Blooming Passions

Sunlight poured in through the window of Apple Bloom’s room, illuminating the bed that was usually still occupied at dawn. This time however, Applejack opened the door to wake her sister for breakfast only to find the little filly sitting at her mirror, tying the bow into her mane. She raised an eyebrow, seeing that the bed was cleanly made and her little sister looked over at her with a smile. She trotted past and towards the stairs, saying to her sibling happily, “Mornin’ Applejack. What’s fer breakfast?”

Applejack chuckled and smiled, closing the door and walking behind the young filly. “Granny Smith made her apple and chocolate chip pancakes. Now what’s got ya all excited AB? Yer usually still asleep when ah come tah wake ya’ll up.”

Apple Bloom beamed at her sister. “Ah gotta get mah chores done in time fer Tender tah come by so we can work on our dance routine for the tryouts.”

“Oh right, yer dance class is holding tryouts fer that national competition isn’t it? Well good luck to ya Bloom, ya’ll two are gonna do great. That Tender Taps is a mighty fine dancer, ah bet he’ll be great at teachin’ ya the moves ya have trouble with.” Applejack smiled at her little sister and Apple Bloom nodded in agreement as the two trotted down the stairs into the kitchen.

The smell of fresh pancakes reached Apple Bloom and she licked her lips hungrily as she trotted over to the table and sat down. Applejack sat next to her and a plate stacked with pancakes was slid in front of each of them. Apple Bloom poured a liberal helping of syrup over the breakfast and began stuffing the food down her throat quickly, wanting to get to her chores as soon as possible.

Applejack chuckled as she watched her sister. “Slow down there, AB. Ya’ll don’t wanna choke now.”

She swallowed her large mouthful of pancake and blushed in embarrassment, reaching to grab her glass of juice before taking a large swig of it. “Ah gotta finish mah chores ‘afore Tender gets here so we can practice! Ah need all the practice ah can get… ah don’t wanna ruin tryouts fer him…”

Granny Smith smiled at the little filly. “Fiddlesticks! Yer gonna do great ya little whippersnapper.” She smiled reassuringly at her granddaughter and dug into her breakfast.

“Thanks granny.” Apple Bloom smiled sincerely at the elderly mare.

Apple Bloom hung over the fence, pouring the pail of slop into the trough as the pigs gathered around and dug into the slop. She frowned and scrunched her muzzle. “Ya’ll little piggies are gunna get a bath t’morrow.” Bloom eyed the dirty animals and shook her head before dropping down from the fence and turning around.

The filly suddenly found herself with her muzzle shoved into fluffy orange. Her eyes widened and she yelped, jumping away backwards, landing on the fence. Her hooves flailed for a few seconds before her balance gave out, and she tipped back. “WHOA!” She cried, the pigs all running away squealing as it seemed she would fall into their trough.

Two strong hooves quickly wrapped around her own and held her there for a few moments, perilously hanging over the feeding trough. The pigs had retreated to the other end of the pen, watching them curiously. Apple Bloom was staring directly at Tender Taps, her face red from embarrassment as he lifted her off the fence and set her down on her hind legs, clasping her forehooves in his in a starting dance position, his dance bag slung over his back.

He chuckled as he looked at the surprised filly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Can’t have my dance partner covered in pig slop, now can I?”

She frowned. “Ya’ll almost gave me a heart attack! Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“I’m sorry, I won’t!” he laughed cheerfully. “So, are you finished with your chores?” He asked as he let go of her and the two dropped back down on four legs.

Apple Bloom nodded. “That was mah last one. It’s ok fer us ta practice now. Come on, ah know a quiet place in the orchard where we won’t be disturbed.”

The two foals trotted off into the orchard, passing many of the large trees, sunlight trading places with shadows as the canopy over them intermittently blocked out the hot sun. Apple Bloom led them into a small clearing, surrounded on all sides by trees. The trees here were already devoid of their juicy red fruit. “Applejack an’ Big Mac finished this field yesterday, so we can practice here without gettin’ in the way.” Apple Bloom explained.

Tender Taps nodded as he stepped into the clearing and smiled. “That sounds good. We wouldn’t want to be a bother to them.”

He set his bag down, pulling out a small portable radio and the copy of their dance routine, while Apple Bloom moved to the side to stretch out first. Worry nagged at her as she watched him set up the music and read over the routine. “Alright Applebloom, we’ll start with the moves you have the most trouble with… The most important one is the spin, which I think you’ll do great at once we’ve drilled it a bit.” Tender spoke, almost to himself as he thought out their practice session.

Apple Bloom didn’t question it, more preoccupied with her own worries as she ran over the list of moves and tips in her mind. “Wide stance… but not too wide… keep balanced… be confident…” She muttered quietly under her breath. “You can do this Appleboom…”

“-Bloom?”

“Wha-?!” Her head shot up as she faced Tender Taps, flushing brightly in embarrassment. “S-sorry! What was that?”

The little orange colt frowned and walked up to his friend, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “Are you alright? You look really nervous…”

Apple Bloom forced a small smile to her lips, and nodded slightly. “Y-yeah… ah’m ok, don’t worry. I just… have a lot of trouble with the spin is all… ah keep fallin’ over.”

Tender returned with a bright grin of his own and grabbed her hoof, pulling it up as he slid his free hoof around her waist. “Well we can fix that one now! I know you can do it, Apple Bloom… have a little faith in yourself.”

The filly blushed a bit as she looked at her hopeful friend and placed her hoof on his shoulder. “A-alright… Ah-Ah’ll try… Ah promise.”

“That’s the spirit! Come on, we’ll have it down in no time!”

“Oof!” Apple Bloom grunted as she flopped down to the floor, an annoyed groan escaping her lips as she leaned forward and rubbed her back. “Consarnnit all! Ah’m never gonna get this!” She threw her hooves up and sighed dramatically, sinking to the ground. She looked up, noticing the sun was starting to go down and pinned her ears back. “Ah’m sorry-”

“Don’t be sorry Bloom.” Tender cut in, flashing her a gentle smile as he reached a hoof down to help her up. “You did really good that time, we almost had it.”

“But almost isn’t gonna get us far in the competition!” She whined, tears forming in her eyes.

The colt blinked, his smile dropping as he looked at his friend. “Is that what you’re worried about?” He took a seat beside her and placed his hoof on her shoulder, looking his distraught friend in the eyes. “Applebloom, I’m not worried about winning the contest. I just wanted to have fun with you.”

The young earth filly sniffed and wiped her misty eyes as she looked up at him. “R-really? Y-you’re not?”

“Cross my heart.” He smiled at her. “I’m not interested in winning at all, if I can’t enjoy it with my friend.”

Applebloom sat up, smiling weakly as she looked at him. “You’re the best, Tender Taps.” She wrapped her hooves around him and buried her head in his chest. His eyes widened as he blushed lightly at the gesture before returning her hug, sighing a little.

Tender looked up at the sky and chuckled a bit before releasing his friend and standing up. “We should probably get going soon.” He said as he reached a hoof out to her.

She smiled and took it, getting to her hooves. “Yeah… hey, you wanna stay fer dinner? We always make more than we can eat, so it won’t be a problem.”

The orange colt smiled a bit. “I’d like that.”

Applebloom grinned as she grabbed his radio and bag, “Well c’mon then! Granny don’t wait for nopony!” She shouted enthusiastically as she darted off towards the farmhouse.

“H-hey! Wait up Apple Bloom!” Tender Taps called after her as he ran, struggling to keep up with the young filly as he followed her there.

Applebloom trotted into her family home,quickly followed by her dance partner as she dropped his things in the closet and lead him to the kitchen. Her siblings and granny were already at the table and she flashed them a smile. “Sorry ah’m late y’all. This is Tender Taps.” She cheerfully introduced the orange colt and smiled. “Tender, these are my brother and sister, Big Mac and Applejack.” She said, pointing to the red and orange ponies respectively. She then looked over to the much older green mare, her smile widening. “And that’s Granny Smith!”

“What?” The old mare looked up and smiled brightly. “Well there ya are, sugarcube. And who’s yer little friend there? Come on, take a seat. Applejack! Be a dear and get him a plate.”

The mare chuckled as she stood and walked over to the cabinets. “Yes, Granny…” She replied, snagging another plate from the shelf and setting it on the table.

Tender Taps smiled nervously as he took a seat next to Applebloom. “Thanks, I really appreciate you letting me stay for dinner.”

“Tain’t nuthin hun!” Granny insisted. “Anyway, now that we’re all here, we can start dinner properly.”

The family started to spoon the meal set out on the table onto the plates, the smell of it making Tender’s mouth water as he plopped some of the creamy mashed potatoes onto his plate. “Wow, this looks really good…”

“Gotta eat a good meal every night if you want some muscle on those bones, kiddo!” Granny piped in before taking a bite of her food.

Applebloom giggled as she looked at Tap’s confused expression and spooned the meal onto her plate. “We’re farmers, that means we got a lot to do all the time… gotta eat good to keep our energy up.”

“Oh uh… right… heh, oops…” Tender felt his face heat up in embarrassment as he shoveled a bite of food in his mouth.

Apple Bloom glanced over and chuckled a bit. “Don’t worry about it, Granny says things in an… um… odd way.” She smiled at him. “Trust me, ever go shoppin’ with her and suddenly this is nuthin’.” She whispered to him as she ate her dinner happily.

He chuckled and nodded as he relaxed a bit. “I can believe that…”

Applejack smirked at the two foals. “So… yer mah lil’ sister’s dance partner she’s been talkin’ so much ‘bout. Nice ta see her reaching out to makin’ new close friends like Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.”

Tender Taps looked up at her and smiled, nodding happily. “Yeah, Apple Bloom is a lot of fun to dance with… even if she seems to have two left hooves at times.” He nudged her playfully.

Apple Bloom froze and forced a grin, chuckling nervously. “Eheheh… h-hey now… y-you wanted tah dance with me…”

“And I still do. You’re really good at it once you get the move down, it just takes you a little longer.”

“Yeah…” She looked down at her dinner, suddenly having lost her appetite, but forcing the food down her throat regardless.

Big Mac glanced between the two foals and raised an eyebrow at Applejack. The orange mare glanced over and looked at Tender Taps. “So, how was dance practice? Y’all were up there for a while.”

He brightened up as he turned to face Applejack. “Practice went great! We got really far.”

“Far?! We only practiced one move!” Apple Bloom cut in as she looked at him.

“One move you’ve barely done. You improved a lot today, and I think you’ll have it down by tomorrow in class. Remember to work on some of the other moves too, though.” Tender Taps countered as he looked at her with a patient smile.

Apple Bloom huffed and looked down as she thought it over. “... okay… ah guess so.”

“That’s the spirit Apple Bloom!” Tender smiled brightly at her as the family continued their dinner casually. Applejack and Big Mac were busy divvying up their chores for the next morning while Granny intrigued the younger foals with her stories and random chatter.

Apple Bloom lead Tender Taps down the path to the exit of the apple orchard, smiling at him. “So ah’ll see ya in school tomorrow ah guess?”

He smiled at her. “Sure! Wanna eat lunch together? I can give you some tips for practice at dance class.”

“Really?! That would be great!”

“It’s settled then.” Tender laughed at the excited face of the filly. “Don’t worry, I know you’ll be ready for the contest.” He stopped at the gate to the orchard and turned to face her, pulling her into a hug.

Apple Bloom’s face lit up and her eyes widened in surprise at the gesture. “T-Tender Taps?...”

“Thank you again for being my dance partner. You have no idea what this means to me.” He said before releasing her and trotting out into the street. “See you at school, Applebloom!” He called back cheerfully as he left the filly standing there in shock.

“Y-yeah… see ya then.” Apple Bloom stumbled over herself as she watched him leave, trying to fight the blush that flared across her cheeks. She turned and quickly headed back to the farmhouse, a small smile crossing her muzzle as she replayed the hug in her head.