Blooming Passions

The bell rang, releasing the students to recess, and they all ran excitedly to the door, lunches in hoof. Apple Bloom cheerfully trotted out of the room with her own lunch; friends trailing after her with silly grins on their faces. She looked back at them and tilted her head curiously as she made her way over to the large oak tree her and her friends always ate lunch at.

She sat back in the cool shade it provided and watched as her classmates scattered to various places around the playground, either at a picnic table or somewhere in the grass. Some even went directly for the playground equipment rather than sit to eat. Apple Bloom relaxed and dug her sandwich from her bag before finally noting her friends’ goofy expressions. “What? Why’re y’all lookin’ at me like that?” she asked as she took a bite of her sandwich, confused at them.

“You’re having lunch with Tender Taps~” Sweetie Belle replied in a teasing manner, her smirk growing by the second.

“Ooooo~” The two sang jokingly as Scootaloo nudged her.

Apple Bloom froze and blushed brightly, her sandwich slipping onto the ground from her hooves. “I-it’s not like that! We’re just workin’ on our dance routine!” She insisted quickly, hopping to her hooves, beside herself with embarrassment.

The fillies grinned and Scootaloo opened her mouth, beginning to chant. “Apple Bloom and Tender Taps, sitting in a tree-”

“-K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” Sweetie Belle finished, giggling madly as Scootaloo howled with laughter and fell to the ground.

Apple Bloom’s face lit up and she quickly grabbed her lunch, stuffing a bite of it into her mouth and refusing to meet anyone's gaze. Her friends doubled over in laughter at her reaction and Scootaloo was on the ground in seconds as she shrunk away. “Aww, come on AB, it's cute that you're in love~” Scootaloo grinned.

The young filly froze, her bow even falling limp as she stared in bewilderment at the orange filly. Her face was glowing red. “A-ah am not in love with Tender Taps! He's mah friend!” She insisted more frantically.

“Uh… hey.” A familiar voice suddenly cut in, causing Apple Bloom to freeze as her friends grinned mischievously.

“We’ll just leave you two alone…” Sweetie Belle replied with a sly smirk before her and Scootaloo darted away to a nearby table to watch. Apple Bloom slowly looked over to see the purple haired colt standing in front of her with a confused expression.

The filly groaned and dropped her head in her hooves, causing Tender Taps even more confusion as he wracked his brain for a way to respond. “Okay…” He said finally to break the awkward silence that had briefly fallen over the two. “How about we work on our routine? I figured if you thought it was too hard, we could take out some moves.” He continued, hoping the change of subject would alleviate the awkward tension.

Apple Bloom, relieved that he wasn't asking any questions, looked up at him and shook her head. “No!-” She replied immediately before biting her lip. “Ah mean… no, it’s fine… ah’ll get it down by competition day.”

“Alright then, that's the kind of attitude I like.” Tender smiled and held out a hoof. “How about we try to go through the routine again? I think it'll be good.”

The young filly bit her lip again and took his hoof reluctantly, letting him pull her up to her hind hooves as he slid a hoof down to her side. “Alright Apple Bloom, just like we practiced. Triple Step.” He started to make the simple movement with his hooves. “Just follow my lead.”

She frowned a bit as she started to follow along, watching her hooves anxiously so as not to miss a step or mess up. Apple Bloom did her best to follow her partner’s lead and took a small step forward, a bit mis-timed as she stepped on his hoof and her eyes widened when Tender Taps let out a small grunt and jerked his hoof back, causing them both to topple to the ground in a heap of limbs. Apple Bloom lifted her head and sighed as she glanced over at Tender Taps and groaned, burying her head in her hooves. The colt sat up and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “Hey, hey! It’s alright Apple Bloom. You just shouldn’t be so worried about messing up.”

“How can ah…” She muttered, her words muffled in her hooves and her ears pinned back.

Tender Taps sighed as he untangled himself from her and held out a hoof. “Come on, I know this is frustrating but you’ll get it.” He insisted with a patient smile.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo blinked as they watched the chaos of Apple Bloom’s dancing and looked at each other. “Well… that was… an improvement?...” Sweetie Belle rubbed the back of her neck, a bit unsure of it as she recalled the disaster that was their performance during the talent show a few years back.

“Uh… Whatever you say Sweets…” Scootaloo shook her head. “Whatever, we’ve got to help her out… Apple Bloom’s our friend and right now she looks like she needs us…”

“Uh… Scootaloo, remember what happened the last time you tried to teach Apple Bloom how to dance?” Sweetie Belle recalled, Scootaloo looked confused for a moment. “Yeah, hello? Talent show? Back when we all first met?” She pointed out, causing the little orange pegasus to grimace at the thought.

“Oh Yeah. Well… ok, but I was sidetracked then! Besides, she’s taking classes for it now, so how hard can it be?” she argued, standing up. “And surely, there’s no harm in at least asking her if she wants help. If not, we can just drop it.”

“Well… I dunno Scootaloo… maybe she doesn’t want us to get involved?”

Scootaloo frowned. “Come on Sweetie Belle, are you even listening to yourself right now? Apple Bloom needs us!-”

“Oof!” There was another thumping sound and Scootaloo winced as she glanced back over to Apple Bloom and Tender Taps again. Apple Bloom was on her back on the ground, a failed spin, and Tender Taps was apologizing while frantically helping her up again.

“I rest my case.” Scootaloo insisted.

Sweetie Belle fell silent, having run out of responses and gave a simple nod of agreement. But before they could start to plan anything, the bell rang to call everyone back inside for the rest of the school day. The two watched as their friend and her dance partner got up and went into the schoolhouse before following the rest of the foals as they streamed back into the classroom from the playground.