Mum's the Word

Chapters

The Slip Up
A Moment of Thought - Twilight Sparkle
A Moment of Thought - Apple Bloom

The Slip Up

“Okay Apple Bloom, that’s it for today,” said Twilight as a pink aura encompassed a series of books.

“Already?” Apple Bloom asked, looking surprised.

“Afraid so, in fact, it looks like that was the very last of your homework. I’d say you’re all caught up,” she replied, levitating the books onto the shelves.

Apple Bloom had been given a ton of homework recently, as well as chores around the farm. Sweet Apple Acres had been especially busy these past few months. So in order to help her little sister out with the all the extra homework, Applejack had arranged for Apple Bloom to have a study session with Twilight after school for an hour every afternoon. In just a few short weeks, her grades had greatly improved. Not only that, but her school work had become much easier for her. She had also grown to enjoy these study sessions and the quality time she got to spend with Twilight.

“So does this mean our study sessions are over now?” Apple Bloom asked dolefully.

“Yep, it’s such a shame. I’ve really been enjoying these past few weeks, I’m also incredibly proud of you, Apple Bloom. You’ve made so much progress, I’ve never seen anypony learn and grow in the way you do,” Twilight said as she affectionately grazed the filly’s forehead.

“You probably want to get home soon, before it gets dark. I’ll see you next Twilight Time okay?”

Apple Bloom didn’t want it to be over so soon, she had really enjoyed spending this special one on one time with Twilight outside their usual Twilight Time with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. But over the past few weeks, since the sessions had begun, she had begun to see Twilight almost as a big sister. In the same way that she cherished Applejack, she also adored Twilight in a similar light.

“Okay,” Apple Bloom murmured sadly, as she dragged her hooves over to her saddlebag.

She started to pack away her stuff into her satchel as Twilight disappeared down the stairwell, a pink eerie glow flowed from her horn as a stack of books followed behind her. As Apple Bloom finished packing her things away, she slid her bag onto her back and headed towards the stairs, her eyes downcast as she stared dismally at the floor then trotted down each step slowly.

As she made her way down the stairs and towards the front door, she didn’t take her eyes off the oak wooden floor. She walked up to the door, and just as she was about to put her hoof on the knob, she felt somepony standing behind her. As she pulled away from the handle, she spun around to find Twilight as she packed away some books onto their shelves.

Apple Bloom stared at the door before glancing back at Twilight, unsure of what to do. Memories flooded her mind as she started to remember all the fun experiences she had shared with Twilight, like when they explored the Everfree Forest in search of rare botanical plants. Whenever she got stuck on a problem with her work Twilight would help her through it, or when she got really frustrated with one of the questions, Twilight would help her calm down and take a break.

There was even one time when Twilight offered to take her to Sugarcube Corner for a treat after they had finished; the little filly was so excited she ended up tripping on one of the steps and falling hard on her forehead. Upon hearing the noise, Twilight had rushed down the stairwell in a panic to see if she was hurt. Fortunately, she only suffered minor injuries with a scrape to her forehooves.

Despite the painful stinging sensation that quickly arose in her hooves, Twilight had been more than willing to tend to her wounds. “It's going to be alright,” she had said in a sweet voice as she carefully wrapped a white cloth around her hooves.

“Gee, thanks Twilight! I guess I just got a bit excited there,” Apple Bloom replied.

As the mare stroked her cherry mane, she delicately placed a small kiss on the filly’s forehead. A warm, fuzzy feeling gradually grew inside of her as she began to feel a strange emotion, one she had never felt before. Apple Bloom felt herself being pulled into a loving embrace as Twilight wrapped her forehooves around the filly’s chest.

Pulling herself away from her thoughts, Apple Bloom shook her head as she found herself still standing at the entrance to Twilight’s library. She saw that Twilight was still putting books away, and after thinking for a moment, Apple Bloom walked on over to where the mare was now standing.

“Um...Twilight?”

“Hm?”

Twilight cocked her head to the side for a moment to notice that Apple Bloom was walking towards her. As she turned to face her, she saw the glum expression the little filly had on her face.

“Yes, Apple Bloom? Is something the matter?” Twilight asked.

Apple Bloom looked up at Twilight with her big, sad eyes as she started to drag her hoof across the floor.

“Um, I was wonderin’ if we could maybe read a book together or somethin’... I don’t have to go home just yet.”

Surprised by the filly’s words, Twilight wondered what had made her young pupil so eager to stay. “Of course we can, but I would've thought that you would be really eager to get back home or see your friends,” Twilight replied, leaning in closer to the filly.

“The thing is, I really enjoyed these study sessions, they’ve really helped me a great deal.. but outside of that, I...well, what I really enjoyed the most...was...spending time with you. It’s what I always looked forward to the most when I came to each session.”

Twilight’s mouth fell agape at the filly’s words. A small smile crept onto the mare’s face; she never realised that Apple Bloom enjoyed spending time with her this much. Since they had first started having these sessions together, deep down Twilight knew that she also enjoyed having Apple Bloom around. She made a fine student and they had shared some pretty fun moments together.

“Wow, Apple Bloom! I didn’t realise you enjoyed our time together this much. To be honest I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you these past few weeks as well.”

A smile started to spread its way onto Apple Bloom’s face as she listened to the mare’s words. Upon seeing the filly smile brilliantly, Twilight couldn’t help but smile caringly back at her. “So,” Twilight continued. “What do you say we have one last study break and spend the rest of the afternoon together? I’ll even let you choose any book you would like to read, or if you’d like you can pick an activity.”

Apple Bloom’s heart leapt with joy as she bounced around the room. She wrapped her forelegs around Twilight’s chest, pulling the mare into a warm, loving embrace “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Apple Bloom exclaimed as she held onto Twilight tightly.

After she released the mare from her warm embrace, the pair then began what was the rest of their afternoon together as they read books, told each other stories of their past and even discovered that they shared similar interests and traits with each other that they never knew about.

Twilight shared some of the delicious cupcakes that she had bought from Sugarcube Corner the other day and while they ate, they played fun games as the time flew by. Before they knew it, it was time for Apple Bloom to go home. “Thanks so much for a great time, Twilight, it truly meant a lot ta’ me.”

“My pleasure, Apple Bloom, I really enjoyed myself too.”

Twilight then realized that through all the fun that Apple Bloom and her had, the little filly’s appearance had become rather disheveled. Her uncombed mane was a mess, there appeared to be smudges of chocolate covering the rim of her mouth, and her pale yellow coat looked all frizzy and out of place.

“Apple Bloom, I think you should wash up first before you go. I don’t want you to go back home looking like you just came out of the Everfree Forest.” Twilight chuckled.

“It’s alright, Twi, you don’t have ta bother, I can get cleaned up back home,” Apple Bloom replied.

“It’s no trouble at all, Apple Bloom, it won’t take very long.”

“Well...okay, thanks.”

~ * ~

The hot, soapy water of the bath washed over her as Apple Bloom climbed headfirst into the claw-foot tub. Over by the sink, Twilight was furiously scrubbing the filly’s pink bow as she tried to remove the chocolate-coated stain. She placed it to the side to drip dry, hopefully it would be enough to get rid of the stain. As she walked over to the tub, Twilight saw that the little filly was having a ball as she played around in the water. Incidentally, she was causing soapy water to fall over over the side, reducing Twilight’s mane to a hot, soapy mess. A look of worry spread across the filly’s face as she ducked beneath the surface, but it was the gentle smile from Twilight that reassured her that she’s wasn’t mad.

A wave of relief washed over as she returns to the surface, gasping for air. Narrowing her eyebrows, she shot an evil grin at the filly in the tub. Then, without any hesitation, she lit up her horn and floated up a large amount of water towards Apple Bloom’s head.

Taking a deep breath, Apple Bloom braced herself for the impact as the bright pink aura disappears and the water came raining down upon her. Twilight let out a giggle; she never had this sort of fun when she was a filly. As she opened her eyes, she was surprised by the way it seemed that Apple Bloom had suddenly disappeared. She looked around the bathroom, but it looked as though she had never left the room. Panic rushed up the mare’s veins as she looked back over at the tub; she noticed something moving beneath the surface. The water moved about when suddenly, Apple Bloom jumped above the surface.

“Boo!” Apple Bloom exclaimed as the water debris was sent flowing onto the floor.

Startled by the filly’s sudden reappearance, Twilight was propelled backwards and landed harshly on her backside.

Apple Bloom couldn’t help but laugh at the embarrassed expression on Twilight’s face as she slowly rose to her hooves. She stared bitterly at the filly, making Apple Bloom cringe in fear. But the mare’s frown started to turn upwards into a lighthearted smile, as a loud burst of laughter took over. Her body was shaking as she rolled around on the wet floor, unable to control herself. After all the chaos of the afternoon, Apple Bloom was now spick and span, her coat gleamed brilliantly, her mane was now neat and tidy once more, and just as Twilight finished fixing her bow, Apple Bloom gazed into the mirror to see that even her pink bow was clean of any chocolate stains.

“Wow ya’ll even fixed up my bow, it looks good as new,” Apple Bloom admitted as they stood in the bathroom mirror together.

The little filly ran up to Twilight and leaned in, affectionately nuzzling the mare’s forehead.

“You’re very welcome, Apple Bloom. Now I really think it’s time for you to go home,” Twilight said, as they left the bathroom.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Apple Bloom agreed.

The two of them made their way downstairs as Apple Bloom headed for the front door with a huge smile on her face. She certainly felt a lot better than she did earlier that day. It was a rush of relief, but deep down she still didn’t want to stop spending time with Twilight as it was now something that was very special to her.

As Apple Bloom reached the door she glanced over her shoulder to see that Twilight was now walking towards the door to escort her out. Just as Twilight was about to open the front door for her, she noticed the dejected look on Apple Bloom’s face.

“Is everything alright, Apple Bloom?” Twilight asked.

“Oh yea’ Twilight, it’s just..well I’m really gonna miss coming over here. It’s been so much fun with you I feel we have somethin’ special just between us, you know?” asked Apple Bloom staring up at the mare with her big, sad eyes once more.

“I know, but we still have Twilight Time to look forward to.”

“Yeah and I always look forward to that, so does Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. But when it’s just you and me it’s somethin’ different. It’s kinda like the same thing I share with Applejack, Granny Smith, and Big Mac. I can’t really explain it, but when I’m with you, you're like another family member that I just want to be with and to know more about.”

Tears began to form in Twilight’s eyes, she never would’ve imagined that Apple Bloom would feel this way towards her She felt something wet and hot stream down her left cheek, but she quickly brushed it away before Apple Bloom could notice.

“Apple Bloom, that is so sweet of you to say. Tell you what, how’s about I have a word with Applejack and we can arrange a sleepover here for the weekend?” Twilight suggested.

“Really?” Apple Bloom asked excitedly.

“Really,” Twilight responded.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Apple Bloom exclaimed as she began to bounce around the library wildly.

Twilight watched in nostalgia as she remembered the way she was at the same age.

However, she was pulled away from her nostalgic daze as she felt something warm make contact with her waist. She looked down only to discover that Apple Bloom was now embracing her with a tight hug.

“Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!” Apple Bloom repeated excitedly.

Warmth filled the mare's heart as she returned the embrace. “You’re welcome sweetie, now off you go and I’ll have a talk with Applejack tomorrow,” Twilight replied.

“Okay, bye.”

As soon as Apple Bloom was out the door, she started to think of plans for the sleepover next weekend. But first, she had to talk to her friends about it, in the hopes that they wouldn’t mind that she was having a sleepover at Twilight’s without them.

“Apple Bloom!” Twilight called out behind her.

The little filly came to an immediate stop at the sound of her name, she turned around to see that Twilight was trotting over to her, a book encompassed by her levitation magic “You left your school book on the table, you wouldn’t want to leave that behind now, would you?” Twilight asked rhetorically as she levitated the book into Applebloom’s bag.

“Oops, I guess I forgot it when I was packing, thanks for getting it for me, Mom!”

Time suddenly stood still. The pupils in her eyes shrank down; her mouth had fallen wide open as she went into shock. Her body trembled violently as she stared off into the distance. She placed a hoof over her mouth as her mind went completely blank, she was unsure if what she had just said was even real.

Twilight looked a little dumbfounded for a brief moment and couldn’t but help let out a light chuckle. “Apple Bloom...” Twilight started to say, but was immediately cut off.

“I...uh...I bu...I did...I...just...but .it...” Apple Bloom stammered, her mind paralyzed with shock.

Twilight could clearly see the tears that were now forming in the filly’s eyes.

“Apple Bloom, it’s alright...it was just a simple slip of the tongue. It happens to all of us,” Twilight explained reassuringly as she leaned in closer to the filly.

But Apple Bloom refused to listen, her mind had shut down, paralyzed with shock. She started to back away slowly, still stuttering on her words.

“I...didn’t...I mean...you’re not...it was.. I just...” Apple Bloom choked.

Tears began to stream down the little filly’s eyes as she stood there, unsure of what to do next.

“Apple Bloom it’s...”

But before Twilight could say anything, Apple Bloom turned and galloped away as fast as she could. “Apple Bloom, wait!” Twilight called out behind her Apple Bloom was already out of earshot; Twilight wanted to follow her to explain that it wasn’t her fault. But instead decided to let her have some space and let her sleep it off. As Twilight made her way back to the library, she couldn’t get the image of Apple Bloom nearly bursting into tears out of her mind. The poor filly looked so embarrassed even though nopony had been around to hear, it still left Apple Bloom rather distressed. But Twilight hoped that she would be alright by tomorrow.

Author's Note

Hoped you enjoy the first chapter of the renewed "Mum's the Word"

Poor Apple Bloom :applecry: , let's hope she will get over this soon.

See ya for Chapter 2! :pinkiehappy:

A Moment of Thought - Twilight Sparkle

As Twilight made her way back to the Golden Oaks Library, the look on Apple Bloom’s face still ran through her mind. In all of her life, she had never seen anypony, let alone a little filly, become so distressed to the point of keeling over. All because of a slight slip of the tongue. Twilight glanced over her shoulder, as she thought whether or not to go after Apple Bloom and sort all this out. But as the amber rays of Celestia’s sun continued to cast its brilliant glow on the exterior of the library, Twilight decided it was best to just sleep it off and hope that Apple Bloom would be feeling better in the morning.

“There you are!”

As the mare quickly snapped out of her of thoughts, she then found herself back in the warm, coziness of her library home. “It’s a good thing I left the door open.” Twilight thought to herself as she imagined herself banging right into the hard wooden door of her home. “Where were you, Twilight?”

Twilight turned to the direction of the voice, only to be met by the pleading eyes of Spike as he gazed up at her, his eyebrows furrowed into a frown. As she was stolen away from her musing, she turned to the baby dragon as she slowly gathered her thoughts.

“Oh, Spike, I was just.. uhh.. just returning Apple Bloom’s book, she left it on the table while she was packing her things and must have forgotten about it,” Twilight answered as she walked to the center of the room.

“Oh. Well, how did Apple Bloom do on her final test today anyway?” Spike asked, his eyes peered up at her.

“She did rather well, considering how far she had fallen behind in the past few weeks. But since she has finally caught up with all her work and passed her final test, I would have to say that our study sessions are over now,” Twilight replied sadly, as her eyes fell on the potted plant that sat in the corner of the room, a memento of the time they had spent together.

“That’s great!” Spike exclaimed. “I’m really happy for Apple Bloom now that she’s up to speed on her work. Although, I have to admit that I am going to miss having her come over every week. I mean, these last few days with her were really nice; it even started to feel like I had a little sister around here.”

Twilight’s heart was warmed by the baby dragon’s kind and sincere words. A smile crept its way onto her face as images of earlier that afternoon resurfaced to her mind. She shook her head at the thought, not wanting to reminisce the past so easily, especially with Spike in the room.“So, how did the gem hunting expedition go with Rarity today?” she asked politely.

Twilight saw the dragon suddenly cringe as beads of sweat began to form on his scaly forehead. He gave a half-hearted chuckle as he glanced at the floor, his foot clawing at the wooden floorboard.

“Ah...heh heh, yeah the expedition...” he chuckled. “That went really well, we found quite a load of gems today, a lot more than usual in fact.”

Twilight stared sternly at Spike, impatiently tapping her hoof as the silence grew between them. She could see the guilt in the baby dragon’s eyes as he slowly backed away from the mare and into the corner of the room. Beads of sweat ran down his cheeks as his face turned a bright shade of pink. Letting out a heavy sigh, the colour ran from his face as he gave in.

“We found this extremely rare mega-sized fire ruby at the Southside Mountains outside of Ponyville. Rarity had never seen anything like it and neither had I.” Spike quickly wiped away some drool that clung to the edge of his mouth and hung over his chin. “It looked so beautiful,” he continued. “Rarity even said it looked like it could be worth a fortune, maybe even more than whatever Filthy Rich had ever earned.”

“Wow, that’s fantastic, Rarity must be so happy. It sure sounds like quite a ruby,” Twilight replied.

She couldn’t quite figure out why Spike wouldn’t want to tell her about this, this was fantastic news. Rarity must still be gushing over the ruby right now, Twilight thought to herself as she imagined the unicorn polishing and admiring the ruby in a lavish display case.

“Yeah, it is.” Spike gulped. “Or....was.”

“What do you mean was?” Twilight asked as she leaned in even closer.

“Well...” Spike answered as he scratched the back of his head, a guilty look grew on his face. But as he was about to finish, the dragon’s scaled stomach grumbled loudly as his claws patted it greedily.

A rambunctious and loud burp erupted from the baby dragon’s mouth as a shimmering, trail of red powdery dust followed. An uncomfortable silence grew between them as the room itself grew eerily quiet. Twilight stood over the dragon with a bored, lifeless expression on her face. As Spike swallowed his pride, he could feel the heat rushing to his cheeks.

“Yeah, so aside from looking good, it looked pretty tasty too,” Spike finally spoke up.

Twilight could feel her jaw drop open as fury ran through her veins.

“You ate the ruby?” she exclaimed furiously, leaning her head in up against the dragon’s miniature skull.

“No!” Spike cried. “I didn’t.”

Twilight breathed a huge sigh of relief. For a moment there she thought that Spike had actually eaten a one of a kind, priceless ruby, but of course, she knew that he wouldn’t do such a thing, especially to Rarity.

“I swallowed it whole!” Spike painfully admitted.

Twilight gazed blankly into the air, dumbfounded by what he had just said. Her left eye began to twitch slightly as her mouth hung open and slowly turned into a wide grin. Her pupils in her eyes shrunk down so much that they could barely be seen, just a pair of tiny black dots that gleamed in the middle of a white oasis. “Surely Spike was just kidding,” she thought to herself, he wouldn’t really go so far as to eat such a rare and valuable gemstone that Rarity had worked so hard to find would he?

The unicorn’s head snapped sharply onto its axis as she was suddenly taken out of her thoughts and back into reality. She processed what the dragon had just said and an overwhelming wave of realisation washed over her. “You swallowed it whole?” Twilight asked profusely, shaking her head as she began to walk back and forth on the spot. Her mind was swirling with thoughts.

She wanted to make absolutely sure that she’d heard right. Spike swallowed another huge gulp of spit as he gave a weak, halfhearted chuckle in response. Stepping away slowly from Twilight, he felt the blood rushing to his cheeks once more as his guilty conscience played a cruel game. He could sense the wrath of the unicorn’s rage that was about to be sent down upon him. “Uh...yes.” he murmured softly in reply.

Twilight stared down at the dragon, the anger fuming in her eyes as she marched up to him and stared directly into his pleading eyes “Spike, what were you thinking?” she exclaimed, sending a trickle of fear down the baby dragon’s scaly spine.

“I couldn’t help it, Twilight, honest! The ruby just looked so good! The next thing I knew, my tongue was already wrapped around it and suddenly I had the whole thing in my mouth. In just a matter of seconds, I swallowed it and it vanished, just like that,” Spike explained, reaching out with his claws as he fell onto his knees.

A deep, heavy, sigh was released from the mare as she turned away from him. “Why, oh why would Spike do this?” she wondered to herself as she took a few steps towards the bookshelf. “Surely he knew better than that.”

Glancing over her shoulder, Twilight saw that the dragon had pulled his knees in towards his chest and was now curled up in a ball on the floor. “Spike,’ she began.

As she got the dragon’s attention, he slowly pulled his head from his knees and looked up at his friend. ‘You should be really ashamed of yourself. I thought you had a little more self control than that. What’s more is that I’m especially disappointed you didn’t tell me this right from the beginning, you know I wouldn’t stay mad at you for whatever it is you’ve done,” Twilight explained, disappointment lingering in her eyes.

Spike simply nodded in response. “You’re right, Twilight, I’m sorry. I guess I was just a little afraid that you’d be so mad at me that you might send me away or something.”

Twilight knelt beside Spike as she wrapped a hoof around the dragon’s back and pulled him into a tight, warm embrace.

“Oh Spike, you silly drake. You should know by now that I would never send you away for anything. No matter what you’ve ever done, whether if it’s eating a priceless ruby, getting into fights with Owlicious, or the time you brought all of the pets to the Crystal Empire by train.”

Spike’s eyes widened and his pupils dilated as he heard that last part. He looked up at Twilight with disbelief. How could she have possibly known about that? Did the Cutie Mark Crusaders give him away? Was it one of the pets or Owlicious? A list of reasons ran through the dragon’s head as he tried to find a plausible explanation.

“How...how did you know about that?” Spike asked, stumbling over his words.

The mare chuckled at the dragon’s inquiry. “I’ll tell you about that some other time, I’ve got some things I need to take care of. But Spike, please remember that if something like this ever happens again, don’t be afraid to speak up to me and your friends. I promise you that no matter how big or small the problem is, I will never, ever, send you away, no matter what.”

A sense of relief washed over Spike after hearing Twilight say that. He wrapped his little arms around the pony’s neck and pulled the mare into a tight embrace. “Thanks Twilight, and I’m really sorry. I promise to be more honest and truthful to you and to everypony from this moment on,” Spike promised.

Twilight gasped for air after Spike finally released her from his grasp “Glad to hear it, Spike,” Twilight said between coughs.

“I just hope Rarity will be able to forgive me too,” Spike said, his downcast eyes stared at the floor.

“I’m sure she will once you’ve spoken to her and apologised,” Twilight reassured him, rubbing the small of the dragon’s back.

“Right, I’ll start practicing my apology speech as soon as I finish putting the rest of these books back up on their shelves.”

Twilight silently shook her head as Spike went back to his work. “Sometimes that little dragon can really get himself into quite a pickle.” After that little ordeal was taken care of, Twilight made her way up the staircase to her bedroom for some nice, quiet studying. But as soon as she reached the top of the stairs, she saw the debris of paper, books and crumbs that were strewn all over the floor.

She quickly remembered that this was the remains of her and Apple Bloom’s study break earlier that day and had completely forgotten about it. She let out a deep, heavy sigh and moved over towards the entrance of the room and began to levitate random objects of the floor. A brilliant pink aura encompassed each object as she worked.

~ * ~

As Twilight brushed away a few beads of sweat, she stood and admired her handiwork, her room was once again clean and tidy. Glancing up at the clock, she realised that it had gotten quite late. From the view of her window, she could see that Luna’s moon had already settled in the night sky. She let out an exhausted yawn as she wandered over to the bookshelf. Perhaps she could have a quick read from one of her magical philosophy books, it always helped her get a good night’s sleep.

As Twilight made her way back over to her desk, she noticed a couple sheets of paper on it. She cast a pink glow around the paper, the aura glowed brilliantly as she levitated the pages over to have a look at them. As she inspected the pages more closely, a smile formed on the unicorn’s face, as she saw that the pages were filled with pictures that she and Apple Bloom had drawn together; they had thoroughly enjoyed the time they had spent together. One of the pictures had Applejack bucking a bountiful apple tree while another one was of The Cutie Mark Crusaders with Twilight together with the words “Twilight Time” scribbled above.

The unicorn couldn’t help but let out a light giggle. She remembered Apple Bloom when she had suggested that this could be their official banner for “Twilight Time” and even Twilight had said that she approved to the idea.

Twilight’s smile grew as she admired each of the drawings, but as her eyes fell on the last page, her smile faded away. The picture was of Apple Bloom with her family, Applejack, Granny Smith and Big Macintosh. But what surprised Twilight the most however, was that Apple Bloom had drawn her standing with them outside the apple farm, and just above the drawing Apple Bloom had written “My Family”.

She could feel a hot wetness swelter at the forefront of her eyelids; a single tear trickled its way down the mare’s cheek. “Apple Bloom sees me as a member of her family?” Twilight thought. “Like as another big sister to her?”

Twilight felt her heart warm with pride as her smile grew wider. She started to remember all of the fun things she and Apple Bloom had today. She just couldn’t believe that Apple Bloom would want her out of any pony to be another big sister for her, like Applejack.

“Mom.”

Her smile suddenly dropped as that word returned to her thoughts once more. “Thanks for bringing it to me, Mom.”

The pink aura that surrounded Twilight’s horn suddenly faded and the papers she had encompassed with her magic fell onto the floor, images from earlier began to flash through her mind, the shocked expression on Apple Bloom’s face, the tears that built up in her eyes and the stuttered formation of her words. She walked over to her window and gazed out at Luna’s moon as it shone brilliantly over Ponyville. She continued to recall the whole day of her and Apple Bloom, the fun they had and the moments they shared were now very precious to her.

She had grown rather fond of having Apple Bloom over these last few weeks; the time they had spent together was unlike anything she had ever felt before. But seeing Apple Bloom get upset like that, deep down Twilight began to wonder about how much truth was really in the little filly’s words.

“Could Apple Bloom actually or quite possibly see me...as...her?” Twilight shook her head at the thought.“No. Of course not, it was just a simple slip of the tongue.” Everyone had their fair share of embarrassing moments, especially when it came to words. Some were even more embarrassing than others! Twilight was certain of it, it was nothing more than a mere slip of the tongue, she was sure Apple Bloom only saw her as another sisterly figure or perhaps even a role model. But certainly not as a mother, there was no way that could be true.

The more she thought about Apple Bloom, the more she remembered about the first time when she came to Ponyville. When she had first gone to Sweet Apple Acres to oversee the food preparations. Back then, she hadn’t even met Apple Bloom, but when she first saw the little filly with her puppy dog eyes, she just couldn’t say no to brunch. She thought back to the time when everypony else was afraid of Zecora and out of all the other ponies, Apple Bloom was the only one that supported and agreed on Twilight’s arguments.

Twilight continued to stare out the window as she gazed up at the stars, remembering all of the moments she and Apple Bloom had shared. Some of them were good, while others were bad but from each moment they had shared together, Twilight started to realise that somewhere along that line of spending time together, both she and Apple Bloom have developed quite a special bond for one another.

At that very moment, the unicorn’s eyes widen as she had a moment of realisation; she knew now why Apple Bloom had so desperately wanted to spend the day with her. It was because of the bond they had formed, Apple Bloom wanted to be Twilight’s 'Best Pony Friends Forever'. With a new sense of determination, Twilight vowed to make sure that she and Apple Bloom would be the best of friends for a long time to come. But first, she would need to help her with the ‘M’ word incident.

She was sure that it was just a slip of the tongue, but as she made her way over to her bedside, she glanced down at the floor to see that a picture of the Apple Family was now lying on the wooden flooring next to her feet. A pink glow wrapped around the picture as she levitated it towards her. As she inspected it more closely, she reminded herself once more that it was just a slip of the tongue. But really... was it?

Author's Note

I'm thinking of making a side story for Spike based off this chapter. If you like the idea leave a comment and I'll see what I can do.

A Moment of Thought - Apple Bloom

Luna’s moon had already begun to slowly ascend into the night sky as Apple Bloom galloped up the dirt trail that led to Sweet Apple Acres. Tears burned down her cheeks as the word still lingered in the little filly’s mind.

“Mom.”

“How did that just happen?” The little filly wondered as she tried to wrap her head around it. She had never felt so embarrassed in her life! What should she do? What could she do? Horrid images of everypony laughing and taunting her filled her mind as questions swirled around in her head leading nowhere.

Apple Bloom hadn’t watched where she was going, so as something rough scraped the surface of her forehoof, she was propelled forward into the air, landing hard on the solid ground beneath her. She laid there, her face buried into the soil as hot, wet tears streamed down her cheeks and into the sand. “What would my family think of me?” she wondered to herself “Or my friends? Or anypony for that matter?”

As she finally managed to recollect herself, Apple Bloom shakily rose to her hooves as she wiped away her tears with the back of a hoof. Staring into the distance, she saw that Sweet Apple Acres was not too far now. She inhaled slowly, allowing herself a moment to calm down. As she exhaled, Apple Bloom continued along the dirt path, but this time she kept in mind where she was walking and made sure to be more careful.

As she made her way up the path towards the house, Apple Bloom suddenly noticed that her coat looked a little bit frizzled and messied from the fall.

“Don’t want you going back looking like you just came out of the Everfree Forest.” Twilight’s words echoed in her mind.

“Twilight was so kind to help me clean up, I don’t wanna ruin it.” Apple Bloom thought to herself as she headed in the direction of the barn. As she looked at her reflection in the large mirror that leaned against the side of the barn, she brushed her coat down, making sure to remove any twigs or leaves that had gotten caught in her fur. She then checked that both her tail and mane didn’t look too frazzled; it wasn’t unusual to have a slightly uncouth mane after a long day of work on the farm, but Applejack would notice if it had been coiled.

As she finished checking over her mane, she noticed the way her bow reflected the light that shone in on the mirror. It reminded her of how Twilight had taken the liberty to clean and fix it up for her.

“It was so very kind of Mom to do that for me,” Apple Bloom thought to herself as she adjusted her bow in the mirror, making sure it stood up straight.

A hoof flew over her mouth as her eyes widened in shock, it had happened again! Luckily, she had only thought it and hadn’t said it aloud for anypony to hear. Panic stricken, Apple Bloom ran from the barn and into the quiet stillness of the night. As she franticly looked around the farm to make sure that nopony was around to hear, she felt the shock rush through her veins.

As soon as she had finished fixing up her bow, she admired her handiwork in the mirror and was pleased with the result. She now looked much better than before, or at least without looking like she had been devoured by timber wolves. As she trotted her way up towards the house, Apple Bloom noticed that a brilliant light glowed from the porch, illuminating the cozy exterior of the house. The weather worn paint job held a heavenly glow as the dirt trail up to the steps was lit up.

Off in the distance, she could hear the crickets cry out meekly in the night as the air slowly grew cool, and she shivered as an icy updraft encompassed the underside of the filly’s torso. As she approached the front door, an unsettling feeling slowly grew in the pit of her stomach. Swallowing her pride, Apple Bloom opened the door and softly closed it behind her.

“Hiya, Apple Bloom! What has my little sis’ been up to today?” asked Applejack as she entered the room.

Unaware of her sister’s presence, Apple Bloom jumped and turned around on the spot as adrenaline rushed through her veins. Her breathing escalated as she turned to face her older sister. A worried look had formed on the mare’s face as she extended a hoof out towards Apple Bloom, caressing the side of the filly’s face. “Are ya’ll alright, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, her voice shaking as she spoke. Apple Bloom rose a hoof to her chest as she tried to catch her breath, “Uh, yeah. I’m alright. Ya just startled me, that’s all. I didn’t know you were behind me when I came in,” Apple Bloom explained, her eyes were downcast as she stared at the timber floorboards; she watched as a fly twitched about on a spot on the ground.

“Come on now little sis, ya can’t pull the wool over my eyes. I can tell somethin’s botherin’ yer. Wanna tell me about it?”

Apple Bloom flinched, she wasn’t sure how Applejack would react if she told her that she had called Twilight Mom.

“Is that my sweet little Apple Bloom comin’ in?” an elderly voice exclaimed from the kitchen, the sound echoed through the halls and into the front entrance where Applejack and her were standing.

“It sure is, Granny!” replied Applejack.

“Well tell her to be gettin’ up those stairs and washed up for dinner, the soup’s almost on!” Granny Smith bellowed.

“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh added.

Apple Bloom breathed a sigh of relief as she made her way towards the stairs.

“Hold on there just a sec, Apple Bloom, before ya go up, tell me: is there anything wrong ya’ wanna talk about?” Applejack asked, a great amount of concern pleaded in the mare’s emerald eyes.

Apple Bloom stopped at the beginning of the stairs, as Applejack had asked her the question. She was hoping that Applejack would’ve gone to help Granny Smith and Big Mac prepare dinner. However, being the kind hearted and caring big sister that she was, Applejack was willing to spare a moment in order to help her little sister when something was wrong.

Apple Bloom started to think more rationally as she looked towards her sister. Should she just come out and say what had happened. How would Applejack take it? What about the rest of her family? She considered her options for a moment before a smile crept onto her face as she had made a decision, she knew exactly what to do.

“Nothin,” Apple Bloom replied.

“Huh?” Applejack said, baffled by her sister’s response.“Nothin’?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at the filly.

“What I mean is, that nothing's really wrong, Applejack,” Apple Bloom explained. “Ya see, I just lost track of time and I was gettin’ really worried that I wouldn’ have made it back in time fer’ dinner.”

“Is that all?” Applejack inquired. “Don’t you be worryin’ about that, sugarcube, you made it back just in the nick of time.”

A heavy sigh of relief escaped the little filly as Apple Bloom wiped away the beads of sweat that had formed on her forehead.

“Well, I’ll just be upstairs gettin’ ready fer dinner then, so I’ll see ya in a bit,” Apple Bloom said as she made her way up the stairs. “By the way, how’d your study session with Twilight go today?” Apple Bloom once again froze up by the mention of Twilight. “Ah heh heh,” the filly chuckled. “Oh yeah, I was so worried about gettin’ back home that I forgot all about that.”

“Well?”

“Well...the thing is, it’s that...I’m all caught up with my homework fer school,” Apple Bloom replied happily.

“That’s great news, Apple Bloom! I sure hope you remembered to thank Twilight for all her help before you left.”

“Of course I did, I wouldn’t think of heading out without thanking M....” Apple Bloom shook her head, “Uh, Twilight without thanking her.”

“Why does this keep happening to me?” she thought to herself. “Why can’t I jus’ say Twilight’s name like I always do?”

Apple Bloom starts to feel tiny beads of sweat start to trickle form on her forehead; she quickly brushed them off with the back of her hoof before Applejack could notice.

“Glad to hear it lil sis.” Applejack added happily “I’m real proud of,”

Before Applejack finished the rest of her sentence, something caught the corner of her eye. She stared rather intensely at her little sister for a few moments, unsure of what to say next.

“What is it, sis?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Hmm,” Applejack murmured. “There’s somethin’ a bit differen’ about you, Apple Bloom, but I just can’t seem to put my hoof on it.”

“Different?” Apple Bloom questioned.

As Applejack kept on staring her little sister up and down, the more nervous Apple Bloom became. What did her sister mean by different?

Suddenly the mare’s pupils dilated as her eyes widened and her mouth fell agape.

“Your bow!” Applejack finally exclaimed.

Apple Bloom stared at her sister with a blank expression on her face.

“Wha..?”

“Ya’ got yerself a spanking new bow didn’ you?” Applejack asked.

“I got a new what now?”

“Huh, and I always thought ya’ really liked that old one ya always used to wear.”

Apple Bloom scratched her head. What in Equestria was her sister talking about? As she felt the bow that was neatly placed on the top of her mane she finally realised what Applejack meant.

“Oh, this ain’t a new bow, Applejack,” Apple Bloom giggled. “This is still my old one. Twilight was just real kind to fix it up for me. Looks good as new, right?"

Applejack looked rather surprised.

“Well, Ah’ll be,” gasped Applejack. “I’d never woulda guessed that was the same ol’ bow you had there. I honestly thought for a moment that there bow just came out from tha’ store. That was real nice of Twilight ta do that for ya huh?”

“Yeah, Twilight is the best.” Apple Bloom agreed.

“Wait. I did say ‘Twilight’, right?”

“Yes lil’ sis, Twilight sure is without a doubt, one of the best friends anypony could ever ask fer.” Applejack continued. “I sure am glad to have her here in Ponyville. Anyway, I’d better not keep ya held up any longer, dinner’s bout ready in a few minutes. We’ll talk more bout’ your study session later, ya’ll better get up and get yerself washed up now.”

As Applejack made her way towards the kitchen to help finish preparing dinner, Apple Bloom quickly trotted up the rest of the stairs and then galloped straight into her room.

As she took off her saddlebags, she tossed them onto the floor as she sat down to gather herself after all that had transpired.

“What a nightmare.” She thought to herself. “Why did this have ta’ happen to me?”

Apple Bloom was still feeling rather tense, as she placed her hoof over her heart, she took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh as she exhaled. This was a special technique that Twilight used to calm herself down whenever she started to get worried or stressed.

“Wow that really works, Twilight sure knows of ways to help relax.”

Apple Bloom started reminiscing of the day she had spent with Twilight, how much fun they had together and how she had really enjoyed herself. She still remembered the promise that Twilight had made about having a sleepover during the weekend. This was, in her opinion, a perfect day. Which it was before she called Twilight...

She shook her head at the thought. She didn’t want to think about that at all, but how could she not? She did say it. There was no way to deny it, So how could she possibly make this better? Who could she talk to about it? What would they think? What did Twilight think?

All these swirled around in Apple Bloom’s mind as she tried to imagine what everypony might do if they ever found out. Her family would throw her off the farm, her friends would reject her and the whole school would torment her until she graduated.

“Perhaps I’m just overreacting here,” she thought to herself. “Maybe none of that will ever happen.’

But what if it does, a voice whispered back to her. What if just one of these things did happen? What if anypony found out about her little slip up?

Apple Bloom laid her body flat on the floor; how could she ever get herself out of this?

“Perhaps it’s better to just get it over with and just tell the family over dinner.”

Apple Bloom suddenly spotted something that protruded from underneath her bed. As she picked herself up off the ground, she walked over to the bed and grabbed a hold of the object and pulled it out from underneath the bed. As soon as she caught sight of it, she gasped. For in her very hoof, she was holding none other than...

“Smarty Pants?” she whispered. “How’d this ugly thing get under here?”

She could recall way back when Twilight had been in quite a “state” and was obsessed with a friendship report. She had tried to make her and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders fight over her old doll in hopes of teaching them a lesson about sharing. However, when neither of them wanted the doll, Twilight was reduced to taking drastic measures.

Apple Bloom shook her head as she did not want to recall what exactly had happened after that. Getting back to the question at hoof, what was Smarty Pants doing under her bed? Suddenly she remembered seeing the same doll with Big Mac perhaps once or twice, could her big brother have been holding on to this doll this whole entire time?

But why would he want a scraggy old thing like this? Apple Bloom wondered, staring disgustedly at the old doll and wondering what to do with it. She stared at the doll for a moment and then with a small smile... she starts hugging it tightly in her arms.

Deep down, Apple Bloom did sorta like the doll. But she didn’t want to admit it in case Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle didn’t want to hang out with her anymore because of it.

As she climbed atop of her bed, Apple Bloom laid down to snuggle Smarty Pants tightly in her arms as she started to wonder what she should do about Twilight and the ‘M’ word incident. She closed her eyes and started to remember back to some of the good times.

Like how when Twilight first came to Ponyville and visited Sweet Apple Acres she had made her stay for brunch by using her big, sad, puppy dog eyes. There was the time where everypony in town was afraid of Zecora, even to the point that they believed she was an evil sorceress. But both she and Twilight were the only two ponies who were willing to give their zebra neighbour the benefit of the doubt.

She also remembered the special moments that she had shared with her family and her best friends. Like when Granny Smith came to her school for Family Appreciation Day, the Apple Cider Season they all did together, going camping with Applejack and every cutie mark crusading adventure she had ever done with her best friends.

Apple Bloom sat up on her bed and looked directly into the black, beady button eyes of Smarty Pants with a look of certainty on her face.

“No matter what, nopony must ever know about this, my family and my friends are just too important ta me. I can’t risk losing them. So from this day forth, I, Apple Bloom Apple, shall hereby no longer utter the ‘M’ word to anypony ever again!” Apple Bloom declared to herself.

“And especially ta Twilight... if I want ta stop saying the ‘M’ word.....I’m gonna have ta avoid seeing her...” she added sadly.

“Apple Bloom!” her sister bellowed from downstairs. “Dinner’s ready, get yer tail a movin!”

As soon as Apple Bloom realised how much time had passed, she leaped from her bed and onto the floor and hurried over to her door. But before she left, she turned around to see the Smarty Pants doll had fallen off her bed and onto the floor.

Apple Bloom quickly walked back over to the doll and picked it up, before glancing over her shoulder to make sure that no one was there. She bent down underneath her bed, lifted up her bed sheet and slid the doll back underneath the bed so that no one could see it. She dropped the sheet and headed out the door.

“Comin’ sis!” she called out.

Author's Note

The Return of Smarty Pants! I had this idea from the episode "Somepony to Watch Over Me" when Applejack lifted Apple Bloom's bed just what was Smarty Pants doing under there anyway? hope to see that again in the show!

See ya next time for Chapter 4! :twilightsmile: