[Galloping Glade] Weekend with the Apples [Closed]

[Hippo]

Applejack nodded politely, not concerning herself at all with the amount of fret she could hear and see on Carrot's face. It was getting dark, but his face started turning a couple shades of red. Applejack figured the sunset in the distance had something to do with that. "Alright, let's go!" Applejack walked ahead of Carrot. Applejack would have offered to carry the telescope, but it seemed he was very particular with the instrument, and Applejack didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable by putting his fragile utensils at the mercy of Applejack's blunt and casual fierceness.

As Applejack neared the hill in front of Carrot, she could feel the wind softly pick up. On the high ground in the glade, the wind that was broken by the trees was able to swoop down and tackle whatever flowers and blades of grass it could on this part of the land. However, it was harmless and quite refreshing. The earth pony's mane and tail flapped softly in the breeze, and with a small snap of wind, her mane-tie came loose, fanning out the orange mares otherwise straight and tame blonde mane. Applejack realized what had happened, but she paid it no mind. "Heh, whoops. Lost a hair tie."

At the top of the hill, Applejack sat and waited. She looked up at the stars while Carrot set up what he had to. It was a perfectly clear night. And with the sun finally resting beyond the horizon, some of Equestria's faintest stars were coming through the deep black ceiling. "It sure is perty," Applejack murmured.

​

[brianblackberry]

Perhaps things were going to turn out well after all. At least this is what Carrot Fields hoped as it appeared all siblings were to retire for the night leaving just himself and Applejack. Finally it would be just the two of them, spending some quality time together. Still, the ruddy maned stallion didn't want to get ahead of himself and assume too much, after all as far as she was concerned, this was just checking out the night sky with a friend. Still, it was something, now he just had to be sure not to mess up the opportunity.

Carrot gathered the remaining equipment for his telescope as he followed the orange mare up to the top of the small ridge by the camp where the tripod was already set up. Watching her walk in the subtle moonlight almost felt like a scene from a movie, a thought compounded when suddenly her mane became free in the breeze, her blonde locks flowing in the soft wind, illuminated by the moon that stood behind her, almost as if it was meant to happen instead of just lucky happenstance. Why oh why did he not have a camera?! "Bonnie…"

Oh Luna above, did he say that out loud?!

Carrot walked up beside her and began to set up the telescope; playing his comment off as if he didn't say anything, "Reit, i'll jist gie thes sit up an' 'en we'll be able tae see aw sorts ay marveloos wonders! Yoo're in fur a real treat, Ah tryst!" Normally the final setup was a quick, easy procedure. That is if he wasn't distracted by her sitting there with her mane flowing in the cool evening wind; a scene which caused the clumsy stallion to drop the lens more than once from his fumbling hooves. Come on Carrot, stop being such a colt, you see mares all the time, focus!

Fortunately it didn't take too long to finish the setup, even with his distracted mind, and better still Applejack appeared to be captivated by the awe-inspiring magnificence of the sky! Perhaps she did understand! Of course then the question became what to show her first? Something impressive, something she couldn't normally see clearly, or at all, without a telescope.

The Unicorn Head Nebula!

Carrot quickly moved and adjusted his telescope about until he got the nebula in focus. A beautiful swirl of illuminated gaseous clouds of blue, red, and purple, and overlaying it was a dark cloud of dust as black as pitch that looked roughly like a pony's head. A "spike" of dust sticking out of the dark form like a horn where a bright star stood superimposed over the very tip, giving the dust there its own eerie blue-white coloration in contrast to the darkness of the rest of the head. "Och haur! look at thes! It is th' Unicorn Heed Nebula, it is called 'at coz th' mirk part looks loch a silhooette ay a unicorn!" Duh Carrot, she could figure that out from the name or looking at it! "Er, uh, anyway it is a diffuse nebula whaur stars ur born. It is actually th' doost ay th' unicorn 'at makes th' staurn, shaped an' pressured by th' other newborn star's energy; sae it is stars makin' stars. It is said th' nebula is foo ay loove an' 'at is whit makes th' newborn stars' lecht sae brillant an' colorful. Ay coorse it is pure due to…" Carrot stopped himself before he could tell her more. You are data dumping again dumbtail, just let her enjoy the beauty and let her decide if she wants to know more!

[Bramble Rose]

Purple Haze and Apple Bloom peered out from under a bush, and Purple let out a very quiet groan at seeing the two adults acting that way. "Ugh.. ye see wa me big brae is loik? He's eggheading! Wha are we goan tae do, then?" She looked around quickly, trying to figure out a way to get him to stop talking so much, without letting him know they were there!

Ah, here we go! She scooped up a passing beetle and tossed it through the air. Her little hoofball skills weren't as good as some, but she did love the game. Her throw was good, and the beetle landed on the back of Carrot's neck, scrabbling through his mane with skittering little legs!

She grinned to Abby. "Score!" she whispered! "What do we do now, then?"

​

[SteelEagle]

Apple Bloom would never claim she was the best when it came to understanding love. There were few hard and fast rules for love and unlike what her sister taught her about farm life and what she learned at school, it seemed as though nopony had a handle on it just right. She sure as heck didn't! Whether it was giving love poison to her big brother and her favorite teacher or her simply not understanding what the hay two ponies saw in one another out of the chapel, she was jut as clueless as any other filly her age. But heck, that didn't mean she was blind or dumb and by golly she wasn't silly enough to disregard something as obvious as what was shaping up in front of her. She wouldn't call it love- even with her limited exposure and understanding she felt strong enough in that guess- but his heart could almost be seen beating out his chest like a nervous drummer in the rain. A crush as simple as the ones it seemed one too many colts had on her but of a pony usually so much above such silliness.

Well, it was cute. And he was a cute pony for having such a cute little crush, and it sure as heck did her sister some favors. Apple Bloom always wondered why her sister didnt date like every eligible pony in town because she was guaranteed to find her special somepony that way, but math wasn't her strong suit. So she was willing to help and Purple had a host of good ideas, led off by her tossing a beetle into Carrot's mane! Apple Bloom immediately stuffed a hoof in her mouth to stiffle her giggle. That'd get something going over there! And talk about a good foreleg, Purple could toss that beetle across Equestria as far as she willed. Apple Bloom needed her for sports teams. But would that be enough? Carrot was a sweet pony and Applejack a kind one but they needed some good nudgin' in the right direction. And in this case, as it was with most cases, that direction was right into each other's strong hooves for the night.

"No offense Purple, but yer brother's a bit of a doofus who wears cute 'bonnie' outfits more than mah sister. Cutie though and super nice, even if he is eggheadin' everywhere. But that's a good start, that beetle's sure ta get us going," the little filly muttered confidently, peering through her cover for a second to get a glimpse of the two. Celestia, he was a eggheadin' pony. Could he know more about the stars than Twilight? No. No he could not. But he knew more than most. Silly little egghead.

"Alright, what we gotta do is get 'em ta snuggle really close..." she said, looking around. Hmm, a nice breeze to get them close? She looked at the trees, long, hanging branches with thin, hollow and oval leaves the size of a hoof with small hair-sized holes in them. Whistlers, a good breeze and romantic tone rolled into one.

"Ah, thar they are! Shake'm a bit and hopefully that'll do the trick!"

[SunsetSombra]

Mac wasn't about to get up in AJ's business - that wasn't his thing and he'd already consciously decided that whatever happened on that front, he wasn't going to throw himself into the mix on purpose...she could look after himself and he darn well knew it too. There were many times in a big brothers life that it wasn't worth getting involved in the affairs of a younger family member, especially if it involved something that might actually work itself out on it's own. However, he WAS consciously aware of the fact that two other little interlopers were getting in on the act...he'd peered over his book to see the rather conspiratorial glances that AppleBloom and Purple were casting towards the pair in the distance, and if there was one thing that Mac was all too aware of, it was that AppleBloom had no place near the scene of something like this unchecked, 'lest something occur that might disrupt what was transpiring.

" Guess ah better keep tabs on this... " he muttered to himself, chuckling gently as he thought back to the love poison incident...or at least what he could remember of it, the whole thing a rather murky haze considering the fact that he'd been very much unlike himself on that particular day. Fortunately nothing TOO bad had happened that was unrepairable - a certain ponies house had to be hauled back to it's original location and repaired, and a few little talks with Cheerilee afterwards to settle the entire score between them...all resolved with no hard feelings attached, and a few fond giggles about how rather weird the whole incident had been.

At any rate, Mac knew that this was no time to rest on his laurels without at the very least keeping abreast of things - he didn't exactly like the idea of the mischievous filly planting too many seeds into the mind of the other impressionable young pony, especially when it came to a subject like this...but at the same time, he knew she was well intentioned, and bored. It wouldn't hurt to let her have a little fun, but he'd do whatever he could to keep the situation from getting too out of hoof.

Eeeyup, that was clearly a situation where all could win in the end without anything going horribly wrong, he figured!

[Hippo]

Most of the technical terms Applejack heard Carrot speak were unimportant, but she was indeed listening to what he was saying. And it captivated her as it was something she had never really heard of before. Typically, talk of the stars from her was mostly sentimental, as not only were they the orchards best friends at night, but also because of the family stories that connect themselves with the glows in the nighttime sky. And every once and a while, one of them would fall, and everything would makes sense.

Applejack was puzzled and amazed. "So you mean to tell me that stars come together to make new stars? I guess its sorta like family." Applejack drew a shrewd example of what that might look like, but she was sincere, and it made her think of how things come together to make something new. With Applejack, her farm was her life and everything in it. But when she was gone, all that would remain is the orchard and the stories they shared. That is of course, unless Applejack bore her own, in which Applejack would only think about on occasion. Occasions like now.

​

[brianblackberry]

Carrot Fields had feelings of both joy and nervousness. Being out there in the open field with the full canopy of stars above them, it was a wonderful feeling, one that was doubled because he finally got to spend the moment with somepony he considered quite special. Applejack's closeness and interest added to that delighted feeling and at the same time, made the ruddy maned stallion jittery; his heart raced and his stomach did flip flops. Still, he felt less nervous than he used to, becoming more comfortable and confident with her around; he just had to remember to relax and just be himself.

Turned out Applejack was indeed interested when she gave her own simple, elegant thoughts on the Pony Head Nebula. Carrot had always been so engrossed in the minute details of such stellar phenomena that he never considered such a straight forward explanation. What made it better is it was endearing, and close to home, what was after all, more important than family? "Ah ne'er thooght ay it 'at way before, but yoo're reit aw those newborn stars in th' nebula ur made frae older stars. Nae matter whaur th' new stars main wander aff tae ower time, they'll aye be related, aye family, nae matter th' distance." Carrot smiled brightly, it reminded him of his own situation, "joost loch hoo Purple an' Ah live in Ponyville, but ur still part ay th' Carrots ay Fet Loch. Mebbe thocht, someday I'll hae a Ponyville family tay." That sounded pretty sappy, but this time Carrot didn't try to mitigate or play off what he just said, he was sure Applejack would understand.

There were still so much to show, but before he could think further on the subject Carrot felt a sharp pain on the back of his neck, as if something bit or poke him. "Oww…" Before he could react, it happened again! Carrot did his best to ruffle his mane to make it stop, "Ah hink Ah got somethin' crawlin' oan mah mane, an' its bitey!" Whatever it was, he was having a hard time getting it out and it seemed to enjoy pinching him. Of all the moments, why did this have to happen now?!

[Bramble Rose]

Purple Haze could not believe that the eggheading was kinda sorta working to make Applejack all gooey! But she supposed her big brae was just lucky. Even more lucky because he had a pair of clever fillies helping him out from the shadows!

"Good idea!" she whispered to Apple Bloom, grinning eagerly. She hurried as quietly as she could to the Whistler Trees, a huge grin on her face as she headed on over. What a great opportunity! She planted her forehooves against the trunk and started pushing lightly at the tree. With a soft rustle like the wind, the leaves brushed against each other, and a soft music like that of a ocarina sounded across the hilltop.

She gave a great big grin at Apple Bloom, her hindquarters wriggling with her excitement, and set to pushing against another tree. She found that different trees had different tones to them, and she moved from tree to tree giving a wiggle there, a shuffle there, getting more and more enthusastic in her shaking of the whistler trees and the lovely notes they made - and having no idea that in the tippity-treetop of one whistler tree was a beehive built there by the music-loving bees within ...

​

[SteelEagle]

Purple must have been just as excited as Apple Bloom was, leaping up on top of te branches with great agility and reckless abandon. Apple Bloom was right behind her though, defltly following Purple's hoofsteps until the both of them were on top. Purple started making the trees ing and Apple Bloom could have listened to those soft tones for as long as he she allowed her mind to wander deliciously through the fields of romance but heck, she had a job to do and that job was to create the conditions for that romance to blossom. By the end of the night she wanted those two to be neckin' it and anything short of that was a failure. Time to produce some love sounds!

So she jumped on the Whistlers along with Purple until the right song seemed to play, a soft meledious hum that had her feeling all gooey doey inside. But by the hairs on her mane, her luck was not the best. A nest of bees were snug underneath the tree cover and with every rock and roll from the fillies above they grew increasingly angered. Sure they loved the music, but heck, even bees had limit and having their homes rocked about certainly didn't help matters. A lone bee- a hornet, really- ventured above the cloud cover and saw two fillies not paying a single heed to the damage they were causing. Well, he wasn't about to have any of that. For Colony and Queen, he zipped and stung Purple right in the flank!

"Hehehe, this is fun!" Apple Bloom whispered to her friend as they continued making beautiful music together just as the bee stung.

[SunsetSombra]

Whistlers were interesting foliage - the sounds they made when properly utilised could be both soothing and interesting to listen to...Mac had heard a few before on his times here. Oh, he knew that AB and her new friend were being absolute mischiefs when it came down to what they were doing, that much was plain to see - but Mac couldn't help but snicker a little at the sight in the distance of AJ and Carrot gettin' all acclimatised to one another...he couldn't tell what was going on or what was being said, but he was sure that if he was a fly on the wall, it'd be a cute sight.

Mac smiled to himself gently and closed his eyes to simply relax with the sound...maybe it'd lull him to sleep or something.

However, in his doing so, Macintosh missed seeing the sight of what was taking place next, and how it would soon completely disrupt this most serene setting!

[Hippo]

Carrot sure enjoyed talking about stars. Applejack knew he was a little goofy, but she never pegged him to be so studious in a topic like this. After all, wasn't he a lot like her?--A farm pony at heart. As Carrot responded to Applejack's observation, she couldn't help but notice that he had less shake in his voice. Which was much to her delight, being able to focus on what he was saying instead of perking her ears up and down to the jitteriness of his vocal complextion. But Applejack quite plainly anyway, as she always did, responded to Carrot's talk of his own family in a way that unintentionally could have implied a bit of a zoning issue. "You ever think about moving back with your family?" She asked, right after Carrot mentioned him maybe starting a family in Ponyville. Applejack never meant anything by it, and would have completely missed any implications of what Carrot was talking about. Family to her was about who you had now more than it was about how large the next generation might be. Then again, the Apple Family Reunion proved to be not just a Ponyville thing.

Right as Carrot was distracted, Applejack noticed something about the environment as well. The trees whistled a soft humming tune that was soothing to the ears and heart, but Applejack's only detail she noted would be the weather. "Sure is gettin' windy out here."

​

[brianblackberry]

Carrot Fields thought it odd that Applejack asked him the question she did. Maybe she thought he wasn’t truly comfortable in Ponyville? Perhaps he worried he felt like an outsider? Or maybe she didn’t really get what he was saying? He would just have to elaborate. "Weel Ah dae miss mah family back at Feh Loch. We hae a large farm thaur 'at is almost as big as Sweit Apple, althoogh nae nearly as famoos. Th' farm belongs tae mah uncle thocht, sae mah coosins will inherit it, ur at leest one will. Mah sire is th' local blacksmith fur th' village sae he doesn’t actually hae a farm ay his ain, jist his older brother’s, fa he helps it wi'. Sae Ah hae nae farm tae inherit myself, but uir family diz hae th' tradition ay occasionally sendin' their groon offsprin' it tae a new place tae start a new farm, sae it is jist loch plantin' new seeds oan ance untamed, wild soil an' graw a new homesteid, a new branch ay th' farmin' tradition. In fact, 'at was wa Ah joined th' R.E.A. fur a coople years, tae raise th' bits tae start it haur." He hoped that didn’t bore her or the like and at least explained why he did live where he does.

Carrot looked up; hoping to find something perhaps would be of interest to Applejack. He felt much more relaxed, even could swear he heard some soothing melody in the distance, must have just been the tall grass around them though. His became even more content and even a little excited when he spotted a large orange star, twinkling in the beautiful canopy above them. It would be a great one to point out to the beautiful Apple mare sitting next to him, maybe tell her how it matched her beautiful orange coat, that it was lovely just like her. Before he could work up the courage though, she commented on how breezy it was. “Oh, Ah got jist th' thing; haur ye look through th' telescope while Ah gang gie it.”

Carrot galloped over to his tent and just as quickly returned with a beautifully quilted tartan patterned blanket. He did his best to smile as he held it in his mouth before draping it over Applejack’s shoulders, “haur, thes will help keep ye warm frae th' breeze an' aw.” She looked adorable tucked warmly in the rather large covering. “See anythin' interestin'?”

Maybe this night will be great after all!

[Bramble Rose]

Purple Haze hummed happily along with the music of the trees, and grinned to Apple Bloom as she worked to make this a perfect night! o/~ Can ye feel th' love t'night o/~ she whisper-sang around her big grin to Apple Bloom, sure that there was no way this could go wrong.

Then the bee stung.

Her eyes opened wide as she let out a loud yelp, hooves clutching at her stung rear end as she jumped into the air, then took off like a lil' bolt. Sure enough, her position had been verified by the scout, and here came the main force, a little cloud of dozens of bees all chasing after her! She ran up the hill, right between Carrot and Applejack, and then down the other side, and then the cloud of bees came zooming between the two ponies. And then one lone bee following late after, buzzing the bee version of "wait for me, guys!"

Then, far off down in the darkness, her wail of terror and pain disappeared into a *SPLOOSH* as she leaped into lake below.

​

[SteelEagle]

The song sun by the bees buzzed suddenly, sweetly about the galloping glade. It was so nice that they could do such a good job for the pair and get their budding romance the boost they needed to advance past all the bases. Apple Bloom was just happy she could help and it was pretty easy, just jumping on the silly little branches. She wondered of it felt good for the tree, like a good backscratch. Or a manescratch. Nopony ever gave these trees a good ol' fashioned bark scratch so this'd have to suffice as she sung along with Purple, "caaaan yoouuu feel thaaaaa looooove ta'niiight...." the mood was striking and the night perfect. Surely this would be the most romantic of all days where nary a thing would go wrong.

Purple yelped and Abby turned around, but before she could see what happened another bee landed directly on her snout. The angry little fella shook his tiny little bee fist directly at her, likely cursing her in whatever bee language he spoke. Apple Bloom huffed air to try and blow him off- sending strands of her mane flaying in the process- but was rewarded with a simple sting to the snout as Purple fell next to. Apple Bloom yelped and sent her two front hooves crashing into her snout, missing the sneaky bee who flew away bt catching her face full bore. She smacked herself off of the tree and into the bushes below with a thud as the bee hive chased Purple.

"Ugghh.....bees....." Abby moaned from the bush, whole body swimming- except she wasn't in the water like Purple was!

[SunsetSombra]

Mac had found his moment of serenity somewhat drowned out by the sound of both of the fillys screaming and running from the tree - aw consarn it, how'd he not even seen the beehive up there? Had he spotted it in time, he might have been able to prevent this rather amusing, but somewhat disastrous, turn of events...and as he fought the small urge to chuckle a little at the rather unfortunate luck, he also knew that he needed to go tend to the situation quickly before it transcended into a complete catastra-bee!

" HOLLLLD ON, Girls! " Mac called over to the direction of the pursued fillys. " Ah'm comin' t'the rescue! "

After digging out a first aid kit from his satchel, He takes a large stick from by the fire, and grips it tight in his muzzle as he sets one end aflame...making it into a makeshift torch as something to ward away the bess with. - he was fairly sure that the bright light and dangerous heat was enough to dissuade any bees on the rampage from continuing their assault. He didn't want the silly filly's to get themselves into any further chances of being stung, and thus he knew he needed to act quickly for both their sakes. He then charges out from his tent and makes his way quickly towards their direction with a determined gleam in his eye...and a flicker of doubt in his mind.

Well, he WAS about to charge headlong into a situation filled with screaming fillies and raging bees afterall, not the most desirable situation anypony wanted to handle!

[Hippo]

The shiver didn't last long as Carrot Field brought Applejack a large blanket. Applejack wrapped herself up in it, and with gratitude, moved her sitting position closer to Carrot as they continued to look up. Applejack gazed for a few minutes, trying to find something interesting. But the only thing she could really consider interesting is the kindheartedness Carrot had towards her. It was obvious to Applejack that Carrot valued her greatly. And Applejack would be willing to give that attention right back, as soon as she was comfortable, which wouldn't be too long. "You know, Carrot. What I find interesting is you. You're a quirky kinda guy, but I can see your intentions are genuine. And I can see by the way you treat me that you like me. But you know what, I think I..."

Applejack was cutoff by a scream followed by a stampeding Purple Haze that split Applejack and Carrot's closeness with one another. As Applejack alarmingly looked up, she could see a swarm of bees chasing after the filly. "Duck!" Applejack pushed Carrot away from her, and she dove off the hill in the opposite direction. After a few moments of ducking from the bees, Applejack looked up and around to see that the bees had avoided Applejack, as their target of defense, or revenge as it would seem, was after Purple and Apple Bloom.

Applejack hustled over to the bush, and pulled Apple Bloom out of it by the tail. She swung the filly onto her back and started running towards the pond. Within a few seconds, Applejack jumped and cannon-balled into the pond with her sister, completely washing off the varmints, and keeping them away from continued stinging. Applejack poked her head out of the water and spit out water in her mouth. "What in tarnation!? I thought ya'll were in bed!"

​

[brianblackberry]

Carrot Fields sat there in silence as he wanted to give Applejack whatever time she wanted to find something worthwhile to her in the beautiful canvas of stars and nebula overhead. Surely she'll find something, how could she not with so much exquisiteness in the heavens to choose from! As she sat there though without saying a word though he began to worry; that is until she snugged in closer to him. He swore he could feel his heart skip a beat, but the ruddy maned stallion was determined to keep his composure. It couldn't hurt though if he placed his forehoof around her though, to help keep her warm and all.

As soon as the gray earth stallion slipped his forehoof around Applejack's shoulders, she spoke. He was certainly caught by surprise but what she had to say, but began to hang on every word as she continued. This was it, the moment of truth, he could tell her exactly how he felt too!

Right when Applejack was about to reveal how she felt about the relationship between the two of them, Carrot's own sister, Purple Haze came running through, almost knocking them apart, screaming the whole way, "Purple?! whit th-". Before he could finish Applejack pushed him out of the way as a small swarm of bees flew by in anger. He had forgotten how strong the farm filly was as he tumble several feet before stopping part way down the slope. Strong, but precise, she pushed him in such a way as to allow his body to completely miss his delicate telescope.

Carrot quickly got on all four only to see Applejack, and her brother, several paces ahead of him after his sister and the bees. The gray earth stallion took flight after them, unsure of the situation but sure he had to help his baby sis, somehow! By the time he reached the pond, his sister was already underwater, the bees scattered. Carrot jumped in causing a large splash, dispersing the bees further, "Purple, Purple, ur ye alrecht?! whaur ur ye?!"

Right before Carrot was about to go underwater in a frantic search, Purple's two tone maned head popped up above the surface, a long stream of water shot out of her mouth into Carrot's face. He swam over to her with a countenance of deep concern, "Thenk Luna yer alrecht, Ah was sae woriat!" His facial expression though quickly went from concern to annoyance once he realized she was okay, "Whit th' hay wear ye daein' anyway! Waur ye pullin' some kin' ay prenk?! Hoo coods ye dae thes now!?"

Especially now!

[Bramble Rose]

Purple Haze was trying really hard not to cry, her lower lip bitten between her teeth. She had several little bumps where she'd gotten stung, and they hurt like blazes, not to mention that she'd screwed up trying to help Carrot with Applejack...

But then he was scolding her and ... and he thought she was trying for a PRANK?! Is that really how much he thought of her!? She scowled at him, and her voice was strained with her not-so-repressed tears as she shouted back, "Oi wannae prenkin' nopony! Oi was gettin' stung cause Oi was tryin' tae help ye out! But 'course ye dinnae care bout that, ye jes think Oi'm a stupid foal!"

Well, at least the water drenching her hid the tears so he wouldn't see that she was crying. She turned and stomped away... well... slowly slogged away, unable to properly stomp through the water and gooey muck underneath. Darn water, ruining a perfectly good exit! This was taking entirely too long! "Never no mind if Oi get hurt! Ye dinnae e'en think fer a moment it might nae be moi fault!"

She tripped on a hidden root and went under the water again for a few seconds, then came up with a bunch of sodden underwater plantlife in her mane and tried stomping away some more, her accent increasing all the more as she spat out imprecations at her brother and the lake and the lack of light and malicious plantlife and other things that her ma'd be washing her mouth out with soap for - luckily turning wholly unintelligible to anypony who's not from Fet Loch.

​

[SteelEagle]

It didn't take long for her siblings to come to her aid, Applejack just a hair faster. Not that it mattered much to Apple Bloom who could hardly make heads or tales out of heads and tails as her vision swam with pain from the fall and the swarm of bees that did a number on her. Flashes of pain cascaded throughout her as the bees went to work and gave the fillies a final reminder that the smallest of creatures could carry the greatest of pains. Luckily a little filly was also able to be carried by a big pony and she was in the water before she could count to twenty. Not that she had been trying, on account of the swarm of bees and body and all. She sunk below the shallow depths for a few seconds as the bees fell off of her in droves, the last stings coming as she was submerged. A few seconds and she came back up with her eyes rolling around without focus. That ended quickly when Applejack split her mane with a powerful spurt of water.

And boy, did she want answers.

"Uggh, unnn..." Apple Bloom moaned as she spat some water out of her mouth, covered in welts from the nasties, "we were on tha whistlers tryin' ta make romantic music for you an' Carrot and we didn't know thar was a dang nest there. Next thing Ah know, Ah'm layin' on mah back ina bushes and now Ah'm here...Ah'm sorry Applejack. Ah...Ah...nah head hurts 'cause of so much sting...Ah's only tryin' ta help," Apple Bloom began as she weakly paddled towards the shore. Once there, she started slowly walking back towards camp, dragging her hooves the whole while.

"Unnnn...Ah feel like...like Ah'm not even a pony. Like...like...Ah dunno, for land's sake. A bruise. A big ol' bruise. Ah feel like one big ol' bruise, dangit," she moaned as she spotted Purple, who looked none too pleased herself. Apple Bloom did her best to trot beside her, hoping maybe being within hug distance of another bee sting victim would make her feel better. That didn't. Being next to a friend did.

"Unn...Ah guess we can compare number of...stingers...instead of...Ah dunno...Ah feel all sortsa scrambled right now. That'll teach me from trying...ta set a mood for mah big sis ever again...unn...Ah got stung right on mah flank like twelve billion times," Apple Bloom powered through her speech, suddenly feeling as though she'd rather just fall asleep right there. And then. Why was the campsite so far away!?

"Big Mac, ya wouldn't mind if we..got...a...ride...right?"

[SunsetSombra]

Macintosh, whilst this scene had been going on, had finished off making sure that any remaining bees had second thoughts by waving the impromptu torch at any who had dared to try and approach whilst Applejack and Carrot had been dealing with the young'uns - when the coast was clear again of the varmints, Big Mac looked around to see how things were going with the group.

Seemed like all was well - AppleJack had been pretty mad at Applebloom, Carrot and Purple were havin' themselves a similar situation, and poor AppleBloom seemed to be red, sore and struggling to stay awake. Mac tuts to himself but shook his head a little...sure, the l'il ones had clearly had the best intentions for the night when it came to trying to help AJ an' Carrot with the whole 'romantic' music side of things, but the fact remains that they really hadn't truly taken stock of what may potentially have gone wrong considering the surroundings they were currently in.

Mac decided that this wasn't his place to add any further commentary on who did what, though - seemed like everypony had likely said all that was needed anyway...

"Big Mac, ya wouldn't mind if we..got...a...ride...right?" came the tired voice of Applebloom nearby, which prompted the red Stallion to give a nod and " Eeeeeyup! ", nodding his head and lowering himself down low enough for the tired filly to clamber aboard. He held no desire to hold her actions and purples against them - it had been all done with an innocent desire to assist in the ambience, it seems, and there was really nothing else he could say that hadn't already been said by AJ at this juncture.

Now it seemed all that was left to be done was for AJ and Carrot to go fetch Carrots sister from her rather miserable-attempt at walking away in a rage.

What a night this was turning out to be!

[Hippo]

Apple Bloom confessed and Applejack wasn't initially interested in hearing it. Although after a short while, Applejack saw Apple Bloom recognized the error she had made. But Applejack couldn't resist in adding defeat to the filly, reminding them of a time in which she had already tried this. "Don't you remember when you tried to get Big Mac and Miss Cheerilee together? We all know how that worked out!" Funny thing was, the only ones that actually knew for sure how it worked out was Big Mac and Cheerilee themselves. Big Mac had a secret, but Applejack knew he wasn't talkin'.

She climbed out of the pond and walked over to Carrot who was chasing down a frustrated filly, a little sister who was much less tempered than Apple Bloom. she wondered if for a moment this kind of attitude ran in the family that was from Fetlock. "Hey, Carrot. We should probably all get going to bed anyway, it's pretty late. We have so many things we want to do tomorrow while the sun is up." Applejack was completely aware that the moment was ruined. And while it might be easy to see that Carrot was upset over the conversation being shortened, Applejack was looking to the future. A pony like Applejack was won by her friends in the amout time spent doing several actions and playtime. One night under the stars was a good chance to connect with the gray stallion, but Applejack would feel a lot better in the morning and would be able to speak her mind more clearer at breakfast. Applejack turned and started heading to the tents. She remember she brought some ointment for emergency. She would want to apply it to Apple Bloom and Purple Haze before the painfully crawled into their sacks.

​

[brianblackberry]

Carrot Field's initial frustration quickly faded into guilt. Purple Haze was right, he just went straight for accusing her of causing mischief for nothing more than personal frustration of losing what certainly would have been a special moment. It was more than that, he does treat her often like a troublesome foal, and while she certainly could be a hooffull sometimes, he had to repeatedly remind himself, Purple wasn't a foal anymore. Worst of all, she was hurt, his little sister was hurt, and all he could do is yell at her. What kind of big brother is he?!

Carrot quickly followed his sister, knowing that the water and mud didn't slow him down much, thanks to all that strength and endurance one builds working in the fields for a living. She was mad, and her now full string of rather unhappy Fet Loch slang let him know in no uncertain terms. He had to right this wrong and mend things with his sister, even if it meant giving up the entire camping trip, and time with Applejack.

The gray stallion got ahead of Purple Haze and pulled her out of the water, pushing the various strings of kelp off her back with a look of worry and guilt, “Aam sorry Purple, Ah shooldnae hae jumped tae conclusions loch 'at an' accused ye ay prankin', 'at was wrang ay me.” Carrot sighed, "Ah was jist frustrated, Ah willnae bother sayin' why, but it was nae reason tae react as Ah did, fur 'at Ah apologize. Ah know 'at Ah treat ye loch a foal sometimes, Ah jist worry fur ye that's aw. Big brothers ur supposed tae watch efter their wee sisters.” The truth was she wasn't a foal anymore, she was barely still a filly! A few more years and she'll officially be a young mare. Not something he liked to think about, as it meant very soon his little sis wouldn't need him anymore; she barely needed him now.

Carrot looked over his sister; she had been stung several times, fortunately none of the bumps looked serious at all but that he was pretty sure they still hurt a great deal. The good news was like any smart earth pony family who visit the wilderness, they had a first aid kit for circumstances such as this. “Let's gie back tae th' tents sae we can tak' caur ay those stings, alrecht?"

Applejack mentioned it was probably a good time to sleep, and given how the night went, it was a good idea, if for nothing else but to avoid the awkwardness of what just happened, or what could have been. “Alrecht, i'll meit ye guys back at th' campsite.” Only one question remained, and as much as he hated asking it because she could say yes, he had to ask Purple, “Ah dornt expect ye tae hae tae keep campin' efter aw those stings, sae efter we tak' caur ay them, if ye loch, we can gang haem.” He didn't want to go home, but as much as he wanted to stay and spend time getting closer with AJ, he wasn't going to make his miserable sister stay just for the sake of his coltish romantic hopes.

[Bramble Rose]

Purple was a bit annoyed that Carrot was being all reasonable and stuff - she still had plenty of stomping and sulking to do! But she just couldn't stay mad at her big brae. She leaned to the side and thumped her lil' form into his side, trying to knock him to the side like she'd done since she was wee. "Ach. Well, Oi reckon Oi kin unnerstan' that. Sorta. Oi dinnae have a wee sib tae take care a. Good thing, too, cause Oi gotta spend sae much time taken care a ye, aye?"

She was ready to submit herself with ... varying degrees of humor to being fussed over with ointments and bandages and whatnot, but then he stayed behind to deliver one last ultimatum.

"Wot?!" she hissed quietly, not wanting the Apple family to hear this little arguement. "Are ye daft?! Ye think Oi wanna go hikin' through th' forest when Oi'm feelin' this way, an' then feel e'en worse cause Oi dinnae get tae do all th' campin' stuff AN' then how are ye gaen tae get yer snog on w' Applejack if'n we hie off?!"

She rolled her eyes at her ridiculous older brother, then sped up to get to camp so she could get some of those soothing ointments on these painful stings! "Good on ye wi' that torch, Big Mac! Oye, Apple Bloom, ye a'ight?! Dinnae worry, that was a roit proper idea ye had, nae yer fault it went all sideways!"

​

[SteelEagle]

Apple Bloom heaved herself with tired eyes on top of her gargantuan older brother, a rock and muscle of a stallion who she felt like a feather next to. She scooted along his neck onto his back, face towards the back as she buried herself in his warm skin. It was always good to see Big Mac. Ponies didn't see much in him besides a stalwart stallion of the fields who could do any physical feat, but she knew that he was simply put the best and biggest of the big brothers of the world. Nopony could help you out a jam quite like Big Mac and nopony was willing to take it on the chin and suffer quite like he could. As Applejack chided her gently for her matchmaking mistakes multiplying daily, all Apple Bloom could do was moan listlessly. She had more bee stings than there was space on her body to hold them, stings on top of stings and as they started to swell she felt like a walking blister waiting to happen. Besides, it wasn't like they had used love poison or anything. After a few more experiments on the formula she had concluded that it just wasn't something she should mess with! Here she had just gently played with some musical trees. Well, not gently enough it seems.

"Ah get it...Ah get it...next time, Ah'll stick ta firefly catchin'..." she said simply, wincing as they went along. No doubt this would be a fun night of sleep.

At least she'd do it beside Purple. Despite everything she was still ready to rock and roll which fit Apple Bloom's desires just fine. Nothing better than a good rest tonight setting up for a great day tomorrow. Stings or not she was planning on hiking and swimming and camping and games and all sorts of friendship building exercises. It would be fun to see how it all went down and she was just excited to see the next sun. This had turned into a mini-disaster of an idea but by all the stars in the sky and soil under their hooves she knew it was going to be one heck of a time if she could just get to it. She waved weakly at Purple, a smile edging out across her face wistfully as the rhythm of her brother took her to the camp and lulled her into a sense of security worthy of his titanic frame and rock-solid character.

"Ah'll be fine. Just ah, how...uggh, how'd you say it...wee little stings...lots of 'em. Get some ointment-" wince, "-and some good sleep and be ready to hoke mah flank off tomorrow," she stated confidently, pulling herself up only to fall back down onto the rhythm of her brother. She was getting so dang sleepy...

[Hippo]

Applejack walked with Big Mac as Apple Bloom sat painfully on his haunches like a war victim. "We'll get you lotioned up with this remedy Zecora to me as a gift. It's supposed to remove any irritation on the pelt. And then, it's off to bed, missy." Applejack saw Apple Bloom would have little to complain about going to sleep finally. After all, Apple Bloom's sleep schedule was probably more rigid than most fillies her age, with living on a farm and all. A dawn breaking rooster call made a farmer pony's body clock wake up regularly anyway. And with that, Applejack herself gave a large yawn.

Carrot eventually returned with Purple, them discussing something that seemed a little bit of a feud, but Applejack would not be hearing it clearly. After a few minutes of Applejack carefully rubbing some of the ointment on the spots that were red from bee stings, Applejack tucked the filly in and walked out of the tent to go put away some of the food supplies. It would be even worse should bears decided to visit the ponies while they were sleeping. And once Applejack finished tying up all the food and supplies in air tight bags, she looked up to see Big Mac already retreating to his tent. Big Mac was a large pony, no one could really deny. And so it always understood he would get his own bed, his own sack, and in this case, his own tent. There was a time when Applejack wouldn't mind sharing a bed with her big brother, but as they got older, they both fell distanced by the stallions need for space.

So tonight, Applejack entirely planned on sleeping next to Apple Bloom, but as the problem or recent corrected, it would appear that Purple Haze was gravitating towards spending the night in the same tent as the filly she was bonding so well with. And that would make sense. A few mathematical equations later, and Applejack realized the only other tent was the one Carrot made for himself. The orange mare had to make a choice. She could impose and bring her sleeping sack to Carrot's tent before he even got there, or she could wait it out outside by what remains of the fire and take a night-long nap under the stars. She decided for the time being, that she would wait by the fire, her sleeping sack halfway rolled out. And she began poking a spare stick in the fire, trying to separate the glowing embers from each other in order to dissipate the heat. Her body started to shiver from the faint cool breeze the evening would bring.

​