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// Fun in the Fall: 
// Story: The Settlement of Loyalties 
// by LeeWhiteField 
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The interior of the Apple’s quaint but inarguably grand farmhouse was permeated with an enticing hint of Everfree Beech wood smoke, emanating from a comforting fire that flooded the sitting room with warmth and sporadic sharp snaps. A soft bubbling from the kitchen was promissory of a hearty breakfast made from scratch and appetizingly fresh oats and cream. The low groan of hefty semi-formal dining chairs being pushed into place exuded from the arched and open entrances at the two ends of the windowed eating area that faced the house’s interior. Throughout the place, occupants were participating in a variety of undertakings that were relaxing enough for their still sluggish morning metabolisms but engaging enough to gradually raise their energy levels to a functional intensity. 

In the sunny dining room, Bud and Blossom were positioning extra chairs from the kitchen and the Apple family’s set of weathered lawn furniture. They were managing to keep abreast of their father as he supplied the seats from the storage shed for them to arrange. After trundling through the kitchen into the dining room with his latest load, bringing the total to ten, the sizeable earth stallion realized that the table would need to be lengthened in order to accommodate the company. Telling the foals that he had to get the inserts from the barn’s loft, he turned back toward the kitchen and missed the pair of sinister smiles on the siblings’ faces as they lifted off the ground and quietly flapped after their father. 

Exiting onto the porch, Big Macintosh hopped down over the recently repainted red steps and began to cross the yard. Nearing the barn, he suddenly felt a light tap on both of his flanks; bringing him to a halt. He craned his neck to check each side but was met with nothing. Shrugging, he turned to the front only to fall flat on his haunches in surprise as his two youngest pounced on him with a pair of yelps. As he held each in a foreleg, Bud and Blossom savored the satisfaction affiliated with a successful prank by laughing merrily. Big Macintosh’s face slowly shifted from shock to a wicked grin of his own as he began to chuckle menacingly along with them while slowly wrapping his hooves around the foals. Their continued celebration made the siblings oblivious to the impending embarrassment until it was far too late. Suddenly their giggles turned to squealing guffaws as their father launched a merciless assault on their sides which years of horseplay had revealed to be their most ticklish regions. Their flailing hooves were useless as Big Macintosh continued the relentless revenge. An uninterrupted thirty seconds was sufficient to coax a begrudging series of “uncle!” from the young pegasi. Pleased, the powerful pony punctuated his retort with a trinity of kisses on each forehead and cheek respectively before he set them down and bolted for the barn, knowing that with the score momentarily in his favor that they would have to give chase. They wiped their faces with their hooves as they voiced their indignation at such humiliating treatment before proceeding to fulfill their father’s prediction as they raced after him through the crisp air and pristine sunshine; blending their ebullient giggles with his own. 

Meanwhile in the darkened but cozy sitting room, Fluttershy was stoking the fire with a slightly charred brass poker attached and humming softly to anypony and nopony. Across the room, Twilight lounged on the aged albeit festive couch casually perusing through the magic compendium that she had toted in her F.I.T.T. Next to her was an utterly absorbed Rainbow Dash who, having already plowed through a noticeable portion of A Torrent of Talons, was continuing to turn subsequent pages in quick succession. A large braided rug bearing an image of a lush Macintosh apple, with Granny Smith’s signature in the corner to the right of the hearth denoting its status as hoof made, served as a convening spot for guests to socialize. Scootaloo, Sweetie Bell and Windfall lay on their hooves as the dancer related to her honorary niece and one of her two best friends some of the most memorable events involving the latest cast of Moon Lake during their rehearsals. 
Pip and Applebloom sat together on a smaller couch with navy blue upholstery and a frame built from Dodge City cherry that was noticeably less worn than its senior companion seat. The latter of its occupants had crafted it herself in response to the newest additions to the Apple family who were growing larger at a staggering pace. At the moment, rather than procuring a place for happy foals to sit and participate in one of the family’s fireside games of charades or listen to a story from Granny Smith or an aunt or parent before everypony started to drift off to sleep after dinner, it was serving as a love seat for two ponies that were content to simply imbibe one another’s company after four years.

“Vanhoover was right lovely darling. Most of their buildings are wooden what with a forest that dense all around it.” Pip said from his stretched out position on the sofa. His head rested in Applebloom’s lap while she stroked the top of his mane with a hoof. 

“That makes sense.” The engineer replied. “A good-sized part of the country uses their stuff. Ah read bits and pieces in the news about the fightin’ over there but it was always pretty vague. What exactly were you guys doin’?”

Pip paused. He sighed and furrowed his brow. When he began to speak, he was uncharacteristically tentative. “When Los Pegasus seceded and Vanhoover didn’t, a good number of the buggers made for the north…unfortunately they got to the old Wooden City before we did and they were right dug in. Our job was pretty much just prying them loose and for the scouts…” Pip’s eyes glazed over for an instant before he resumed in a more subdued tone. “We just looked for weak points in their roosts where we could get the drop on them.”

Pip’s sudden alteration in demeanor while he told his version of the siege of Vanhoover had not gone unnoticed by his long time marefriend. She recalled when they had first caught sight of one another on the preceding day as Pip approached the farmhouse with Twilight and the unicorn siblings in tow. They had sprinted straight into an embrace without even calling to one another. Applebloom had told herself that she would remain sturdy for her beleaguered soldier. She surmised that he had struggled enough. However, as they held each other at the foot of the porch, she had been surprised to feel wet warmth on the back of her neck. She had not been expecting Pip to cry; nonetheless as his shoulders began to shake with the realization that he was not dreaming again but genuinely holding his beloved, her own determination crumbled and her eyes began to burn as well. Their friends passed respectfully into the house with tender smiles and heartfelt sentiments for the pair.

The two stayed in their embrace and felt no imperative to end it. They seemed obligated to catch up on four years of delayed affections. As Pip ran his hoof through the scarlet mane of the young mare who was desperately nuzzling the side of his face, he managed to calm down enough to tell her how sorely he had missed her. She gladly reciprocated the sentiment and then pulled back to quiet his sobs with a gentle kiss. As they walked inside they wrapped their hooves together and, for the rest of the night, they did so whenever they were in proximity. Absence had indeed made their hearts grow fonder. 

Six years together, despite four being spent waiting out and fighting a war, had brought the couple to the point in their relationship at which they were finely tuned in to what the other was feeling. This revelation, coupled with Pip’s additional displays of affection which were already fairly copious when they had been together before the Flight War, ensured that Pip’s hesitance to discuss his role had been noted by Applebloom.

She had heard enough Equestrian Air Defense Corps stories from her brother in law’s old comrades to understand that pursuing that line of inquiry was not going to help the frightened young veteran who currently seemed so comfortable on her lap. Instead, she drew attention to a term he had used. “Oh yeah Ah remember hearin’ that the rebels in the cities would hunker down on top o’ the sky scrapers. How’d you guys get em’ down, through the buildins’ themselves?”

“Right. Thankfully most pegasi don’t usually think about what’s under their hooves rather than above their wings…no hard feelings mares.” Pip addressed the three winged ponies in the room with a tinge of embarrassment. 

Scootaloo and Fluttershy smiled and waved him off amiably. 

“No problem Mr. Smith.” Windfall respectfully replied, given her limited understanding of the issue. 

Rainbow Dash acknowledged the potential slight by tilting her head to her right and raising a hoof as if to concede that there indeed was some truth to the earth stallion’s statement before returning to her book. 

“Once we had a rooftop,” Pip continued with a suddenly downcast expression, “We’d set up shop there and try to knock down any other roosts that we could reach. The scouts would usually try to find the quickest way up through the buildings.” 

“Sounds kindof fun.” Applebloom said in an attempt to lighten to mood. “Like a big game of hide n’ seek.” She felt her throat tighten as she saw Pip’s eyes ease shut and a crushed frown emerge on his lips.

The toned Trottingham earth pony let out a long sigh before a smile slowly spread across his face. “That’s a right clever way to look at it. Though I doubt most of the blighters could count past five.”

“Try two.” Dash interjected briefly with ample mirth.

The earth pony pair laughed heartily as they pictured a group of confused pegasi rebels trying desperately to count to ten before they could search for the infiltrating scouts. As Pip caught his breath and basked in the joy that his friends could still give him, he looked up at Applebloom again. She was just calming down from her giggling. Even with her cheeks puffed out slightly and her mane in a disheveled state typical of Sweet Apple Acres’ mornings, he found her to be absolutely gorgeous.
Inspired, he then proceeded to tell her just that. “You really are the loveliest mare that I have ever seen.” Pip said with sincerity.

Applebloom beamed. She brought her lips down to his and they kissed sweetly. As she leaned back her smile grew impishly playful. “And we both know full well how many mares you get to look at ya rogue.” 

“Oi you know I turn them all away…and there certainly are a fair few sometimes...” Pip replied, concluding with a deadpan tone and a smirk of his own.

“Don’t flatter yerself mister.” Applebloom giggled as they shared another warm kiss.

Surfacing, Pip got to his hooves and turned to Applebloom. “I’m off to find Soarin’. There was something I wanted to ask him about.”

“Ah think he’s in the kitchen.”

“I love you. Intensely so Applebloom Apple.”

“Ah love you too Squeak.”

With one last peck, Pip trotted off to the kitchen; smiling at the fact that she was the only pony outside of his family who still called him by his childhood nickname. Applebloom rose after a moment of relaxed contentment and joined her fellow crusaders on the rug.

From the kitchen, the indisputable scent of oatmeal laced with cinnamon and some shredded apples that had been picked in the same hour promised an excellent albeit light breakfast. The Apples called it dusty apple oatmeal, an acknowledgement of the sugar and spice coating that each fruit was treated with. It was a signature dish of the hardy farmers and a favorite among their friends and extended family alike. Rarity, who had been awake nearly as long as Fluttershy, stood case in point at the simmering cauldron stirring the oatmeal with a long wooden ladle that maintained a cool handle for the earth ponies that normally used it, despite the fact that she had it gripped in her magical aura. Applejack had enjoyed her breath of crisp morning air and the exciting preliminary race to the late morning’s imminent events but now stood next to her unicorn friend rubbing skinned apples on a tarnished grater. Subsequently she would toss the shreds with a dash of cinnamon and a dollop of sugar before sliding them over to Rarity on a dented tin plate. As they worked, they exchanged stories regarding their respective businesses and discussed the aspects of the now imminent autumn that they were each looking forward to. It helped that cooking was one of the rare undertakings that the two mares mutually enjoyed. 

The bright cabinets and polished countertop stood in contrast to the worn table that was situated opposite to the two mares as they concocted their morning autumn feast. The oaken heirloom that had been built when the Apples first settled near the Everfree Forest certainly showed the years that it had weathered. Its faded blue coat of paint served as a distraction from various stains and nicks on its surface which gave testament to years of vivacious Apple family dinners. Despite its thoroughly utilized appearance, it was nonetheless a genuinely comfortable place to settle into; as Soarin’, who through a combination of his wife’s delicious but healthy cooking and his daily flights and jogs had regained a lean physique, was demonstrating while he skinned apples for his wife to shred. As he worked with a dated but still functional apple peeler that was attached to his hoof with a fetlock rigging, he watched with amusement and an abundance of affection as his four year old son attempted to imitate him with a peeler that was awkwardly oversized for his petite hoof.

Five minutes of consistent effort by young Gust had produced an apple that was peeled of approximately one quarter of its skin. His father, meanwhile, had sloughed the skin of three complete fruits in the same space of time. While watching Soarin’ had indeed provided Gust with a fundamental idea of how to skin an apple, strokes with the peeler were repeatedly sliding harmlessly across the stubborn waxy surface. Eventually, frustration took hold and the blond-maned colt simultaneously set the apple and his utensil embellished hoof down before turning to his father and proclaiming, “daddy, my peeler’s busted.”

Soarin’ cocked his head as the last shred of skin dropped from the apple he was preparing. He pulled another from an iron banded bucket near his hooves and leaned back in the varnished oak chair before asking “what makes you say that Gussy? Looks fine ta’ me.” 

“But it’s not working…” The little pegasus growled as he fixed the offending device with a scathing glare from his freckled sky blue face with its warm hazel green eyes that were failing to emanate any of the sincere chills that the colt wished the wicked peeler would wither under.

His father was now shaking from trying not to laugh at his son’s harsh expression. With a shrieking scoot of his chair on the meticulously swept floor, he moved closer to Gust and took his hoof to examine the problematic peeler. “It looks just like mine best buddy. Are ya’ holding the apples steady with your other hoof while ya’ peel them?” 

“I can’t cause they keep falling over.” Gust’s pout then softened as he became pensive. “The apple bottoms must be broken!” He triumphantly concluded as he lifted his current challenge up to his face to confirm his theory with one eye squeezed shut; much to the joy of his parents. 

Applejack, who had been listening and then watching intently as her son and husband delved into their predicament, snorted loudly as she tried to stifle a laugh. “Ah doubt that’s the problem sugarcube.” She stated with gentle mirth as she trotted over to Gust who was now looking thoroughly puzzled. “Ya gotta really press down with your hoof ta’ make sure that it don’t fall.”

“But I was mommy!” Gust protested. “See watch…” Applejack and Soarin’ obliged as their colt pressed the apple down and worked his way around it. He managed to remove a few strips of skin before, much to his vexation, it slipped out from his hoof. “There see! It has to be broken.” He concluded with another pout, eliciting a series of muffled giggles from Soarin’ this time.

“What’s so funny?” Gust demanded.

“Nothing Gus. Ya’ just look very serious when you make that face.” Soarin’ said with a grin which made Gust wrinkle his 
nose and jab his tongue in his father’s direction; which was quickly reciprocated by the supposedly more mature stallion. 
Applejack rolled her eyes but grinned as her two colts dismounted from their chairs. Rarity emanated a silvery giggle as she watched the pals escalate their exchange to ruffling of the manes and eventually playful wrestling. 

A new occupant of the kitchen, however, momentarily froze the romp and associated amused reverie as he announced himself.

“Oh my…I hope I’m not interrupting something important.” Pip said with his unfailing politeness and a barely disguised grin at the spectacle.

“Not at all Pip my dear.” Rarity happily said to her former test pilot.

“Your fine huhney.” Applejack reassured him.

“Nothin’ to see here brother.” Soarin’ said as he glanced up at his best male friend before giving his son a quick flick on the ear without looking at him.

Gust returned his father’s flagrant violation of their ceasefire with a jab from his little knee before excitedly greeting his aunt’s coltfriend. “Hiya Mr. Smith!” 

Pip trotted over to the pair sitting on the floor with a huge grin as he held his hoof out for Gust to excitedly bump. As the young pegasus looked at Pip with an expression that conveyed a barely restrained coltish admiration for the earth pony soldier, Pip turned to Soarin’ and asked him if they could speak in private on the porch. 

“I hate to interrupt what looks like a jolly good tussle, but it’s important mate.”

Soarin’ glanced from Gust to Applejack who nodded before assuring her husband “Ah’ll show him how to do it.”

“You’re better than me anyway Jackie. Gussy…Dad’s gotta go talk to Pip for a bit so truce until I get back?” Soarin’ entreated with an extended hoof.

Gust smile and bumped it with his own; receiving a kiss on the forehead which he proceeded wipe off with a pout, much to the mares’ amusement.

“Alright Pip. Time for a stallion to stallion. Lead the way.”

Pip took his friend out of the kitchen to the farmhouse’s sturdy but vocally creaky rear porch. As the screen door slammed 
shut behind them Rarity returned to stirring the kettle and, with a kindly but dismissive wave to Applejack, began to shred the apples as well; allowing the rancher to aid her son in his monumental task.

“Alrighty Gus. Let a pro teach ya how ta do it.” Applejack said as she took her son’s seat and gestured for him to hop onto her lap.

Gust obliged as the chair groaned under the little pegasus’ added weight before he redirected his focus on the apple. His mother snapped the peeler on with the deftness of a practiced hoof. Reaching around Gust, she pinned the apple to the table with alternating amounts of pressure which allowed her to spin it as she swept the fruit’s surface with smooth downward strokes. Gust watched with relative neutrality which gave way to interest and eventually moderate shock as Applejack placed her hooves down after a blistering ten seconds to reveal a peeled apple. 

“That’s how ya do it lil’ cowpony.”

“Wow…that was awesome mommy! How’d you do it?”

“Mare power lil’ stallion.” Applejack said with a wink and another chuckle as Gust responded with a pout.

“Naw sugarcube, it’s an earth pony method. We had ta figger out ways to do stuff like this without no fancy magic. No offense Rarity!” Applejack called over her shoulder.

“None taken darling.” Rarity replied without looking away from her work.

“Anyway we been doin’ things like this for awhile now. So like I was sayin’ we’ve had more time ta perfect it.”

“But daddy’s good at it and he’s a pegasus like me!” Gust protested.

“Who do ya think taught him honey?” Applejack replied with a smirk.

“Can you teach me mom?”

“It’d be mah pleasure.” Applejack pulled an apple within reach. Gust reattached his peeler which he had removed before the impromptu battle. As he leaned over the apple, his mother instructed him in the traditional earth pony technique.
“It’s all about balance honey. Pressin’ on the apple hard enough so it don’t roll away but not so hard that ya can’t spin it and pressin’ with the peeler hard enough so that the skin comes off but not so hard that it digs in underneath.”

Gust attempted to utilize the instructions and managed to remove another quarter of the skin before he started to slip. As frustration began to manifest on his face, Applejack leaned forward and gently placed her hoof on top of his; providing the extra pressure needed to hold the apple down.

“You’re gettin’ it sugarcube. Keep goin’ Ah’ll help ya.” The earth pony encouraged.

Gust resumed his work with his tongue leaping to the opposite sides of his mouth. As he and Applejack slowly spun the apple under their hooves, the colt turned to his mother and asked “Mom since you’re and earth pony and daddy’s a pegasus…does that mean I’m half and half?”

Applejack blinked before smiling at her son. “Naw Gust. You’re one hundred percent high flyin’ pegasus. When an earth pony and a pegasus have a foal, the little one ends up bein’ one way r’ the other.”

“But what about aunt Pinkie’s friend Pumpkin Cake? Her mom and dad are earth ponies but she's not.”

“Well sometimes if somepony has a grandparent or a great grandparent or even a great great grandparent who was a different kind of pony, then their younguns’ can be like their ancestors.”

“What’s an ancestor?” Gust asked with an arched eyebrow.

“That’s fancy talk for a grandparent or somepony who came before them.” Applejack explained. 

“So Pumpkin Cake’s ancestors must have been unicorns?”

“Right Gus. Or at least one of em'.” Applejack was satisfied with her son’s quick comprehension. They had already finished peeling the current apple. As his mother patted his withers to demonstrate how impressed she was, Gust had already grabbed another apple and proceeded to peel it on his own. Reaching around him, Applejack did the same. They continued to work methodically as the oatmeal bubbled and their strokes on the apples’ surfaces matched Rarities rhythmic shredding which was only interrupted occasionally by the unicorn’s tossing of an apple with a previously overlooked blemish into a compost-bound basket of skins and nut husks. The sweet scent in the kitchen was spreading to the living room and drawing comments from therein that attested to its allure. 

“Smells awesome in there!”

“That’s dusty apple oatmeal ain’t it?”

“Great idea, that’s perfect for fall!”

“…Rarity you know that oatmeal splatters leave permanent stains right? Like they set in so deep that you can’t get them out even if you used…I dunno, dragon f-fire?”

The last voice, which bore a melodic quality even when it was laced with goading sarcasm, had broken into giggles which were quickly accompanied by the remainder of the room’s occupants. Maintaining an unflappable composure and without even looking up, despite a game smile playing on her lips, Rarity responded “I’m not sure who that was but I just want to let Sweetie Belle know that shredded apples with cinnamon have been known to make even the most powerful singing voices reminiscent of a kazoo. So I’ll be sure to fix you some plain bread and warm water darling.”

As the laughter redoubled in the sitting room coupled with sarcastic chuckles from the young diva that had been addressed, Applejack shook her head slowly with a grin that she failed to suppress. Gust, meanwhile, was glancing thoughtfully toward the room and then became lost in thought. Applejack noticed her son’s uncharacteristic silence and broached “You ok Gussy? Ya look like yur meanderin’ through a durn deep daydream or somethin’…”

His peeler struggled through a final patch of skin before he paused and then looked back at his mother.

“Mom, why did earth ponies sometimes give away their foals if they were pegasuss’s…pegasusesss…if they had wings?” Gust finished.

Applejack’s eyes widened momentarily and Rarity subtly perked an ear in their direction. The farm pony recovered from the rattling inquiry before looking down at her son with an intent expression and responded. “Now what’s got ya’ll wonderin’ about somethin’ like that?”

“I heard daddy talking to Grandpa and Grandma Updraft about it one time.”

“What exactly did they say sugarcube?”

“They talked about how he flew up to Cloudsdale when he was a baby in a basket with a bunch of balloons. I was in his lap falling asleep and he must have thought I already was. I just don’t get it…wh…why would anypony do that to a baby mommy?”

Applejack had set both of her hooves down beside the nicked cutting board and was carefully searching for a suitable answer. The bearer of the Element of Honesty had always lived up to her title in that verity came naturally to her. Therefore, she frequently found herself driven to a fairly pitched frustration when her son posed questions such as the quandary she currently dealt with. When he did so, the frank farm pony was forced, to her husband’s amiable amusement, to deliberate to an excruciating degree on the queries and how to broach their solutions to little Gust without frightening or upsetting him. Regardless of the mental exertion they required to answer, however, Applejack was unfailingly impressed each time her colt asked them and was determined to satisfy his curiosity. 

Sighing as she prepared to speak, Applejack replied “Here’s the thing Gussy, and ya really need to understand this cuz it’s important…grown-ups, even moms and dads make mistakes sometimes.”

Gust was now utterly focused on his mother’s exposition and even Rarity had dropped any pretense of stealth as she listened.

“We do.” Applejack continued with a shrug at her son’s disbelieving expression. “Maws and Paws sometimes end up bringin’ a foal into the world that they’re just not ready to take care of. And sometimes, and this Ah just can’t understand at all, they’re ready for a little colt or filly but then when the little one is born, just because the parents aren’t happy with the fact that the baby has wings or a horn…then they don’t want em’. That’s what happened to daddy.”

“It’s not just earth ponies either Gust. Unicorns have been known to give away pegasi and earth pony babies as well.” Rarity added, trying to soften the blow. 

Nodding appreciatively, Applejack finished “and Ah know that some Pegasi have the same problem with babies that don’t have wings. It ain’t right huhn, it really ain’t…but it does happen like that sometimes. Ya at least sorta get it?”

“…I guess so.” Gust answered tentatively.

Applejack patted him on the back before returning to her peeling. Rarity looked back at the cauldron and stirred listlessly as she mulled over the melancholy subject. Gust picked out his last apple and worked methodically. He believed that he understood what had happened to his father and other babies in similar situations. As peeling steadily became more difficult due to his shaking hooves and eyes which were now blurred with welling tears, however, he found himself thinking about Soarin’ and how heart-broken he himself would have been if his parents had not wanted him. Seeing his withers heaving and hearing his choked sobs as this horrid thought took hold, Applejack immediately turned him to face her asking in alarm “Gussy whatsa matter?”

“D-daddy must have been so s-sad when he found out…I wish they could have l-loved him” Gust managed to blubber.

Rarity had a hoof over her muzzle and was failing in her effort not to start crying herself. Though Applejack was stunned, in quick succession she removed her bracelet rigging and gathered Gust in a hug.

“Oh…oh huhney. Shhh it’s ok, it’s ok shhhh.” She cooed, rubbing her hoof up and down through his little mane. 

Gust bawled softly into his mother’s chest while she gradually calmed him. Rarity slowly approached the pair and placed a hoof on the young pegasus’ back. When his breathing had slowed and his sobs became sprinkled with hiccups, which Rarity could not help but find adorable, the unicorn assured her nephew that Soarin’ had not found out until he was older.

“For what it’s worth darling, that probably made it easier on him.”

“She’s right ya know sugarcube. Grandma and Grandpa Updraft may have only been his adoptive maw and paw but they loved him just like he was their own.”

Gust sniffled and wiped his snout before shakily smiling at his mother and favorite honorary aunt. “I guess you’re right…” As he trailed, however, off his face fell again. 

Sensing his continued distress, Applejack then reassured her colt. “But Gust, there’s something else I want you to know. This is even more important than what I told ya before huhn. Though stuff like that does happen, even though it absolutely shouldn’t…you need to understand that it will never, ever happen to you.”

Gust stared at his mother with moist eyes. He had not realized how desperately he needed to hear that.

“We’re gonna disagree. We’re gonna fight. We’re gonna get mad at each other. But you bein’ born was one of the two happiest moments of my life, right along with marryin’ your daddy…and Ah’m tellin’ you right now, and Ah don’t think Ah’ve ever meant anythin’ so much in my life, your dad and I will always love you.” 

“I speak for the rest of the extended family when I say that we do too Gusty.” Rarity added as she wiped her own eyes. Applejack nodded gratefully.

Gust was ecstatic. As Rarity and Applejack surrounded him in another warm embrace, he found that he felt genuinely safe. As they pulled back and rubbed his withers gently, any trace of tears happily vanished.

“Well look at you, feelin’ better n’ all,” Applejack noted as Gust affirmed her observation. “How bout’ we finish up these apples? You're gettin' good at it Gussy.”

Rarity kissed her nephew on the forehead before remarking “That's perfect. The oatmeal's almost finished and by the time we get your apples in it should be ready.” as she trotted over to peek in the cauldron.

A huge cheer suddenly erupted from the back porch, seemingly to complement this prediction. As Gust and Applejack laughed at Soarin’ and Pip’s timing before turning to finish their last fruits, Rarity muttered something about stallions thinking with their stomachs before turning back to the cauldron. As she added the final garnishes to the feast, she kept stealing glances at her old friend and her immensely happier son. Watching the beautiful colt as he and his mother laughed their way through a mundane autumn task, she had to make a conscious effort not to weep with joy.

Soarin’ and Pip gamboled into the kitchen. The pegasus stallion was ruffling the mane of the younger earth pony and praising him extensively. By now the dusty apple oatmeal was ready as Big Macintosh took the cauldron’s wooden handle in his teeth and turned to the dining room with Rarity close behind bearing a trivet. Pip offered to inform those in the sitting room that breakfast was ready. As he trotted off, Soarin’ strolled over to his wife. As Gust jumped onto his back and hugged his neck, which Soarin’ responded to with a nuzzle before turning to the orange mare, he whispered something to Applejack. 

Following a gasp and a wide smile she excitedly asked “he told you?! When’s he gonna do it??”

“He said he’s gonna wait for an ideal moment this weekend when we’re all together. I think we’ll know when it’s happening.” Soarin’ replied as he kissed his beloved passionately before turning to Gust. “Hey bud, let’s go wake up Granny Smith!”

“OK! Giddyup!” 

Applejack watched them charge off to awaken her aging grandmother who had taken to sleeping later in recent months. It was normal for the time of year when the temperature started to drop. Nonetheless, the farm pony could not deny that Granny Smith was getting older. 

“Seein’ Gussy always does perk her up though.” She reflected with a tender smile. “And boy howdy…I can’t wait to see how Pip does it.” She then trotted off to the dining room which was rapidly filling with ravenous but cheerful ponies.