Author's Note
May or may not be based on my infatuated mind. You can't prove anything!
Breaks Your Heart
It was a quiet winter’s night. The crisp sound of snow under her hooves was the most satisfying noise that she had ever heard in her life. It was as if she was listening to popcorn pop over a fire, or the sound of the midnight cricket chirping its chip. It was the winter’s special little noise that she enjoyed so thoroughly. Especially on a night like this, where the only thing accompanying her was the safety of the moon’s light and her own thoughts dwelling on whatever wandered into its abode.
Joyfully skipping as the snow fell, she giggled and smiled. Her new cutie mark shined in the moonlight, radiating like it did on the first day she got it. Her destiny might be a little intimidating but, while it may sound selfish, her cutie mark really did look good. She might as well enjoy the satisfaction of having it. Big things were heading her way. And though she might not be quite ready for that to come upon her, she was certain that she would get used to it after a while.
She found herself on a quiet stretch of road after her train of thought had taken her two stops beyond her destination. Looking around and fearing that she had become hopelessly lost, she let out a sigh. She wasn’t too far from home. She found herself just on the outskirts of town. If she ran, then she’d be able to make it home on time before anypony noticed her absence.
However, before she lifted a hoof, a silent noise made its way to her ears. She stayed still, training her ears to try and hear that noise again. What she managed to hear almost sounded like a whimper. It was high-pitched, but terribly. It was more of a... cry.
She considered investigating the sound. But then she remembered she was supposed to be back home after twenty minutes. She had no idea just how long it had been, but it could have been much longer than that. If she didn’t sprint back home, then who knew how much trouble she could be in. She could hear her sister’s voice echoing a punishment from a mile away. “Sweetie Belle! What did I tell you?!” Sweetie Belle imagined.
Just as she was thinking about it, an even louder cry came from the forest. It wasn’t just some whimper, it was clearly sobbing coming from those woods. Sweetie Belle needed only a moment to react. She jumped into the forest, weaving through the brush and hoofing it in order to find whatever was making that sound. Somepony could be seriously hurt. If that wasn’t a good enough justification for coming home late, Sweetie Belle couldn’t imagine what was.
The sobbing got louder and louder. The faster she ran, the more intense it seemed to get. Sweetie Belle broke through some more foliage and managed to arrive into an open area where... Nopony was to be seen. Sweetie Belle considered the option of tricks being played on her imagination but didn’t think it through too hard. She turned around, but just as she did, she heard a twig snapping. A dead giveaway that there was somepony else here.
Sweetie Belle again listened closely. Whatever made that sound was bound to make it again. If she learned anything from being overly paranoid while wandering around on her own, the noise would shortly be followed by something else of equal sound. She considered it law by this point.
There was at least a whole minute of silence followed by more disappointing silence. Whatever it was, it was probably gone by now. Or perhaps is was hiding from her? A likely situation. And at this point, Sweetie Belle was probably okay with letting it go. If it was a pony, it probably needed the time to itself. If it was an animal crying, then it probably left. However, the noise sounded strangely like a pony. Maybe a young filly, or maybe—
*snap*
It came from behind a large rock and some bushes. Sweetie Belle darted to where she heard it. Thankfully for her, it wasn’t a dangerous creature. Far from it. It was just Apple Bloom. At least, as far as she could tell. The big, red bow was probably the biggest giveaway.
“Apple Bloom? What’re you doing here?” Sweetie Belle offered a hoof to Apple Bloom.
Apple Bloom took it, and Sweetie Belle helped her to her hooves. The shadows blackened her face, so Sweetie Belle couldn’t be sure that it was really Apple Bloom. The silhouette looked just like her, though. Hopefully, it really was her. She certainly wasn’t speaking.
“Apple Bloom? Are you... okay?”
A small light from the sky swept over Apple Bloom’s face. Reddened eyes, tears falling sideways on her face, and her face... Sweetie Belle could barely describe it. Apple Bloom just... Just broke her heart.
“Apple Bloom! What happened?”
Apple Bloom looked down. She sniffled a few times. And then suddenly, something inside of her broke. Apple Bloom let out something that sounded like she’d been holding it back for years. Without even realizing it, Sweetie Belle was being squished by Apple Bloom’s death grip. Sweetie Belle could feel the tears cascade down her back.
“Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom squeaked out. “Ah don’t understand.”
“Understand what?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Ah’ve been here for years. Ah’ve known Him since we were little. Why does he gotta go fallin’ for her? She barely knows him!”
“Who are you talking about?”
Apple Bloom broke off the hug. She still looked away from Sweetie Belle.
“First Base,” Apple Bloom said.
“...What about him?”
“He’s... oh, he went and... he’s in love with... somepony else.”
Sweetie Belle tried to connect the dots. First Base? The colt in our class?
“Is it a... crush?”
Apple Bloom let her head down. “Yeah. A stupid crush.” She kicked a rock close to her hoof away. She watched it as it rolled away and into the forest, never to be recognized by her again.
“Oh my gosh! I should have seen the signs! You two would look—”
Apple Bloom looked up to her. Straight in the eyes with those two giant black holes of hers. Sucking her in with no chance of escape.
Sweetie Belle shook her head. “And he likes somepony else?”
Sniffling again, Apple Bloom reluctantly let out a, “Uh-huh.”
“That’s terrible! I’m so sorry!”
Apple Bloom turned away. The conversation might as well have ended at that point, so without saying another word, Apple Bloom somberly wandered away.
“Wait! Apple Bloom?” Sweetie Belle called out.
She didn't look back.
“Why don’t you spend the night at my house?”
Apple Bloom’s ears perked up.
“We could get Scootaloo over, and we can just hang out! Doesn’t that sound fun?”
Apple Bloom looked behind her. “Ah... Ah guess that sounds fun. Ah’ll just go home and—”
“Oh, that’s right! I gotta go home to! Rarity is going to flip! I’ll see you at my place and I’ll set something up.” Sweetie Belle waved good-bye and skedaddled off.
Apple Bloom’s smile faded away the farther away that Sweetie Belle got. She had no idea how much Apple Bloom wanted to hate her, but... She just couldn’t find the heart—or lack of one—to despise her. She couldn’t even hold a grudge with her. Sweetie Belle wasn’t even slightly aware of how First Base felt about her. Not even a clue.
Apple Bloom found it pointless to shift any of the blame to Sweetie Belle. She didn’t even need to try and attract all the boys at school. It was just the pony that Sweetie Belle was. There was no stopping that.
The more Apple Bloom rationalized with herself, the more she realized that all of this was stupid. At least, it made her feel better to tell herself that. She knew that these kinds of thoughts would return, whether she liked them to or not. And every time they did, Apple Bloom felt angrier and angrier with nopony. The only thing that she really could feel was... Confused.
“Apple Bloom!” cried somepony from the distance.
Apple Bloom looked up in surprise and found herself locked in Sweetie Belle’s embrace.
“If it makes you feel any better, I’m not really a fan of First Base. Whoever he’s in love with doesn’t hold a candle to you!”
Apple Bloom returned the hug. She felt her face crack open into a smile. If First Base wasn’t supposed to be with her, then Apple Bloom would get by with a friend. And Sweetie Belle fit that bill perfectly.
