Applejack and Mal made their way towards Sweet Apple Acres; Applejack continued to have a sour look on her face.
“What’s with the long face, sugar cube,” asked Mal.
Applejack rarely had anypony else call her sugar cube; and she especially didn’t like hearing it come from Mal. It caused her to blush.
“Ya’ll know exactly what ah’m upset about,” said Applejack.
“Yer still all upset about me bein a bit goofy with you when we were little,” asked Mal with a chuckle.
“A bit goofy,” exclaimed Applejack. “A bit goofy?! Ya made mah life miserable when ah was a filly! Every time I visited Braeburn as a kid, ya always teased me, picked on me, threw things at me!”
“We were kids,” chuckled Mal. “Kids do stupid things.”
“It didn’t end there,” exclaimed Applejack. “Even when we got older, an got our cutie marks yah still bullied me!”
“That wasn’t bullying,” said Mal.
“Then what in the hay do you call it,” exclaimed Applejack.
“Well where ah come from, we call that flirting,” said Mal with a sly smile.
Applejack blushed at that remark.
“Y-yer gonna try to excuse yer behavior fer flerting,” fumbled Applejack.
“Aint no excuse, darlin,” said Mal. “Guess ya aren’t around colts enough to know that we tend to tease the fillies we fancy.”
“F-fancy,” said Applejack. “You teased me back then because you had a crush on me?”
Mal got a bit closer to Applejack’s face.
“Had? There aint no had, sugar cube,” said Mal. “Why do ya think ah came along with Braeburn?”
“C-cuz he’s yer best friend, and you like annoying me,” said Applejack.
“Now come on, ya aint that naïve,” said Mal with a smug smile. “Ah never stopped crushin on ya, darlin. You were a cute little filly growin up. Ah figured at this point, you’d have grown up to be a fine lookin mare. My assumptions were correct.”
Applejack turned bright red and her heart began to thump a mile a minute. She never really thought of Mal in that capacity, what with him picking on her as kids. Now he comes out with saying he always liked her. She was rarely this close to him, and she hated to admit it to herself, but he had grown into a handsome stallion. She shook her head back to her senses.
“Oh please,” exclaimed Applejack. “Ah aint gonna fall fer that load of bull!”
Applejack continued to walk ahead of Mal.
“Ya’ll filled out that hat nicely,” said Mal. “And the apple bucking has done wonders fer ya too.”
“N-no more talkin,” exclaimed Applejack nervously.
“Whatever ya say,” said Mal.
They finally made it to Sweet Apple Acres, where Granny Smith was sitting on the porch in her rocking chair.
“Hey Granny,” exclaimed Applejack.
“Huh, wah, oh Applejack,” said Granny Smith. “Yer back from the train station ah see…say, who’s the fine lookin stallion with you?”
“Ah don’t know who you mean,” said Applejack annoyingly.
“Yer kiddin right,” said Granny Smith. “He’s standing right behind ya. Feller is bigger than Big Macintosh. An he’s been checkin ya out the whole time.”
Applejack turned around to see Mal was indeed looking at her; though he turned his head nonchalantly as if he wasn’t. Applejack went red again.
“That’s Malady Wesson, Granny,” said Applejack.
“Well, ah’ll be," exclaimed Granny Smith, going wide eyed. “Lil ol Mal Wesson!”
Granny Smith got up from her rocking chair to get a closer look at Mal.
“Mah mah, have ya grown,” exclaimed Granny. “An ya’ll used to be the runt in yer family! How’s yer pappy doin by the way?”
“Pappy Wesson is doin just fine, Granny,” said Mal. “Not quite as spritely as he once was. But, we can’t all be as angelic as yerself.”
“Ya always were a charmer, Mal,” blushed Granny Smith.
“Give me a break,” said Applejack.
“Pappy Wesson and Granny Smith go way back, as you know Applejack“ said Mal. “Did ya know that mah daddy was named after yer Granny?”
“Ah may have heard that at some point,” said Applejack, trying to act like she had no idea of that little tidbit.
“Since Macintosh no longer lives here, you and Braeburn can sleep in his old room while here,” said Granny Smith.
“That’s mighty kind of ya, Granny,” said Mal. “Ah’ll go in now to unpack.”
Mal walked into the household of the Apple family, leaving Applejack and Granny Smith out on the porch.
“He certainly has grown,” commented Granny Smith again.
“Ah spose,” said Applejack.
“An ah see he still fancies you, sugar cube,” said Granny Smith offhandedly.
“Still,” exclaimed Applejack. “What the hay do ya mean by that?!”
“Ah aint that old, Applejack,” said Granny Smith. “Ah figured it was always obvious he fancied you. Colts tend to tease the fillies they like. Heck, yer grampa was always teasin and tuggin at my ponytails when ah was around yer age, befer we really started courtin. In fact, Carter was the very same when he met Bella Donna.”
Applejack didn’t hear Granny Smith talk about her parents often. It always managed to make tug at her heart.
“Yer a lot like Carter, ya know,” said Granny Smith.
“Really,” asked Applejack.
“Eeyup,” said Granny Smith. “Stubborn as a mule, and not easy to express yer romantic feelins.”
“Ah don’t have any romantic feelins,” exclaimed Applejack. “Ah can’t stand Malady Wesson!”
“Ah never said it was Mal you were havin romantic inklings fer,” said Granny Smith coyly. “But there aint nothin wrong with that. He’s a fine, young stallion.”
“He is anything but that,” exclaimed Applejack. “He’s stubborn, narcissistic, a smart mouth…”
“And good lookin,” interrupted Granny.
“Drop dead gorgeous,” exclaimed Applejack, who immediately turned bright red. “You set me up, Granny!”
“You said it, sugar cube, not me,” laughed Granny Smith. “Ah think ah’m gonna go take a nap now.”
Granny Smith walked back into the house, and Applejack followed. The orange mare made her way upstairs towards her room. Mal had the guest room door open.
“Looks like our rooms are right next to each others,” said Mal.
“That used to be Big Macintosh’s room,” said Applejack. “He’s livin at the library now, as ah’m sure ya already knew.”
“Nice to see how dedicated he is to both the farm and his lovely wife,” said Mal.
“Twilight’s a great friend,” said Applejack. “Ah’m real glad she’s part of the family.”
“This is a nice family to be a part of,” said Mal. “Maybe some day ah’ll be closer to this family than just association.”
“Don’t know who’d be crazy enough to marry you,” said Applejack.
“Ah could say the same about you,” smiled Mal. “But ah think ah could handle it.”
Applejack tried to make a comeback, but all she could do what get flustered and she ran into her room.
“This is gonna be a fun couple a months,” said Mal.
Inside Applejack’s room.
“This is gonna be a long couple a months,” said Applejack.