank you, Prince Solaris, he thought, as he embraced his new lover. Best Hearts and Hooves Day wish ever.