//------------------------------//
// Bumpy ride 
// Story: Diamonds in bloom 
// by Sunatta 
//------------------------------//

Diamond pulled the handle on the passenger door, it didn't budge.

"You gotta be a little forceful with it, she's an old truck," Apple Bloom giggled softly.

Diamond put everything she had into pulling the door open, but she only managed to make the hing creek. Before she could ask, Apple Bloom had already circled around and gave the door a solid tug, it made a loud noise as it swung open.

wow, she's strong. thoughts of what all she could do with that strength ran somewhere in the back of her mind, and a blush formed on her face.

"It ain't nothin' to be embarrassed about, Sweetiebelle can't get it open either," she gave a hardy laugh.

Diamond simply gave a curt nod, and got in, afraid of the words that might come out if she tried to speak. The truck had a musty smell to it, the kind that you can almost taste. It was vaguely vailed by a pine air freshener, Diamond couldn't tell if that made it better or worse.

Apple Bloom looked over at Diamond, and the sour face she was making. "It ain't that bad," she said as she put the old girl in gear.

"Yes it is," Diamond said without really thinking about it.

"Yeah.... It is," Apple Bloom admitted. "But you get used to it," she said with a small grin as she made sure she had room to pull out.

As she tried to get comfortable in the seat Diamond looked around the truck. It was much cleaner than she'd have guessed by how banged up the outside was, not to mention the smell, but it was comfy atleast. The seat was well worn, and sank just a bit, but in all the right places.

It wasn't long before she found herself resting her head against the window. The ride was a bit bumpier than she'd have liked but the sensation of the window vibrating against her cheek was something Diamond had enjoyed since she was a small girl.

"So.... What exactly happened between you and Silver Spoon?" Apple Bloom asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. She knew Diamond Tiara could be a real bitch at times, but Silver Spoon never seemed bothered by it.

Diamond was really hoping that wasn't going to come up, she didn't want to think about it, but it was probably better to just get it out. "I wanted to be more than friends, she didn't, we had a fight, and now we aren't even that," Diamond sighed.

"Oh..." Apple Bloom wasn't sure what to say to that, she'd expected it to be over something petty. 

After a few moments of awkward silence Diamond spoke up. "So your truck is a she?"

"Well, it used to be my brother's, and it didn't seem right to start callin' her, him just cause she's mine now."

"I guess that makes as much since as giving a truck a gender in the first place.

"I thought everyone did it?" Apple Bloom said scratching her head. 

Seeing Apple Bloom with only one hand on the wheel made Diamond uncomfortable.

"I reckon it could just be all the folks I know," She admitted as she put her hand back on the stirring wheel, and Diamond let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. 

"We're almost there now, I hope your hungry, cause knowin Granny, she fixed plenty," Apple Bloom said as she turned down the dirt road that lead into her family's farm, and the ride got much bumpier.

"I guess I could eat," Diamond said as she did her best to brace herself, she'd been on rollercoasters smoother than this.

Applebloom giggled as she saw Diamond out of the corned of her eye. "It's not that..."

"It is that bad," Diamond interrupted Apple Bloom. "We're not all used to this," she said motioning around at everything.

"There's the Diamond Tiara I know," Apple Bloom chuckled, seemingly unphazed by Diamond's little out burst.

Diamond took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, you're trying to help me out, and I'm being ungrateful."

"Nothin' to worry about, Sweetiebelle says almost the exact same thing, every time she rides over with me," Apple Bloom says dismissively as they pull up to an old farmhouse, that had been recently painted to keep it from looking rundown.

"So.... This is where you live?" Diamond asked as she inspected the farmhouse, half expecting to see animals run out of it any second.

"Yep, been in the family for eight generations." Apple Bloom's chest swelled with pride.

"Really? I would never have guessed," Diamond said with a dollap of sarcasm.

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes at the comment before reaching over Diamond Tiara to open her door.

She took a deep breath as Apple bloom stretched in front of her, she smelled nice... Very nice, like apples and fresh spice. 
Diamond became self-conscious, she wasn't wearing a fragrance, she'd been too depressed this morning to put in any more than the bare minimum effort. She was pulled back to reality when she heard the door creak, and she saw Apple Bloom's bicep flex as she excerted herself.
Her face turned red as her breathing sped up. There was no denying it, she really liked what she was seeing.

"You alright? You look like you just got out of gym," Apple Bloom asked as she pushed the door open.

Diamond shook her head, trying to bring herself back to reality when she realized she was in fact, sweaty and out of breath.
"Yeah... I'm fine, just excited to meet your family," she forced a smile.

Apple Bloom was going to make a comment, but she remembered how Pinkie pie gets when she's excited. "I mean, they're pretty great... Most of the time I reckon, but I never figured you for the type to get excited over something like that."

"Can we get inside already?" Diamond asked, desperate to get out of her current situation. "I'm starving," she added to hopefully cover up the real reason.

"I thought you weren't that hungry?"

"I changed my mind," Diamond said as she hurried out of the truck. This was a terrible idea