"What a quaint, rustic town!" Mrs. Orange peered over her spectacles. "I do hope your father finishes his business here quickly so that we can get back to Manehattan." Orange Juice looked up at his mother, nodding as if he agreed. Scarlet Orange gazed out of the window.
"Don't worry, my dear. Mr. Rich and I will be done in a week, tops. Then we can return home." Mr. Orange nuzzled his wife, then turned back to driving the wagon. "If the deal goes through, we'll be able to have that new apartment you looked at last week."
"If you finish in under a week, can we still stay a little longer?" Scarlet asked. "I think I like it here."
"Scarlet, Sweetheart, this is no place for a proper Manehattanite!" Mrs. Orange admonished her daughter. "Let's just- See how this all goes, Sweetheart."
Scarlet opened her mouth to answer, but Mr. Orange cut her off.
"This is the Rich's place. We'll be staying here. Come on, my dear. Let's get unpacked.
Scarlet bounded down into the marketplace excitedly the moment she could escape from her mother's suffocating attention. She never got to wander around on her own in Manehattan- It was much too big a city. Ponyville, however, seemed to be the perfect size.
Scarlet shook her head the moment she was out of sight of the Rich's house and her mother couldn't track her. Her mane came out of its carefully arranged updo and flowed down her back. Much better. Now that she blended in better, she could take a look around without sticking out. Well, without sticking out any more than a strange pony in a small town usually would.
Scarlet cantered by the Ponyville Golden Oaks Library without giving it a second glance. There were plenty of libraries in Manehattan, and anyway, Scarlet had brought half a million books with her. What Scarlet really wanted to find was the apple seller's stall. She'd heard so many good things about Ponyville apples, and she couldn't wait to try them.
Scarlet trotted past the more residential streets, like the one the library was on, and on toward the main square of the little town. The blue sky and Celestia's sun beat down on her make strands of her mane stick to her neck with sweat, but Scarlet enjoyed the feeling. She stopped for a moment to drink in this new world; Her head in the sun, her feet on the ground, the wind blowing lazily all around her.
A wagon rumbled by and Scarlet jumped out of the way, off the road. She expected the wagon to just rumble by, but to her surprise, it stopped. The red stallion pulling the wagon looked at her.
"Hi, Sugarcube!" The stallion pulling the wagon called. "Where y'all headed? Ah'm goin' to Sweet Apple Acres, and if yer goin' in that direction ah could give y'all a ride."
Scarlet grinned. In Manehattan, nopony would ever offer to do someone a favor like this one. Usually, she'd be offended if a stallion she hadn't met called her 'sugarcube', but coming from this one, 'sugarcube' sounded nice, especially in his accent.
"Thank you, but I'd rather walk. I don't know the way to the apple farm, though. May I follow you?"
"O' course." The stallion continued to trot along, and Scarlet trotted beside him. She looked at the stallion. He looked about her age and very strong, but Scarlet couldn't decide whether he was handsome or not. Maybe he was just very nourished from the country air. Or maybe it was the fact that he didn't have his nose in the air so he could look down on everypony he met, like the stallions Scarlet's mother introduced her to in Manehattan. Like the Rich boy.
They two trotted along, and all was quiet but their hooves on the road and the wagon rumbling behind them. It was a very nice change from Manehattan's eardrum-shattering bustle.
"I'm afraid we haven't been properly introduced." Scarlet broke the silence. "I'm Scarlet Navella Orange. What's your name?" The stallion chuckled.
"That's funny! Ah'm Red MacIntosh. Ah work on Sweet Apple Acres with th' rest of mah family." Red MacIntosh gestured towards a place in front of where they were going. "Red and Scarlet. What a coincidence."
"Sweet Apple Acres? I've heard so much about your apples! I'm staying with the Riches, and they sing praises about the apples!"
"Ah deliver a bushel of apples to the Riches every day." Red MacIntosh chuckled.
"That's funny! I must have missed you." Scarlet laughed. "I'm from Manehattan, and my dad's trying to do business with Stinkin' Rich."
"Manehattan? What's it like there? Ah've never been farther away from Ponyville than Appleloosa." Red MacIntosh's Mane swung very nicely when her turned his head to the sun.
"You want to know about Manehattan?" Scarlet asked. The stallion- Red MacIntosh- nodded. "It's very- Big. Everypony is very self-absorbed, and nopony would ever meet by walking by each other in a road."
"Ah s'pose Ponyville looks real boring next to a city like that." Red MacIntosh said. Scarlet laughed.
"I love Ponyville! I haven't seen much of it yet, but from what I have seen? I mean- The first pony I meet, other than the Riches, offers to give me a ride!" Scarlet smiled at Red MacIntosh. He was definitely handsome, she decided.
Scarlet heard a swell of sound ahead of them. It was a happy sound- Lots of happy pony voices, laughing and talking and greeting and bartering and bickering. Scarlet could smell food and lot and lot of apples.
"The farm's just around the bend." Red MacIntosh told Scarlet. She trotted faster. He laughed and easily matched her pace. The empty wagon almost clattered on the road.
Scarlet glanced sideways at Red MacIntosh. She went a smidge faster. Red MacIntosh gave her a competitive grin and went even faster. Scarlet bit her lip and went as fast as she could go. She figured that without the wagon, she'd lose, but with a wagon, even an empty one, she might just win a race against the stronger farm pony.
Red MacIntosh caught up to Scarlet. Her hooves beat the ground trying to pass him. He breathed hard. He passed her just as they dashed through the gates of Sweet Apple Acres. Scarlet sat down on the grassy ground, breathing heavily. Red MacIntosh unhitched himself from the wagon and sat beside her.
"Ah demand a rematch!" Red MacIntosh exclaimed, smiling evilly.
"But you won." Scarlet said, gasping for breath.
"Ah know. Ah also know that without the wagon, Ah could win by much, much more." Red MacIntosh nudged Scarlet in the side. It hurt to laugh when she could barely get enough air to breathe after the run.
"Now, who's this?" a mare approached behind the two ponies. "Ah haven't seen y'all around town, miss whatever-yer-name-is. Where're you from and why're y'all here?"
Scarlet stopped laughing and turned around. She and Red MacIntosh stood up.
"I'm from Manehattan. My name's Scarlet Navella Orange." Scarlet smiled. "I've heard so much about Sweet Apple Acres apples, and Red MacIntosh offered to show me the way here- And it turned into a sort of race."
"Ah brought the wagon back, Ma." Red MacIntosh pointed his hoof toward the wagon.
"Orange?" The green mare- Red MacIntosh's mother- looked at Scarlet suspiciously. "Y'all aren't related in any way to the Lemons, are ya?" Scarlet shook her head. Red MacIntosh's mother turned to the house, satisfied. "Awright. It's near noon. Why don't Miss Scarlet stay here fer lunch?"
"Lunch?" Scarlet said, alarmed. "Oh, no. I promised my mother I'd meet her at that baker- What was it- Sugarcube Corner!" Scarlet grimaced. "Can I just buy a few apples and go? My mother'll freak out if I'm not back." Scarlet began to fumble in her saddlebags for the bits she'd brought, but Red MacIntosh stopped her.
"Ah kin drop off a few extra apples at the Rich mansion." Red MacIntosh smiled at Scarlet and she grinned back.
"Thank you so much, Red MacIntosh!" Scarlet, to her surprise, found herself hugging the stallion. She stopped herself and stepped back. She was keenly aware of Red MacIntosh's mother's eyes on her.
"Call me Red Mac." Red Mac mumbled. He turned and cantered away. His mother winked. Scarlet blushed and ran away, her cheeks reddening with embarrassment.
Scarlet closed the scrapbook and looked over at Red.
"I'm so glad I came to Ponyville." Scarlet scootched over on the couch so that she could snuggle against Red's side. They fit together perfectly, shoulder to waist to neck to leg. Scarlet and Red stared into the fire.
"Me too." Red slid his arm around Scarlet's shoulders, warming her up. she leaned her head against his shoulder, treasuring the moment. With children to take care of and a farm to run, they barely ever got time to just be together, looking at old memories and staring into the fire.
"Red?"
"Ee-yup, Sugarcube?"
"Let's race tomorrow." Scarlet pulled away and looked into Red's orange eyes. "I think I could beat you." She smiled. The firelight reflected in Red's eyes as he grinned.
"Ee-nope. Ah could still beat y'all, with or without a wagon on mah back."
Scarlet snuggled back into Red's embrace. "We'll see tomorrow."