//------------------------------//
// The Apple Policy 
// Story: The Apple Policy (A Braeburn x Soarin fic) 
// by night_shade2 
//------------------------------//

"An' stay down!" yelled my very angry father, as he kicked me out the door. 

"Omf!" I groaned as a suitcase of my stuff landed on me.

My father looked down upon me and said, "You are not an' Apple anymore Braeburn." He slammed the door shut and locked the door. 

"Geez," I said getting up, "He didn' need to be so mean about it." I walked down the dirt roads of Appleloosa. I knew I couldn't stay here, it was policy. "Stupid policy," I muttered under my breath, "I wished it nevah existed." I kicked the ground my fore-hoof. I kept walking to the edge of the town. If I stayed here, I could face even worse punishment from my father and the rest of the Apples here. Then I realized something, something important. "Buck!" I cursed. Apple Jack, Granny Smith, Apple Bloom, and Big Macintosh were coming tomorrow to visit, and I was supposed to greet them. "Oh well, somepony else will have to greet them." I said with a disappointed tone. I hung my head low and kept on walking towards the edge of town. 

Then suddenly, I felt a pair of hooves on my shoulder and a cool breeze on my back. "Go away Soarin," I said to my stallionfriend, "Just please, go away. I-I just want to be alone." I kept walking towards the edge of Appleloosa, staring at the ground.
"Braeburn!" cried out Soarin, as he flew in front of me, "What's wrong?" I turned in the opposite direction of the pegasus. "Babe!" cried out Soarin again. 

"Go away Soarin! This is none of your business." I demanded. I didn't want Soarin to get involved with this. I love him too much to even consider putting that burden on him. I kept walking. Soarin got in front of me again. "Soarin I won't ask you 
again, so move. This is none of your concern." I said stamping my hoof on the ground. 

"Brae, this is of my concern. Now tell me what happened." The pegasus demanded. I just pushed him out of the way and ran for the train.

"I'm sorry Soarin!" I screamed as I ran, tears flying into the wind. 

I almost made it to the train station, if it weren't for the pegasus I was dating. He tackled me to the ground and pined my hooves above my head. "Now tell me what's wrong," said Soarin.

"This don' concern you Soarin. Trust me, ya don' want to be dragged into this," I said trying to dodge his stare, "Now let me go Soar-" I was cutoff by a kiss. A gentle and warm kiss. 

I wanted to kiss him so badly and tell him about the Apple Policy, but I couldn't. I couldn't bear to set that knowledge upon him. I pushed the blue stallion off of me and said, "Goodbye Soarin." I turned to get on the train, but a sharp pain ran through my body. I turned around and screamed, "Soarin get off my tail!" I tried to shake him off, but he just clenched down tighter.

Muffled, he said, "No. Not until you tell me what's wrong." I tried to shake him off again, but it was no use. I couldn't shake him off, so I tried to reason with him.

"Soarin! Get off! I'm tryin' to protect y'all," I said again, crying, not from pain, but my heart shattering slowly, "Please! I love ya too much. Please get off before-" Before I could finish my statement I heard the loud and low sound of my father's voice.

"Let him go you feather brained pegasus," said my father, annoyed. 

A swift kick followed. It hit Soarin, making the Wonderbolt fly without his wings into the side of the train station. "Soarin!" I screamed, running towards the pegasus. 

"Leave now or you know what'll happen Brae," said my father, warning me of what was to happen if I didn't leave.

My father got into an offensive position, ready to attack at any moment. "I'll- We'll leave," I said, holding the unconscious stallion in my hooves, "Just go dad. Leave us alone. Once the sun rises you have to....you have to kill me." My father smirked in victory.

"Ha, you remembered. I didn' want to do 'is to y'all, but rules are rules. Now leave, I'll tell Apple Jack everthin'," He said smugly.

And with that I pulled Soarin onto the train and disappeared into the night. My head hung low as I put Soarin on a seat. I paid the conductor for our sudden presence on the train. He said we could stay there for the night, but had to leave in the morning. That was plenty fine with me, considering I had an unconscious stallion with me and no place to go.

Once the morning came 'round I was woken by reflex. Celestia was making the Sun rise now, waking it from its nightly slumber. "Dawn," I said, remembering all those days in Appleloosa. I sank back down in my seat, staring at the sunrise. "Soarin, wake up," I said, shaking the pegasus with my hoof. 

"Hm? Wha? Brae? What happened?" asked Soarin, rubbing his head, "What time is it?" 

"Morning, now hush up and watch the sunrise," I said. The sunrise was so beautiful to watch. I've seen it everyday since I was a foal. 

Soarin yawned and said, "I've never been up this early." He watched with me as the Sun rose higher into the sky, making the pretty colors of dawn fade away. Then Soarin said, "Wait.....oh no, Spitfire's gonna kill me." He was worried, very worried. Who wouldn't be afraid of a pony named "Spitfire" ? 

I tried to soothe him, "It'll be fine Soar. If Spit yells at y'all, I'll take responsibility." I kissed his cheek and blushed. "Sorry for gettin' y'all involved with this," I said, gesturing to nothing, "We have to get off soon. I think we're goin' to Hoofston. It ain't as far as you think from Appleloosa. I can't go with you though. I'm banned from entering my hometown ever again, that is until I prove that I'm not a colt cuddler." I noticed Soarin's widen. 

"Hey Brae," said Soarin, "What happened last night? Like I know the events, but I'm still confused." 

I wanted to avoid this question, but sighed with defeat as I began to explain everything. "Soarin, I wanted to avoid this, but it seems I can't. I may as well tell you, but you've got to promise me that you wont tell a soul," Soarin nodded and so I continued, "There's this sorta code in the Apple family called the "Apple Policy". It serves as a set of rules for all members of the Apple family. There's a few that included the basic elements of harmony: kindness, honesty, loyalty, generosity. Those are the basic few, but then it gets complicated. I broke the rules of: nevah to be a colt cuddler, datin' somepony who's not an earth pony, cloppin' around with 'em, cloppin' before marriage, and the most sacred rules. Our sacred rules. They apply directly to the family and we all follow 'em, like a cow follows the herd; never failin' to obey them or resist accepting the consequences. I nevah told my family 'bout us, so I wasn' honest nor loyal to my family. I betrayed the family. This results in shunning and excommunication from all of the Apple family. If I didn't leave Appleloosa right 'ere and then, it would have resulted in death or at best, a good beatin'. The Apple Policy applies to all who bear the last name of Apple, from the when it was made by the first Apple to the last one, it will apply to all." I put my head in my hooves and cried. 

Soarin held me close and said, "It will be okay Brae. I love you and plus, it's the end of the tour. I know you can't walk on clouds, but I'm thinking about settling down with somepony soon. Being a Wonderbolt really takes a toll on you." 

"D-don' do that for me Soar. I ain't deserve it or you. I wish things were differen' Soar, but rules are rules. I want you to find somepony more deserving of your love than me. I love you Soar," I said with heavy sobbing.

Soarin kissed me and said, "I love you too and I'm not going to let anypony or any policy stop us. I love you Braeburn too much. When I first met you, I wasn't in a good place at the time. Fillies and mares were all over me and I didn't like it, so I turned to drinking and being bitter all the time. Nopony knows I'm a colt cuddler, well nopony except for you," we both laughed at that before he continued, "Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, etc. They were both all over me. Thank Celestia I met you. I met you when I was running from my problems in life. I literally ran into you and then this happened. All of two years ago." 

I reminisced on the memories with Soarin. A blue pegasus, who I was not familiar with at the time, had run into me. He was very lost and afraid and a bit drunk. I had agreed at help him, which resulted in infatuation and a bit of clopping around with him. An earth pony, visiting Canterlot, had met the pegasus stallion of his dreams all in one night. I kissed Soarin again and said, "I love you." I rolled off of his lap and walked towards the door. "You comin'?" I asked. 

Soarin looked at me with love and said, "Yeah." 

We walked off the train and onto the platform, hoof and hoof, not caring what anypony else thought of us. Just the two of us, together.....forever.




I love him....