SteelEagle

Applejack had once told her that eating frozen Zap Apples was one of the worst things you could do. Not only was it plain dumb to freeze one, but Zap Apples knew when they were being misused out of season. If you had any left over, you had to wait until the new season for them to work. If you tried to eat them out of season, you would get sick. Really sick. But...Zap Apples tasted too good to say no! Now, she knew to say no. Ever since breakfast, she had felt as though a war had been going on in her stomach. She hadn't let on at home because she didn't want to be left out of the cool meeting with the Wonderbolts, but as she walked to school she felt as though she was going to break inside. The only viable course of action was, the moment she got to the school, duck inside of the bathroom. There, she had done the only thing her body allowed her to do for what seemed like forever. She had missed the Wonderbolts showing up and all the foolishness of her fellow classmates that surrounded their arrival. Luckily, she felt as though the worst was over by the time everypony started working their way outside. She left the bathroom, a sickly green still, and saw her fellow classmates filtering outside. "Wha' happened? Thay already left, huh?" She asked, eyes wobbling in her head as she followed her classmates out of habit, asking nonpony in particular.

Apple Bloom could never be accused of being lazy, but being forgetful was a more accurate term. Having forgotten to repair a plow that had been used by Big Mac, it had nearly caused...trouble for both of her older sibling. And so, she was punished with a full morning of weed hunting in the south orchard. The sheer thought of it was daunting- it was the largest orchard and since weeds presented less of a problem to trees than it would present in other areas of farming, it was rarely a priority. The result was a mess of weeds that overran large portions of the orchard. One by one, Apple Bloom had attacked them, digging around them to get room and then using her mouth to bite them at the root and pull them out. It was hard work. It was disgusting work. It was tedious. It was, in short, farm labor and Apple Bloom had gotten so accustomed to it that the harshness of it droned on in the background. What was at the forefront was her over-active mind. Yeah, she felt awful about nearly hurting her big brother and sister. That was a given, ya know? And she definitely didn't like it when she saw she had more or less destroyed the barn door, and when She deserved this punishment. She wasn't gonna deny that. But none of this mattered because the real story was that she had failed to get her cutie mark again. It always got her down when she failed again, and everypony getting angry with her didn't help matters. Sometimes she wondered if her big sister and brother remembered what it was like to be a filly that couldn't ever do anything right to get her cutie mark. She then gave a giggle- well of course Big Mac wouldn't know, he was a never filly. After that giggle, her mind righted itself and sailed smoothly. She had failed this time, but she'd get it eventually. One of these times she was bound to get her cutie mark and by Celestia, it would be awesome! Everypony would be so proud of her. This thought was in her head as she finished up the first section of the orchard. How many weeds had she uprooted? Ten dozen? It sure felt like it and the way her jaw hung rigidly told her that she was within a few more of having it lock into place. While it would be a funny face, she figured it'd be hard to eat with her jaw that way. Best to take a rest- even Applejack would have to agree. She trotted to the farmhouse, completely aware that there was a chance Applejack would send her right back out. When she got there though, the farmhouse was silent. Food was layin' about, almost as if- "Oh no! I'was today! Gosh darnit, I'm late!" Apple Bloom screeched sadly. Today was the day they were due to visit their neighbors, the Carrots, and here she was being not very neighbor like. She ran into the kitchen and got into the family's stockpile of apple pies- because everypony could agree having a stockpile was important. She fished one out and ran upstairs to get her saddlebag, stuffed the pie, and with an excited squeal, started off towards the farm. Apple Bloom always loved meeting new ponies, and having farmers nearby would make her life so much more fun. Maybe they had a filly 'bout her age there that she could play with? New friends were always fun to make, and if she found one here, she could discuss all sorts of stuff that only farm ponies would know. It would be nice to be like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon in just one way, that being the ability to have some topics that only one good friend could relish. After just a few minutes of hard trotting, Apple Bloom saw the neighbors' farm and approached in the best way she thought possible: Loudly. "HOWDY, Y'ALL! AH BROUGHT SOME APPLE PIE!"

Valen launched himself towards the merry go round with greater vigor than he had any right to exude at that moment. he was, after all, a pony of class and education, not some ruffian given to extreme displays of emotion. Proper responses were in order and as the foals around him descended into, well, foalish behavior, the well-heeled Valen Orange thought it wise to try and bring them under control. However, the well-heeled Valen Orange was momentarily overcome by the sheer excitement of Merry Go-Round! He jumped on what looked like to be a kelpie and waited impatiently for the thing to start. "Let's go! Go go go, GO!" Valen said with a smile from ear to ear. "How kind of you, Princess Pinchy!" The small foal behind him spouted playfully, imitating the voice of her toy. How young was she? Valen at least had some validation as a foal on the verge of being a colt, but the small one behind him- Pinchy- was...well, a foal, really. It was unnerving. Unnerving. But Merry Go-Round!

Pathfinder had slowed down in an effort to allow her date to catch up, and it was successful. Snowy caught up, and the look of excitement and nervousness was one Pathfinder had expected. The fact she had been as fast as she was had already bucked off all those stereotypes about businessmares. Yeah, it was clear she was rusty and just as clear that she was not the most gifted of all pegasi, but this wasn't a life and death scenario and her keen attention to detail had allowed her to navigate the course without near the problems someone less detail oriented may have. It was good to see she wasn't some weak-winged flier, scared of heights and tight spaces. "Yeah, it's a lot of fun!" Pathfinder said as she resumed flying, this time at a slower pace so she remained close to snowy. It was nice to have a fly session that didn't start and end with her heart in her throat. It was nice and leisurely, something she could rarely say as an adventurer. Most of the time she was flying away from something or towards something important. Nice to just be able to fly for once and share it with somepony else. She hated being alone, which she more often than not was. That was the life of an adventurer, though- exciting, alone, and dangerous. More often than not she was more than fine with the companionship of her Daring Do plushies but once in a while she wanted something more, and this was a fine example of that. She flew, the formations getting crazier and tighter as they went along. After the tenth formation, which had ended with just space wide enough for a single Pegasus, Pathfinder found herself in open sky once more, a single platform waiting for them. She landed and looked back, eagerly awaiting Snowy's arrival. After all, this was just teh first part of the five part course!

"Just like anything else, the secret is lots and lots of practice," Snowy's infectious giggle continued, "I've been rigorously trained to endure the most dreadfully dull and stupefyingly tedious since I was but a young filly. You could almost say that's my truest talent!" Snowy smiled and joked, and this helped Pathfinder grow even more fond of the beautiful mare. Humor and the ability to both take and dish out gentle, friendly jokes was perhaps one of the key factors Pathfinder looked for in a friend. It told of someone who took themselves seriously enough to value their faults and foibles as strongly as their great strengths. That and adventuring, of course, but she thought with a sly grin that perhaps for others the topsy-turvy world of business was as adventurous as any ruin was for Pathfinder. It made Pathfinder more than a bit relieved to see that this businessmare really went against the grain of the stereotype of the businesspony. Stuffy. Uptight. Snooty. And the ones from Stalliongrad- everypony has an accent, especially those who grow up in one place- were no exception. If anything, they were thought to be worse since Stalliongrad was so isolated and therefore more 'self-sufficient'. But not Snowy. She was beautiful, warm(which was an excellent contrast to the stereotype of Stalliongrad as being so cold), funny, and all other good things. Pathfinder didn't have a long list of desires. "Well, I believe Miss Matchie wanted us to fly through this obstacle course," Snowy nodded. "So, we should probably give it a try, that is whenever you're ready, Pathfinder." Pathfinder returned the nod and smiled. "Got it!" She giggled before she shot out through the course, hitting the portion with the rock formation first. It was entirely too simple for a Pegasus such as Pathfinder- it wouldn't behoove a tourist attraction to be dangerous and kill those who partook in it- who was used to the more earnest ans spastic designs in nature. She took to the formations with speed and with cutting agility- she wasn't the fastest nor the most agile, but few had the experience of 'danger flying' she had. She flew at times close to the rocks just as a matter of taunting them before making cuts that were too wide just to feel the thrill of nearly rubbing against the other side during a turn. She smiled the whole time- it was too easy and simple and as she passed the sixth rock formation, she slowed down. Gotta let the businessmare catch up.

Snow had a nice lilting laugh, and Pathfinder blush was small but noticeable. It was a better response than she had any reasonable chance to hope for, but truth be told she was more embarrassed by someone who wasn't looking to mock taking the time to give her a physical look-over. She wasn't some attention starved mare, but anypony that tried to say they didn't feel even a little bit...imbalanced, even if positively, by being chedked out was a liar liar whose tail was on fire. Besides, her laugh and smile told Pathfinder her joy wasn't just played for politeness, which definitely gave Pathfinder a sense of some security. She had gotten good at telling those who were real from the fakers, and while she was sometimes accused of being too optimistic, she had a good feeling about Snow. But as Pathfinder looked at Snowy's reaction after she had revealed where she had just come from, her positive attitude dimmed somewhat. "Wow... er... you must live an exciting life, Miss Pathfinder," Snowy said, her voice fluctuating and wavy, "The scariest thing I have to put up with on a regular basis is dull business meetings going on too long..." Had Pathfinder been too much, too soon? She had never understood that thought process, but she had been accused of such a crime once or twice. Personally, she preferred to be as open as possible as quickly as she could and allow the fakers and the true friends be told from that point on, but she did understand that perhaps revealing too much too soon could be a problem for some ponies. But Snowy had taken it at least somewhat well- she even mentioned something worse than any arrow or explosion, boring meetings! Uggh, she had been in a few meetings. Well, maybe less meetings and more classrooms and hospital beds, but they were all the same: They lacked excitement and that drive to keep on keepin' on! Solving mysteries and fighting the good fight was better, even at its worse, than any stuffy room anywhere could ever be. Pathfinder blanched. "Oh my, that DOES sound horrible! I don't know if I could ever stand to be in a boring meeting for too long, I'd fly right outta the window! Wizbang! Like that! Like I did when I was in the hospital for my wing," She started, flexing out her wings to reveal a rather nasty scar on her left wing before retracting them, "and they tried telling I would need a full week of rest. A WEEK?! Oh geez, no way I could do that, and that's with all sorts of entertainment at a hospital. I'd probably crack after only an hour at a business meeting, Snowy. How do you do it?" Pathfinder asked, truly and deeply concerned for the welfare of any pony that had to contend with such a fate. She seemed to have adjusted well enough, Pathfinder guessed. She had grown up with some degree of wealth and likely had been exposed to the horror of boredom at an early stage in her development, promoting tolerance for the greatest Equestrian flaw. Pathfinder couldn't stand to imagine that existence and wondered what cruel fate had to befall such a beautiful and kind-hearted creature such as Snowy. Pathfinder gave her a compassionate, caring hug and then turned to the obstacle course. "What do you wanna do, Snowy?"

Link, pretty please?

Thank you! For my Pathfinder banner, I found a sample image y'all can work with: http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120224121740/mlp/images/thumb/c/c4/Daring_got_through_S2E16.png/731px-Daring_got_through_S2E16.png

Snow took the resemblance well. Most ponies were a little taken aback by it, and a smaller number were outright freaked out. She guessed that some ponies didn't appreciate the effort it took to look so awesome. Thankfully, Snow seemed to both recognize the character and not give her a strange look afterwards. It was even better when she seemed to have an understanding of the series, something she was more than happy to see. Plus, she used to do what every good Daring Do fan needed to have done a few times- used her as a vessel for escapist adventures, such as sneaking out of a manor. And she lived in a manor? She wasn't just some businessmare, she came from power. That was cool too- a small subsection of adventurers were wealthy, after all. She ended her story somewhat abruptly, and her face shrunk as she trailed off. That wasn't a good sign- what had unnerved her? "I'm sorry. I don't mean to ramble," Snow said in a vain attempt to regain herself entirely, which made sense when combined with the end of her speech, "I'm a little out of my element." Pathfinder chuckled. "Nah, I was enjoying it! I remember when I first read Daring Do back in the orphanage. World changer! Helped me become the mare I am today-" She began before the length of rope tied to her hoof snagged on a passing pony and nearly tripped the stallion. She gave an annoyed sigh and pulled the rope up to her mouth and sat down. After a few minutes, she ripped the rope off of her hoof. She gave a happy, contended sigh as she put the rope in her saddlebag. Rope always comes in handy. "Of course, it sometimes leads to getting stuck in traps by a tribe of mutant carnivore hippogrifs in abandoned mines."

Keep your chin up! Bad grades suck, but each 'failure' is the stepping stone to greatness.

Snowfall examined Pathfinder, something that Pathfinder took notice of. She might have been an adventurer, but that didn't mean she didn't appreciate it when someone soaked her up- and she was quite sure that is what Snowfall was doing. Of course, if Snowfall hadn't been as pretty as she was, Pathfinder may have been upset. She may still have been a little upset, but it could wait. "Hmm..." Snowfall said as she took Pathfinder in. What was a good nickname for her? Snowy McSnowy? Nah, too much. Snowflake? Nah, maybe if they got closer. "Do I perhaps know you from somewhere? I feel like I've seen you somewhere before..." Snow would have to work. Pathfinder blushed as she realized that Snow had been confused by her appearance, which in turned confused Pathfinder. She motioned to her coat and mane for a second, as if confused. Then it dawned on her- she looked like Daring-Do, duh! "Oh, I apologize. Ever read the Daring-Do books?!" Pathfinder asked excitedly, posing briefly. If Snow had read the books and liked them, then Pathfinder already loved her. If not, Pathfinder would make her see the light. It was a win-win! Well, except for anypony who tried telling Pathfinder that the books weren't good, them was fightin' words. As she posed, she kept on shaking her back hoof in an attempt to get that darn rope off- she would have to solve the mystery of that abandoned mine some other day, it seemed.

Thank you for the link! I am going to look through it and see what I need to catch up on. I have already PMed Sweetie and Scoots.

Hello! I see lots of nifty-cool banners out there, and I thought maybe some hip cats with skills could help a fellow out. I am the new Apple Bloom player, and I'd like to have a banner for her posts. I'd also like banners for my two OCs- Pathfinder is easy, she basically just looks like Daring Do, and Valen should be simple. You may find the ponies here: The style I would prefer is something like this: But I'm open to any and all designs. The winner gets one free internet. Thanks for your time and efforts!

I'm pretty excited! Yay! Yay! Yay! Alison had a really great app and Lux gave it his all, so really, the winner is Apple Bloom because no matter who won, she was gonna get a good 'home' as it were.

CAST CHARACTERS: -Apple Bloom- http://www.canterlot...m-tier-1-final/ *Earth Pony* *Female* *Filly* *Ponyville* *TIER 1* Active in- Cutie Mark Crusader Treasure Hunters, GO!- Apple Bloom and friends go adventurin'!http://www.canterlot...ure-hunters-go/ 100 Country Kisses- Can Abby help AJ accomplish a serious goal? http://www.canterlot...sses-remaining/ Adventures in Foalsitting- Apple Bloom has fun with the best foalsitter ever! http://www.canterlot...sitting-closed/ Class is in Session- A normal day at school. http://www.canterlot...lies-and-colts/ Weekend with the Apples- Apple Bloom has fun with the Fields family on a camping trip. http://www.canterlot...-apples-closed/ ...The More Zap Apples Stay the Same- Zap Apple Harvest time, yay! http://www.canterlot...family-welcome/ The Friendship Salespitch- Apple Bloom deals with some business related and unrelated shenanigans. Under Her Hat- Apple Bloom loses Applejack's hat in the great Everfree! Painting the Farm Orange- Apple Bloom helps teach Presteza everything there is to know 'bout Apples. Awards Banquet: Day 2- Apple Bloom goes to an awards ceremony for her heroics during the Nightmare Night attack. Finished- Scooting Through the Park- Apple Bloom has fun at the park. http://www.canterlot...ll-foalsponies/ Apple Bloom's Big Day!- Apple Bloom is growing up, one year at a time! http://www.canterlot...blooms-big-day/ School Daze- Apple Bloom catches somepony sneakin' around the clubhouse. http://www.canterlot...ore-class-open/ Winter Wrap-Up: Plant Team- Can Apple Bloom and Apple Bumpkin work together to make this the best Winter Wrap-Up ever? The answer was yes, and despite their plow breaking, they had a great time. http://www.canterlot...265-plant-team/ Winter Wrap-Up: Plant/Weather Team- Can Apple Bloom help Midnight Orchid and their joint team make this the best Winter Wrap-Up ever? http://www.canterlot...her-plant-team/ Sweet Meets Pinkie- Apple Bloom needs help with Granny- can Sweet and Pinkie help? http://www.canterlot...-pinkie-pieopen A Good Influence- Abby and her family help a colt find himself! http://www.canterlot...lime-riverhippo Apple Family Reunion- http://www.canterlot...ase-pm-to-join/ Relaxation, the Apple Family Way!- Abby and AJ spend quality time together! http://www.canterlot...y-way-applejack Mixed Fruits and Vegetables- Can Apple Bloom make it up to her sister during a meet and greet with the neighbors? http://www.canterlot...veggies-closed/ Famous Visitors- Abby, despite being sick, is determined to meet the wonderbolts! http://www.canterlot...en/page__st__80 Majestic Intent- Abby has fun with Luna. http://www.canterlot...nt-tales-eagle/ A Change of Heart- A walk in the woods turns into so much more when Abby finds a lost filly. http://www.canterlot...oom-private-rp/ A Country Field Trip- The Apple family shines during a school field trip to TAV. http://www.canterlot...-pm-for-invite/ ------------------------------------------------- -CRESCENT SPARKLE- *Unicorn* *Male* *Stallion* *Canterlot* *Tier 3 Constellations and Their Relation to Dishes, or Crescent's Guide to Marriage- Crescent loves his homelife. http://www.canterlot...losed-rosewind/ Parental Guidance- Crescent attempts to visit his daughter. Attempts, not succeeds. http://www.canterlot...tationinterest/ _________________________________ -BON BON-http://www.canterlot...-bon-bon-final/ *Earth Pony* *Female* *Mare* *Ponyville* *TIER 3* Active In- Mad Love, Madder Chocolates- Bon Bon perfects her chocolates, but at what cost??? Probably nothing. Bon Bon's Bonbons: Open for Business(and bonbons)!- Bon Bon sells bonbons. http://www.canterlot...open-ponyville/ The Lost Library: Sinister Sweetness- Sinister chocolates never felt better than the time she endlessly flirted with a magician. http://www.canterlot...ster-sweetness/ Finished- Big News- Bon Bon and Lyra visit Lyra's parents. http://www.canterlot...s-knight-diego/

As the new Apple Bloom player, I wanted to see where her previous topic commitments are at. So if you have an RP in mind with her or are in an RP that she was previously involved in and need her back, please tell me!

Of all the different types of ponies, Pegasi were the ones without a valid excuse to be late to any social function. They could fly fast, they could fly for long periods of time, and by Celestia, they could go over obstacles. Rarely was there a good excuse to be late and yet again, Pathfinder was late for another function. While the destination wasn't exactly romantic, it was a town that Pathfinder was very well acquainted with. It stood at the edge of Painted Pinyo, which Pathfinder had spent entirely too long traversing. Nice, simple town with the sort of activities that got her heart racing. And Pathfinder hoped that her heart would continue racing when she met this mare that she had been hooked up with by that matchmaking service- they said she was cute and by golly, that would be just fine by Pathfinder. Pathfinder would never have guessed she'd be racing across the barren town to meet a businessmare, of all ponies. Was she gonna slow Pathfinder down? Only a few ponies could keep up with her, and that was a fact! Her last five friends had all said she was just too much Pathfinder for them. But then again, these matchmaking services had to try and match ponies up, and since they were so obviously different it had to be something that made the matchmaker go, "Huh, I GUESS THIS WORKS!". She must be cool then. Pathfinder continued gliding all the way to the obstacle course, rope trailing off of her back left hoof. She tried to shake it off to no avail, it being tightly wound and knotted. She'd have to worry about that at a later time, it wasn't that big of a deal, truth be told. She snapped her head back in front of her and saw the landing of the course and- why, hellooooooooo beautiful! Pathfinder landed somewhat swiftly after a fierce dive, a somewhat audible clash of hoof and pavement and she steadied herself near whom she believed was her date. You could tell the rich from the poor in a few subtle ways. The way the back was stiff and regal, the coat clean and tidy, and the way that the eyes analyzed rather than absorbed. As an adventurer, it was important to realize these small details, as they could be the difference between being taken advantage of by someone rich who had something worth adventurin' against beyond revenge and the poor who would do it to get by and made you feel bad when you had to take it back. Either way Pathfinder was too trusting to not, well, trust, but it at least helped gauge how awesome of an adventure getting her stuff back for free. "Hey there! I'm Pathfinder! Are you Snowfall? I'm sorry for being late and all, I got...tied up." She said, shaking her back hoof and laughing. Oh Celestia, maybe she could quit adventuring and become an awesome comedian! Or maybe it was her way of just introducing herself as smoothly as she could. She wasn't noted for her grace, at least. Heck, she had stuffed the flier for this service in her saddlebag and, lacking things to do when caught up in a giant spider web, filled it out. That was likely not what the matchmaker had intended, which was a rather perfect start to this entire deal- none of it was what anypony had in mind, and that made it that much more fun.

We can make 'em.

Valen walked into the dentist's office, his body for the first time that day having time to back down. Only now was it hitting home how much he had done that day, from the overnight train ride to being viciously assaulted by chickens, being choked, drowned, stampeded and crushed, and then being taunted by delicious soup, it had been a tiring day for the foal and it wasn't even dinner yet. Lazily, Valen crawled on a chair and slumped over the hoof rest and allowed his body to take huge, gasping breaths as his back straightened out. He could hear a crack somewhere and couldn't decide if someone had popped in or out of place. What he wouldn't have given to be home at that exact moment, in a nice, warm bath. He had the perfect bath robe for such rough days, it probably cost more than what some of these ponies made in a month. That made him feel awful, though- he had just experienced how hard they worked and they had so much less than he. Quelle insulte! But maybe that was the point. His parents wanted him to see how hard they worked, and know that his cousins on orange farms did the same. What better leader than the one who had the knowledge of what the tiniest cogs in the machine? This chair sure was comfy. Sunrise's office may have lacked all the niceties of the high-class Upper Crust dentist he had back home, but she didn't buy cheap chairs. Comfortable and warm, he could feel himself rolling gently back into them in relaxation. Only the throbbing pain in his tooth kept him from falling asleep.

That wouldn't really seem to fit Celestia. It is likely how a rl medal ceremony is- public and gives the awardees a degree of fame, but they aren't household names.

Phil has it all pretty well handled, though starswirl adds in a few good points as well. I do think they all have a certain level of fame around Equestria after the events of the season two opening two-parter, however.

Ponies met ponies and before long, the small group had been properly introduced. There was still the matter of where the pegasus had been trying to get to when he passed out and who exactly had Valen's bits, but- -Merry Go-Round! "Yay!" Valen screeched, voice breaking with sincere overwhelming joy as he reared for a second before regaining himself. Valen gave a look to the ponies around him, somewhat embarassed at such an overt display of silliness. He coughed and regained his composure. "Y-yes, err, that merry go round sure looks...fun...we should go and have the...fun!" He said, trotting towards it gaily while he beckoned with Remington for the others to follow.

Ah. Durrr on my part. Always happens that I start asking questions when I'm too tired. Four weeks, eh? I like it.

How long will this last?

Color me interested. Ideas?