They were rather short on time, shorter than either one were comfortable with, but somehow they managed to prepare everything in time. In the short amount of time between agreeing to help out and 7pm that evening the bunch had managed to restructure the Crusaders' initial plan and refine it to a point that the Crusaders felt it almost their 'restaurant' wasn't their idea anymore, in a good way though.
Applejack along with Spike, had expanded the initial menu to an impressive selection of dishes to choose from, as well as create an actual menu that Sweetie and Button could be given at their table. Any ingredients that the Apples didn't readily have, were generously provided by Twilight and Rarity. Applejack also assisted in bringing up a barrel of cider the family had kept in storage for personal use, allowing them to use it for the occasion.
Rainbow, under the advisement of the others, ensured the skies would be clear that night and dispersed any cloud that threatened to drift into the skies over Ponyville. After that though, she was asked to help Twilight with what she was doing for her part, with the agreement of having several mugs of cider as payment.
Twilight, aside from providing much needed extra ingredients, had also sent a detailed request to Princess Luna, telling her about the date and how it would be greatly appreciated if she could take the special request of making the night sky really beautiful that night. It didn't take long to get a reply back as Luna mentioned it seemed oddly unfair to do so just for a single pair of ponies, but did wholeheartedly agreed to put the extra effort in to making the night sky really shine that night.
"Ah just can't believe it." Applebloom remarked outloud, "This is even better than we originally planned it ta be."
"Yeah! And, these awesome outfits Rarity put together for us are so cool. Betcha we could even be mistaken as real waiters." Scootaloo agreed, mentioning the waiter outfits that Rarity had put together for the two of them for her part, other than the dress Sweetie had requested from her in advance anyway.
"Yeah, cool, but why couldn't she help us more?" Rainbow complaining about how Rarity was allowed to just make the clothes and was completely done with her part.
"That's because making the uniforms for Scootaloo and Applebloom in the short time we had before the time of the date was tiresome and she asked to rest." Twilight remarked without really looking away from the checklist she made of what they possibly needed, "Rainbow, last item on the list: 'spinach'."
"Yeah, got it right over here, Twilight." she replied in a slightly annoyed tone, before taking another big gulp of her cider.
"Okay, that should be everything we'll need. Everything except maybe the cider." Twilight remarked as she rolled up the checklist after checking it for the up-teenth time, before looking over at Rainbow Dash.
"Hey! I did not drink all of it." Rainbow shouted defensively.
"No, but ya sure drank quite a bit of it." Applejack remarked with a smirk, to which Rainbow scowled at her for, then turned her attention towards Twilight, "Don't ya go worryin' about the cider. After watchin' Rainbow put away her fifth mug, Bloom and Ah went ta get another barrel from the cellar. We put it just outside the barn where they wanted ta put it."
"Are you sure about that, Applejack? Using up two barrels?" Twilight asked with some concern, knowing this is tapping into the Apple Family's reserves, "Also, why put the barrel there?"
"'Bloom said it's ta make it easier fer her and Scootaloo ta give Sweetie an' her date their drinks. Ah don' think those two can polish off a barrel on their lonesome, so it ain't too much trouble." she replied as she looked back at Rainbow Dash.
At that moment, Spike walked back into the kitchen, wearing a chefs coat and hat.
"How do I look?" he asked everypony present.
"Lookin' good there, Spike." Rainbow remarked.
"Like yer ready to start cookin'." Applejack stated with a chuckle as Twilight took a moment to properly adjust Spike's hat so it sat perfectly centered on his head.
"Cool! Did Miss Rarity make that for you?" Scootaloo asked.
"Well, yes, but it's nothing new really. She made this for me last year."
"Spike asked Rarity to make that for him to replace the apron he wore when he was younger." Twilight explained.
"Wait, you mean that pink one with the heart on it?" Rainbow asked, before breaking into laughter when Twilight nodded.
Spike crossed his arms and turned his head away as he growled, "Why did you have to mention that?"
The others giggled or laughed at his reaction.
"Ya don't need ta be sour about it, Spike, it did look good on ya then." Applebloom remarked.
"Don't worry about it, Spike, that was back then when you were a baby dragon. There's nothing wrong with looking cute when you were that young." Twilight reassured.
"Yeah...well...Being 'cute' isn't exactly the best description if you're a guy." He stated.
After another moment to allow the others to further giggle at Spike's old choice of cooking-wear, they quickly got themselves organized and ready to prepare whatever meal Sweetie and Button would order.
"Oh, right, Twilight, I wanted to ask you if you could cast 'Number 25' on me." Spike stated.
"Spike, you'll get hair in the food." Twilight remarked.
"Hair?" the others asked simultaneously.
"How different is that from whenever a pony cooks? I mean you're all covered in fur." he rebutted.
Twilight paused to think about his question before saying, "I suppose in a way that is a fair argument, but remember facial hair is thick compared to pony fur. Shedding our natural coats is restricted to when the seasons shift from the colder winter to the warmer summer, and even then it's to a minimum thanks to regular grooming and proper coat care."
"It's gonna be just for a couple hours. Just until 11 tonight at best. What are the chances I'm going to 'shed' any of that in the span of a couple of hours."
"Okay, fine, I'll do it." Twilight conceded with an amused smirk, "But, if they complain about any hairs in the food, you'll know who is to blame." She started charging her horn.
Spike merely smiled as he let Twilight cast the spell just above his lip, producing a familiar mustache just above the dragon's upper lip. While not as refined as a professional chef, the slightly smaller size in comparison to his adolescent body did give him a slightly more distinguished appearance.
"Whoa! I forgot you knew how to do that, Twilight." Rainbow exclaimed as she took to the air and hovered near Spike to have a better look.
"Cool! You look like a real chef now." Scootaloo stated, as Applebloom decided to do the same as Rainbow and have a closer look, a slight shine of amazement clear in her eyes.
"A mite bit strange ta be seein' it on a dragon, but ah gotta admit it don't look half bad." Applejack remarked.
"Can you do that for me, too?" Scootaloo asked as she looked towards Twilight, with a kind of hopeful shine in her eyes.
"But, Scootaloo, you're a mare. Mares don't usually have facial hair, at least not naturally." Twilight stated with a raised brow.
"Oh come on, please, it'll be awesome."
"Just give it to her, Twilight." Rainbow said as she landed next to Scootaloo, "Might look good with the outfit. It could be good for a laugh at the very least."
Twilight rolled her eyes and shot both pegasi an unamused expression, "Are you sure, Scootaloo?"
"Positive." she responded with an enthusiastic nod.
"Okay..." Twilight muttered as she cast the spell again, giving Scootaloo what she wanted as a slightly thinner and raggedy version of Spike's mustache appeared on her face.
"Aw, yeah!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she flared her wings and struck a pose, "How do I look?"
"Ya look right strange, that's fer sure." Applebloom replied honestly as she giggled at her friend's appearance.
Spike seemed to agree with Applebloom as he placed a hand on his mouth to resist laughing.
"Well, as I said: Mares don't usually have facial hair." Twilight replied, as Applejack agreed with a nod.
"Don't let them get you down, squirt." Rainbow stated, "I think it looks good on ya."
Honestly Scootaloo wasn't bothered by the others. Okay, it did bother her a little, and part of her was saying that maybe this wasn't such a great idea afterall, but another part disagreed. The other part was telling her that it is weird, it's weird for a mare to have a mustache, but it's her mustache, and that made it cool by default; and, with Rainbow's support on the matter, it was twice as cool to Scootaloo, and that was more than enough reason to keep it, at least for now.
"You should get one too, Applebloom." Scootaloo remarked.
"Ah'll pass on that. Ah'm content wit' how ah look."
"It's not like it's gonna be permanent." Scootaloo then had a moment of realization, and looked at Twilight, "This isn't permanent, is it?"
Twilight shook her head, "Just let me know later when you want me to cast the counter spell that will remove it; or, you can visit the local barber to trim it off."
"See, it isn't permanent. Besides, makes us look more waiter-like if you ask me."
Applebloom gave her friend another look over before silently agreeing, while strange, it did appear to compliment the outfit to a certain degree. She then looked at her sister.
"This here is yer rodeo, Sis. If yer fine doin' it, even if ya are a mare, ah'll support ya."
She then looked towards Twilight, "It does help wit' the look...A'right, ah'll give it a go."
Twilight didn't say anything as she granted Applebloom her wish and gave the younger earth pony mare a red-colored mustache that was shorter than Spike's and had a slight curl to it, especially at the end.
"Kinda itches mah nose a bit." Applebloom remarked.
"You'll get use to it." Spike stated with a smirk.
With all the initial preparations complete, the group organized themselves into roles that they felt comfortable doing: Spike taking the role as the head chef since he was able to argue with Applejack that he had more experience in the kitchen than she did, Applejack as the sous-chef, and Twilight and Rainbow helping prepare the ingredients. Applebloom and Scootaloo already planned to act as the waiters -waitresses, technically- though they decidedly divided their jobs: Applebloom would be the one to seat them and serve them their drinks and appetizer, while Scootaloo will act as their primary server and will take their order and eventually bring them their food.
All that was missing now were the two ponies of the hour: Sweetie Belle and Button Mash. Thankfully, Sweetie left for Button's home a little earlier, so any wait time would hopefully be short.
"Ah dunno how other ponies do it, this t'ing is makin' my nose itch." Applebloom complained as she tried smoothening away some stray hairs as the two sat on the porch, looking for any signs of Sweetie Belle or Button Mash.
"You can probably ask Twilight to just take it off if it's bothering you that much." Scootaloo remarked as she scratched her nose.
"Probably worth considerin'." She said before noticing a tiny, faint glowing...something moving on the path towards the farm, "Hol' on, is that them?"
"Where...?"
"Ya see that bit of light right there movin'." she then pointed.
Scootaloo squinted and leaned her head forward to see better. It took a second, and it was almost hard to see, but she finally found the light, "I-I think....Yeah, that's them." she remarked just as the pair entered the property.
"No time ta ask Twilight now."
"Okay, I'll go tell the others. Get them seated like we planned." She then turned and entered the house.
Applebloom took a moment to make sure her mane and clothes looked good, and didn't have any soil on it, before proceeding to approach Sweetie Belle and Button Mash.
As Sweetie and Button reached the barn, they stopped, just as the girls had planned till Applebloom arrived to seat the two of them. Upon noticing her earth pony friend, Sweetie's eyes widened in surprise before she blinked a few times to see if her eyes were playing tricks on her; but, when the mustache didn't disappear and became more obvious it was real, Sweetie couldn't resist giggling at her friend.
Once Applebloom was standing beside the young couple, she opened her mouth to say something, before pausing when she noticed that Button Mash didn't seem to notice her just yet. The young stallion's mouth was agape and a shocked expression was clear on his face as he regarded the interior of the barn, which Applebloom took as a compliment to all the work they had done to prepare.
Applebloom cleared her throat loud enough to snap Button out of his trance, "A table fer two?" she asked politely and gestured with a forehoof.
Sweetie merely nodded before proceeding to the table.
Button though seemed to be staring at Applebloom with a mixture of confusion and surprise.
Applebloom shot him a confused look and asked, "What...?"
"You have a mustache." He replied back.
"The mustache is startin' ta sound like a bad idea." Applebloom thought to herself as she looked at the fuzzy bit of hair below her nose. Well, she chose to go with it, no use complaining now. She looked back at him and said, "So...?"
"Why do you have a moustache...?" He asked in a surprised tone.
"Cause ah'm the waiter of this here building, and fancy waiters have a moustache."
"But you're a mare, you're not suppose to have a mustache! In fact it looks weird. Almost as if you're were a filly playing with Nightmare Night costumes."
Applebloom scoffed at the statement, then noticed the pickaxe-shaped pin on Button's collar, the source of the little light she saw earlier, "Yer the one ta talk, why ya wearin' that there pin? I was able ta see ya before ya even stepped on ta the property cause that pin was glowin'. That don't seem very mature ta me at t'all."
Button Mash glared at her, but didn't say anything other than a groan before going further into the barn and taking a seat. As soon as both ponies were seated, Applebloom turned to leave, soon to be replaced with Scootaloo.
Applebloom let out a sigh as she went to the barrel of cider she and Applejack pulled out for Sweetie and Button, and grabbed a empty, sealed glass bottle that she had cleaned just for the occasion. Knowing that she would give them their drinks soon, she worked quickly to fill the bottle with some cider, pop the cork back into place, find the two clean mugs they had set aside, and place it onto a tray.
It seemed to be just in the nick of time too, as she was almost startled when she heard Scootaloo loudly shout, "Hey, Applebloom, we need two glasses of cider over here."
"Ya dont need to shout!" she stated loudly, carrying the tray back into the barn.
-----------------------------------------
As time passed, and the moon was now higher in the night sky, everything seemed to be going well. Everything seemed to be going as planned, except for the food. Other than a large plate of buttermilk biscuits Applebloom gave them for an appetizer, the young couple had yet to actually eat.
"Watch it!...Behind you, Applejack." Spike rang out as he passed behind both Twilight and Applejack to get to the stove.
"Is Rainbow Dash back, yet?" Twilight asked as she kneaded some fresh dough.
"Enope." Applejack replied back.
"Back!" they finally heard the cyan pegasus announce as she arrived back through the back door carrying a picnic basket.
"Thank goodness, we were waiting for you for almost an hour, Rainbow Dash." Twilight remarked.
"What took ya so long?" Applejack asked.
"Sorry, I got stopped by somepony from the Weather Factory, and it was kinda hard looking through Twilight's spice cabinet and fridge." She replied, as she placed the basket down on the counter top.
"How did you have a hard time looking through Twilight's spice cabinet?" Spike asked, "Everything is labeled AND it's alphabetized."
"Yeah, that would've been nice to know beforehoof."
"How did you not notice it was alphabetized? It starts with 'Allspice, grounded' and ends with 'Thyme'."
"It doesn't matter, we have what we needed." Twilight rang in, "Still though, did you grab the feta cheese, like we asked?"
"Yep, got it right here." Rainbow replied as she pulled out a platic container labled 'Feta cheese' on it.
"Good, at least we got the right one this time."
"Yeah, how did you not notice that, Twilight?"
"That wasn't me. It was you who was suppose to be packing the ingredients, remember?"
"Twilight, yer talkin' to the mare who didn't notice yer ingredients were labeled." Applejack reminded her.
"Hey!"
"Come on, you guys can fight about that later, we have to finish their orders, I think they've waited long enough." Spike firmly stated before gathering the ingredients for the creamy feta sauce that goes with Button's order.
"He's right, it's been more than an hour since they made their order, and even more since they arrived." Twilight agreed, "If this was a real restaurant, there's a good chance they would've left by now."
"Ah'd agree wit ya, Twilight. Were those two at least given somethin' ta nibble on?" Applejack asked.
"Applebloom gave them some biscuits earlier, but it's been a while now." Spike replied.
Applejack nodded, "Good ta hear. Come on, let's get workin'."
"Actually, I have to go." Rainbow voiced in, "Remember how I just said that somepony from the Weather Factory came looking for me? Apparently, since I'm the weather manager whenever it's the off-season for the Bolts, I'm in trouble since Thunderlane decided to play hooky for three days straight without my notice."
"How did ya miss seein' Thunderlane fer three days?"
"Easy: Cloudkicker. Apparently, Raindrops lost a bet to Cloudkicker, and she asked Raindrops to do Thunderlane's share of work while I was busy monitoring some new recruits to the weather team; and, all to make sure her coltfriend was available to hang out with after she finished her shift. Now, thanks to those two idiots, I'm in trouble because I'm the one who signed off his shift hours for those three days."
"You really should've been more attentive about such matters, Rainbow." Twilight scolded as she used her magic to carefully slice the dough into several long strips, "Though to be fair, it wasn't exactly your fault given you were personally overseeing the weather team's newest members. In that respect, that was really immature of Thunderlane."
"Tell me about it!" Rainbow exclaimed as she flared her wings in anger and banged her hoof onto the counter, accidentally stomping a bag of garlic powder that was sitting there, causing it to explode out of the opening that was facing Twilight.
"AHH! My eyes!" She exclaimed as some of the powder got on her eyes, instinctively shaking her head before trying to rub at her tightly shut eyes.
"Oh, horseapples! I'm so sorry, Twilight." she apologized right away and was about to attempt helping the purple alicorn, but was stopped by Applejack.
"For pony sake, Rainbow, can't ya be more careful?!" Applejack angrily asked.
"I-I-"
Applejack sighed, "Twilight, ah'm sure ya remember where ya can find the bathroom. Go see if ya can wash off some of that garlic powder."
Twilight agreed and slowly tried making her way upstairs to the bathroom through squinted and watery eyes.
"And you," Applejack turned to face Rainbow, she then sighed and calmly said, "go on home an' git yer rest. Ah think we'll be able ta manage without ya. Just get some shut-eye so ya can get this business with Thunderlane straightened out, then maybe we can worry about ya gettin' spice all over Twilight's face."
"Right...I'll see ya girls." Then took her leave.
Applejack watched Rainbow leave out the front door before turning her attention towards the bag of spilled garlic powder, then towards the clock. "This is goin' about as well as tryin' ta tame a rampagin' hydra." she turned her attention towards Twilight, who was still climbing the stairs, "Ya don't mind if ah go help Twilight out, do ya, Spike?"
"Sure, I promise I won't burn your kitchen down while you're gone."
"Don'tcha even kid about that one, Sugarcube." Applejack remarked in a scolding tone before turning to help Twilight.
As soon as he was alone, Spike gave an exasperated sigh, then decided to take a break himself. He really needed a moment to relax his nerves, and pulled off his chef's hat before resting his head on an area of the counter top that didn't have anything on it.
He heard the front door open followed by Applebloom entering the kitchen, "Where'd Miss Twilight and Applejack go?" she asked as she took a seat at the dining table.
"There...was an incident with the garlic powder and it got in Twilight's eyes. Applejack is helping Twilight wash the stuff out in the bathroom upstairs."
"Do ah even wanna ask how that happened?"
"Probably not."
"Well, what about you? Ya lookin' a bit tired there, Spike." She asked gesturing towards the fact Spike was resting his head on the counter top.
"It's just this date thing. It's becoming more of a pain in my spines than it's worth in my opinion."
"Do ya wanna tell me about it? Might help ya feel better." She suggested, getting out of her chair at the table to take a seat next to the drake.
Spike regarded her from the corner of his eye before saying, "I'm sure you don't want to waste your time listening to me complain. Also, don't you have better things to do than sit around the kitchen?"
"Ah got some time, ah ain't doin' much. Sweetie and Button's cups were just filled, and seein' how things are here, there ain't much fer me ta give 'em right now."
Spike remained silent as Applebloom sat down next to him with her back resting against the counter.
"So ya gonna talk, or am ah just gonna have ta go and see if the trees are better company?"
Spike remained silent as Applebloom patiently waited for him to talk, eventually he figured that he might as well, he'd be able to vent off some of the frustration at least. "I'm just tired. We may have managed to pull off all the stops you three had in mind for the restaurant thing, and helped improve on it, but when it came to actually preparing the food, it's been one problem after the other."
Applebloom didn't say anything, but gave him a look as if saying, "Go on."
"First off, despite Twilight's detailed list and her having checked that list several times over, we were short a couple of ingredients, then Applejack nearly dropped an entire batch of marinara sauce, luckily most of it stayed in the pot, and then just now, Twilight got a face full of garlic powder because Rainbow stomped her hoof down on the counter because she didn't notice it at first."
"Why did she go an' stomp her hoof for?"
"She was upset because she just found out she's being held responsible for Thunderlane shirking off his duties for the weather team."
Applebloom shot him a curious look, "Isn't Thunderlane the weather manager?"
"Only when Rainbow Dash is on tour or doing Wonderbolt stuff at the Academy." Spike remarked, "To be honest though, Rainbow Dash does a better job at it."
"Eyep." She agreed, "Ah ain't mean any offense to Rumble's brother o' course, but Rainbow does get the job down hours faster than Thunderlane."
Spike chuckled, "Of course she does, Rainbow always makes sure the job get's done within an hour, if not within a minute."
Applebloom smiled, "Feelin' better?"
"Yeah, I feel better now. Thanks for listening, Applebloom."
"T'was no problem at all." She then pointed at the sauce he was cooking, "Ya might wanna get back ta that now."
"Yeah..., I really should." He agreed, putting his chef's hat back on.
"Smells really good, by the way." Then turned leave, to go see Scootaloo was done chatting with Rainbow and could continue what conversation they were talking about previously.
Spike didn't say anything but watched her go. He then turned his attention back towards his work, hopeful that the worse of tonight's “distractions” had passed.