"Apple Bloom."

The yellow filly didn't respond. She was staring out across the rows of recently-denuded apple trees, watching their leaves flutter around empty spaces where luscious crimson fruits had previously been hanging.

"Apple Bloom!"

The increased volume had no impact. The earth pony's eyes were unfocused and slightly glazed. The shade of a late afternoon filtering through the voluminous orchard canopy made the light breeze cooler than it otherwise would have been, but she seemed unfazed by the chill late winter air.

Applejack stomped around the tree she'd just bucked into giving up its fruit and faced her sister. "Apple Bloom!"

The younger mare blinked and started as she came around to see Applejack's face inches from her own. "Oh! Uh...hey, AJ. Sorry, Ah was..."

"You were daydreamin', Ah know." Applejack scowled at her. "An' yer wastin' time. We gotta get this field done before tonigh', so quit moonin' over Pipsqueak an' get yer rump in gear!"

Apple Bloom's cheeks flushed and she grumbled, "Ah wasn' thinkin' about Pipsqueak."

"Like hay ya weren'," Applejack scoffed, trotting over to the next tree in line and effortlessly ramming her back hooves into it. The trunk shook with a resounding thunk, and a visible vibration roared up the tree, intensifying as it split into dozens, then hundreds of smaller vibrations. The oscillations traveled to each tiny twig, and the ones with leaves at the end shivered, but did not shake loose. The twigs with apples, however, resonated violently, each stem jerking back and forth and then snapping as they were torqued free from the apple. A moment later, a hailstorm of recently liberated apples thundered into the baskets beneath the tree. The whole process took less than five seconds. "Come on, we need these baskets up on that cart. Big Mac'll be back in a bit, an' he'll be right testy if'n it ain't full when he gets here. 'Specially if he finds out you were losin' time thinkin' about some colt," she added with a meaningful look.

Apple Bloom's cheeks darkened further and she glared at the older mare. "Ah wasn' thinkin' about Pipsqueak!" she repeated. "An' he ain' a colt, he's a stallion."

Applejack smirked sourly. "Does he have a job?"

Apple Bloom frowned at the grass beneath her hooves. "No."

"Any prospects? Inves'ments? Savin's?"

"No."

The orange mare smirked. "Then he ain' a stallion. No job, no bits, still livin' offa somepony else, so he's a colt." She raised an eyebrow at her sister. "An' don't y'all forget it."

"As if Ah could," Apple Bloom muttered to herself as Applejack threw her weight into another tree, leaving two sets of baskets for Apple Bloom to collect now. The butter-colored mare suddenly recognized the wisdom of Applejack's warning and began to toss the baskets into the wagon. It was mindless work, especially since she'd been doing it since she was old enough to hurl a full basket, and that left her with plenty of time to think. Time she definitely did not need.

It had been four days since she'd last spoken to either of the other Crusaders. Four days of angry, frustrated tears shed out in the barn, or after dark, where she knew her siblings wouldn't find her and ask awkward questions. Four days of seething fury, of carrying a sickening leaden weight in her stomach, of barely being able to eat or sleep...

It wasn't fair. Why couldn't her friends just be normal? Was that really so hard? And why did Scootaloo even want to be gay? It wasn't like there was anything to be gained. Ponies got married to have foals, and two mares couldn't do that. It just didn't make sense.

And then the lies...Apple Bloom knew she wasn't exactly a shining paragon of honesty all the time, but she had sort of assumed the Crusaders shared everything with each other. Okay, sure, she'd been pretty clear about her stance on fillyfooling, or at least, she had been after Applejack had sat her down and talked to her about it--at excruciating length--but if Scootaloo had just been honest with them in the first place, none of this would have happened. After all, they'd taken the story about her liaison with Rainbow Dash a year ago pretty well, hadn't they? Even then, Scootaloo had been insistent. She wasn't gay. It was just a one-time thing. She and Rainbow Dash had something special that totally transcended gender. She'd even used the word 'transcended'. She had been very convincing.

Too convincin', apparently. Apple Bloom sighed as she threw another basket into the wagon. She should've known. The evidence was everywhere. Rainbow Dash was just the latest in a long trail of breadcrumbs. Scootaloo hated girly stuff, she wasn't really interested in any of the colts in their class, and despite her protests, Diamond Tiara was right: Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had both caught her staring before. Every time the pegasus had made a big show of acting like she'd just been 'thinking', but the blush on her cheeks told a different tale.

Well, now it was out in the open. It was all true. Scootaloo was gay, probably had been forever, and she'd hid it from the two ponies in her life she shared everything with. In retrospect, Apple Bloom knew she probably could have handled the whole issue better, but she'd just been so mad. After everything else, after brushing off years of bullying because of one day of kindness, after inviting somepony else to a Crusader get-together without asking, after snapping at her for no reason, when all she'd been trying to do was have some fun and treat Silver Spoon like part of the group, Scootaloo had finally pushed her over the edge by undoing years of trust in one shining, nonchalant moment of betrayal.

"I like mares."

Apple Bloom squeezed her eyes shut and furiously hammer-tossed a basket onto the wagon. It landed more heavily than she'd intended and bounced, scattering apples across the cart. Applejack recognized the sound immediately and turned to see the problem. "Apple Bloom, what in tarnation is goin' on with you?" She stomped over to the wagon and eyed her sister suspiciously.

Apple Bloom scowled at her, rage from the resurfacing memory bleeding into her expression. "Nothin'! Nothin's goin' on!"

She withered under Applejack's searing glare. "Nothin' mah hoof. You've been out a' sorts all week, missin' throws an' forgettin' chores." She raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you really that lovesick over this colt?"

"Ah'm not lovesick!" Apple Bloom shrieked, stomping her hooves and making the baskets around her jump. A few more apples fell out of their containers and rolled away. "Ah'm not thinkin' about Pipsqueak, alrigh'?"

"Then what is it, Apple Bloom?" Applejack asked, her tone shifting from anger to concern. "If ya ain' worryin' over a colt, then what's got you all riled up?"

"Ah'm not riled up."

"Darn it, Apple Bloom, stop lyin' to me!" Applejack's eyes glittered as frustrated tears started to fill them. Apple Bloom looked away to keep her own eyes dry. "Ah don' get it. We used t' talk abou' everythin', AB. Ah know we ain't been as close as we used t' be, but Ah always thought you'd still come to me if somethin' was wrong."

"Ah would."

"But ya ain'," Applejack said, even more quietly now. Apple Bloom felt a hoof under her chin, and reluctantly turned to look at her sister. The tears were clinging to her eyelids now, threatening to break free. "Ah know somethin's wrong, AB. Ah just wanna help."

Applejack's concern only intensified the pain slowly overtaking her anger. A pair of tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes and slowly drew a buttercup yellow line in her dusty fur as they curled down to her chin. "You cain't."

Applejack winced as though Apple Bloom's words had struck her. "Ah wanna try."

Apple Bloom sighed. This was a losing battle, she knew. Her sister's stubbornness was legendary, triply so when she thought a family member was in trouble. There was no alternative ending to this conversation. She gave in. "Fahn," she drawled, "but ya gotta promise me ya won' be angry."

"Why would Ah be?"

Apple Bloom shook her head. "Doesn' matter. Promise firs', then Ah'll talk."

Applejack shrugged. "Alrigh'"

"An' ya cain' tell Big Mac."

"Why--never min'," she said, reading the mutiny on Apple Bloom's face. "Ah won't tell 'im, although Ah migh' suggest you tell 'im, dependin'."

"Suggest whatever you want." Apple Bloom fell back to her haunches in the grass and sighed, trying to decide where to start. She looked up and watched the clouds slowly rolling by for a moment before taking a deep breath. "So, Scootaloo."

"Scootaloo?" Applejack repeated, coming over and sitting next to her sister, their flanks not quite touching.

"Yeah, Scootaloo." Apple Bloom took another breath. "She...uh...well, we had game night Friday." She saw Applejack nodding out of the corner of her eye. "An' normally we jus' talk about normal stuff, ya know, school an' hobbies an' things, but this time..." She shook her head. "Everythin' was different. Silver Spoon was there, like Ah told ya, an' it was jus' weird. Ah mean, she's nice enough an' all, but she...well, she ain' a Crusader, ya know?"

Applejack nodded again. "Ah know. It's like when Fluttershy tries t' bring Tree Hugger aroun' to th' castle. Everythin's a mite uncomfortable."

"Exactly," Apple Bloom said, finally looking at her sister. Applejack met her eyes with a gentle smile. She blushed lightly and continued. "Anyway, Scootaloo an' Sweetie seemed to really like havin' her there an' talkin' to her, so Ah figured why upset the apple cart jus' cuz it ain't goin' where Ah want?" She sighed heavily. "At least, that was all fine until the next mornin'."

"What happened in th' mornin'?"

Apple Bloom stopped again. The words were stuck fast, caught deep in her throat, threatening to choke her if she dared try to speak them aloud. Scootaloo's a fillyfooler Scootaloo's a fillyfooler you were right I was wrong she lied I lied and everything's ruined because Scootaloo's a "Silver Spoon left early," she finally managed. "Too early."

"Oh, well, that's no big deal," Applejack said. "Ah mean, maybe she's just a mornin' pony."

Apple Bloom shook her head. "That's not why."

The long pause prompted Applejack to ask, "Okay, then why?"

Apple Bloom squeezed her eyes shut. Applejack and Scootaloo may not have been the best of friends, but they'd shared a few moments of genuine connection, usually in confluence with Scootaloo trying to do something stupid to impress Rainbow Dash. She hated the idea that she could--no, would--ruin that with just a few words. But it was for the best. It was bound to come out sooner or later. Ponyville was bigger now, but the circles of gossip remained fairly close-knit. Scootaloo's secret wouldn't stay secret for long. Better the old-fashioned farmpony hear it from her like-minded sister before she had to get into an argument with Princess Twilight or Rarity over it.

"Because," she started, hesitated, and then forced herself to finish, "because Scootaloo came on to her."

"Came on to...what d'y'all mean, 'came on to 'er'?"

Apple Bloom grimaced at her sister. "Exactly what it sounds like. Scootaloo put moves on Silver Spoon. Like...romantic moves."

"Oh. Like...as a joke?" Applejack's voice was taut, with an undercurrent of wishful thinking.

Apple Bloom shook her head. "'Parently not."

"Ah see."

Apple Bloom squeezed her eyes shut and folded her ears, preparing for a storm of outrage.

It didn't come. "Well, Ah guess that's not too surprisin', is it? Always was a little too...'colt-y', that filly." Applejack shook her head. "Too bad. Was hopin' that one might turn out normal."

Apple Bloom gave her sister a puzzled look. Where was the shock? Where was the explosion of anger and betrayal? This wasn't exactly how she'd expected Applejack to respond to such upsetting news. "No, I guess not," she said cautiously.

"How'd y'all find out?"

"She told us, actually."

"Really?" Applejack looked almost impressed. "Well that was mighty brave of 'er."

Apple Bloom blinked. "Brave? How?"

"Well, she know's it ain't natural, an' she knows y'all don't approve, right? She musta been worried how you'd take it."

Apple Bloom nodded, pursing her lips. "Yeah...she probably was."

Something in her tone caused Applejack to raise an eyebrow. "For no good reason, Ah hope."

"What do you mean?"

"Ah mean ya shouldn' be afraid to tell yer best friends somethin' important like that."

Apple Bloom furrowed her brow. "Well, no, but...it's not like she didn' know we were gonna be...ya know. Upset."

"Upset?" Apple repeated. "Why in tarnation would y'all be upset?"

Apple Bloom stared at her. "Why? 'Cuz she's tellin' us she's a fillyfooler, that's why. 'Cuz it's unnatural an' wrong, an' why shouldn' we be upset to find out one a' our friends is...a...a freak!" The same epithet she'd slung at Scootaloo in the height of her earlier rant forced its way to her lips again now, bringing with it all the indignation and outrage that had prompted her outburst the previous weekend.

Applejack's eyes widened. "Apple Bloom! Don't call your friend a freak!"

"Why not? That's what she is!"

"Why not?" Applejack sputtered. "Why not? Because ya don't talk about yer friends like that."

Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes at the ground between her hooves. "Yeah, well, maybe she deserved it."

"Deserved...wait, you didn' say that to 'er, did you?"

"What, that she's a freak? Well, Ah mean..."

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack scolded, her voice furious and pained. "She ain't a freak, Apple Bloom, she's just...different."

"No," Apple Bloom sneered, "Fluttershy is 'different'. Bulk Biceps is 'different'. Fillyfoolin' is wrong, an' anypony who does it is a freak." She narrowed her eyes at her sister. "Heck, yer the one who told me that in th' first place."

Applejack stared at her, dumbfounded. "What the hay are you talkin' about?"

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. "Oh please. Five years ago, at the last reunion, Ah told you Ah thought Babs was real pretty, an' you jus' about lost yer mind."

"Well, yeah, okay, but Ah was just tryin' to tell you not to get any funny ideas. Babs lives in Manehattan after all, an' those Manehattan ponies are already pretty loose with that kinda thing. There ain't no sense in bein' a fillyfooler. Ya can't keep a farm goin' if ya don't have offspring to take it over."

"Yeah, well, maybe y'all fergot the exact words ya used, but believe me, 'freak' was in there. Fact," she added, forestalling her sister's flabbergasted response, "you said Starlight 'n' Trixie 'n' Rainbow 'n' all them were a waste a' good foal makin' parts, an' it was a cryin' shame all the prettiest mares were like that."

"Ah...Ah did?" Applejack's face slowly paled as the blood drained from her cheeks.

Apple Bloom nodded. "You were right vocal 'bout it. Ya say it once 'r twice every cider season, actually. After about four mugs, ya start talkin' about how much Rainbow loves our cider, an' then ya get all angry an' loud an' start complainin' about how ''course, she loves plenty of things she shouldn'', and then--"

"Okay, okay!" Applejack cut her off, her face flushing again as a shameful blush rushed back to her cheeks. "Ah get it." An awkward moment passed between the sisters before Applejack muttered, "Big Mac never told me Ah was sayin' all that in front of you."

Apple Bloom shrugged. "What difference does it make? Obviously y'all meant it, or ya wouldn'a said it."

The orange mare removed her hat and fanned herself with it as she struggled to find the right words. "Look, Apple Bloom, Ah..." She sighed and replaced the hat. "Ah don't want y'all to get the wrong idea. 'Course, it looks like that tree might'a been bucked already," she added darkly. "But what Starlight an' Trixie an' Rainbow an'...well, an' Scootaloo do an' feel an' think...well, it's wrong, yeah, an' it ain' natural, but that doesn' mean you tell them so. Leas' not without lettin' 'em know it doesn' stop 'em from bein' yer friend."

Apple Bloom stared at her sister. "What do you mean? You said--"

"Ah know what Ah said!" Applejack snapped. Then she collected herself and took a deep breath. "Ah mean...Ah know what Ah said. An'...well...back then, Ah was worried about you. And Ah was already kinda off mah hooves 'cause of Rainbow comin' out, an'...Ah just didn't want you goin' down that same road." She gave Apple Bloom a guilty glance. "Seein' as you an' the Crusaders were such good pals, Ah thought...well, it doesn' matter what Ah thought."

"You thought we were foolin' around with each other?" Apple Bloom asked.

Applejack smiled wryly. "Y'all were that age. An' then when Babs came an' y'all got real cozy with her an' started talkin' about how pretty she was, Ah just...Ah thought Starlight might'a been rubbin' off on y'all."

Apple Bloom gave her a look. "'Rubbin' off on us'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothin'," Applejack said, shaking her head. "Just that Starlight's...you know, how she is, an' y'all did spend a lot of time with her what with her bein' headmistress an' all, and seein' her with Trixie--"

"You thought just seein' two mares together would make us want to be with other mares?"

"No," Applejack said. "But Ah thought it might give y'all the idea that it's normal or somethin'."

Apple Bloom pursed her lips. "Well, it didn'. Ah don' think it's normal. An' Ah don' like that Scootaloo is fawnin' over Silver Spoon."

Applejack shrugged. "You don' have to like it. But," she added, giving Apple Bloom a sidealong glance, "that don' mean ya can't still be her friend. An' it don' mean you should stop lovin' her jus' the same. An' if she starts somethin' with Silver Spoon, you go ahead and make nice with Silver Spoon, too, cuz if she and Scootaloo turn into an item, you don' want to lose one a' yer best friends over somethin' so silly."

"Ah guess..." Apple Bloom trailed off and stared at the grass for a long moment. The sun was past its zenith and hanging low in the sky behind the two mares, casting unequally long shadows in front of them as they sat and talked. From their perch on the hill, she could just barely see the outline of the Crusaders' clubhouse, deep in one of the outer orchards and surrounded by empty trees. A dozen years of memories passed unfocused through her mind, some better than others, some mortifying, a few confusing, but all involving her two best friends. Two best friends she was currently at odds with, and who she might well have driven away completely in her anger.

She wondered what Scootaloo had been up to over the past week, whether the pegasus had told her parents or not, whether she had given up on Silver Spoon after her ill-fated attempt at romance had been rebuffed. She wondered whether Sweetie Belle was still upset about the argument they'd had on the walk home from Scootaloo's house that morning. She grimaced inwardly at the recollection of some of the things she'd said. Unfounded accusations and insults...all because Sweetie Belle had had the audacity to defend Scootaloo from what Apple Bloom was slowly coming to realize was an unnecessary attack.

Tears in her eyes, shimmering...

Apple Bloom could see Scootaloo's face just as clearly now in her mind's eye as she had that morning. At the time, it had been easy to convince herself Scootaloo's yelling and crying and shoving were all pure anger, but now, sitting in the serenity of the orchard, with her sister by her side and the vast expanse of nature yawning out in every direction around her, she realized what she'd been intentionally ignoring since she'd slammed the door and stormed off.

Hurt. Scootaloo was hurt. Not mad, just wounded, defending herself in the only way Scootaloo ever could.

But then, Apple Bloom had been hurt, too. Not in the same way, of course, but deeply, and suddenly. It wasn't the revelation that hurt her, or the way it had come out. It was the decade of lies that preceded it. Lies on all sides. Lies Scootaloo had begged her to tell, lies she'd told Scootaloo about her conversations with Sweetie Belle, lies she knew Scootaloo had told them, but that they'd pretended to believe for her sake. Lies she'd even told herself about things she couldn't--and didn't want to--understand. Lies she'd told Applejack...

"Hey, Applejack," Apple Bloom heard the words coming out of her mouth and knew immediately she was going to regret the next several sentences. Her subconscious panicked and tried desperately to stop what it knew was coming, but she pushed onward, determined to clear the air. No more lies. You've ruined enough.

Applejack responded almost before she finished speaking, as if the older mare had been hanging on tenterhooks waiting for her to speak. "Yeah, Apple Bloom?"

Apple Bloom swallowed hard. Her heart was racing so she couldn't even feel the beats. Is this what Scootaloo felt like? No wonder she was crying... "So...you remember that night Ah had the Crusaders over fer a sleepover an' you, uh...came into mah room without knockin'?"

Applejack's eyes slowly narrowed. "Yeah..."

Apple Bloom blushed. "An' we were all in mah bed together an'...an' real close an'..." She swallowed, trying to find the words to say what she had to say. "An' you said it wasn' right for three fillies to be in the same bed?"

"Ah do," Applejack said, deadpan.

Apple Bloom instinctively shied away from her sister's piercing gaze. "Well...when you asked me if anything was...'goin' on' before you came in..." She trailed off. She couldn't bring herself to finish the thought. She simply wasn't as brave as Scootaloo apparently had had to be.

In the end, she didn't have to be. "You lied," Applejack said solemnly, nodding her head.

Apple Bloom's head almost spun with the speed it turned to stare at her sister, agog. "Ah...yeah, how did...Ah mean, how did you find out?"

Applejack sighed, a sad, almost guilty look on her face. "Ah knew as soon as Ah walked in. Ah had my suspicions before Ah even opened the door, 'cause...well, the farmhouse ain't as airtight as it used t'be." She almost smiled. "Sound moves through those walls pretty easy."

Apple Bloom felt the top of her muzzle warming as the blush crept across her face. "So...so you knew all along...an' you never said anythin'?"

Applejack shook her head. "Nah. Figured it was up t' y'all if ya felt like tellin' me, an' 'tweren' none of mah business if ya didn'." When Apple Bloom didn't say anything in response to this, she shrugged and continued. "Ah was a filly once too, AB. Ah had those feelin's like anypony else. Ah just never had anypony that made me wanna try 'em out." The tiny smile widened. "But you an' the Crusaders've always been closer'n reg'lar friends. Ah figured if you were gonna...experimen' with anypony, it was gonna be them."

Nothing Applejack had said so far had made any sense to Apple Bloom's racing mind. "You're not mad?" she asked, struggling to find a starting point to understanding the conversation.

Applejack shrugged. "No point in bein' mad. What's done is done, AB. Ah mean..." She pursed her lips. "Ah was mad at the time, sure. An' Ah thought about yellin' at you the next mornin' after yer friends left, but...well, you know Big Mac's always been yer champ, right?" Apple Bloom nodded. "Well, after Ah...caught ya, Ah went an' talked to him about it, 'cause Ah was a mite upset." She smirked. "Well, he was right patient, listened to everythin' Ah said, let me steam mahself out, an' then he told me to keep mah muzzle buttoned."

Apple Bloom's mouth fell open. "He said what?"

Applejack chuckled softly. "You heard right. Made me madder'n a boot snake with no fangs, believe me, but he went on t'say what Ah jus' told you. That y'all weren' hurtin' nopony, that everypony goes through it, an' that it weren' none of mah business." She sighed. "An' after Ah got through yellin' at 'im out in the barn fer a while, Ah settled down and figured he was right." She smiled over at Apple Bloom. "Ah knew you were pretty smart yerself, an' if you ever had any problems, you'd come an' tell me." The smile suddenly faded. "Least...Ah thought you would."

Apple Bloom winced and rubbed her foreleg with a hoof, dutifully examining the ground. "Yeah, Ah...well, there're some things Ah didn' really wanna talk about with anypony...even you."

There was a brief silence, then Applejack said quietly, "You coulda just said so. Ya didn' hafta lie about it."

Apple Bloom's eyes stung. "Ah know, Ah just...after what ya said about Babs, an' how you always talked about Starlight an' Rainbow, Ah just didn' wanna make you hate me, too."

"Hate you?" Applejack almost yelled the words. "Apple Bloom, what in tarnation would make you think Ah'd ever hate you fer anything?"

"But you--"

"Apple Bloom," Applejack cut her off firmly, "Ah don't hate anypony who goes that way, not strangers, definitely not friends, and 'specially not family. Ah could never hate family, you know that."

Apple Bloom grimaced and kicked at the dirt. "Ah...Ah know that, but--"

"But nothin'." She was suddenly enveloped in a crushing hug, and she felt Applejack's next words as much as she heard them. "Apple Bloom, Ah love you t'pieces, no matter what y'all do or say or think." She held the filly at arm's length and smiled at her. "Ah may not always agree, and some things might make me mad fer a little while--it's just how I work, you know. But nothin's ever gonna make me stop bein' your sister, an' nothin'--but nothin'--is gonna stop me lovin' you."

Apple Bloom burst into tears. Applejack immediately pulled her back into the hug, pressing her sister's face into her chest fur and letting the younger mare cry. "Ah messed up!" the filly blubbered, her words muffled in the fur. "Scootaloo came out an' Ah could tell she was scared, but Ah was jus' so mad she didn' tell us before, an' Ah wanted t'be a good friend, but Ah couldn' help mahself, an' then Ah was yellin' and she was yellin' and Sweetie Belle was cryin' and Ah just couldn' stand it, an' Ah had to leave, but then Sweetie Belle caught up with me an' she was still cryin' an' then she started yellin', and so Ah yelled back, an'...an'...aw, Applejack, what am Ah gonna do?" She trailed off in a wail of tears and resumed sobbing into Applejack's fur.

Applejack let her cry for some time, silently rubbing her sister's back with her hooves and resting her head on Apple Bloom's. When the younger mare had calmed down somewhat, the elder farmpony held her at arm's length again. "Alright, what's done is done. Ah know you're upset, an' you got a right to be. Ah'm not sayin' she was right or you were wrong, or vice vers', jus' that ya both did some dumb stuff, ya both got mad about it, an' while you were all fired up, y'all forgot that y'all are friends. Friends fergive, right?" Apple Bloom sniffed and nodded while her sister gently wiped a tear off of her cheek. "Good. Now y'all have a lot of talkin' to do, but Ah wouldn' go pressin' the issue just yet. Scootaloo's almost as stubborn as you are, so it might take her a while to cool off."

Apple Bloom chuckled, her voice clouded by the last vestiges of her tears. "Yeah...probably woulda taken me a lot longer if you hadn' pestered me about it, too."

Applejack grinned. "Well that's what big sisters are for, right? Hugs when ya want 'em, and pesterin' when ya need it." She suddenly snared Apple Bloom and began ruthlessly rubbing the top of her head with a hoof, laughing as Apple Bloom shrieked and giggled and tried to escape the noogie.

"What's goin' on?" The two sisters stopped tussling long enough to turn towards their approaching brother, the source of the rolling baritone query. The scarlet stallion was pulling an empty cart behind him and casually passing a long stalk of wheat from one corner of his mouth to the other as he eyed the two mares with a look somewhere between discouragement and curiosity. The Apple sisters sheepishly separated, still grinning even as they avoided their brother's gaze.

"Sorry Big Mac," Apple Bloom said. "We were just...talkin'."

"An' playin'," the big workhorse observed dryly. "Talkin' don't get the chores done, you know."

"Yeah, well," Applejack shrugged, "sometimes talkin's more important." She gave Apple Bloom a warm sidealong smile before turning to give Big Mac a look heavy with implication.

Big Mac's eyes flicked to Apple Bloom and for an instant she thought she saw his stern gaze waver, softening slightly at some internal impetus. She wondered if he suspected what they'd been discussing; her brother was, after all, uncannily wise and aware. But he made no mention of any suspicions and simply said, "Was it?"

Apple Bloom smiled warmly at each of her siblings in turn. "Yeah," she said, feeling the cloud that had been hanging low over her for the past several days slowly dissipating. "Yeah, it was."

"Good," he said, casually unhitching himself from the empty cart and shrugging into the half-full cart's harness. The conversation ended there, and the chores resumed, but as they worked on into the early evening, Apple Bloom noticed--as only a sibling could--that both her brother and her sister's steps seemed just a touch lighter than they had been that morning.