A Year in Equestria

by Blade Star

Chapter 8 - August

There was quite a hubbub going on in the class as I walked in that afternoon. It was understandable. It was the last class of the day, but more importantly, it was the last class of the year. Today, a good portion of the students would be returning home to their families and enjoying a well earned vacation until September. Needless to say, this was the only topic of discussion.

“Alright, simmer down,” I said as I walked in, catching everycreature’s attention. “I know the day’s almost over and you’re all looking forward to summer vacation. But we’ve got one more lesson before that.”

“Oh come on, Professor Star,” one of the pony students moaned. “Can’t you let us out early or something? We’ve been looking forward to summer vacation all year. I can’t wait to head home and see my family.”

I was about to respond, when another student, rather brusquely, spoke up.

“Speak for yourself,” Gallus said scathingly. “And just because it’s the last lesson doesn’t mean it’s not important.”

Gallus, of course, was what you might call a long term boarder at the school. He didn’t go home for Hearth’s Warming or for any other vacation, unlike most students. There was good reason for that, his grandfather notwithstanding. Because of this, Twilight had made special provisions to allow him to stay in the school dorms until he graduated. The downside of that was, while he didn’t have to spend any time around his charming relatives, he did end up spending a lot of the holidays alone. Being surrounded by students all chattering about going back to home and hearth just rubbed salt in the wound.

Still, at least last Hearth’s Warming wasn’t too bad for him, petty vandalism aside, with his friends sticking around to celebrate the season with him. But it must be hard for him at times. Perhaps that’s why he throws himself so deeply in friendship studies, since family has all but failed him.

“Thank you, Gallus,” I said, glad to have the griffon on side. “And you are quite right. This may be the last class of the year, but this class on kindness will be looking at one of its most important facets; mercy and compassion.”

The lesson was quite an interesting one. After all, at times, it can be deeply difficult to take that moral high ground, and can prove quite dangerous in the long run. But at other times, it can be the catalyst for forming new relations. I used an interesting encounter from the Great War, when the infamous Red Baron crossed paths with an equally skilled French ace. The two pilots circled each other, looking for weakness, each finding the other to be an old hand. At the critical moment though, Richthofen’s guns jammed, worse still, the Frenchman saw him desperately trying to clear the jammed shell.

“Now, of course,” I said as I slowly walked back and forth in front of the large chalkboard, thoroughly in Twilight’s lecture mode. “The logical thing for the pilot to do would be to shoot. He knew Richthofen was helpless. But instead, he drew alongside, waved a greeting, and then retired from the fight. You see, in those days, there was a code of honour amongst pilots. And it was seen as wrong and cowardly to shoot an enemy who couldn’t shoot back. Now, had the Red Baron been shot down that day, dozens of pilots might have lived. But tell me, would it have been right?”

That got quite a lively debate going between the students on the value of kindness, in a world that sometimes isn’t particularly kind. I Thought back to the first time Rarity visited Manehattan, and how her generosity was abused. These days, chivalry and honour all too often make you an idiot, a dead idiot, rather than a gentleman. Then again, mercy was often the first step in reformation. Look at Starlight or Tempest. Things could have ended very differently for both of them. But ponies are kind and merciful creatures, sometimes to their detriment. You know the old saying; ‘no good deed goes unpunished’. But in all honesty, I’d rather get stung a few times for being kind than avoid harm through cruelty.

Although having said that, there are a few occasions where even ponies will show no mercy. And one of those was coming up faster than I realised.

As the debate wound up, the students were delighted to hear the bell ring for the last time. They all quickly began packing away their things, and since I’m neither petty, nor a control freak, I didn’t pull that whole ‘the bell doesn’t dismiss you, I do’ crap on them.

“Alright, and with that, enjoy your vacations. I’ll see you all again in September.”

The students all hurriedly filed out, heading straight for the dorms. From there, it would be a short matter of grabbing their bags and then heading to the train station. Some of them, like Silverstream, had pretty long journeys ahead of them. Even by train and airship, getting that far south would take a couple days. That probably explains why the scatterbrained hippogriff elects to ship most of her luggage and fly home under her own steam.

Gallus however, lingered. I know his friends do their best to stick around with him as much as they can, but Twilight’s School can’t be expected to make exceptions for everyone. It had taken a fair bit of work to convince the EEA to allow him to stay at the school, particularly as his grandad didn’t much care for the idea. According to him, it was better than going ‘home’ but not by much.

Gallus and I are virtually nothing alike. But at the same time, I think he considers me a friend. Like everywhere in Equestria, the school of friendship’s population is skewed more towards the fairer sex, and sometimes, a guy wants to talk to a guy about what’s bothering him, especially about certain things. I’ve nothing against Starlight, mind. That’s just the way it is. And so I’ve found myself sort of taking him under my wing. Well, more like just supporting him and being a listening ear. One thing I’ll never do to Gallus though, is pity him. That’s the one thing we have in common.

As I tidied up my own desk, I saw the griffon staring out the window as his friends headed off.

“How you holdin’ up, Gallus?” I asked. The griffon just shrugged.

“Okay, I guess. Headmare Twilight agreed to let me help out here over the summer to earn a few bits. And the other professors said they’d drop by when they could.”

In a way, Gallus reminds me a lot of Rainbow Dash. Occasional boastfulness aside, neither is particularly in touch with their emotions, preferring to keep things beneath the surface. Only trouble is, eventually, they bubble over. Gallus was hiding it well under the veneer of disinterest that he so often put on, but you didn’t have to be a genius to see how down he was. I mean, I can’t imagine how hard it is for him, having only his grandad as family. His friends act as his support network, but they can’t always be around. Maybe I could do something to take his mind off things?

“Say Gallus?” I said, catching his attention again. “Do you like apple fritters?”

“Do I...what?” Gallus said, slightly bewildered.

“Apple fritters,” I repeated. “Do you like them?”

“Er...sure, I guess so. Why?” Gallus replied, tilting his head and looking at me in a very bird like fashion.

“The Apple family reunion is goin’ on over on Sweet Apple Acres. I was goin’ to head over there now. Y’all are welcome to tag along if ya want.” Gallus brightened up a little at that, but soon covered the surprise with his usual mask.

“Really?” he said. “I thought that was just for Professor Applejack’s family.”

“True,” I agreed, levitating my stetson over from the coat rack and placing it atop my head again. “But Granny Smith has never been known to turn away a guest. Plus I’ve been goin’ for a few years now and nopony’s told me off yet. Come on.” I gestured with my head.

Gallus got up out of his seat and quickly joined me and the two of us headed off for the farm.

---

The Apple family reunion; the annual gathering of pretty much the entire Apple clan. Every year, without fail, the dozens of Apples, spread across Equestria and beyond, like salmon, return to their old family seat just outside Ponyville. There they reconnect with old friends, swap stories, play games, enjoy good food, and even work on big projects together. In that sense, it reminds me a lot of the conventions I used to go to when back on Earth.

Now, technically, yes, it is an affair for the Apple family. In fact, my first year here, I’d figured that I wouldn’t be exactly welcome. However, the definition of Apple, like the definition of sister at the Sisterhooves Social, can be stretched from time to time. Hence how I was normally to be found in attendance. I saw no reason why young Gallus here, with little family of his own, could not also be an exception.

Leading him up along the old road to the farm, we soon saw evidence of the festivities being in full swing. There were wagons parked all over the place, and even a few aeronautical contraptions, from small helicopters and auto-gyros, right up to that mad Da Vinci inspired flying machine that Apple Seed arrived in, to say nothing of the airship currently moored. Gallus looked around in astonishment.

“You guys do this every year?” he asked in amazement.

“Every hundred moons, come rain or shine,” I replied. “Come on. We’re almost there. I’ll introduce you to Granny Smith and get ourselves into the swing of things.”

Arriving at the farmhouse, we found that the reunion was indeed in full swing. It looked like they were just about ready for the seven legged race around the farm. Ponies were milling around, chatting to each other, foals were playing, food was cooking, and a little ways off, I could see Granny Smith, along with the other older mares in the Apple family working on their infamously never ending quilt. Leading Gallus over, I quickly introduced him.

“Hey, Granny,” I said, catching the old girl’s attention. “This here’s Gallus. He’s one of the students over at Twilight’s school. The feller’s stayin’ in the dorms over the summer break and feeling a mite lonesome. I was wonderin’ if he could join in with the reunion.”

Granny looked up, being a little caught off guard by the sight of the bright blue griffon, but soon recovered herself and studied him inscrutably.

“Ain’t ya got kin of your own ya ought to be getting back to, whipper snapper?” she asked, causing Gallus to flinch for a moment.

“Erm...not really, ma’am,” he said hesitantly, rubbing the back of his head with a claw. Granny remained quiet for a moment longer.

Just as quickly though, her previous inscrutable expression vanished and was replaced by the welcoming look I was familiar with.

“Well then of course y’all are welcome!” she exclaimed, taking his claw in hoof. “I’m Granny Smith Apple, but folks round these parts just call me Granny, and you should too. Now come on, first things first we need to get some vittles in ya!”

She quickly dragged him off in the direction of the apple fritters. I couldn’t help but enjoy the expression on his face. It’s easy to forget the unconditional love of family at times. And it was nice to give Gallus some time with a grandparent who wasn’t an abusive asshole.

I would have stayed with him, fancying a couple fritters or twelve myself, but Applejack, the master of ceremonies for the past few years, came trotting over to me to rope me into some duties.

“Bones!” she greeted, running up to me and pulling me into a hug. “I’ve been lookin’ everywhere for ya! Was that Gallus with you just now?” I nodded.

“I figured the poor guy deserved a bit of quality time with a family,” I replied. “It ain’t right, him havin’ to spend so much time on his own. I figured this whole reunion might perk his spirits up a bit.”

“Aww, that’s mighty kind of you, sugarcube,” AJ said approvingly.

“What do you need me for anyway?” I asked. There was so much going on in the reunion and so many jobs to do.

“I figured you could help out with the seven legged race,” she said, holding up a couple flags. “I’ve gotta go help Braeburn with the work on that new irrigation system for the south orchard. But I ought to be back in time for the finish.”

“Alright, fair enough,” I agreed, taking the props in my magic. “I take it your little sister and a certain filly from Manehattan are the favourites to win?” AB and Babs Seed had placed first for the last couple years.

“They should just count themselves lucky you and me ain’t competin’,” she replied with a chuckle.

With that, the two of us parted ways, with me heading over to where the course, far toned down from the infamous endurance course AJ made back in Season 3, had both its start and finish line. There were around a dozen or so teams lined up, mainly siblings or parents and their kids, but also friends who rarely got the chance to see each other outside of the reunion. This included Apple Bloom and Babs Seed.

It always surprised me how Apple Bloom became friends with her. I know her earlier bullying was down to insecurity about her own lack of a cutie mark, but even so, I have a bit of a hard time getting along with the little filly myself. Maybe it’s a clash of cultures thing? I may sound like an Apple, complete with accent and syntax, but I still retain plenty of my old British self, including cultural traits. While I occasionally clash with AJ or the others over a few cultural norms, Manehattan is the antithesis of everything I hold dear. Still, underneath her rather brusque nature, she is a good filly really.

Anyway, enough about that. It was time to start the race. Both the competitors and the crowd were raring for the off.

“Okay, starter’s orders, everypony!” I called out.

The ponies lined up all tensed, making one last check to ensure they were all tied together and psyching themselves up for the friendly, if somewhat competitive, race. Before I dropped the flag, I gave them all a quick word of warning on fair play.

“Fillies and gentlecolts,” I said. “This will be a fair race. No shooting, stabbing, cliff-pushing, rock-throwing, cactus-grinding, neck-lassoing, setting fires, or other acts that causes a team to unfairly lose their way, bleed heavily or black out.”

“Buzzkill,” somepony muttered from the line up. I let it slide.

“Alright, on your marks, get set.” I dropped the flag. “Go!”

And with that, the teams went staggering off towards the first obstacle.

---

After the race ended, I sought out Gallus again to see how he was faring. While Granny Smith was no doubt welcoming him, I figured that, as one of his teachers, I had a duty of care to save him from overexposure. After all, it doesn’t take too much to get her to fall into one of her infinite rambles.

Luckily, it seemed that Big Mac had intervened already, as I found Gallus with him, as well as Braeburn, happily chatting away while they worked on mending one of the barn doors. The hinge had been getting on in years and become badly rusted. It was only a matter of time before it gave out altogether. And just because it was the reunion didn’t mean that work on the farm stopped. Unlike school, farming knows no holidays, breaks or vacations.

Gallus was currently using his ability to fly to their mutual advantage, saving the trio the need for a ladder to replace some of the higher up hinges. He was quite changed from the melancholy teenager I’d seen not so long ago. It was nice to see him having fun and getting along with ponies.

Big Mac noticed me as I walked over.

“Hey, Bones,” he called out with a wave of his hoof.

“Hi, Mac. Hey, Braeburn,” I greeted. “I see you two have met Gallus.”

At that point, Gallus dropped down a few feet to interject.

“Er, you do know I’ve met Big Red here before, right. Back when he applied for the vice headmare job.”

Oh, of course. I’d almost forgotten about Big Mac’s own foray into teaching. While it turned out the job wasn’t for him, unlike a lot of people, he’d been smart enough to see and admit it, withdrawing his application on his own terms. Conversely, he had gotten on pretty well with the students, and I’ve heard plenty of scuttlebutt from the female students and what they thought of the quiet red stallion. Him being a pony of few words though, meant he didn’t exactly have the communication skills to deal with parents at times.

“Oh, of course,” I said, as Gallus flew back up and out of hearing range. “You had a trial run there around the time they had the teacher parent conferences.”

“Eeyup,” Mac agreed with a nod. “Met Gallus’ grandpa too.” He looked up at the young griffon, who was now using a screwdriver to fasten the new hinge in place.

“I sure can see why he prefers stayin’ at school,” I said a little sadly. Mac nodded.

“It ain’t right,” Mac said crossly. “I always thought I had it rough when Ma and Pa left. But at least we had Granny Smith to look after us. Gallus just has...that.” I smiled.

“Not a fan of Grandpa Gruff then?” I said, with just a hint of sarcasm. Mac looked up at Gallus again for a moment.

“Feller was lucky I was actin’ vice headstallion,” he said darkly. “If I saw him now...” he let that thought trail off.

Big Mac may be a gentle giant, but there are a few exceptions; things that make him see red, or fly into a furious fraternal rage. Harming his family or his friends is one of them. And having seen what the stallion is capable of when he puts his mind to it, I can’t help but feel slightly sorry for Gallus’ sorry excuse for a grandfather if the two were ever to meet again. Think back to the Sisterhooves Social where he all but ploughed through the obstacle course. Or when the Crusaders accidentally gave him and Cheerilee love poison, and he dragged a house clear off its foundations. Even as a unicorn, with magic to call on, I wouldn’t like to fight him.

But enough about him, and enough about Grandpa Gruff. That sorry excuse for a grandparent doesn’t deserve to get written about. I turned my attention back to Gallus. He’d finished replacing the upper most hinges and now glided back down to the ground, landing between the three of us.

“Thanks for letting me borrow your toolkit, Mac,” he said, returning the screwdriver.

“Any time, Gallus,” Mac replied.

“You know, this was meant to be givin’ you a chance to relax and enjoy yourself, Gallus,” I said with a smile. Gallus shrugged his shoulders.

“Eh,” he replied. “I enjoy building and repairing stuff. Plus it’s the least I can do for you for letting me swing by. I can certainly see why you like it out here. Everypony is so friendly, it’s almost weird.”

“Yeah, I felt that way for a while when I first moved here,” I agreed. “You’re used to being distrustful of someone who’s just nice for the sake of being nice. These folks though, they mean it. I mean, look at Applejack and Big Mac here. They took me in, gave me food and a bed when they had barely any idea who I was. They didn’t ask me to start helpin’ them out on the farm, I all but insisted on it.

“You know, if you want to, Gallus,” I went on. “We could use a few extra hooves, or claws, helpin’ to get the new irrigation system installed. It’ll give you an excuse to stick around until supper time.”

“Now that I’ll take you up on,” Gallus agreed.

---

It had taken a lot of planning on our part, and a lot of work beforehand to get everything ready, but Sweet Apple Acres was finally going to get the proper irrigation system that it sorely needed. Instead of having to water the trees and crops by hoof and rely on rain storms, we’d have a system to ensure everywhere got enough water, mainly through use of the ample reservoir we had in the lake. Even now, on the tail end of summer, it was still pretty full.

Of course, there was a whole lot of work still to do; far more than five ponies could do on their own. Once it was up and running, maintaining it wouldn’t be too much trouble, certainly not when compared to all the time we’d save. But installing it was quite another matter. In a testament to the bonds of the Apple family, just as they had all pitched in to rebuild the barn a few years back, many of them were now hard at work on getting this irrigation system set up.

Once complete it would work like this. Pipes and pumps near the lake would draw water into the system, filtering it and adding fertiliser or other nutrients as needed. From there, it would be pumped all around the orchards and fields into dozens of sprinklers that would coat the whole area at regular intervals. This would ensure that the trees, and all our other crops, would have enough water and nutrition to thrive. We could adjust settings as needed based on prevailing conditions. That meant that we could devote more time to caring for the trees, and maintaining them, preventing disease and other problems flaring up. After all, at times, we were all run ragged. This would take some of the pressure off.

Of course, we first had to build the damn thing.

I led Gallus over towards the large lake that would serve as our primary water source. Small, shallow trenches had been dug along the route the system would take, and most of the sprinklers, which would soon be all but buried, were in place. At the lake itself, we found Applejack working on the water pump that would draw water into the system, along with the generator to drive it. It was this she was currently tinkering with.

Applejack knows more about engineering that you might expect. She’s quite the handymare after all and has taught me pretty much all I know about DIY, apart from a little I learned from my dad. She was currently working on some of the gears in the generator. Around her barrel was her tool belt, and she currently had a wrench help in her teeth as she tightened a bolt. The two of us watched her for a moment, until she set down her tools and looked up, spotting us.

“Well are y’all just gonna stand there like idiots or are ya gonna lend a hoof?” she demanded.

For a moment, I forgot I had Gallus with me.

“What can I say?” I replied teasingly. “I was mesmerised by how sexy you are with that tool belt on.”

Gallus blushed up to his ears at that. No student wants to be around when their two teachers are flirting with each other. Applejack just grimaced as she realised Gallus had heard that.

“Just ignore him, Gallus,” she said apologetically, no doubt plotting to kill me later. “He thinks he’s bein’ all suave and clever. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to realise it just makes him sound like a dang fool.”

“Oh I realise,” I replied. “I just don’t care.” Applejack chuckled at that.

With that, the two of us set to work helping her get the generator running. Gallus knew a surprising bit about engines and between the three of us, we soon got it working. Once connected to the pump, it would bring water into the system. That was a fair ways off yet though. The rest of the afternoon was spent steadily laying the underground pipework and burying them, until only the sprinkler heads were left above ground.

---

By late afternoon, the work was pretty much finished. From the air, according to a passing Rainbow Dash, Sweet Apple Acres was now covered in a spiderweb of criss cross patterns marking where the ground had been disturbed. In time of course, the grass would grow back, covering the work. But for the time being, it was quite useful, at least until we got used to where all the sprinklers were, as it stopped us tripping over the exposed heads.

Still, with the hard work done, all that now remained was to prime the system. Applejack, in recognition of Gallus’ help and hard work, gave the honour to him.

“Alright, Gallus,” she said as she got the generator going again. “Switch on the main pump and we’ll prime everything.”

Gallus flipped a couple of switches and turned on the pumps. A low, steady droning note filled the air as we all waited with baited breath. We didn’t know if the system was properly watertight. This priming would help expose that, and members of the Apple family were stationed all over the farm, keeping an eye for leaking water from underground.

But no such leaks were forthcoming, and the pressure slowly began to rise. In a way, it was a lot like the air brake systems you saw on big freight trains. Eventually, as the entire circuit was filled, the pressure levelled off and Gallus switched the pump down to its lowest setting.

“Okay. Now set of the sprinklers,” AJ commanded. Gallus flicked another switch.

There was a sharp clicking sound as the heads all sprang up from their stowed position, followed by a brief grinding noise as the heads moved back and forth. For one heart stopping moment, there was no water, and I feared that there might be a problem with some of the valves. But a moment later, the heads properly came to life as water gushed out in a steady stream, as the sprinkler heads steadily rotated around.

The assembled ponies all cheered as the sprinklers did their job, soaking the grass and trees all across the farm in one fell swoop. The system was rigged on a timer, so that once the switch was thrown, a minute later, it would shut off. And that was just what happened. The sprinklers stopped and promptly retracted back out of the way, leaving behind a fine layer of dew and a faint rainbow that glittered in the afternoon sun before slowly fading out.

“Brilliant!” I declared. “No leaks, and all the sprinkler heads seem to be working fine.”

“Eeyup!” Big Mac agreed.

“Alright, ya can turn off the pump, Gallus,” AJ said as she did the same with the generator. “We sure appreciate your help on all this, partner.”

“Oh anytime,” Gallus said in his usual nonchalant way. “I’m always happy to get a chance to actually practice my friendship lessons.”

He didn’t show it too much, like I said, a lot like RD, he keeps his emotions and true feelings under the surface most of the time. But I could see a certain mistiness in his eyes. He’d spent the day with the Apple family, getting to know everypony, making new friends, and generally just feeling accepted for a change. He even got something of a replacement grandparent in Granny Smith, who said he was more than welcome to drop by the farm any time. She even offered him bits under the table for some light work over the summer if he wanted. On that front, Gallus’ griffon nature perked up, and he quickly jumped at the chance.

---

Later in the evening, the Apple family reunion was once again drawing to a close. We’d all reconnected, swapped stories, traded, played games, enjoyed good food and drink, and even built a fully functioning irrigation system. Now it was time to slow things down a bit. Big Mac was taking the foals and a few of the parents of the hayride, at the requisite steady pace. Building the irrigation system was enough work. Nopony wanted to have to rebuild the barn again.

The rest of us adults were enjoying ourselves at the dance. The Apple family has quite a few talented musicians in their number, most notably Fiddlesticks, who is an excellent violinist. She, along with a small band, were currently gathered in the barn, playing a number of country airs and dance music.

One of the many things I learned since I got here is how to dance. Back on Earth, I hadn’t the faintest clue where to start. I wasn’t half as bad as Twilight, but I could just never get the footwork down, or rhythm for that matter. My grandad had taught me a passable foxtrot, but that was about it and I only did it once at a wedding. Fortunately, at my first reunion, Applejack was there to fix that. She taught me some of the more complicated country dances, acting as my partner.

I still felt ridiculous doing it, mind. Dancing isn’t something I especially like, but it was the reunion, and tradition is tradition. Plus I had AJ along with me to make sure I didn’t make a complete fool of myself.

Still, what I preferred was the slower dances. I have nothing against the country and western style, but doing it, even with a good partner like Applejack made it feel like work more than play; constantly counting steps and beats in my head, thinking about where I needed to move next. I know with time and practice that would fade out, but for the moment, I preferred it when things were a bit more intimate.

And luckily for me, such a dance was coming up now. With the kids away, there was a chance for the husbands and wives that made up the Apple family to indulge in a spot of romance. Now, while neither I nor AJ are overly romantic, I still enjoy dancing with her. As the slow, soft, haunting music began to play, I took AJ’s hoof in my own, put the other on her barrel and gently began to lead.

I love doing this,” I said softly as we danced. “It ain’t often you and I have the time.”

“You’re not wrong there, Bones,” Applejack agreed quietly as she nuzzled against my chest. “And it’s only gonna get busier once Applebuck Season starts.”

She was right. Another week or so after the reunion, and we’d be going full steam ahead with the busiest harvest of the year. Forget zap apples, cattle drives, building projects, ploughing or logging. Even Winter Wrap Up didn’t hold a candle to how busy Applebuck Season was. Granted, we did have some extra help, insofar as hauling the apples back to the barns in the form of the cattle herd. Just as they might be used to haul heavy wagons back on Earth, the cows lent us a hoof at buddy times. Still, it was a mammoth undertaking. The saving grace though was that, this year, we were going to have a bit of help.

Ever since Applejack’s ill fated attempt to do the entire harvest on her own, her friends have usually pitched in in some way to help. Of course, unlike that year, we’ve got Big Mac on hoof, as well as Apple Bloom. But Twilight and the others would stop by whenever they could to share the load a bit. And according to Spike, Twilight has even more reason to lend a hoof this year. After all, helping out us commoners is a good look for the new Princess of Equestria. Not that I’d imagine Twilight would ever truly buy into such nonsense. She’s helping because she has the time, and because she’s a friend, not to build her PR status.

But that, along with everything else that came with Applebuck Season could wait for another time. Right now, all I wanted to do was dance with my marefriend.

“If I came up with a spell that let us live in this one moment for the rest of our lives, would you be mad?” I asked shyly as we continued to sway. I expected Applejack to shoot back her usual playful counter. But instead, she just replied;

“No. That would be kinda nice.”

Little did I know that this would be the last truly peaceful moment for a while. Looking back, this was Luke sitting out watching the twin suns set on Tatooine. There was something looming on the horizon. I knew what it was, of course. Thanks to Dad back during the Summer Sun Celebration, I was aware of Discord’s plan, and the fact that three card carrying villains were on the loose. But I never expected things to spiral out of control just as badly as they did.

---

A couple weeks later found me in Twilight’s castle, spending some time with the alicorn princess herself. She’d been compelled to spend more and more time in Canterlot, getting important lessons from Celestia and Luna to prepare her for her new role, which wasn’t that far off now.

Privately, I didn’t like to dwell on that. I know what Luna said about me dealing with change was right. And yes, Twilight has saved the day, along with her friends, time and time again without fail. I just can’t help but feel as if we’re going to lose the adorable book loving neat freak I got to know over the last few years. Then again, wings and title hadn’t changed her, now had they? Still, I always took a chance to spend some time with the mare who had taught me pretty much all I knew about magic.

The two of us were currently doing something we both loved; reading. I was contentedly working my way through Admiral Lord Cochrane’s biography; ‘Memoirs of a Fighting Captain’, his stories of his time in the sloop HMS Speedy having gone on to inspire the exploits of the more fictional Jack Aubrey and his own HMS Surprise. Twilight meanwhile was happily going over a history text that had come through the rift some time ago; ‘Europe Since Napoleon’, a chronology of major affairs on the continent and in Britain following the Corsican upstart’s defeat at Waterloo.

She was deeply engrossed in the text, fascinated by the goings on in nineteenth century Europe. And her distraction, and habit of ignoring the world around her allowed me to have a little fun.

I consider it a point of principle to have a good eye for details, and I try to improve my observational skills whenever I have a chance. I’d been watching Twilight all morning we’d spent together. I knew roughly where she was in the book too. She was presently reading about Italian unification, and the war between Piedmont-Sardinia, backed by the Second French Empire, against Austria, which at that time held dominion over much of the north of Italy, while the Papacy held lands further to the South, along with other smaller states. It was a bloody war, not intended to create Italy at all, and in the long run it achieved little, even when the country was fully unified. After all, even today, there is and was a strong divide between the various parts of the country. Garibaldi himself even said that while they had created Italy, they had yet to create Italians. The creation of Italian national identity was made even more difficult by the fact that most of the fighting was done by the frogs.

Eventually, Twilight set down her book. Looking up from my own text, I carefully watched her eyes move about the room as she sat back, no doubt pondering what she had just read. They moved hither and thither as the alicorn thought about the affair. Eventually, she shook her head slightly to herself, and I tried my hand.

“You’re right, Twilight,” I agreed. “There must be better ways for people to settle their differences.”

Twilight smiled and nodded for a moment until the implication of what I’d said hit her. Then she jumped with a start.

“Ahh! What the hay?!” she exclaimed, jumping up and nearly falling out of her chair as her wings flared out. I couldn’t resist chuckling.

“Jeez. Careful, Twilight,” I chided. “You’re gonna hurt yourself.”

“But...how...how did you know what I was thinking?!” the alicorn demanded furiously as she got a hold of herself. “Have you been messing around with dark magic again? I thought we agreed you’d stick to theory only.”

I was quick to reassure her that no magic was at play here.

“Relax, Twilight,” I said. “I haven’t used any magic except to turn the pages of this book.”

“Then how did you know what I was thinking?”

“Simple,” I replied with a shrug of my shoulders. “Observation. Something I picked up from one of those Sherlock Holmes stories.”

“But how?” Twilight asked, now more curious than anything. I took her through my process.

“Well, first I saw when I went to get some coffee you were reading about Italy’s war of independence,” I began. “When you set the book down, I saw from your expression that you were troubled. Your eyes drifted over to that photo of your brother and Cadence. I saw your eyes linger on him. You smiled to yourself, thinking of how brave and noble he is, and how gallant the cause you’d just read about was.

“Then your expression changed. You remembered how Shining had been hurt in the course of his duties as captain of the guard, and pondered how the same had happened to so many Frenchmen and Italians. Then your face fell as you turned your attention to the small photo of Tempest Shadow nearby, and you pondered how not all soldiers were as lucky as your brother, and how not all causes are noble, and how some can lead to disaster.

“That of course, led you to think of Tempest herself, a mare forever crippled, to never be entirely trusted for having fought on the wrong side. She might have been just another happy unicorn, instead, she is a scarred ex-soldier, her life forever marred by war. And from there, your thoughts returned to the book as you glanced over at it, and you drew parallels with that war, thinking of all those who were injured or killed over two different ideas.

“And so, seeing you so saddened, I chose that moment to break in on your thoughts, agreeing with you that war was indeed a foolish way of settling disputes.”

Twilight listened to my little explanation with no small amount of interest. However, my little lecture actually brought out some criticism from her.

“That’s not just observation though,” she retorted. “I mean, you followed where my eyes went. But your analysis of what I was thinking was all supposition. You were guessing most of the time. When I looked at the photo of Shining and Cadence, I could have been thinking about how long it’s been since I’ve seen them. And when I looked at the one of Tempest, I could have just been wondering what she’s up to now outside Equestria. Pretty much all of your deductions came from knowing me and knowing how I think. If you repeated the same experiment with a stranger, there’s no way you’d be able to do the same thing.”

“Twilight, you thought I was using magic to read your mind,” I said, feeling a little put out. “You can at least acknowledge that I was right.”

“You were, Bones,” she agreed, brightening up a little again before adding. “But it was still a guess.”

“Ten bits says you can’t do it though,” I replied teasingly. Twilight just blushed at that.

We both ended up laughing about it. In hindsight, I think Twilight was right to take me down a peg. On the other hoof, it was fun seeing her freak out a little. We ended up chatting a little about deductive and abductive reasoning over lunch. I even dug out the relevant story for us to read together. Twilight was just as scathing of Holmes’ analysis of Watson’s thoughts as she was of mine, but did admit that it made for a good party trick.

As with all things, Twilight also proved a quick study too, something I quickly learned when I prepared to leave. I was planning to drop by Sugarcube Corner on my way home to pick up some cakes for the Apple family, and was still torn between cupcakes or a single sponge to share. Twilight walked me to the door.

“Thanks for stopping by, Bones,” she said kindly.

“Anytime, Twilight. I suppose I’ll next see you when Applebuck Season starts.” Twilight giggled.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she replied.

I turned to go, but just as I got down the steps, she called out to me again.

“Oh, and Bones?”

“Yes?” I said, turning around.

“I think you’re right. Cupcakes would be a better choice.”

With that, she went back inside, leaving me suitably stunned. I hadn’t even said anything to her about my little errand.

---

As the summer holidays ramped up, Ponyville was fast becoming a busy, bustling place. While some ponies regard the small town as a bit of a backwater, a lot of ponies also enjoyed the typically slower pace of life the town offered. While the town never saw the same tourist numbers that were caused when Twilight and her friends published their friendship journal, you’d often come across a few tourists, mainly from Canterlot.

And that, as I made my way over to Sugarcube Corner, was exactly what I encountered. As I was making my way through the market square, I was approached by a fairly tall and rather pretty unicorn. She had a light green coat, almost sea foam in colour, with a two toned ginger mane that hung loose about her shoulders, rather like Fleur de Lis. Her cutie mark meanwhile was a ladybug with three leaves underneath it. What caught my attention though were her eyes. They were an odd greenish colour with varying shades in the iris; quite unusual for a pony. There was something familiar about them too, something I couldn’t quite put my hoof on. You know that feeling where you think you recognise somepony but can’t quite remember where? That was what I was getting from this mare. Had we met before?

I couldn’t place her, but she was clearly a tourist judging by the camera hanging around her neck. And at the moment, she seemed to be in a bit of difficulty, looking around like she was lost.

“Excuse me,” she called out as she trotted up. “Could you help me please?”

Her voice was a little shrill perhaps, but not unpleasant. Despite that, I suddenly found the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. Again, I had this strange feeling as if I knew this pony from somewhere. But for the life of me, I couldn’t recall where. Now, on its own, this was odd enough, but what was stranger was my reaction to her. For a brief moment, only a split second, I felt fear, followed by a flash of anger. There was something in that voice, the body language; something hidden underneath. My ears couldn’t hear it and my eyes couldn’t see it, but my subconscious knew something was up. I felt my muscles tighten as a fight or flight response kicked in. By the time she was standing next to me, my subconscious was screaming one simple command; ‘kill’.

For whatever reason, this cute enough, and apparently lost unicorn had gotten me on edge like you wouldn’t believe. On the one hoof, I was tempted to trust my gut. After all, you do hear stories of people being unsettled on first meeting someone, and then later finding out they’re a wanted murderer or something. But on the other hoof, at least as far as my memory knew, I’d never met this mare in my life. It was quite possible that my mind was mixing her up with somepony else. After all, little things like a laugh of a particular scent can be powerful ways to recall a memory. Maybe that was it, and this mare just reminded me of something unpleasant.

So, burying my odd feelings on the matter, and ignoring the subconscious instinct I was feeling to go utterly postal, I put on my best friendly face and turned to the mare.

“Sure, miss,” I said kindly, touching the brim of my hat. “What’s the problem?”

“Well, I’m trying to find my way back to the train station,” she explained. “But none of these dullard earth ponies will help me.” She gestured to the various ponies around us going about their business.

I bristled at her rather off colour remark. She was most definitely from Canterlot alright. While it may be the home of the two sisters and the seat of power for the Equestrian government, it was also home to a, admittedly small, minority of rather self-important unicorns. The same thing had cropped up when I was in Canterlot for the Summer Sun Celebration. Fire Flare and her skilled troupe of performers, who were supposed to use their magic to create a fireworks display, randomly stormed off and threw a fit shortly before the ceremony. When me and Dad called them out, she went on this tirade about not wasting her time with dullard earth ponies and feather brained pegasi. Since then, every now and then, there had been a number of little incidents between ponies from different tribes. Just little squabbles really, but more and more of it seemed to be about which tribe you came from. Dad had said he’d been seeing more and more of it at Day Court too.

Well, I wasn’t about to stand for any of that. My marefriend, and a good many of my close friends were earth ponies. I wouldn’t hear of them all being tarred with the same brush. True there were earth ponies who were jackasses, (no offence) but that didn’t mean you could apply the same label to all of them, just as I don’t consider all unicorns stuck up and boastful.

“I’d be happy to show you the way,” I replied, my tone a little stern. “But I can assure you, none of the ponies here are dullards, and I would thank you not to use such language.”

“Oh, I know it isn’t their fault. It’s just the way they are,” the mare said in a condescending tone. “It’s worse the way they hoard the harvests every year and keep the best for themselves.”

Okay, what?!

“What?!” I exclaimed. The mare tittered.

“Oh, come on, every unicorn worth their magic knows that,” she said. “Just as how the pegasi always make sure to tend to their own towns first before bringing anypony else the weather they need.”

What was this mare on?! I didn’t know Equestria had conspiracy theorists. Were chemtrails a thing here too? Still, I guess it explained my reaction in a way; I was having a flashback of an encounter with a couple of teenage Mormon girls when I was on holiday in the States. For one brief shining moment I thought I’d won the lottery, and then the book came out.

“That’s nonsense!” I rebuffed harshly. “The three tribes work together. It’s how Equestria functions.” Still, the pretty whack job beside me kept it up.

“Oh I know they pretend to,” she said. “But let’s be honest. They wouldn’t last a week without us unicorns and our magic. And who tells them all what to do most of the time? Unicorns. Sure, we all pretend it’s an equal partnership, but deep down, I think we all know who is in charge.”

“That would be Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” I cut her off with a snarl, my patience running out. “Now, you’ll find the train station if you go to the end of this street and turn left. Have a nice trip.”

And with that, I left the stuck up proverbial Canterlot snot to her ramblings. What a load of horse apples! It was bad enough last year when Equestria was swarming with xenophobes. But ponies against ponies? Honestly. Did Hearth’s Warming happen, or was it just some bloody fever dream? It certainly seemed like it of late, the way some ponies were acting. What worried me was that some ponies, of all tribes, were actually listening to that nonsense. But it seemed there was little I could do about it though. After all, as Mark Twain said; ‘Never try to argue with a stupid person. They will drag you down to their level, and beat you with their experience.’. I just hoped her behaviour didn’t make earth ponies or pegasi think that all unicorns were like that.

Still, at least they weren’t all like that. I caught a glimpse of Bon Bon and Lyra as I headed back home. Those two are adorable together. Or look at me and AJ; it’s the same thing, a unicorn and an earth pony. It didn’t matter which tribe you came from. Now if only that strange mare could be so enlightened.

It certainly explained why I’d felt so uneasy when she walked up to me, Mormons aside. Maybe I have a subconscious horse apples detector? At least, that was what I’d thought at the time. Looking back, I should have clocked those eyes. I still can’t believe I didn’t see it, didn’t hear that smug, superior tone in her voice, never mind that sickly green glow of her magic. Turns out I should give my subconscious more credit. It seems, unlike me, it can spot a changeling a mile off.

---

Luckily, with the start of Applebuck Season a few days later, I got to see the other side of ponies. In reality, while vocal, those who, for whatever reason took issue with another tribe, were few and far between. While once upon a time Applebuck Season was something undertaken by just two earth ponies, Applejack and Big Mac, these days, in order to lighten the load her friends pitched in whenever they could. As I said before, Twilight was on hoof on the first day, even turning up at six in the morning to start. Her alicorn magic, which Applejack is now far less hostile about her using, allowed her to clear lots of trees at a time, levitating dozens of apples from their perches and neatly placing them into the baskets.

It certainly made life easier for us on the first day. A unicorn I may be, but my magic is only really useful for quickly collecting stray apples. I still kick away at the trees to harvest them. And even then, I didn’t hold a candle to Big Mac or AJ. Still, we made good progress that first day, with Twilight putting us well ahead of schedule. The only downside was the paparazzi who briefly rocked up to take their photos. Twilight’s presence here was something of a political move, after all. I wasn’t the only one to notice rifts beginning to form. Over the next few days, she’d be helping us out, teaching foals basic magic at the elementary school, and helping the Wonderbolts with some major weather work. Celestia hoped this would reinforce the idea of ponies all working together under the guidance of their new princess.

Twilight’s brief spot of help actually made the rest of the season much more tolerable. All year long I half looked forward to this, because of all the apples, but also dreaded it because of all the work, and crawling into bed each night exhausted. This year though, while the work remained tough, was nowhere near as back breaking as it used to be. I still can’t believe Applejack tried to do it all herself, nor how far she got before she finally ran out of steam.

The next few days saw a steady stream of help from our friends. Dash swung by a couple days later, and promptly got goaded by a clever Applejack into a competition to see who could clear the most trees in a day. AJ won, but it was a close call, but the two also got pretty much all of the west orchard done and dusted.

Fluttershy too stopped by, enlisting the help of her animal friends, with the promise of proper compensation, of course, to help load up the carts with apples. The birds in particular were helpful, flying up to the tops of trees and dislodging particularly stubborn apples.

Pinkie Pie, being an earth pony herself, brought plenty of raw strength to the game, as well as her unique ability to seemingly bend reality. After somehow getting her hooves on coffee when she stopped by for breakfast, the mare went utterly berserk and tore across the fields and went right through the orchards, bouncing off the apple trees like a pinball. The impacts dislodged the fruit by the cartload. Now if only I could explain how or why the trees lit up when she hit them, and made the distinctive metal pinging sound as she bounced off.

And finally, Rarity dropped by. For once, she came without her dragon companion. Turns out the little drake may finally have come to his senses. Apparently, he’s been hanging around with Gabby, that griffon the Crusaders made friends with a while back. Rarity suddenly found herself no longer the sole subject of Spike’s affections, leaving her without her normal servant. Serves her right too, if you ask me. She did rather lead him on a bit and take advantage of his crush on her. Mind you, she’s tried the same with a lot of stallions, including me a couple of times.

---

A few moons ago

I was in Carousel Boutique, having been asked by Rarity to drop by. Having picked up more than a few of AJ’s DIY skills, I occasionally moonlighted as a handyman for a few extra bits if things were quiet on the farm. Rarity had asked me to stop by to help her fit a couple of replacement glass panes in one of the upstairs windows. Those knuckleheads Snips and Snails had been playing nearby, brushing up on Snails’ buckball skills, when the ball missed the mark and crashed straight through Rarity’s upstairs window. She’d bought replacement panes, paid for in part by the two foals, and just needed me to help remove the damaged one and fit the new one in its place.

She’d called me when the incident happened, and I’d put a good chunk of plywood in place to cover the hole until a more permanent solution could be found. I was now removing this so I could start the work. Rarity was more than grateful.

“I really can’t tell you how much I appreciate you helping me out with this, Bones,” she said sweetly, standing at the doorway as I worked.

“It’s no bother, Rarity,” I replied. “I’m just glad the new glass is here. It didn’t look right seeing your shop with this wooden panel across the window.”

“Quite,” she agreed. “It was most unsightly. I was worried that it might start to drive away my customers. After all, who wants to come to such a ramshackle looking store?”

“Oh, I doubt anypony was discouraged by just that,” I replied as I scrubbed out the putty from the frame and began to prepare the new glass pane.

“You’d be surprised, darling,” Rarity countered. “First impressions do count after all. And if the first thing ponies see is a smashed window, they may very well make judgements on the business as a whole.”

As I started setting the new pane in place, I resisted the urge to chuckle at Rarity’s worry. If this was a downstairs window, at the front of the shop, I’d understand. But this was one window, on the upstairs floor at the back of the building. Still, valid or not, she wouldn’t need to worry now as I finished setting the frame in place.

“There we go,” I said, getting back to my hooves. “Give it a day or so to make sure the putty is set before you open it. Otherwise, you should be good to go.”

“Oh, thank you, darling,” Rarity said, briefly hugging me and somewhat draping herself over me. “Whatever would I do without you?”

“It’s no bother, Rarity,” I assured her, gently trying to pry her off. She tittered at that.

“Oh and so modest too,” she went on. “I don’t suppose I could call on your services again, could I?”

Ah, here we go. While I’d been able to do this quick job for her, I still had plenty I needed to do on the farm today.

“Depends,” I replied. “I’ve got a lot of chores to do today. So if it’s a big job, it’ll have to wait for another time.”

“Oh it’s nothing really,” Rarity assured. “Just a couple of leaky pipes in the basement. I’m sure a stallion of your skill could have it mended in a jiffy.”

As she said that, she fluttered her eyelids at me. I knew that look well. It was supposed to make me roll over with all four paws in the air, and it would work on more than a few stallions too. Rarity may be the Elements of Generosity, but she isn’t above using her looks to get what she wants. Fixing water pipes though could often turn into quite a big job, depending on what was causing the leaks.

“Sorry, Rarity,” I said kindly. “But I'm afraid I won’t be able to tackle something like that today. Plus, you’re better off hiring a professional for something like that.” Rarity however, wasn’t about to give up that easily.

“Please, darling,” she pleaded. “I’m sure there’s something I can do for you in return.” Again, she fluttered her eyelids and ran a hoof up my chest, trying to turn up the heat.

A pleasant side effect of Spike somewhat getting over his boyhood crush meant this behaviour would ease off later on. But for now, I had to put up with it. Or rather, I had to remind her who she was trying it on with. One advantage of not being interested physically in either gender, although my love for Applejack, romantically speaking, could probably keep a changeling hive going for a decade, meant that Rarity’s charms had very little effect on me. As she looked up again, expecting to see me putty in her hooves, I just looked down at her with slight disinterest.

“That doesn’t work on me, Rarity,” I said plainly.

The unicorn, suitably embarrassed, promptly dropped her attempt at flirting. Not that she would ever do anything serious. After all, she knows how much AJ and I care for each other. Still, it is her greatest character flaw, although it does have its uses at times.

---

Anyway, back to the present, Rarity did indeed drop by, sans Spike, who came along with Twilight instead. She too used her magic to help out with the harvest. I have to admit, even though I am glad to see it, it was odd to see her without Spike following at her heels. I’d always thought that there was some reciprocation on her part, but until Spike started, in a platonic way I might add, hanging out with Gabby, I didn’t realise how much. True, she did take advantage of his attraction, but it seems that there was indeed some love in there too. It’s certainly an interesting reversal of roles to see the lady doing the chasing. I guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder. I just wonder what will happen in the long run, and if the two of them, when Spike is a little older, will ever hook up.

The most unusual help we got though, was from my own family. It was a rare thing that we all had a chance to get together, and despite the hard work, both my parents and my little sister managed to spare some time to help out on the last couple days of the harvest when the work was beginning to ease off.

---

It was another bright and clear day in late August. Summer was starting to wind down now as we made our way towards autumn. Before too long these trees would be turning shades of red and gold, and losing their leaves, as well as their apples.

We were nearly done with Applebuck Season, and the barn was fast filling up with produce. Some of this would be taken to market for sale, while others would be kept back for cider season, the next big event on the calendar. That would be after the coronation too. It was going to be a busy autumn.

We’d split into teams for today. Applejack was working with my mom and Apple Bloom, Lizzie, who was no doubt very happy with the situation, was with Big Mac, leaving me to work my section of the orchards with Dad. While he lacked the muscle power to buck a tree like a pony could, he still did a decent job. Instead of kicking, he’d shake the trees to make the apples fall, occasionally shimmying part way up the trunk to use his hands to pull down some of the more stubborn ones. Given how we weren’t in too much of a rush, what with all the help we’d had over the last couple weeks, the two of us were chatting together. At the moment, Dad was telling me a funny story about a recent case he’d had up in Day Court.

It involved the Friendship Express of all things; the train he uses to get to work up in Canterlot. The bright pink, heart covered steam engine was a familiar sight in Ponyville. He’d actually been on the train when the incident happened. Apparently, there was some work being done on the line, and the signals indicated that the driver should slow down and come to a stand a little ways up the switchback climb up the Canterhorn while the workmen finished up. But being so familiar with the route, and distracted by nattering to his fireman, he’d ploughed through the distance signal at full tilt, and committed a SPAD when he blew through the home signal, which was set to danger. It was only that the repair crew had the good sense to put detonators up the line from where they were working that the driver realised his mistake and slammed on the anchors.

The investigation got kicked up to Day Court due to how serious it was. After all, had it not been for those three detonators on the track, he could well have crashed right through the repair crew and possibly killed someone, or even derailed the train. Now, what was funny about all this you ask?

“And so,” Dad said, still giggling to himself as he recounted the story. “Celestia is standing there giving the engineer a right telling off for being so reckless and not watching the signals and gumming up all the network behind him. I’m standing next to her just minding my own business, and then all of a sudden, just as she’s winding up, she goes and says ‘Steamer, this is a very serious matter; you have caused confusion and delay’.”

I chortled at that, recognising the line from one of my favourite TV shows as a kid.

“Naturally, Tia turns to me and looks at me like I’ve grown two heads. And that just made it worse. I ended up having to step out for a minute and she gave me Hell afterwards.”

“I bet,” I said with a chuckle. “What happened to the driver anyway?” Dad now became serious.

“P45, son,” he replied. “It if wasn’t for the workmen on the line he might have gotten away with it. But another three hundred feet and he could have killed somepony.” Harsh, but you could see why.”

“I’m surprised they don’t have something like AWS on those trains,” I said. “Especially since they still use those old semaphore signals.”

“What’s that then?” Dad asked. “You know I’m not a train nutter like you. I thought ponies were odd enough.”

“Automatic Warning System. It’s that sunflower dial they have in the cab. A couple hundred yards up from a signal, you go over a box. If the signal is at caution or danger it blows a horn and it switches so that the dial looks like a sunflower. You press a button to reset the system, and it reminds you you’re not running under a green. If you don’t hit the button in time, it puts the brakes on like a dead man’s pedal would. When you pass a clear signal, it rings a bell as a reminder, and turns the sunflower black. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than remembering to stick your head out the engine.”

“Oh, I see,” Dad said, somewhat interested as he put more energy into shaking the last few apples from one of the trees. “I might mention it to Tia tomorrow. The investigation is still ongoing at the moment. Maybe they can get it in as a recommendation.”

A little while later, we all returned to the farmhouse for lunch, giving us all a chance to talk together. It was while we were all sitting around the dinner table that the subject of the growing disharmony came up.

“You’ve noticed it too then?” Mum was saying. “At first I thought it was just a one off, but some of the kids have been getting really mean about it. Little Twist even had a go at Apple Bloom the other day for hanging around with her friends, what with them not being earth ponies.”

“Seriously?” Lizzie said incredulously. “Something screwy is definitely going on. When Dewdrop and I took that big storm system from Cloudsdale down to Appleloosa, we got stared at the whole time we were in town. We were pretty much the only pegasi there.”

“It’s pretty strange. I’ll say that,” Dad agreed, casting a quick glance my way. “There seems to be all these madcap conspiracy theories flying around at the moment. Things like ‘earth ponies are hoarding crops’, or ‘unicorns are plotting a takeover and need to have their magic limited’. It just makes no sense, and for the life of me, I can’t figure out what’s brought it on, neither can Celestia or Luna. All we know is that it started after the Summer Sun Celebration.”

“Could it be somethin’ to do with the princesses retirin’?” Applejack suggested.

“Makes sense,” I added. “A big change like this, uncertainty, and you start looking out for yourself.”

“They’re not just lookin’ out for themselves, Bones,” Big Mac said. “Some ponies are gettin’ real distrustful of the other tribes. I even saw it when I went to see Sugar Belle last week.”

“I’d just like to get my hooves on that pear brained idiot who started all these insane rumours. That’s all they are. And why is it ponies are suddenly so willin’ to believe such nonsense?”

“Well, at least we can say none of the Apple family ascribe themselves to such tomfoolery,” Granny Smith said as she brought in dessert. “And with any luck, the coronation will help bring folks to their senses.”

I certainly hoped so. I just wished I knew what was causing it. Like Applejack said, it was all just mud slinging. Confronted with facts, none of it stood up to scrutiny. What worried me though was how divisive it was becoming. Equestria depends on the unity of the three tribes. While we were nowhere near the pre-Hearth’s Warming level of distrust and discord, if this kept up, it could cause serious problems. More to the point, it was clear that someone was doing this to foster distrust. Could this be Discord’s little experiment? I wished I knew, but I hadn’t seen him for a while. Even with Dad he’d been oddly absent and distant.

That moron was planning something, and he had an idiot, a child, and an ex-queen who I consider to be extremely dangerous, alone or otherwise helping him. Three sociopathic scoundrels. But what good could it do? Was he trying to drive a wedge between Twilight’s friends so they couldn’t use their powers? No, their friendship was too strong for that. And when they made their move, surely ponies would rally together against a common foe. Besides, the three of them, combined with Discord wouldn’t need such divisions; they were dangerous enough on their own.

I went to bed that night, as the last day of the harvest drew to a close, still trying to figure things out. Discord had some plan in the works, and he would no doubt set it in motion when Twilight was crowned. I half-trusted his assurance that he could act as a safety net, but still, not knowing what was in the works gave me pause.

If I had known what was really going on in that little hideaway of his, I wouldn’t have slept a wink that night.

Author's Note:

Proofread by Sweetolebob18.

A couple quick explanations. SPAD is short for 'signal passed at danger', in railway terms, running a red light. A P45 is a tax form analogous to the 'pink slip' in the States.

As a Brit, the holidays don't quite line up here. Most schools are closed by mid-July with a summer holiday of six weeks.

Finally, the music Bones and AJ dance to, 'Ashokan Farewell', is taken from Ken Burns' documentary series on the Civil War, though surprisingly, does not date from the period.

Next week, on to September for the series finale.

Comments

[Vaalintine]

I really liked this chapter, so much was interesting. It certainly invoked some emotions in me for sure.

The bit with thw Red Baron had me thinking, if the plabe was shot down it technically wouldn't be a cruel act. The part where Blade Star and Applejack where being sweet on each other was hands down the best part. Gallus too I felt for, I mean really felt. Grandpa Gruff though... I don't know much about him but he does seem like he cares, but also with where he's lived I doubt you could tell under the mountain of issues he's carrying. Inviting Gallus to the Family Reunion was also nice as well, even if it made it q little sad by point out how his family had failed him. Like, what does one do with family members that aren't even conscious of how short they've fallen?

Gallus and his family issues ked well into the end, with how all the disharmony is going on between the tribes. Discord is doubtless behind it, by proxy at least

[PinkDragonJr]

still a good story. still bingeing the series