Rocks to Apples (Robbi)

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

The trip by train from the rock farm to Ponyville actually hadn't been as bad as Marble had expected it to be. She hadn't had any awkward or embarrassing conversations with anypony...well, except for that tiny moment when she had misplaced her ticket in her saddlebag when the ticket checker had asked for it. She found it a moment later though and only suffered the faintest of blushes because of the incident. The gray mare was content to sit back in her seat and watch the sights roll by from under her forelocks. No need to have a clear view through both eyes, it always felt better to have the bit of protection her forelocks offered her.

 

Now she was stepping gingerly off the train and before she knew it she was on her way down the dirt road that lead to Sweet Apple Acres! She had blushed crimson when the invitation from her friend Big Mac had arrived at the rock farm. In fact, she really hadn't told anypony about the whole thing. The invitation, the time she had spent with Big Mac during Hearth's Warming, the way he made her heart beat faster whenever she thought of him. Though her sister were normally really great at getting her to spill the marbles, she hadn't this time. This was her own little adventure! Well, her and Big Mac's of course.

 

She really wasn't even so sure how he felt about her. They had both had their moments but neither of them had ever talked about it. Not during her last visit to the apple farm and not since either. They had written to each other on friendly terms a few times and then the invitation had come in the post! The very invitation that she now carried safely in her saddle bag. It wasn't like she would need it to get onto the farm. It just made her feel more secure. It was there, she had invited her, this was really happening!

 

As she trotted under the entry sign of the farm her heart skipped a beat. She had done this on her own! There was nopony there to speak for her! She was going to have to do this on her own!

 

The sun was sparkling on the new fallen snow as the mare trotted down the drive. She glanced around for the big red stallion...

 

[SunsetSombra]

Meanwhile, in Ponyvilles own farm, it was an unprecedented event for the apple stallion - one that not many would figure he'd have put into motion; inviting anypony to Sweet Apple Acres  wasn't often something Macintosh did outside of business related reasons, but even then that was mostly Applejacks idea moreso than his own. Indeed, it had been quite a while since Mac had even thought about having company around of his own, and it seemed oddly prudent that he make an attempt to reach out to a pony whom, much like himself, was not necessarily one to make huge leaps with regard to venturing out for socialising terribly much.

 

It had been quite a while since the pair had met at the Hearths Warming event that had gone in mixed directions - Mac had watched his sister making her changes to the events taking place, and not really approved of her actions in the least...but she had proven stubborn that day and thus things really had not gone as intended. Still, once the misunderstandings and issues were resolved, the rest of their vacation as a makeshift family more or less a much better experience overall...and whilst things may have still been a little awkward given the differences, there were still good memories created on both sides of either family for all involved.

 

Regardless of all the circumstances involved, Mac was still trying to consider what to do - Marble was visiting at his behest, but he didn't really have a *plan* so much...the realisation kinda dawning on him as he made his way out of the farmhouse and into the light of day, giving a small stretch as thoughts turned to the immediate ideas. The grass was still coated with a thin veneer of snow and ice as it gleamed in the daylight, giving the farm a rather festive feel even if things were slowly returning to normal after this years pretty hectic period of hearthswarming festivities.

 

As it turned out, he could see the familiar muzzle at the drive after a few minutes...which only caused a moment of hesitation for Big Mac - what was he s'posed to say, what to do even?

 

He hadn't gone to AppleJack about this, not wanting to give her the benefit of teasing him over something that he really wasn't sure what to make of yet - her reaction was inevitable, anyway, but she didn't need to know just yet, especially when he wasn't even 100% sure just what there was for her to know...it was hard to decide for sure just what this friendship between him and Marble really meant in the long run, or even if it was to 'mean anything' at all.

 

Ah well, it was too late now to really dwell on that - with a small exhale of nervous energies, Macintosh goes to greet his guest with a casual canter, raising a hoof...although he isn't exactly sure just how to verbally greet her JUST this moment!

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

 

Marble took in the sights of the farm. It wasn't a rock farm but it was a very nice farm. No wonder Sweet Apple Acres was the pride of Ponyville! She took in a deep breath, everything was go to be-

 

"eep!" 

 

There he was, cantering down the main drive to meet her. She could already feel a deep blush settle into her cheeks. Marble had been hoping to try for playing it cool but she just couldn't keep those nervous butterflies at bay! She tried to take another breath. She hadn't even thought about how to greet Big Mac. Thus far she had just been pumping herself up to get to the moment she was now at. She hadn't done any planning for after this moment! 

 

Before she could think any more about what to say or do he was in front of her with his hoof raised in greeting. She ducked her head a little bit, letting her forelocks cover her eye and most of her face. She always felt a little safer from behind her forelocks. She couldn't just stand there, she had to say something. She mustered her courage and smiled sweetly at her new friend.

 

"hi."

 

Her eyes sparkled like the frost covered ground as she kept on smiling.

 

"It's beautiful here!"

[SunsetSombra]

{ Totally forgot to repost this! XD }

 

And there it was, the initial greeting from marble given - Macintosh found himself caught unawares by her almost unexpected forward greeting, which resulted in Mac giving a rather quick nod of a response...although it didn't really take him long to find words of his own to reply with.

 " It's, uh...it's nice t'see ya here, Miss Marble! " he says with a small nod of the head. " Hopin' there wasn't too much in the way of fussin' gettin' down here, I know how the trains can be either late or jus' kinda packed full to the brim at this time of day! "  it was kinda true too - Mac had traversed on the train well enough during this part of the day for certain things here and there before, and it was never exactly uneventful whenever he did.

" Well, ah guess you, uh, must be a l'il bit peckish from the trip down... " Mac starts, giving the mare a small chuckle and a smile. " Good thing there's some freshly baked Apple pies an' pancakes in the house, along with some Fresh juice t'quench the morning thirst, although ah reckon we could whip up some warm cider a little later on if the weather keeps on as it is...which, judgin' by those clouds, it may well do! "

Mac wasn't really sure what he was going to be dealing with beyond the initial meeting - there was no doubt that at the very least there was a decent breakfast fallback to share with Marble in the meantime...still, he knew that there'd need to be a little something better to do once the munches were taken care of and Marble was settled for her visit. He quietly racked his brain for ideas ahead of time, but was coming up a little short...and probably looking a tad uncertain as he seemingly just stood there tapping his muzzle in idle thought.

Gah, this was one of those times he wished he was better at this, but there was nothing better than experience to at least develop a little more understanding of how to get better at these social moments - ah well, for now it seemed as though the best idea was to simply 'wing it' for now the time being.