Young at Heart (Closed: Granny Smith)(Corralwood)

[Mojo]

Granny Smith carefully watched as AppleBloom successfully put together her own banana creme coconut pie. The elderly mare nodded her head in approval, knowing that all those baking lessons she had given her youngest granddaughter had paid off handsomely. AppleBloom was a true Apple in the kitchen, through and through!

"That's a dandy job of puttin' that pie together, AppleBloom! Let's put these her pies in the oven an' lettin' bake fer a spell. It'll take a little longer in the brick oven than in a regular one, but that'll give us time ta set up our campfire an' roast us up some dinner! Gotta have some supper before we eat dessert, can't live on pie alone, y'know!"

Granny came prepared for a quick, fire roasted meal. In her pack were several small oat logs and buns. The oat logs could be put on sticks and cooked over the flame of a campfire. Toasted oat logs, just like she used to eat on the prairie back in her youth! Pinkie Pie once called these miniature oat logs 'hot dogs' during a Running of the Leaves several years ago, but that name never quite caught on. Besides, Granny Smith liked the old name better! Someday, she planned on teaching AppleBloom how to make these herself, but for now, they would serve as a quick supper as the pies baked quietly in the brick over.

[SteelEagle]

Apple Bloom sat by the logs, excited to see good old fashioned cooking going on. The fact was that cooking woth logs and kindling and anything of the sort was a lot better than dealing with ay of the fancy fumes that bakers and cookites today used. They had jack diddly but good old nature to help them out and that was all that a pairt of Apples ever needed! Apple Bloom looked at the way the fire moved. You learned a lot by observing nature, her sister always said, and her sister was always right when she said that. The way the flames at first licked and tickled the oven's heights before blazing fiercely was intensely interesting. The movement- it was super cool. Apple Bloom had once or twice tried to start a cooking fire out in the wood while out with her friends but they had always missed the safety tips useful in preventing a wildfire. They did not get their cutie marks in firefighting either. Failure all around. Back to the topic at hoof- cooking the dinner!

"Sounds right ta me, Granny. Don't want ta start eatin' tha pies and get so full that our dinners rot away, right?" She laughed at the image of an Apple ever allowing a dinner to go to waste. perish the thought thrice over. She started unpacking what they had brought in for dinner. Granny had brought several small oat logs and buns and the were quickly being put on sticks and cooked. Apple Bloom had brought her own addition to the club. A few small Fiji apples, smuggled all the way from Sweet Apple Acres, were now deployed to the scene. She carefully sliced them and placed them on the stovetop of the brick oven, relying on the heat to carmelize them. Oat logs and fried apples, what could be better than that? A billion bits and your face being plastered on a mountain. Apple Bloom looked proudly at their meal- it was going to turn out so tasty she may just forget about the pies! She grabbed her oat log on a stick and held in place, waiting for it to be finished. Yummytastic!

[Mojo]

Granny Smith was happy to see that AppleBloom shared her philosophy about mealtimes. This showed that all of lessons about life the elderly mare had tried to pass down to the next generation of Apples she was raising were taking a firm hold. Many a foal, filly or colt would jump at the chance to eat sweets and desserts like pie instead of a good, well balanced supper. It pleased Granny Smith to see that her youngest granddaughter was so level headed and mature, for her age.

"That's right, AppleBloom! Besides, them pies are gonna take a while ta bake, so we kin make the best of our waitin' time!"

The gray maned mare joined her granddaughter at the fire with a 'hot dog' (mini oat loaf) on a stick roasting it over the fire. As she sat there with her, her nose caught the scent of fresh apples.

"Ah! Ya thought ta bring some apples from back home! Dandy thinkin' thar, AppleBloom! Though all this here island food's good an' all, thar ain't nutin' in all of Equestria like the taste of one of our own Sweet Apple Acres apples! Reckon that's why we sell so many of'm all over the land! Ah! Looks like mah oat loaf's done! Good thing I brought us some buns!"

Granny placed her first mini oat loaf in a long bun and then began to eat it.

"So AppleBloom, how's school goin' fer ya? Learn anythin' interestin' lately?"

[SteelEagle]

"That's right, AppleBloom! Besides, them pies are gonna take a while ta bake, so we kin make the best of our waitin' time!"

And that they did. Apple Bloom didn't waste a moment of waiting as she went to town making sure her log dog was cooking nice and good in the fire. There was a certain art to cooking the logs well enough to be tasty treats to her little pony mouth. Too long and they were burnt cinders rotting away in the memory and too little time spent and they could splinter around in your mouth something force. It was a skill she had learned from her big sister all those times she had camped out in the Whitetail with her. She was a little sad Applejack wasn't here, but only a little. It was great she could finally get to be out here with her Granny Smith all by the lonesome and with the addition of fried apples this was shaping up to be one of the top twenty camping trips of all time, and that was even before the main course.

"Ah! Ya thought ta bring some apples from back home! Dandy thinkin' thar, AppleBloom! Though all this here island food's good an' all, thar ain't nutin' in all of Equestria like the taste of one of our own Sweet Apple Acres apples! Reckon that's why we sell so many of'm all over the land! Ah! Looks like mah oat loaf's done! Good thing I brought us some buns! So AppleBloom, how's school goin' fer ya? Learn anythin' interestin' lately?"

The logs were done alongside the apples, Apple Bloom's pride shooting up wonderfully as she realized her addition to the meal was turning out wonderful. Who didn't know how grand a little bit of applin' here and there, how perfect it was for the soul? Just good enough for Apple Bloom, that's what! She pulled her log out ad put it in a bun, not bothering with the condiments as she took a bite. Cooked right, and this one sure was, it was the dandiest dandy in all the land! She smiled at the mention of school. Yeah, she was learning a lot of interesting things about Diamond Tiara but the rest of her schooling was going along pretty well too.

“Well, Ah learned 'bout some lands outside Equestria. Ah learned 'bout Saddle Arabia and Mounttania and even Maretonia! Did you know Miss Cheerilee went to Maretonia as a filly? Sahe said pirates almost kidnapped her and her parents! Ah/m not so sure Ah buy that story, seems like a load of phooey. Y'all ever been ta one of those nations, Granny?”

[Mojo]

Things were going very well for Granny during this camping trip! The elderly mare could see how well AppleBloom could clean, bake and set up a camp when she was given the chance! On top of that, she was very cheery and excited about it all. Many fillies her age wouldn't like to do all this work, put in all this effort, but Granny could clearly see AppleBloom was a hard working, dedicated pony, just like her brother and older sister! How comforting to know that the next generation of Apples were of the same workhorse philosophy as hers was!

"Now let me think thar, youngin'," the Apple Matriarch said as she sat for a moment, deep in thought. "Now I know I ain't been ta Saddle Arabia or Mountainia. Maretonia? Hmmmm. Name seems ta ring a bell. Now, I've heard tell of pony pirates over in that part of the land, but I ain't never met none face ta face. As fer what yur teacher said, I reckon it COULD be possible. Well, can't think of being in Maretonia, but did I ever tell ya what happened once when I visited Appleloosa with yur Uncle Apple Strudel?"

Story partially based on the old RP "Night of the Comet"

[SteelEagle]

"Now let me think thar, youngin'. Now I know I ain't been ta Saddle Arabia or Mountainia. Maretonia? Hmmmm. Name seems ta ring a bell. Now, I've heard tell of pony pirates over in that part of the land, but I ain't never met none face ta face. As fer what yur teacher said, I reckon it COULD be possible. Well, can't think of being in Maretonia, but did I ever tell ya what happened once when I visited Appleloosa with yur Uncle Apple Strudel?"

Apple Bloom looked up at her Granny as she went through the list of nations that she may or may not have visited and indeed some of them may even have failed to exist in the first place. It wasn't a real shock to the system to understand that Granny was so old that some parts of the world had seen radical reorganization to such a degree as to become nearly comical. It was a small wonder she could even remember the names of all those countries, let alone try to fetch the information regarding whether she had ever visited them. One after another they all fell from possibility but not without comment.

“Well, which time? Ya've told me all about that one time with the big fish and the other time with the rodeo clown but you an' Uncle Strudel have had so many adventures that Ah can't know 'em all!” Apple Bloom finished with a giggle, wondering what story was up her Granny's alley. Her and Strudel got into so much trouble together all the time that options up to and including saving Celestia from gremlins was not entirely out of question. Well, maybe a little, but the fact she could consider it for even the barest moment was evidence enough to Apple Bloom of her elders' innate silliness.

[Mojo]

Granny Smith smiled at AppleBloom as she began to tell her story.

"It was the first time I came ta visit Appleloosa. Uncle Apple Strudel came with me an' with so many of our Apple kinfolk thar, I was treated like royalty! Couldn't have asked fer a warmer reception! The town happened ta be crowded cause thar was a comet that was gonna be in the sky an' the best place ta watch it was the hills outside of Appleloosa. That's how me an' Strudel met two visitin' weather ponies who came from Cloudsdale ta observe the comet. They were the friendliest Pegasi you'd ever wanna meet! Got ta know'm real well since we all stayed at the same hotel. Anywho, when they hitched themselves up to a cart an' offered ta give me and Strudel a ride in the sky, I jumped at the opportunity! Poor ol' Apple Strudel was scared out of his wits, but ya know I'm always up fer adventure! Ain't never flied before in mah life, an' I sure wasn't gonna pass this chance up! Let me tell ya somethin', AppleBloom, thar ain't nothin' like being up in the air and soarin' in the sky! I loved every second of mah cart flight! I kin still recall how after we landed, Uncle Apple Strudel jumpin' outta the cart an' kissin' the ground several times! Have YOU ever flown in the air before? If ya have, ya know what I'm talkin' about. I'll always be an Earth pony, but it ain't no crime fer an Earth Pony ta fly!"

[SteelEagle]

Her Granny and Uncle Strudel got together to make some of the best stories Apple Bloom could ever hope to hear and this one didn't disappoint. She had heard of that comet from Twilight during their time together and was a little sad that she hadn't joined her Granny after she had been told that the best place to see it in all of the world was on a small but strapping set of hills outside of Appleloosa. Well, she had spent that night with twilight and the rest of the Crusaders getting a good luck through a telescope nonetheless but it would have been better seeing it with her Granny. Not that she would have liked flying. Maybe it was because the few times she had been flying the situations had been anything but fun but she was much happier on the ground than in the air.

“Hehe, I've been in the air a few times Granny Smith and can't say Ah've ever liked it. 'Course maybe that was because you were with some ponies while Ah'm always in one of them fancy balloons or an airship an' that ain't half as fun, Ah'll bet. The rest of yer story sounds real nice, Granny. What is it about you an' Great Uncle Strudel that tha both of ya always seem to find some good story material wherever you go? Hehehe, almost like tha Crusaders! We're always getting nearly petrified in the Everfree by angry cockatrices and befriending Ursa Minors. Hey, look, our food's done!” Apple Bloom said abruptly, pointing joyfully at the brick oven. Time for some delicious and probably somewhat nutritious camping food with her Granny Smith!

[Mojo]

"You're right, AppleBloom! I kin smell them pies from here!" Granny Smith neighed as the elderly mare got up and rushed over (as fast as she could) over to the brick oven. Carefully, she took the two pies out and placed them on the flat rock they had used to prep them. "Now we jist gotta give'm some time ta cool off before we eat'm. But before we do that, gotta douse out the brick oven fire. Would ya mind fecthin' some water from the creek nearby?"

Granny Smith may be somewhat forgetful, but one thing she NEVER EVER would forget is fire safety when camping. Since they were done using the brick oven, the best thing to do now was to extinguish the fire within it. The pies would take time to cool off, perhaps there would be time for more 'campfire' stories before dessert!

[SteelEagle]

Apple Bloom hopped in place as she took a nice whiff of the delicious pies, finished and read to be eaten! Well, not just yet. Apple Bloom always hated how certain things had to cool off, delaying the sating of her hunger for a few pointless minutes. Sure that could sometimes mean you had a burnt roof of your mouth, but for land's sakes, she preferred it hot and steamy to cool and tasteless. Well, Apple family cooking never ever got that bad. You could always count on it remaining tasty no matter what and you knew that Granny Smith would never let a good pie go to waste. Those reassurances meant Apple Bloom snapped off a quick salute to her Granny's command with confidence. No doubt they would soon be snogging on some delicious pies!

“Aye Aye Granny!” Apple Bloom said before bounding off, picking up the bucket as she did. One bucketful of water was all she needed and frankly all they needed for dinner and a good wash. If you needed more than that then you silly missy filly were a messy little filly in need of some good manners! Well, most of the time. Apple Bloom often times was so busy doing whatever else was on her mind that she ended washing her hooves three or four times after dinner some nights. It was the exact opposite of being very attentive mind you...she was just being a bit of a dunderhead. In any case, she wandered on over to the clean water of the ocean, not giving it much thought or heed as she piled it nice and deep. The bucket came up with water and she balanced it on her head, trotting back to the camp site confidently.

[Mojo]

Granny Smith watched as Apple Bloom happily took to her task. It did the heart of the elderly stallion good to see her youngest grandchild cheerfully taking care of chores like this. Reminded her so much of herself at AppleBloom's age.

"Yur doin' a fine job, AppleBloom!" Granny Smith said, "safety with campfires is always important. Can't be too careful when it comes ta fire. When ya finish with the water, come back over here with me. Them pies still need time ta cool down, and while we're waitin', I kin tell ya about the time when we faced a forest fire, back when I was yur age."

Granny Smith now patiently waited for AppleBloom to complete her campsite chores. Camping was all about being in the outdoors and sharing stories together. This camping trip was going better than thegray maned mare could've ever hoped!

[SteelEagle]

By the time Apple bloom returned with the bucket of water she was as excited as a junebug in july to eat some delicious pies and have a great meal beside her Granny Smith. Having to wait for the pies was a necessity but she contended herself witth thoughts of how delicious their meal would be all thanks to a little bit of patience and the hard work they had put into it. That was the big difference from a pie you worked hard to create and a pie you bought ready at a bakery. Sure, the bakery pie tasted just fine and she didn't have any complaints, but knowing the work and effort that went into the creation of an Apple family pie made it all the sweeter and tastier as it went down your gullet. She'd be patient, but visions of pie and dinner danced throughout her head.

But at least she had granny stories to tide her over. She was one story after another wrapped deceptively in the skin of a pony. Apple Bloom often wondered if her Granny had limitless stories to tell her or if she was just starting to make them up, but either way Apple Bloom didn't care. The prospect of her Granny in a forest fire was terribly exciting! Apple Bloom gasped as she put the water down, waiting for the next order for it as she started tidying their eating area up.

“Oh my, a forest fire! Where was it? When? Was anypony hurt?”

[Mojo]

Granny Smith turned towards AppleBloom and began to tell the tale:

"It happened back when I was a little filly, maybe a bit older than you are now. Mah family and I had been settled fer a few years an' we had our farm and orchards producin' a whole lotta food ta eat. One day I was playin' with some critter friends I made in the forest when all of a sudden, in the distance I saw it! Big as life! The forest was on fire! Let me tell ya, it was a scary sight! To this day I never could figger out how it started, could've been lightning fer all I know! Anyway, I knew if'n that fire kept movin' along, it was gonna reach our farm! I hadda think fast! Lucky fer me, one of the friendly critters I met in the forest was a beaver. I follered her back inta the woods till I cam across a huge beaver dam! Reckon her whole family had been workin' on it fer a long time cause it sure was big an' hadda lotta water behind it. Seein' that this here was the best idea I could think of, I started buckin' that big ol' dam with my hind legs as hard as I could! That really got all the other beavers around the dam mighty sore at me, until mah beaver friend was able ta tell'm what I was tryin' ta do. Reckon she told'm about the forest fire, cause they stopped fightin' me an' started helpin' me break up the dam! We worked really hard, but after a while, the dam gave way. I jist got outta the way of the water in time before that wave of water flooded the bottom country, creatin' a waterline that kept the forest fire from goin' any further. Had another lucky break when a high wind blew the fire in the other direction. Between all that water and the wind, that thar forest fire burned itself out and our farm was saved! Y'know I can't understand beaver talk, but I kinda believe that all them critters were thankin' me fer mah help before they went back inta the forest themselves. Anyway, that's the closest the family farm's ever been ta burnin' down, even ta this day."

[SteelEagle]

Wow, that was quite the story. Apple Bloom had known bits and pieces of it as the event had been so traumatic that you couldn't help but learn through osmosis some of the more lurid details of the great fire. She hadn't ever known that her Granny was that instrumental in saving the farm that time but it didn't shock her, not one bit. Her granny was as involved in Sweet Apple Acres' history as the very apples themselves. So you know what? It made sense. She didn't expect to hear about beavers as if Granny was a proto-Fluttershy but she always did have a way with critters. Next time Apple Bloom was in the area she'd have to see if that dam had been rebuilt by the beavers in the area, or if they remembered Granny at all. That would be one humdinger of a reunion as Granny would say, wouldn't it? That'd make for one exciting time. Maybe she'd get a reunion cutie mark...nah, that'd be a bad cutie mark to have.

“Wow! Y'all saved tha farm, maybe all of Ponyville! Hehehe, Ah'd like ta see one of those beavers that helped ya, see if they're related to Marebeline. A whole beaver dam just like that? Kaboosh! And Ah couldn't even imagine what tha forest would look like now all burned up. 'Course Ah spend a lot more time in tha Evefree than tha Whitetail so maybe our beaver friends ain't related an' tha Everfree would be fine, but y'all never know! Mah grannies a real hero, just like Ah tell everypony all tha time...speakin' of heroes, AH think our food is ready!” Apple Bloom popped off, leaping towards the bucket and dousing the oven fire in a huge display of steam, enough to make the little filly cough a few times. As the steam cleared, it revealed perfectly cooked pies ready for good eating! Finally, all their food was ready and rearing to go! Yay!

[Mojo]

Granny Smith was delighted to share that particular story, though it was a rather odd one. The elderly mare had experienced quite a few adventures in her younger days. Perhaps someday, she'd write all of those amazing stories in a book, though, Granny suspected, few ponies would probably believe them. Living in Pioneer Pony times was rough, and she hoped she could instill appreciation for all these settler ponies were able to establish, especially the Apple Family of Ponyville.

"Well AppleBloom, that thar was a long, long time ago. I can't imagine any of them original beavers still bein' alive, but I'll betcha mah bonnett that their grandkids er great-grandkids still live an' build beaver dams all over Equestria by now! I wouldn't go callin' mahself a hero. Back when I was a young filly, we settler pony folk did what we hadda do ta survive, wasn't nuthin' heroic about it. I ain't like them thar Power Ponies ol' Spike keeps yammerin' about in his comics. The truth is, AppleBloom, I got mighty lucky that day. HEY! The pies are done! Time ta dig in!"

Watching as AppleBloom quickly put out the fire in the oven, Granny Smith carefully removed the hot pies and sat them down on their makeshift table.

"Them pies'll cool soon! One fer you, one fer me, and they sure look great, don't they?"

[SteelEagle]

Did you call the sons of the sons of the beavers from Granny's time grand-kids? What was the name of a baby beaver...yearling, right? She was pretty sure that it was yearling. And then there were kits which were kid beavers. So would it be grand-kit or grand-yearling? Grand-ling? Same question, grand-kid, grand-kit, grand-foal, grand-colt, grand-filly...so many different names it could be difficult to follow for a lot of ponies. Apple Bloom was friends enough with Fluttershy that she knew the terminology well enough, but she couldn't help but wonder what was completely correct. In any case, Granny was right. It might be a bit much to hope that there was any real connection between Abby;s beavers and Granny's beavers, but it was a fun possibility to fantasize about! She'd have to ask the whole lot of them if they remembered it. And if they didn't, she'd make sure they knew now the story of her Granny Smith, the most important pony in Ponyville history...by along shot! At least until Princess Twilight.

The pies were all ready now. They'd already been cooling- what the hay Granny was doin' now Abby didn't know, but she could be a silly ol' Granny Smith sometimes. Apple Bloom got the two plates and started cutting the pie up. It wasn't rocket science, but the perfect pie started with the perfect slice of it. She got it down and made eight pieces of pie for each one, dropping two on either plate. She put one in front of Granny and then went to inspect their dinner. Oat logs, fried apples, cooked to perfection and ready for good eating. She slid them on buns and pulled out the sticks carefully, allowing the oat and ffied apple to settle in the buns. Two appleburgers with oats for each pony ready to go! It took only a few seconds for the appleburgers and extra apple slices to be deployed on the plates, arranged in front of either pony. Dinner was done and served!

“Time ta chow down, Granny?”

[Mojo]

"You betcha, AppleBloom! I'll bet ya ain't never tasted nuthin' like THESE pies! Ain't often we can git these kinda fruits in Ponyville. Manehattan? Canterlot? Maybe, but not little ol' Ponyville. Well, anywoo, let's eat!"

Granny Smith, standing over her pie, began to eat. It was even better than she remembered! AppleBloom is a fast learner, especially with such new ingredients. The elderly mare would glance over at her youngest granddaughter from time to time as she continued eating. More and more, she reminded her of herself from long ago. As the pair continued to eat, Granny was thinking about what they should do next. It wouldn't be dark for quite a while yet, perhaps a nature hike near the camp?

"Well AppleBloom," Granny said as she took her last bite of pie, "how would ya like ta take a walk with me on that thar trail over yonder? As I remember it, that trail goes around the backside of the hill. Lots of interestin' plants an' animals out thata way. What do ya say? Won't that be fun?"

[SteelEagle]

Apple Bloom didn't need to wait a second longer to start chowing down on the pies and the little fried apple burgers they had conjured up with the Apple family magic of hard work and skilled cookin'! Apple Bloom took a big bite, her mouth full within a moment or less of the deliciousness. The taste exploded in her mouth like a bursting ray of fruity sunshine in her mouth, a wide smile naturally plastered on her face. Now this was a good eat! The whole pie was a good bit of fun. Apple Bloom had more than her fair share of pie in her life but this felt extra special. It didn't have the same kick or taste of a pie made by a professional or Applejack but that extra ingredient of hard work that she had put into it and the special occasion she was sharing with her Granny made it all the better. This was definitely a top ten all time pie experience!

And speaking of top ten, she'd never really gone hikin' with her Granny Smith before. Applejack, sure. Big Mac, sure. Crusaders, sure. Unidentified Everfree forest monsters, of course! But never Granny. The prospect was fun enough to Apple Bloom, who nodded emphatically as she choked down an abnormally large bite of pie that puffed out her cheeks something fierce, “that sounds like a good idea!” she said before taking a big gulp, “Ah'm always up for a nice hike. Y'all ever hike up here before? They don't really advertise it much bit Ah reckon that a whole lotta nothin' dangerous is up there. They'd put up signs otherwise-” she tried to continue talking but a large burp blasted out of her in a thunderous gut shot, leaving the filly blushing in embarrassment, “excuse me!”

[Mojo]

Granny Smith smiled at AppleBloom's response, even though it was all punctuated with a loud burp.

"That's ok, AppleBloom, glad yur all excited about the nature hike! An' yur right, hikin' on this here island ain't really encouraged, but yur ol' Granny Smith's been here before, an' if'n anypony knows about this here island, it's me! Thar's all sorta weird critters on this island, but at least they ain't as scary as all them in the Everfree Forest. Besides, I think you an' me need ta stretch our legs a bit after all that food we et! Anytime yur ready, AppleBloom, we'll git started!"

Granny Smith was very excited about this nature walk. Though it had been a long time since she'd taken this trail, she just knew it'd be as exciting for her youngest granddaughter as it was for her.

[SteelEagle]

Apple Bloom scarfed down her food in a tornado of teeth-chomping action that would have put a crazed beaver to shame. The last thing to go down was the fried apple which hit the spot in a burst of terribly excitable energy, a good day's work being done in by an even better day's appetite. No food ever tasted as good as the food you worked on and nothing was as filling as the produce from your very farm. Her stomach had been internally caterwauling for what seemed like ages as she had prepared for this camping trip and she had foregone snaking and other activities in preparation and at the passing of oh so much delicious food it had been quieted, setting the stage for the sort of contentment that a filly was never really comfortable. There was the prospect of a nice hike with her Granny and Apple Bloom was no doubt going to take advantage!

“Ah'm ready!” Apple Bloom bellowed, standing up as she put all of the foodstuffs and dinner materials away. In a jiffy she had slapped on her her saddlebag of supplies- never know when you needed them- and bounded up to her Granny, eyes thick with fillyish excitement and glee at the thought of island adventures with Granny Smith. “Ah can't wait! Maybe we'll find some giant island beavers or wolverines and Ah can get one as a pet. Y'all say Ah can't have wolverines as pets, but Ah bet that island wolverines are ta best type of wolverines ever and pretty nice as well! If Ah get one Ah'm gonna name it Tinker. That seems good. So, you lead tha way and Ah'll make sure ta follow real close an' if y'all need anything just say so, Ah got all our supplies! Lead on, Granny!”

[Mojo]

Granny Smith was amazed at the speed her youngest granddaughter finished her food and then got all of the supplies together for their impromptu nature hike. It did the heart of the elderly mare good to see such youngful enthusiam and spunk! Granny hoped that the same kind of friendly critters would be found along the trail as they were during her last visit. Yes, that was a lot of years ago, but in the mind of Granny Smith, critters are critters and there shouldn't be any nasty surprises for them to encounter.

"Alrighty AppleBloom, stick close ta me. I don't think thar's gonna be anythin' dangerous along the way, but ya never know," Granny Smith cautioned as the two started their trek. The first thing Granny Smith stopped to observe was a tall tree to the right of their path. Looking up into the tree, Granny pointed a hoof upward to show AppleBloom three toucans, birds with large multi-colored beaks who were perched on a lower limb of the tree.

"Betcha never seen fancy lookin' birds like those back home!" Granny Smith neighed as they moved further along the trail. Suddenly, a smallish chimpanzee leapt down in front of them.

"Now, don't git rattled, AppleBloom! These here critters are jist curious, if ya make no sudden moves, they won't hurt ya," the calm elderly mare muttered, reaching to the ground for a recently fallen banana than she grabbed and lightly tossed in the chimp's direction. Picking up the banana, the primate looked satisfied as it climbed back into the tree where it came from.

"That's the key ta safe travelin' in these here woods, jist stay calm. Hope that didn't frighten ya too much, kido."

[SteelEagle]

Apple Bloom followed close as ordered by her Granny Smith. You never did anything other that what Granny told you to do! That was an Apple family law and a darn good one to follow on account of how experienced she was at everything. The day you started disregarding what she said was the day that misfortune found a home in you and Apple Bloom wasn't really all about having misfortune find a home in her. She followed close and slow to Granny Smith as they made their way into the jungles of the island, the sights and sounds growing more tropical and exotic with every passing moment. Now this was the sort of island experience they should sell to tourists! The beaches were fun and all but you couldn't see that bug or this plant or any of the weird ants underneath their hooves as they walked along in Equestria, that was for sure! Apple Bloom sorta wanted to bring some back hoe but the last time that had happened she had brought some weird badger from the north to the south and it didn't fare very well...at all. And she had felt really, really, really bad about it all.

What she didn't feel bad about was the sudden emergence of some ape like creature! She took a few steps back immediately out of shock more than anything but made sure to follow Granny's advice. She slowed down and allowed herself to examine the weird hairy thing. It was sorta cute in an ugly, I don't want one sort of way. The face that only a mother could love if the mother herself was blind. Granny took control of the situation pleasantly pretty quickly, finding a bananna on the ground and hoofing it over to the mutant of a thing. It looked at the bananna for a few moments before quickly snatching it up and running up the tree, the peels coming down a few moments later and plopping sickly in front of Apple Bloom, the plip plop funny enough to cut the tension and get the filly to giggle. It was a really silly creature for sure! What the heck was a chimp-in-z anyway? What did they do? They weren't anything like the beavers she had been looking for.

“Nah, Ah'm not scared at all! That critter was just silly. It had the funniest looking ears an' mouth Ah've ever seen! Sorta looks like tha way that Twilight described lookin' in that adventure she had through tha mirror. Hehe, could you imagine tha Princess lookin' like that?”

[Mojo]

Granny Smith allowed herself a giggle and a laugh at AppleBloom's words. Imagining one of the Princesses looking like the chimp they had just encountered was quite amusing to the elderly mare.

"Reckon that would be funny!" Granny laughed. Suddenly, in the underbrush nearby, her ears perked up when she heard laughter in the air. It was when she heard that same laughter again that the gray maned mare understood what was making those noises.

"Relax, AppleBloom," she said in a hushed voice, "sounds like we're gonna see another one of the critters that stay on this here island."

Moving slowly among the bushes was three hyenas. Each one gave out short bursts of laughter as they walked towards the pair of ponies.

"These here critters is called hyenas. They look rough an' mean, but they really ain't so bad," Granny Smith said as she walked towards the closest one. "BOOOO!"

This sudden shout caused the three hyenas to scatter.

"Like I said, they ain't so bad. C'mon AppleBloom, maybe if'n we're lucky, we kin see some of the fancy lookin' colored birdies I saw on mah last trip here!"

[SteelEagle]

The hyenas jumped out of the underbrush and gave Apple Bloom a moment or two of the spooks, the filly pulling back closer to her granny. She knew all about hyenas, that much was sure. They were all over the place in Unyasi and Zecora told Apple Bloom alllll about'm! They were pack animals that roamed the savannah and preyed on animals too weak to fend for themselves. The Zebras had devised a whole host of defenses against them and they were evern less of a threat to the zebras than than diamond dogs were to the average Equestrian. This batch of baddies must have stowed away on some ship and found their way to this paradise with nary a thought crossing their flea-brained heads. Unlike their brains, Apple Bloom's was abuzz with activity as she tried to come up with a plan to get past them! No doiubt her Granny Smith seemed pretty confident she could take them all things considered but she'd rather not test that part of fate.

And then Granny jumped up and yelled BOO, which had the desired impact. A second later the hyenas leapt up and then fled, pathetically absconding with nothing but their own wounded pride. Apple Bloom looked on in confusion for a second and then started laughing, pounding the dirt with her forefront hoof as she struggled to hold back controlled sobs of laughter. "Y'all showed them really good, Granny Smith! Ah bet they musta been tha runts of the pack in Unyasi! Bwahahahahaha!" She said, standing up and finally gaining control of herself through sobs of delicious laughter. "Did you know that hyenas can be in packs eighty large and that they rarely stick 'round, roamin; about in smaller groups or as individuals? Ah bet those three just ran back to their momma!" She laughed some more, trying and failing to remain quiet enough to spot the awfully pretty birdss her Granny wanted her to be on the lookout for.

[Mojo]

On the outside, Granny Smith looked very calm and cool, but on the inside, the elderly mare realized how lucky she was that those wild hyenas were so skiddish. Granny had gambled correctly that they could be easily spooked. She always knew AppleBloom was correct, often hyenas do travel in larger packs, but because she knew the island so well, Granny knew there wasn't all that many of those critters around. Hopefully, they could encounter some of the exotic island birds without any further dangers presenting themselves. Luckily for them, the gray maned mare spotted several in the tree directly ahead on the trail.

"Ok AppleBloom, we need ta hush now. We're comin' up on a tree that's got some of them wild birds I was tellin' ya about. If'n we make too much noise, we're gonna spook'm. Foller me, quietly."

Granny Smith was really good at moving slow, so she didn't have to adjust her regular walking stride much. Approaching the large tree, the elderly mare pointed a hoof upward to direct her granddaughter's attention towards the two toucans sitting on a lower limb. Just above them were five colorful parrots, two large, three smaller, probably a family of parrots. Higher up in the tree were other birds, but Granny couldn't quite make out what type they were. Perhaps AppleBloom could see them better and know what type they were, if she had studied tropical birds at school.