Applebloom and the Art Museum
All three of the little filly’s ears perked up when they heard their teacher announce they were going on a field trip. They perked up a little more when they heard they were going to an art museum, and they were straining as far as they possibly could when they heard they would have free range of the museum for the entire day.
Applebloom was particularly excited. She ignored the busy buzz of her classroom as she had day dreams of her and her friends receiving their art museum related cutie marks. Scoot-ta-loo would probably receive hers after she dove bomb to save a priceless statue that some careless patron had knocked over. Sweetie-Belle would get a cutie mark after she discovered that the museum had hung a famous painting upside down, just like it had happened on the cartoon Applebloom had watched the other day. As for herself, she would become a famous artist. She had talent her older sister and her granny always liked her pictures and hung them on the refrigerator. Why couldn’t they be hung in a museum as well?
“Settle down, settle down everypony!” Ms. Cherilee said interrupting Applebloom’s thoughts.
“This is a very big opportunity for our class…it’s not every day that our class gets invited to an art museum in the Crystal Empire.” Ms. Cherilee said trying to continue with the details of the trip. She didn’t get in another word in though before the class erupted with excitement. Not only were they going to an art museum, they were going to an art museum in the crystal empire!
The three cutie mark crusaders met up after class in their tree house. They just stood and stared at each other for a few minutes with excited looks in their eyes. Finally, Applebloom spoke up.
“Okay girls, I think we’re all thinking the same thing…” Applebloom started.
“ART MUSEUM CUTIE MARKS!” all three fillies chimed in, of course Applebloom’s friends had been thinking the same thing she had. That is after all what had made them friends in the first place.
“It is going to be the greatest day of our lives!” Sweetie Belle started, “and can you believe that Twilight is going to be a chaperone? A princess is going to be our Chaperone!”
“I’m more excited that we can go anywhere in the museum we want. I hate when we go on field trips and there are those guided tours were the tour guides go on and on about nothing…”Scoot-ta-loo remarked.
“…yeah!” said Sweetie Belle interrupting “and they always get the oldest, ugliest ponies to do the tour! If I’m going to listen to someone drone on and on then I want them to be like a….a…fashion model!”
The two fillies burst into laughter as the rolled around on the floor of the tree house. Applebloom sighed. She loved her friends, but they were just not as serious about this as they ought to be. They’d never get their cutie marks giggling and rolling around on floors. They needed to work hard like herself and her older siblings. Applebloom decided not to tell her friends about her big plans to show her art to the museum.
“Hey!” Scoot-ta-loo shouted. Once again Applebloom’s thoughts had been interrupted.
“Applebloom, do you think we can have a sleepover in the tree house the night before the trip?” asked Scoot. Applebloom thought a moment.
“Well normally Applejack doesn’t let me have friends over on a school night, but since this is a special occasion….I’ll ask her….RIGHT NOW!” Applebloom replied as she raced out of the tree house so fast she couldn’t even see her friend’s confused expression.
“What was that all about?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Who knows? You know how Applebloom gets some times. You want to work on our homework together?” asked Scoot.
Applebloom raced home as fast as she could. She would ask Applejack about the sleep over, but not right now. She was racing home to look through all the pictures she painted. She needed to see which ones were the best. She was worried that none of them would be good enough and she’d have to start from scratch and paint a hundred more that night.
Applebloom could hardly sleep the night before the field trip. It might have been all the apple cider that her and her friends had drank or all the pizza they had consumed, but Applebloom suspected that she was nervous. She had put a grave amount of pressure on herself about this field trip. It wasn’t even fun anymore for her. Sure she was going to the Crystal Empire, and sure Princess Twilight was going be a chaperone, and sure Diamond Tiara had to get her tonsils removed and would even be on the field trip, but all of that was child’s play. This was way more serious for Applebloom.
Sleep came slowly. The little filly tossed and turned in her sleeping bag for what seemed like forever. She must have drifted off at some point because she found herself in a middle of a nightmare. Giant paintings were chasing her until she ran into a podium. She looked up and a statue was swaying at the top, until it leaned a little too far to the right and came falling down. It was about to fall onto Applebloom’s head when someone swooped it up. It was Princess Luna. Applebloom would never tell Twilight this, but Princess Luna was her favorite princess. It felt like she had known her for a long, long time.
“My little pony,” Luna called to Applebloom as she flew down beside her “why have thou no excitement for thine trip to the field? It appears as thou are nervous?”
“Oh Princess Luna! You don’t know the half of it!” Applebloom spoke quickly “I really, really want to earn my cutie mark, and I’m working really hard to do so, and when I heard about the field trip I was all excited, so I came up with this plan to get my art into the museum, because you know I’m really good at art, Applejack and granny always put my pictures on the fridge, but then I started thinking about how I’m really not that good, and Applejack and Granny are the only ones who like my art, so then I tried to make lots of new art too get better, but that didn’t really work out, and now I’m really….really…really…scared.”
Applebloom burst into tears.
“And I just want to make my big sister and my family and my friends proud!” the little filly sobbed.
“Come hither little one,” Luna pulled Applebloom close to her with her wing, “Thou are just one little filly. Thou should not put the weight of the world on thine shoulders. That is the job of my sister.” Luna chuckled a bit at herself for this joke.
“You should just be the best thou can be, and even if thou do fail thou friends and family will know that thou tried thine best. They will know thou you have given thine all.” Luna continued.
Applebloom looked up and gave Luna a hug as she thanked the princess. She woke up. She felt a little better.
Ms. Cheerilee looked over the class and smiled. She turned and started to trot toward the museum as the class followed her. Ms. Cherilee strongly believed in the buddy system and after the last field trip fiasco there was no way she was letting the cutie mark crusaders pair up again. So Applebloom was way in the back trotting along with Twilight. There was an uneven number of kids in the class, so someone had to pair up with the chaperone. On a normal day this would of bother Applebloom, but today was not a normal day. Being paired with Twilight meant she could have a little time for herself, while Twilight droned on and on about famous artists and such.
Twilight and Applebloom toured the first floor with little excitement. Applebloom enjoyed the artwork, but would turn and glance around for her friends every so often. They might be doing something exciting to get their cutie marks. No such luck. Twilight and Applebloom made their way to the second floor. The rode the beautiful, crystal elevator. Applebloom was succumbed by its beauty, but Twilight seemed unimpressed. She had rode in many crystal elevators before.
As Twilight began to view the art work, Applebloom took a deep breath. This was the moment she had been the moment she was waiting for. The second floor was where the review committee was held. They decided which pieces to put in and take out of the museum. Applebloom had read all about it, and knew exactly in which room it was held in and everything. She just needed an excuse to get away from Twilight.
“Uh….Twilight?” asked Applebloom.
“Yes, Applebloom? What is it?” answered Twilight.
“I goanna go to the little filly’s room.” Said Applebloom.
“Okay, well, hurry back…one of my favorite exhibits is next…it has art featured by Sleepy Pie…who as you know is a relative of Pinkie Pie….to think that one of my friend’s relatives….”Twilight droned on and as Applebloom scampered in the direction of the committee room.
Applebloom decided it would be best just to barge into the room. That way she could get in there before she got too nervous, and so it would be a way cooler scene for the movie they’d make about her life. What Applebloom didn’t realize is how fast she was trotting. She was almost out of breath when she got to the door, but charged right at it. Unfortuanly for her the door was locked, but she did make a loud enough thud to startle the ponies inside. An older, gruff pony came opened the door to see what the commotion was about. He saw the little filly in a heap on the floor.
“May I help you?” asked the pony.
“Um…why yes! I…I…have….I have….I….um….have…”Applebloom stutters.
“You have what?” the pony responded.
“I have art that I want to go into the museum!” Applebloom blurted out.
“I’m sorry miss but this committee is to review work of well-established artist. And besides you have long missed the application deadline.” said the pony, and with that he shut and locked the door.
Applebloom gave a few knocks on the door, but only silenced answered. Applebloom decided to go to the bathroom after all to have herself a nice long cry.
Twilight who was beginning to worry about the little filly also headed to the bathroom. She instantly heard the muffled cries, from inside one of the stall, upon entering. She quietly used her magic to un-lock the stall door, causing the little pony inside to jump a little.
“Applebloom! Why are you in the bathroom crying?” asked Twilight.
“Well” Applebloom started through tears “it is a long story, but it all started by me trying to get my cutie mark.”
This did not surprise Twilight in the least.
“And…well…I was goanna show my artwork to the committee, to have it put in the museum, and to get a cool art museum cutie mark, but they rejected me before they could even see my artwork!” cried Applebloom.
“Oh, Applebloom…don’t be sad. Everpony is rejected at some point….well even I as a young filly was not always accepted…well in fact there was this one time…”Twilight launched into a rather long story until she was stopped by a tap on the shoulder. Twilight turned around and was face to face with Princess Luna. The Princess was holding up a little painting in the glow of her magic.
“Twilight Sparkle, do thou know to who this painting belongs?” asked the princess.
“I do…” Applebloom sighed, “It’s mine. I threw it away because it’s lame. I can’t make art. I’m not a well-established artist.”
“Well if that is what thou thinks, I guess I will not hang it upon my refrigerator.” Replied Luna.
“You want to put it on your refrigerator?” replied Applebloom.
“Why yes. It was created by a pony who I highly favor.” Luna replied. Applebloom thought she could almost see a smile on the princess’s face.
“Now I do believe you two have a museum to finish?” Luna said.
Applebloom popped out of the stall dragging Twilight along with her. She was telling Twilight all about the exhibit that had work by Sleepy Pie, a relative of their friend Pinkie.
THE END
Author's Note
-I realize that "art gallery" would really be better suited to describe the establishment better than "museum", but I thought "museum" sounded better
-This story is Applebloom's version of "For whom the Sweetie Belle Tolls" (sort of)
-This story took an whole different direction from when I first started. It became very much about real life for me.
