> Apple Scratch : A summer at the Farm
>  by Mariacheat-Brony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> They are coming...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sweet Apple, the afternoon after the letter

Applebloom was trotting back to her home. Her head full from what she had been doing today with her friends. She was enjoying the summer break just like any girl of her age is supposed to. She had been playing around with her friends, she met her teacher Cheerilie who asked her news about her big brother. He and Granny had been off to Appleloosa for a couple of days now. They were going to stay there for a few weeks, apparently the Appleloosan part of the Apple Family had serious issue with their Orchard and their crops. They needed the opinion of the Apple Matriarch.

'This summer is going to be great, Ah have my two big sisters at home! And even better, Vinyl's stayin' at home for good, she won't go back to University.' She thought excitedly. She had truly missed her blue haired sister. Vinyl was the one that used to read her stories when Applebloom was little. Vinyl always knew how to tell a story. As she came close to the house, she started to realize there was quite a commotion going on. 'What in Ponyville is going on?'

She passed the front door and found her two big sisters in a tough argument in the living room. Applejack was holding Vinyl by the collar, twenty centimeters from the ground. She looked quite panicked.

"Do not panic?" AJ shouted. "How in Equestria am Ah not gonna panic, Vi'? You and Ah must take care of six of the most important gals in the country for three weeks."

"AJ listen to me." Vinyl started slowly. "First you'll take a deep breath and put me down, ok?" When AJ did what she was told, Vinyl continued. "Second, we are going to plan this calmly. We can host the Apple family reunion with three days of preparations. Surely we can come around for six girls."

"What's happening? Who's coming for three weeks?" Asked Applebloom who haven't been noticed by her older sisters.

"Hey there Appleboom. It's nothing, we just got news we're gonna have guests..."AJ said with smile that showed she was trying (and failing) to be happy about it.

"Who?" AB asked with an excited voice. "HO! It's Babs? Braeburn? Apple Fritter?" she started naming all their relatives to each time earn a no for answer. It was fun at first, but it quickly became annoying. "Ow. For pete' sake! Are y'all goin' to tell me who the hell's coming?" Applebloom snapped.

"You watch your tone and language while talking to us Missy." Vinyl chastised. "As for who's coming, it's all the members of Council of Harmony." Vinyl explained with a small sigh.

Applebloom stared at her sisters in shock for a few seconds before laughing. "HAHAHA! Good one Vinyl! Y'all almost got me there.."

"Lil' Bloom, it's the truth."

Applebloom was holding her ribs as she kept laughing. "Right, and next thing ya tell me it's that it's a request from the Princess. HAHAHA!" Both her siblings deadpanned her, before AJ extend a letter to Applebloom. As she read, her face went from hysteric laughter to surpised shock. "Really?"

"Yes, Sugarcube. Now would ya mind going in yer room? Vinyl and Ah got some stuff to do." Slowly said AJ. "We'll call ya for dinner."

The little red haired girl nodded and went upstairs, Vinyl went to the kitchen and came back with two bottles marked XXXX containing amber liquid. She gave one to Applejack before sitting on the couch. "Figured you might want a drink." She said as AJ opened her bottle and drank almost half of it in one gulp.

"So what are we gonna do?" AJ asked.

"We do the essentials." Vinyl shrugged. "Like hiding all of Granny's photo albums. Or Big Mac's dirty books."

"Why the albums.. Hold on what kinda o' books are ya talking about ?"

"Well for the books I'm not gonna explain, you just have to go look under Mac's bed." Vinyl waved. "As for the albums, you really want them to see your baby pictures? Like the one at the reunion, where your face is full apple fritters crumbs." She added chuckling as AJ started to shiver.

"Ah see yer point."Applejack said. "But where are they going to sleep? We can't have them sleep in one of our barns!"

"Well, we have a spare room with a single size bed, Mac's room has one too and your and my room have twin size beds." Vinyl pondered." You and I can take Granny's room and I think we are good, if they don't mind having roommates."

"Hmmm! That could work." AJ slowly said. "We might have to move a bit of Mac's stuff in the attic. And clear out our rooms. And cleaning the house and hide what needs to be hidden. That's a lot of work for only two days."

"We'll manage AJ, stop worrying about that." Vinyl took a slurp from her drink. "That's not really the tricky part of the deal."

"What do ya mean by that?" Applejack asked in confusion. "What's the tricky part then?"

"What are we possibly going to have them do here?"



 

Canterlot Castle, departure's day 

"I can't believe it, we're going to Sweet Apple Acres TODAY. I AM SOOOOO HAPPY" Shouted a very excited Pinkie Pie who was bouncing around her luggages. Twilight walked to her with a clipboard in one hand and a quill in the other.

"I can see that Pinike." Twilight giggled. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yeperooni." Pinkie said. "I have my clothes, my set of streamers, my party bag. AAAAAND I got this." She put on her head an incredibly large white cowboy hat.

Twilight sighed. " I'm going to regret this....Why do you have this hat?"

"Duuh! AJ's got a cowboy hat, so it's essential to have one." Pinkie explained very confident in her logic.

"How do you explain Vinyl didn't have any then?" Octavia chimed in. She had just arrived with her luggages : two suitcases and her cello. 

"Well silly, Vinyl is a musician, it's quite logic she doesn't have the cowboy touch?" Pinkie Pie said as she was chewing something before spitting it in a tin vase causing a clear ding. "See, kinda like that."

"If you say so Pinkie..." Said a disgusted Octavia. "I wonder how it will look like... From what Vinyl told me before the wedding, Sweet Apple Acres is quite a sight."

Twilight wrote on her list what Octavia had decided to bring with her. "Ok, we're nearly ready. Dash, Fluttershy and my stuff are already loaded in the carriage. We only need to wait Rarity now."

As if on cue, Rarity arrived with her suitcases floating with her magic. "Here I am girls."

"Wow, Rarity! You made the effort." Whistled a very impressed Twilight as she wrote down Rarity's belonging for her list. "Only seven suitcases! That's got to be a new record."

Not embarrassed at all, Rarity replied. "Well, I don't think I'll need evening dresses where we are going. Those takes a lot of place. Tell me dear, do our hosts shall welcome us at the station?"

"I don't think so." Twilight answered as she turned the pages of her clipboard. "HA, There! No, we have rented a carriage to Sweet Apple Acres." She levitated the others luggage with her magic. "Shall we, girls?"

"Yes, let's go! Tavi' here can't wait to see Vinyl again." Pinkie Pie shouted.

"Be quiet, Pinkie!" Reprimanded Octavia with a small blush appearing on her cheeks. 

"I must say the pink on your cheeks fits your bow tie quite nicely, dear." Mocked Rarity with a small laugh causing Twilight and Pinkie to laugh too.

"You're all impossible!" Octavia groaned as she stormed out to their carriage.





On the way to Sweet Apple Acres.

"Are we there, yet?"

"For the hundredth time, Pinkie. No! We aren't there yet." Snapped Rainbow Dash.

Their trip went well. The train was on perfectly on schedule. Now they were in their second carriage, making way to Sweet Apple Acres. They had left Ponyville about thirty minutes ago.

"It's weird." Twilight said. "we should have arrived a long time ago."

"I'll just ask the driver then." Rarity said before knocking near the hatch behind her, which opened instantly. "Excuse me Gentleman, How far we are from Sweet Apple Acres?"

"Well, my Lady, if you want to get technical, we've entered the Acres about fifteen minutes ago." The driver said causing all the girls inside the carriage to gasp in surprise. "Look around you, nothing but apple trees."

"WOOOO. This place is huuuge." Pinkie Pie whistled. All the others nodded.

Soon after the carriage came to a stop and they all heard the raspy voice of a woman they all recognized.

"Thanks Caramel, I'll take it from here." The carriage's door opened to reveal a smiling Vinyl with a red haired little girl who was peeking from behind her legs. "Welcome Girls." She warmly said. "To Sweet Apple Acres!"




> They came here for refreshing air.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	As soon as she bid her welcome, Vinyl sensed she was in danger. Some sort of preservation instinct kicked in and warned her of a threat. She saw a pink and white blur exited the carriage and flying toward her. She grasped it in her light blue magic. When the threat came to a stop in the air, it turned to be Pinkie Pie wearing jeans, boots, a pink shirt and an unnecessary large white stetson, her arms flaying in the air trying to grab Vinyl.

"Awww, I just wanted to hug you." Pouted Pinkie Pie.

"Sorry Pinkie, I can't have you tackle me to the ground with lil' Bloom here right behind me, can I?" Vinyl chuckled, her unmagicked hand patting Applebloom's head as she remained behind her.

Pinkie tilted her head to see Applebloom. "Hi there, I'm Pinkie Pie." she said cheerfully. "Vi' can you put me down? I can't give her a 'hello' cupcake if I can't move."

At the mention of the pastry, Applebloom stopped from hiding behind her sister. "Really?" She asked Vinyl with a big hopeful smile. 

"Ok just one, we are about to have lunch." Vinyl said. As Pinkie gave Applebloom a cupcake, Vinyl said. "Don't spoil her too much while you're here Pinks."

"Well, it seems our dear Pinkie Pie has already find a new friend." Giggled Rarity as she exited the carriage. "Wonderful to see you again Vinyl."

"Yeah it's awesome to see you again."

"Hum..Hello Vinyl.. It's lovely here."

"Good morning Vinyl. It's been a while."

"Hello Vinyl, it's great to finally meet you again." Octavia said with a sincere smile which Vinyl returned eagerly.

"Great to see you all again girls." Vinyl said. "Applebloom. Meet Twilight Sparkle, Rarity Belle, Rainbow Dash. You already know Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Octavia Philharmonica."

"Hey, I know you." Applebloom said to Octavia. "Vinyl has a lot of posters with you on it in her room." She innocently added causing Octavia and Vinyl to blush in embarrassment and the others to stifle their laughs. 

"Well Ok then, why don't I take your luggages so that Caramel can go and stop mocking me like an idiot." Vinyl awkwardly said glaring at Caramel who was holding back his laugh. 

After having unloaded the girls' luggages, Caramel went back to Ponyville. The girls from Nobility followed Vinyl and Applebloom toward the house. "Sooo. Would you mind telling me why you came here? The Princess' letter was kinda vague." Vinyl asked.

"Oh. She said that we needed some fresh air." Octavia answered. "Something along being too much cooped down in the Castle."She added winking at Vinyl. "Kinda what you told me at the wedding."

"Vinyl dear, I was wondering where's Applejack?" Asked Rarity.

"Oh. She's over there cutting some wood." Applebloom answered as she waved toward where AJ was.

"Why's she cutting wood now?" Asked Octavia a bit confuse. "We are in the middle of summer."

"Probably for the stove. Anyway let's get you settle so that AJ and I can start to prepare lunch." Vinyl casually said.

They kept going to the house, unbeknownst to the fact that Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Twilight had stopped moving after turning their heads to AJ. Stunned by the scene taking actions in front of them. Applejack was busy cutting down some logs for the stove. Her stetson and her shirt casually laid down on a nearby fence, leaving her with a very tight tank top. Her muscles contracted and relaxed each time the axe went up and down. At some point she wiped the sweat from her brow and kept going. They girls kept staring in awe at the farmer cutting down some wood for no apparent reasons, the stack of logs was far from being low. That didn't stop Applejack and they didn't care. They had no idea why but it was incredibly refreshing.

"Hey girls, you see anything interesting?" Asked genuinely Pinkie Pie who had come back when she saw that the girls didn't follow. The four women jumped out of their trance a light blush on their face.

"Well Pinkie dear you see..."

"We saw hum ....."

".....A squirrel ....."

"Yeah that's it, we saw a squirrel."

"A squirrel huh?" Pinkie asked. "And it's because of a squirrel your faces are all becoming red like tomatoes?" 

"Ho dear, that's because...."

"....Of the sun....."

"Yeah the sun. It's rather hot on the farm..."

"Yeah what they said..."

"Oh. Okay. Come on, Vinyl said we got to chose our rooms." Pinkie simply said before bouncing toward the house as the others followed suit sighing in relief. "Maybe you can tell me on the way how hot exactly AJ was?" She added with a smirk causing the others to tense again immediately. 





After joining with Vinyl, the six members of the Council entered for the first time the house of the Apple Family. They came into the living room, its decoration was simple, family photos on the furniture and on the walls, rustics couches and chair around a small coffee table. It was rather spacious, allowing the seven women and the small girl to stand in with all the numerous pieces of luggage. The living room was clearly nothing like anything in the Castle in Canterlot, it was way more welcoming.

"It's not much, but it's home." Vinyl said with pride.

"I think it's wonderful." Octavia said with a genuine smile to the Apples, earning approvals from her fellow Council members.

"Thanks. So for the room distribution. We have two rooms for two persons, but you'll have to share a bed so I hope you don't mind, and two single person rooms. What do you think?" Vinyl asked.

Twilight pondered for a few moments. "I think Rarity can take one of the 'single' room, considering she has a lot more stuff than the rest of us." The others nodded and Rarity was extremely happy about that.

"If anyone don't mind, I would like to take the other room with one spot." Octavia said.

"No problem, I suppose Shy' and I can share a room." Rainbow answered before turning to Fluttershy. "What do you say Shy, just like High-school?"

"Just like High-school, Rainbow." Fluttershy quietly and happily answered.

"So I guess I'll just bunk with Twilight then." Pinkie stated. "It would be like a sleepover, every night." 

"I guess so Pinkie, but easy on the pillow fights." Chuckled Twilight.

"All right, follow me." Vinyl said. "Applebloom, could you go fetch AJ please, we have guests and we need our second best cook." She asked her little sister who mocked a salute.

"Right away Vinyl." She ran out of the house calling AJ.

"She's such a dear!" Rarity said with a smile.

"Yeah it's true but she can be quite the little devil when she has something on her mind." Vinyl explained as she made way to the first floor. "So Rarity, this your room. It's usually our brother's but since he's in Appleloosa you can have it. Don't worry we moved all of his stuff somewhere else."

Rarity scanned the room, it was rustic like the rest of the home but it had a certain charm. "That would be perfect. Well time to get settle."

Vinyl brought the others to an other room. "But, what if your brother comes back earlier?" Asked Twilight.

"Don't worry about it, Granny and Big Mac's business in Appleloosa should keep them away for quite some times." Vinyl explained. "Beside, we sent them a letter talking about the Princess' request. They'll probably extend their stay. I'm actually glad about that, it's about time Granny deserved a little vacation." She pointed a door. "Pinkie, Twilight, that would be your room for the stay. Normally it's mine."

"Okay, here we go Twilight." Pinkie said bouncing inside the room. "I'm taking the window side of the bed." She shouted.

"Oh no you don't." Warned Twilight before storming after Pinkie.

"I think I might have to do some repairs in the room after your departure." Vinyl slowly said.

"It's probably what you'd have to do." Rainbow simply said." So where is mine and Flutter's room?"

"Right there. And for you, Octavia, it's right here." She said pointing two of the leftovers doors. The remaining girls started to get settle before Vinyl called them out. They all passed their heads through the door-frames. "Ok, I'll explain a few things quickly." She pointed a door in the middle of the corridor. "Right there is the house's only bathroom. But don't worry we have extras showers in AJ's 'Gymnasium' right next to the South orchard."

"Your sister's got a Gym?" Asked excitedly Rainbow Dash.

"More of a barn with a lot of working out machines in it." Vinyl stated. "Few things you might want to know. AJ and I wake up at 5:30 every morning. We're sorry in advance if we wake you up but there's work to be done. Usually we're busy with our morning chores to 7:30 or 8:00. Those who are awake at that time are welcome to help, if they want to."

"Count me out." Rainbow quickly said.

"Rainbow Dash, they're letting us stay in their home for quite a long time." Octavia chastised. "The least we could do is to help around a minimum."

"Fine I'll help a little but if it keeps me from training, I guarantee nothing." Rainbow conceded.

"Don't worry Octavia, we can manage on our own." Vinyl reassured. "Beside, it's not like Rainbow could keep up with us." She added with a smirk.

"Wowoh. Easy there magic music girl." Rainbow shouted with skepticism in her eyes. "You think that I, Rainbow Danger Dash, can't keep up with you? Applejack I would understand but you, sorry but that's hard to believe."

"Believe me or not Dashie but there's only one way to prove who's wrong." Vinyl replied playfully.

"Ok, wake me up at 5:30 like you do and I'll show you if I can keep up or not." Rainbow said, her voice full of confidence, before returning in her room.

"And this is how you do it." Vinyl quietly said as Octavia giggled. "Now, we have an extra pair of hands for tomorrow and if I play my cards well enough, maybe for the all stay."

"Nicely done Vinyl." Octavia said.

"Thanks. I'll leave you to your stuff. You can come down when you're done." Vinyl said before she went to downstairs to the kitchen where she found Applejack who was getting the food out of the cellar. "Ready to blow them away, with the deliciousness of the Apple Family Cuisine?"

"Darn tooting!" AJ happily said. "How the distribution went?"

Before Vinyl could replied, an explosion occurred upstairs causing everyone to jump in surprise. They quickly heard shouting voices from above.

"That's it Pinkie, I'm confiscating your Party Cannon." Shouted an angry Twilight. "You clearly can't be trusted with it."

"MEANIE!"

Vinyl shrugged. "Swimmingly." 










> Delivery to Barnyard Bargain
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	After they settled down in their designated rooms, the girls from the Council of Harmony came back downstair when they heard a voice with a well known southern accent.

"Soup's on, everybody." Applejack shouted from the dining room.

The six women entered the room where they heard AJ's voice to see a large table, dressed for nine persons, overflowing with appetizing apple flavored dishes. Applebloom was sitting in her usual spot at the table, her gaze focused on a plate of apple fritter. The girls took a seat where they could find one, their eyes wandering through every plate on the table.

"Woooh. That looks yummy." Pinkie said in her sing-song voice.

"I think there're more different dishes than when the Castle's chefs cook." Rarity noted, really impressed. "My star, it smells good."

"I didn't even know there were so many recipe with apples." Twilight commented.

"Ya don't know the half of it Sugarcube." AJ said as she walked in from the kitchen with a two pitchers in her hands, followed by Vinyl who was carrying a basket of bread.

"Great to finally see you, AJ." Rainbow said.

"What are you talking about, silly?" Pinkie chimed in with an innocent voice. "You four saw her pretty good while she was cutting some wood."

"Well. It's still pleasant to finally talk to her again." Rarity intervened with a small blush appearing on her and on the concerned girls' cheeks.

"Oh sorry about not welcoming y'all, but we needed wood for the stove." AJ said apologetically.

"It's ok Darling....We didn't...didn't mind the slightest." Rarity sheepishly added blushing even harder as Pinkie whispered to her ear with a sly smile. "I bet you didn't mind."

Octavia gave her friends with a confused look, she was about to voice her interrogation when Vinyl said happily. "Anyway, let's dig in before it get's cold." They started to eat at Vinyl' signal. All the guest had content faces, the food looked delicious but its taste had nothing to be compared to.

"So, AJ, Vinyl." Twilight said, as the two Apples turned to her, she continued." What are your plans for the afternoon."

"Ah got to walk around the orchards and pick the apples that are ripe enough." Applejack explained. "Vinyl has to make a delivery in town."

"And Ah gotta to take care of the animals." Applebloom happily added. At the mention of the animals, Fluttershy's head perked up.

"Oh, can I help you with that? I mean if your sisters don't mind..." She said in a murmur.

"Sure Fluttershy." Vinyl answered. "Lil' Bloom would have company like that." She added as AB was smiling at Fluttershy. "Anyone wants to go in Ponyville with me?"

"I want to, I'll get to meet lots of new people." Pinkie shouted her face full of apple cake's crumbs. Rarity levitated a napkin to clean Pinkie's face.

"Seriously Dear, you can at least try to be proper." Chuckled Rarity as Pinkie playfully sticked her tongue out at her. "I suppose, I'll come along. I would like to see what Ponyville has to offer."

"Yeah me too." Octavia said cheerfully. "We never got to visit a small town like that. I bet it's totally different from Canterlot."

"I'll tag along with Applejack." Twilight simply said. "I have read a lot about apple farming but I want to see if you do as the book says or not."

"Well. We'll see about that." AJ waved. "Maybe we can pick somethin' out of those books. And you RD? What do ya want to do?"

"I think I'll go with you and Twilight." Rainbow said. "Vinyl talked to Octavia about that Applebucking thing and I'm curious about that."

"Looks like we all got the afternoon planned out." Vinyl said with a smile.





Vinyl had dropped the girls near the entrance of Ponyville, after scheduling a rendez-vous with them. She took her cart to Barnyard Bargain where she had an order to deliver. When she arrived near the shop, she spotted a white and purple haired girl the same age as Applebloom sitting on the store's patio. The daughter of her costumer, Diamond Tiara. She had always heard stories about how that girl behaved in front of other.

"Hey there, Diamond Tiara! Would you mind tell your father his delivery has arrived?" Vinyl asked. 'Who knows maybe there just stories...' The girl looked at her as if Vinyl was an incredibly ugly beast.'Or not!'

"Can't you do it yourself?" she asked as if it was the natural thing to say to an adult. "I am busy."

'Why the little...' "Busy doing?" Vinyl retorted with a raised eyebrow. This time she didn't even bother to reply. 

Vinyl jumped out from her cart and fast the reins of the horse drawing her cart to a nearby hook. She passed next to little girl (not without glaring at her) and entered the room. She saw a purple haired woman in her forties wearing what looked like the latest dress from a Canterlot fashion show. Something totally out of place in Ponyville. Mrs Rich. Her features crisped when she saw Vinyl come in.

"Hello Mrs Rich, is your husband around?" Vinyl politely asked.

"Well, Ms Scratch, I am afraid my husband is on a business trip." She answered, stressing unnecessarily her surname. "What can I do for you?"

Vinyl had always hated it when people reminded her on purpose of her origins. It didn't occur often. The majority of the town had accepted her affiliation to the Apple Family for quite a long time, still they were some, like Mrs Rich, who clearly didn't get the memo.

"Well, could you come with me to check the delivery from Sweet Apple Acres?" Vinyl simply asked, trying to remain as calm as possible.

"How odd. Usually it's one of the members of the Apple Family who does the delivery." She said in fake surprise.

'And people wonder why her daughter acts like she does...' Vinyl thought, her anger rising, before speaking in the most calm tone she could manage. "Well, that's why I am here."

"Oh, Sorry Miss. I forgot that little detail sometimes." She casually said, following Vinyl outside.

'Sure, it's not like I took the name sixteen years ago....' Vinyl thought as she showed the baskets of apples she had delivered.

"Everything looks ok..." Mrs Rich said. "Ha but there's a basket of 'pink lady' missing."

"Are you sure?" Vinyl asked before taking the order they had receive from Mr Rich and checking both the order and the baskets. "No, everything from the order is there."

"I think I would know what my husband had ordered, wouldn't I?" Mrs Rich asked with sarcasm. 

"Well, maybe he ordered that, but clearly not for today." Vinyl said as she checked the date of delivery on the order she had.

Mrs Rich pulled a bag of bit from her purse. "If you say so." She threw the bag at Vinyl's feet. "300 bits for the delivery."

Vinyl had enough of that condescending attitude. "OK. First of all, the order is at 400 bits." Vinyl slowly said. "And second, I am not some sort of stray dog you just throw something at. You will treat me like you would treat any other supplier."

"I refuse to pay the full price for an incomplete delivery." She shouted. "And for such a poor service you accomplish as delivery woman."

"It's either that or I take my merchandise back with me and you would have to explain that to your costumers." Vinyl angrily replied. "I bet your husband will appreciate the fact his most important apple supplier has been turned off by you."

"You street rat, you've already caused enough problems to this honest family of farmer. If it wasn't for you coming in their lives, Jonah and Ariane Apple would probably still be around." Mrs Rich said in fury. "And now you want to rot our business?"

Vinyl's expression completely froze, before her eyes narrowed at Mrs Rich "Do not speak about my parents, you crazy old witch!" Vinyl slowly said, fury dripping every words she said. "And now I'm off. Have fun explaining to your husband why Sweet Apple Acres will not do business with him anymore." She unhooked the reins, jumped in the cart and went away from the store.

Slowly the anger was replaced by the pain from the memories of her parents. She arrived at the rendezvous point a bit earlier than expected, so she waited there, deeply lost in her thoughts. Her composure slowly but certainly returning to its usual laid back attitude. Her train of thoughts was interrupted by the voice that she recognized instantly.

"Vinyl, you're here early." Octavia said, she had noticed the cart was still full of merchandises. "You had a problem with the delivery ?" Octavia slowly asked.

"Something like that..."Vinyl tried to chuckle but her voice was trembling a little.

"Vinyl, are you alright?" Asked Octavia with worry as she sat next to her blue haired friend.

"Yeah, just an unfortunate inconvenience." Vinyl slowly said as she rubbed her eyes with her hands.

"You want to talk about it?" Octavia hesitantly asked.'I wonder what caused her to be upset like that...'

Vinyl thought about it for a few moments. "Maybe later." She finally said.

"Ok."

"So. Where are the others?" Vinyl asked hoping to change the subject and happily realized that Octavia took her hint.

"Pinkie Pie found the town's bakery." Octavia told. "She was very excited to find a sort of Gingerbread house. She wanted to buy everything in the store. Rarity had to take her allowance away." She added with a chuckle.

"Her allowance, seriously?" Vinyl asked with a small smile. "She's a grown woman, I doubt she needs you to chaperon her."

"Technically speaking, she's only seventeen." Octavia explained.

"Hold on, she's only seventeen?" Vinyl asked in surprise. "That means she invented her party cannon at only fourteen years old."

Octavia nodded. "She's quite the prodigy."

Vinyl whistled. "Well that's impressive." Then she added. "So back to my original question. What about Rarity?" Her voice carrying her usual tone and brightness.

"She found out that there's quite a lovely spa in Ponyville." Octavia explained 'At least she's back to her usual self.'

"Ha the one with the twins." Vinyl said. "I've been trying to get AJ in there for quite some time."

"Why is that?"

"Once in a while her muscles are too much sore from working, exercising and what not." Vinyl explained. "I tried to tell her that she need to relax and that a massage would probably do her a lot of good when it occurs. But she's too stubborn to get 'dolled up in a spa' as she says. And it usually goes away on its own in the next hours."

"How does she manage to do that?" Octavia asked.

"I got curious about that myself." Vinyl explained. "Apparently, her Eponian magic is quite stronger than average. She has an incredible stamina and toughness thanks to that."

"I see, she's a sort of an Eponian version of Twilight." Octavia stated.

"I guess you can say it like that." Vinyl nodded. "Ha. Here comes the others."

"Vinyl. Vinyl. Look what I got at Sugarcube Corner." Shouted an extremely excited Pinkie Pie showing off a bag full of treats like it was the biggest treasure in the world. Rarity was standing just behind her. "Can you believe it?"

"Quite the catch Pinks." Vinyl said. "But I thought the girls took away your money."

"Oh. They did but when Octavia went on her own, I promised Rarity I would stop messing with her about how she looks often at Applejack's backside. So she....."

"Pinkie would you be quiet." Shouted Rarity in a panic as Octavia bursted in a rather loud laugh.

"So that's why you were blushing at lunch." Octavia laughed.

Rarity eyed Vinyl with caution. Vinyl had shown no reaction. But in her head, gears were put in motions. She had an idea. One that could realize something she had been trying to do for years.

"Rarity..."Vinyl slowly said.

"Ye-Yes..."

"I think I have an idea that you might find interesting ...." Vinyl slowly said with a widening grin.



> Family Matters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was shortly after lunch. Vinyl had taken Octavia, Rarity and Pinkie Pie to town and Applebloom went to take care of the animals with Fluttershy. Applejack was making her round in the Orchard with Twilight and Rainbow Dash and a cart full of empty buckets pulled by a large brown work horse. Twilight was very eager to know about all the different types of apples the Apple family had in their farm. She kept asking tons of questions which Applejack gladly answered at Rainbow's great displeasure.

"Raaaa, It's so boring!" Rainbow whined." When are we actually going to do something?"

"Come on Rainbow." Twilight said. "It's really interesting."

"For an egghead like you maybe. But I wanted to see AJ kick trees to get apples."

"What do you mean kick trees?" Twilight asked in confusion.

"Rainbow, we don' kick trees in this here farm." AJ explained. "We buck them."

"Hold on, that's what applebucking is?" Asked Twilight in disbelief. "That's a joke right?"

"What did ya think it was Sugarcube?" 

"You won't make me believe that a good kick on a tree can manage to pick apples." Twilight said with a chuckle.

Applejack took notice of a couple of trees that had ripe fruits in their branches. "Ah'll do better than that, Ah'll show you." She whistled the horse pulling the cart. "Philibert, come here." 

The horse drew the cart right to where Applejack was, when he arrived at her side, she patted the side of his head. She then proceed to place a few buckets around the trees. She finally took a stance at three meters from her target. Rainbow and Twilight watched the scene in silent, the first was eager to see some action and the latter was rather skeptical.

"Here we go!" Said Applejack before closing the gap between her and the tree with a powerful kick that the center of its trunk. The entire tree shook and soon after all its apples fell in the buckets. "So what do y'all think of that ?" Applejack said smiling.

She faced the other and couldn't help but the chuckle at the fact that Twilight's jaw was hanging loose. The purple haired Titanian was staring at the farmer with wide eyes. Rainbow, on the other hand, had positioned herself in front of a tree in the same stance AJ used.

"So all you had to do is to kick hard..."Rainbow said before launching herself at the tree.

"Rainbow, wait ...."

Rainbow's right foot connected with the tree. But the tree didn't shake, her leg did. In the next seconds, she was on the floor holding her right ankle, moaning in pain."Ow. Ow. Ow. Great Jupiter, that hurts...."

Applejack and Twilight, who had come out of her stun, rushed at the injured Jupitarian side. Applejack kneeled next to her injured leg.

"Let me see Sugarcube.." Applejack slowly said. She calmly palpated the injured ankle for a minute. "Good, it's not broken, or sprained." She said in relief.

"Damn it, why did it not hurt you?" Asked Rainbow Dash, her pride as hurt as her leg, as she rubbed her ankle.

"Well because I know where to hit." Applejack casually said. 

"What do you mean ?" Asked a confused Twilight.

"There's more to Applebucking than a powerful stomp on a tree." Applejack explained patiently. "Ya have to hit the right spot otherwise that happens." She pointed Rainbow's injured leg. "Ya have to dose the strength too. Too little nothing happens, too much ya'll damage the tree, or worst your leg."

"You managed to damage a tree?" A disbelieving Twilight asked.

"Ah reckon, it has happened a few times." Applejack shrugged.

"Must be Eponian toughness." Twilight pondered.

"Tch. I understand why Vinyl uses a spell for that." Rainbow said as Twilight nodded.

Applejack blinked in confusion. "What in tarnation are y'all talking about?"

"I suppose that if Vinyl applebucks like you, she would probably hurt herself. Her being a Titanian." Twilight said. "That's why she has a spell for that. Right?"

"That, and the fact she's a musician." Rainbow simply added.

"Huuuh. Gals, Vinyl applebucks just like me." Applejack simply said. "She only 'created' her applebucking spell for when we are behind schedule. And what's the deal with her being a musician?"

"Yeah right and the next thing you'll say is that she's as tough as you." Joked Rainbow.

"Well not as tough." Applejack said. "But she does train with me all the time, so."

Rainbow was a bit shocked at that information. "But she's a musician, and an egghead. She's like a combination of Twilight and Octavia. She's gotta be as strong as they are, which means not a lot."

"Hey!" Groaned Twilight. "I can kick your butt anytime I want." Rainbow didn't seem to have heard her.

"Well, think what ya want." Applejack shrugged. "All Ah can say is that at least she never moaned like a small girl in pain like ya just did." She added with a smug earning a groan from Rainbow and a laugh Twilight. "Anyway, Ah got trees to buck."

They spent the rest of the afternoon wandering in the Orchard. Bucking or picking the apples that were ripe enough. After her failed first trial, Rainbow decided to leave the bucking to AJ, instead she picked apples like Twilight did. Well not exactly like Twilight considering she used her magic to pick fruits. 

After a few hours of work and lots of full buckets, the two guests went straight to the house and AJ went to put their harvest in one of the farm's cellar. After having divided all the harvested apples at their rightful places, she noticed something was wrong. Not that something was missing but quite the opposite.

"What in tarnation?"





Vinyl had come back to the farm house along with Octavia, Rarity and Pinkie half hour ago. She had put her undelivered order back in the cellar. She knew AJ would notice and she was preparing herself for that. They girls were inside the living room, busy chatting with Fluttershy and Applebloom about what they had done in the afternoon. Rainbow and Twilight had just joined them. Vinyl was outside, leaning on the patio's railing, her eyes wandering toward the immensity of the family orchard in the color of the end of an afternoon.

"Vinyl, how come ya're staying outside?" Asked Applebloom.

Vinyl faced her little sister. "I'm thinking about something.." She said slowly.

"Are ya sad?" Her little sister asked with worry. "Ya always say ya're thinking about something when ya're sad."

'We give you way too little credit Bloom.' Vinyl thought with a smile. "Don't worry, I'm not sad. Just regular thinking." She said in a reassuring tone.

The little Apple sibling move closer to hug her sister as Vinyl started to pat Applebloom's head. "Ya would let me know if ya're sad right? Ah would help ya, ya know." She said in a small voice.

"I know you would sweetie." Vinyl slowly answered. She heard a soft "d'awww" coming from inside and she managed to catch a glimpse of Pinkie being pulled away from the window by purple and regal blue auras. She faced the Orchard again and spotted a rather perplex Applejack coming her way. "Would you mind go inside Lil' Bloom? AJ and I have something to discuss. Alone." She slowly said.

"Y'all ain't gonna fight, are ya?" Applebloom asked with her worried little voice.

"Promise. It's just that it's grown up talk. It would be boring for you." Vinyl reassured. After the little girl let go of her and went back inside, Vinyl met with AJ halfway. "Hey AJ, how was the harvest?"

"Pretty good." Applejack said. "Ah noticed that the baskets ya should have delivered are still in the cellar, How come?" She asked as she crossed her arms.

"Simple, I didn't do the delivery."

"Ya did what now?" Shouted AJ.

"Let me explain first." Vinyl interrupted her. She took a deep breath and told Applejack all that had happened from the 'misname' to the mention of their parents' death. As the story was told, AJ's anger didn't diminished. Quite the opposite.

"So if ah understand correctly she said that ya're responsible for Ma an Pa'...." When Vinyl nodded, AJ turned around and start to go toward the property's exit.

Vinyl grabbed her by the shoulder. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Should been pretty obvious." Applejack said in anger. "Ah'm going to give her a piece of ma mind."

"And what would that accomplish AJ?"

"Well for start, it would make me feel a lot better." AJ said. "Second, it would teach her a lesson on how to treat our family and to say lies like that. And third, Ah got to make sure she apologize to ya."

"AJ stop." Vinyl ordered as she placed herself in front of Applejack. "She isn't worth our time."

Applejack did stop at Vinyl's request but she wasn't about to leave it at that. "But..How can ya even accept that?" Applejack said with a trembling voice. Vinyl wasn't sure it was from anger anymore. "She treats ya like ya're nothing more than a freeloader. That ain't true. And ah'm gonna make sure she gets it."

"Applejack, you really think that going there assaulting her and dismantling her husband' store would help with that?"

"Ah wasn't going to do that." AJ quickly retorted only earning a deadpan from Vinyl. "Well, maybe a little bit."

"I appreciate that you're willing to defend me, I really do." Vinyl said with a small smile. "But I can't have you going in jail again. This time, we don't have Shining to bail you out."

"Ah guess that's true." Applejack sighed. "But she hurt ya. Don't think ah didn't notice, ya may be able to hide things to Applebloom, but not to me."

"You really think an old hag like Affluent Rich can get me down?" Vinyl asked. "I was a little pained, I admit it, but not because of her."

"Why then?"

"I just started to think about Mom and Dad again..." Vinyl answered in a whisper, head hanging as she looked her feet.

If Applejack still had some anger in her at that point, it had been quickly swept away by concern. She grabbed Vinyl's shoulders. "Vinyl..."

"It's weird you know." Vinyl started with a small voice. "I haven't realized that I didn't think so much about them."

"It's been quite a long time, Vinyl." Applejack reassured. "They wouldn't want us to be held back."

"I know but it's still not a reason to...."Vinyl sniffed. "I don't want to forget about them."

"No one is askin' ya that, Sugarcube." Applejack firmly said. She poked Vinyl's heart with her fore finger. "As long as ya keep them in here, that's all that matters."

Vinyl raised her head, and looked at AJ with teary eyes. "Thanks Sis'." She slowly said before pulling AJ into a hug. "Thanks for being there for me...."

"No need to thank me for that. Ya're an Apple, Vinyl." AJ replied, returning the hug. "And Apples take care of each other." 

Vinyl softly sobbed at her sister's sentence, Applejack was softly patting her back. They just stood there, comforting each other, for a few minutes. Eventually, Vinyl stopped crying.

"Feeling better Sugar?"

"Yeah..."

Suddenly a loud bang snapped them out of their embrace. A rain of confetti fell upon them. They turned their face to see Pinkie a few meters away, holding her party cannon with a big smile on her face.

"Hey, I saw you were both kinda sad from afar, so I thought I would come and cheer you up." She explained in her sing song cheerful voice.

The two apples stared blankly at her as they didn't know how to react when they heard quick footsteps coming from the house.

"PINKIE. I told you to stay inside." Shouted Twilight. "And I thought I had confiscated that cannon."

"You may take my cannon away from me. But you'll never take its FREEDOM." Pinkie shouted back before running toward the Orchard at incredible speed.

Twilight's eyes started to twitch. "OK... I tried to remain calm...It didn't work..."She said slowly. " I tried to be strict it didn't work either.... No other choice then....Fine....Prepare yourself PINKAMINA DIANE PIE." She yelled before teleporting in a bright purple flash, probably after Pinkie.

The two Apples blinked in unison before bursting in a good hearted laugh.

"Ah don't know what's the funniest? Pinkie' shenanigans or Twilight trying to stop her." AJ laughed.

"Same here." Vinyl chortled. After they calmed themselves, Vinyl passed an arm around AJ's neck. "Come on Sis', we have a house full of guests. Let's forget about that old hag for the moment."

"Ya're right! Beside as soon as Filthy gets back, she's gonna get it."

"You betcha, she is." Vinyl shrugged. 

They both returned to the house arm-in-arm. They entered the room and saw Applebloom playing a game with the others in the living room. When she noticed her big sisters came in, she forgot about the game and rushed to AJ and Vinyl.

"Did yar talk went well?" Applebloom asked.

"Sure as sugar, it went well." AJ winked. 

"Yeah,we found out that we won't have much delivery to do for the coming days." Vinyl added.

"Sweet. Does this means, we'll spend more time together?"

"Sure thing Lil' Bloom." Vinyl replied with a smile. "Wouldn't have it any other way."


> Night time story
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The rest of the evening was pleasant. Vinyl and Applejack had cooked a fantastic dinner. Said dinner was interrupted by Pinkie Pie who had returned from her escape carrying a sleeping Twilight on her back. Her explanation was that Twilight wanted to play tag with her using teleporting magic but got exhausted. 

After putting Twilight to bed and keeping a plate for her in case she wakes up hungry in the night. The three sisters of the Apple family kept the evening going with various stories of the Orchard. It wasn't any Daring Do novel but it had a knack to it, to quote Rainbow Dash. When Applebloom almost fell asleep off her chair, they decided it was time to end the evening and to bid the sandman hello. Vinyl and Applejack had stayed to wash the dishes.

"Well ah don't know about ya" Applejack said, covering a massive yawn with her hand. "But ah'm plum tuckered out."

"Go to bed already." Vinyl chuckled. "I'll finish the dishes."

"Suit yourself." Applejack said, as she exited the kitchen. "Ya're coming to sleep after ya're done?"

"No, I wanted to play the guitar a little before going to bed." Vinyl answered.

"Ok. Try to keep it down, we have Applebloom and guests sleeping in here."

"Aye, Aye, Ma'am." Vinyl playfully saluted AJ.

Few minutes later, she had finished the dishes and went to her spot on the patio with her guitar. The only instrument she had kept in all the years she could play by magic. It was an simple old yellowish acoustic guitar. To any instrument retailer it wasn't worth the comparison to recent models in term of value. To Vinyl, it was one of the most precious thing in the world. It was the first instrument her father gave her when he noticed her burgeoning passion for music.

Vinyl sat on the patio's bench. She gaze at the night sky and its billion of shining stars. She grabbed her instrument and then started to play. She played at low volume, not wanting to wake up the house. She closed her eyes and let the memory of her father teaching her this song flow in her mind. Her song lasted for a bit more than five minutes. Only when she had ended her song, she slowly opened her eyes.

"My. My. You can play in a traditional way after all." Giggled a soft sophisticated voice.

"You have to crawl before you can walk, Miss Philharmonica." Chuckled Vinyl as she faced toward the black haired cellist wearing a dark grey night-gown over her pj's. "I hope I didn't play too loud."

"Don't worry about it, I doubt that anyone beside me noticed." Octavia said. "Not everyone has an ear for music." She added, tapping her left ear with her fore-finger. "May I keep you company?"

"Sure thing." Vinyl answered as she moved a little to give Octavia some space on the bench. 

"Anyway, it was a beautiful song." Octavia said as she sat next to Vinyl. "Did you write it?"

"No, my dad did." Vinyl slowly answered. "It was the first song he taught me."

"I didn't know he was a musician."

"He wasn't, he just played for the sake of playing." Vinyl explained. "He could have made it in the music business but he was a farmer at heart."

"I understand." Octavia said before turning her face to Vinyl. "Vinyl, I was wondering if..."

"You want to know what happened this afternoon?" Vinyl said as she put her guitar next to the bench.

Octavia nodded. "You did say later, so I thought you might want to talk about it."

"I don't mind telling you. So when I arrived at..." Vinyl explained in details what had happened at Barnyard Bargain. Not once Octavia interrupted her, she kept listening not voicing her reactions even if they were quite visible. Her mood at the end of the tale was quite similar to Applejack's, only a lot more restrained." ...Then I drove the cart to our rendezvous point a bit before you arrived."

"Well, I can understand why you seemed upset." Octavia said in her tempered anger. "To think someone that would treat you like that lives in Ponyville. All the people I met there were so polite and cheerful."

"Every town has its black sheep." Vinyl shrugged. "Maybe she was different when she was young and that being married to one of the richest man in town changed her like that."

"I suppose you're right. Money and power do that to people." Octavia slowly said. "Still, it's not an excuse to say something that awful about your parents."

"Yeah, I know. But what can you do? No point in trying to change that old hag." Vinyl said before chuckling. "Heck, I think her poor husband has been trying for years."

"Poor Mr Rich, indeed." Octavia giggled. She pondered for a minute then face Vinyl. "Can I ask you something?"

"You just did." Vinyl joked earning a deadpan from Octavia. "But I give you another shot."

"So kind of you." Octavia said playfully before becoming a tad serious. "Could you tell me exactly how you ended up here?"

"Oh." Vinyl said in surprise. "Nobody has asked me that in a while..."

"If it's too personal, I don't mind you not telling me."

"No, No. It's ok, it's not a bad story." Vinyl waved. "But not really a short one."

"Well considering I'm on 'forced' vacation on a farm, I got all the time you'll need." Octavia said smiling.

"I guess you're right." Vinyl said." So where to begin...."

I was on the road, I was, what, nearly six years old. It's been about a week since I ran away from the orphanage where I grew up. I hated there, the other kids hated me, the director and it's employees hated me. What for? I still have no clue about that. Maybe my hair or my eyes color. Anyway, I was wandering along the road with a small sleeping bag.

One day, I arrived near a fence and behind was the biggest lot of apple trees I have ever seen in my life. Full of delicious red apples. I passed on the other side of the fence. Maybe not the best idea for a runaway orphan to trespass someone's property, but I was hungry so I didn't think this through. I put my sleeping bag near the closest tree, then I tried to grab some of the apples of the lower branches. I managed to grab five or six apples before I heard a shout from my left.

"Stop right there, you thievin' vermit." Said a southern accented squeaky voice.

I turned around to see blond girl with green eyes and freckles charging toward me. I couldn't dodge in time when she tackled me to the ground. I took a glimpse at the girl when she was sitting on top of me, she was about my age.

"Gotya ya apple thief." She said with a triumphing smile.

I had my share of fight at the orphanage, so I started to struggle against the other girl. She clearly didn't expect it. We rolled around, wrestled, pulled our hair and what not. You know like kindergarten fights. Come to think of it, we were at the kindergarten age. Anyway we fought for about ten minutes, and at my great displeasure, she had managed to pin me down again.

"Haha. Ya lose again."

"Get off me..." I was interrupted by a loud grumble coming from my stomach. I was so embarrassed. The girl expression passed from victorious to concerned.

"Ya'll hungry?" She slowly asked me. 

When I nodded, she stood up and pulled me up from the ground. She picked the closest apple and extended to me. I was rather surprised, considering how she called me earlier.

"I thought I was a thief."

"Ma papy says that someone that's hungry is no thief, it's someone that needs help." She answered.

I slowly reached for the apple, I was sure that it was some sort of trick to hurt me. It wasn't. I just took the apple and eat it. 

"Oh man, its delicious."

"Of course they are." The blond said with pride. "Here at Sweet Apple Acres, we have all types of delicious apples."

"There are various types of apple?" I asked with surprise.

"Of course, for example this here apple ya'll eating now. It's an Almata apple."

"Almata apple... It's good name for a fruit." I slowly said.

"Oh! Where are ma manners, ah' don' even introduce maself." She said eagerly with a smile. "Name's Jacquelyn Apple. What's yar's?" She asked extending her hand toward me.

I hesitantly took her hand and shook it. "Vinyl Scratch."

"And that's how I arrived in Sweet Apple Acres." Vinyl concluded.

"Such a sweet story." Octavia said smiling. "It's kinda fun that your first contact with Applejack was a fight and now you're so close."

"I know." Vinyl chuckled. "We still have that sort of rivalry from time to time."

"What happened after that?" Octavia asked.

"We stayed there and talked while I was eating apples." Vinyl said. "At some point, AJ's father had started to look for her, so he found us and brought us back to the house." Vinyl paused an instant. "They asked me my story, so I told them. They said that I could stay for the night but that the next morning they would bring me back to the orphanage." She slowly said.

"What changed their mind?"

"The fact that I had to take a bath before going to bed." Vinyl simply said.

Octavia was confused. "What does a bath has to do with that?" She asked. Instead of answering, Vinyl shifted to show her back to Octavia and she started to raise her shirt. "What... what are you doing?" Octavia asked with a blush slowly appearing on her cheeks. But the blush dissipated itself instantly as her eyes widened in shock. Vinyl's back was covered of scars. Really old scars, but still visible. "Oh my goodness..." 

Vinyl let her shirt fall back in place and faced Octavia again. "AJ's mother came in the bathroom during my bath." Vinyl continued. "When she saw my back, she did something I've never forgotten. She pulled me out of the bathtub, put a towel around me and hugged me. Just that for a long time. It was warm, it felt safe. She held me like a mother would have held her daughter." Vinyl said with smile as tears were starting to roll along her cheeks. "I fell asleep in her arms. When I woke up, I found out that it was out of question to bring me back to the orphanage." 

Vinyl rubbed her eyes before continuing. "AJ's mom said I could stay with them. After a while, the orphanage had been closed, AJ's family had made it shut down and put the director behind bars for violence on children. Few weeks later, the adoption papers were signed and I became officially part of the Apple family. They gave me for second name 'Almata', the first apple I ever have eaten in Sweet Apple Acres, the first gift I received from AJ."

Octavia drew closer and put an arm around her shoulder as Vinyl was crying a little. "Everything turned out for the best." Octavia slowly said.

"Yeah." Vinyl said as she wiped out her tears. "If AJ hadn't found me back then, who knows where I would be."

"Where you could be doesn't really matter." Octavia smiled. "You are here now."

"You're right." Vinyl answered. "Thanks for listening to me."

"You're quite welcome." Octavia said. "What do you say we go to sleep now? You have to work early tomorrow morning."Octavia asked as she stood up and went back inside.

"True." Vinyl said with her usual tone. She picked her guitar up and followed Octavia. 

After putting Vinyl's guitar back on her spot in the living, they went upstairs and stopped in front of Octavia's bedroom.

"Well this is where we part way." Octavia said. "Thank you for sharing your story with me." She added before quickly pecking Vinyl on the cheek. "Good night Vinyl." She slowly said with her eyes full of affection before entering her room and closing the door.

"Good night..."Vinyl said absently at the closed door. She brought her hand where Octavia had kissed her and went to the room she shared with AJ.

When she opened the door, she saw AJ taking all the place she could on the double bed in the room. Vinyl changed quickly to her night clothes: shorts and a T-shirt, before slightly and delicately poking Applejack's arm.

"AJ, could you move a little?" Vinyl whispered.

Applejack didn't say anything, open her eyes nor show that she had heard Vinyl. AJ just slowly shifted in the bed to give her sister the space she needed. 

"Thanks."

Vinyl laid down in bed and looked at AJ's sleeping face. She couldn't help but to think that everything good that has happened in her life, from being part of the Apple family to Octavia's peck from earlier, she owed it to Applejack.

As her eyes slowly closed and her mind drifted toward dreamworld, she managed to whisper something. It was so quiet that she wasn't even sure she had even said it. 

"Thank you, Sis'. Thank you for everything."
> Applejack's too tense
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The next morning went well for the two Apple siblings. Sure it was hard to wake Rainbow Dash up without disturbing Fluttershy's sleep. But Vinyl could manage that thanks to her magic. After a rather annoying wake up rant from Rainbow, The two apples and their help for the day started to accomplish their morning chores. While it was her first time working on the farm, Rainbow managed to get the job done quite decently. They ended their chores earlier than every other day. When they were done, Rainbow let herself fall on the couch, completely exhausted.

"And... You both.... do that... every ...morning?" Rainbow panted heavily.

"Eeeyuuup!" Answered Applejack and Vinyl unison, compared to RD they were fresh as a daisy.

"H..How?" Rainbow asked. "I'm considered as a top athlete, but I'm exhausted and you aren't." She added sleepily.

"We're used to it, I suppose." Vinyl shrugged. "Don't feel bad, it just that it's some exercise you're not familiar with."

Earning a loud snore as an answer, the two Apple siblings snickered, and went to prepare breakfast. Slowly, the sounds and the smell of fresh cooking managed to put everyone out of their slumber. They all came down with sleepy faces in the dining room. Quickly after the breakfast was served and everyone was starting to become fully awake.

"That's it." Pinkie said as she was eating a slice of bread with apple jam on it. "The food here's too good, I am never leaving this place." Applejack and Vinyl winced a bit at that statement. 'Pinkie Pie at Sweet Apple Acres...Forever... Oh my goodness.' They both thought.

"Well thank you Pinkie." Vinyl awkwardly said.

"Thank ya kindly for the compliment Pinks." Applejack said with a pained smile."So what do ya'll want to do today?"

"Applebloom asked to help her at her clubhouse." Pinkie happily answered. "She wants to set up a draw-bridge to enter."

"Yeah, it would be like a fort." Shouted an excited Applebloom.

"Well ain't that somethin'..." AJ said. They all heard a loud snore coming from the living room. "Ah guess we know Rainbow's plan for the moment." She added laughing with the others.

"I think I'm going to practice my music. It's been quite a while since I last played something." Octavia said thoughtfully.

"I'll stay with you, Darling." Rarity chimed in as she sipped her cup of coffee. "I want to work on few design sketches and your music always inspires me." She added earning a smile from the cellist.

"Fluttershy and I are going to take a tour of the Orchard." Twilight said. "I spotted a few beautiful sceneries yesterday that I think she would like."

"I bet it would be lovely." Fluttershy quietly nodded.

"Well, that leaves ya and me, Vinyl." Applejack said as she turned to her sister. "What do ya say we hit the ring?"

"Why not AJ." Vinyl answered. "I feel like winning today."

"Ya never won a single spar with me." Applejack said with an eyebrow raised. "What makes ya think that?"

Vinyl took a small imperceptible glance at Octavia before answering with a smile. "Don't know actually. But I'm all fired up today."

"Better that than something else." AJ shrugged. "As long as ya don' come crying afterward."

"At least I didn't cry when I found out the Apple Fairy didn't exist." Vinyl chuckled causing the embarrassment of her sister and the laugh of the others.

"Hey, it's hard when a young'un finds out and ya know it."

"Please AJ. Applebloom didn't cry when she found out, and she was like four years younger than you were back then."





After a very tough training session with Applejack, Vinyl was slowly coming back to the house. She had lost her spar with AJ but she had managed to last nine rounds, blowing away her previous record. She entered the house and found Octavia playing her cello and Rarity drawing various dress designs. They both stopped what they were doing and turned to see who came in. They saw a sweaty sore Vinyl in sports wear.

"I guess that you lost." Said Octavia with a pinch of worry.

"Well feeling like winning and actually winning isn't the same thing." Vinyl joked as she rubbed her left shoulder. "Octavia, what do you say you and I play some music together?" She asked the cellist.

"I think it would be delightful." Octavia answered with a genuine smile.

"Let me take a quick shower first." Vinyl said as she headed to the stairs, before facing Rarity. "Oh Rarity?"

"Yes, dear?" Rarity said not raising her gaze from her designs.

"Applejack's still training. Now, might be a good time for what we talked about." Vinyl casually said causing Rarity to snap out of her creative bubble and Octavia to snicker.

"Well... I ... suppose I can just go then." Rarity stammered, her cheeks as red as Red Delicious. She rose from her spot on the couch and went outside.

"Good Luck, Rarity." Shouted Octavia in a restrained laugh.





Rainbow Dash was flying around in the sky of Sweet Apple Acres. She had been upset about missing breakfast, but it didn't last long as she found out a rather large portion of food had been left over for her. She was now practicing her flying tricks. She had noticed Vinyl come out of the 'Gym' the Apples had settled in one of their old barns. She had decided to finish her routine and then see if AJ was up for training her. Before she finished, she noticed Rarity entering the 'Gym'. When she landed softly in front of the door, thirty or forty minutes later. She froze when she heard a muffled southern accented voice and a soft sophisticated voice.

"Oh.. Darn it...Rare....right there....Yeah.....A little bit harder....oh yeah...." Moaned the voice of Applejack, completely dripping with pleasure and contentment.

"See, I told you'd like it, Darling." Replied the voice of Rarity in a tone that Rainbow interpreted as extremely seductive.

"OhMyGosh! OhMyGosh! OhMyGosh!" Rainbow whispered to herself, her cheeks on fire before silently pressing her ears against the barn door.





Applejack had been really impressed by her spar with Vinyl. Her sister had lost but she had never held her ground as much as today. Completely doubling the number of rounds she managed to last against AJ. Applejack had moved to her personal series of exercises. Weight lifting, sandbag boxing and what not. After a few series she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in."

"Hello, Applejack." Said Rarity as she entered, closing the door behind her. "Wow you really have lot's of equipment here." She  said as she looked around.

"Hey Rarity. What can ah do ya for?"

"Well, I was wondering if I could keep you company?" Rarity asked as she attached her hair in a ponytail. "A bit of exercise, will do me some good with all the delicious of food you and Vinyl seemed to cook."

Applejack eyed Rarity from top to bottom. She was wearing tight white sport's wear. AJ could only said that Rarity had a fantastic figure. "From what Ah see, a Lady with features like yers don't seem to need some!"

"Why, thank you for your compliment." Rarity giggled. "But a Lady can't maintain her figure if she does nothing for it."

"Ah reckon that's true." AJ admitted. "Feel free to use anything you want, and don't hesitate to ask for something."

They've done their exercises for about twenty minutes. At some point, AJ winced as she tried to grab a dumbbell. Rarity interrupted what she was doing and focused her attention on Applejack.

"Are you ok?" She asked in concern as she went next to Applejack.

"Yeah, It happens once in a while." Applejack shrugged as she rubbed her arm. "It passes after a few minutes usually."

"Let me see." Rarity grabbed Applejack's arm. 'Oh my, she has a softer skin than I would have thought.' She slowly palpated the sore part of the farmer's arm. "Applejack darling, your muscles are all too tense. It's like they've not been relaxed for a while." She palpated the rest of the arm. "And it's like that for the rest of your arm." She said with worry.

"Mah', It'll pass." AJ shrugged.

"Darling you can't be serious." Rarity said in shock. "You could suffer severe consequences if you do nothing."

"What do ya mean?" Asked a confused Applejack.

"Well, if you don't let your body relax correctly, it accumulates to much stress and the muscles might end up being ripped off at the effort."

"How do ya know that?" AJ blinked. "Ah thought ya were an art specialist."

"Well, living with Rainbow Dash for a few years does teach you a few things." Rarity explained. "I'm surprised you didn't know. Let me try something." She added as she started to slowly massage the pained region of AJ's arm. 

At first AJ felt pain, but it was quickly replaced by a soft pleasant sensation as her muscle relaxed really for the first time in a while. "Rarity. How did ya do that?" AJ asked with a contented sigh.

"Few tricks I picked up from the spa." Rarity waved. She started to feel various zone of AJ's body. "My stars, is all your body in the same state?" She asked with wide eyes. "I can't leave it like that." She said with determination.

"What do ya mean?"

"Take your top off and lay on that table."

"Beg pardon?" AJ blinked. "Just like that, no court, no wine, no dinner?" AJ sarcastically asked.

"I'm doing you a favor Applejack." Rarity firmly said. "It's not like I'm enjoying it." 'Sure Rarity. Tell her that, it's not like she had ever noticed that you've always stared dreamingly at her every time she took her shirt off. Or that you've been dreaming about touching every inches of her body since that measurement' session.' She thought to herself with sarcasm.

"Not gonna happen Rarity."





"Oh.. Darn it...Rare....right there....Yeah.....A little bit harder....oh yeah...."

Just like for the dress at the wedding, they have argued fervently with one another, and just like for the dress, Applejack had given in. She was now lying on her belly, shirtless, her chin resting on her joined hands with Rarity straddling her bottom. Rarity was busy massaging firmly her back with both her hands, and Applejack was enjoying every single second of it.

"See, I told you'd like it." Rarity slowly said in a smug.

"Ok Ah admit it, It feels amazing." AJ quietly said, trying not to shout from pleasure. "But don't ya dare tell me ya ain't appreciating this too."

"I fail to see any reason for you to think that." Quickly replied Rarity, in a tone that clearly indicated she was lying.

"Well.... Oh yeah... Ya think Ah didn't notice....Oh. Right there..... all those stares ya gave me?" AJ tried to sound nonchalant but was failing admirably as small cries of pleasure interrupted her sentence each time Rarity hit the right spot.

"Hummm..."

"Or the fact that...Oh Nelly... Ya were pretty quick on....Oh yeeeeessss...having yer hands all over me?" 

"Well, I..I have a professional interest for your body." Rarity snapped. "Can you blame me for that?"

"What interest? ..oh oh... Ya want to make a sculpture out of me?" AJ asked in a tone she wanted sarcastic. " An' what would ah blame ya for?"

Rarity didn't got time to respond as the door of the barn suddenly opened because Rainbow Dash had lost her balance while she was snooping. Rainbow fell face first on the ground, yelping in surprise. The masseuse/fashionista and the farmer froze with their eyes wide open when they saw Rainbow on the ground.

"Rainbow! What in tarnation were ya doing?" Applejack slowly asked in anger.

Rainbow managed to rise up with a hand covering her eyes. "I swear I didn't see anything."

"Answer ma question!" AJ ordered.

"Hum! Well I wanted to see you for some training tips." Rainbow explained in a panic her eyes still covered by her hand. "But when I landed, I heard you doing.......well I heard you."

Rarity gasped covering her mouth with her hands. She hasn't been more embarrassed in her life. Her face was completely tomato red. Applejack, still lying on the table with Rarity sitting on her, blew out an exasperate sigh.

"Ah'll give ya to the count of five RD." Applejack slowly said. "If by then ya're not outside with the door closed behind ya, ah can't guarantee what'll happen to ya. Am Ah clear enough for ya?"

"Crystal clear, AJ." Rainbow said as she took a few step back searching the door with her free hand. "Just have to ask though. Are you two a thing?"

"One! That ain't yar business. Two!" Applejack said as she started to raise her fingers.

"Ok. Ok. I'm off."

Rainbow got out and closed the door behind her. Applejack heard a whistle that indicated that Rainbow had taken off. AJ took a glance at the stunned purple haired seamstress on her back.

"Ya still there Rare?"

Rarity snapped out of her stun and looked at the farmer with teary eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"What for Sugarcube?" Asked AJ in confusion.

"For putting you in this situation." Rarity said apologetically. "I shouldn't have pressed...."

"And Ah shouldn't have accepted it." AJ interrupted her. "We can't change what happened. So let's forget about it."

"But she's thinking you and I were..."

"Well maybe she was a little early on that supposition." Shrugged AJ.

Rarity blinked several times before shouting in panic. "W..W..Wha..What?"

"What? Ya ain't interested?"

"That's not the point." Rarity said in high pitched voice. "Ya want us to...you know."

"Ya are really cute when ya're all flustered ya knew that?" Applejack chuckled. "Don't get yar hair in a tangle, Ah don't mean it now. Maybe after few dates, ya know, like normal persons do. What do ya think?" The farmer slowly asked.

Rarity pondered for a minute before smiling softly. "A date would be nice, indeed."

"Great, let's say Saturday night?"

"I think I'm available on Saturday." Rarity giggled

"Good." They remain like that for about two minutes before Applejack asked hesitantly. "So..hum.. Would ya... mind finish what ya started?"

"I thought you'll never ask Darling." Rarity squeed in excitement before massaging AJ's back again.


 
> Can't help falling in love with you
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Vinyl came back in the living room after having a quick shower, a black note book that contained various music sheets in it in her hand. She found Octavia busy tuning her cello. Rarity was gone. She grabbed her guitar and sit down in the coach across from Octavia.

"I guess Rarity went to the 'gym'. Am I right?" Vinyl asked with a knowing smile.

"Most likely." Octavia chuckled. "I must admit you surprised me yesterday when you gave her pointers on how to possibly 'seduce' your sister."

"I don't see what's so surprising." Vinyl shrugged. "My sis' bust herself out with farm work and various competitions, she needs to unwind a bit."

"And you think that Rarity is the right person for that?" Octavia asked with skepticism.

"I had tried and failed to make AJ wear a dress for years." Vinyl explained. "Rarity spend one evening with her and she manage to do that. I don't think there could be a better person to change my sister's habits in a good way."

"Allright, I see your point." Octavia conceded. "So what do you want to play?"

Vinyl flipped through her notebook before stopping. "Ha, found it." She extended a sheet to Octavia. "What do you think of this one?"

"Sounds nice." Octavia stated as she read the sheet. "Just give me a few moments."

"As soon as you're ready. Follow my lead."

When Octavia signaled she was ready, Vinyl started to play the first notes of the song. Octavia soon joined the melody with her cello. Like every time she played the guitar, Vinyl closed her eyes, letting the music flow inside her. She has always liked that feeling, it has it's own sort of magic. It enabled her mind to imagine colors, forms or landscape she had never seen before.

But this time, it was different. Her mind pictured only two soft amethyst colored eyes that looked at her with tenderness. Soon after, a smile she had already seen somewhere appeared below those eyes. It was not a smirk, nor a mad grin. It was just a simple genuine smile. She realized a face was appearing in front of her mind's eyes. A beautiful nose completed the portrait, followed by cheeks Vinyl had seen becoming bright pink in the past. Piece by piece, the puzzle revealed itself to Vinyl. She had come to recognize the woman's face in front of her as a cascade of silky long black hair surrounded the visage. It was Octavia. 

Octavia's face bore the same expression the cellist had displayed after kissing the blue haired musician's cheek yesterday night. An expression of pure affection. The perfect combination of kindness, tenderness and warmth. That gaze ignited a spark in Vinyl's very being. Spark that quickly turned itself into a huge blaze. She had already felt something like that in the past. Sixteen years ago to be exact. She had had that same feeling when Ariane Apple took her out of a bath tub before holding her close to her heart. Only today, it was at least twentyfold more powerful. It shook her entire being inside out.

Slowly, Vinyl opened her eyes and saw that the beautiful cellist that had occupied her thoughts was sitting across from her, still playing her cello with her eyes closed. Vinyl kept playing. She had no idea about what she was playing right now but it felt right and Octavia kept playing with her. Vinyl took a glimpse at the clock in the living room and noticed that one hour had passed since Octavia and her had started playing.

'One hour of music from a five minutes long song...' Vinyl thought as she played a final note and few seconds afterward Octavia did the same.

Octavia put her bow down as she opened her eyes. "Wow." She slowly said in a weak breath. "It's the first time I have ever played like that..." She turned her gaze toward Vinyl who shivered as their eyes met. "That sensation of contentment. It's like you are waking up from a beautiful dream.... Is that how you felt when you improvised at the Wedding?"

"Something along those part." Vinyl slowly answered, a bit hypnotized by the cellist's eyes. 

They kept staring at each other with passion burning in their eyes for a few seconds. Vinyl's mind drowning itself in the ocean of purple wonder that were Octavia's eyes. It was unbeknownst to her that Octavia was feeling the exact same thing. Without one of them realizing it, they both stood up and walked toward each other. They came close to one another, slowly closing the distance between them. Their mouths only a few inches apart. They both leaned in...


A loud thud came from outside the house followed by a shouting. "GUYS! GUYS! You're not gonna believe this." Shouted Rainbow Dash. The jupitarian's arrival had snapped the two musicians out of their trance. They both took a few steps backward, blushing madly. They managed to hide their blush just in time as a dirty, scared and excited Rainbow Dash entered the living room.

"What happened Rainbow Dash?" Octavia asked in a softly shaking voice. 'Oh my goodness, Did I just almost kiss....' Octavia thought in embarrassment.

"What's up RD?" Asked Vinyl in a tone she had hoped casual. 'Holy Sweet Apple Fairy! I was just about to...'

"Oh. Vinyl, you're here." Rainbow said sheepishly. "I didn't think you would be here."

Vinyl's state of mind went from embarrassment to suspicion. "Well, I do live here, don't I?" Vinyl slowly asked. "So, what got you so excited?"

"Well, I'm not sure you should be hearing this in fact..." Said RD scratching the back of her head with her hand.

"In that case, you shouldn't have shouted for all the house Rainbow." Octavia chimed in.

"I guess it's true." Rainbow sheepishly chuckled. "Well, I was on my way to the 'gym'."

"Then what?" Vinyl asked.

"I was about to open the door when I heard something."

"AND?" Vinyl was getting impatient.

"Well I heard Rarity doing...." She grumbled the last part so no one understood her.

"What was she doing, Rainbow?' Octavia asked.

"Well. hum.. She was doing Applejack." Rainbow finally confessed, a hint of blush appearing on her cheeks.

Vinyl stunned at that sentence, while Octavia tilted her head in confusion.

"Doing what?" She asked. "I don't get it."

"Well you know when two people get together and start...you know." Rainbow tried to explain, rather embarrassed.

Octavia finally put two and two together and started blushing as well. "Oh...She didn't waste time ..Right Vinyl?" She awkwardly joked. "Vinyl?" 

Vinyl recovered from the news. "Hum! What? I blacked out a bit. Could you repeat that Rainbow?"

"Hum. Rarity was shagging Applejack in the Gym."

"Yeah. That's what I thought I heard the first time." Vinyl slowly said before sitting on the coach. "Well, things between them escalated a lot quicker than I thought they would."

"Vinyl!" Shouted a squeaky panting voice from outside. The door opened to let an out of breath Applebloom in. Pinkie Pie bounced in behind the red-haired girl.

"What is it Bloom?" Vinyl asked with concern.

Pinkie Pie explained the situation, allowing Applebloom to catch her breath. "Well. We were at Applebloom's club house, when a mister wearing a suit and a briefcase asked to see Applejack. Applebloom said that she was at the Gym at that time."

"A bit unusual that a business man wants to speak to AJ in particular. No need to run to tell me about it though." Vinyl calmly said.

"Well, when I asked him why he wanted to see AJ, he said he was representing Barnyard Bargain. After that he went to the gym, followed by the others." Pinkie continued cheerfully.

"What others Pinkie?" Vinyl blinked.

"Around five big guys. I mean really big guys. They all had faces that said I'm Big and Ugly and Despicable."

"Oh. Damn..." Vinyl sighed as she rubbed her forehead.

"What is it Vinyl?" Octavia asked with worry.

"Just that Mrs Rich is a lot stupider than I thought she was." Vinyl sighed as she stood up and went outside. "And that AJ might get in jail because of that."





"Dang, that was a hellova good massage Rarity." Applejack said as she rose up from the table putting her top back on. "Thanks. Ah don' think Ah've ever been relaxed in years." She smiled widely at the seamstress.

"It was a pleasure, Darling." Rarity beamed at the farmer. "It really was."

As Applejack passed behind Rarity, she put her hands on the purple haired woman's shoulders. "Maybe Ah should return the favor." She said suggestively as she started softly rubbing Rarity's shoulders.

Rarity closed her eyes with contentment. "Hummm. As enticing as that sounds." She softly whispered. "I think it's nearly lunch time, so we might be needed at the house."

A firm knock came from the barn's door. A clear and loud masculine voice came from outside. "Miss Jacquelyn Apple, are you in there?"

"Drats!" She muttered as she took her hands off Rarity, earning a disappointed sigh from the seamstress. "Yes, Ah am. Ya can come in."

The door opened to allow a small middle aged man with short grey hair wearing a dark grey suit to enter. Applejack noticed the group of muscular men standing outside. The man took notice of Rarity and couldn't help but to look at her backside for a short time, before facing Applejack.

"I am sorry to disturb you during your physical activities Miss but I am here on behalf of Barnyard Bargain. My name's Caesar Laurel, Juridic Advisor of Mrs Affluent Rich."

"Well, Howdy Mr Laurel. What can ah do ya for?" Applejack asked politely.

"You see, Mrs Rich came to see me yesterday afternoon because your Orchard didn't do the delivery it was expected to do." Laurel explained with a neutral voice. "She said that your delivery woman came but decided not to give the merchandise and went back here."

"Well, ma SISTER did come to Barnyard Bargain yesterday with their daily order." Applejack firmly said. "After an argument with Mrs Rich, she decided to take our merchandise back. A decision that Ah approved after she explain'd what had happened."

"You let your ten year old sister do delivery and make decision for the Orchard?" Laurel asked playfully in what he thought was  humor. Rarity raised an eyebrow at that comment, Applejack's face remained impassible.

"Ya know perfectly Ah'm referring to Vinyl." Applejack said in a unusual stern and cold tone. "Don't you dare play games with me."

"Ah, yes! The adopted one." He said with disgust.

Rarity was sincerely shocked by the tone he had used and was about to voice her opinion when Applejack spoke. "What did ya come here for?" She asked impatiently. "Let's get it done quickly."

"Well I'm here to convince you to reopen trade with Barnyard Bargain." Laurel explained in his neutral tone.

"Yeah....Not gonna happen. At least not before Ah have a talk with Filthy Rich." Applejack quickly answered. "By the way, Ah doubt he and his wife would approve of your methods."

"I don't understand what do you mean?" He asked with discomfort. "Mrs Rich asked me to talk some sense into this case."

"Maybe, but Ah doubt she asked ya to come in here to threaten me."

"Nobody is threaten..." Laurel started.

"Nobody comes to do business with thugs as a back up, if not for carrying a message without saying it." Applejack interrupted him. "While ah might dislike Mrs Rich, Ah know she does everything by the law. Now, Ah want y'all out of ma property. RIGHT NOW." AJ shouted in anger.

One of the thugs took a step inside the barn. "Is there a problem, sir?"

"No, there isn't. Thank you, Wallace." Laurel quietly said. "Now, Miss Apple we are both civilized. We can't..."

Rarity couldn't help herself. "Civilized? You? Excuse me, but I have seen better behavior on a toothless alligator." Rarity interjected earning a hateful glare from Caesar. 

"I don't really see what a 'playmate' like you has anything to say in that matter." Laurel asked, causing Rarity to gasp in shock, before being lifted from the ground by the collar by a pissed off Applejack.

"The buck did ya just say?" AJ asked coldly as the thugs outside started to enter the gym.

"A....Applejack." Said Rarity fearfully.

Applejack put Caesar down. Said advisor backed away behind his henchmen. AJ faced the threatening group without blinking. "Ah'll say it one more time, get out of ma property or Ah will tell the guard about this."

"Because you think the guard'll side you when I have five witnesses that have seen you threatening me?" Asked Laurel with a confident smirk.

"Because you think that guard is going to side against them with One of the member of the Council of Harmony supporting the Apple family?" Snapped Rarity in anger.

"Who the hell are you to speak in the name of a Council member?" Asked Laurel not so confident anymore.

"I am Rarity Belle, Baroness of Northern Canterlot, Member of the Sun and the Moon Court, Treasurer of the Council of Harmony." Rarity said in an unfamiliar authoritarian tone.

Caesar gulped when he realized who was speaking to him, he was clearly out of his league. "My Lady, I'm sorry for my earlier comments, If I had known...."

"Enough." Rarity shouted. "Keep your lies for someone that might care about them. Leave this place." 

"Right away, My Lady." Laurel said as he backed away in fear. His men followed him. Applejack watched them from afar to make sure they left without a hitch.

"Ah had no idea ya'd have such a spunk inside ya Rare." Applejack said as she turned to the Council member, only to see she was shaking like a leaf. Applejack moved right next to her. "Are ya ok Rarity?" She asked in a soft worried voice.

"I'm fine, Applejack." She said in a small shaking voice. "I hate to outburst like that and I just got bit scared."

"Rarity, ya didn't have to be scared, Ah would have defended ya."

"It's not that." Rarity softly said. "I was scared that they would have hurt you."

"Rarity, ya saw me riding a giant enraged bull and fighting elite warriors ten to one without being injured." AJ chuckled. "Ya really think that they could have hurt me?"

"I ...kinda have forgotten about that." Rarity sheepishly admitted as she started to calm down.

"Anyway, Ah didn't know ya were a Baroness." Applejack playfully said.

"Well, I don't like that title very much." Rarity said. "I would rather be recognized for what I do then for where I was born."

"Ah get ya!" Applejack nodded in understanding. "Ah must say that bossy tone of yers was extremely impressive."

"Thanks." Rarity chuckled.

Applejack moved a bit closer to Rarity's ear. "And incredibly sexy." She whispered in sultry tone causing Rarity's face to become bright red.

"Re...Real..ly?" Rarity stammered.

"Ah reckon ya might want to be careful with that." Applejack whispered.

"Why is that?" Rarity asked in confusion.

"Ah might not be able restrain maself 'til Saturday night if ya used that tone again."

Rarity pondered with a sly smile. "Sooo. If I were to order you to kiss me right here, right now, you would do it?"

"Ah reckon Ah would." Applejack nodded with a knowing smile.

"Well then, as a Baroness of Equestria, I command you, Jacquelyn 'Applejack' Apple to kiss me this instant." Rarity playfully ordered in her authoritarian voice.

"Ah am most happy to oblige Ma Lady." Applejack replied, genuinely happy, as she closed to the distance between their lips.

	




 
> How was it?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Vinyl was on her way toward the Apple's gym next the Southern Orchard. She was very apprehensive of what she would find there. She knew how Applejack might react to a threat. She was ready to find six men lying on the ground, whimpering from the pain her sister would have inflicted on them. When she passed her head through the gym's open door, she was happily surprised.

Instead of the remains of a traditional beating by the rule book, she caught on her sister passionately kissing a rather pleased purple haired seamstress. AJ's hands were on Rarity's lower back, trying to pull her closer than it would be physically possible. Rarity had passed her arms around the farmer's neck, completely abandoning herself in AJ's powerful grip. Vinyl observed the scene with a small grin. She pondered about letting them enjoy their moment and ask questions later, or interrupting them to see what happened with the representative of Barnyard Bargain. She chose the latter.

"Hum AJ?" Vinyl asked softly. "Can I talk to you for a bit?"

Earning nothing more than pleased moans from both other women, Vinyl conjured a large string of her magic before grabbing it with one hand.

"YO. AJ. FOCUS." She shouted as she used the magic blue string as a whip on Applejack's butt, causing her sister to broke the kiss.

"AOW!" Applejack yelped as she jumped with surprise. She rubbed her butt as she faced Vinyl with a death glare. "What in tarnation was that all about Vinyl?" She asked in anger, while Rarity looked extremely disappointed the kiss had stopped.

"Sorry, you didn't seem to have heard me." Vinyl casually shrugged as her magic whip dissipated itself. "What happened here?"

"Well, Ah was kissing Rarity, in case ya haven't noticed." AJ snapped, not without a hint of pink on her tanned face.

"Yes AJ, I saw that. I had a little hearing problem in the past, not a sight problem." Vinyl chuckled. "I meant with the feller from Mrs Rich."

"Oh. Right him." AJ said as she sheepishly scratched the back of her. Applejack explained how her discussion went and how Rarity had chased him away using 'her personal sexy version of the Royal Cantelot Voice'. Causing Rarity to chuckle awkwardly trying to hide her blush and Vinyl to look at AJ's with a raised eyebrow.

"OK..." Vinyl slowly said. "While I appreciate that Rarity special's voice is making you happy and what not and that it saved you from prison. You better not used that expression ever again in front of me, or anyone else for that matter."

"Ah can live with that." Applejack shrugged. "Hold on, ya ain't surprised about me and Rarity?"

"Considering I was the one to advise her on how to bond with you, not really." Vinyl explained with a shrug." What surprised me though, was how quick it went for you to go to the main prize."

"It was just a kiss, Vi'. It ain't such a big prize in a relationship." Applejack said in confusion.

"Hmm! Not from what Rainbow told me. " Vinyl replied, confused as well.

"That Rainbow Dash." Rarity groaned before explaining. "Nothing like that had transpired here, Dear. Rainbow didn't see anything and just assumed the worst."

"And how did she assumed the worst?" Vinyl asked in curiosity. "With what could she confound that?" At that question, both Rarity and Applejack looked at each other with small embarrassed smiles.

"Hum. Rarity was just...givin' me a massage." Applejack stammered. "And ... it felt....Well, Ah just couldn't be quiet...while ah was receiving it..."

Vinyl's eyes widen in realization before she started laughing heartily. "Oh Sweet Epona! That's so rich." The others quickly joined Vinyl's laugh. After they calmed themselves, Vinyl spoke. "Rarity. Would you mind that I speak with AJ for a bit? We have to talk about the farm's business."

"I see no reason to object your demand Vinyl." Rarity said before heading out of the gym. But not without pecking AJ's lips first. "See you later, Sugarcube." She softly said to AJ.

"See ya later, Darling."

"Well ain't that sweet." Vinyl chuckled. "Might want to restrain yourselves with the PDA though. I have no intention of talking of the way of love with Applebloom before she's eighteen."

"May Faust hear ya with that Sis." AJ nodded.

"Eighteen?" Rarity looked surprised. "You can't possibly thinking she'll wait until then to have a boyfriend or a girlfriend."

"She'd better wait until then." The both Apples shouted in unison.

"Fine, Fine." Rarity sighed. "Well, I'm off. See you later, Darlings." She went outside to go back to the house.

"So, you and Rarity hun?" Vinyl asked with a small smile.

"Yeah.....Ya really don't mind me with another woman?" AJ asked with worry.

"I would be a damn hypocrite if I did." Vinyl answered sincerely. "I can't guarantee for Granny and Big Mac though, but I'll support you no matter what." Vinyl reassured with a wink.

"Thanks Vi'." AJ smiled with relief. "Hold on, ya mean that ya..."

"Let's save that talk for later, will you." Vinyl interrupted her. "We have a serious business to attend."

"Right, Barnyard Bargain." AJ coldly said. "What do we do about that? We wait for Filthy Rich to return?"

"I'm not so sure about that." Vinyl started. "The first thing we could do is getting that Caesar fella for extortion attempt. Then we wait for Filthy Rich to come back. Are you sure Affluent has nothing to do with Caesar's attempt?"

"Vinyl, she may be inconsiderate, rude and what not, but ya know her like Ah do." Applejack explained. "She would die before associate herself with somethin' that's a yard close from touchin' the limit of the law."

"I must admit you're right." Vinyl conceded. "I'll go in town tomorrow about Caesar Laurel."

"We'll go together, Sugarcube." Applejack firmly said. "He tried to threaten us in our home, who knows what he could try if ya're on yer own."

"I guess you're right." Vinyl slowly said. "Now that that's out of the way, why don't we go prepare lunch?"

"Ah reckon it's nearly time." AJ replied as she rubbed her belly. "Ah'm feeling hungrier than usual."

"That's all that romance stuff." Vinyl explained with a chuckle. "Hormones and what not, must overdrive your system."

"Maybe ya're right." They closed the gym and went toward the house. "So which one of the gals is she?" She asked rather bluntly.

"Heing. What?" Vinyl stuttered in surprise. 

"She's Octavia, ain't she?" AJ chuckled.

Vinyl sighed. "Yeah."

"Ah always thought ya had a thing for her." AJ laughed. "Considerin' how ya collected all her albums, poster and what not.."

"You're exasperating. You know that?"

"Yeah Ah know. Anyway, what are ya gonna do about her?"

"I still have no idea."





The lunch went without a hitch. Thankfully no one had said anything to Applebloom about Rarity and Applejack. Something AJ and Vinyl had greatly appreciated. It turned out that all the others were happy about the new couple. Even if Rainbow was still mad at AJ for threatening her in the gym. After having eaten, Vinyl and Applejack had decided to let the girls do their things while they were working on their own. Vinyl had noticed that Octavia seemed to be a little distant to her compared to the previous days. 

Vinyl wanted to talked to her in private about what had almost happened earlier. Was it the exhilaration from freely playing music that made the cellist act on instinct? Had she real feelings for Vinyl? Was she even into other women or was it just to experiment? All those questions trotted in Vinyl's mind. She needed some time to think about what to say and how to say it. And for that nothing better than a exhausting applebucking session.

"So when will ya talk to her?" Applejack asked as she bucked a tree, earning a rain of apples.

"I think I'll try after dinner tonight. I was thinking of asking her for a walk in the Orchard to get some privacy." Vinyl answered. "I can count on you to make sure no one follows us?"

"Ya can always count on me, Vinyl." Applejack assured.

"Thanks AJ. Sorry if it perturbs the plan you might have with Rarity."

"Don't ya fret about that. My date with Rarity is Saturday, tonight nothing special planned."

"Good, but I better not find her in bed with you once I'm coming to sleep." Vinyl playfully warned.

"Ah'll not make such a promise." AJ Shrugged.

"You better make it, otherwise I'll tell Granny you were the one that crashed the cart in a race with Braeburn and that you and him both blamed Big Mac for it."

"....Ya'll are just evil."

"I know, right?"





After a simple, yet delicious, dinner, Applejack put Applebloom to bed early, since the little girl was to spend the next day with her teacher and a few friends on a hiking trip. Once AJ came down, she nodded Vinyl who rose from her spot and went next to Octavia, who had remained a bit apart of every body this evening.

"Octavia, can you come with me for a walk?" Vinyl asked in a whipser.

Octavia didn't look up to Vinyl and answered with a small voice. "Sure thing Vinyl." 

Octavia rose from her chair and followed Vinyl outside and soon after they were out of sight for anyone in the house. Their absence didn't go unnoticed for long despite AJ's effort to keep everyone's attention on her.

"Hey. Where did Tavi and Vinnie go?" Asked Pinkie Pie.

"Now that you mention it, I haven't realized they were gone." Fluttershy said in her quiet voice.

"I wonder where they are?" Twilight asked to no one in particular.

"Octavia did seem rather off since this morning, didn't she?" Rarity asked in concern.

"You think her and Vinyl had a fight or something?" Rainbow asked. "They seemed off when I found them earlier."

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time ya had something wrong today, RD." Applejack intervened.

"Hey. What gives?" RD snapped. "In the end, I was not so far from the truth. Beside I'm concerned about my friend, and if your sister hurt her in any way..." She stressed her point by joining her fist and her palm together.

"Rainbow, there's no need to be violent about it." Rarity softly said. "Pinkie dear, where are you going?" She asked when she noticed Pinkie opening the living room's door.

"Well duh, Tavi's all frowney downey. I got to cheer her up." She said with her usual cheerful voice, even if it was evident she was concerned about Octavia's well being.

Applejack intercepted Pinkie and closed the door before the inventor took a step outside. "Sorry Pinkie, but ah can't let ya'll do that. That's somethin' they must solve by themselves. No party cannon, no confetti, no streamers."

"So something did happen between them." Rainbow said in anger. 

"It ain't somethin' like that Rainbow." Applejack softly said.

"Why can't I go cheer Tavi up? That's what I do the best." Pinkie asked.

"Ah'll make you cupcakes if ya promise to stay there."

"Ha. You think you can buy me with pastries?" Pinkie retorded, but her eyes seemed to have lit up at the mention of the baked good. 

'She's hooked' "But Ah ain't talkin' about boring ordinary cupcakes." AJ explained with a small growing smile. "Ah'm talkin' about cupcakes with a chocolate layer cake filled with Honeycrisp jam, with crunchy bits of apples inside." Pinkie's eyes widen a bit. "Ah'm talkin' about a milk chocolate cream with little drops of dark chocolate and small dice of Red Delicious." Pinkie started to droll. 

"Rarity. Your girlfriend's good." Whispered Twilight as she was busy taking notes on how to submit Pinkie Pie.

"Isn't she?" Rarity whispered back with a soft smile.

Pinkie Pie asked with a small childish voice and eyes the size of saucers. "With pink sprinkles on top?" 

"Of course, Sugarcube." Applejack softly said. 'Hook, Line and Sinker. YEEHAWW'





Vinyl had lead Octavia quite far from the house. She trusted AJ about not letting anyone follow them, but she knew her sister couldn't really stop Pinkie from going at a window with binoculars or others things like that. Knowing how Pinkie was capable of almost anything, it wouldn't have surprised Vinyl she could also read on someone's lips. After being certain that no one would disturb them, she stopped near Applebloom's clubhouse.

"So that's where Applebloom's clubhouse is." Octavia said. She had been silent during their trip. "You and AJ build it for her?"

"Something like that. It was our clubhouse when we were young. Applebloom refreshed it a bit." Vinyl explained casually before facing Octavia with a serious expression. "Listen Octavia..."

"I'm sorry about earlier." Octavia quickly said as she looked at her feet.

"What?" Vinyl blinked in surprise. 

"I..I..Kinda lost control for a minute." Octavia stammered still looking anywhere except at Vinyl. "I almost kissed you, and I couldn't explain it myself."

"Hey, it's ok...In fact.." Vinyl started.

"No, it's not okay. I was about to act without any consideration for you." Octavia explained with teary eyes. "I thought at first that it would be ok, because you've always been nice to me. That you wouldn't get mad at me, if you weren't like that."

"Well..." Vinyl said before being interrupted again.

"But then Rainbow came in and then Pinkie and Applebloom too. Then you went to see Applejack. It gave me time to think. I don't want to ruin what we have. I consider you my equal in term of music.. No scratch that. You're a way better musician than me. You've changed a lot of my points of view on the matter. You've made me a better artist. I don't want to lose you as a friend over a stupid kis.."

Vinyl pinched Octavia's lips to keep them shut. "Can I have a word please?" She asked softly. When Octavia silently nodded, she released her lips and continued. "First, thank you for your compliment on my music skill, even if you idolize me a bit too much." She said with a soft chuckle. "Second, I enjoy passing time with you Octavia. You'd have to do a lot worse than kissing me to make me want to stop being your friend." She added with a soft determined voice, Octavia looked up at Vinyl with a small smile. "And third. You're not the only one who lost control earlier. If you haven't noticed, I made a move toward you as well." 

Octavia covered her mouth with trembling hands. Vinyl noticed Octavia was shivering, she was only wearing a black silk shirt. Very stylish but not very adapted to protect oneself from the fresh wind of the night. Vinyl took her own shirt off, leaving her with the white T-shirt she wore underneath, and extended it to Octavia.

"You're cold. Here, put this on." Vinyl gently said.

"Thanks." Octavia quietly replied before putting on Vinyl's red shirt on top of her's. 

"You're welcome."

"So.." Octavia said whispered with a growing blush. "You wanted to..You know."

"Kinda.." Vinyl said sheepishly. "Still want to ...But if you're not ok with it, it's not a problem."

"No, it's not that I don't want it.. It's just that it's my first time."  

"Really?" Vinyl asked in surprise. "A beautiful cultured woman like you hasn't had her first kiss yet?"

"No... I waited for the right person...I think...it might be you.." Octavia softly answered with a mad blush.

Vinyl came closer to Octavia, she grabbed the cellist by her hips and pulled her to herself. Their faces were only a few inches apart. Vinyl felt Octavia's respiration going quicker. Her breaths tickled Vinyl's mouth. Vinyl leaned in softly. The kiss was simple, It wasn't like AJ's passionate make out session with Rarity. It was soft and a lot shorter. Vinyl pulled her lips away from the cellist's. Octavia's eyes slowly met with Vinyl's.

"So......How was it?" Vinyl awkwardly asked.

"Well...'' Octavia softly said in a tone that was much more close to her usual. " Your lips were rather rough and, no offense but, your breath still smells like the bacon you ate earlier."

Vinyl flinched at those comments, slowly backing away from Octavia in embarrassment. "Oh crap, so much for..."

"But..."Octavia interrupted her, her voice reaching the level of Fluttershy's. "It felt ....warm, incredibly warm!" She focused her gaze on Vinyl whose face now showed nothing more than tenderness. Octavia shivered at a none existent breeze. "It's still rather cold...you think we could do it one more ti..."

Vinyl softly grabbed Octavia's face with her hands, and pulled her in a deeper, and longer kiss. When Vinyl drew her lips away, Octavia's mouth kept moving, as if it was trying to grab Vinyl's lips again, to keep them close. Octavia and Vinyl locked their gaze together. Octavia's amethyst eyes were full of passion and longing.

"...one more...." She said in small whisper as she leaned in toward Vinyl.

Vinyl met her halfway. They both closed their eyes, nothing around them mattered for the moment. They just needed to feel each other's presence. Octavia passed her arms around Vinyl's neck. They withdrew their lips, just long enough to catch their breath.

"...one m..." Their lips met again but this time, none of them were withdrawn for a long time.





"Where in tarnation are they?" Applejack slowly asked to no one in particular as she was sitting in the living room by herself.

Vinyl had taken Octavia for a 'walk' about four hours ago. Everyone got extremely worried about them when they showed no sign of returning. The others wanted to go and look for them but AJ managed to convince them to go to sleep and that she would wait for Vinyl and Octavia to come back. But right now, she was half convinced of going out there and search them herself. Suddenly, the door started to glow in a light blue aura before opening itself. Vinyl walked through the door, carrying a peacefully sleeping Octavia in her arms.

"Dang nabbit, Vinyl. Where in hell..." Applejack started.

"ssshhuuushhh, you'll wake her up." Vinyl chastised in a whisper. "I'll go put her in bed, wait for me here." She slowly said before climbing the staircase.

When she arrived in front of Octavia's room. Vinyl magically opened the door and entered, she also lifted Octavia's cover before carefully putting her on the bed. As she covered her with her blanket, Vinyl felt her hand being grabbed by a soft hand. She took notice Octavia had her eyes slightly open and that she was looking directly at her. 

"It wasn't a dream, was it?" She asked in a sleepy voice. "You'll be there when I wake up?" 

Vinyl could perceive the small fear hidden in the cellist's voice. She gently stroke Octavia's hand with her thumb, confirming her that she was really there with her. "It was very real. And I promise I'll be there to wake you up for breakfast." Vinyl said gently.

As Octavia drifted back to sleep with a happy smile on her face, Vinyl felt the grip on her hand becoming loose. She gave a small kiss on Octavia's forehead before exiting her room. She silently went back in the living room where AJ was sitting on the couch. They were two cups of a hot beverage on the coffee table. Vinyl let herself fall on a chair across AJ.

"Ah made some coffee." AJ quietly said as she extended a cup to Vinyl.

"Thanks." Vinyl said before taking a sip of coffee.

"Ah guess it went well." AJ grinned softly at her sister.

"You guessed right." Vinyl replied, smiling in return.

"How was it?" AJ asked as she clinked her cup with Vinyl's.

"Absolutely fabulous."




	
> A friend in the Guard
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The two Apple siblings didn't catch much 'beauty sleep' last night. Vinyl and Applejack kept chatting about how things had happened between the two musicians until they both dozed off in the living room. It didn't stop them from waking up at the sound of the rooster and accomplishing their morning chores (even with a slower pace than usual). Vinyl, despite the lack of sleep, was in good mood. The fact that things worked out well between her and Octavia had given her energy to keep going. While they were in the kitchen, Applejack busy at the stove and Vinyl busy setting a tray with a one person breakfast, Rarity sneaked up on AJ before passing her arms around her waist and pecking AJ's cheek.

"Good Morning Darling." Rarity softly said.

" 'Morning, Sugar." Applejack said as she turned her face to peck the seamstress lips.

"What did I tell you yesterday about the PDA?" Vinyl chuckled.

"Why, hello to you too Vinyl. I think you said something as Applebloom doesn't need to know, and for now she's in the bathroom." Rarity playfully said as she turned to Vinyl. "I passed by Octavia's room before going down. I take it you two work things out."

"Something like that." Vinyl answered sheepishly with a growing blush. "Is she awake yet?"

"No, she's still sleeping." Rarity said with a soft smile. "She had such a peaceful expression on her face. May I ask, why are you asking that?"

"I promised to wake her up for breakfast." Vinyl casually said, pointing at the tray she was preparing.

"Oh breakfast in bed, how lovely.." Rarity said before eying the tray. "Hmm, fresh pressed apple juice, her favorite jam, a flower,...Just like a lover's break....Hold on, when you said 'work things out' did you mean it like.." Rarity asked as her eyes lit up in realization.

"Yeah, kinda like you and AJ." Vinyl said with a soft smile, before being hugged by Rarity.

"Oh congratulations dear, now tell me everything. I want all the details." Rarity asked with big shiny eyes.

"Maybe later, now I have a breakfast to deliver." Vinyl said as she escaped the seamstress' grip and made way to Octavia's room with her tray.

As Vinyl went out of the kitchen, Rarity nudged AJ's left arm. "Why didn't you do that?" She asked playfully but not without a pinch of jealousy.  

"Did what now?"

"Bring me breakfast in bed like your sister. It would have been so romantic." Rarity whined a little.

"Ah do different things than ma sis." AJ casually answered.

"Pray tell, what sort of things?"

"Things like this." AJ said before passing an arm around Rarity's waist before lifting her close for a deep passionate kiss. "Ain't that better than a breakfast ya would have eaten anyway? Be it in bed or not." She asked seductively after breaking the kiss.

"I must admit you're right about that." Rarity beamed at Applejack.





Vinyl was about to enter Octavia's room when Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy exited their room. Rainbow gave Vinyl a dark gaze, much to Vinyl's lack of understanding.

"There's a problem RD?" Vinyl asked confused.

"So you're finally back." Rainbow slowly said. "Where were you with Octavia, yesterday during the night?"

"Near lil' Bloom's clubhouse, why?"

"For more than two hours?" RD asked with suspicion.

"Rainbow..I think you should just drop it, I mean if you want to ." Fluttershy quietly chimed in.

"We had things to talk about." Vinyl was getting annoyed by Rainbow's overprotectiveness. "If you'll excuse me, I was off to bring her breakfast."

"Why? Can't she come down and having breakfast with all of us?" Rainbow asked with a dark glare.

"Rainbow...."

"What are you trying to imply?" Vinyl asked slowly.

"Nothing, just asking why you'd make her eat on her own?"

"I do not make her eat on her own, I just want to go wake her up. Like I promised her yesterday." Vinyl said.

"Humph. Yeah sure." Rainbow said as she rolled her eyes.

"Rainbow, that's enough." Said Fluttershy quietly but firmly. "We don't know what happened and from what I see, things are better now, so stop being mean. If you want to that is."

"Fine." Rainbow sighed as she passed next to Vinyl

"Vinyl, I'm sorry about her." Fluttershy sighed. "She has a tendency to overreact when she thinks one of us has been hurt." She took notice of the tray in Vinyl's hand. "Was that for Octavia?" She asked in a squeaky voice.

"Yeah, I..kinda wanted to wake her up with a little surprise."Vinyl said sheepishly.

"D'aww, that's so sweet." Fluttershy said with a small smile. "I'll let you do your thing then." She added softly before going downstairs as well.

Vinyl magically opened the door of Octavia's bedroom and closed it silently behind her. She put the tray on the nightstand, and kneeled right next to the bed. Octavia was peacefully sleeping, her face, turned toward Vinyl, covered by her long dark hair. Vinyl delicately moved Octavia's hair out of the way. When she did, Octavia's eyes slowly opened.

"Good morning, sleepy head." Vinyl said affectionately as she kissed Octavia's forehead.

"Good morning" She softly answered before sitting up in bed.

"I brought you breakfast." Vinyl said as she levitated the tray in front of Octavia.

"Thank you, Vinyl." Octavia said with a growing smile. "Come on, sit with me." She added before making space next to her.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Vinyl said grinning.

Vinyl took the spot next to Octavia who rested her head on Vinyl's shoulder. Octavia sighed with contentment, enjoying the proximity they were having with each other.

"So what do you have planned for today?" Octavia asked.

"As soon as breakfast is over, AJ and I will go to Ponyville to see the Guard concerning that Laurel fella." Vinyl explained.

"Do you have to do that so soon?" Octavia pouted in an almost irresistible way.

"The sooner it's done, the sooner we're back." Vinyl chuckled. "After that, you and I'll spend the rest of the day together."

" A nice day in perspective, it seems." Octavia happily said. "Anyway, everything on this tray looks delicious. Care to help me with that?" She asked.

"Hmmm. Having breakfast and spending quality time with you or going downstair and having to battle Pinkie and Rainbow for the Honeycrisp's jam.... Tough decision." Vinyl pondered playfully.

"I'll kiss you if you stay here." Octavia said seductively. "I'll even give you my bacon."

"You had me at the kiss part, but I won't say no to the bacon though." Vinyl said happily.





AJ and Vinyl were on their way to Ponyville. Vinyl was driving the cart while AJ was lying in the cart's rear, her hat covering her eyes from the sun. They had dropped Applebloom at the meeting point where she joined Miss Cheerilie and the other kids for their two days long hiking trip. Now they were chatting about stuff of high importance for Sweet Apple Acres.

"No, AJ. I have no idea where in Ponyville you could take Rarity on a date Saturday." Vinyl said, rather exasperated.

Or not.

"Come on Vi, ya said ya would support me in ma relationship." AJ complained. "Ya ain't of great support right now."

"Ok first of all, I said I would support you if Granny and/or Big Mac are having a problem with us dating other women. Nothing more." Vinyl snapped. "It's not my fault, if you asked Rarity on a date without having any idea of what to do."

"Yeah but in high-school, ya were the one with lots of dates." AJ said. "Ya must know the good spots."

"Please AJ, grabbing a cup of coffee with some dude or chick after school is no date." Vinyl explained slowly. "Beside, it's been four years since I last went out in Ponyville."

"Darn it. Ah forgot about that. Ya have no idea who ah could ask?"

"Hmm. Cloud Kicker's still in the guard, isn't she?" Vinyl asked. "Considering all the dates she has been to, she must know the good spots."

"Ah reckon ah could ask her. Ah just hope she'll behave..." AJ pondered before feeling the cart stopping. "Why did ya stop the cart?"

"Looks like you were right AJ." Vinyl started as she rose from her seat. "There..."

"Don't tell me, there's group of thugs that just got out of the bushes and are blocking the road." Applejack said as she took her hat off her face and put it next to her.

"Eeeeyuuup." Vinyl answered, cracking her knuckles.

"Are they armed with bats, club and what not?" AJ asked as she stood up.

"Most of them." Vinyl shrugged, rolling her shoulders.

"Are we in the right circumstances for legitimate defense?" Applejack asked, facing the threat in front of the cart. A dozen of well built men mostly armed with wooden truncheon were all standing in cart's way.

"Undoubtedly." Vinyl said with a small grin as she focused her magic in her hands.

Applejack grinned as well before bumping her fists together. "Bring it on."





The rest of the way to the guard post went rather slowly. The cause of that was rather evident, twelves unconscious men were  quite a weight for the horses that were pulling the cart. It didn't stop them of course, but it did slowed them down a bit.

"You think the guards will appreciate our little delivery?" Vinyl asked casually.

"Well we couldn't let them there, could we?" Applejack said in a shrug. 

Soon after, they stopped the cart in front of the guard post. The two guards at the entrance were rather surprised to see two young women driving a cart full of wounded in front of them. They had trouble in believing the story told by Vinyl and Applejack. Their discussion was interrupted by the arrival of a blond jupitarian woman in a red armor with grey-purple wings.

"It's ok, boys. I'll take it from here." The woman said with a playful yet strict voice.

"I'll be, if it isn't Sergeant Cloud Kicker." Vinyl grinned.

"It's Lieutenant Cloud Kicker now, Vinyl." Cloud Kicker chuckled before fist bumping Vinyl and Applejack. "How have you two been?" She took an eye at the cart's load. "Pretty busy as I can see. Would you mind explaining that to me?"

Vinyl and Applejack proceed to explain everything that has happened because of Vinyl's misfortune. The attempt at the farm and the failed 'cooperation talk' form earlier.

Cloud Kicker pondered for a moment. "We heard rumors about that Caesar Laurel. Looks like they were true. Guards, take these guys to the infirmary, and once they are treated to the cells." She ordered pointing the cart.

"Pardon me, Ma'am." A guard chimed in. "But you're believing those two just like that?"

"Of course." Cloud Kicker answered immediately. "Why wouldn't I trust two of the most honest citizen in town who helped in the royal wedding incident?"

The guard didn't bother to answer and did what he had been ordered to. Once that was done, Cloud Kicker took the two Apple siblings inside her office to fill a proper complaint against Caesar Laurel. When they finished, Cloud Kicker sent a squad to Caesar's house for a deep search. Much to Vinyl' surprise.

"I thought it'd take few days before you'd take action..."

"Na, I'm getting you a speed up version." Cloud Kicker shrugged. "Your words is enough for me, and according to what you said, you have a member of the Council that backs it up. It has nearly as much value as one of the Princesses' word." Cloud Kicker explained. "By the way, how come she was in your 'gym' AJ?"

"Well,..." AJ started.

"Oh, she was busy massaging AJ's back." Vinyl simply said with a sly grin.

Cloud Kicker blinked several times in confusion. "What?"

"Yeah, my sister gets massaged by the royals, ain't that awesome?" Vinyl said proudly while AJ was shrinking in embarrassment.

"Okay, sure, let's go with that." Cloud Kicker said slowly with knowing smile. "But why was she in Sweet Apple Acres?"

"Oh Yeah that." Vinyl chuckled. "They're all staying at the farm for a couple of weeks."

"Hold on. You're telling me that the six hottest young women in the Country are at your farm?" Cloud Kicker asked with interest.

"Ah would have thought a guard like ya would use 'nother descriptive, CK." AJ said with a raise of eyebrow.

"That's it, I'm dinning at your place tonight." Cloud Kicker said hopefully.

"NO." The both Apple shouted in unison.

"Oh come on guys, you know me." 

"That's exactly why you're 'persona non grata' on the farm." Vinyl said.  

"Besides, what in tarnation makes ya think their barn door swing that way?" Applejack asked.

"Easy. Everyone's barn door swings toward Cloud Kicker." CK bragged.

"Weird, Ah never remember my door swinging for ya." AJ said sarcastically. "Same for Vinyl."

"Details. Details." Cloud Kicker waved.

"Either way, one is the sister of your big boss." Vinyl explained slowly. "Another is too sweet for us to permit your approach on her. Another brags too much for you to handle. And the last one is still a minor.

"That's only four out of the six." Cloud Kicker noted. "If I play my cards well enough with the last two, it could end in a th..."

"The other two are off limits, CK." AJ and Vinyl shouted in unison.

"Fine. Fine. I give up. No need to get all synchronized on me." Cloud Kicker sighed in defeat. "Geez. It's like Big Macintosh's case, all over again."

"And be grateful you didn't get your ass kicked too much by us for that back then." Vinyl said.

"Don't worry about that, I still am and probably ever be grateful for that." Cloud Kicker chuckled. "Anyway, now that the serious stuff's done. How about a drink for old time's sake? I have my break in a few minutes."

"We might not have time for a drink, CK. Sorry." Vinyl said. "But AJ has something to ask you."

"Ok, hit me."

"Ah need some advice for a date." AJ hesitantly said.

"Whooo. Interesting. Our little Applejack's finally getting some action." Cloud Kicker said with sparkling eyes. "What do you want to know?"

"Do ya know any good place for a first date?" 

"Well, it depends." Cloud Kicker pondered. "Who's your date?" AJ mumbled her answer but no one understood her. "Can you repeat that please?" Cloud Kicker chuckled along with Vinyl. 

"..Rarity Belle." AJ let out with a sigh.

Cloud Kicker's eyes widened in shock before returning to their usual playful glint. "Girls. We're so getting that drink..."












	
> An encounter at the Golden Unicorn.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	 Applejack's Gym, Saturday end of the afternoon.

The last few days had been good for Sweet Apple Acres despite their business problem with Barnyard Bargain. It turned out that when the costumers noticed the non existent re-supplying of products from the Apple Family at the shop, they came to the source. Thursday afternoon was quite the surprise for AJ and Vinyl, a crowd of thirty demanding costumers had come to the orchard in order to buy their apples, their jams, and others apple-themed food. While not as profitable as their regular delivery at the shop, it was still good profits for not having to make the trip to town. They even got to sell products that were not sold normally.

The same thing had occurred Friday and Saturday, only with a larger group of customers. Vinyl and AJ were quite happy about that. When the discussion with Filthy Rich would happen, the fact that his costumers were ready to make the road up to the Orchard for their products would make the scales tip in the Apple Family's favor. Things were going well.

Nevertheless, Applejack was quite stressed at the moment, but it had nothing to do with Sweet Apple Acres. Tonight was her first official date with Rarity. Thanks to Cloud Kicker's advice, she had booked a table for two at the Golden Unicorn, the fanciest restaurant in Ponyville. Rarity was preparing herself with the help of Fluttershy and Octavia in the house bathroom, while AJ was busy in the bathroom from her 'gym' with Vinyl and Pinkie. 

"AJ, I've had enough of this nonsense." Vinyl shouted at the opaque door of the shower stall. "You've been inside that shower for forty-five minutes. Get out right now or Faust help me, I'm coming to get you."

"Ah just can't. What was Ah thinkin'?" The panicked voice of AJ came from the other side of the door. "Ah'll screw things up, Ah just know it."

"Come Jackie, don't get all wacky panicky!" Pinkie said with her usual cheerful voice. "It's not like you're gonna get humiliated in front of all the town's upper crust." Vinyl facepalmed. 

"Why thank ya kindly Pinkie, Ah feel a lot betta now." AJ said with obvious sarcasm.

"AWWW. You're welcome." Pinkie said with a huge smile, completely oblivious to the sarcasm.

"Pinkie sweetie, look outside." Vinyl slowly said. "There's Winona, why don't you go play with her?"

"Great idea." Pinkie said before bouncing outside. "Winona! Go fetch!"

"Ok now AJ, she's gone. Talk to me. Why are you so scared of that date?"

"How can Ah not be scared?" AJ retorted. "It's ma first date ever, and it's with the most beautiful, cultured, high class gal ma eyes ever saw. And if that wasn't enough, it's in a place where ah don't buckin' belong."

"What are you talking about? It's a restaurant in Ponyville for pete' sake." Vinyl snapped.

"Ya weren't with me when ah booked the place." AJ explained with a cracky voice. "They were all lookin' down at me, as if ah was just a filthy peasant." Vinyl heard her sniffing. "And the thing is they're probably right."

"AJ you've outclassed a Prince, for crying out loud." Vinyl shouted. "At the Royal wedding, you just blew the Nobles away."

"Today is different..."

"How is it different? Because Rarity's with you tonight?" Vinyl had stopped shouting, she was now talking softly as she could. "Wasn't she with you at the wedding? Didn't she pass all the evening with you back then?"

"...Yes but.."

"But nothing, AJ. She has already passed a full evening with you at the most high class event in the country." Vinyl said. "And guess what? She had an amazing time with you and I know it was the same for you."

"Ah guess ye're right." Applejack slowly said.

" Come on Applejack. You'll not make me believe that the woman who can tie a seven hundred pound minotaur up alone is afraid of taking her lover on a simple dinner." Vinyl said. "You're not gonna let her down like that, are you?"

"Ya're right." AJ said with a growing determination. "Ah can't believe Ah almost let her down. Ah'm so dumb. No way in hell that gonna happen." 

The sound of water running finally stopped, Vinyl could hear Applejack drying herself with a towel. Few minutes later, AJ got out of the shower, her towel wrapped up around her body. Vinyl smiled when she saw the determination in her sister's eyes.

"Atta Girl. Come on, get dressed and then let's get you dolled up a little." Vinyl chuckled before exiting the bathroom so that AJ could put her clothes on.





Rarity was now ready. She wore a simple short light blue dress that goes down to her knee, a small white open jacket, a large dark belt and long boots. She was very stylish. Her hair were styled in curls that fell right on her shoulders. She went to the living room where all the girls were waiting.

"Oh my Rarity, you look so pretty." Fluttershy quietly said.

"Pretty indeed." Rainbow whistled.

"So ready for your big date?" Twilight asked playfully.

"Twilight leave her alone, you're going to stress her out." Octavia teased.

"Octavia my dear, a Lady does not stress out before a date." Rarity giggled. "Especially when she has the perfect companion for it."

"AWWW look at that. Rarity is all lovey dovey on Jackie." Pinkie Pie said as she entered the house carrying/hugging Winona who was barking happily, very content of her new transportation.

"Hey Pinks, how's the farm girl getting ready?" Rainbow asked.

"I have no Idea! Vinyl asked me to go play with Winona after I had reassured AJ about tonight's date." Pinkie said cheerfully, not realizing her comment had made Rarity anxious.

"What? She was having second thoughts?" Rarity stammered in disbelief.

"Come on, Rarity. I'm sure it's was nothing." Octavia reassured. "Probably it's her first date in a while, and she got a little nervous."

The door opened again, letting a dashing Applejack inside. She was wearing black trousers, an elegant burgundy blouse with the collar turned up, an black leather belt with a silver apple buckle. Her hair weren't tied up in her usual ponytail, they were simply combed to the rear of her head and looked like fiber of golden silk. When she saw Rarity, she couldn't help but to smile at her date who smiled in return.

"Ya look amazin' Rarity."

"Thank you Applejack." Rarity slowly said. "You look quite stunning."

"Ready to go?" Applejack asked with a smile as she offered her arm to the seamstress. "Our carriage is waitin'."

"Ready." Rarity took AJ's arm and followed her date outside. "Bye girls."

The girls bid their goodbye to the dating couple and few moments later, Vinyl came in and walked straight toward Octavia to kiss her, something Octavia greatly appreciated. 

"So, Vinyl. What's on the menu tonight?" Rainbow Dash asked licking her lips.

"No idea, I'm not cooking tonight." Vinyl shrugged as she grabbed Octavia's hand. "I'm taking Tavi on a picnic under the stars. See ya." She quickly said before pulling a surprised yet content Octavia outside. 

"Bye girls." Octavia happily said as she exited the house.

"Bye-Bye Tavi." Pinkie said as she made Winona wave her paw at them. After a few minutes she gasp in horror. "GAAAAA! Who's gonna make dinner tonight?" 

"Well, I read a few cooking books so maybe I could.." Twilight started

"EVERYBODY RUN!" Pinkie shouted in panic before running outside taking a howling Winona with her and followed by a frantic Rainbow Dash. Twilight groaned in response while Fluttershy was doing her best not to be seen by Twilight.





The carriage had just dropped AJ and Rarity at the restaurant's entrance. Rarity took Applejack's arm and followed the farmer near the Maitre d'hôtel . He gave them a quick before speaking in what Applejack would call a pretty darn fancyfied Accent.

"Good evening, Ladies. How may I be of any assistance?"

"Howdy, Ah made a reservation under the name of Jacquelyn Apple." Applejack politely said. Rarity giggled a bit, every time she heard Applejack's actual name she would giggle a bit. She had no idea why. Applejack didn't mind, it gave her an excuse to hear Rarity laughing. "A booth for two persons."

The Maitre d'hôtel checked his list before nodding. "Yes indeed you're on the list. Although, I'm terribly sorry but your table isn't quite ready yet." He said apologetically. "May I offer you something at the bar while you wait for your table to be ready?"

"Ah reckon ah would fancy a little drink." Applejack nodded.

"That would be lovely." Rarity said.

They made their way to the bar, where a violet haired barmaid recognized Applejack. "Good evening Applejack, I almost didn't recognize you in that fancy get up." She said with a small whistle at AJ's outfit. She took notice of Rarity who was holding Applejack's arm. "Ha, gallant company, I see." She winked at AJ.

"Howdy Berry." Applejack said. "As for the outfit, it's for a special occasion." She added, taking a small dreamy glance at Rarity. "What would ya recommend?" 

"For two lovebirds like you, I can serve you our best Champagne." Berry said with a knowing smile, before serving two flutes to the couple. "Quite the catch for your first time, AJ." She slowly said with a wink before turning toward other costumers.

"What does she mean?" Rarity asked in confusion. "This can't possibly be your first date?"

"Well it turns out it is." Applejack confessed, a little embarrassed. "Never been one for datin' in the past."

"A lovely woman like you?" Rarity blinked in shock. "How come?"

"Ah've always been busy at the farm." Applejack shrugged. "Didn't got time to spare back then."

"Well, I'm glad you found time for me then." Rarity slowly said.

"Ya're quite worth the time, Lady Rarity." Applejack smiled, clinking at Rarity's glass. The seamstress blushed a little at AJ's comment but she kept smiling.

"Applejack? Applejack Apple?" said a masculine voice behind AJ. She turned around and cringed internally when she saw who it was. It was Filthy Rich, wearing an impeccable blue suit with a white shirt, his grayish black hair pulled backwards. She noticed his wife and his daughter were behind him, and that, contrary to him, they looked at Applejack with concealed anger.

'Of all the possible moment to meet him, it had to be now.' Applejack thought in anger. "Good evening, Filthy Rich. How was your business trip" Applejack said in a polite tone. Rarity gasped in shock, believing Applejack had just insulted him, but looked puzzled when he chuckled.

"I prefer Mr Rich, my dear. And I must say the trip to Fillydelphia was a frank success" He said with a good hearted smile. "Anyway, it's quite the surprise to see you here." Rich added in a tone that clearly showed he wasn't suggesting anything mean by it.

"Well, Ah know it ain't my usual spot." Applejack explained sheepishly. "But Ah got the perfect company for a place like this." She nodded at Rarity who stepped forward, very close to Applejack.

"Good evening, Sir. I'm Rarity Belle." Rarity introduced herself politely.

"Who the hell is that purple haired chick?" Affluent muttered coldly, but Rarity and her husband didn't hear her. Applejack frowned at that, but didn't say anything not wanting to cause a scene. She knew that Affluent would fall from very high as soon as she would know who Rarity really was.

"Good evening, my dear. Filthy Rich, but you can call me Rich." Rich said. "One moment...Could you be THE Rarity Belle from the Council of Harmony?" He asked with wide eyes.

"Why yes. That's me." Rarity answered. Affluent's jaw nearly dropped from her skull, much to Applejack's pleasure.

"But why are you here, my Lady?" Affluent asked stammering in disbelief.

"Oh. My friends and I are taking a small vacation on Applejack's farm at the moment." Rarity explained as she grabbed AJ's hand. " As for right now, I'm here to enjoy some quality time with Applejack." She beamed at the farmer who started blushing.

"Aww shucks Rarity..."

"Well, I do hope Ponyville is at your liking." Rich said softly before facing AJ. "Applejack if it's possible..."

"I can't believe it." Affluent nearly shouted.

"Honey please,..."

"You, a Council member, with this simple country tomboy.." Affluent said in mix of disbelief and disgust.

"I beg your pardon?" Rarity said in shock. "Who I choose to spend my time with is none of your concern."

"I...."

"Honey, be quiet." Rich said firmly. "Why don't you go to the restroom to powder your nose again?" Rich offered his wife a way out, and was glad she took it along with his daughter. "I'm so sorry about this Lady Rarity, Applejack." He apologized sincerely.

"Ah'm startin to get used to it." Applejack said coldly, Rarity held her hand firmly to keep AJ under control. "We should solve our business quickly."

"I agree. What do you say I pass at the farm tomorrow afternoon?" Rich asked slowly.

"Ah reckon it would be good. As long as yer wife ain't coming."

"Off course." Rich nodded.

"Miss Apple. Your table is ready." The Maitre d'hôtel said as he approached the couple. "Follow me, please."

They bid their goodbye to Filthy Rich and followed the Maitre d'hôtel to their table.

"I must say Mr Rich is much more pleasant than I thought." Rarity said slowly.

"He hasn't been much of a problem." Applejack shrugged. "The only mistake he ever made was to marry Affluent."

"What a rude woman." Rarity muttered in anger.

"Come on, Sugarcube." Applejack softly whispered before pecking Rarity's cheek. "Let's forget about them and enjoy our first date together."

Rarity's anger vanished instantly as soon as AJ's lips touched her cheek. "You're right. Darling." She said with a small happy smile.





Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash had stopped running when they realized they had managed to step outside the Orchard. They were now on a dirt path that lead in a dark wild forest. Winona, still in Pinkie's arms, wasn't showing any signs of disapproval as being transported all the way around the Orchard.

"Pinkie, you sure we didn't exaggerate by going this far from the farm?" Asked Rainbow Dash.

"Nope." Pinkie said firmly. "I don't know about you. But I remember how long it took for Princess Luna to recover from Twilight's cooking. The only worst cook I know would be Rarity's little sister."

"I agree." Rainbow shivered at the memory of the sick Princess. "Anyway where do you think this path lead?" She asked, tilting her head with curiosity.

"Duh. The path leads into the forest." Pinkie Pie happily replied." Probably a path for...Hey Winona what's up?" Winona had started barking furiously and was trying to escape Pinkie's grip.

"What's wrong with her ?" Rainbow asked with concern.

"I don't know, maybe we should take her to Fluttershy." Pinkie said with worry. With one swift movement, Winona jumped out of Pinkie's arms and ran straight to the Orchard, still barking loudly. "Winona, come back." 

They were about to run after the dog, when a loud, heavy growl came from behind them. "Pinkie, tell me that was your stomach." Rainbow Dash said with worry.

"Hmm. You want the 'truth' or you want me to lie to you to reassure you?" Pinkie Pie asked trembling.

They heard few cracking sounds coming from the forest. They both turned around to see what was behind them. They immediately regret it.

"Why must it always be us who end up situations like this?" Rainbow grumbled as she slowly backed away. 

"I don't know, some running gag from the author I suppose." Pinkie shrugged while stepping back in fear.
> Fresh injuries and old scars.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Vinyl's idea of a picnic under the moonlight had been greatly appreciated by Octavia. After having eaten, they just laid down next to each other and stared at the night sky and the stars in silence.

"This place is just amazing." Octavia slowly said.

"How so?" Vinyl asked, genuinely curious about the cellist's affirmation.

"Don't you see? All the fresh air, the quiet, the clear sky." Octavia explained dreamily. "None of that exists in Canterlot."

"I get what you mean."

"The people that live here too." Octavia giggled. "You can't find people like them in Canterlot."

"Now, what in the hay does that supposed to mean?" Vinyl asked, pretendedly offended.

"Just that if its inhabitants were more like you and your sister, Canterlot might deserve its title of Greatest City of Equestria." Octavia said with conviction.

"Be careful of what you ask, Octavia." Vinyl playfully warned. "You never know what could happen with a city full of AJs and Mes."

"I guess, you're right. There isn't probably enough apples or bacon in the world to feed too many Applejacks or Vinyls." Octavia chuckled. "What's your deal with bacon anyway?"

"I don't know, can you explain why you play the cello and nothing else?" Vinyl retorted giggling.

"Touché, Miss Apple."

"Awesome. What do I get?" 

"Why don't you come closer? Maybe you'll find out." Octavia said seductively.

Vinyl moved a bit in order to lay on one side, towering Octavia who was lying on her back. She drew her head closer. "It's close enough?"

Octavia shook her head. "You might want to bring the distance between us to zero." Octavia said as she fluttered her eyes.

"HOOOO. That kind of close." Vinyl chuckled before closing the gap between them by kissing Octavia who happily returned it. 

What had started as a soft kiss quickly became a passionate make out session. Octavia's left hand having found a way under Vinyl's shirt, while her right one was starting to unbutton it. That had surprised Vinyl, but not enough for her to break the kiss. She was about to let her lover have her way, and she knew she would enjoy it.

Destiny had decided otherwise, for Vinyl had been tackled by a small white and brown furred, four-legged, barking creature that forced her to break the embrace she had with Octavia. 

"Winonaaaa." Vinyl whined, as her sister's dog jumped away from her and kept barking furiously.

"Oh Come on, Vinyl. She's just a little jealous." Octavia giggled, even if her face showed anger directed at the dog.

Vinyl decided to try and ignore the collie by resuming her latest activity with Octavia. But as she went closer to her cellist, she felt a tug at the right end of her trousers' leg. She turned around to see Winona biting and trying to pull her away.

"Winona, what in Equestria is wrong...." Vinyl started

Then came the roar. 

Vinyl snapped her head in the direction the roar came from. She could see small flashes of pink light coming closer to them. She also took a glimpse of a far away black cloud above the wild forest. She could see it coming this way too. She knew what that would mean.

"Damn it, they're here early this year. And those beasts've become quite sneaky." She groaned to herself as she stood up. 

"What beasts are you talking about Vinyl?" Octavia asked, her voice shaking in fear. "What was that sound?"

Vinyl rose up before turning to Octavia. "Octavia, run back to the farm house. Lock the door behind you, and don't open until I get back."

"What? What do you mean until you get back? Where are you going?" Octavia asked in mix of confusion and fear. "Tell me what's going on?"

Vinyl sighed. "Octavia, trust me. Just do as I say. It'll be fine."

"Answer my question." Octavia shouted. 

Vinyl knew it would probably be better if she didn't say anything, but she couldn't leave Octavia not knowing. "There's a bunch of animals from the Everfree forest that entered the Orchard." Vinyl slowly explained. 

They heard a high pitched whistle followed by a loud thud. They turned their face to see that Rainbow Dash had landed a few feet from them.

"Vinyl! There's a bunch of wooden wolves in the Orchard." Rainbow said in slightly panicked tone. "Pinkie has been shooting at them with her 2.0., but so far it just kinda stuns them for a few minutes."

"Wooden wolves?" Octavia asked in disbelief and confusion. "How is that ..."

"How many were they, Rainbow?" Vinyl asked in a snap.

"Huuuh. I don't really know." Rainbow Dash pondered. "I'll say about half a dozen."

"Dang it. Not only they managed to come this close, but on top of that the pack is at full force." Vinyl complained to no one in particular. "Where are they now?"

Rainbow faced toward the part of the Orchard where the pink flashes had occurred. "They should be around there...Hold on, there aren't anymore flashes from Pinkie's cannon." She said in worry. 

"Oh no, do you think she was hurt?" Octavia asked.

"I'm right there silly." Pinkie smiled as she had appeared from nowhere a few feet behind Octavia. Her hair and cloths were a mess and she was holding a smoking Party Cannon, other than that she seemed fine.

"How did you get here?" Vinyl asked in a hurry before remembering who she was talking to.

"Don't ask me things that are better left unquestioned." Pinkie giggled. "Anyway, those mean doggies are cheating. Each time I shoot them with the 2.0., they fall in pieces to reassemble themselves after a while. It's not fair."

Winona's barking became louder and fiercer than before, Vinyl took her attention back where Pinkie should have come from. She saw the pack of wolves slowly advancing toward them. Seven wolves, the size of a small horse, completely made of sculpted woods and simple logs. How they were holding together was a complete mystery to anyone who wouldn't know what they were.

"What are they?" Octavia slowly asked.

"They are timberwolves." Vinyl started to explain. "Some call them the keepers of the Everfree forest. They are nothing but a bunch of logs that moves thanks to the magic that flows inside the forest."

"How do you know that?" Rainbow asked.

"Because this pack comes around every year." Vinyl shrugged as she took a step forward. "I'll go into details later. RD, Pinkie, protect Octavia and Winona." Vinyl started to focus her magic, her hands were shining in a light blue aura.

"Hold on, Vinyl. What are you going to do?" Octavia asked, fearing the answer. "Don't tell me you're going to fight those things."

"In normal circumstances, I wouldn't." Vinyl confessed. "Usually we have a system that sends them away."

"Then why don't you use it?" Rainbow asked, cocking her eyebrow.

"Because, look where they are." Vinyl said patiently, as the wolves started to circle around her. "They are far too much inside the Orchard. They need to remember something very important that they seem to have forgotten."

"What's that?" Pinkie asked in a very curious tone.

"That critters like them that trespass us are not tolerated in Sweet Apple Acres." Vinyl said fiercely.

As soon as she said those words, a timberwolf lunged at Vinyl, all claws and fangs out, ready to tear her in pieces. Octavia shouted Vinyl's name, fearing for her lover's life. The timberwolf didn't reach its target. He was intercepted by long flickering strings of blue magic. As soon as the flickering strings came into contact with the wolf's body, a loud buzzing sound could be heard. In an instant, the wolf was completely diced into a pile of wooden chips and sawdust by the magic strings.

Octavia's, Rainbow's and Pinkie's jaw dropped with wide shocked eyes, while Winona was happily barking to congratulate her mistress. A small green aura slowly flew from the pile of wood before darting back toward the forest.

"All right doggies." Vinyl shouted with a cocky grin. Her strings of magic floating around her. "Who's next?"

Two wolves in front of Vinyl roared and lunged at the Titanian, while a third managed to lunge at her from her blind spot.

"VINYL! Behind you!" Octavia shouted in panic.

Vinyl heard Octavia and took a few side steps, letting the sneaky wolf stumble when he met nothing but the ground. Before the grounded wolf could stand up, Vinyl's magic strings grabbed it before launching it at its pack members. You could easily see the deep cracks that had appeared where the strings touched it. The girls couldn't hear it over the ambient sounds, but a small chirping noise came from the strings. The thrown wolf landed right on one of the two that were facing Vinyl causing them to shatter in pieces before glowing in a green aura and reforming their bodies.

"See? They are cheating again!" Pinkie Pie yelled angrily as she pointed the re-built wolves.

"I don't care about that." Octavia snapped. She was pretty mad that Pinkie and Rainbow were pulling her away from where Vinyl was fighting. "The woman I love is defending us, and we're just running away from it!" She shouted, struggling against her friends' grip.

"Octavia, calm down." Rainbow said. "Vinyl knows what she's doing. She'll be fine." 

They heard a feminine groan of pain. All three quickly turned their heads to see a timberwolf biting Vinyl's right forearm. They all gasped in horror. "No..No..Please no.." Octavia prayed with tears in her eyes.

Vinyl enrolled her free fist with her magical strings, creating a sort of flickering drill/gauntlet of blue light around her left forearm. "Let. Me. GO!" She bellowed, as she punched the side of the wolf's head.

Her magically reinforced fist completely shattered the wolf's wooden skull to nothing more than splinters the size of toothpicks. A green firefly escaped the lifeless body, before flying away. Vinyl took a look at her injured arm. The cuts were large but not too deep. 'Thankfully, wooden fangs aren't as sharp as normal ones'. And she could still move her hand without too much pain.

Vinyl stood up and faced the remaining five timberwolves. Four were marching toward her groaning, while a larger, darker one stayed behind. 'So that one is the alpha.' Vinyl conjured her strings to form a large net as the four wolves jumped at her simultaneously. Vinyl snickered when she saw the net capturing all four of them. She closed her glowing left hand, causing the net to compress its victims. With loud buzzing sounds, the captured timberwolves were reduced to a large pile of chips, splinters and sawdust. Four green fireflies flew off to the forest

"Hum. Am I the only one who's more scared of Vinyl rather than the timberwolves right now?" Rainbow Dash asked with an awkward chuckle.

"Yeff you're." Pinkie answered as she was busy munching popcorn. "I just ffink she rockff."

Octavia didn't even hear Rainbow's question, her mind completely focused on the fact Vinyl seemed to be ok. Injured yes, but still ok.

The alpha timberwolf was eying Vinyl who was still surrounded by her magic strings. His wooden body started to shake, as he took a small step backward. It knew it couldn't surpass the blue haired woman so the only logical choice was to run. But it wasn't sure to be able to escape her. When Vinyl noticed the wolf stepping back, she broke her stance and her magic started to dissipate itself.

"Get lost!" She shouted at the beast, who darted straight back to the forest whimpering in fear. 

When it was out of sight, she sighed in relief. She heard quick footsteps coming from behind her. She turned around to face who was coming to her, only to be slapped vigorously by a hand she recognized immediately. 'Aaaaaah, her soft and delicate right hand.'

"You big idiot." Octavia shouted angrily at Vinyl. "How could you do this? You put yourself in danger for some stupid .. I don't even know why you did that." Vinyl grabbed her head with her unharmed hand and pulled her close. "Stupid farm musician....Stupid...idiot." Her angry shouts slowly became small sobs as she started to bury her head in Vinyl's chest.

"It's ok, Tavi." Vinyl cooed softly to reassure her. "Everything's fine."

"Don't you ever do that again." Octavia said with a crying voice.

"Promise." Vinyl softly said, patting Octavia's head.

"AWWWWW." Pinkie softly said.

"Bleeeeaahh." Rainbow gaged. "Enough with the romantic crap. Let's go home. Vinyl's arm needs to be checked."

"Oh yeah! I have forgotten about it." Vinyl blinked. "I guess Tavi's slap was so strong it killed the pain." She chuckled causing Rainbow and Pinkie to giggle.

"Shut up." Octavia groaned in a muffled voice as her head was still buried in Vinyl's chest.

"Anyway, Pinkie could you grab our picnic set?" Vinyl asked before Pinkie nodded and started packing everything. "To the house, then."





Their return to the house went rather well. It was a bit awkward for Vinyl to walk with Octavia hugging her tight, since she refused to let go of her, but she had managed. As soon as they entered, Fluttershy noticed Vinyl's injury and flew upstair to grab a first-aid kit at a speed that had caused Rainbow's jaw to drop. As Fluttershy treated her, Vinyl explained to her and Twilight what had happen.

Fluttershy had been shocked about the fact Vinyl had killed five 'innocent' animals. It took Vinyl almost an hour to explain to her that timberwolves' bodies are just puppets manipulated by some fairy like creatures. Explanation that could have been a lot shorter if Twilight hadn't kept interrupting her because she wanted to know what spell she had used to defeat the wolves, something Pinkie's 2.0. cannon couldn't do.

She explained that the key to repel the timberwolves was either completely shattering their puppets so that they can't reassemble them, or scaring them away with the sound of an iron bell. That's the method they normally use on the farm. Somehow those green 'fairies' couldn't stand iron or any sounds produced by it. 

Twilight was a bit sad, at first, to find out that the spell Vinyl had used was only a variation of her music spell. But when Vinyl started to explain the principle, something she regretted immediately, Twilight went in what the girls called her 'Wannakno' mode. After answering Twilight's fiftieth question, Vinyl shouted angrily that she was tired and wanted to rest. She climbed upstairs, followed by a worried Octavia.

"Vinyl, are you alright?" Octavia slowly asked. 

"I'm fine, Octavia." Vinyl sighed. "It's just that Twilight's questions were getting on my nerves..."

"I can understand that." Octavia nodded. "She can get quite tiring from time to time."

"Yeah that's true." Vinyl looked to Octavia with an apologetical expression. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Octavia blinked in confusion.

"For worrying you back then." Vinyl said looking at her feet. "I shouldn't have acted like that. I've put myself in danger for no reason and I hurt you by doing that."

"Yes that's true." Octavia slowly said. Vinyl's expression went downer than before. "But since you promised it won't happen again. I guess I can forgive you." She said, coming closer to her lover. She slightly kissed her on the cheek. At that, Vinyl's mood perked up. She tried to grab Octavia's hand, but winced when she tried to move her injured arm.

"Dang it. It's gonna be quite hard doing things without my right hand for a few days." Vinyl said slowly.

"Do you need help for something?" Octavia asked.

"No, It's gonna be ok. I'll manage." Vinyl shrugged, repressing a yawn.

"Come on, let's get you in bed." Octavia chuckled, accompanying Vinyl to her bedroom.

"I bet you'd want that." Vinyl joked, causing Octavia to blush madly at the suggestion.

They entered the room, Vinyl had started get change into her night garments, but kept groaning in pain as she moved her right arm.

"You need a 'hand' here?" Octavia asked with a chuckle.

"Very funny, Octavia." Vinyl said in a tone she wanted sarcastic, but the fact she was trying hard not to laugh didn't help her with that. " I won't say no to a hand, though. Especially if it's yours."

Octavia helped Vinyl taking off her clothes. After taking off her shirt, Octavia took a glimpse of Vinyl's back and couldn't help but wince at the sight of her lover's numerous scars.

"Sorry about that, Tavi." Vinyl said with a pinch of sadness.

"Don't you ever say sorry for that." Octavia said sharply. She helped Vinyl putting her night top up, as she did her hand to graze one of her scars, causing Vinyl to flinch a little as she held her breath in a pained grimace. "Does it.....still hurt?" Octavia asked softly.

"I don't think it has ever stopped." Vinyl slowly said.

> Business Meeting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Vinyl woke up at her usual time, she kept her eyes closed because it was the day she could sleep in. The Apples had decided that Sunday would be their 'break' day, a day on which they worked less than the others. She noticed something was different. She was used to sharing a bed by now, but today was different. She opened her eyes and finally understood why. Octavia was sleeping tightly next to her. They were both entwined from hugging each other to sleep. 

Vinyl remembered what had happened. Octavia's question about Vinyl' scars had brought back bad memories from her time before Sweet Apple Acres. Octavia insisted on staying with her for the night when she noticed the tears in Vinyl's eyes. Octavia had kept hugging and reassuring Vinyl  until she felt better and could fall asleep. Vinyl wasn't mad at Octavia for her question. She knew the cellist had asked it with genuine concern, and the fact Octavia never left her side during the night made her happier than ever.

Vinyl stared at the sleeping Octavia. She couldn't help but smiling softly at her. She pulled her closer, slowly to not wake her up. At her surprise, she felt Octavia tighten her grip as well. She looked her lover and saw that she was still in the dreamworld. 'Even in her sleep, she won't let me go.' Vinyl thought with an affectionate internal chuckle. 

Vinyl hadn't known Octavia personally for a long time, and it was even shorter time since they decided to become a couple. But right now, deep down, Vinyl was feeling that Octavia was THE one she would have waited for all her life. Her special someone. She had no idea why she was so sure about that at that precise moment, but at least she knew she was sure as sugar about it.

Vinyl put softly her forehead on Octavia's and closed her eyes, ready to go back to sleep. After a few minutes, she felt something incredibly soft touching her lips. She knew that sensation, what was touching her lips were undoubtedly Octavia's. She opened her eyes, and happily started to return the kiss when her eyes confirmed what her lips were convinced about. 

Octavia had her eyes half open while she was giving Vinyl the best good morning one could ever think off. The kiss was clearly not as passionate as the one they had shared on their picnic last night before being interrupted by Winona. But it did carry a lot more meaning and emotions. It was more than enough for Vinyl, way more than enough. Eventually, they had to break the kiss, Vinyl looked in Octavia's purple irises in which she could only see love and knew Octavia was seeing the exact same thing in her own red eyes.

"I can see you're feeling better than yesterday." Octavia said slowly.

"Thanks to you, Octavia." Vinyl nodded. "Only thanks to you."

"I don't know about you, but I don't feel like staying in bed." Octavia said as she shifted a bit, still not breaking their embrace.

"Ooooh. Can't we just stay like that? It's comfortable." Vinyl pouted in an adorable way, slightly disappointed.

"Well I was thinking that since it's rather early and that everyone is probably still asleep." Octavia explained. "We could find another spot for a picnic, and take over exactly where we were interrupted last night." Octavia said in a tone that clearly showed what she intended to do.

Vinyl instantly felt more awake than before for some reason. "Really?" Vinyl asked incredulous. Octavia nodded with a very seductive smile. "Like now? In broad day light?" Octavia nodded again. 

Vinyl blinked in confusion, before smiling widely. "You, dirty girl."





Applejack exited Rarity's bedchamber get herself her morning coffee. The seamstress was still sleeping heavily, with a happy smile on her face. After a quick stop to the bathroom for her natural needs, Applejack looked herself in the mirror. She spotted quite a few red marks on her neck and around her collarbone. 

'Never thought Rarity Belle, the representative of Art at the Council of Harmony, would be such a biter in the bedroom.' Applejack thought happily. Their date had been just perfect. Even their little encounter with Affluent Rich hadn't disturbed them more than five seconds. They had come home really late, everyone was already asleep, and Rarity had been a bit tipsy. Not drunk, just tipsy. 

After leading Rarity to her room and going to her own, AJ was quite surprised to see her side of the bed occupied by Octavia who was hugging Vinyl tightly. AJ decided to let it slide and went back to Rarity, who immediately accepted to host the farm girl in her room for the night.

It turned out that Tipsy Rarity was even more sexy than Bossy Rarity in Applejack's eyes, and a lot more wild. It took AJ's full will power not to 'take care of her properly' in the second. She knew that the house was far from being soundproof, and the fact that it was full of people who would have interrupted any love making activity. Or at least, she knew that three of the six would have eagerly interrupted them. Of course, it didn't stopped them from fooling around a bit....

AJ blushed at that thought as she made her way to the kitchen where she found a note on her cup. She recognized the hand-writing on the note, it was from Vinyl.

 'Hey there, Sis. How was your date?
I hope it was good.
Just to warn you, Octavia and I are taking a morning walk on the farm.
Could you do me a favor? Yes?! Awesome.
Let no one go outside the house until we come back?
I repeat : NO ONE OUTSIDE. I cannot stress that enough.
I will not be responsible of my actions if anyone gets out.
Huge thank you and see you later.
Your trusted sister : Vinyl.
Ps: Got something important to tell you afterward.'

It hadn't taken AJ more than two seconds to figure out what her sister was exactly doing outside. She chuckled as she put the note in her trousers' rear pocket. She served herself a large cup of coffee and went back to the living room. At her surprise, she found Pinkie Pie trying to sneak out of the house, wearing a black latex suit and weird goggles on her forehead.

"Howdy Pinkie. Watcha doin'?" AJ asked casually.

"Oh. Hi Applejack." Pinkie said happily. " I sensed there was some secret fun going on outside, so I was about to go invest...Hey... Wait a minute...I'm flying?" She said as she didn't notice Applejack was lifting her from the ground by the back of her collar with her left hand. Her right hand bringing her cup to her lips.

"Sorry, Pinks." Applejack casually said, lifting Pinkie back upstairs. "Can't letcha have yer shenanigans this morning."

Pinkie groaned her disappointment, her arms crossed and a bad mood pout on her usually cheerful face. "..Party pooper.."





Applejack had put Pinkie back in her room, she remained outside the room until she heard the pink haired girl's snores adding themselves to Twilight's. She came back to the living room where she sat in an armchair to enjoy her coffee. A few minutes later, Rarity came down as well, wearing a deep blue night gown, and sat on Applejack's laps, at the concerned party's great pleasure.

"Darling, why aren't you in bed?" Rarity asked with a small lady-like yawn, before snuggling the farmer.

"Ah went ta get maself a coffee." Applejack shrugged, returning the seamstress' affectionate gesture. " Beside, Ah thought ya needed yer 'beauty sleep', so ah didn't want to risk waking ya up by goin' back in."

"While I am pleased with your concerns about my sleep." Rarity said. "I would still have preferred waking up at your side instead of alone." Rarity pouted.

"Ah'm sorry, Sugarcube." 

"It's ok." Rarity waved. "Considering how formidable you were yesterday night, I can forgive you for that."

They kept discussing about everything and nothing, just enjoying each other's company. Later on, the front door opened and let Octavia and Vinyl come inside, both positively beaming, blushing a little and both much disheveled. Octavia's usually well kept hair were a complete mess, with twigs, grass blades and leaves tangled in it. When she saw the state of Octavia's hair, Rarity jumped from her Applejack shaped seat.

"My star, Darling. What happened to your hair?" Rarity nearly shouted in concern.

"Oh. hmmm. that..Well." Octavia stammered, blushing madly. "Vinyl and I took....a walk around the Orchard. and I......tripped on....something...Vinyl tried to catch me....and huuh...we both fell ...in a ...bush." It was pretty obvious she was lying, but Rarity, completely focused on her friend's hair, didn't see it.

"Oh those bushes can be so dreadful." Rarity sympathized. "Come on, Darling. We must take actions." She added, grabbing Octavia's arm and pulling her upstairs. "Let's go save your coiffure."

"Wait, I can do it myself, Rarity." Octavia slowly said. "No need to disturb your morning with AJ."

"Nonsense, My dear." Rarity claimed with determination. "I shall restore them to their original beauty. To their fabulosity and beyond." she added dramatically, pointing at nothing.

They climbed the stairs leaving the two Apples together.

"Soo, a bush huh?" AJ casually said, rising from her chair.

"Yeeeess." Vinyl said carefully, still blushing.

"Was it hers or yars?" AJ asked with a smirk, before being whacked at the back of her head by Vinyl's Magic. "Aouch. No need to strike that hard." She yelped in pain, rubbing the back of her skull. She took notice of her sister's bandaged arm. "What in tarnation happened to ya?" She asked in concern.

"Oh, a timberwolf bit me yesterday night." Vinyl said casually. "The pack entered the orchard, I took care of them. We might want to change a few things at the forest border for next year. They've become quite stealthy."

"What? This early?" AJ asked in disbelief. "Them critters're far ahead of schedule. Ya'll think that the 'cloud' followed them too?"

Vinyl nodded. "Yep. I saw it too." Vinyl bit her lower lip. "It's probably in the right spot by now...."

On cue, a huge clap of thunder resonated in all Sweet Apple Acres, causing everyone, awake and asleep, to jump in surprise. Soon after, shouting could be heard from upstairs.

"Rainbow Dash!" Shouted Twilight's voice. "We've told you to NEVER prank us with thunder again."

"Yeah, thanks to you, I almost cut off Octavia's hair." Rarity yelled.

"WHAT?" A panicked Octavia asked.

"I didn't do anything." Replied Rainbow, clearly offended. "I was asleep."

"What happened to my hair?"

"Nothing dear, I said almost."

The sounds of pained wailings could be heard. "Pinkie Pie what....Oh no. Poor thing.....It's ok..." Twilight softly said in a motherly tone. "Thanks a lot Rainbow. Because of your prank, Pinkie fell off the bed and hurt herself." She shouted angrily before speaking with a comforting tone. "There, there. It's ok, Twilight's here."

"It wasn't me, damn it." Rainbow snapped.

The shouting kept going, but the two Apples ignored them and continued their conversation as if it hadn't been interrupted.

"Looks like the leaves have appeared." Vinyl said simply. "We should send Granny a letter to have her coming back early."

"Ah reckon we should. We need her ta make Zap Apples jam." Applejack said with unease. "This here will change our plans..."

"Yeah..." Vinyl admitted slowly.

"But Ah got to say, It couldn't be at a better timing." Applejack said with a small smile. "Filthy Rich's comin' this afternoon, and with the Zap Apples' comin', them negotiations will be in our favor."





After having explained that the thunderclap wasn't Rainbow's fault and making breakfast for everybody, Vinyl and Applejack worked in the Zap Apples Orchard while explaining to the others, who have all tagged along very interested by this magic fruit, what was so special about it for the farm. The existence of those special trees was the reason the pack of timberwolves came back every year. The wolves were unexplainably attracted by those trees, like a butterfly by a flame, around four or five days before the fruit's appearance.

Right after lunch, Vinyl and Applejack stationed themselves near the farm's entrance to wait for Filthy Rich. Their wait wasn't very long, Filthy's carriage had arrived few minutes later. But to their great surprise, He wasn't alone. An elderly woman got off the carriage right after him. The two Apples froze when they recognized their grandmother, Arabella Smith.

"G-Granny." Applejack stammered. "What are ya'll doin' here?"

"Where's Big Mac?" Vinyl asked.

"That ain't no way to welcome yar grandmother, girls." Granny Smith said with a raised eyebrow. "As fer yer questions. Macintosh's still in Appleloosa. And Ah decided to come back when Ah heard that ya'll stopped trade with Barnyard Bargain." She explained with a neutral tone. "Thank ya'll for warnin' me about that, by the way."

Vinyl and Applejack shifted awkwardly at Granny's remark. They wanted to justify themselves, but they knew better than to interrupt their grandmother.

"Anyway, when Ah arrived at Ponyville, Ah decided to have a talk with Filthy Rich about what happened." Granny continued her explanation. "He said he was 'bout to come here, to talk things out with ya'll. So Ah came along with him and he explained what he knew 'bout this here matter on the way here." She concluded.

"And what did he tell you?" Vinyl asked, turning her face toward Barnyard Bargain's owner.

"What my wife had told me about it." Rich replied matter-of-factly. "That you had been very rude during the delivery, that you decided to refuse delivering us in a fit of anger and that you managed to convince Applejack it was a good idea."

"That ain't even close to the truth!" Applejack snapped in anger.

"Simmer down, Applejack." Granny Smith chastised her blond granddaughter who flinched at Granny's scolding. "We are here to talk, not to shout. Now, Vinyl. We heard Affluent's version, what 'bout yars?"

Vinyl explained everything that had transpired that day. During her telling, Filthy Rich and Applejack groaned at some moments, especially those mentioning Jonah and Ariane Apple, while Granny's face remained unreadable. Then Applejack and her explained what happened with Caesar Laurel and his thugs.

"Yeah, I heard about that." Rich said quickly . "Be assured that we have nothing to do with that."

"It's ok, Rich." Vinyl shrugged. "We know you're a not a man like that and that your wife wouldn't dare to do such thing."

"That really what happened?" Granny Smith asked after having thought about what had been told to her for a moment.

"You think that one of us can really lie to you Granny?" Vinyl asked slowly. 

Granny Smith looked deep in her children's eyes. Before smiling a little. "Ah reckon ah didn't raise liars." She said before turning toward the business man. "Filthy!"

"I prefer Rich, Mrs Smith." he chuckled. "What is it?"

"Ah'm expecting yer wife to apologize to ma granddaughter for all she had said to her." She said sternly." And to me for daring to bring my son's and his wife's names into this mess. Then the trade between us will reopen."

"What? Hold on a cotton pickin' minute here." Applejack interjected, causing Granny Smith and Rich to look at her. "The trade restart like before? Ah don't think so. Ah think we could change the contract in our favor a little."

"Where did that non-sense come from, Applejack?" Granny Smith asked, crooking her eyebrow.

"She's right." Vinyl chimed in. "During the stop of our business with Rich, we found out that the costumers are ready to come all the way up here for our products. We can gain the same thing, maybe more, but without having to loose one hour of daily delivery and one hour of sorting for each one of your order. Unless you can offer us a good deal to counter that, AJ and I refuse to start the trade again."

Rich looked at AJ and Vinyl with a small smile. "You've thought about it pretty well. I'm impressed." He chuckled. "You both are going to be tough business partners." The two girls grinned at Rich's comment.

"Too bad, ya'll have no say in the matter." Granny said causing the surprise from everybody.

"But Granny.." AJ started.

"No but, the deal we have with Barnyard Bargain is based on the friendship and the unity of our two families." Granny explained sternly. "It's been like that since Ah was a young'un. Ah refuse to let it become a simple business where everyone stabs at each other fer profits." She nearly shouted in anger. "It ain't the way we do things in this here farm." Both girls started to feel ashamed of themselves and were now looking at their feet.

"Mrs Smith, they still made a valid point." Rich said softly. "Plus, considering the harm brought by this incident..."

"Thank ya kindly Filthy, but ma decision's made." Granny Smith interrupted. "Ah didn't brin' them up to be vultures that spin above a wounded cow, waitin' for it to fall to start eatin'." She said with conviction, AJ and Vinyl were now completely down with that remark. "Go back to yer home, make yer wife apologize. And make it fast, the Zap Apples are coming."

"What? Really?" Rich said in complete surprise.

After Granny nodded, he bid his goodbye, he left with his carriage after having put Granny Smith' suitcases out, leaving the three women of the Apple Family alone. The two younger women were on the brink of tears as the Matriarch of the Apple Family was eyeing them with a stern gaze.

"Sorry, Granny." Vinyl said with a cracking voice.

"We've really disappointed ya...." Applejack said with a sad tone.

Granny's expression softened after the first word from her granddaughters. "It's ok, girls. Ya'll had our best interests at heart." She softly said.

"Why did you got mad at us then?" Vinyl slowly asked. "We could have a lot more bits to..."

"Girls. Are their any reparations needed?" Granny asked abruptly.

The girls were a bit taken aback by the sudden question."Humm, no." Applejack slowly said.

"Did we have a bad harvest?"

"No, not at all." Vinyl answered.

"Is one of our kin sick?"

"No." AJ and Vinyl said in unison.

"Are our finances in the green zone?" Granny Smith asked with a small smile.

"In the greener that zone can be." Vinyl affirmed.

"Then why would ya'll want more bits then?" Granny asked with a chuckle. 

The girls' mood brighten a bit when they realized what Granny had meant by that.

"Ah reckon ya're right, Granny." AJ softly said earning an approving nod from Vinyl.

"Now, why don't ya'll introduce me to our special guests?" Granny asked as she started to walk toward the farm house while Applejack grabbed her suitcase.

"Granny, how did you know about the Zap Apples?" Vinyl asked with a puzzled expression. "The leaves've appeared just this morning."

"Ya'll still got a lot to learn from yer good ol' Granny Smith, girls." She replied with a chuckle.






	
> Equestria's best Applebucker
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Granny Smith was walking happily toward her house, her granddaughters in tow, eager to meet the 'special' girls that were  living there for a short time. She hadn't realized Applejack and Vinyl had slowed their pace and were whispering nervously at each other, far behind their grandmother.

"What in the hay are we gonna do?" Asked an anxious Applejack. "This ain't how we thought this was gonna happen."

"Keep it together, AJ." Vinyl reassured, while rather stressed herself. "We just have to watch ourselves for a little while."

"Ah know that. But we didn't get time to talk about Granny with the others." Applejack said. "Ah'm scared one of them, like Rainbow or Pinkie, makes a remark about Rarity an' me or Octavia an' Ya, and that it'll make Granny snap."

"I know things are not as well as we hoped they would." Vinyl sighed. "But we were going to tell her about it. And we still can do it our way if we keep our calm."

"Ya're right." AJ slowly admitted. "But still, Ah have the feeling nothing will happen like we hope for."





The girls of the Council and Applebloom were in the living room, waiting for Applejack and Vinyl's returning from the meeting with Mr Rich, hopefully with good news. Applebloom was playing patty cake with Pinkie Pie whose forehead was bandaged from her fall from earlier. Fluttershy was busy scratching gently Winona's belly. Rainbow was sitting silently in the couch with a frown on her face. She was still pretty upset from having been falsely accused of the thunderclap incident. Rarity, Octavia and Twilight were chatting about the Zap Apple Orchard they had visited earlier.

"Have you ever heard about that kind of apple Twilight?" Octavia asked.

"Only from the Princess, when I was little." Twilight explained. "She made me taste a rainbow colored jam. I asked her what were the fruit mixed inside the jam. I didn't believe her when she said it was made with only one sort of apple. The Zap Apple."

"How did it taste?" Pinkie Pie asked, not interrupting her playing. 

"From what I remember, it was delicious." Pinkie Pie grinned at that answer. "I wanted to have it more often, but the Princess said it was a really rare product, so I never got a chance to taste it again." Twilight said with a little pained voice.

"From what I understood, it's the only place in the world that produces this kind of apple." Rarity pondered. "Who would have thought this place was so much special?" She added with a small smile.

The front door opened to let an elderly woman enter, followed by Applejack and Vinyl. Winona and Applebloom interrupted what they were doing and ran toward the woman.

"Granny. Ya're back!" The little girl shouted before hugging her grandmother, while Winona was jumping around them, barking her welcome.

"Hello there, Half-pint." Granny Smith said with a smile. "Ya'll did good while Ah was away?"

"She behaved like a real angel, Madam." Rarity said.

"Well that's just fine and dandy." Granny said. "Applejack, Vinyl. Why don't ya'll introduce all these lovely gals to me?"

"Sure thing Granny." Applejack answered.

The introductions went well. This time, Pinkie Pie didn't push Twilight out of the way when she went to shake hands with Granny Smith. Applejack and Vinyl tensed up a little bit when Rarity's and Octavia's turns came, fearing a misplaced word would have kindle suspicion. In the end, they worried over nothing. Or so they thought, because their behavior didn't go unnoticed by their girlfriends. 

They both took advantage of Granny being wrapped up in conversations to excuse themselves to prepare some tea. When they came in the relatively quiet kitchen, they both let out the breath they had been holding for a while, and started fetching the tea and something to eat.

"Thankfully, no one spilled the beans." Vinyl said in relief, as she was busy peeling some apples .

"Ah reckon, it went better than Ah thought." Applejack nodded, taking various kettles from the cupboard.

"Spilled the beans about what exactly?" Said slowly and simultaneously two refined feminine voices from behind them.

They both flinched in surprise. Vinyl almost cut her thumb while Applejack nearly let all the kettles fall on the ground. They turned around and faced their respective lover, who both bore serious expressions on their faces.

"We noticed you were quite uncomfortable when we spoke to your grandmother." Octavia simply said.

"Would you mind to explain to us why?" Rarity asked slowly.

Vinyl and Applejack exchange a small glance. They didn't need words, they knew what needed to be done. They both nodded with gravity before facing their lovers, decided on telling the truth. 

"We were kinda afraid that you, or any of the others for that matter, would have mentioned our 'thing' with you to Granny." Vinyl slowly said, her eyes looking at every where except Octavia. Applejack was doing the same with Rarity.

Like they thought they would, Octavia and Rarity were taken aback by that statement. They didn't know the Apples' reason, but their offended mind filled that blank quite easily.

"So what, you are ashamed of us?" Rarity said with anger.

"What? Of course not, Sugarcube." Applejack answered trying to grab Rarity's hand. "We were worried about this entire situation, that's all."

"Worried? About what? Your Grandmother finding out?." Octavia snapped with teary eyes.

"Octavia, please calm down." Vinyl said as she came closer to the cellist. 

"And you planned on keeping it secret from her?" Octavia panicked. "Or worse, should she find out and ask you to stop this, you would simply obey."

"Of course not." Vinyl and Applejack said in unison

"Really? Because that's the sort of message you're letting out." Rarity snarled. "We can spare you the trouble if that's what it is, you know." She snapped in anger, before realizing what she had just suggested. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

Applejack's face nearly literally fell on the ground at what Rarity had implied. "W-w-what? Ya can't be serious..." She quivered with a teary voice. Before anyone could stop her, she stormed out of the house by the kitchen's French door.

Rarity watched the door close itself in shock. "What have I done?" She said with a crack in her voice.

"Ask yourself what are you going to do now." Vinyl snapped ferociously. "Even better, just go after her right now!"

That broke Rarity out of her shock, she magicked the door open and ran after Applejack, leaving a pissed off Vinyl with a slightly less panicked Octavia. Vinyl exhaled slowly to cool down her anger.

"Vinyl.." Octavia started softly.

"Octavia, I wasn't planning on keeping what we have a secret." Vinyl explained abruptly. "Nor, I have the intention of leaving you if Granny doesn't approve of our relationship." She grabbed Octavia's hands firmly and looked deep in her eyes. "You mean too much for me to do that."

"Vinyl.." Octavia whisper with small tears and a growing smile. "You mean too much for me as well."

They both leaned in for a quick kiss. Vinyl rubbed Octavia's tears away with her finger. 

"Give me four days." Vinyl said with determination. "In four days, right after all the commotion with the Zap Apples is done, AJ and I had planned on telling Granny everything. We might have to play it low during that period." She added with a pinch of disappointment.

"After those four days, we could be together, like 'together' again?" Octavia asked in a whisper.

"No matter what happens, Octavia." Vinyl said firmly. "In the end, we will be together."

Octavia smiled. "That's all I ask."





Rarity had run after Applejack to the farmer's gym. It was evident she would have never caught the farmer on foot, so she was glad that her lover decided to hide in the gym instead of running in the Orchard. Rarity was standing in front of the barn door, she raised her hand and knocked.

"Darling, it's me."

When she heard no answer except the sounds of soft sobbing, she entered the 'gym' with a renewed determination. She found the farmer sitting in one corner of the large main room, her head buried in her knees as she was sitting in a fetal position. Rarity walked slowly before sitting next to her.

"Applejack." She said softly. "I'm sorry for what I said. I-I let my emotions get the best of me."

"Good ta know that when ya let yer emotions free, it turns out ya don't want me around." Applejack sobbed, not lifting her face from her knees.

"Applejack, I didn't mean any word of what I said." Rarity insisted. "It was just anger talking."

"Anger talkin' doesn't mean it ain't honest talkin'." 

"Applejack, look at me." She said softly as she grabbed the farmer's head and forced it to turned toward her. Applejack's gaze kept avoiding hers. "Look at me in the eyes." She asked firmly. Applejack's emerald eyes focused on Rarity's sapphire ones. 

Rarity could see the hurt in her farmer's eyes, the insecurity, the fear, the feeling of betrayal, all those negatives thoughts that had always been absent in Applejack's gaze. Rarity blamed herself for having put her usually strong hearted lover in that state. She had to make things right.

"Applejack, I love you, I don't want to lose you." Rarity said softly. "I would never want you away from me. As long as you want me around you, I'll always be there." 

Her voice was low, but it was firm. Applejack saw in her eyes that every word she was saying was the truth. A small smile started to appear on the farmer's face. 

"What I implied back there was not what I feel toward you. I'll probably blame myself for a very long time for having said that to you. I want us to work, but I would understand if you're not willing to forgive m..."

Applejack interrupted her by firmly pressing her lips on the seamstress's. While a bit surprised at first, Rarity quickly started to return the kiss with a passion equal to the farmer's. After a few minutes, Applejack broke the kiss.

"Ah forgive ya Rarity." She whispered slowly. "Ah'm sorry for running away like that.."

"Don't you dare apologize for that, Darling." Rarity said with conviction.

"Ah know ya'll don't want this to be a secret. Ah don't wan' it too." Applejack said. "But give me time Rare... In a short time, Vinyl and Ah'll take care of everything. We..."

"You don't need to explain further, Dear." Rarity interrupted. "You've always done everything you've ever said you'll do since I met you. You said you'll take care of everything, that's enough for me."

"Thank ya for trustin' me." Applejack said before hugging Rarity. "Love ya, Sugarcube."

"Love you too, Darling." Rarity said softly.





Affluent Rich came by Monday morning to apologize to Vinyl and Granny Smith, under the glower of Applejack and all the other girls. While her apology lacked conviction and sincerity in her eyes, Vinyl accepted it in order to finally forget about her. It was pretty clear that Vinyl wouldn't do delivery to Barnyard Bargain anytime soon. And Applejack had insisted to Granny Smith that as soon as he gets back, Big Mac'll take care of it. 

With the trade reopened with Barnyard Bargain, the next days were quite hard for Applejack and Vinyl. Their usual chores, added with the work for Rich's orders, coupled with the additional work in order to prepare the Zap Apple harvest, were taking their toll on the two Apples formidable stamina. They had been working from the crack of dawn to nightfall for the next four days. And the fact that Granny had taken back her room didn't help their sore muscle.

"Are you sure you don't want to bunk with me tonight, Darling?" Rarity asked as she was massaging Applejack's shoulders. Rarity and her didn't have much time together since the Zap Apples were coming, except for little massage sessions like this one. Something Rarity was very eager to give. "That couch can't be good for proper resting."

"Ah appreciate the offer, Sugarcube." Applejack answered slowly, enjoying the massage. "But ah think ah'll rest even less if yer body's so close to mine like that."

"Considering how exhausted you are when you and Vinyl are coming back from work." Rarity chuckled. "I think you're overestimating your strengths Darling."

"And Ah think ya're underestimating how much desire yar amazin' curves can arouse in poor little me." Applejack giggled playfully.

"Sweet talker." Rarity answered, as she started to massage Applejack with a lot more care and vigor then before, causing the farmer to sigh in contentment.

"Beside, tomorrow is harvest day." Applejack slowly said. "After tomorrow, we could slow down the pace."

True to their words of holding themselves as long as they haven't told Granny Smith, the two couple didn't express their feeling as much as before. Rarity and Octavia had warned their fellow Council members about that and make them promise to not letting a thing out to Granny, pretty much like they did with Applebloom. It had been proved a lot more harder than they initially thought because, unlike Applebloom, Granny Smith spent most of her time in the house or watching over her granddaughters's work. And despite what could be thought of her, she was still pretty well aware of what happened around her.

The only displays of affection the couples had shared were nothing more than stolen kiss here and there. But Rarity found a way to spend time with Applejack with her massage sessions, while Octavia took the habit to play Applejack's violin in the part of the Orchard in which Vinyl was working. Vinyl could listen to her lover playing for her and it had given her more energy to spend. She was working twice as fast with Octavia playing for her.

While Granny's rules of hospitality forbade her guests to help in the farm work, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Twilight had spend the last few days helping the matriarch and Applebloom in all their funny/weird preparations for the Zap Apple Jam. Rainbow used those moments when Granny wasn't looking to help Applejack and Vinyl. Something they both greatly appreciated. Octavia and Rarity had tried to also spend a part of their time with Granny Smith, in hope to bond with her. Something that seemed to be working.

The day of Zap Apple Harvest had arrived. All the Apple family members and their guest were now waiting at the entrance of the Zap Apples Orchard on top of which was a massive black storm cloud, you could hear the rumble of thunder building up inside the cloud while it was delivery ice cold water rain on the Zap Apple trees. The buckets had already been placed around all the trees earlier this day. When the storm was nearing its zenith, Granny had said it was time to get prepared. Granny Smith, Applebloom and the girls were leaning on the outside of the fence delimiting the Orchard, while Vinyl and Applejack were getting ready inside. 

"OOOH. This is so exciting." Said happily Pinkie as she was literally shaking of excitement.

"I must say, the scenery and all, it looks pretty awesome." Rainbow said in a fake casual tone, she was nearly as excited as Pinkie.

" Hummm, isn't it dangerous for them to remain under the tree line with such a storm cloud above them?" Fluttershy quietly asked with concern.

"Don't ya worry Fluttershy." Applebloom said happily. "They all know what they're doin'. They are the best of the best." She said with pride. "So who do ya'll think will win today?"

"Win? How do you win in a harvest?" Twilight asked with a puzzled expression.

"Oh yeah. We didn't explain that ta ya'll." Applebloom said. "See, the time to buck the Zap Apples is very short."

"What do you mean by that dear?" Rarity asked.

"Well Ah don't know why exactly, but once that time limit is reached the unpicked apples simply vanish." The red-haired girl explained. "So ma sisters and ma brother made a game out of it. They separated the orchard in three and at each harvest they 'race' to see who bucked more trees than the others in his part until the limit is up."

"OHHH. This even more exciting." Pinkie shouted. "Go Applejack! No wait. Go Vinyl! Raah. Can't decide. I know I'll make the announcer." She said happily, pulling her megaphone out of...somewhere. 

"Well for a competition, I'll say Applejack will win." Rainbow said.

Granny watched the sky, not listening to the talk about who would win Zap Apple Harvest, The rumble was becoming more violent than before. She turned her gaze to her granddaughters and saw that they had heard the rumble as well and were taking positions. "Them young'uns noticed the change in the cloud's noises. Maybe they could manage the next Zap Apple Harvest on their own." She thought with pride.

"Get ya'll ready." Granny shouted. "It will begin soon."

The rumble instantly stopped for a few seconds, before a massive bolt of lightning striked the tree in the center of the Orchard with a huge thunderclap. The girls from the Council of Harmony and Applebloom flinched and yelped in surprise. As soon as the lightning strike has occurred the cloud dissipated itself. Electrical arcs passed from the central tree to the others and while they did, the grey fruits on it started to color themselves in a shiny rainbow pattern. 

Once the arcs died down, Granny shouted. "The Zap Apple Harvest has begun. Move yer caboose Girls." 

Vinyl and Applejack each lunged at the closest tree and gave it a solid buck. They didn't wait to see all the apples fell in the bucket and moved to the next tree. It quickly looked more like a slalom where you have to kick all the posts instead of dodging them.

"And Applejack is taking the lead, she's ahead by one, no two, wait, four bucked trees of Vinyl's score." Pinkie commented in her megaphone, as the others were cheering loudly.

"Come on Vinyl. You can beat her." Octavia shouted louder than the others.

"Keep going Applejack." Rarity cheered at the same volume as Octavia.

Hearing their lovers cheering for them had boosted the two applebuckers. They both picked up their paces, but Applejack was still taking a small advantage on the score. In the next hour, the gap between them was far from being little.

"And Applejack is now ahead with thirty-five. No wait I almost lose count, FORTY apple trees ahead of Vinyl's score." Pinkie said excitedly in her megaphone. "According to Granny Smith, the time limit is almost up. Looks like that's it for Vinyl, but she maintain her effort and doesn't slow down. What a fantastic spirit."

"Oh yeah. I knew Applejack's gonna win." Rainbow grinned. "We should have bet on the winner."

"Looks like you were right." Octavia sighed. "I don't understand why she didn't use her spell."

"Well probably because the time her applebucking sphere need to 'build up' would have slowed her down even more." Twilight hypothesized.

"I suppose you're right." Octavia said in defeat.

"Don' ya'll worry yer pretty little head, Missy." Granny chimed in with a smile, before looking at the watch she had in her hand. "There's still five minutes left."

"How can she catch up with Applejack in five minutes." Asked Octavia with a puzzled look.

"Hey. Wait a minute. What's that?" Pinkie Pie asked in the megaphone, causing everyone, except Granny Smith and Applebloom to snap their head back toward the Orchard.

In the middle of the trees, at about twenty meters from Vinyl, they could get a glimpse of a flickering blue light. They all narrowed their eyes to focus their visions. They managed to recognize one of Vinyl's applebucking's spell, only a larger version, around two time the size of a regular one. They noticed Vinyl didn't seem to pay attention to it and kept bucking her way along the Orchard. The sphere seemed to grow a little every now and then.

At one moment, right after Pinkie announced that one minute remained until the time was up, Vinyl stopped her bucking spree and turned around to face her glowing magic sphere. In a flash, she conjured a large string of blue magic that she casted toward the sphere. The string flickered so much during her flight that it became white instead of blue. The string came in contact with the sphere which absorbed it before exploding.

The explosion caused a massive flash of blue light, and a sound very similar to the thunderclap from earlier, both in type and in volume. When the light died down, the girls watched in awe Zap Apples fall from at least fifty trees that were caught in the explosion. A few seconds later, a low static noise could be heard as the unbucked apples started to disappear. The girls kept staring in shock, until they heard voices coming from the Orchard.

"Yeah, I won again." Shouted the voice of Vinyl.

"Dang Nabbit." Shouted Applejack, with a mix of anger and playful chuckle in her voice. "Ya just wait next year, Vinyl. Ah'll beat that spell of yars in the next Harvest."

"If ya'll wan' ta know the truth." Granny explained with a chuckle as the girls's jaws were hanging loose. "Vinyl has been winnin' their Harvest competition for the last eight years." She gently grabbed the megaphone from Pinkie's hand before yelling in it. "Girls. Collect the buckets. It's time fer some good ol' Zap Apple Jammin'."





The rest of day had been spent in the kitchen, where everybody watched Granny Smith supervising the jamming of Vinyl, Applejack, Applebloom and Pinkie Pie who had pulled out the incredible feat of convincing Granny Smith to allow her to participate in this particular family tradition.

After this day of Zap Apple Harvest well spent, Vinyl put Applebloom in bed and when she came down she met all their guests coming upstairs with neutral expressions, or at least for most of them. Rarity and Octavia looked worried and Vinyl immediately understood why. Applejack had decided it was time. After a quick nod to the others, and a hug from Octavia, Vinyl came in the living room where she met a rather anxious, yet determined Applejack.

"Where's Granny?" Vinyl slowly asked.

"In the kitchen. Ya'll ready?" 

"Yes, I am." Vinyl said with conviction. "Let's do this thing."

They walked side by side to the kitchen, where they found their grandmother filling herself a cup of tea. The Matriarch put the teapot on the countertop before noticing her children. She immediately noticed their serious expression.

"Something's wrong girls?" She asked slowly.

"Granny, would ya please take a seat?" Applejack asked.

"Why?" Granny asked with a puzzled expression and a crooked eyebrow.

"Because we have something important to tell you." Vinyl explained. "And we think it would be best if you take a seat before that.."


> Family Matters 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Because we have something important to tell you." Vinyl explained. "And we think it would be best if you take a seat before that.."

Granny Smith looked at her grandchildren in bewilderment. She focused her gaze on their faces, she immediately recognized those expressions. They both bore the same expression they had when they were about to confess something really bad to their grandmother. She sat on the closest chair and wait for her 'children' to speak.

"Ah'm listening." Granny said cautiously. The girls took a seat as well and turned their faces toward her. "What happened? Yalooked disturbed like when ya razed the barn by accident"

"If only it was something like that." Vinyl halfheartedly chuckled. 

"Granny," Applejack started. "Ya know that the gals had been on the farm for 'bout ten days by now."

" And that in those ten days, we all got real close to each other." Vinyl continued.

"Darn tootin'. No big surprise there. Ya sure to get close to someone ifen y'all share a house." Granny nodded. "Kinda logic girls."

"Glad ya think that, Granny." Applejack nodded as well. "The thing is that we kinda got close to some of them in particular."

"Well of course, ya have more feelin' toward one friend than the others." Granny blinked in confusion. "That there's what ya call a best friend."

"Not really that kind of close, Granny." Vinyl slowly said.

"What do ya mean?" Granny asked impatiently.

"Granny, I got involved with one of them." Vinyl let out in a relieving sigh. "In a romantic way."

"And, Ah as well." Applejack confessed in a small voice.

They both eyed the Matriarch with cautious. She froze in surprise when she processed what her grandchildren had told her.  She broke out from her freezing moment by taking a sip from her tea. When she put the cup back on the table, she spoke with a neutral voice.

"Well Ah'm surprised." Granny slowly said. "Which of the six are they?"

"Octavia and Rarity." Vinyl said.

"One thing left to do then." She said, rising up from her seat.

The girls stood up as well.

"Where are ya goin'?" Applejack asked with concern.

"Ah'm gonna tell them to get the heck out of MY HOUSE!" Granny Smith shouted in anger. "Ah refuse to have that sort of fella under my roof!"

"That's absolutely out of question!" Vinyl shouted back as she placed herself in the elder woman's way.

"Don' talk back to yer grandmother like that, Missy!" Granny chastised. "An' don't ya think ya're off the hook, yer turns will come later."

"Our turns for what exactly?" Applejack snapped. "What in the hay did we do wrong ?"

"Don' ask me what's wrong!" Granny yelled. "Ah didn't raise ya to talk back to me like that. Or to fool around with others women."

"We are not fooling around, Granny." Vinyl said ferociously. "I'm simply in love with Octavia."

"And Ah love Rarity." Applejack added.

"Y'all can't know what love it is." Granny angrily snarled. "Yer too young for that."

"Dad was a year younger than us when he married Mom." Vinyl countered.

"DON'T YA DARE bringin' them in this!" Granny bellowed. "It aint the same situation."

"How it ain't the same?" Applejack asked. "They loved each other, that was it. How was it different than what we want now?"

"It's just different." Granny shook her head. "If y'all think ah'm gonna allow ya to live like..."

"Ok. I'll be very clear about something, Granny." Vinyl interrupted her. "We didn't tell you about that to ask for your permission. We told you because we didn't want to hide it from you."

"No matter, what ya will say, we ain't gonna stop to see them." Applejack confirmed.

"If ya both still want to be part of this here family, ya will stop!" Granny snapped. When she saw the face of her blue haired granddaughter full of pain and hurt from her words, she immediately wanted them back. 

"Y-Yo-You really mean that?" Vinyl stammered with tears in her eyes. "You really want us to... You want ME to choose between THIS family and the person I love." She asked with a cracking voice as tears rolled on her cheeks.

"Vinyl.." Applejack said with concern.

"Vinyl, sugar wait.." Granny started in a small voice.

"You promised..."Vinyl said in a shaking voice. "You and Mom promised me that I could always consider this place as my home. That I'll always be accepted in this house." She spoke with her voice barely louder than a whisper. "And now you ask me to choose..."

"Vinyl, no." Granny Smith pleaded. "Ah shouldn't have said that...."

"Well too bad, ya said it." Applejack snapped as she passed her arms around her distraught sister. "Ah'm taking her for a walk to calm her down. Ya better not do anythin' until we're back." Applejack warned angrily. "This here conversation ain't over."

Applejack lead Vinyl who let herself being guided without any struggle outside, leaving Granny alone with her thoughts. The old woman sat back in her chair, and put her right hand on her forehead. She remained like that for a few minutes in a complete silence.

"Ah'm such an old fool." She slowly said as a small tear rolled down her cheek.





Rarity and Octavia were keeping each other company in Rarity's room, they had asked the others to leave them on their own, something they accepted to do. Just to be safe, Twilight had cast a muffling spell on Applebloom's door. When the shouting had started, everyone was thankful of Twilight's insight. The shouting had stopped about twenty minutes ago, and since then nothing. It wasn't reassuring the two already stressed women.

"Do you think we should go down and see what's going on?" Octavia asked hesitantly.

"Considering what we heard before Dear, I don't think it will be a good idea." Rarity answered, shaking her head.

They were startled by a slow knock on the door. Rarity got up and opened the door, hoping it will be Applejack and Vinyl. To her and Octavia's surprise, the door opened to let an elder woman inside. Granny looked like she had been crying a lot. Rarity and Octavia looked at the Apple Matriarch with caution and a bit of anger.

"Ah suppose y'all heard everything." She slowly said, earning a small nod from the younger women. "Can ah have a word with ya two?"

"Sure." Rarity answered with her most polite tone. 

Granny Smith took a good look at the women who had taken her granddaughters's hearts. "Ah came to ask y'all something." She took a deep breath before saying . "Ah wan' ta know what do ya feel about my grandchildren."

"Isn't obvious how we feel about them?" Rarity asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"Just answer ma question, please." Granny softly said.

"Well, for me, Vinyl is the one that changed the way I saw things." Octavia slowly explained, looking for the best words to express her feelings. "Her magic, her playing, her vision of music in general, everything about her was an amazing discovery for me." She smiled a little. "I had hoped she would stay in Canterlot when I proposed her a seat in the Council, so that I could get to know her. Even her refusal, had taught me something I wouldn't have ever thought about." Her smile grow wider. "I was so excited when the Princess said we were gonna stay a few weeks here." 

Octavia paused a moment before continuing."Our friendship grew quickly into something more when we spent more time together. I wasn't sure of what to do. But when Vinyl said she felt the same way, I've never been so happy in my life." She turned her face toward Granny Smith. "Vinyl's the most amazing woman I ever met. Even more amazing then our immortal Princesses in my opinion. I would trade everything I have to stay at her side." She concluded with conviction.

Granny didn't show any emotions during Octavia's speech, nor did she say anything when it was over. She just turned around to face Rarity who cleared her throat before speaking.

"If I must tell the truth," She started slowly. "I didn't think much of Applejack when I first met her. At that time, she was simply Vinyl's plus-one to me." Rarity paused and noticed the frown on Granny Smith's face. "But quickly, words about her spread like wild fire. Pinkie Pie told how she was so nice with every one she met. Her encounter with Blueblood told everyone she was a strong woman with an even stronger character. She didn't hesitate in protecting me during the earthquake and the invasion."

"During that time, the only thing on her mind was finding Vinyl to make sure she was ok. But she kept looking out for me as well. She cares about those she loves and also about those next to her. That's something that I find admirable." Rarity continued with a dreamy gaze. "At the wedding, I saw a complete other facet of her personality. She was clearly above every other nobles. She had more grace and elegance than any other woman around her. And she managed to do that without cheating on who she was, unlike every last one of them."

She looked the old woman right in the eyes. "Applejack's a paragon of honesty. Everything she says, she means it with all her heart. Someone like that doesn't exist in Canterlot. So when she said she loved me, I knew how much it meant to her." She added with a small blush before saying. "I don't think I truly deserve to be with her, but I will none the less love her with all of my heart."

Granny looked at the two young women from the Nobility in silence for a couple of minutes. When she spoke again, her voice was shaking and her eyes were shining with tears. "My Applejack and my Vinyl are two of the four most precious things ah have left in this world. So ah want y'all to take good care of them, ya hear?" 

Octavia and Rarity were shocked by that demand. Considering what they had heard her shouted earlier, that wasn't what they expected the elderly woman to say.

"You mean...you're finally approving their decisions?" Octavia asked hopefully.

"Ah shouldn't have disapproved in the first place. They are old enough to know what's good for them." She said apologetically, her head hanging low in shame. "Ah only managed to hurt them, especially Vinyl, with ma stubbornness an ma ol' fashion ways."

"What are you going to do about it?" Rarity asked with concern. Seeing the old woman so distraught was really unsettling for her and Octavia.

"Ah'll just apologize to them and pray the Horse Gods for them to forgive ma foolish behavior." Granny Smith said slowly.

"Mrs Smith, would you like some tea?" Octavia asked carefully. "I think you need to relax a bit."

"Ah reckon a cup of tea would be nice." She nodded.





Vinyl had managed to calm down after a rather long walk in the Orchard with Applejack. They were now coming back to the house to finish their talk with Granny Smith. They were resolute into winning this argument. Something they've never managed in the past, but today they ought to succeed. When approaching the front door, they heard the sounds of laughters coming from inside.

"What the hay?" Vinyl said looking at Applejack with a very puzzled face.

"What in tarnation?" Applejack asked simultaneously with a extremely similar expression.

They opened the door and saw what was going on inside. It was the only thing they dreaded the most in the world.

Granny was showing the girls of the Council of Harmony her photo albums.

When they noticed that Vinyl and Applejack had come back, Octavia and Rarity rushed to their respective lover for a big hug. The two Apples were getting more and more confused.

"Can someone explain what's going on ?" Vinyl asked.

"Yeah, we kinda feel out of the loop now." Applejack added.

"Hmm. I think I know how to explain quickly. Right Rarity?" Octavia said in a playful chuckle.

"Indeed my dear." Rarity giggled with a nod.

They both pulled their girlfriends into a passionate kiss. Completely shocked at first, the two Apples slowly started to kiss back with an equal passion. Rainbow and Pinkie started to whistle at them and Twilight and Fluttershy were just smiling at their friends. Granny Smith's impassible expression softened a lot when she noticed how happy her grandchildren looked and started to smile as well.

When the kiss broke, Vinyl and Applejack locked their eyes on those of their respective girlfriend for a minute or two. The glint in their eyes told them enough about what must have happened when they were on their walk. They broke the embrace with their lovers and made way toward Granny Smith and, without saying anything, they hugged her tightly.

"Thank you Granny!" they both whispered as she hugged them back with all her strength. 

That was too much for Pinkie who started to cry, literally, gallons of happy tears, completely hosing Rainbow Dash who was sitting right next to her. The Apples broke their hug and joined the others in their fit of laughter.





The rest of the evening was spent by Granny Smith showing more of her photo albums and telling stories about the various shenanigans Applejack and/or Vinyl had done when they were younger, much at the concerned parties's discomfort. Now, everyone had gone to bed and the Apple siblings were preparing their couch/bed for the night with their grandmother watching them.

"Granny." Vinyl started slowly. "How exactly did things work out when AJ and I were outside?"

"Ah was kinda askin' me that as well." Applejack added.

Granny thought about that for a few moments, searching for her words. "Well, after y'all had left, " She explained slowly. " Ah started to feel ashamed of how Ah treated ya. So after a few moments of thinkin', Ah went upstairs to have a talk with Rarity and Octavia."

"What did y'all talk about?" Applejack asked with interest.

"Ah wanted them to say what they thought about y'all..." She explained everything that had happened when she talked to her two special guests. She couldn't help but to chuckle at the sight of a growing blush on her granddaughters's faces when she told in details what each girl had said about their respective lover. "After Ah realized they cared about ya as much as ya do about them, Ah stepped down. We took some tea, we talked, and next thing Ah knew, Ah was showin' my photo albums."

"How did you know how we felt about them?" Vinyl asked. "We didn't get you a whole speech like they did."

"Ya didn't need a speech." Granny chuckled. "Y'all did something that needed no words."

"What?" Applejack and Vinyl both asked in confusion.

"Ya stood yer grounds against me for them." Granny slowly said, with a certain amount of pride in her voice. "That there, was something ya both never did before. Like with Filthy the other day, as soon as Ah said no, ya stopped to defend yer opinion even if it made perfect sense ta ya." Granny explained. "And today, ya didn't hesitate a second for them gals. Ah was angry at first, but lookin' back, ah was also proud ya were standing up to me."

The two girls didn't say anything, so the matriarch continued. "An' since Ah know ya are more stubborn than an ol' mule, just like maself, Ah realized there was no point in arguin' about it." She said with a chuckle, joined quickly by Applejack and Vinyl. "It will take some time to get used ta it." Granny confessed. "But as long as ya're happy, Ah can live with that."

"Thanks a lot Granny, you have no idea how much that means to us." Vinyl said with a smile as Applejack nodded her sister's affirmation. 

"It's ok my dears," Granny said with care, before turning serious. "But don't y'all think ah'm gonna let ya roll in the hay every time ya feel like it. This house still got rules ya know." What she had said had caused her granddaughters to back away.

"Vinyl did it already." Applejack quickly confessed in panic.

"And why in the wide wild land of Equestria did you have to say that?" Vinyl snapped at her sister.

"If ya're gonna go down, Ah'm not gonna let ya take me with ya." Applejack retorted.

"Oh because you're a complete saint, ain't you?" Vinyl asked sarcastically. "Maybe we should talk about the time Rainbow spied on ya and Rarity in the barn. Or what about the bite marks on your neck?"

"What with all the...." Applejack said in anger, coming close to her sister.

"Ahem"

They both faced their grandmother who was tapping her foot on the ground and looking at them with a crooked eyebrow. They gulped in fear when she pointed the couch.

"Sit down girls," She sternly said. "Ah'm gonna remind ya how things work around here."

"Yes, Granny." They both said in defeat.


> Octavia's fear
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It has been a couple of days since Applejack's and Vinyl's coming out to Granny Smith. The matriarch didn't seem to mind the proximity between her granddaughters and their girlfriends. She'd accepted them to share bedroom, even if it was more a matter of comfort for her grandchildren, sleeping on a couch and working hard were not a pretty good match. Well they could share bed, but they had to respect the house's rules, so no funny business. It was hard for the couples, but their fear of being caught pants down and shirt lifted by the elder woman prevailed on their needs to satisfy their urges.

Things were pretty good for Sweet Apple Acres, this year's Zap Apple Harvest was one of the best they had. All their batches were sold faster than one could say Lickity Split. Vinyl claimed that if the coming Cider Season was half as good as it usually was, the farm would have made its biggest profits in the last five years. That made her and Applejack work with high spirits, even if they had to work harder to compensate their brother's absence.

It was Sunday afternoon, Vinyl was enjoying her very first free time of the week with Octavia. They were 'working' on one of Octavia's latest composition. The cellist was resting her head on Vinyl's shoulder as they were both sitting on the living room while Vinyl was reading one of the many music sheets. Octavia snuggled a bit, trying to get the blue haired musician's attention, something she succeeded in as Vinyl put the sheet on the coffee table and faced toward her lover with a smile before kissing her softly.  

The front door bursted itself open, letting a angered Applejack in. She was rubbing a quite large bruise on her arm. 

"Consarn it! VINYL! Where the buck are ya?" She shouted in a anger tone.

"Applejack, watch yer language in this here house!" Chastised the voice of Granny Smith from the kitchen wherein she was busy teaching some pastry's recipe to Pinkie Pie. The elder woman grew fond of the overly happy pink haired girl and was willing to teach her some of her cooking special tricks. 

Not being unsettled at all by her sister's shout, Vinyl first finished to kiss her lover properly, and when that was taken care off, she turned her face to see what Applejack wanted.

"What is it Applejack?" Vinyl asked casually. 

"Alizee's misbehavin', that's what it is." Applejack said pointing her bruised arm. "Ah tried to get her out of her paddock and she tried to buck me."

"Fine, Fine. I'll go and take care of her." Vinyl sighed reluctantly as she escaped Octavia's grip and rose up. "Octavia, you want to come with me?"

"Sure." Octavia immediately nodded. "Were are we going?"

"To the stables." Vinyl casually answered. She didn't notice that Octavia's expression fell at the mention of the stables.

In the next few minutes, they entered the stables in which almost all paddocks were empty as AJ had let the horses out in the pen. There was only one paddock that was still closed. Vinyl signaled Octavia to stay at distance.

"Might be good for you to remain here." Vinyl explained. "At least, until I get her out."

Octavia internally sighed in relief. "Ok, I'll just stay here." Octavia said trying to let out her normal voice." What's in there?"

"Oh yeah, I didn't explain." Vinyl said as she approached  the closed paddock. "That's Alizee's paddock."

"And who's this Alizee?" Octavia asked. "A girl, I should be worried about?"

"I wouldn't go that far." Vinyl chuckled. She opened the paddock. "Hey there, beautiful." She said softly earning a loud, sort of happy, whinny from the inside of the paddock that caused Octavia to flinch. "Come out, now. Don't be shy. There's someone I want you to see." Vinyl said in a motherly tone as she extended her hand toward the paddock.

A beautiful deep-black mare, smaller than Vinyl at the withers, came out of the paddock. She brought her snout in contact with the extended hand in front of her. Vinyl slowly started to rub the head of the mare who closed her eyes, enjoying the strokes.

"Miss me?" Vinyl asked in a low voice, the mare shook her head in what looked like a nod. "I did neglect you, didn't I?" Vinyl said in apologetic tone as the mare answered her with a nod again. "Still, it's no excuse to be mad at AJ." The equine neighed hard. it looked like a laughter. "Don't you laugh at her, Missy. May I remind you she's the one who took care of you when I was away in Manehatten." Vinyl chastised the horse who got out of the paddock. The mare tried to nuzzle Vinyl's head. "Hey, hey, now. Stop it. It tickles." Vinyl chuckled, before tapping the horse's side. "Come on, why don't you go outside with the others? To get some fresh air?" After one last nuzzle, the mare slowly trotted toward in the exit that gave access to the pen.

Octavia watched Vinyl in amazement, she had only witnessed such proximity with an animal on Fluttershy. Vinyl walked back to her. "You could give some pointers to Fluttershy with what you just did." Octavia slowly said. "I heard her saying that there was a mare that was quite hard to handle when she came to tend the animals with Applebloom or Applejack."

"I don't think Fluttershy need any pointers regarding animal care." Vinyl waved off with a chuckle. "It's just that Alizee only answers to me when she's being difficult. After all, she is my horse."

"You mean like you're the only that can ride her?"

"Exactly! Not that I want to be exclusive, mind you." Vinyl giggled. "I'm just the only one she accepts on her back." Vinyl's eyes lit up suddenly. "Hey, I got an idea! Why don't we go on a horse ride, just the two of us?"

"Oh! Well. It would have been with pleasure, but I don't know how to ride a horse." Octavia quickly answered, trying hard not to shake in fear at that thought. 

"Oh that's too bad." Vinyl said softly. "Maybe I can teach you?" Vinyl asked with a big smile

Octavia pondered for a while, she didn't want to try but she didn't want to disappoint Vinyl. "I guess we could try..." She finally said.

Vinyl led Octavia in a smaller pen attached to the main one inside of which the half a dozen of horses the Apples owned were trotting around. Octavia waited a few minutes for Vinyl to come back in the small pen with a palomino work horse about Octavia's size. 

"Octavia. Meet Amadeus, the nicest and sweetest horse in Sweet Apple Acres." Vinyl said happily.

"Hel-Hello." Octavia said hesitantly, before facing Vinyl. "What do I do now?" She asked.

"Well, for starter, you and him must make acquaintance." Vinyl explained with a smile as she took position between Octavia and Amadeus. "You saw what I did with Alizee, right?"

"You mean when you extended your hand and she came to you?"

"Yes. You're gonna do the same." Vinyl said. "He doesn't know you yet, so you'd have to meet him halfway."

Octavia extended her right hand toward the horse. Amadeus eyed the offering hand with curiosity before taking a step forward. 

"That's good, he's interested." Vinyl said softly. "Take a step toward him as well."

Octavia did as Vinyl said, taking a step only after the palomino horse did. Soon the horse head was only a couple of inches away from Octavia's hand. Vinyl could not see it well from where she stood, but Octavia's hand was shaking like a leaf in a storm. Octavia didn't take a step further, she kept watching the horse with caution.

"Octavia, are you ok?" Vinyl asked with concern when she noticed that Octavia was shaking.

Octavia remembered Vinyl was watching and tried to make a quick step forward. But she tripped and her hand flew quickly toward the stallion's eye.

"OCTAVIA!" Vinyl yelled in a panic, as Amadeus reared up with a loud scared whinny. Octavia froze in front of the horse, she saw his hooves coming up before coming down right at her. She shrieked as she cowered in a ball and closed her eyes in fear. The impact never came, but she heard a pained grunt with a small thud coming from right in front of her.

She opened her eyes and saw Vinyl's pained face above hers. She realized that Vinyl had interposed herself between the stallion and her. Vinyl grabbed her and pulled her away from the pen center. Octavia noticed the horse was a few feet behind them, not moving, it seemed pained and ashamed somehow.

"Octavia, are you ok?" Vinyl asked with a small panting voice.

"I'm fine but what about you?" Octavia stammered, her voice still shaking.

"I think I got hit on the back..." Vinyl said slowly with a grimace as she felt around her shoulder blade. "Do me a favor, go fetch AJ." 

"But...But." 

"NOW!" Vinyl snapped. Octavia quickly turned heels and ran back toward the house.





Vinyl had been carried by Applejack back to the farm house, in which Granny and Fluttershy had prepared the dining table with blankets and sheets so that Vinyl could lie on top of it. Octavia was sobbing in Rarity's arms as the seamstress tried to reassure her friend. Pinkie and Rainbow were keeping Applebloom occupied upstairs, and Twilight had come back from the bathroom with all the medical supplies she could find.

Grunting heavily and cursing, Vinyl laid on her belly on top of the table.

"Where does it hurt, sweetie?" Granny said softly, she managed to remain calm.

"..My back.." Vinyl muttered in pain.

Granny gulped. "Ah'm gonna have to take yer shirt off for that, honey." 

Small tears appeared in Vinyl's eyes. Granny could see that they weren't only because of the pain. "...Don't care..."

"Applejack!" Granny ordered in a firm voice. Applejack grabbed both sides of Vinyl's shirt and ripped it open since they couldn't turn Vinyl around. When they caught a glimpse of Vinyl's back, Rarity, Fluttershy and Twilight gasped in shock. Their gaze didn't focus on the two large bruises in the middle of Vinyl's shoulder blades, they were focused on all the scars spread on her back. Octavia couldn't bear to look. 

"Fluttershy! Snap out of it." Applejack shouted. "Ya're the one with medical trainin' here."

"Oh sorry! Right! Right." Fluttershy said in a unusual normal volume. " Hum. I'm going to have to check her wounds." She started to feel around Vinyl's bruises. As soon as her fingertips touched her skin, Vinyl started to yell in pain and her body shifted violently.

"Applejack, Hold her down." Granny ordered as she put a cloth in Vinyl's mouth, for her to bite on it. She started to pat slowly her granddaughter's head. "It's gonna be all right Sweetie."

Applejack grabbed her sister's shoulders, carefully avoiding her bruises, and maintained her upper body down. Fluttershy started to feel her bruises quickly but firmly. Vinyl let out a muffled scream of pain and tried to move but Applejack's grip was too strong.

"Ok, no bones seem to be broken." Fluttershy slowly said after a few minutes of fumbling. "There might be a small crack on it but I doubt it. All the impact was absorbed by her muscles." 

"What about them, then?" Applejack asked.

"She was lucky, the horse didn't hit as hard as he could have." Fluttershy said before searching into the first aid kit Twilight had brought.

"Thank Faust, It was Amadeus and not Philibert." Applejack commented to herself.

"Got it." Fluttershy said as she opened a bottle of ointment and poured some in her hand. "Vinyl, I'm sorry but it's gonna hurt." she warned as she rubbed her hands together. "Twilight, keep the bottle next to me, just in case." She positioned her hands above Vinyl's back. "Here goes!"

Fluttershy started to apply the ointment meticulously on every inches of Vinyl's wounds, causing her to scream again in the cloth. It lasted for about five minutes, when Fluttershy finished with the ointment she asked Twilight to use her magic to put the gauzes on top of the wound, explaining that doing it by magic would have put less pressure and would be more bearable for Vinyl. As soon as the gauzes were in place and secured, Rarity levitated a light white sheet to delicately cover Vinyl's back.

Granny put the cloth out of Vinyl's mouth. Vinyl was panting heavily. As her grandmother patted her head, slowly but surely, her breathing returned to normal. At some point, Vinyl tried to stand up. Fluttershy rushed at her side. 

"Vinyl, you have to lie down." Fluttershy said in her usual quiet voice.

"I know 'Shy. But Im not gonna remain on the dining table." Vinyl slowly grunted with a hoarse voice. She managed to stand up and walked slowly outside the room, she took support on the door frame. "Octavia, could you accompany me to our room?" She asked slowly to her lover who, for the first time since Vinyl had been brought in, looked up from Rarity's arms. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying, Vinyl knew she needed to rest as much as herself. "Please?" Octavia slowly nodded, before taking Vinyl's hand. They both slowly went upstairs.

After they had left, Fluttershy and Twilight helped Granny Smith to clean up the table, while Applejack let herself fall on one of the living room's couch, rubbing her eyes with her right hand. Rarity sat next to her.

"Are you all right, Darling?" Rarity asked with concern.

"Ah'm fine." Applejack slowly said. "It's just..Ah don't like the fact that Vinyl had to show her back to all of ya."

"What do you mean?"

"She hates that folks know about it." Applejack slowly explained. "As soon as they know, folks act different toward her. She never complained about it, but Ah know it pains her."

"That's understandable." Rarity pondered for a few moments. " Now that I think about it, a lot of Titanian doctors probably have spells to make scars disappear. Did you ever think of that? "

"Of course, Ah thought of that." Applejack said sharply. " She said she wasn't interested when Ah talked to her about it."

"That's odd." Rarity frowned in confusion. "Did she explain why?"

"Not really." Applejack shook her head. "Ah remember her sayin' it's about rememberin' something."

"Remember what ?"

"If only Ah knew about that." Applejack sighed. "She never went into the details about it. Or at least not with me." 

"Did she ever talk to anyone about it?" Rarity asked.

"Ah don't know, maybe to our Mom and Dad, maybe to Granny. Ah ain't sure." Applejack said. "Ah don't think, she'll ever talk about it to anyone. Well, except maybe with Octavia." Applejack conceded with a small smile. "She's probably the only one, who can manage that by now."

"Is that admiration in your voice?" Rarity asked with a crooked eyebrow. "Beware Darling, I tend to be rather possessive." She warned playfully.

"No worry, Ah only fall for gals who let their physical needs take control of their actions. So ya'll completely safe, Ah ain't gonna look around." Applejack shrugged playfully.

"I fail to see similarities with me in that description." Rarity said with narrowed eyes.

"If ya said so Sugarcube." Applejack conceded. "But, Ah'm sure as sugar that it's yer hand that Ah feel on ma buttocks. And Ah know it was on ma shoulder when this here conversation started."





Vinyl had laid down on her side, she tapped the bed slowly to ask her lover to come and lay down next to her.

"You need to rest Vinyl." Octavia slowly said. "you'll rest better with more space on the bed for you."

"No. I'll rest better if my girlfriend's right next to me." Vinyl said with conviction.

Vinyl glared at Octavia until she gave in and reluctantly laid down at her lover's side, but only showing her her back.

"Octavia. As much as I love watching your backside, I would like to see your face, now." Vinyl playfully chuckled, regretting it a bit as it made her move her back a little.

Octavia didn't face Vinyl, she only started to shake like a leaf. "I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"About what happened to you." Octavia said, her voice on the verge of cracking. Vinyl used her magic to make Octavia turn around and face her. Her gaze met Octavia's, it was full of remorses and tears. "If only I had told that....." Octavia tried to explained but couldn't finish her sentence.

"That you're afraid of horses?" Vinyl suggested slowly. Octavia flinched. Vinyl brought her hand to Octavia's face. "Hey, it's ok. There's nothing wrong with that."

"But if I hadn't been so scared, it wouldn't have happened." Octavia said, not looking at Vinyl's face as she felt unworthy to do so. 

"Because you think that accidents like this happen only to those who're scared of horses?" Vinyl said. "Because that's what it was, an accident. Accidents happen to everyone, it's no one's fault."

Octavia didn't say anything.

"But I want to know something." Vinyl slowly started. "If you're scared of them, why didn't you tell me about it when I proposed to teach you how to ride?"

Octavia gulped. "I've always wanted to get over it sometime, and when I saw how happy you were at the prospect of us going horse riding together...I thought it would be ok to start now.." Octavia explained slowly.

"You have no idea how much it pleases me that you're willing to try to face your fear for me." Vinyl beamed. She eyed Octavia with interest. "If you're still up for it, as soon as I'm in better shape, we can start the lessons again." Octavia looked up at Vinyl. 

"I'm not sure...What if it happens again?" Octavia asked hesitantly.

"Well, now that I know about your little problem. I know what to look out for." Vinyl said smiling. "We'll just start with a foal at first." Vinyl chuckled softly.

For the first time in the last hours, Octavia smiled. "You're incredible. You always manage to make me feel better." She said with affection, before snuggling Vinyl.

"Yeah, I'm pretty good." Vinyl admitted with false modesty, before yawning a bit. "What do you say we try to get some sleep? The day has been tough for both of us."

"Of course." Octavia slowly said. "Want me to move so you can get comfortable?"

"I'm always comfortable when you're in my arms, Lady Philharmonica." Vinyl chuckled as she passed her arms around Octavia's back.

"Likewise, Miss Apple." Octavia sleepily added before closing her eyes. "Likewise."




	
	

	
> Horse riding lessons
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Octavia had waited on Vinyl hand and foot during the days that followed the little accident near the stables. While Vinyl hated doing nothing, Octavia's care and tenderness was something she could definitely get accustomed to. Vinyl couldn't do much of her share of work during her recovery, but Rainbow Dash and Twilight had been a great help for Applejack. 

On wednesday afternoon, Vinyl was quite happy to finally go out of the house. She was very eager on helping Octavia to overcome her fear of the equine. On their way to the stables, she realized that Octavia hadn't really explained what caused her to be so scared of horses. If she wanted to help her in any ways, she had to know.

"Octavia, could you tell me why you're afraid of horses?" Vinyl asked slowly.

"Oh. I realize I haven't told you about that already." Octavia said in a low voice. "Well, it happened when I was a little girl." She started. "I was in the mansion's gardens, I was watching my older brother's dressage practice. Cornelio has always been fascinated by horse riding, he even had won few awards." She explained with a small proud smile before her expression fell. "But something must have scared his horse, during it's panic bucking Cornelio fell off his saddle. The horse almost trampled him to death in panic." 

Octavia started to shake and breathing hard at the memory of her brother's accident. Vinyl hugged her and patted her head softly. It took a few minutes, but she managed to relax in her lover's embrace.

"What happened afterward?" Vinyl asked softly.

"I called for help, they brought my brother to hospital." Octavia continued with a low voice. "It took several months for him to recover, but he got out without any after-effect. He even started riding competition the year afterward."

"Your brother's a strong willed fellow, that's for sure." Vinyl said with a smile.

"Kinda." Octavia nodded. "He overcame his accident, something I couldn't do." She said, her head hanging low in defeat.

"That's why you and I are here, Love." Vinyl softy whispered, before pecking Octavia's forehead. "If you still want to of course. Nothing's forcing you."

"I want to try. My brother could do it, no reason I can't." Octavia said with determination.

"Atta girl." Vinyl said with pride as she broke her embrace.

They both entered the stables and noticed that all paddocks were open, but Applejack was in front of one of them, a look of concern on her face. They walked to the paddock, Octavia slightly in retreat. Applejack turned around when she heard the sound of footsteps.

"What's going on?" Vinyl asked.

Applejack looked toward the paddock. "It's Amadeus." She sighed. "Ever since the accident, he's kinda apathetic. Fluttershy thinks he's sorry for what happened and that he's blamin' himself. Sorta."

"What can we do about it?" Vinyl asked with concern. "You think that if he sees that I'm all right, he'll go out of his 'shock'?"

"Ah reckon it's worth the try." Applejack shrugged. "We can't leave him like that."

Vinyl entered the paddock and saw the palomino work horse sitting on his haunches, his head low. She was pained at how distraught the once proud stallion looked. She walk at his side and slowly patted his head. That made him look up, when he saw Vinyl, he stood up quicker than one would have thought.

"Hey there big guy." Vinyl said slowly. "Applejack told me you were kinda sad about what happened." Amadeus snorted what could have been considered an ashamed sigh. "No need to be sad. I'm all right." She hugged the horse's head. "Everything's fine. I'm not mad at you, you just got scared." She broke the hug and the stallion tried to nuzzle her. "Ain't you sweeter than any fruit on this farm." Vinyl chuckled. "Get going now, we can't have our best stallion remaining cooped in his paddock." The horse let out a loud happy whinny before trotting out of his paddock.

"Looks like ya still got yar touch with horses Vinyl." Applejack said, fairly impressed.

"What can you do?" Vinyl chuckled. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Off course. What can ah do ya for?"

"Can you bring me the foal in the smaller pen. I'm teaching Octavia the basics." Vinyl explained.

"Sure thing." Applejack answered with a nod.





Vinyl and Octavia were now inside the same smaller pen as last Sunday. Vinyl stood in the middle with a pinto work horse about one meter tall, Octavia was leaning on the fence, her eyes fixed on the small equine.

"Octavia, I present you Hermes." Vinyl said as she patted the foal's mane. "The latest addition to our 'herd'. He's going to be your partner."

Octavia exhaled slowly. "Okay. What do I do?" Octavia asked with determination, the fact the horse in front of her was a lot shorter than her helped a lot in boosting her confidence. "The same thing you wanted me to try with Amadeus?"

Vinyl shook her head." Naha. With a foal, it's trickier. You have to make the all process yourself." Vinyl explained, she noticed Octavia's determination was slightly leaving the cellist. "But don't you worry your pretty little head. In Sweet Apple Acres, we have the magicks!" Vinyl added pointing her forefinger at the sky at that last word.

"Which is?" Octavia asked with a crooked eyebrow at her girlfriend's antic.

"Behind you, on the other side of the fence, there's a basket."

Octavia turned around and noticed the aforementioned basket. She came closer and noticed it was full of delicious looking red apples. Octavia took one and faced her girlfriend and gave her a look that said 'Seriously?'.

"What did you expect Octavia?" Vinyl asked with a raise of eyebrow. "Carrots? We're not on Golden Harvest's carrot farm, you know."

"If you say so." Octavia shrugged. "What do I do with the apple?"

"Simple, you offer it to Hermes." Vinyl said before encouraging her to come closer. "Come on. Octavia. Don't be scared, I'm here nothing's gonna happen."

Octavia felt safer thanks to Vinyl's words, she closed the distance between her and the small horse, slowly but certainly. When she was a few feet away from the foal, she extended the apple toward him. Hermes tilted his head and eyed the cellist with curiosity before noticing the red fruit in her hand. He took an eager step in the direction of the apple. Vinyl followed him closely.

"Good. Now let him come to you." Vinyl softly said as the small horse sniffed the apple. "Open your hand wide now, so that he can take the apple." 

Octavia complied to what Vinyl said. She tensed when she sensed the animal's breath on her hand. Vinyl grabbed her forearm, letting her know she was there. She relaxed immediately. Hermes took a small bite of the apple. Some of its juice flowed on her hand. The horse quickly ate all the fruit, and he was now sniffing Octavia's apple-ly hand.

"Octavia, pat him with your other hand." Vinyl said softly. "Slowly, no need to rush."

Octavia lifted a slightly shaking hand toward Hermes's head. She put her hand in the foal's mane, and she gently started to rub his mane. It was softer than she expected. Hermes let out a small content whinny, as he closed his eyes, enjoying the small rub. Octavia let out a soft whimper, Vinyl noticed her eyes were full of tears. Happy tears.

"It-It's that easy?" Octavia asked softly as she started to stroke Hermes's snout with her other hand.

Vinyl smiled. "Who said it was difficult, Octavia?" She asked softly. "Talk to him. Getting to know each other involves talking."

Octavia kneeled next to the foal, still rubbing. "He-Hello Hermes." She softly said with a shaking voice. "My name's Octavia."

The horse tried to nuzzle Octavia's face. As she tried to avoid the horse's head playfully, she started to giggle. They were happy giggles, the same kind a little girl would have had while playing with her new puppy. To Vinyl it was the most beautiful sound in the world. Octavia managed to stop the horse's nuzzle by rubbing firmly behind his ears, he neighed softly before breaking contact, having received enough affection for the moment. 

Octavia stood there, crying from happiness. She turned to Vinyl and pulled her into a deep hug. She kept whispering the same words in between all the small pecks she was giving to Vinyl all over her face.

"Thank you!" A kiss. "Thank you!" An other. "Thank you!" And so on."Thank you!" And so on.

"No need to thank me Octavia." Vinyl managed to say between the kisses as her cheeks were becoming redder than her eyes. "It was all your doing, I just watched."

"No. It was all thanks to you!" Octavia said firmly. "Without you, I wouldn't have even dared to try that." She added before passionately kissing Vinyl.

For a small moment, they forget about where they were, loosing themselves in each other's kiss. But a small snout coming in contact with Vinyl's arm accompanied by a pleading whinny reminded her that they had a very young audience next to them.

"Easy there Hermes, she was mine first." Vinyl said not pulling her eyes away from Octavia, as the small horse kept bugging her.

"I don't remember having accept to belong to you. Not that I would mind though. But where does that leave you?" Octavia asked with a chuckle.

"I know that I belong to you." Vinyl lovingly answered. "The rest is just details for me."

Hermes let out what looked like a disapproving whinny. Apparently he didn't appreciated to be considered a detail. Or at least he thought he was he was considered like that. Octavia had kept staring dreamily at Vinyl, completely unfazed by the equine's whinnies, something that would have made her flinch only an hour ago.

"Why don't we stop our lessons for today?" Vinyl suggested. "We can start again tomorrow morning." Octavia simply nodded.

After having put Hermes and the others back in their paddocks. Vinyl joined Octavia outside the stables, and they both went back to their house. They noticed the house was empty with the exception of Granny taking a nap in her rocking chair. They silently made way toward their bedroom. Once they entered Vinyl used her magic to lock the door who started to glow in a light blue aura for a few seconds.

"What did you do?" Octavia asked softly.

"Soundproofing spell." Vinyl simply said as she pushed slowly Octavia back to the bed.

"Hmmm. Interesting." Octavia said as she let herself fell on top of the bed. "Why did you do that?"

"Because you've been very brave earlier." Vinyl said in her most sensual voice, as she placed herself above Octavia. "And for that, you deserve a reward."

"I thought the house's rules forbid that kind of reward." Octavia said in a tone that showed clearly she was more than willing to break the said rules.

"It doesn't matter if you don't get caught." Vinyl slowly said before leaning in.

The house was in complete silence. Outside Vinyl and Octavia's room, the only sounds one could hear were the small snores from the sleeping grandmother downstairs. Inside the musicians's room, that was the exact opposite of silence and it was certainly not music.





The next morning, Vinyl and Octavia had been joined to the stables by Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack. Fluttershy had come to see how Octavia was doing while she was taking care of the other horses, and also to help to calm Octavia's horse if such endeavor was needed. Off course she didn't voice that part of her intentions. Vinyl learned that Rarity was far from being a neophyte in horse riding, so Applejack had decided to take her on a small ride. 

Applejack had saddled Philibert, her large chestnut percheron, and Hex Mark, a white coated saddle horse with a black mane. Rarity beamed the sight of the shiny, spotless white coat of her mount, Hex Mark seemed satisfied with the attention from his new rider. That lasted until Rarity spotted Alizee. After that he really didn't appreciate being forgotten so quickly by the seamstress.

"Oh my star, look at her. She's so beautiful." Rarity said in amazement as she watched the black coated mare freely trotting in the pen. "From what breed is she?"

"I think she's a thoroughbred Saddle Arabian horse." Fluttershy said pensively. "But black coated Arabians are extremely rare. Since I first saw her, I've always wondered how did you manage to get one." She asked with curiosity.

"To be honest with ya, we didn't have the slightest idea about what kind of breed she was from." Applejack shrugged.

"We found her lost nearby the Everfree forest, couple of years ago." Vinyl explained. "She was only a foal at that time. We figured some caravan must have lost her."

Applejack nodded. "We searched for her owner but we didn't find anyone. She grew attached to Vinyl, so in the end we kept her."

"You were lucky then, a purebred like her costs a fortune." Flutthershy slowly said. "Probably more than the entire Orchard." She said more to herself than to anyone else.

Vinyl and Applejack gasped in shock at the animal lover's remark.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to trouble you. Don't be mad at me." Fluttershy quickly added, hiding behind her hair.

"It's ok, Sugarcube." Applejack slowly said, as she recovered from the news. "Just, don't ya spread the word around. Especially to Alizee. That mare can already be difficult withou...." Applejack was interrupted by a loud and sharp wisthle.

"Alizee, Come here girl." Vinyl shouted.

The black coated mare trotted toward her mistress with curiosity, and looked the equivalent of surprised when Vinyl grabbed her head in a soft hug.

"AWWW. My little Alizee's super special." Vinyl cooed. "You and I already knew, but now, AJ can't deny it anymore. Momma's so proud of you." She blabbered other nonsenses like this for about five minutes. Earning crooked eyebrows from everyone around, humans and equines alike, with the sole exception of Alizee, who didn't understand much what was going on but was just happy to have her owner being so affectionate with her.

Eventually, Applejack and Rarity had left to enjoy their horse ride. Fluttershy was busy playing with Hermes, the foal, while Vinyl was bringing a saddled Amadeus to the smaller pen. Octavia stood nearby Vinyl but at a safe distance from Amadeus. Her fear from the horses wasn't an instant panic level thanks to yesterday's work with Hermes, but she wasn't feeling totally secured next to the stallion that had injured her lover couple of days ago. A detail that didn't go unnoticed by Vinyl.

"Octavia, you have nothing to fear from Amadeus." Vinyl softly reassured her.

"I-I'm no-not scared a-at all." Octavia stammered, clearly showing she was lying.

"It's ok. I'm holding the reins right now. Nothing can happen." Vinyl softly said as she held her lover's hand with her free one. She noticed Octavia was trembling a little. "Would you want us to do it together?"

"Yes, please." Octavia slowly nodded after a minute of silence.

Vinyl brought Octavia's hand slowly to the stallion's snout. After making contact, Vinyl guided Octavia in slow pats on the horse's head. The fear felt by Octavia slowly changed into peace of mind as Amadeus lazily closed his eyes in contentment. Octavia brought her second hands and proceeded in a soft two-handed 'massage' on the happy stallion's head. She didn't even notice that Vinyl had pulled her hand off.

After that bonding moment with Amadeus, Octavia noticed Vinyl had levitated a stepladder to Amadeus's side. Vinyl presented the stepladder with a small bow, still holding the reins firmly.

"Ready for your first try at riding, Love?" Vinyl softly asked.

Octavia took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it. "Ready, Vinyl!" She said in a small yet calm voice.

Octavia climbed on the stepladder and put her right foot in the stirrup and her right hand grabbing the pommel of the saddle, while Vinyl maintained Amadeus still. In one swift move, Octavia succeeded in sitting up on the saddle as her left foot found the second stirrup. She shifted herself a bit to get comfortable and then she nodded to Vinyl.

"Excellent." Vinyl beamed at Octavia who smiled back. Her smile was genuine, even if a bit crisped. "Ok, now I'm gonna lead Amadeus around. Just hold yourself to the pommel and it'll be ok."

Vinyl walked around for a dozen of minutes, leading an obedient Amadeus. Octavia held firmly at the pommel with both her hands at first. At some point, the sensation of the small wind on her face and in her hair made her loosen her grip. It was quite relaxing. She didn't understand how having her face barely a meter higher than usual could have felt so different. It was like she was flying. Not very high, but flying none the less. She even let go of the pommel to try to grasp the wind absentmindedly. 

"Enjoying the ride so far?" Vinyl asked with a small chuckle.

"A lot more than I thought." Octavia answered happily.

"Want to try it with the reins now?"

Octavia pondered for a moment. "Let's do this." Octavia said with determination.

Vinyl stopped Amadeus, before giving the reins to Octavia and fasten a rope to Amadeus's bridle.

"Why a rope?"

"Just to be safe." Vinyl explained. "You remember how to make him start walking?" Octavia nodded and Vinyl took place in the center of the pen, the rope firmly grasped in her hand. "When you're ready."

"Ok, Amadeus. Here we go." Octavia slowly said before slightly hitting the horse's side with her heels like Vinyl explained. 

Her hits were so soft the stallion barely felt them, but it was enough for him to start walking. Octavia tensed up at first but slowly relaxed as she noticed Amadeus was walking at a slow pace.

"Ok, Octavia that's perfect." Vinyl said from the center of the pen. "Make him turn to the right, now. Just pull the right side of the reins a little."

Octavia did as instructed and Amadeus obliged and started to turned slightly to the right. Octavia kept going in circle for while. After some time, she grew confident and made Amadeus go a little faster. Vinyl was still in the pen's center, but had stopped guiding Octavia and was just holding the rope.

The walk became a slow trot who became a slow paced gallop. Octavia never felt so happy in her life, now she felt silly for being afraid of something so amazing. She enjoyed the speed, the wind on her face and in her hair. Everything felt just amazing. She heard a soft "yay" from outside the pen. She caught a small blurry glimpse of Fluttershy pink hair. She pulled softly the reins to make Amadeus slow down. Once the horse came to stop, she noticed the pen's fence door was open. She eyed the open landscape for a long time.

"Vinyl, do you think I.." She started softly.

"I think WE can go on our horse ride now, yes." interrupted her lover's voice. Much closer from what she would have thought.

Octavia turned her face toward the source of the voice and saw Vinyl riding a saddled Alizee, just a few feet from her. Vinyl was wearing dark grey stetson.

"How did you get ready so fast ?" Octavia asked in surprise.

"I put the rope away about fifteen minutes ago." Vinyl explained with a big smile. "I knew nothing would have happened."

She was a bit mad that Vinyl had let her go without any warning, but that was overcome fast as Octavia felt so happy that her lover had trusted her so much. She couldn't help but smile.

"So you think I'm ready?" Octavia asked softly.

Vinyl eyed Octavia scratching her chin." Hmm Something's missing... Of course!" Vinyl said before levitating her stetson from her's to Octavia's head. "Perfect. Ready to go?"

"Ready when you are Vinyl." Octavia said affectionately, tipping her new hat.

"Then let's go!" Vinyl said before making Alizee go forward. "YIP! YIP!"
> Unexpected 'Guest'
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Applejack had just done a delivery to Barnyard Bargain and she was waiting for Rarity at the town entrance. She had unattached Red Hare, the huge red coated stallion the Apples possessed who was pulling the cart, so that he could stretch his legs and wander around a bit. She laid down in the cart and started sky gazing. It had always allowed her to think about something.

'We're Friday now, which means the girls will leave in four days' She thought in deep reflexion. 'Maybe Ah should talk to Vinyl about doin' somethin' special with them before that.....Maybe a girl night out... Anyway, Ah'll be glad to get my bed back... Not that sleepin' at Rare's side is annoyi..' Her thought process was interrupted by a sudden little painful realization. Her pensive expression turned into a small sad frown.

'How in tarnation, could Ah've forgot that it would also mean that Rarity'll be leavin'?...Ah got to do somethin' special for her.' She thought absently. 

She heard the sound of heavy hoof steps and sat up straight thinkin' Red Hare had come back from his little stroll. Instead, she saw a man riding a imposing white saddle horse next to her cart. The man had short black hair and was wearing a complete rider outfit, to Applejack it was pretty clear the man wasn't from Ponyville. Everything he and his horse were wearing was screaming Canterlot Nobility. But he somehow looked familiar.

"Excuse me, young farm girl." The man said in a highly fancy accented voice. "But, do you happen to work for the farm named Sweet Apple Acres?"

'Eeeyup, definitely Canterlot nobility.' She nodded to herself internally. "Ah reckon, Ah'm. What can Ah do ya for, fella?" Applejack asked in a polite tone as she stood up and jumped from the cart.

The man frowned a bit at how straightforward the woman was, he wasn't accustomed to such behavior from non noble. "Could please show me the way to the farm then?" He asked after a small moment, his expression convinced Applejack he had thought of saying something entirely different.

"Well, Ah'm waitin' someone, then Ah'll be on my way to the farm. If ya got time, ya could wait here and then we could make the road t'gether." Applejack offered.

"I suppose I can do that." The noble reluctantly accepted as he dismounted.

"Quite a nice horse ya have there." Applejack casually said as she extended her hand to pat the horse.

"I would appreciate you do not do that." The man sharply said. "I don't like stranger touching my horse."

Applejack frowned a little, but quickly regained her composure. "Sorry, Ah didn't realize." She said slowly. "Ah reckon that if 'twas ma horse, Ah wouldn't like it much too." She conceded.

"Because a simple worker at the farm like you has enough money to buy a horse?" He asked with a condescending tone and a crooked eyebrow.

"Because ya think Ah pulled this cart here by maself?" Applejack sharply retorted. 'Not that Ah couldn't though...But Red and Philibert need exercise..' She thought before whistling to call Red Hare back.

The huge red stallion trotted slowly back in their range of vision. Applejack snickered when she noticed the man's eyes going wide as saucers at the size of the workhorse. Red Hare slowly positioned himself where he could be harnessed to the cart easily. Something Applejack did, knowing that Rarity wouldn't be late in meeting with them soon.

"Cornelio? Is that you?" Came a crystal clear voice that sounded as a sweet melody to Applejack's ear.

The farmer and the noble turned their heads toward the source of the voice and saw that Rarity was walking toward them. The farmer frowned a bit when the noble quickly close the distance and pecked Rarity's hand.

"My Lady, it's a pleasure seeing you again." The man, Cornelio apparently, said in a sophisticated polite voice. "I dare say that you're lovely as ever." Rarity blushed at the compliment.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, as well." Rarity said. "You seem to be in good shape."

'Hold on a cotton pickin' minute, are they....Nah ya worry about it too much AJ...' Applejack thought to herself. "So, Rarity how did yer errands go?"

"How dare you speak like that to Lady Rarity?" Cornelio said, shocked by Applejack. "Don't you know who she is."

"Considerin' she's been livin' with her Council members gal pals in ma house for the last two weeks. Yeah, Ah think Ah know who she's." Applejack said casually causing Rarity to giggle. "The only one Ah don't know who he is, is ya." 

"Applejack, let me introduce you to Count Cornelio Philharmonica. He's Octavia's older brother." Rarity said softly as she went toward the cart.

"That's why he looked familiar." Applejack shrugged before facing Rarity. "Ready to head back?" Rarity nodded and took a seat in the cart. "Well let's go then. Ya comin' in the cart with us?" She asked Cornelio.

"No thanks, I have my horse." Cornelio slowly said.

"Suit yerself." Applejack said before seating next to Rarity and grabbing the reins. "Come on, Red. Git going." She shouted to make Red Hare start to pull the cart as Cornelio was going back to his horse.

When she noticed the cart had a small advance on Cornelio, who had took his time to mount his horse, and was convinced he wasn't within earshot. She turned toward Rarity.

"Ah don' like him." Applejack simply pouted.

"Applejack dear, you've known him for what? Five minutes." Rarity chuckled. "I can assure you he's a real gentleman."

"He didn't look'd like one when he was talking to me." Applejack slowly said. "Beside he was all flirty with ya. I don't like that."

"My. My. Is Jacquelyn Apple jealous?" Rarity playfully asked with a small grin.

"NO!.....Maybe.....Just a little bit..." Applejack stammered, her eyes shifted from up and down as she was blushing a little.

"Aww! You're just so cute when you're jealous." Rarity cooed, before pecking Applejack's cheek, which started to become even redder than before. "Don't worry about Cornelio. He can flirt with me all he wants, the only one I'll flirt back with is you." She added softly.

"Shucks Rare, how do you do that? Ya always win with me." Applejack said with chuckle, before turning a bit more serious. "Ah suppose ya're right! But still, Ah got a bad vibe about that fella..."





Octavia had grown fond of horse riding in the first minutes of yesterday's ride with Vinyl. Right after breakfast, she had urged to Vinyl for more lessons in dressage, something Vinyl had falsely reluctantly agreed to do. Vinyl had observed that Amadeus wasn't the best choice for Octavia's type of riding, and now she was making her work with Hex Mark. The white stallion was a bit more rough around the edges compared to Amadeus, but he was gentle as possible under Vinyl's watchful gaze.

"I think that's enough for now, Octavia." Vinyl said after Octavia and Hex slowed down from gallop to trot as they passed in front of her. "Dismount and don't forget what I told you about Hex." 

"All right Vinyl." Octavia replied, slightly panting, before dismounting and going toward the basket of apples from which she took one to reward Hex Mark. She took her gray hat off and wipe the sweat from her forehead. "It's more wearying than with Amadeus." She said as she gave the white stallion an apple.

"A saddle horse is less stable than a work horse." Vinyl explained. "You'll get used to it pretty fast."

"Incredible. Octavia's finally riding a horse. If I haven't just seen it, I wouldn't believe it."

Octavia and Vinyl snapped their heads toward the one who had said that. When they noticed young man dismounting his white horse and facing them. Octavia smiled and ran toward the man to pull him into a deep hug, much to Vinyl's surprise and disapproval.

"I take it you know each other." Vinyl said slowly, in concealed anger.

"Vinyl, that's my brother Cornelio! I talked to you about him yesterday." Octavia said to Vinyl who relaxed at Octavia's sentence, before turning toward her brother. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, two weeks without any news from you." Cornelio said with a chuckle. "Of course, Father and Mother would be worried about their precious little cellist."

"Oh sorry about that." Octavia said apologetically. "I got caught up in so many things here, I forgot to send a letter."

"No need to worry. At least, I know you're doing ok." Cornelio said. "Anyway, who's that?" He asked designating Vinyl.

"That's Vinyl Apple, a fellow musician, my horse riding teacher and a very good friend of mine." Octavia said with a smile, which crisped at the end of her sentence.

'Hold on ... only a GOOD FRIEND?!!' Vinyl thought in anger. 'Graaa, focus Vinyl! That's not the moment...' "So you're Octavia's brother, the one who won a few riding competitions?"

"That's me, indeed. Count Cornelio Philharmonica." Cornelio said with no small amount of pride. "One of Equestria's best riders."

Vinyl shot a glance at Cornelio's horse. "Pretty good looking horse you have there. What's his name?" Vinyl asked with interest.

"Hmmm! I think its name was Maximus." Cornelio said with hesitation, earning a raise of eyebrow from Vinyl.

'Did he just say ITS name...' "You think his name's Maximus?" Vinyl asked in small confusion.

"Well it's not my usual horse." Cornelio casually explained. "The poor beast was exhausted after a dressage practice. So, I took this one to make the travel from Canterlot."

Vinyl was far from being satisfied with his answer but, before she could say anything, Cornelio was tackled for a big hug by a poofy pink haired blur.

"Cornelio, I'm sooooo happy to see you!" Pinkie said with her usual cheerful voice.

"Hello, Ms Pinkamina." He said with a pained smile as he tried to resist to Pinkie's bone crushing embrace. "What have you been up to?"

Pinkie proceed to tell him everything she has done since they have arrived. Every single thing! He managed to listen to a rather decent part of it. Vinyl wasn't sure that one was able to hold his attention on Pinkie's rambling for as long as he did. Eventually, he started to gaze elsewhere, not paying much more attention to the pink haired inventor who kept on talking. 

"Hold on. Is that what I think it is?" Cornelio suddenly asked as his gaze focused on something behind Vinyl. His eyes lit up with interest.

Vinyl and Octavia turned their face to see what he was looking at. They saw Alizee who was trotting peacefully in the large pen. Vinyl had forgotten to un-saddle her after having worked with her to demonstrate various riding tricks to Octavia.

"You mean Alizee?" Octavia asked with curiosity.

Cornelio didn't bother to answer, and walked next to the pen's fence. "A Saddle-Arabian horse. With a full black coat." He said dreamily to no one in particular, before facing Vinyl. "How did you manage to get one?"

"Stroke of luck." Vinyl shrugged.

"Luck indeed." Cornelio whispered. "How much do you want for it?" He asked suddenly.

"What?" Vinyl blinked profusely, completely taken by surprise.

"Name your price! Money's no issue for me." Cornelio said smiling.

"She's not for sell!" Vinyl said sharply in anger.

"Vinyl, no need to get angry about..." Octavia started with worry as Pinkie and her were watching the scene with caution.

"Oh, come on!" Cornelio shouted. "A horse like that isn't fit for farm work. It has no purpose here!"

"Oh, and you think she would have a purpose with you?" Vinyl asked with sarcasm.

"My stud farm would be the perfect place for it." Cornelio claimed with conviction.

"Ok Pal, first thing first." Vinyl snapped. "SHE has a name, SHE is not an IT!" Vinyl shouted poking fiercely at Cornelio's chest. "Second, MY horse's place is here with me, not in some training facility for racing horse owned by some rich spoiled brat. Beside, she would buck you out of your saddle."

"Lady please." Cornelio said, rolling his eyes. "I'm Equestria's best rider. No horse can buck me out of my saddle."

"Not what I heard!" Vinyl humphed with a smirk, causing the offended man to burst in anger. 

Unbeknownst to Vinyl, her last comment had infuriated Octavia as well. If Pinkie hadn't been there to hold her back, she would have slapped her girlfriend with all her might. Pinkie was trying her best to calm Octavia, but unfortunately she didn't seem to succeed in that.

"I don't know what you heard." Cornelio said slowly. "But, I can assure you that I can ride any horse in the land."

"Go on and try then, she's right there." Vinyl said sharply. "But don't you complain if you're hurt afterwards."

Cornelio passed on the other side of the fence and try to make way toward Alizee who was looking at the man with cautious curiosity. Vinyl snickered when she saw Alizee slowly trotting away each time Cornelio came too close to her. She didn't kept that expression for a long time, since her face was swiftly turned around, only to be slapped with a strength that made her take a few steps back. When she looked up, she saw an incredibly pissed off Octavia.

"What in the hay is goin' on?" Applejack asked in confusion, as she walked toward them with Rarity. "We've been hearin' some shoutin' from the stables for about five minutes!"

Pinkie explained as best as she could the situation to Applejack and Rarity, while Octavia was yelling at Vinyl for bringing her brother's accident in the conversation. In the pen, Cornelio had managed to grab Alizee's reins, but he was having a hard time at trying to make her stand still so he could mount her.

"Stand still! You stupid horse!" Vinyl heard him shouting before hearing a loud clack followed by what looked like a pained whinny. That made her snap her head toward where Alizee and Cornelio were. She saw Cornelio holding firmly the reins with his left hand with something in his right hand. She focused her gaze on what he was holding. It was a riding crop.

"Vinyl! Look at me when I talk to yo..." Octavia started in anger when she noticed something had changed in Vinyl's behavior. "Vinyl? Are you ok?" She asked in a more gentle voice.

Vinyl had started to shake violently. Like she would have if she had been outside in winter with nothing on her. Octavia looked in her lover's eyes and only saw fear. She looked where Vinyl was looking at and saw her brother waving his riding crop, trying to whip Alizee.

'What's so terrifying about my brother waving a ...riding crop...'Oh sweet Epona!'  Octavia thought with eyes wide in realization as Cornelio managed a second hit on Alizee's flank. 

The second pained whinny from her horse made Vinyl move. She jumped on the other side of the fence and grabbed Cornelio with her magic before tossing him without ceremony away. Vinyl close the distance and hug Alizee as the horse tried to nuzzle her for comfort.

"It's ok, sweetie! It's over, no one's gonna hurt you anymore!." Vinyl slowly said in a low motherly tone. "I'm sorry I let him get close to you. It won't happen again, I promise!"

Cornelio stood on his feet again, completely infuriated by now. "That tears it!" He shouted. "I've had enough of you low life farmer's behavior. You'll learn your place." He said before hitting violently Vinyl's back with his crop, to the others's shock and disbelief.

Vinyl didn't feel the pain. Everything changed for her. She wasn't a grown up woman anymore, she was just a little girl. She wasn't in a pen holding her horse close to reassure her, she was cowering in a dark corner of a small shabby bedroom. She turned around and noticed Cornelio wasn't there anymore. Who she saw was a monster from her past. One she hadn't dreamt or thought about in more than fifteen years. 

The orphanage's director stood there, three feet from her, towering her and holding a crop high, ready to hit Vinyl again. Vinyl wasn't strong anymore, she didn't have her magic to protect herself, she did the only thing a little girl could do when she faces her worst nightmare. She screamed.

Vinyl's shriek of terror resonated in the plain. Cornelio was taken aback by the sudden outburst, before being bucked in the chest by an angry Alizee who stood in front of her owner, ready to protect her. Octavia ran toward Vinyl and pulled into a reassuring embrace, she was joined by Pinkie Pie whose hair seemed straighter than usual. They both whispered some comforting words, hoping it will make Vinyl stop screaming. Applejack lifted Cornelio from the ground and was ready to punch him in anger before being stopped and levitated away from him by a deep blue aura.

"LET ME GO THIS INSTANT, RARITY!" Applejack bellowed as she struggled against the magical grip. "AH'M GONNA KILL THAT BASTARD!"

"Applejack, please calm down!" Rarity pleaded, as she winced because of Applejack's attempts to break free from her magic. 'Uggh! I won't be able to hold her off for too long'

"Vinyl, everything's ok." Octavia slowly said in a low comforting tone. "I'm here. Nothing's gonna happen to you. It's just some bad dreams."

In Vinyl's mind, the nightmarish scene from her past was slowly losing its substance. Her tormentor was slowly fading into oblivion at the sound of what looked like a low melody of a cello. She started to hear a voice. A beautiful voice she had already heard before. Vinyl's wounds on her back started to close, she was slowly growing back to her usual size as the scene around her vanish in a big light, she closed her eyes to protect them from the glare. 

When she opened them, she was in a plain of her family orchard, in Octavia's arms. She had stopped screaming, and slowly started to hug Octavia back, softly sobbing because of what happened. Octavia turned her face and slowly kissed Vinyl, to reassure her and letting her know that she was there for her. A gesture Vinyl returned instantly. It was less passionate and more shaken than usual, but Octavia didn't care.

"Octavia, what are you doing?" Cornelio asked in disbelief with wide eyes.

"Silly, that's pretty obvious what she's doing!" Pinkie said with her usual cheerful voice. Her hair were back to normal, even if her face bore a disapproving frown at Cornelio. When Vinyl had stopped screaming and started hugging Octavia, she had backed away to let them have their moment. "I think you should leave Cornelio. And rather quickly."

"Hun- What?" Cornelio blinked in confusion, he hadn't really processed what Pinkie was saying as he tried recover from what his sister was doing.

"You should leave." Pinkie repeated slowly as she mimed a person running away with her fingers. 

"Why?"

"Well first, because I don't think Octavia would want to talk to the meanie pants who hit her lover, even if he's her brother." Pinkie Pie explained. "And second, If you value your physical integrity, something you probably do or at least I hope you do, you might want to be very far from here before Applejack breaks free from Rarity's magic."

As soon as she said that, Applejack let out a triumphant groan as she finally freed herself. She dashed toward Cornelio with her right fist ready to strike him. He managed to get out of the way and Applejack ended up punching one of the fence's beams, breaking it in two like it was a dry stick. Her momentum carried her further and she stumbled on the rest of the fence. 

"Waoh Nelly!" Applejack shouted as she fell on other side of the fence, face first. "OWwww!" she groaned in pain.

"Applejack, are you ok?" Rarity said  with worry as she ran toward Applejack.

"Hmm! You're lucky the author doesn't want you hurt, Cornelio." Pinkie Pie said casually as he blinked in confusion at her. "But don't push your luck too much. Go on! Shoo! Shoo!" She said as she pushed him toward his horse. When he heard Applejack standing up, he ran to his horse, mounted him in an instant and galloped away from Sweet Apple Acres as fast as he could.

"YEAH! RUN FASTER YA RASCAL!" Applejack shouted as she angrily shook her fist at him.






	
> Vinyl and Applejack share...something.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The rest of the afternoon wasn't going smoothly at Sweet Apple Acres. Vinyl and Octavia locked themselves in their bedroom as Vinyl wanted to rest and Octavia to watch over her. While Vinyl claimed she was ok, everyone could see that the incident had shaken her up quite badly. Pinkie Pie and Rarity had explained what had happened to their friends and to Granny Smith. Thankfully, Applebloom was away at a friend's house for a couple of days long sleepover, so she didn't get to see one of her sisters so distraught.

"I still don't understand why you stopped her, Rarity?" Rainbow Dash asked in disbelief. "Octavia's brother or not, he had it coming!"

"Rainbow, I told you already!" Snapped a rather emotionally pained Rarity. "I just didn't want Applejack to get into trouble."

"Well good job! You've avoided her potential trouble with the guards!" Rainbow said sarcastically. "As a result, she's avoiding you now!"

"Rainbow, shut it!" Twilight interjected, as Rarity remembered some moments of her earlier argument with Applejack.

"Why did ya stop me Rarity?" "Gentleman, ma butt! Ah should've trusted ma instincts instead of listenin' to ya!" "Raaa! Forget it. It's no use discussin' about it with ya." "DON'T FOLLOW ME! Ah need some time alone." 

Rarity sighed in sadness as Granny Smith put a cup of tea in front of her. Applejack had passed the rest of the afternoon locked up in her gym. And judging by the sound coming from the inside, she'll have to order a complete new sets of sandbags.

"Don't ya worry Missy!" Granny Smith said in a comforting tone. "Ah know ma granddaughter! She just needs to get all that adrenaline and anger out first. She'll come around in a neck of time after that!"

"Thank you Mrs Smith." Rarity said as she took a sip from her tea. "How do you think Vinyl's doing?" She asked with concern.

"Ah'm afraid to say ah don't have a clue." Granny Smith slowly said. "Last time Ah saw her like that was many years ago."

"What happened back then?" Twilight asked.

"She was only 6 years old, she was having nightmares. Or so I first thought." The matriarch said with a hint of sadness.

"What did you do to make her feel better when she had those nightmares? Maybe that could help her today."

"Ah did nothing!" Granny Smith shook her head. "When she was like that, she only let Ariane come close to her."

"So all we can do is wait for her to get better?" Pinkie asked slowly.

"We just have to hope that Octavia can be helpful with that." Rainbow sighed. 





Vinyl had grabbed something in the attic before going inside the bedroom where Octavia had agreed to wait for her. When she entered, she didn't show Octavia what it was, and simply went to bed, curled in fetal position, facing at the opposite of Octavia, holding what she had brought close to her. Octavia simply sat next to her and started to pat her head softly.

"Vinyl, do you want to talk about it?" Octavia asked with a gentle tone.

"I'd rather not." Vinyl whispered. "But with the circumstances...I think I owe you an explanation."

"What happened back then?" Octavia asked with concern. "I've seen you fight a pack of timberwolves, grinning like they were a bunch of kitties running after a string. Yet back then, you were completely terrorized."

"Timberwolves are just wild animals. Being afraid of animals is stupid." Vinyl said with conviction. "They aren't cruel...Unlike some humans."

"You mean my brother terrorized you?"

"No...I just saw something else." Vinyl slowly said.

"What?" Octavia inquired.

"...Memories.." Vinyl whispered slowly before explaining Octavia what she had seen after being hit by Cornelio. When she finished her tale, she noticed the rhythm of Octavia's patting had almost doubled. It was an enjoyable sensation, it helped her relax.

"Did you ever know why he did that to you?" Octavia asked hesitantly.

"....No...." Vinyl said softly. "I asked Mom and Dad once, they said he never explained why. Why was I the only one to get treated like that? Why did he hate me like that when it looked like he loved the other kids so much? Why did he tell them to be mean with me? I never got answers to these questions." Vinyl sniffed as tears rolled along her cheeks. 

"It's ok. Let it all out." Octavia whispered softly to Vinyl's ear, when she noticed Vinyl was trying to hold back her tears.

Vinyl tightened the grip on what she was holding as she started to sob. Octavia laid down next to her lover and passed her arms around her lover waist to hug her from behind. Octavia didn't say anything, she just kept on holding Vinyl close to her. Eventually, Vinyl turned around to return Octavia's embrace. 

Octavia could feel there was something squishy between them, but she shrugged off quickly, it didn't matter. All that mattered to her was Vinyl. It took time but Vinyl stopped crying at some point and soon after they broke contact a little. Octavia looked down and smiled softly when she saw what was between them.

"That's so cute!" She cooed to Vinyl who blinked in confusion.

"What?" Vinyl asked.

Octavia grabbed what was between them and lifted it to Vinyl's eye level. Vinyl started to blush in embarrassment. It was a rather old small plush representing a white unicorn with a spiky blue mane and a short tail the same color, not so much different in color from Vinyl's hair. 

"Oh! Right! Her." Vinyl chuckled awkwardly.

"Care to explain?" Octavia asked with a small smile.

"It was mine when I was at ...the orphanage." Vinyl said, Octavia's expression slightly dropped at the mention of Vinyl's first 'residence'. "I took her with me when I ran away. It was sort of my confident before I met AJ."

"A comforter." Octavia slowly said in understanding.

"Something like that." Vinyl nodded slowly. "When I was sad, I just kept on hugging her until I felt better. I used to tell her all my secrets." Vinyl said with a small smile. "Damn! she knew how to keep a secret." Vinyl chuckled as Octavia started to giggle.

"What is her name?" Octavia asked softly.

"Humm?"

"What's her name?" Octavia repeated. "A comforter without a name doesn't exist."

"Oh. Ok. I had called her 'Little Vinyl'. " Vinyl confessed with a slight blush.

"Do you still tell Little Vinyl some of your secrets?" Octavia asked playfully. 

"Recently? Only one." Vinyl chuckled.

"Oh did you now?" Octavia said with sparkling eyes. "Care to share?"

"I don't know Octavia." Vinyl pondered. "You must ask to Little Vinyl if she's ok with it." She added with a small smirk.

Octavia decided to play along and turned the plush face toward her. "Can the Big Vinyl share the recent secret she has told you about?" Little Vinyl's head shined with a light blue aura before slowly nodding.

"The plush has spoken." Vinyl said in a dramatic voice that caused Octavia to laugh. 

"So your secret?" Octavia asked with interest.

"Well, it was about the first girl I fell in love with." Vinyl confessed.

"Oh!" Octavia said, as her interest fell drastically.

"She was not from around here."

"It's ok you don't have to...." Octavia started.

"She was extremely beautiful." Vinyl kept going on dreamily.

"I think I heard enough..."

"She was so tender and caring."

"Well that's good but..." Octavia said, as her anger was growing.

"I was hoping her to be my one and only love."

"I get it." Octavia snapped. "Sorry to be your second choice but...." Vinyl interrupted her by pinching her lips.

"She's a well talented cellist. She currently lives in Canterlot Palace with five of her closest friends and the Princesses. She has the most amazing purple eyes in the world." Vinyl continued as Octavia started to blush. "She has long black hair that are soft as silk. She has a natural talent at horse riding even if she started only a few days ago." Vinyl let go of Octavia's lips and noticed the fire in her cellist's eyes. "And last but not least, She's about to kiss me. So, have you guessed who I'm speaking about?" 

Octavia didn't answered. She just tossed Little Vinyl at the foot of the bed and firmly pressed her lips against Vinyl's, initiating an incredibly passionate kiss. At the end of the bed, Little Vinyl had her face turned toward the two women kissing each other. Her forelegs started to glow with a light blue aura, before they covered her eyes. After all, what was going on was not a show for little plushies like her.





It had been a few hours now that Applejack had locked herself inside her gym. She had let her frustration and anger go wild. In front of her, were the remains of ten sandbags. All the bags had ended up ripping themselves open under her repeated strikes. She stood in front of the mess she had caused, panting and sweating heavily. She made her way toward the shower stall, tossing her clothes around on the way.

While she was enjoying a nice cold shower, her mind, finally cleared from anger, started thinking normally. Soon enough, she felt ashamed of how she had behaved with Rarity. 

"Ah shouldn't have yelled at Rarity like that." Applejack sighed.

"Yes, you shouldn't have!" Came a voice Applejack recognized instantly.

"Vinyl?" 

"Who did you expect? Princess Luna?" Vinyl asked with a chuckle from outside the stall.

"Are ya ok?" Applejack asked with concern, ignoring her sister's joke.

"I'm fine. What about you?" 

"Ah ain't the one who got hurt!" Applejack replied.

"True, but you're the one that had killed a dozens of sandbags and thanks to the lack of steam from the stall, I know that you're having a cold shower." Vinyl casually said. "You always have a cold shower when something's eating you. Like before your first date with Rarity."

"Ah reckon Ah do that!" Applejack conceded. "Weird, we've always ended up having serious conversations while Ah'm in the shower and ya're waitin' outside of it."

"It's basically on those rare occasions where you open yourself a bit." Vinyl stated slowly.

"Anyway, ya sure ya're ok?" Applejack asked with worry.

"Octavia and I talked, it did a lot of good." Vinyl explained. "You know what? You should try to talk, instead of beating up defenseless sandbags. It does miracle." Vinyl joked.

"Ho my! Ya're so funny." Applejack falsely laughed in sarcasm.

"Come on, enough banters for now." Vinyl said seriously. "What happened with Rarity? I got Pinkie's version but I'd like yours."

"Hang on a minute! Why Pinkie's version?" Applejack asked in confusion.

"Rarity wasn't in the mood for talking." Vinyl explained slowly. "She had approved by a nod everything Pinkie told though."

"What did she tell ya?"

"That you had yelled at her because she stopped you from transforming Octavia's brother into apple sauce." Vinyl said. "That what happened?"

"Yeah." Applejack said in shame.

"Do I have to explain you what you have to do?" 

"Ah may not be the brightest apple in the bushel, but Ah ain't stupid." Applejack retorted.

"Just checking!" Vinyl chuckled.

"Ya know, Ah was thinkin' earlier." Applejack said. "The gals are leavin' pretty soon. Maybe we could organize a little something like a night out."

"I admit it's kinda true." Vinyl conceded. "But you have something to do first. So, we'll speak about this later!" She added before leaving the room. "Don't forget to use hot water and soap!"

"Don't forget ta use hot water and soap." Applejack muttered as she imitated Vinyl's voice. "Ah ain't a little girl anymore, ya know. Stupid Vinyl!"

"I heard that!" Vinyl shouted, startling Applejack who let the soap bar fall on the stall floor and almost stumble when she put her foot on it by accident.





Dinner was about to be served in the Apple's residence. Rarity was sitting in the living room, waiting for Vinyl to return with news from Applejack. It had surprised everyone to see Vinyl come down with Octavia in her usual good mood. After she had heard about the argument between Applejack and Rarity, she exited the house to, as I quote, to get some sense through that rock hard shell that her sister has in place of an actual skull.

When Rarity heard the door's opening, she snapped her head to see who had just entered. She was a bit disappointed when she noticed Vinyl had come back alone. A detail that Vinyl didn't miss.

"Glad to see I'm so well received in my own house." Vinyl joked.

"Oh Dear, I'm sorry! It's just that.." Rarity started in a apologetic tone.

"Na! Don't worry about it." Vinyl shrugged. "Anyway, you can speak to AJ now. She's calmed down."

"Are you sure?" Rarity asked with hesitation and instantly relaxed when Vinyl nodded.

"Actually, why don't you go meet her at the gym?" Vinyl suggested. "As I know her, she won't be comfortable in talking about what happened with you, if everyone's around."

"I think you're right, Darling." Rarity slowly said, before heading outside. "Wish me luck!"

" 'Luck!" Vinyl said.





When Rarity entered the gym, a couple of minutes later, she got a vague idea of how Applejack's afternoon had been. A huge mess of sand and large pieces of leather were lying on the floor, on one side of the room and a track of scattered clothes, which she recognized as Applejack's, lead toward the gym's bathroom. Rarity slowly started to pick up the abandoned pieces of clothing.

"She could at least pick up her clothes." Rarity scowled.

"Why, Rarity. Ah thought ya liked my messy side." Applejack chuckled as she came out of the bath room.

She was wearing a pair of orange boxer shorts and a white sports bra. Rarity, who had turned around when Applejack arrived, was trying hard not to blush because of her girlfriend's outfit. Applejack was still drying her long blond hair with a towel.

"You know Darling! You could have put some clothes on before going out the bathroom." Rarity remarked.

"Well, Ya're the one with ma clothes." Applejack shrugged.

"You can't possibly think to wear these again!" Rarity said in shock. "They're all dirty and full of perspiration ."

"Ah can't go back to the house in underpants, can Ah?" Applejack asked, rolling her eyes.

Applejack try to get her clothes from Rarity's arms, but the seamstress kept them out of reach. A small exploit considering the farmer was taller and had longer arms than she. Rarity took a few steps backward, coming close to the 'murdered' sandbags.

"Rarity, ma clothes!" Applejack said impatiently.

"I'll not have my lover wear such dirty stinky clothes." Rarity insisted.

"It doesn't matter to me."

"Well, it does to me."

"Give me ma clothes. This instant!"

"I will not!"

"YES, YA WILL!"

" WILL NOT"

"WILL!"

"WILL NAAAAAH!" Rarity shouted in panic as she stumbled on a piece of leather.

"RARITY!" Applejack tried to grab her but she got dragged along Rarity's fall.

They both fell right in the heap of sandbags's remains, disappearing in a huge cloud of the sand and dust. After a few seconds of coughing and cursing, the two unfortunate women were covered in sand. It was even worse for Applejack as her hair wasn't completely dry when she fell. 

"So much for showerin'." Applejack sighed as she passed her hand in her sanded hair. "Ya ok, Rare?"

"Well, I'm covered in dust, your sweaty shirt fell on my face and I have sand in my clothes." Rarity complained as she sat straight. "It itches terribly."

"Well, if ya're whinin' like that, ya must be ok!" Applejack chuckled as she got back up before pulling Rarity up.

"I'm not whining." Rarity humphed. "I'm making rightful statements."

"Right! Right! Sorry." Applejack chuckled her hands up in defense, before turning more serious. "While Ah'm on the sorry part, Ah'd like to apologize to ya for earlier. Ah shouldn't have snapped at ya." Applejack said with low apologetic tone.

"It's ok, Darling!" Rarity nodded in understanding. "I understand why you were acting like that. If someone would have hurt my sister in front of me, I don't think I would have acted much differently than you did."

"Still, It's no excuse for what ah said." Applejack added slowly. "Ah saw how Ah hurt ya... And Ah didn't do anythin', Ah just went on ma own. If Ah was less impulsive...." Rarity shushed her by putting her finger on her lips.

"Applejack, Darling. When I say it's ok, I mean it." Rarity said with conviction.  "Beside, I like that impulsive side of your personality." She added with a wink as Applejack smiled to her.

"Ya're incredible for puttin' up with me like that." Applejack said slowly as she leaned in for a kiss, only to be stopped again by Rarity's finger. "What?" 

"As enticing as kissing you sounds, you still got sand on your...everywhere!" Rarity said as she shook her head.

"Well, Ah guess ya're right." Applejack chuckled. "Ah looked like Ah've been through a desert storm!"

After a few seconds of thinking, Applejack's eyes lit up with a malicious glint. She grabbed Rarity's hand and pulled her inside the bathroom.

"Applejack dear, what are you doing?" Rarity asked in confusion as Applejack kicked the shower stall's door open.

"Ah got sand in ma hair." Applejack explained as she pulled Rarity inside the stall with her. "Ah need yer help to get rid of it." She added as she turned the hot water tap.

"I'm not getting near water with my clothes on, Darling." Rarity said slowly while taking a step outside the stall.

"Who in tarnation said ya would?" Applejack said with a knowing smile before facing Rarity.

Applejack blew a little on her right fingertips before grabbing the top of Rarity's blouse. In one swift movement from up to down, she snapped it open, catching the sight of Rarity's lacy white bra. The seamstress's eyes went wide in shock.

"APPLEJACK! Do you have any idea how expensive that ..." Rarity started yelling as she looked down at her blouse."....You....didn't even rip the buttons..." She said in amazement.

"There's a lot more that Ah can do with these fellas." Applejack said seductively as she moved her fingers in front of Rarity's eyes.

"Oh really! Why don't you show me then?" Rarity replied in sultry tone.

Applejack took a few steps back to position herself under the water-jet. Soon after, a wet white sports bra and some soaked orange shorts were thrown at Rarity's feet. Applejack signaled Rarity to come and join her with her forefinger. Rarity, blushing intensely, quickly let her blouse fall on the ground, before taking swiftly her shoes, trousers and socks off. She tiptoed inside the shower stall, closing the door behind her. A few seconds later, a pair of white lacy undergarments were tossed above the stall's door, quickly followed by a loud pleased moan.

"OH MY STARS!!!!"






	
> Bon-Bon's Tavern
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The next morning, Applejack and Vinyl got up at their usual time in order to do their chores. Vinyl had finally fully recovered from her back injury, and was going through work so eagerly that they managed to finish about forty-five minutes earlier than usual. Both women were now enjoying a fully merited cup of coffee while waiting for the rest of the house to wake up.

"AAAATTCHAAA." Applejack sneezed rather loudly. "Dang nabbit! Ah hope Ah didn't catch a cold!" She said as she grabbed a tissue and blow her nose.

"How in the Princesses's names could YOU, of all people, catch a cold in the middle of summer?" Vinyl asked with a crooked eyebrow.

Applejack started to think about what happened yesterday in her gym. Rarity and her stayed a very long time in the shower, and an even longer time outside of it with their hair wet. Now that she thought about it, it wasn't very clever to have done that. The gym was far from being the most insulated building on the farm. No matter how hot you felt inside. Applejack started to blush when an other part of her memories from last night came back to the surface.

"Ah haven't got a clue." She said quickly, trying to hide her blush and the fact her eyes were shifting up and down.

"....Ooookay." Vinyl slowly said with narrowed eyes, completely not buying any of it. "Anyway, yesterday you mentioned a night out with the girls."

"Oh right." Applejack said, getting out of her reverie. "Ah thought it might be good to do somethin' nice with all of them, since they're leavin' on Tuesday."

"Sheesh! It's that close already." Vinyl sighed with a pinch of sadness.

"What's the matter, Sugarcube?" Applejack asked slowly, she had an idea of what was troubling her sister. It was probably the same thing that was troubling her as well.

"Nothing! Just some random thoughts!" Vinyl waved off before taking a sip of her coffee. "Back to the night out. I suppose you want to do it tonight?"

"That was ma first idea, Ah reckon." Applejack nodded. "We can't really do anythin' special except on saturday night."

"Do you have any place in mind?"

"Ah was thinkin' about Bon-Bon's tavern." Applejack suggested. "The bar's nice, there's music, a rather large dance floor. And the food's mighty decent."

"Oh! She managed to open it in the end!" Vinyl said with interest. "What happened to her parent's sweets' shop?"

"She opens it only in the afternoon, now." Applejack explained.

"Well that might be a good idea." Vinyl pondered. "Hold on, does Lyra has anything to do with the tavern?"

"Ah think she plays the music there from time to time." Applejack said, rubbing her chin as she tried to remember. "And she often helps Bon-Bon at running the place. Why do ya ask?"

"Well, last time I saw her, it was at the audition for the wedding." Vinyl said with a wince. "She didn't take it very well that I got the part."

"Ya think it'll be a problem?" Applejack asked with caution. "We can always go to someplace else."

"No, it'll probably be ok." Vinyl said with a wave of her right hand. "Beside, I want to see what Bon-Bon did. She used to talk so much about it in the past." Vinyl said with a small smile.

"Well, Now we just gotta see with the girls if they're ok with it." Applejack said clapping her hands together.





The girls had accepted the Apple siblings's invitation. Fluttershy took some convincing, but she had agree that a small dinner and a drink with friends might be lovely. After a quiet and peaceful day at the farm, the girls were getting ready for the evening. Twilight was going on about rules of conduct to Pinkie Pie.

" So did you understand all that I just said?" Twilight asked sternly.

"Yes, Sir! I mean, Ma'am!" Pinkie who was wearing a dark green helmet saluted. 

"Ok, I think we're good." Twilight nodded with a smile as Pinkie threw the helmet away.

"Ow! I'm so excited." Pinkie said, bouncing wildly as they made their way toward the cart Vinyl and Applejack had prepared. "My first time in a bar/tavern. I'll finally taste some alcohol." She said dreamily.

"NO ALCOHOL FOR YOU!" The seven other women shouted in unison. Even Fluttershy had shouted at the same level as the others.

"Aaawwwww! Why?" Pinkie Pie asked with a sad pout.

"Because you're still underage, sweetie." Octavia explained in a soft tone. "No alcohol until you're eighteen."

"That and the fact that you're crazy enough without any alcohol in your system." Rainbow added sharply.

"Renée Marianne Dash, that wasn't really nice!" Rarity chastised.

"What? You're all thinking it!" Rainbow said. "And don't use my full name!"

"Hold on! That's your real name?" Vinyl asked in surprise.

"Gotta problem with that?" Rainbow asked.

"No, I just find weird for you to call yourself Rainbow Dash when you've got such nice name." Vinyl shrugged.

"Hey! Rainbow Dash's a cool name!" Pinkie Pie interjected.

"Damn straight Pinkie! You tell her!" Rainbow shouted happily before she high-fived Pinkie.

"All right girls!" Applejack said as she took the driver seat in the cart. "Hop in."

"Hey, there isn't enough place to sit." Twilight observed as the cart had only five other seats. 

"Don't worry!" Vinyl said. "Octavia and I are riding Red Hare!" She added, pointing at the huge red stallion with a double saddle on his back.

Once everyone was in the cart, and Octavia comfortably installed in front of Vinyl on Red Hare's back, Pinkie Pie pointed toward Ponyville. "TO THE TAVERN!"





The way to Bon-Bon's tavern went swimmingly. The Apples and the Council of Harmony had disembarked from the cart, or dismounted from Red Hare in Vinyl and Octavia's case. A young, slightly chubby woman with blue and pink hair, wearing a waiter outfit came their way.

"Vinyl, Applejack! I've seen you arriving!" She shouted happily. "It's been so long." She added before hugging the two Apple siblings. "Especially you, Vinyl!"

"Good to see you, Bonnie!" Vinyl said with a smile.

"Howdy Bon-Bon!" Applejack grinned. "Got some space for us?"

"For you? Always!" Bon-Bon replied. She took a glimpse at the girls behind Vinyl and Applejack. "So, Cloud Kicker was telling the truth about you having guests!"

"Oh! Were are our manners? Bonnie, let me introduce to you the Council of Harmony!" Vinyl said. "We have Pinkie Pie!"

"HI!" Pinkie shouted happily.

"Fluttershy!"

"Hum! Hello." Fluttershy quietly said.

"Twilight Sparkle."

"Good evening, Ms Bon!" Twilight said politely while Applejack leaned to her ear and whispered something. "Oh dear! I mean Ms Sweetdrops!" She added quickly, blushing in embarrassment, causing Bon-Bon to giggle.

"Renée Marianne Dash!" Vinyl chuckled playfully.

"Rainbow Dash's just fine." Rainbow muttered before smiling at the innkeeper. "How you doing?"

"Rarity Belle!" 

"Good evening! Quite a nice establishment you have there." Rarity said politely.

"And last but certainly not least, especially to me, Octavia Philharmonica." Vinyl concluded with a small smile at her lover who smiled back, before politely bidding her good evening. "Girls! Meet Bonnie Sweetdrops. Also called Bon-Bon!"

"My ladies, it's an honor to have you in my humble tavern." Bon-Bon bowed slightly at the Council members.

"None of that, Darling." Rarity firmly said with a smile. "We're not on an official visit. We're just a group of friends willing to have a good time."

"All right, Ms Belle." Bon-Bon nodded. "If you'd like to follow me inside."

"What about Philibert and Red Hare?" Applejack asked. "Ya got a place where we can attach them?"

Bon-Bon pondered for a short moment as she eyed the two horses. "Well the lawn behind the tavern needs to be mowed!" She chuckled.

"They ain't goats, Bon-Bon!" Applejack retorted with a small laugh.





Bon-Bon's tavern was kinda rustic, but it had a nice vibe to it. After an excellent dinner in the restaurant part of the establishment, the girls moved to the bar section that gave on a large dance floor and a scene on which was playing a country band. There was a fiddler, a banjo player and a harmonica player. The girls had scattered to look around the room, leaving the two Apple siblings at the bar with a white and light green haired barmaid.

"Vinyl, I really hate you, you know that?" The barmaid let out.

"You're still not over the fact I got chosen for the wedding?" Vinyl asked with a tired sigh. "Lyra, buck up a little!"

"Well, at first it was for that." Lyra casually explained. "But thinking back, there was no way for them not picking you among the others. Heck, I still got chills by just thinking about your performance." She added with a small smile. "You really blew us out of the way."

"Thanks for compliment!" Vinyl smiled at the barmaid. "Vodka with apple cider, please."

"Coming right up." Lyra replied before magically preparing the asked beverage. "As I was saying, I really hate you!"

"Why don't ya explain us why, Sugarcube?" Applejack asked as she took a small sip of her glass of wine. "Pretty fancy vintage ya found! Good choice!"

"Thanks AJ!" Lyra said while giving Vinyl her drink. "First of all, Vinyl. You're way too much talented for me not to hate you."

"Yeah, I know. You've been saying stuff like that since fifth grade." Vinyl shrugged before tasting her drink. "Humm! That hits the spot."

"Only that, I could have managed." Lyra continued. "But, you had to get the chance to work with Octavia Philharmonica, one of the greatest musician alive. Worst of all, she has just passed three weeks on your farm."

"What's your point?" Vinyl lazily asked.

"You just had to become friend with her, didn't you?" Lyra asked. "Now, you got the talent and the relations."

"Yeah. Right! Friend!" Applejack chuckled, earning a raise of eyebrow from the barmaid.

"What does she mean?"

"Nothing, just the wine making her dizzy." Vinyl shrugged.

"As if, I'll be out of booze before making AJ tipsy." Lyra chuckled.

"Back to us, Lyra." Vinyl said. "If I get an autograph from her for you, would you let me off?"

"I'll even kiss your feet and call you mistress for that." Lyra said with conviction.

There was a short awkward silence before the three women bursted out laughing.

"It's great to chat with you again, Lyra." Vinyl chuckled, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Likewise, Vinyl!" Lyra nodded, before turning away to serve an other client. "I'll be waiting for my autograph though."

Soon after, Rarity, Fluttershy and Octavia joined the the two Apples. Lyra took their order and served them quickly in a very professional way, unlike how she had served Vinyl and Applejack. But it didn't matter for the Apples.

"Were are the others?" Applejack asked pulling Rarity close to her by her waist, at Lyra's great, yet silent, surprise.

"So, Cloud Kicker was telling the truth about that as well." Lyra whispered to herself.

"Rainbow and Pinkie are dancing over there." Octavia answered as she leaned her head on Vinyl's shoulder, causing an even greater surprise for Lyra. "And Twilight found a table right.... Who's she talking to?" Octavia asked blinking.

The group turned their heads toward the Princess's student. They all saw her chatting happily with a woman with long blond hair. Vinyl and Applejack recognized the woman instantly, even if she lacked her usual red armor. It was Cloud Kicker.

"Damn! We lost Twilight, AJ!" Vinyl shook her head in defeat.

"Ah reckon we did!" Applejack nodded at her sister.

"What do you mean, Darling?" Asked a confused Rarity. "Who's that woman?"

"Lieutenant First Class Cloud Kicker of the Royal Guard." Vinyl said.

"What Ah meant is that Twilight will probably come back to the farm a lot later than us tonight." Applejack slowly added.

Before anyone could voice their interrogation, Vinyl stood up quickly from her stool, when the band started a new song.

"I love this song." Vinyl said happily. "Let's dance Octavia."

She grabbed Octavia's hand and pulled her on the dance floor. While a bit stressed and surprised at first, Octavia started to dance gracefully close to Vinyl. Vinyl put her hand on Octavia's lower back to put even less distance between them. Octavia seemed to enjoy that a lot.

"I think that, now, I know why you laughed when I mentioned them being friends." Lyra slowly said to Applejack who only chuckled in response.

"Care for a dance, Lady Rarity?" Applejack asked.

"I was wondering when you'd ask, Darling." Rarity beamed at the farmer.

The couple left for the dance floor, leaving Fluttershy on her own. The shy woman just sat on a stool and quietly enjoyed her drink. For the following half hour, she had discussed a little with Lyra, but the barmaid had other costumers and at some point she let Fluttershy on her own. It didn't take much time for a grey haired young man to sit right next to her.

"Hey there." He said with a confident smile.

"Good evening!" Fluttershy quietly and politely answered.

"I've never seen you in town before. You've just moved in?"

"Hum! I'm on vacations with my friends. Sort of." 

"Oh! Weird. I work for the fanciest hotel in town, and I haven't seen you there." He noted with interest. "And I'm sure a beautiful lady like you wouldn't stay in another hotel that the one I'm working for." He added with a wink.

"Oh! I'm not staying at the hotel, I'm staying at Sweet Apple Acres."

As soon as she mentioned the place she was staying at, the man's interest dropped drastically. He took worried glance right and left and seemed to freeze when he noticed Applejack and Vinyl on the dance floor. Worst of all, Applejack had seen him. He was about to leave the pink haired beauty alone when he heard a woman shouting his name.

"What the hell are you doing here, Thunderlane?" Shouted an angry woman with teal hair and a pink bow in it. She was followed by large group of friends lead by another woman who looked identical to the shouting woman, except she had spikier hair.

"Hey...Flitter! How are you doing?" Thunderlane asked in a frightened tone.

"Well, let's see. My boyfriend said that he was too sick to come celebrate my promotion in the weather management team. But surprisingly, I find him in a bar chatting with some pink haired slut." Flitter said with venomously.

"Oh, no! It wasn't anything like that. We were just ..." Fluttershy started.

"I didn't ask anything to you." Flitter snapped before pushing fiercely Fluttershy, who fell on the ground with small yelp.

Applejack who had witnessed the scene, was about to shout at Flitter. But, before she could even say anything, she saw Pinkie Pie running amazingly fast toward Flitter, before whacking her in the face with a rubber chicken.

"MEANIE!" Pinkie Pie shouted with anger.

"Who the hell are you?" Flitter asked furiously, as she rubbed her sore face. 

"No one pushes Fluttershy. NO ONE." Pinkie was holding the rubber animal as if it was a sword. "oh. And I'm Pinkie Pie by the ..."

The spiky haired twin didn't wait for introductions and kicked Pinkie in the stomach, making the young inventor fell on her knee holding her belly in pain. Fluttershy gasped in shock. The attacker readied her fist to punch Pinkie Pie.

"Who do you think you are for hitting my sister like that?" She shouted before punching Pinkie in the face.

Her blow didn't hit his target. Her arm was stopped by a very powerful tanned hand who nearly crushed her forearm. She looked up to see who had grabbed her. Her eyes widened in fear when she saw a rather angry Applejack.

"Shouldn't have done that 'Chaser!" Applejack slowly said in a threatening tone.

It started in a flash. Some of Flitter's friends dashed at Applejack, with pretty clear intentions. Applejack tossed CloudChaser at them in response. It quickly escalated in a traditional bar brawl. Fluttershy had retreated away from the fight, she had tried to pulled Pinkie Pie with her. But, as soon as she recovered from her hit in the stomach, Pinkie pulled out a second chicken and was now rampaging in the fray with one rubber poultry in each hand.

From the dance floor, Vinyl had noticed the start of the fight while she was still dancing with Octavia. She stopped dancing, much to Octavia's and her disappointment. 

"Sorry Love! Gotta go." Vinyl quickly said, pecking Octavia's lips. Before Octavia could say anything, she dashed toward the site of the fight. She climbed on a table before jumping into the melee yelling: "YIPIKAYEE WOHOOO!"

"We have to stop them!" Rarity said in panic. "They'll end up hurting themselves."

"How? Your magic could barely contain Applejack for more than two minutes." Rainbow argued.

"Maybe Twilight has enough power to stop them." Octavia suggested.

"Hum! I don't think she'll be willing to do anything." Fluttershy said, pointing toward the table Twilight was sitting earlier.

The three other member of the Council's jaws dropped on the floor when they saw what Twilight was doing. She was passionately kissing the woman she had been talking to half an hour ago. Apparently none of them had noticed the fight. Rainbow recovered from the shock quicker than the others and flew right behind Twilight to tap her shoulder. 

"What's it Rainbow?" Twilight snapped as she was forced to break the kiss. "I'm busy in case you haven't noticed."

"Hold on to your horses Twi' and look around you." Rainbow said defensively.

"Wow! That's quite a brawl they're having." Cloud Kicker commented casually when she noticed the fight.

"Can't you do something?" Rarity, who had joined them with Octavia and Fluttershy, asked. "Since you're a Lieutenant of the Guard."

"I didn't know that." Twilight said with interest. "My brother's in the guard as well."

"Really?" Cloud Kicker replied. "What's his rank? Maybe I know him!"

"That's fun and all, but couldn't that wait after the fight's stopped?" Rainbow asked impatiently.

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that." Cloud Kicker said sheepishly. "Hang on. Do Applejack and Vinyl happen to be involved in any way in this fight?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Then it's beyond my ability." Cloud Kicker affirmed.

Lyra was behind the bar with a load of bags of bits in front of her. She was busy taking some notes. Bon-Bon came to her in a panic. 

"Lyra, what's going on?" Bon-Bon asked before she noticed the pouches of bits. "What's all that money?"

"As for what's going on," Lyra started. "Thunderlane tried to cheat on Flitter with Fluttershy. But, that was before, he knew Fluttershy had come with Applejack's group. He tried to get away before doing something he'd regret, but unfortunately for him Flitter and her friends happened to pass by. Flitter was a bit rude to Fluttershy and pushed her on the ground."

"One of her friends, who had seen everything, jumped in and attacked Flitter to defend Fluttershy." Lyra continued as if she was speaking about the weather. "CloudChaser defended her sister, Applejack defended her friend. And it kept on growing like that until now."

"What about all that money?"

"That's what people betted on the outcome of the fight." Lyra shrugged.

"What? They betted that much?" Bon-Bon asked with wide eyes, before catching herself. "Anyway, we have to stop them, they've already broke two tables and six chairs. No,seven."

"Yeah, but if Vinyl and Applejack ends the fight naturally in less then two minutes, It'll be one thousand and six hundred fifty-four bits for us." Lyra remarked as she finished her maths on her notepad.

"COME ON, APPLEJACK." Bon-Bon cheered loudly. "FINISH THEM OFF QUICKLY, VINYL! GET THEM! GET THEM!"





	
> The next morning.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Fortunately, at least for Bon-Bon and Lyra, the fight ended within the two minutes. Slowly and painfully, Flitter's and CloudChaser's friends left the tavern, leaving the twins alone with the two Apples and a insanely mad Pinkie Pie who, despite being lifted in Vinyl's blue magic, was trying to whack them with her rubber chickens.

"Bonnie. Can I get a taffy?" Vinyl asked casually.

"Huuu! Sure." Bon-Bon said hesitantly from behind the bar.

She tossed a wrapped up candy to Vinyl, while Lyra was busy counting their winnings with a happy grin. Vinyl unwrapped the treat and firmly put it in Pinkie's mouth. As she was busy masticating her candy, Pinkie's expression slowly softened to her usual happy face. When she showed no more sign of aggressiveness, Vinyl freed her from her magic hold.

"Felling better?" Vinyl asked softly. 

"Hum! Hum!" Pinkie Pie nodded, not speaking as her mouth was still full. She had at least learned that from Rarity.

"Why don't you go see the others?" Vinyl suggested. Pinkie Pie nodded again before gently hopping toward her friends.

"Now, what do y'all have to say for yerself?" Applejack said firmly to the disheveled twins sitting in front of her.

"I'm sorry for having pushed the pink haired miss." Flitter said apologetically. "It wasn't her fault if my ex-boyfriend's an ass."

"And I'm sorry for having kicked the one with the rubber chickens." CloudChaser added softly. "I shouldn't have reacted like that."

Applejack eyed closely the twins's faces, when she knew their apologies were sincere, she smiled before pulling them both back on their feet.

"All right Y'all, we're good now." She said slowly, before facing the bar. "Lyra, put their drinks on ma bill."

"Sure thing, AJ!"

At everyone's surprise, Applejack introduced the twins to their friends. Fluttershy, ever willing to make peace, had accepted immediately their apologies. It did help the situation to relax a bit. After all, no one could really stay mad with Fluttershy. Flitter and her seemed to enjoyed the conversation they were having, while CloudChaser was enduring a 'reconciliation hug' from Pinkie Pie. The spike haired twin winced in pain in the pink haired girl's bone crushing embrace. Some thought that was Pinkie's way to get back at her for the kick.

Vinyl and Applejack turned to face their respective girlfriends, and gulped when they noticed the disapproving frown on their faces. It was weird to see the two women, who would run straight at every bar fight they encountered, slowly walking in fear toward the two ladies. Their expressions softened when the two Apples apologized for their brutish behavior.

"You're forgiven if you finish the dance we started." Octavia said to Vinyl with a small smile.

The band, who had played a rather rousing song during the fight, was now playing a low and soft melody, to ease everyone's mind. Perfect for a slow dance.

"Of course!" Vinyl beamed before following Octavia on the dance floor. In the next seconds, they were both dancing quietly in each other's arms.

"Do Ah have to take ya to dance floor as well?" Applejack asked slowly.

"No, Darling! Your word is more than enough for me." Rarity replied with a quick peck on Applejack's lips. "Beside, you can apologize harder later. Your sister taught me her soundproofing spell this morning." She whispered in Applejack's ear with a sultry tone.

Applejack started to blush madly, thankfully everyone was so caught up in their conversations that none noticed Rarity's whisper or her growing blush. As she looked away, her gaze fell on Cloud Kicker with her arm amorously passed around Twilight's shoulder.

"Do ya even realize who ya're holding, CK?" Applejack asked slowly with an eyebrow raised.

"Of course I do!" Cloud Kicker said, confused by Applejack's question. "That's Twilight Sparkle from the Council of Harmony."

"And ya remember who's her brother, don't ya?" 

"Why should I ....." Cloud Kicker's face almost fell when she started to put two and two together. "OOOOOHHH!" She said slowly in realization. 

"What is it?" Twilight asked. "Why would my brother have anything to do with this?"

"Let's just say that if I don't want to spend the rest of my career back as a simple soldier." Cloud Kicker explained. "It would be better that I let go of you right now."

"And why you're not doing it, then?" Twilight asked pointing Cloud Kicker's arm still on her shoulder.

"Because it isn't the first time I'm doing things behind the Captain's back." CK replied with a smug grin as she pulled Twilight closer.

"Hmm, interesting." Twilight whispered with a smile before breaking the guard's grip to get herself a drink along with Rarity.

"Ah hope ya know what ya're doin'." Applejack slowly said to Cloud Kicker when Twilight was out of earshot.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Cloud Kicker asked with narrowed eyes.

"Takin' the risk of ruinin' yar entire career for one single roll in the hay." Applejack let out in a whisper that only Cloud Kicker could hear.

"Because you're the expert now?" Cloud Kicker retorted with sarcasm. "Two weeks ago, you were all panicky for your first date ever, and now you're giving ME pieces of advice."

"Cloud Kicker." Applejack said. "Ya're one of my oldest friends, Ah'm just worried about ya."

"You don't need to be worried about me." Cloud Kicker shook her head. "I know what I'm doing. I always make sure everything goes with zero consequences."

"If ya're certain." Applejack sighed. "But, ya better not hurt her, otherwise ya wouldn't even have time to get worried about yar career." Applejack warned.

"I can promise you that much." Cloud Kicker affirmed seriously.





The rest of the evening had gone without any hitch. The Bar had closed at one AM, but Bon-Bon and Lyra had said that Apples, their guest and Cloud Kicker could stay for a last drink. At two thirty AM, they were still in the bar chatting. The topic of conversation had derived on a massive drunk Truth or Dare. 

"I got one!" Rainbow shouted eagerly. "AJ, Truth or Dare?"

"Humm! Truth."

"Have you ever thought Vinyl looked attractive to you?" Rainbow asked with a drunken smile. "And I'm talking about the kinky kind of attractive."

"What kind of sick question is that?" Applejack asked sharply, embarrassed to have been asked such a truth.

"You have to answer, it's the rule." Twilight said with a smug grin, as every one started laughing at the farmer's discomfort.

"I'm actually pretty curious, now." Vinyl chimed in with a chuckle.

"Well, hu.." Applejack sighed reluctantly. "Ah reckon that, sometimes, ya looked darn pretty!" She stammered with cheeks red as a Red Delicious. 

"Pretty enough for you to think about shagging her?" Rainbow asked, completely drunk. The two Apples only responded by giving a hard dark stare to the rainbow haired woman, the previous embarrassment or chuckle completely absent from their faces. "I'll take that as no." She added, scratching the back of her head sheepishly and suddenly feeling less drunk.

The game continued until Octavia let her head drop on Vinyl's shoulder, half asleep. Vinyl gently grabbed her lover and stood up.

"I think it's time to call it a night." Vinyl said, before turning to Bon-Bon and Lyra. "Thanks for the evening. This place's awesome Bonnie." She said with a small smile.

"It was a pleasure!" Bon-Bon assured with a big smile. "Be sure to come back! And, thanks for the compliment."

They all bid their goodbyes to the inn-keeper and the barmaid, before walking toward where they had left Red Hare, Philibert and the cart. Twilight had decided to stay a bit longer with Cloud Kicker before going back to the farm, at every one's , except the two Apples, surprise.

"Ok, no problem!" Vinyl casually said. "Be sure to walk her back to the farm, CK."

"Sure thing, Vinyl." Cloud Kicker nodded before walking away with Twilight close to her.

"Are you sure it's a good thing to let her go with Cloud Kicker?" Rarity asked with concern. "Not that she's not a good person." She added quickly.

"What we think is no matter, Sugarcube. Twilight took the decision, we can only respect that." Applejack shrugged as she harnessed Philibert to the cart. "But, none of y'all worry, Cloud Kicker can be trusted." Applejack assured with a smile.





Round five AM, Applejack exited her room. Rarity had just fallen asleep after her rather long apology. The farmer was exhausted, both from the lack of sleep and from her latest activity. She knew she should have gone to bed, but right now, she was just hungry. She lazily made her way to kitchen and found out that Vinyl was sitting at the countertop, eating a slice of pie. When Vinyl saw Applejack, she used her magic to prepare a plate with a slice of pie for her sister.

"You look terrible. Eat!" Vinyl casually said as she dropped the plate in front of Applejack who took a bite voraciously.

"FFankff." Applejack whispered with her mouth full of pie. As soon as she swallowed, she felt her energy coming back and felt much more awake and fit than few minutes ago. "Faust bless Granny's pies."

"Amen to that!" Vinyl slowly said. "You might want Rarity to practice her soundproofing spell a bit."

Applejack almost choked with her second bite of pie. "Ya heard us?" Applejack asked in embarrassment.

"Only for a few seconds. You're lucky I was up when her spell worn out." Vinyl explained. "I re-casted it immediately, I don't think anyone else heard you."

"Thank the Gods!" Applejack sighed in relief. "How come ya were awake?"

"Didn't feel like sleeping." Vinyl let out with a pinch of sadness.

"It's because she's leavin' soon, ain't it?" Applejack asked though she already knew the answer.

"I suppose you feel the same.."

"Ya supposed right." Applejack simply answered with a light nod. 

"What are we going to do?" Vinyl sighed. "I know it's stupid, but since Octavia and I started...you know. In my mind, I rejected the fact that she'll be leaving after three weeks. And now, she leaves after tomorrow."

"Ah know, Sugarcube." Applejack said softly. "Ah'm worried about what'll happen after they're gone. But ya shouldn't."

"Why shouldn't I?" Vinyl asked with curiosity.

"Because ya and Octavia have something that can reunite y'all." Applejack explained. "Y'all have yar music. Heck you've even got invited to the Council. Ya have something to offer her after she leaves. Ah don't..." Applejack said with a small tear rolling on her cheek.

"AJ.."

"Ah got nothing to keep Rarity with me." Applejack softly wept. "Ah know shit about fashion. Ah can't stay awake for a play at AppleBloom's school, so imagine me at them fancy operas she likes. Ah can take one or two fancy soirée, but that certainly ain't enough to keep up with Rarity. "Applejack wiped her tears as Vinyl walked around the countertop and slowly patted her back. "And that's only the things she likes that Ah can't do. Because if we're going to check what Ah like to do that she doesn't, the gap goes wider. Ah'm a simple farmer, Ah buck apples, Ah participate in rodeo competition. Ah enjoy fights and what not. Ah simply don't match her."

"Who in tarnation said it's supposed to be a problem?" Came a elderly tired voice.

"Granny?" The two sisters snapped their head toward the matriarch. "What are you doing up so early?" They asked simultaneously.

"Ah reckon Ah don' need an hour to git up in ma own house, do ah?" Granny Smith asked with a crooked eyebrow. "Anyway, what's all that non-sense ya're worried about, Applejack?" 

"It ain't non-sense Granny, it's fact!" Applejack retorted with sadness.

"Ah know that those are fact!" Granny said firmly. "Ah'm talkin' about the fact ya believe that because ya're a lot different from that Rarity gal, ya think it's not gonna work out. That there's the non-sense."

"How can it work out if she's so different and far from me?" Applejack asked.

"It didn't stop yer parents." Granny nearly shouted. "Why should it stop ya?"

"What?" Vinyl asked in disbelief. "What do Mom and Dad have to do with this here situation?"

"Yer Mama was born and raised in Manehatten, while yer Papa was from Ponyville." The matriarch explained. "They met thanks to a small trip yer Papa did in Manehatten. Love at first sight, he said." Granny Smith chuckled. "They've seen each other as much as they could while she still lived in Manehatten. They used letters, he went to visit her and what not. And years later, he proposed to her." Granny Smith said firmly.

After taking a deep breath, Granny Smith spoked again, in a softer tone this time. "Everythin' was tearin' them apart. Their hobbies, their life style, their upbringing, everything. But that didn't stop them. Yer Papa said to me it wasn't always easy but in the end it was worth it." Granny Smith concluded. "And now, ya're telling that ya, who are twice strong-willed as both yer parents, are afraid of somethin' they've overcome. Forgive me Sweetie, but that there's ridiculous."

Applejack wiped her tears away, and smiled weakly at her grandmother.

"Now that ya said it like that, it does seem rather silly." She slowly said.

"Ah know y'all both are scared that the distance might ruin things." Granny said softly. "But y'all are forgetting something really important."

"What?" Vinyl and Applejack asked.

"Them gals are smitten over y'all." Granny Smith said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Ah spoke to them so Ah can't be more sure than what Ah already am. They ain't gonna give up on y'all over somethin' as trivial as geography. Beside Canterlot ain't that far from Ponyville by train." Granny added with a wink. Vinyl and Applejack couldn't help but to smile. "Now get in yer bed, y'all need some sleep." Granny said in a motherly tone.





When she entered her room, Vinyl was very surprised of what she had seen. Octavia was lying in bed, holding 'Little Vinyl' close to her heart. Vinyl silently laid down right next to Octavia who slightly opened her eyes as she felt some movement.

"Hey there." Vinyl said softly.

"Hello." Octavia whispered sleepily.

"Why's she in her arms?" Vinyl asked playfully, pointing the unicorn plush.

"You weren't in bed and she looked like you a bit." Octavia explained in a half-asleep state.

"Don't you prefer to hold 'Big Vinyl' instead?"

"It depends. Does 'Big Vinyl' have the intention of leaving this bed again?"

"Not without you, Octavia." Vinyl assured. "Not without you."

As soon as she said those words, Octavia stopped holding the little unicorn Vinyl in order to pull her human Vinyl into a tight embrace, before falling asleep again. Vinyl enjoyed the warmth of her lover, before slowly drifting toward dreamwolrd as well. She thought back about what made her worried earlier, while she put her forehead on Octavia's.

"No matter the distance between us Octavia! I'll always keep you close in my heart!" Vinyl whispered, more to herself than anyone else, with resolution.

"I know Vinyl." Octavia whispered back, her eyes still closed.

Vinyl managed a small smile before falling asleep in her lover's arms.





Applejack took her spot on the bed, next to the sleeping beauty that was Rarity. She was sleeping on her side with her back turned toward Applejack. She scooted closer to her lover, gently pecking her shoulder which was uncovered due to the shirt she was wearing to sleep, one of Applejack's, was a bit too loose for her. Rarity let out a satisfied, yet tired, moan.

"Not anymore, Darling." She whispered with contentment. "We do not all share your formidable endurance."

"Ah'm sorry Sugarcube." Applejack said as she took a deep breath of Rarity's scent. "Ya're just too pretty."

Rarity turned around in order to snuggle Applejack. She passed her arms around AJ before resting her head on the farmer's chest. Applejack rested her chin on top of Rarity's head before sighing as she felt relaxed with her lover by her side.

"Your heartbeats are kind of relaxing, Darling." Rarity whispered happily. "So calm and steady.....the perfect lullaby." She commented before yawning a bit.

"Only because ya're here Rare." Applejack slowly said as hugged Rarity.

"Glad to be helpful, Darling." Rarity said with a small chuckle."Let's get some sleep now, before the sun is too high for you to close your eyes."

"Ok." Applejack said before lowering her head on Rarity's eye level. "Love ya Sugarcube." 

"Love you too Darling." Rarity replied with a small smile.

They leaned in for a short kiss. Soon after, they both fell asleep in a tight embrace.
	

> Vinyl & Octavia at White Tail Wood.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Every one had slept in rather late this sunday. Before a nice breakfast, or should we say lunch, the others noticed that Twilight hadn't come back yet. Luckily, before everyone, except Applejack and Vinyl, started to panic about her whereabouts, they heard a loud thud typical to a Jupitarian's landing. They all looked outside and saw that Cloud Kicker had landed few meters away from the house, holding Twilight in her arms. 

"I told you we'll be there quicker by flying." Cloud Kicker happily said, as she put the dark skinned woman down.

"I'll admit it's true." Twilight conceded, trying to put her hair in their usual state. "It's terrible for the hair though." 

"Never had the problem." Cloud Kicker casually said as she passed her hand in her neatly done long blond hair.

"How's that even possible?" Twilight asked in disbelief. "The wind should have messed them up!"

"Ah always thought it was her fancy jupitarian magic that protects her hair from the wind." Applejack chimed in, after getting out to welcome them along with Vinyl.

"Twilight, the breakfast's served." Vinyl said. "Also, Pinkie surely missed you." She added with a chuckle.

"Oh, great! I'm starving." Twilight said before going to the house, only to come backward to peck Cloud Kicker on the cheek. "Thank you again. I had a great time." She whispered with a big smile.

"I had a great time as well." Cloud Kicker smiled back.

Twilight quickly walked in to the house, leaving the two Apples with their guard friend. The three women chuckled when they saw Twilight being tackled by a wailing Pinkie Pie as she walked through the front door. When the laugh died down, Vinyl and Applejack turned toward Cloud Kicker.

"I take it the night went well for you." Vinyl said playfully.

"Even better!" Cloud Kicker affirmed with a nod. "But, not in the way you're thinking."

"Y'all didn't ..." Applejack started with surprise.

"Nope!" Cloud Kicker answered shaking her head.

"I'll be damned then." Vinyl said in amazement. "What happened?"

"Well, after leaving you, we went back to my place." Cloud Kicker explained. "We got a drink or two, we made out. I even got to second base." 

"What stopped you from keep going, then?" Vinyl asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah, ya seemed to be on the good way to the third one." Applejack added playfully.

"I never thought I'd hear something like that from you, AJ." Cloud Kicker said, pretty impressed. "That Rarity's doing some good on you." Applejack shrugged with a smile. " Anyway, I stopped because she didn't seem ok with it anymore." Cloud Kicker simply concluded.

"Just like that?" Vinyl asked. "Did she tell you why?"

"Yes she did, but I'm not going further into the details. That's between her and me." Cloud Kicker said firmly.

"Ya're damn right about that." Applejack said, unable to hide her pride in her friend's behavior. "How come you brought her back only now, if y'all didn't do anything?"

"After the 'thing', we started talking to each other, you know, just for the sake of talking." Cloud Kicker said, smiling dreamily. "We talked about all kind of things, her place in the council, my job within the guard... Heck, I heard a few good ones about the Captain too." She added with a chuckle. "Around five, she fell asleep on my couch. I put her in the bed in my guest room then I went to sleep." She concluded with a soft smile on her face.

"hmm!" Vinyl pondered while examining Cloud Kicker's face with narrowed eyes.

"Something on my face?" Cloud Kicker asked genuinely concerned about her face. It wouldn't be a first time that she had a dead insect on her face because of her flying.

"Yeah.." Vinyl slowly said. "That smile.....HA-HA!" Vinyl shouted with enthusiasm.

"What?" 

"Oh that's so cool!" Vinyl said happily. "AJ, I think our Cloud Kicker's finally gonna settle down."

"What are ya talkin' 'bout?" Applejack asked with a very puzzled frown.

"I'd like to know that as well." Cloud Kicker said with an identical expression.

"You, my friend, got the hots for Lady Twilight Sparkle." Vinyl said happily.

"I know that. I almost shagged her." Cloud Kicker said rolling her eyes.

"I'm talking about the mushy kind of hots, CK." Vinyl explained with a small smile.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Cloud Kicker said with a growing blush.

"Holy Apple Fairy! She's blushin'." Applejack said with wide eyes, before smiling. "Ah think ya got it right, Vi."

"No, she didn't." Cloud Kicker retorted.

"Come on, admit it." Vinyl chuckled. "Your eyes were all shiny when you're telling us about the night you had together. And you didn't have sex, so it's got be that."

"That's ridiculous." Cloud Kicker shouted vigorously. The fact that her cheeks were redder than the armor she used to wear didn't help her in convincing Applejack and Vinyl. She turned around. "I'll just leave."

"Oh come on, we're just teasing." Vinyl said as she grabbed Cloud Kicker's shoulder. "You did it all the time when we were kids."

"It's less funny now." Cloud Kicker pouted. 

"Ok, let's get serious." Applejack slowly said. "Ya plan on seeing her again?"

"Not really." Cloud Kicked sighed.

"Why not?" Vinyl asked in surprise. "You had a great time and, from the looks of it, she did too."

"Yesterday at Bon-Bon's, we kinda established that it would be a one night thing." Cloud Kicker explained. "Beside, she's going back to Canterlot in two days. It's not like she'll remember the guard she met in a tavern in Ponyville."

"I'm not sure about that." Vinyl chuckled. "You're pretty memorable."

"Ah have to agree on that." Applejack laughed.

"Thanks girls." Cloud Kicker slowly muttered. "Would you mind if we talk about something else?"

"We can do that." Vinyl nodded. "Got something in mind?"

"Actually I do." Cloud Kicker said with a big smile. "The mayor has submitted the town's application for hosting the Equestria Games!"

"The mayor's surely ambitious with this one." Applejack whistled.

"It'll be awesome for the town's business though." Vinyl conceded. "Imagine what good it'll do for the farm."

"Well, I was thinking." Cloud Kicker continued. "If the town's chosen, we could get a team competing in the Games."

"Doesn't that cost lots of bits to subscribe a team for the Games?" Vinyl asked. "The town probably couldn't afford it with all the accommodations necessary for hosting them."

"That's the thing." Cloud Kicker said happily. "The hosting town has the right to get her team to compete for free."

"That's mighty fine and all, but why are ya talkin' to us about that?" Applejack asked.

"Simple, if the town gets chosen, we should compete!" Cloud Kicker suggested.

"We?" Applejack asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"Yeah, you two, me and a couple of other gals could be representing Ponyville."

"Hmm! Why not, It could ...." Vinyl started.

A loud and rather uncouth rumble came from the three women's bellies to interrupt their conversation. They all watched each other in embarrassment, before deciding to continue their discussion around a pretty decent breakfast/lunch.





The rest of the day had gone smoothly. The Apples had done their chores with the help of Cloud Kicker, who got somehow convinced by Granny Smith to help her granddaughters as a 'punishment' for bringing Twilight back so late. The matriarch knew of the lieutenant's night activities and didn't buy it a second when the concerned party tried to explain her nothing like that had happened. The 'situation' Cloud Kicker had had with Big Macintosh, years ago, was still pretty fresh in the old woman's mind. 

Vinyl and AJ had noticed a few of their friend's sideway glances toward Twilight, who didn't seem to notice them. Vinyl had thought she had seen Twilight doing the same at the guard once, but no one else seemed to have noticed that. As she wasn't sure about it, she preferred not saying anything to Cloud Kicker, unless she saw another sign. But, unfortunately, she didn't.

Monday, the farm was in a frantic panic, as Twilight had gone into what Pinkie and Rainbow called "Organizilla mode". The indigo haired woman was going through check-list after check-list to make sure their luggages were ready for the next day. Normally, the Apples would have planned on trying to calm her down, but they had other plans for today. They went through their chores faster than every other day, Vinyl had even used and over-used her applebucking spell. After Applejack came back from her delivery to Barnyard Bargain, they started to put their plans in motions.





In the late afternoon, Vinyl had taken Octavia on a last horse ride. Octavia was riding Hex Mark, the stallion had fully accepted the cellist as his rider and now responded instantly at every directions she gave. Vinyl had brought her lover to White Tail Woods, a small forest about one hour away from the farm.

"Vinyl, are we there yet?" Octavia asked. "It's getting late."

"Don't worry, Octavia." Vinyl shrugged. "You see the three menhirs at the end of the path?"

"Yes, I do! Is that where you wanted to go?"

"Kinda, but..."

"OK! Race you there." Octavia interrupted her playfully, before making Hex Mark speed up to a full gallop.

"Why the little impatient cellist..." Vinyl chuckled as she let Octavia take the lead. "Alizee, let's show her how fast you can go."

The black mare neighed her approbation before galloping at full speed. She closed the gap between her and the white stallion rather quickly. Octavia only noticed them when Alizee started to overtake Hex Mark. Vinyl took the lead and Alizee widen the gap effortlessly. When she passed the three standing stones, Vinyl made Alizee slow down to a full stop before dismounting her. Octavia joined her about fifteen seconds later.

"How fast can this mare go?" Octavia asked in awe as she dismounted Hex Mark.

"Pretty fast when she has to." Vinyl shrugged. "Apparently that includes showing off a cellist." She added playfully causing Octavia to stick her tongue out at her in a childish way.

"Anyway, where are we?" Octavia asked with curiosity. "That's what you wanted to show me.

"We're not there yet. It's just safer for the horses to go on foot from here." Vinyl explained. 

She took the reins of Alizee to pull her horse behind her she made her way to small path between the trees. Octavia nodded and followed her lover holding Hex Mark's reins. After a short walk, they arrived in a clearing. Vinyl let Alizee wander around before facing Octavia.

"Octavia. Welcome to my small paradise." She said with a small smile as she presented the scenery with a wave of her right arm.

Octavia watched the clearing in awe. It really was a piece of paradise. There was a small lake flowed by a waterfall, with beautiful white stones on the river banks. The light of the setting sun at the horizon created small elusive rainbows which all started at the waterfall. Vinyl pulled some towels and a basket from one of Alizee's saddlebags, before placing them near the banks. Vinyl sat on one and signaled Octavia to join her.

"This place is beautiful." Octavia slowly said as she sat next to Vinyl.

"Not as beautiful as you." Vinyl said amorously as she pecked Octavia's cheek.

"That's cheesy!" Octavia said with a small blush.

"You want me to stop those cheesy remarks?" Vinyl whispered slowly, her mouth only millimeters away from Octavia's ear.

"Not at all!" Octavia affirmed before having her earlobe tenderly nibbled by Vinyl. She let out a satisfied moan. "How did you find a place like this one?" Octavia asked, trying her best not losing it.

"My Mom showed me this spot when I was ten." Vinyl explained. "She said it was here that my Dad proposed to her. She always wanted me or AJ to bring the one we'll love here, one day. Which is why we're here."

"Vinyl. Are you saying that you're going to propose to me?" Octavia asked hesitantly, in disbelief and slightly in fear.

"As much as I like to speed things up." Vinyl chuckled. "THAT would be a lot too fast, even for me." Octavia let out a relieved sigh. "Glad to see, you're quite enthusiast about spending the rest of our lives together." Vinyl joked with a false offended tone.

"Oh! No! I didn't mean it like that. It's just..." Octavia quickly said in panic, waving her hands defensively.

"It's ok, Octavia. I'm just joking." Vinyl assured with a smile. "I brought you here, because it's your last night at the farm. And I wanted to take you somewhere special."

"Thank you for that." Octavia said before gently kissing Vinyl on the lips. After returning the kiss, Vinyl stood up and stretched her limbs. Octavia glanced at her in confusion before her eyes widened in surprise when Vinyl started to unbelt her jeans. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not gonna swim with my clothes on, am I?" Vinyl retorted with a small giggle. She quickly took off her clothes, leaving her with a light blue bikini swimsuit she was wearing in place of underwear. "Care to join me ?"

Octavia shook her head to clear her thoughts, she had been staring at Vinyl in a rather indecent manner. "Hum! It would be with pleasure... But I don't have a swimsuit." Octavia stammered as she stood up.

"I got that covered." Vinyl said pointing the basket. "Here, I'm even making you a fitting stall." She added with a chuckle as she levitated the two towels to form a circle curtain around the basket.

Octavia entered the 'fitting stall' and, soon after, Vinyl could hear the sounds of her lover taking off her clothes. Vinyl had to resist the temptation of stopping her levitation spell, or putting the towels apart to take a small peek. But her lustful thoughts were interrupted by a shout coming from the nearby towel-made stall.

"Vinyl, you must be kidding me?" Octavia shouted in frustration.

"What? You don't like the color?" Vinyl asked.

"The color's fine. It's the model that bothers me."

"What's wrong with the swimsuit?"

"You call that a swimsuit?" Octavia asked in bewilderment. "I call that strings with small patches of fabric sewed together. I'm sure that I have panties that cover more than this."

"And why do you think I chose this particular model?" Vinyl asked playfully.

Octavia groaned in frustration before exiting the stall. She was wearing a racy black bikini top that showed way more than it hid and a black thong. In Vinyl's mind, there was only one word to describe Octavia: 'Sexy'. The cellist blushed when she noticed the stare her girlfriend was giving her and tried to hide her features with her arms.

"Stop looking at me like that!"

"The only way I'm gonna stop is for me to go suddenly blind." Vinyl replied matter-of-factly. "Anyway, we were gonna swim." She added before climbing on a large boulder that would make a perfect diving board, Octavia levitating in a blue aura behind her.

"Vinyl, I can climb this thing just fine. Put me down, right now!" Octavia ordered.

"Certainly!" Vinyl said with a devious grin. She levitated Octavia up to the center of the lake with her magic before letting her go.

"Not what I meant...KYAAAAHH!" Octavia screamed when she fell in the water with a loud splash. It took her few seconds to swim back to the surface. "VINYL, YOU STUPID IDIOT." She yelled in anger, her eyes completely covered by her wet long hair. She moved them aside and noticed that Vinyl was nowhere to be found. "Vinyl?... Where are you?" She asked in a softer,  concerned tone.

She felt something tickling her left feet. She shrieked in surprise and tried to swim away from what had touched her, only to be firmly grabbed by her waist and pulled back. Vinyl's head emerged behind Octavia, taking a deep breath as she was holding Octavia's waist. Vinyl started laughing at her panicking girlfriend, earning a rightful retribution in the form of an assault of splashed water.

"I take it you didn't fully appreciate your dive." Vinyl remarked as she spat all the water she had almost swallowed because of Octavia's revenge.

"You think?" Octavia asked with sarcasm. "I almost lost my top with this fall."

"Awww, the plan didn't succeed." Vinyl pouted in disappointment, causing Octavia to push her head underwater.

"Well, too bad for you, Vinyl." Octavia said as Vinyl re-surfaced. She felt something brushing her leg. "And stop trying to tickle me."

"Wasn't me this time." Vinyl shook her head, spraying droplets all around her. "Must have been a fish."

Octavia felt an other tickling. Only this time, it was high between her thighs. She yelped in surprise and clung onto Vinyl, as if her life depended on it. Vinyl almost went back underwater, her floating disrupted by Octavia's sudden grab.

"Please, don't tell me you're afraid of fishes." Vinyl sighed.

"I am not scared of fishes." Octavia replied with a light blush. "I just prefer them on a dinning plate than swimming around my nether regions."

"That's some lucky fish." Vinyl muttered to herself.

Before she could make a remark, Octavia realized something. She was holding on to Vinyl, with her hands all over her lover's back. She could feel the roughness of Vinyl's scars in comparison of her 'unmarked' smooth skin. Octavia let go of Vinyl and turned her head away in shame.

"I'm sorry..." She whispered.

"Hum?!" Vinyl tilted her head in confusion. "What for?"

"I-I touched your ba-back." Octavia stammered. "I know you don't like people touching you there." She added slowly. 

She recalled the first time she had touched Vinyl's back. How her usually strong lover, who had just been bitten by a timberwolf and acted as if it was nothing more than a small splinter, had winced in pain when she had accidentally brushed  one of her scars .

"Oh!" Vinyl said in realization. "Octavia, it's ok." She said softly to reassure her lover.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better." Octavia said in quiet pained voice. "I know it hurts you…"

"Octavia." Vinyl said while she was slowly pulling Octavia where they could touch bottom. "It's true that I don't like when someone touches my back. I always get the feeling my scars re-open when someone does." Vinyl conceded slowly in pain.

"I'm sorry…" Octavia sniffed.

"But you're not just 'someone', Octavia." Vinyl assured. "When it's you, my back doesn't hurt anymore. With you, I can forget the pain, the nightmares, everything connected to those scars." Her voice was soft but it had incredible resolution in it.

"You really mean that?" Octavia asked with small tears.

"Octavia, I love you." Vinyl simply said. "When I say something to you, it's the truth. I would never lie to you."

Octavia looked at Vinyl, her eyes sparkled with happy tears and her face lit up by a small adorable smile. "I love you too, Vinyl."

Vinyl slowly leaned in until her lips met Octavia's. They were cold because of the water of the lake, but the kiss was burning with love and affection. Octavia opened her lips slightly, letting the way clear for Vinyl's tongue to venture, something it did instantly. They both let out small pleased moans as Vinyl pushed Octavia's body to a smooth boulder near the waterfall. Without breaking the kiss, she gently lifted her lover's body to sit on top of it, leaving only the lower part of her legs in the water.

After a few minutes, they broke the kiss. Vinyl looked at Octavia, her chest lifting itself to the rhythm of her heavy panting, small droplets of water slowly drifted along her curves and inside her cleavage. Vinyl's respiration quickened at the incredibly arousing sight that was her lover's wet body. She looked up and caught the glance of Octavia's face. It was fiery red, not from embarrassment, just from passion and longing. Her mouth was slightly agape as she exhaled loudly her desire. What completely finished to excite Vinyl, was her cellist's eyes. Those beautiful amethyst eyes had the most ardent glint Vinyl had ever seen in them.

"Vi-Vinyl…" Octavia stammered in a moan.

Vinyl didn't say anything, she just started to caress Octavia's legs, slowly coming up to her thigh, pecking her legs as she did. She gently let a finger pass under the string of Octavia's thong, not interrupting her caresses or her pecks. Octavia shivered in pleasure under the touch of her blue haired girlfriend. She threw her head back, letting out a loud excited moan. From her half submerged state, Vinyl couldn't reach higher than the cellist's lower belly, unless Octavia would lean toward her. But It didn't disturb Vinyl the slightest. After all, her objective was not that high.

"Vinyl, please…"

Vinyl untied the knot that kept the thong in place. After the small piece of swimwear touched the boulder Octavia was sitting on, Vinyl pushed her head forward. The only things she heard next, were not the sounds of the waterfall, nor the sounds of the forest's critters, not even the sounds of their horses which were grazing around. The only things she heard, the only things that mattered to Vinyl, were the screams of pleasure and the shouts of her name which were both coming from Octavia.



> Applejack's gift
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Vinyl had just left with Octavia to White Tail Wood, Applejack was checking every last details about her plan. She was more nervous than before her first date with Rarity. She wasn't sure the baroness of Equestria, who happened to be her lover,  would appreciate what she had planned, despite Vinyl having insisted the exact opposite. 

"Too late to back down, now." Applejack sighed to herself.

She clapped her cheeks to chase her anxiety away, before putting her preparation in her pocket and making her way toward the farm house with resolution. She had a high class seamstress to pick up.





"Pinkie, have you brought your first suitcase down already?" A frantic Twilight asked.

She had insisted to the others on already preparing a part of their luggages in order to gain time for tomorrow's departure. Rarity and Fluttershy had already accpeted to do so, fearing their dark skinned friend would literally burst into flames again. Twilight hadn't taken very well that Octavia had disappeared in the middle of their preparations that she had judged essentials.

"Hum! No." Pinkie Pie replied as she usually did, with a big toothy smile.

"Pray tell...Why?" Twilight asked slowly. Fluttershy hid behind Rarity, fearing another burst of flames, while Rainbow prepared herself to summon a raincloud, just in case.

"Because my stuff aren't packed yet." Pinkie answered with a nod.

"Why are you not packing them, then?" Twilight asked with a twitch of her eye.

"Oh! Easy answer for that one. I was planning on doing it later. So that ....."

"Go pack your things! Now!" Twilight interrupted her sternly.

"But I have..."

"No buts. Be a good girl and go pack your things." Twilight ordered.

"But I had promised Applebloom that I would play with her this afternoon." Pinkie Pie said with big teary eyes.

'Oh My! There it is...' Fluttershy thought to herself.

'....Pinkie Pie's most dangerous weapon...' Rarity said in her head.

'....Her masterclass Puppy Eyes!' Rainbow Dash concluded in her thoughts.

Pinkie put up a sad pout and looked pleadingly at Twilight with her big shining eyes. Twilight stood resolute during two good minutes. But like every time before, she sighed with her head low. Pinkie Pie had beaten her again.

"Fiiine. You can go." Twilight let out. "I'll help you with your packing later."

"Thank you! Thank you!" Pinkie shouted happily as she hugged Twilight intensely, before going outside with Applebloom.

"One day, I'll get her. One day..."Twilight muttered to herself before turning toward Rainbow Dash. "So, Rainbow, where are your luggage?"

"Hum. Haaa. In my room." Rainbow answered uneasily. "But, I was planning on hanging out with Pinkie and the squirt."

"No You don't." Twilight said firmly as she grabbed Rainbow in her purple magic. "You're coming with me. I'm gonna make sure you've packed correctly."

"That's not fair!" Rainbow argued as Twilight was walking upstairs with her floating behind. "Pinkie and Octavia can leave just like that. But me, noooo! I must stay."

"While I'm not happy about Octavia, I know she'll be ready in time when she gets back." Twilight explained. "And Pinkie Pie's special."

"Heya Rarity." Applejack said as she entered the living room few seconds after Twilight had left.

"Hello there, Darling." Rarity cooed with a big smile.

"Ah was wonderin'. Are ya busy at the moment? 'Cause Ah kinda wanted to..." Applejack started.

"What? You need to talk to me in private?" Rarity asked in surprise, interrupting a confused Applejack. "That sounds important. Fluttershy, Dear, you'll explain that to Twilight, won't you?"

Rarity grabbed Applejack's hand and pulled her outside the house rather rudely and quickly, leaving Fluttershy alone. The animal lover blinked in confusion before realizing that Rarity had just run away from their preparations, just like Octavia and Pinkie had.

"Rarity?" Twilight shouted from above. "I need your help here, could you please come upstairs?"

When she heard that, Fluttershy only squealed in frustration and fear. She braced herself for the worst as she climbed upstairs.

"What do you mean she's gone?" Twilight yelled in anger.

"Oh my goodness! Rainbow, the raincloud! The RAINCLOUD!"





Rarity, still pulling Applejack behind her, was putting as much distance between the farm house and them. She had stopped walking when the house was out of sight. 

"I'm sorry about this, Applejack Dear!" Rarity said in apologetic tone. "I just had to get away from those preparations."

"Ah completely understand." Applejack nodded. "Twilight can be rather scary when it comes to organization. Ah might want to tell CK about that."

"Why would that be any of her concerns?" Rarity asked in genuine curiosity.

"Well, Vinyl and maself think she has a crush on Twilight, though she completely denies it." Applejack explained with a chuckle.

"Really?" Rarity asked, her eyes lit up by the juicy piece of gossip she had just heard. " From what I understood, Ms Kicker doesn't look for a paramour."

"She had always been an 'all fun and no feelings' kinda gal." Applejack shrugged. "Ah hope she"ll finally admit to herself what she has for Twilight."

"You make it sounds like it's an objective to have your friends dating a member of the Council of Harmony." Rarity giggled.

"We sure do aim high around these parts." Applejack chuckled. "Anyway, Ah meant it more like for her to admit she wants to settle down with someone. Her lifestyle ain't very compatible with her career. No matter how good she is at her guard job, and believe me when Ah say she's good at it, people only see the promiscuous woman."

"You seem to worry a lot about her." Rarity noted.

"She, Vinyl and Ah were inseparable when we were young'uns! We all grew up together!" Applejack said with a small smile. "Kinda hard not carin' about one and another."

"Hum! Looks I have competition." Rarity said slowly, in a false anger.

"What? Me and Cloud Kicker?" Applejack asked in bewilderment, before bursting in laughter. "Oh Sweet Epona, No! She had tried in the past though."

"She tried to seduce you?" Rarity shouted in surprise. She hadn't expected such a revelation.

"She did, but Vinyl and Ah have kept on saying no to her." Applejack shrugged. 

"You mean she still tries?" Rarity said in shock.

"It kinda became a private joke between all three of us." Applejack explained before pulling Rarity closer. "Don't worry, Ah have eyes only for a certain purple haired baroness with amazin' blue eyes." She added in a amorous tone.

"That's reassuring." Rarity replied in the same tone.

"Ah have somethin' planned for the two of us." Applejack whispered softly to Rarity's ear. "Ya interested?"

"Very!" Rarity nodded with a smile.

Applejack held Rarity's hand and guided her gently in the Orchard. While they were walking, Rarity leaned her head on Applejack's shoulder. Applejack couldn't help but to smile softly, enjoying the contact with the baroness. After a slow and long walk, Applejack and Rarity arrived at the small wheat field the Apples had. It was small compared to the numerous Orchards, but it appeared huge in Rarity's eyes. She noticed a small dirt path next to hit.

"Are we going to walk on that path?" Rarity asked with interest.

Applejack didn't answer. She just lifted Rarity in order to carry her bridal style. Rarity blushed a little as she was carried like that by her lover. She had known for a long time now that her Applejack was strong, but it still amazed her when Applejack displayed it.

"You know Darling, I could have walked." Rarity remarked with a tone that suggested that she appreciated her situation, despite what she was saying.

"An' ruinin' yer precious shoes with dirt?" Applejack asked playfully.

"It's only dirt, Darling. It's no big deal." Rarity waved off, causing Applejack to stop dead in her tracks.

"Who are ya and what happened to the prissy noble woman Ah fell in love with?" Applejack asked playfully, yet a bit seriously.

"I'm still Rarity Belle. " Rarity giggled. "As for what happened to me, I just spend the last ten nights sharing my bed with a beautiful blond farmer who consider that being covered with dirt at the end of the day is a proof of hard work. Her values seemed to have rub off on me. Kind of like she did." Rarity added with a sensual smirk.

"Hoooo! Such a dirty innuendo. That's ma Rarity." Applejack chuckled.

Applejack nuzzled the woman in her arms, who happily returned the gesture, before starting to walk again. Following the path for about ten minutes, before arriving at the base of a small hill. Applejack climbed up to the summit before putting Rarity down. Rarity watched in awe the panorama offered by the hill top. You could see the entire Sweet Apple Acres from up there.

"What a stunning view." Rarity said dreamily.

"Indeed." Applejack slowly replied, looking at Rarity instead of the scenery. "It's where Ah come when Ah want to think about something." She added as she put the blanket, she had previously left there, on the ground. "Care to join me?" She asked as she sit on the blanket, facing toward the scenery.

"With pleasure." Rarity nodded before sitting right next to Applejack.

For a long time, they just remained there, close to each other, watching observing the scenery going more tinted with orange as the sun was setting. They didn't need to say or do anything, they just enjoyed the fact of being there together.

"It's going to be weird to return in Canterlot after this." Rarity let out after a long silence.

"Why's that?" Applejack asked with curiosity.

"You might found it silly, but, since I've been here, I just don't feel like going back." Rarity said.

"Can ya explain a bit?"

"Well, there's the fact that I don't want to leave you of course. That's the most part of it, actually." Rarity elaborated with a chuckle.

"Ah'll be. That sure as sugar boosts ma ego." Applejack said with a smile.

"You're welcome to do so Darling." Rarity winked. "But there's also a little something else that I can't really explain."

"Ah know what ya mean." Applejack nodded. "Ma Papy used to call that the Magic of Sweet Apple Acres. The only place of in world that makes its inhabitants cry at one specific time." She added softly, smiling at the memory of her father.

"Which specific time?" Rarity asked with curiosity.

"When the inhabitant has decided to leave this place." Applejack slowly said, her gaze lost in the vast area occupied by the orchards.

"It's a nice saying." Rarity simply said.

"Yeah, Papy was a good one with them words. Something Vinyl picked up, somehow." Applejack said causing her and Rarity to giggle. "Rarity... Ah...."  Applejack started with a more serious tone, but she didn't seem to find her words.

"What is it, Dear?" Rarity asked with concern.

"Drats, Ah had all a nice fancy speech planned up in ma head." Applejack said in anger and shame. "And as soon as Ah need it. Pooof! Gone!"

"It's ok, Darling." Rarity said in a comforting tone. "Why don't you say it simply, like you always do?"

"Ah'll try." Applejack took a deep breath. "Rarity, durin' those last three weeks, Ah've never been happier in ma life." Applejack said with a shaking voice. "Ever since Ah kissed ya after ya've chased those thugs out of ma gym, Ah kinda knew ya were ma s-spe-special so-som-someone." Applejack had stammered a lot on the last two words, blushing madly.

Rarity gazed at her lover fondly. While it may have been funny to see Applejack acting so shy about her feelings, Rarity couldn't even think of laughing at her. She knew how much the words given by the farmer had much more value than every gems in the world. She gently grabbed Applejack's hand and gave it a little squeeze. Applejack seemed to relax at Rarity's touch.

"Ah would lie to ya if Ah say that Ah'm not scared about the fact that ya're leavin' tomorrow." Applejack confessed. "Please let me finish!" She had asked Rarity when she saw the seamstress was about to say something. "Ah know that we aren't from the same world ya and me. The noble and the farmer. Sounds like something from a fairy tale, doesn't it?" Applejack chuckled. "Ah stopped believin' in fairy tales many years ago."

"Applejack, what do you mean by that?" Rarity asked slowly, afraid of the answer.

"What Ah said!" Applejack said simply. "Ah don't believe in fairy tales anymore. But." Rarity's face who had hanged low for the last few seconds, perked up instantly. "But for what ya and Ah are sharing, Ah'm willing to try an' believe again." 

Applejack turned her face toward Rarity. Her emerald eyes met Rarity's sapphire ones, both sets of eyes were shinier than the gems they had the color. Applejack leaned her face toward Rarity who mimicked Applejack's action.

"Rarity...Will ya be part of ma fairy tale?" Applejack asked slowly.

"For you Darling, I'll even make a reality out of it." Rarity answered firmly.

They closed the distance between each other. Rarity could sense the insecurity on her lover's lips. It was something that didn't belong on her farmer, HER Applejack. Rarity was resolute to erase that insecurity of her lover's body. As the kiss grew longer and wilder, she knew she was succeeding. She could sense the fear and doubts were slowly replaced by a natural confidence and an undeniable strength. Those features belonged to Applejack. 

They both broke the kiss after a while, Rarity noticed with pleasure that Applejack's eyes were now full of vigor. She slowly put her hand on Applejack's cheek, the farmer turned slightly her head to kiss Rarity's palm. 

"Rarity, Ah got a little somethin' for ya." Applejack said as she took something from her pocket. A thin rectangular burgundy box.

"Aww! Applejack, you shouldn't have." Rarity said excitedly, while Rarity was considered one of the most generous of all the nobility, She didn't have the habit of receiving presents.

"Ah wanted to." Applejack said as she extended the box to Rarity. "Hope ya'll like it."

"It's from you, I'm sure I'll like it." Rarity assured, as she opened the box.

When the box was open, Rarity gasped at was inside. Inside the box was a set of two silver chains attached each to a sliver medallion with an encrusted gemstone. One of the medallions was apple-shaped with a purple gemstone engraved in the form of a diamond, while the other had the shape of a diamond with an apple-shaped orange gemstone. Rarity's eyes started to water as she covered her mouth with her left hand.

"Ya like it?" Applejack asked hesitantly.

"I don't like it! I love it" Rarity shouted as she pulled Applejack into a short yet powerful hug. "Applejack, those are beautiful."

"Phew! Ah was afraid ya were a gold type of person." Applejack sighed in relief with a chuckle.

"Silver's way too much disregarded for it's potential." Rarity assured in a very professional tone. "Beside, rumor has it, it'll be in next season." She added with a chuckle. "What do they mean?" She asked with a dreamy glint in her eyes. She had clearly understood the message, but she wanted to hear it from Applejack.

"Well, the design are supposed to represent us." Applejack as she took the medallion with the orange gemstone. "The diamond is ya and the apple's obviously me."

"You see me as a diamond?" Rarity asked with a giggle.

"Only as the most beautiful gemstone in the world." Applejack said with a soft smile.

Rarity blushed at that comment. "I-I suppose that, since there are two medallions, one of them is for you." Rarity stammered.

"Ya supposed right." Applejack said. "Turn around."

Rarity complied to her lover's demand and, knowing what Applejack was about to do, she lifted the back of her hair. Applejack passed chain of the medallion she had in hand around her neck. In the next seconds, Rarity was wearing the medallion with the apple shaped gemstone while Applejack was passing the one with the purple diamond around her neck.

"Now, Ah have a part of ya!" She said pointing the purple gemstone. "And ya have a part of me." She pointed the apple shaped jewel on Rarity's chest.

"It's just perfect." Rarity beamed at Applejack. "It must have cost you a fortune."

"Ah had to call in for few favors, but it was worth it." Applejack shrugged.

"I feel bad for not having anything for you, dear." Rarity said with a pout.

"Aw! Shucks Rare! Ya don't need to give me anythin'." Applejack assured with a small smile.

"I simply must insist otherwise, Darling." Rarity said. "And I think I know how to pay you back for such a delicate attention." She added with a purr. 

Rarity gently shoved Applejack with her right hand. The farmer, having realized where her lover was heading, let herself fall on her back with a knowing grin on her face. Rarity crept up on top of her lover with a hungry look on her face. Her newly acquired medallion hanging between her and the farmer. The fact of seeing Applejack wearing her medallion and knowing what that implied, had sent happy shivers to Rarity.

"I wouldn't have ever thought you would be the first one of us to offer jewelry." Rarity remarked softly as she was bringing her face closer to Applejack's.

"Ah'm the first one surprised here. But you know what people say." Applejack said. "Good things are better when they're a Rarity." She added seductively to her lover with her eyes half closed, stressing her name as much as she could, before being kissed fiercely by a pretty darn excited Rarity.



> And so they were gone...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Like every good things, the stay of the Council members had come to an end. Applejack and Vinyl had carried their luggages to the front gate of the Acres. The six women of the nobility along with the three adult members of the Apple family were waiting the carriage that will carry them to Canterlot.

"I would like to thank you, on behalf of the Council and the Royal Princesses, for your hospitality, Mrs Smith!" Twilight said with solemnity.

"None of that Sugar, 't was a pleasure." Granny Smith waved off with a smile. "And it's Granny Smith to y'all six, not Mrs Smith."

"All right, Mrs ....Granny Smith." Twilight replied with a chuckle as she caught herself in time.

"That's more like it." Granny Smith nodded. The Matriarch gave a small nod at Vinyl who levitated a small crate toward Twilight. 

"What is it?" Twilight asked with curiosity.

"The last batch of Pinkie's Zap Apple Jam." Granny explained. "It's sweeter than every other batches. Ah think Princess Celestia will appreciate it, if what ya've said about her fancy for cake is true." She added with a wink.

"Thank you, Granny Smith! I'm sure she'll love it." Twilight said with a smile.

"How come it's sweeter than the others?" Pinkie Pie asked in confusion. "I followed the recipe exactly like you told me to."

"Sweetie, that's one of the thin' that makes Zap Apples specials." Granny answered. "The recipe is the method to get it right, but in the end it's the jammer that makes the difference for the fruit."

Pinkie Pie eyed the crate containing the Zap Apple Jam for a few seconds. "Say, Granny Smith?"

"What's it Sweetheart?"

"Can I come back next year? For the next Zap Apple jamming?" Pinkie asked with hope.

"Ya can come back any time ya want." Granny Smith assured. "That extends to all of ya." She added at the three others who were near her. They all beamed at the old woman, who gave a glance at her granddaughters. "Ha! Ah know that at least Ah'll see two of y'all pretty darn often." She chuckled, joined quickly by the younger women next to her.

A few meters away, her granddaughters were hugging their respective lovers. Vinyl slowly passed her fingers in Octavia's long black hair as the cellist was snuggling deeply her lover. Applejack was delicately rubbing Rarity's back while the seamstress rested her head on the farmer's chest, listening her heartbeats. The two couples held each other tightly, wanting to enjoy every seconds they had left before the girls' departure.

"Promise you'll write?" Octavia asked softly.

"You make it sound like you're leaving for an other country." Vinyl chuckled.

"Do you promise?" Octavia asked pleadingly as she looked up to Vinyl.

Vinyl's expression went from playful to caring when she noticed Octavia's eyes. The cellist was on the verge of crying. Vinyl brought her face closer.

"I promise." She whispered before gently kissing Octavia.

"Aren't they cute?" Rarity, who had assisted at the scene, whispered at Applejack.

"Kinda... Ah still think we're better." Applejack answered with a small laugh.

"Do you have to bring everything back to a competition, Darling?" Rarity asked with a small giggle as she put her head away from Applejack's chest.

"With Vinyl? Yes, Ah think it's genetic!" Applejack shrugged. She noticed something in Rarity's small cleavage, a silver medallion with an orange apple-shaped gem. "Ain't that a crime against fashion to wear the same accessory two days in a row?" She asked with a small smile.

Rarity opened slightly the top buttons of Applejack's shirt and a saw a medallion with a purple diamond encrusted in it. "You're hardly the one to make such a remark, Darling." Rarity chuckled.

"True, but Ah don't know a single thin' about fashion! Unlike ya." Applejack remarked.

"It's irritating when you say the truth so bluntly!" Rarity groaned in a false anger.

"Ya don' like it?"

"I just adore it!" Rarity cooed before pecking her farmer's lips.

"Hey! Isn't that one of the Princesses' special carriages?" Pinkie shouted, pointing at the sky.

They all snapped their heads up. They saw a rather large, white carriage rimmed with gold, bearing the heraldry of the Royal Immortal Sisters. The Apples' eyes went wide from shock, not because of the royal carriage, but because of what was pulling it. It was pulled by six large white winged horses, something that had been seen only in legends, Pegasi. The carriage was slowly coming down toward the farm's front gate.

"The Princesses have a 'flock' of Pegasi?" Vinyl asked in shock. "I thought the species was extinct!"

"It still is. Those six have wings only because of an enchanted harness." Twilight explained matter-of-factly. "I wonder why the Princesses sent this one to pick us up though. It was planned that we take the train to go back."

The carriage landed without a hitch, the driver, a Jupitarian soldier, jumped from his seat and opened the carriage left door. A tall man wearing a purple and golden armor got out of the carriage. Twilight's face lit up when she recognized who the man was.

"Shining!" Twilight shouted happily as she ran toward her brother to hug him. "You could have warned me that you were going to pick us up."

"It wasn't really planned, Little Sis'." Shining answered, hugging his sister back. "Celestia has asked to come pick you up with her carriage this morning. She needs you six back in Canterlot for before noon."

"Well if the Princess needs us." Twilight nodded. 

The driver had started to put the luggage in the carriage, while the others bid their goodbye to the Apples. Pinkie and Fluttershy had already got in the carriage, when a sharp whistle followed by a loud thud made themselves heard. Cloud Kicker, wearing her red armor, had just landed behind the carriage. She seemed lightly panicked and after having seen who had come with the carriage, she relaxed instantly.

"Do you have any idea what mess you've just given me, Captain?" Cloud Kicker asked to Shining Armor in a serious professional tone. 

The girls of the Council were very surprised to see the guard acting so serious after having heard a few explicit stories about her. They hadn't really thought she could sounds so strict and stern, like an actual guard. Twilight's eyes were darting between Cloud Kicker and her brother with a slight worried expression on her face.

"What do you mean, harlot?" The driver asked with a scowl before Shining could say anything.

The Council members gasped in shock at his comment while Granny's happy face turned into angry frown. Vinyl and AJ sighed in exasperation, once again their friend's reputation had preceded her. Cloud Kicker only raised an eyebrow at the offending driver. She noticed his ranking stripes.

"Usually, the underlings call me Lieutenant harlot." She said with a low threatening tone. "For that lack at discipline, you'll give me a hundred, this instant. As for the insult, I'll recommend five days of toilet fatigues. That will teach you respect, Private."

"As if you..." The Private started.

"If you don't want those to be doubled. You better not question my orders." Cloud Kicker warned, her eyes and tone cold as ice. "But finish loading those luggages first!"

The driver reluctantly finished his job before doing what Cloud Kicker had ordered him. He had to interrupt his series because Pinkie Pie had thrown a cupcake at him with a vengeful expression.

"Go further and start over!" Shining ordered. When the soldier had complied, Shining turned toward Cloud Kicker. "I'm sorry for my man's behavior, Lieutenant." He said sincerely.

"No big deal, Boss." Cloud Kicker waved off. 

"Anyway, you were mentioning a mess."

"Yes. The town folks have seen the Royal Carriage." Cloud Kicker nodded at the carriage. "They think the Princesses are coming for a visit. The mayor is panicking like crazy trying to organize a last minute welcome committee."

"Oh. I haven't thought about that." Shining chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry."

"It's ok. The mayor and the town folks will probably calm down as soon as the carriage will leave." Cloud Kicker said with a small smile. "Just next time, warn me or the mayor in advance if you're coming with all the fancy git up." She added with a chuckle.

"Will do." Shining nodded happily before turning toward the girls. "Anyway let's go! The Princesses are waiting." He shouted before entering in the carriage with Rainbow Dash.

"Have a safe trip, Lady Sparkle." Cloud Kicker said with a light bow.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Kicker." Twilight answered with a small blush, before joining her friends in the carriage.

Rarity turned toward Applejack with small tears in her eyes. "Goodbye, Applejack. I'm going to miss you." She said with a soft sad voice.

"Miss ya too, Sugarcube." Applejack replied softly as she wiped the tears out of Rarity's eyes.

They both leaned in for a short kiss. After that, Rarity walked reluctantly toward the carriage and took a seat near the carriage window, leaving Octavia alone with Vinyl as Applejack had taken a few steps away from them.

"I guess it's a goodbye, then." Octavia said with a shaking voice.

"Hmmm! How about a 'see you soon'?" Vinyl asked with smile.

"That'll work better." Octavia admitted, returning her lover's smile.

"See you soon, Octavia."

"See you soon, Vinyl" Octavia softly said before kissing passionately Vinyl.

When she broke the kiss, Octavia walked inside the carriage and closed the door behind her. The driver had taken his seat under the dark stares given by the three Apples plus Cloud Kicker. The carriage took off easily before slowly becoming smaller and ending up disappearing into the horizon. Vinyl and Applejack kept looking at it while it was still visible.

"How you doing?" Cloud Kicker asked with concern.

"A bit sad, but it'll pass." Vinyl said. "After all, we know where they are and they know where to find us." Applejack simply nodded at what her sister had said.

"Want to go and see the Mayor's face when I'll tell her the Princesses aren't coming?" Cloud Kicker suggested playfully.

"Ah reckon that'll cheer us up." Applejack chuckled with Vinyl and Cloud Kicker.





The journey back to Canterlot Castle passed in the blink of an eye. After disembarking the girls went straight to meeting the Princesses while Shining had went on to the Guard headquarters with the cart driver. Pinkie Pie was holding the crate of jam for Princess Celestia. When they entered the throne room, they saw Princess Celestia chatting with a woman with short blond hair wearing a purple suit jacket. When she noticed them, the Princess excused herself to her interlocutor and walked toward the Council members. 

"Welcome home, girls." Celestia asked with a big smile before being hugged by a happy Pinkie Pie.

"I'm soooo happy to see you, Princess!" Pinkie shouted.

"So am I, Pinkie." Celestia said softly as she patted Pinkie's head with tenderness.

The Princess made signal to the others to come closer. One by one, they joined Pinkie and Celestia into a group hug. Such behavior might not be considered proper for a millennial monarch like her, but it didn't matter to Celestia. These girls were the closest thing she had for a family, right after her sister Luna and her niece Cadence, and she had missed them more than anyone else during those three weeks.

"We have something for you, Princess!" Pinkie shouted happily after the group had broken the hug. 

She presented the crate to Celestia who opened it with her magic. She pulled out one of the ten jars and noticed the rainbow colored jam inside of it with interest.

"Is that what I think it is?" Celestia asked slowly.

"Yes Princess!" Twilight nodded. "It's Zap Apple Jam."

"I jammed it." Pinkie Pie said excitedly.

"Really?" Celestia asked in surprise.

"Yeah! Every thing with the Zap Apple Harvest was so cool." Pinkie beamed.

"The timberwolves' attack wasn't." Rainbow remarked.

"You got attacked by timberwolves?" Celestia asked with worry.

"Oh yeah, that was kinda scary. But Vinyl took care of them quickly. It was like, bzzziiing, crack, crush..." Pinkie rambled on.

"Pinkie!" Celestia interrupted her with a smile. "Why don't you tell me how your stay was from the very beginning?" She asked the six women in front of her. The girls started to tell their stay in details. 

Pinkie had talked about all the things she did with Applebloom, Winona and all the recipes she had learned from Granny Smith. She also mentioned Sugarcube Corner and various food stands she had found in Ponyville. She also explained with complete graphics how cool Bon-Bon's tavern was, she didn't mention the bar fight though.

Rainbow told in details the episode with the Timberwolves, with Pinkie helping for the sound effects. She also talked about the size of Sweet Apple Acres and all the open spaces around the town. She had spent most of her time in the air and couldn't help but notice that the Ponyville weather management team was very efficient.

Octavia talked about all the work she had done on her compositions with Vinyl's help. How Vinyl had helped her in overcoming her fear of horses and giving her a new passion for horse riding. How Vinyl had defeated the timberwolves, how she had been injured trying to protect her. Unconsciously, she had mostly talked about Vinyl, leaving the Princess a bit puzzled by that while the others were repressing their giggles. Thankfully, she didn't mention the incident with her brother.

Fluttershy and Rarity talked about all there was to see in Ponyville. The two women had taken a liking in small wanders around town. They talked about the spa, the various boutiques, the hotel and all the small restaurant. Rarity explained in details how good was the service at The Golden Unicorn. Fluttershy ended her tale by telling about how nice the people of Ponyville were, except Mrs Rich and her daughter but she didn't mentioned them.

Twilight had talked about all she had learned at the farm, from the town library about the Town's history. She had found out it was the Apple and the Rich families who were at the origins of the town. She also talked about how well the guard seem to be doing around town, something she had learned during her night at Cloud Kicker's. Of course, she didn't mention to the monarch how she had ended up in the guard's house in the middle of the night. Or the fact that it was at night in the first place.

Celestia couldn't help but smile at how happy and motivated the girls seemed to be. Her plan for giving them some fresh air to clear their minds had worked perfectly. She noticed how Octavia's and Rarity's vibe had changed drastically during their stay even though she couldn't exactly know why. She thought she would ask them about it later.

Rainbow seemed to act with much more humility, apparently confronting Applejack and Vinyl had taught her that much. Pinkie Pie was the only one who didn't seem to have changed much, but becoming more cheerful than what she already was, wasn't possible. Fluttershy seemed to have become more at ease around people other than her friends. The same could be told about Twilight, she looked a lot more open than before. But, Celestia knew that her student was hiding something. Celestia would have to investigate on that.

After having heard all about their stay, Celestia let the girls go back to their rooms to unpack their things before lunch. When they got out of the throne room, The Sun Princess walked back to the woman she was talking to earlier. The woman had been taking note during the Council Women's tale. 

"I think you've just got everything you needed concerning Ponyville, Mrs Harshwhinny." Celestia said smiling.

"I think you're right about that, your Highness." Mrs Harshwhinny nodded.





Octavia had just finished unpacking her things. She was about to place her cello back in its usual spot when Pinkie came in holding a small bag with a card taped to it.

"Pinkie, we've told you about knocking the door." Octavia said.

"Oh right!" Pinkie said, before knocking the door three times." Better?"

"Much. But, next time, try to do it when you're still outside a room." Octavia chuckled before she noticed the bag. "What have you got there?"

"I don't know but it has your name on it." Pinkie said as she extended the bag.

"Where did you find it?" Octavia asked as she took the bag and noticed that it was written 'Octavia' on top of the card.

"In my travel bag." Pinkie shrugged. "I think Twilight freaked out this morning when she saw that outside your luggages and shove it in the closest bag she found."

"That's probably what happ....." Octavia started before freezing herself as she looked inside the bag.

"Octavia, you're ok?" Pinkie asked with concern. "What's in that bag?"

Octavia didn't answered, she just put her hand in the bag and pulled out what was inside. She let the bag fall on the ground as she was holding by its right foreleg a small plush representing a white unicorn with blue mane and tail. She grabbed it with her left hand by its body.

"How did you get here?" Octavia asked softly to the plush.

"Maybe that card will tell you." Pinkie Pie said as she pointed a small card that had fallen from inside the bag.

Octavia picked up the card and read it for herself. When she had done reading it, Rainbow Dash passed her head through the door frame.

"Guys, lunch's almost served. You're coming?" She asked before noticing the plush. "Aren't you a little old to play with dolls, Octavia?"

"Don't you have like a dozen of those in your room?" Pinkie Pie asked Rainbow Dash, titling her head in confusion.

"Ok, first of all Pinkie. They're actions figures, not dolls." Rainbow argued. "And second, they're wonderbolts collector models, I don't play with them."

"What about that time I saw you in your bath, making funny noise and talking to Soarin's figurine about saving the rainbow girl from the marine monster?" Pinkie Pie asked in genuine curiosity.

"You spied me during my bath?" Rainbow shouted with a growing blush.

Pinkie blinked for a few seconds. "Noooooooooo."

"Pinkie!" Rainbow said in a threatening tone.

Pinkie ran outside Octavia's room at full speed, being chased by an angry and embarrassed Rainbow Dash, leaving Octavia with her letter and her plush. Small tears appeared in her eyes as her face lit with a happy smile. She let the letter drop on the ground and started holding the unicorn plush close to her heart. 

 Heya, Octavia

How was the journey? Good? Awesome.
You're probably wondering why have I given you Little Vinyl
Remember Sunday morning? 
When you were holding her because I wasn't there.
Well I thought you could have her if she can help you sleeping tight.
I know it's a bit silly, and You're probably laughing at me at the moment.
But you can have her, I don't really need her anymore since I have you
It'll be like having me around even if I'm not here
After all, you did say she looked like me a bit.

With all my love. Vinyl 

Octavia laid down on her bed and brought the Little Vinyl in front of her face. She kept thinking about her lover and how much that plush had meant for her. Octavia could help but feeling happy that Vinyl was trusting with her that piece of her past. While her thoughts were completely occupied by her lover, she started to make the plush move from left to right. At some point, she started to sing.

"I used to wonder what love could be,
Until you've shared its magic with me!

Love's like a big adventure,
With tons of precious moments!

Your beautiful heart, faithful and strong
shows me only tenderness!

For you, it's an easy feat
to make me all complete!

My beautiful Vinyl
I would have never known love without you..."




	
> Epilogue : The Princess still got it!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Unbeknownst to Octavia, outside of her room, was standing Princess Celestia. The monarch had seen Pinkie and Rainbow going out of Octavia's room, Pinkie panicking and Rainbow running after her with anger and embarrassment. The Princess wanted to ask Octavia what had happened with those two. But before she could knock at the cellist's door, she heard Octavia singing. 

What surprised Celestia wasn't the singing, it wasn't news for her that the cellist had good singing voice. What did surprise her, was what and who the song was about. A song about love and Vinyl Apple, that was news! Celestia blinked for a few seconds before smiling fondly. Now she knew what had changed in Octavia and why she had kept on mentioning Vinyl earlier. 

She knocked the door and heard a small surprised yelp and a low thud followed by a groan of pain. Apparently, Octavia had been startled by the knocks and fell off her bed. The Princess refrained herself from laughing.

"Come in." Octavia said.

Celestia walked in the cellist's room to see Octavia rubbing her back with a light pained frown on her face. She noticed the small white plush on the bed.

"I would've never thought you'd be one for stuffed animals, Octavia." The Princess noted playfully. "Especially one of a horse."

"Unicorn."

"Pardon?" Celestia blinked.

"It's not a horse, it's a unicorn." Octavia said before grabbing the plush with great care.

"A unicorn with blue mane and tail." Celestia remarked knowingly. "A memento from Ms Vinyl Apple, I presume."

"How did you guess that?" Octavia asked slowly.

"I'm a four thousand years old goddess, Octavia." Celestia said with a serious bragging tone. "I have ways of knowing things that are beyond everyone's understanding."

"You've just heard me singing, haven't you?" Octavia deadpanned her.

"I prefer my version." Celestia sighed with a chuckle. "It makes me look better."

"And you're okay with this?" Octavia asked with caution.

"Why shouldn't I be?" Celestia smiled. "One of my protégées has found love. Who am I to judge this?"

"A four thousand years old goddess?" Octavia jabbed playfully causing the monarch to start laughing. "I'm glad you're okay with this. At least someone other than the girls is." She added with sadness.

"What do you mean?" The Princess asked with concern. "Something happened?"

"My brother happened." Octavia said, before explaining the encounter between Vinyl and Cornelio."...He probably told everything to Father and Mother by now. As I know them, they'll probably take his side."

"Well, you can't be sure about that." Celestia said with compassion. "Your parents might not appreciate that he attacked her first." Celestia couldn't help to growl in anger at the mention of Cornelio's violent behavior.

"I doubt that he told them that part." Octavia shook her head. "He's probably just told that Applejack almost killed him after Vinyl had tossed him around with her magic with 'no reason'." She added, stressing the last two words with air quotes.

"What do you mean by almost killed him?"

"She tried to punch him. He dodged, so she hit a beam from the fence, completely snapping it in two." Octavia explained with a hint of fear in her voice.

"She's that strong?" Celestia asked, pretty impressed.

"You don't know the half of it." Octavia nodded. "Rarity seems to like that 'strong' aspect of Applejack's body." She added with a small chuckle before realizing what she had just said.

"Why would Rarity......Ooooooooh!" Celestia said with a growing smile. "You're not the only one who has found a special someone at the farm, huh?." She asked with a wink.

"Could you please not tell her I told you?" Octavia pleaded.

"My lips are sealed." Celestia nodded happily. "Anyway, let's go and get some lunch." She walked toward the door, passing in front of Octavia's empty suitcases. Well, nearly empty. "Ah. You seem to have forgot something." 

The Princess picked up what was in the suitcase. A blank thong and a racy black bikini top. The Princess seemed very surprised Octavia started to blush madly. Celestia looked at Octavia with a sly grin.

"My! My! My! Who would have thought that the prude Octavia Philharmonica had such a kinky swimsuit." Celestia said. "I can't wait to tell the others about it." She added with a wink before dropping the swimsuit back in the suitcase and taking her leave.

"Princess." Octavia whined as she walked after the Sun Monarch.





In the dinning room the girls, Princess Luna and Cadence were all eagerly discussing about the upcoming Equestria Games. The most fervent about it was obviously Rainbow Dash.

"Cloudsdale will host the Games this time, I'm sure about it." Rainbow assured with conviction.

"Rainbow, face it." Twilight said impatiently. "Cloudsdale's never going to host the games."

"And why's that?"

"Because it's in the clouds." Twilight answered matter-of-factly. "That forbids two third of the population to participate or to come watch the Games."

Twilight and Rainbow argued about Cloudsdale possible/impossible chances about hosting the competitions. Celestia came in the room with a playful smirk on her face, followed by a panicked and embarrassed Octavia.

"Girls, guess what I found in Octavia's suitcase." Celestia said cheerfully.

"Princess, please." Octavia begged.

"If it's about her swimsuit, we already know." Pinkie answered happily.

"WHAT?" Octavia shouted. "How do you know about it?"

"Tavi, Twilight woke up at four this morning to check and double check all our suitcases." Pinkie explained.

"You went through my stuff?" Octavia asked scandalized.

"What's all the fracas about her swimming attire?" Luna asked with curiosity.

"It's because it's not really a swimsuit." Rainbow explained with a malevolent grin. "Your napkin would cover more surface than her swimsuit, Princess L."

"SHUT UP RAINBOW!"

"Oooooooh! Thou art a feisty one, Octavia. Good for thee." Luna winked knowingly.

Octavia groaned in frustration while the others giggled at her 'misery'. She took a seat and started eating in silence, not wanting to join any conversations. Celestia sat next to her sister and got quickly dragged in the conversation about the hosting of the games.

"So Princess, which town should be hosting the games according to you?" Rainbow asked Celestia.

"Hmmm! I can't really answer that question." Celestia pondered. "Since I have a good idea of which one will be chosen." She added causing everyone at the table to gasp in surprise, except Luna.

"Sister, have thou bribed the committee?" Luna asked suspiciously. "Again?"

"Of course not Luna. I haven't done that since that one time seven hundred years ago." Celestia answered with an offended voice. "I simply gave them a new perspective about a certain town. And the girls did help me with that."

Everyone looked at the sun Monarch with confusion. They all pondered what Celestia had just said until Pinkie gasped loudly in realization, before beaming at the Princess.

"You mean that...." Pinkie Pie started.

"Exactly, Pinkie." Celestia winked. "We might better make our reservations in that Hotel you mentioned earlier right away, Rarity. They're likely to be overbooked rather quickly."





Two days later, Ponyville central place was crowded. The mayor had summoned all the ponyvillians for an important news. Applejack and Vinyl were in the middle of the crowd, with Applebloom sitting on Vinyl's shoulders.

"What in tarnation, is this here meetin' all about?"

"From what I heard from CK, the answer about Ponyville's candidature for hosting the Games is supposed to arrive today." Vinyl explained.

"It'll be cool if Ponyville was chosen!" Applebloom shouted.

The mayor took place behind the podium, on the stage. Cloud Kicker and her councilors were all standing behind the Mayor. The Mayor cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry everyone, but I must ask you to be patient." She said in a neutral tone. "We're still waiting for the letter from the Games Committee."

"INNNNCOOOOOMMMIIING!" Yelled a grey blur in the sky, while it was flying at full speed toward the stage.

The blur crashed into a big puffy white cloud Cloud Kicker had calmly summoned with her weather magic. A blond head extracted herself from the cloud. Everyone recognized her, It was Ditzy Doo, the local mail-woman. She smiled at Cloud Kicker.

"Thanks for the catch, Cloudy!" She said happily. She extend her arm out of the cloud, holding a scroll. "Urgent message for the mayor."

"Thank you, Ditzy." 

Cloud Kicker took the scroll to give it to the mayor, while Ditzy, still stuck in the cloud, extracted her other arm which was holding a small intact muffin. Ditzy sighed in relief before quickly pecking the pastry and pulling it back in the cloud. The mayor unfurled the scroll and proceeded to read it to herself.

"I'm sorry everyone..." She started. The crowd's excitement instantly dropped. "It looks like we're going to be pretty busy for the next months, because we'll be hosting the Equestria Games in our Ponyville." She shouted excitedly. Her words were met by complete silence, until...

"YEAH! Ponyville. WOOOHHOOOOO!" Ditzy shouted happily. 

The crowd started to cheer and clapped their hands in joy. The meeting quickly escalated into an all out party with music, food and drinks. Cloud Kicker joined the Apples sisters.

"Know what it means, girls?" Cloud Kicker asked with a small smile, Vinyl and Applejack just nodded.

"What does it mean?" Applebloom asked in confusion.

The three women bumped their right fists together, before shouting simultaneously. "We're gonna BUCK those Games!"
> Onward to the Equestria Games
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the Apple's 'gymnasium'

"Come on, Raindrops! How can ya think of winnin' them wrestlin' trials if ya can't manage to toss me at least once!"

(heavy pantings) "I'll get you Applejack!" (Quick steps, body clashing noise.)

"That's more lik'it!"

"Why didn't we choose Applejack for the wrestling competitions? Raindrops' been going at her for hours, and she kept being tossed around!"

"Don't know Rose. Probably because we can't have Applejack compete in everything. We must leave a chance for the other teams." (chuckles)

"Allie! Focus! Your magic grip is slipping! You still got fifty lifts left to do! Rose, finish your lunges series."

(Synchro) "Yes, Cloud Kicker!"

"No, Ditzy! I refuse to kiss your thing!"

"Come on, Vinyl. It's for good luck."

"It could be for the national treasure, it'll be the same. I kiss no pastry."

"KISS THE LUCKY MUFFIN!"

"NO! Doc'! What was my last time for the hundred meters?"

"Let me see. It was about 10. 99. Want to try again?" (Nod) "Ok then. Allons y!"

"Don't overexert yourself, Vinyl! Don't want to sprain your legs before the qualifications." 

"Will do, Redheart! I'll go get them massaged by Aloe after this run." (Door opening, closing.)

"How are things going, Cloud Kicker? I hope they're going for the better!"

"They're going along nicely, Zecora! Raindrops seems to hold her ground nicely against AJ, which is no little thing."

"What about your fencing? Shouldn't you be practicing?"

"Well, I would, but I need a partner for that. Care to play that role, Coach?"

"Hum. I've never been one for fencing. Maybe my staff will do the thing?"

"That'll work."





"Hey there fellas, Applejack here. What do y'all think about the team we've assemble to represent Ponyville?"

"Hey, AJ, I just thought about something. No one told us where the games will be."

"What nonsense are ya spreadin' Vinyl? Ya were there when we got the letter from the Committee. It's in Ponyville!"

"Yeah, but where? I can't see it on the map."

"Huuuuh! Ya sure about that?"

"Well, unless Lyra tricked me with a wrong map, I'm sure of it."

"RAAAA. Give me that. How hard can it be to find where Equestria Games will be on a stupid map?"

"Well try to find them then!.... SO, Finding anything yet?"

"...no."

"(sigh) I think the readers well probably get there before us."

"Ah reckon it looks like it."