After walking back to the farmhouse, Apple Bloom lead Darrus inside and towards the kitchen, where she sat down and tapped the back of a chair beside her to signal to Darrus to sit there. Moments later, Applejack returned to the table and set down a large salad bowl in the middle of it before taking her seat at one end of the table, closest to Apple Bloom. Granny Smith was the first to arrive, apparently having returned from her trip to the market while Apple Bloom and Darrus had gone to her club house. As Granny Smith sat down at the table across from Applejack, she stared intently at Darrus as somepony might if they were trying to place a face to something in their memory.

"Whose cousin are you again? Or are you a nephew? Horse apples, Ah swear this family gets bigger every day," she muttered, each family member waiting for the fourth to arrive. As they did that, Applejack spoke up to correct Granny smith. "Granny Smith, he ain't family. This here's--"

She was cut off by Granny Smith as she said. "Ain't family? Does that mean he's yer coltfriend, Applejack? When did you get a coltfriend? Now listen here, sonny," Granny Smith said as she looked over to Darrus as Applejack rose a hoof to cover her face in embarrassment, moments before Big Macintosh walked into the kitchen and took his place at the table across from Apple Bloom. "Okay! Everypony's here, let's chow down!" Applejack called out, interrupting whatever lecture Granny Smith was giving Darrus about treating Applejack right or some such.

As she began piling some salad onto her plate she'd set out before the meal, just as she'd done for everypony else, she spoke up. "Everypony, this's Darrus. He's gonna be helpin' around the farm, partly 'cause as y'all know when cider season rolls around, Ah'm expectin' a lot more demand this year--and hopin' to get a lot more cider made. Darrus, this is Granny Smith," she said, gesturing with a hoof to the elderly pony across the table, who was still watching Darrus with a critical eye, before gesturing over to Big Mac with the same hoof. "An' Big MacIntosh, mah big brother," she introduced, earning a simple "eeyup" in greeting from the large stallion who was beginning to pour the apple-flavored dressing on offer over his salad.

"So, Darrus, Apple Bloom," Applejack said after preparing her own salad. "How'd visitin' the club house go? What kept y'all out there so long?" She kept her gaze on Apple Bloom after that, trying to use her expressions as a gauge to figure out what might have happened, but she just kept her attention held on the salad in front of her, making that just a little bit difficult for her...