A 'Not So Simple' Simple Life

by Wolfie 03

Chapter 9 - A deal with three little troublemakers

Mid October, 1004 A.D. (After Discord)

Applejack had gotten up early that morning, basking in the glorious morning sun before getting a start on her work. The family had a brief breakfast before setting out for the various tasks they were to do that day; the orange farmer set out for the red barn to feed the animals and clean up any messes before getting on with the rest of her day.

Just as she was reorganizing the stacks of extra supplies, the Cutie Mark Crusaders burst through the doors.

“Well howdy girls, what are y'all up tah today?” Applejack smiled at the girls as she wiped her forehead after setting down a sack of grains she was moving. The Crusaders looked back with pleading eyes to which earned a curious brow from the older farmer.

“Sis', can we have a sleepover tonight?” Applejack was pleased to hear her younger sister ask permission before they did something, which hopefully meant that they were trying to behave, and smiled at the trio.

“Shoot, 'course ya can if Rarity says it's ok.” The Crusaders smiled in relief, while Apple Bloom received an encouraging glance from the two others, something that the older farmer noticed curiously.

“Sis', could ya come with us tah ask Rarity?” Applejack reared back slightly as she blushed and looked away, something that was noticed by the fillies before her.

“Why'd, why'd ya want me tah come with ya? You can ask her yerself.... ya don't need me tah help.”

“But she listens to you more than she does to me....” Sweetie Belle pleaded with flipped back ears which deepened Applejack's blush.

The older mare was torn, her latest interaction with the unicorn was still fresh in her mind and she wasn't sure how to face the fashionista. The girls turned up the pressure by adding two more pairs of pleading eyes; Applejack sighed and decided to face the music, giving in with a short nod.

“Alright girls, Ah'll come with ya tah talk with Rarity.” The trio gave small cheers and followed the farmer as she led the way into town.

The four ponies soon found themselves in front of the purple door where Applejack hesitated for a moment before knocking soundly and striding inside.

“Howdy Rarity...” The fashion mare turned from the display of her latest work with a relieved smile at the sound of a southern accent.

“Applejack! Darling, so nice of you to drop by. Ah yes, hello girls; what can I do for you today?” While the older unicorn posed the question in a general sense, she looked at the other mare who tried to remain calm and collected in the gaze of piercing blue eyes.

“The girls here wanted tah have ah sleepover at their Clubhouse.” Rarity shifted her gaze to the Crusaders who tried to appear innocent and trustworthy.

“I see; what do you say about this Applejack?” The orange farmer cast an appraising eye on the trio before smirking.

“Well, Ah say let 'em have the sleepover tah see if they can behave; let 'em earn our trust back.” Rarity nodded at the plan and smiled back.

“That sounds lovely dear; Sweetie Belle, you may go to the sleepover but only for tonight, you have school on Monday remember.” The Crusaders nodded rapidly to the terms, desperate to be allowed for the night; they wasted no time in rushing out the door to get all the needed supplies for an awesome sleepover, leaving the two mares awkwardly behind them.

The two mares stood in the center of the boutique, both not wanting the other to leave but unsure of how to get them to stay.

(It's too early for tea, and not yet lunch, but perhaps...)

“Applejack, would you care to join me for breakfast? Or have you already eaten?” The farmer brightened at the chance to stay and tried not to appear too enthusiastic.

“Well, Ah did have ah little somethin' but Ah wouldn't mind getting' a bite more tah eat.” Rarity beamed at the orange mare and turned to head for the kitchen, signalling with her tail for the other to follow; an action that caused unforeseen consequences of Aj focusing on the silky smooth voluptuous appendage.

A focus that shifted slightly as the farmer followed the fashionista further in the shop, finding the wiry muscles that hid beneath a trim figure.

(Guess all that liftin' fabric does help her, even if she does use magic for most of it or somepony else tah help... Now that Ah'm thinking about it, she used some interstin' techniques tah fight off ah Manticore an' me when Ah was pickin' on her about, heh heh, Tom. Wonder where she learned it all?)

Before she could even think about how it would sound, Applejack asked the question out loud, startling the unicorn.

“How'd ya know them fighin' moves?” Rarity, who had been in the act of levitating the stetson to the nearby coat peg (something Applejack hadn't noticed until after she had the unicorn's attention), looked to the earth pony with a gasp.

“Moi? Know means of being violent and uncivil? Why the nerve! I-” Catching sight of the deadpan from the other mare, Rarity cut herself off with a sheepish look.

“Oh, uhm, I suppose I do know how to defend myself; though it's only proper for a lady to be rescued by a dashing hero and I must maintain my standards.” Aj was mesmerized by pleading blue eyes before realizing what was being silently asked; the farmer chuckled as she glanced away with a blush at how she had been staring, much ot Rarity's confusion.

“Shucks, Ah'd rather be able tah protect mahself an' others but Ah won't tell if ya don't want me to.”

“Oh thank you darling; as for your question of how I know such things... My parents decided that I needed an 'outlet' for any anger and frustration I kept bottled up.” Aj looked at the unicorn in surprise who began to cook; while she hadn't been sure what the reason was, anger issues was a surprise.

“Ah didn't realize ya had anger troubles...” Rarity flipped her mane as she gave the farm mare a short glare before returning to the frying pan where their breakfast was cooking.

“Darling, a lady does not get 'angry', they merely become 'displeased'.” The farmer rolled her eyes at the fancying of a simple emotion and decided to ease any possible embarrassment on the unicorn's part.

“Well, we apples have tah be careful when we get angry; working in the fields applebuckin' gives us lots of strength....” The fashionista smiled teasingly to the earth pony who trailed off at the sight.

“I can attest to that, darling. I do believe I have witnessed your strength first-hoof at a certain restaurant...” Applejack blushed at the reminder before deciding to shift the focus to something else instead of her bad manners.

“Well, uh, yeah, Ah suppose ya did see some of mah strength before... Ah guess, if ya really want tah be the maiden in trouble, Ah-Ah could help ya in ah pinch.” The orange mare didn't look at the gray-white unicorn who was staring curiously back while a warmth spread through her body at the offer.

“Oh, ok then... I'll be sure to come to you first if I need any kind of help.”

“Al-alrighty then.” The two mares fell silent as they settled at the table to enjoy the meal presented.

Applejack felt as though she overplayed her hoof and cast her mind for a different topic before remembering what had brought her there in the first place.

“Hey Rarity?” About the girls...” Once the earth pony knew she had the unicorn's attention from where it had wandered (namely what had been going on lately with the farmer), Applejack pressed on.

“We should try an' figure out how exactly we want the girls tah earn back our trust to travel.” Rarity tapped her chin in thought as she hummed to herself.

Applejack could see it in Rarity's eyes, she didn't think the girls should be roaming the countryside.

(Ah guess Ah'll have tah tell her about mah own little adventure so she'd let up... Here goes nothin'.)

“Ya know,” gray-white ears perked forward at the soft words, “when Ah was just about their age, Ah went on a grand trip all on mah own.”

“Oh? Where did you go? Why would you go? I had presumed you truly enjoyed life on the farm...” The orange mare shifted in place as she ate a bit more of the meal before she answered.

“Well, when Ah was young, Ah wanted to try an' be an up an' comin' mare in the big city; Ah went tah live with mah relatives in Manehatten. Ah realized that it wasn't for me after a while an' went back home where Ah belonged.” Rarity couldn't believe it, this explained where the strange 'proper' accent came from at least.

Applejack smiled slightly at the dumbfounded expression of the unicorn's before bringing up why the story was relevant back into focus.

“So, it's only natural that the girls want tah travel; so long as we know where they are an' safe, then we shouldn't try to stop 'em. Maybe see how well they do before givin' them free range though.” The gray-white mare brought her mind back from possible implications of the orange earth pony's recent actions and meanings to the task at hoof; dealing with their sisters.

“I see... but we are busy mares, with full time occupations; we wouldn't be able to leave at a drop of the hat.” Applejack conceded this point and cast her gaze in hopes of finding a solution when she found a picture of the six of them and Spike at a picnic; it was as the farmer gazed at it that inspiration struck.

“What if we got the others tah help?”

“Beg pardon?”

“What if we got the others tah help? Like we take 'em one time, then Twilight and Pinkie Pie could an' Rainbow and Fluttershy another time; if they say they can. That way we can see if they behave just as well when we ain't there.”

“Perhaps...”

“We can go ask them as soon as ya want.” Applejack smiled to the unicorn who grinned back before stomping gently on the table as she became enthusiastic about the idea.

“Indeed, let us not waste a moment and check with them right now.” The smile briefly turned into a frown at the loss of a later time the farmer could be with Rarity but returned shakily nonetheless.

“Oh, er, yeah, sure thin'... Uh, let's get these dishes cleaned up first.” Rarity blinked at the other mare before glancing down at the empty plates, the meal having gone by as they spoke.

“Oh, I suppose we should; if you be ever so kind as to help poor, weak little ol' me?” The unicorn placed a dramatic hoof to her temple while peeking towards the farmer, curious as to what her reaction would be; it was to her befuddlement that Applejack blushed and averted her eyes briefly before weakly chuckling at the show.

“Shucks, not even five minutes since Ah've offered and Ah already gottah help the damsel in distress.” Applejack stood and helped with the dishes, trying to not appear out of sorts as she helped; Rarity kept a close watch to be sure that nothing was wrong.

As soon as they were done cleaning, the two mares set out for the Library first in hopes of catching two of their friends at once. They quickly went through town, with barely a glance at the crowds that were slowly filling as the morning continued on.

Once they were in front of the library, Applejack had a flash of worry about visiting the librarian who knew about her previous plans to impress the unicorn (though not the reason). It was too late to try and visit each friend individually, so the orange mare merely took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

Spike answered with a smile at seeing the gray-white mare, something that caused Applejack to halt in the middle of entering the room as she remembered a certain dragon's obvious secret crush.

(Shoot, Ah can't believe Ah forgot about the little guy... He's liked Rare since they first came tah town, an' here Ah am trying tah impress her an' all... This ain't goin' tah end well...)

Both the dragon and unicorn noticed the farmer's sudden reluctance and were about to question her when Applejack shook her head and smiled briefly to reassure them. While the two mares waited on the first floor, Spike went to get the bookworm.

“Applejack, darling, is everything alright?”

“Sure thin', Ah just remembered somethin' is all.” Even as the orange farmer smiled to the fashion mare, Rarity gazed at her in suspicion; upon seeing that there were no signs of lying, Rarity mentally shrugged and looked to the stairs where Twilight was trotting down with a grin of her own.

“Hello girls, was there something you needed?” The two friends looked to the third with hopeful grins.

“Hello darling, I do hope we haven't come at a bad time.” Twilight shook her head while settling before the two mares.

“No no, I was just catching up on on some of my studies.”

“Shoot, ya always seem tah be studyin', Ah hope yer goin' out for fresh air.” The lavender mare blushed as she nodded, much to the two friends' interest.

“Yes, Pinkie makes sure that I don't stay cooped up for too long.”

“That's good to hear darling; as to why we are here, Applejack and I were hoping that you and Pinkie Pie would be willing to help with the Crusaders.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, the girls want tah go travelin', so we figured we'd have older ponies go with 'em to see if they can behave an' be safe while out of town; but Rarity an' Ah can't always go with them so we was hopin' you guys could help too.” The lavender unicorn rubbed her chin pensively while bringing over a calendar.

“When were you thinking of having the girls go on a trip? Where were you thinking of going?” The two older siblings gazed at one another in surprise, they hadn't really thought of WHERE the girls would be going.

“Well, I suppose we haven't really thought about it...”

“Any ideas Twi'?” The librarian smirked as she skimmed her calendar, coming to a stop at a winter holiday.

“Well, we were invited to perform the Hearth's Warming Eve play in Canterlot; the girls could come along since all of us would be going and hopefully keep an eye on them.” Applejack and Rarity brightened at the suggestion and nodded along, pleased that they came to the extremely organized mare first.

“As for afterwards, I wouldn't be able to go on any trips until next spring at least; each month is pretty full and it would be better as a full day trip if not longer.” The two older sisters shared another glance at the mention of an extended stay someplace.

“Oh, we couldn't ask you to stay overnight with the girls; we understand that you are rather busy and wouldn't want to trouble you.”

“It would be a good experience for the girls and I may be able to see and describe some of the interesting buildings.” Twilight smiled as she reassured them of her availability to visit some other town as well as help the girls learn about the world around them; the other mares grinned in relief and stood to leave, their task there complete.

“Thank ya kindly Twilight, we'll mosy on over tah Pinkie's an' ask her the same as well as the others.” Applejack tipped her hat to the lavender unicorn as she turned to the door when the bookworm raised a hoof and shouted for her attention.

“Wait! I wasn't able to ask before, but how did the play and dinner go? Did you have a good time in Canterlot?” Rarity paused at these words, suddenly recalling the farmer mentioning how she had gone to Twilight for the tickets and reservation; due to how she had been the one to go with the orange mare, she felt intensely interested in what Applejack had to say about the day (and maybe even learn of the reasons why she wanted to go so badly).

“Oh, uh, yeah, it was, um, an interesting day...” Twilight frowned curiously at the suddenly sheepish mare and looked to Rarity to see if she knew more.

“The play was very good and the food was wonderful, we are grateful for your help in procuring them.” The lavender mare blinked in confusion, not having known who Applejack wanted to bring along, and looked back to the country mare who was blushing and tugged her hat further down; something that drew Rarity's attention as well, causing her great concern.

“Oh, I didn't know who you were planning to take; glad to hear it went ok.” The farmer nodded, unwilling to look at either of the other mares; Twilight glanced between the two mares rapidly as she tried to put the various facts together, with an interesting conclusion.

“Uhm, Ah guess we better get ah move on...” Rarity wanted to know what was causing the trouble this time, especially since Twilight seemed to come to some kind of conclusion.

“Is everything alright darling?” Applejack stiffened at the question and took a breath to settle her nerves before nodding to the gray-white mare.

“Yes, Ah'm fine; we just gottah find the others, so let's get ah move on.” Rarity wasn't sure about the brush off but thought that if she was alone with the farm mare she may get more answers.

“Applejack, could I have a moment?” The farmer wearily glanced to the studious unicorn before smiling wanly to the other mare, signaling that she should continue on.

“Ah'll catch up Rarity, you go on ahead.” The gray-white mare looked between her two friends before nodding and going out the door; she didn't want to miss the chance to find out what was really going on, so she stayed nearby (though not near enough to eavesdrop, that would be rude).

Once the gray-white mare was outside, the lavender unicorn turned with a concerned frown to the orange mare who wouldn't meet her gaze.

“Alright Applejack, what's really going on? It seems like Rarity had a nice time, why did you seem so hesitant to talk about it.” Applejack shifted in place, knowing that she couldn't really lie about what had happened but the indecent was still fresh in her mind.

“... Ah didn't act very properly at the end, an' we had tah leave the restaurant early...”

“What do you mean? You even asked for a book on table manners, surely it couldn't have been that bad.”

“..... Ah bucked that Blueblood fellow in the chest...” Twilight could only stare blankly at this sentence before voicing just the tip of the confused iceberg.

“Wha-bu-... Why?” The farmer sighed and focused her gaze to the window where she saw Rarity waiting for her, causing her to blush. Seeing the blush, the unicorn followed her friend's gaze to find the gray-white mare outside, further confirming her previous conclusion.

“It was about Rarity wasn't it...?” Applejack gave a small start, having forgotten where she was at the sight of her crush waiting worriedly for her; at the question, she blushed even more and glanced away.

“.... Maybe....”

“If you don't want me to say anything, I promise to not tell anyone..... You like her don't you?” Twilight leaned towards the other curiously, with a small smile growing on her muzzle.

“'Course Ah like her, Ah like all of y'all...” Twilight rolled her eyes at the weak attempt to dismiss the question, which earned a small smile from Applejack before she sighed and slumped forward.

“.... Alright, but ya can't tell anyone about it, Ah wanted tah tell her mahself first....” At the rapid nod, the orange earth pony sighed once more before just jumping right into it with her eyes closed tight.

“Yes, Ah really like Rarity an' Ah don't know why... Ah was tryin' tah impress her with the play an' grub, but it messed up at the end with Blueblood comin' by an' tryin' to hit on her.” Twilight put her hooves to her muzzle to stifle her excited giggles that died at what exactly Prince Blueblood tried to do that day.

“Oh, oooohh, I see; well, she chose you over him right? That has to be a good sign.” Applejack perked up as she realized a good thing that happened before the recovering ending.

“Ah hadn't thought of that, though it turned out well in the end. She said that she didn't want me tah try an' be somepony Ah'm not.” The lavender mare smiled even more at the confession and put a hoof onto an orange shoulder.

“I'll be rooting for you; don't you worry, I'm sure everything will be fine.” Applejack shook her head at the optimism with a grin at the almost unusual behavior of the unicorn.

“Gosh Twi', Ah didn't realize ya knew so much about relationships.” Twilight blushed while scuffing a hoof along the ground.

“Well, I would like to think that dating Pinkie Pie helps one observe facts otherwise hidden....” The orange mare raised a curious brow at the statement while shrugging in agreement; the pink mare was a very special kind of pony after all and it was very likely that being in her presence constantly affected the lavender unicorn in unexpected ways.

Twilight couldn't stand the amused gaze and searched the library for something to change the topic, settling on the window where the fashion mare was visible.

“Oh yes, Rarity is right outside, you shouldn't keep her waiting; I'll see you guys later. Oh and I'll ask Pinkie for you about taking the girls to a new town for a visit, don't worry.” The two mares shared a smile before Twilight escorted the farm mare to the door; Rarity heard the door and swung around quickly before trying to appear nonchalant.

“Oh there you are darling; it's terrible to keep a lady waiting.” Applejack smirked with a shake of her head and joined the fashion mare with a wave to the librarian.

“Sorry Rares, Ah'll make sure to keep up with yer very proper speed an' all. Twi's gonnah ask Pinkie for us, so we just need tah find Fluttershy an' Rainbow now.” Rarity smiled, relieved at the return of the farmer's good mood, and led the way to Fluttershy's cottage to ask their other friends.

As they walked to the outskirts of town, Rarity tried to delicately pry into what was talked about in the library; a lady wouldn't pester after all.

“Darling, was there anything in particular that Twilight wanted to talk with you about?” Applejack stiffened at the almost direct question and mentally cursed herself for not realizing that the gossip-loving mare would want to hear what happened.

“Oh, well, she wanted tah know how the day to Canterlot really went.” Rarity flushed as the memory came of how strong the usually even-tempered mare was before pressing further, wanting to see why had been so flustered when it came to who had gone with her.

“Applejack, why was Twilight surprised to hear that I was the one you invited along...?” Rarity hoped it was due to embarrassment, but her imaginative mind came up with a few other possibilities.

“Oh, well, Ah wanted tah surprise ya, so Ah didn't tell anypony about it.” The unicorn relaxed as she smiled at the reasoning, and set her gaze forward once more to the great appreciation of the farmer at having gotten out of a close shave.

In moments they arrived at the little cottage, where they found the canary pegasus caring for her animals. They trotted up and gave out greetings long before getting close, in order to not surprise the usually timid mare.

“Hello darling!”

“Hey there Fluttershy!” The canary mare sat up and looked around before her gaze settled on the two mares walking up with a pleased smile.

“Oh hello, how are you guys doing?” The two mares came next to the pegasus with a smile of their own.

“We're doin' good; we was wonderin' if ya could help us with the Crusaders.”

“Oh? Are they going to have a sleepover again and you need someone to watch them?” Fluttershy put down the bowls she had and looked to her friends in curiosity.

“Well, in a way we need someone to watch them. We were wondering if you could take them to a city and make sure they were behaving; we wanted to see if they could behave while traveling but we are simply too busy with our own work to always take them out ourselves.” Rarity flipped her mane as she gazed at the animal care-taker with pleading eyes.

“Oh uhm, well, I guess I can... When did you want me to take them?” Applejack waved a reassuring hoof to stop the pegasus from trying to get the girls right away.

“Ya didn't have tah go right now, ya only have tah go when ya can. Maybe with somepony else tah help, the girls can be ah bit of ah hoofful.” The farmer rubbed the back of neck sheepishly while Fluttershy grew bashful.

“O-oh, well, I could ask Rainbow Dash if she could help...”

“That would work wonderfully! Applejack and I am going to be taking the girls for the Hearth's Warming festivities, Twilight and Pinkie are going to take the girls some other times, and now you and Rainbow will be going!” At the prim mare's words, Fluttershy smiled with a blush at the thought of going someplace with her long time friend.

“Yes, that would be fun; I'll ask Rainbow soon and we'll let you know when we can take the girls some other place.” The two mares grinned pleased at how well it was going and nodded in thanks to the pegasus.

“Thank ya kindly Fluttershy, just let us know when y'all can take 'em.”

“Indeed, thank you darling; I'll be seeing you at our weekly spa date!” Rarity waved gallantly, while Applejack dipped her head farewell before both of them headed back to town.

The orange mare escorted the unicorn to her front door and promised to come by in the morning so they could talk with their sisters.

---

Bright and early the next day found the orange mare in front of the purple door once again; not even a moment after knocking on the door, the gray-white unicorn appeared with a smile.

“Good morning darling! Are the girls still in their clubhouse?” Applejack smiled and swept a hoof towards the orchard gallantly.

“Yep! If you'd follow me? I'll set ya up in style in the house an' get the fillies.” Rarity smiled and nodded as she followed the farmer with a hop in her step.

The farm mare listened closely for any sounds of complaint from the prissy mare but was becoming concerned when none came; she glanced to the unicorn and found she was watching the orange mare in turn.

“Somethin' wrong sugarcube?”

“Hmm? Oh no no, it's fine; I was merely thinking of something else, don't mind me darling.” Applejack shot her a curious glance before shrugging and continuing on her way.

Rarity breathed a sigh of relief as the farmer returned to looking forward, going back to her own thoughts which were focused on the orange mare's actions the day before. In the midst of trying to find any possible hidden meaning of her previous words, the fashion mare found herself in front of the red farmhouse.

“Here we are Rarity, ya settle right in while Ah'll get the girls; Ah'll be right back.” Rarity smiled to the orange farmer who waved briefly before going to the southern fields to pick up the girls.

The unicorn went into the living room to find it empty and sat in the center to wait for the farm mare, feeling the warmth of the care and love the family that lived in the house seep through her and setting her at peace.

Meanwhile, Applejack traveled through the orchard with a smile, please to find the unicorn in a pleased mood even as she now had more to worry about concerning her secret crush.

(What can Ah do about Spike? It ain't fair to just take her without sayin' anythin' tah him.... But should Ah go an' tell him before tryin' tah go for her mahself? Ah just don't know...)

Without noticing, the orange mare found herself in the doorway of the Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse looking to the four dozing fillies before her; with a smirk at how much a disaster zone the room was, she went to wake the girls with a soft chuckle.

It was to Applejack's great surprise when the four girls stood rapidly and tackled her to the ground, pinning her hind-legs and fore-hooves while facing her with serious and suspicious faces.

“What in tarnation? What are y'all doin'?” The farmer raised her head slightly as she layed on her back to the fillies who paused in their efforts and looked to the orange mare in surprise at the sound of her voice.

“Oh, uh, hey Sis'... What are ya doin' here?” After giving a deadpan to the girls who were still holding her limbs, the girls leapt up and stood before the older mare who shook her head at their actions.

While the girls woke up further, Applejack gazed at the mess around them with amusement before focusing back on the fillies.

“Ah see ya had fun, hope yer ready for ah big discussion first thing in the mornin'.” The older farmer smirked at the four friends who were confused and tried to understand through their sleep haze.

“What, what do we have to talk about?” Scootaloo stared worriedly at the older mare who smiled back reassuringly at the pegasus before waving for them to follow along.

“Come on girls, we wannah talk with ya in the house.” With barely a glance towards the girls who followed closely behind with strictly blank looks so not to incriminate themselves.

In moments, they arrived at the farmhouse where they found their older sisters waiting in the middle of the living room; the group sat in silence for a moment or two before the girls couldn't hold back their questions.

“What did we do?”

“What's goin' on?”

“Why is everypony here too?”

The green with purple mane and tail unicorn filly barely held back her face-hoof and watched how the older mares also seemed amused at the reactions of the Crusaders. After sharing an amused glance, Rarity took the lead in the conversation.

“We have discussed the finer points of our agreement concerning your ungrounding.” The orange farmer nodded agreement before stating her own part after she noticed the slightly blank look on the Crusaders.

“Remember? Ya said that you'd ask us when goin' someplace; well, since ya want tah go visitin' other places so much, we figured out a way for y'all to be able to while showin' if you'll behave.” Seeing four heads tilt in question, Rarity returned to explain what the orange earth pony meant.

“What Applejack means is that we have come to an agreement for how you can visit other towns. Since you seem determined to go traveling, we will give you the chance to do so; but you will be accompanied with two older ponies to be sure you are behaving and can actually do what you're told.” The gray-white unicorn gave the Crusaders a firm gaze which earned sheepish smiles in return.

Once they were done with the brief explanation, the girls tried to get more details as to what they meant while Eripio remained silent since it was part of the Crusaders’ grounding.

“Hang on, you mean we can go traveling again?” The older mares frowned pensively at Scootaloo’s question, wondering if they were indeed still rather asleep and hadn’t heard properly the first time.

“Yes, but with proper supervision.” The girls took on shrewd expressions as they focused on the main point of the new aspect of this 'deal'.

“So we can go tah any place we want tah?” Applejack smirked at her sister's question that was pretty much the same as Scootaloo’s but answered anyways.

“Yes, but only with two older ponies with y'all an' if we have the time.” Four frowns came at this statement with Sweetie Belle asking what was now on their minds.

“Wait, so we have to wait until somepony can come with us?” The fashionista's face soured at the annoyed tone and took on a haughty one in return.

“We can't just suddenly drop everything and go with you when you want to go someplace, Sweetie Belle.” Applejack shot a stern glance to the gray-white unicorn at the tone of voice used before giving the girls a reassuring look.

“We're gonnah make sure ya get the chance tah go places, but ya got school tah worry about an' we have work tah do too.” The girls nodded as they thought about it before getting to the next point.

“So, where can we go?” Scootaloo tried to find the limits once again and the older siblings actually answered straightforwardly this time.

“We have been invited to perform the Hearth's Warming Eve play in Canterlot; and since we would all be going, this would be a good time to see if you could behave in a different town. We shall see what can be done afterwards based on how well it goes.” The four fillies glanced at one another before huddling together in a circle to discuss the 'deal'.

The older mares watched curiously as the four fillies whispered to one another while trying to allow them privacy to talk about it; the Crusaders sighed as one before nodding and breaking free of the huddle to face the older mares.

“So, do ya think we could do this? Yer'll behave an' we'll see if y'all can travel on yer own eventually.... Eventually.” Applejack repeated the time frame at the hopeful looks on the fillies' faces and the shocked face of the fashionista. At the rapid nodding, the older mares smiled and relaxed their stances before they brought the girls' 'ultimate' sleepover to an end.

“Now Sweetie Belle, while I'm sure you would rather stay and have fun with your friends, we must go back home.” The young unicorn groaned which earned a disapproving frown from the prim mare.

“Now now, we simply have to go home! You must go and make sure everything is put away properly, you have school tomorrow.” Sweetie Belle hung her head in dejection with the others following close behind, only to have the older farmer also burst their bubble.

“Yep, an' Scootaloo an' Eripio are goin' have to go on home too. Ah saw the mess y'all left in the Clubhouse, so y'all have tah do a lot of cleanin'.” The other fillies found it was their turn to groan and walk out dejected with the older mares following close behind.

The fillies were careful to not reveal their computers while cleaning up the mess left from the night before, much to the sisters' amusement of how much they apparently did. Once the task was done, Applejack escorted the others to the edge of Sweet Apple Acres; after a brief goodbye, they went on their ways while the girls promised to talk later.

Author's Note:

I actually got both of this week's stories updated quickly! Mwahahahaha, I'll get the hang of this yet!

While it may seem odd that this story has so much interchanging with the CMC, it makes sense in a way since both Rarity and Applejack have younger sisters who are best friends and get into trouble; everyone knows you get embarrassed or annoyed when a younger sibling makes you look bad (possibly) in the eyes of the one you're trying to impress. I know I've felt something similar (though it was more to the fact that whenever I brought a friend over, my younger brother and sister would try to show off in front of them... )

Next chapter for this story is a doozy! All the stories have a different take on one event and so far the one chapter I've written for it went over 7,000 words; this next one is gonna be huge!

EDIT: I keep forgetting to put this here; thanks to Gwg and Nebulae for editing/reviewing this chapter!

Comments

[Wolfie 03]

3922413 I consider the timeline to be different because how they have the episodes lined up doesn't make sense (like Winter Wrap-Up is before Fall Weather Friends with only Call of the Cutie in between them, so either time went by really quickly or they weren't paying attention when they posted the episodes)

So I kind of went with what I thought happened timeline-wise. For example, I feel like Discord's thing happened in September (of the second fall that Twilight was in ponyville for), while the wedding of her brother and Cadance happen in March while the Crystal Empire happens in April (of the third spring/winter that Twilight is there); if that helps any.

This is the same for all my stories, would that qualify for the alternate tag then? So others aren't confused?

[ObligedShelf7]

I since shipping soon. This pleases me greatly.

[Wolfie 03]

3925280 Hmmm, a shipping sense... At least it's a bit more amusing than a Cheesy Sense, 'cause that was just a touch too cheesy.

Unless it's 'since'? Like 'since this and that'?

[ObligedShelf7]

Hmmm, my stupidity surprises even me sometimes.
*sense

[Wolfie 03]

4036396 I can visualize colors but when it comes to spelling out those colors... and I re-use the same descriptive colors for ponies I feature often, so it's less likely for me to forget them... He slipped through the cracks Sorry ... I think the first time I wrote him, I had him as a unicorn but my editor caught that one.

Thanks for catching that, hopefully nothing else goes wrong with the coloring.