"Applejack..." Granny Smith muttered, raising a brow as she stared at her granddaughter. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" the orange mare repeated, glaring over at Caramel with an annoyed expression. "Ah..."
Applejack paused, then sighed and backed away from the two.
"...Sorry, Granny Smith. You're right. Ah'll... show Caramel around tomorrow," she replied, trying to hold in a bit of a grudge against the amber stallion.
"...Applejack...?"
The orange mare turned as she heard the voice of her younger sibling on the other side of the door; sounding as if she was longing for something.
"...For now... ah gotta be goin'," Applejack huffed, opening the door and passing the yellow filly on her way outside. "Let's go, Apple Bloom."
The red-maned earth pony was quiet for a moment, then quickly became ecstatic as she galloped after her older sister.
"Alright!"
Applejack knew full-well that she had been tired earlier, but she would've done anything to get some away time from...him.
"...So... who were you and Granny talkin' to?"
The orange mare snapped out of her thoughts as she turned her attention to her little sister, who looked up at her with big innocent eyes.
"Huh?"
"Back at the house; ah didn't hear much, but ah did hear another pony's voice."
Applejack, quickly reminded of the event, looked away and sighed a bit. "Oh... right... him."
"Who, sis?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Caramel." the orange mare responded.
"...Ya sound angry..." the yellow filly muttered, shuddering slightly. Her sister rarely sounded like that.
Applejack stopped for a moment, then smiled slightly and sat down, sitting her little sister down with her as she patted her sibling's red mane.
"Don't ya worry now; ah ain't mad. Pinkie Pie Promise," she said, trying to reassure the young earth pony. "...And speakin' of promises, ah promised to do somethin' with ya today, right? So where do ya wanna go?"
Apple Bloom's face quickly lit up at the question, making her jump up and turn back towards the distant Ponyville. "Ah know exactly where! Follow me!" she exclaimed, trotting off towards the town.
Applejack smiled at her sister's excitement, then stood up and followed.
"...Apple Bloom..."
"Yeah?"
"...This is just a plain ol' pastry place, ain't it? Why not somewhere else?"
Applejack stared up at the sign of sweets that hung on the building; brownies, muffins, shortcakes...all kinds of baked desserts. Why wouldn't her little sister rather go to Sugarcube Corner? They could probably even get things for free there if they really wanted, considering that they were friends with Pinkie Pie.
...Not that she would've asked to though, of course.
"Oh, no way, Applejack!" Apple Bloom replied, her eyes going a bit wide. "It's gotta be this place!"
"Ur..." The orange mare became skeptical as she gazed inside the small shop, quickly noticing that there was no one in it besides a young female pony working the counter.
This place is anythin' but busy. What's so special about it?
"Just trust me, sis!" the yellow filly exclaimed, promptly bounding inside.
Applejack just stood there for a moment to ponder over her little sister's joy, then shrugged it off and trotted inside...
...where she was quickly met with the most delectable scent in the history of delectable scents.
Seriously... it smelled wonderful in there.
"Mmm..." she moaned, sniffing the air with a great sense of bliss.
It was an average-sized place for sure, with only a few tables and chairs lined up against the wall. The floors were tiled with pretty blue and white swirls which, admittedly, looked rather delicious by themselves; or maybe that was just because the delightful fumes were getting to her... she wasn't sure.
At the edge of the white path that stretched from the door, the two siblings were met with a glistening white counter that was lined with cute confections at the edges.
The young pony that the orange mare had seen earlier still stood at the counter, smiling at her. Her mane was a dark chocolate-brown, while her fur contrasted it by being a light milky-brown. Her mocha-colored eyes were big, yet gentle, and her attire was a simple fluffy hat; appropriate, given her job.
Apple Bloom was not shy in approaching the mare, hopping onto a stool and sitting right in front of her.
"Oh! Apple Bloom!" the brown pony exclaimed, smiling wide at the sight of the yellow filly.
"Ya know my little sis?" Applejack asked, raising a brow as she sat next to her little sister, having finally gotten over the intense atmosphere of the simple shop.
The mare merely nodded as Apple Bloom turned to her older sister and directed her hoof towards the mocha-eyed pony.
"This is Cocoa Cookie. She's a friend of mine that ah made recently." she explained.
"Mmhm. We met over some business." the brown mare added, smiling over at Applejack once more.
Met over some business? What's that supposed to mean?
"So then? What would you like?" Cocoa Cookie questioned, pulling out a small notepad to write down orders.
"Hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows please!" Apple Bloom said quickly as she flailed a hoof, knowing immediately what she wanted.
Applejack scrunched her nose as she thought about something to order, then looked up at the menu and let out a firm, "Sweet-apple cobbler, if ya don't mind."
"Oh, of course I don't mind!" Cocoa Cookie cheered, quickly writing down the orders and trotting off for the kitchen.
"..."
"...So..."
Applejack's ear twitched as she heard her little sister's sudden unsureness.
"...If ya ain't mad... then why'd ya say his name like that? And who is he?"
This conversation again?
The orange mare sighed at first, then gave in to the yellow filly and rested her front hooves on the counter, thus allowing her to relax somewhat.
"Honestly, I wouldn't say that ah'm mad at him. Just a little..." She paused to word her sentence, then adjusted her hat slightly. "...annoyed."
"Annoyed? Why's that?" Apple Bloom asked. After a short pause though, the yellow filly leaned towards her older sister and tilted her head. "Ohhh, ah remember now. Caramel, that pony who lost the seeds on Winter Wrap Up day. That right?"
Applejack gave a small grunt and nodded in reply.
However...the red-maned filly didn't seem so convinced of the orange mare's reasoning. "He rode ya to the Gala though, didn't he?" she questioned.
Applejack didn't respond for a moment, then sighed and stood up straight, adjusting her hat once more.
"Apple Bloom, that just ain't the-"
"Are ya mad that he's workin' at the farm now?"
The orange mare stared over at her little sister, then simply frowned and looked away.
Getting the feeling that she was digging too deep, Apple Bloom turned her attention to the kitchen door that her friend had gone through.
"...K-know what's funny?" she asked.
Applejack looked back over at the yellow filly and raised a brow.
"Cocoa Cookie told me that her family got part of her name from Smart Cookie."
"...Oh yeah?" the orange mare asked, managing a bit of a smile. "Well... how about that, huh?"
"That's what ah said!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, giggling a bit as she recalled Applejack's role in the Hearth's Warming Eve play.
The two then turned their attention back to Cocoa Cookie as the brown mare came out of the kitchen, placing a hot cup of cocoa by Apple Bloom and a slice of sweet-apple cobbler by Applejack. She then dumped a few marshmallows in the yellow filly's warm drink and smiled. "Is that alright?"
Apple Bloom took a quick sip of her cocoa, then grinned wide. "It's more than alright! It's-"
"Amazin'!" Applejack interrupted, a piece of the cobbler still in her mouth. After swallowing, the orange mare regained her composure and smiled. "Ah mean... sorry... ah guess ah misjudged ya. Didn't see many ponies here and wondered why Apple Bloom wanted to come. Now ah see why!"
The country pony then went to take another bite of her cobbler, but paused as she realized something. "O-oh right! Ah forgot to pay!"
Alright, now all of mah bits should be-
clink
Applejack paused at the noise, then turned her head to see a few bits laying on the counter. She certainly hadn't put them there, so...
"...Apple Bloom... those're your bits..." the orange pony muttered, looking over at her little sister with a confused expression.
"Ah know. Ah... ah wanted to pay this time," Apple Bloom said shyly, smiling innocently at her older sibling.
Applejack examined the golden coins once more, then frowned. "Those're the bits we gave ya for cleanin' the barn, ain't they? ...Is that why ya did it?" she asked.
"You're lucky to have her as a little sister," Cocoa Cookie interrupted, smiling over at the orange mare as the yellow filly sheepishly drank her hot cocoa while blushing slightly.
"She helped me clean up this place after it was built. Didn't ask for pay or anything; only that, for today, I would keep the shop a secret so that she could take her 'wonderful sister Applejack' out to eat," the brown mare explained, her smile softening as she remembered the moment.
"Apple Bloom..." Applejack started, staring over at her little sister. "...ya did that for me?"
The yellow filly set her cup down, then looked up at the orange mare and nodded. "Ah... ah saw how stressed ya were, and ah just wanted to-" She was quickly cut off as Applejack gave her a gentle hug.
"...Thanks, lil' sis."
Apple Bloom blinked in response at first, then giggled and hugged her older sister back.
"...So... you're not annoyed anymore?" she asked quietly.
"Heh..." Applejack simply smiled and rubbed the yellow filly's mane. "Hey, he ain't here, is he? So let's just enjoy this while it lasts, alright?"
Apple Bloom stared into the orange mare's eyes for a moment, not completely satisfied with her answer, but smiled nonetheless. At least she was happy for now.
"Alright!"