“So have you been enjoying yourself, Braeburn?” asked Applejack as she bucked against one of the apple trees on Sweet Apple Acres. The force was enough to shake free a number of apples and make them fall mostly in the baskets she had set up around it.
“My vacation’s been fun getting a break from chores in Appleloosa,” he told her before bucking one of the apple trees himself. “But why am I doing it over here instead?”
“Even on vacation, every Apple knows the value of a hard day’s work,” she reminded him. “And you wouldn’t want to get rusty now, would you?”
“Guess I can’t argue with you there,” he conceded with a chuckle as he bucked at his tree again only to have a single apple drop and miss all the buckets he had around it. “And a bit of practice might be a good idea too.”
The two continued to collect apples for a while till they were hauling a half dozen bushels back to the barn in a wagon. “So, you’ve visited Aunt and Uncle Orange in Manehatten, then went sightseeing in Canterlot and the Crystal Empire before coming here? You’ve sure been globetrotting these last couple of weeks. Are you going home after your visit here?”
“A day in Dodge Junction to do a small errand. It’s on the way so I’ll be heading home right after. I admit it has been quite a lot to do but it still hardly compares to some of your exploits,” he reminded her. “And you might be the first Apple ever to venture beyond Equestria’s borders too.”
“You got me there, though none of those were because I was on vacation,” she said while opening the door to the barn to push the wagon inside. She then got to work inspecting the apples in the first basket, making sure each one was free of bruises, rot, and bugs.
“Still the sights you must’ve seen,” he replied trying to imagine them for himself. “What were the apple trees like outside of Equestria? I’m sure that’s something you’d notice in a heartbeat no matter the reason for your travels.”
“I actually didn’t see any apple trees,” she admitted.
“Not a one?” asked Braeburn again in disbelief.
“Well, Klugetown was located in the middle of a desert and doesn’t seem like the sort of place anyone would willingly want to settle down in. There was also Hippogriffia where the hippogriffs live. It got pretty run down after they fled underwater to escape the Storm King, but since that whole fiasco they’ve started to rebuild it. Anywho, why are you so interested in all that?”
“I was just wondering if you ever put any thought into leaving Sweet Apple Acres to start a farm of your own.”
“Sweet Apple Acres is my home,” argued Applejack. “This place wouldn’t be able to take care of itself without me around. Why the hay would I ever want to leave it In the first place?”
“Well, I don’t mean leave right now, but someday,” Braeburn specified. “Take me for example, I left home to head out to Appleloosa to help with the apple farming there. It wasn’t something I had to do, but I needed to do for myself because, well, remember when my big brother got married and had a few colts of his own?”
“Yeah and you were more excited than a bucking bronco to be an uncle,” recalled Applejack remaining focused on inspecting the apples in the containers through all their conversing. “But I don’t understand what that has to do with you going to Appleloosa.”
“After a few years, when they were old enough to buck apples for themselves they worked on the farm too and while more hooves made the workload lighter all around I was starting to feel a bit out of sorts. I mean, he was still my brother, but now he was raising a family of his own and I sort of felt like that extra apple pie in a baker’s dozen. For a time, I began to ponder just what I should do and then I heard about the big expansion out west and the need for hard working types like myself. It was at that moment I knew that I had to go there and right away I found renewed purpose in my life. True, I missed the farm like crazy when I left, but my brother and everypony else on the farm gave me their blessing and threw me one wild sendoff party.”
“I never knew that was part of the reason you made tracks down there,” said Applejack before pausing for a moment to think. “Now hold your horses. You wouldn’t be bringing all this up now on account of Big Mac’s got himself a girlfriend now, are you?”
“Well, he went off to visit her just this morning with bells on his hooves and I heard from Applebloom that he’s even planning on inviting her over for Hearth’s Warming. Reminds me of when my brother was courting and not long after that they got hitched.”
“I doubt either Big Mac or Sugar Belle are interested in getting married anytime soon,” countered Applejack showing a bit of agitation in her voice that was steadily rising. “And even if they were to someday get married and have younguns of their own that doesn’t mean I’ll end up feeling like the odd pony out and leave for greener pastures. My home is here and so are all my friends. I could never leave them. I just couldn’t.”
“Sorry, cuz,” Braeburn apologized looking at the stern glare Applejack was giving him. “I didn’t mean to get you upset. I wasn’t trying to tell you that you had to leave Sweet Apple Acres, but just because you don’t think you’ll ever want to leave it today doesn’t mean you’ll feel the same way in the future. Things can change.”
“Has anyone seen my reading glasses!” Granny Smith called from outside the barn. “Hello? Anypony here?”
“Oh, boy, this could take a while,” sighed Applejack. “Granny forgot where she put her glasses again.”
“I can give her a hoof so you don’t have to interrupt your work,” offered Braeburn. “Where does she usually keep them?”
“If you really want to, alright. Well, half the time they are on her head,” instructed Applejack. “But don’t tell her they are. Nothing gets her more ornery than feeling she’s gone senile. Just find some way to sneak them off her head and pretend you found them someplace else.”
“What if she doesn’t have them on her head?” asked Braeburn.
“Then they could be anywhere from Sweet Apple Acres to Town Hall,” she continued. “In which case, good luck.”
“Well, keeping my hooves crossed,” breathed Braeburn as he went to take a peek outside and saw Granny Smith’s reading glasses were on her head. “Oh, good, they are there. So, just how do I get them off her head without her noticing?”
“With a lot of patience, some creative thinking, and even more luck,” Applejack explained with bit of a smart alec grin on her face. “Did you think this would be easier? The other one’s like finding a needle in a haystack. This is more like retrieving a needle from a rattler pit.”
“Whoa nelly,” panted Braeburn perspiring and shaking a bit.
“Where in tarnation is everyone,” hollered Granny Smith losing her patience.
“Guess I better get going,” he told Applejack. “I’m sure I’ll be able to handle it just fine, right?” He slipped out of the barn and approached Granny Smith, his voice cracking as he greeted her. “H-hey Granny Smith. You need help with something?”
“Heheh,” snickered Applejack. “I’m almost tempted to sneak out and see how well he does.” She could overhear them talking for a bit longer, but then they moved further away and everything went quiet leaving Applejack alone in silence. “Things could change, huh,” pondered Applejack looking a bright, red apple she held in her hoof. It seemed perfectly fine, but as she turned to see it’s other side she there was a bruise on it. She froze for a moment considering everything that Braeburn had told her.