The Derpy I Know And Love 4 or And The Children Shall Lead

CHAPTER TWO

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle

After the girls had left, Apple Bloom cleared away all the dishes and went about her daily chores.  Applejack watched and thought how big Apple Bloom was getting; she was not just a little filly anymore.  She was talking about going to a dance with a colt, and getting a new dress from Rarity.  There was something that was bothering A.J.  It was something that had been bothering her for a long time, and something that needed to have been said before.   But it was not easy and she was not sure how Apple Bloom would take it, plus she was not sure how to do it.

“What’s bothering you Darling?” said Rarity.

“What do you mean, Sugar Cube?”

“You have been watching Apple Bloom like she was leaving or something.”

“I have put something off for far too long of a time and I think it is time to say something, to Apple Bloom,” then she looked at her wife,  “and to you.”

“What Darling?”

“It is just with the dance coming up and Apple Bloom wanting to go with a colt.  It is bringing back things from the past that have been hidden.”

“If you are afraid of some colt hurting her, I don’t think you have anything to fear.  There is not a stallion in Equestria who would dare cross you, that is if they wanted to live afterward!”  Rarity giggled, “I doubt any colt would not think twice of hurting your sister.”

“There is more to it than that.” Sighed A.J. “We have not talked about colts yet and I know that they teach such things at school.  Cheerilee is a good teacher, but there is the personal side as well.  And, as I said, there is something else.”

A.J. walked off out the door.  Rarity had learned to let A.J. be when she got pensive like this.

“Oh Darling,” Rarity said to A.J., knowing that she could not hear her, “It will be fine, what ever it is.”

Later, A.J. asked Rarity if she would help her to make a dinner of all of Apple Bloom’s favorites.  She then asked Big Mac to look in the barn for a box with some certain photo albums.   Lastly, she and Granny Smith went into the old pony’s bedroom and talked for a couple hours.  Rarity thought she heard crying and was not able to tell if it was Applejack, Granny Smith or both.

Later that evening, Apple Bloom was treated to a dinner she had not had the likes of in a long time.  It looked like everything was cooked just for her.  After, there was fresh ice-cream that Big Mac had been churning all afternoon.  Apple Bloom was not yet cynical enough to be suspicious of being buttered up.  To her surprise, Big Mac said he would clear and wash the dishes.  She, Applejack, Rarity and Granny Smith went in the family room to talk.  Applejack had Apple Bloom sit in the middle of the couch with Rarity on one side and Granny Smith on the other.  A.J. then went to scoot a chair in front of them but Rarity moved it with her magic.  It was nice to have a unicorn around the house.  A.J.  looked flushed, and Granny Smith kept an eye on her.

“Apple Bloom, I guess you might be wondering why we did the dinner we did and that Big Mac is doing your chores.”

“I don’t mind!  He can do the dishes anytime he likes!” she said.

They all got a chuckle out of it.

“I bet Sugar Cube, but we need to talk about a couple of things, and with the dance coming up, I figured it should be now.”

“I know about boys sis! Miss Cheerilee gave a talk on all that.  And you don’t have anything to worry about.  I have no plans for anything like that.” Said Apple Bloom.

“We know you don’t.  And we trust you in that, but that does not mean that something couldn’t happen.”

“Like what?” asked the filly.

A.J. paused, fortifying her nerves.

“Do you know what happened to me when I was twelve?”

“You mean when you were hurt by a stallion?”

Granny Smith had a guilty pain cross her face.

“Yes, but do you know how he hurt me?”

“No, you have never said.”

“Sugar Cube,” said A.J. not sure how to put it, “do you know what....what rape is?”

Apple Bloom’s face went pale.

“No sis, he didn’t!”

“I am afraid he did.  After that I could not stand to be near any colt, other than Big Mac for a very long time.”

“Is that why you married a mare?”

“No, I married Rarity because I love her, not because she is a mare.” Rarity smiled, “but it is why I never went out with colts.”

“Don’t worry sis, I will be careful.”

“We know you will, we have no doubts.  But there is more to this than a warning to be careful."

A.J. took a deep breath.

“I know you have no memory about ma and pa.  They were gone before you could remember.  But what do you know about them, how they died.”

“I’m... I’m not sure.”

Granny Smith placed a photo album in Apple Blooms lap.  She had seen the album before but not in a while.  They leafed through the pages of all the family photos, obviously, she was not in any of them.  Toward the back there was a carefully preserved clipping from the Ponyville Express telling how the old Ponyville Bridge collapsed while Mr. and Mrs. Apple were pulling a wagon load of apples to market.  The couple was killed in the cold swift water.  Apple Bloom noticed the tears in A.J.’s and Granny Smith’s eyes.

“We have another album to show you, I know you have not seen this one before.”

Granny put another album on top of the other.  There were pictures of a young Applejack.  Rarity saw it right away and understood, the realization made her gasp.

Apple Bloom leafed through the pages; she could not help but giggle.

“Hey sis, you were a porker when you were little!”

There was a pause.

“I wasn’t fat.” Said Applejack quietly, and then turned away.

Apple Bloom looked confused.

“What do you mean?”

“Look at the news clipping again.”  Granny Smith said as she lifted the album to expose the other

“Yes, what about it?”

“Look at the date.”

Apple Bloom looked at the clipping, and then she looked again.  It looked like she was doing the math.

“Yes, that was sixteen years ago.” Said Granny.

“But I am only fourteen!”

Granny Smith lay the other album down and turned to another page further back.  There was the young Applejack, propped up, sitting on a hospital bed.  In one shot she was cuddling a little foal, and another showed her smiling and holding the foal up for the camera.  The one that brought the point to light for Apple Bloom was the shot of Applejack lying on her side, nursing the infant.

Apple Bloom looked at Applejack.  Tears were streaming down A.J.’s eyes.  Rarity had reached out a put a hoof on her wife’s leg.

“What are you trying to say sis?  Who is the foal?” Asked Apple Bloom, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

“The foal is you Apple Bloom,” Applejack was trying not to ‘loose it’ long enough to finish what she was saying.

“Oh dear Apple Bloom, I am not your sister...... I am your mother.”

There was a stunned silence as Apple Bloom let it sink in.

“But why am I only now hearing this!”  Apple Bloom was not sure if she needed to be hurt, excited, confused, thrilled or ashamed.  Applejack broke down crying harder than Apple Bloom ever saw her cry.

“Sweetie,” said Granny Smith, “your sister, oh sorry, your mother was only twelve.  She was not much more than a foal herself.  To place all the responsibility of raising a young’en on her was more than she would have been able to do.  Plus we did not want ponies thinking anything bad about her, like it was her fault.  So I decided that we should just let ponies think, and you as well, that she was just your big sister.”

“But why did you not tell be before?”

“Apple Bloom,” said Rarity, “I have known your sister, or your mother that is, since we were little foals.  This is the first I have heard of this.  I do remember when everypony thought she was just a fat little filly.  But I also remember that there was not a time I could think of when Applejack did not take care of you, play with you and protect you.  She raised you as well as any mother would, the title is just extra credit.  I have always known that she loved you dearly, I only now know now the depth.  Don’t judge her too hard, Sweetie Belle has always been envious or your relationship with Applejack.  I now realize that there was no way I could have ever competed.”

Apple Bloom sat there trying to take it all in.  Applejack got up and walked to the window and looked out.  Rarity walked over to her, placed a foreleg over her shoulders and laid her head against her neck.  You could still hear the sobs.

Apple Bloom looked at the album again, Granny turned the page, there were pictures of Applejack and herself doing all kinds of activities.  Applejack was feeding her, bathing her, changing her diapers, rocking her to sleep and just playing with her.  Apple Bloom thought hard, she could not think of one thing that a mother would do that she did not see in these pictures.  She thought back, she could not think of one time that Applejack was not there for her.  She looked up at Applejack, her own tears were starting to flow, her heart was pounding with new excitement and realization.  Apple Bloom handed the albums to Granny as she got up and walked over to A.J.

“I wish I knew about this sooner, but looking at all those pictures and remembering back as far as I can,”  Apple Bloom paused, A.J.’s eyes were locked in Apple Bloom’s. “I don’t think I could have been prouder to be raised by anypony else.”

Then choking back a sob;

“Thank you...... Mama.”

A.J. grabbed Apple Bloom and hugged her so hard that Apple Bloom thought she would suffocate.

“My darling, darling baby, I could not be prouder of you!  I have wanted to be your mother for such a long, long time!  Forgive my weakness, forgive my cowardice, forgive me, my darling, beautiful daughter.”

Rarity joined the hug; Apple Bloom threw a foreleg around Rarity as well.

“I am so lucky,’ said the filly, tears of joy streaming from her eyes, “this morning I was an orphan, tonight, I have two mothers!”

Apple Bloom woke up warm and happy, it had been years since a bad dream or a storm had made her crawl in the bed with Applejack.  Now that Applejack and Rarity were married, Applejack’s bedroom was understandably off-limits.  But that night, the rules had been set aside.  Apple Bloom felt the warmth of a pony on either side of her, forelegs holding her from both sides.  She opened her eyes and saw the both Rarity and Applejack were awake, just looking at her.

“Good morning sleepy-head” said Rarity.

“Good morning precious,” said Applejack.

“Are we going to get sappy now?” giggled Apple Bloom.

“I have years to make up for,” said A.J. “Give me this for now.”

“I was only kidding,” said Apple Bloom, “I have always loved you.  But now I have reason to love you more.  I am so excited to now have a mother, and one who has been my best friend all my life.”

Both A.J. and Rarity kissed Apple Bloom on each cheek.

“So, is this going to be just between us, or can I tell my friends?”

“You can tell the world if you wish,” said A.J. “We can go by Twilight’s after while and send a letter to Princess Celestia if you want.”

“Oh No!” exclaimed Apple Bloom.

“What’s wrong, Sugar Cube?  Don’t you want to tell the princess.”

“No, it is not that!  Is just that Sweetie Belle is no longer my sister!  She’s my aunt!  And I am a few weeks older that she is!”

They all laughed.

“I think we should get up and get started.” Said Rarity, “this would be too easy to get use to.”

“Applejack, oops! I mean Mama...” stammered Apple Bloom.

“It is alright, it is going to take some time for all of us to get use to this.”

“Okay, but I was going to ask, what do I call Rarity?  She is my Mama too, now.”

“Darling, call me what you want.  I did not think that I was ever going to be a mother at anytime.  Don’t get me wrong!  I am so in love with the idea of having a daughter.  And I can't think of any better daughter to have.”

A.J. and Rarity kissed Apple Bloom’s cheeks again.

“Oh moms!”

They all laughed.

“Okay, time to get up and get ready for school.” Said A.J., “and now you really do have to do as I tell you!”

“No problem Mama!  I do have a question.  Now that you two are my mothers, is it alright If I move in with you?”  asked Apple Bloom with an honest plea in her eyes.  “I have years to make up for too.”

A.J. looked at Rarity.  Rarity only smiled and nodded her head.

“Sure Sugar Cube,” said A.J., “we would love to have our daughter move in with us.  When we are at the cottage that is.  At the farm, you are already here!”

“I love my Mamas so, so much!” said Apple Bloom giving A.J. and Rarity a kiss on the cheek.

The rest of the morning was full of laughter.

Apple Bloom wanted to wait to tell her friends before the rest of the kids at school.  She had asked them to meet later at the clubhouse so they could talk.

Sweetie Belle said she would come by early to so she could talk to Rarity about an important matter.

Sweetie Belle put her books and saddle bag away quickly.  She was looking forward to going to the clubhouse.  Diamond Tiara was going to be there and maybe she would be able to walk her home.

Sweetie was headed to the door and called out;

“I will be back later!  Going to Apple Bloom’s!”

“Well try to be home in time for dinner!”

“Okay mom, I will try!”  Sweetie Belle had no intention of hurrying home if she could spend even a few moments alone with Diamond Tiara.

It had been so hard in class not to just sit and look at Diamond.  But when she did, she would see Diamond looking at her.  They exchanged smiles and turned back to their work.  They had to try hard not to be obvious at recess and lunch.  They wanted to be alone together, but their friends would have known something was up if they did not hang out with them.

Now she was rushing to Sweet Apple Acres to see Rarity.  Rarity had been spending a lot of time there lately.  It was between fashion seasons and during these times She and Applejack would stay at the farm so A.J. could be closer to her work, during those times Rarity liked just being a housewife for Applejack.

When she arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, she went right in.  She was family and was told she did not have to knock, Applejack saw her enter.

“Hello Sugar Cube,” said Applejack, then she turned and called up the stairs, “Apple Bloom!  Sweetie Belle is here!”

Before she could tell A.J. that she was there to see Rarity, Apple Bloom called out something that made her pause.

“Okay Mama!  Tell her I will be right there!”

“Mama?” asked Sweetie Belle looking at A.J.

“I think Apple Bloom has something to tell you.” Said A.J. with a smile.

“I think so,” said Sweetie.

Just then Rarity walked in the room.

“I actually came here right now to talk to Rarity, if she had some time.”

“I always have time for you, Sweetie Belle.”

“Can we talk somewhere private?”

“Okay,” said Rarity, then turning to her wife, “is it ok if we talk in our bedroom, Darling?”

“It’s your bedroom too.”

“Thank you dear,” said Rarity, and then she gave A.J. a little kiss.  “Come up with me Sweetie.”

Apple Bloom met them on the stair.

“I will be at the clubhouse in a bit,” said Sweetie, “I need to talk to Rarity about an important matter.”

Rarity perked her ears up at that.  They walked to the bedroom, entered and Sweetie Belle closed the door after them.

They sat on the edge of the bed and Rarity looked at her sister to let her know she had her attention.

“So what is the ‘important matter’?”

“Rarity, this is not easy for me and I figured it would be easier to ask you than mom and dad.”

“Is this about the dance?  You have questions about boys and how to act?”

“Kind of, but not quite,” said Sweetie, “it is kind of personal, I guess for me and you.  So I will just come out and ask, and don’t take it wrong;

But with you and Applejack, how is a mare being in love with a mare different than being in love with a stallion?”

“Are you asking about feelings? Or lifestyle? Or the physical side?”

“Yes,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Well,” started Rarity, swallowing hard, “as far as feelings, love is love.  There is no difference.  Some ponies never understand that.  But to love a pony is to love a pony.  Yes there are ponies that look for relationships between the same gender simply because they are the same gender.  Bon-Bon and Lyra Heartstrings might be such ponies.  And down deep, there is nothing wrong with that, it is their choice.  Applejack and I are different, we love each other for who the other pony is, not what they are.  The same can be said about Twilight and Bubbles Sparkle.  Rainbow and Pinkie Dash are a different story.  Rainbow might be the first kind of pony, Pinkie is kind of neither.  But they love each other all the same.

Lifestyle, of course, takes a little getting use to, there are still some ponies that don’t approve, and would try to make things hard on us.  But it is my choice and if I love Applejack, it is just part of the relationship to deal with any issues that might come up.

As far as the physical side.......”

Rarity paused to collect her thought as to how to put it delicately, but glancing at her sister, she noticed a look in her eyes.  Rarity could tell that there was more to this than just curiosity.

“This is not about Applejack and me, is it?”

Sweetie looked at the floor, she was blushing a bit.  A curse that Rarity suffered from for having a very light coat color.

“I was sitting in class during study time, I heard some of the fillies talking about colts.  They were talking about the differences between mares and stallions.

We had just had a lecture about how evolution had, at the same time that ponies became intelligent, their anatomies had changed.  Unlike lower animals, the genitalia had become not as obvious.  The fillies were talking about colts and how it kind of excited them talking about it.  I started to become concerned that I did not see the reason for the excitement.  I just couldn’t see what the big deal was, I was almost revolted with all their talk of colt’s ‘things’.

Yes, I do think some colts are cute, and some are good friend.  However, I have never thought of any of them as ‘desirable’, either anatomy or personality wise.

But I have never, in any way, been drawn to fillies either,”  Sweetie said pausing, “in general.”

“In general?” asked the big sister.

It was Sweetie Belle’s turn to swallow hard; she paused and decided to just come out with it.

“At the sleepover the other night, we were talking about the dance coming up.  We started getting silly and it was brought up things that could happen.  Kissing was brought up and everypony was talking about if they had kissed anypony before.  The most was just some little peck on the lips like silly little fillies might do.  Then Silver Spoon asked if anypony had done a tongue kiss, nopony had.  I then mentioned how you told me about you and your friends practicing kissing with the Spin the Bottle game.”

Rarity blushed a little, but she figured that she and her friends were about the same age when she had first played the game.

“I happened to be last and the only other pony was Diamond Tiara, and I was glad, I was actually hoping for that.  When we kissed,” Sweetie started to blush, “I really liked it.  Not the kissing as much as kissing Diamond Tiara.

After everypony had gone to sleep, I could only lay there thinking of Diamond, so I went out on the porch of the clubhouse to think about it.  As it turned out, Diamond Tiara could not sleep either.  We talked about what we felt.  It turned out that we felt the same.  I don’t think we intended to, but we started kissing again, this time without other ponies watching, it was a good long kiss, several kisses actually.  We knew that we could not just sit out there all night so we turned in, but we hid that we went to sleep holding hooves.  After the sleepover, I walked Diamond home.  I asked her if she would be my fillyfriend.”

Rarity did not know what to say, she knew that her sister was getting older and it was healthy to be exploring relationships.  And she certainly had no right to say anything about her sister liking another filly.

This was indeed had been a couple days for revelations.

“Sweetie Belle, are you sure about this?  I want to know up front if this choice is because of my relationship with Applejack?” asked Rarity.

“No sis, I think that I have felt this way about Diamond for a long time, even when she and Silver Spoon use to give us a hard time.” Said the filly, “I was always so disappointed because I felt that Diamond could be a nice pony and I thought that I could really like her.  I guess I was starting to have feelings for her then.”

“I see,” said Rarity, “I am glad to hear that, but you do remember what trouble Diamond’s dad tried to make when you all got in that fight and were suspended.  Are you ready for ponies to stick labels on you like ‘mare-lover’?”

“I know all this, and she knows it too.  It is just that I think...”

Sweetie Belle mumbled something.

“You think what, Darling?”

“I think I am in love with her.”

Rarity sat back.  She had always tried to be open about love.  She had, in the past, never given into the idea the there was an age limit to when you could feel real love for a pony.  To her, a filly Sweetie Belle’s age was as capable of feeling true love for a pony just as one Granny Smith’s age.  But it was hard not to cloud the issue because it was her ‘little’ sister.  And she was starting to feel like a big hypocrite when she put into the equation that her little sister was talking about loving another filly.

“Now, when I think of Diamond,” Sweetie said starting to blush ever brighter, “when I remember seeing her and with a flick of her tail I see her….. “down there’, I start feeling the way the fillies did when they were talking about colt’s ‘things’.  My ‘down there’ feels funny.

No other filly gives me this same felling, I don’t even pay attention to them.

Am I a freak or some kind of morally sick pony.  Am I a mare-lover?”

Sweetie paused again, Rarity was seeing that her sister was fighting back tears.  Then she asked;

“Did you have feelings about mares before you and Applejack got together?”

“No Sweetie, I had only went out with stallions.  And before you ask, I did have sex with some of them in the past, and I had, for the most part, enjoyed it.  At that time I cannot think of a time that I ever wanted to be intimate with any mare.

But then I started to realize that I had feeling for Applejack, deep feelings.  She and I would bicker all the time, it turned out that our bickering was a way for us to interact without having to accept the feelings we had for each other.  You see, she was feeling the same for me.

Applejack had, shall I say, only one experience with sex before.  It was when she was young, and it was a very bad experience.  From that time she had nothing to do with sex at all.

I will say that when we confessed our true feelings for each other, the thought of pleasing her became important,  I had never wanted to be intimate with a mare before, and it was not about being intimate with a mare.  It was about being intimate with a pony that I had come to realize that I was truly in love with.  At that point, it was not about having sex, it was expressing my fillings for her by wanting to please her and show that her happiness and well being was very important to me, and she did reciprocate.

I would not worry about you thinking you are a mare-lover.  Like me, you are drawn to a female, not because you like to check out females, but you are drawn physically to a pony that you care for.  I would be surprised if you would have come to me to tell me that you loved Diamond Tiara but you did not want to be with her, intimately.”

Rarity paused to collect the thoughts.

“Sweetie Belle, I am glad that you did come to me about this.  Not that I don’t think that mother and father would not understand.

And do not let anypony tell you that your feelings are sick or demented.  As I said earlier, love is love, and if you love somepony it is only normal to be attracted to them physically, and want to please and be pleased by them, that is part of what love is about.

But you truly need to think about this, not only how it will affect you but also her.  If you do get into a relationship, it is no longer only about you.

Just remember that there will always be another pony’s feelings and well being to consider.

And don’t worry about being thought freakish or morally sick, even if you were a mare-lover.  It would be your choice, you don’t have to live up to other ponies’ standards.

What did Diamond Tiara say to you asking her to be your fillyfriend?”

“She said she had to think about how it to deal with family and friends, but she did make sure to tell me that she was not saying no either.”

“Sweetie, what ever happens, I am happy for you if you are happy, and I will always be there for you.”

“Is that what Rainbow Dash means when she says mare-lovers should stick together?”

They both laughed.

“Do you love her because she is a filly?”

“No!  I can’t stop thinking about her when she is not around.  And when she is, I just look at her and think how much I just want to be with her, just because she is Diamond.  Not because she is a filly.”

“That is a healthy attitude.  I am proud of you.”

“Thanks sis,” said Sweetie, then getting a mischievous gleam in her eyes.  “So.... tell me about sex with another girl.  How does that work?”

“Sweetie Belle!  A lady does not talk about such things with a filly!”  Rarity said in her ‘proper’ voice, then she winked at Sweetie, “but if it ever does become an issue, we will have that talk, I promise.  And I don’t think mother and father would be much use on that issue.  But for now I think kissing is enough for you to worry about.”

“I was just pulling your leg sis, and thanks.  Don’t tell anypony yet, okay?’

“You mean I can’t submit it to the Foal Free Press like you did my diary?”

They got up and left the room laughing.  But Rarity thought that she needed to see Twilight and ask about some books, for herself and for Sweetie Belle.