A few years passed, and Little Steppes and her friend Apple Cart had been exchanging letters throughout. It had quickly became a regular addition to the growing filly's day. Something she'd sit at the door for, waiting for the mail pony to bring with baited breath. Apple Cart would often tell her stories about the different places he went to as he travelled across Equestria with his mother and her trading caravan. From the urban jungle of Manehatten, and the countless and endlessly diverse ponies who called it home; to the marble towered and golden domed palace of the mountainside city of Canterlot, capital of Equestria; to the great southern harbour of Fillydelphia and beyond.
Meanwhile, the young mare had stories of her own, albeit less exciting: She'd tried her hardest to keep her promise to her father not to steal anymore. To do this, she'd grown closer with Apple Rose, an almost instinctively honest young mare who managed to keep the cobbler's daughter in line with the ever-potent promise of numerous apple-based desserts and pastries. If that failed, Lilly need only look at the letters her librarian friend Gleaming would send her, and even the occasional book sent along with them. Lilly had developed an insatiable love for magic as a result of this correspondence, even if it gave her funny looks.
In any case, ever since her night under the enslavement of Nightmare Moon's magic shoes, she'd felt like she'd turned a corner in her life. For the most part, by the time of her 16th birthday, Lilly been lucky enough to have the ponies forget about or forgive her for her thieving ways in the past, believing it to be little more than a phase which had passed. NOW she was the kind but slightly strange cobbler's daughter who was obsessed with magic, and always seemed to wear the same shoes: Then again, those same shoes were always in the most perfect, glittering condition. Being a cobbler's daughter, they believed it to be her father's work, and he certainly was happy for them to carry on thinking it...
* * *
Dear Lilly,
I'm sorry I wasn't there for your 16th birthday. Me and mother were hoping to arrive in time for it, but a wheel broke on one of our carts and we we're forced to stop and get it fixed. It was terrible, but we should still be there in time for my family's reunion at Sweet Apple Acres. It'll probably be real crowded like normal, but I'd be mighty glad if you'd come along. Now I know that it's normally a meet-up reserved for us Apples, but I really miss you, and It'd make me real happy if you'd join me. I mean, it'll be a lot of fun, and if I'm none too boastful, I'd like to say that we're rather good at putting up grub, so you won't be disappointed!
Lots of love,
Apple Cart.
Little Steppe's heart skipped a beat at the thought! She too had been missing Apple Cart. She'd seen him a few times when he'd come back to Ponyville for Apple Family reunions, as they happened every year and him and Apple Seeds had showed up every time without fail. Apple Cart with not the smartest in the world, but he always seemed to have interesting stories, and she'd read every letter he'd sent her, back to back, several times over. He was easily one of her closest friends by this point, which made seeing him so rarely ache in her heart.
This had not been the first time she'd been invited to a reunion, Apple Rose often brought her along just so she could try out some of their pies and jams. This time had her excited far more than ever before, but also, strangely, rather nervous...
"He'd been delayed because one of his carts broke." Lilly explained to her mother as they walked the market, buying their daily groceries: Grassy smiled and nodded with the patience of a saint as her daughter had been talking about Apple Cart and his letter all day. "...And he's going to be at the Apple Family Reunion, and he's invited me along!"
"I know, dear, it sounds like you're going to have a great time."
"Of course I am!" Little Steppes beamed, before having a sudden revelation. "Oh, but I haven't seen him in a whole year! I need to do something to impress him! And the reunion! I mean, I'm still a blank flank, and what if... What if he finds that stupid or something? I mean, he's got HIS mark now: It was an applecart! ...Which, I suppose was rather inevitable, really. But I enjoy baking, and I'm pretty good at shoe-making, so unless I really WAS supposed to be a sticky hoofed bandit, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do, and it's going to make me look like a foal in front of him!"
Grassy sighed a slight happy sigh. "...He's obviously very special to you, and from what I heard, he's a perfectly lovely young stallion, and he won't care if you have a cutie mark or not. He likes you for you, not your cutie mark."
"Hm, well, perhaps I can wear my dress to hide it, just in case..."
"Oh." She scoffed. "THAT old thing? It's all patchy and old."
"Yeah, I guess... But I don't have anything else..." Lilly frowned.
"Well, how about we go back home and fix that?" she asked with a wry smile. "I think I might have something to help you there..."
The two mares finished up their daily shopping in the market and returned home. After unpacking and putting everything away, Lilly was brought upstairs to her mother's bedroom...
"I don't think I've ever shown you this before." Grassy admitted. "But when I left with your father to come live here in Ponyville, I managed to pack up a few of my old things before I did." She opened a wardrobe, leaving Lilly stunned at the number of fine dresses her mother somehow managed to store in there!
"Mother... How...?"
"I was part of a very wealthy family back in Canterlot." She explained. "They cut me off when I ran away with your father, but I didn't care, and they couldn't stop me from taking what I'd packed..." She chuckled. "...I was pretty good at packing back then, and I'm a lot stronger than I look..."
She invited Lilly over to the wardrobe, and began picking through all of the dresses in the cupboard. They were all pretty old, but hadn't lost their beauty. Although she'd gotten a little taller, Lilly was still quite a small pony, however, so was her mother; consequently, Lilly found the dresses to be a rather comfortable fit. With her mother's help, she tried on and several different dresses; eventually, she came across a light, summery white dress, made of fine linen, and still in remarkably good condition.
"Here, try this on." Grassy handed her daughter the dress. "Hmmm, and while you're doing that, don't wear the socks with your shoes?"
"What? But I like socks." She protested. "Plus my hooves used to end up chafing if I didn't wear them with shoes."
"That was with your old ones, before you were given those lovely shiny ones. I've seen the insides of them, they've got a far nicer lining than your father could make... He had to up his game dramatically once people started thinking HE made those things! But seriously, they're all raggedy and patchy. Trust me on this one."
Little Steppes huffed, and nodded. She kicked off her shoes and removed her socks before reapplying said shoes to her hooves. It had been force of habit which meant she'd never worn shoes without socks, but Gassy was right: The silk lining inside the shoes more than made up for the lack of socks. "Fine... That's pretty damn comfortable." She shooed her mother out of the room so she could disrobe from her current clothing (again, force of habit: Most ponies were nude on a daily basis, after all!) and pulled herself into her mother's summer dress. Clearly, Grassy had been lilly's size when she ran away with Mighty Steppes and fit Lilly like a glove!
"Oooh." Grassy squeaked, covering her mouth with her front hooves, her eyes glistening. "Oh Lilly, you look so lovely." She ran up and gave her daughter an affectionate hug. "Oh, he's going to LOVE that! I promise you!"
Lilly, for her part, was a bit lost for words: What the dress lacked in thrills it made up for in a simple, beautiful elegance. Its light colour complimented the bluey-silver of her shoes... She loved that dress: It held every aspect of that wonderful Canterlot exotic-ness she longed for.
"...It..." Little Steppes finally said softly shaking with a quiet excitement. "It's perfect." She ran over and locked her mother in a hug. "Oh, thank you! It's the best dress I've ever worn!"
"That's quite alright, dear. How about you consider it a late birthday present? It looks far better on you than it ever did on me." Her mother smiled. "And I'm sure Apple Cart will love it too."
There was very little else for them to do now, at least in theory, but Lilly was convinced there was more she needed to make herself look better: It was her being neurotic, and she was quite aware of that. To try to put her mind at ease, Little Steppe's mother helped to do her fiery red mane; washing it, brushing it and helping her to tie it back: Lilly's mane was never very long, and ever since she was a young filly, she'd enjoyed having her mane and tail tied up like that. ...And that was it: Hers was not a wealthy family; she wore no jewels, she wore no makeup. All she had was her magic shoes, her tied up hair, and her mother's summery white dress.
She'd been to the reunions of the Apple family for years, she was well recognised by the ponies who showed up on a regular basis, and was one of the few ponies who wasn't a part of the family who was welcomed to join them with open arms. By all rights, she had no reason to be nervous, and yet she was. As she trotted up to Sweet Apple Acres she felt her legs feel rather shaky, and her mouth was very dry. It only got worse once she actually saw Apple Cart waiting at the front gate for her, leaning against one of the posts, his straw hat set upon a combed mane, a saddlebag laid casually over his back, and a smart western necktie around his neck... He was taller than she remembered, quite muscular too...
He quickly ran over to her upon seeing her, and Lilly found herself running to him as well. "Lilly!" He beamed. "Wow, Lilly, ya' look..." He stammered off. "...Amazin'."
"Oh. Thanks! I wanted to make an effort, you know!?" She smiled. "It's really good to see you again! I've missed you loads!" She added, giving him a quick hug.
"Ah, ya' didn't need ta' do that. Ya' look lovely jus' the way y'are." They pulled away from the hug, though he kept a foreleg draped around her. "It sure is good ta' see ya' too. The road's been mighty stressful, what with that new fancy railroad they're buldin'. I'd been lookin' forward ta' seein' ya' again. Shall we head on in? I'm quite sure there's gonna' be quite an afternoon ahead."
Apparently, Little Steppes had forgotten that she was attending a reunion for a family of ponies whose history lay strongly in farming: As such she was overdressed. Most of the ponies were wearing hats, maybe a necktie or a neckscarf; none of them were dressed as formally as Lilly (With one exception, and that being one rather odd pony dressed head to hoof in green lederhosen). She stuck out like a sore hoof, and she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
"Good gravy, girl!" Apple Rose scoffed as she invited Little Steppes inside the farmhouse kitchen. "It's mighty kind of ya' to help me, ma' cousin an' Apple Cart make the apple pies, but ya' forgot to leave ya' shoes at the front door again!"
Miss Smith nodded. "Sorry Lilly. Ya' know the rules in the house. We all leave our shoes at the front so we don't walk all our dirt inside."
Lilly winced. "Sorry!" She stepped back into the hall. In truth, she hadn't really forgotten: She'd never forgotten about her shoes being magic, nor had she forgotten about the rather awkward circumstances which led up to Princess Celestia giving them to her; most of all, however, she'd never forgotten the princess' warning to never let anypony else wear the shoes. She didn't want to take any chances, but she didn't really have much of a choice. She sighed as she walked over to the cluster of different pairs of boots at the front door. There she kicked off her own shoes; the elegant, gleaming mithril shoes stood in stark contrast to the dull, sturdy leather boots which surrounded them; She'd put her shoes on again when she finished.
Nevertheless, she returned to the kitchen, now barehoofed, as Apple Cart was mid-conversation with Apple Rose.
"...Now see here, Apple Rose. I know the rules are all important an' all, but Lil' Steppes' shoes were clean as a whistle. They're always clean as a whistle! Ah' get the need to have clean hooves when we're cookin', but where's yer' hooves been? Ya' don't wear shoes or nothin'. At least we' know 'er hooves are gonna be clean."
"Hey, Ah' wash my hooves plenty before I cook!" Apple Rose snorted. "I don't care one or the other is ya' got a crush on 'er or not, I jus' wanna make sure everythin's clean. I don't want none of ma' kin getting sick by mistake."
Lilly froze at mention of that, her heart skipping a beat. Apple Cart looked up to see her standing in the doorway, and his orange cheeks turned red. "Ah! Erm, hey Lilly! WE were' jus' getting everythin' all started up for when ya' got back. I'm real sorry 'bout ma' cousin being a sore-flanked nag who talks too much. She just wants ta' make sure ya' didn't walk anythin' muddy in when we're bakin'."
Apple Rose rolled her eyes at Apple Cart, sticking her tongue out at him before getting back to making up some apple tartlets to bake. She took to cutting some of the apples for a pie, while Apple Cart prepared the dough; kneading it and rolling it out to line a large pie dish with. All the while, Little Steppes couldn't help but look up occasionally to watch him as he did his work.
Between the three of them, they managed to produce a fair number of large, tasty apple pies for the reunion. There was also an assortment of tarts and other treats plated and shipped off to the front garden for ponies to nibble on at their leisure. As long as you liked apples, it was an excellent spread (if you didn't like apples, you weren't welcome there).
For some ponies, being invited to a family gathering, and then just doing the cooking would've been seen as a pretty sour deal. However, Lilly didn't mind. For one, she quite liked baking; for two, she was still invited to actually take part in the more fun stuff (as far as the likes of Miss Smith, Apple Rose and Apple Cart were concerned, any friends of the Apple Family were practically family themselves). Finally, however, she was mainly there for the company, and Apple Cart made for some great company.
As the festivities progressed, most of the ponies of the Apple Family gathered for a sing-along and a brief dance. As she headed out to watch, she joined by Apple Cart. He offered her a hoof.
"Howdy there." he smiled. "May Ah' have this dance?"
She returned the smile, and took his hoof. "...You know I'm a terribly dancer?" She asked as her led her to the floor.
"Ah' don't give a hoot." Apple Cart smirked. "Ah' trust ya' not to hurt somepony."
As they took their places, they stood on their hind legs, using one another to balance each other for the dance. As they did so, Lilly leaned into Apple Cart, his warm, orange fur brushing against her face (he was a much bigger pony than she was, after all).
The dance was a fairly slow, circular waltz to a fiddler's gentle tune. They did fine when it was slow, but... It got quicker. As it got quicker, the pair got less and less graceful. Eventually, the inevitable happened: Lilly's hoof slipped, she tumbled into Apple Cart, and they both fell onto each other on the ground.
"Oh!" She squeaked, blushing intensely as she picked herself up off his chest, since she'd landed atop him as he fell on his back. "I'm so sorry!"
He chuckled. "Oof... I'm mighty glad yer' so small an' light."
She helped him up. "Ah, well... Yeah! Being tiny has its perks!"
"Sure does." He sat up. "Ah' don't think we're cut out for dancin'." He smiled, looking at the breaking sunset, before whispering in her ear. "Shall we go?"
"Go?"
"Yeah." He smiled. "Ah' managed to stash some of the food from earlier in a nice basket. How 'bout we jus' get outta' here, find somewhere nice an' quiet?"
Lilly nodded. "I like the sound of that."
And so, the pair bailed for the dance, after failing miserably at it. The pair quickly trotted back to the farmhouse, where Apple Cart produced a large picnic basket full of the leftovers from the table spread, some leftover slices of cake, along with a few plates, a flask of apple cider, a pair of cups and a picnic blanket. With that, they slipped away from the rest of the ponies. They made their way atop a small hill overlooking the farm's orchards and the setting sun, where they set down the blanket to have their picnic and watch the sunset...
"Ah' really gotta' say how sorry Ah' am for ma' letters being so lean lately." Apple Cart apologized. "Tell ya' the truth, it's been real busy on the road. Ain't had much choice but to go all hooves on deck."
"It's not been much more interesting here either." Little Steppes nodded. "...There's just, there's nothing here in Ponyville. There's been a few more pegasi and unicorns than back when I was little. But, since Silver Stone ran off with somepony in Canterlot, things have been so boring around here."
"Didn't she try to frame ya' several times?"
"Yeah, and I'm never going to forgive her for that. I'd been trying so hard to get everypony to believe I'm not a lying thief anymore. Her though? She was determined to get everypony in Ponyville to hate me... But, now she's gone, things are just quiet. I appreciate it, but..." she sighed. "I feel so silly right now."
"Ya' ain't bein' silly. This is stuff that's got ya' down in the dumps, so it's important to me." He poured himself another mug of the cider from his flask. "Ya' want some?"
"Oh, I probably shouldn't. I mean, it smells lovely, but..."
He chuckled. "Ain't nothin' nasty, Lilly. This is soft cider, ain't no alcohol to speak of. The foals were drinking this stuff and nothin' bad happened to none of 'em." He smiled. "Ah' know Ah' ain't the smartest pony in the world, but Ah'm certain this is the non-alcoholic stuff." He poured another mug and offered it to her. Gingerly, Lilly took the drink and had a sip: The cider was cool on her tongue, if a little flat, with a sweet taste of freshly picked apples; some of the best apples in all of Equestria.
"It's good." Lilly said after finishing off her drink. "Really good."
"Ah' should hope so. Cider goes bad too dam' quick, don't wanna' waste none of it! We ain't none of them fancy supermarkets in the cities, putting Celestia knows what in whatever they're sellin' to make 'em keep. We do things properly!"
"I, I can't say I know anything about that." Lilly confessed as she set down her mug upon the picnic blanket. "I'm not as well-traveled as you are."
Apple Cart nodded at the response, looking out over the golden sky with a thoughtful look upon his face. "...Would you like to be?" he asked suddenly.
"What do you mean?" Lilly looked at him, catching him with his head turned, looking right back at her. He looked... nervous.
"Ah' mean..." He paused. "Ah've been thinking. Ya' say yer' bored sitting around Ponyville? Well, ah' really like ya' Lil' Steppes. Comin' to Ponyville to see ya' again... It's the best part of ma' travels by far! ...Ah'd been talkin' with ma' mother. If yer' wanted to, ya' could, well, when yer' older, ya' could come with us if ya' wanted to?"
It took Little Steppes but a few moments for the offer to compute in her head, but when it did, the young mare found herself beaming. "Oh, wow! Really?" Apple Cart nodded. "That would be so amazing! I'd love to!" In a burst of emotion she wrapped the stallion up in a big hug, burying herself into his warm, brown fur, his front hoof and foreleg wrapped around her in turn. However long that hug lasted, it didn't feel long enough for Lilly once they separated. Their gaze was firmly set on each other as they sat up as the sky turned into a cooler copper evening sunset, the gold of the sky bleeding from the light upon all that it touched, giving the world a soft, blooming glow. More cider was poured and swiftly drunk, and Apple Cart was beginning to wonder if he had indeed got the ciders mixed up: They'd both turned more and more red-faced as the date progressed, and to say the two ponies had gotten very close to one another would be an extremely apt understatement.
Still, Lilly was lost in the larger stallion's blue eyes. She'd read enough to have a rough idea what was going on, and had she been in a less emotionally charge situation would've probably laughed off how daft she was being. This was not that movement, however. Oh, sweet Celestia, she was developing a crush wasn't she? Did her mother know? She seemed to know. Great, she'd be having words with her about this later. But, for now, she was desperately hoping she wasn't going to look stupid in front of Apple Cart: If this all went wrong, she didn't want things to be ruined between them.
"Lilly, ya' feelin' alright?"
"I'm fine." Lilly smiled. "...I just, I'll have to talk to my parents about leaving home, but I'd like to! I really would. Because, well, I really like you too." she drew closer to him, her hooves shuffling slightly underneath her. Still she was absorbed by those blue eyes, and the handsome face which would be incomplete without them. Apple Cart had been staring back at her the whole time she'd been sitting there like this. Was the same thing going through his mind? Lilly hoped so. Just how close was she to him now anyway? The answer seemed to be pretty damn close, as she began to feel the rising and fall of his chest against hers. It was all so much for Lilly, a rush of sudden emotion and, to a lesser extent, desire. It was now or never, and Lilly couldn't resist any longer.
In a sudden flash of movement, with a jolt to the nerves, Lilly leaned up and quickly kissed Apple Cart, right on the lips. It was a rapid, slightly clumsy advance on her part, and it certainly took Apple Cart by surprise.
If Lilly had her eyes open to see, she could've seen the gears whirring in Apple Cart's brain, one part surprise, one part excitement, and one part relief that she'd taken the plunge first. The kiss seemed to hang in time for a long while before the two ponies pulled away once more: It was always a bit strange that the blushing of cheeks could be seen through a pony's facial fur, and yet it was. For Lilly, her cheeks were nearly as red as her mane.
"Ah... Ah' dare say I wasn't expectin' that." Apple Cart finally spoke.
"Sorry." Lilly looked away for a second, her cheeks truly burning under her fur. "I imagine that was like me headbutting you..." she winced. ”...Not what I'd call 'elegant'."
"Heh, an' Ah' thing you'd probably been knocked cold if Ah'd tried to go first. Ah' was, Ah' was quite nervous about goin' first. Ya' being a big bookworm, ya' probably read a ton of them fancy romance stories where the stallion's all suave an' charmin' an' what have ya'." He breathed heavily. "Dangit. Ah'd been tryin' to figure out how to do this, an' Ah' end up botchin' it anyway."
"What do you mean?"
Another sigh. "...We've been writin' to each other for years. Ah'd been readin' an' rereadin' your letters ever since, well, ever since Gleamin' and yer'self taught me how. Ah' nearly lost ma' composure when a leak in our wagon' canvas nearly got 'em all wet an' ruined. Ah' think Ah'd always know to some extent or 'nother. But..." He falls silent for a moment. His face was carved with thoughtfulness, the knowledge of the importance of what he was trying to say clearly weighed heavily on his every feature. Then, finally, he spoke again. "Well, Ah' love ya', Lilly. Ah' really do."
Lilly's mouth was dry, her heart racing in her chest, and her limbs trembling like leaves upon wind-rustled branches: This was happening, this was actually happening. There was a part of Lilly which was begging to bottle it, to run away and freak out somewhere, but no. She couldn't. she mustn't! She'd hate herself for it forever if she didn't.
She reached for his leg with a hoof, gently stroking his brown fur. "I, I love you too." she said. She'd hoped that, when this day came, she could conduct herself with a bit more grace; as it was, she practically squeaked out her admission, much more like a mouse than a pony. The relief on his face was tangible however, and that brought more than a little comfort to Lilly for her part. Still, she could do better than that, and she knew it. "You showing up in Ponyville is the best part of my year." she added, shuffling up close to him again. "My entire year. And that includes all the holidays! Nightmare Night, Hearthswarming. I know they'd be a million times better if you'd been there for them with me."
From Apple Cart there was a chuckle. "Ah' must agree. The holidays ain't so great when ya' on the road all the time. Ma' tries to make 'em nice, but in the end it's usually just her an' me, an' maybe a few other hired helpers for larger loads, but it'd still be far better if ya'd been there..." She shrugged. "Ah', dangit. Ah'm getting all silly. Ah' should'a planned this out better. Ah' could'a at least figured out somethin' ta' say before I got here, an' maybe..."
Lilly put a hoof to his lips, silencing him; somehow, despite that initial stumble, her responses began to feel more natural to Lilly as the evening progressed. They'd both already kissed, both already admitted their love for one another: the scary part was already done! "You didn't need to plan." Lilly spoke, her tone soft, comforting. The stress was pouring out of her like a leaking cider barrel; she felt good, and didn't want her friend, nay, crush? Coltfriend? Whatever Apple Cart was, she didn't want him worrying. "This evening has been lovely just the way it is. Really, this place it lovely. Nice and far away from everpony else, quiet, easy for us to figure things out. The picnic was a lovely touch." A smile crept upon her face. "I guess it was a date! So well done, now you're stuck with me!"
"Ah' think ah' can live with that." Apple Cart exaggerated a roll of the eyes. "Ya' know, if ah' have to. Jus' seemed a shame to let this food an' stuff go to waste."
"I can never resist free food." Lilly replied. "And I really am a sucker for that cute hat of yours."
Another laugh. "Didn't think ya' had a thing for hats."
"I don't!" she teased. "I don't give a hoot about the hats ponies wear! So imagine how great you and your hat have to be to woo me like that."
"Nah, Lilly, Ah' think ya'd look good in a hat. Nice big white one to go with ya' dress." He looked her over again as he spoke. "Say, where'd ya' get that thing anyway? Ah' don't think ah' asked ya' 'bout it before."
"Oh, it's my mother's." she explained. "She used to live in Canterlot before I was born. And hey, I needed something which would go nice with my shoes..." She looked down at the glittering mithril shoes adorning her hooves for a moment. "You know, after ditching socks. For Celestia's sake, what was I thinking?"
"Well ah' think ya' perfect, however ya' look." He lifted a hoof slightly to gently stroke her leg. "An', Ah' really liked kissin' ya' jus' now."
Lilly found herself giggling at the remark. "Oh really?" she asked. "Up for seconds?"
"Ah' was worried ya'd never ask..."
The second kiss was far better than the first. For all it's romantic appeal and excitement, the first kiss is rarely the best kiss a budding couple will ever have. Neither Little Steppes nor Apple Cart knew what they were doing the first time around, and the young mare had gone in for that kiss so quickly and so suddenly that, had her intentions been violent rather than romantic, she could've knocked him cold.
The second time, however, everything was better. Time seemed to slow as their lips connected and there was an amorous heat in the air from their sheer proximity to one another. Apple Cart reached a foreleg around his partner, holding her close and kissing her cheek and neck. His thoughts were plagued by fantasies of taking that beautiful pony and consummating their newfound love before she even had so much time as to kick off her shoes. He scolded himself for such indecency, but continued to hold her close to him; Lilly, for her part, had no desire for Apple Cart to stop in his advances, and she too had fantasies of them both running off into the sunset together.
That was all they would be, however: Fantasy. Even now, the sun was continuing to set, and it would soon be too dark to see. The others would surely be wondering where they'd gotten to. They would've stayed there long into the night if they could. However, they could hear a steady rising of sound further down the valley, ponies calling their names, looking for them. They shared a reluctant sigh, and began to pack up their things and head back down to the farm. Their absence had not gone unnoticed, not least by Apple Seed, who had been one of the Apples who'd been looking for them.
"Darnit!" She didn't sound pleased as she rushed over to the, "Where in heck had ya' both gone off to? Ah'd been worried sick 'bout ya'." she glared at her son and the younger filly at his side. He winced, holding up the picnic basket. "Sorry Ma'." he replied. "We'd taken some of the leftovers an' had a bit of a picnic."
"Hm." she snorted. "Really? An' that's all? No funny business?"
"Funny business?" The two ponies looked at one another. "No no, Ma'. Nothin' like that. Ah' promise ya."
She continued to eye the pair up, though Apple Seed knew her son long enough to know his tells for whenever he was lying. Her features softened slightly. "Ah, well, ya' both here now. Ah' suppose you lovebirds both had a good time with yer' picnic?" The redness intensified, and she grinned knowingly. "Come now, kid. Ah' was young once. And ah've had to hear ya' fawning over Lilly for ages!"
"Oh, you fawn over me, do you?"
Apple Cart shrunk back, spluttering a little. "Ah', but, Ah'. Goodness sake, Ah' told ya' bout that already!"
"Yeah, Lil' Steppes, trust me. Not a day would go by he wasn't goin' on an' on 'bout ya'. Then he got it into his head 'bout how great it'd be if ya' gave up whatever ya' wanted to do when ya' grew up an' came with us on our traveling sales work."
"Oh, he told me about that already." Lilly chirped in. "I'd love to join you and Apple Cart, if you'd have me."
Apple Seed frowned. "Ya' a bit young to be goin' off as a travelling salespony." she remarked. "Have ya' thought 'bout this at all, Lil' Steppes?"
Lilly stammered in response, struggling for words. "I, erm, I... No..."
Apple Seed didn't let her finish. "Go an' speak to ya' folks." she said firmly. "Ah' ain't taking ya' while ya' still a filly. It's too much work, an' ya' need to finish ya' schoolin' first."
"But..."
"Ain't no buts 'bout it, Lilly." Apple Seed snapped, though she quickly softened her tone, not wanting to be too harsh. "...Ah' ain't sayin' no to you joinin' us. Jus'... Later. When ya' older, old enough to look after ya'self, an' when ya' schoolin' is all done. It'll give ya' two years to think it over. Then ya' can join us for a trade route to see if ya' up for it. Ain't no shame in trying ya' hoof at somethin' an' finding it ain't ya' thing."
Lilly wanted to protest, she looked sadly at Apple Cart, but he was powerless in this situation. She sighed. "Okay, Apple Seed. I'll think about it."
"Great." Apple Seed smiled, offering the filly a friendly hug. "...Now, let's get ya' back home. Ah'm sure ya' folks must be wondering where ya' got to..."
Apple Seed and Apple Cart went with Lilly back to her home. The older mare stepped back once they reached the cobbler's shop, allowing her son some privacy with his crush. Lilly and him shared on final kiss at the door, before Lilly reluctantly left him and headed inside.
Apple Cart and his mother would pack up their wagons and head on out again tomorrow. They both knew it would be a long time before they saw each other again, but whatever happened, they were together. Perhaps not physically, but in their hearts, they were together. He would of course visit when they passed by Ponyville, but the shared knowledge that, in two years, Lilly would get to join them properly; coupled with the memory of that perfect evening, it would make those days before they were reunited feel all the shorter...