A box levitated out of the hayloft in the barn, cloaked in Midnight’s aura as he levitated it down to Granny Smith.
“Is this what you asked for, Granny Smith?”
He plopped it down in front of her, the flaps opening and flipping up some dust near the old mare’s schnoz.
“Ah… choo!”
“Eh, gesund-hoof,” Midnight apologized sheepishly.
“Ah, thank ya, Midnight,” Granny Smith said as she straightened her mane, “Ah still cain’t believe it’s been ah’most a hundred moons since th’ last fam’ly reunion!”
She dug into the box and pulled out a hoof-stitched quilt, holding it close as she said, “Why, Ah remember it like it was yesterday!”
“Me too, considering I was there,” Midnight chuckled.
“And she's been talkin’ about it pretty much every day since then,” cracked Applejack as she came up.
“Apple Bloom, Twinken!” Granny Smith looked to the foals as they went over some letters, “How’re them RSVPs comin’ along? Who’se showin’ their snoots at th’ reunion?”
“Everypony!” answered a happy Apple Bloom, Twinken grabbing the letters she’d accidentally knocked over with his aura.
“Everypony?! Feathers on’a goat, are y’sure?” Granny Smith was starting to feel overwhelmed and the reunion hadn’t even begun yet!
“Well, we got RSVPs from… Apples from Yonderhill,” Twinken reported.
“Hollow Shades…” added Apple Bloom.
“Galloping Gorge…”
“Foal Mountains…”
“There’s Apples from Fillydelphia.”
“Tall Tale Town…”
“And all the Apples from Appleloosa!”
As the list went on, Granny Smith’s eyes widened, and finally Apple Bloom announced, “An’ how could Ah ferget Manehatten? Babs is coming!”
She punctuated that with a happy yet careless throw of her arms into the air, sending the RSVPs into a perfect imitation of Fifty-Two Pickup.
“Ah get t’see mah favorite cousin!” Apple Bloom hopped happily.
“Ah think wer’ gonna need a bigger cider trough…” Granny Smith muttered, seeing she had her work cut out for her this time around.
“Uh, why don’t we move this discussion back into the house,” Midnight suggested as Twinken picked up the RSVPs. Again. While giving Apple Bloom a light stink eye.
They did so, taking the discussion into the family dining room as they began to plan and found themselves with growing anticipation for tomorrow.
“Hoo-whee! Looks like th’ fam’ly’s grown ten-fold since th’ last reunion!” Granny Smith noted as Midnight brought in the box from the barn while Big Mac wheeled in the RSVPS on his wheelbarrow.
“Ah’m gonna be busier than a worm in a rotten tomater tryin’ t’ get everything ready!”
“Ah could always help out.”
“Me too!”
“Eeyup.”
“Count me in!”
“I wanna help too!”
“Oh Ah sure would appreciate that. Granny’s a little rustier in th’ giddyup since th’ last time all th’ Apples got t’gether,” Granny Smith punctuated by giving herself a facelift (which oddly took many years off her face) before it sunk back to a wrinkly reality, earning her disturbed looks from all of her grandchildren.
“You may be a tad old, Granny,” Applejack said kindly, “but yer as feisty an’ full a’ spark as ever-”
“Who you callin’ old?!” Granny Smith snapped in her face, making Applejack flinch.
“AJ just meant to say… why don’cha let us take over setting up the reunion this year?” Midnight interjected, coming to his sister’s rescue. “That way, you can just kick back, relax, and enjoy yourself!”
“Hmm, alright, young’uns, y’got yerselves a deal,” Granny Smith agreed. “You an’ Applejack are both in charge.”
“I won’t let’cha down, Granny!” Applejack promised, “You just explain wha’ this reunion needs and Ah’ll take care’a th’ rest.”
“Don’t you mean, we will take care of the rest?” Midnight reminded her, Applejack smiling apologetically.
“I’ll do y’all one better than tellin’ ya wha’ th’ reunion’ll need,” Granny Smith led them into the living room, pulling out what looked to be an old photo album.
“Ah’ll show ya!”
She sat in the middle of the sofa, Applejack sitting at her right, Apple Bloom and Twinken at her left, while Midnight stood behind the sofa to peer over Granny Smith’s shoulder, as she opened the album.
“We’ve been hostin’ these shindigs at Sweet Apple Acres every 100 moons since we first planted roots here in Ponyville.”
“Hey, whoozat?” Apple Bloom pointed to a filly stirring something in a pot.
“Tha’d be yer great-great Auntie Applesauce when she was just about yor age,” Granny Smith explained, and pointed out how she looked currently, revealing Applesauce was as elderly as Granny Smith, if not a little more.
“Now she used t’ go by another name, but everypony started callin' her Applesauce after half her teeth fell out when she was makin’ applejam.”
She noted the boys’ disturbed looks and nodded, “Yeah, never did find them teeth in all those jars.”
“Note to self: Charm jars with wards against foreign contaminants,” Midnight muttered to himself.
“Hey Granny, is that you there?” Twinken asked, pointing to a photo of a young Granny Smith with her mother, Applesauce, and another filly they assumed was a cousin, the four of them sewing up a quilt.
“Sure is,” Granny Smith sighed in happy nostalgia. “Apple Fam’ly’s been workin’ on tha’ same ol’ quilt since our first reunion," and she regaled them with how her first time partaking in the tradition didn’t work out well.
Everypony laughed a little at Granny Smith’s expense, her snapping, “Well how was Ah s’posed t’ know y’had t’ actually knot the other end a’ th’ thread!”
Midnight heard Applejack mumble to herself before asking, “You’ve really been workin’ on th’ same quilt since th’ first reunion?”
“Surely have,” Granny Smith confirmed before adding with a smirk, “Ah don’ think wer’ ever gonna finish th’ doggone thing!”
The way she said it and the look on her face helped Midnight realize… finishing the quilt wasn’t the real aim, rather it was the time shared doing it with family, and it made him smile. Unbeknownst to him, the thought never crossed Applejack’s mind.
“Hey, what’s goin’ on here?” Apple Bloom asked, pointing to a photo of some pots and a couple Apples apparently making fritters.
“Well, y’know us Apples enjoy a good fritter,” Granny Smith pointed out and she told them a particular story about Applejack when she was just a toddler with a real love for apple fritters that she swiped some off the table and met her uncle Apple Bottoms for the first time.
“Tha’s how we figured out yer sister had th’ appetite of a full-grown stallion!”
“Ha! Nice diaper, AJ,” Midnight poked at her, but his light-teasing was lost on Applejack, who muttered something about extra ingredients.
“Now stick an apple in mah mouth an’ roast muh rump,” Granny Smith as her eyes fell upon another photo. “This one shor brings back mem’ries! Y’know how Babs is yer favorite cousin, Apple Bloom? Well, Apple Rose is mahn. Th’ two of us entered the 7-Legged Race ev’ry reunion.”
Then she pointed out a photo of her and Apple Rose, having apparently tripped but laughing if off.
“Ne’er won a single one o’ them races.”
Seeing the happy memories grace Granny Smith’s face made Midnight happier than he realized, and to himself he realized how blessed he and Twinken were to be included into this family. He was so lost in his grateful joy he didn’t notice Applejack muttering things, “Not much to a 7-Legged Race…”
“And a’course we cain’t f’get t’ take th’ big fam’ly photo!”
They all looked and saw the first photo was of Granny Smith as young filly with her parents, standing in front of the outlined structure of what would become the barn.
“We always snapped photo in front o’ th’barn, at th’ end o’ every reunion! Let’s us see how our family‘s grown.”
She wasn’t kidding – With each family photo, there were more and more Apples, smiling at the camera.
“That’s a really wonderful tradition, Granny Smith,” Midnight smiled.
“Y’sure have some great memories o’ these reunions, don’cha?” added Apple Bloom.
“Indeedy! An’ Ah’m lookin’ fo’ward t’ makin’ more at this one,” Granny Smith smiled eagerly, none of them noticing Applejack look out the window in wonder.
“Though Ah sure everypony is, and Ah do mean everypony! We got th’ whole fam’ly t’gether this time `round. Who knows if they’ll all be able t’ catch th’ next one?”
“I’m a little nervous about this reunion, Granny Smith,” Twinken brought up, Granny, AB, and Midnight looking at him in query.
“What if… nopony there likes me? Maybe I shouldn’t come…”
“Now don’choo fret, sonny,” Granny Smith pulled him into a warm hug. “Yer gonna meet a lotta good Apples, and they’re all gonna love you just as much as Ah do!”
“An’ Ah’m gonna make shor this is th’ most mem’rable reunion we’ve ever had!” swore a determined Applejack. “Better get started, lot’o plannin’ t’ do.”
For some reason, Midnight felt like whatever Applejack had in mind wasn’t gonna go the way she planned.
But do they ever in Ponyville? he thought to himself with a weary smile, and felt his heart warm at the sight of Granny Smith showing Twinken and Apple Bloom more memories.
Later that night, after everypony had gone to bed, Midnight stirred awake as he heard what sounded like a fidgety young colt tossing and turning in the bunk above him, and he yawned as he checked his clock.
“Twinken, it’s two in the morning, why aren’t you asleep?”
“I just can’t stop worrying, Big Brother,” Twinken answered as he climbed down to the floor and looked up at Midnight, and he saw how troubled his little brother was.
“I’m worried the Apples coming won’t accept us, because… Well, we’re not really Apples.”
“Twinken, you listen to me, young colt,” Midnight said in a playful stern voice. “There’s something very important you should know about family – What ties a family together isn’t the blood we share, but rather it’s the bonds! Blood may run thicker than water but it’s what we feel for each other that defines what family is. Are you saying because we’re not brothers by blood we’re not brothers at all?”
“Wha- Never! You’re my big brother!” Twinken instantly felt bad and said whatever he could to assure Midnight. “You chose to be my big brother at the Sibling Revelry, and even after it was over you never stopped! You kept coming to visit me at the orphanage, take me out to have fun, and when you showed me the document for my adoption I was happier than-”
He stopped when he noticed the playfully raised brow on Midnight’s face and it dawned on him.
“Exactly, Twinken,” Midnight said, putting a hoof on his little brother’s shoulder. “It’s what we feel for each other that makes us brothers, and being your big brother is something I’m proud of, and thankful for, each and every day.”
Twinken couldn’t help the tears, which Midnight gently wiped away as they smiled at each other.
“Big brother? Could I sleep with you tonight?”
“Get in here,” Midnight opened his covers and Twinken happily hopped in and made himself comfortable. As he settled, he felt Midnight kiss his forehead and heard him say, “Sweet dreams, little brother…” before he drifted away into the comforting bosom of the Princess of the Night.