If you were to ask around Poniville and inquire about its inhabitants you'll see that the whole town was a brewing pot of really strange and curious types of ponies, ranging from the ones who loved sports and physical activities just for the sake of it, the type to study and ponder about the world at large and the ones that focused on the small things like work and friends, but all in all it was still a small town right under Canterlot Mountain where not a lot of things happened on a daily basis.
One of the most notable names around this little town was the Apple Family, their bloodroots traced all the way back to the foundation of the town itself, and its branches reached to all the known places of Equus, the name was a well-known one, not "famous" like the heroes of novels or famous actors and models, but it carried a certain reputation with it that all of the family members were proud to honor in their actions and words.
Dependable, diligent, genuine, selfless... Honest
One word a certain family member, Applejack, was more than happy to carry with her everywhere she went.
However, one word she didn't related to herself would be "thinker" and she truly wasn't the type, sure, she wasn't an ignorant of the world around her like so many other ponies liked to think thanks to her status as a farm pony, she knew her numbers thanks to the matriarch of the family, her granny made sure to teach all her kin how to run a farm in top notch condition, after all she was gonna own the place someday. She also knew how to give advice and directions to others, and her dependable nature had helped others find their own way around their problems, but the occasional advice here and there was one thing and an entire different one was to stop in the middle of the day to let her mind be marveled by the imaginary concepts of existence and the meanings of life, things like philosophy was more BigMac's topic of interest, only Celestia knew where all that junk had found its way into her brother's head of how he had the time in a single day to ponder on said junk.
The only time she had to let her mind focus out of work and let lose to have a moment of deep introspection was at the very end of the day when the sunset bathed the apple fields in that beautiful lights of orange slowly giving way to the pinks and purples of the night sky, when the day broke she would find a nice spot of grass beneath one of her trees and she would sit and watch the sky get darker, allowing herself a deep breath to let her muscles relax and the stress of the whole day just melt away un the silver light, the soft caress of the grass and the smell of apples and recently plowed dirt, the daily reminder of her hard work flying away with the breeze, the stars, one by one, twinkling in the sky, almost as it they stepped forward to announce the presence of the moon , making way for the silver mirror to illuminate the world in its gentle night that painted the whole orchards in a soft blue.
Looking at the moon as it were a mirror she reflected on her own life, it was like a small treat for her, dreaming while awake about what the next day of work would bring, her mind slowly wandering towards her family, her friends and all the other ponies she knew in town, her relationship with Poniville itself, it was a very good life, she was thankful to be here, her true home.
As she looked up to the starry night drawing pictures with them, for she had never bothered to learn the actual names of the constellations, she slowly noticed how the clouds obscured her vision of the night sky, following their wind directed trail her gaze fell upon the Everfree forest, the clouds had been gathering there a lot lately, she simply dismissed the thought, this wasn't the time to worry, this was her time to go back home and catch some sleep, and besides, that accursed forest didn't seemed that intimidating bathed on the silvery light of the moon, and it being very far away from her, that was another good thing of the night, many of her worries and fears seemed to simply vanish and go away, that was another reason why she liked moments like this, why she had always loved the night.
*~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~*
Things had started just fine the day of the Sumer Sun celebration, the house was in its perpetual state of activity, only much more active than usual for they had received a letter a week prior, directly from Canterlot of all places, informing them that, not only Poniville had been selected by Celestia herself to be the host of the event, but also the apple family had the honor of preparing the feast!
Poor Granny Smith almost fainted on the spot after hearing the news, and even BigMac began celebrating alongside Applebloom after Applejack had informed her what the news brought in today.
Of course, this being a massive event, she began preparing everything necessary the moment she finished reading the letter, that is, all the things that had to do with the feast, the mayor had informed her of the names and tasks of the other ponies involved, but besides a friendly hoofshake here and there, no more words were spoken, her work was her work and unless asked she didn't like to poke her nose in other pony's business.
Though she made a mental note to keep an eye on that yellow Pegasus, poor thing almost had a heart attack after they ran into each other on the outskirts of the town, good thing Winona was with her to ease her nerves and make a good conversation starter.
'We have been practically neighbors for the last 15 years and we haven't exchanged a single word until now...' She thought as she went through the town to check on a few things she might need for the kitchens.
Back on the topic, she had sent the last letters to her extended family after the letter form Canterlot arrived and that morning the homestead had received the first guests, from all Equestria more and more Apples had come for this event, even more than what she remembered from the last family reunion!
Seeing a new face was always a pleasure for her, even more when those new faces were already family.
Things had been going great from that point onwards, she decided to take a break to fetch some things and check upon the rest of the ponies in charge of the event, the sky was still a bit cloudy, but she knew Dash was a better worker when under pressure, so she continued her way towards the City Hall.
Entering the somewhat big building she was left in awe at the colorful spectacle before her very eyes, she was as much of an Interior Designer as she was a Thinker, but even she was amazed by the work the White Unicorn had put into it, the Main Room adorned with fine silks and banners, fresh flowers hanging from the ceiling, allowing a neat web of vines to wrap around the columns, bringing the beauty of nature inside and mixing it with the more sober and serious architecture, giving everything a home like feeling to it.
it was worthy of Royalty? if Rarity said so, then yes.
Speaking of her, she knew the look in her eyes, she was "in the zone" as many artists would put it, so she excused herself quietly as to not interrupt such an important moment and decided to stop by the bakery to buy a few essentials.
Clouds still in the sky, no worries, Dash was just waiting for the right moment.
The ever-Energetic Pinkie Pie had congratulated her for what felt like the millionth time this week, gave her a free muffin as always and wished her luck after packing her baking ingredients, she was happy the Pink Pony didn’t feel left out, she had offered her help with the baking, but Applejack turned her down.
'I appreciate the thoughtfulness, but we have enough Apples to take care of everything' she assured the party pony the day after the letter arrived.
Sky still filled with clouds, now it was starting to become worrisome.
She didn’t want to risk scaring the Yellow Pegasus again, so she avoided going too close to her cottage, but maybe she could have time to talk with her once more before her choir sang in the celebration itself.
Clouds, Sky, Rainbow Dash!
She was about to call out for her wherever she had been hiding into, Applejack wasn't the type to worry too much about organization, perfect times and poking noses into another pony work, but she knew it was about this time of the day that some pony from Canterlot would arrive to give a last inspection and...
That specific train of thought had been derailed as she saw, amongst the clouds, the distinctive shape of a carriage, its golden silhouette glistening in the sunlight the same way the armor of the pegasi carrying it.
She gasped, no time to find Rainbow, no time to worry about that, she had to focus on her Own work, now!
Rushing back towards the farm she arrived in record time, upon seeing her entering at top speed some of her cousins asked what was going on, but before she could say a single word a rushing wind passed overhead, clashing from one cloud to the next, making them all disappear with a hollow sound, finally clashing with one directly on top of Applejack herself, disappearing on the direction of the central plaza, leaving a faint rainbow trail behind and almost knocking her hat away from her head. Everything happened so fast she had no time to process what has just happened.
Now a few dozens of eyes were focused on her, all of them with varying degrees of surprise and worry.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts and fix her mane, that was now a little frazzled by the sudden rainbow trail, she announced the arrival of the overseer from Canterlot.
Not a single word was exchanged after that, for all the apple family started to put their all in their respective task, the hours were counted and they all needed to finish this by yesterday.
Applejack didn't know the route the Overseer would take, but it was likely that they would leave the farm for the last visit, it was the furthest place from their arrival and it would likely give her ample time to prepare.
The thing with food is that most of it is perishable or it needs to be eaten a short time after being prepared, this meant that all the food needed to be ready for tomorrow night and still be fresh, it was a race against the clock, that’s why so many Apples were needed, more workforce meant less work for all the individuals and that resulted in each dish being prepared in the least amount of time possible while still having the famous Family Touch!
...
If any pony was to enter the household while the inhabitants prepared the food they would discover one of nature's most complicated rituals: Form one room to the next almost all the furniture had been moved away, leaving only chairs and tables covered in flour, dough, sugar and other ingredients to make pastries, each pony working by hoof, kneading, filling and placing the prepared confectionary on trays to be sent to the kitchen ovens, slowly the rhythm was forming, like the perfect momentum of a clockwork machine, ponies worked at a steady pace, once they had done a certain number of pastries another would take its place to avoid fatigue and overwork, the ones resting being served glasses of cold juice by the younger ponies, not ready for all the effort it takes to work at the tables, all of this repeating, weaving and circulating until it became second nature to the entire household, forming a perfect machine of production.
All of this is exactly what the overseer shouldn't nor want to see.
...
Out in the orchard Applejack was telling herself over and over not to worry about the whole situation as she bucked the apples near the entrance of the orchard.
She had been assigned to collect fresh apples that later will be carried by Mac to the main kitchen, she was the only one in this specific part of the farm not only because she was capable enough to harvest this section without trouble, but also to keep watch to the entrance of the Overseer.
The "ritual" of preparing food for a feast wasn't private nor sacred by any means, it was a joyful moment and it wasn't something entirely reserved only for members of the family, but she knew the pony from Canterlot wouldn't be interested in participating or supervising anything beyond the quality of the food, so the plan was simple, meet them here, then call the family outside and make sure they leave this place with the stomach full knowing fully well why the Apples had a reputation as the best chefs around Equestria.
Wiping away the sweat from her brow she went one more time over the finer details of the plan, and allowing herself a few seconds to catch her breath as she started to contemplate why she came up with this plan on the first place.
'It’s like a play, everything has to be perfect for the ones watching it, while we work behind the curtains to keep it that way'
Applejack never liked participating in the school plays during her blank flank days, it felt like chores to some degree, having to be the picture-perfect pony in front of others, it felt too much like being back in Manehattan, but fortunately she discovered she quite liked working on the stage direction and behind the scenes.
Cutting and painting the wooden prompts, pulling the ropes to make the backstage picture move or to bring down the blanket for a change of scene, it was fun, and she didn't need to face the public at all, it was a win, win!
As she assured that sentiment wasn't stage fright, not at all, she heard the quiet taps of hooves over grass, was Mac already coming to pick up this batch? she stood up, back to her hooves and fumbled with her hat a second, it was obscuring her vision
"Here, they told me to give this to you"
Oh, it must be one of her cousins with a glass of cold juice, perfect!
As she removed her hat from her eyes, slowly adjusting back to the light of the blazing sun she extended her hoof and accepted the cold beverage from the kind Grey Pegasus
'...Wait, what?'
"DERPY?! What are you doing here?" Applejack asked, clearly surprised, but not enough to drop the glass, it was blasphemy to waste food in this farm after all.
For her part the Blonde Mare looked form one side and then to the other, as if checking if other ponies were listening and then inched closed to Applejack
"I don’t know! I went to the house because I had a letter for you, but then some pony shoved this tray onto me and told me to give juice to all the ponies working in the orchard, I have been looking for you for the last hour and a half!"
She answered in a worried and hushed tone, like wanting to scream but having to whisper or else others would hear.
When Applejack was about to apologize for the trouble, another thing captured her attention at the worst moment possible, or rather two things.
One, there was a Red Pony coming her way, BigMac, ready to pick up the apples she hadn’t finished harvesting
and two, a pair of voices she didn't recognized were coming closer and closer, the wind carrying them, not enough to make out what they were saying, but the right amount to tell it wasn't anyone she knew.
Without much options she started to rush poor Derpy towards BigMac while rambling a little
"Ah'm mighty sorry Derpy, but Ah have to receive some pony right 'bout now, so if ya would be so kindly as to follow Mac back to the house!"
"B-But what about the letter? it says its urgent!" Derpy protested as she was being pushed
"Right, give it to Apple Fritter, she'll keep it safe while Ah' talk with the Overseer, MAC!" she shouted towards her big brother, who understood immediately, trotting quickly towards the baskets and picking them up effortlessly, placing them all in the cart and giving a nod towards Derpy to follow him.
"Wait, overseer? you forgot one basket... Who is Apple Fritter?!" she shouted one last time while being carried away with the baskets full of apples on top of the cart going back to where she came from.
"Hmph, he didn't forget it, Ah keep this one here so the Overseer would 'catch me working', it’s all to make a good first impression" she said, to no pony in particular because Derpy was out of earshot, she drank the rest of the juice quickly and waited for the first sign of a pony walking into the acres, she was prepared, getting every pony on board was the difficult part, but now all it was left was showing this pony the trademark Apple Charm! She had this in the bag.
Now, time to wait.