Pen pals

CONFLICTING EMOTIONS

PART TWO

Applebloom awoke the next morning. She immediately found out that she had managed to turn in her sleep once again, facing her cousin just like previously.

But that isn't what made the farm pony blush this time. No, what made her blush was the fact that her very own hoof rested on the base of Babs’ tail.

The filly quickly, but cautiously retracted her hoof as to not wake her sleeping cousin. She lay there for a moment, reflecting on this.

“Ah must have been just turnin’ in mah sleep. Nothin’ to look into”, the farm pony thought to herself, dismissing the fact nearly immediately.

However, just as Applebloom was about to get out of the bed, Babs stirred and opened her eyes.

“Mornin’”, she said sweetly, smiling at her.

“Mornin, Babs”, the farm filly replied, halting her movement and deciding to lay there a little longer.

“So, I was thinkin’...”, Babs started, ”since this is my last day here and all...”

Applebloom’s eyes went slightly wider now. “Oh horsefeathers, here it comes...”, she thought to herself, her chest going ice-cold and her heart beginning to pound at a quickened pace.

“...That maybe you could give me something to remember it by”, Babs finished and shuffled nervously.

“Ah, uh, well, ya see, um...”, Applebloom struggled to form a proper sentence. “Ah'm not quite ready for that just yet, ya see”, she finally finished.

Her heart raced as she looked at her cousin, hoping she would accept this answer. To her surprise, the city filly gave an audible giggle upon hearing this.

“Not THAT, you silly filly. I just want a kiss”, Babs replied, moving closer to her cousin.

“A k-k-kiss?”, Applebloom stuttered in response, her eyes growing even wider. If she could blush any more, her face would most likely look about as red as one of the apples in the orchard.

“Yeah, I mean, if you want to, that is. I won't force you to it if you're not ready for that yet. But I was really hopin’ you would. Somethin’ for the road and all”, Babs explained with a blush of her own.

Applebloom just kept looking at her cousin, being lost in thoughts. She was stuck with no pony to save her this time, and as much as she tried, she couldn't think of a single legitimate reason to say no to this, except just coming out and telling her the truth.

“Ah guess it wouldn't hurt...”, she thought to herself, giving an audible nervous giggle with a smile to match it. She then leaned in with the intent of giving her cousin a peck on the cheek... only for the city filly to lean in and lock lips with her.

Applebloom’s eyes shot wide in absolute shock, and her face was immediately adorned with a deep crimson blush. As quickly as the deviant act began, it ended just as quickly, leaving her with a stunned expression while Babs smiled back at her.

“What's wrong, cuz? Your first time?”, Babs asked with a smirk.

It took Applebloom a few short moments for her cousin's words to be registered by her brain, as she still was in the stunned state. But once they had, her expression returned to its previous, nervous state.

“Y-Yeah”, she replied breathlessly.

“Up and at ‘em, fillies! Time to be gettin’ ready for breakfast!”, Applejack could be suddenly heard announcing; she was clearly walking down the hall, much to the panic of both fillies.

They quickly got out of the bed and run up to the doorway, nearly running into her as she walked into the room.

“Well, isn’t that a pleasant surprise!”, she remarked. “Ah didn't expect to see you two up before Ah came to wake y'all.”

“Well, we wanted to spend as much time together today as possible, since it's my last day here”, Babs quickly explained. “Right, Applebloom?”

The city filly looked at her cousin, who was apparently at a loss for words. A subtle nudge from Babs snapped Applebloom out of her stupor.

“Y-Yeah!”, she confirmed enthusiastically and ran down the hall immediately afterwards, followed by her cousin.

“Hmm...”, was all the farm pony could say. She looked at the two suspiciously, observing them as they ran down the stairs.

However, she dismissed the thought of them being up to anything moments later, and followed the fillies down to the breakfast table.

* * *

The breakfast conversation was as lively as ever, with the exception of a certain farm filly who simply stirred her oatmeal absentmindedly.

“Somethin’ on your mind, Applebloom?”, Applejack asked curiously, snapping the filly out of her daze.

“N-No”, Applebloom stuttered slightly.

“Well, Ah reckon somethin’ has to be on your mind, considerin’ that you've barely touched your breakfast and haven't said a word this mornin’. Care to share it with us?”, Applejack remarked wisely, looking at her little sister expectantly.

Well, there was something on her mind, but it would be a cold day in Tartarus before she said it outright. The kiss she shared with Babs kept running itself through her mind over and over like a live action movie, and yet no matter how much she tried, she couldn't get it out of her head.

“Ah'm just sad that Babs is leavin’ today. That's all”, she lied.

“Well shucks, is that all? Guess y'all have become mighty close, haven't ya?”, Applejack replied with a soft smile.

“Oh yeah, really close”, Applebloom answered without thinking, but luckily for her, Applejack didn't take it the way she meant it.

“Well, ain't that just the sweetest thing!”, Granny Smith spoke up. “Why, you two youngins Ah reckon are as close as me and mah cousin Apple Rose now. Why, Ah remember the time...”

The elder mare began to go on a ramble of the adventures of her and her cousin. Applebloom, however, seemed to zone out once again, her mind continuing to wonder and play out that kiss over and over. Until...

“Oh, for pony's sake!”, Applebloom erupted suddenly, slamming her spoon on the table five minutes into Granny Smith's ramble. This resulted in everypony, including Babs, staring at her with surprise and confusion.

“Well, if ya don't like me reminiscin’ about mah past so much, ya could have said so without bein’ so rude, youngin”, Granny Smith remarked, looking offended by the filly's outburst. She scooted her chair out, and left the dining room.

Applebloom could see Applejack and Big Macintosh giving her disapproving stares.

“That was mighty rude of ya, Applebloom”, her sister remarked sternly.

“Eee-yup”, Big Macintosh agreed with the same stern tone.

“S-Sorry, Ah'll go and apologize to her now”, Applebloom replied guiltily.

She scooted her own chair out, and went to the living room. She saw the elder mare quilting as she always did.

“Uh, Granny, Ah'm sorry for mah outburst in the dinin’ room”, Applebloom said in the best apologetic tone she could muster. “Ah really do enjoy listenin’ to your stories! It's just that Ah got a lot on mah mind at the moment.”

“It's quite alright, Applebloom”, the elder mare responded. “Ah may be in mah golden years as they were, but Ah ain't so blind as to not notice when somethin’ is buggin’ mah granddaughter. So why won't ya tell ol' Granny Smith what's on yer mind?”, she suggested with a smile, motioning for the filly to hop on her lap.

Applebloom did just that. She took a deep breath and then let it out:

“Where to start. Uh, well, this one pony has a crush on me and at first Ah didn't feel anythin’ towards them, but now Ah'm not so sure. It's not like Ah'm in love with 'em or anythin’, at least Ah don't think Ah am. Or maybe Ah am. Ugh! Ah'm so confused!”, Applebloom exasperated, ending her explanation with a double facehoofing gesture and a groan.

Granny Smith simply chuckled in response to this.

“Ah can't tell ya what do to, youngin”, she started. “As much as Ah would like to help ya with this problem of yours, matters of the heart ain't somethin’ anypony should be gettin’ their hooves into, other than the pony dealin’ with ‘em. The best advice Ah can give ya is to listen to your heart, and Ah mean listen real good. If it's tellin’ ya this pony is the right one for you, then they are. But don't you be forgettin’ that you're still young, and there are plenty of ponies out there. So even if this pony doesn't turn out to be the one for ya, there's still one out there that's right for ya.”

“Thanks, Granny”, Applebloom replied and hopped off the elder mare's lap. Truth be told, her advice didn't help her at all.

“Anytime, youngin”, Granny Smith replied as the filly left the room.

* * *

When Applejack, Applebloom and Babs were making their way to the train station that afternoon, the filly's thoughts kept her preoccupied so much that she tripped and nearly fell on her face twice along the way.

“What in tarnation?!”, she suddenly heard Applejack exclaiming in surprise, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Feeling confused, Applebloom looked up to see a big sign, posted at the entrance to the Ponyville express train station.

DOWN FOR MAINTENANCE.

WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.

Despite this sign telling them that the train was out of commission for the time being, Applejack walked up to the ticket booth and knocked on it, getting the attention of one of the employees.

“What the hay is goin’ on here? Mah cousin needs to get back to Manehattan!”, Applejack said when the employee opened the booth window.

“We're terribly sorry about the inconvenience miss, but the train is stuck at the Manehattan station at the moment”, the employee replied, lowering his hat in an apologetic manner to the mare. “We just got a letter no more than five hours ago ourselves. Something about the engine blowing up from the looks of it. A repair job like this will take a week at most to finish.”

“Well, horsefeathers!”, Applejack cursed in annoyance. “Guess we'll need to write a letter to your momma and poppa, tellin’ ‘em you'll be gettin’ back a week late then, Babs. Let’s head on back home...”

Applejack sighed, turning back and starting to go towards Sweet Apple Acres. Applebloom and Babs followed immediately afterwards.

“Looks like my stay got extended by a week, isn't that great, cuz?”, Babs said to the farm filly, looking positively thrilled by this turn of events.

Applebloom, however, looked as nervous as ever.

“Y-Yeah. That's great”, she stuttered slightly and sighed dejectedly.

“What am Ah gonna do now?”, she thought to herself as the three were making their way back to the Apple family farm.

* * *

That afternoon, after Applejack has written out the letter to Babs’ parents’ informing them of the situation, Applebloom and Babs went outside to hang out with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They were, of course, confused to still see Babs here, until the farm pony explained everything to them. After that, Babs ran off with Sweetie Belle to play, while Scootaloo and Applebloom sat in their usual spot and talked.

“You two what?!”, the pegasus exclaimed in shock upon hearing about the kiss.

“Ah didn't mean for it to happen like that, Ah swear!”, Applebloom replied defensively, waving her hooves frantically as she spoke. “Ah only meant to kiss her on the cheek, but then she moved in and Ah was caught completely off guard!”

“Well, it looks like waiting for her to go back to Manehattan is out of the question, then”, Scootaloo concluded. “You're going to have to tell her soon, Applebloom. Who knows what she might try next time.”

The pegasus looked at her friend, expecting a reply. Applebloom, however, was focused on looking over at Babs and Sweetie Belle playing; Babs specifically, but Scootaloo didn't know this.

“Yo, Applebloom! You okay there?”, she asked curiously, waving a hoof in front of the farm pony's face.

“Huh, what?”, she snapped her out of her gaze and turned to look back at Scootaloo.

“Geez, I've never seen you stare off into space like that. You sure this love thing between you two is a one-sided deal?”

“Of course it is! She's mah cousin!”, Applebloom exclaimed defensively, her face going crimson red with a deep blush.

“So, when do you plan on telling her that it was a big misunderstanding, then?”

The filly sat there for a moment, looking deep in thought. Just when would she tell her? Scootaloo had a good point. If she was clever enough to sneak in a kiss like that, who knows what she might try before the week was out.

“Well, if Ah make sure to get up every mornin’ before she does, and keep mahself from bein’ alone with her, Ah reckon Ah could go the whole week and then tell her by a letter”, she finally replied.

“You sure it's going to be that easy? Wouldn't it be easier to just tell her?”

“Of course it is!”, Applebloom replied confidently. “‘Sides, she said she wouldn't make a move on me without mah explicit permission, so Ah reckon it should be a cake. Ah just don't want her to be all crushed and depressed the whole week, that’s all.”

“If you're sure it's going to be that easy, then go for it. But I still think it would be easier to outright tell her than to be put in a bunch of awkward situations. I know that would drive me crazy”, Scootaloo remarked with a concerned expression.

The pegasus was right - it would indeed be easier to just tell her now. So why wasn't she all for the idea? After all, if she wanted to make it through the week without another encounter like the one from the morning, then she would have to say something at some point.

“Ah just don't want to see her all depressed and crushed. That's all it is,” Applebloom thought to herself confidently. But the more she thought about it, the more it began to feel like an excuse than a reason.

Just what was the real reason behind her not wanting to tell her? No matter how much she tried, she couldn't place a real reason. It’s as if her emotions were playing tag with her, and every time she got close to tagging one, it would slip away and another would present itself in front of her to chase.

* * *

The day came and went all too quickly for all four crusaders. Before they knew it, it was time to say their goodbyes for the day, and for Applebloom and Babs to head back home.

“What's up cuz? You haven't said a word since we came inside”, Babs asked curiously, the two sitting next to each other and waiting for the dinner to be prepared and served.

“Ah guess Ah'm a little confused, that’s all,” Applebloom admitted.

She sighed, avoiding eye contact with Babs. “A little confused” was a drastic understatement for how she felt at the moment.

“I guess I'm a little confused as well”, Babs replied with a sigh of her own.

“Oh? What about?”, the farm pony asked in slight surprise, looking at her cousin.

“Well, it's about us really. I know I like ya a lot and all, but I wonder if I'm being too forward with ya. I feel like I’m scaring you off, and that's the last thing I want. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable with me, but you've been actin’ like you’re scared to even be alone with me. Did I do somethin’ wrong?”, the city filly asked, looking at Applebloom and meeting her gaze.

“No, you've done nothin’ wrong”, the farm pony assured. “It's me, really it is. It's like mah emotions are running all over the place and Ah can't seem to pin one down. It's enough to drive me crazy at times, Ah swear.” She sighed once again. “Babs, listen, there's something Ah've been meanin to tell ya, but--”

“Applebloom, Babs, come and get it!”, Applejack's voice could be heard from downstairs, cutting the filly off.

“You can tell me after dinner, okay cuz?”, Babs replied, giving Applebloom an affectionate nuzzle before she ran out the door, leaving the filly alone.

Applebloom looked at the door where her cousin had disappeared. After a few moments, she sighed, walked to the window, and stared at the sun as it set on Ponyville.

“Ah'm so lost... Ah don't know what to do”, she said silently to herself.

The sun vanished behind the hills and a starry night appeared before her eyes, along with a faint glimpse of the moon princess flying over the skies to bring forth the night. As the filly looked on, her eyes fell upon two twinkling stars in the sky.

“Just give me a sign, any sign. Somethin’ to tell me what to do, what choice Ah should make.”

“Applebloom! Get your tail down here! Your dinner's gettin’ cold!”, Applejack shouted once again from below.

“Comin’, big sis!”, Applebloom shouted back, gave one last glance to the two stars in the sky, and ran downstairs for dinner.

Just a sign, that's all Ah'm askin’ for... Please...