It was the day before Tony's meeting with Luna. He could barely contain his excitement, he even went for a run in the pouring rain. He didn't go apple bucking with Applejack yesterday, since the apples could get ruined in the intense rain. Even now it was drizzling but only slightly. As he carried the baskets from tree to barn and back again he had a huge smile. Applejack was too busy hitting the trees with all her might to notice.
Tony went through all the things that could happen. He would see Luna, maybe get a hug, they would talk, they would both smile, he could take her to...to...
Wait. I don't even know where the hell to go!
Absentmindedly he groaned out loud as he picked up another set of baskets. " What's buggin' ya Tony?", Applejack asked. " Tired already?".
He shook his head. " No, its just...just that..."
I'm gonna see Luna tomorrow night and I have no idea where I could take her
" Jus' what sugarcube?", she stopped bucking to see what it was. Tony felt embarrased telling her about Luna, strangely, but he needed to tell someone.
" Well, see there's this friend who hasn't come to Ponyville", he said vaguely. " And I'm gonna see her tomorrow night and show her around, but I haven't even been around town either".
A small grin formed on her face. " Her? Ah didn't think ya'd have a marefriend already Tony!", she teased. Tony didn't understand, and she could tell by his expression. " Ya know, yur special somepony?".
His face turned redder than the apples they were bucking. " She's not my girl-er-marefriend, I'm just showing her Ponyville!", he quickly excused himself.
Applejack eased up on the teasing, since she didn't want Rainbow hearing about it. " Well, ah think ah could show ya most o' Ponyville", she told him. " After we get done 'ere we'll head out fer a quick looksie".
" Thanks Applejack", he smiled. She nodded cheerily and went back to bucking down the apples.
" So, ugh, who's the, lucky mare?", she said between strikes. Tony's blush returned as he thought of an answer.
" Um. She's uh, from out of town", he stammered. " But you know her".
Applejack bucked one last time before trotting over to the next tree. Before she struck it however she turned to him. " Twilight?", she smirked.
" No! Why would you, she lives here!", he pointed out.
" Well, ya see 'fore any o' us, knew 'er she, lived in Canterlot", Applejack explained. Tony nodded but still felt embarassed that she guessed Twilight. " So who is she?".
Tony emptied another basket into the cart. It was better than running from tree to barn and back, which was very tiring. " Can we just focus on work?", he quietly asked. Applejack chuckled heartily as she kicked the tree again.
" Ah'm jus' teasin' Tony", she chuckled. " But if ya wanna keep it a secret that bad ah won't push".
" Thank you". The next tree filled the wagon, making him haul it back to the barn. When he came back he saw a small yellow filly talking to Applejack.
" And then we heard from Spike Luna was ponynapped! And ah heard ya helped Twilight save her!", the small filly said quickly. " Were ya hurt?!".
Applejack chuckled a bit as she hugged the filly closer. " Ah'm fine Applebloom", she smiled. " Yer sister's tougher than nails right?".
The filly beamed at her. " So what happened?! How did ya save 'er?! Was Celestia with ya when it happened?!". The filly stopped when she saw Tony approaching. She screamed as she ran behind Applejack, who turned to see Tony.
" I'm not that ugly am I?", Tony laughed. Applejack rolled her eyes and looked at the filly clinging to her.
" W-w-what is it?", the frightened filly asked.
" Applebloom, this is Tony", the elder sister pointed her hoof. " Say hi".
Tony set the wagon handle's down and walked over to them. He knelt down so that he could see the filly. He smiled softly and held his fist out. " Hey there, so you're Applebloom?".
" Y-yes", she quivered.
" So you're the determined little filly that's always trying to find her cutie mark?", he asked. " At first I thought Applejack was talking about a mare, but it's a surprise seeing a filly". Applebloom gathered enough courage to trot to Applejack's side.
He didn't look scary, in fact, he looked kind of friendly. " Thanks, mister", she smiled. " Sorry 'bout screamin' like that". Tony could hear the southern accent like her sister.
" It's fine", he said. He noticed the backpack behind her. " Just came back from school did we?".
The filly nodded. " Yeah! Ms. Cherilee taught us all 'bout Germane", she said a little more openly. " And today ah learned some 'bout the history of Equestria".
" Alright Applebloom, get on over t' the house", Applejack nudged the filly. " Still need t' get yer work done before ya go Crusading".
" Oh right!", she smiled as she galloped past Tony. " Nice meetin' ya!".
Tony waved to her as she ran down the trail. " Didn't know you were so good with the young'uns", she raised a brow.
It wasn't something he liked to remember, but the reason was because of Eishla. She found him scared, and alone. And she made sure his life was brighter than the sun. When everything happened, he wanted only to return that kindness to the world. Whether they returned it or not.
" Yeah, me neither", he sighed. " Let's finish up here, then we can go look around town".
Applejack nodded and joined Tony back in their labor. It wasn't long before another row of apples was harvested, Tony was sure to be quick and efficient. He really wanted to get into town so he could show Luna around tomorrow. After Applejack brought in her basket they were off. There was a little hyperactiveness in Tony as they walked, he wanted to know just about every inch of the town.
" Alright, so we showed ya Sugarcube Corner, the Boutique, the Acres, and the Library", she summed up. " We got a lot o' other things in Ponyville".
" Like?". Applejack motioned for him to follow her. He thought about bringing Luna to Sugarcube Corner, but he didn't think Pinkie would be awake. Even a party pony needs to sleep.
They passed by said establishment and went further into town. She brought him into Town Square, where she regularly sold apples along with the other vendors. Many sold vegetables and fruits, some sold odd trinkets and jewelry. Tony was particularly interested in one vendor who was selling fine gems. He looked at the dark blue unicorn with a deep cyan mane.
" Hold on AJ", he grabbed her shoulder. She looked up at him questioningly. " Just one sec".
He went over to the stand and looked over the different gems. Sapphires, rubies, and emeralds of all shapes and sizes littered the table. The prices varied by their size, and they looked pretty daunting. One in particular caught his eye. A royal blue gem in a perfect block. The color reminded him of Luna, and it only made him want to buy it even more. That was before he saw the price.
2000 bits! Holy crap!
" See something you like?", the unicorn smirked. Tony grinned sheepishly.
" I don't know, yet", Tony chuckled. He held out his fist. " My name's Tony". The unicorn bumped his hoof against his in return.
" Mirror Crescent", the pony smiled. Tony could've sworn he saw a smirk, but that thought faded quickly. " I see you're very fond of that azure piece. I found it far east in the Badlands".
" It's amazing", Tony said as he stared at it once again. Another thing Eishla taught him. Gem carving. It was how he made Dan's amulet before he left.
" Getting something for a special somepony?", Mirror grinned. Tony held back the blush and shook his head.
" Nah, just looking", he smiled.
" Sure about that? You're shaking like a colt that just found a marefriend". Tony felt his cheeks warm up. " Tell ya what, I'll trade you this azure gem, for that medallion".
Tony instantly put his hand over the sacred piece. " Sorry. Not for sale", he said sternly. Mirror Crescent shrugged.
" I tried", he chuckled. " So is there anything else you need?". Tony desperately wanted to have that gem, but not if it cost him his medallion.
" Will you be in town for the next few weeks?". The unicorn nodded. " Then please try and hold onto that azure gem, it'd mean the world if you did".
Mirror grinned. " I'll see what I can do. See you soon". Tony swore he saw another smirk, but it was a smile that covered the unicorn's face.
A little unsettled, Tony jogged back over to Applejack. " What'd ya see?", she questioned. Tony still felt a little uneasy about the unicorn, but he said nothing
" Nothing much", he lied professionaly. " Let's just go".
She shrugged, even being the Element of Honesty she didn't pick up on the lie. Their next stop was more of the popular areas. There were many more shops, unlike the Square, and buildings for ponies to eat or just hang around. There was even a restuarant with tables outside for the customers. It would be perfect for him and Luna to eat under the night sky. But he doubted she would want to go there first.
" And this here's Vinyl's club", she pointed to the familiar building. " Ah heard Twilight sayin' Dan got a job here".
" Yeah", he said. " Hey AJ, are there any places to, have some fun?". Applejack smirked.
" Whatcha mean by 'fun'?", she teased. Tony caught on and blushed again. He would expect this kind of thing from Pinkie or Rainbow. " Ah'm kiddin'. 'Sides Remix there's the arcade, the bowlin' alley-"
" The arena!". Tony stomped his right foot ahead and spun around raising his arms for a fight. " Relax there T! Just sayin'". It was Rainbow, sitting on a white cloud.
Tony dropped his arms and sighed. " Hey Rainbow. What're you doing here?", he asked. She started hovering and kicked the cloud into oblivion.
" Oh nothin'. Just finished my rounds for today", the cyan mare grinned. " I saw you guys and thought it'd be funny if I scared you guys".
" Ya almost got yerself knocked out", Applejack sighed. She saw how Tony zipped around when she scared them. " Ah'm just showin' Tony some places t' take his marefriend later".
" She's not my marefriend!", he shouted. The surrounding ponies stopped to see him yelling.
" Oh you wanna show'er around huh?", Rainbow nudged him playfully. " Who's the mare?".
Again, Tony wanted to keep this discreet. " A mare from out of town. I'm just showing her around before she leaves", he repeated. Rainbow smirked from his vague description.
" Okay, but if you really wanna show her somewhere good it would be the arena", she flew higher. " Its in Cloudsdale not too far from here".
" And the theater's back in business", Applejack added. " Maybe you could take your mare there".
Tony put his hand under his chin. " I'll sleep on it", he declared. " But are there any other places I could go?".
" Sorry, but there's only some food shops and grocery markets", Applejack sighed. " This ain't Canterlot or Manehatten after all". He hadn't seen much of either, but he took her word.
" Okay, thanks anyways", he smiled. " I'll head home, its getting late and I wanna read up on some of the books in Twilight's library". Applejack nodded and made her way back to the Acres.
" Mind if I go with you? I need to get my...Daring Do book back", she mumbled. Tony looked at her.
" Your what?".
" My Daring Do book!", she said loudly. Tony didn't see why she was shouting, she just forgot her book.
" You don't have to yell", he groaned as he rubbed his ears. " What's so bad about that?".
Rainbow was a little surprised. She would have thought he would be like the others. " Isn't that, weird? For me to like books?", she asked like it was unusual.
" No. I mean, what's wrong with a good book?". Rainbow still was kind of shocked but decided to let it go.
" Forget it, let's just go", she tapped his shoulder lightly. He walked with Rainbow hovering next to him as they made their way to the library. " So, who is the mare?".
" She's...from out of town", he said again. " But you guys know her, pretty well actually". Rainbow put a hoof to her chin in thought of who it could be.
The rainbow maned pegasus asked Tony a bunch of names that he didn't recognize. He said no to all of them and Rainbow grew frustrated, even saying that he was lying about knowing the mare. He smirked as she groaned and guessed but still couldn't guess right. At least, he hoped. The familiar buildings came into view and soon he could see the overgrown tree. It was still open so he just walked in.
" How can I help- Oh, hey Tony. Rainbow, you forgot your Daring Do book here", Twilight smiled as she levitated the novel over. Rainbow smiled widely and scooped it out of her grasp.
" Awesome! Just a couple more pages and I'll see what happened!", she victoriously pumped her front leg in. It reminded Tony of a human thing, like when someone was 'winning'.
" See ya later Dash", he waved her off.
" I thought you'd be home earlier", Twilight told him. Tony scratched the back of his head nervously, this time using careful words to explain what he did.
" Yeah, I just went around town to get a better look", he stretched the truth. " Y'know, I'm staying here for a while so I might as well know my way around".
Twilight bought it and nodded. " You really wanna go home badly", she sadly frowned. Tony dropped his smile and came closer, kneeling down to be eye level with her.
" It's not just for me Twilight", he regretfully said. " Dan has a life back on Earth, and I have business to attend to". The last part was more serious than comforting, but she still nodded. " You guys are the nicest pe-uh, ponies I've ever met. Even after how I acted and what I said you guys are my...my friends".
She looked back up to him and smiled. " Well you did save all of us", she joked glumly. " And you're really nice to us. Of course we're your friends Tony. All of us". She unexpectedly came closer and gave him a hug. It didn't feel the same like with Luna, but it was still a very significant gesture.
He hugged her back and smiled. " Thanks Twilight. It means a lot to me", he said.
They pulled apart and gave each other a quick nod before Tony went to his room. He could hear snoring from Twilight's room, which could only be Spike. As soon as he was in his room he took off his shirt and camo pants (which he asked Rarity to make specifically) and got into bed. Sleep came soon, and he was that much closer to the hooded figure's plans.