The mare focused.

Her hoof shivered as she moved the scissors forwards, every tiny motion seeming to be amplified by the pure silence hanging in the air.

The tip of the scissor’s blade brushed against the very edge of the bonsai’s unruly branch, causing her to gulp nervously. A lock of her mane fell across her face, and with a single gentle motion, she lifted the red hairs back behind her ear.

That’s it. Slow and steady. Just nip that one little stem and it’ll be perfect.

The scissors slipped forward, the blades clamping down under the tiny amount of pressure exerted by the mare.

“Hiya, Rosey!”

With a clean snip, the sharp edges cut through the main branch of the minuscule tree, slicing the priceless heirloom’s topmost branch and allowing it to tumble onto the previously spotless ground. As her hoof shivered, Roseluck deposited the scissors on the table’s edge and let out a gentle sigh.

It’s not her fault; she’s like that, she told herself as she rose from her bench and forced a kind smile onto her lips.

“Hi, Raindrops. How are you doing?”

The familiar flash of the pegasus’s yellow body complemented an orchid nearby, and Roseluck thought about her friend as she watched her sniff at the flower. Roseluck’s eyes settled back upon the beheaded bonsai tree. With another sigh, she studied her own beige coat, comparing it to the soft yellow of the pegasus wiping pollen from her nose.

“Not bad,” the mare finally answered as she wrinkled her nose, staring cross-eyed at the few remaining grains of pollen sitting upon her coat. “I was just bored.”

“Uh-huh,” Roseluck said, hoping that the other mare would leave her and her flower shop alone. For her part, Raindrops kept wandering around the florist’s shop, eyeing the plants with something between boredom and detached judgement across her features.

Why does my only friend need to be so... well, so unlike me?

“So... I was thinking.” The mare trotted around a wall covered entirely in shelved potted plants of every colour and shade. She took a deep breath, as though building up her resolve, and then smiled contentedly before going on. “That poetry contest. It’s this weekend, right?”

Roseluck nodded, returning her attention to her injured bonsai. This is going to be a pain to hide, she thought as she leaned in. She inspected the damage even as she kept Raindrops in her peripheral vision.

“So, I was thinking...”

The mare lifted a hobby knife, and calling upon her earth pony magic, she brought the simple instrument to the tree. I could make it look natural, but it’ll take some doing, she realized as she pondered the little tree.

“You should totally invite Big Mac.”

The knife cut a deep groove along the delicate bark, scarring it from top to bottom. Roseluck said nothing, simply standing there, studying the gash. Calmly, Roseluck deposited the blade beside her scissors and pushed away from the table and bonsai. “Raindrops,” she started with only the slightest annoyance, “I thought we had agreed not to talk about that?”

Roseluck brushed back the wafts of red that had fallen from her mane and looked around her shop, taking in the perfectly placed rows of potted plants, the draping perennials just beginning to flower under her care and the sun’s light. She took a deep breath, recognizing the scents of a dozen species of herbs and plants caught in her nose. She watched Raindrops flap among her plants as she calmed herself down. “We talked about this already,” she said after a moment, tapping a hoof on the well-worn wooden floor. “You agreed not to meddle in my affairs... or lack thereof.”

Raindrops sighed and rolled her eyes. “It’s not meddling. It would just be cool if he was there, you know, to see how cool you are?”

“I’m not ‘cool’. And it’s none of his business what I think of him,” Roseluck said, turning her eyes back to the desecrated bonzai.

Raindrops landed nearby with an audible thump, her wings flattening to her sides. "But—" Her words stopped short as she froze under Roseluck's glare. “Oh, fine,” the pegasus concluded, looking away. “So, how are things?”

Roseluck abandoned the mess that was the bonsai, moving towards the front of the shop and to the big window taking up the majority of it. “Not too good. I really do need to win that contest,” she said, eyes and mane glowing as she trotted into the sunlight. “Last year, that annoying mare beat me. I won’t let that happen twice.”

Raindrops trotted across the room, her wing tips brushing against potted plants which made them rattle on their shelves. “Aw, don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll beat everypony this year!” she exclaimed with contagious enthusiasm.

“Yeah, maybe. The shop needs the bits,” Roseluck said, her hoof absently fixing an arrangement of petunias. “We can’t have another winter like the last.” The mare glanced at her friend, particularly her long, thin wings. “Hmm, maybe you can help me?”

“Sure thing!” the pegasus agreed, her head bouncing up and down.

Roseluck gave her a quick smile before walking to the back of her checkout counter. Reaching behind it, she pulled out a long folded up piece of cardboard and a roll of tape. “Could you place this at the top of the window?”

Raindrops stared at the sheet before snatching it from her friend. “Ahraght,” she said, fumbling through the word as she held the paper in her mouth. In an instant, she was hopping into the air and hovering near the glass. In three quick moves, she had plastered the poster at the top of the glass, spread it across evenly, and wasted half a roll of tape as she affixed it to the window. “So, what’s that about?” she asked, flicking a hoof towards the advertisement.

She didn’t even read it before putting it up? Roseluck thought as Raindrops settled to the floor once more. “It says ‘Plant Care Services’. I’m going to start offering to cure houseplants and watch over gardens for other ponies. I... I need the bits.”

Raindrops studied the advertisement once more, her eyebrow arching in doubt. “Care services? For plants? Really?” she said, deep skepticism painted in her voice.

“I need the bits, Drippy,” answered Roseluck with a sigh. “I really do. I really do...”

Raindrops watched as Roseluck trotted to the window. The pegasus tried to think of something to say as her friend sat watching each potential customer trot by. Jovial grins adorned the faces that came and went, the two pondering as every lost chance for a sale simply walked past the shop.

That all changed when a group of three fillies pranced by. To Roseluck’s surprise, one of them stopped, smiled, and then pointed towards her florist shop.

“Ohh! Looks like you have a client!” Raindrops said as her face squished against the glass, her excitement growing visibly. Roseluck walked to her side, eyeing the energetic cream filly that hopped towards the front door.

With the dinging of chimes, the front door opened, allowing the wide-eyed earth pony to sneak into the shop. Roseluck smiled kindly at the tiny customer, crossing the room to greet her. “Hello, how are you doing today, sweetie?”

The filly blinked at her. “No, ma’am, Ah’m Apple Bloom; that there is Sweetie,” the filly said matter-of-factly, pointing at her friend who sat outside. Raindrops gave a few giggles, stopping short when Roseluck’s hoof found its way to her chest.

Roseluck nodded back at the filly, suppressing a grin as she did so. “Yes, dear,” she said, regaining her composure. “I know who you are.”

You’re Big Macintosh’s little sister, she noted to herself. How couldn’t I know who you are?

“So, miss, why are you here today?” Roseluck inquired. “Looking for some flowers for a date? A new hobby, perhaps? Searching for a flower-related cutie mark?”

The filly’s eyes widened at the last, but she shook her head. “Nope. Ah’m here ‘cause of the poster.” The filly nodded towards the recently-installed sign, her bow bobbing on the back of her head. “Bloomberg’s brother is sick.”

It was Roseluck’s turn to blink dumbly. “Who?”

“Twigster.”

“What?!”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and huffed. “Our tree, Twigster, is sick. Mah’ brother’s been tryin’ to help him, but it ain't workin' none. Twiggy is the last tree that came from Alder— that bein’ the old tree that my great-grandpa planted when they came and started up the farm here in Ponyville.”

“Oh. But, um, I don’t do house calls.”

Although, she thought, biting her lower lip, her brother will be there...

The filly shifted her weight from hoof to hoof. “But... but Twigster really needs the help!”

“I... I can’t start doing this now. I can’t carry all the tools, and who’ll watch over the shop while I’m gone?” the mare asked, her eyes searching the shop for anything she could add to her list of excuses. Her eyes went wide as she settled on her friend. Raindrops had raised a hoof to volunteer for the position with a huge grin on her face until Roseluck drove it away with a baleful glare.

“I-I might be able to go sometime next week?” Roseluck said, turning back to where the filly still stood. As Apple Bloom stared back her expression seemed to drop out of the child, and her heart hit the floor.

Apple Bloom pawed at the ground, studying her forehoof as a little miserable sound of worry began to rise from her. Slowly, she lifted her head, catching Roseluck’s eyes and playing at her sympathy. Both of the filly’s cheeks were puffed out and her eyes went watery even as Roseluck looked down over her.

“Please... please, miss flower-lady, you need to help us, and... and me and my friends can help,” the filly whimpered in the most obvious of falsified tones.

Roseluck looked up to the window, and there the faces of two more fillies sat, echoing that of the little earth pony. One, the unicorn, was the aforementioned Sweetie she guessed. A pegasus filly similarly dripped crocodile tears across her window pane.

Roseluck gulped as the combined looks of pure adorableness flowing off of their faces slowly eroded her ability to resist.

“Pleeease,” the little earth pony begged, her puppy eyes increasing in size exponentially.

It was the most hilariously overexaggerated play on her sympathies she could imagine, and it worked completely.

Well, what’s the worse thing that could go wrong? she thought as a sigh of uncertainty escaped her lips.

“Okay, fine.”

Happy squeals began sounding out amid the potted plants, and both Apple Bloom and Raindrops began prancing around the inside of the store, giggling happily as their jubilant bounds made every shelf in the vicinity shiver. “Cutie Mark Crusader shop keepers!” the filies and one mare chanted. The farce had dropped, and Apple Bloom was once more the happy, energetic filly Roseluck had seen in Big Mac’s company.

“Not you, Raindrops,” spoke Roseluck as her mind suddenly came alive, the mare picturing any number of things which truly good go awry. “You’re coming with me. We need to have a little talk...”

Why did I agree to this? Roseluck wondered as bullets of sweat poured down her coat. Her eyes shifted from one side of the narrow road to another, taking in all the bright greens and deep browns of the apple orchards even as new scenarios flitted through her mind.

“Rosey, you’re sweating,” Raindrops said, pointing out the obvious as she fluttered along, drooping under the weight of the two saddlebags.

The red of her blush competed with the beige of her coat for dominance as Roseluck responded to the pegasus. “You’re one to talk, Drippy. You’re drenched. Keep sweating like that and I won’t need a sprinkler in the shop.”

Raindrops laughed, shifting the weight a little before landing at a trot at her friend’s side. “C’mon, Rosey, what’s wrong, really?” she asked, a note of compassion disguised in her otherwise brash voice.

“Nothing,” Roseluck answered, no hint of hesitation betraying itself in her voice as she focused on the road ahead. For a few short moments, both mares walked down the rough path in silence, the thick smells of nature permeating the air around them. Small buds dotted the orderly apple trees and it seemed that soon, the trees would be in full bloom.

“I don’t believe you,” Raindrops finally said, breaking the silence. “What’s wrong, really? You can tell me.”

“I don’t like leaving the shop like that. What if a customer walks in?” She sighed. “Or what if those fillies set the hose system on fire? Who knows what havoc they could cause in there.”

Raindrops shook her head. “C’mon, they looked like responsible fillies; I’m sure everything’s going to be fine. Now tell me what you’re really worried about.” The mare gave a swift poke on her friend’s beige shoulder.

Roseluck huffed. “I’m not worried about anything else.”

“Not even Big Mac?”

The flower-flanked mare tripped, stumbling forwards even as she tried to regain her footing. “No, it’s nothing like that,” she said, her face’s colour matching that of her mane.

“It isn’t?” Raindrops asked, an eyebrow rising even as she smirked cruelly. “You’re not thinking of his strong, muscular body? His beautiful blonde hair waving in the air? That huge c—”

“All right!” Roseluck shouted, shoving a forehoof over Raindrop’s yapping mouth. “Fine, I want to see him, too,” she admitted. “But I don’t want any of that awkward lovey stuff. This is purely business. And anyway, I don’t have time for a relationship.”

Ahead of them, the very top of the red-roofed barn appeared over the hill, slowly growing as they marched forwards. A few chickens clucked and went up and down the ramp of the henhouse, poking at the ground with their sharp beaks, while a herd of cows watched with curiosity as the mares walked by them.

“Howdy!” came a voice. The two friends turned as another mare made her way down the path towards them. Roseluck gulped a little as she recognized the other Apple sister, Applejack. Roseluck tried to look like somepony who didn’t have developing feelings for Apple Bloom's brother as she greeted them. With a welcoming smile, Applejack doffed her stetson with a flourish. “How’re you mares doing on this fine day?”

Raindrops returned the smile and added a gleeful giggle. “Not bad. How’re you?”

“Ah’m... okay,” the mare said as she slowed to a stop a few hoof-steps away, her gaze shifting to the fields of apple trees. “So, what are you fine folks doing in this neck a’ the woods?”

Roseluck looked around to the buds sprouting on every apple tree, then to the abnormally dry ground baking beneath the midday sun. Slowly, she returned her gaze onto Applejack, eyes roving over the cowmare’s baggy eyes and matted mane. “Apple Bloom sent us over.”

“Apple Bloom? What’d she send ya here fer?” Applejack asked, her brows furrowing in worry and suspicion. “This ain’t one o’ her crusadin’ things, is it?”

Roseluck shook her head. “No, she said that some of your trees are sick, one called Twigster in particular?”

Applejack sighed, shaking her head as she touched her temple with a forehoof. “That filly...” she whispered. “Yeah, we have a few sick trees, and Twigster’s one o’ em. But we don’t need your help. Ah do thank you for coming, though.”

“What do they have?”

Applejack shrugged. “Some sorta bug or somethin’. Their leaves are turnin’ brown and the tips are curving over. Nothin’ much, I suspect. I bet Big Mac’ll have ‘em fixed up in a jiffy.”

She’s out of her league, Roseluck realized. They have no idea what’s going on, do they?

After a moment of hesitation, Roseluck hung her head sadly. “Oh, well, regardless, if I can help, I’d be more than happy to do so.”

Applejack’s smile turned patient and calm. “No, but thank ya’, nonetheless. We know how tah’ handle our trees.”

Roseluck sat down with a thump, a fine dust puffing off of the ground. Guess we should go, she thought before biting her lower lip. But, I really did want to see Macintosh. The mare looked at her friend who was discreetly trying to pick her nose. I can’t let her know. Maybe I can...

“Would you mind if, maybe, I take a look at the sick tree?” she asked, giving the farmhoof her sweetest smile.

Applejack returned the look with a suspicious glare. “Why?”

The beige mare coughed, a distinct look of irritation crossing her features for a wink. “I study plants, and I take care of them; it’s my talent and calling. I need to know why ‘Twigster’ is sick and if it’s contagious. Would you like to be responsible for a tree-borne epidemic? What if other trees are affected? What if, because of your inattention, every apple tree from here to Appleoosa loses their crop?”

The blonde-maned mare took a half-step back, her eyes widening. “It-it couldn’t do that... could it?”

“Well, you could have Apple Scab. If that’s the case, then that’ll make the fruit rot right on the limb and be covered in scabs. There’s Phytophthora Rot, Cork Spot... oh, I could go on.” She watched a pale Applejack gulp hard.

“Sounds mighty serious... but you sure you know what you’re doing?”

Raindrops hopped ahead, her boisterous voice ringing across the farm. “Know what she’s doing? Rosey here is the best darn flower... care... pony thing, in the entirety of Equestria! Of course she knows what she’s doing!” The pegasus pointed a hoof towards her friend’s face, almost jabbing her eye out.

Applejack’s frown returned. “Right, well, I don’t see no harm in lettin’ her take a look,” the mare said before turning her attention to the pony in question. “Just head out back; it’s in that clearing. Big Mac should be there, carin’ for the tree.”

A huge grin split Roseluck’s face. I won! “Right, no problem. I’m sure we’ll find the solution in no time,” she said as she quickly gathered up one of the saddlebags and trotted by Applejack. Raindrops took to the air, beaming proudly while tailing Roseluck. “No,” she said, making a half-turn towards her winged friend. “You stay here, Drippy, and watch over my other stuff. I’ll take care of it.”

Her eyes sparkled mischievously as it caught the midday sun. “Alone, with Macintosh.”

Raindrops nodded knowingly before landing with a firm thump on the dry ground. “All right, you two have fun,” she said as Roseluck strutted away.

“So, A.J.,” the pegasus began as she leaned upon a fencepost, “what does a mare like you do for fun around here?”

Roseluck charged ahead, eyes fixed on the ever-growing scenery behind the imposing red barn. There, a glade made up of trees was spread out, their shadows playing across all sorts of farm equipment kept in tip-top shape.

A few wildflowers grew along the building’s edge, filling the air with their hearty aroma. A few insects buzzed by, inspecting the newcomer before flying away with a single swish of her tail to encourage them to be on their way.

In an opening amongst the trees, a tall, thick, and very red stallion was bent over, slowly moving a trowel along the edge of a sickly tree, the tool practically caressing it as he carefully moved about.

Roseluck’s heart skipped a beat as she stared at his sweaty, muscle-filled back. She studied his strong forehooves as they delicately worked the tool in a steady rhythm.

Oh Celestia, he’s so...

She squeaked in surprise as he looked up, his deep emerald-green eyes locking onto hers.

Slowly, he rose to his full height, his surprise registering on his face at the sight of a pretty mare in his orchard.

They stared, mare and stallion, unmoving, as a smooth breeze worked its way around them, swaying their manes softly. “Um, hi?” she said, her voice almost a whisper.

The colour of the massive stallion's face seemed to deepen for a moment as his eyes glided across her. “Howdy,” he said, the word fighting up to her through his parched throat.

“I, uh, I’m here to help,” she said, working through the crackle of her voice and the beads of sweat pouring through her mane. “With the tree, I mean.” She wiped a hoof across her forehead.

I must look so stupid!

“Do... do you want me to help?” she continued.

“Eeyup.”

She approached him, bringing the canteen that rested on a nearby stump, hoofsteps loud on the smooth grass as her heart pounded in her ears. Her eyes shifted from the hunky stallion to the damaged tree. “Oh, my,” she whispered.

Every branch on the tree ended with dead tips, all of them darkened as if somepony had set them afire. Cracks ran along some parts of the trunk, while the newer blossoms were limp and dead.

Oh, this is bad, she thought as she visually inspected the plant.

“So,” Big Macintosh began, running a hoof through the nape of his neck. “Um, not that I mind, miss, but why’re you here?”

Roseluck blushed heavily, her attention immediately returning to him. “Oh, uh. I’m just curious about Twigster here.”

“Oh. It’s pretty bad, all right,” he admitted, his gaze returning to the tree in question. “The bark, the leaves, and the new buds are rottin’, almost like they have been scorched, but the cork cambium and the roots seem healthy. It’s showin’ no signs o’ having any injuries inside, only external ones. For the life o’ me, I can’t figure out what’s causing this, short of somepony coming out here every night and holding a torch to it...”

She nodded to herself, her mind running through every piece of knowledge. It could be... but no, that’s not the right kind of scarring. Perhaps Scor— no, that doesn’t come around these parts... but those marks, just like a burn. And the core isn’t ruined, yet...

“It’s Fire Blight,” she said, her tone giving no room for doubt.

He stared at her for a moment, slowly dropping into a sitting position as they looked at Twigster. “Fire Blight, miss?” he finally asked.

“Yeah, it’s rare in this area, and this isn’t exactly the right time of year. But, yeah, with that kind of marking, I can’t see it being anything else.” She sat at his side, fully aware of the way his coat brushed against hers after every deep breath he took.

“So, how do ya’ plan on curin’ it?” he asked. With that, he took a drink from the canteen and passed it to her.

Oh Celestia, he’s just trusting me like that? she thought, almost swooning on the spot. “Well, you’ll need to trim the outer branches, then prune any part that’s infected.”

The stallion nodded and got up in a single smooth movement, moving past and around her. His hoofsteps faded somewhere behind the unmoving Roseluck before becoming louder as he returned, a long pair of pruning shears in mouth.

Rearing up, the silent pony climbed onto the side of the tree, swaying the scissors from side to side and cutting the branches with firm snips. The parts he cut fell to the ground, crashing at his hooves under Roseluck’s attentive gaze.

Within minutes, the farm pony was done. Twigster was now small, the tree’s summer splendor long gone as its once majestic branches lay in a heap on the ground below. Big Macintosh walked back to her side, the clippers still in mouth. “Whelp,” he said, letting the exclamation hang in the air around them.

“Ummm, yes,” she replied, giving a little chuckle. “We’re... well, we’re not quite done.”

Roseluck walked over to the tree, face blushing slightly, as she dropped to her chest and laid hooves on the tree.

“Fire Blight is a magical ailment, not a fungal infection.” Searching, she found a part where a gouge was cut into the tree, exposing the green of the corewood. She lowered her face to the bark, letting her forehoof rest on the scratch that betrayed a hint of green.

With that, she listened. Her earth pony magic awoke within her, her mark coming to the fore. She felt the life flowing through the tree, how it was still trying to send water to, and retrieve sunlight from, the bits they had just removed, and her heart sank at the feel of it. The mare focused on the roots nearby, felt the way the roots were supporting the entire system. The gift of the earth ponies, the deep, internal magic, moved from her to the tree, and from there into the soil.

"Oh ancient, deep and dark,

causing blight of fire and spark,

return to the earth and be remade,

become blessed once more, be not afraid."

The tree shivered as she removed her hoof from its side, leaving the slightest of impressions. Along the remaining branches, the leaves that were crippled and warped unfolded, regaining a glint of bright green.

“Damnations,” Big Macintosh whispered, gawking at Twigster. “Ah didn’t think that possible.”

With ease, and a little sigh, the mare rose up. A contented smile adorned her face even as sweat fell across her eyes and down the length of her nose. Roseluck swiped a lock of hair thick with perspiration away from her face with a forehoof. She turned again, sighed once more, and found herself looking at Big Macintosh.

The stallion stared back, eyes wide and mouth agape. He shifted his footing before thumping down into a sitting position. “Whelp, that was right impressive, Miss...?” he asked, stressing the question at the end.

Her own eyes sparkled as she answered. “Roseluck. My name is Roseluck.” The mare looked down, a slow blush spreading across her features. Did- did he compliment me?

“A pleasure to meet you, ma’am.” He looked at the tree and the new blossoms and bright green leaves still sprouting across it. “And thank you for the help; much appreciated.”

Her blush deepened, the redness of it crawling across her face. “No problem. It’s my joy to help plants, big and small.”

The pony smiled. “That’s understandable. What you did was mighty impressive. I haven’t seen earth pony magic work like that since I was a foal.”

Roseluck scuffed the ground with a forehoof, turning away. “No, not really. I’m just doing my work.”

One of his brows rose. “Applejack called you?”

“No... no, not really. Apple Bloom did. She said that Twigster needed some help,” she said, her confidence growing as the subject turned to something more mundane.

“Well, she did the right thing. Without you, Twigster might've been a lost cause. Thank you, Miss Roseluck.”

“It’s nothing, really,” she managed to choke out as she attempted to shrivel up and disappear. His green eyes radiated thankfulness, honesty, and worry as he approached her.

“Are you okay, Ma’am?” he asked, bending towards her as his forehead creased, questioning. “You look awfully pale.”

She blinked at him, her face losing what remained of its colour. “I-I’m fine. But, um, maybe you could walk me back? Unless it’s a problem?” she asked, almost pleading. Please say yes, please say yes...

“Nnope, no problem at all,” he said. Moving aside, he extended a foreleg, pointing the way towards the barn and the Apple family’s house. Roseluck stepped past him, flashing a timid smile as she marched across the grassy ground. Big Macintosh walked at her side, keeping pace with the mare.

They trotted side by side quietly, enjoying the fluttering of butterflies and the little motions of nature as dozens of critters played beneath the shadows of the apple trees, running after each other and nibbling at the occasional snack. Birds flew overhead, calling out to each other with their melodic voices and peaceful songs. It’s so romantic, she thought, her gaze working towards the stallion at her side just as she let out a peaceful sigh.

Big Macintosh misunderstood the noise and coughed awkwardly. “So, how’re things in town?” he asked. “I don’t get off the farm too much...”

“It’s the same as always. Quiet, other than the occasional disaster.” She chuckled, happy at how casual the conversation had become. “But on the whole, it’s a nice, quiet town.”

“You’re not from here,” he said, his words halfway between a question and a statement.

“No, I’m from Canterlot.” she replied, quite unsurprised that he could see it in her. “I moved here a while ago. There are a lot of flower shops in Canterlot, too many to start my own. So, I moved here, rented a small shop, and am trying my best to make ends meet.”

He nodded sagely. “You own the flower shop?”

“Yup, the best, and only, one in Ponyville.”

He smiled slyly at her, peeking at her form from the corner of his eyes. “So that’s where ya’ got so good with the plants.”

Roseluck misstepped, almost tripping over the sudden compliment. “I-I’m not that good...”

“Eeyup, you are.”

She tried to hide her blush.

“Ah was right impressed that ya’ were able to rhyme like that as well,” he said, looking out over the farm. “Was that some sort o’ ancient magical spell or some such?”

“Oh, heh, no... I could have said almost anything and it would have worked,” she said, flattered that he had noticed her words. “I-I wrote that myself. I... I just like the poetic way it sounds, that’s all.”

“That right?” he said, his head swinging back towards her. “Ya’ know, I’m a fan of verse mahself...”

Oh, Celestia! Do not say that you like poetry, too! she said, her eyes coming alight. If you do, I’ll drag you into the shade of those trees right now and...

“Well, you’re quite good yourself,” she said, dragging herself out of her train of thought. “You came up with quite the diagnosis back there. You were very close to the solution. And anyway, you’re the one that did all the work, I just sat and watched.”

“Sat and watched?” he repeated in his deep baritone. “What ya’ did there at the end, that was magical... tain’t no other word for it.” He gave a good, firm nod, leaving no room for argument.

Roseluck gulped. He’s awesome. “So... ummm, so... where did you learn to care for plants? I know you work on a farm, but you know more than you’re letting on, I know it.”

He blushed, and she blinked at the sudden reaction, her heart going wild within her chest. “Whelp, I like bucking as much as any other warm-blooded pony, but there’s something about caring for plants that makes me feel... relaxed.”

Roseluck slowed her pace, letting the big pony pass her as she stared after him, blinking dumbly. Oh Celestia, he’s... perfect, she thought as she sat down. Should I... do something? Ask him out, maybe? That’s what Rainy would do. Bu-but I can’t... Can I?

She recalled his gentle baritone and the admiration that appeared in his eyes as he watched her work. Just on a small date, maybe? she argued.

The mare charged ahead, quickly catching up with the stallion. “So, um, Big Macintosh.” He looked down at her, a quiet smile on his large face. “I was wondering, if, maybe, someday you'd like to...”

Roseluck looked away, hoping that her blush wasn’t as strong as it felt. Taking a deep lungful of air, she tried again. “To, uh, go o—”

“—Out!”

Both ponies turned, their gaze shifting onto Raindrops and Applejack.

The mares were at each other’s throats, their hackles raised, as they glared at one another. Applejack stomped forwards, a puff of dust rising off the ground.

“Ah’m telling you, no good’s gonna come out of this!” the cowmare said in an even tone, stabbing a hoof at Raindrop’s chest.

“No good? Your brother’s the one that’s no good!” the pegasus taunted, sticking out her tongue defiantly.

Behind the two of them was the horseshoe rink, though not one of the rounded pieces of metal was near the pole and glass littered the ground near the barn’s side where a window was coincidentally missing.

“Why, I ought to... Don’t you dare talk about my fam’ly like that. You and that... that ugly red head!”

Raindrops took to the air with a single broad strike of her wings, the gust reaching Big Macintosh and Roseluck standing nearby, watching the procession. “Rosey isn’t a... Well, she is a redhead, sorta. But she’s not ugly! I’ll bet she’s better than that fat brother of yours!”

“Better, huh? In what way!” Applejack yelled back as she reared into the air. “Mah brother could beat her at anything!”

“Anything?”

Applejack nodded firmly. “Anything.”

Roseluck groaned, slapping her face with a forehoof. This won’t end well.

“All right, the annual Ponville Poetry Competition is this weekend,” Raindrops said, landing inches away from Applejack’s face.

Roseluck took a half step forwards. “Drippy...”

“I’m sure that fat brother of yours couldn’t come close to touching Roseluck!”

Roseluck and Big Macintosh shared a quick look before she spoke. “This won’t end well, will it?”

“Nnope.”

Applejack stomped the ground, her eye twitching sporadically. “All right, you’re on!”

This... is going to be a problem.

I got to write with Descy!

Written by:
-The Descendant
-RavensDagger

Edited by:
-StapleCactus
-Cpl Hooves
-Frederick the Saiyan