Twilight Sparkle walked along the path towards the ponyville market, spike following close behind her.
She carried with her an empty saddlebag and a pouch full of bits for her to make the oh so important purchase her assistant had pleaded with her to go out and make.
She giggled as she remembered how the dragon dropped to his knees and begged her to go out and buy his precious crystals.
"Hey! I do not get cranky!" Spike had said as he shook his fist in defiance at Twilight.
She simply smirked and said, "Well, if you really think you can handle going one morning without your snacks, then I won't go and buy them."
Spike's eyes widened at the mare's words. Surely she wouldn't deny him his precious crystals. He needed those snacks to get enough energy to make it through the day. "N-n-n-no, wait. Wait!"
Twilight looked at him, a smirk still present on her face. "Yes, Spike?"
"I...i need them." He said in an almost inaudible whisper.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Twilight asked, teasing the dragon just a little bit.
"I said I need them!" Spike yelled as he blushed furiously from embarrassment.
Twilight's smile only grew as she looked him over. "Well, if it really means that much to you, then I guess i'll have to buy them for you."
Spike was on his knees as he kissed his teacher's/friend's/mother's hooves. "Oh thank you Twilight! Thank you!"
As she recalled the memory, Twilight noticed that as she walked into town, a lot of ponies were waving at her. She waved back, a bit confused as to why everypony was being so friendly all of a sudden. she hadn't done anything to warrant their attention had she? At least, nothing she knew of.
As she wondered about the odd levels of attention she was receiving from everypony, she made her way to a stall, having now entered the market.
"What can I get you today?" A crystal seller pony said as she smiled at her newest customer for the day.
Twilight looked carefully over each of the crystals trying to decide which one would be best to buy for Spike. Spike himself just stared at the crystals through the glass, drooling like a mad dragon. He wanted them all.
Twilight had to pull him away and place him on her back to stop him from wetting the glass with his saliva. "I'll take...that one." She said, pointing at a small yet bright red crystal.
Spike stopped drooling for a moment when he laid eyes upon the jewel Twilight had picked out. Then he spotted another one out of the corner of his eye. One that looked just as delicious, if not more so, than that one. "Oh oh oh! That one too! Get that one too, Twilight!"
Twilight looked over at the dragon to see that he was pointing at yet another crystal. "What is it spike? You want another crystal?" Spike shook his head. "Well alright, but only if I can afford it."
Suddenly the shop owner pulled both the jewels out as a happy grin spread across her face. "No matter dear," she said, placing them both on the counter. "i'll give you both of them for the price of one. A two for one deal, just for you."
Twilight looked at the crystal seller in disbelief. "Really? You'd do that?"
"Yep. Just for you. Plus, your dragon looks like he's about to faint from either happiness or hunger already!"
twilight looked up at Spike, who indeed, looked a little too excited. "Alright spike, you can have them both."
Spike nearly jumped out of his skin at this. "Really? Really I can?"
Twilight only chuckled. "Yes, you can, Spike"
Spike pumped his fist with a whispered "yes!" and in a few moments they were off again.
Twilight thought it would be a good idea to pay their friends a surprise visit while they were out. She thought it would only be right for them to do that.
The two made their way over to Sweet Apple Acres to visit their friend Apple Jack. Once there, Twilight gave a slow knock on the door to the barn where her best friend lived. The door opened slowly, revealing not Apple Jack, but Apple Bloom, Apple Jack's little sister.
"Hello! Who's there?" Apple Bloom's southern accent, a trait shared by all members of the apple family, called from inside the doorway.
"Hi Apple Bloom! Where's Apple Jack? Is she not in right now?" Twilight greeted the earth pony filly with a barrage of questions that made her head spin with confusion.
"Uhh....he he. Um...ughh..."
"Oh um...sorry Apple Bloom. I guess I kinda confused you with all my questions, didn't I?" Twilight apologized a look of slight concern on her face for the filly.
"yeah, ya kinda did..." After collecting her thoughts, Apple Bloom spoke again. "She's not in the barn. She's outside buckin' apples in the orchard."
"Oh I see." Twilight said, a bit disappointed that she couldn't see her friend just yet. "I had been looking forward to visiting her, but if she's busy, I can always come back later." She started to walk off until she heard Apple Bloom's voice call out from behind her.
"Ya know, if ya really wanna see her, why don't ya stay here and wait for her on the farm?"
Twilight turned around, looking at apple bloom with a happy expression. "That's a great idea, Apple Bloom. I'd love to."
Twilight, followed closely by spike, made her way into the barn, the pride and joy of the Apple family.
Filled with the literal fruits of years and years of hard labor, this place was the cornerstone of the Apple family way of life.
It was run well by Granny Smith, who sold her family's famous apple cider, and yet ever more famous zap apple jam. It was managed by Apple Jack and Big Macintosh, two siblings who helped out at the farm on a regular basis every day.
Apple Bloom, the youngest of the family, was not yet old enough to help out around the farm, so she just kind of, watched and learned.
Twilight sat inside the barn with Apple Bloom, discussing things like how they were feeling, and how their week has been, with Apple Bloom, as usual, talking about her club, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, or CMC, which she led with the help of her two best friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, and Twilight talking of her recent deal struck out of nowhere with an extremely kind shop owner.
As they talked, all the while Apple Bloom laughing at the part of Twilight's tale about Spike crying and begging her to buy him crystals, much to the embarrassment of the very sensitive dragon, Apple jack was making her way back to the farm. After bucking all of the trees on the east side of her orchard, she had gotten tired and finally decided to call it a day.
She stepped inside the barn and was greeted with a sight she had not expected to see. There, sitting on a bail of hay with her sister, was her best friend, Twilight Sparkle, accompanied by spike, of all people. She went over to speak to them.
"Well, howdy Twilight! Mornin', Spike, Apple Bloom!"
Twilight stopped her conversation with Apple Bloom, having long since finished her tale, and decided to let her get the laughter out of her system, at spike's expense, as she talked with Apple Jack.
The only response from spike was a slight wave in her direction.
"Hi Apple Jack! Apple Bloom and I were just talking."
"What were ya'll talkin' about?" Apple Jack said, now curious as to what the two of them could possibly have to talk about. "And what's his problem?"
"Oh he's just grumpy that I told Apple Bloom about how he begged and pleaded for me to buy him a crystal. It's nothing. Nothing at all!" Twilight waved it off as something trivial. "Just like what we talked about."
"Now ya'lll know how I am about secrets." Apple Jack teased her friend.
"Oh fine. I was just telling her about this great deal I got from a nice crystal shop owner in the market today." twilight resigned to her friend's teasing manner.
"Is that all? Why'd ya feel the need to hide that?" Apple Jack asked, legitimately confused.
"I also got waved at by everyone in ponyville as I walked to the market today." Twilight said nervously. "I wasn't hiding it. I just...didn't consider it important enough to tell you. That's all."
"Gettin' a good mornin' from the ponies of ponyville ain't nothin' new. Why would ya be so startled by somethin' as simple as that?" Apple Jack asked, even more confused now.
"I know I shouldn't but, it wasn't just one or two ponies. It was everyone." Twilight said, putting her muzzle to the ground in shame at her lack of social understanding.
"Maybe they were just feelin' neighborly today?" Apple Jack asked.
"Maybe..." Twilight responded, not lifting her muzzle.
"Whad'ya mean not important enough? Not important enough? Now ya'll listen here, sugar cube.-Apple Jack placed a hoof to her heart and smiled at Twilight, placing a hoof on her shoulder.- "Anythin', and I mean anythin', is important enough for ya'll to tell me. I want to hear about how yer day's been, or how yer feelin'. I want to hear it all. I mean, that's what friends are for, right?"
Twilight was shocked at this. To believe her friend was so interested in her life to the point where she wanted to hear things that she would consider small or inconsequential. It made her very happy.
"Now, let's see if we can give ya an even better deal." Apple Jack said as she walked out of the barn, stopping at the door.
"What do you mean Apple Jack?" Now it was twilight's turn to be confused
"I mean that if ya went out to buy Spike food, then that means that ya probably haven't eaten yerself. Granny Smith and i'll fix ya'll up somethin' nice and tasty for breakfast. Now Ya'll just sit outside and wait." Apple Jack walked out of the barn with a smile.
Twilight was taken aback by this. Not only had she been greeted by everypony she made eye contact with today, but she had been given a deal she didn't deserve and was now about to receive a meal she didn't deserve either. She knew it shouldn't, but it made her feel...bad. Here she was doing absolutely nothing while her friends and even people she didn't know did all these amazing things for her. It made her feel like she wasn't doing enough for her friends.
She pushed the thought aside, opting to feel bad about it later rather than spoil the breakfast Apple Jack was about to make.
She sat down at the table and awaited her food. A while after she did, Apple Jack and Granny Smith came out with the plates. As she looked at the food present on hers and her hosts' plates, her stomach rumbled.
"Looks like you were hungry. Go ahead and eat. I have a bit of something I need to do." Apple Jack said, pointing at the food.
"Oh no. Apple Jack, I couldn't. Not while-"
Apple Jack cut her off mid sentence. "Eat. Go on. I don't mind one bit."
Twilight nervously picked up the fork using her magic. "Well, if you insist..."
She began eating and Apple Jack soon came back and joined her, along with the rest of the Apple family, in a happy breakfast for all of them.
After saying their goodbyes, Twilight and Spike, full from the breakfast they just had, left and went to visit Rarity.