As Twilight and Spike stepped beyond the boundaries of Ponyville, they entered a lush green orchard, filled with row upon row of apple trees, all fully laden and ready for bucking. As Spike walked ahead of his friend, he was oblivious to the look of sheer joy upon her face. It's...beautiful! I've never been outside of Canterlot until today, and we never had so many trees like this. And the smell! Taking a deep breath through her nose, Twilight let out a sigh of contentment. The apples. I never knew fruit could smell so wonderful. However, her smile then faded somewhat. The other me...the one from the future...she never appreciated this the first time around. When she first came to Ponyville, she wanted nothing more than to leave it. But now...now I get the chance to see this place for how special it truly is. Her smile returned, though, as she continued walking, she looked around at the place, tilting her head a little. Hmmm...lacking the irrigation systems it'll have in future. Irrigation I make for Applejack. Maybe I could...no! Apocalypse-bringing mare of darkness first, improvements to Ponyville later.

Turning ahead, Twilight smiled even wider as she looked upon the now-familiar redness of the Apple family barn. She let out a brief chuckle at the sight of it, after which she began to look around for the one she knew would be here. Spike was still busying himself with reading their to-do list, and so wasn't looking up as a bright orange figure began galloping along. In an instant, Twilight used her magic to levitate her assistant out of the way, watching as her soon-to-be-friend, Applejack, let out a howl as she ran towards a nearby tree, bucking it with all her might and letting dozens of apples fall to the basket below. Seeing her friend at last, Twilight smiled as she lowered her assistant back to the ground, finally walking towards the farm mare. Clearing her throat, she immediately gained Applejack's attention, who regarded the two carefully before giving a friendly smile. Twilight returned the smile before starting to introduce herself.

"Hello! My name is Twilight Sparkle. And this is Spike. You're Applejack, yes?"

The earth pony gave a chuckle and a nod before walking forward, grabbing onto Twilight's hoof and shaking it vigorously.

"Well, howdy there, Twilight! Y'all must be here for the celebration, right? Let me tell you, y'all won't be disappointed with what we Apples have got prepared for ya!"

Twilight, having finally been let go, chuckled at that.

"Oh, I'm sure I won't, Miss Apples."

A thought then came to Twilight, at which point she put on a somewhat sly mile.

"I think I heard other ponies around. I'm guessing it's the rest of your family?"

A look of realisation then crossed Applejack's face as she heard those words.

"Shoot! Thanks fer remindin me!"

Galloping away to a nearby hanging triangle, Applejack enthusiastically began to ring it, sending it's sound across what must have been many acres, after which she let out a loud call.

"SOUP'S ON, EVERYPONY!!!"

Knowing what was coming next, Twilight once more levitated Spike out of the way, watching as the ponies she knew as the massive Apple family began galloping en masse towards them. Standing aside, Twilight watched as the dozens of mares and stallions passed her, regarding each and every one of them. I know AJ introduces me...but aside from her immediate family, Babs and Braeburn, I never really got to know any of these ponies all that well. A look of determination crossed her face with that thought. Well, better put that on my to-do list for after the Nightmare Moon incident. Realisation then crossed her face, and then a look of slight embarrassment. Additional...also remember to actually make a to-do list for after the Nightmare Moon incident. Shaking herself out of that thought, she lowered Spike again and looked around, seeing the many Apples that now surrounded her. All of them were smiling at her in a welcoming way, and Twilight simply smiled back, after which Applejack approached her and slapped a hoof down on her shoulder before gesturing to the rest of the group.

"Mah whole family!"

As the orange mare began to point to each and every one of them, she sounded off their names. Here we go, Twilight thought.

"This here's Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apples, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp..."

Applejack then took a deep breath before pointing her hoof towards the three ponies Twilight knew best out of all of them. Ponies she smiled at warmly as Applejack sounded off again.

"...and then there's mah brother, Big Macintosh. Mah sister, Apple Bloom, and the oldest of us, Granny Smith!"

The elder mare, as Twilight expected, was sound asleep, rocking gently in her chair. Applejack stepped forward, ready to, as Twilight foresaw, to wake her Grandmother up to greet their two guests. However, jumping ahead of her friend, Twilight stopped her.

"Um...that's okay! You don't need to wake her on our behalf."

Applejack stopped and regarded her carefully, raising an eyebrow at her words. For a moment, Twilight was worried that she might have offended her, but that fear was soon undermined by Applejack letting out a good hearty laugh, complete with slapping her hoof down on Twilight's shoulder again, much to the latter's chagrin.

"Well shoot, Twilight! That's mighty decent of y'all!"

Twilight laughed nervously at that, but mentally, she was more than a little relieved. I guess I should have expected that. Applejack values her family above everything else. If I showed I had the wellbeing of one of them in mind, she would have naturally appreciated that. Smiling to herself, Twilight walked alongside Applejack as the latter brought her to a nearby table, wherein her relatives had all prepared a number of delicious-looking apple-based foods to eat.

"We were just about to tuck in to some grub when y'all showed up. Why don't y'all and the little feller join in?"

The unicorn smiled at that, having every intention of joining them willingly this time. The Apples are some of the friendliest ponies in Equestria. No way am I going to appear ungrateful this time. Besides, even if I did, that sister of hers would just land me with that look that could melt even Cranky's heart. Nodding to Applejack, Twilight took her place at the table, wherein she saw that Spike was already drooling at the sight of all the food that was before him. Chuckling at that sight, Twilight turned to Applejack again before speaking in a soft and respectful manner.

"We would be honoured to join you, Applejack."

Letting out another "yeehaw" the orange mare gave a firm pat on Twilight's back before sitting down next to her. In moments, the entire Apple family were preparing their own tables and chairs, taking whatever food they wanted and starting to eat heartily. But, none stuffed their mouth more than Spike, who was starting to look more like a squirrel storing nuts for the winter, which Twilight couldn't help but giggle at. Letting out a sigh, she began her own meal, though ate nowhere near as much as everypony else. Earth ponies always did have more of an appetite than us unicorns, she mused. Nevertheless, she ate her meal, grateful at all the hospitality she was being shown. So good! I never told Applejack how much of a great cook she was. That'll be something I'll do right this time. So, eating her food, and loving every bite, Twilight and Spike were soon looked upon with great favour by the Apple family, all of whom regarded them with warm looks as they showed open appreciation for the meals they'd made.

In time, however, the food was no more, and both Twilight and Spike were comfortably full from their time there. Knowing that they had other business to tend to, the two began to make their way away from the Apple's home, giving all of them a friendly wave goodbye as they left. All of the Apples, Applejack especially, returned the wave even more enthusiastically, and the young unicorn smiled as she turned away and began heading back to Ponyville. With full stomachs, however, the trip was longer this time, with Spike especially letting out occasional groans from having eaten so much, perhaps more than any pony had done, even Big Mac. Twilight chuckled at this, but soon focused herself as they finally entered the town proper. Okay, she thought to herself, Rainbow Dash will be coming in fast soon. Got to be careful. I don't want our first meeting to be a crash this time around. Craning her neck upwards, she looked at the sky, seeing all the clouds that had yet to be cleared. Okay, if I remember right, Rainbow should be coming in...from...there!

With quick movements, Twilight side-stepped just in time to have a cyan blur fly right past her. Knowing that her friend was destined to land head-first into a puddle of mud, Twilight's horn lit up and engulfed the pegasus in her aura, stopping her in mid-flight, with her mizzle just an inch away from the puddle in question. Seeing how close she was to the ground, Rainbow's eyes snapped open, after which she looked around to see Twilight, who was smiling at her. Chuckling nervously, Rainbow began to struggle in the hold of the magic, to which Twilight simply released her. Now safely landing on all four hooves, Rainbow patted herself down a bit before examining Twilight carefully. Within moments, however, she broke into a smirk before pointing straight at her.

"Well, that would have been embarrassing! Thanks for the save...er...?"

Understanding her friend's confusion, Twilight chuckled a little before placing a hoof to her chest.

"Oh! I'm Twilight. And this is Spike."

The young dragon gave a salute to the pegasus, which the latter returned with a chuckle of her own, before looking to the young unicorn.

"Twilight, eh?"

She seemed to be deep in thought over something, but then broke out into a smile before pointing to Twilight once more.

"Oh yeah! You're that unicorn from Canterlot, right? Here to check up on the party tonight? Well, you've got no worries here, buddy! Rainbow Dash is weather mare of Ponyville, and these skies will be crystal clear by the time Princess Celestia arrives."

Twilight smiled at that. Oh, I know, Rainbow. However, as she looked up, Twilight once more saw the clouds that were still floating around everywhere. Okay, got to be careful. My first meeting with her was more like a confrontation. I don't want that to be how things start between us this time. Got to do it differently. But how? Think, Twilight! Think of the kind of mare Rainbow is. As she dwelt on this, however, she looked up again to see that Rainbow had flown upwards, taking a spot on a nearby small cloud, relaxing comfortably upon it, letting out a sigh as she did so. Seeing her friend up there, Twilight cleared her throat a little.

"Um...I don't mean to sound rude...but shouldn't you be clearing the clouds?”

Rainbow waved a hoof at that.

"Yeah, yeah! I'll get to it. But I’m kinda busy right now. I'm practising for my flying today."

Twilight's face cracked into a smile at that. That's it! How could I not see it before? Smirking a little, Twilight looked up at Rainbow and started speaking in a somewhat forcefully-ignorant manner.

"Practicing your flying? But the only flying team that could properly use a pegasus as fast as you is...well...the Wonderbolts!"

Upon hearing that name, Rainbow immediately sat upright on her cloud, after which she flew up and spun around, looking down at Twilight with a somewhat cocky smile on her face.

"Heck yeah, the Wonderbolts! I like the way you think, Twilight! I've been training day and night to get myself ready for them. I just can't wait to get my chance!"

Twilight smiled at seeing her friend like this. So confident, so sure of herself and what she can do. There's the Rainbow Dash I know and love! Okay, I've got my hoof in the door, now I just need to go with it.

"You know...the Wonderbolts really admire skill and dedication. If you could show you're the kind of mare who could, say, clear up the skies in ten seconds flat, that'd be pretty impressive to them."

It was a proposition that caused Rainbow to pause for a few moments, thinking over the unicorn's words for a moment before breaking out into yet another confident smile.

"You know, Twilight...I think you and I are gonna get on just fine!"

Twilight smiled at her friend’s words, and then watched as the young pegasus landed on her cloud again, assuming the same kind of position one would when getting ready for a race. Rainbow licked her lips a little before flapping her wings hard, sending herself fast into the sky before her. Both Spike and Twilight watched in awe as she moved with a speed greater than they had ever seen from any Canterlot Pegasus, reaching each and every cloud in sight with ease, and bucking them into oblivion even easier than that. With a few spins, twirls and kicks, Rainbow, true to Twilight's suggestion, had the sky completely clear in ten seconds flat. Looking around, Twilight put on a face that made it clear she was impressed with her friend's work, which she genuinely was. Even knowing she could do it, and would have done it, it's still amazing to actually see her in action. Turning to Rainbow, Twilight smiled at her, and Rainbow returned the smile as she hovered lower to the ground.

"Been good meeting you, Twilight. See ya at the celebration tonight!"

With a nod from Twilight, Rainbow gave her own little salute before flapping her wings and sending her off elsewhere, thought to do what, Twilight didn't know. With her friend now gone, Twilight let out a sigh. So far, so good. Looking down at her assistant, she gently placed a hoof upon his shoulder.

"Come on, Spike. Time to go to the Town Hall. Got to check up on the decorations."

Spike smiled and nodded at that before starting to jog off in the direction of the obvious Hall in the middle of town. Seeing him go, Twilight mentally giggled to herself. Next comes Rarity. Oh Spike...you have no idea.