The next morning dawned over Ponyville and Buttercup sighed gently as she rose from her bed. Bright Mac was- as usual- missing from the bed, with a note on the nightstand.
“Good morning, Buttercup! Ma and I are out working, but we made breakfast for you and the foals!” the note said.
Buttercup chuckled indulgently and carefully walked through the house so she didn’t wake Big Mac or Apple Bloom, but she noticed the door to Applejack’s room was open and the filly was missing. Buttercup moved a bit more quickly down the stairs and into the living room, where she found Applejack staring at the foals sleeping on the couch.
“Applejack,” Buttercup admonished, “please don’t tell me you were up all night watching them.”
Applejack turned around and sighed. “Naw, Pa just woke me up on accident when he ‘n’ Granny were gettin’ ready to head out.”
Buttercup nodded and smiled. “Have you had breakfast yet?” she asked.
Applejack shook her head. “Ah... Ah was just... Ma, I dunno what ta think ‘bout these two.”
Buttercup clutched her daughter in a hug. “If I’m bein’ honest, neither do I. But they’re family now, and family protects each other, right?”
Applejack nodded before sighing. “...And what if they turn out ta be evil?”
Buttercup giggled. “Then we show ‘em how to be good. Show ‘em what it means to be an Apple.”
Applejack smiled. “...Yeah, Ah can do that. Ah’ll be the best Apple they’ll ever see!”
Buttercup rubbed Applejack’s back. “That’s my girl. Now, since you’re up let’s get some breakfast. Your pa and granny made some before they left, and it just might be apple fritter flapjacks if that smell’s anything to go by!”
Applejack beamed and hurried to the kitchen before gasping.
“Something wrong?” Buttercup worried.
“N-No, Ma, just...” Applejack stumbled back out. “A-Ah got my cutie mark!”
On Applejack’s flank were five crimson apples arranged in a star formation.
“Ma, what... what does it mean?” Applejack wondered.
Buttercup shook herself out of her stupor, thought for a moment, and grinned. “I think it means that you’re meant to be the absolute best sister you can be.”
“Really?” Applejack murmured. “How can ya tell?”
Buttercup explained, “There are five apples there, and you got it just after resolving to be the best example for Shooting Star and Pine Tree that you can be.” She proceeded to point at each apple as she continued, “So there’s one for you, one for Big Mac, one for Apple Bloom, one for Shooting Star, and one for Pine Tree.”
Applejack’s look of shock morphed into exhilaration. “That’s amazing!”
“Let’s wait for Big Mac to wake up on his own and then we’ll go show your pa and Granny.”
Applejack nodded excitedly before grabbing breakfast for herself and Buttercup. As Buttercup had suspected, it was apple fritter flapjacks, to their shared delight.
Big Mac woke up within an hour and celebrated Applejack’s cutie mark with her. Once he was finished with breakfast, the three of them teamed up to get the youngest foals some food. Buttercup threw together some oatmeal and warm milk for them, electing not to test allergies for Pine Tree or Shooting Star until they were old enough to properly communicate pain or discomfort.
Shooting Star was the easiest to feed... or would have been if Pine Tree had allowed Buttercup or Big Mac to get the food near her. Buttercup noticed that Pine Tree seemed terrified of letting any of them near Shooting Star and sighed. She diverted her attention to the colt and hummed gently and looked him directly in the eyes as she got a spoonful of oatmeal in his mouth. Pine Tree’s trust successfully gained, the foals were fed in short order and the spills were cleaned up even more quickly.
As the smallest filly, Apple Bloom was curled up on Applejack’s back, and Pine Tree and Shooting Star were set on Buttercup and Big Mac’s backs respectively. After ensuring the foals were secure, the three went off to share the morning’s news with Bright Mac and Granny Smith.
Granny Smith was ecstatic about Applejack’s new cutie mark, particularly once Buttercup explained her idea about its meaning. Bright Mac was just happy to see that Shooting Star and Pine Tree were becoming a real part of the family so quickly.
“C’mon!” Applejack insisted. “If Ah’m gonna be the best Apple Ah can for ‘em, I wanna show ‘em applebuckin’!”
Granny and Buttercup shared a giggle, while Bright Mac sighed knowingly. He took Apple Bloom off Applejack’s back and Applejack rushed up to the nearest tree.
“Alright, this is how you get the apples off a tree!” Applejack explained. “First ya plant your front hooves into the ground... then ya brace yerself, and then... KICK!”
The tree behind her shuddered and its apples fell to the ground. Shooting Star clapped giddily, while Pine Tree cocked his head curiously.
“Good form, Applejack!” Granny Smith praised. “Yer gettin’ good at this!”
Applejack blushed at the praise and picked up the apples to put them in a nearby basket.
“And that’s how we do it!” Applejack announced with a beaming smile. Shooting Star clapped again and Pine Tree giggled at his sister’s enthusiasm.
The rest of the day was spent showing the youngest foals around Sweet Apple Acres as Applejack and Granny Smith animatedly described life on the farm to them.
The next day, Buttercup decided that the two stallions should get some bonding time with their new family and playfully shoved them out of the house by declaring a housework day. They chuckled in response to Buttercup’s shenanigans before taking the foals with them. Pine Tree laid splayed out on Bright Mac’s back, and Shooting Star perched herself precariously on Big Mac’s head. The morning passed with them exploring the areas of Sweet Apple Acres time or relevancy had kept them from seeing in the previous day’s tour. At lunch, they returned to the house. The three infants received applesauce and mashed carrots and everyone else had peanut butter sandwiches.
After lunch, Granny Smith told the story of Ponyville’s founding to lull them to sleep for a nap. Applejack quietly suggested reading a story together, which the rest of the family agreed to. Pear Butter selected a short novel from the bookshelf, and they all took turns reading to each other until Pine Tree and Shooting Star woke up. A quick diaper change later, they finished the story before turning to playtime of the toys, balls, and peekaboo variety, while Bright Mac slipped away to run an errand.
Bright Mac returned two hours before dinner with a pair of high chairs for Pine Tree and Shooting Star.
“Bright Mac, you made these?” Pear Butter murmured, admiring the craftsmanship.
Bright Mac chuckled. “Burnt Oak helped me make ‘em, but Ah figured we could paint ‘em together.”
A bit of foal wrangling to ensure they wouldn’t get too close to the chairs ensued while Applejack and Big Mac eagerly pulled a variety of paint buckets from the barn. The next hour was spent in joy, until the paint was finished. Shooting Star’s chair was painted in rainbow with red stars and a pink stripe down the front, and Pine Tree’s chair was painted azure with white trees and a navy stripe down the front.
As the Apples stood admiring their work, Pine Tree and Shooting Star shared a frown. Something wasn’t quite right about the chairs. A few of the paint buckets were close, so Pine Tree and Shooting Star reached for the navy and pink respectively. A tingling sensation rippled through their horns, and a bit of paint lifted from each bucket. The navy paint was lifted in a salmon aura, and the pink paint was lifted in a light gold aura. Shooting Star gasped happily and turned her head to the right, the pink paint following. Pine Tree imitated her actions and grinned. Their faces took on looks of great concentration as they moved the paint forward.
Applejack turned to look at the unicorns and yelped at seeing the paint floating. The loud noise startled the foals and the paint flashed in sparkles before reappearing and splatting on the chairs. The navy paint ended up on the stripe in Shooting Star’s chair, and the pink paint landed on the stripe of Pine Tree’s chair. By some quirk of physics, each splatter ended up as half a heart contained by the stripe. After the momentary shock, Pear Butter giggled.
“I suppose it gives them a bit more personality, at least.” Her comment sent Bright Mac and Granny Smith into cheerful laughter. The rest joined in shortly as the laughter spread.