Chapters “I’m starting to regret my decision to come to this.” I followed my friend through a crowd, hoping we could go somewhere less conspicuous. “Remind me did you talk me into this costume?”
“Because you promised me we’d go as a matching pair, Em!” Nicki’s squeal cut through the convention’s noisy babble like a hot knife through butter, and I smiled at her excitement.
“I know, I just wish this hoodie fit me better.” I pulled at the hem of the hoodie I was wearing, wishing yet again it reached to my shorts. My friend Nicki had gotten me it as a present a week ago, along with magenta hair dye and high laced shoes. And then she invited me to go with her to BronyCon.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike the show, but I watch it more as a favor to Nicki than actual taste. I even have a favorite pony! Kind of.
So when Nicki sprung all this on me and I said I’d think about it, her drooping face felt like a punch to the gut. So I said yes. Stupidest flipping thing I’ve ever done. I didn’t quite understand the relevance of the other presents till she had me go get my haircut and dyed in Scootaloo’s style. That’s when I started wishing I could go against her wishes.
But the look on her face when I came back to the apartment we shared made up for the loss of my hair. She freaked out when I came out of my room with the whole outfit on a couple days ago, and we almost missed our flight due to her deciding we needed to have a photoshoot, and the ensuing argument.
I may be a girl, but I’m still not all that in favor of photoshoots. I’d much rather go out and hang with some friends, kick a ball around. Ever since we finished high school, I’ve found myself with a burning desire to do… something. As soon as I figure out what it is, I’ll do it.
Nicki pulled me deeper into the throng of people, and I lost sight of her, only knowing she was there by the grip of her hand. I threw out a few apologies as we squeezed through the people, pushing and nudging people to get through. When we finally made it to the other side, I glared at Nicki, bending over to catch my breath.
“We could’ve just gone around!” I gestured to the mass of people, then to the small isle to the side.
“Well, sorry! I just wanted to see where that cosplayer went!” She gestured towards nothing, and I looked for a second before turning my gaze back to her.
“What cosplayer?” She whipped around at my response, looking for the person she had seen before.
“No, no! He was right here! The perfect Applebloom to your Scootaloo!” I sighed, realizing my friend was yet again trying to hook me up with someone she saw in passing.
“Nicki, what have I told you about setting me up with someone you don’t know?” I watched in amusement as her head slowly turned towards me, the ‘deer-in-headlights’ look plastered across her face. When I thought the guilt had been sufficiently beaten into her, I allowed a smile to cross me face. “Don’t worry, Nicki, I’m not upset. This time.”
I almost couldn’t hold in my laughter, and a snicker escaped at the quick change to relieved and then horrified.
That was when I got bumped into her by someone from behind. I could feel my face flush as I got up off Nicki, having tipped over onto her as I tried and failed to get my balance in my high laced shoes.
I started ranting, not really caring if anyone heard me. “Stupid fricken boots laced up to my freaking knees, who even needs these?! Why do they exist in the world, they’re completely useless! And who in their right mind would bump into someone at a…” my words stopped coming when I looked up, noticing that the person who had bumped into me was crying her eyes out, as well as impeccably dressed in an Apple Bloom costume. She even had the right type of boots and her hair was perfectly recreated.
“Uh, hey, are you okay?” I said, getting up to go over to her. In response, though, she ran off crying, and I realized she must’ve been just a young kid, she seemed like she was even the same height as Apple Bloom! Not that I would know, I suppose.
“Well that was weird,” Nicki shook me out of my brief venture into the abyss of my thoughts, and I looked over to her, noticing another cosplayer coming up behind her, this one dressed as Applejack.
I noticed she was looking around for something, and as she walked by us she yelled, “Has anyone seen mah little sister? Answers t’ the name ‘Apple Bloom?’”
I looked at her for a moment before calling out to her, “Is she dressed as AB too? ‘Cause I just saw a young cosplayer that was the spitting image of her running that way.” I pointed in the direction the girl had gone off.
The cosplayer smiled at me, tipping AJ’s signature Stetson. “Thank ya kindly, sugarcube. By the way, yer Scootaloo cosplay looks great!” The farm girl took off towards the direction the Apple Bloom cosplayer fled to.
“That… was actually kind of cool,” Nicki mumbled to me as I helped her off the floor. “I mean, she stayed in character even when looking for her sister! If that even was her sister. Did you see how they totally fit the role, too? I bet it’s like an event or something!”
I shook my head and smiled at her enthusiasm. “I’m sure there’s something happening. At least they’re not singing off key.” I motioned towards the crowd of people we had passed through as they started the next verse of Let the Rainbow Remind You. “I’m pretty sure that’s their fourth time singing that song.”
Nicki snorted and grabbed my hand, pulling me through the convention again. I let her lead the way, as this was something she had invited me to. We stopped the first stand she had chosen, having made a list earlier today of the places she wanted to hit first. We stood in line for what felt like an hour, though only turned out to be twenty minutes. Still a long wait, in my opinion.
I stood there, whistling to myself as she gushed over some fanmade toys, looking around for something interesting. I noticed that a stand further into the convention had pretty much nothing, which, from what I could tell from here, was a little strange. I looked over at Nicki, noticing she was still absorbed in the stand.
“Hey, Nicki, I’m gonna go and look at that stand over there.” Nicki grunted at me, and I took it as an ok for me to go. I meandered over to the stand and started perusing, not noticing the merchant staring at me.
“Is there something that looks interesting, young lady?” I jumped in shock and turned to look at the guy who had walked up next to me. I did a double take, then looked again. “You’re dressed up as the Merchant from Resident Evil. Don’t tell me you’re pretending to be that Merchant guy everyone's talking about.”
“Oh, they talk about me, do they?” He cackled, putting on a great impression of a madman.
With the best timing ever, Nicki ran over, bending over to catch her breath as she came up beside me. “Emily! Don’t go running off without me! We both know your sense of direction is terrible, and I have the only map!”
“Sorry, Nick,” I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly, before pointing at the stand. “Hey, look at this stuff! It’s incredible!”
Nicki took the bait, looking over, and I could swear her eyes got as big as dinner plates. “Oh my God. What is this place?”
“Just a humble merchant’s stall, young lady.” The guy from before casually butted in, and I glared at him, before blinking and turning to look beside me at where he just was.
“What the hell…” I muttered.
Nicki pulled me yet again from my thoughts with a squeal. “Look, Em! It’s Scootaloo’s scooter!”
I followed her gaze and looked at probably the least impressive thing in the stall. The scooter looked rickety, old, and worn, definitely not something i’d get at a store anywhere. It looked like it belonged in a garage sale.
“Uh… ok, it’s Scootaloo’s scooter. Big deal. It’s all run down, and looks more like a kid’s used scooter than anything.” I didn’t bother to mention the fact that I was never going to buy it. I decided I’d take the initiative and get out of there. I was never one to listen to rumors, but this time it seemed like a good idea.
“Wha, Emily!” Nicki protested, pulling back on my grip.
“Nicki, this guy gives me the creeps. We should go.” I pulled again, only to find Nicki had slipped out of my grip and stood there fuming. “You know what, fine. Buy something. I’ll be sitting over here minding my own business.”
I stalked over to the wall a distance away, leaning against it and snorting in frustration. I watched Nicki carefully, waiting for something bad to happen, but after a minute she traded money for the scooter, and trotted over to me, bouncing in glee. At my look she rolled her eyes, and loudly proclaimed, “you don’t have to ride it, worrywart, I only want you to try on the helmet that came with it.”
I mumbled out a ‘fine,’ and snatched the hemet from her grasp, placing it on my head. Surprisingly, it fit perfectly, and I buckled the strap under my head. “There, you happy?”
She giggled. “Yes, very much so.” She grabbed my hand again and we took off past the stall, passing by a young man in a black tank top bartering with the merchant for a rainbow wig.
As we got to the food court, my legs started cramping, and I pulled her hand, effectively stopping us. She glanced at me curiously, and I motion her over to sit down at a table. “Leg cramp.”
She nodded in understanding and we sat down. I massaged my legs, muttering about the stupidity of getting a cramp at a convention, not noticing my lower viewpoint until I stood back up and turned towards my staring friend. “What?”
My hands flew towards my throat as a young scratchy voice came out, and I looked over at Nicki, my eyes wide. I had a sudden urge to run, and I grabbed the scooter, quickly pushing off and riding into the convention’s crowds.
I ignored my friend’s calls as I raced past the people, bumping people out of the way on my way to the bathroom. When I got there, I cut in front of a man just about to enter, and zoomed into the room, barely breaking in time. I tumbled over the edge of the scooter, flipping it, and caught myself on the sink. Unfortunately, I forgot about the scooter itself, and I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head, then blackness.
Author's Note
As a collab with others goes, I think this worked out pretty well. Of course, I’d love to here what you think too. Did I fail epically? Did it end up okay?
You know how when a person wakes up with a pounding headache in a movie, they say something witty? Yeah, not happening. I could barely string two thoughts together for a few minutes when I first woke up.
Man, the last time I felt like this was… wait, when was the last time? What happened? I remember buying a scooter at the con and then… riding down the school hall. Why was I riding it down the school hall? Last time I did that they took it away for a week!
And anyways I’m twenty four. A little old to be in school.
But I was just in school yesterday… convention day? Holy heck, what happened?
As my brain kickstarted and the memories flooded in, I began to get more and more confused. I remembered waking up the previous morning and getting ready for school, excited for the new routine we were learning in dance class, and walking out of the bathroom into my friend… Nicki? Sweetie Belle? I groaned in annoyance as the answers evaded my mind.
“Oh! Your awake!” A voice at the foot of the bed I was on spoke up, startling me into opening my eyes. Immediately the glare forced me to shut them again and I dropped back down on my back, having propped myself up to see who was there. I groaned again, covering my eyes with my hands.
“Wha… what happened?” It took me a second fo find my voice, and the pitch startled me. Since when did it scratch like that?
Uh, since forever, my brain replied. Puberty’s kicking you hard, kid.
“Well, we found you in front of the statue, right around where Applebloom was earlier.” I could hear her smile at me, and for a second I relaxed, before I realized a few things. The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.
“Right where Applebloom was?” Dang it! I waited for the doctor to catch on, but was left hanging, in a sense, when she completely missed the emphasis on Applebloom’s name.
“Yes, sweetie, right where Applebloom was last fall. Now that I think about it, she had a bump to the head as well, though it wasn’t a concussion.” She must’ve noticed my flinch at the word ‘concussion,’ because she jumped at reassuring me. “A mild one, sweetie, don’t worry.”
Well, that explains it. I don’t remember the last concussion I had causing as bad of a headache before. I think. Another spike of pain shot through my head as I massaged my temples, trying to ease the headache a little bit. I decided to hazard attempting another question to the doctor. “Is it supposed to hurt so much?”
“Well,” she started, “how badly does it hurt, from a scale of one to ten?”
I snorted at the question, which caused another spike of pain. “Ah, definitely like a good six, doc.”
She responded with a light giggle. “Well, the best this nurse can do for you now is give you some Tylenol, but if it gets worse or isn’t gone by tomorrow, come back.” I cracked my eyes open slightly, peering out at the room. It was familiar, in the sense that I remember being there before, but don’t remember the room.
The doctor-nurse came back with some pain killer, and I stole it from her hand and gulped it down with the glass of water she offered. I handed the glass back to her sheepishly as she grinned at me.
“Looks like someone’s a little thirsty! I’ll get you some more, okay?” I nodded, hesitant about taking up more of her time, but decided that I might as well.
I took another look around at the room, noticing it held a few other beds, but didn’t quite look like a hospital. A glance out the window showed me a hallway full of lockers, so I figured I’d ended up in the school nurse's office. Although why the nurse had so many beds baffled me. I mention as much to the nurse, identified as Redheart by her name tag, and she waved it off.
“Well, Principal Celestia decided to stock the office with better supplies after that whole demon Sunset fiasco.” Another spike shoved its way into my head, causing a wince, and I suddenly remembered the Fall Formal.
The school bully, Sunset, had basically gone mad and caused a princess from another world to be forced to vanquish her. Now, I admit that the lightshow was pretty cool, and the giant crater in from of the school and the collapsed front office managed to net us a full week off of school, but Sunset’s reform still didn’t sit right with me.
Seeing my look, Redheart tisked, and walked over to put the cup down. “I know Sunset was a bully in the past, but I think her work with the Sirens more than made up for it.” Another spike joined the party, just as the last got bored, and my hand went for my head. The Battle of the Bands.
I colored a little at the memory. Sweetie, Bloom and I had been brainwashed along with the rest of the school into getting into an intense competition over who would be the best band. In the end, the Sirens, the culprits who caused the whole mess, were defeated by our resident alien horse princess, this time aided by Sunset herself. I still regret putting on that spandex.
“I suppose,” I mumbled, earning a smile from Redheart as she messed with things over on her desk. I wasn’t quite sure what she was doing, but it seemed mildly important. I decided I had bugged her enough, and got up to leave. I noticed a rickety old- my scooter leaning against the bed and grabbed it, carefully lifting the wheels off the ground so as to cause less noise.
“Not so fast, young lady.” I had made it to the door and had reached out to grab the handle when Redheart’s voice smacked into the back of my head, and I slowly turned around to face her, sheepishly smiling. “Where do you think you’re going with your scooter?”
“But-” I started to protest. She grabbed the scooter out of my hands.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to confiscate this, and I’ve already contacted your aunts.” I wanted to run, but I knew it was futile. The scooter was already lost, and I was going to be roasting over a fire tonight at the house tonight. That’s when my old friend pain decided I needed a good bashing over the head with a stick.
I pressed both hands to my temples and sank slowly to the ground, heedless of my surroundings as the memories revealed themselves to me. My first birthday at my aunt's house, having Sweetie and Bloom meet them after a long intervention about how I was embarrassed by my family. Begging Aunty Lofty to stay in the car if she insisted to be at the Fall Formal all night.
I barely heard nurse Redheart’s voice as she called to me, and I waved her off, mumbling something about how I was fine through gritted teeth. After what felt like hours, the memory influx ceased, and the pain receded with it.
I grabbed the door handle and pulled myself up, wincing as my head pounded. I focused my slightly blurred vision on the clock on the wall and realized it was half a period before lunch. I shakily walked over to the bed I’d woken up on, sitting down so I could focus on my words.
“Is today a school day?” Nurse Redheart looked me curiously before responding.
“Yes, today is a school day. You were found passed out during second period. Rumble came in all flustered and said he’d found you collapsed by the statue.” This time, the pain came with a different sort of feeling.
My chest grew warm, as did my face, and I felt my lips stretch upwards into a smile. “He did?” I looked up and saw an amused look on Redheart’s face, and I quickly looked away, my face growing warmer. “I mean, of course he did. Anyone would do that if they saw someone on the ground.”
I tried to save face, but I could see it failing to do much of anything to Redheart. “What? What do you want me to say? That I like him? That he’s sweet and cool and…” I realized my mouth had run off without me and I quickly shut my mouth, my face turning into a furnace.
“Please don’t tell anyone I said that.” I mumbled, trying to get some semblance of anything from this encounter.
“I haven’t said anything dear, and I won’t say anything either.” Nurse Redheart’s amused smile turned into a friendly one and I sighed, glad my slip up wouldn’t get out anywhere. “Why don’t you rest here, and we’ll see how you feel in half an hour.”
Frankly, that sounded amazing, and by the smile I think my quick agreement got that idea across. I lay back down, closed my eyes, and woke up to Nurse Redheart shaking me an hour later. “Scootaloo, wake up! It’s almost time for fifth period!”
“I’m up, I’m up!” I yawned and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and ruffling my hair a bit.
The pain had decided to tone down now, thankfully, and I was left with a not so pleasant pulsing feeling in the back of my head. I tossed my feet over the side of the bed and stood up, fixing my balance before realizing I had been in bed with my shoes on. In fact, I had woken up earlier with them on as well. Shaking it off as the bell rang, I bolted for the door, tossing a “thank you!” over my shoulder at Redheart as I left.
I racked my brain for the directions to my fifth period, or even what it was, and was only met with pain. I skidded around a corner, barely missing a kid, and ended up running into another. They caught me in their arms, and I had to shake off a sudden sense of peace.
“Sorry, I…” I peeled my face off their chest and looked up, straight into the most gorgeous lavender eyes I had ever seen. I lost myself in their depths, the eyes filled with such tender care, up until the point of someone nearby coughing.
Quickly, I scrambled away, my face heating up as I turned my gaze to the side, wishing I had fluttershy’s hair for just a little bit. I risked a glance back at Rumble to see him doing the same thing, and I laughed nervously. “Hey Rumble.”
“Hey Scootaloo,” he smiled at me, and the heat pulled away as we got a little more comfortable. His look changed to concern after a second though. “You’re not hurt, right? You’re okay from earlier this morning?”
My thoughts spun about in a whirlwind until I remembered Nurse Redheart saying Rumble was the one who had found me. I looked at him shyly, “No, I’m fine Rumble, it’s just a small headache. Thank you for wondering.”
He rubbed the back of his head, his face flushing a little bit. “It’s nothing Scoots, I was just wondering if you were going to be okay for our… outing tonight?” He danced around the subject, and It took a second for me to remember that we had planned to go on a date tonight.
I flushed and quickly spoke up. “Oh! Don’t worry about it! I’m totally gonna be there!” He smiled at me, making my heart do little flips. And then the tardy bell rang, cutting our little reunion short. I called out a rushed bye as I headed for my locker, not even bothering to think about the fact that I had no idea where it was just a few minutes ago.
“Let’s see, fifth period, fifth period… Dance?” I stared at the paper as a smile came over my face and I tossed the paper back into my locker, slamming the locker door as I sprinted towards the gym.
Author's Note
Well, another chapter’s up! I’m noticing the other authors in the collab are cranking out chapters, and I feel a little bit like I’m falling behind.
The rest of the day passed by smoothly, and The date had come and gone. Rumble spent half the time boasting about how his brother was in the Friendship Games, and the other half talking about the new Applebloom. I literally didn’t get a word in edgewise, and the second topic caused a surge of pain.
I remembered AB had been replaced or something, I wasn’t quite sure, and then the old one -new one?- came and took the current AB’s spot. To be honest, I wasn’t completely sure what had happened.
But the ‘date’ could have been worse. At least now I have a gauge on where we’re starting, and now I know the Friendship Games are tomorrow.
Well, now today. I sighed in frustration as I toned out Cranky’s monotone voice. I stretched out across my desk trying to think of something to do. Glancing to the side, I noticed Sweetie was picking at her nails, and the imposter Applebloom was paying rapt attention to the teacher. Another inconsistency. I’d been noticing them all day with her. The imposter’s actions didn’t even match the normal Bloom’s, and yet AJ just pretends it’s her.
With a snort, I turned my gaze away from her and back to the clock. I was practically counting down the seconds as it ticked. One minute left. 30 seconds. Now 10. I started mouthing the numbers as it ticked towards freedom. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…
The bell didn’t ring. In anger I sat up, staring at the clock as my face twisted. That blasted thing! I opened my mouth to yell at it when the bell rung and the class cheered. We raced out, and I barely squeezed by fast enough to pretend to ignore the imposter’s cries for me to stop. So bossy!
I ended up stopping, though, ‘cause Sweetie’s cries mixed in with hers. They got out of the classroom with time, right after Cranky, and I was practically shaking with the anticipation.
“Come on!” I complained, making an effort not to whine. Cool kids don’t whine. “There’s no way Rainbow Dash didn’t make it into the final six, and I don’t want to miss her performance!”
“Well you’re stuck waitin’ for me, Scoots, and we’re goin’ ta be there when Ah get there.” The imposter started her bossy insistence that we stay with her, and god forbid we ever forget it. It’s like a whole other Diamond Tiara!
When we finally got to the stands outside, the seats were practically filled, and I sighed.
Stiffening, I looked around, feeling eyes on me, and then relaxed as I saw them belonging to Applebloom, I turned to Sweetie, who was being ranted at by the imposter, and mouthed that I would meet her by the stands. She rolled her eyes, and I took that as a sign of agreement.
As I made my way over to the real Bloom, I noticed a popcorn stand and surreptitiously stole a bag off the stand. After that little detour, I managed to get to Bloom just as Sweetie did.
“My word, that session with Cranky was boring.” I put a little emphasis on boring, drawing it out and tasting it as we walked up to Bloom. “That must be what detention is like!”
Sweetie shook her head. “No, I’d imagine it’s worse.” She pointed towards the other side of the stands, where we had decided to leave Bloom for the Games. Unfortunately, the imposter was expecting to sit with us during it, so we had to leave Bloom alone. “We need to go around the back to find ‘The Spot in Question.’”
I glanced at Sweetie with a confused look before rolling my eyes at her choice of words. “There’s no way anyone near us cares where we’re going, Sweetie.”
She shushed me. “Can’t be too careful.” I snorted, but left the topic hanging, preferring to ‘sneak’ my way around the back of the stands first in order to scope the place out.
Unfortunately, the spot we wanted was being used by the Wondertones. “Uh-oh,” was the only thing I got out before they noticed us, and Big Mac’s eyes blazed.
“What’re you doin’ here, imposter?” He practically roared, his deep voice growling at Bloom. How’d he know who was who, anyway? They look practically the same to me, and I spend the same amount of time around them as he does. More so, now!
Rarity, noticing us and seeing the look on Mac’s face, started lecturing her sister. “I thought I told you, sweetie, I want you nowhere near that creep!” The disgust in her tone made me shiver.
Thankfully, Sweetie was used to her sister and jumped right back at her. “She just wants to watch!”
Never mind. That was pitiful. Feeling the urge to help out in some way, I butted in. “Is that too much to ask?”
Big Mac, unfortunately, was unswayed by our pleas and stared down Bloom. “I strongly advise you to scram!” He intoned, forcefully bashing us with his words.
I looked to the other Wondertones, and it felt like someone flicked my head. I smirked at them and played a card I’d held in reserve for a while. “If you keep quiet about my friend here, you can sing at my mom’s birthday party. How does that sound?”
The pause was excruciating, but then Torch Song tapped Big Mac’s shoulder, and his shoulders slumped.
“Sure,” he rumbled, holding out the note.
Toe Tapper was next. “Sure.”
Torch Song’s giddy, “Sure!” Was slightly warbly, but fixed itself by the time Rarity joined in.
“Sure.” She sighed out the note, and for a second I was somewhere else, listening to Nicki’s favorite group live while she squeezed my hand. I shook my head, and I was back, the four-part harmony making me want to clap as it ended.
When I was back, Sweetie had started off, and the Wondertones had left. Bloom was talking. “...myself. Just go and enjoy yourselves.”
Despite wanted to protest and say this is where I wanted to be, I followed Sweetie. “Sure thing, Applebloom,” I muttered just loud enough for her to hear.
As I walked around the back of the stands, not bothering to catch up to Sweetie, the imposter decided to come to find us. She caught sight of Sweetie at the corner of the back, and stomped over, arriving just after I did.
“Where have you two been?” She demanded, and I just knew something bad was going to happen.
Sweetie, being the terrible liar she is, got stuck in the middle of explaining. “We… er…”
With a slight grimace, I pulled out the popcorn. “Had to get popcorn,” I finished, Sweetie, smiling at me in thanks.
The imposter eyed the bag, before snarling and stealing it. “Well yer late!” She said, stomping away.
With a sigh, I followed her, mourning my lost popcorn. “Yes, Miss Bossyboots.” I flinched at her glare, but she spun around again and we headed back to our spots.
The Wondertones came up to the stage, putting on a good show, though it seemed like the imposter disliked it, which made it all the sweeter as I listened. After bowing to a round of applause, they walked offstage, and a teacher from Crystal Prep stepped up to the microphone.
“Good afternoon, students!” she started, and I grabbed a number one finger from the guy in front of me. “For today’s Tri-Cross Relay, our contestants will have to compete in three seperate sections.”
She motioned for silence, then waved her hand at the track. “First, they will need to brave the Obstacle Course and land two bullseyes on the moving targets.” Applejack and Fluttershy waved to use, and Sweetie and I waved back, the imposter just settling for sitting there sullenly.
The imposter snorted. “That’s easy. Ah could do it in mah sleep.”
I ignored her prideful babbling and looked hard at the contestants from Crystal Prep, seeing something familiar. I nudged Sweetie, “Hey, doesn’t that look like one of Rainbow’s friends? What was her name, Starburst Twinkle?”
She looked towards where I was pointing and gasped. “That’s Twilight Sparkle! But what’s the princess doing on the other side?”
“It’s not-” the imposter's words were drowned out by a loud horn, and we turned our attention back to the race. Fluttershy fell behind, and as she got to the shooting point, Twilight tripped over a hay bale. “Clumsy,” the Imposter stating in a low voice, “you’re never gonna win if you keep that up.”
“Shut it, Bloom.” I snarled, wishing I didn’t have to say AB’s name when talking to her.
After a second miss, Fluttershy sucked in a breath and let go of her third shot, hitting a direct bullseye. “Yeah!” the huge white guy behind me yelled, and I turned around to see him flexing his arms. My headache came back, and I recognized him as Bulks Bicep, the biggest softie in the high school.
“Yeah, Twilight!” Sweetie’s cry brought me back to the race, and I turned around just in time to see Twilight hug Bloom’s sister. I smiled as Applejack ponied up, but then a mist started flowing from her to the pendant around Twilight’s neck.
“No…” I stood up suddenly, my hands to my head as the pain flared. I remembered this! But it hadn’t happened yet. I shook my head to try and stop the dozens of thoughts swirling inside it,
“Sunset.” I breathed, and took off, jumping over the students sitting in front of me and off the stands. They yelled in surprise, and I think I clipped my foot on one, as I tumbled when I landed. Totally wasn’t my fault.
“Sorry,” I called out as ran to the spot under the stands I had stashed my scooter. I had just gotten it back since I lost it from my stint in the Nurse’s Office, and I knew it would suck when I lost it again, but Sunset was more important.
I looked around to take stock of the situation and saw the pendant fly open, portals opening with it. Taking off, I made my way around on the grass, my dread overshadowed a bit by the euphoria of riding fast, even on bumpy ground. I snapped myself out of it and practically flew over to where the portals were densest: right in front of the Motorcross. As I got close, Sunset’s bike crashed, and she covered her head as it came crashing down.
I screamed. “No!” I jumped over the front of my scooter and flipped, my body remembering the form from dance class. This time though, I tightened my arms and used my body to throw it hard into the side of the plant head, pushing it to the side and bending the frame scooter.
I didn’t have any time to mourn, though as Rainbow came up from behind and noogied me. “That’s my girl!” she crowed, and I felt myself blush at the praise.
Sunset rushed over too, examining me. “You’re not hurt, are you?” I shook my head and she smiled, relieved.
“Of course she’s not! She’s my little sister!” Rainbow laughed, pulling me into a hug. I froze in shock before remembering the promise Aunty Lofty had pulled out of her. I mumbled something into her chest, Rainbow practically choking me. Rainbow let go of my head and I came up for air. “What’s that, Squirt?”
I took a big gulp of air before I repeated myself. “We could still win!”
Sunset ran to Rainbow’s bike as the girl herself turned to look at the track. Her gaze locked on to one of the plants nearby. “Sorry, Squirt, gotta go!” she took off, ramming into a plant as it shot towards the remaining Crystal biker. Sunset took off, and I dodged to the side as a plant shot towards me.
I decided to take my gaze off of the race and focused it on the plants, dodging them as I made my way back to the stands. I reached the stands, panting, and Sweetie pulled me over the side, the imposter right there too. For once, she looked scared. “Now why’d ya go an’ do a foolhardy thing like that?” she cried out. “We almost- I almost lost ya!”
Sweetie glared at her, but the imposter ignored her. I was about to respond when I noticed the portals closing, and I turned in time to watch Applejack kick her sister. “Applebloom!” I cried out, trying to get off the stands, but a strong grip kept me there.
“Oh no, ya don’t, Scoots. Ya didn’t answer my question.” The imposter curled her lips at the sight of her double get chewed out by AJ, what might have been mistaken for a smile if I hadn’t known her. No, this? This was an evil smirk.
“But AJ just-” the double grabbed my hair, taking the time to interlace her fingers in it so it really held, and I found myself yet again wishing for a different length of hair.
“Just nothin’. That fake is getting just what she deserves. Now, answer me, are ya ever gonna make me feel that way again?” the imposter clearly wanted a no, and I couldn’t muster up the strength to fight back. I turned my gaze away, trying to catch a glimpse of Bloom, but her fake in front of me shook my head, pulling my gaze int her eyes. “I said, are ya gonna do somethin’ like that again?”
I mumbled out an answer, and she smacked me, hard. I whimpered and managed to choke out a quiet, “no.” she smiled, her teeth gleaming. I suddenly had the impression of staring into the face of a shark, and I shivered when she let me go. I slumped to the ground, defeated.
“Come on, let’s go.” I got up, my shoulders slumped, and looked back, seeing AB crying and being comforted by Twilight. I stopped, and the imposter grabbed my arm. “Come on,” she growled, and I let her lead me away, officially hitting my lowest point I’ve ever felt.
I didn’t really pay attention to anything after that, only mumbling responses to questions asked. Not even Rainbow could pull me out. I vaguely heard a harpsichord and Twilight shouting a phrase that struck a chord, triggering another headache. My vision flipped for a second, and I looked on as demon Twilight fired into the air and… opened a portal? I shook my head and stood up, watching as she fired beams of light out of her hands.
Then she turned to me, and I scrambled to the side as a blast flew past me, passing right through my arm. I looked at it to check to see if it was okay, and saw a tanned caucasian arm slowly fade from existence back into mine. Right on cue, my headache hit again, and this one came with fairly obvious flashing memories, invading my head. It felt like it was overflowing, and the memories flew by too fast to really register. Then it stopped on one. It was a picture of me looking into a mirror dressed in my current outfit. Only, it wasn’t me. It was a taller, older girl, tan, not orange.
The pain started to descend, and I opened my eyes, only to see Applebloom fall through a crack in the ground. My eyes rolled up into my head, and my last thought was how much of a horrible friend I was, and how I didn’t even get to say goodbye.
Author's Note
Wow, that's longer! Closer to the size I want to be writing, anyways...
Still a little behind the rest of the crusaders, so an all nighter for me!
I woke up in a cold sweat and shot into a sitting position as my eyes flew around wildly, taking in the room and its occupants. It was the second time in two days I had been in the Nurse’s Office, though the day before felt so much longer than that. I fell back against the bed, panting. I turned my head to the side, taking in the sight of Rainbow and my aunts sitting there watching me.
Rainbow leaped at me, pulling me into a hug. “Squirt! You woke up!” I could have sworn I saw tears in her eyes, but I brushed off the thought, ‘cause Rainbow never cries. I looked over her shoulders at Aunty Lofty and smiled a little. “Why didn’t you tell me you got a concussion?! I would have flown you here immediately after you save Sunset!”
I winced at the sharp look I got from Aunty Holiday at the mention of a concussion. Then a new thought popped into my head, and I quickly looked around.
“What are you looking for, Squirt?” Rainbow was clearly confused, so I decided to enlighten her a little.
“Where’s Applebloom? Did she go home already?” Shoot, that came out a lot more desperate than I wanted. I turned to get a look at Rainbow’s face and froze at her look.
“I- I’m sorry, Squirt. Applejack couldn’t hold on.” Rainbow tried to pull me into a hug, trying to comfort me, but I pushed her away.
“No. No! WHERE’S APPLEBLOOM!” She looked shocked for a moment, then her face turned determined. She moved to put her arms around me again, but I pushed her away, more forcefully, but this time she pushed back. After I realized in some dim part of my brain that wasn’t in shock that it wasn’t working, I escalated.
I start throwing punches.
“Scoots!” she yelled, trying to grab my flailing limbs. “Scootaloo! Hey, she fell! Applejack couldn’t hold on, and Applebloom fell, and AJ beat herself up for it!” No! No! I don’t want to hear it! I don’t care if Applejack regrets it! She let Bloom go!
“We stopped the portals, but we lost Applebloom, and Twilight couldn’t forgive herself! Sunset’s had to stay with her to keep her from doing anything drastic!” She should feel horrible! It’s her fault! It’s all Twilight’s fault! She’s the one who started it! It was her portal that Bloom fell into!
“And I couldn’t get there in time to help! I couldn’t get there, my element was being used to stop the portals! I let AJ down.” her voice softened, and I blinked a little, realizing that my eyes had teared up as I flailed. My hands slowed, and that’s just what she needed. She got a hold of my hands and looked into my teary eyes. “I failed you, and I’m so, so sorry.”
A sob escaped my lips, and the tears started flowing freely. I couldn’t keep them in anymore, and I really didn’t want to. It hurt so much, and I couldn’t do anything. Rainbow pulled me into a hug, and I could feel her tears hit my head. I beat my hands weekly against her chest, and I don’t know why, but she let me. And I slowly stopped, realizing something. I couldn’t blame her. Anyone but her. Rainbow and Bloom, the two most important people in my life. And I had just lost one while the other sat in front of me, blaming herself for the loss of the other. She held me close, and I cried into her shirt.
“I’m sorry, Squirt,” she said softly, “Applebloom’s gone.”
My world shattered. Bloom was gone, and there was nothing anyone could do to change it. One moment, I’m talking with her, and the next, poof. I couldn’t ever see her again. Never again. I would never hear her voice cry out a new crusader cheer, never see another bad movie with her. I’d never taste anything cooked by her again, or hear her laugh at one of my stupid jokes. God, why did I make so many jokes? Why couldn’t I have just spent time with her, and listened to her? Who cares about what movie we were going to watch, or where we were going to eat? I lost so many precious seconds angry at her for little things, and I left her.
I abandoned her, didn’t I? I left her all alone in the middle of that track. All because of that stupid clone! I couldn’t bear the thought of that imposter stealing her body like that. How dare she! How dare she make me leave Bloom to be comforted by a stranger? That was MY job! And I… I wasn’t there.
My body went numb slowly as I processed this, and by the time I took notice, I was like a rag doll in Rainbows arms. And just like that, a tidal wave of exhaustion crashed over me, and I had to push to get anything else out. Rainbow laid me back down on the bed, and she looked at me, and I stared back, our matching tear-stained faces blank as we gazed into each other's eyes.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, my voice thick with tears. Rainbow gave a small smile at that and leaned down to kiss my forehead, moving my messy bangs with her hand.
“I know, squirt, I know,” she whispered against my head, and then pulled back. I grabbed her hand. And she smiled wider, and I mustered up a weak one back. She squeezed my hand as my eyes slowly closed, and I was dead to the world once more.
When I woke up again, Rainbow was gone, she had to go to class. Turns out I was knocked out for a day and a half. Makes me wonder why they didn’t send me to the hospital, actually…
I spent the rest of that day in the office, and Redheart woke me up when Sweetie had come to collect me. Apparently, now my Aunts wanted me to come home. So now I was riding in the back of Rarity’s car, staring aimlessly out the window.
“I’m sorry, what?” I smiled sheepishly, and Rarity glanced at me through her rearview mirror. I saw the concern there, and I looked away.
“I asked how you were holding up, Darling.” She repeated, turning her eyes back to the road.
“Oh, fine,” I said noncommittally, running the front of my jacket sleeve over my nose. I had pulled down the sleeves, trying to muster up some warmth into my body from the frigid cold. Sweetie said it wasn’t that cold, but I beg to differ. I had goosebumps all over!
I felt her gaze back on me again, but I ignored her, going back to staring blankly out of the window. She sighed and changed targets. “And how are you doing, Sweetie? How was your first day back at school?”
Sweetie grunted, responding even less than I did, and I smiled a little at Rarity’s huff, but it quickly fell off my face as we passed Sugarcube Corner. A hundred memories flashed before my eyes: birthdays, get-togethers, parties. I even saw some of the ones from my past life. Yeah, past life. I recently found out I was someone else like Bloom was. I don’t know if it was from birth or what, but I came to this world after purchasing a scooter. Specifically, the one that got bent earlier. All I know about it is the first memory came with a headache a couple days ago after I bashed my head against my scooter. Again.
“We’re here!~” Rarity’s voice trilled on the last note, and I suppressed my urge to wince. I got out of the car, mumbled a goodbye to Sweetie, and stumbled into the house. After shuffling through the house, I tossed my bag on the desk next to my barely touch computer and plopped down on my bed face first.
I heard the door crack open, and I knew that Aunty Lofty was watching me. I could feel her concern in her gaze, and I turned away from the door, curling up and clenching my eyes closed.
She came into the room, and stood by my bedside, grabbing the blanket and gently tucking me in like she used to when I first stayed with her and her wife while my parents went wherever they go. She leaned over and kissed my forehead before walking out of the room, softly closing the door behind her.
I sigh, relaxing my body. I knew I had slept for over 48 hours already, but my body felt bone tired, and I drifted off into a fitful sleep.
The next week was horrendous. I slept, ate, went to school, and did the basic things a kid in junior high did, but I was like a wraith. I hardly ate, my sleep was horrible, and I ghosted through school, not speaking to hardly anyone, and barely getting the homework in on time, not even caring about the grade. I surprised myself with actually doing it, but I guess I was trying at least a little bit to keep busy. I know most of the time I wasn’t having horrible dreams that are hard to remember, I was doing some form of homework.
It wasn’t all bad though. During that time, Rumble came over constantly, and I felt a little bad for taking advantage of his heart like this. He would coach me through my math, hold me as I cried for Bloom, and he was the first one to get me to eat.
Oh, did I not mention that? I couldn’t eat the first few days. It felt like I was going to barf every time I even smelled something remotely related to apples, and with the loss of Bloom so close, everyone started taking up cooking apple related treats in honor of her. Well, by everyone I mean my auntys, the Belles, and the school. Although to be fair, Granny Smith is our lunch lady, so it was pretty much apples anyways.
All in all, Rumble was great. I felt bad for ditching him on the last date we had planned, even though I had been unconscious during our planned meeting. He said he spent that time sitting by my bedside, waiting for me to wake up. He’s such a sweetie. If I didn’t know I was like the worst person ever, I would totally take him, but right now I knew he deserved better. But every time I told him so, he just responded with the phrase, “but I want you.”
Such a sappy, cliche thing he had going on. Girl gets hurt, guy comforts the girl, guy confesses love for the girl, they shack up, girl falls for the guy. Maybe not in that order though, I sometimes mix them up. And you know what the stupidest thing was? I think I was in love. Me, a twenty-some odd-year-old fully grown adult falling in love with a little boy barely starting to grow into a man.
Ridiculous!
But there was something there. Some just beginning, and I could feel excitement stirring when I thought about it. Excitement, and something else. Definitely not fear, because even when their heart is broken, cool kids don’t feel fear. I know Rainbow Dash wouldn’t, at least.
I noticed somewhere around the end of Doomsweek One that the imposter was gone too. I hadn’t seen her since the Friendship Games, but it took me a week to really realize she was gone. Rumble, my eyes and ears when I was deaf and blind to the world -a.k.a. Doomsweek- said that the imposter was there the first day of school, but had disappeared by lunch. That’s why everyone was mourning Bloom, not just the ones who knew that there were two. Both were missing, and one was seen falling into another world, while the very next day the other turns up missing? So suspicious.
My energy came back little by little, and I started interacting with the world again. I smiled a little bit less and stuck to myself a bit more, but I was coming back.
Then the second week hit, and I started hearing voices. I would think of a joke and turn to say it, only to realize Bloom wasn’t there. I would look for Sweetie, who for some reason had distanced herself from me -I blame my week of disconnect for it- and look on as she coped a different way, choosing to bury herself in work and things to do.
After over a baker’s dozen of these occasions I stopped looking for Sweetie and just rested my chin on my arms. Right around then, Bloom’s voice started sounding off in my head in response to the joke, and I would surreptitiously look around for just a hint of who had said it. I didn’t want others to think I was crazy, after all, but there was a chance it had come from outside my head, and I had to take it.
Then something magical happened during the end of the second Doomsweek, ending those days for what I hoped would be a long time.
I leaned against the wall of the school, trying to muster up the courage to go into the classroom for another day without her. And then I heard her voice again, busting through my willpower like a hot knife through butter. For once, though, it didn’t come in response to a thought.
“Howdy, Scoots!” I looked up, a little shocked to see Bloom standing right in front of me. I looked at her for a second, feeling myself on the cusp break down, and then mentally steeled myself.
“That’s just great,” I muttered, “The depression clearly wasn’t enough, and now I’m just going mad.”
The vision of Bloom cocked her head to the side, a clearly confused expression on her face. “What ya mean? Ah’m right here, in front of ya, ain’t Ah?”
I pushed myself up off the wall and set my face in a glare. “You’re dead, Applebloom! Dead! People don’t just walk that off, this isn’t a Disney movie!”
I rubbed my eyes with my left arm, trying to stop the next wave of tears again. “I think I can safely conclude that none of this is real, and I’m just losing my mind.” I looked back, expecting something to happen, and was met with a solid Bloom impression of her ‘I don’t get paid enough for this’ patented look.
“Ah wouldn’t be able to react to what ya sayin’ if I weren’t here,” I shook my head, taking another step towards her.
“My brain is just making this up! I’m only hearing want I want to hear.” I felt the lie on my tongue, spitting it out like a moldy piece of bread. There’s no way for her to be back here, anyway. The kids passing by probably think I’m crazy.
And then she took my hand. Honest to God touched me. She covered it with her other left one and looked into my eyes, speaking softly. “If Ah were a ghost, Ah wouldn’t be able to touch ya,” She gave me a little smirk. “Are ya convinced now, Thomas?”
I had trouble finding my voice. I reached up and shakily rested my hand on her shoulder. My voice cracked as I whispered. “If you were just air, my hand would have gone right through you.”
After a second, I threw myself around her, trying to hug the stuffing out of her. “I’m so glad you’re back!” my voice was muffled by her hair, and she laughed as if it tickled.
“Ah’d never leave mah friends in the lurch, Scoots.” She hugged me back, then pulled away. “Now then, where’s Sweetie Belle?”
I blushed a little. “I haven’t seen her; nor have I seen Pip,” I admitted. “He’s probably around though; he wouldn’t miss school for anything.”
I saw her droop a little. “Thanks for that. Ah hope nobody else is too surprised though.”
“Things have been a little crazy around here lately,” I thought about the weird things that had gone on, counting them off on my fingers. “Flying students, she-demons, overcompetitive students-”
Applebloom cut me off. “Well, that’s funny, comin’ from you!”
I felt some color run to my cheeks. “HEY! I get enough grief from liking Rumble. And don’t even mention Sweetie Belle loudly blurting out the fact I took dance as my elective!” I shivered at the memory of the embarrassment that followed.
“Ah’d imagine you’d be good for that,” Applebloom began, a sly smirk crossing her face “.You’re nimble, got dainty feet, look so sweet in a dr-”
“shut up!” I shouted. My face was burning in embarrassment as I looked down and scrapped my foot against the floor. “I just don’t like being seen as girly.”
“Yer secret’s safe with me, partner,” the bell rang, and for the first time in a while, the world was centered again. “Great,” Bloom moaned, “Another day, another lesson with Mr. Discord.”
“He is a little zany,” I admitted, and then smiled at her. “But even though the lessons may be dull and hellish, at least you don’t have to go through them alone.”
“Aw, thanks Scoots,” Applebloom looked thought full for a second, before snapping her fingers. “Well, at least Anon-a-Miss didn’t strike in this world,”
“Who’s anonymous? ‘Cause that’s the worst alias I’ve ever heard. I mean, seriously, ‘Anonymous?’ That just screams ‘I’m doing something suspicious’!” A dull aching sprung up, but I pushed it aside, not ready for another memory dump. After all, Bloom was alive!
Author's Note
This random song popped into my head while I was writing this. Completely different reason for being sad, but I totally listened to it on repeat while writing, and it took like three time longer than the other chapters. The song's called Requiem. I kinda sorta stole its name.
On another note, these keep getting longer! Sheesh, I might have to start writing two-parters to keep them all relatively the same length.
Confessions Favor the Bold
“My name was Emily.” For the third time that day, I wondered just how I had ended up in my situation. I mean, yeah, they deserved to know, but I wanted to do it on my terms, and now I had just blurted it out under pressure. And really, found out because of Trump? Not my best moment, definitely.
I honestly meant to tell her sooner. I only really understood what had happened partially into the second Doomsweek anyways, and there really wasn’t a good time to do it since Bloom returned. At least, that’s what I told myself.
As I talked, the memories flowed out of me like water, and I didn’t realize I had something new until the color drain from Applebloom’s face. “What did you say?”
I replayed the flow in my head and stumbled upon the new memory. “Um, it was a perfect cosplay.”
“Scoots, I think that was me you knocked over.” Well. Add another revelation to the list.
And just like that, another piece fell into place. “That explains so much! Like how we were found in the same place when we woke up.” Dear God, I sounded like a preppy school girl.*
Sweetie smiled and hopped up and down. “And me! I used to be somebody from Roanoke Island. Jimmy Hook?”
I started. I knew that name! Where though? “Hey, I know you from Fimfiction!”
“And it seems we all got here as a result of purchasin’ or bein’ given, an item by that merchant. Very strange.” I nodded in agreement and prepared to get down to business, expecting her to lead the charge to find out who this guy was. Rainbow would probably say a spy, and I was tempted to think the same. “But it can wait. We got somethin’ more important.”
“Namely?” Sweetie and I leaned in, waiting for the big reveal as Bloom drug as much weight in for her words as she could.
And then she hit us with it. “Ice cream!” Sweetie’s face lit up, happy as can be, but I just stood there, staring. That’s it? But she just…
“Are you coming, Scoots?” Bloom called out, and I realized they had left me behind. I charged out after them, and we three friends knew everything would be okay, if only we stuck together.
I paced on the sidewalk next to the park we had planned on meeting at this week. It was just a day ago when Bloom found out, but I already felt like I was exposed to the world. My head went up at the sound of a car, and Rarity’s car pulled up. The side door opened, and Sweetie got out, waved goodbye, and jogged over to me. I say jogged, but I swear I’ve never seen someone look quite so girly just running. I waved and met her midway, and braced for the tackle hug I saw coming.
“This again, Sweetie? It’s only been a day!” I teased, and she bounced back, a little color flushing her cheeks.
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to see your friends!” she defended.
I smiled at her and reached over, giving her my own hug. “No, no there isn’t,” I replied. Over her shoulder, I noticed Bloom heading towards us. I let go of Sweetie and walked towards AB, Pointing her out to Sweetie.
She turned and brightened when she saw Bloom, running over to her, which was like ten steps. I just followed her at a walking pace, easily making it over to there with just a little more time used. No reason to run, anyways. “Hi!” Sweetie beamed at Applebloom.
I went with a casual wave, still trying to get that comfortableness with them I had before last night. “Nice to see you again, Bloom.”
She smiled at me, and I felt twenty percent more comfortable. I relaxed my stance a little. “Ah’m so glad the Crusaders could meet again, So then, what are we gonna do this week?”
Sweetie Belle raised her hand. “Explore the tomb of Ahuizotl? Hopefully, we’ll get out before Stalwart Stallion locks us in!” I looked over at her and saw the slightly dreamy look in her eyes. I rolled mine.
“It’s Mojo. And I think we’ve already done that. How about we journey to the city of clouds, and do battle with Sky Pirates?” I really hoped we would have a clash in the sky again. That was fun last time!
“We already did that Scoots!” that’s never stopped us before! I opened my mouth to protest, but she cut me off. “Why not try outer space?”
“An adventure with aliens?” I paused and considered it. You know what, it sounded pretty interesting. “Sure, why not?”
“Oh, I hope they’re not xenomorphs.” Sweetie crunched up in herself.
I smiled and shook my head. “Technically they’re not called ‘Xenomorphs.’ That was just a bit of nonsensical babble from Gorman,” I recalled.
“How are ya even old enough ta have seen that?” I smirked at Bloom’s question.
“When my dad’s around, we sometimes watch films together.” I sighed wistfully. “Besides, it not all that scary or gory.”
Sweetie sighed. “Rarity has enough trouble with me watching railway videos on YouTube,” she admitted, and I held in a snicker.
Applebloom, on the other hand, seemed to get enraged. “Why? There’d be no California without the railroad!”
“She thinks it is, quote, ‘most unladylike to use or be interested in such smoky machines’,” Sweetie Belle said pompously. She even added a British accent, and I saw the perfect response.
“Well, fiddlesticks to that!” The other two CMC started laughing, and I smiled before dissolving into giggles with them. Success!
I followed Bloom down to the basement, and I could feel Sweetie chomping at the bit to get going with this. When we got down there, Bloom started moving furniture around, and after a glance at Sweetie, I joined her. I guess the clutter wouldn’t really give any space to sit. Bloom pulled a couple of platforms out of the mess and started setting them up.
“Scotts, the screen still needs to be assembled, do you think you can do that?” Bloom pointed to a pile of… something sitting by the stairs.
“You wound me, Bloom. We both know my answer,” I said sarcastically with a smirk. She rolled her eyes, and I turned to the pile, trying to figure out what to do. The truth was, my answer would be a most definite ‘no.’ I struggled, and Bloom took notice after a while, drawn over by my muttering.
“No, Scoots, the tripod does NOT go on the roof,” I tossed a scathing look over my shoulder, and Bloom met it with a smirk.
“I know that!” I quickly put the tripod where she pointed, blushing. “Besides, you don’t seem to be having much luck yourself.”
Applebloom looked over at Sweetie. “Sweetie Belle! How’s the screen?” she got a thumbs up, Sweetie’s other hand holding the screen itself.
“Mounted to the post, but we can’t unroll it yet.” I set the tripod down, a little shakily, and watched Sweetie finish the project.
Applebloom turned on the projector, her face filled with glee, but nothing showed up. It was blank. I looked around the front and noticed something as Sweetie bemoaned our failure.
“The screen lock is engaged.” with a smirk, I pushed the catch back, and Sweetie’s screensaver popped up on the screen. After making sure everything was set, we went up to Bloom’s living room, waiting for the boys.
You could cut the tension with a knife. I know I was feeling the excitement to see Rumble just as much as the others for their own, but at least I wasn’t pacing like Sweetie.
When a knock sounded at the door, Bloom revealed her tension by rocketing towards it, and I heard her skid to a stop before throwing the door open. “Howdy Y'all,” she tried to sound like she had just casually gotten up, but the underlying breathlessness was still there. The boys didn’t seem to pick it up though.
Button just asked, “We good for tonight?” if I didn’t know any better, I’d say the boys had been just as nervous as we were.
Bloom surreptitiously wiped her palms on her jeans and then waved them in. “That we are! We can’t start until after dinner.”
And what a dinner it was. I know I was stiff the entire dinner, and at least half the time Sweetie and Button were oblivious to the rest of the table. On top of that, the conversation alternated between awkward and stilted. I practically sailed down the steps to the basement when we were released.
“Finally, I thought that’d never end!” I sighed, sitting down on the lower platform.
Button sat down on the far end of the second one, Sweetie snuggling against his legs on the first. “Oh come on,” she said, “It wasn’t that bad. It was only a little teasing.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s all it was,” I snarked. “You and I both know you don’t remember a thing form that dinner past Button and being teased. You probably don’t even know what we had!”
Sweetie colored. “Of course I remember what we had! It was...” She defended herself poorly, but Button came to her rescue.
“It was a standard apple dinner. There’s nothing to remember, Scootaloo.” He smirked at me, and I pouted before my heart flipped as Rumble, who was sitting above me, pressed his lips to my head.
“Stop teasing her, Scoots. You know we weren’t that much better.” I turned around and smiled shyly at him and took his left hand with my right, suddenly feeling self-conscious as my face heated up.
“Break it up, lovebirds.” Bloom plopped down to my left into the legs of Pip and motioned for Sweetie to start the video. I quickly schooled my emotions, forcing the blush from my face as best I could as we began.
“Hello, everybody! This is Sweetie Belle!” She waved at the camera, and I rolled my eyes before saying my part.
I smiled and raised my hand. “Scootaloo here!”
“And Ah’m Apple Bloom!” Bloom finished. “We are the CMC!”
We did a three-way hive-five and chorused the last part. “The Canterlot Movie Club!”
“And this evening, we have some special guests joining us!” Sweetie rotated the camera, bringing the three boys into the picture. “Introduce yourselves,” she whispered.
“I’m Pipsqueak!” Pip said, his voice filled with its normal dosing of happiness and accent.
“Rumble, at your service.” I smiled at him, squeezing his hand.
Button started off with enthusiasm. “Hi, I’m Button Mash! I’m twelve years old, and I like-”
“Yes, thank you, Button” I interrupted, and Pip elbowed him in the side. I segued into the actual topic of the night. “Today’s entry is What’s Up.
Sweetie took it from there. “This movie has a curious history, It appeared in 2010, and probably looks like a knockoff of Up, but the two films have almost nothing in common.”
Bloom smiled at the camera. “If everyone’s ready, let's go!”
I had trouble watching the movie. Even discounting the horrible quality of the film, Rumble was cracking jokes in my ear the entire time and was being generally the adorable dork I fell in love with. So you have to understand when I got slightly upset that we had to leave. Thankfully, Rainbow had come to pick me up in lieu of my parents, who were off doing… whatever it was they did again.
“So, how was your triple date, Squirt?” Rainbow teased, before relenting under my flailing arms. “Okay! Okay! Your ‘Crusader’s movie night with friends.’”
I smiled at her amiability and started recounting the night, telling her about our struggle to survive on a spaceship, and our foray into a horrible example of racism thinly disguised as a movie. She smirked when I admitted to not really watching it but kept her jokes largely to herself, and I thanked the Almighty that she had said yes to being my ‘adopted’ sister. Then she hit the topic that I wanted to talk about tonight.
“So, Squirt,” she started, “How badly do you want to go to Camp Everfree?”
Author's Note
*This is what happens when I don't write my own words! I actually had no say in how the rest found out, so I really felt connected to Scoots when I wrote my version of what happened.
On a totally different note, the next chapter is my first one in the new arc! lets see if I can actually catch up now, and I might be able to not burn the candle at both ends.
