Disclaimer: I don't own My Little Pony; Friendship Is Magic
Title: A Blooming Apple
Summary: Apple's been feeling left out of his family for awhile now, but has been to afraid to voice it. Apple's content to stay out of the loop. Really. He is. The Apple family? They're not so willing to let go of one of their own. Not without a fight. Especially with applebucking season just around the corner.
Warnings: MtS (Mare to Stallion) or FtM (Female To Male) Applebloom; brief mention of needles.
Author's Note: Not gonna lie, I know next to nothing about hormone pills/shots/whatever they come in (I think it's both, but I could definitely be wrong...) So... just go with it, please, and correct me in the comments? It's a world of magic and candy colored ponies; who knows how healthcare works over there, right? =)
(Well, minus the whole 'gender change spells are for the masters only' thing. At least, I think it's along those lines... I really need to rewatch that episode).
...
thnks-fr-th-blck-prd- Thanks! That's what makes it more interesting for me, though. Trying to keep it in character while throwing a new spin on things. Bronies are cool, but there's a lot of mean ones out there, you know?
...
"Dang nabbit!"
Apple glanced up from his book in surprise. His door was locked, his bed freshly cleaned, bed spread freshly spread, and his book freshly opened. He'd hoped to while the hours away before dinner by reading, as a farmer pony always had to be doing something, and he wasn't really ready to go wandering the fields.
"Apple!" Granny Smith called up the stairwell. "Get yer tuckus down 'ere!"
"Uh, yes ma'm!" Folding the corner of his page, he shut the book and left it lying on his pink blanket and bedspread, hesitantly unlocking and opening the door. "Am Ah in trouble?"
"No, but yer future may be. Come take a look at this."
Blinking, the farm pony thumped down the stairs.
Granny Smith was in full army mode again, or so he gathered from the familiar helmet perched on top of her head. On the wood table to the left of the fireplace sat a row of jars, all of which were freshly cleaned and evenly spaced.
"Look at this!" She slammed her hooves down on the table. The jar between them lay cracked. "Mah most trusted general- crackin' under pressure!"
"Uh... that's a right shame, Granny."
"You bet it is! Downright horrible, even. Mah best men 're crackin' left 'n right. Mah best platoon is becomin' a tragedy." She shook her head solemnly. "Right shame indeed."
How did a stallion go about comforting a distraught army pony, anyway? All the things Granny had seen, on and off the 'field'... Apple shook his head. He didn't even know where to begin.
"We need some fresh faces 'round here." She said eventually, breaking the silence. "Stir things up a little. Apple, yer strong. You can pull the cart."
"Me?" He shuffled his hooves. "But won't Ah get in the way of yer mad negotiatin'?"
Granny obviously didn't buy the excuse, but relented anyway. "Ya'll can wait outside, if it bugs ya' that bad. Protect the cart 'n all that. Shouldn't take too long- the glassmaker's a real pansy when it comes to applekin."
Just like that, he was off. Apple had planned on spending his afternoon holed up in his room, reading a book, before sneaking out and over to Zecora's after Granny had gone to bed. Instead, here he was, hitched to a cart to drag into town, flannel shirt pressed uncomfortably close to his chest.
(Yes, he knew that flannel was stereotypical. But it was comfortable, so lay off.)
Granny, despite the rage she'd went on, seemed content to just take in the breeze and stretch her legs. "Ya'll really need to get out more often, Apple." She said. "'S good fer you. Yer startin' to lose the sheen on yer fur."
That probably had something to do with the potions and hormones, but Apple digressed. It wasn't like the old farm mare didn't have a point, he really hadn't been going out much lately. But he was busy preparing for the concert and the afterwards visit to Babs place, and just hadn't really been in the mood for family lately. Was that such a big deal?
(Yes, yes it was. There. He admitted it. Now shut up).
"Alrighty. You wait out here, youngin'. Ah'll be right back."
Apple parked the cart on the side of the road and watched Granny meander her way into the glassmaker's shop. They could buy them in bigger, less expensive bulk at the store, of course, but Granny always said that they were too 'smug' and 'high-dollar' for Zap Apple Jam.
Now that Apple thought about it, Zap Apple season was ages away. New recruits didn't normally start flooding the shelves for months to come. He wondered what the old mare was getting at; dragging him out here to play taxi. After all, that was Mac's thing. He was best at it. Not Apple.
"Well hey, Apple. Didn't really expect to see you out here today."
Sweetie Belle, in all her feminine glory, trotted over and nuzzled him affectionately. Apple returned it.
"Granny's out fer new blood. Er, glass."
"Jar hunting already? Huh. Pretty early this year, don't you think?" Sweetie cocked an eyebrow.
"Eeyup." He left it at that.
"Anyway, I was wondering if you were still on for Zecora's tonight. It wouldn't be the end of the world to push the date back a few days, if you aren't in the mood."
"Ah'll be fine, Sweets. So long as nopony else is around." He pointedly glanced at the none-so-subtly staring ponies.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Don't worry; we all know how Zecora is about privacy."
"Eeyup."
Sweetie Belle gave him a look. "Just because you're a stallion doesn't mean you have to sound like Mac, you know. Stop it."
Apple slumped. "Yeah, Ah know. 'S just easier that way. When ponies think of stallions, they think 'a Mac. Not me."
"Yeah, they do." Sweetie didn't bother trying to deny it. "But you're not him. And we both know Scoots'll knock you into next week if she hears you talking like that."
"Eeyu- Ah mean, yeah. She would."
"So would I, and don't you forget it." She paused. "Looks like Granny Smith is coming. I'd better go."
"Alright. See ya' tonight, Sweets. Tell Scoots Ah said howdy."
"You can tell her yourself when you see her tonight."
Apple stuck out his tongue. Sweetie Belle returned it, then walked away.
Granny Smith trotted out first, flanked by a box of glass jars levitated by a somber-looking salespony.
"These'll do jus' fine. Load 'er up, if ya' please." She squinted at him. "Was that Sweetie Belle?"
"Yup. She jus' came over to say hi."
Granny nodded, but seemed lost in thought. The salespony finished loading the cart and disappeared back into the store.
"Apple?" Granny said on the way back.
Apple grunted, preoccupied with the cart strapped to his back.
"That Sweetie Belle is a mighty pretty mare, ain't she?"
"Yup."
"Are you two datin'?"
"What?" He balked at the thought. Sexuality and crushes hadn't really been on his mind lately, alright? Sure, she was pretty, but... Sweetie wasn't really his type, as bad as that may sound. "Where did that come from? Sweetie and Ah are jus' friends."
"Hmm..." She didn't look like she believed it.
"Come'on, Granny." He pleaded. "Would Ah lie to you?"
She slowly shook her head. "Alright then. Ah believe ya'."
"Good." He paused. "Uh, Granny?"
"Yup?"
"Why are we gettin' all 'a these, anyhow?" He tilted his head towards the glasses rattling in the back of the cart. "Zap Apple Jam season's ages away."
"Well, why not? 'Sides, Ah want to be tip-top fer applebuckin' season. We got such a big load this year Applejack's takin' a week 'er two off from savin' everypony to help out." She paused. "Or maybe 'S jus' been a really slow month, 'er somethin'. Doesn't matter to me!"
Apple's heart clenched. "Oh. Ah'm sorry to miss it."
Granny stepped in front of him and waved a hoof in his face. Apple focused on making sure the cart stopped properly and didn't run both stallion and mare over, then met the old mare's eyes as best he could around the green appendage being shoved into his face. "Oh, no ya' don't. 'S too big 'a harvest fer you to go wanderin' off again. Yer stayin'."
"But-"
"Yer staying." The tone left no room for argument. Apple knew better than to push his luck.
He sighed and dropped his head. "Yes'm."
Granny Smith immediately perked up. "Good! Come'on now, can't let those slackers in the back think they're gettin' their first night off. Hi-Ho!"
Apple sighed. "Well, looks like Ah'm sendin' Babs another letter."
Zecora tells him that her hormone pills and shots can only do so much- and perhaps it would be in his best interest for him to consider magical surgery?- before trotting out of the house to go collect herbs, or something. She's been saying that a lot lately, so it's easy to take it with a grain of salt and push it onto his metaphorical shoulders for later.
The leaving part is still kinda-sorta new, though. He blinks at the entrance she'd exited in surprise. "Wow. Did she jus' leave us alone in a house filled with magic?"
"Oh, she knows we ain't gonna touch anything." Scootaloo says, waving her hoof with enough confidence to almost make Apple believe it. The crusading phase never really went away, and sometimes the temptation is just too much and they all know it.
"And I know what I'm doing by now, so we're golden." Sweetie finished, shot levitating in the air in a cloak of white-ish gray magic (so much like her sisters, but still somehow unique and beautiful in a way Rarity wasn't). "You ready?"
He settles in on the small bed and nods. "Yup."
"Oh, no he's not." Scootaloo plopped down beside him, draped a wing over his back, and grabbed his hoof. "Alright, now he is."
"You always do this." Apple says fondly, face scrunching up as the needle sinks through fur and into skin.
Scoots shrugs. "I said I would hold your hoof, so I am. Every time, Apple. No matter what I gotta do to be there."
"Why, Scoots. If Ah didn't know better, Ah'd say that was a hint of softness in yer voice."
"Shut up and sit still, Mr. Flannel shirts."
"Hey! They're cozy!" Apple defended.
"They're stupid looking." She snorted.
Apple sighed and shook his head. "Whatever. Hey, Sweets? Ah can't go with you this year to Canterlot. Ah'm sorry."
Sweetie Belle set the needle down on a shelf where Zecora could see and dispose of it later. "You can't? Why not?"
""S not that Ah don't wanna or anythin', Ah promise. Ah love yer singin', Sweetie, but... Well, we gotta big harvest this year, and Granny finally put 'er hoof down."
The unicorn pursed her lips in thought a moment, then nodded. "Okay. That's good."
"Good? Whattaya mean, 'that's good?'" This wasn't going to go well. Apple could feel it in his bones.
"I'm just saying that this is a good chance for you to finally reconnect with your family."
Scootaloo barked out a laugh. Apple looked like a scolded puppy.
"B-But, Sweets! Can't Ah just-"
"No." She said firmly. "You're an Apple, Apple. Family trumps everything else."
"Yeah, but..." He waved his hooves. "It's so awkward!"
"Apple, if you haven't noticed, you're an awkward pony. Deal with it."
For the second time that day, Apple slumped in defeat. "Alright, Sweetie. Ah'll... Try, Ah guess."
Sweetie Belle nodded, looking pleased. "Good. That's all I ask."
Author's Note: If you hadn't noticed, this story's gonna be fluff on top of more fluff with little fluff sprinkles on top. 'Cause that's just how I roll. =)
Random Fact Of The Day: Apple's hoping to someday transition completely. Things are different in Equestria; surgery for gender transitions are simple, cheap, and have next to no after effects. He's just gotta get the guts up to go, because, to do that, first he has to talk it over with the family.
And I don't normally update this fast, but I didn't want to post the prologue until I had chapter one written out. =)
No flames! Don't like don't read! Review!
