The Apples had just learned, to their silent horror, that the Pie Family's idea of a Hearth's Warming Dinner... was Rock Soup. As in simple water that had been boiled with nothing but rocks added. Literal rocks. No vegetables, no spices, no hot buns, no pies, no mulled cider. Literally nothing but Rock Soup.
Struggling to hide their disappointment and subtle disgust and maintain their manners, Applejack had just been about to take a sip when-
"Hold on!"
Phew! Applejack mentally thought as everypony saw Pinkie undergo some strange sensations.
"Shuddery shoulders, ears perked, quivering dock!" Pinkie GASPED, "Somepony's about to knock on the door!"
"Prithee continue to enjoy thy meal," Cloudy Quartz walked out of the dining room, "I shalt welcome this unexpected visitor."
"Hold on, Mom!" Pinkie hopped after her mother, "I wanna see who it is, too!"
After seeing the two mares leave, the rest of the Pies turned to look at Applejack again expectantly, and Applejack realized they were waiting for her to resume tasting the soup.
C'mon, AJ, think fast! she thought in slight panic before uttering out, "Uh- Be awful rude t' jus' eat without everypony here, wouldn'it?"
The looks she got from Igneous and Limestone were uncomfortable, but Marble managed to utter, "Mm-hmm," which helped put Applejack at ease a bit.
"So! Wh-wha' kinda things do y'all do here on yer rock farm?" Applejack inquired, "Like... Whattya sell yer rocks for?"
Igneous shared a look with his daughters before taking a breath and-
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Everypony at the dinner table jumped out of their seats and looked to the doorway Cloudy Quartz and Pinkie had gone through to answer the door. But before anypony could go and see what the screaming was about, in zoomed Pinkie, bringing her mother and their apparent guest, seating Cloudy Quartz back beside her husband and... Party Favor between Pinkie and Applejack?!
"Wha' th' hay?!" Applejack uttered, "Party Favor, wha' in Sam Hill're you doin' here?"
"HE'S THE DOOZY!!!" Pinkie pie grinned from ear to ear, eyes wider than dinner plates as she zipped over to Marble, "MARBLE!!! You know how's it's always been so awesome to have big sisters?"
"...mm'hm?" Marble responded, unsure of the question.
"Well... Get ready to feel Super-Dee-Tastic to learn that we..." Pinkie zipped back over to Party, who was forcing a smile as Pinkie declared, "HAVE A BIG BROTHER!!!!!"
That's when Igneous realized who this stallion was, recognizing him as Igneous gave him a stony glare, "So... The prodigal son returns after all these years. Pray tell, Basalt Igneous Pie, what draws thee homeward to face thy family?"
Party pointed out, "Pinkie Pie."
"Me?!" Pinkie gasped with a smile. But then she looked confused, "But hold on! We met a while back, in Starlight's Town place where everypony shared a fake cutie-mark and wore even faker smiles! Why didn't you say anything then?"
"Because at the time I wasn't entirely sure we were related," Party answered before he explained. That he left Nickerlite as a colt, hopping onto a train that took him far away from his hometown before it stopped in Baltimare. There, Party realized the train was a circus train when he was discovered by the circus's best clown, a legendary party pony by the name of Ponyacci.
Ponyacci took Party Favor in, taught him how to make others laugh and showed him all kinds of funny tricks with all kinds of props and gag items. It was during that time Party discovered his talent for twisting balloons into all kinds of miraculous shapes and found they could be used as the things he modeled them into, and that's how he got his cutie-mark. Eventually, he grew up and the circus fell on hard times that many of the performers lost their jobs, including Party Favor. Ponyacci gave Party a warm farewell and encouraged him to go out and find his place in the world.
While traveling, Party Favor signed up for a correspondence course in magic to advance his magical skills and knowledge, leading him to be talented in Enchantments, which he used to improve his balloons with magical properties. But all too quickly there came a sameness to the journeying. He became alone, uncertain, directionless. Then, he came across Starlight Glimmer's Town, and fell into her web of lies and deceit, that his cutie-mark had led him nowhere and in a moment of weakness he forsake it.
"...then you and your friends came," Party Favor reached over, putting a hoof onto Pinkie's shoulder, "and thanks to you all, Starlight was exposed for she truly was and my friends and I realized how misguided and we had been to give up our cutie-marks."
"But... that still doesn't explain why you didn't tell me who you are," Pinkie reminded.
"I left this place before you were born, Pinkie," Party Favor sighed, feeling a little ashamed, "I knew our mother was expecting twins, but... I wasn't happy here."
"Why not?!" Pinkie was stumped to how this brother she never knew she had couldn't have been happy with his family.
"Maybe if thou had been true to thy family's ways," Igneous spoke up, no longer able to stay silent, "thou might have been better off."
Party Favor narrowed his eyes at his father, "I came here to make amends, not to argue. So why don't we just..."
It was at this point Party finally noticed, with bitter familiarity, that dinner was Rock Soup.
"Ugh, on second thought."
He reached under the table and pulled out some saddlebags he'd brought, saying, "I brought my own food."
Then, with a whirl of his hooves, Party Favor brought out warm pies, buttered rolls, a bowl of mashed potatoes with gravy, a jug of cider, and extra bowls, plates, and cups, "And I'm happy to share."
Without asking or waiting, Party Favor served up slices of his pies to the Apples, as well as Pinkie, along with helpings of the rest of his food, which he placed around the container of Rock Soup. Igneous bit his lip with annoyance while Cloudy Quartz looked back and forth her son and husband with discomfort. Limestone sneered at the food and turned her nose up at it, Maud showed no reaction, and Marble hid behind her mane.
"Please, everypony," Party Favor smiled, albeit just a slight smugly, "enjoy."
He looked to his father and said, "And everypony else is welcome to help themselves to anything on the table."
He began eating, and Pinkie decided to try the food Party had brought, which was enough for the Apples to sample Party's food. However, the rest of the Pies refused to touch what Party had set upon their dinner table, as Igneous said, "T'would appear thou hath forgotten proper manners regarding dinner, Basalt Pie, where good and polite ponies eat what's put in front of them."
Party paused in the midst of eating a spoonful of mashed potatoes, before raising his brow at Igneous, "Well, I agree manners are important, but I think good ponies feed their kids food that is edible and nutritious, and actually tastes good and makes them happy!"
"Uh- Why don't we all just finish up dinner, and then we can move on and make our Hearth's Warming Dolls!" Pinkie suggested with a slightly nervous chuckle.
"Ah'm in!" "Me too!" "Darn tootin'!"
The Apples finished up their meals quick, and stepped out of the dining room, quickly making their way up to the guestroom they were staying in.
"Boy howdy, did tha' seem like it was goin' off rails!" Applejack commented.
"Wow! So Pinkie Pie has a big brother," Apple Bloom noted before looking a little upset, "But... how come they din't seem all tha' happy t' see him? An' why was Party actin' tha' way?"
"Well, sugarcube, Ah think Party has some... issues wit' his fam'ly he never really took care of," Granny Smith answered, "an' him showin' up outta th' blue an' all jus' caught Pinkie's fam'ly by surprise."
"Well Ah hope things get better, but Ah gotta feelin' they're gonna get worse first," Applejack added.
"HEY APPLES! We're going outside to make our Hearth's Warming Dolls, c'mon!"
The Apples shared a hesitant look, but sighed, Applejack saying, "C'mon, y'all, Ah'm sure we can still make this a Hearth's Warmin' t' remember!"
Pinkie led everypony down to the quarry, and once she was sure everypony was present, she held up a rock, saying, "Who wants a Hearth's Warming Doll?!"
Applejack looked confusedly at her sister and grandmother who mirrored it with their own before asking, "Are you sayin' tha' rock is a Hearth's Warming doll?"
"Don't be silly, Silly!" Pinkie picked up a miniature pick axe before placing the rock on a stony pedestal and gave it a sharp tap. The rock quickly split, pieces falling way, to reveal a rock roughly shaped like Pinkie Pie.
"Our dolls are these little pieces! Isn't that right, Marble Pie?"
Marble blushed a bit for being put on the spot but responded, "Mm-hmm."
Then the rest of the Pies starting picking away at the rocks they'd chosen and were carving out their dolls. Party Favor noticed the looks on the Apples' faces and zipped over, "Why settle for boring and depressing dolls made of rocks..."
He blew out some balloons and quickly twisted and turned them over before holding up a balloon model of himself, "...when you can have dolls bright, colorful, and huggable?! I could make some of you guys, if you like!"
"Really? Thanks, Party Favor!" Apple Bloom smiled.
"Sign me up!" Granny Smith added.
Applejack could understand why her sister and grandmother would prefer Party Favor's alternative, but when she gazed towards the Pies... Igneous was beginning to grind his teeth in annoyance while Limestone was furrowing her brows with fury. Cloudy Quartz, Marble Pie, and Pinkie Pie all shared looks of anxious discomfort, and Maud... displayed no emotional reaction whatsoever.
"Uh- Tha's mighty nice o' you, Party, but..." Applejack took a random rock and placed it on one of the pedestals, "Ah think Ah'll try makin' mahn th' traditional way."
Honestly, Applejack wanted a doll made from Party's balloons too, but she hoped this gesture would help defuse some of the tension building up between the Pies and Party Favor. Of course, her rock doll didn't turn out well, but Pinkie Pie zipped over, whispering, "Thanks for that, AJ. I don't know why my parents and sisters aren't warming up to Party!"
"For tha' matter," Applejack pointed out, "seems t' me tha' Party ain't so keen on yer fam'ly traditions."
"Well, hopefully these frowns'll turn upside down once we get to the Flag-Finding Mission!" Pinkie whispered excitedly.
"Wha'-findin' wha', now?"
After the dolls were made and taken inside, Pinkie had everyone gather in front of Holder's Boulder, stating, "Limestone Pie, you're the judge!"
She then zipped around, putting ponies together, "Party Favor, you and Marble will be Team 1!"
Party Favor barely seen much of Marble, and given the way she shied from him and hid behind her mane, it wasn't surprising. It made him feel just slightly down, as he was used to making ponies happy.
"Apple Bloom, you and Maud will be Team 2!" Pinkie said as she set the filly by Maud, who didn't show any reaction.
"Ma? Pa? You're gonna be with Granny Smith," Pinkie said before setting the elderly mare between them, "Don't think of it as 'team Old', think of it as Team 3!"
She then zipped to Applejack's side, "And I'm with Applejack, of course, since we might be cousins!"
"So now tha' wer' all split up," Applejack brought up, "mind tellin' us wha' wer' doin'?"
Pinkie trotted up onto Holder's Boulder, "As everypony knows-"
"STAY OFF HOLDER'S BOULDER!!!" screamed Limestone, causing Pinkie to 'sheesh' before hopping down.
Party Favor rolled his eyes, Some things never change...
He could recall the many times he'd accidentally bumped into that stupid boulder and Limestone would tattle on him and get him in trouble.
"When the three tribes united to form Equestria," Pinkie began, "the first flag was sewn by Nimble Thimble. It's tradition to raise a flag on Hearth's Warming to celebrate that famous day."
As the ponies nodded and murmured in agreement, Pinkie then asked, "But who gets to put the flag on Holder's Boulder?"
"Don't you mean th' flagpole?" Applejack asked.
"No, she means the boulder, because its the highest point around here," Party Favor said tiresomely, "and instead of the youngest raising the flag, the tradition here is to have a corny scavenger hunt, where the winner is the one who gets to raise the flag."
"What's wrong with that?" Pinkie was a little stumped by Party's lack of enthusiasm.
"Oh nothing, if you don't mind never getting the chance, even once, to raise a Hearth's Warming flag during your foalhood," Party Favor threw a stink eye towards his parents and to his sisters, Limestone and Maud.
"And you know, I could honestly not take that so personally if it weren't for what this family does after the flag is raised..."
"Basalt Pie, I believeth thou hath made thy-" Cloudy tried to say, only for Pinkie to interrupt.
"Whattya mean? After the flag-raising, we hide presents!" Pinkie said excitably, to the Apples' confusion.
"Y'all hide yer presents?!" Applejack didn't understand.
"Of course! What's more fun than getting a present?" Pinkie asked before answering, "FINDING A PRESENT!!"
"Except almost nopony ever finds their presents," Party Favor added before he began his rant, "Every year, we did these rock-based traditions! Rock Soup for Hearth's Warming Dinner, making dolls out of rocks, finding a drawing of a rock to hang the flag on a rock, and then hiding presents instead of exchanging them!"
"The traditions are not what matter, Basalt Pie!" Igneous stepped forward, sternly stating, "It's the reasons behind them and the ponies thou do them with! But then, thou never truly appreciated how hard thy mother and I worked to provide thee and thy sisters with everything we did, but lo, thou could only bemoan and whine and set poor examples for thy sisters!
"But then I shouldn't be surprised that a unicorn could never understand nor appreciate our ways."
There was a collective GASP and almost instantly, Igneous realized he'd gone too far, especially when he saw the look on his son's face. It was stony, but the tear that ran down the young stallion's face made it clear.
"My entire colthood, you punished me for being born with this horn on my head," Party Favor spoke softly, "you saw a whiny lazy colt because that's all you cared to see. You never once considered how miserable I was, growing up on this farm, how alone I felt, a unicorn born to a family of earth ponies. How small and worthless you and her" - Party pointed to Limestone who scoffed at the accusation - "made me feel day after day after day. And you two!"
This time, Party pointed to his mother and Maud, "You hardly did anything at all! You never stuck up for me, barely comforted me, listened to me, or even took the time to cheer me up! The only one who ever really cared was Granny Pie! She was the one who first told me how wonderful Hearth's Warming can be, but your traditions are nothing but a bad and depressing joke!
"Rock Soup?! I had to choke down every pebble because you wouldn't let me leave the table! Why bother making dolls out of rocks when we're just gonna throw them away afterwards?! I don't really mind the scavenger hunt to decide who would raise the flag, but hiding the presents instead of just giving them to each other?! Every year, I was disappointed because I could never find my presents, and nopony could appreciate the presents I wanted to give because you all made me hide them and wouldn't even let me hint to you where they were so you could find them! One year, I got you a new pipe but you never found it! The year before, I made a geode pendant for Ma but she never found it! And another time. I found some rare rocks for Maud, she never found them, and of course Limestone didn't find my presents for her either!
"SO WHAT'S THE POINT OF EVEN HAVING PRESENTS IF YOU NEVER GIVE OR RECEIVE THEM?! And every time I worked up enough courage to try and stand up for myself, you always just talked down to me or spanked me or locked me in my room without dinner, Pa! I'm sorry I left before Pinkie and Marble were born, but I couldn't stand living on this Rock Farm another day! I have my regrets, but running away from this place was the best decision I ever made!"
The silence that followed was bitterly uncomfortable. Everypony was sharing looks of discomfort and uncertainty, but Party Favor and Igneous held each other's gaze, before the older stallion snorted and asked, "Then why did thee even bother coming back?"
Mores GASPS were uttered, from Cloudy, Granny Smith, Applejack, Marble, Apple Bloom, and especially Pinkie, who looked to be on the verge of tears as her mane was starting to deflate.
"I thought I wanted to repair something that was broken," Party Favor sighed as he turned away, "but now I realize, there was never anything to fix."
As Party Favor walked away, leaving the Rock Farm once again, Pinkie tried to hold back the sobs, but broke into tears, her mane turnin completely straight, before she hurried inside to cry, Maud and Marble hurrying in after her out of worry.