A Lesson in Baking

It had been a week since Bab had started her new life in Ponyville and things were going great. She had just woke up from a great dream and was excited to start the day. It was a Saturday, so she didn't have to go to school but she still had plenty of chores to do. She and Applebloom had to buck the west orchard, feed the pigs, and on top of that they had to help Applejack practice for the upcoming rodeo. The west orchard along would take all morning, and helping Applejack would take all afternoon. Luckily, the pigs wouldn't take very long but the day was still packed.

Babs got out of bed, brushed her mane, and headed downstairs for breakfast. Her face brightened as she walked down the stairs and caught a whiff of the unmistakable smell of Apple Pancakes. That was Bab's favourite meal and she couldn't wait to have some. As she reached the bottom of the stairs she looked around. There were only 3 ponies in front of her, Granny Smith, Applejack, and Big Mac. Applejack was serving up the last of the apple pancakes whilst Granny Smith and Big Mac were eating theirs. "Yes!", Bab thought, glad to see her cousin was not down yet. That meant that she would be stuck with cleaning out the pig pen, which was a job no-pony wanted to do. Whichever pony woke up last was the one who got that responsibility, a rule Granny Smith had come up with when Applejack and Big Mac were young.

Bab sat herself down at the table and dug into her meal. Halfway through eating Applebloom came down the stairs, had a look at the chore list for today, then flopped down on the table. She looked exhausted. Whilst the other family members chuckled, Bab asked," Something wrong, cous'?". Bab had never seen her cousin like this before. "Yeah, Ah'm alright an' all, I just didn't get much sleep last night", replied Applebloom, though it was hard to hear since she hadn't bothered to lift her head. "Oh, well I'll be happy to start bucking the west orchard early so you can get some more rest", Bab offered. "No, Ah'll do my part but if you could feed the pigs by yourself that would allow me to get some shut-eye in", said Applebloom, lifting her head and giving a Bab a small smile. "Ok, well, I'm all finished so I'll get an early start on things, meet ya in the west orchard?" asked Babs, getting up from the table and walking towards the door. "Sure, be out in about 5 mins, k?" replied Applebloom, starting to eat her pancakes. Babs gave a small nod then walked out the door.

It was early afternoon and the youngest members of the Apple Family were walking towards an open spot of land that had been turned into a rodeo practice arena. They had finished the morning's chores and now were starting the afternoon's. That was, until they saw a bright pink pony bouncing towards them. The pair slowed their walking, to match the paces of Pinkie's when they saw a grey mare walking slowly behind her. The mare's long pink mane was just about avoiding dragging behind her in the dirt. Babs was glad to see Candy-stone was visiting them as well, since she never left Sugar Cube Corner without her sister, and rarely left anyways. Bab was quite fond of Pinkie's younger sister, she may have some inner rage but she's a nice pony once you get to know her.

As Pinkie got closer to the fillies Applejack saw her and came over to greet her. "Ah wonder what she wants?", said Applejack, a look of confusion was on her face, although she still seemed happy to see her friend. "Hey Applejack! Applebloom! Babs!" Pinkie squealed, in her usual high-pitched voice.

"Hey Pinkie, whaddya doin' here? Not that we don't want ya here or nothin', but we're kinda busy", said Applejack, making sure to smile at the end so as not to hurt pinkie's feelings. "Oh, well, do you remember that time my sisters visited? My older sisters, that is, not Candy-stone here." Pinkie said, putting a hoof around her sister's neck lovingly. Candy-stone gladly accepted the hug with a shy smile.

"Course I remember when your sisters visited. What kind of a friend would I be if I didn't?" asked Applejack with a smirk, the younger fillies chuckled for a while before Pinkie Pie interrupted them. "Well, they've asked if its okay they stay with me a while and I said ok so were just on our way to pick them up from the train station!" finished Pinkie, as she grabbed a cannon out of nowhere that fired confetti onto the small group. "Oh, oh, sis please can I go?? I really wanna meet Pinkie's sisters and I'm sure Babs does too!" said Applebloom excitedly, giving Babs a small nudge as a hint that she should agree. Babs nodded vigorously, and it looked as though her head was about to fall off. "Fine fine, be back in time for dinner and if you go to Sugarcube Corner then don't eat too many treats" said Applejack, a stern look on her face. "Have fun!" she said as her cousin and sister ran towards the train station, closely followed by the Pie sisters, though Candy-stone was quickly overtaking them. And with that, Applejack walked towards the training area, a smile upon her face, happy the young fillies would be having a happy afternoon.