Apple Bloom Sleeps with Applejack

A Short Story, Told in One Chapter

~~~~~~

The small, yellow-coated pony plopped down on her bed. It had been another long day between schoolwork, helping out in the orchard and around the house and barn, and especially with the incessant pestering of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, her two favorite schoolyard bullies. Why they were so insistent today she had no idea, but it certainly wasn't pleasant. Lately, it seemed as though they were getting nastier; they started insulting them more personally, as opposed to simply for being blank-flanks. They even went so far as to attack family, insulting Rarity and her work, which almost pushed Sweetie Belle to the verge of tears, as well as Applejack for being “simple”, which only served to infuriate said pony's younger sibling. Sighing, the filly paced around her room, as she wasn't yet tired enough to sleep, but could not find an activity to waste her time until she was. Just as she was contemplating what to do, she heard a voice from another part of the house call out.

“Apple Bloom!” the voice yelled out; it was her sister, hopefully with some task to stave off boredom for at least some time. Walking out to the main room of their house, she approached the orange mare to find out what she wanted.

“Here's some blankets for ya – it's gonna get cold tonight, and this old house ain't the warmest come Winter,” her sister said, pushing the heavy bundle towards the smaller pony.

“Oh, thanks, sis. I appreciate it,” the little sister replied in a sullen voice.

“Everything all right, kiddo? Ya seem a bit down,” the older of the two responded, speaking with a concerned tone.

“Nah, I'm fine, it's just been a bit of a long day, what with all the work and all,” the addressed foal replied, attempting to put a bit of pep into her voice.

“If ya say so. Now head off to bed, we gotta get up early tomorrow so we can buck the orchard.”

“Alright, Applejack. Night”

“Good night,” the cowpony said, placing her hat on the table and undoing the tie in her mane.

Slinking back to her room with the bundle of blankets, the youngest of the Apples unfolded them, threw them onto her bed, and then crawled under them. Despite the protective layers of cloth, and her all-too-sudden sleepiness, she still couldn't get comfortable, and shifted around in her bed. Eventually, she found herself drifting off to sleep, but that too seemed as though it couldn't last; once again, she was lying awake, shifting her weight and attempting to find an comfy, warm position in which she could sleep, as the cold seemed to permeate no matter how deep she went under the covers. The red-maned youngling repeated this process a couple of times, eventually getting tired of being abruptly torn from her rest, and she climbed out of bed in order to go get some water, or at least something to distract her from her restless night. However, to her surprise, she found that her sister seemed to be doing the same thing, as she was wiping the sleep from her eyes while drawing water from the sink. The mare took notice of her younger sister, and turned her direction.

“Apple Bloom, you're supposed to be in bed; it's late, you'll be too tired to work tomorrow,” the pony said, lightly chastising the other.

“I know, but I can't get comfortable. I keep waking up, and it's starting to get annoying.”

“Well, it is pretty dang cold. Hey, how about you come sleep with your big sister? Ya always used to when ya got too cold or scared to sleep alone,” the yellow-maned mare suggested.

“Sis, I'm not a little foal no more. I don't need to sleep with my big sister.”

“Come on now, Apple Bloom. There ain't nothin' embarrassing about sharing a bed with your big sis, even at your age. Besides, it will help both of us keep warm and stay asleep.”

“I already can't get cozy, I don't think adding another body to the bed will help that.”

“Ah, come on. If ya can't sleep anyways, why not try it? It might help, ya know.”

“Dang it sis, if you're gonna keep hounding me, do I really got a choice?”

“Alright! Come on now, little sis, let's get to bed,” Applejack said excitedly, wrapping a hoof around her smaller sister and leading the little pony to the former's room. Once they entered, Applejack threw open the covers to allow her little sister entrance, and then followed, nuzzling up to the smaller pony and resting her chin upon the other's head.

“See, don't ya feel warmer already?” the now-sated pony asked her smaller companion.

“I feel embarrassed, is all,” was the slightly muffled response she got.

“Well, I'm warmer, and I ain't embarrassed about snuggling with my cute little sister when it's cold, so ya just need to get over it,” the more comfortable of the two said playfully.

“You're missing the point, sis...this is like sayin' that I still need ya or something, even though I'm already old enough to take care of myself,” the younger sister responded matter-of-factly.

“Your logic ain't too logical there, ya know; you're over-thinking this. It's just so that we can be nice and cozy while we sleep, and I think it's working. Are you uncomfortable?”

“It's not about that, like I said. Sleeping with your older sister is something little foals do, and I'm past that age. It's like...uh...regression! Yeah!”

“That's a big word, but you're point's still dull as a blunted knife. I doubt anybody'd think any less of ya even if they found out ya slept with your big sister. Even if they did, I'll take the blame for ya, all on my own,” the now-bemused mare said, rubbing her younger companion's head with a hoof, then raising it up to cover a yawn. They'd been talking for a while about this situation, and it sure seemed to be working, and not only for Applejack.

“Oh, whatever, sis...” Apple Bloom said somewhat defensively, though her speech was cut short by a large yawn. Despite her early protests, it seemed the small pony was certainly getting tired, and she even nuzzled herself further into her sister's neck, her breathing evening out slowly until she was fully asleep.

“Geez, ya really are too cute, ya silly little filly...” the older sister said affectionately, placing a gentle kiss on the younger's head, and drifting happily off to sleep herself.

~~~~~~

END