//------------------------------// // And so they were gone... // Story: Apple Scratch : A summer at the Farm // by Mariacheat-Brony //------------------------------// Like every good things, the stay of the Council members had come to an end. Applejack and Vinyl had carried their luggages to the front gate of the Acres. The six women of the nobility along with the three adult members of the Apple family were waiting the carriage that will carry them to Canterlot. "I would like to thank you, on behalf of the Council and the Royal Princesses, for your hospitality, Mrs Smith!" Twilight said with solemnity. "None of that Sugar, 't was a pleasure." Granny Smith waved off with a smile. "And it's Granny Smith to y'all six, not Mrs Smith." "All right, Mrs ....Granny Smith." Twilight replied with a chuckle as she caught herself in time. "That's more like it." Granny Smith nodded. The Matriarch gave a small nod at Vinyl who levitated a small crate toward Twilight. "What is it?" Twilight asked with curiosity. "The last batch of Pinkie's Zap Apple Jam." Granny explained. "It's sweeter than every other batches. Ah think Princess Celestia will appreciate it, if what ya've said about her fancy for cake is true." She added with a wink. "Thank you, Granny Smith! I'm sure she'll love it." Twilight said with a smile. "How come it's sweeter than the others?" Pinkie Pie asked in confusion. "I followed the recipe exactly like you told me to." "Sweetie, that's one of the thin' that makes Zap Apples specials." Granny answered. "The recipe is the method to get it right, but in the end it's the jammer that makes the difference for the fruit." Pinkie Pie eyed the crate containing the Zap Apple Jam for a few seconds. "Say, Granny Smith?" "What's it Sweetheart?" "Can I come back next year? For the next Zap Apple jamming?" Pinkie asked with hope. "Ya can come back any time ya want." Granny Smith assured. "That extends to all of ya." She added at the three others who were near her. They all beamed at the old woman, who gave a glance at her granddaughters. "Ha! Ah know that at least Ah'll see two of y'all pretty darn often." She chuckled, joined quickly by the younger women next to her. A few meters away, her granddaughters were hugging their respective lovers. Vinyl slowly passed her fingers in Octavia's long black hair as the cellist was snuggling deeply her lover. Applejack was delicately rubbing Rarity's back while the seamstress rested her head on the farmer's chest, listening her heartbeats. The two couples held each other tightly, wanting to enjoy every seconds they had left before the girls' departure. "Promise you'll write?" Octavia asked softly. "You make it sound like you're leaving for an other country." Vinyl chuckled. "Do you promise?" Octavia asked pleadingly as she looked up to Vinyl. Vinyl's expression went from playful to caring when she noticed Octavia's eyes. The cellist was on the verge of crying. Vinyl brought her face closer. "I promise." She whispered before gently kissing Octavia. "Aren't they cute?" Rarity, who had assisted at the scene, whispered at Applejack. "Kinda... Ah still think we're better." Applejack answered with a small laugh. "Do you have to bring everything back to a competition, Darling?" Rarity asked with a small giggle as she put her head away from Applejack's chest. "With Vinyl? Yes, Ah think it's genetic!" Applejack shrugged. She noticed something in Rarity's small cleavage, a silver medallion with an orange apple-shaped gem. "Ain't that a crime against fashion to wear the same accessory two days in a row?" She asked with a small smile. Rarity opened slightly the top buttons of Applejack's shirt and a saw a medallion with a purple diamond encrusted in it. "You're hardly the one to make such a remark, Darling." Rarity chuckled. "True, but Ah don't know a single thin' about fashion! Unlike ya." Applejack remarked. "It's irritating when you say the truth so bluntly!" Rarity groaned in a false anger. "Ya don' like it?" "I just adore it!" Rarity cooed before pecking her farmer's lips. "Hey! Isn't that one of the Princesses' special carriages?" Pinkie shouted, pointing at the sky. They all snapped their heads up. They saw a rather large, white carriage rimmed with gold, bearing the heraldry of the Royal Immortal Sisters. The Apples' eyes went wide from shock, not because of the royal carriage, but because of what was pulling it. It was pulled by six large white winged horses, something that had been seen only in legends, Pegasi. The carriage was slowly coming down toward the farm's front gate. "The Princesses have a 'flock' of Pegasi?" Vinyl asked in shock. "I thought the species was extinct!" "It still is. Those six have wings only because of an enchanted harness." Twilight explained matter-of-factly. "I wonder why the Princesses sent this one to pick us up though. It was planned that we take the train to go back." The carriage landed without a hitch, the driver, a Jupitarian soldier, jumped from his seat and opened the carriage left door. A tall man wearing a purple and golden armor got out of the carriage. Twilight's face lit up when she recognized who the man was. "Shining!" Twilight shouted happily as she ran toward her brother to hug him. "You could have warned me that you were going to pick us up." "It wasn't really planned, Little Sis'." Shining answered, hugging his sister back. "Celestia has asked to come pick you up with her carriage this morning. She needs you six back in Canterlot for before noon." "Well if the Princess needs us." Twilight nodded. The driver had started to put the luggage in the carriage, while the others bid their goodbye to the Apples. Pinkie and Fluttershy had already got in the carriage, when a sharp whistle followed by a loud thud made themselves heard. Cloud Kicker, wearing her red armor, had just landed behind the carriage. She seemed lightly panicked and after having seen who had come with the carriage, she relaxed instantly. "Do you have any idea what mess you've just given me, Captain?" Cloud Kicker asked to Shining Armor in a serious professional tone. The girls of the Council were very surprised to see the guard acting so serious after having heard a few explicit stories about her. They hadn't really thought she could sounds so strict and stern, like an actual guard. Twilight's eyes were darting between Cloud Kicker and her brother with a slight worried expression on her face. "What do you mean, harlot?" The driver asked with a scowl before Shining could say anything. The Council members gasped in shock at his comment while Granny's happy face turned into angry frown. Vinyl and AJ sighed in exasperation, once again their friend's reputation had preceded her. Cloud Kicker only raised an eyebrow at the offending driver. She noticed his ranking stripes. "Usually, the underlings call me Lieutenant harlot." She said with a low threatening tone. "For that lack at discipline, you'll give me a hundred, this instant. As for the insult, I'll recommend five days of toilet fatigues. That will teach you respect, Private." "As if you..." The Private started. "If you don't want those to be doubled. You better not question my orders." Cloud Kicker warned, her eyes and tone cold as ice. "But finish loading those luggages first!" The driver reluctantly finished his job before doing what Cloud Kicker had ordered him. He had to interrupt his series because Pinkie Pie had thrown a cupcake at him with a vengeful expression. "Go further and start over!" Shining ordered. When the soldier had complied, Shining turned toward Cloud Kicker. "I'm sorry for my man's behavior, Lieutenant." He said sincerely. "No big deal, Boss." Cloud Kicker waved off. "Anyway, you were mentioning a mess." "Yes. The town folks have seen the Royal Carriage." Cloud Kicker nodded at the carriage. "They think the Princesses are coming for a visit. The mayor is panicking like crazy trying to organize a last minute welcome committee." "Oh. I haven't thought about that." Shining chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry." "It's ok. The mayor and the town folks will probably calm down as soon as the carriage will leave." Cloud Kicker said with a small smile. "Just next time, warn me or the mayor in advance if you're coming with all the fancy git up." She added with a chuckle. "Will do." Shining nodded happily before turning toward the girls. "Anyway let's go! The Princesses are waiting." He shouted before entering in the carriage with Rainbow Dash. "Have a safe trip, Lady Sparkle." Cloud Kicker said with a light bow. "Thank you, Lieutenant Kicker." Twilight answered with a small blush, before joining her friends in the carriage. Rarity turned toward Applejack with small tears in her eyes. "Goodbye, Applejack. I'm going to miss you." She said with a soft sad voice. "Miss ya too, Sugarcube." Applejack replied softly as she wiped the tears out of Rarity's eyes. They both leaned in for a short kiss. After that, Rarity walked reluctantly toward the carriage and took a seat near the carriage window, leaving Octavia alone with Vinyl as Applejack had taken a few steps away from them. "I guess it's a goodbye, then." Octavia said with a shaking voice. "Hmmm! How about a 'see you soon'?" Vinyl asked with smile. "That'll work better." Octavia admitted, returning her lover's smile. "See you soon, Octavia." "See you soon, Vinyl" Octavia softly said before kissing passionately Vinyl. When she broke the kiss, Octavia walked inside the carriage and closed the door behind her. The driver had taken his seat under the dark stares given by the three Apples plus Cloud Kicker. The carriage took off easily before slowly becoming smaller and ending up disappearing into the horizon. Vinyl and Applejack kept looking at it while it was still visible. "How you doing?" Cloud Kicker asked with concern. "A bit sad, but it'll pass." Vinyl said. "After all, we know where they are and they know where to find us." Applejack simply nodded at what her sister had said. "Want to go and see the Mayor's face when I'll tell her the Princesses aren't coming?" Cloud Kicker suggested playfully. "Ah reckon that'll cheer us up." Applejack chuckled with Vinyl and Cloud Kicker. The journey back to Canterlot Castle passed in the blink of an eye. After disembarking the girls went straight to meeting the Princesses while Shining had went on to the Guard headquarters with the cart driver. Pinkie Pie was holding the crate of jam for Princess Celestia. When they entered the throne room, they saw Princess Celestia chatting with a woman with short blond hair wearing a purple suit jacket. When she noticed them, the Princess excused herself to her interlocutor and walked toward the Council members. "Welcome home, girls." Celestia asked with a big smile before being hugged by a happy Pinkie Pie. "I'm soooo happy to see you, Princess!" Pinkie shouted. "So am I, Pinkie." Celestia said softly as she patted Pinkie's head with tenderness. The Princess made signal to the others to come closer. One by one, they joined Pinkie and Celestia into a group hug. Such behavior might not be considered proper for a millennial monarch like her, but it didn't matter to Celestia. These girls were the closest thing she had for a family, right after her sister Luna and her niece Cadence, and she had missed them more than anyone else during those three weeks. "We have something for you, Princess!" Pinkie shouted happily after the group had broken the hug. She presented the crate to Celestia who opened it with her magic. She pulled out one of the ten jars and noticed the rainbow colored jam inside of it with interest. "Is that what I think it is?" Celestia asked slowly. "Yes Princess!" Twilight nodded. "It's Zap Apple Jam." "I jammed it." Pinkie Pie said excitedly. "Really?" Celestia asked in surprise. "Yeah! Every thing with the Zap Apple Harvest was so cool." Pinkie beamed. "The timberwolves' attack wasn't." Rainbow remarked. "You got attacked by timberwolves?" Celestia asked with worry. "Oh yeah, that was kinda scary. But Vinyl took care of them quickly. It was like, bzzziiing, crack, crush..." Pinkie rambled on. "Pinkie!" Celestia interrupted her with a smile. "Why don't you tell me how your stay was from the very beginning?" She asked the six women in front of her. The girls started to tell their stay in details. Pinkie had talked about all the things she did with Applebloom, Winona and all the recipes she had learned from Granny Smith. She also mentioned Sugarcube Corner and various food stands she had found in Ponyville. She also explained with complete graphics how cool Bon-Bon's tavern was, she didn't mention the bar fight though. Rainbow told in details the episode with the Timberwolves, with Pinkie helping for the sound effects. She also talked about the size of Sweet Apple Acres and all the open spaces around the town. She had spent most of her time in the air and couldn't help but notice that the Ponyville weather management team was very efficient. Octavia talked about all the work she had done on her compositions with Vinyl's help. How Vinyl had helped her in overcoming her fear of horses and giving her a new passion for horse riding. How Vinyl had defeated the timberwolves, how she had been injured trying to protect her. Unconsciously, she had mostly talked about Vinyl, leaving the Princess a bit puzzled by that while the others were repressing their giggles. Thankfully, she didn't mention the incident with her brother. Fluttershy and Rarity talked about all there was to see in Ponyville. The two women had taken a liking in small wanders around town. They talked about the spa, the various boutiques, the hotel and all the small restaurant. Rarity explained in details how good was the service at The Golden Unicorn. Fluttershy ended her tale by telling about how nice the people of Ponyville were, except Mrs Rich and her daughter but she didn't mentioned them. Twilight had talked about all she had learned at the farm, from the town library about the Town's history. She had found out it was the Apple and the Rich families who were at the origins of the town. She also talked about how well the guard seem to be doing around town, something she had learned during her night at Cloud Kicker's. Of course, she didn't mention to the monarch how she had ended up in the guard's house in the middle of the night. Or the fact that it was at night in the first place. Celestia couldn't help but smile at how happy and motivated the girls seemed to be. Her plan for giving them some fresh air to clear their minds had worked perfectly. She noticed how Octavia's and Rarity's vibe had changed drastically during their stay even though she couldn't exactly know why. She thought she would ask them about it later. Rainbow seemed to act with much more humility, apparently confronting Applejack and Vinyl had taught her that much. Pinkie Pie was the only one who didn't seem to have changed much, but becoming more cheerful than what she already was, wasn't possible. Fluttershy seemed to have become more at ease around people other than her friends. The same could be told about Twilight, she looked a lot more open than before. But, Celestia knew that her student was hiding something. Celestia would have to investigate on that. After having heard all about their stay, Celestia let the girls go back to their rooms to unpack their things before lunch. When they got out of the throne room, The Sun Princess walked back to the woman she was talking to earlier. The woman had been taking note during the Council Women's tale. "I think you've just got everything you needed concerning Ponyville, Mrs Harshwhinny." Celestia said smiling. "I think you're right about that, your Highness." Mrs Harshwhinny nodded. Octavia had just finished unpacking her things. She was about to place her cello back in its usual spot when Pinkie came in holding a small bag with a card taped to it. "Pinkie, we've told you about knocking the door." Octavia said. "Oh right!" Pinkie said, before knocking the door three times." Better?" "Much. But, next time, try to do it when you're still outside a room." Octavia chuckled before she noticed the bag. "What have you got there?" "I don't know but it has your name on it." Pinkie said as she extended the bag. "Where did you find it?" Octavia asked as she took the bag and noticed that it was written 'Octavia' on top of the card. "In my travel bag." Pinkie shrugged. "I think Twilight freaked out this morning when she saw that outside your luggages and shove it in the closest bag she found." "That's probably what happ....." Octavia started before freezing herself as she looked inside the bag. "Octavia, you're ok?" Pinkie asked with concern. "What's in that bag?" Octavia didn't answered, she just put her hand in the bag and pulled out what was inside. She let the bag fall on the ground as she was holding by its right foreleg a small plush representing a white unicorn with blue mane and tail. She grabbed it with her left hand by its body. "How did you get here?" Octavia asked softly to the plush. "Maybe that card will tell you." Pinkie Pie said as she pointed a small card that had fallen from inside the bag. Octavia picked up the card and read it for herself. When she had done reading it, Rainbow Dash passed her head through the door frame. "Guys, lunch's almost served. You're coming?" She asked before noticing the plush. "Aren't you a little old to play with dolls, Octavia?" "Don't you have like a dozen of those in your room?" Pinkie Pie asked Rainbow Dash, titling her head in confusion. "Ok, first of all Pinkie. They're actions figures, not dolls." Rainbow argued. "And second, they're wonderbolts collector models, I don't play with them." "What about that time I saw you in your bath, making funny noise and talking to Soarin's figurine about saving the rainbow girl from the marine monster?" Pinkie Pie asked in genuine curiosity. "You spied me during my bath?" Rainbow shouted with a growing blush. Pinkie blinked for a few seconds. "Noooooooooo." "Pinkie!" Rainbow said in a threatening tone. Pinkie ran outside Octavia's room at full speed, being chased by an angry and embarrassed Rainbow Dash, leaving Octavia with her letter and her plush. Small tears appeared in her eyes as her face lit with a happy smile. She let the letter drop on the ground and started holding the unicorn plush close to her heart. Heya, Octavia How was the journey? Good? Awesome. You're probably wondering why have I given you Little Vinyl Remember Sunday morning? When you were holding her because I wasn't there. Well I thought you could have her if she can help you sleeping tight. I know it's a bit silly, and You're probably laughing at me at the moment. But you can have her, I don't really need her anymore since I have you It'll be like having me around even if I'm not here After all, you did say she looked like me a bit. With all my love. Vinyl Octavia laid down on her bed and brought the Little Vinyl in front of her face. She kept thinking about her lover and how much that plush had meant for her. Octavia could help but feeling happy that Vinyl was trusting with her that piece of her past. While her thoughts were completely occupied by her lover, she started to make the plush move from left to right. At some point, she started to sing. "I used to wonder what love could be, Until you've shared its magic with me! Love's like a big adventure, With tons of precious moments! Your beautiful heart, faithful and strong shows me only tenderness! For you, it's an easy feat to make me all complete! My beautiful Vinyl I would have never known love without you..."