Diplomatic Troubles

Twilight soon felt her discomfort at Rainbow's teasing fade away from her. Walking besides Applejack, who looked the least bit bothered by the rainbow-maned mare's comments, set her at ease. She had a nonchalant look to her, but also had a mix of confidence in the way she moved. One could not help but be a little bit reassured about almost anything when moving alongside her.

As they neared Applejack's home, Twilight's stomach voiced its opinion by growling quite audibly. Her eyes widened and she looked to Applejack, who began laughing much louder than her stomach. "Sounds like Granny Smith's gonna have to make seconds," she said jokingly. Picking up the pace, Applejack nodded to Twilight, "C'mon. We'll fix you up somethin' to tame that beast in your belly."

"Thanks," Twilight said, slightly embarrassed. She cursed her stomach silently, as if it had seriously wronged her.

Suddenly, a trio of caped fillies bundled out of the house, with Sweetie Belle holding a bag of something. "Hey, Applejack!" Apple Bloom called to her, the three trotting towards her and Twilight happily.

"Hey, Apple Bloom," Applejack said, nodding to the trio in greetings, "What's in the bag?"

"Sandwiches!" Scootaloo exclaimed excitedly, "We're going on a Cutie Mark Crusade!" Twilight giggled at the trio's joy. "That sounds great," she commented.

"It ifh!" Sweetie Belle said, still holding the bag in her mouth. Apple Bloom looked back at her confusedly, and then turned to nod at Twilight.

"What she means is, it is gonna be excitin'! This is gonna be our best Crusade yet!" she said proudly.

"Well can we hear about this so-called 'Crusade'?" Applejack said, crossing one of her forelegs over the other and raising an eyebrow. Apple Bloom opened her mouth to speak, but Scootaloo quickly cut her off.

"Nope!" she said proudly, "You'll just have to wait until we come back with our Cutie Marks!" Apple Bloom smiled and nodded quickly at Scootaloo, then at Applejack.

Applejack let out a small chuckle, then nodded. "Alright, then. Just make sure you're home by dinner, y'hear me?" she said. Apple Bloom saluted her with a fore hoof,  then turned to the other fillies. Sweetie Belle put down the bag and moved in for a huddle.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders! Time to go crusading!" they yelled in unison, highhoofing. Sweetie Belle grabbed the bag and the three ran off in a hurry up the road to Ponyville.

"They sure are something," Twilight said, smiling.

"Yeah, they're somethin' alright," Applejack agreed with an amused shake of the head,  "C'mon, let's get some lunch."

As they moved into the home, Twilight's nose was assaulted by a variety of baking-related smells that made her mouth begin to water. "Wow," she said, taking a moment to inhale the fresh smells and savor the chill that ran down her spine from anticipation.

"Granny Smith, I'm home! I brought Twilight with me!" Applejack said, smiling back at Twilight, who returned the smile.

"I hope she's hungry! I made a lot of food, and the girls just ran off on an adventure!" Granny Smith called from the kitchen.

"Well I hope you made enough! Twilight here is starvin'!" Applejack called back, then let out a short laugh that only Twilight could hear. She guessed it was meant for her, but rolled her eyes in mock annoyance. She couldn't hide the smile that crawled onto her face afterwards, however. She was quite hungry.

Applejack took off her hat, tossing it onto the hat-stand next to the front door. She shook her head and Twilight watched as her blonde mane fell upon her shoulders. "What?" Applejack said as she raised an eyebrow, catching her gaze "Y'act like you've never seen me with my hat off b'fore."

She hadn't sounded particularly annoyed, but Twilight felt slightly embarrassed for having stared at her orange-colored friend. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't - I mean," she stammered, cursing her suddenly sheepish attitude.

"Must be the hunger. Here, I'll show ya to the kitchen," Applejack said casually, thinking nothing of the purple unicorn's staring.

Following Applejack's lead, Twilight moved down a narrow hallway and turned into the kitchen, trying not to stare at Applejack's flank in the process. Instead, she chose to look at the assorted pictures that decorated the hallway's walls. Pictures of Applejack as a filly, Big Mac as a colt, and Granny Smith as a younger mare were common among them, and Twilight had to pause and admire Applejack's filly picture as she moved past it. She didn't have her cutie mark yet, and Twilight smiled at how adorable she thought the filly was.

"Yep. That's me," Applejack said, suddenly besides Twilight.

"You were so cute as a filly!" Twilight complimented her, a wide smile painted on her face.

Applejack gave a short laugh and rubbed the back of her head. "Well thanks, I suppose. Granny Smith did always say I was the apple of her eye." With a smirk and a lowered voice, she added, "Guess that made Big Mac the tree, huh?"

Twilight stifled a giggle, but nodded. "It wouldn't be too inaccurate, I must admit," Twilight replied.

They continued along the hallway and moved into the kitchen, where a buffet of apple-related treats awaited. There was also a pot of soup on the iron stove, and Twilight licked her lips at all of the choices. "Nice to see ya, Honey!" Granny Smith said with a grin, looking towards Twilight.

"Hello, Granny Smith. It's nice to see you, too. How have you been?" Twilight asked in a friendly manner.

"Weeelll," Granny Smith began, drawing out the word, "Harvest has been good, an' the Festival is comin' up. Suppose it's been goin' just dandy!"

"About the Farmer's Festival," Twilight said, rubbing her front hooves together slowly. Granny Smith held up a hoof and said, "No explainin' is needed. The Mayor came by and told me what Applejack would be up to over the next few days." Casting Applejack a grin and a wink, she added, "Don't think I've ever seen Applejack quite so happy 'bout leavin' the farm!"

Twilight looked over to Applejack, who was now looking everywhere but in Twilight's direction. "Anyways. I already ate lunch, so y'all help yerselves to anything ya like," Granny Smith said, walking out of the kitchen towards the living room, nudging Applejack on the shoulder on the way out.

"Thanks, Granny Smith," Twilight called to her, to which Granny Smith replied with a loud "Mhm!"

Applejack looked back to Twilight after a few moments, then nodded. "Let's eat," she said in an almost challenging manner. Twilight surveyed the layout of food before her. Apple pies, apple fritters, caramel apples, sliced apples with cinnamon, and a dozen other things Twilight had no names for. They seemed like custom creations, which would not be atypical of Granny Smith; she always seemed to be the creative type, especially when it came to the fruit of her own farm.

"I wouldn't know where to start!" Twilight exclaimed, licking her lips once again.

Applejack chuckled, reaching across the table they were both seated at to grab for some food. "Well then pick whatcha think you'll like first, then go from there," she suggested.

Shrugging, Twilight did as Applejack suggested and reached from the apple fritters first. It wasn't the healthiest choice, she knew, but she was quite hungry, and it did look quite delicious. She hungrily stuffed it into her mouth and shivered with glee at having assumed correctly. It was quite delicious. She chewed for a few moments before swallowing, and looked to Applejack with a smile. "These are great!" she complimented.

Applejack gestured to the whole table with one of her hooves. "Try it all! Granny Smith is the best chef in all of Equestria when it comes to apples," she replied proudly.

"Got that right, hunny!" Granny Smith called from the living room. Applejack rolled her eyes quickly, and chuckled.

"So, Twi," Applejack said after they had almost eaten their fill. The food on the table displayed the two's previous appetites quite well with half the food gone between the two of them. "Whatcha plan on doin' with your day off tomorrow?" she said in her usual nonchalant manner as she bit into a normal apple.

Twilight hadn't given much thought to it, and the question caught her off guard. "Well, I actually haven't given it much thought," she said honestly, giving a shrug.

Applejack shifted in her seat slightly and cleared her throat before offering, "Well why don't you come 'round the farm again?"

The offer caught Twilight even more off-guard than the question, and she asked, "Why?" Immediately she also added, "Not that I'm declining! I just thought you'd want to work, and I don't want to be a bother."

Applejack waved her hoof and said, "Aw, shucks, Twilight. I already told you that you ain't no burden. You can come 'round the farm when you'd like. Even if it's just to chat. We'll make time for ya."

Twilight couldn't help but notice the sincerity in Applejack's voice, and she felt a slight surge of joy flow through her veins. "Well when you put it that way, I suppose that I can see no reason not to come tomorrow! How early would you like for me to be here?" Twilight asked, her own joy evident in her voice and in her smile.

"I get up mighty early in the mornin'. Whenever you want is fine, just meet me over by the barn," Applejack said, a smile of her own showing up on her face, her emerald eyes seeming to shimmer in the evening light that crept through the kitchen's window.

For a few moments, the two sat across the table from each other, smiling for no particular reason. Finally, the sound of Apple Bloom walking through the front door brought them both to their senses. The two mares chuckled nervously, and Twilight made her way towards the hallway to the entrance.

"Granny Smith, do we have any food left? Some of our sandwiches got lost on the Crusade," Apple Bloom called from the hall, sounding exhausted. Twilight watched as the filly covered in twigs and leaves made her way through the hall slowly, head hanging dejectedly low.

"How'd the Crusade go, Buckaroo?" Applejack asked with a caring tone from behind Twilight.

"Terrible," Apple Bloom replied, looking up at her. "At least we can cross tree-climbin' off our Crusader's lists. Hey Twilight," she said, turning to the purple unicorn.

"Hello, Apple Bloom. Sorry your Crusade didn't go quite as planned," Twilight replied sincerely.

The filly waved her hoof in a similar fashion to her big sister and said proudly, "Nah, no worries. We'll keep tryin' 'till it works!"

"Well good for you, kiddo. Go get somethin' to eat. There's plenty left but you better hurry; Big Mac's almost done workin'," Applejack said, nudging Apple Bloom towards the kitchen.

"Thanks Applejack," she replied, hurrying along to eat dinner.

Twilight and Applejack moved outside the house and Twilight giggled. "She sure does have ambition," she said. "Reminds me a bit of you," she added, poking Applejack in the chest gently.

Applejack let out a nervous laugh as she rubbed the back of her head. "Runs in the family, I guess!" she replied.

Twilight giggled, then looked towards the horizon. She let out a sigh of slight disappointment. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow, then?" she offered, raising her eyebrow.

Applejack crossed her fore-hooves in a casual manner. "I'll see you then," she said with a smile and a nod. Twilight returned the smile as she turned away from Applejack and began her walk back to the library.