“Rarity, over here!” Octavia called out, waving at her friend from across the market.
“Hello there, Fiddlesticks, how are you?” Rarity greeted as the two mares walked towards each other.
“I’m doing well, thank you,” Octavia replied. She glanced at the saddlebag that Rarity was carrying around. It was half-filled with a variety of fruits and vegetables. “I’m not interrupting you with anything, am I?”
“Oh no, darling, I’m just in the middle of my grocery shopping. Would you like to keep me company while I finish my errands?”
Octavia nodded with a smile. “Of course I would,” she replied, following the unicorn around as she continued her errand.
“So, how have things been living at Sweet Apple Acres?” Rarity asked.
“It’s been marvelous,” Octavia replied. “I admit that I never would have imagined I would find myself doing farm work, but look where I am now. While I can’t do as much as Applejack or Big Mac, it’s still a good workout and can actually be quite enjoyable when you get used to it.”
“That sounds wonderful even though I wish there wasn’t so much, ugh, dirt. Has there been any settling in?”
“Not really. Although, I could do with not having to wake up at the break of dawn… or Applejack and Apple Bloom sometimes coming up with rather creative substitutes for an alarm clock.”
“Well, look at it this way, they’re just having a little fun, and they must really like you to lavish so much attention on you. I’m sure they do it to Big Mac at times,” Rarity pointed out with a smile.
“It’s why Big Mac is always the first one up,” Octavia dryly replied.
Rarity stifled a giggle.
“But at least the last few days have been free of rude awakenings. Applejack has been busy with the preparations for the Apple Family Reunion.”
The two mares walked up to a stall selling alfalfa, a few other ponies forming a short line in front of it.
“And what about the ponies from out of town who are interested in you?” Rarity asked.
Octavia sighed. “I have been periodically checking my place. It has been two weeks, and I still see them frequently meet in front of my house. They must be either very stubborn or desparate to get something about me.”
“Well, at least all you have to do is keep doing what you have been doing. They’ll be gone eventually. Now, excuse me for a moment,” said Rarity as the stallion in front of them finished his purchase.
“Sorry, lady,” apologized the alfalfa vendor when Rarity approached him. “I’m closing up shop now. I just sold the last batch to that last pony.”
“Oh, that’s alright, thank you for your time,” Rarity replied courteously, giving a smile to the vendor before trotting away with Octavia in tow.
“A shame they ran out right before your turn,” remarked Octavia.
“That’s no problem, darling, I can easily get another.”
“But the vendor just told you he ran out,” Octavia stated, furrowing her brows slightly in confusion. “And as far as I know, there isn’t any other vendor who sells it.”
“Don’t worry about that, darling,” Rarity replied as she primped her mane. “I have my ways.”
Octavia raised an eyebrow as Rarity picked up her pace. Looking ahead, she recognized the stallion that was in front of them back at the alfalfa stand.
“Excuse me, sir,” Rarity called out, catching up with the stallion.
“Huh? You mean me?” the stallion asked as he turned around, looking at the unicorn curiously.
“Why yes, of course. I could not help but notice how fit you are, and I had to get a better look.”
The stallion blushed, chuckling nervously. “Oh, um, thanks.” Clearing his throat, the stallion stood up straight, puffing his chest out proudly. “I guess those visits to the gym I make almost every month are paying off.”
“And it shows. Why, look at those muscles.” Rarity giggled when the stallion flexed a forehoof.
Octavia covered her mouth, stifling a giggle of her own because of both Rarity’s sweet talking and the stallion’s barely-visible muscle struggling to appear.
“Oh my, what a display,” Rarity continued. “Anyway, I must ask of you a teeny favor. Would such a fit stallion like you allow me to purchase that last bundle of alfalfa from you? It’s for my little sister, and I wanted to prepare a special meal for her.”
“Daww, sure,” the stallion sheepishly replied as he sold the alfalfa to Rarity. “I’m not a big fan of alfalfa anyway, but since I must be in such good shape, I don’t have to worry too much about eating healthy.”
“Well, my little sister and I thank you very much. Goodbye,” Rarity replied, leaving the blushing stallion behind.
“My, my, that was quite the show. Impressive use of charm there,” Octavia complimented as the two mares resumed their walk.
“Darling, a lady is always charming,” Rarity stated, a smug grin on her face.
“Well, I’m glad you got the alfalfa for Sweetie Belle. I’m sure she’ll be happy.”
“Oh, I doubt that. I never said she liked it. While alfalfa is indeed healthy for a growing filly, she absolutely abhors it.”
“Well, hopefully she won’t make too much of a fuss. Was that the last thing you had to purchase?”
“Hmm.” Rarity checked through her bags before looking back up and gave Octavia a smile. “Yes, it is. Is there something you wanted to do?”
Octavia nodded. “I already mentioned that Applejack was busy with preparations for the Apple Family Reunion, right?” Seeing Rarity nod, she continued. “Well, Applejack is actually in charge of setting everything up, and it seems like it’s going to be the biggest gathering ever. She asked me to go around ordering supplies for the day of the reunion, and I was hoping to get some things from you.”
“I would be happy to help. What does she need?”
Octavia pulled out a paper with a list of items, checking it over. “Let’s see… we need fabric, needles, and thread for the quilt, and cloth and ribbons for the obstacle course. She mentioned that they’re going to need a lot of quilting materials because she’s going to make sure that it’s going to be finished this reunion.”
“That sounds easy enough,” Rarity remarked as they neared Carousel Boutique. “Is that all?”
“I also have to bring Apple Bloom home to help with the setup. Have you seen her? When I was ordering flour and honey from Pinkie, she mentioned that she saw Apple Bloom with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle earlier.”
Rarity cocked her head. “That’s odd. Sweetie Belle came back to the boutique right before I left. She said she would keep an eye on the place while I was out.”
“Maybe I can ask Sweetie Belle if she knows where Apple Bloom is. Perhaps they decided to finish crusading early today.”
“I doubt that…” Rarity sighed as she opened the door to the boutique. “Why do I get the feeling something awful is going to happen?”
“Sweetie Belle, I’m back from shopping,” Rarity called out as they entered the shop.
The two mares heard the filly give a squeak followed by a series of clattering. After glancing at each other, they saw Sweetie Belle quickly come down the stairs.
“Hi, Rarity! Hi, Fiddlesticks!” chirped Sweetie Belle, giving a big smile.
“Sweetie Belle, what were you doing upstairs?” Rarity asked, giving her a stern look through half-lidded eyes.
“Uh… I was just… um… playing with some of my toys?” Sweetie Belle answered even though it sounded more like a question. She maintained her huge smile.
“Sweetie Belle… what are you up to?”
“Nothing! There’s absolutely nothing going on!” Sweetie Belle quickly replied, her voice cracking.
“Then I guess you would not mind if I checked upstairs, hmm?”
“Uhh…” Sweetie Belle’s smile finally dropped as her eyes darted around. “Maybe not right now… uh… I kind of left a mess.”
“Oh, that’s no worry. We’ll just go clean it up right now,” Rarity offered, moving towards the stairs.
“No, don’t!” Sweetie Belle jumped in front of Rarity. “I mean, it’s alright. I made the mess, so I should clean it up. Alone. With nopony else.”
Rarity frowned. “Sweetie Belle, I insist. At least let me see what hap—”
“Oh hey, did you buy me anything?” Sweetie Belle interrupted, diving into Rarity’s bag.
“Sweetie Belle!”
“Ooh, you bought carrots, celery, lettuce, and… wait… what’s this… no… it can’t be…” Sweetie Belle slowly withdrew herself from the bag, her eyes wide open. “It’s… it’s…”
“You might want to cover your ears, darling,” Rarity suggested to Octavia.
Octavia quickly nodded, shielding her ears with her hooves. Her time with Ponyville and her friends had taught her it was usually best to follow orders and ask questions later.
“It’s alfalfa! NOOOOO!” Sweetie Belle cried out, clamping her forehooves on to her cheeks.
Octavia winced. The filly’s shrill shriek rang clearly in her head even through her covered ears.
“Sweetie Belle, please, there’s no need for that,” Rarity chided.
“But it’s alfalfa!” Sweetie Belle whined.
“And it’s good for you. I swear, I don’t know where you learned to be so dramatic.”
Octavia let out a cough that sounded a bit like a snicker.
“Sweetie Belle! What’s wrong?! We heard you scream,” came a familiar voice from the stairs.
The three ponies turned their attention to the stairs, revealing the other two members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders… or at least what looked like them.
Octavia’s and Rarity’s jaw dropped.
Scootaloo, the pegasus of the group, usually had an orange coat and a purple mane, but right now, she was a bit more colorful. The filly was donning more colors than even Rainbow Dash’s prismatic mane, numerous blotches of a myriad of colors covering her from head to hoof.
Apple Bloom’s yellow coat was now orange, and her bright-red mane was now yellow. Aside from a few missed spots where her original color was still showing, she resembled a filly-sized Applejack with a different mane style and a big bow replacing her stetson.
“W-what did you girls do?!” Rarity asked, her wide eyes staring in shock at the colorful filles.
“Uh oh,” the two messy fillies uttered.
“You two were supposed to stay upstairs until the coast was clear,” hissed Sweetie Belle.
“What did you girls do?!” Rarity repeated with a stern tone, glaring at the filles.
“We just um… borrowed some of your dye to use on ourselves, that’s all,” replied Scootaloo.
“Well, we did kind of run out of dye, so we went and got some regular paint. That and we needed different colors,” added Apple Bloom.
Rarity’s eye twitched. “B-but there should’ve been enough dye to fully coat the both of you.”
Sweetie Belle looked down at the floor, nervously pawing it with a hoof. “Well… we might have spilled a bottle of dye… or ten…”
“What?!” In an impressive burst of speed, Rarity was upstairs before anypony noticed.
“So, how much of a mess did you three actually make?” Octavia asked the three fillies.
Scootaloo shrugged. “Eh, not too bad.”
“What have you done to my room?! There’s paint all over the floor and even the walls! It’s everywhere! This is going to take me forever to clean!” Rarity’s hysteric voice boomed.
“Not too bad?” Octavia repeated, giving the Cutie Mark Crusaders a flat stare.
“How is the ceiling even worse than the floor?!” Rarity shrieked once again.
Octavia brought a hoof to her face, sighing. “Apple Bloom, I think it’s best I take you home now.”
“Aww, but we haven’t got our cutie marks yet.” Apple Bloom pouted.
“Do you really want to be here when Rarity comes back down?”
“Opal! What did they do to you?!” came another cry from upstairs.
“Oh… good point,” Apple Bloom replied, quickly moving toward Octavia.
“Nopony move!” bellowed Rarity as she came back down, a ferocious scowl on her face.
Levitating behind her was her cat, Opal. The pet’s usually white fur was covered with many splashes of color. The feline was hissing and had a scowl that matched her owner’s as it flailed around, ferociously swiping with its claws.
“I want to know why my room and Opal look like they just had a fight with a rainbow, and I want to know now!”
The ears of all the fillies drooped.
“I’m waiting...”
“We were just takin’ turns puttin’ dye on each other. We had to get a bunch of paint on account of all the dye we spilled,” Apple Bloom explained.
“But I guess we were not paying too much attention because Opal kind of came in, and we accidentally dripped some paint on her,” continued Scootaloo.
“She got upset and started running all over the room. I guess when we tried to catch her, we kind of spilled a few more things,” finished Sweetie Belle.
“A few?!” Rarity’s eye was twitching madly. She took a deep breath, regaining some of her composure. “What in the world were you girls thinking when you tried all this?” she asked, her voice straining to remain calm.
“Oh, we were trying to get our cutie marks in disguises,” replied Sweetie Belle.
Octavia’s eyes widened. She started to slowly back herself towards the door.
“We got the idea from Fiddlesticks,” Apple Bloom confessed.
The pupils in Octavia’s eyes shrank into the size of pinpricks. She froze as she watched Rarity’s head slowly turn towards her.
The calm look on the unicorn’s face, just simply staring at her, was horrifying. “I see…” she uttered.
Octavia gave a nervous grin, waving a hoof in front of her defensively. “Now, now, I just told Apple Bloom about the dyes you kept and the wonderful job you did for me. Nothing more. Honest.”
“Mmm hmm…” Rarity replied, slowly advancing towards her.
Octavia scooped up Apple Bloom, tossing her onto her back. “Oh dear, look at the time, we must be going now. Bye!” she quickly excused herself, bolting out the door. “I’ll be sure to let Applejack know to pick up the supplies later!” she yelled back.
Running through the streets of Ponyville, Octavia ventured a look behind her. She breathed a sigh of relief, slowing down to a more sedate pace, when she saw that there was no vindictive unicorn in pursuit.
Apple Bloom giggled, hopping off Octavia’s back. “That was fun.”
Octavia looked down at the now orange filly, giving her a flat look. “You’re not the one who did all the running.”
“That’s why it was fun for me,” Apple Bloom quipped. “Glad we got out before Rarity did something.”
Octavia rolled her eyes. “I might have helped you get away from Rarity, but you still are in trouble. I have to tell Applejack what happened.”
Apple Bloom’s cheerful mood quickly deflated. “Uh, it’s not like we have to tell her, right?”
“Sorry, but rules are rules.” Walking a few steps ahead, Octavia did not hear the hoofsteps of the filly. She sighed, slowly turning back around. “Come now, Apple Bloom, we must get back qui—”
Apple Bloom was seated on the ground, looking up as her ears drooped. Her eyes had widened and seemed to be on the verge of tears. “Can we please not tell Applejack?”
Octavia just stared back at her, giving a deadpan look.
“Please?” she begged with quivering lips.
“Apple Bloom, you have used that face numerous times since I have first met you. It won’t work on me,” Octavia firmly stated.
“Aww.” Apple Bloom’s facade quickly disappeared, replaced by a frustrated pout.
Octavia sighed, giving a small smile, as she walked back towards Apple Bloom. “I still have to tell Applejack, but I guess we don’t have to mention everything. I’ll make sure she won’t go too hard on you,” she offered, ruffling the filly’s mane.
Apple Bloom giggled, weakly swatting away Octavia’s hoof. “Alright, alright, I guess that’s okay.”
“Let’s get moving then. Applejack did want me to bring you home, so we can continue setting up for the reunion.”
The two ponies trotted back to Sweet Apple Acres as Apple Bloom talked about some of her other attempts she and her friends did to try and get their cutie marks. Arriving back at the farmhouse, they went in and proceeded upstairs, entering Applejack’s room.
Octavia sighed.
Applejack’s room was littered with numerous sheets and crumpled balls of paper while one side of the room stood many easels full of charts and notes. Applejack was presiding over a table, surrounded by towers of paper. She made no sign of noticing the two as she leafed through papers and scribbled things down with a pencil in her mouth.
Octavia cleared her throat.
Applejack continued her work. “Let’s see, if we move the hay ride to here…” she mumbled to herself.
Octavia cleared her throat again, louder.
“I wonder if Ah can change things up…” the oblivious mare mumbled on.
Octavia rolled her eyes. “Applejack!”
Applejack let out a yelp, jumping into the air as the pencil flew out of her mouth.
“Sorry, for startling you, but you just would not notice us,” apologized Octavia as Apple Bloom giggled.
“Yea, sorry about that. Guess Ah was a bit caught up with things,” replied Applejack, turning to the door. “Glad you girls are…”
Applejack’s words trailed off as she stared at the miniature version of her.
“Hi!” Apple Bloom chirped.
“Uhh…”
“Look, Applejack, I found you a new sister,” Octavia dryly remarked, waving a hoof at the filly.
“Uhh…”
“She and her friends were at Rarity’s, trying to get their cutie marks in disguises.”
“Ah.” Applejack nodded in understanding. She gave her sister a stern look. “So, how big of a mess did you girls make?”
Apple Bloom chuckled nervously, trying to fend off her sister with an uneasy smile. She looked up at Octavia, giving her a pleading face.
Octavia rolled her eyes, a small grin on her face. “I did not see the damage, but I don’t think it was that bad.”
Apple Bloom nodded frantically.
“Well, Ah guess that’s not too bad, but next time Rarity needs help with something, you’re goin’ to help her out,” Applejack stated.
“Sounds fine to me!” Apple Bloom happily agreed.
Both mares chuckled. “Alright then, go and wash yourself off. Ah don’t need another me runnin’ around durin’ the reunion.”
“Aww, that could have been fun,” Apple Bloom sulked as she trotted out of the room towards the washroom.
“Rarity gave me a bunch of dye remover. You’ll probably need it, so go ahead and grab some from my bag,” Octavia told the departing filly.
“Alright,” replied Apple Bloom, leaving the two mares alone.
“Thanks for findin’ her,” said Applejack. “So, how bad was it really?”
Octavia chuckled. “Like I said, I did not see the mess, but from the sounds of Rarity’s screams, it’s pretty awful.”
“Yea, that sounds more like it. Did you also finish with ordering all the supplies?”
Octavia nodded. “Everything is set. Although, you’re probably going to be the one who has to pick everything up.”
“And why’s that?”
“Rarity found out that I was pretty much the one who gave them the idea to go for their cutie marks in disguises.”
Applejack chuckled. “Alright, Ah can do that. Thanks again for all the help. You can probably take a break before we start cleaning stuff up.”
Octavia silently nodded, watching Applejack return to the table and resume her work. She took a moment to look around the room again. A lot of work and planning had been going on, and the messy room was proof of that.
Looking back at Applejack, she saw the mare’s mane was slightly frazzled, and small bags had appeared under her eyes.
Octavia sighed. “Applejack.”
“Hmm?” Applejack replied, not looking up from the papers.
“I know that you are in charge of setting up the reunion, and that it is the biggest one ever, but maybe you should take a little rest? You have been working almost nonstop for at least a week.”
“Ah feel fine.”
“Applejack, we still have plenty of time. Also, I saw some of the stuff you have set up. Don’t you think you might be overdoing things a little?”
“Ah just want to make sure this reunion will be the most memorable one ever.”
“And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just that it seems like some of the things you’re planning might be a bit… excessive.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“For example, you ordered a cart full of fabric for the quilt making. From what I heard, it’s something Granny Smith and her friends have been working on with their own hooves for many reunions.”
“Ah got somethin’ special set up so that they’ll finally finish the quilt. Not only that, they’ll have the time to make one heck of a quilt,” explained Applejack.
“I also saw what you had planned for the obstacle course,” Octavia continued. “It would probably take the children hours for them to finish.”
“Yep, it’s goin’ to be one doozy of a course. It just means it will be more fun that will last longer.”
“And what about the apple fritters? I’m pretty sure you ordered enough ingredients to feed all of Ponyville instead of just the reunion.
“Everypony loves making and eating apple fritters. Can’t have too much of a good thing.”
Octavia sighed again.
Applejack waved a dismissal hoof at her, still absorbed in her planning. “Don’t worry. Ah know Ah’ve been pretty busy, but Ah got everything under control.”
“Too busy to even have our music sessions,” Octavia murmured. She immediately clapped a hoof to her mouth.
Applejack flinched.
“Sorry! It just slipped out!” Octavia quickly apologized.
Applejack sighed and finally turned towards her, looking down at the floor and rubbing the back of her neck. “Na, it’s fine. You’re right, it’s been, what, a week since we last did one. Just when you were gettin’ really good with the fiddle, Ah had to stop.”
“It can’t be helped. Things are just hectic now with all the reunion preparations. I admit, I do really enjoy our sessions together, but I know this is important to you and a lot of ponies, so don’t worry about me.”
Octavia moved in closer towards Applejack, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “I’m just a bit worried about you. You seem to be… well, a little obsessed. Remember how I was about my music before I met you? I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Applejack sighed before smiling. “Thanks. It’s nice to know you’re lookin’ out for me, but just let me keep doin’ what I’ve been doin’. Family is important to us, and Ah want things to be perfect. Ah’ll be fine, and when the reunion is over, we can go back to the way things were.”
Octavia smiled back. “Alright then. I’ll concede, but please don’t push yourself too hard, and ask for help if you need it.”
“Ah will. Now, go ahead and get ready. Ah’m just goin’ to finish things up here, and then we need to start cleanin’ out the farmhouse.”
Octavia nodded. “I’ll see you later,” she replied, exiting Applejack’s room and headed towards her own.
Apple Bloom trotted out of her room, holding a bottle of dye remover in her mouth. She froze when she saw Octavia looking down at her.
Octavia raised an eyebrow. “You seem to be a bit blue there, Apple Bloom. Something you want to tell me?”
“Uhh…”
Octavia sighed. “Apple Bloom, you were supposed to wash yourself.”
“But Ah did,” replied the filly.
“Then why are you like this?”
The filly before her, now covered with a familiar shade of blue, mumbled something incomprehensible.
“Apple Bloom, what happened?”
“I think I might’ve grabbed the wrong bottle from your bag,” Apple Bloom mumbled, a slight tinge of red on her cheeks piercing through the blue.
Octavia chuckled.
“Hey, it’s your fault,” retorted the blue filly.
Octavia’s eyebrow went up again. “Oh, and why is that?”
“Yea! Why would you keep the dye remover together with your dye?”
Octavia shot Apple Bloom a deadpan look. “Seriously?”
Apple Bloom pouted, puffing out her cheeks.
Octavia chuckled again. “Alright, alright, let’s make sure you go back to the proper color. I’ll help you clean up this time.”
“Yea, yea,” Apple Bloom grumbled, dragging herself to the washroom. “Ah never had this many baths in a day before.”
Glancing back, Octavia saw Applejack’s head poking out of her room, giving her a smile. She returned with a smile of her own before turning back to follow Apple Bloom.
Even though the preparations had everypony busily running around to set things up, it was nice to have little moments like these to laugh.