Royal Harvest Festival

by Featherdust418

Chapter 14

"You want to what!?" exclaimed Granny Smith, as she paced back and forth, while A.J. sat calmly on the chair in the hotel room they were staying in. After Buck had walked her home last night, she realized she would have to break the news to her grandmother... she spent a lot of time thinking last night about how to tell Granny, and when morning came, after breakfast she told her grandmother about her decision to back out of the competition.

"Y'all heard me right, Granny- I'm pullin' out of the competition." Granny didn't know what to think- her own granddaughter, who had been so excited for the Royal Harvest Festival and it's Gourmet Gala contest, spending months beforehoof preparing for it, making sure the food was perfect and guarding it as often as she could. And now... this? Why, though? She had no idea why, but she knew somepony who did- and she was sitting right in front of her. So, she did the only thing she could to find out.

"Why, A.J.? Why are y'all pullin' out?"
"Granny... well, y'all remember Buck, right? And what I told you about his farm and family and all that, about how it's not doing so well?"
"Yes, I recall." Granny replied. A.J. gave a small, quiet sigh in relief- she was glad that she didn't have to remind her Granny about the situation again. Then again, it seemed that Granny could remember things easier when the situation seemed to be more serious, which was kind of nice in A.J.'s opinion.

"Well, Buck had told me that he wanted to win the Royal Harvest Competition to save his farm and bring his family closer. I immediately felt a bit ashamed... I mean, my goal was to help out my family and friends too, but everyone I know is already well off and in good harmony. I felt a bit selfish when he told me that, I'll admit it... I actually felt like I wanted to back out then. He must of noticed the look on my face when I asked him if winning the competition was the only way for him to keep the farm back when I had met his brother, and he reassured me that everything would be okay even if they did lose, that they could come back even without the win. However... this apparently is not the case. I, uh... overheard an argument when I went to visit him yesterday, and it turns out that Buck's father made an agreement with his grandfather to sell the farm to him if they lost... And Buck didn't know this until just yesterday." A.J. explained. Granny gave a soft "hmm" as she looked at the ground deep in thought.

"And the grandfather- Green, was it? Wait, why does that sound familiar? Hmm... ah, no, I must stay focused! Anyway, he wants to take down the farm and change it completely. I see... a farm is more than a business, it's a home, too. It's where you work, play, cook, learn, eat and sleep, as well as make great memories. A.J., is this truly what you want to do? You would back out of a competition, one that you spent months preparing for and were very excited about... one that you always called your dream?" A.J. was now the one looking thoughtful, then smiled widely.

"Granny... I've had two opportunities to cater the GGG, and both seem to have backfired. Maybe... maybe it's time for a new dream. After all, dreams can change, right? Sometimes you gotta get up and move on. So now, I have a new dream. My dream now, is to help my friend Buck- to do whatever I can to help save his farm, and to bring his family closer together." Granny, after hearing this, returned a grin and replied,

"Well A.J., I have to admit I'm proud of you. I know that this can't be easy for you, but at the same time I can see you honestly want to help this stallion out in way you can. I will do whatever I can to help you and this family. Now, while I don't really believe all that much in meddlin' in other ponies lives... it truly sounds like this family needs some help and guidance. So, what should we do first?" A.J. breathed a small sigh of relief- she had to admit that she had been a tad worried about how her Granny would take the news, but she was happy that her grandmother wanted to help; this would make things easier.

"Well, I talked to Buck a bit last night before I left, and we agreed that it would be a good idea for our families to have a proper meeting. So... maybe this afternoon we could go down to his farm and discuss the situation? Maybe there's some way we can help them, since we won't be in the competition anymore."
"Sounds like a fine Idea to me, A.J.! It'll be nice to finally meet the rest of Buck's family- you two seem like such good friends already! Alright then, shall we go now?" A.J. blushed slightly and responded,

"well... yeah, I guess you could say that. He really is a nice stallion... er, oh! Right then, we should really get goin'. Don't want to be late!"
"Well now Applejack, there's no need to rush! Sure, I want to meet his family and talk this over- but it's still early. We'll leave now, but let's take our time getting there. I've barely been out except for the times we went to the fair grounds!"
"Hmm... that's true. Okay Granny, I guess we can do a bit of sight-seeing and window shopping beforehoof."
"Great! Okay, give me a minute to get ready, and then we'll get going!"

Soon, Granny and A.J. were making there way towards the town, where there were many different shops and restaurants. The town was decorated in red, orange and brown hues, and had a large fountain in the middle with a statue of two finely dressed ponies dancing in harmony. A little bit off to the left was a large park, with large trees with bright red yellow and orange leaves, and a lake farther back in the distance.
"Hmm... I wonder if that's the park Fluttershy was talking about before I left." A.J. thought to herself.

"well, would you look at this! They did a real nice job with the decorations!" exclaimed Granny Smith as she looked about the large city, taking everything in. Soon, the two were trotting along, browsing at window displays, enjoying the scenery and the aromas of all the restaurants they passed, and overall just enjoying themselves and having a good time.
"Granny... I'm sorry we didn't do this sooner. I know it was one of the first things that we wanted to do..."

"Aw, now Applejack- it's alright! Sure, we wanted to do this earlier, but we've been busy with the competition, and you've been busy with your friend, helping him through the rough time he's going through. And you still want to help him, even go so far as to give up your dream. I really am proud of you, A.J." A.J. smiled at her grandmother as her eyes began to get moist. She then wrapped her grandmother in a big hug.
"Thanks, Granny... I'm so happy that you support my decision."

Granny Smith returned the hug, and replied,
"Well, of course I do! It's always a good idea to be helping the ponyfolk! For now though, let's just relax a bit and shop around- we've been very busy lately, and it's nice to be taking a break."
"You're right, taking a break has been really great so far. Hmm... oh! I think I saw an interesting little shop over this way- let's go!"

And with that, the two resumed their break, relaxing and enjoying being in the company of one another.

Author's Note:

Here's another chapter of Royal Harvest Festival! So... I'm a little late getting this one out (I try to get at least one chapter done every month), but I do have some ideas for the next chapters, so hopefully those will be out soon.
So A.J. told her grandmother... luckily, she took it quite well. Here's hoping everything will go well when they go visit Buck, too. ^^

Comments and constructive criticism welcome! Next chapter coming soon! ^^

(EDIT:

"And the grandfather- Green, was it? Wait, why does that sound familiar? Hmm... ah, no, I must stay focused!

)

Comments

[SageBrony07]

Nice job with this one. I can't wait to read what happens when Buck meets Granny. I'm glad you got a bunch ideas for the next chapters. Good luck. Thanks for the update.