Storm on the Prairie

by Trinary

First published 25th of October, 2015

Set in the Dashverse AU: When Applejack and friends visit her cousin in Appleloosa, she's disturbed to find that Braeburn's been bucking tradition instead of apples.

Set in Dashverse. Applejack is taking Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie out to Appleloosa to help with the Apple Family Reunion and so she can compete in the Appleloosa Rodeo! Amid the celebrations of the Reunion, the rodeo and the one year anniversary of the peace agreement with the buffalo, Applejack finds that her favorite cousin, Braeburn, has been involved in making changes--including bucking tradition instead of apples.

How she attempts to deal with this, and her friendly-rivalry with Rainbow Dash, will push Applejack to her limits.

Chapter 1

Storm on the Prairie

Applejack stuck her head out the window of the train as it chugged along the tracks, taking them closer and closer to their destination. The grin on her face grew wider with each passing moment. Even though her friends in the cabin couldn’t see her face, they could tell she was happy by other ways.

“Hey Applejack, you doing your best Winona impersonation?” Rainbow snarked as she watched her friend’s tail wag back and forth. “Careful you don’t swallow a bug!”

“Oooh, is she panting and doing that thing where her tongue hangs outside her mouth?” Pinkie Pie asked. “Because that’s so cute when puppies do that!” A round of chuckles broke out.

Applejack rolled her eyes and pulled her head back inside. “Oh ha ha, you lot. You’re a regular comedy troupe.” She shut the window and took her seat back with her friends.

Twilight looked up from a book she was reading and gave Applejack an encouraging smile. “You know they’re just teasing. We’re all really happy to see you so excited—and we appreciate you inviting us to your family reunion in Appleloosa.” Fluttershy was helping Rarity with some fashion work for a fellow named Hoity Toity, so it was just the four of them this time.

Just the thought of the reunion was enough to set Applejack smiling again. “Boy howdy, y’all are in for a treat! This year the whole family’s coming out and it’s gonna be just in time for Appleloosa’s first county fair and rodeo competition! Ah’m so excited Ah can hardly wait!” She grinned out at her friends. “And Ah wanna thank you all again for helpin’ out. It’d have been a major pain in the flank for my family t’set up everythin’ ourselves. Granny Smith’s a bit old and Apple Bloom’s a bit young to help carry everything, y’know?”

“Yeah, good to know that the magic of friendship translates into free labor,” Rainbow snarked.

“Hey now, s’not like I asked y’all to carry anything real heavy—“ Applejack grinned. “—like yer ego.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes as her friends giggled, watching the exchange. “Oh now there’s the stratus calling the cumulus fluffy. You’ve been building up the rodeo games and contests for weeks. Practically every time I flew by Sweet Apple Acres this week you were practicing throwing horseshoes or running around barrels or something. And it just so happened that Apple Bloom was dusting off your collection of Blue Ribbons every time we came over to help you guys pack your stuff?”

“S’just a coincidence!” Applejack scrunched her nose, her eyes darting this way and that.

“Ya huh.” Dash grinned predatorily. “Well, we’ll see just how many ribbons you win now that you have some real competition.”

Applejack’s smile was no less challenging. “That so? Fair warning sugarcube, this ain’t your usual skywinding, hotdogging airshow. Y’all are gonna have t’get down and dirty with the rest of us. Ah don’t reckon you got the stomach for it.”

“Is that so?” Rainbow leaned forward, almost pressing their foreheads together. “Well, you might have enough stomach for two ponies—and a flank for three—but I can whoop your apple-y plot all the way across the prairie!”

“You best bring it then!” Applejack pressed back. “Ah’m the ten time rodeo champion of Ponyville!”

“Only cuz I wasn’t around!” Rainbow shot back.

Twilight sighed, closing her book with a thud. “Do you two always have to argue?”

“Of course they do, silly!” Pinkie Pie reached over and patted Twilight’s mane, ignoring her frown. “It’s just like how you and Rainbow argue and bicker and bicker and argue about books or studying or sports and stuff! It’s all in good fun and s’just part of being friends!” She paused. “Unless of course they get a teeny bit carried away and start really really arguing, then that’s no fun. But then I get to throw a party to make everypony feel better, and that is fun. If they don’t argue, then I can throw a ‘Hooray for Everypony Being Friends and Not Arguing’ party!” She nodded. “It’s important to have fallback options.”

Applejack just shook her head. Pinkie would always be Pinkie. “Yer makin’ an orchard out of a sapling, Twilight, like Pinkie said … er, sort of. S’fun to face challenges. By pittin’ yerself against somepony else, it pushes you to become even better than you were before,” she looked to Rainbow Dash, grateful when she nodded in agreement.

“I suppose that’s fine, just so long as you two know to stop before it goes too far,” Twilight said as she put her book away. “I think we’re about to pull into the station.”

With a whoop of excitement, Applejack grabbed her bags and bolted for the door. Her friends joined her as the train slowed and then stopped. “We gotta hurry!” Applejack explained to her friends as they disembarked. “If’n we can get over to the rodeo grounds quick-like, then we don’t have t’worry about--”

“Hey there!” The group was stopped by an exuberant shout. They looked to see one of the widest grins they’d ever seen attached to yellow pony in a brown vest and stetson. His green eyes seemed to light up like a Hearth’s Warming Eve and he was charging at the group.

Applejack let out a tiny groan a half-instant before she was nearly tackled to the ground and swept up in a hug that forced all the air from her lungs. “Hey Braeburn.” She wheezed.

Braeburn barely seemed to hear her. “Cousin Applejack! You arrived early! Your letter said you’d be arriving closer t’dinner!”

That was ‘cuz I wanted to get the girls settled in town ‘fore you went and found us, Applejack thought ruefully, patting her cousin’s back. “Things got, uh, moved up. Lucky thing you were here at the train. Yep, real lucky…” She plastered on the largest smile she could muster.

Braeburn missed her discomfort entirely. “Come on, ya gotta introduce me to your friends here!” He let Applejack go, only to practically drag her over to her assembled friends.

Half bemused and half embarrassed, Applejack shook her head and went with it. It’s just Braeburn being Braeburn. “All right, so there are mah friends. This here’s Twilight Sparkle.”

“Nice to meet you…” Twilight ducked her head shyly, only extending a hoof after Braeburn had reached out with his own. Applejack smirked, knowing how this would end. Sure enough, Braeburn grabbed Twilight’s hoof with both of his and shook her so hard her teeth chattered.

“A mighty pleasure to meet you Miss Twilight! Any friend of Applejack is a friend of mine!” Twilight’s eyes spun even after he finally let her go.

After seeing what happened to her, Rainbow Dash spat into her hooves and rubbed them together. “All right, put ‘em there!” She held out of her hoof challengingly, intent on out-shaking Braeburn. Applejack rolled her eyes as Rainbow gritted her teeth and strained herself, with Braeburn not even noticing that he was being challenged. He just kept shaking her hoof as long as Rainbow was shaking his. The scene only ended when Pinkie Pie somehow managed to grab Braeburn and Rainbow’s other hooves and began to vigorously shake them herself. The three of them formed a blur so intense it was almost painful to look at. Eventually they stopped and nopony was sick, fortunately.

Applejack looked over Rainbow and Twilight. They were switching between looking at each other, then to Pinkie Pie, and to Braeburn and then back to themselves. Applejack could almost see the wheels turning in their heads. They’re either thinkin’ they’re related … or that they have to make sure they never have kids. Applejack knew, because she had the same thought when she first met Pinkie Pie.

With the Pinkie blur finally stopped, Applejack managed to get the introductions back on track. “Alright then…” Applejack nodded to her somewhat dazed looking relative. “Gals, this is mah favorite cousin, Braeburn. He’s one of the biggest movers-and-shakers behind Appleloosa.”

“Aw, shucks now…” Braeburn scuffed his hoof against the ground, tilting his hat downwards to hide his blushing. “Ain’t mah cousin just the sweetest?” He reached out and hugged her close. Applejack rolled her eyes, but was smiling as she did. Braeburn really was her favorite cousin, the way Apple Rose was Granny Smith’s. Applejack smiled as she remembered her Granny’s thoughts on him. When Braeburn was born he got all the words Big Macintosh never used. Between the two of them, ya got yourself one normal conversationalist.

Twilight smiled softly. “That really is nice that the two of you get along so well. It reminds me of me and Shining Armor.”

Braeburn chuckled. “Well shucks li’l lady, o’ course we do! Ah spent a couple summers working on Sweet Apple Acres--this was ‘fore Appleloosa got going, that is. Why, I remember when we were just foals, the way AJ always sucked her hoof when she slept and--”

“BraeBURN!” Applejack cried out, cheeks flaming as Rainbow Dash burst into chuckles before being being elbowed by Twilight--who also had a ghost of a grin on her lips. “Would you kindly zip it?” The poor stallion just blinked in confusion, not understanding why he was being yelled at. Sometimes he can be downright oblivious, Applejack grumbled. “Anyways, since yer here, how about you show us around town?”

Instantly Braeburn’s face brightened. “Now where are my manners? Of course I’d be glad t’show you around---AAAAAAPPLELOOOSA!” He reared up, whinnying in glee. Twilight leapt half a foot back in shock.

Pinkie Pie leaned in. “Ooh, that sounds fun! Applelooooooosa!” She practically seemed to taste the word as she stretched it out. “I like it!”

Applejack repressed the urge to facehoof. “C’mon let’s get a move on.” She let Braeburn take the lead as he led them through town.

Anypony that ever said a desert was a wasteland never had a chance to visit Appleloosa. The homes and stores looked to say ‘rest a spell, pardner.’ Most of the strong wooden structures with a earthy layer of sand, like the land itself wanted to add its touch to the new structures. Ponies politely dipped their hats in greeting to one another. Wells of cool underground water dotted most intersections. The rest were blended with stores, saloons and odd structures Braeburn described as outdoor showers, much to everypony's shock

“Well it does get a tad dusty round these parts,” he explained. “Just don't go confusing them for the outhouses.”

Rainbow Dash looked around. “So all this was built in a year or two?”

“You got it!” Braeburn trotted around. “Seems like we just set down our first tree last week, but now we’ve got everything!” He seemed to blissfully ignore the dust his hooves kicked up on the obviously not paved roads, but nopony had the heart to contradict him. “S’been a long road getting’ here, but it was all worth it! Even if we did have a bit of trouble with the buffalo at the start.”

“How come?” Pinkie asked.

Braeburn coughed. “Er, turns out we planted our orchard right plum in the middle of their sacred stampeding ground. Who knew?” He let out an awkward, sheepish chuckle as the mares gave him a blank look. Applejack finally gave in and facehooved--instantly regretting it when she shoved her dirt- and dust-covered hoof into her (thankfully closed) eyes. “It was the only flat land ‘round these parts that we could plant an orchard in,” Braeburn added. “‘Course, it was probably flat on account of them stampeding the place flat for hundreds of years … But we got everythin’ all worked out in the end!” He hurried to add. “Wanna meet ‘em? They oughta be nearby--they’re working on some ceremonies of their own to celebrate the Anniversary of our agreement with them.” Applejack was too distracted to do anything but nod. He led them down the main road to the edge of town.

At the edge of town the row of buildings came to an abrupt end. Between the town and the boundless, empty plains was a series of tables and tents. Braeburn explained that they were tipis, buffalo dwellings. So Applejack was a bit confused when she spotted ponies and buffalo heading in and out of them. At first she thought they were helping the buffalo make camp, but then she noticed that a lot of the ponies weren’t wearing the traditional large hats that were all the rage, as Rarity would say, in Appleloosa. In fact, the only thing any of them wore were a few feathers tied in their manes and tails, much like the buffalo.

“Hey AJ, over here!” Rainbow Dash caught her attention and she trotted over to her. “You gotta check this out!” Applejack looked to see a group of buffalo, and a few ponies, in the middle of a double-ringed circle of sticks. They were dancing and and looking up at the sun. In the middle stood a tree that had been trimmed and decorated for the occasion. Her ear flicked a bit at seeing what had clearly once been a healthy apple tree chopped down and stripped of its apples, but it was still an impressive sight.

“What’s this all about?” She asked Braeburn.

“S’part of a buffalo ceremony, they call it sun dancing.” He pointed to the dancers. “They’ve been dancing since dawn as a way of saying thanks for the sun.”

Twilight Sparkle’s eyes lit up as she levitated a notebook from her saddlebags. “It’s like the Buffalo’s own version of the Summer Sun Celebration!” She began eagerly scribbling some notes.

That caused Pinkie Pie to gasp and hop up and down. “An all-day dance party! That sounds so exciting! Girls! We gotta have one of our own!” She waggled her hindquarters, preparing to jump in.

“Whoa there li’l filly!” Braeburn stood in her path. “Ya can’t just leap in willy-nilly!”

“Hey, that ryhmes!”

Braeburn ignored that pearl of wisdom. “See, the tribe doesn’t just start dancing any old place. They have t’bless it first, then they invite others to join. The buffalo around here are friendly enough, but if it were another tribe or another occasion you could get in big trouble if you just rushed in.”

Pinkie’s ears flattened. “Oh, okay … but can I join in? I just want to make some new friends. Please please, pleasepleaseplease?”

Braeburn smiled. “Well, luckily enough, since we’re celebrating the anniversary, they declared it open to everypony who wants to join in. Go right on ahead Miss Pie.”

“Yay!” Pinkie Pie bounded over the circle in one hop and was soon in the midst of the revellers.

After shaking her head at Pinkie’s antics for a second, Applejack soon turned her attention back to the dance itself. “That’s powerful impressive! Ah know how hard it is t’start working at sun up--but to dance the whole day?” She cast a look up at the position of the sun in the sky and whistled. “That takes a lotta strength ‘n stamina.”

“You like them dancing so much, maybe we keep them in mind for when you get hitched. Think about it: buffalo dancers for your bachelorette party!” Rainbow snickered, her attention soon drawn by the participating ponies. “So, what’s up with the ponies joining in? I mean, Pinkie Pie I get--she like’s getting involved with anything fun.”

Braeburn dipped his hat to them. “Well, after we sorted things out with the buffalo, we started t’talking and turns out some ponies really like the way they live. They even took to sleeping in those buffalo tents, tipis they call ‘em, and join ‘em on their stampedes across the plains.”

Twilight briefly paused her furious note taking to nod and muse out loud. “Some ponies, especially from Mustangia, are known for preferring to travel for extended periods. I suppose that makes sense that they, or others, would find the Buffalos’ semi-nomadic lifestyle appealing.”

Applejack shook her head slightly. “That might be fine fer them, but me and my kin prefer to lay down roots.” She idly dug her hoof into the ground. “There’s nothing more important to us than family, and that means giving ‘em a home and keeping the family close together.”

Braeburn nodded. “Family’s important, no question. But even Granny Smith said that sometimes seeds grow best when they find their own soil. Shoot, s’why I made the leap to come all the way out here and help with Appleloosa!” His attention was suddenly drawn by something. Before Applejack could even ask, he was smiling broadly again. “We’re in luck! Here’s somepony I want y’all to meet.” He gestured. “Hey Wigwam, wait up a minute!”

Before Applejack or her friends could even respond, Braeburn managed to bustle the entire group over to one of the largest ponies she or her friends had ever seen, aside from Big Macintosh and the Princesses. He was a large stallion with an orange coat, and a white mane with a blue streak in it. He wore his mane and tail long, with the odd black-tipped white feather tied in. His fetlocks were similarly unshorn. The only thing he wore was a blue bandanna with white swirls tied around his neck. All this made him stand from among the rather clothing-conscious Appleloosans.

Wigwam smiled even as he towered over them, his blue eyes bright and friendly. “Hello Braeburn! These friends of yours? Or more relatives?”

“Both actually,” Braeburn clapped him on the back, having to reach up to do so. “This is mah cousin, Applejack and these are her friends.”

“Please t’meet you,” Applejack held out her hoof. “Any friend of Braeburn’s a friend of mine.”

Wigwam shook firmly. “That means you must have a lot of friends. Your cousin’s a pretty friendly guy.”

No fooling, Applejack thought wryly. “Ah suppose he is at that.” She looked him over. “Gotta say, you're the first pony with feathers I ever met what wasn't pegasus."

"I get that a lot," Wigwam gave an ironic eye-roll. "Still, it pays to be ahead of the trend for a change. A fair amount of ponies are eyeing Appleloosa and our agreement with the buffalo. Some of them figure they have the right idea."

Pinkie Pie appeared on Wigwam’s back. “And now you and the buffalo are all friends and you’re having a big anniversary party to celebrate! Woo-hoo!”

Temporarily put off by having a strange pony on his back, Wigwam soon found himself smiling as well. “And I found my real calling.” He turned slightly, presenting his profile. There on his haunch was his cutie mark: a pair of tipis, one red and one blue, above a crescent moon.

Rainbow Dash whistled. “Cool!”

Twilight scribbled some more in her book. “So, you came to Appleloosa and decided to adopt the buffalo lifestyle?”

“That’s about the size of it,” he said languidly. “With the buffalo and settler ponies starting to talk to each other, we got to hear more about the way they lived: the closeness of the tribe, their freedom to travel across the plains to wherever they wished--it all seemed so different than everything I’d grown up with.”

He grew wistful. “When you’re out there, running on the stampede trail with dozens of other buffalo and ponies racing besides you, nothing but you and the open prairie--I can only imagine it’s what pegasi feel when they fly for the first time.”

Rainbow Dash, looking more thoughtful than was her wont, noded, clearly impressed with him. Braeburn chuckled and offered his own opinion. “‘Course it helps us out when they go stampeding on through the orchard. Takes care of the Running o’ the Leaves and with apple bucking!” he explained, tilting his hat back. “Well, not so much bucking as just running past it makes the apples fall, but you get the idea! And all they ask for in return is Apple pie!”

Applejack looked at Braeburn in disbelief. “Y’all just … let them do the harvesting fer the crops you planted?” The idea of not bucking the apples out of the trees yourself was so alien to her that she had a hard time wrapping her mind around it. It ran against her work ethic and the Apple family tradition. The Apples were responsible for growing their apples from blossoming to bucking and baking. That’s the way the Apples had done things since as far back as memory recalled. Letting somepony else in on the process was just unfathomable.

Braeburn didn’t seem to notice Applejack’s unease, his ever drifting focus now having latched onto something else. “Whooee! There she is now! See you later Wigwam!” Before anypony could protest, Braeburn had once again ‘guided’ the group over to a new spot. Wooden benches and rings covered the area. “This is where the rodeo’s gonna be! And over there--” he pointed. “Y’all can see some of the competition!”

The mares looked to see practice areas for various rodeo events: barrel racing, haystacking, tug-of-war, and a host of other contests. Plenty of ponies and even buffalo were exercising or testing themselves before the main event. Braeburn pointed one of them out, a small young buffalo racing with a crowd.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash watched the little buffalo outpace her larger, bulkier fellows. She nimbly weaved between the other buffalo and even managed to leap over one of them, twisting and twirling in midair before neatly landing ahead of the others. Their jaws dropped. “She’s pretty nimble for being so … bulky.” Rainbow observed, obviously impressed.

“Shewt, she’s sprier than flea on a skillet!” Applejack commented.

Braeburn stomped his hooves in approval. “Yee-haw, that’s how it’s done! Go Little Strongheart, go!”

The little buffalo looked over, smiling when she spotted them. “Braeburn, hello!” She headed over. “Are you ready to practice now? I would hate to lose because one of us was out of step.”

Chuckling sheepishly, Braeburn dipped his hat. “Aw, don’t you worry none. I won’t let ya down! I was just passing by the train station and wanted t’see if kin had arrived early.” He brightened, stepping to the side and gesturing to Applejack and the others. “And they had! This here’s mah cousin Applejack and her friends from Ponyville!”

Little Strongheart dipped her head. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all—welcome to Appleloosa!”
“Nice t’meet you too!” Applejack reached out to shake her hoof. Little Strongheart blinked and hesitated before returning the gesture. “Guess yer not too big into hoofshakes?” She asked lightly, trying to get past the awkward moment.

But the young buffalo just shook her head and smiled. “I’m sorry. I know it’s customary among you ponies, but it’s just not something we normally do.” She paused. “Also, the first time I shook hooves, it was with Braeburn and…”

“Say no more,” Applejack rolled her eyes. “I get yo—WHOA!” She staggered to the side as Rainbow Dash suddenly surged past her. “Rainbow!”

Rainbow Dash tossed her mane and threw Strongheart a lazy wave with her wing. “Hey there, name’s Rainbow Dash! You got some radical moves out there? You gonna be competing in the rodeo?”

“Hello, Rainbow Dash—um, thank you?” Little Strongheart tilted her head at the word radical. “And yes, I’m going to be competing alongside Braeburn. We’re going to be a team!”

That made Applejack completely forget her annoyance with Rainbow. “Say whut now? A team?” Team events at rodeos weren’t unheard of…some even had teams competing against one another during the entire rodeo. But it’d been practically tradition that Apples would be on the same team.

But Braeburn just nodded. “Well, we fig’red since we’re celebrating the anniversary of our agreement with the buffalo, it’d only make sense for us to compete together in the rodeo!” His face lit up, “Say, Ah just had a thought! How about if you and your friends form your own team?”

Rainbow Dash frowned, “I don’t know … I kinda wanted to go head to head with AJ here.”

“This could be a good thing! I mean, the two of you competing together,” Twilight spoke up. “You’re both such great athletes, working together would mean you could do even better! Right?” She looked to Applejack for support, but all she received was an uncomfortable silence.

Seeing Applejack’s hesitation and mistaking its source, Braeburn piped in. “There’ll still be plenty of individual events for the two of you to compete in! Shoot, a lot of the team games are really just solo events with a couple of competitors from all the teams joining in. That sound good?”

Rainbow Dash made a big show of rubbing her muzzle in thought before nodding. “Hmm, well, sure. So long as I have a chance to show who the better athlete is, I’ve got nothing against working with Applejack to show you all how we do it in Ponyville! Right AJ?” She looked to her friend.

“Hrm? Uh, yeah, sure.” Applejack blinked, mentally shaking herself. So Braeburn’s gonna be on a different team. Yer a big filly Applejack, you can deal. Didn’t he just say he was doing this for the town and the agreement? That helped settle things for her. She didn’t doubt that if he had a choice, naturally he’d be on her team. But he didn’t so she’d cope. “Sorry, got a bit distracted.” She shot her cousin a smirk. “You best be bringing your a-game, cousin, cuz Ah aim to bring home another Blue Ribbon for mah collection.”

“Hey—who said it’d be you taking the ribbon home?” Rainbow challenged. “I’m the one who’s gonna dominate the Appleloosa rodeo!”

“You mean, Aaaaaaaappleloooosa!” Pinkie Pie bounced around her, until she was suddenly pulled back by Twilight’s magic. “Aww…”

Twilight, having secured Pinkie, looked to the two mares. “Settle down girls. We’re just here for a little fun.”

Applejack waved her off. “Course we are. Ain’t nopony said nothing different.” She looked over at the town’s clocktower. “S’almost lunchtime. Big Macintosh, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom will be coming in later tomorrow. How about in the meantime if we show mah friends some of Appleloosa’s famed hospitality—and the Apple family’s equally famed home cooked meals?” She smiled widely.

“Yeah!” Pinkie whooped. “We can have apple pies and caramel apples and apple tarts and apple fritters….” She had to stop to wipe her mouth. “Granny Smith makes the best pies ever!”

“She sure does!” Applejack beamed proudly. “Ain’t no meal like an Apple family meal!” Braeburn nodded, heartening Applejack. Apple family recipes were passed down from generation to generation, untouched and unaltered. It gave her a little thrill to know that the food she and her siblings ate was the same as the food her ancestors had been making even as they wandered all over Equestria to find a place to settle down.

Braeburn and Little Strongheart led them over to a table before heading off to pick up some freshly baked goods. When they returned Applejack found herself at a loss. They had a bowl full of mush with apple slices floating in it. “Uh, what is it? Is it applesauce?”

“It’s buffalo fare!” Braeburn explained. “It’s right delicious, try some!”

“Yeah it is!” Pinkie Pie announced, her mouth already ringed with bits of mush. “It looks gross but tastes amazing!” She promptly planted her face back in her bowl, chowing away. Twilight and Rainbow Dash hesitated, each clearly waiting for somepony else to try it. Somepony besides Pinkie Pie and her cast-iron stomach.

Applejack slowly reached out and grabbed a spoon, slowly dipping it into the bowl. She shut her eyes and swallowed. To her surprise, it was good. “Landsake, you weren’t kidding, Brae! This is good!” She dug in for more.

“Ain’t it just?” Braeburn beamed. “We even started putting it inside our apple pies! Everypony loves ‘em—they’re a new hot seller!”

The sound of Applejack’s spoon clattering against the table spoke for her, as she was unable to string a coherent sentence together. Changing the family recipe? He might as well have said that they were re-writing history! Her attempted protest died in a cacophony of coughing, so worked up that she hadn’t finished swallowing before she tried to speak.

“Applejack!” Twilight frantically grabbed a cup of water. “Here, drink!” Rainbow Dash made her own attempted contribution by pounding her hoof against Applejack’s back.

“’m fine…” Applejack’s voice came out as a dull croak. She started to take a sip, only to spit it out after Rainbow hit her. “For cryin’ out loud—!” She broke off coughing again. “Enough!” She barked, getting everypony to halt. “Gimme some room for pony’s sake…” She took another long pull of her drink and a deep breath. “Okay, I’m fine…”

Braeburn paced nervously on his hooves. “You should probably go lay down. I’m gonna go make sure your room is ready for you!”

“Now, wait a darn minute, we need t’talk—” But Braeburn had already galloped off. “Dangit…” Applejack sighed. Maybe a rest wouldn’t go amiss right now…half resigning herself to it. With Braeburn on one side and her friends on the other, she knew that she didn’t stand a chance. They’d insist she rest for a while. Still, perhaps resting for the night wouldn’t be so bad. Has been a long day. Could probably use some freshin’ up. “Alright,” Applejack sighed. “Ah’ll lie down for a spell, if only t’keep y’all happy.”

Applejack didn’t have to wait long for Braeburn to fetch her. She tried talking with him as he led her back, but he just kept bustling and fretting that she knew it was a lost cause. Hopefully Ah can talk t’him once he calms down, she thought as he led her inside his home.

“Here you go cousin!” Braeburn gestured with his hoof. “What’s mine is yours, as they say. Come on, my room’s back here. I’ll be sleeping on the couch.”

“Your room? Braeburn, I’m not gonna kick you out of your own bed…”

Braeburn shook his head. “Now now, I won’t hear another word. You don’t expect me to be a poor host, do you? You’re family!”

Applejack suddenly felt a flinch of guilt. Here I am, about to give him a talking to when he’s acting just like any good Apple should. I shouldn’t have doubted him. “Thanks Brae.”

Braeburn patted her back. “Anytime cousin. Bathroom’s right down the hall. Have a good night and I’ll see you in the morning!”

After bidding him goodnight, Applejack trotted into his room. Settling into his bed, she took a quick look around the room. It was pretty basic: a bed, closet, desk and chair. On the desk were several framed photographs of family members. She spotted one photo of the two of them embracing and smiling, a hammer in Braeburn’s mouth and some nails in hers. She remembered that. That was when we helped fix the barn after Big Macintosh went and put his clumsy hoof through the wall, Applejack smiled as she rested her head on the pillow and sighed. Everything’s fine. We’re best cousins, forever. Ain’t nothing ever gonna change that.

Chapter 2

The next morning, Applejack was woken up by Braeburn’s call to breakfast. The bed felt so warm and snug that it was with no little regret that she finally stirred and sat up. She found that an additional blanket had been added atop the others—one that hadn’t been there when she went to sleep. Braeburn… Applejack realized with a smile. Ain’t that just like him?

After a quick visit to the bathroom, Applejack trotted into the kitchen. Braeburn was waiting for her…wearing an apron and a chef’s hat that would’ve given Rarity’ fits. “Morning cousin!” He beamed at her. “Pancakes?” He turned to the stove where he neatly flipped four pancakes onto a nearby plate without even looking. “Got some apple flapjacks for my cousin Applejack!”

“Morning Brae.” Applejack trotted over, giving him a friendly nuzzle. “You didn’t have t’do all this on mah account. But thanks.”

Braeburn chuckled sheepishly, “Gosh cousin, you’re family! Ain’t nothing more important!” The earnestness of his response was only slightly undercut when a pancake he had flipped landed across his muzzle instead of on the plate.

“You always were a silly pony, cous.” She hugged him. “Come on. Let’s eat up and find the others. Then it’s time to stack us some hay!”

Braeburn nodded, peeling his pancake off his face and taking a bite. “What?” he asked when Applejack gave him a look. “It’s still good!”

She just laughed.

After breakfast, the two ran out to the rodeo, splitting up to find their teammates.

Applejack began to stretch, warming up before the competition started. She and Rainbow Dash would be going up against several other teams, including Braeburn and Little Strongheart, in a hay-stacking contest. “Hey Applejack,” Rainbow called as she made her way over, Pinkie Pie and Twilight flanking her. “You ready?”

“Eyup,” Applejack tilted her hat. “Just follow mah lead and we’ll have this event in the bag.” She turned to Pinkie and Twilight. “Contest starts in five. Y’all better get yourselves a seat before all the good ones are taken.”

Twilight smiled, “Okay—have fun you two! Good luck!”

“Appreciate it, Twi—but we won’t need it,” Applejack grinned as they made their way over to the field. “I’ve been stacking hay since Ah was a filly … and this ain’t my first time at a rodeo, neither!” She nodded to Rainbow. “Just follow my lead.” Dash saluted, not having a problem taking orders—so long as they resulted in a win.

The soon made their way into the ring. There were about half a dozen teams, with a massive stack of haybales in the center. Applejack spotted Braeburn and Strongheart doing some sort of bizarre twisting and exercising. Her cousin smiled when he spotted her and waved as if they hadn’t seen each other only yesterday. Applejack gave him a somewhat subdued smile and wave in return. Rainbow Dash on the other hoof, positively beamed as she zipped her way over. “Hey guys! What’re you doing?”

Braeburn waved, his body looking something more like a pretzel than a proper pony to AJ’s mind. “Howdy Miss Dash! Little Strongheart was teaching me how she warms up ‘fore an event! Works wonders!”

“Think you could show me?” Rainbow looked interested. “I’ve been looking for some new wing exercises—”

“Rainbow!” Applejack grabbed her by the tail and started pulling her away. “C’mon, you can trade exercise tips later, the event’s about to start!” She didn’t know why she was suddenly so irritated all of a sudden—hopefully she could burn it off in the competition.

About a minute after everypony—and buffalo—had gotten into position, a somewhat rotund pony in an oversized hat spoke into a loudhorn. Applejack only half heard him. She knew the rules, they had ten minutes to stack the haybales as high as they could. The team with the highest pile at the end won. She crouched down, ready to spring into action. A horn sounded and the contest had begun. “Now!”

Even without her wings, Dash still more than lived up to her name, slamming into hay pile with such force that bales went flying everywhere.. Rainbow, always quick to recover from a sudden stop, was back punching and kicking the falling haybales over to Applejack. She grinned as she received each bale, bucking them out of the air and into position on the ground. Within moments they had a nice stable base established to build upon.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash fell into a steady rhythm. Applejack even started up a little chant in her head, Build this pile, build this pile, one-two-three-four! She could even hear her family and Pinkie Pie and Twilight cheering from the sides. Her heart seemed to swell in her chest. This is what it’s all about…

But she was pulled out of her steady pace by a shout from Rainbow Dash. Turning to see what was the matter, Applejack saw that Braeburn and Little Strongheart’s pile was taller than theirs: Strongheart’s considerable strength proving to be an asset in quickly getting the bales of hay from the center to their pile—which looked somewhat like a buffalo tipis though a pyramid or ziggurat would’ve been closer to the mark.

Irked, Applejack barked at Rainbow Dash. “C’mon Rainbow, step it up!”

However, all this did was to ruffle her friend’s feathers. “Hey, I’m going as fast as I can—without using my wings.” She stressed, shoving another haystack over. “Maybe you should get the hay and I’ll do the stacking.” Rainbow gave the ramshackle pile Applejack had been assembling a dull look. “Maybe we should try doing what Braeburn and Strongheart are doing—”

“No way!” Applejack snapped. “Just gimme the bales and Ah’ll handle the rest.”

Rainbow Dash drew herself up, wings flaring. “Fine!” Dash snorted, grabbing another hay bale and shoving it brusquely at Applejack. “Here!”

Applejack, almost bowled over by the force of the impact, grabbed the hay and bucked it to the top of the pile. “There, y’see?”

“Yeah—great,” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as she went to fetch another stack. Their pile looked like an odd, half-torn down brick wall with a central, leaning tower. “I could fly up there and straighten that out.”

Applejack dug in her hooves, both literally and figuratively. “It’s fine, Rainbow—you don’t need to go fussing over making sure it looks pretty! I coulda brought Rarity if I needed that.”

Rainbow Dash grumbled as she kicked over another bale. “It’s not about looking pretty, it’s about making sure that it’s the tallest pile—without falling over on us.”

“Since when were you an architect?” Applejack snorted as they continued their routine, but without the easy, steady rhythm as before.

With a roll of her eyes, Dash grabbed another stack. “Gee, I dunno—since I built my own cloud home?”

Applejack waved her off. “Those’re made of cloud! This is hay. Totally different.” She bucked the next piece into position. “I know what I’m doing!” She glanced sourly at the tidier-looking pile her cousin and his friend had been assembling. “We don’t need your wings or their … whatever it is, in order t’win this! And that’s final!” As if to punctuate her remarks, she shoved the last bale into place with more force than was necessary—or wise. The pile began to sway and then topple over.

Before either one of them could get clear, Several bales of hay fell over, landing heavily on the two mares. Applejack winced as her world suddenly became very straw-filled. She heard Rainbow groaned as she tried to extricate herself from her own place. “AJ? You okay?”

“…Yeah,” Applejack grumbled as she climbed out from underneath another haystack.

“That’s good … now I can kick your flank without feeling guilty.” Rainbow’s ear flicked as the bell rang, ending the competition. “Great going.”

Applejack shook the hay out of her mane as she surveyed the situation. Braeburn and Little Strongheart had won—having just reached the height mark as the bell sounded. Most of the haystacks she and Rainbow had piled up remained in place, but not enough. Still, the news wasn’t all bad. “S’just bad luck, Rainbow. And we still came in second,” She tilted her head to the others teams, whose piles had either collapsed or simply hadn’t gained as much height as theirs.

Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs. “Second’s just a fancy way of saying, not first. Ya know, losing?” She made a face … and then spat out a strand of hay. “Now we’re going to have to play catch up.”

“You saying you ain’t up for it?” Applejack asked, a touch too innocently. “S’one little hiccup all it takes to get Rainbow Dash to call it quits? Shame … I guess I’ll just have to get somepony else to partner with—” Before she could say another word, Rainbow had zipped over to her, their snouts practically pressing together as she met Applejack’s challenge with one of her own.

“Hey, I never quit! But maybe you should,” Dash prodded her friend’s chest. “I’m gonna walk out of here with so many blue ribbons that I’ll need somepony to carry them all for me.”

Applejack snorted. “They should be offering to carry your big head instead. Why I—” She suddenly felt herself caught up in a great big crushing hug that robbed her of her retort—as well as air.

“Cousin Applejack!” Braeburn’s enormous smile almost split his face in half. “Can you believe it? Me and Little Strongheart won first place!” He looked at the blue ribbon affixed to his vest and swelled with pride. “Shame your own pile fell over at the end there—I’m sure you’ll do better in the next event!”

“Better believe it!” Rainbow Dash flew up, jabbing at the air with her hooves as if preparing for a boxing event—which the rodeo did not have. After her little display of bravado, she landed and gave Little Strongheart a nudge. “That was pretty cool. Where’d you learn how to stack hay like that?”

Strongheart dipped her head, giving her an abashed smile. “It is nothing really—I’ve helped Braeburn do these sort of chores before, and I’ve had a lot of practice putting our tents together—and sometimes we’d have to stack rocks to create lean-tos when sandstorms strike us on stampede.” She offered modest smile. “I suppose it all just came together.”

Rainbow nodded. “I guess so, but it won’t save help you for the next event!” She paused. “Which would be what, by the way?”

“Well, we got a couple of smaller events throughout today and tomorrow, building up to the
obstacle course!” Braeburn whinnied, rearing up in excitement. “We put together a real humdinger of a race, full of obstacles and barrels and mud pits that the runners have to get through!”

That made Rainbow’s eyes light up. “A race? Now you’re talking my language!”

Little Strongheart adjusted her headband. “I’m not entirely unfamiliar with the concept either of running for extended periods either,” she with dry irony. Even she was not immune to the rush that came with a challenge to a worthy competitor.

Applejack wasn’t about to be left out. “Hey now, remember—you can’t use your wings in a race,” she teased. “You might be pretty fast on the fly, but down here, on the ground? Ain’t nothing that’s about to beat good ol’ hooves.” She stomped her feet demonstratively. “Ah’ve been toughening my hooves on bucking apple trees fer years—” she couldn’t help give Braeburn a small glance, one he seemed to miss. “—an’ I could run all day without gettin’ tired. Ain’t about speed, Rainbow, it’s about endurance.”

To her surprise, Little Strongheart agreed with her. “It is true. On long stampedes buffalo learn to pace themselves, otherwise they would exhaust themselves and tire. We run for days at a time without stopping to rest.”

Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be put off so easily though, “This isn’t a week-long marathon and I’m not as short on endurance as you think, AJ.”

“That a fact?” Applejack smirked. “You best bring it then.”

“Same to you!”

Braeburn coughed. “Erm, aren’t you two on the same team?” A brief but awkward silence fell.

“…Right!” Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck. “But hey! It’s still a race! That means whoever gets to the end first wins, right?”

“Well, yeah,” he nodded. “The race isn’t until tomorrow though. Hate seein’ you two get so worked up ‘fore it even starts.”

Rainbow shrugged. “It’s fine. Applejack’s just being a grouch cuz she made us lose.”

Stung, Applejack glowered. “Now you just hold your horses, missy—it sure as sugar ain’t mah fault!”

“You didn’t want me to use my wings!”

“S’against the rules!”

“Uh, actually…” Braeburn winced as both mares suddenly turned on him. “Technically, you coulda used your wings in the competition.”

Applejack looked thunderstruck. “Say what? Since when?! The object’s to stack bales by bucking ‘em! What’s the point if you can have a pony just fly and stack the bales any which way they want?”

Braeburn rubbed his neck. “Well, we had to rethink the rules a bit since other ponies started getting interested in life out here—not just earth ponies. So, yeah, it’d be no fair if they just picked up the haybales and flew ‘em into place—but we thought it’d be fine if the pony on the ground bucked the hay into the air and a pegasus could buck ‘em into place from there.

“Ha, I knew it!” Rainbow Dash glared at Applejack. “You probably just didn’t want me to make you look bad!”

“Get off it, ya know that ain’t true!” She glowered back. “Not mah fault they changed everything up on me!” Applejack snapped, thinking of more than a simple rodeo event.

Braeburn removed his hat. “Ah’m powerful sorry ladies, I shoulda made sure you knew.”

Rainbow and Applejack looked at him, then sighed. “Yeah, all right,” Dash rubbed her neck. “Sorry about that—I just hate losing.”

“Seems a lot ‘round here’s changed,” Applejack observed trying to turn it into a joke, but could hear it falling flat as soon as she said it. Braeburn bit his lip, looking uncomfortable—and for the life of her, Applejack wasn’t that upset about his awkwardness. After a long moment, she coughed. “So uh, any thoughts on what to do until the next event?”

Braeburn adjusted his hat as he thought. “What to do…oooh! Ah just got an idea! There’s a stand over yonder for apple fritters. Mah treat, ladies!”

Applejack grinned and clapped her cousin on the back. “Heh, ain’t he sweet? Now that there’s Apple family manners for ya!”

“You Apples are very kind,” Strongheart agreed. “I would also like to try these apple fritters.”

“Just to be sure, we’re talking about the food and not your cousin with green hair, right?” Rainbow drawled.

That won her a half-exasperated eye roll from Applejack. “You’re a regular riot. Course, if you don’t want any that leaves more for the rest of us.”

“If ya’ll follow me...” Braeburn swept his hat off his head and bowed. Applejack dipped her head back to him and led Strongheart and Rainbow away, Braeburn following once they had passed. It was a simple, common mannerism that most ponies would’ve found antiquated or quaint at best. To Applejack and her family, it was as natural as breathing. She found that thought heartening and it improved her mood.

She soon spotted a stand full of freshly baked apple fritters. Standing behind that stand was Half Baked, a red-haired colt with friendly green eyes, distinctively pronounced buck teeth and freckles to match Applejack’s own. He wore a brown stetson of his own and a green bandana around his neck. “Cousin Applejack! How’re ya doing?”

“Howdy Half,” Applejack nodded. “How’s the family?”

Beaming so that his front teeth were even more pronounced, Half Baked replied, “Doing great!” He nudged the plate forward. “Try some! First one’s on the house!”

“Thanks!” Applejack took a fritter, chomping down with pleasure. “Eyep! This is one of Cousin Apple Fritters’ all right,” she commented. “Though you helped with these, didn’t you Half? They’re only a little warm.”

“They’re best the way!” Half protested.

Braeburn chuckled. “That’s Half for ya. ‘scuse me for a sec, Ah gotta go make sure everything’s going well at the fair ground.”

“I’ll go with you,” Little Strongheart offered. Tipping his hat, Braeburn let her by before heading off.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Half Baked chuckled. “Practically joined at the hip, those two—and the six-legged race ain’t until tomorrow!”

Rainbow Dash snorted. “So I guess we got that to look forward to,” she nodded to Applejack. “But given the choice between being tied to you or a buffalo—I think I’d prefer the buffalo. They probably sweat less.”

“Aw, give it a rest you,” Applejack waved her off. “Ain’t nothing wrong with working up an honest sweat.”

Rainbow made a show of clapping her hoof to her forehead. “Now I get your Element! It’s not that you always tell the truth—it’s that you sweat honestly! It all suddenly makes sense now.”

Applejack’s retort was interrupted by Half Baked letting out a sudden snort of laughter. “Sorry,” he offered sheepishly when his cousin glared. “S’funny s’all!”

“Mah own family,” Applejack sighed in deliberate Rarity-style melodrama, turning to Rainbow Dash. “Y’see what you’ve done? Even mah kin like the newest, flashiest thing instead of poor old Applejack…”

“It ain’t like that!” Half Baked protested. “Honest, it isn’t!”

“Maybe you should get traded in for a new model,” Rainbow tapped a hoof against the ground in thought.

Taking pity on her cousin, Applejack laughed. “Relax Half, we’re good. S’just how me and Rainbow act sometimes.”

“Well that’s good, I guess,” he rubbed his head. “Are you like that with all your Ponyville friends?”

“Nah,” Applejack shook her head. “Rainbow and I have got something … special, I guess. We really like going at it, seeing who’ll come out on top.” She shrugged. “Doesn’t change that we’re playing on the same team this time around. We’re here to show everyone our very best!” If only all these changes and such stop cropping up I could enjoy myself more…

“Oh. Oh!” Half Baked blinked, “Well congratulations to the two of you! I had no idea, you were…”

“So awesome?” Rainbow supplied, tossing her mane.

“Uh, yeah,” Half nodded numbly.

Applejack finished off her fritter. “So Half, what’s it like? I mean, with the buffalo an’ all?”

“Pretty interesting, I guess,” Half Baked nibbled his own fritter. “Family gets a lot of business with them. We’re gonna open our own diner soon!”

“That’s great!” Applejack beamed.

Rainbow scratched her head. “Wait, how do the buffalo have bits to spend?”

“Some of them do odd jobs around town,” Half explained. “Some buffalo—ones who can’t go on long stampedes—even stay around town most of the year. They send their calves to the school or find work around town … they make for pretty great neighbors. Half of menu is gonna be buffalo food or recipes with buffalo ingredients!” His enthusiasm made Applejack’s stomach squirm.

How can he be so happy about this? She wondered. His family always wanted to open their own diner and share Apple family cooking to ponies from all over—and now they’re going to prepare buffalo cooking instead? She had nothing against buffalo food, it tasted perfectly fine. But something about the idea of her relatives working over a hot stove to prepare meals someone else had created—it just didn’t sit right.

“Girls, there you are!” Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked over to Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie waving over to them. After saying goodbye to Half Baked, they went over to join them. “We were looking for you after the competition.”

“Sorry, Twilight, got caught up talking,” Applejack explained. “You two enjoying yourselves?”

Pinkie Pie answered for them. “We sure are, Applejack!” Her forelegs were loaded with apple pies, apple fritters, candied apples, cotton candy and popcorn. “It’s a shame you didn’t win, but there’s always plenty more events for you to compete in and that means plenty more chances for me to cheer for you! Wanna see?”

“Uh, I think we’re good—“ Applejack’s protest died before it could even be fully made. Pinkie thrust her food into Applejack’s forelegs to hold as Pinkie was suddenly wearing a cheerleading outfit. The main section was the color of Applejack’s coat with the skirt made to resemble a rainbow. She couldn’t even feel surprised. She did, however, feel monumental embarrassment as Pinkie whipped out a pair of pompoms and began cheering, attracting no small amount of attention by passersbys—many of them Applejack’s relatives. “Applejack, Applejack, don’t let nopony give you flack! Gonna make it to the top, ain’t nopony gonna stop—Applejack!”

Applejack buried her face underneath her hat, only slightly relieved when Pinkie started cheering about Rainbow Dash. If I can’t see anypony, they can’t see me; they can’t see me, I’m not being embarrassed. Genius.

Twilight made her way over to her, gently patting her back. “It’s okay, Applejack. I, um, I don’t think anyone’s paying Pinkie that much attention…” She paused. “Are you doing alright?”

“Hm, yeah. Just thinking of changing my name and moving to Seaddle…”

“I don’t mean about Pinkie Pie.” That drew Applejack’s attention enough to pull her face out of her hat. “You seem a little … on edge, anything you want to talk about?” Twilight flattened her ears.

Applejack sighed. “Ah don’t know … maybe I’m just a little antsy about the competition, waiting for mah family to arrive and dealing with Braeburn’s—oddities.”

“I suppose that is a lot to deal with,” Twilight admitted. “I was concerned that you might be upset about something else.”

“What’re you going on about?” Applejack asked, taking a couple of steps to give her some distance from Pinkie.

Twilight accompanied her. “I saw you getting pretty worked up during the hay-stacking. And when you were talking about Braeburn just now, it seemed like...” she trailed off.

Sighing softly, Applejack’s shoulders slumped. “Ah suppose I’m having a bit of a time dealing with Braeburn,” she rubbed her neck, feeling awkward about talking about a family member behind his back. “I thought I’d be in the know about what was going on ‘round here, what with it being my family reunion and a rodeo ‘n all…turns out I think I know less about what’s going on than you or Pinkie or Rainbow Dash.”

“I think I understand,” Twilight offered. “It’s really unsettling when something that should be familiar feels strange. But...” she trailed off. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything—”

“Hey, hey now. None of that.” Applejack put a hoof on Twilight’s withers. “We’re friends sugarcube. You can tell me anything.”

Smiling hesitantly, Twilight nodded. “Okay,” she took a shaky breath. “I think you might maybe possibly be worrying too much about how things are being done.” She bit her lip. “I-I know what it’s like. To be concerned about getting things done exactly the right way, to obsess over making sure nothing is wrong or out of place...” she risked looking Applejack in the eye. “After my—after the entrance exam—I wanted to make sure nothing like that ever happened again,” her eyes took on a far-away look. “I had to account for everything, be in control of everything. I stayed at home, almost never left except to go to the library, had no friends…”

Applejack made her way over and gave her a hug. “Hey, s’okay sugarcube. S’all right now.”

After taking a shuddering breath, Twilight exhaled slowly. “I-I’m okay. This isn’t about me though.” She regarded Applejack seriously. “I don’t want to see you isolate yourself because you’re trying to arrange everything a certain way.” She nodded back to the rodeo, where Braeburn was talking with Rainbow Dash and Little Strongheart. “I used to make sure everything in my room was arranged perfectly. Every night I would put everything back exactly where it was before I went to bed. If somepony came into my room it felt almost like an invasion. One time Shining came in and borrowed one of my books for a class. He didn’t put it back in the right spot, so I ended up taking every single thing I owned down and rearranged everything so it’d be where it was supposed to be.” Twilight paused. “I think your traditions are a lot like my habits: you have them to make sense of the world and to make you feel comfortable. But when you get too carried away...” she trailed off.

“Aww, sugarcube, I appreciate you lookin’ out for me, but you’re worrying over nothing.” She patted Twilight’s back. Twilight means well o’course. She doesn’t have a mean bone in her whole body. But she just don’t get it. She’s got herself plenty of book smarts, but this isn’t something you get from a book. Tradition’s about more than keeping everything nice and orderly. It’s about who you are, where you came from and keeping it for the ponies who come after you. “Don’t you fret none. Ah promise I’m not gonna go plum-loco or nothing,” she gave her a supportive smile. “That’s Pinkie Pie’s job and she’d be pretty sore if Ah took that away from her.”

That won a startled giggle out of Twilight who suddenly seemed more relaxed. “I guess she would. Want to head back?”

“After you, sugarcube.” Applejack swept off her hat, beaming broadly. Twilight smiled and took the lead, with Applejack following her. A real sweet kid, she found herself thinking despite them being the same age. But with Twilight’s very sheltered upbringing and shyness, Applejack couldn’t help occasionally thinking of her as being younger than her. Reminds me of Braeburn, come to think of it. She grinned to herself. Now there was an interesting idea … Assuming Brae doesn’t already have his eye on some little Appleloosan filly. She paused. Or colt. Need to ask him about that...

Among other things. Applejack rolled her shoulders. Braeburn’s a good pony, he just gets overly excited about new things sometimes. He just needs a little reminding that the old ways are the best ones. Like the saying goes about making new friends, but keeping the old. One’s silver, and the other’s gold. Just like friends, traditions are right there with you for your entire lives. Best to hold onto them.

Before long they had made their way back over to Rainbow Dash, who was still chatting with Braeburn and Strongheart. “Hey, what’s up?” Rainbow turned to her, causing Applejack to blink in surprise when she saw a feather tied in her mane. “Uh, what’s that?”

Rainbow beamed. “Isn’t it cool?” She reared up and tossed her head, sending her mane and the feather flapping this way and that.

“Uh, it’s nice?” Applejack scratched her head. “You know you got plenty of feathers already, right?”

“Well, duh. But it’s a buffalo thing. Check it, me and Little Strongheart traded.” Sure enough, when Applejack turned to the young buffalo mare she saw that her usual feather had been replaced by one of Dash’s blue ones.

Tilting her head, Applejack made a big display of rubbing her face with her hoof and ‘hmming’ to herself, giving the impression of being in deep thought. Finally she nodded as if coming to a carefully weighed decision. “S’nice.”

“…That’s it?” Rainbow almost looked crestfallen. “Come on, this is cool!”

“Ah suppose it works on ‘ya,” Applejack smirked. “You gonna start headbutting folks like some of those buffalo do? Ah know everypony’s been telling you to use your head more, but…”

Dash snorted. “Oh ha ha. Really funny. I don’t know why I even bothered asking you.”

Applejack shrugged apologetically. “Sorry, Ah just don’t get is all. Why wear a feather in your mane?”

“Why wear the same hat all the time?” Rainbow retorted.

Affronted, Applejack put a hoof to her hat and held it against her chest. “You take that back!” She stroked her hat. “Don’t you mind her, she don’t know what she’s talking about.”

Seeing her friend comforting her hat, Rainbow leaned away from her. “Uh, okaaaay…” she looked to Braeburn. “What’s the deal there? Is that hat important? She didn’t … get it from her folks or something, did she?” She asked in a whisper.

“Actually, s’a funny story. Y’see…” Braeburn stopped short, his ears perking as the sound of a ringing bell could be heard. “It’s time for the the next round of events!”

“Nice! What is the next event?” Rainbow asked as they headed over to a ringed-off area. Stacked against the side of some bales of hay were several rings and sticks.

“This is a buffalo game,” Little Strongheart explained as she made her way over. “This is a cangleska and a cansakala,” she pointed to the hoop and then the wand. “We made a few changes to make it more of a contest for the rodeo. One player uses a cansakala to keep the cangleska rolling on its side,” she demonstrated, clutching the wand and using it to maneuver the hoop onto its side, and gently tapped it on either side to prevent it from falling over. “Their job is to keep it rolling while a player from the other team tries to throw their cansakala through the hoop. They’ll have three turns. If they miss all three tries or hit the one rolling the cangleska, they lose. If the one rolling causes the hoop to drop, they lose. Then we switch.” She smiled. “It’s a lot of fun! I hope you like it!”

“Ah’m sure we will!” Braeburn nodded. “Ain’t that right cousin?”

“S-sure,” Applejack forced herself to grin. “Ah’m sure it’ll be … special.”

Rainbow stepped forward. “Hey Strongheart, how about you and me face off and we let the Apples be the other pair?” She shot Applejack a grin. “Bet you I get more canglge—canga—I bet I get my stick through the hoop more than you do!”

Her competitive spirit fired up, Applejack grinned back. “Yer on! Come on Braeburn—and don’t you take it easy on me cuz I’m your cousin!”

However her spirits were soon dampened when she found herself unable to keep the hoop rolling. No sooner had she gotten it up then it would fall over on its side. Worse, Rainbow Dash seemed to have no trouble doing the same. After a few more fruitless efforts, Applejack gave it up and switched.

Applejack gathered up some sticks and waited for Braeburn to get the hoop rolling. He did, after a couple of rough starts. He slowly started maneuvering the hoop away from Applejack, trying to not give her a good vantage point to throw. She galloped ahead of him, but as she started to line up her throw, he doubled back. The hoop shuddered, but didn’t fall over as he guided it away. Applejack’s wand went wide. “Shewt!” She grabbed her two remaining sticks and pursued. Her annoyance was redoubled when she saw Rainbow Dash neatly score a point on Little Strongheart’s hoop with her last wand.

For the love of Celestia! Applejack swore to herself, grabbing her next wand and throwing before she had her shot lined up. She instantly regretted it, especially when it caught Braeburn in the foreleg. He let out a pained holler and clutched it. Applejack, horrified, dropped her remaining stick and hurried over. “Braeburn! Oh biscuits! I’m so so sorry! You okay?!”

Braeburn sucked in a breath and shot his cousin a grin. “S’okay … just stings a bit. Ah’ll be fine.”

Little Strongheart and Rainbow Dash hurried over. “Everything alright?” Rainbow asked while Strongheart crouched down beside Braeburn, worriedly examining his foreleg.

“S’fine—all good,” Braeburn winced when Strongheart prodded his injury. “Ah’ll be right as rain in a bit. Hay, it ain’t even my hoof-wrestling leg!”

“Maybe, but you are going to stay off it for a while.” Little Strongheart’s tone showed she would brook no argument about this. “This event is over. Come,” she easily hefted the protesting Braeburn over her shoulder and carried him off.

“I’ll see you later!” Braeburn called back. “Don’t worry, everything’s fine!”

Applejack wanted to go after him to apologize further, but she knew he would just smile and wave it off. And while she wanted to talk to him about other things, the presence of Little Strongheart would … complicate matters.

But whatever she was going to decide was subverted when Rainbow spoke up. “Well, that’s another event we lost,” she grunted. “Way to go, AJ.”

Applejack bristled. “Excuse you? This ain’t exactly a game Ah ever played ‘fore. S’never even been part of a rodeo before!”

“Talk about excuses…” Rainbow muttered. “I never played it either, but I still managed to score some points!”

Applejack rolled her eyes and started to stomp off. The nerve of that pony! She thought, lashing her tail angrily. She hadn’t gotten more than a few paces then Rainbow Dash landed in front of her, cutting her off. “Whoa, hold up! Everything okay?” Applejack briefly considered just ignoring her in the hopes that she’d leave, before sighing despondently. That never works.

Sure enough, Rainbow kept prodding. “Look, I know losing sucks. Just means we’ve got be twice as awesome for the next stuff.” Applejack grunted noncommittally. “Come on, we can still win this!” Rainbow’s eyes lit up as she got an idea.

Thought I smelled something burning, Applejack thought wickedly.

“You, me. Hoof-wrestling. Now.” Rainbow tossed her head. “You know you want to go head to head with me.”

Applejack gave her a tooth-filled grin of her own. “Yer on!” Quickly sitting down by a tree stump, they began to hoof wrestle. See? Rainbow gets me, Applejack thought with satisfaction. This is how it’s supposed to be: no playing games I ain’t ever heard of, no weird new rules to games I’ve been champ at since I was a foal … just a mare going pony-a-pony with everything she’s got.

If she was being completely honest with herself, Applejack would admit that she had probably been looking forward to going head-to-head with Rainbow Dash even more than Rainbow had been, even if Rainbow tended to be more open in her boastfulness. Before Rainbow Dash moved to Ponyville, Applejack was unquestionably the town athlete: local rodeo champion, blue ribbon winner, you name it. Nopony stood a real chance against her in most competitions of strength (aside from her lug of a brother), speed and skill.

And it had gotten pretty darn dull. Ponies around Ponyville tended to refrain from challenging Applejack, knowing that her strength and endurance would carry her through almost any contest. Come the Running of the Leaves or the Sisterhooves Social, everypony knew Applejack would almost certainly be the winner. Everypony else either stopped challenging her or simply went through the motions, knowing the contest to be a foregone conclusion.

For Applejack, these contests were a welcome break from the time consuming work on the farm. As much as she loved it, everypony needed a change of pace every once in awhile. Sports and competitions were enjoyable, necessary outlets for her … until her string of victories left her without any competitors.

Then Rainbow Dash had shown up. Athletic, brash and always eager to prove herself, she soon became a natural athletic rival. After having been deprived of any real competition for so long, Applejack was overjoyed at having somepony to test herself against. She threw herself against Rainbow Dash near every chance she got, with the honors split pretty evenly between them.
And the rodeo in Appleloosa hosted no few events for Applejack to compete against Rainbow Dash, as well as several family members who she didn’t get to regularly see. She might be coming to Appleloosa for the family and apples, but she was staying for the rodeo competition.

Rainbow understood that, Applejack knew. Another pony—even her other friends, would’ve tried to console her by saying that they were ‘just’ games or that she was meant to have. Like that’s an excuse to not do your best, she snorted. If it don’t matter, then why do it at all? Once you start telling yourself that little things don’t matter, it won’t be long ‘til you’re saying it about bigger things. If a pony can have fun by not doing their best, that’s fine for them. But it ain’t my way—ain’t the way I was raised.

With a sudden grunt, Rainbow Dash forced Applejack’s hoof down. “Ha, there!”

“Yeah, yeah…” Applejack rolled her eyes. Rainbow Dash could be a mite full of herself at times. That’s why Applejack had to be there to deflate her big head from time to time. “You just got lucky.”

“You keep telling yourself that, AJ. Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Rainbow folded her front hooves behind her head. “Of course, I might be willing to allow you another chance to lose to me … if you tell me what’s up.”

Applejack blinked. “What’re you talking about?”

Rainbow gave her a knowing look. “You can’t fool me. Something’s been bugging you since we got here. You’re not as good as me, yeah, but usually you’re a much better athlete than this. Something’s been distracting you and I’d like to be filled in on what’s up.”

Not as thick as she acts sometimes, Applejack sighed. “All right, fair enough. Ah suppose things aren’t going the way I thought they would.”

“So … what, you feel worse about losing to Little Strongheart and Braeburn than when you lose to me back in Ponyville? I guess I can see that, no shame in losing to the best,” Rainbow smirked.

Applejack took off her hat and whapped Rainbow with it. “That’s not what I’m talking about and even you aren’t that thick not to know it! I don’t like losing, but I like to think that if it happens, then, well, if I gave it my best that’s what matters. But I’m not sure if I did here.” She bit her lip as she thought about just what it was that was bothering her. An old recollection surfaced, herself as a little filly proudly showing her first blue ribbon at a junior rodeo. Her father had been so proud—Applejack felt like something was squeezing her heart and it was all she could do not to let out a sob. But she wouldn’t, not in front of Rainbow Dash of all ponies.

For her part, Rainbow was trying to think of what to say. “Look—I get wanting to win. I hate losing, worse than anything this side of a cancelled a Wonderbolt show. But it’s not everything. Remember the Best Young Flyer competition in Cloudsdale?”

“Ah remember,” Applejack nodded. “Everypony was making such a big deal over how sure a thing you were that nopony else wanted to even compete.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow looked glum. “I hated having to walk away from a contest, especially one I’ve been looking forward to for ages. And you know I could’ve won easy either way, whether anypony else showed up, right?” She waited for Applejack to nod. “But … it just wasn’t the right way, you know?”

“Reckon Ah do,” Applejack sighed. “You wanted a challenge. No point in winning a crown or a medal or a blue ribbon if you don’t have to work for it. Might as well stay home and have ‘em mail it to you.”

“Exactly! So, what’s wrong with looking at all these new events and stuff as another challenge? Think of how awesome it’ll be when we win, especially because these aren’t the events and rules you’re used to?”

The way she sounded it made it all very tempting. But the idea of changing the rodeo her parents had taken her to as a filly ate at her. Even winning this new rodeo wouldn’t be as satisfying as losing at a traditional one, because it wasn’t the rodeo she’d grown up with. The one her parents had grown up with.

Rainbow must’ve seen she wasn’t fully sold for she patted Applejack on the back. “Come on, let’s go see who can buck a football the farthest. I’ll even let you go first.”

Applejack felt her mood improve. Ah’ve been bucking trees for years and got much more powerful hindquarters than Rainbow … and she knows it. She was deliberately challenging her to a competition she knew Applejack was likely to win. Rainbow wouldn’t throw a contest anymore than Applejack would, but the outcome wasn’t really in question. Applejack felt incredibly touched that Rainbow would do that for her.

It suddenly occurred to Applejack that maybe Rainbow Dash wasn’t the only one who let her pride get away from her. I guess it’s pretty arrogant to think that keeping Rainbow’s ego in check is my job … especially since I never once thought about keeping my own under control. I just assumed I could control myself and she couldn’t. Her cheeks reddened as thinking about it made her realize just how self-righteous she’d been.

She managed to shoot her friend a shaky grin. “Thanks Rainbow … Ah don’t know what else t’say but … thank you.”

Rainbow fidgeted, obviously not wanting to get into an overly-emotional moment with her friend and rival. “Yeah, well, come on and hurry up.”

“Oh, Ah’ll hurry alright—hurry and whoop your flank!”

“You can try, AJ.” Rainbow retorted. “And maybe bring a bit of that enthusiasm to the rodeo. Seems like you don’t even really want to win.”

"Of course I want to win!" Applejack's eyes flashed as inspiration struck her. "And I'm gonna do it the Apple family way!" I’ll show Braeburn just what he's forgetting.

"Which would be … what, exactly?"

Applejack shot Rainbow her most confident grin. "Using good ol' experience and time-honored knowledge me and mah kin have gained by performing in rodeos going back decades!"

Apparently her grin wasn’t as convincing as she thought, since Rainbow looked decidedly unconvinced. "In other words, you want me to just follow your lead?" Rainbow’s skepticism was obvious.

“Well, I have won rodeos before and you’ve never even been in one before.” Applejack shrugged. “S’just common sense, really.”

“I don’t see Braeburn bossing around Little Strongheart.” Rainbow observed. “Heck, sometimes she gives him suggestions and I don’t think she’s ever been in a rodeo before either.”

Grumbling slightly, Applejack lowered her hat. “Yeah, so? That’s just—Braeburn gets swept up in a lot of crazy ideas.”

“Those crazy ideas seem to be working pretty well so far,” Rainbow Dash gestured meaningfully to Appleloosa. “Plus, you know, they are winning.”

Applejack couldn’t quite suppress a wince. “It’s just a fancy trick or two, plus some changes to the rules Ah didn’t know about,” she insisted. “Trust me, Apples have been made winning rodeo events into an art—and none of that boring kind that Rarity likes. You know, the one where everypony pretends to get it when none of them’s got so much as a clue what it really is?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Oh yeah, I know exactly what you mean. But Little Strongheart’s been pretty awesome. Maybe you should try doing things her way for a bit.”

No thank you! Applejack felt her muscles clench. “She’s got her way, Ah got mine,” she ground out.

“Yeah, but she’s winning,” Rainbow pointed out blithely. “Doesn’t that mean you should follow the example of someone who’s doing better than you?”

“There are some things more important than winning.” Applejack said bluntly. “Like who you are and what you stand for—but it don’t matter since Ah am gonna win.”

Rainbow flicked her ears and regarded Applejack evenly. “Alright. If that’s how you want to play it. If we can win your way, fine. But if we can’t, then I’m gonna start doing it Little Strongheart’s way. If you don’t like that … then we’re gonna have a problem, because I’m here to win. Not make any points about—whatever it is you’re going on about.”

Applejack slowly dipped her hat to her. And that was it, right there. Rainbow might not care about anything besides winning, but I do. I’m gonna win to show Braeburn—and all the rest—that the Apple way isn’t something you can just toss aside. It’s guided my family for generations and I’m going to make sure it’s still there for future generations: the same as how I found it.

“Fine.”

Chapter 3

Applejack fidgeted impatiently as she waited for the train from Ponyville to come into the station. As much as she loved Braeburn and the rest of her family, she was aching for the familiarity and comfortability of Granny Smith and her siblings. Looking at Braeburn, standing next to her, she thought a reminder about the importance of family and tradition wouldn’t go amiss either.

But Braeburn was almost as excited as she was. “Whooee, Ah cain’t wait to see the rest of the family! I bet Apple Bloom’s gotten so big and Big Mac—well, he probably can’t have gotten any bigger, but it’s been so long Ah can’t be sure!”

Even Applejack raised her brow at that. “You know you did see them all a couple months back at the Summer Sun Celebration, remember?”

He blinked owlishly at her. “I don’t follow.”

Only Braeburn… Applejack rolled her eyes fondly. He’s the biggest goof around, apart from Pinkie Pie. A train whistle brought her attention back to the train as it rolled in. She tapped her hoof as it slowed to a crawl before finally stopping. The train doors opened—and suddenly a yellow-red blur rushed out an attached itself to her leg.

“Applejack!” The smile on Apple Bloom’s face almost knocked her sister over. “We’re here, we’re here! How’s the rodeo! Did you win lots of blue ribbons yet? Can I compete? Ooh, there’s cousin Braeburn!” She took off like a rocket, hugging her cousin.

“Howdy little darling!” Braeburn hugged her back. “Welcome to Aaaaa—” Applejack quickly plugged his mouth with her hoof in the hopes of saving her little sister’s hearing. Big Macintosh and Granny Smith exited the train soon afterwards.

Granny Smith looked around. “Place is drier and dustier than mah bonnet after I left it on a beach that one time. Found a hermit crab making it his home when I found it again.”

“Granny Smith! Big Mac!” Applejack beamed, going over to hug them both. “It’s so good to see you both. Ah missed you.”

“Eeyup.” Big Macintosh nodded.

With his mouth free of Applejack’s hoof, Braeburn let out a joyous whinny of his own. “That goes double for me, cousin! How’ve you been? Did you have a good trip? How’s the farm?” He followed up with a barrage of questions, but Big Macintosh didn’t let himself get overwhelmed. He just slowly answered an ‘Eeyup’ or ‘Eenope’ whenever Braeburn paused for breath, while Apple Bloom peppered Braeburn with her own series of questions.

They should be at that for a while, Applejack mused. “C’mon y’all—it’s time for the reunion! Last one there’s a rotten apple!” As she expected, Braeburn, Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom raced for the fair ground without a moment’s hesitation. That left Applejack time to do what she wanted.

“Granny Smith, can I talk to you?”

“Yer doin’ it now, aren’t ya?” She jabbed her with a hoof as she slowly started making her own way to the reunion. “What’s on your mind sugarcube?”

Applejack felt uneasy. I feel like I’m going behind Braeburn’s back, but … I need to talk to Granny Smith about this. “Well, it’s like this—Appleloosa’s a bit … different than Ponyville and how we do things.”

“Hmph, every orchard’s different if you know how to look.” Granny Smith rubbed her chin. “Is there something in particular that’s got a bee in your bonnet?”

Squirming slightly, Applejack tried to think of how to explain it. “It’s not any one big thing … it’s more like a lot of little things.”

“Little things can build up,” Granny Smith agreed. “But the secret is to handle each little thing at a time. Half the time you find out that on their own, they ain’t even a problem. The ones that are, you fix and the rest tends to itself.”

Applejack nodded slowly. “I guess I understand. Maybe I have been a little too quick to see … what in tarnation?” She blinked as they arrived at the fairground. The Apple Family Reunion was usually a big affair, but this had gone to a whole new level. There were large apple-shaped balloons, banners and confetti, tables full of every sort of apple-based treat imaginable, games for the foals, the works. And right in the middle of it was, predictably enough, Pinkie Pie.

She sighed. “Darn it Pinkie,” she face-hoofed. “Things‘re changing enough without you going around and turning the reunion into a carnival.”

Granny Smith prodded her. “Don’t be such an old fuddy-duddy. Ah’m looking to sink my new choppers into a caramel apple! Be a dear and get me one? I’m gonna find Apple Rose and head over to get our knitting underway.”

“Sure thing, Granny. You have fun working on the quilt.” Applejack trotted off, making a beeline for Pinkie Pie. She found her making balloon animals for the foals. “Pinkie?”

“Hi Applejack! Just a second!” She made a balloon buffalo for one last foal, who took it delightedly as she scampered off. “What’s up?”

Applejack waited until the foal was out of earshot before answered. “Pinkie Pie, I appreciate everything you’ve done for the reunion, but maybe you might want to think about taking it down a notch?”

A confused look crossed Pinkie’s face. “But why? Isn’t everypony having fun?”

“Well, yes,” Applejack admitted. “It’s just doesn’t have the sort of…” she gestured vaguely “—feel to it that our reunions usually have.”

“What’s wrong with that, silly? It’s fun to try new things sometimes!” Pinkie Pie grabbed a hooffull of balloons and fashioned them into a rather accurate manticore. “See? I’ve never tried making one of those before and it turned out great!” She hesitated. “Although maaaybe I shouldn’t give this to one of the younger foals…”

Applejack coughed meaningfully, engaged in the full-time job of keeping Pinkie Pie on track. “Ah ain’t saying that new is bad, but between you, me and the apple trees? Mah cousin Braeburn’s been changing up a lot of things as it is. That just makes it more important that the reunion is true to tradition.”

“So, you’re upset because Braeburn is doing things different?” Pinkie tilted her head in thought.

“I didn’t say that … exactly.” Applejack fidgeted. “I don’t want him to forget the things that make the Apple family, the Apple family. Tradition’s important, after all, right?”

Pinkie hesitated. “...Can I tell you something?”

Applejack blinked. “Of course you can, Pinkie: we’re friends!”

“Thank you.” Pinkie took a deep breath. “You remember my cutie mark story, how Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Rainboom made me want to see everypony smile?” Applejack nodded. “Well, the thing is, my family’s pretty traditional too. And I like our traditions, especially for Hearth’s Warming Eve. They were really happy the first time I threw them all a party … but they don’t like having them as much as me.” Pinkie’s ears lowered. “It bothered me, a little. I still really really love my family, even though they we don’t always like the same things.”

The sight of a sad Pinkie Pie was one of the most heart-wrenching sights in Equestria. “Aww, Pinkie, Ah didn’t know. It’s hard to imagine family not understandin’ their own kin.”

“It’s okay,” she regarded Applejack with a more serious expression than she was used to seeing from her. “Just because I chose to do things differently than my family doesn’t mean I don’t care about them.”

“I don’t—I know Braeburn cares about the family. He’s great! He—” Applejack swallowed a painful lump of emotions as she thought back to a painful period in her life. “—he’s the best. I dunno, maybe that’s why it bothers me so durn much,” she sighed and rubbed her face. “And of course I ain’t saying anything bad ‘bout you, Pinkie. You gotta be who you are and nopony does it like you.” Of course, if you had a whole family of Pinkie Pies things’d get mighty out of control mighty fast. “Even if Braeburn did something crazy like saying he didn’t want to farm or something, that’d be fine. Ah might not understand it, but I’d be okay with it. Heck, even the Oranges of Manehattan are still family and they’re barely like us, and that’s fine, for them. But Braeburn? It’s not that he’s not following the family tradition … he’s changing the traditions!”

Pinkie pulled a cupcake from her mane and chewed it thoughtfully—a phrase Applejack could only think of applying to Pinkie herself. “Well, you know the saying you can’t step in the same river twice? Unless you’re wearing cement horseshoes because then you’d only step in it once—but things change! And it’s not bad!” She reached into her mane and pulled out a photograph of the Cake family. Applejack didn’t even question it. “Mrs. Cake was sad one time and I was worried, so I threw her a party to cheer her up! But when I asked why she was sad it was because Pound and Pumpkin were old enough that they didn’t wake up in the middle of the night crying. At first I was confused because, why would she miss having them cry in the middle of the night? She said it was because it meant they were beginning to grow up, that one day they wouldn’t need her as much.”

Even though Pinkie Pie didn’t mean to, bringing up Mr. and Mrs. Cake and their children was the emotional equivalent of a sledgehammer. Applejack closed her eyes and slowly counted to ten, trying to remain composed. “Ah can see where she’s coming from,” Applejack allowed despite her own feelings on the subject of children not needing their parents being sharply different. I never outgrew my parents … and I don’t think I ever will.

But Pinkie Pie went on, “I was sad too, but then Mrs. Cake said that it wasn’t a bad thing! Because Pound and Pumpkin would learn how to talk and say things like ‘I love you’ and do all sorts of things! Can you imagine the Cakes’ Twins never growing up? Even if they are cutey-wutey now, that’d mean they’d never learn how to do new cute things! Can you imagine the Cakes changing their diapers for year after year after year?” She gasped. “But if things don’t change, they’d be wearing the same diaper for all that time and that’d be really really gross!” She shuddered.

“I get what you’re saying,” Applejack quickly put in. “Well, thanks for talking with me Pinkie. I gotta go take care of some things. You take care.” Even as Pinkie Pie waved good-bye, Applejack’s mind was still a torrent.

Pinkie doesn’t understand, Applejack decided. Her family’s pretty small compared to mine, and pretty close together too. There are a ton of Apples and we live all over Equestria. We need that sense of a tradition to remind us all that we’re one family. With a family as large and scattered as Applejack’s, tradition was what bound them together. Despite living all across Equestria, every Apple could come together and enjoy a meal prepared the same way their parents and grandparents had made. It was the sense of a shared history and tradition that kept them together. It was what Applejack had inherited from her parents and what she intended to pass on to Apple Bloom and to future generations of Apples.

---

The next round of events began a little while later. With her family here from Ponyville, Applejack was more determined than ever to win. Fortunately, the next event turned out to be something that put a gleam in Applejack’s eyes: a lassoing competition. Applejack beamed as she grabbed a coil of rope, neatly tying it off into a lasso. “Woohee, now this here is my event!” She looked out to a row of strawponies, each one wearing a hat. The object was to lasso the hat off the strawpony without damaging it, or having the rope touch anything but the hat.

“Knock ‘em dead, AJ!” Rainbow whooped as Applejack twirled her lasso, leaping through it with ease.

Applejack tilted her hat to Rainbow, glad for the support. She watched Braeburn demonstrating for Little Strongheart … this time the buffalo was definitely not getting the hang of the event. Braeburn demonstrated a few of the familiar techniques both he and Applejack had learned when they were young … but as she continued to watch, Applejack noticed him subtly shifting the forms to make them easier for Little Strongheart to imitate. She knew it only made sense, seeing as she had a different build than them. But it still bothered her.

She went to double check that her rope was in good shape when a sudden loud yelp drew her attention. Applejack looked over to see Rainbow Dash had somehow managed to hogtie herself with her lasso while Twilight was somehow bound to Braeburn. “Uh, what’d I miss?” she asked with a chuckle.

Twilight blushed sheepishly. “Rainbow Dash said she’d show me how to lasso and, well…”

Braeburn looked equally embarrassed and having a mare tied to his back. “Was the darndest thing...”

Applejack set about untying them, ignoring the glares Rainbow shot her at being left on her own. “Landsakes Twilight, if you wanted to get closer to the Apple family there are better ways t’do it.” She winked, unable to resist a little teasing.

Twilight’s cheeks turned scarlet. “It’s not like that! I don’t like him--I mean, Braeburn seems like a very nice stallion but, um…”

“Applejack!” Braeburn lowered his hat to cover his blushing face. She just chuckled. The idea of Braeburn and one of her friends certainly had merit … but that could come later. For now, there was a rodeo to win!

Reluctantly, Applejack helped untie them. “Come on now, Twi--you take a seat and watch.” She grinned. “This is gonna be a real treat!”

“Hey AJ!” Rainbow Dash suddenly called out from her place on the ground. “Forgetting something?”

Applejack thought about it. “Not really.” She smirked, prompting a glare from Rainbow Dash. “Alright, enough laying around…” She freed her friend and helped her up. “Time to rope up some other dummies.” She didn’t even bother trying to dodge Rainbow’s retaliatory wing whap. It didn’t do anything to dispel Applejack’s smile.

This always was my favorite event. She began to twirl the rope over her head, narrowing her eyes as she lined up with the straw dummy. With a toss of her head the lasso sailed out and neatly landed atop the hat. She jerked her head, smoothly bringing the hat to land at her hooves. “And that’s how it’s done!” she whooped, delighting in the cheers Apple Bloom threw her way. “Just do it the way I did it, Rainbow.”

“Yeah yeah…” Rainbow whipped the rope around her head so quickly it was little more than a blur. Then with a lightning flash whip of her neck—one so sudden Applejack was briefly afraid she’d hurt herself—Rainbow’s lasso flew towards the dummy. It had scarcely landed on the hat before Rainbow pulled the rope taut, bringing back the dummy’s hat … with its head still attached to it. “Whups. Might’ve pulled too hard.”

“Ya think?” Applejack deadpanned as she prodded the straw head with her hoof. She looked over to see Braeburn and Little Strongheart take their turns. Braeburn was nearly as good with the rope as Applejack, which was little surprise. Shoot, we used to practice together, she thought.

Little Strongheart clearly wasn’t as adept with a rope as the ponies were, but Applejack was impressed she was managing as well as she was. Strongheart’s lasso didn’t open up, but it did manage to knock the hat off her dummy. She gave Braeburn an apologetic glance. “Sorry, Braeburn.”

But Braeburn shook his head and patted her back … having to reach up in order to do. “Nah, you did great for your first real roping contest! You know how long it took me to do as good as you did just now? I think if you keep working at it the way you were earlier, you’ll be a champion in no time!”

Applejack sighed silently. Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to notice, clapping her on the back. “Well, I guess that’s a win for us! What’s next?”

The thought of the next event caused Applejack to brighten. “Pie eating contest! Fun and delicious!”

Rainbow blinked then went silent for a moment. She sighed, “I suddenly miss Cloud Kicker for some reason.”

“It ain’t that kinda pie,” Applejack rolled her eyes as she headed over to a pie-laden table, taking her seat with the other contestants. “This here’s a solo event. Seeing as I’ve been eating apple pies since I was knee high to a grasshopper, I figure I’ll take this one and you can take whatever else they’ve got going on right now.” She looked to Braeburn. “You gonna go up against me, cuz?” When he shook his head no, her shock was so great that her hat practically leapt from her head. “What? Why not?”

“Cuz Little Strongheart loves apple pies—shoot, almost all them buffalo do. So when she heard there was a pie eating contest, you bet she wanted to take a crack at it,” he paused, scuffing his hoof sheepishly. “Plus she asked real nice and, well, it ain’t polite to refuse a lady’s request.”

Figures, Applejack shook her head. “All right then, how about it, Strongheart? You think you got the belly to go up against mine?”

Little Strongheart took a seat across from her. “I have not eaten since yesterday morning in anticipation. I am ready.”

“You best be,” Applejack set her hat down next to her and tentatively sniffed at one of the pies. Just like Granny ma—wait a second. Something was different. “Who made these?”

Strongheart beamed proudly. “My tribe assisted the ponies of Appleloosa in baking these! And your friend Pinkie Pie helped as well!”

“Y’all wouldn’t have added some of that, uh, mush of yours into it, did ya?” She winced when Strongheart nodded. It’s not that the newer pies she’d had tasted bad but…

It’s all right…Applejack exhaled, calming herself. I got this.

---

I ain’t got this, Applejack moaned, clutching her poor belly. I always figured a pie would do me in—Ah just thought it would be Pinkie. She lost track after the tenth pie. Little Strongheart didn’t seem as bad off—likely cuz she’s got more space to hold those pies in, Applejack thought—but she was clearly at the end of her rope too. The other competitors had long since dropped out, leaving it just the two of them. Seeing Strongheart reach for another pie, Applejack knew she’d been beat.

She picked up a napkin and waved it like a white flag. “Ah’m done. You win Strongheart.”

The young buffalo dipped her head. “You were a most worthy opponent, Applejack.”

Pinkie Pie hopped onto the bench. “Wow, you two were amazing! Ooh, can I have some of those pies now?”

Applejack groaned. “Help yourself, Pinkie…”

With a wide grin, Pinkie planted her face right into a pie and began gobbling it up. Within seconds she had polished it off and grabbed another. Little Strongheart and Applejack could only watch in amazement as Pinkie Pie quickly devoured more pies than both of them together had eaten, all without slowing down or looking the least bit full.

“Where does she put them all?” Strongheart asked in awe.

Applejack grunted. “Either she has a tapeworm or a black hole in her stomach.”

Pinkie stopped eating just long enough to burp. “Can I get some ice cream to go with this one?”

With an barely subdued sigh, Applejack went looking for Rainbow Dash. As expected, she had beaten Braeburn at hoof-wrestling.

The next several events passed like a blur for Applejack: tug-of-war, juggling, horseshoe tossing, turkey call (that one was an easy win—the buffalo had never even heard a turkey!). Applejack and Rainbow Dash were tied with Braeburn and Little Strongheart—but she could take little pleasure in it. All of her hard-won skills from past rodeos only accounted for a few of their victories. And many of the events Braeburn and Strongheart won were thanks to their decidedly non-traditional takes on old games—or were buffalo-inspired games. Applejack felt more and more discouraged as time went on. Even winning felt empty when it was thanks to Rainbow Dash, who won things her own way.

The point was driven home during the wrestling. Applejack had been girding herself for the event the way it had always been done. But once again, the Appleloosans had put their own spin on it. Apparently the buffalo had their own style, tatanka, and they changed the traditional rodeo rules to accommodate them. Again.

Buffalo wrestling involved both competitors laying on their backs, trying to flip each other just using their backlegs. It was confusing.

Rainbow Dash adapted pretty quickly—she realized that she was a bit set in her ways … but was distressed to see Braeburn making the transition with little difficulty. Is it that easy to let go of the past, to forget the things that make us who we are? Her stomach churned. What’s that say about us? About what we hold dear?

Of course, the fact that Rainbow Dash and her cousin had their legs wrapped around each other wasn’t doing anything to improve her disposition. Nor was the fact that she was being neatly tossed around by Little Strongheart. Darn buffalo … way too strong. She tried using some of her own wrestling tricks, but moving anything but her legs resulted in a win for Little Strongheart. “Aw shewt…” She climbed up, dusting herself off. Still, Applejack was never a pony to forget her manners. “Good match, Strongheart.”

Little Strongheart beamed. "You were a most worthy opponent."

"Same t'you," Applejack lowered her hat to her, turning back just in time to see Rainbow flip Braeburn over. "Looks like the match's over."

“I will see to Braeburn.” Little Strongheart quickly announced, making her way over to help the bruised stallion up.

Applejack went over to congratulate her own teammate. “Nice going, RD. Hope you didn’t rough up my cousin too bad?”

“Nah, he’s a big colt.” Rainbow rolled her shoulders, stretching out her wings to get the kinks out of them. “Was that awesome or what?”

“Was definitely ‘or what,’” Applejack blew a stray strand of hair out of her face.

Rainbow Dash nudged her. “So, what’s the problem? Braeburn and Little Strongheart look happier than you do, and they lost.”

Applejack sighed and adjusted her hat. “Winning ain’t everything. How you win’s least as important as if you win.” She frowned. “T’me, me and Braeburn ‘re both losing. No matter who wins the contest.”

“Really?” Rainbow’s skepticism was almost palpable. “Anypony who doesn’t do things your way is a loser? Come on, AJ…”

“Look, Ah got nothing against how the buffalo do things.” Applejack shook her head. “That’s their business and Ah wouldn’t want try to tell them to do any different. But I’m not a buffalo—I’m a pony and an Apple. And Ah want to do things the Apple way—the way we’ve always done them—and not be made to do things some other way. The Apple way ain’t the right way for everypony—but it’s the right way for us Apples.”

That didn’t seem to impress Rainbow Dash anymore than her last efforts had. “Uh uh. So it’s just wrong for you Apples and I’m guessing the rest of us don’t count?”

“It ain’t like that!” Applejack swore. “They ain't doing anything wrong—they're just doing things their way. And that's all right for them. Ah don't want to tell them what's right and wrong. I ain't a buffalo after all ... but since I'm not, Ah gotta be allowed to do things the right way for Apples, cuz that's what Ah am." She took off her hat, staring at it for a long moment. “I wouldn’t want to change something that makes them who they are—I just don’t want nopony changing what makes me me either. You know?”

“I ... think so.” Rainbow sighed. “Look, when I was in Canterlot, it was a huge pain in the flank. Ponies tried telling me how I should behave since I was the Princess’ student; I tried getting them to loosen up and be more awesome like me ... it never worked out.”

Applejack set her hat back on her head. “So, what’re you saying? Ponies cain’t change?”

“No, that’s not it.” Rainbow struggled, searching for the right words. “Ponies change all the time. Trying to force them to change to make you happy—that doesn’t work out so good. You say you don’t want Braeburn changing your traditions and stuff. But is he trying to force you to change how you keep your traditions? How you live your life at home? Doesn’t seem like it to me. Seems more like you’re the one trying to force somepony to change.”

Before Applejack could even begin to think of a counterargument, Apple Bloom walked up to them. “Hi Applejack, hi Rainbow Dash! That was amazing! Could you teach me how to wrestle like that?”

“How about I teach you t’wrestle the way me and Big Macintosh do?” Applejack was quick to offer. “You use your hooves a lot more and--” she paused, spotting something in her sister’s hoof. “What’s that?”

“A carrot-dog!” Apple Bloom chirped. “Cousin Half Baked bought me one … he said they’re gonna start growing carrots and all kinda fruit and vegetables out here!”

Applejack staggered back as if struck between the eyes by a two-by-four. Heaven’s to betsy, now they’re gonna start growing other crops besides apples?! What next?

She didn’t know how long she zoned out, only half-listening to Rainbow Dash’s boasting to Apple Bloom. The sudden ringing of a bell snapped her back into focus. “That’s the call for the final race!”

“Let’s get moving then!” Rainbow nudged Applejack. “Come on, AJ! We’re gotta win this one!”

Applejack felt her blood pumping. “All right! This time’ll be different, just you see!” They galloped to the start line and began some quick stretches. “Okay then, looks like we all get to go together ‘stead of taking turns.” Looking ahead, she saw the first part of the race was the barrel weave. There weren’t any separate lanes for each runner either, so they needed to strategize. “We just gotta be sure we don’t end up gettin’ in each other’s way. I’ll head right and you go left.”

“Right!”

“No, left!” Applejack stressed.

Rainbow looked to her. “That’s what I said!”

Applejack turned her head. “No, you said left!”

“No, I said right!”

“That’s what I said and I told you to go left!” Applejack moaned, burying her face in her hooves.

“I said right meaning left!” Rainbow explained, beginning to grit her teeth in annoyance.

Applejack goggled at her incredulously. “Now what kinda fool sense does that make? When the race starts just go to the left! Honestly!” She shook her head, spying Braeburn and Strongheart chuckling together over some shared joke out of the corner of her eye. A sudden feeling of loss swelled up in her, mixed with something else. In a moment Applejack realized it was jealousy. That’s some stinking thinking there, she snorted, annoyed with herself. Strongheart’s a nice filly or whatever buffalo gals are called. S’dumb. She sighed. Still wish me and Braeburn were competing together, the way we used t’before he came out to Appleloosa. Shoot, together we could’ve shown Rainbow Dash just what Apple family’s capable of!

Applejack nearly jumped out of her horseshoes when the startpony rang the bell. It was little surprise that Braeburn, Little Strongheart and the other competitors had a head start on her. Oh, horseapples!

“Hurry it up, AJ!” Rainbow shouted back, already heading into the barrel area.

Scrambling after her, Applejack let out an annoyed grumble. “Don’t you shout at me!” Having literally started out on the wrong hoof, she felt herself almost lumbering as she headed to the barrels. Her hooffalls were too heavy; she’d been in too much of a rush to make up for lost time and was off-balance. That ain’t good… She winced as she headed for the barrels.

But her long experience in these events let her negotiate the pathways through the barrels without too much difficulty, though she had to end up trading speed for accuracy. Even then, it wasn’t quite enough. Her haunches nudged a barrel, resulting in the referee adding time to her score. Rainbow's gonna make jokes about mah flank for a month for that. Leaping away, she overcompensated and knocked another one fully over. That barrel went rolling right into Rainbow's path. "Look out!"

"Whoa!" Rainbow Dash leapt clear over the barrel, landing heavily on her hooves. She glared quickly at Applejack before she started running again. Great, she's probably gonna think I did that on purpose, she sighed. Rainbow soon cleared all the barrels without so much as brushing one. Little Strongheart, much more small and nimble than her larger tribemates, had also made it through. The two were neck-in-neck in the lead. Braeburn was having a bit more trouble navigating through the barrels, but was about to make his way out. Applejack opted not to dwell on her own less-than-perfect performance and made her way through the barrel weave without further incident. By the time she was done she saw Rainbow Dash and Strongheart making their way through hurdles in the next segment, the two of them neck in neck.

Grim determination crossed Applejack's muzzle. No chance she was going to be left in the dust. I may have goofed up the barrels, but I ain't gonna do it here! She took a deep breath and began leaping. Hurdle-jumping was a regular rodeo event and she had plenty of practice doing it, as did Braeburn. Before long the two of them were closing the gap.

The next part of the course should slow them up enough for me to get back in the lead. Sure enough, both Dash and Strongheart were stalled. Applejack found it hard not to grin. They wouldn't be familiar with this!

For each of the competitors there was a seesaw with a bucket of moldy or unusable apples on one side. The object was for each race to jump on the other end, propelling the apples onto the target. Once they hid the bullseye, they could continue on.

All them years of apple bucking is paying off here! Applejack thought. She learned long ago that she needed controlled strength to buck the apples out without damaging the trees. So when it came to judging just how much strength she needed to apply to the other end of the seesaw, Applejack had the edge over the more powerful Little Strongheart, and the impatient Rainbow Dash.

Applejack smacked her two of hooves down on the upper-end of the seesaw. The apples went flying and hit the center of the bullseye, coating it with apple mush. First attempt, too! Applejack beamed, enjoying the grumbling Rainbow Dash sent her way. “Don’t you worry none, Rainbow. Ah’m sure you’ll get it … eventually.” She smirked and ran ahead.

Her hooves thudded against the ground as she made her way down the race track. Before too long though, she heard the sounds of more hooves joining hers. “Hey cousin!”

No surprises there. “Hey Braeburn!” Applejack called back, shooting him a grin. “How you liking the taste of mah dust?”

Braeburn laughed, his easy going nature making him difficult to rattle. “Race ain’t over yet!”

Applejack looked ahead at the next obstacle. There were a series of mud pits in the path that she had to leap over, and beyond that… Ah ponyfeathers, Applejack winced, spying a particularly huge pit that covered the entire race track. The only way to cross it was a thin plank resting on some stakes protruding from the mud. One small misstep and a racer would go right into the mud.

Luckily, they had left poles for them to hold in order to provide balance. Not so luckily, the ends of each pole ended in a small, shallow bowl with an apple in it. Applejack figured the point was to cross the pit without falling into the mud or dropping either apple. Of all the times to not have wings, she thought as she grabbed a pole.

She slowly made her way onto the plank, swaying precariously as she tried to find her balance. The beam was barely wide enough for a single hoof, making her progress slow and awkward. Braeburn didn’t seem to be doing any better though, with both of them reduced to a snail’s pace.

The sound of thudding hooves alerted Applejack to the fact that she now had company. Risking a glance behind her, she saw Little Strongheart and Rainbow Dash snatching up their own poles and getting onto the beams. She paused, half expecting the two of them to fall off. Strongheart’s too bulky to stay up and Rainbow’s more used to flying than walking. Ah got this.

Rainbow, catching Applejack’s eye, smirked and began balancing the pole on her muzzle—and just to add insult to injury, she started to move down the beam … while walking on just her front hooves.

Showoff, Applejack grumbled. To her surprise, Little Strongheart was easily making her way down the plank. She wasn’t as sure footed as Rainbow, but she was remarkably nimble. Applejack thought back to when she had seen her maneuver between several larger buffalo and realized she’d underestimated her. This ain’t good.

She tried move faster, but her pole began to wobble and the apples began to be jostled. Applejack suddenly craned her neck to keep the apple secure, but found herself overbalancing in the other direction. “Ah hay—” she winced as she toppled over into the mud.

Scrambling to her hooves, Applejack swore and shook the mud from her coat while galloping back to the start. By the time she grabbed another pole and got back on, Rainbow Dash and Little Strongheart were almost at the end! Moving as quickly as she dared without falling off again, Applejack managed to catch up with Braeburn. The two of them raced over to the next section, where Rainbow Dash and Strongheart were waiting.

“Come on Applejack, hurry it up!” Rainbow snapped at her, readying a pair of cords to fasten around their legs.

Applejack, her hair streaked with mud and her patience frayed, was in no mood for Rainbow’s attitude. “Just hush it and tie the durn things.” As Rainbow set about tying their legs together, she stole a look over at Braeburn and Little Strongheart. They seemed to be having more trouble, given their widely different body types and sizes.

“Alright, done. Let’s go!” Rainbow nudged her.

Snapping back to attention, Applejack nodded. “Okay, follow my lead and start off with your right hoof.”

“Your lead?” Rainbow practically radiated skepticism. “After the way you’ve been handling things? I’ll lead. C’mon!” She nudged their bound front legs forward.

Applejack resisted. “Now hold on, Ah’ve been competing in these contests fer years—Ah know what I’m doing!”

“Been doing real good so far,” Rainbow grunted as she tried to force Applejack forward. “Come on, the others are catching up!”

Braeburn and Little Strongheart had secured their front legs together and were now working on their hindlegs. Applejack tossed her head. “Alright, giddyap!”

“Wait a—whoa!” Rainbow yelped as Applejack suddenly surged forward, almost dragging her along. “We have to move together, you know!” She barked, her free legs not quite moving in synch with Applejack’s, giving them a lumbering, lurching gait.

Applejack grunted. “Just follow mah lead!”

“Will you knock it off with that?” Rainbow snapped. “How about you follow my lead so you don’t stomp on me with one of your fat hooves!”

“Listen here—” The two began to bicker, their argument picking up steam even as their speed did the same. They were soon neck and neck with Braeburn and Little Strongheart, the finish line drawing close. This is my last chance to show Braeburn that the traditional Apple way is still the best! Just what the Apple way of winning a race while tied to another pony was, she didn’t really think on.

Applejack’s eyes narrowed as her hooves pounded heavily against the ground. She felt Rainbow Dash’s exertions next to her. The finish drew closer, but Braeburn and Little Strongheart kept pace with them. Rainbow Dash, nodded to them before surging forward. Applejack put on one last burst of speed, carrying them forward just as they reached the end. “YES!” Rainbow cheered, flapping her wings with glee. “We won! WOO!”

After untying the two of them, Applejack clapped her on the back. “We sure did! Way to go sugarcube!”

“Congratulations cousin!” Braeburn panted, half leaning against Strongheart. “That was some race!”

Applejack felt herself almost bursting with pride. “Well, shucks it’s just how—”

“Applejack, you did it!” Apple Bloom shouted as she approached.

Applejack felt the bottom fall out of her stomach as Apple Bloom galloped over, her trademark pink bow—something she wore every day and was as much a part of her as her hooves or tail—was gone, replaced by a pair of white and black feathers. “Isn’t this neat?” Apple Bloom waggled her head, getting the feathers to waft back and forth. “This little buffalo filly was showing me how to play their game and I showed her how to loopty-hoop! She liked it so much we decided to trade!”

Ah cain’t win. Applejack felt numb. Don’t matter how hard I try, s’all still slipping away. I can’t--I can’t … she couldn’t handle it. Hot tears stinging her face, Applejack wheeled around and galloped away blindly.

Chapter 4

Applejack found herself wandering through the orchards of Appleloosa. Normally when she wanted some time alone to think she’d walk through the apple trees of Sweet Apple Acres. Appleloosa’s orchard was nice enough, but it wasn’t home. Instead of the soft, loamy soil and rolling green hills, the trees here were planted in harsh sand and dirt. The land was so flat and barren that there was no place to sit comfortably, no place where she could sit beneath a tree and look down over the rest of the orchard. The collide between the familiar and the strange was too much for her, so she kept walking.

Her hooves carried her out onto the open plain. As the lights of Appleloosa grew smaller and dimmer, the stars seemed to glow even brighter. She found herself staring at them as she walked, not even noticing that she was no longer alone until she bumped into something rather large and hairy. “Whu—oh sorry!” She blurted out as she realized that she had bumped into a buffalo. A very large one, wearing a feathered headdress.

Fortunately, he did not seem much disturbed by the encounter—likely because she was a quarter his size. “When one’s hooves are on the ground and one’s mind in the sky, accidents can happen.” He dipped his head. “I am Chief Thunderhooves. Who are you to be wandering the plains so late?”

Applejack blinked and doffed her hat respectfully. “Oh, pleased t’meet you, sir. My name’s Applejack.”

The Chief dipped his mammoth head. “Ah, Little Strongheart has spoken of you. You are kin to the Loud Pony?”

“The lou—oh! Braeburn. Yes, he’s my cousin.”

“He is a good pony,” Thunderhooves declared. “If you are his kin, you are welcome in our camp.”

Applejack put her hat back upon her head. “Thank you kindly. It’s a real lovely place y’all got here.” Her eyes wandered over the encampment. Tipis dotted the landscape, forming a rough circle around a large campfire. Buffalo came and left as they pleased to sit or dance by the fire. She spotted Wigwam and several other ponies dancing with them. Still can’t figure why they want to live like this …

Her face must’ve reflected what she was thinking, for Chief Thunderhooves spoke up. “It is strange, seeing ponies here, isn’t it?" Flustered, Applejack started to stammer out an apology, but he waved it off. “There is no need for apologies. I felt the same way, at first.”

“You—you did?” Applejack felt confused, but also a bit relieved to find that it wasn’t just her.

Thunderhooves nodded. “Wigwam was the first to come. He said he wanted to learn our ways, for the way of those he was born into did not fit. I was … unsure of how to answer him.” He led Applejack through the camp. “There is nothing in our traditions that says that outsiders can or cannot join us, mostly because we buffalo have largely kept to ourselves. No buffalo ever thought that a pony would seek to join our tribe.” He grunted. “I had first thought to deny him, but Wigwam was stubborn and would not go. For three weeks he followed our tribe as we traveled across the plain, always keeping pace with us. He would camp apart from us, set up his own tipi apart from our own and then continue on the next day. Much of what he did was wrong, the way he ran or the manner in which he attempted to learn our language and customs. I thought it a mockery of our ways.”

“What changed your mind?” Applejack asked as they walked.

They soon cleared the camp so that it was just the two of them. Thunderhooves sat down, beckoning Applejack to join him. “His stubbornness. In time I saw that it was not mockery, but an honest imitation of our ways, much as a calf might seek to mimic the mannerism of his father. Soon I found myself and others correcting his mistakes in how he set up his tipi, offered him advice on how to better run with us … before long, I could no longer tell the difference between him and the rest of my tribe. He might have well been running with us all his life. Who was I, then, to say that he was not one of us?”

Applejack nodded. It ain’t what you’re born into that matters, it’s what you choose to be. She had any number of relatives who had married into the Apple family, but they had soon become as close to her as any blood relative. Shewt, Ah even once tried to convince myself to be a Manehattan Orange instead of an Apple. Perhaps that had been her problem, she thought to herself. When I tried leaving the farm, I realized it was a mistake. But it was a mistake for me, not for everypony. Another pony could be happier in Manehattan or in the buffalo tribe than they would be on Sweet Apple Acres, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Just because the farm was right for me, doesn’t mean it would be right for everypony else. But then she thought of Braeburn, and how he was an Apple to the core—yet he didn’t leave Appleloosa for the buffalo, but wanted to mix the two up.

Chief Thunderhooves let her think and stew for a while before speaking up again. “When some of my tribe wished to settle down in Appleloosa, living as you ponies do, I had a hard time accepting it. I thought they were forsaking the ways of my father, and of his father before him, and his father before him and…” He paused and shook his head. “I am rambling. Little Strongheart has been trying to get me to work on that, but that too is part of our ways: stories are how we maintain our traditions.”

“S’the same for us,” Applejack assured him. “The stories my Granny Smith tells us are how we remember who we are and where we came from. Ah can understand you having trouble when buffalo want to live like ponies.”

Thunderhooves grunted. “I felt it like a wound, that some of my tribe would find the ways of others better than our own. It was like they were rejecting our heritage—rejecting what made them buffalo, as well as rejecting what had made me, me.”

Applejack nodded numbly as she heard him give voice to the feelings she hadn’t been able to articulate. “Ah’m guessing something changed your mind? What was it?” She waited for him to dig something out of a pouch he had slung around his neck.

He pulled out a small, rusted, battered old pie tin and laid it gently on the ground “This.”

“That ol’ thing?” Applejack’s confusion couldn’t have been any greater if he had pulled Pinkie Pie out of his bag.

But Thunderhooves nodded. “When we buffalo and the ponies were arguing, Little Strongheart came bearing a fresh apple pie in that very tin. But I was not convinced of having my tribe participate in our stampede to help the settler ponies harvest their apples.” He shook his mammoth head, chuckling. “Little Strongheart would not accept my answer and continued to offer me the pie. She was frustrated by my continued refusal, and ended up shoving the pie in my face.” He licked his lips. “The truth had never tasted so delicious. This tin ended my stubborn ways and showed me the start of a new path. I have eaten all my desserts from it, as a keepsake.”

Granny Smith would be glad to hear that, Applejack smirked to herself. Then she thought of the alterations being made to traditional Apple family recipes and her unease returned. “And that’s it? That’s what convinced you?”

Thunderhooves sighed. “Old traditions are wonderful and must be preserved, but I soon began to see new traditions from our arrangement and found that they too are wonderful. While part of me regrets that our sacred stampede my tribe honors has become a farming exercise, I see young calves still honoring it in their own way.” A faint smile crossed his face as he looked out over to the trail that ran through the orchard. “They have taught the ponies who joined us, and those who participate in the run, how to do it right. They are still proud of their traditions and themselves, even though they now express it in a different way. The old will live on in the new. As long as there are stubborn folk as we who will not let them forget entirely.” He paused. “But enough of an old bull’s rumblings. Would you care to join me for an apple pie?”

Applejack smiled. “I’d like that very much, thanks.” They headed back to the buffalo camp and acquired a pie. The two of them sat together under the desert sky, sharing a peace pie in an old tin.

---

Applejack wandered back to the town orchard, feeling more at ease there than she had earlier before. But she was still feeling conflicted. She sat herself down under an apple tree and thought.

But that wasn’t what Braeburn and the others were doing. It wasn’t that they were embracing a new tradition—Applejack could cope with that. If that’s what he wants, then Ah’ll be there to support him. But he’s changing the things that make the Apple family—the Apple family! It ain’t just about what he wants, but he’s changing things for everypony in Appleloosa—forever!

Isn’t it?

“Applejack?” Braeburn’s soft voice nearly caused her to leap up. She turned just as Braeburn emerged from around another tree. “There you are—Ah was so worried ‘bout you. You okay?”

She opened her mouth, but a sudden swell of emotion constricted her throat and she was unable to choke out so much as a word. Seeing her distress, Braeburn sat down and hugged her. “Hey there, s’okay … nopony’s mad at you, I promise. It’s okay…”

That’s when she finally broke down. Applejack sobbed as she buried her face in Braeburn’s shoulder, wracking with sobs. She didn’t realize until then just how much she had needed this. It was always offering support to Apple Bloom, to her introverted brother, her friends. She hadn’t been comforted like that in quite a while. I suppose everypony needs to be held every now and again, she thought as Braeburn stroked her mane. After a while, Applejack had lost her sense of time, she got herself under control. “I’m okay Brae … sorry, ‘bout that,” she sniffled, rubbing at her face with a hoof. “Ah must look a right mess.”

“Aww, s’okay,” Braeburn sat back, a foreleg still draped across her shoulders. “Happens t’everypony now and then.”

“Reminds me when…” Applejack felt her throat tighten again and coughed. “When you were there after Mom and Dad—”

“You don’t have to say it,” he said softly, patting her back.

Applejack went silent for a bit. Braeburn didn’t press her, letting it go on as long as she wanted. Finally she spoke up, “Seeing you brings it all back, Ah suppose. Now, don’t you go an’ apologize,” she forestalled him. “It ain’t yer fault.”

“Ain’t yours neither,” he pointed out. “Y’never let yerself move on.”

“How can Ah move on when Ah still have to remind myself that they’re gone?” She demanded in frustration. “Sometimes Ah’ll see something and say to mahself, ‘I’ll have to tell Ma and Pa about this!’ Or Ah’ll wake and head downstairs for breakfast and just for a second, not remember why they aren’t there. And then I remember, and it all comes … it just comes flooding back, y’know?” Her voice cracked and she took another deep, shuddering breath. “But even worse…” She fell silent.

“You can tell me,” Braeburn said softly. “Ah promise, this won’t go any farther than just the two of us if you don’t want it to. Ah won’t be judging you, neither.”

Applejack mustered what small reserve of fortitude she had left and pushed forward. “The worst part is … there are other times Ah can barely remember them,” she admitted. “I remember having them, but I don’t know if I’m actually remembering them, y’know? Ah realized that Ah don’t even remember what Daddy sounded like.” Her voice cracked at the end, resulting in another comforting squeeze from her cousin. She patting his hoof in acknowledgement, but drove forward. “Ah don’t know why it’s like that! It should be one or the other, shouldn’t it? But it ain’t and it drives me crazy! And Ah know you’ll say something about them always being with me, and it sounds nice ‘n all … but it ain’t enough. You don’t think you’d ever forget something like that, but you do. Ah hate it. Ah hate it so much that…” a hitch in her voice forced her to stop again. She took a breath, grateful that Braeburn was giving her the time to get it all out.

“It’s only gonna get harder the more time goes on,” she paused to wipe at her muzzle with her foreleg. “But when Ah’m out there in the fields they worked in everyday, doing the things they did the way they did … I feel closer to them. It’s like I’m actually living a bit of their lives, and that they’re right there with me.”

“I can understand that,” Braeburn nodded. “S’how you wanna honor them and I admire that. You’re an Apple to the core, after all.”

“But now you’re changing everything!” She looked at him, begging him to understand. “When new generations of Apples do things the way yer teaching ‘em … they won’t be doing things the way my parents did. It’s like … it’s like seeing the last little bit of them dying. Like now they’ll really be gone.”

Braeburn bit his lip. “And that’s what’s gotten you all torn up? Aww, cous, Ah’m sorry,” he hugged her again—he always was good at that. “I never want to do anything to hurt you, you know that right?” She nodded. “Allright, and I get what you’re saying. But the way they harvested apples or the games they played: those were things they did—Ah don’t think it was who they were, you know?”

“Maybe, but it was big part of their lives,” Applejack countered. “It’s a part of their lives that I want to have for Apple Bloom when she gets older. She isn’t gonna have the memories of them that me and Big Mac do.”

“And you wanted her to have the same memories of them that you did?” Braeburn guessed.

Applejack nodded. “Ah guess so … maybe Ah thought it’d be easier to remember them if Ah had more ponies who remembered them th’ way Ah did.” She sighed. “When things kept going wrong for me in the rodeo it felt like Ah couldn’t win doing things the Apple family way—my parents’ way. When we won, it was because of Rainbow Dash or because of some newfangled thing. It was like the things my parents did weren’t good enough anymore.”

“Aww, AJ,” Braeburn sighed as he hugged her. “You know that ain’t so. S’just … you find different ways of doing things. Sometimes they’re better, sometimes they ain’t. But it’s better to try than t’stay stuck in yer ways.”

Applejack shook her head. “How long is it before ponies are doing things completely different than the way our parents did them? Because you know what’ll happen: they’ll look back and think the things my parents did were silly or ridiculous and old-fashioned, and they’ll eventually think my parents were silly and ridiculous too.” Braeburn opened his mouth, but Applejack waved him off. “And don’t tell me it isn’t true! We’ve seen it happen! Shewt, even Ah think Granny Smith is a bit odd sometimes, so don’t tell me Ah’m making this up!”

Braeburn wrestled with that for a moment before sighing. “All right, Ah won’t. Yer right, that’s the way it is: younger ponies not getting how older ones could’ve lived without this or that new fangled thing. Mebe they project things back a bit, thinking older generations were weird or goofy for not thinking of it sooner. It’s just life.”

Tears leaked out of Applejack’s eyes again. “Mah parents don’t deserved to be remembered like that. Dammit, they aren’t just a-a phase or something outta the past! They’re my parents!”

“Ah know.” He rubbed her shoulder. “One o’ the toughest things to learn is that you can’t control what other ponies think or feel. You can only really do that for yourself. But Ah can tell you that all the ponies who matter, the ones who knew your parents, our family? They’ll never think that of them.” He paused and chuckled.

Applejack looked at him curiously. “Whut’re you smiling ‘bout?”

“Well, Ah remembered that time your Pa took us for that walk through WhiteTail Woods.” He grinned. “Remember how he swore up and down that patch of moss by the river was actually grass? Your Momma tried telling him, but he wouldn’t listen until he went and sank his leg up to the hock in it!”

Applejack let out a bark of laughter. “Oh sweet molasses, Ah remember that! He was wearing his brand new horseshoes, too! He was so upset at himself--Momma never let him forget about it whenever he was doing something she thought was foolish!”

“Eyup!” Braeburn dipped his hat to her. “See, even remembering the times your parents were silly ain’t so bad.”

Applejack’s throat tightened. “Thanks.” She coughed, before lapsing into a long silence. Braeburn didn’t try to fill it, instead letting her set the pace. “When they d—after they were gone, you were there fer me. You and Big Mac were my rock,” she smiled sadly. “Ah don’t think I ever told you just how much it meant t’me having you there.”

“You never had to,” Braeburn patted her back. “It’s what family is for.”

She shook her head. “It was more than that, an’ you know it. Ah felt like I could talk to you about things I couldn’t even tell Big Macintosh. I said you’re my favorite cousin, and I meant it.” Her face fell. “But then you left. You got your own life out here, your own home, your own friends and family and… Ah ain’t a part of it. Not like they are.”

“Aw, cous…” Braeburn hugged her close. “I’m a lucky pony. I’ve got a lot of great friends in my life, ponies and buffalo. S’how I am. But even if I was offered all of Equestria, I wouldn’t trade away what I have with you. You’re my cousin, mah friend, and my inspiration.”

Applejack gave him a sad half-smile. “I know what you mean. Ah love mah new friends … but Ah wish you were there anyway, so I could share the ‘perience with you.”

“Ah feel the same. But you’re with me in lots of other ways.” He took his hat off. “You know all the talk about the ponies and buffalo making peace?” She nodded. “Well, the truth is that I was the one who met with Little Strongheart and we sorta came up with the idea of making a trail through the orchard. She went back to talk to Chief Thunderhooves, but I had to go deal with the town and Sheriff Silverstar. And I admit, all four of my knees were knocking at the thought of facing all them ponies and telling ‘em that we had to take some of our trees to make way for these buffalo. So when I was scared Ah thought to myself, ‘What would Applejack do?’”

Applejack’s face colored. “C’mon, you don’t have to butter me up…”

“I’m serious,” he insisted and the lack of his trademark grin seemed to support his case. “Applejack, you’re one of the bravest ponies I know. Shewt, I knew it before you became a national hero ‘n all. You’re always sure of what the right thing to do is, and you don’t let anything get in your way once you’ve set your mind to something. While sometimes that can get you into trouble,” he gave her a significant look, “it’s what I needed to do. The alternative was a war between the buffalo and the ponies and Ah couldn’t let that happen so—Ah pulled an Applejack.”

That made her smile. “Pulled an Applejack? Never heard anypony call ‘doing something gol-durn’ crazy’ that before.”

“They should,” Braeburn commented. “It fits.”

She snorted and whapped him with her hat again. “You never know when t’quit, do ya?”

He beamed. “Nope. Ah learned from the best.”

Applejack leaned back against the tree. “So whut now?”

“Now?” Braeburn patted her hat down. “Now we head on back and enjoy the rest of the reunion! Right?”

She nodded slowly. Applejack knew there’d be Tartarus to pay for the her temper, but she was more than willing to own up and take whatever came from it. She climbed to her hooves. “Sure. Let’s mosey.”

Braeburn must’ve seen what was on her mind, because he spoke up. “Don’t worry none, ponies were more worried ‘bout you than anything else.” Applejack grimaced, as that felt even worse. “Even Little Strongheart went out searching for ya.” He smiled, his face oozing admiration. “Isn’t she something?”

Applejack’s ear twitched. “Actually, now that you mention it … would there be something going ‘tween you and Miss Strongheart?” She had barely voiced the thought before she got her answer, as Braeburn started stammering and blushing up a storm. “Heh, suppose that answers that!” She grinned. “Should probably go tell Big Mac and Apple Bloom--shewt, why not share it with the whole family, seeing as it’s a reunion and all!”

“Applejack!” Braeburn whinnied, mortified at the thought. “Ya wouldn’t do that t’me, would ya?” She pretended to think it over. “Cousin AJ!”

“Okay, okay!” She chuckled. “Ah ain’t gonna put you on the spot like that.” Her smile faded as she heard an all-too familiar noise. “Uh-oh, incoming!” She dove to the ground.

Braeburn blinked in confusion. “Say whut?”

A heartbeat later, Rainbow Dash had knocked him to the ground. “Alright AJ, you got some serious explaining to do!”

“Uh, Rainbow?” Applejack got up. “Guess again.”

“Miss Dash?” Braeburn wheezed weakly.

“Oh.”

Applejack trotted over, smiling wryly. “Should I give the two of you a moment?”

Rainbow grumbled and stood. “Shut up, I’ve got a bone to pick with you.” She prodded Applejack in the chest. “What the feather was that all about?!”

She sighed. “Braeburn? Could you give us a minute?”

“Sure,” Braeburn groaned as he got up and walked ahead of them. “Don’t mind me, I’ll just be over here.”

Once he was out of earshot, Applejack looked to Rainbow. “Ah’m sorry.”

“That’s it?” Rainbow threw up her hooves. “That’s all you have to say?”

“No, it isn’t but…” Applejack rubbed her face. “Look, Ah owe you the full explanation, but for right now, there’s something else Ah need to tell you.”

“And what’d that be?” Rainbow looked warily at Applejack.

She didn’t answer at first, just removing her hat from her head. “We each let something drive us forward: a promise we made. You made a promise to yourself to always be better, to be awesome and amazing. But for me? I made my promise to my parents after they...” she coughed. “Thing is, you can release yourself from a promise you made to yourself. A promise you made to somepony else … that’s harder to break.”

“Even if it’s a promise they never asked you to make? One they wouldn’t want you torture yourself over?” Rainbow questioned.

“Even so.” Applejack sighed. “That don’t excuse anything, mind you. Ah’ll go ‘round and apologize to everypony and buffalo once we get back. That includes you too.”

Rainbow Dash grunted something not quite intelligible and waved her hoof dismissively. “Forget about it. I’ll find a way to make you suffer later.”

“Gee, thanks.” Applejack deadpanned.

“Hey, you know it could be a lot worse,” Rainbow nudged her. "Look, I know I'm not great about picking up on personal feelings and stuff sometimes. But you can still tell me when something's bugging you. And if it matters to you, then I'll try to see things your way."

Applejack felt her shoulders slump in relief. "Thanks Rainbow. Ah appreciate that, Ah really do."

Rainbow nodded. "And if I tell you to rein it in, maybe it'll get through that thick head of yours." She shrugged. "Maybe."

Applejack grunted but couldn't think of a retort. Rainbow grinned, a familiar competitive glint in her eyes. “Come on, I’ll race you back. Maybe if you’re lucky you’ll arrive in time to see me finishing off the last mug of cider!”

Applejack let out a strangled snorted. “You wouldn’t da—” Rainbow Dash sped off mid-sentence. “Why you no-good, consarn, dad gum it … sidewindin’—get your rump back here! You leave my cider alone or Ah’ll kick it all the way back to Ponyville! You hear me?!” She galloped off after her friend, but was unable to hide her grin.

Braeburn was left blinking in the dust. “Hey, wait for me!”

THE END