Close Bonds: Thirteenth Chapter

"You do realize that learning a language that sounds the same but is written differently is completely pointless?"

As Rainbow tries to impress her views on Applebloom, you set a few pancakes onto a plate and carry it over to the table for yourself. The girls have already dug into their breakfast, and as you have observed, seem to have similar eating habits.

But, as of right now, they've paused their chow-down to have an intellectual debate. "Well," Applebloom says, "it can be kinda like a secret code that nopony else can understand."

Rainbow Dash holds her hoof out in front of herself. "But what's the point of that? Out loud, everyone understands what you're saying. It's not like you two are going to go around in public writing notes to each other and giggling like school fillies."

Ooh. This discussion just got a little bit heated.

Applebloom grabs a paper out of her little notebook, and begins to write on it. She soon passes it across the table to you.

In messy half English, half Equish, it reads, '~⌠enbow Daß[] τocs τ∞ σ≡{] !'

You squint your eyes. "...Rainbow Dash- Oh." You smile across the table at a giggling Applebloom. "Yeah, I agree."

"What? What's it say?" The mischievous way you and the earth filly glance at each other only serves to further annoy her.

"Nothing, Rainbow. Nothing you haven't already heard a million times."

"Let me see that!" she yells, swiping the note from your hands. She looks over it, her eyes squinting in the same way yours were.

"'...too much'? What 'too much'? What do I do too much?"

A snort escapes your lips as you try to hold in your laughter. "Nothing to worry about, Dash. Just drop it."

She sticks the note in your face. "This isn't funny! Stop being a puss and tell me what this says, or else-"

You shove a forkful of pancake into her mouth. "Seriously, you talk too much. And like I said, it's nothing I don't tell you every day."

Applebloom snickers.

Rainbow Dash glares at you both, then slowly takes her hooves off the table. After swallowing the bit of pancake you forced her to eat, she says, "I'll let this one go. But only because it's your birthday tomorrow."

Applebloom perks up, turning to you. "It's yer birthday? Oh, shoot, Ah forgot ta get you somethin'!"

Your eyebrow shoots up. "You don't have to. Really, I'm surprised you even knew it was my birthday."

"Well, we kinda got the invitation from Pinkie. She's got somethin' big planned at the Sugarcube Corner, Ah think."

"Was it a surprise party?"

"Ah think so..."

"Well," you smirk, "I'm sure I'll be very surprised."

"Tartarsauce!" She covers her face with her hooves, "Ah wasn't suppose ta say anything!"

"It's fine," you chuckle, "Her surprise parties scare the hell out of me anyways. I'm kind of glad you told me, so I don't run the risk of a heart attack."

"Heh heh. Yeah, Ah know what you mean." Applebloom slides off her chair. "Ah guess Ah should be gettin' ta school soon. See y'all later!"

"Wait a minute, squirt,"Rainbow says, grabbing Applebloom by her shoulder. "What do you mean you're going to school? It's the beginning of July."

"Oh, not that kind of school." The filly pulls out the three books that she brought with her, plopping them on the table. The first looks like it has to do with woodshop. The second has a picture of a hammer, clamp, and anvil. The third reads, The Craftpony's Guide to Safety, or '~τ]≡ ~}{⌠'§¥τLooσo••*ß•• ~_y•_ τ∞ ~ߧ¥τ••'.

Your face lights up. "Sweet! Crafting classes?"

"Wood-shop and metalworking," she declares proudly. "Ah've been takin' it fer a few weeks now. Mah instructor says Ah might be ready to move on to the next level!"

"That's awesome." You ruffle her mane, her little pink bow bouncing as you do so. "Well, I guess I shouldn't keep you any longer. Cya, Applebloom."

"Bye, Ivan." She hugs you around the waist, then trots out the door, a loud slam! accompanying her exit.

"Goodbye to you, too," Rainbow mutters, taking Applebloom's left-over dirty plate to the sink.

You smirk. "Aww, don't be upset, Rainbow. I'll remember to say goodbye to you when I leave today."

She doesn't even turn around. "Tsk. Screw you, I don't even care."

"Alllrighty then." You grab your name tag and Twilight's letter, then head out the door, making sure to slam it loud enough for the ungrateful pegasus to hear.

You walk around the side of the house and peer through a window. You catch sight of Rainbow, staring slack-jawed at the front door.

You chuckle silently to yourself, then walk back to the front porch again. You crack open the door wide enough to poke your head inside, and call, "Bye, Rainbow!"

"Fuck you! Get out of here!" A leftover pancake flies your way, and you duck out the door, quickly shutting it again. A few moments pass, however, and you hear a muffled giggling emanating through one of the open windows.

You smile, taking out Twilight's letters and begin heading on your way.

My good friend Ivan,

I apologize for not being able to chat with you the past month. Things have been quite hectic around here, princess duties and all... Ugh, I wish I could come down to Ponyville for a day, just to see you all again. I miss you guys. I got the invitation from Pinkie about your party, happy birthday! How old are you turning? The card she sent seemed to have left out that little bit of information. In fact, I'm really not sure how the card got to me at all, since it wasn't marked as a 'priority' or personal letter or anything. Ah, well. I won't question it any further.

I said I would get back to you on the 'electricity and sunburns' subject, so here are your explanations.

Let's start with electricity. Now, the common assumption concerning microphones, medical equipment, and the occasional lightbulb, is that they're magic. While many devices have magical properties to help them function properly, that's not where they get their source of power. At least, not directly.

Now, though the 'magic' assumption is derived from simple ignorance, it's not completely false. Direct-current batteries are generally charged with magic. In fact, though this is definitely not how batteries are usually charged, some unicorns have learned to negatively charge, or electrify, the air around their horns; myself included. Fortunately, unless you're an extremely powerful unicorn, or an alicorn (like me), no harm can really be done using these spells. The most that ever really happens is that somepony receives a slight shock.

Also, we Equestrians have steam technology. While many engines run directly off the smoke from burning coal or the steam from boiling water, some houses are powered by alternating current steam plants. These steam plants are very inefficient however, and often leave behind pollutants. They're very rarely seen nowadays, as most have been either shut down or replaced by more efficient methods of power.

Now, sunburns. I actually had to ask Princess Celestia about this, as I had always assumed that the reason ponies almost never got sunburnt was because of their coats. I was half right.

According to the very ruler of the sun herself, our planet used to have a thick layer of gases to protect its inhabitants from the sun's harmful rays. This layer still exists today, just a bit thinner. While the ponies would definitely survive, the rate of sunburns (as you mentioned), as well as skin cancer, sight loss, and other health problems, would go through the roof. That's why Celestia redirects certain wavelengths of radiation in certain amounts, at certain times of the day. Being the most dangerous, the shorter wavelengths are normally redirected the most. Ultraviolet light, which causes sunburns and skin cancer, is very important to plant life; flowers contain ultraviolet markings that attract bees and other insects, so the amount that gets to us must be proportioned accordingly.

It's very interesting really, as alicorns can see ultraviolet, as well as infrared to some extent. So basically, the next time I see you, remember that to me, you're glowing.

And, that's about it. Sorry if that was a bit long, but I was hoping to write an as informative letter as I could in the five minutes I have left of my daily lunch break. Busy, busy, busy.

And now, back to my duties. I hope you have a happy birthday Ivan! Tell everypony I said 'hi'!

Your friend,
Twilight

How very informative. That really explained a lot.

And strangely, she didn't even mention the citizenship...

Entering the hospital, you notice that the place doesn't seem to be too busy.

Which is good for two reasons: one, it means ponies aren't getting sick, and two, it means that you won't have to do as much work today.

"Psst! Ivy!"

You smile, seeing the pink-maned pony at the front desk. She's waving you over, and for some reason giving you more of a quiet greeting today.

"Hey, Cream," you say at normal volume, placing your elbows on the front desk, "What's up?"

"Shh!" She covers your mouth with a hoof. Looking around the room, she whispers, "I need you to be quiet. We're not supposed to have food in this part of the hospital."

After her hoof's been removed from your lips, "Food?" you whisper back. The receptionist grins from ear to ear, then pulls out a cupcake with a single unlit candle in the middle.

"Happy birthday!" she whisper-cheers. "I don't have any matches right now, but you can pretend to blow out the candle."

You look at the little frosted cupcake, then shake your head. "Oh, Cream..."

She looks confused. "What?"

"My birthday's tomorrow, not today."

She cocks her head, frowning. "No, your birthday's today. I have the date you wrote down when you applied for a job here." She opens up a drawer, looks through some files, and slaps a paper down in front of you. It's your employee info, and sure enough, it says July 1st.

"Oh. Wow. You were right." You study the paper for a second, wondering at how you could have messed up and written that. "My birthday's still tomorrow, though."

"Well, then, it's your fault that you wrote that down," she sticks her tongue out at you. You roll your eyes, and begin to walk down the hall.

"Wait," you hear from behind you. Curious, you turn to find that she's looking between you and the paper, disbelief painting her face. "Your birth date. I never noticed that before. How old are you?"

Oh. "I'm... eighteen, tomorrow."

Her face lights up, and she gets this huge grin. "Aww! You're still so young!"

You groan, turning back the way you should have continued going. Unfortunately for you, right as you do this, Lyra pops out the door. "Work monkey! You're late!"

She's taken a liking to calling you her 'work monkey'. It's funny, she often says, because you're actually a monkey,

"Lyra!" Cream calls. You facepalm, knowing what's next. "Ivy's still a baby!"

Lyra raises an eyebrow. "What?"

"Come here and look at his employee files!"

"Cream, you're not even supposed to be looking at his-"

"He's only seventeen!"

Lyra's eyes bug out. "What?" She quickly trots on over to the counter and looks at paper.

"He's eighteen."

"That's just a mistake. His birthday's tomorrow."

By this time, you're pretty far down the hall in an attempt to get away from them. But, escape from Lyra is futile.

"Ivan! Come here, little colt! Momma's got some chores for you!"

"Shut up, Lyra."

This... isn't going to be a fun day.

"Ooh, is widdle Ivy getting cranky now?"

Seriously.

"See ya, Cream!"

"Bye Ivy! I'll give you your cupcake tomorrow!"

"Uh... Alright!" The thought of where she might be storing that cupcake is a little unsettling to you. In fact, didn't she pull it out of the same drawer she used to complain about cockroaches getting into?

You shudder at the thought, but shake it off. You have business to attend to today, and your mind is going to need to be clear of all cockroaches if you want everything to go alright.

You look down the gravel path that leads to Sweet Apple Acres. You really shouldn't be the one doing this. You and Applejack still haven't really talked much since the whole shitstorm went down. It's not like you were mad at each other, but still, whenever you two came face to face, the tension could be cut with a knife.

And now, she's mad at you... again. And you're a little angry with her, too. She's practically been lying to your face for two months. Element of Honesty your ass.

You take a deep breath, then slowly exhale. Your emotions are getting to you. Knowing that you can't deal with the situation rationally if you're angry, you attempt to calm yourself.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

Oh, good. Rainbow's sweet voice to help calm your nerves.

Where did she come from anyway?

"This isn't the way home, you know," she says, flying up beside you. You take a deep breath.

"I know."

She frowns. "Where are you going, then?"

You continue to look straight ahead, only watching her through the corner of your eye. "I'm going to take care of some business."

She eyes you suspiciously. "That's it? Just 'taking care of business'?"

"Yup."

She watches you for a moment, then drops to the ground beside you as you walk. A minute passes, and you stop. She stops too.

"Why are you following me?"

She meets your downward glare. "What? Can't I come with you?"

You groan inwardly. "Dash, I-"

"I know what's going on," she says. You continue to watch her, so she continues.

"Applebloom told me about yesterday. About what happened at the stand."

"Oh, good," you groan.

"When I heard about it, I knew that you were going to confront her about it. So I waited for you outside the hospital."

Outside the hospital? "You mean you spied on me?"

She gives you a serious look. "I don't want you to get hurt."

You smirk facetiously. "What, you think Applejack's gonna attack me?"

A good way to state your own concerns.

"Ivan, this is a mare who I watched crack a changeling's head open with her hind legs. I don't know about you, but that's not something I wanna risk."

"Okay..." This really isn't helping. "But what do you expect me to do? Not go over there? I know Applebloom said she would only stay two days, but I can't just kick her out onto the street."

"Oh, no," Rainbow shakes her head, "You're going all right."

"Then why-"

"I'm coming with you," she states, as if it's a fact. "I'm gonna make sure you don't end up in the hospital with a concussion."

You chuckle. "So, my marefriend's protecting me from danger now..."

She tosses her head. "Take it from a pony who's pummeled more than a few changelings herself. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

You smile. "I'll take your word for it, then."

This girl has a well-known fighting reputation around Ponyville. You've seen her beat the living hell out of full-grown stallions; truthfully, you're not embarrassed in the least.

Pretty soon, the two of you come to the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres. Somehow, the place brings a feeling of dread to your gut.

"I haven't been here in... a long time," Rainbow murmurs. Even after you and Applejack had made up, Rainbow still held on to a bit of resentment against the farmer. The result? Very minimal contact between the two.

Arriving at the house, you find Big Mac loading up a wagon with crates. You and Rainbow approach him.

"Hey, Big Mac. Long time no see."

He looks up from his work, eyes half-lidded and bored. "Eeyup."

It's good to see he isn't mad at you for any of this.

You're about to ask him where Applejack is, but he easily reads your mind. "West field," he says, nodding off at a group of apple trees. "Follow the second dirt path. She'll be a little ways down."

"Thanks, 'Mac."

He nods, then returns to his work.

"Funny how he knew what you were gonna ask," Rainbow comments once the red pony's out of earshot.

"Well, the whole situation... It's probably kinda big here."

"I guess it would be. I mean, Applebloom literally ran away. That's something me and my brothers only tried to do."

"Oh?" you chuckle.

"Yeah... Me and my two older brothers plotted to sneak into the Cloudsdale Cloudosseum and live under the bleachers. In the daytime, we could watch the air shows and play in the arcade. At night we would sneak into the food stands and eat all the nachos and pizza. At least, that was the plan."

"Wow, sounds adventurous," you smirk. "What happened?"

She smiles as well. "We snuck out of the house in the middle of the night, and actually managed to get inside the Cloudosseum. Problem was, my 'spy suit' didn't cover up my rainbow mane, which isn't exactly the best for hiding. So we were caught, and after the security guards figured out where we lived, we were brought home to two very unhappy parents."

"Heheheh."

She scowls. "Yeah, you would think that's funny."

"I'm just imagining you getting paddled as filly. Your little butt squirming around as you try to get away... Hehe."

"Hardy-har har." She extends her wing and gives your butt a quick slap. "There. How do you like it?"

Despite it being a pretty hard smack, you put on a grin. "I think I kinda liked-"

"Hullo? Who's there?" a rough voice calls from the rows of apple trees. You and Rainbow glance at each other, before turning back to the voice.

"You!" Applejack growls, stepping out of the trees. She takes a step forward. "The hell are ya'll doin' here?!"

Rainbow tenses up. You hold your hands up as a sign of peace. "Applejack. We need to talk."

"Talk?! About what? The way you made me look like a fool in front of ma own kin!?"

Rainbow steps forward. "He barely said two words! If anyone made you look like a fool, it was yourself!"

Applejack's eyes shoot towards Rainbow, as if just noticing her. "You? Well, what hole did you jus' slither on out of?"

The pegasus squints her eyes. You run your hand through her mane. Easy, girl.

"Applejack," you say sternly. Once again, you're met by her icy gaze. "Just listen. Applebloom's pretty upset."

"Hah!" Applejack scoffs. "Good. That'll teach 'er ta disobey me."

"Will you listen to yourself? From what I saw, the two of you got along just fine a few weeks ago! What happened?"

She glares at you. "Ya wanna know what happened? Fine!" She snorts, nostrils flaring. "Applebloom's defiant. She don't listen ta what ah say, an' she thinks she can jus' go off and do whatever she wants without me sayin' she can!"

"What did she do, exactly?" you question.

Applejack stomps her hoof. "Ah tell her we need her ta help out with the farm, and what does she do? She signs up for a class where she plays around with hammers an' nails!"

Your eyes widen. "Oh, the crafting class?"

"Whatever the hell it's called. We need her here!"

"Can I get a word in?" You look down at Rainbow Dash, who nods to you. You step aside. "In all seriousness," she says, "Applebloom's pretty good at what she does. You really should see what the little squirt brought through the front door this morning."

You raise an eyebrow. "What did she bring in? I was at work all day."

"It's, uh... Kinda supposed to be your birthday present. Mind if I just tell Applejack?"

This makes you curious, but you concede. "I guess..."

She walks up to the apple farmer and cups a hoof over her ear. A few whispers, and Applejack's eyes widen.

"Really?" she asks. "Is it good?"

Rainbow nods. Now you're really starting to wonder what Applebloom made you.

Applejack scuffs the ground. "Well, I'll be. Makes one feel kinda bad for... belittlin' her."

"So, Applejack," you approach, now a bit less wary of being bucked in the face, "Is that all? You just didn't want her to be in that class?"

Applejack gives a drawn-out sigh. "Well, kinda. Ya see, when Ah found out that she'd done that without mah consent, Ah yelled at 'er. Only, she didn't just take the heat; she yelled right back at me."

"Kind of like at the stall," you comment.

"Yeah. Jus' like that. Only, she'd never done that before. It surprised me. Our little screaming match ended with me givin' her a good paddlin'." She looks at the ground regretfully. "Ah wish Ah hadn't 'a done that. She acts like she hates me now, and Ah guess for awhile there I kinda... reciprocated those feelin's. Things are messed up now."

You all sit in silence for a minute, mulling over everything that Applejack's said, and more. What you've gathered from this is that Applejack has a hard time expressing her feelings.

And that you've never seen a more stubborn pair of sisters in your life.

"Well, I guess you know now."

"What?" Applejack looks up, confused.

"You know what you've been doing wrong. You've been trying to control your sister. She's getting older and wants to make her own decisions, and the more you try to control her, the more she'll rebel."

"You sure?" she questions, looking skeptical.

"Seriously, AJ, are you so dense-" You quickly cover Rainbow's muzzle.

After shooting Rainbow a stern look, you remove your hand. You then turn back to the conflicted earth mare. "Applejack... Imagine Granny Smith were to constantly be ordering you around..."

The orange mare frowns. "She does."

"Oh, right. Well, you hate it, don't you?"

"Yeah... Ah guess Ah see yer point." She scuffs the ground with her hoof. "But what now? Ah can't just go up ta her and say, 'Oh, sorry fer bein' bossy. Ya forgive me now, right?'"

"That's exactly what you should do..." you hear Rainbow mutter under her breath.

"I know!" Pinkie Pie pops up out of nowhere, "Let's have a party!"

You and Rainbow both jump at the suddenly materializing earth pony between you. Applejack has a similar reaction, hurriedly backing away before realizing it's just Pinkie Pie.

"Shit, Pinkie, you scared the crap outta me!" Rainbow almost shouts. Pinkie cowers back slightly.

"Sorry. I just had a really good idea, and wanted to share it with you guys!"

"Well, now that you have our attention... What's your idea?" you ask, after making sure your heart is still beating normally.

She turns to Applejack. "Well, I was thinking that maybe you and Applebloom could 'accidentally' run into each other at Ivan's birthday party! There, you two could make up. And of course, Ivan and a few other ponies will be there to make sure things don't get out of hoof somehow."

"Hm..." you hum to yourself, "That actually sounds like a decent plan. I could bring Applebloom with me to the party, and you could just say that you're there for my birthday."

"Ah suppose that sounds reasonable..." Applejack sighs, "Ah'm a little nervous, Ah guess. Ah'm afraid Ah'll say somethin', or she'll decide she ain't ready to forgive me, or-"

"If she sees that you're nervous, she'll know you're genuine," Rainbow interjects, rolling her eyes. "Just don't sweat it, alright?"

"Whew. Alright." The farmer takes a deep sigh. "Thanks fer talkin' some sense inta me, guys. Ah guess Ah should head back to the house now. Think things through, ya know."

"Yeah, I know. Well, good luck Applejack. See ya at the party tomorrow!"

Pinkie and Rainbow say their goodbyes, and Applejack nods back in your respective direction. Just as she turns around, however, a thought comes to mind.

"Hey, Applejack?" She stops, turning back towards you. "Did you ever find out what happened to those... Tools?"

"Uh..." Her eyes dart around quickly. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason. I just heard that someone dug up a wrench and hammer somewhere out in the orchard a few months back, right? A certain someone named... Winona?"

A silence hangs about the air. Applejack looks up at you, looking quite guilty.

"Ooh, gossip!" whispers Pinkie.

Author's Note

Sorry for the late update. I haven't had a quiet moment in days... I literally finished this while half-asleep at 2:00 in the morning. Because that's the only time 10-year-old girls know when to shut up.

Thanks to hwrogers for proofreading this!