//------------------------------//
// A Calm Stroll to Dinner 
// Story: Just an Everyday Princess 
// by Wages of Sin 
//------------------------------//

Despite Twilight's desire for food and fear of being late, her mental schedule had already factored in an extra half hour of complications into their dinner arrival time. So, after failing to encounter any of said complications, she decided to take the scenic route through the orchard/stampeding grounds on the way to Braeburn's home.

"It's beautiful Braeburn," Twilight said as she gazed deep into the endless rows of trees, "and I'm always fascinated to learn about Earth Pony growing techniques, but there's one thing that I can't help but wonder, and it's really been bothering me since last year..."

"Yes Twili- princess?"

"Well... How did you manage to grow thousands upon thousands of full-grown apple-trees in less than a year? I mean, this is a setteler-town, and the Buffalo yearly stampeding was interrupted by the orchards, so how..."

"Oh! That's an good question! Ya see, this whole place used to be desert, so before we started setting up the town we had to-" Braeburn stopped a moment as he appeared to realize something.

"Princess? Wouldn't it be easier for us to talk if we were, uh... next to each other?" 

Twilight looked to Braeburn, and then to the four armored stallions who had formed a moving phalanx in between them.

"Yes, I do see how that could make communication a little easier."

"You heard the princess! Back off boys!" Cloud led the girls in pushing the reluctant stallions out of the way.

Now unobstructed, Braeburn closed the distance between himself and the princess. The guards hunched down, waiting for the orange stallion to produce a blade and jump the princess.

A hard glance from Twilight made the stallions stay back.

When no secret weapons were drawn and no immideate attempts to assault the princess were made, the guards slowly returned their focus to the darkening wood around them. 

"Like I was saying, uh..." Braeburn blushed slightly as he ran a hoof through his mane ackwardly, "What was I saying again?"

He looked to Twilight for any indication, but she had once again become engaged in tree-watching.

"Well, whatever."

Twilight and Braeburn continued on in companiable silence towards dinner, paying no mind to the stallions and mares that refused to look away from them.





Noting the princess's reaction, Cloud was the first to whisper amongst the girls. "Do you see how he looks at her? That yearning! That unquestionable desire in his eyes!" 

"He just looks anxious to me..." Breeze noted quietly.

"Well of course! He is undoubtedly anxious about how he'll ask her out! This is important, the mood must be just right" Cloud replied, "See! He still doesn't have the courage to ask her!" 

The girls looked, and could see that every time Twilight looked to him he would smile, but every time she looked away a distant near-frown would overcome his features.
 
...Something that did not go unnoticed under the guards' scrutiny.





"Then we cannot let the princess out of our sight, and under no circumstances let the princess be alone with anypony" The resolution rang firm in the minds of the stallions as they watched the orange earth pony's glances at the princess.

He's got something planned... 

Something big... 

and he's nervous as Tartarus about it.





The treck through the orchard had delayed their arivial by almost half an hour, conviently leaving them to arrive at their destination a comfortable three minutes before the scheduled time.

Twilight and Braeburn led the walk up the dirt path to the farmhouse.

Upon first glance, the estate was impressive. Upon further inspection, it did not dissapoint. Just as with Applejack's family home, the Appaloosan Apple estate had all the ammenities of a proper farmer's compound. Nestled in a clearing amongst the hundreds of acres of trees, the compound boasted a good-sized barn, a large outdoor fenced-in area, a pair of grain silos, and the main house.

Their destination, the house, was no disappointment either. As they approached, they could see from the outside that the home was built for hosting visitors. 

 "I hope we're not imposing too much on your family Braeburn." Twilight said as they made their way onto the porch.

"No, no imposition at all! We're allways happy to have company!" 

"No, really Braeburn, I'd like to thank you and your family for hosting us for dinner. Eight extra ponies is no small thing in such short notice. "

Braeburn laughed in return, "Who do you take us for? We're Apples! We're used to hosting more than just y'all! You'd be lucky to finish half of what we've made up for ya!"

Now it was Twilight's turn to laugh, "Oh, is that right? You'd be amazed at how much the girls have had me packing away recently! Spike's allways kept me well fed, but the girls here are some pretty darn good chefs themselves. They've been filling me to bursting every day!"

"Now, not to call ya' a liar, but  I highly doubt that such a trim gal like yourself could really eat all that much."

Twilight's blush was just barely visible beneath the purple of her coat, but it was not missed by the attentive hoofmadens.

After a moment of sputtering, Twilight was quick to change the subject, "Well, uh, I just hope your parents weren't overly concerned with making food for a princess. This one time my friend Pinkie's employers hosted Celestia one time, but they spent so much time worried about keeping her happy that... they... uh... Braeburn?"

Braeburn stood frozen with his hoof over the handle of the door. "Uh... Princess?" There was a look of horror on his face that instantly translated into fear for the others " ...I may have forgotten something important..."