Granny Smith was now following along with the other foals and conversing with Apple Bloom regarding finding her cutie mark. It was nice to have a seamless conversation without having a considerable age barrier get in the way for once. The five of them soon gathered around a wagon full of pastries. She was somewhat surprised that Applejack could bake so many goodies in only a few hours. Granny Smith had to admit she taught her grandchildren well. Applejack herself was standing over the foals and looking somewhat exhausted. She wiped the sweat from her brow and proclaimed, "Alright, I was able to bake a dozen apple pies and a dozen apple fritters; I think that should be more than enough to earn a good chunk of bits."
Flam looked over the baked goods and shook his head, looking unimpressed; he raised a hoof and scoffed, "This is all you made?"
"Is that all!? Do you know how much work went into making all of this!?" Applejack shouted back at the ungrateful colt.
Big Mac shook his head and replied, "Eeyup."
"Just saying, we're only going to make a hundred bits...but I guess that works," Flam grumbled under his breath.
Flim walked forward and held up a hoof over his brother, and bowed, "I must apologize for my brother's behavior; he didn't mean to say that."
"Sure, just don't forget our bargain," Applejack growled as she eyed the colts, still being somewhat suspicious of the two.
"Of course, we get thirty percent, and you get fifty as agreed," Flim responded rather smugly.
Granny Smith was busy talking with Apple Bloom as they were in a discussion about cutie marks. "So...anyways, as I was sayin', a late bloomer runs in the family, as Applejack said. I didn't get mine until I was a teenager."
"That's crazy! I dun wanna end up like that! I would be a laughing stock for years!" Apple Bloom wailed.
Granny couldn't help but chuckle behind her hoof, seeing that the school filly reminded her of herself. She trotted over and ruffled her granddaughter's mane as she replied, "Hey, dun ya fret, I doubt it'll take ya that long. Just saying it's gonna take time is all; Ya can't just force getting ya cutie mark."
"Guess, your right...thanks for the advice," Apple Bloom whimpered as she came over and hugged the young filly. Granny Smith was somewhat surprised by the hug and stood there quivering, and she hugged her granddaughter back.
Granny Smith then saw that a shadow fell over her as she looked up to see Applejack standing over the two with tears in her eyes. The farm mare wiped the tears from her face before she commented, "Oh, this is so adorable."
"Don't get all sappy on me," Granny Smith joked as she couldn't help but feel the same way as Applejack. The two fillies broke their embrace, and the young green-coated filly looked over at the others now gathered around them; she sighed, "All right, but we should get going. I rather we get this nonsense cleaned up as soon as possible."
"Right, sorry about that," Apple Bloom squeaked, feeling somewhat embarrassed for acting weirdly with her grandma.
"It's alright," Granny whispered and gave Apple Bloom another pat on the head.
As the foals were about to head oddly out of nowhere, A silver coated pony came overlooking somewhat concerned, "Hey, um, do any of you know where Flim and Flam are? The last time anypony saw them was over here?"
Everypony just gave the stallion a blank look. Silver Shill scratched his mane, then peered down at the colts and blinked. Upon realization, seeing the two colts looking similar to his employers, he cried out, "No way!? How did you two turn into foals!? It wasn't a fake tonic, right?"
The colts groaned as the rest of the ponies burst into laughter, with Applejack rolling on the ground in tears.
Silver Shill got rather angry as he then pointed a hoof at the Apples threateningly. "Did you do this to them!?"
Applejack got up on her hooves, still snickering as she waved a hoof. "Of course not."
"Yes, this happened all by accident." Granny Smith snapped; she then pointed at a hoof at her chest and continued, "If you think I turned myself into a foal, ya crazier than a bee building a beehive next to a bear cave."
"Maybe you just turned yourself into a foal to cover up your crime!" Silver Shill shouted back.
Granny Smith pounded a hoof into the dirt and stomped over, "Oh, yeah! how would that help, smart guy!"
The two started shouting and throwing curses at each other as Applejack placed her hooves over Apple Bloom's ears. Flim walked between the two arguing ponies, then cleared his throat and said, "My dear Silver Shill, Granny Smith is not lying; it is not her fault my brother, and I were turned into foals. Now, may we have a word with you in private?"
"Fine," Silver Shill snapped as he stomped off, but as he made his way to the colts, he turned back around and pointed a hoof at Granny Smith. "We're not done."
"Oh, yeah, bring it on." Granny scoffed as she trotted off to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Silver Shill followed the two brothers, and they huddled, talking and whispering in hushed tones. Granny Smith just glared at them knowing they were cooking up some plan. She knew that the temptation of using the magical pool in the Everfree Forest was lingering in their minds. But she couldn't do anything and hoped they weren't planning to backstab her. Flim eventually turned around with a smirk, "Granny Smith, we came up with a proposal. I believe we shall create a grand event in the center of Ponyville and get the attention of everypony!"
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle got excited, shouting, "Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun!"
Granny was somewhat suspicious of the two colts, who looked like they were scheming something. But, if she wanted to get them to take the cure from Zecora, she didn't have many other options but to tag along. The filly walked over, held out a hoof towards the colts, and said, "As ya two promised, we sell the baked goods, you take thirty percent of the cut, then you take the cure, no ifs, ands or buts."
Flam gulped, looking somewhat nervous, unlike his brother Flim who walked towards the filly with an air of confidence as he held out his hoof and shook Granny Smith's and said, "We understand and agree to these conditions, now come along, we have a show to perform!"
Flim walked off as he rambled on about how they needed to move their stage to the center of Ponyville, with Granny Smith eyeing them suspiciously.
She turned her attention to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle; she waved a hoof for them to come closer. When the two fillies walked over, she had them huddle close to her as she whispered, "I don't trust them two no farther than I can throw them. If you two see them do anything suspicious, ya let me know."
"Understood!" The cutie mark crusaders chirped in unison.
Granny Smith nuzzled the fillies, "Alright, I trust ya two to help me. Now, let's sell these baked goods before they spoil."
Big Mac already hitched himself to the wagon as he said, "Just lead the way."
"Thanks, Big Mac," Granny replied with a smile; she then led the two other fillies, and Big Mac lugging the wagon behind, followed suit as they headed towards the center of town.
It didn't take long for Flim and Flam to set up their stage in the middle of Ponyville, and they were now performing on stage, singing a tune and making the crowd roar and cheer. While the colts were wooing the crowd, the cutie mark crusaders were busy working the stand a few meters away from the performance selling the pastries. Sweetie Belle was taking orders and cashing the bits. At the same time, Apple Bloom was busy hoofing out the baked goods to the customers. Granny Smith was assisting the two fillies, taking the orders from Sweetie Belle, running to the wagon to retrieve the baked goods, and hoofing them off to Apple Bloom. It was only an hour in, and most of the baked goods in the cart were gone, and the three fillies were somewhat exhausted. Nothing significant occurred until a stallion approached the stand and asked, "Hello, Apple Bloom, how ya doing?"
Granny paused as her eyes lit up; she recognized the voice but didn't dare look behind her as the conversation continued.
"Hey ya, Burnt Oak! Wana apple pie!?"
"Oh, you bet I do."
"Hey, Gr- I mean Apple Blossom! We need an apple pie over here!" The filly chimed.
"Apple Blossom," gulped as she took an apple pie and hoofed it over to her gratefully. As she placed the pie on the stand, the filly looked over and saw a middle-aged dark-coated stallion and instantly recognized him as Burnt Oak. Granny Smith just stood there in complete recognition of her son's old friend. She paused, seeing it was an opportunity to maybe make amends with him despite not having talked to him in years. All these thoughts rushed through her mind, and she just stood there shaking like a leaf.
"Uh...Apple Blossom is somthin' wrong?" Apple Bloom asked, looking somewhat concerned.
"Y...yes...um, hey, I need ya help with somethin'!" Granny exclaimed as she took her granddaughter to the side.
She took a second to calm down as Apple Bloom asked, "Ok?"
Apple Bloom grumbled irritably and looked over at Granny, "So um...what ya need me for?"
The green-coated filly lowered her head and whispered, "Look...I need ya help to um...help me talk to your um... dad's best friend."
Apple Bloom's eyes went wide at the sudden realization. "What!? My dad's best friend!"
Granny Smith placed a hoof into Apple Bloom's mouth. "Shhh! Keep it down!"
"Right!" the filly squeaked.
Granny took a second to regain her composure before she continued, "Remember I'm your cousin from Manehattan, alright? I'll keep him engaged; you just introduced me, ok?"
"Ok…" Apple Bloom whispered in a rather somber tone, looking somewhat confused. She was still nervous but seemed to be rather excited to learn about her dad.
The two foals walked back to the stand with the stallion waiting patiently. As Apple Bloom waved a hoof, Granny Smith hid her face, "Sorry about that, my, um...cousin just got nervous."
"I see...can you introduce me to her?" Burnt Oak asked with a wave of a hoof.
"Yeah! She's my grandma!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.
Granny Smith groaned as she slammed a hoof into her face and then shouted, "Cousin! You mean cousin!"
"R...right cousin…." Apple Bloom stammered.
Burnt Oak chuckled as he waved a hoof, "Well, it's nice to see ya two...now I wanna see the show goin' on, so I'll see ya two later."
The stallion began to walk away. Granny Smith realized she would lose the opportunity to apologize to him and slammed a hoof into the ground. Apple Bloom, however, quickly shouted, "Wait! I think you're my dad's friend!
Burnt Oak paused as he turned around and looked somewhat surprised at first, but his confounded expression changed to a soft smile as he said, "Yes, I was...is there somthin' you wanted to ask me?"
"Yeah, I got loads of questions, but um..." Apple Bloom trailed off as she then held a hoof and pointed it at Granny Smith. "My cousin has somethin' to say ya see, her name's Apple Blossom. She's my cousin...and...um, she came down to visit my family and me for a few days."
"Apple Blossom," waved a hoof with her cheeks flushing pink and feeling somewhat embarrassed being introduced as a filly.
Burnt Oak chuckled as he bent down to the filly's level. "Hello, I'm not family, but I was your uncle's friend."
"Um...yeah, I heard of ya before…." Apple Blossom mumbled under her breath.
Burnt Oak ruffled her mane, then turned his attention to Apple Bloom and asked, "So what are you two doing? Seems like ya foals are putting on quite a show."
"Apple Blossom" rolled her eyes, looking over at the Flim Flam brothers still dancing and singing. The filly had to admit those two had stamina; she then turned her head back to Burnt Oak and said, "Yeah, it wasn't my idea, my um...brothers...put this show on to help raise bits for our troupe...we're Foal Scouts."
Burnt Oak looked over, watched the colts continue their routine, and chuckled, "I admit your brothers are quite the showstoppers."
Granny gnashed her teeth just at the thought of those two being her brothers made her skin crawl, and growled, "Yeah, they're quite the pair, anyways...I just wanted to say…."
Granny Smith closed her eyes and took one long deep breath; she was shaking a little as she was nervous to say what was on her mind. The filly paused for some time, with both Apple Bloom and Burnt Oak waiting for her to finish. Granny Smith eventually said, "I...I...I want to ask...can you accept an apology from somepony…."
The filly started to shake again, feeling somewhat nervous about the response. But Burnt Oak replied, "Sure, I don't hold grudges,"
The little green-coated filly gulped as tears started to fill her eyes, and she began to whimper. What she was about to say was probably the most challenging thing she's ever said out loud...she took a deep breath once more before she stammered, "Well...G...Granny Smith wanted to say that she's sorry for almost ruining Bright Mac's wedding…."
The stallion paused, and his eyes lit up as if he knew who he was talking to. But he then regained his composure before replying, "I see...I accept Granny Smith's apology, and I've never held any grudges regarding what happened that night."
The filly perked up, somewhat surprised and relieved at the response; she then cried, "Ya serious! Ya not mad at m-...I...mean Granny Smith."
The stallion's smile grew even more, and said, "Of course not, sadly; I assumed she didn't want to talk to me after Bright Mac's passing. I assumed it had something to do with that night..." His voice trailed off as he started grinding his hoof into the ground before he asked somberly. "Maybe she wouldn't mind me visiting my friend's foals now and again."
"That sounds wonderful," Granny whispered back with a relieved sigh, seeing all that stress and worrying rolling off her shoulders. Then as if she was in a trance, she slowly trotted over to the stallion and hugged him; she felt a wave of emotion wash over her as tears started rolling down her eyes.
Burnt Oak gave her a few pats on the back as her tears turned into balling, and he nuzzled her back. "Hey, it's alright."
"I...I know…" Granny whimpered as she nuzzled into Burnt Oak one last time before breaking the embrace. She looked more relaxed as she felt like a weight was lifted from her shoulders. The filly wiped the tears from her eyes before taking the stallion's bits. "Th...thank you…f...for your p..a...patronage."
"It's no problem; I hope I see you again soon." Burnt Oak replied as he ruffled her mane; he looked over at Apple Bloom and waved a hoof. "I hope I see you again as well."
"Yeah! Ya better come over; I got a lotta questions for ya!" Apple Bloom shouted back at the gray-coated stallion, then trotted off back into the crowd.
Granny stood there watching him walk away, feeling relieved and happy. It was a feeling she seemed to have forgotten about, and she felt glad that, deep down that feeling was still in her. Her thoughts were interrupted by her granddaughter tapping a hoof on her shoulder.
The green-coated filly wiped the tears from her eyes before she asked, "What's up?"
"So...um...what were you and Burnt Oak talking about?" Apple Bloom asked in a concerned tone.
The filly paused as she looked at her granddaughter; she was ready to tell her and the rest of her family the truth about their mother...but she should do it when they were all together. Granny Smith placed a hoof on her granddaughter's shoulder and said, "It's a hard story to tell...I promise when I'm back to normal; I'll tell you and the others."
"Ok, ya better," The filly mumbled; she still felt left out.
Granny Smith's overwhelming emotions haven't left her, and she couldn't help but throw herself over Apple Bloom, hugging her close as she squealed, "Thank you. If you weren't there, I don't think I would've had the courage to do that."
"It's okay...I... I'm just glad to see that I can finally learn more about my dad," Apple Bloom cried out, and she started to tear up too. Granny Smith took her and held the filly close to her chest, letting her weep a little. She let the filly cry and sniffle for some time before whispering sweetly. "It's alright; let it out."
As Apple Bloom wiped her tears as she rose and nuzzled into Granny Smith. "Thank you...I look forward to ya explaining everythin'."
"Of course," Granny replied, and the two fillies feeling much better, they saw that there were no more patrons or anypony in line despite the two being preoccupied.
The filly scratched a hoof over her mane and asked out loud, "Where did everypony go bingo?"
Apple Bloom snickered at the joke. "Hehe, bingo, that's a good one."
Just then, the two saw Sweetie Belle running over to them, shouting, "Hey! You two need to see this! The Flim and Flam bros are doing something fishy!"
Granny Smith wasn't surprised and could only wonder what the two scammers were up to and asked, "What's going on?"
"It's Flim and Flam! I don't know what they're doing! But they're selling their tonic again! And this time, I don't think it's a scam!" Sweetie Belle cried.
Apple Bloom was confused and asked more questions. But Granny Smith's eyes went wide as everything around her seemed to fade around her. The filly realized what they were doing using the magic water of the pool hidden in the Everfree Forest. Whether they were using the mixture Zecora crafted or the actual pool regardless, those two were risking their lives...and hers as well. Without a word, she ran towards the stage towards the crowd surrounding it. She could only hope she wasn't too late in saving those idiots.