"Mmmm-mmm!" Stu took another gulp, dabbing his muzzle with a napkin and glancing across the varnished wooden brunch table. "Best dumplings ever! And these grits! Applejack, ya gotta try these grits!"
"Uh huh..." Applejack stared out the window of the Cracker Buck restaurant.
"Applejack?" Stu took a sip of orange juice and squinted at her. "What gives?" He had to speak up over the sound of over five dozen chatting, munching, chuckling patrons all across the bustling roadside establishment. "The food's inside, silly pony! Not outside!"
Rainbow dug unenthusiastically at her hashbrowns and waffles. "Silly... pony..." she murmured to herself.
"I'm just worried, that's all," Applejack muttered.
"About what?"
"About the cider."
"Snkkkt... Applejack..." Stu smirked. "The cart's going to be fine! This place has a security guard to checks every wagon to make sure there's no funny business going on!"
"I know. But we're out in the middle of the Carolineigh countryside and there's no tellin' who or what might wanna take off with my goods."
"And do what with them?" Stu remarked. "Sell them to Tar Hooves fans?! We're at least thirty miles from a decently large city for that sort of seedy crap!"
"Maybe..." Applejack squirmed in her seat. "Maybe I-I shoulda parked the thang closer, y'think?"
With a groan, Rainbow Dash sat up straight. "For Celestia's sake, Applejack!" She hoisted the drapes aside. The wagon full of cider was within inches of the window pane, almost blocking all sunlight. "You think that's not close enough?!"
"But we're so plum far away from the entrance, so even if I had to gallop out and stop a buncha thieves, it would take me a full minute to—"
"Applejack, eat your pancakes or I'm shoving them down your neck with all four hooves!" Rainbow growled.
Applejack's green pupils shrank. "Yes'm!" And she nibble-nibble-nibbled on her breakfast like her orange fuzzy life depended on it.
"Hahahahah!" Stu leaned back, chuckling. "You know... heeheehee... I love you two girls!"
Applejack kept munching. Rainbow Dash, however, flinched as if a meteor struck her skull. "Huh? How's that?"
"You two are... just..." Stu motioned with a hoof, smirking. "...so natural together! I mean, sit you two in the same room, and you're like... like..."
"Best friends?" Applejack muttered between bites.
"Elements of H-Harmony?" Rainbow squeaked.
"Sisters!" Stu grinned.
Rainbow Dash swiftly gulped down some orange juice so she wouldn't throw up.
"Heh..." Applejack smirked. "Reckon we do read each other like a book."
"Why do you think that is?" Stu asked with a smile.
Rainbow Dash felt her body suddenly drenched all over in three hundred percent more sweat than the minute previous. "Uhhhhhhhh..."
"Well..." Applejack spoke with a mouthful. "Mrmmmf... It's cuz she and I ain't like the other girls..."
"You mean the Elements, right?" Stu smirked. "Cuz you six sure do make a sweet bunch."
"Yeah, but Rainbow and I are more salt than sugar." Applejack winked across the table. "Ain't that right, Rainbow?"
"Eh heh heh heh heh..." Rainbow wheezed through a crooked smile.
"We both call it like it is. When an issue comes up, we dun dance around it like Rarity or Twilight might, or simply ignore a problem like Pinkie or Fluttershy. Guess you could call us mares of change... and action."
"Heh... I like that!" Stu smirked. "I guess that means Rainbow is pretty much you, only with wings, AJ."
"Heheheheheh..." Applejack gulped more pancakes down while shaking her head. "Ohhhhh no." She smirked.
Rainbow Dash blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothin', sugarcube," Applejack said. "Why dun you eat yer buttered toast before it goes stale."
"The table's all out of jam packets." Rainbow squinted. "Seriously, though! What's that supposed to mean?"
"What's what supposed to mean?"
"When you replied to what Stu just sai—"
"Land's sakes!" Applejack suddenly gasped, nearly spitting out a spoon that she had just shoved into her mouth. "That's like liquid manure!"
"I beg your pardon?" Stu droned.
"Try this here apple sauce they're servin'!" Applejack grumbled at him, sliding her plate over. "Can ya believe they're tryin' to pass this off as a samplin' of the best fruit in Equestria?"
"Uhhhh... eheheh..." Stu gulped. "From your colorful description, AJ, I'm not sure I want to."
"Just give it a try! I wanna know that my taste buds aren't alone in their misery!"
"Really, Applejack, I'm not... erm... that is..."
"Will ya just try the dayum apple sauce?"
"Okay." Stu took a brave breath and stuck his spoon in. "Here goes." He slid some into his mouth."
"Well...?!" Applejack stared, eyes sharp and chiseled.
He tongued the inside of his mouth, staring at the restaurant wall covered in hanging nick-nacks and countrified mementos. "...it tastes fine to me."
"'Fine?!'"
"Maybe a little tangy."
"Stu Leaves, have you ever done tried Granny Smith's Equestrian Sunrise Apple Sauce recipe?"
"Uhhhhh..."
"It was served at the Sisterhooves Social, ya dag blame'd idiot!"
"Oh! That stuff!" Stu Leaves shrugged. "It was alright."
"Grrrrrrrr..."
"What?!"
"Now yer just yankin' my chain on purpose."
"It's not th-that I hated it! It was just alright!"
"And this stuff is somehow better than alright?!"
"... ... ...can I have another taste?"
"Ungh!" Applejack rolled her eyes, adjusted the brim of her hat, and slid her plate back over. "Honestly. You've got the brain of an ostrich."
"Seriously! Lemme have another bite, AJ! Maybe I was wrong in my... uhhh... Apple Sauce Assessment!"
"Go dunk yer head in a lake."
"If I drowned, I wouldn't be a good taste tester! Eh? Ehhhh?"
"Grrrr..."
"Heh heh heh heh!"
Meanwhile, across the table, Rainbow slumped in her seat, continuing to dig in her plate with a fork. "Hrmmmfff..." She muttered to herself. "I wonder if I can drown in syrup..."