"Because we have something important to tell you." Vinyl explained. "And we think it would be best if you take a seat before that.."
Granny Smith looked at her grandchildren in bewilderment. She focused her gaze on their faces, she immediately recognized those expressions. They both bore the same expression they had when they were about to confess something really bad to their grandmother. She sat on the closest chair and wait for her 'children' to speak.
"Ah'm listening." Granny said cautiously. The girls took a seat as well and turned their faces toward her. "What happened? Yalooked disturbed like when ya razed the barn by accident"
"If only it was something like that." Vinyl halfheartedly chuckled.
"Granny," Applejack started. "Ya know that the gals had been on the farm for 'bout ten days by now."
" And that in those ten days, we all got real close to each other." Vinyl continued.
"Darn tootin'. No big surprise there. Ya sure to get close to someone ifen y'all share a house." Granny nodded. "Kinda logic girls."
"Glad ya think that, Granny." Applejack nodded as well. "The thing is that we kinda got close to some of them in particular."
"Well of course, ya have more feelin' toward one friend than the others." Granny blinked in confusion. "That there's what ya call a best friend."
"Not really that kind of close, Granny." Vinyl slowly said.
"What do ya mean?" Granny asked impatiently.
"Granny, I got involved with one of them." Vinyl let out in a relieving sigh. "In a romantic way."
"And, Ah as well." Applejack confessed in a small voice.
They both eyed the Matriarch with cautious. She froze in surprise when she processed what her grandchildren had told her. She broke out from her freezing moment by taking a sip from her tea. When she put the cup back on the table, she spoke with a neutral voice.
"Well Ah'm surprised." Granny slowly said. "Which of the six are they?"
"Octavia and Rarity." Vinyl said.
"One thing left to do then." She said, rising up from her seat.
The girls stood up as well.
"Where are ya goin'?" Applejack asked with concern.
"Ah'm gonna tell them to get the heck out of MY HOUSE!" Granny Smith shouted in anger. "Ah refuse to have that sort of fella under my roof!"
"That's absolutely out of question!" Vinyl shouted back as she placed herself in the elder woman's way.
"Don' talk back to yer grandmother like that, Missy!" Granny chastised. "An' don't ya think ya're off the hook, yer turns will come later."
"Our turns for what exactly?" Applejack snapped. "What in the hay did we do wrong ?"
"Don' ask me what's wrong!" Granny yelled. "Ah didn't raise ya to talk back to me like that. Or to fool around with others women."
"We are not fooling around, Granny." Vinyl said ferociously. "I'm simply in love with Octavia."
"And Ah love Rarity." Applejack added.
"Y'all can't know what love it is." Granny angrily snarled. "Yer too young for that."
"Dad was a year younger than us when he married Mom." Vinyl countered.
"DON'T YA DARE bringin' them in this!" Granny bellowed. "It aint the same situation."
"How it ain't the same?" Applejack asked. "They loved each other, that was it. How was it different than what we want now?"
"It's just different." Granny shook her head. "If y'all think ah'm gonna allow ya to live like..."
"Ok. I'll be very clear about something, Granny." Vinyl interrupted her. "We didn't tell you about that to ask for your permission. We told you because we didn't want to hide it from you."
"No matter, what ya will say, we ain't gonna stop to see them." Applejack confirmed.
"If ya both still want to be part of this here family, ya will stop!" Granny snapped. When she saw the face of her blue haired granddaughter full of pain and hurt from her words, she immediately wanted them back.
"Y-Yo-You really mean that?" Vinyl stammered with tears in her eyes. "You really want us to... You want ME to choose between THIS family and the person I love." She asked with a cracking voice as tears rolled on her cheeks.
"Vinyl.." Applejack said with concern.
"Vinyl, sugar wait.." Granny started in a small voice.
"You promised..."Vinyl said in a shaking voice. "You and Mom promised me that I could always consider this place as my home. That I'll always be accepted in this house." She spoke with her voice barely louder than a whisper. "And now you ask me to choose..."
"Vinyl, no." Granny Smith pleaded. "Ah shouldn't have said that...."
"Well too bad, ya said it." Applejack snapped as she passed her arms around her distraught sister. "Ah'm taking her for a walk to calm her down. Ya better not do anythin' until we're back." Applejack warned angrily. "This here conversation ain't over."
Applejack lead Vinyl who let herself being guided without any struggle outside, leaving Granny alone with her thoughts. The old woman sat back in her chair, and put her right hand on her forehead. She remained like that for a few minutes in a complete silence.
"Ah'm such an old fool." She slowly said as a small tear rolled down her cheek.
Rarity and Octavia were keeping each other company in Rarity's room, they had asked the others to leave them on their own, something they accepted to do. Just to be safe, Twilight had cast a muffling spell on Applebloom's door. When the shouting had started, everyone was thankful of Twilight's insight. The shouting had stopped about twenty minutes ago, and since then nothing. It wasn't reassuring the two already stressed women.
"Do you think we should go down and see what's going on?" Octavia asked hesitantly.
"Considering what we heard before Dear, I don't think it will be a good idea." Rarity answered, shaking her head.
They were startled by a slow knock on the door. Rarity got up and opened the door, hoping it will be Applejack and Vinyl. To her and Octavia's surprise, the door opened to let an elder woman inside. Granny looked like she had been crying a lot. Rarity and Octavia looked at the Apple Matriarch with caution and a bit of anger.
"Ah suppose y'all heard everything." She slowly said, earning a small nod from the younger women. "Can ah have a word with ya two?"
"Sure." Rarity answered with her most polite tone.
Granny Smith took a good look at the women who had taken her granddaughters's hearts. "Ah came to ask y'all something." She took a deep breath before saying . "Ah wan' ta know what do ya feel about my grandchildren."
"Isn't obvious how we feel about them?" Rarity asked with a crooked eyebrow.
"Just answer ma question, please." Granny softly said.
"Well, for me, Vinyl is the one that changed the way I saw things." Octavia slowly explained, looking for the best words to express her feelings. "Her magic, her playing, her vision of music in general, everything about her was an amazing discovery for me." She smiled a little. "I had hoped she would stay in Canterlot when I proposed her a seat in the Council, so that I could get to know her. Even her refusal, had taught me something I wouldn't have ever thought about." Her smile grow wider. "I was so excited when the Princess said we were gonna stay a few weeks here."
Octavia paused a moment before continuing."Our friendship grew quickly into something more when we spent more time together. I wasn't sure of what to do. But when Vinyl said she felt the same way, I've never been so happy in my life." She turned her face toward Granny Smith. "Vinyl's the most amazing woman I ever met. Even more amazing then our immortal Princesses in my opinion. I would trade everything I have to stay at her side." She concluded with conviction.
Granny didn't show any emotions during Octavia's speech, nor did she say anything when it was over. She just turned around to face Rarity who cleared her throat before speaking.
"If I must tell the truth," She started slowly. "I didn't think much of Applejack when I first met her. At that time, she was simply Vinyl's plus-one to me." Rarity paused and noticed the frown on Granny Smith's face. "But quickly, words about her spread like wild fire. Pinkie Pie told how she was so nice with every one she met. Her encounter with Blueblood told everyone she was a strong woman with an even stronger character. She didn't hesitate in protecting me during the earthquake and the invasion."
"During that time, the only thing on her mind was finding Vinyl to make sure she was ok. But she kept looking out for me as well. She cares about those she loves and also about those next to her. That's something that I find admirable." Rarity continued with a dreamy gaze. "At the wedding, I saw a complete other facet of her personality. She was clearly above every other nobles. She had more grace and elegance than any other woman around her. And she managed to do that without cheating on who she was, unlike every last one of them."
She looked the old woman right in the eyes. "Applejack's a paragon of honesty. Everything she says, she means it with all her heart. Someone like that doesn't exist in Canterlot. So when she said she loved me, I knew how much it meant to her." She added with a small blush before saying. "I don't think I truly deserve to be with her, but I will none the less love her with all of my heart."
Granny looked at the two young women from the Nobility in silence for a couple of minutes. When she spoke again, her voice was shaking and her eyes were shining with tears. "My Applejack and my Vinyl are two of the four most precious things ah have left in this world. So ah want y'all to take good care of them, ya hear?"
Octavia and Rarity were shocked by that demand. Considering what they had heard her shouted earlier, that wasn't what they expected the elderly woman to say.
"You mean...you're finally approving their decisions?" Octavia asked hopefully.
"Ah shouldn't have disapproved in the first place. They are old enough to know what's good for them." She said apologetically, her head hanging low in shame. "Ah only managed to hurt them, especially Vinyl, with ma stubbornness an ma ol' fashion ways."
"What are you going to do about it?" Rarity asked with concern. Seeing the old woman so distraught was really unsettling for her and Octavia.
"Ah'll just apologize to them and pray the Horse Gods for them to forgive ma foolish behavior." Granny Smith said slowly.
"Mrs Smith, would you like some tea?" Octavia asked carefully. "I think you need to relax a bit."
"Ah reckon a cup of tea would be nice." She nodded.
Vinyl had managed to calm down after a rather long walk in the Orchard with Applejack. They were now coming back to the house to finish their talk with Granny Smith. They were resolute into winning this argument. Something they've never managed in the past, but today they ought to succeed. When approaching the front door, they heard the sounds of laughters coming from inside.
"What the hay?" Vinyl said looking at Applejack with a very puzzled face.
"What in tarnation?" Applejack asked simultaneously with a extremely similar expression.
They opened the door and saw what was going on inside. It was the only thing they dreaded the most in the world.
Granny was showing the girls of the Council of Harmony her photo albums.
When they noticed that Vinyl and Applejack had come back, Octavia and Rarity rushed to their respective lover for a big hug. The two Apples were getting more and more confused.
"Can someone explain what's going on ?" Vinyl asked.
"Yeah, we kinda feel out of the loop now." Applejack added.
"Hmm. I think I know how to explain quickly. Right Rarity?" Octavia said in a playful chuckle.
"Indeed my dear." Rarity giggled with a nod.
They both pulled their girlfriends into a passionate kiss. Completely shocked at first, the two Apples slowly started to kiss back with an equal passion. Rainbow and Pinkie started to whistle at them and Twilight and Fluttershy were just smiling at their friends. Granny Smith's impassible expression softened a lot when she noticed how happy her grandchildren looked and started to smile as well.
When the kiss broke, Vinyl and Applejack locked their eyes on those of their respective girlfriend for a minute or two. The glint in their eyes told them enough about what must have happened when they were on their walk. They broke the embrace with their lovers and made way toward Granny Smith and, without saying anything, they hugged her tightly.
"Thank you Granny!" they both whispered as she hugged them back with all her strength.
That was too much for Pinkie who started to cry, literally, gallons of happy tears, completely hosing Rainbow Dash who was sitting right next to her. The Apples broke their hug and joined the others in their fit of laughter.
The rest of the evening was spent by Granny Smith showing more of her photo albums and telling stories about the various shenanigans Applejack and/or Vinyl had done when they were younger, much at the concerned parties's discomfort. Now, everyone had gone to bed and the Apple siblings were preparing their couch/bed for the night with their grandmother watching them.
"Granny." Vinyl started slowly. "How exactly did things work out when AJ and I were outside?"
"Ah was kinda askin' me that as well." Applejack added.
Granny thought about that for a few moments, searching for her words. "Well, after y'all had left, " She explained slowly. " Ah started to feel ashamed of how Ah treated ya. So after a few moments of thinkin', Ah went upstairs to have a talk with Rarity and Octavia."
"What did y'all talk about?" Applejack asked with interest.
"Ah wanted them to say what they thought about y'all..." She explained everything that had happened when she talked to her two special guests. She couldn't help but to chuckle at the sight of a growing blush on her granddaughters's faces when she told in details what each girl had said about their respective lover. "After Ah realized they cared about ya as much as ya do about them, Ah stepped down. We took some tea, we talked, and next thing Ah knew, Ah was showin' my photo albums."
"How did you know how we felt about them?" Vinyl asked. "We didn't get you a whole speech like they did."
"Ya didn't need a speech." Granny chuckled. "Y'all did something that needed no words."
"What?" Applejack and Vinyl both asked in confusion.
"Ya stood yer grounds against me for them." Granny slowly said, with a certain amount of pride in her voice. "That there, was something ya both never did before. Like with Filthy the other day, as soon as Ah said no, ya stopped to defend yer opinion even if it made perfect sense ta ya." Granny explained. "And today, ya didn't hesitate a second for them gals. Ah was angry at first, but lookin' back, ah was also proud ya were standing up to me."
The two girls didn't say anything, so the matriarch continued. "An' since Ah know ya are more stubborn than an ol' mule, just like maself, Ah realized there was no point in arguin' about it." She said with a chuckle, joined quickly by Applejack and Vinyl. "It will take some time to get used ta it." Granny confessed. "But as long as ya're happy, Ah can live with that."
"Thanks a lot Granny, you have no idea how much that means to us." Vinyl said with a smile as Applejack nodded her sister's affirmation.
"It's ok my dears," Granny said with care, before turning serious. "But don't y'all think ah'm gonna let ya roll in the hay every time ya feel like it. This house still got rules ya know." What she had said had caused her granddaughters to back away.
"Vinyl did it already." Applejack quickly confessed in panic.
"And why in the wide wild land of Equestria did you have to say that?" Vinyl snapped at her sister.
"If ya're gonna go down, Ah'm not gonna let ya take me with ya." Applejack retorted.
"Oh because you're a complete saint, ain't you?" Vinyl asked sarcastically. "Maybe we should talk about the time Rainbow spied on ya and Rarity in the barn. Or what about the bite marks on your neck?"
"What with all the...." Applejack said in anger, coming close to her sister.
"Ahem"
They both faced their grandmother who was tapping her foot on the ground and looking at them with a crooked eyebrow. They gulped in fear when she pointed the couch.
"Sit down girls," She sternly said. "Ah'm gonna remind ya how things work around here."
"Yes, Granny." They both said in defeat.