Chapter 19 - Family Trees (Part 1)
Dawn had just started to break as Barrier, Verdant, and Daring stood by the train station. The charcoal stallion let out a yawn as they sat patiently.
“You sure you’ll be alright?” Barrier asked as he drew closer to the disguised mare. “I always worry about these damn things.”
Daring pulled Barrier closer and briefly nuzzled his charcoal cheek. “Relax. We’ll be fine; I’ll send you a letter when Verdant and I are in Canterlot and another when we’re about to head back.” She pulled back slightly. “Hopefully with what I know about the archive and that niece of yours, we should be able to find what we’re looking for in only a few days. I’d say a week, tops.”
“Thanks again for this, Professor,” Verdant said as he stretched out by one of the station’s benches. “I’ve been dying to find out what happened to my family for quite some time, and Forge has been wondering what happened to his mother besides marrying Captain Flash. Your help is most appreciated.” As he finished speaking, the rumble of an approaching train caught the ears of the trio.
“Right, let’s get ready to go, kiddo,” Daring said before biting down on the handle of her luggage bag.
“Be careful.” Barrier patted Verdant on the back as the train slowly started to pull into the dimly lit station. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, and don’t try any funny stuff with Daring.” His eyes briefly shifted to Daring, causing Verdant to roll his.
“Sir,” he started as he gently removed the dark foreleg from his withers. “while I may find somewhat older males and females attractive, you should know that even if she weren’t in a relationship with you, she’s way too old for me.”
“Hey!” Daring angrily spat through the handle of her bag. “I’m not that old! I’m thirty-five!”
“That’s still old enough to be my mother, ma’am,” Verdant responded as the train let out a loud hiss and the doors started to open. Daring made her temperament known by smacking the back of the green pony’s head before marching onto the train, followed closely by the stallion who rubbed his sore head. Barrier stood on the platform and watched them as they boarded and set up in one of the train’s small cabins. As soon as the pair had set down their luggage, Daring opened up the window and stuck her head out of it.
“Goodbye, Barrier!” she shouted out before she kissed her hoof and blew it towards him with a wide grin. Barrier raised an eyebrow and smiled in growing amusement. “We’ll see you in a few days! Bye!” Daring waved for several moments but stopped when she realised the train hadn’t pulled away yet. “Well this is kinda awkward,” the golden pegasus said as she scratched the back of her neck.
“Yeah,” Barrier said as he rubbed his forelegs together, trying to warm them in the early morning chill. “Kinda spoils the sweet moment you were going for there.”
“Yeeeaahhhh...” Daring drew out as she tapped a hoof against the frame of the window and clicked her tongue, “Do you wanna... I don’t know, stick around until this thing pulls away? You don’t have to—” she was silenced when Barrier came and placed his hoof on hers.
“I may not have to, but I want to.” He and Daring smiled at one another and leaned in close before their lips touched. The kiss was short as the two quickly pulled away from each other, “Blaurgh… Remind me not to have a kiss before we’ve brushed our teeth in the morning.”
“Agreed,” Daring gave a brief scrape at her tongue with her hoof. “We both have some pretty wicked morning breath.”
“ALL ABOARD!” a mare in a conductor’s uniform shouted from the far end of the platform.
“Well I guess this is it,” Daring sighed from the window sill. “Bye, Barrier. We’ll see you in a few days.”
“Goodbye, Daring,” he said once more before the train started to lurch down the lines. Barrier stood at the platform’s edge until the massive vehicle had finally disappeared from sight. Taking a deep breath, he turned away and headed back towards his home.
***
As Barrier entered the manor, he found Fleetfeather and Wind Whistler eating some toast at the table while Forge was attempting to bake some hash brown patties. Also seated at the table was Hat Trick and Winter Gem, the latter staring down at the table while the former was rubbing her back.
“Don’t worry, Gem; I’m certain today will be the day,” the purple pegasus said to reassure the mare as he continued to rub her back.
“Hat Trick, you’ve been saying that the past four days,” she glumly replied. “I’m fairly certain the fifth time won’t be any different.”
“What’s going on?” Barrier asked as he entered the kitchen. Wind Whistler leapt from the table towards Barrier, but he deftly caught her in his magic and levitated her back to her seat, drawing a pout from the filly.
“Oh, good morning, sir,” Winter Gem said as she spotted Barrier. “Would you like some hash browns? Forge should have them ready soon, and I’m fairly certain they won’t be burned.”
“I think I will, but don’t try to change the subject, Winter;” Barrier said as he took his place at the table, his voice being both authoritative and yet calming. “now, what is it that’s been bothering you the past few days?”
Winter Gem groaned as she placed a hoof on her forehead. “For the past few days, I’ve attempted to visit the local Apple family farm to try to connect with my modern family members.” A ding from the oven brought Winter to pause as Forge levitated the hash brown patties onto everypony’s plates. Winter Gem bit down on one of the airborne patties and quickly devoured it before continuing. “But every time I get close… I get nervous about what they’d think of me and I run back here.”
“I’ve tried to be there for her,” Hatty chimed in between nibbling on his breakfast. “Offering support and encouragement, trying to keep her from running off.” He swallowed the last of his first patty before grabbing a second, “but there’s not exactly much you can do when somepony’s at least three times stronger than you.”
“Hmm…” Barrier hummed as he examined his hash brown for imperfections and burns. “Well if you want, I could come along with you two.” His horn started to light up as Winter Gem found herself unable to move and her chair had started to rise towards the ceiling. “I’d be able to keep you from running if it’s needed,” he said as he gently lowered her back to the floor and released his magical hold.
“That… would be most appreciated, sir.” Winter Gem smiled before she reached for another hash brown. “I plan on heading for the farm at noon, so we’ll have plenty of time to get ready.”
Barrier nodded and gave a small smile before he took a bite of his hash brown. Not bad. Could use a little salt.
***
As the trio trudged along the dirt road, Winter Gem was shaking like a leaf and sweating bullets, despite her friends’ efforts to calm her and ease her stress.
“Winter.” Hatty draped a wing over her withers. “Trust me, you’ll be fine. You’re a great mare that anyone would be proud to call family.”
“Oh yeah, I’m sure I’ll be welcome with open forelegs after I insulted my father and cousin and mocked the profession that has been keeping us going for centuries,” she replied with a nervous chuckle.
“Winter Gem,” Barrier spoke up in a commanding voice, “These new Apples have never had a chance to meet you, and for them, your argument was centuries before their time.”
“I know, that,” she said and gave Barrier a half-lidded look. “At least intellectually… but I still feel really nervous about this.”
“Well I’ve got some good news.” Hat Trick took to the air and perched before the sign a few metres before them. On the sign read the words, ‘North Grove Apple Farm’. “We’ve gotten further than any of our previous trips out here.” He fluttered down as the pair reached the sign before putting a comforting wing on Winter Gem’s back. “How are you holding up, dear?”
“Let me put it this way,” she said with a gulp. “If I hadn’t gone to the bathroom before leaving, I’d be leaving road apples all over the place.”
“I didn’t need to hear that, Private.” Barrier glanced around, spotting row upon row of apple trees, along with a rustic looking two-storey house not too far from them, near the base of small hill. “Well, now all you have to do is head to the house, give them a quick hello and—”
“I CHANGED MY MIND!” Winter interrupted. “I’M NOT READY!” She made a quick about-face to run off, only to run face first into a blue force field that quickly appeared in front of her.
“Winter Gem, you’ve come too far to turn back now.” Barrier lowered the field and lifted Winter up with his magic, spinning her around and setting her back on the ground, facing the threshold of the Apple property once more. “You need to face this now, Gem.”
“We’ll both be right by your side, dear.” Hat Trick draped his wing over her back once more before nuzzling her neck. “I promise you, this will go great.” He then carefully placed his hoof under her chin and turned her to face him, “You can do this, Winter Gem. You’re the single greatest mare I’ve ever known. I believe in you,” he then ended his statement by giving her a soft kiss on the lips. What he had said drew a confident smile to her face as she took a deep breath.
“You’re right,” she said as she faced the sign once more. “It all ends today, one way or another. Let’s go!” With that, she set her first hoof over the threshold and the trio started walking through the orchard. The three walked in silence, save for the beat of their hooves against the ground until a voice drew their attention.
“Well, well, well…” a stallion’s voice called out with an echo, drawing their eyes to a tall tree. Near the top of the tree they spotted the silhouette of the stallion glaring at them, his slitted amber eyes standing out from the rest of him which was cloaked in the shade of the branches above him. “If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s trespassers,” he growled before he flared a set of leather wings, forcing Barrier to instinctively fall into a defensive stance. “You’d better tell me what you three are doing on my land.”
“I asked them to come with me, sir!” Winter Gem exclaimed as she stepped forward, drawing the mysterious thestral’s eyes to her, “I came here to—”
“Hold on a second!” the thestral shouted from his perch. “I know who you are!” He dived from the branch and dashed toward the three. Barrier’s horn flared in preparation to strike when the thestral stopped mere inches from Winter Gem’s face.
Now that he was no longer cloaked in shadow, he saw the thestral had a dark, golden yellow coat and a brown mane. Along with that, he was sporting the goofiest grin Barrier had ever seen that didn’t come from the Pink Devil. “You’re Cousin Winter Gem!” the thestral merrily exclaimed before pulling the snow-white mare into bone crushing a hug. “I should have recognised you from the photos Applejack sent.” He deftly broke the hug before rapidly shaking her hoof. Luckily for the alabaster mare, she was unharmed. “It’s nice to finally meet you, cousin.” he stopped the shaking and turned his flank slightly towards her, showing her the green apple on his flank. “I’m Belmont Apple.” He paused, then took to the air and widely gestured to the farmland all around them. “And welcome to the North Grove Apple farm!” His voice echoed out.
“Um… Nice to meet you, Belmont,” Winter Gem said almost shyly and came closer to the thestral stallion. “Thank you for the… enthusiastic welcome.”
“No problem,” he said as he tried to rein himself in before his eyes shifted to the two stallions with her. “And may I ask who you two are?”
“Well, I’m Hat Trick. I’m Winter Gem’s fiancee and—” The purple pegasus was silenced as he was quickly swept up into another strong hug from the happy thestral.
“That makes you family in my book, Hat Trick!” Belmont exclaimed before releasing the sore magician. “And you good sir?” He turned to face Barrier, still in a defensive stance.
“I’m Magic Barrier,” the charcoal stallion said as he finally started to relax. “I was Winter Gem and Hat Trick’s captain while they were still in the guard.”
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet all of you,” Belmont said as he held out a hoof that Barrier hesitantly shook. “Sorry ‘bout that thing when I first saw you. We’ve had a bit of problem with some kids sneaking onto the farm and stealing the occasional snack recently.” He turned towards the house and gave a wave, telling the trio to follow him. “C’mon. I was just about to prep some lunch. Figure you three may like some of my homemade stew.”
“Thank you, Belmont,” Winter Gem said as she pulled ahead to stand closer to her distant relative. “I was honestly surprised to get such a warm welcome.” Her eyes were then cast downwards. “Especially after what happened when I last spoke to my father and cousin.”
“Oh, Applejack’s letters mentioned that and let me tell you, that’s all water under a bridge older than my great great great grandparents,” Belmont comfortingly said as he patted her on the shoulder. “You’re family and you fought to protect Equestria. That’s all that matters to all of us here.”
“Are there any other ponies here?” Hat Trick inquired as he flew close to the pair of Apples.
“Well my kids are at school and my wife’s working at the flower shop, but my parents are still here.” Belmont took to the sky and darted away before turning back and calling out to the trio. “C’mon! My mother will love to meet you and my father will love to hear what stories you can tell!”
Winter Gem looked back towards Barrier before a grin spread across her face. She then gave Hat Trick a glance which was met with a nod. Winter Gem took off like a shot towards the Apple home.
Alticron: Hey folks, I hope you enjoyed this month's chapter. I'd like to give a special thanks to all my editors, but especially my newest one, ChasingResonance . He was a great help with this chapter.
Also, he's this chapter's pic, revealing someone we'd set up almost two years ago.
Hope you had a good time with this. See you in September when things get even more batty. 
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Well, I can say that I definitely enjoyed this chapter and I'm also relieved and joyful that Belmont Apple gave Winter, Hat Trick, and Barrier such a warm welcome.
Plus I want to thank your new editor for helping out with the story.
So, is there going to be a side story about Daring and Verdant's journey to Canterlot?
9112229
No, but we will see the end result in chapter 21 when they return, revealing what they found.
It's nice to see an Apple family member that isn't an earth pony and I think that this is the first time I've seen a batpony as a member of the Apple family, with the exception of one where Applejack's husband is one but that's different.
9112248
That's great. I gave you a thumbs up to your response, by the way.
His name is Belmont and he's a Batpony is that a Castlevania reference?
9112321
Wee bit. Still, Belmont Apples are a variety of apple, just like the other Apple OCs I've put in this story.
9112330
I've honestly never heard about an actual apple called Belmont before.
Gotta say, was not expecting to see a threstral in the apple family. Not bad, just didn't expect it. Glad winter got readily accepted by her extended family. Family is sometimes all we got. It's good to see she'll have support from hers.
9112330
Wholly crap. That website has ton of kinds of apples. And pears, plums and cherries are related to apples. Belmac would be great for Belmont's son's name. Just took a look and yup Winter Gem is a type of apple. Not going to run out of potential apple family names any time soon.
9113176
Well, I already have names for his children. Gold Pippin and Dawn Apple.
9112321
Sorry, couldn't resist.
It is a rather low hanging fruit.
family there is nothing like family.