Sleepover at Apple Bloom's

“Slow down, there, steam-shovel,” admonished Applejack, who was watching her little sister, Apple Bloom as she gobbled down her supper. “At least chew the food a little bit.” Not that Apple Bloom wasn’t enjoying the meal—it was quite good, especially the apple oat casserole—it was just that she was too excited to slow down. “Eating like one of the barnyard pigs,” continued Applejack, “won’t make yer friends show up any faster. They won’t be here for another half-hour.”

“Eeyup,” agreed her older brother, Big Macintosh, although he was already finishing his second helping of dessert.

Apple Bloom ignored her siblings, gulped the last few mouthfuls, and asked to be excused from the table.

“No dessert?” asked Granny Smith with a quizzical raised eyebrow. “It’s my carrot cake. I even made it with the clover icing that you like so much.”

“Um, ah’ll have some later. With Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. That is, if there's enough,” she added hastily, hoping the inquiry would suffice as good manners.

“Oh, there’s a-plenty, don’t you worry,” beamed Granny, who seemed pleased that her culinary confection would be sampled by even more hungry ponies.

Apple Bloom exited the kitchen and took the steps two at a time on the way up to her room. Hosting an official Cutie Mark Crusaders sleepover was a responsibility that the little filly took very seriously, and she needed to check that everything was ready. Her canopied, four-poster bed had freshly-laundered sheets and pillowcases. It was high summer, so they wouldn’t need any blankets. She made sure that her guests had places cleared where they could put their duffel bags. Overall, her room was pretty clean—well, much cleaner than usual, anyway, and Apple Bloom nodded to herself in approval.

She poked her muzzle into her bathroom. It was small, but she loved having a toilet and sink of her own. It was sparkling and smelled of fresh lemons, thanks to the thorough cleaning that Apple Bloom had given it earlier that afternoon. She admired the three color-coordinated toothbrushes lined up in the holder—white, yellow, and orange, just like the coats of the three little ponies that would use them at bedtime.

In the few minutes she had left, Apple Bloom went through her mental checklist of the things she hoped to do with her friends that evening. Take the new CMC flag to the clubhouse. Try for cutie marks in paper airplane making (Sweetie Belle’s idea). Play freeze tag with Big Mac. Catch lightning bugs in big mason jars. Oh, and eat that dessert, too.

With almost perfect timing, she heard Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle chattering loudly as they were arriving at the big farmhouse. Apple Bloom broke out in a wide grin as she thought of the fun-filled summer evening that loomed ahead, and the fact that she would spend it with her two best friends in the world made it even sweeter.

Hearing the excited voices of her approaching friends also made that feeling in her haunches return in full force. That nagging, tingly, achy feeling that she had tried to ignore all afternoon long. She glanced over at her bedside table to make sure the deck of playing cards was ready to go. It was. Apple Bloom’s front hoof strayed down toward her flank, and she allowed herself a couple quick caresses of her inner thigh.

“No more,” she chided herself silently, “that’ll come later.” Her grin widened and took on an air of mischievousness. And when she realized the clever double entendre, she giggled. “That’ll come later,” she chortled, as she ran off to meet her sleepover guests.