How Yer Folks Got Together

by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof

Just Need to Ask

"So even though we had technically met before," Soarin explained, "it was because of Rainbow Dash that we actually got to start knowing each other."

"Wowwww," Little Green sighed out, eyes wide as she stared up at her parents.

"Funny though," Applejack said, looking at Soarin with narrowed eyes. "I don't remember you crying over my pie like that. Or you calling me pretty; to say nothin' of all other mares 'palin' in comparison to my beauty.'"

Soarin shifted in his seat, his wings flickering against his sides as he looked away. A small cough escaped him as one of his ears twitched, his gaze shifting back down to the papers on the table in front of him.

"I... may be... embellishing a detail or two," he said. "Just a little." Looking up at his wife, he smiled. "I should have, too. You were and still are the most beautiful mare I have ever seen."

"And you're still a big ol' romantic goofball," Applejack said. Stepping closer, she gave Soarin a kiss on the cheek. "Still, sweet of you to say."

With a return smile, Soarin reached out with a wing and wrapped it around Applejack, pulling her in close. Little Green watched as her parents pressed against each other, smiling happily. As she did, her mind turned back to the story she had been told, and a question started to form.

"So when did you start dating?" she asked.

"Not for a while," Applejack answered. "We did see each other from time to time after, normally when Soarin came around to pick up another pie. Usually when he did, we would sit and chat for a while, get to know each other."

"And sometimes, she would have them sent to me at The Wonderbolts Academy," Soarin added. "When she did, there would normally be little notes included." He held up a hoof. "Not love notes. Just friendly little letters."

"Although a certain somepony seemed to think it was more than that."

"What do you mean?" Little Green asked.

"Well, it turned out Granny Smith was watching us. Until one day..."

******

Soarin grinned as he flew toward Ponyville and Sweet Apple Acres. The warm afternoon air whipped through his mane and blew across his coat, making extra certain that it was thoroughly dry. He was very excited: practice went well, a long weekend was coming up -- which he actually had off -- and soon, he would have a fresh baked apple pie.

Reaching Sweet Apple Acres, he found Granny Smith standing on the porch. The old green farm mare's eyes locked on the stallion as he landed, a smile tugging at the edge of her lips.

"Afternoon, fella," she said from her spot. "Take it yer here your pie."

"Yes, ma'am," Soarin replied as he walked toward the porch.

"Well, it's inside coolin' right now." Granny held up a hoof. "Before you go, somethin' I'd like ya to do for me. See, Applejack ain't inside at the moment, she had to do some work over in the north field." She pulled out a bottle and held it out to him. "Would ya mind taking this out there to her?"

"Sure," Soarin said as he took the bottle. Stepping away from the porch, he turned to head toward the north field.

"And while you're at it, ask her out on a date!"

The shout caught him so much by surprise, that he forgot to flap during taking, causing him to crash back into the ground.

"W-wh-what?" he stammered out, eyes wide.

"Ya heard me," Granny Smith stated. "Ask the mare out on a date already."

Getting up, Soarin turned to face the old mare. His wings stretched out and flapped, making sure they were unharmed before tucking back against his side. His ears twitched as he took a step back, his eyes shifting to look everywhere but at her.

"I... I don't know if I can do that."

Granny's eyes narrowed as she stared at the stallion a moment, lips pressing tight. she then gave a sudden smirk.

"Well, guess you don't want your pie then."

Soarin looked at the old mare, brow furrowing as he considered what she just said.

"So, I don't get my pie, unless I ask Applejack on a date?" he asked. "You're...bribing me to date your granddaughter."

"Naw," Granny replied with a wave of her hoof. "I ain't bribin' ya. I'm blackmailin' ya. If it were a bribe, I would offer you an extra pie or somethin' to encourage you to ask. As the pie's rightfully yours and I ain't givin' it to you unless you do as I say, it's blackmail."

"Glad we cleared that up," Soarin said, rolling his eyes.

"Though really, I see it as pushin' two stubborn ponies into doin' something I know they both want," Granny continued. "I've seen the way you look at her, and how your face lights up when you talk to her, not to mention those glances at her flank."

Soarin shifted, blushing slightly.

"Can you look me in the eye and say you ain't the slightest bit interested in dating her?"

Biting his lip, Soarin looked down at the bottle in his hoof. Admittedly, he was kind of interested in the mare. She was Strong, tough, and pretty brave seeing as she had helped save Equestria on multiple occasions. Plus, after talking to her, he learned that she was smart, kind, and could be very sweet. It was hard to believe that there were not more ponies lining up to try and get involved with Applejack. Especially since it was pretty clear that she wanted to have a family of her own.

Except...

"Okay," he admitted. "Yeah. I like her and wouldn't mind dating her. But she's a farmer and I'm mostly a stunt flyer. What could she possibly see in me?"

"Ain't gonna know unless you try," Granny pointed out. "Now, I may not know much about your group, but I'm pretty sure that it's a tough job to get, right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And from what Applejack and that there Rainbow Dash has told me, yer like second-in-command or somethin'."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Now, if you can do all that and keep up with all the scheduled trainin' and flyin' you have to do, then I'm pretty sure you can ask out one little mare." Eyes narrowing, Granny Smith pointed a hoof at him. "So go out there and do it, fella, or so help me, I will make sure every pie you get from us will be salty."

Soarin gasped out, eyes going wide.

"You wouldn't!"

"Oh would ya look at that," Granny said innocently. "Seems I mixed up the salt and sugar somehow. Sorry about that." She gave a wicked grin. "My eyesight ain't what it used to be."

Soarin let out a snort and scowled at the old mare before turning away and flying toward the north field. As he flew, his eyes scanned the ground below him, looking for Applejack. Although, considering the size of the farm, the sheer number of trees, and how they kind of hid most of the ground, he was not entirely certain how he would be able to find her.

Fortunately, a loud thud, and the sight of a tree shaking gave him the answer.

Coming in for a landing, Soarin found the mare he was looking for. Applejack turned to face him as he come in through the trees, giving a smile.

"Hey there," she called out.

"Hi," Soarin replied. He then held up the bottle. "Granny asked me to bring this out to you."

"Thanks," Applejack said as she took the drink. "I'm mighty parched." She then started downing the drink in massive gulps.

Soarin licked his lips and took a deep breath.

"So, I was thinking... maybe we should go out on a date."

Finishing the bottle, Applejack returned her attention to the stallion.

"Nope."

******

"What?!" Little Green cried out, eyes wide and wings flaring. "You said no?! Why?! I thought you already liked him."

A blush formed on Applejack's face as she adjusted her hat. Getting up, she grabbed a glass, poured some tea for herself, and took a drink.

"I did," she finally replied. "But I had certain notions on romance myself. Yeah, I liked him, but I figured that the pony I was to spend the rest of my life with would be one that I fell in love with the first time I saw 'em. So even though I liked him, and cared deeply, didn't really realize that I might'a been in love with him. Fortunately, Granny set me straight when I got home."

*****

"Dagnabit girl!" Granny yelled. "What's the big idea turnin' down the stallion like that? Do I need to knock some sense into that thick ol' head of yours?"

"I don't see what the big deal is," Applejack huffed, scowling as she looked away from her grandmother.

"The big deal," Granny growled, "is that you met a stallion that likes you fer you. Not because of some hero worship or a weird o' fascination with country life, but because of who you are." She stepped closer, pressing a hoof against Applejack's barrel. "And I know you like him too. I've seen the way you get excited when you know he's comin' to visit, how you're all smilin' and hummin' when he leaves, and how much time you've spent tryin' to get your pie recipes even more perfect for him."

Applejack looked at the older mare, then sighed and gave a nod. It was all true.

Granny took a step back, her features softening.

"So if he asked, and you like him, why'd you say no?"

"I don't know," Applejack blurted out. "I mean, yeah I like him, but... I don't know if I like him like that."

"That's part of the reason why you go on a date," Granny stated. "You spend time with a pony and get to know them to figure out whether you like them enough to spend more time with them or not. If it don't go well, you learn a little about yourself and move on. It works out, you go on another and see how it ends up."

Moving closer again, Granny gently pulled the younger mare into a hug.

"Now, Applejack, I can't force you to go out with him." She paused, pursing her lips. "Well..." she rubbed at her chin. "Actually, I probably could." She smirked. "Could probably even get help with it. Bet Apple Bloom would love to help you get together. And I know that Rarity girl would. Maybe even Pinkie Pie since it would probably make you happy."

Applejack's eyes rolled as her jaw pressed tight. She did not like where this was going.

"So, I could force you," Granny stated, "but I won't. I don't want you to miss out on an opportunity to find somepony that makes you happy, but if you really don't think that it's Soarin, then I won't stop ya." She gave an extra squeeze. "Just be sure it's 'cause you aren't interested in him like that and not somethin' else."

The hug ended, and Granny pulled away, going on about her business. As she did, Applejack stood there, considering what she had been told. Turning her attention to Soarin, Applejack considered the stallion and how she felt about him. She thought about what it might be like to go on a date with him, which was kind of difficult. They seemed so different. But, they got along pretty well most of the time. And the idea of being with him, maybe at a nice picnic under the stars...

Getting up, Applejack made her way to her room. Grabbing a pencil and paper, she wrote a quick note.

Soarin,

I've thought about your question, and have changed my mind.
If still interested, is Saturday good?

Applejack.

Comments

[badninja]

I see Granny wants great grand foals before she goes. Her middle grandchild just needed the most hooves on help.

[Captain Unstoppable]

Granny Smith, biggest shipper of us all. No better way to get ponies together than blackmail . Any chance we might get to see some MacDash?

[Hopeful_Ink_Hoof]

8571835
Sorry, but I'm afraid not. Currently in this (canon? universe? whatever you wish to call it), Rainbow Dash never really settled down. She was more focused on her career and never really met another that got her interest enough. That may change in the future if a character I feel is perfect for her shows up. As for Mac, I currently think that he'll be living in Starlight's old town with Sugar Belle, raising a family and working an apple farm of his own.

[Captain Unstoppable]

8571893
Aww... that's too bad. MacDash is my OTP next to SoarinJack. Still love the story

[dracone]

Take it yer here your pie

I get that you're trying to imitate the Apple accent variation Granny Smith uses, but your choice for one of the words just makes it a little confusing. Still a fun read, but maybe a little closer look at your choice of wording before the chapter officially went up would have been a good idea.

[Jake The Army Guy]

"Naw," Granny replied with a wave of her hoof. "I ain't bribin' ya. I'm blackmailin' ya. If it were a bribe, I would offer you an extra pie or somethin' to encourage you to ask. As the pie's rightfully yours and I ain't givin' it to you unless you do as I say, it's blackmail."

That... is one of the most believable things I've ever seen Granny Smith do. Others have her as being some grandkid obsessed weirdo, but here it just feels like she genuinely wants to see her granddaughter happy. I also love how you're mostly avoiding cliches. I say "mostly" because when granny threatened to make his pies salty, he seemed genuinely worried. IMHO, having him say the same thing but with a lopsided smirk would have been better.

Meh, whatever. Onwards!!

[Yoshifan30]

"Sure," Soarin said as he took the bottle. Stepping away from the porch, he turned to head toward the north field.

"And while you're at it, ask her out on a date!"

The shout caught him so much by surprise, that he forgot to flap during taking, causing him to crash back into the ground.

Dang granny Smith you kind of escalated pretty quickly there asking him to date your granddaughter lol wow

[Yoshifan30]

Apparently Granny Smith kind of see what's going on between Applejack and Soarin and basically she's trying to give them a little bit of a confidence boost them to ask each other to a date even though both of them are pretty stubborn so she can be very stubborn as well but I do like how she's not trying to force these two but she also realized they still really care for each other and she really doesn't want to see them messed out with each other