//------------------------------//
// Bloom Closet 
// Story: xjuggerscrapsx 
// by xjuggernaughtx 
//------------------------------//

Applejack kicked a pile of burlap bags into one of the kitchen’s far corners. “Pardon the mess. Granny’s been mendin’ these sacks since yesterday, but it never seems to let up. She sews one up and two more rip when we head off to market. It just never ends.”
 
Cameo’s hoof wavered in mid-step as she scanned the floor. It was littered with rough burlap sacks, spools of thread, cloth shears, and home-making magazine articles. “Uh…”
 
“Don’t worry none. Ain’t nothin’ down there you’re likely to break. It’s just unsightly, is all.” Applejack grabbed her cousin’s hoof and gently guided her through the littered kitchen. “It ain’t usually like this. Granny wants things to be shipshape here in the house, but it don’t make no sense to clean this all up just to get it back out again two hours later.”
 
Glancing out a window, Cameo caught sight of one of her other cousins as he hammered a board over a hole in the barn wall. “Wow. I guess you guys don’t get much of a break.”
 
Applejack shook her head. “Nope, not really. Well, maybe in the winter months.  Lots of repairs still, but there’s only so much actual farmin’ that can get done when the ground’s frozen solid. The key is to keep things as under wraps as you can. You gotta make a plan and follow it so that nothin’ unexpected happens. Otherwise, you end up chasin’ your tail all day.”
 
“I can see that,” Cameo said. In the distance, Big Mac ran in circles, trying to get hold of a nail that seemed to be stuck on his tail with a large glob of glue.
 
Applejack wrenched the window open. “Confound it, Mac! I’m tryin’ to make a good impression in here!”
 
Big Mac lurched to a stop, then scowled at his tail. When he’d hit the brakes, it had slapped up against the barn’s wall and stuck there. Swearing, he pulled at it, first with one hoof, then both.
 
Applejack rolled her eyes and pulled down the window shade. “Don’t pay that no mind. Sweet Apple Acres might be a little rough around the edges, but we love it all the same. Hope you will, too.”
 
“Oh, I’m sure I will,” Cameo said, her grin widening. “I’ve never been out of the city before. “My dad has all kinds of stories about growing up Grandpa Winesap’s farm, but never wanted me to go visit. He always side my hooves were too delicate for that kind of work.” Outside, something crashed, and the volume of swearing increased significantly. “Uh… he might have been right.”
 
Marching to the door, Applejack yanked it open and stuck her head outside. “BIG MCINTOSH, WE HAVE COMPANY OVER, SO IF YOU COULD NOT BLISTER THEIR EARS WITH YOUR LANGUAGE, I THINK WE WOULD ALL APPRECIATE IT!
 
Several incoherent sputterings echoed back, but Applejack kicked the door close. “Ignore that.”
 
“Oh, I don’t mind. I actually just meant my hooves.” She held one up for her cousin to see.
 
Applejack tipped her hat back and whistled. “Well, I’ll be. Ain’t a line or callus on the darn thing. Smooth as a new-born foal’s rear-end!”
 
Cameo blushed a bit, then nodded. “They’ve always been really sensitive. I hated it when I was a kid. I had to walk really slowly, and the other foals made fun of me. But when I started school, I found out that I was good at arts and crafts. My hooves were so sensitive that I could use them to do really intricate work.”
 
“Huh. Well ain’t that somethin’!” Applejack lifted her own hoof off the ground and stared at it. Next to Cameo’s, it seemed almost monstrous. “I thought I was good when I could hold up three sticks. Guess you got me beat.”
 
“Hold on. Let me show you.” Cameo squeezed her eyes closed and held out a hoof. “Give me something to feel.”
 
Applejack hesitated for a moment, then dropped her hoof onto her cousin’s.
 
“No,” Cameo said, snorting out a giggle. “Something that’s hard to figure out just by touching it.
 
“Oh, uhhhh…” Applejack fished through the saddlebag she’d hung up by the door. “Here, try this.”
 
“A one bit coin” came the response the instant Applejack put it into Cameo’s outstretched hoof. “Minted last year. There’s a bit of dirt on Celestia’s nose, but that’s too easy. Give me something harder.”
 
Applejack turned in a slow circle, scanning the kitchen. “Oh, a challenge, huh. Well, let’s see if you can figure this one out.”
 
Cameo’s hoof closed over the object, and rubbed it a few times over her sole. “It’s a party invitation to something called The Applejack Back to Back Midnight Snack and Breakfast Flapjack Super Sleepover Party. It’s got embossed balloons, and sixty-five pound card stock. There’s a sticky residue on one side, like old icing or something. There’s glitter stuck all over it, and by the feel of it, it’s probably pink.”
 
Applejack’s mouth fell open. “Y-You did all that with just one hoof?”
 
Blushing again, Cameo set the invitation on the worn kitchen table. “Mmhmm. It’s what I do. I’m not too good at physical labor—” She dropped her voice into a husky, mystical whisper “—but my hooves know all…”
 
The pair stared at each other for a moment before sniggering. “Well, ain’t that the darnedest thing! I gotta introduce you to Rarity. I think you two are gonna hit it off like gangbusters. She’s real creative, like you. First, I guess I gotta get us outta this kitchen, though.” Applejack pushed a few more torn sacks to the side, then opened up the door to the hallway. “Let’s continue the nickel tour so we can get you up to your room.