More than a Fair Time (Compass/Apple Bloom)

[Deleted]

Apple Bloom hadn't taken any convincing to sign up for the Hearts and Hooves day fun fair. It was a fair for Pete's sake, how could she not want to be a part of it? Usually they all had to go pretty far to see exciting stuff like that. But this time, the exciting thing was in Ponyville! There was no way she was going to pass an opportunity like that up.

She wasn't no Hearts and Hooves skeptic, neither. She didn't have much interest in any real dating, but what could hurt to spend the day with somepony else around her age? The only reason not to was the fact it meant she wasn't getting to try out the fair with Scootaloo or Sweetie Belle. But this way they'd all have stories to tell each other and maybe learn more about someone else.

Her partner for this experiment was Compass Rose. A local unicorn colt, which suited her fine. So far as she knew, they weren't best friends in the making, but she was Apple Bloom, so everypony was some kind of friend in the making. Except Diamond Tiara. No amount of trying had ever changed that.

”Yeh ready to start checkin' things out?” She asked Compass once she came across him. She had heard older ponies talking about getting nervous, but now that they were together, she felt better about it. She really didn't know him very well and this could be great. ”Sure does look like they went all out on this thing, don't'cha think?”

[Deleted]

Compass signed up for the fun fair, perhaps just as easily as Apple Bloom did; mom and dad were out for a date, while his sisters went to their own devices, and quite frankly, Compass was getting a bit bored of just cooping himself up and practicing magic. His partner was Apple Bloom, who he knew was a very close friend of Sweetie Belle's and Scootaloo's. Although he didn't know Scoots or Bloom, Sweetie Belle was a very nice pony, and if Apple Bloom was her friend, then she'd have to be nice, right?

"Oh, yeah. I'm ready, Apple Bloom." just beneath his semi-enthused words was a bit of anxiety. No, it wasn't because he wanted to impress her like a dogged nice-colt, but because he just wanted to make a good first impression. He didn't know much more than what Sweetie Belle had told him during class. He was nervous, but he hid it with a smile and quietly adjusted his glasses with by the bridge. He felt like he was being a bit of a dork, but it was a habit of his and he didn't know how to stop it for long.

He knew this was a fun fair, and remembering from the poison joke fiasco, he did not take anypony's advice on bringing anything special. "Yeah! It's amazing!" he agreed, a bit more enthused, but keeping his volume controlled. Truth be told, this was the first fair he went to willingly. He was usually dragged along by his family because they didn't yet trust him on his own before moving to Ponyville, and his sisters always had all the fun, leaving him limited on what to do each time.

But things were different. He and his sisters got along now, Midnite Blaze especially. And they weren't here anyway, so nothing could go wrong!

[Deleted]

Apple Bloom looked over at Compass for a moment as her mind slipped into thoughts of Hearts and Hooves days past. The time they had set up Big Mac with their teacher came to mind. But that one wasn't actually relevant to right now. It had been a mistake, they had gone too far to do something that had seemed nice but didn't actually take anyone's feelings into account. That wasn't what concerned her right now.

No, she was more preoccupied thinking about Applejack's experience. Applejack had done some random date thing on this holiday and had gotten paired with Time Turner. Apple Bloom hadn't found out about it until later, but things have a way of getting out eventually. For a while, things had been going well with those two and it had seemed like Apple Bloom wouldn't need to live up to any of the threats she had made to the stallion. And then the relationship had ended. Most of that wasn't important right now, but it left her with a question.

Were she and Compass supposed to go on dates after this? Not like, did they have to have to, but was that the hope? She really hadn't thought about it enough before signing up. Maybe she'd be able to slip it into conversation with him later... See what he thought was supposed to happen.

She averted her gaze and looked back at the festivities. ”What should we try first? We could get in line for one of the big'uns or just do a few smalls ones to warm up,” she said as she thought about her own preference. ”Ah think it might be best t'try tah get on somethin' big fore they get too popular...” She added, not wanting to stick him with the decision without any input.

[Deleted]

Compass couldn't help but notice Apple Bloom had looked him over...he began to wonder why, but then when she averted her gaze, he began to piece things together...or at least, he thought he did. Just about every pony he knew had observed the blue lines on his coat. It wasn't even embarassing to have them, in his opinion. He figured Apple Bloom thought he was uncomfortable about them and didn't want to pry about them.

Truth be told...he found it kinda hard to imagine how romance was. He didn't truly understand Hearts and Hooves, or the concept of love really. He knew mom and dad loved eachother enough to marry and have three children. They all loved eachother, although he figured that was a different sort of love. Applebloom asked what he wanted to do, but as soon as he opened his mouth, she threw a suggestion to him...which was actually what he was just about to say.

"Funny thing is, I was just about to suggest the same." he chuckled a little, finding it kinda cute that they had the same train of thought. After all, if they had to wait forever on a line, it would ruin a chunk of time.

[Deleted]

As other ponies passed by them, Apple Bloom thought about how many of them she barely knew. Foals must have come from far and wide to be beyond her network. With her big family and her time in the Crystal Empire, there were plenty of outsides she had already met. But this fair hosted quite a few unknowns.

”Great, least we got the decidin' out of the way,” she replied happily. Apple Bloom remained oblivious to any over zealousness on her part when it came to decision making. At home, decisions were usually made through the household chain of command, which meant she didn't get to make many. And with the other crusaders, it was a competitive process.

”Er... do we? Ah guess we still gotta figure out which big'un we should tackle... Y'got any pholias you dun wanna agitate? Y'can tell me, Ah won't say a word to nopony else.” She said, staring at him with more intensity than was necessary. When it came to secret keeping, she was the filly to go to. The only thing she was better at was making decisions. Oh! Or jumping, wrestling, singing or roping! But secret keeping one up there. She just had a very enriched background.

[Deleted]

Compass began to realize just how many foals were there...sure, he thought there were alot before he got lost in the Crystal Empire, but this was different. So many from so many places...he felt a little claustrophobic now, not that he was panicking. Then Apple Bloom cut off his worried thoughts with a question that, ironically enough, caused him to worry a little more.

He still had the incident at the lake with Sweetie Belle when they went sledding burned in his mind. Sure, everything turned out well in the end...but he was terrified for Sweetie Belle's sake back then,and he worried about the same happening to Apple Bloom...or, well, a similar situation at least.

"Erm...well.." he hesitated, now thinking that he might wind up being unreasonable. He took a breath and calmed himself down, deciding he wouldn't let it bother him. "Just so long as we don't get sent flying, I'm good." he made light of his own concern before his stomach growled audibly. He blushed a little in embarassment before chuckling a little.

[Deleted]

(-blows cobwebs away-)

While it seemed to take Compass a moment to answer her question, Apple Bloom didn't think too much of it. She was far too busy thinking about how exciting it would be if he did have a deep fear that might trigger at any moment. And then, when he was all up in a panic, she could be the pony who helped him through it. Next thing she would know, she'd be in Cutie Mark City with some kind of symbol related to helping ponies work through their mental problems. It would be the best Hearts and Hoove's Day ever!

”Huh? Sent flyin'?” She questioned, trying to process where that might come from. ”Wellll, Ah ain't much of a flier, neither, so Ah guess we'll both be upset if that happens.”

Then again, if there was something soft to land on, she might not mind it. Flying didn't look too bad and if other ponies could stick a landing, well then so could she!

”But Ah guess we can sort that out after we grab somethin' to eat,” she said with a chuckle at hearing his stomach gurgle.

[Deleted]

(-Sweeps dust away-)

Compass felt really silly...Apple Bloom wasn't worried one bit? Maybe he was overthinking things, overreacting. He took a breath in his mind and smiled at the thought of getting some food. "That sounds like a great idea." his mood already uplifted, not just because they were able to get some food here.

He was glad they got to treat this like a normal hang-out session, and while he noticed that alot of the foals already went for the rides, congesting them, the colt figured that by the time they were done, the rides would be more freed up. As the duo went to go for snacks, however, the aromas overwhelmed him a little.

"Is there anything you like, Apple Bloom?" he asked, wondering what kind of food she liked among all the options here.

[Deleted]

In honesty, she probably wouldn’t be choosing to head straight to food right away, but she didn’t mind it. He was hungry, that was no crime. Apple Family instincts told her that when someone was hungry, you made sure they got to eat. The fair would still be there with all of its tantalizing rides. All those pretty lights and colors and sounds that were only around for a limited time… The stuff that was set up just for their enjoyment on this rare occasion….

Wait. Food, right. What did she like best?

”Ah ain’t too picky, but since yah asked,” she said, her tone marking how little reluctance she had to put forward some ideas, ”Ah think Ah heard somepony yellin’’ ‘bout sweet corn ice cream. But iff’n your hungry enough to really eat, we could try some of those fried twice baked potatoes!” She offered. Twice baked and then fried. That was a lot of cooking so it must come to something good!

[Deleted]

The unicorn felt guilty about slowing down the trip. Why did his stomach have to be such a brat?! No matter, it was going to be solved soon and- nevermind, now he had two choices! Sweet Corn Ice Cream sounded real nice, if not a tad odd. He never heard of such a flavor, though he had to imagine it was similar to Sea Salt Ice Cream, which had a unique flavor and concept. He didn't want to go overboard, and the very thought of fried twice-bakedpotatoes was a filling idea. But if they ate too much on the rides...Yeah, icecream it was: the pacifier of bratty bellies!

"I'm really likin' the sound of Sweet Corn ice cream." his tone began to ease up a bit more, he felt more comfortable being with Apple Bloom. They were lucky to be right near a booth that served it, and the colt bought two of them before quickly taking in the details of the icecream cones and scoops. Floating the two with his magic, he offerred the slightly larger one of the two to Apple Bloom.

"This one's on me." he didn't even hesitate, and kept a genuine, friendly tone about him. He waited for Apple Bloom to take hers before he took a taste of his own....Holy cow, that was a nice flavor! Just a tiny hint of butter-flavor to go with the sweet corn~ A butter-flavor for a butter colt, what coinkidink!

[Deleted]

Compass hadn’t left any room for Apple Bloom to make any protest about him paying for her. She likely wouldn’t have done so if he had. He hadn’t seemed to be concerned about the decision. He had made it and was on his way. No reason to question the offer. Granny Smith had given her enough money to account for a few purchases, but not enough that she could buy any number of the weird things that Granny Smith had cautioned her against wasting all of her money on. Apple Bloom was certain some of that stuff hadn’t been bought or sold outside of an auction in decades.

Apparently, the yelling she had remembered was more recent than she had thought. Compass had only needed to divert a few steps before collecting their dessert in his magic. ”Thanks a bunch, Compass!”

She took a bite of her own as she watched him taste it for the first time. There was a bit of excitement and responsibility that came with introducing other ponies to food that you enjoyed. She waited and waited and waiiited (even though it was actually only a short amount of time) and then bam! She lit up when it was clear that she had steered him the right way.

”It’s pretty great, ain’t it?” She asked, aglow with contentment.

[Deleted]

"Heck yeah, it is!" Compass replied, and even though he didn't notice, he certainly had more pep in his step, metaphorically speaking. It was much like the time with Sweetie Belle when they went sledding, it was just something about spending time with other foals that made him instinctively unwind. "Thanks for bringing up the idea." his eyes were a bit starry, and even his body seemed more relaxed. Taking another taste of the icecream, the colt began to think about what they could talk about. First topic that popped into his head was the fair, but that was a bit too easy.

"Is this the first fair you've gone to?" he asked, though he did have the creeping feeling it was a dumb question."S-Sorry if that was a dumb question." he apologized with a nervous chuckle, but then waited for Apple Bloom's answer on the matter. He didn't know what to really expect in terms of enjoying the fair, and he kinda hoped Apple Bloom knew more about it.

[Deleted]

”Weren’t nuthin,” Apple Bloom replied, relishing the compliment anyway. It was great to see him relax more. She couldn’t handle somepony being too wound up around her. She was raised within such a close knit upbringing, that it felt alien to have someone shutting her out. But things with Compass were going in a good direction.

Apple Bloom chuckled, ”Y’don’t gotta be so worried ‘bout how Ah’ll take things, ya know? Ah ain’t made’a toothpicks,” she assured him, wanting him to feel as if he could ask or say whatever he wanted. She was a tough gal, she could handle whatever came at her. And if she couldn’t… Well then they could figure it out from there.

”As fer fairs… It’s not my first one, but Ah was pretty little last time. Was outta town t’see some family. Ah guess Ah don’t really remember it too much. Luckily, Ah am a master of intuition! You couldn’t be in better hooves,” she beamed emphatically.

[Deleted]

Compass blushed a bit when Apple Bloom pointed out the absurdity of him worrying about how she'll take things, but took the advice in stride. She was right, he was worrying for no reason...maybe having shut himself in and relying on books skewed his perception a little. Who knows. All Compass knew was that they were here to have a good time. Though he figured neither of them knew what to expect, Bloom certainly seemed like the type to follow her gut.

"A Master of Intuition? Has a nice ring to it." He complimented her, beaming in return as the colt decided to trust Bloom. His mind wandered to cutie marks, but he shook those thoughts away quickly. He knew it had been a rather sensitive topic, at least, from what he remembered of Diamond Tiara's constant insults to 'blank flanks'. Even though they were somewhat friendly, that was an aspect of Diamond that got on his nerves...If only he was more willing to- NO! Now's not the time for that. Sweetcorn ice-cream kept him occupied a bit longer as he tried to refocus on the fair.

"So, Master of Intuition~" he became a bit more playful for Apple Bloom's sake. "Where shall our paths lead?" he asked, although a tad cheesy, he was trusting Bloom and figured he may as-well have fun with it.