Act 1: An Invitation to Disaster

"Spike! Come on! We're going to be late!"

Twilight yanked her number one assistant away from the fourth snack vendor on the streets he lingered at today. He crossed his arms as he floated back onto her back. "Aw, comeon Twilight. Just one pretzel?"

"I told you, we're meeting Orange Sherbet for lunch today. You can eat all you want when we get to the hotel."

Spike groaned. "But all they ever serve is a bunch of super fancy spreads in tiny portions! And half of it is tasteless garnish! Give me a deep fried churro any day."

"Now Spike," Twilight chided, "Orange Sherbet takes a lot of pride in her catering. She makes sure every dish is cooked to perfection. They may not be the largest serving size, but the flavors are at cuisine-tier levels. You'd probably learn to appreciate her food more if you learned to savor the bites instead of scarfing it down. And besides..." She looked down to her stomach with a half smirk, knowing all too well the state it would probably be in the next hour. "It's not like you can't get full on her cooking."

"Her cooking?" Spike asked incredulously as the looming Orange Hotel overshadowed them. "She barely even does anything. All those chefs of hers do all the work. I doubt she's ever picked up a ladle in her life."

"Spike, don't be rude!" The pair got a couple of looks from the concierge in the lobby as Twilight raised her voice without knowing. "Orange Sherbet works very hard to keep this city running. Almost half of all the businesses in Manehattan are owned by her and her husband. The very library we work in was built with her money."

Spike shrugged. "Whatever. I'm just saying, have we ever done anything with her that didn't require high class mannerisms? Not all of us were born in the city you know. I can't even remember the last time I went splashing in a mud puddle."

Twilight approached the white-maned host staffing the hotel's restaurant. "Uh, yes. Twilight Sparkle. I'm in a party of seven under the reservation name, Orange Sherbet."

The unicorn stallion looked over the roster for the day's appointments. "Ah, yes. Right this way, Miss Sparkle." He began leading her over to a large round table where a white flighty pegasus, a grey dignified earth pony, a tan pegasus in a green turtleneck, and an azure unicorn wearing a flashy purple starry cape and hat were already sitting.

"I'll admit Spike, life in the big city has been a little hard to adjust to. But that's why we have such wonderful friends to help us. I can't imagine what my life would be like without them now."

"I can. Books, papers, homework, and more books 24-7. Just like it was before," Spike snidely remarked as he hopped off her back to climb into his seat.

Twilight gave him a look before she seated herself and addressed her friends. "Sorry I'm late, girls. You haven't ordered yet have you?"

"Not really an option when the luncheon's hostess has yet to arrive," Honey said, gesturing to the only vacant space at the table now. "As far we're concerned, you're early."

"For a five star establishment, Trixie finds this restaurant's service to be rather lacking," Trixie harrumphed. "They haven't even put out the free bread yet."

Twilight glanced at the empty chair across from her. "Sherbet isn't here yet? Odd, she's usually so punctual. I wonder what could be keeping her."

"Well, whatever the case, Trixie's time is very valuable, as she has a full day of entertaining the masses with her great and powerful prowess! And wasting it sitting around and doing nothing isn't putting it to good use."

"But wasn't sitting around all day what you were doing earlier because your afternoon matinee was canceled due to theater renovations?" asked Blossomforth.

"Trixie was not sitting around! Trixie was...planning! Planning her next performance!"

"I was not aware you could envisage theatrics whilst hanging from an indoor hammock snoring," Octavia calmly gazed up with a tiny grin curled at the edge of her mouth.

"It's a cloth bed," Trixie stated matter-of-factly as the others gave a little giggle. As they shared a more tidbits of info about their morning up to the lunch, their final friend and proprietor of the luxury establishment cantered in with Manehattan's mayor in tow, holding a large stack of papers.

"That little adjustment should tide you over until the next fiscal quarter, Mayor Tux. Just remember to check the wholesale taxes as opposed to the retail next time, and I'm sure we can avoid these problems in the future."

"Oh, thank you Madame Sherbet. I am so sorry to have held you up like this, and on such a short notice too."

"Not at all. I'm more than happy to help. And besides, it wouldn't be very business savvy of the Oranges to let their money, tax bits or not, go to waste now would it?" Orange Sherbet laughed as she reached her seat. "Would you like to join us Mayor? I'm sure my little clique can fit in one more at the table."

"Oh no no no. I couldn't possibly take up any more of your time. And besides, I already have a lunch date with Hoofington's mayor in twenty at the Artichoke. You have fun with your friends now, and thank you once again."

As her client departed, Orange Sherbet sat herself down, nodding to her friends. "My apologies for keeping you waiting. Mayor Tux went over budget again with the city renovations and I had to step in and help ameliorate the deficit."

"It's no trouble at all. As one would say, anticipation makes the reward more satisfying," Octavia reassured.

"Regardless, this gathering is supposed to be my treat. Allow me to make up for it anyways." Orange Sherbet waved over a waiter. "Garçon, a bottle of our hotel's finest sparkling please, and the twelve course special for seven as well. Put it all to the hotel's expenses, if you please."

"Right away madame." The well dressed waiter briskly darted off to the kitchens as Twilight looked to Orange Sherbet. "The twelve course special? But that's just for banquets, isn't that a bit much?"

"As I said, I really feel that I need to make up for my tardiness to my own soiree. And of course, we could always save the rest for dinner," Sherbet replied.

"No doggie bag for moi, I'm so starved I could eat this table," Honey joked as she played with her fork. "Plus the food here is so good, how could you not want to stop eating?"

"Speak for yourself," Spike said, trying to ignore the grumbling in his tummy. "Look at this menu. No emeralds, no rubies, no sapphires, there's not even a decent desert. Creme brulee...Tiramisu...what's wrong with an old fashioned funnel cake?"

Spike then felt a nudge on his left side. Looking down, he saw Orange Sherbet pull out a large paper plate with the aforementioned treat sitting on top in a pile of powdered sugar from under the table. "Hot and fresh from the vendor right outside across the street," she whispered with a wink.

Grinning with glee, the baby dragon inhaled the doughy confection at an alarming speed. "Thanks Auntie Sherbet! You're the best!" he mumbled between mouthfuls.

Twilight shook her head with a smile at her adorable assistant. "You sure have a way with kids, Auntie."

"Helps when you have one of your own," Sherbet sagely answered in return. "My little Tangerine could never stand for these sit down restaurants herself. Why, just the other night, I had gone with her to one of Caesar's dinner parties. Now she was well behaved as any other Manehattanette, but for some reason, she didn't seem very talkative throughout the whole thing. And when dinner came around, she wouldn't touch a thing on her plate and just fiddled with her silverware. So, I made a plausible alibi to excuse ourselves from the table early, and I snuck her out to that pizzeria two blocks down. Let me tell you, her face just lit up when she sunk her teeth into a slice of olives and mushrooms. I even had a bit myself."

A glimpse of sad nostalgia glazed her eyes as she smiled through her reminiscence. "Fancy food isn't meant for children. They need healthy food to help them grow, and comfort food to make them smile and open up. If only I had learned that sooner..."

Blossomforth, being the ever sensitive one to compensate for her occasional scatterbrainness, was the first to catch a hint. "Auntie Sherbet? Is something wrong?"

Orange shook her head, reinforcing her smile. "No, no. It's nothing dearie. Just recalling a bitter memory, but it's all in the past now. Far into the past. Let's not wax what was before and enjoy the here and now."

Their server returned, a large bottle of champagne and fancy glasses on a silver platter. "Your drinks, ladies." He deftly set a wine glass by each mare with a swift stroke, and had them filled with another. "Your meal will be out momentarily." He then paused to address Orange Sherbet before he left. "Oh, and madame? The receptionist at the front desk just found this in your mail slot." He slid a envelope off the tray into her hooves.

As Orange proceeded to raise her wine glass with one hoof, she turned the envelope over with the other to look for the sender, taking only a moment to notice the wax apple shaped seal that enclosed it. "Oh, how sweet," she said at last, "A letter from mother. It's not that often I get to hear from her, upper class lifestyle and all that."

Tearing open the letter, she gazed warmingly at the message inscribed as she began to sip her wine. But as her eyes drifted down the folded lettering, her pupils suddenly shrank, and without warning, her mouth erupted in a loud and spritzy spit-take. Twilight, having the misfortune of sitting across from her, could not react in time.

"Oh! Oh my stars!" Orange cupped a hoof over her mouth at the sight of her studious unicorn friend's dripping mane. "Oh, I'm so terribly sorry Twilight. That was frightfully unbecoming of me."

Twilgiht levitated her napkin over her face, wiping her face clean of the vintage saliva. "Well, whatever's written on that letter of yours must certainly be quite the shocker to get a reaction like that out of you. What's on there anyway?"

Before she could protest, Orange found the folded sheet in her hoof magicked out of her grip and into Twilight's as the others leaned in over her shoulder to read.

"Dear Orange Sherbet,

It's that time of the year again. Time for all us ponies in the Apple clan to have our annual gathering and share our love of apples and each other. This year we'll be holding the reunion right here in Ponyville at Sweet Apple Acres this following Sunday. Hooves crossed you can make it this year, I'm so looking forward to seeing you again after so many years.

Love,

Granny Smith"

A moment of silence passed as the five ponies reading the letter took the time to digest the information. Then Blossomforth was the first to speak up. "Hold on hold on hold on. Orange Sherbet is being invited to the Apple family reunion?"

My Little Pony, My Little Pony

Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh…

(My Little Pony)

I used to wonder what friendship could be

(My Little Pony)

Until you all shared its magic with me

Great discoveries!

Tricks galore!

A rich slice of life,

And a heartfelt score.

Budding courage

It's an easy feat

And magic makes it all complete!

You have my little ponies

Do you know you're all my very best friends?

"Well now, this is certainly a surprising turn of events," Honey said as the group exited the restaurant into the lobby. "Just when you think you know somepony. Who'd have guessed that our fair city's enriching grace also has the blood of one of the most notable families in Equestria?"

"Oh please. The Apples can't be that world renown if Trixie hasn't heard of them," the showmare dismissed.

Honey whirled on Trixie. "Are you kidding me? The Apple clan have long been Equestria's largest and foremost settler group since it was first founded by Jonathan Appleseed the first in year 535 of Celestia's reign. During the western expansion movement of 717, they were the very first to brave the unknown frontier and pave a pathway for today's modern railroad system. Nearly half of all our towns used to be Apple frontier settlements. Ponyville, Hoofington, Foal Mountain, Tall Tale, and of course Appleloosa. Why, even our Manehattan had a founder from the Apple clan. Big Apple Junior the fourth, the city's first mayor."

At first, all Honey received was a bunch of incredulous looks. "How do you know all that?" Blossomforth asked.

Honey flashed her museum ID from under her coat. "History buff, remember? If there's any name that's ever been in a social studies textbook, I can quote from memory." She then turned to Orange Sherbet, who had been remarkably silent throughout their entire lunch. "But still, I never would have pegged Auntie Sherbet to be an Apple. You couldn't tell from first or even a fifth glance that she has the blood of the most accomplished and hard working farmers and pioneers coursing in her veins."

Orange stopped in mid step, looking at herself in a hallway mirror discretionally. Her eyes fixing on her intricate styled curls, down to her soft palish skin and bejeweled earrings and pearls. "Yes, I...I suppose you couldn't."

"Well of course you couldn't! From what Trixie gathers, these Apples sound like they couldn't live a day without sticking their hooves into the dirt. Toiling fields and bucking trees and oh, homecooking over wood burning stoves! Could you possibly imagine our Orange Sherbet in denim overalls and char covered hoofmitts?"

She laughed along with Honey, Blossomforth, and even Spike as he threw in his two bits, unaware that their subject of topic had proceeded to slowly break away with a faraway look in her eyes. "Oh yeah, 'howdy y'all! Ah'm the most sophisticated and well mannered cowpony you'll ever meet. I heard there's a bit of ranchin' goin' on 'round these parts, can ah join in? Ah brought my own dressin'!"

Twilight and Octavia did not join in. In fact, both had rather disapproving stares at the quartet. "Spike, it's not nice to poke fun at Orange Sherbet just because she's a little different from her relatives."

"A little different? Twilight, she's loaded with enough bits and jewels to last her several lifetimes, she lives in a penthouse on the top floor of this building with down feather beds and silk sheets to sleep on, she wears fancy dresses and hairstyles and doesn't even have a hint of old fashioned in her voice. She's the exact opposite of what an Apple sounds like if you ask me."

"Whether it be coal or diamond, a rock is a rock." Octavia had not even the slightest hint of gentleness as her cold rigid, yet still calm as ever voice came out of her mouth. "It is in very poor taste to associate family ties with mannerisms and lifestyles. I speak from experience."

Spike rubbed the back of his head as he nervously averted his cello diva's gaze. "Oh, uh...come on. It's not like I mean that Auntie Sherbet's way of life is no good. Heck I love the way she is right now! And I'm sure I'll love her Apple relatives too when we all go meet them next Sunday at Ponyville."

"I'm afraid you won't be getting a chance to meet them Spike."

Everypony's head turned to elevator that Orange Sherbet had stepped into by herself as she partially looked downward at her hooves with a solemn expression on her face.

"Because I will not be attending the reunion."

The doors in front of the rich socialite then proceeded to close automatically, muffling out the unanimous cry that came from the lobby.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!"

Act 2: Falling Far from the Tree

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Twilight huffed and wheezed as she entered the top floor, her stomach cramped and her legs on the verge of giving out.

"Whoever...said...that the stairs were...usually faster...clearly didn't take into account...buildings with...eighty stories..."

"Yeah, that's enough exercise for the rest of our lives, thank you very much," Spike concurred. Twilight looked to her backside with a bloodshot evil eye.

"You were riding me the whole time!"

"Hey, can we get back to more pressing matters, like the reason we came up here in the first place?" Spike innocently averted with a twiddle of his thumbs.

Twilight decided that given the situation, scolding Spike on trivial circumstances could wait. But she did make a mental note to secretly sign him up for a five year membership at the fitness center on the corner of Derby and 42nd afterwards.

Walking down the short narrow hallway, she made her way to the door on the far end, third to the left. The Orange Penthouse Suite. She knocked twice. "Auntie? Are you in there?"

After waiting for a minute with no reply, Twilight tried knocking again. "Auntie, I really think we need to talk, is that okay? Please, can I come in?"

Another thirty seconds passed, and then the knob slowly began to turn. Twilight was greeted by the face of Mosely Orange.

"Oh, hello. Mr. Orange. Is your wife here? I was hoping to speak with her about something."

Mosely took a half glance back, then eyed Twilight again. "Is it about the Apples?"

"Yes?" Twilight was unsure if she was poking a very sensitive subject given the current expression on Orange Sherbet's husband.

He gave a solemn nod at her hesitant response. "I thought as much. That explains why she's going through her old stuff. Come on in."

Twilight looked around the suite complex as she walked in. It was just as fancy as the rest of the hotel, that much could be said. And yet...for a luxury suite, it seemed just as cozy as it was posh. A checkered linoleum tiling complimented the orange color scheme rather than the usual red velvet carpeting. Modern style furniture and lamps decorated the living room near the balcony entrance, while abstract paintings gave the unpatterned wallpaper more texture. But closer to the kitchen, there was a large hoofcarved dining table of pine as opposed to the other furnishings of plastic and metal. A simple white cotton-wool blend covering protected the topside with a bowl of fresh oranges in the center, giving the room a faint pleasant smell of citrus. There was something about this room Twilight felt, but the word just seemed to escape her.

That was, until she glanced at a dish cabinet filled with fine china. On the middle shelf, next to the shakers, was a portrait frame containing the image of Orange Sherbet, Mosely Orange, and a small light orange filly with a forest green mane that Twilight could only assume was their daughter Tangerine, smiling together in a tight hug. She realized, then and there, that this was an extravagant hotel room, but at the same time it was not.

This was a place made for a family. A place you could call home.

All of a sudden, she began to think of her own home, her old bedroom with her favorite bookshelf, her parents, her BBBFF, and how long it had been since she had actually set hoof inside there or even spoke with them. As she left the decor of the living room behind and began to cross the short corridor with Mosely Orange to the bed chambers, she phased back into the present and buried those growing longings back in her heart. First things were first, she could dwell on her days gone by another time.

"Mr. Orange? Do you know anything about what's going on between Auntie and the Apple clan?"

Mosely didn't turn to address her, but he spoke nonetheless. "Nothing that wouldn't be better explained by Sherbet herself, if she's willing to talk." His pupil then rolled to catch hers. "And please, if you can address her as Auntie, then feel free to call me Uncle."

He then stopped in front of the bedchamber's door, and lightly tapped the frame. "Darling? One of your friends is here to see you."

"..."

"Darling, please. I really think it would be good for you if you opened up to them about...well, about your troubles. I know you'll feel better if you had more ponies to discuss it with than just me."

"..."

Twilight then piped up. "Auntie, look. If you don't want to talk about it now, that's okay. You can take as long as you want if you need to wait. But...please, at some point, when you're comfortable enough...I'd like to know why you don't want to go to your reunion."

She looked to Mosely with a sad smile, then took some steps back. "I'll be waiting, we all will."

She had turned three whole steps in the other direction when a voice from beyond the door reached her ears.

"Wait."

The unicorn turned her head expectantly to the bedroom.

"It's okay. You can come in."

Her smile grew as she walked back towards the bedroom. Mosely gave her a reassuring nod, and opened the door for her. Inside was a large covered bed aside from a walk in closet with a large dresser to the right of it. A large bay window with several baskets of orange blossoms on its sill allowed Celestia's sun to shine through and cast a long afternoon shadow from the furniture. On the leftmost corner of the room was a long dressing table, adorned with several jewel boxes, beauty kits, hair clippings and mirrors. Seated in front of it, with a forlorn look in her eyes, was Orange Sherbet, her neck and face bereft of any jewelry, and her hair completely down and free. A small chest from underneath the table was pulled out and open in front of her, and from it, she was holding some of its contents in her hooves.

As the door closed behind her, Twilight crept up to the motherly mare as softly as she could. "Auntie?"

"What's the matter Auntie? Why the long face?"

Twilight turned to Spike, who had a cheesy grin on his face. "Get it? Cause ponies are supposed to have-"

Her narrowed eyes said everything.

"Just trying to lighten the mood..." he muttered before addressing Sherbet directly. "Look Auntie, I didn't mean any of what I said back in the lobby. None of us did! We were just-"

"No, Spike. You're right." Orange Sherbet turned to address the two, her half lidded eyes never breaking away from a black and white photo in her hoof. "I'm different from the other Apples. Too different. I'm a city mare. I don't belong on a farm or in the country, not anymore."

"But...they're your family," Twilight said, the longing in the bottom of her heart from before inching a few bits up to the back of her head. "Don't you want to see them again?"

"Of course I want to see them again," Sherbet responded abruptly. "I love them so much, each and every one of them. And it's been so long since I've spoken to even one of them it makes my heart ache when I think about it. But...but I've changed so much after all this time. If I go there...and they see me, what will they think of me?" Her eyes felt upon the old photo again.

"Will they even recognize me?"

Twilight peered closer at the photo, which Sherbet willingly hoofed over to her. The background of a large orchard surrounded by a sturdy fence post could be made out. Part of a barn stuck in the distance on the edge of the picture. And below the lower rungs of the fence posts, leaning next to each other on the side of the dirt road, were two fillies. The one on the left had an oversized stetson nested on the back of her head and a ribbon tied to her tail. The filly beside her had a bonnet and had her mane tied in a pair of ribboned braids as opposed to the other one's free flowing hair.

"Who are these two in the picture?" Twilight asked.

Sherbet pointed her hoof to fillies in the picture. "The one on the left is my sister, Apple Cake. And that..." she shifted her hoof to the other, "was me, Apple Sherbet."

"That's supposed to be you?" Spike said incredulously. "I couldn't even tell!" He then realized the implications of what he said and hastily waved his claws. "Uh, I mean, you look so young! It's hard to imagine what a foal would look like once it's grown up and-and---annnnd I'm not helping am I?"

Sherbet sighed her eyes drifted sideways for a moment. "It's okay. She probably wouldn't have known I was her if she saw me today. It was...so long ago, that I was living such a simple life, happily carrying baskets with my sister, listening to stories about our ancestors from my mother, coming back from a long day at the market to be welcomed by the aroma of a hot apple pie. Back then...I never even had an inkling of what life could be outside my family's farm."

"That sounds so wonderful," Twilight murmured softly. "What happened?"

Orange Sherbet sighed with a mixed tone of bliss and sorrow. "Something scary, something exciting, something unexpected, shocking, and completely miraculous. Love happened."

"As you already know, Mosely was just a grocer when he and I first met. It was when I was old enough to make deliveries into town all on my lonesome that I bumped into him while wheeling in a cart for the store and we just clicked. My little sister had long since earned her cutie mark while I was still a blank long into my teens. Mother said not to make a big deal about it, as there were late bloomers in every family, but I still felt rather perturbed at my predicament. My sister and I did everything together, every chore, every game, every little thing. If she had gotten her cutie mark for having a place on our farm and I hadn't then...where was my place?

Mosely had a very similar problem. Not cutie marks, mind you, he had long discovered his. What he hadn't discovered though was his place in life. He had grown up knowing very little about his parents, who were often very busy here in Manehattan. As a foal, he received excellent tutelage and a healthy lifestyle, but the only time he interacted with his mother and father were on special occasions, like holidays or birthdays. So he knew they loved him, and yet it was almost as if they had nothing in common. The monotonous upbringing made him feel sequestered to the point that upon graduation of high school, he felt like he wanted to try and stake out a living outside the busy city life, away from it all. So, with a bit of an allowance, his father arranged a job in Ponyville at Sickeningly Rich's Barnyard Bargains. It was sort of an ice breaker, trying to cope with the feeling we didn't belong with our families. And together...those problems suddenly didn't feel as bothersome anymore.

It all started, perhaps a week after Mosely had been promoted to junior manager, when I was making the weekly delivery, and found him in a complete state of disarray..."

Humming to herself, Apple Sherbet unhitched herself from her wagon and stacked three boxes over her backside. Leisurely making her way through the back entrance, she called out, "Sweet Apple Acres delivery!"

The sight that greeted her though, was far from cheery. No sooner had she made her way past the delivery room, an employee wearing the store uniform and apron careened past her, nearly knocking her apples everywhere. Looking back and forth, she saw patrons scrambling aside as workers went to and fro scrubbing everything they could, shelving and reshelving every aisle, even trying to count the change in the registers. At last, she found the worker in particular she was looking for, practically juggling a stack of papers and receipts as his eyes darted from one to the other.

"Okay...so $120.99 on produce wholesale for April...5% town tax...add coupon deductibles for the kitchenware sale on the 14th...that makes total net worth-oh no! I didn't carry the three! Augh!! No matter how many times I sum it up it just won't fit!" Mosely threw the bundle into the air like a spray of confetti and slumped down muttering 'I'm doomed' over and over again.

"Mosely?" Apple Sherbet set her crates down and nestled up to her special somepony. "What's ailin' ya so dang much? Yer a'bout as jumpy as a jackrabbit on a pogo stick."

Mosely lifted his disheveled mane to meet her eyes. "I'll tell you what's wrong. Franchise is coming!"

"Turned out, the main reason Mosely got offered the manger position was because both Sickeningly and his son/senior manager Filthy were taking a two week trip to Albuckerque for an entrepreneur convention, and needed somepony to supervise the store while they were away. Now Sickeningly had been working for quite some time back then to arrange a contract with Hefty Franchise, big time endorser and investor, to bankroll his business into a chain across Equestria. As it turned out, Mosely had checked his boss' mail that day, and in it was a letter from Franchise saying that he was finally coming around to considering the proposal, and would be arriving within two days time to inspect the store and, if to his liking, organize an indenture.

As the sole proprietor on active duty, it fell entirely on Mosely to try and seal the arrangement."

"What am I going to do?" Mosely buried his head in his hooves, shaking it back and forth. "The boss pony has been trying to get his ear for years. If I blow the deal with Franchise, when Sickeningly gets back, I am literally out on the streets! Why, oh why, did I take that promotion?"

"Easy there, worry wart. Yer not gonna fudge this up, Ah've seen you negotiatin' with clients all th' time."

"But never on my own! I've always had Mr. Rich watching from beyond the shelves. I just know I'm going to mess up without somepony to catch me, I can't do this alone!"

Apple Sherbet's heart saddened to see her sweetheart in such a frazzled state, then she formed a wry grin as she pulled him out of his slouch. "Then ya won't be doin' it alone! Cause Ah'm gonna stick by yer side every step of th' way!"

Hope seemed to flicker in his eyes. "You will? B-but where do we even start?"

"We start by gettin' you a nice hot slice of cobbler to calm those nerves of ya's, and then we'll take it from the top." Sherbet gathered up the loose leaflets scattered around with a couple scuffles of her hooves, then led Mosely out the back way. "Just trust me. Nopony does business like an Apple does!"

"Getting the store into presentable condition wasn't the hard part though. Like all businessponies, the selling issue was money. By fiscal standards, in order for a business to be cost-effective enough to be built in multiple locations, it's minimum yearly revenue needed to exceed approximately a third of the establishment's value. Unfortunately, as we reviewed the receipts and ledgers later that evening in the store's office, we found that Barnyard Bargain's profit margins were just a little too thin..."

The dim light from the single hanging lamp flickered as Mosely shoved another folder aside. "Aw, rind peels. The second quarter's even worse. Nowhere in the red, but not nearly enough to put us over the top."

Sherbet brought two hot mugs of cider to the table, sitting down next to Mosely as she eyed a few bills. "What if we took into account th' rebate gains? A fourth of the total inventory is under that policy."

"We'd still be 1528 bits short." Mosely took a small unmoved sip of the mug. "We have to face facts. This store just doesn't make enough profit to be qualified as chain material."

"No. Franchise just has ta give this place a chance! The only reason ya cain't make a huge profit is there just ain't enough customers here! Ah'll bet if you had this store in one of them bigger cities, yer sales would triple!"

"Yeah, if only Ponyville were bigger. But that's not going to be a good enough excuse for Franchise." Mosely rested his hoof over his eyes as he rested a foreleg on the desk. "Sorry Sherbet, we tried."

"Then, I had myself a bright idea."

"Hold on, that's it! Bigger! We need ta be bigger!"

Mosely looked at Sherbet, confused as a monkey with a Marabic dictionary. "But sweet cream, I told you, everypony in Ponyville already shops here. Our entire market is both monopolized and saturated. There's no one left to increase our sales."

"No one but the store itself."

"Huh?"

Sherbet pulled out a diagram of the building's parameters. She pointed at the dimensions figures with an excited smile. "Right here! We can renovate an added extension of about four by five hooves over here."

"But construction costs money, that'll put us further away from the goal."

"Not necessarily. Ah remember when ma and pa purchased a small field on the west side for a new orchard two springs ago, they got a huge tax break the following year."

Mosely pondered this fact for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "The Equestrian Revenue's land value return clause! They had more property, but their income stayed the same. Since the system distributed net assets over the amount of land they owned, they automatically went into a lower tax bracket!"

"Eggggs-actly! Take a look here at last month's rates. By adding a just another few square hoofage, the store's tax rate will fall from five to three percent."

"The extension estimates would be around $2500, but the extra two percent of our annual projected sales is $5677.43! That makes up both the difference and shortfall!! SHERBET WE DID IT!!!"

Mosely grabbed Sherbet by the waist as he reared up and swung her around laughing excitedly. "Barnyard Bargains is getting the Franchise deal! I'm saved! I'm saved!! I'm more than that, I'm going to be a millionaire! Everyone in this store is!"

"Not the Riches, they're going to be billionaires." Sherbet smartly corrected.

And they both laughed well into the night.

"And so the day came when Hefty Franchise was to arrive in Ponyville. I went over to the store to show my support and later congratulations for Mosely, but instead found him a jumbling wreck just like two days before."

"Mosely? Mosely! What's wrong?" Apple Sherbet came rushing up to the pacing stallion.

"It's all falling apart...it's all falling apart!" He clutched her shoulders as he spun into a dizzying outburst. "I sent Cleanup to the town hall to get the extension approval, but he came back with news that the mayor has taken holiday for the weekend! The store can't get the construction permit until Monday! Without the permit, we have no tax reduction. Without the tax reduction we have no extra money. Without the extra money we have no Franchise deal. Without the Franchise deal I HAVE NO JOB!!"

A drumming of hooves could be heard as their heads peeked up to see a drawn chariot limo rolling into the town limits, approaching in their direction.

"Oh no, he's here. He's here! Once he sees the current sales figures, that's it! I'm done! Serve my head to Mr. Rich on a platter-!"

Sherbet slapped him with an open hoof. "Git it together, mah orange delight! The plan will still work. We just need ta keep him here until Monday."

"How?! He's only supposed to be here for an hour! What could possibly stall one of the busiest and important businessponies in this tiny, uneventful, humble town for two whole days?"

Apple Sherbet pulled down her bonnet and fastened her ponytails, a look of determination on her face as she watched a dark green leg step out of the opening door. "What ponies like me like do best, some good ol' fashioned Ponyville hospitality."

She trotted straight up to the aged earth pony and greeted him with a big grin. "Howdy there stranger! Welcome to Ponyville! The most pleasant little slice of life in Equestria."

The serious stallion with the large checking book cutie mark calmly dismissed her at first. "Yes, thank you. Tell me madam, is that store over there Barnyard Bargains?"

She gave a casual glance back to Mosely standing at the front, stiff as a statue. "Why, yes it is. Could you be Hefty Franchise, the stallion mah dear friend Mosely Orange is expectin'?"

"Mosely?" An eyebrow was raised. "Where is Mr. Rich? I believe I forwarded my notice to him."

"I'm afraid he is in the middle of conducting business elsewhere. But not to worry, he has left his store in capable hooves."

"Really?" The second eyebrow went up in a skeptical manner. "I didn't think Rich was one to take important matters so casually as to pass me off to an employee."

"Now, now. Mosely is the most organized and thrifty pony Ah know! He's the only one 'round these parts Mr. Rich could turn to in a crisis. Why, Ah reckon he runs th' store better than Mr. Rich himself."

"Is that so? Perhaps I shall see just what this Mosely Orange is capable of before I draw my conclusions."

He had taken two steps closer to the store in the distance when Sherbet queried again. "You know, the ponies here really do appreciate you taking the time to come here and give the place a chance. A lot of us weren't even sure you were going ta answer Barnyard Bargains for a long time."

"Yes, well. I don't find fault in that. If it weren't for Mr. Rich's connections with me, I probably wouldn't have even known this town existed, let alone drive from my headquarters in Manehattan to do business here."

Apple Sherbet saw her opening. "Really? Manehattan? Gosh, that's pretty much halfway across Equestria! You must have been riding for hours!"

"Quite, I actually departed around 6:30 sharp."

"Well, pull my tailhairs! That long? You must be starving after all that road! Let me get you something ta eat before you keel over there." Sherbet now stood squarely in Franchise's path.

"I'm sorry, but I have an appointment to attend to-"

"Oh no worries. Mosely's a very understanding pony! Ah'll let 'im know you're with me and Ah'm sure he won't mind waitin' a little longer. No hurry, right?"

Franchise strained his neck to look around her. "Well- I..."

"Ah insist. Mah treat! I know the perfect little cafe just on the other side of town that has the best biscottis. Cain't do business on an empty stomach anyways, right?"

"Well..." Franchise's eyes slowly shifted, then he reeled in a stoic gaze, hiding any fact that he had relented. "Normally this would be my lunch hour right about now. And now that you mention it, I suppose I am rather peckish after journeying all this way. I did have a particularly light breakfast this morning. You're...sure this Mosely won't mind me postponing my evaluation for a little while?"

"Of course!" Sherbet was able to discreetly shoot her coltfriend a wink as she led the seasoned businesspony in the other direction. "And...while we're at it. Would it be alright if Ah asked a little about Manehattan? Ah've always wondered what life is like in the big apple..."

"Well, Franchise and I got to chatting at the cafe, and I took every opportunity I could to open a new topic and keep it going. His city life led to his family, and then I felt the need to share my own family too. I then opened with a funny anecdote about a mishap with my father's plow, and that got him to tell one of his own stories when he visited his sister-in-law and potted her parakeet. We talked shop about farm tools, our favorite restaurants and foods, even I lost track of time there by the time the waiter came by and presented us with dinner menus. Needless to say, Franchise was a tad shocked to suddenly realize the sun had set. I suggested then since it was so late, that perhaps it would be better to retire for the day, and even recommended a place to stay locally. Now Ponyville didn't have any deluxe hotels like this one here, but it did have the coziest inn you could imagine with the friendliest five-pony staff in history.

Next day, I was the first one up at my farm so I could run down and greet him. I managed to make just as he was finishing his complementary breakfast. When I asked about his stay, he answered delightfully that it was the most relaxing sleep he had in ages, and the service was comparable to any of his own five-star lodgings. I answered in kind that the family of that inn had a reputation of never leaving an unsatisfied patron in over eight generations. This led to that and, with a few subtle hints from me, I managed to get him piqued in all the family owned businesses in the town. And thus, I ended up spending the whole day taking him to every other shop in town, I even gave a tour of my own farm. What's more, being the small town Ponyville was, everyone was pretty much neighbors with each other. All I had to do was mention who Franchise had came to see, and the shop owners would have nothing but the best to say about Barnyard Bargains and Mosely. He was particularly impressed at Misses Short Cake's character reference at how he tipped her daughter Cup Cake's deliveries with orange taffies.

And so, another day passed without Franchise inspecting the store. Then the fated dawn of Monday finally came, and I escorted him once again to my husband's current place of work. Now, Mosely had once again sent Cleanup to the mayor's office first thing, but he had not returned yet with the letter of approval by the time we arrived. Luckily, the store was expansive enough for me to convince Franchise to have Mosely give him a walkthrough of the store first. With some helpful directions from me, I was even able to nudge a majority of customers and workers along the direction of the look-around, each one beaming and giving a cheerful greeting to them. By the time we reached the end of the dairy aisle, Mosely got a whisper in his ear from Blue Light that Cleanup had returned successful. He then finally announced to Franchise that they would be stepping into the managerial office to show him that their profits were up to standard. What happened next though, surprised us all..."

"No need," said Franchise with raised hoof and a keen smile on his face. "I've seen and heard more than enough to know what kind of investment I'm making here."

"Y-you have?" Mosely asked disbelievingly.

A pleased nod was all that was needed to convey his decision. "A strong positive review from every pony I've met here, a bustling market of healthy productivity, well kept equipment and fully stocked shelves, reasonable prices..." he gave a kind smile towards Sherbet. "...loyal customers. This store of yours is without a doubt the pinnacle of commerce!" With that said, he drew out a large contract and laid it out for Mosely to sign. "When Mr. Rich returns, be sure to tell him I am eager to get started on the unveiling of his second storefront in Coltonsburg."

Time seemed to both speed up and slow down for the couple as Mosely stamped his hoof of approval on the line at the bottom, thanked Franchise profusely, and waved him off as he boarded his chariot and departed back to his headquarters. When his foreleg was sore well into waving after the vehicle had long vanished into the horizon, he turned to address his steadfast companion, mimicking her elated smile.

"You did it," Sherbet finally managed to say at last.

"No, we did it," he answered back. "And didn't even need the lowered tax rate to convince him. You have a real knack for negotiating you know."

"Ya think?" Sherbet sheepishly looked aside. "Just being mah usual neighborly self and all. It wasn't really that special was it?"

"If I'm lying, then so's your flank."

Sherbet's eyes widened and she jerked her head back. Sure enough, there on her flank, glow fading, where a trio of orange slices, fresh and peeled, a perfect conversation snack. Turning back, her surprised deepened as her gaze fell to a little black box Mosely had pulled out.

"You know, I never did tell you why I took that promotion in the first place. I've kinda been saving up for quite awhile now and...well, the manager position paid a bit better. I first thought about saving it for a special occasion, but why wait?"

Apple Sherbet gingerly opened the box, gasping at the hairpin inside. "Is...is that real gem encrusted gold?"

"Here, let me try it on you." Delicately pulling her bonnet down, Mosely undid her braids, and curled her hair into bun where the pin held it together. He took a moment to look her over with a warm smile that she returned tenfold.

"I always did say you looked beautiful with your hair up."

"Right then and there, between my newly earned cutie mark, that wonderful first gift, and the deep soulful gaze our eyes shared, I knew...that I was going to be spending the rest of my life with that stallion. I had finally found my place."

Twilight was now wiping a happy tear from the edge of her eye as Sherbet finished. "Then a week later, the Riches finally returned, and to our surprise. Mosely's father was with them. It was then Mosely finally learned about what his parents did for a living. They were the head of the Orange Conglomerate, a multi-trillion bit trust association that had a hoof in almost every type of business worldwide. Everything from the day he left the city to the arrival of Franchise had been a long term plan years in the making to train and test him to see if he was ready to take over the company. And his father was happy to tell him that he passed. Mosely had officially inherited the entire Orange fortune, and was now the wealthiest pony next to royalty. You know what the first thing he did with all that money?" Orange Sherbet gave a small smile. "He bought me the biggest and shiniest engagement ring, and proposed on the spot. We were wed within a month. Everyone from both families came to our reception, it was the most magical day of my life. Every Apple wished me the best from cousin Adam to niece Winecrisp."

And as quick as her small smile came, it went. "That was the last time I ever saw any of them. After the honeymoon in Applewood, I moved here to begin my new happily married life. Mosely needed as much support as possible to run his family's business, and I helped every way possible. With my talent, I opened new connections, softened up clients for him, made million bit agreements and accords with nothing but a simple dinner date and pleasantries. And as my place in this city grew, I found myself becoming more and more accustomed to dressing up for social events, directing others to more menial tasks while I supervised, acquiring tastes for exotic spices and dishes my clienteles loved. I knew I was changing, but at first I thought it was a change that wouldn't matter, it was something superficial. But, as the years went by, and I became more and more engrossed in my business with my husband, I continued to lose contact with my relatives. I had written to them all in my free time in the past, telling them of my life in Manehattan and they would write me back with news of their own farms. But the letters started coming fewer and fewer in number. I wanted to see them, I longed for their interaction, but there was never enough time to leave the city. I tried inviting them here, so they could catch up with me here, maybe even let me show them my world.

...But no one ever even responded."

She paused to give a long sigh. "One day, I heard from a news article that my cousin Redwell's farm in Whinnychester had filed for bankruptcy. I immediately filled out a check to cover the settlement's cost and mailed it by express postage. About two days later, I received a letter back from him. I thought it was him expressing gratitude for saving his orchards."

She then pulled out from her chest an open envelope, hoofing them to Twilight so she could inspect its contents. "But enclosed was none other than the check I had originally sent, and a note with one simple sentence."

Keep your check, that's Orange money.

Orange suddenly put her hooves to her face trembling. "I should have known...I should have known they wouldn't be happy for me forever...not when I left them all for this."

Twilight read the sentence over and over again, and shook her head in disbelief. "No...no Auntie. This can't possibly mean what I think you think it means. I refuse to believe that the Apples think you married for money! I know you better than that, they should know you better than that."

"Even if that's true, it doesn't change the fact that I put all my farming ways behind me. Everything that was given and taught to me from the love of my parents and siblings...has been thrown away with a single action. Generations of tradition, forsaken within a single night. When I took my husband's name, I shoved my own back in their faces. It's no wonder only mother writes to me now. An apple...just isn't a city fruit."

"But...but..." Twilight struggled to find a solid argument. "But they can't possibly dislike you just because you no longer work and think the way they do. None of them have even given your way a chance!"

"Actually...one of them did." Sherbet procured a more recent photograph, in color, of a little orange filly in a hairstyle like hers. "This is Apple Cake's daughter, and my niece, Applejack. Ten years ago, she came across all the old letters I sent to mother, telling her about my life here. She was so excited and thrilled at reading my letters, she decided she wanted to become a city pony as well.

I remember the night I opened my door to see that energetic filly at my steps, eyes full of wonder. It was like staring into a looking glass from so long ago. I vowed to do my best to groom her into best the socialite possible, that I would make her dream come true. I taught her everything I learned, gave her everything she ever wanted. I encouraged her, guided her every step with a smile, and she performed wonderfully. But...little by little, I saw her smile fade. Every time she tasted a sprig of parsley, her frown deepened. Every time she spoke in a Manehattan accent I could hear her voice strain. Every time her mane was styled, the glimmer in her eyes dulled. I tried everything I could to make her feel more comfortable. I eased away from the lessons, tried to show her all my little delights. I took her to all my favorite places, the opera house, the gardens, all the famous landmarks. I prepared personal feasts for her, and gave her all the little toys she wanted. But nothing seemed to help. Then, one night about a week after she arrived, I was retiring to my room for the evening when I chanced upon her, tying up her personal belongings in the satchel she came with. All she said to me was 'I'm going back to my farm. I'm going home'. And then she was gone. As she walked away, I could see the fillyhood of my past self stare at me disapprovingly, and vanish alongside her. Even now, I can only gaze out that window at night and wonder...what did I do wrong?"

Twilight nervously inched closer to Orange Sherbet, who was now slowly and silently sobbing to herself. Hesitantly, she reached out, retracted, then extended her hoof again and reached around her shoulder in a loose but comforting hug. "Auntie..."

They sat in silence for a time, simply collecting themselves in quiet embrace. When Sherbet finally stopped trembling, Twilight lifted her chin and spoke with the utmost sincerity. "It's not your fault. I've never met your niece, but I just know Applejack did not leave because of you."

*Snnnnnnnrk*

A snore from the baby dragon who had fallen asleep halfway through the story broke the tension like a baseball through a window. Twilight gave her eyes a half roll before looking to Sherbet again. "You should go. This is your chance to make up for being distant after so long, to reconnect and maybe start over. If nothing else, you have to at least get closure. You need to know for sure directly from them if you're nothing but a stranger to them now."

"I-" Sherbet glazed over her memorabilia one more time. "Yes. You're right. I should go. At least...at least mother will still be happy to see me. A mother always is. But, I'm still so scared. The reunion is one of the Apple's most cherished and sacrosanct traditions. How can I be sure my being there won't disgrace them in some way? I'm an Orange now. I've forgotten everything there is about being an Apple."

"Then the solution is simple! You just have to remember!" A small explosion of magical dust sent the two jumping as Trixie appeared with Octavia in tow. "The Great and Powerful Trixie sympathizes with your plight, and is more than willing to dedicate her time to solving your dilemma."

"Trixie? Octavia?"

"There's no way we're gonna let your nerves get the better you! We get enough of that from me." A tapping came from the window as Blossomforth peeked her head in. Honey Do pushed her way in next.

"I'd sooner take a nose dive into a panda-monium bamboo spike trap than let you miss out on legacy in the making."

"Blossomforth? Daring?" Twilight looked around in surprise, then made a face. "Were you all just eavesdropping on us?"

"Trixie prefers the term concerned and silent investigation."

Octavia just shook her head. "I told you we should have just walked in. She would have shared with us all the same."

"Never mind the ifs and buts. The point is, we're all going to help you unlock that little filly you think you've lost so long ago," Honey chimed.

"Yeah, it'll be like a treasure hunt! Which makes it super easy since you're already a bona-fide treasure hunter!" Blossomforth added to Honey.

"That's archeologist."

Twilight gave a light chuckle. "You see, Auntie? You may have sat out the reunion for many years by yourself, but now you have us. For better or worse, we're all going to prepare you to see the Apples again. Between the six of us, everything will work out perfectly."

Orange Sherbet seemed a bit doubtful, but a positive prospect no longer seemed impossible to read. "Do...you really think you can help me be my old self again?"

Trixie stood on her hind quarters to pose as she swiped an old bonnet from the chest and slapped it on top of Sherbet's head. "Mark Trixie's words, Auntie! Come this following Sunday, Ponyville will be dazzled and struck with awe at the long lost triumphant return of the rustic and simple Applllllleeeee Sherbet!!"

Act 3: Finding your Roots

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The rays of Celestia's sun glimmered through the crystal clear glass of the greenhouses in the Neigh York Botanical Gardens as Blossomforth lead the group into the third one from the left.

"I've always loved going here. The fragrant smells of the lilacs, the festive colors of the orchids, oh and those cute little pansy faces! It's great that they sell me seeds from their shop at frequent customer discounts but I really still wish they would have a full-time opening-"

"Uh, Blossomforth? Remember why we're here," Twilight reminded.

"Huh?" Everypony pointed at Orange Sherbet to drive the point home for the flower connoisseur. "Oh! Oh! Right!" Blossomforth hovered back down from a tall sunflower. "We can tour the gardens later. Right now we need to get you to the topiary section so you can get back in touch with fieldwork."

As they continued along the leafy grove, Twilight could not help but look around. Being the scholar she was, she was fervently interested in learning subjects of all types, botany included. If she recalled glancing at the brochure at the welcome center, there were over 500000 different cataloged living specimens contained within the enclosure. This would make a great field trip sometime! As she lingered for a moment her eyes fell upon a rather particular blossom that had an odd orange-red hue and an even odder shape. The petals looked rather thin and stalky and the ovular sepal was only half open. Still, the smell was rather strong and sweet, so it couldn't be still budding. Was it a perfect or imperfect breed? Twilight curiously edged closer and was a stigma's length from the pollen tube when Blossomforth turned her head.

"No Twilight don't touch that!"

"Hmm?" Twilight's eyes left the flower for just a split second and its petals clamped down on her snout like a row of teeth, prickly sharp teeth. "AGKPPPTH!!" She flailed her hooves as she tried to pull away in a sudden panic. The plant's stem stretched to meet her inching distance then suddenly snapped away as the flower released its prey, sending her crashing into a bed of poison sumac.

A round of stifled giggles were shared as Twilight itched her way back to the group. "You know Twilight, there's a better way to familiarize yourself with an Aphrodite Snapdragon than by sticking your nose into its mouth."

One tube of antihistamine cream later and the gang was now gathered around a plethora of trees. Orange Sherbet was staring down at several large pots as Blossomforth flew back with a packet of seeds. "Okay. We're all set to reteach you apples." Ripping open the pouch, she pulled out several black tear shaped seeds. "Now this is an apple seed. With proper care, it will grow into a tree that can produce this." She pulled out a red delicious from her saddlebags. "This is called an apple. It-"

"Blossom," Honey interjected with half-lidded eyes. "I think we can skip the beginner's course. Just get to the planting."

"Oh! Um, of course!" Blossomforth squeed a sheepish smile as she settled next to a pot. "Now, growing a tree is bit more complicated than growing flowers, but still relatively the same, just with a few extra steps. First, we need to dig a hole roughly three times as deep as the root length and five times as wide."

"But, that's just a seed. It doesn't have any roots yet," Honey countered again.

"Oh, that's for replanting. The leaflet here says trees go through several pot sizes before they reach adulthood."

"Well, what about for the seed?"

Blossomforth pawed the soiled filled pots, scooping a clump of it out. "Just give a little scoop, place the seed, then cover it back up."

As she placed a seed in, Spike hunched his cheeks over his palms, sitting in a crouch next to a bag of fertilizer. "Gee, dig hole, drop seed, fill hole. That's a lot to take in. I can see how you forgot to do that, Auntie."

"Spiiiike..." Twilight started.

"Well, there's a bit more to do," Blossom said as she dragged over a large bag. "Trees also need a good layer of mulch to keep their trunks steady and prevent grass and weeds from sprouting around the base and draining the soil of nutrients." She spread the mulch around the circumference of the pot, but not over the center where the seed was planted. "And, they need a cool environment to start growing in, that's why it essential to keep the soil moist at all times." She lifted a watering can with her mouth and sprinkled all over the pot. "Now you try, Auntie!"

Sherbet proceeded to go through the steps shown, and in about a minute, there were now two potted seeds in front of them. Blossomforth clapped her hooves together. "Alright Auntie! How's it feel to stick your hooves in the soil for the first time in years?"

"I actually...don't feel any different," Sherbet admitted.

Several minutes passed as they stared at the pots.

"Uhhhhh...now what?" Spike finally asked.

Blossomforth referenced the back of the seed packet. "Germination takes approximately three to four weeks," she read.

"Oh come on!" Trixie groaned. "You're supposed to be the plant expert here. You know we don't have time to grow an apple tree from scratch. Take Sherbet to the one already grown and show her how to harvest it!"

"Right, right!" Blossomforth fumbled upwards to scan the tops of the trees, searching for one in particular. "Let's see. Pineapple, coconut, pear, cherry, ah, there we go! Apple!" She drifted over to a large tree with small five petaled pinkish-white flowers decorated all over it. "See? You can tell from the pink hue of the petals how healthy it is. Oh, and the smell! Apple blossoms are among the top five fruit bearing flowers in term of fragrance strength! And look how many there are on this tree, it's like a fresh sheet of snow in the spring!"

"Um, it's pretty and all, but...where are the apples?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, um..." Blossomforth inspected one of the buds and the far end of a branch. "Judging by the age of the florets here, I'd say...these apple blossoms will mature into apple fruit in about three months!"

A union of groans came from her friends down below. "Let Trixie guess, this is also the only apple tree in the garden?"

"Well it wouldn't make too much sense to have two of the same on a sample platter," Sherbet noted. "After all, there's only so much space in the greenhouses and trees can last a dozen lifetimes. Rather cost effective to only have one of each for a facility like this."

"That's swell and all, but are you going to practice applebucking if the only apple tree in the city has no apples on it?" Honey mentioned.

"Oh! We just need apples on it, right? Easy enough!" Blossomforth flew off again, and returned dipping somewhat with a barrel of apple and a roll of tape in her mouth. The others watched in puzzlement, astonishment, and confusion as she proceeded to paste their stems to the tip of each bud. In no time at all, the apple tree now sported an apple paired with each blossom. "That'll do it, right?"

"Blossomforth, are you sure that's going to work?" Twilight asked quizzically.

"Logic will get you from A to Z, imagination will get you everywhere," Octavia said. "Sometimes the most practical solutions lie outside the box."

"You are so wise..." Spike fawned.

"Okay, so let's get to harvesting already," Honey said, "Show Sherbet how to do it, Blossom!"

"No prob!" And with a few flaps of her wings, Blossomforth rose to the branches level, reached out and plucked a nice juicy red apple from its sticky hold. Then, nestling it in a cradle with her other hoof, she reached out for another...

"No Blossomforth! That's not how earth ponies harvest trees!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Oh! Uh, well, that's how we pegasi pick fruit," Blossomforth explained. "I'm afraid I don't know how earth ponies do it."

"What is there to know?" Trixie, having had enough of her compatriot's absentmindedness, crossly marched right up to the base of the trunk. "You just lift your hoof, and give it a good kick!"

And with that, she whacked the tree hard. Causing just about every last bit of fruit that was frailly hung by a strip of adhesive to come loose. She had only enough time to open her mouth to scream when she disappeared under an avalanche of redness.

"Oops. Should I set it up again?" Blossomforth asked as she hovered over the apple pile wearing a starry purple cap.

"What's good for the goose is good for the gander," Octavia motioned over to patches of tree with different fruits hanging over them. "I'm sure we could get the same results if we tried harvesting with other fruit trees."

"Ohhh right!" Blossomforth nodded her head vigorously. "That would be much easier than having to go through rolls of tape! Oh, Sherbet! Why don't you try bucking that banana tree? It's got a ton of ripe fruit."

"Well, technically banana plants aren't classified as trees since they have stalks as opposed to trunks-"

Honey hushed Twilight. "You can still buck it right? That's all we really need."

Sherbet walked up to the tall towering banana plant, and looked upwards at the yellow-green prizes above, then to the column that supported them.

"You can do it Auntie!" Spike cheered. "Show us that leg strength only an earth pony could be proud of!"

Okay...breathe. Think back. This was one of the funnest things I did as a filly, just reach back and...

Her hoof pressed against the banana bunch, but nothing budged.

"Harder! And with your hind legs!" Blossomforth encouraged.

Sherbet tried again, this time raising a hind leg and bludgeoning it with a little oomph. The stalk wiggled, but other than that, nothing.

"Both your legs!" Honey rooted, "Like you're giving a back-alley mugger what for with your karate lessons!"

That certainly sent a strong image through Orange Sherbet's head. Sucking a deep breath, she reared on her front and swung back with all her might. Had she kept her eyes open, she probably would have noticed she was aiming a might high there. And apparently, the key difference between stalks and trunks were that stalks made up for their weaker build by being much more flexible. As the hooves connected, the plant bended over backwards, and sprung back, launching its fruity load like a giant slingshot. Twilight yelped as she became the newest victim to fall prey to modern produce siege weaponry. Sherbet finally opened her eyes to see a splattery mess of banana mush over the glass wall with a unicorn shaped imprint right in the middle. Freeing a hoof from squashy gobs holding her, Twilight wiped away the peel on her eyes and spat out a small bunch from her mouth.

"Yeah, I think that's enough applebucking practice for one day."

"Alright, Auntie Sherbet. Now that we've gotten a feel for the life of a country mare, it's time to find you a look for the country mare!"

Trixie paraded the group into the Manehattan store complex, ushering them to the department boutique Abtenauer and Skyros.

"Great, clothes shopping," Spike grumbled under his breath. "Every boy dragon's dream..."

"Um, I thought I was going to just wear my old bonnet back to reunion," Sherbet said as she hesitantly stepped into the clothing store.

Trixie shook her head as she gripped the older mare's hoof, dragging her towards the changing rooms. "Oh, no. Trixie's sure that would have been good for you thirty years ago, but if there's anything she knows as a showmare, it's that first impressions are all about presentation!"

She whirled around, swishing her cape in a dramatic pose. "By the time we're done, you'll be more Apple than an apple itself. We are going to return you to your old self by creating an entirely new you!"

Sherbet blinked. She looked to the others. Blossomforth and Honey just shrugged. Octavia quietly adjusted her bowtie. Twilight's left eye squinted as she just about finished processing the sentence for the fifth time over. "That doesn't make any sense!" she blurted out.

"The point is," Trixie continued, "that you're not going to feel country unless you look the part. Clothes make the attitude! Why do you think Trixie takes every opportunity she gets to flaunt her amazing and stunning garments?"

"Because you want to advertise your particular magician's eccentricity as having no fashion sense whatsoever?" the baby dragon teased.

Trixie scowled at Spike, but then gave a malicious smirk. "Says the pot calling the kettle black." And with a wink of her horn, Spike was now in a paisley onesie with a polka dot beanie. Everyone giggled as Spike's cheeks flushed.

"There's a reason why Trixie is the Element of Laughter and not you," she said as she levitated a pile clothes into Orange Sherbet's hooves. "Now, chop chop! There's a perfect wardrobe for you somewhere in this humongous closet of a store and it's not going to be found just standing here!"

An upbeat and catchy tune played over the store's intercom as the montage began. The five ponies and dragon sat in a row of chairs as the red curtains to the changing rooms unfurled to reveal...

"Auntie? What are you wearing?!" Twilight exclaimed.

Orange Sherbet had on blue plaid shirt with a brown vest, a huge red ascot that went halfway down to her hooves, and a set of huge pantaloons speckled black and white like she took the skin off a cow, topped with a tall hat that could literally hold ten gallons. "No good?"

"You look like you're wearing a Nightmare Night costume," Blossomforth said.

Honey peeked behind the curtains and pulled out a plastic sack that also held a plastic sheriff's badge and fake mustache. "That's because it is a Nightmare Night costume!"

"Oh Auntie..." Twilight moaned.

"Can I see that mustache?" Spike asked.

"Next!" Trixie shouted.

"Oh my gosh, Auntie!"

Twilight covered her eyes at the sight of the pure white faux leather suit with over a dozen bangles and linen strings draping every sleeve.

"I like it, it looks more authentic than the costume," Blossomforth said.

"Yeah, except the reunion's at a farm, not a casino," Honey deadpanned.

Octavia simply shook her head and Trixie concurred. "Plus, it's after labor day. Next!"

*honk* *honk*

Sherbet honked her red rodeo clown nose as she smiled embarrassingly through her polka dot hat and overly sized patchwork suspenders combo.

"Does Trixie really need to say anything?" The showmare pointed the socialite back to changing room. "Try thinking less festive, more fruitier!"

"It's official, this is the weirdest fashion show I've ever been to," Twilight said.

"At least she can't top that last one," Honey commented.

"I stand corrected."
"Why does this store even have that one in stock?"
"Ugh...too...fruity!"

Sherbet stood before them, only her face and lower portion of her legs visible from the ponysized apple costume.

Octavia then stood up amongst the giggles and groans. "If I may-?" she asked and lead Sherbet back behind the curtains. "I've been thinking throughout this whole time, and I believe I know what we're all looking for."

Trixie shot up, a satisfied grin on her face. "Trixie thinks we have a winner!"

Orange Sherbet walked out in a lovely apple green southern belle blouse, a finely strung sun hat with a orange lace and fresh apple blossom decorated on it adorned her double braided hair folded neatly over her backside. A pair of silken hoof socks and cobbled horseshoes completed the ensemble.

Everypony wowed and awed as Octavia led Orange to a mirror, where she looked at herself in wonder. "Really? This is me?"

"Even the rustic like to dress up at times. This is the result," Octavia assured gently.

"You look wonderful Auntie!"
"Definitely an apple of my eye!"
"Anypony can see it's perfect for you, right Spike?"

Twilight then noticed the seat beside her had been empty for quite some time. "Spike?" She looked around. "Spiiiiike?"

"Check it out Twilight!"

Everypony turned around to see Spike whoosh his way around from the corner of a shirt rack, wearing a purple starry cape and hat. "Check out what I found in the bargain bin!" He raised his arms and wiggled his fingers in a hocus-pocus manner. "I am the GREAT and POWERFUL Spike! Zippity Zappity Boo!"

Chortles erupted as Spike puffed out his chest. "See Trixie? Not all my jokes are lam-"

Evil eyes met his own at point blank range. "Take. That. Off. Now," Trixie growled through her teeth.

"Repeat after me. *ahem* Howdy y'all. Ah'm Orange Sherbet!"

"Howdy yall. I'm Orange Sherbet."

Honey shook her head for the fifth time. "No, no. You're not laying it on thick enough. You have to treat it like a contraction. Y'all."
"Yall."
"Y'all!"
"Yawl!"
"Y'all!"
"Ye all."
"Y'all!"
"Yee haw!"

Honey facehoofed as Trixie snickered from the back of the Alpacaztecian monolith exhibit. "Now you sound like a donkey!"

Twilight, busy observing a paleo-pony period piece, took a moment to look away from the clay pottery and ask, "Daring, are you really sure you have the qualified skills to give speech lessons?"

"Absolutely!" the tan curator answered. "In addition to having a major in pre-equestrian history, I also sport several minors in 20 related linguistics, half of which are in dead languages, which I've used more often than not on my expeditions in other lands to eliminate language barriers between the natives, and sometimes, adopt a different persona."

"Oh, like when in Daring Do and the March of the Terra Trotta Army you had to disguise yourself as a monk to get into the monastery where-"

"Like I said, those books are mainly pure fiction and exaggerate by the boatload. Yes, I did sneak in there under the false pretense that I was a part of the Qilin order, but I did not have to shave my mane, stick antlers on my head, and dress up in scales and a fake whisker goatee. All I did was recite a few holy scriptures in the ancient tongue of the Xiezhi who, according to their beliefs, could tell no lies."

"內本身的一個矛盾的說法，如果我不這樣說."

All heads turned to Octavia, who simply smiled coyly. "You're not the only one who studied languages at Canterlot University."

Blinking back to reality, Honey cleared her throat again. "Anyways, compared to that, switching accents will be piece of cake, or at least it should be if Auntie here could just enunciate her propositions correctly."

"Technically, use of a southern accent actually makes Equestrian speech more grammatically faulty in favor of a slightly faster pace of everyday conversation."

Honey rolled her eyes. "Alright, one more time. More from the throat, less from the diaphragm. It's a pleasure ta be meetin' yah."
"It's a pleasure tabby meat in yaw."

Trixie fought back a cackle that ended up in a snort.

"Hey!" Honey shot back. "Did I laugh when you kept having her pick out ridiculous outfits for her reunion get-up?"

"No, but you have to admit, that wasn't nearly as funny as this!"

Octavia took the moment to cut the argument short. "In the eye of the beholder, the only difference between tragedy and comedy is whom is at fault. It takes a third to determine what is history."

Both mares stared at the musician. "I'm afraid I'm a little rusty on my philosophy, what does that quote mean?" Honey asked.

"It means ignore Trixie and continue what you are doing."

As Honey resumed the lessons, Spike and Blossomforth arrived walked in from the west hall.

"Hey Twilight! You'll never guess what they've got in the museum's gift shop." Spike held up pyramid shaped tin container. "Gummy Mummies! These things taste awesome!"

"Yeah! They come in lemon, lime, cherry, orange, strawberry, and new tutti frutti!" Blossomforth chirped with a mouthful.

Honey looked over her shoulder. "You two paid for those right? Cause I only offer discounts on a point system."

"No sweat. We wouldn't stiff you." Spike lifted the tin to pour the rest in, and found it rising higher than expected.

Twilight's aura gripped the container as she pulled it towards her. "Spike, dinnertime is in an hour. You're going to spoil your appetite."

"Aw, come on Twi. Just one more?" Spike tugged back as his feet skidded across the marble.

"No, Spike. You've already had a funnel cake earlier today, no more snacks!"

"Then let me have it!" Blossomforth evened the tug-of-war by grabbing the little dragon's waist. "My bits went into those gummies anyway!"

"No, Blossomforth. I'm not going to be able to set an example for Spike if I just let you have it. You'll have to wait until after dinner too!"

The struggle went on for about a minute, then Twilight slackened her grip a bit and caused the two munchers to keel over backwards. Quick as a whip, she snapped the pyramid over to her with a redoubled effort. To Twilight's hindsight though, jerking an open container of tiny treats may not have been the best idea. Little gobs scattered everywhere, and one orange flavored goody happened to sail right over Honey's head and into Sherbet's open mouth.

She gave a quick choke, hoof shooting up to her neck as it struck her windpipe. Twilight gasped in a panic. "Oh no! Auntie! Are you okay? D-do you need the Hooflich maneuver?!"

"No, A-ah'm alright," she wheezed in a slightly deeper tone. "'Mite ah trouble you fer a glass o' water though?"

Honey's eyes popped wide out. "What did you just say?"

"Ah said kin ah have a drink, feels like this gummy needs a little washin' down," she coughed.

"That's it! You did it!" Honey exclaimed as Octavia passed a water bottle to Orange. No sooner had she finished gulping, Honey came straight up and pressed her hoof against the rich pony's throat.

"Say 'Howdy y'all'."
"Howdy y'all."

Honey grinned from ear to ear. "The additional pressure to your vocal chords, they're giving you the accent!" Without another word, she pulled a roll of gauze from underneath her pith helmet and wrapped a layer around her friend's neck. "This will be your training brace for the next few days. Hopefully, the muscle spasms will be involuntary by Sunday."

"Wow. I haven't heard mahself like this since who knows long! Well, thank y'all fer helpin' me so much today. It really means so much ta me." Sherbet then undid the bandage around her neck. "But as Twilight mentioned, it's starting to get a little late. Tell you what, let's all head back to the hotel and I'll have full course dinner prepared for everyone as thanks for sticking by me the whole time."

"Actually..." Twilight scooted up Orange Sherbet, leaning against her side as Octavia flanked her on the other end. "We have something else in mind for supper..."

*Cough* *Cough* "Oh, oh dear! I guess I needed both vents open!"

Smoke poured out from the kitchen doorway into the living area where four mares and a baby dragon sat as Octavia rushed in to open a window. "I should make a note to ask my contractor about installing a window in my kitchen as well."

"I still can't believe you actually have one of those antique wood ovens!" Honey said. "I'm the relic collector and even I cook with gas."

"It's mainly for decor, though it is fully functional," Octavia explained. "I have a gas stove as well that I use much more frequently."

"Why would you buy a second oven when its only practical use is for outrageous occasions like these?" Trixie wondered.

"Some things are beautiful, not in looks, not in what they do, just in what they are," Octavia mused. "It's like how you would warm yourself by a fireplace than simply turn on a radiator. It is more effort, with less satisfying results, but perhaps that is the point."

"Oh yeaaaaah..." Blossomforth slowly nodded, then cocked her head. "What is the point?"

A slightly singed Orange Sherbet then tottered in with a large pan in one hoof. Setting it down on the table, she called out to her friends. "Okay, one sweet potato pot roast with apple stuffing, order up!"

Honey nervously looked around the room as the other ponies averted their gazes from Sherbet. "Okay, show of hooves, whose turn is it to taste test this time?"

"Don't look at Trixie, she had the verily cinnamon apple crisps the last time Sherbet walked out of that kitchen," Trixie said with an eye twitch.

"I'm still digesting the stuffed baked crabapple kebob." Blossomforth clutched her stomach as it gave a slightly unpleasant gurgle. "At least that's what she called it..."

"What's the big deal? I thought those muffins of hers were great," Spike argued with a perplexed expression.

"No, the muffins were definitely the worst," Honey replied, her cheeks turning a tinge of green at the mere mention of it. "I still can't believe you thought nutmeg would be a proper substitute for brown sugar!"

"It worked when my sous chef Saute ran out of paprika for the pumpkin manicotti," Sherbet answered uncertainly.

"That's because the paprika was used as a glaze for the sauce, it wasn't a substantial mixing agent for the dish." Honey took a chance to sneak a peek at Orange's latest dinner attempt. It certainly didn't look like a pot roast, more like a pot toast. The syrupy marinade it was in was hardened like a crunchy shell, and the diced sweet potato chunks seemed charred wherever it wasn't melted over a poorly meshed breading of crumbs and apple skins. "Apples and sweet potatoes were the only things that went into this right?"

Twilight swallowed. "Okay, I'll do it." She marched up to the hot dish, levitated a fork over, and dug it into the lump of broiled fruit. A large crackling sound was produced as she pulled out a chunk, crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside, closed her eyes, and stuck it past her gums.

The result was instantaneous. Her lips contorted as her mane suddenly sprung on end. She doubled over, pupils jumping up and down as her horn seemed to ignite for a brief moment. After a moment of convulsing on her back, she looked up to the disappointed cook and tried her best to give a supportive smile. "I think you mixed the salt and sugar up. But other than that, it's...um..."

"Terrible," Orange finished as she dejectedly slid the pan into a trash basket at the far end of the table. "You don't need to be partial for my sake." She then gave an empty chuckle. "Ironic, isn't it? The head of one of the most largest and prestigious catering companies cannot remake any of her old family recipes."

"But that's just it," Twilight counter-stated. "You oversee dozens of chefs and bakers everyday. You've watched them work, you've sampled their wares, you've advised them, had them double check their ingredients. Even without firsthoof knowledge, you know their routines and equipment inside and out. You shouldn't be this out of touch or inexperienced!"

The earth pony mare just shook her head at her unicorn friend. "You just answered your own question, Twilight dear. I'm not working with my cooks' state-of-the-art appliances. There are no dials, no temperature gauges, no timers. I cannot tell whether I'm cooking at the right heat, if it's undercooked or I'm burning it, or even how long I've left it in there. I've become too reliant on the machines and not on my skills."

She looked to a pie tin with a mushy mess of fruit in it. "I remember when I worked with mother for the first time to make one of her signature pies. We had no measured labeling cups, no sterilized rolling sheet, just a counter and a bed of flour. We even had a little powder fight as we kneaded the crust. And she would spiel for me as we occasionally peeked in the kitchen stove to see if it had browned and waited. Yet for as vividly as I remember the steps, I cannot get the same results as she did."

Octavia tapped her chin, then smiled. "I believe I think I know both the problem and solution." She cantered over to the door to leave her apartment. "Please excuse me, I will return within no less than fifteen minutes."

Orange Sherbet's maw opened to let out a short series of stammers as Octavia returned with the two ponies she least expected to see at this time and place. "W-what are you doing here?" She finally managed to squeak out.

"Well," Mosely started, "your friend Octavia did say you were trying out your old recipes. It's not that often you cook in the penthouse kitchen and...well I just realized I haven't had one of your apple cobblers in years! Not since we stopped the whole special delivery routine."

Eyes then fell on the little groomed filly standing shyly behind Mosely Orange as he nudged her out. Her tail and mane weren't curled fancy like Sherbet's trademark style, but by no means was it unkempt. They were slightly long with a wave that gave it more volume, a style that was usually more favored by pegasi as it was the only free flowing style for long hair that was still aerodynamic. Her soft blue eyes looked up to the group of mares, both curious and demure at the new faces.

Blossomforth was the first to gush. "Oh, aren't you just the most adorable little thing?" she squealed as she bent down low to meet her face and poke her cheeks. "What's your name you cute ball of heartmelting joy?"

The little filly stood as straight as she could politely nodding as she gave the tiniest of smiles in spite of her coyness. "My name is Tangerine," she answered in soft and cloying voice, rich in a sophisticated attitude that belied her diminutive stature. "You are miss Blossomforth, correct? It is very nice to make your acquaintance."

Blossomforth awww'd as the courteous child gave an individual nod to each of the other mares, then looked up to her parent. "Mother?"

"Y-yes?" Sherbet answered hesitantly.

"Father says you are going to be making dinner for us tonight, and that you will be using some recipes that are both new and old at the same time. What does he mean by that?"

Sherbet felt a gnawing reluctance growing in the pit of her stomach. She certainly didn't want to end up poisoning her dear husband and her sweet little filly. But they had come here so expectantly for some Apple cooking, how could she just turn them away?

"W-Well, you see dearie, these were dishes we haven't had or made since we were children ourselves. Why, I was actually your age when I boiled my first batch of oatmeal."

Curiosity seemed to bubble over any caution in Tangerine's eyes. "Really? You cooked all your own when you were my age?"

"Well of course I had a lot of help from my own mother. She always made the kitchen feel more-" she paused, thinking back again to her days in the farm's kitchen, the smile she wore when she presented her first successful tart to her parents, and how they returned it in full after tasting it. She looked to Octavia, who bore a sly grin with her half-lidded eyes and realized she had the same idea. "Tangerine? Would you like me to show you how to cook my family's old recipes?"

The foal's eyes lit up. "Really? I can cook with you? I'd love to help!" She bounced ahead of her mom into the kitchen as the other mare shared a subtle unspoken message with her musician friend before accompanying her.

"Wait, are we sure that's such a good idea?" Twilight mind was already beginning to play out what mess would result with ANOTHER pony with zero baking experience in the kitchen, and a child no less.

A reassuring hoof grasped her shoulder as she started for the kitchen door. She turned her head to meet a familiar smile on Mosely Orange's face. The same kind that Celestia had wore during the time she had tasked her with an unusual assignment of painting pictures of herself from a distance in the courtyard, sometimes with a large rock or tree obscuring her view of the canvas. It had been a week before her teleportation exam...which she somehow aced with flying colors despite the fact she had not read much on the subject, and was now even one of her best spells.

"I think I see what's going on here now...just sit down and wait. I've got a feeling what's going to come out of that room will be the most delicious meal I'll have had in years."

Once more, a series of plates were set upon the table as the kitchen pair walked out to an expectant dragon, stallion and mare and four not so expectant mares. As Orange Sherbet set the meal down for everypony to see, Twilight's eyebrows suddenly arched in puzzlement.

"Porridge?"

"Apple porridge to be exact," Sherbet explained. "I figured at this point you all needed something easier on your tummies. And for dessert, Tangerine, would you like to show them what you made?"

Sherbet's daughter stood up on her tippy-hooves to place a small plate with a chunky, browned ball of fruit on the table. "It's an apple," Trixie said dryly.

"A baked apple," Tangerine affirmed. "Dipped in cinnamon and rolled in granola. I did it all by myself while mother was making the porridge."

The majority of taste testers' mouths approached the bowls with slowly decreasing caution. Honey's eyes hovered over the lumpy broth. It looked like what porridge should be like. Blossomforth gave a tentative whiff. It didn't smell raw or burnt. A sudden slurping noise jarred their attention to Mosely, who was already digging in, followed by Octavia and Spike. Mustering her effort to bury all trauma out of mind, Twilight then dipped her spoon into the bowl, lifted it up, and like a patient bracing herself for a shot, jammed it between her gums.

Her eyes popped open as her tongue was coated with a sudden warmth of anise and cloves that tickled her taste buds. The consistency was firm enough to hold the sustenance of the apples, yet had enough excess water to soften the taste and let the flavors flow freely. It felt so simple and plain, but the heat mixed with the liquid made every sugar spread itself out as much as possible, washing away all the lingering bitter aftertastes from before. This was actually edible, more than that...

"It's good," came the words from out of Twilight's mouth as she opened them again. She smiled as her tummy sighed in relief at the soothing warmth that entered it. Looking up from her bowl, she noticed Honey, Blossomforth, and Trixie mimic her exact same expression of pleasant surprise, followed by slamming their smiles neck deep into the bowls, their appetites suddenly rekindled with the promise of actual food for the first time tonight. Twilight just shook her head in a knowing fashion as Mosely helped himself to a slice of the baked apple.

"You still know how I like it sweet cream," he said halfway through the slice. He then peered down to his anticipating daughter. "And my little sweet treat? Best first attempt I ever tasted."

Tangerine beamed brightly as her mother's cheeks matched her blush. Twilight scooted her chair closer to Octavia's so she could lean in and whisper. "I don't understand. How did she suddenly become so adept with these two here?"

Octavia took a moment to rest her spoon on the table as she mildly answered, eyes half focused on her confused friend, and to their bashful cooking student. "It's quite simple if you think about it. Love is the most important ingredient after all."

"Mommy?" Tangerine addressed her mother as she was tucked softly away under the covers in the comforts of her lofty bedroom later that night. Sherbet regarded her with a warm smile. The only time her little darling ever spoke so informally was when they were alone together.

"Yes, my sweet citrus angel?"
"Will there be other foals at the reunion?"
"Of course. In fact I know from your grandma that you have a cousin about the same age living in Ponyville."
"Do they all know each other well?"
"I wouldn't know. But I'm sure you won't be the only new face around."

A moment of peaceful quiet passed as Sherbet knew her filly wanted to say something more.

"What if they don't like me?"

Needless to say, she was surprised at that last question. "Why on Equus would you think that?"

Tangerine shifted her back legs underneath her blanket. "Because...I'm richer and fancier than they all are, right? I'm the only one that lives in a city. I have so many toys and clothes that they don't have..." She looked away for a moment. "Maybe they don't think I'll need someone to play with when I already have so much more stuff than them."

Sherbet ran a hoof through her mane. "Oh sweetie, you don't have to worry yourself silly over something like that. Fillies and colts don't care about stuff like that. And they're your cousins, they'll want everything to do with you regardless. Just be yourself and everything will be fine."

"Really?" Tangerine looked back to her mother, their eyes exchanging a vow of affection. A relieved smile dawned upon the filly's face after a few seconds. "Okay. I guess that makes sense. I'll be me, daddy will be daddy, and mommy will be mommy. It's not like I can be someone else, right?"

The way her filly said it seemed to strike a chord in the very back of Orange Sherbet's recesses of the mind. She shook it off in a heartbeat though as she dimmed the lights. She leaned in to peck her child on the forehead.

"Goodnight Tangerine."
"Goodnight mommy. I love you."

The little orangish filly snuggled her head deep into her pillow, sighing with contentment as her mother closed the door behind her. The mare plodded softly across the hall to her own room, her thoughts empty and straying for the while.

Mommy will be mommy.

She squeezed her eyes in a blink as she knocked the words out of her head. Why did that simple sentence not sit right with her? Was it because it wasn't true with what she and her friends were trying to do? No, no, that was ridiculous. She lived the ins and outs of what she was doing before. Apple Sherbet was a part of her, it's not like she was trying to live a lie all of a sudden. She was just getting more in touch with her family roots, right? For memory's sake.

She cleared her mind of all doubts as she clambered into bed next to her already snoozing husband. As she coaxed her restlessness down, she reached over the side to the bed drawer and fished the two photographs that had recently been from her old chest out again. Under the light of Luna's moon, she gazed at her fillyhood image longingly, and slid the photograph of young Applejack over it until the two fillies seemed to touch each other, Applejack's image overlapping her young mother's.

"I promise sister," she whispered to herself as she finally closed her eyes, folding the pictures across her chest. "I swear I won't disappoint you again..."

Author's Notes:

And here we introduce Orange Sherbet's daughter, Tangerine. The child of the Oranges is a well mannered filly, always courteous and polite as taught. But also loved and cared for in such a down to earth manner by her parents. Her slight shyness stems from the fact that she has very little interaction with ponies her own age being that her social standing and wealth tends to set her apart and intimidate the others in her school, and thus lacks social experience with other foals. Despite that, her mannerisms give her the courage to face new acquaintances as would be expected of a socialite, though not much further than that. One quirk is that she never speaks with contractions unless she gets really excited and goes into total foal mode. Always caring, always considerate, and lives the best of both worlds even if it's just with her mother and father. But that will soon change after she goes with her mother to the reunion next chapter.

Act 4: Putting all your Apples in one Basket

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The dirigible sailed smoothly through the clean open skies, bouncing smoothly over the occasional cloud that it passed. Seated comfortably in the gondola of the modern air transport were the six Elements of Harmony plus dragon, spouse, and child.

"Hey look! I think I see it up ahead!" Blossomforth called out as she peered over the railing for about the umpteenth time. All heads poked out of their seats to see a colorful little village coming up on the horizon. A series of thatched houses encircled an open square with a large tall three story building in the center beside a river and a fountain with an earth pony statue.

Honey pointed a hoof a little towards the left. "Yup. That's Ponyville all right. That over there is the Ponyville Tower. One the town's few outstanding landmarks. It's actually one of the three remaining clock towers from the founding era that is still fully functional. It used to be every town back then had a clock tower on account that miniaturizing clock gear technology wasn't cost effective with current materials. That changed in 692 however, when Professor Tick Tock combined his profession with Doctor Coinage's alloy development transmutation matrix to create a cheaper alternative to-"

A large fake snore from Trixie broke the history teacher out of her lecture. "That's one very interesting and completely useful tidbit that's going to be locked in Trixie's vault for the rest of her life."

"A simple 'later Daring' would have sufficed," Honey remarked back in return.

Orange Sherbet, meanwhile, continued to watch the dirt road pass by below as the houses parted to make way for a series of farms on the western outskirts. A stretch of carrot patches, vineyards, cherry groves, and finally the largest plot of all, apple orchards came into view. She tightened her voice changing choker yet again as the aircraft began to descend, making a beeline for the open patch of dirt just inside the fenceposts left of the gate.

Twilight took notice as her sun hat brushed her mane. "Easy Auntie," she said as she pulled Sherbet's hoof away from her neck. "You want to be able to breathe too."

"Sorry Twilight. Ah've just got ants in ma pants like crazy 's all."

"But you're not wearing pants, you're wearing a blouse," Spike said.

A large rumbling could be heard as the very air itself shook the swaying airship. "Holy mother of Faust!" exclaimed Blossomforth as a dust cloud of carriages and stampeding hooves suddenly closed in from all directions below. A chorus of whoops and hollers filled the air as the parade passed on by, settling bit by bit as pony after pony disembarked from their respective rides. "Sweet nectar of a honeysuckle! All those ponies are Apples?"

"Told you it was a big clan," Honey affirmed with a grin.

"There must be dozens of farmers down there," Trixie murmured in silent awe. "Quite possibly over a hundred!"

At Trixie's outrageous, but seemingly conceivably probable estimate, Sherbet pulled out a pocket mirror and looked herself over again. She did remember to forgo the blush and eyeliner this morning, right? Wait, was that an uncombed curl sticking out from underneath her hat?

A pat on the back brought her back from her self conscious inner spree. Octavia gave her the usual calm smile she often carried. "Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it. Be at ease."

"Ten per-cent wha-? You know Ah don't like ya usin' yer fancy mathematics on me, Macintosh!"

An orange freckled mare adjusted her hoof-me-down stetson for perhaps the umpteenth time as she looked out the window towards the incoming herd that was gathering before the front entrance. Beside her with a slightly concerned expression was a larger red stallion with a large yoke on his shoulders. He shifted the wheat stalk in his mouth from one end to the other before giving his younger a square look face-to-face.

"Ya sure you want to do it this way? There might still be a chance ya know...if'n we tell 'em."
"It's mah bed Ah made. Ain't nopony else gonna sleep in it but me."
"Maybe so. But what're you gonna do after once that bed's gone? They're gonna find out sooner or later."

The mare gave her head a shake, trying to unnerve herself. "Then let it be later! All that matters right now is makin' this th' best reunion ever, something that'll make everypony think fondly of Sweet Apple Acres fer years ta come!"

The stalk in Macintosh's mouth dipped as his lips spread out in a wince. "Ah know you want'n this ta be perfect, sis. But Ah've been lookin' at some of what you got planned today, and Ah'm plum worried yer spreadin' yerself too thin again. Ah know you think it's yer fault-"

"Cause it is," she cut him off. "That's why it's gotta be me that does this. Ah just gotta do by right this time, for the farm's sake, for family's sake."

"Or is it just for your sake?"

Staid reprehension clashed with apprehensive glare as the mare's eyes hardened at the larger of the two. "Just git out there with Granny and greet our guests," she finally said.

Macintosh sighed. No sense in souring the clan get together with an argument. "Eeyup." As he opened the door to the front porch though, he couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Just like ya ta be stubborn 'til the very end, Applejack."

"Oh, this is more excitin' than when it rained frogs!"

The chatter amongst the gathered clan was already in full swing as the Orange airship touched down.

"Well Auntie, this is it," Twilight encouraged as she opened the gondola doors. "Remember, we're all here for you."

Orange Sherbet gingerly pressed a hoof down into the dirt, looking around the crowd of ponies. Many had given her a quick glance as she stepped off, but were already engrossed with other relatives to do more than give a simple wave. In fact, it looked like everypony here had another member of the family they had clustered together with to form an unbreakable group of minglers. Everyone had a pony they would immediately run to in a heartbeat.

Everyone but her.

"Sherbet!" Her ears perked up and she swiveled her head to see a wizened green mare with an embroidered apple shawl steadily draw closer from a distance beyond the crowds. As her mind took the approaching pony in, her image began to transform before her eyes. The wrinkles seemed to disappear and her hunched back straightened out as a pair of blond braids replaced the tied white hairs, her warm smile radiating with those energetic brown eyes.

"M-ma?" Her voice quietly made its way back as the memory's image faded.

"Oh, Sherbet. My sweet little cream of the crop! Ya finally made it this time!" The elderly matriarch lifted a hoof as she hobbled within the five hoof radius. "C'mere, give yer ma a nice big hug!"

Sherbet was more than happy to oblige, her first real smile today spreading across her face. "Oh mom!" She wrapped her hooves tightly around the old mare's body. She breathed in deep with contentment as she closed her eyes, nuzzling deep in the comforts of the mother she had not held hooves with in decades. If anything, this one moment made everything worthwhile. "It's been so long mom," her voice cracked. "Far too long..."

"Ah know, Ah know. Oh, look at you!" She pulled Sherbet back a bit to place a hoof on her cheek. "You've grown inta such a beautiful mare, ya look just like ya did twentysome years ago!"

It did Sherbet's heart a great relief to hear those words.

"See, Auntie? Everything's going to be just fine," Twilight said, walking up beside her.

The matriarch of the Apple clan was quick to regard the plus-six in Sherbet's party as she was joined by a large red stallion and an energetic border collie. "Hmm? And just who are these young'uns?"

"Ah, yea. Ma, these are ma friends from Manehattan. You remember, from mah last letter?"

"Ohhh yes! That 'hole Elements o' Harmony thing, right?"

"That's right. They all wanted to come with me and meet th' family. Was it alright for 'em ta tag along with me to th' reunion?"

"Aw, shucks. It ain't no trouble at all! The more th' merrier! Any friend of an Apple's practically family already, ain't that right, Big Macintosh?"

"Eeyup," the large stallion deeply answered. Meanwhile, the dog beneath chose to answer in a more paws on approach, licking the face of every newcomer she could find.

"Ah! Get off! Trixie is not a lollipop, you walking tongue factory! Hey! Where are you going with her hat? Get back here!"

And thus, the Element of Laughter's plans for today would be penciled in for the entire morning playing a rousing game of 'catch the hat thief' as she sped off after the playful canine.

The old mare gave a throaty chuckle. "Oh, that Winona. Such a rascally little dog. She means well, though. Yer friend will get her fancy hat back soon enough. Now then, how's about you introduce me ta yer circle already?"

"Sure thing. This here's Twilight Sparkle, Honey Do, Blossomforth, and Octavia Melody. An' over there, climbin' the hay bales, is Trixie Lulamoon." Sherbet then circled around to her friends. "Girls, this here's my ma, Maria Ann Smith. She's the current head o' the family an' organizer of this here reunion too."

"Oh ho ho. No need ta git all stuffed shirt with me. Everypony 'round these parts just calls me Granny. And believe it or no, th' only thing Ah did this year was write them invites. You can thank ma Jackie for puttin' together this here shindig."

The name caused Sherbet to freeze for the briefest of moments. The one mare aside from her mother that she needed to see the most. "Applejack? She's runnin' the reunion this year?"

"Eeyup." Big Macintosh's voice didn't seem quite as cheery as it did before, though he still held his smile.

"Mmm hmm, and from what she told me the other day, she's got loads of-oh look! There she is now!" Everypony's attention turned to the stage in front of the barn, where an orange mare with a trio of red apples marked her flank.

Sherbet's expression was a mix of nostalgia, longing, disbelief and slight affliction. It didn't go unnoticed. "Auntie?" a concerned Twilight asked.

"Sis' hat. She's wearin' it."

The mare on stage tapped the megaphone, testing to see if it worked before speaking through it. "Howdy, y'all, and welcome to the Apple family reunion!"

The ponies cheered, Apple style.

"Mah name's Applejack, and Ah just want to let y'all know that Ah got a real big day planned for ya! We're gonna start off with an obstacle course for the young'uns, and some fritter makin' and quiltin' for the not-so-young'uns. And there's lots more to come after that! Hope y'all enjoy it!"

As the family members stamped their feet in approval, Sherbet plucked up every ounce of courage she had. The one thing she came to do here above all else, was to make up for all the misgivings between her and her niece. And now, finding out she was in charge of the reunion, and seeing her in her dear sister's favorite hat, it only seemed to make the stakes that much higher.

Her husband walked past, a peckish grin on his face. "Well, I know where I'm heading first. I skipped breakfast just to make more room for those fritters. Join me, darling?"

"In'a bit hon, there's a few things Ah want ta do first. You an' the others can go 'head of me. Tangerine, why don't ya run along and find th' other Apple foals? I'm sure they'd love ta meet ya."

"Very well mother."

And with that, Sherbet was all alone with her nephew and mother. The latter of which ushered her over towards the stage. "Com'on," Granny gently coaxed her, "Why don'cha you go and say hi to yer niece? Ah'm sure she'll be delighted ta see ya after all these years."

The trio came within conversation as Applejack hopped off the steps. "Applejack," her granny called out, "We've got a rare treat this year's reunion. You remember your Auntie Orange, right? She was finally able ta make it this year!"

Applejack took her in for barely half a heartbeat before going into an automatic reply. "Oh, howdy Auntie. Glad ya could be here. Enjoy the reunion!"

"Applejack, I-" But the mare was off before Sherbet could even think of the end to her sentence.

Granny took notice of the downturned ears on her daughter's head, and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Don't you fret none, girl. Jackie here's just so overly excited what with this bein' her time runnin' the reunion. You'll get yer chance to talk with 'er. She just needs a little time ta settle, what with her worryin' 'bout every last breadcrumb an' all that lately."

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh concurred.

Sherbet steeled herself again. A plan of her own forming in her head. "Well she won't be worryin' fer long. Cause Ah'm gonna do mah best to make sure this 'hole reunion runs as smooth as apple grease! Ah'll make sure everything goes to her plans!"

Granny chuckled. "Still got that filly zeal in'ya, huh? Well, Ah know any thoughts you have turn to pure gold at some point. Why don'cha join me an' the rest my girls fer a little quiltin' and we'll catch up while my grandfilly gets all that extra energy out o' 'er system?"

Tangerine shuffled around the taller, adult ponies. Still hesitant to find the other children, she wasn't trying that hard, just wandering around. But as she whipped around the side of a wheelbarrow, she bumped into a slightly robust light brown filly with a two-tone redhead.

"Ah!" They both stumbled back on their rumps. Tangerine was the first to regain her composure. "Oh, forgive me. I was not paying attention to my surroundings."

"Uh, y-yeah. That's okay." The other filly seemed to be slightly withdrawn despite being big for her age. And it seemed as if her tail was instinctively raised to cover her flank.

"Um, are you alright? Is there something wrong with your flank?"

The opposing filly took a step back in alarm. "Uh-uh no! Why would there be something wrong with it? It's perfectly normal to have-"

"No cutie mark!"

They both jumped at the third voice that belonged to a head that popped over the side of the wheelbarrow. It was another redheaded filly, only she was cream yellow with a large bow tying her mane. She ecstatically pointed to both their flanks. "Y'all don't have no cutie marks! Wow! Ah thought Ah was the only filly here that didn't have one!"

The brownish one seemed to relax a bit when she noticed what the newcomer had identified. The wheelbarrow tipped over as she leaned to get out and meet them on ground level.

"Every other foal Ah've met so far seems ta gotten their cutie mark since the last reunion. It's been so frustratin'! That's all they seem to be chattin' 'bout, makin' me feel like the odd apple out! Y'all can't tell how glad Ah am not ta be the only one in the blank boat!"

She stuck a friendly forehoof out. "Mah name's Apple Bloom! What's yers?"

The other filly tentatively stuck her hoof out slowly. "I'm Babs. I'm from Hooflyn."

Hooflyn? Wasn't that the city across that huge bridge on the east end of the bay? Tangerine now mimicked Apple Bloom's excitement at a sudden prospect. "You mean I'm not the only city filly here?"

"City filly? Where are you from?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Oh, right." Tangerine shifted out of filly mode, realizing she was the only one who hadn't introduced herself yet. "My name is Tangerine. I hail from Manehatten, it is very nice to make your acquaintance."

"Manehattan? Wooowee, that's fancy! Is it true that red velvet cakes there cost 700 bits apiece? Or that you got a huge underground carriage system that's run by mole ponies?"

Tangerine blinked at the incredulous questions her cousin was asking. This certainly wasn't a poor impression she was making, but it wasn't exactly one she expected either.

Babs, on the other hoof, completely broke out of her inward shell and started laughing. "Really? You believe those silly rumors? Next thing I know, you're going be wondering if we gots alligators living in our sewers! Ha ha ha!"

"Why not? Pinkie Pie says that's where she found Gummy."

"Ah, fuhgeddaboudit!" Babs swung her hoof in a downward dismissive arc before blowing a stray forelock away from her eye. "Never you mind those crazy stories and let a real pony tell you what's what."

"Yeah? So what's awesome there?"

"Well, for starters, we gots a real fun place on the east side of Hooflyn called Coneigh Island that's got hundreds of amusement-"

"There ya are, Apple Bloom!" Applejack trotted right over to the trio. "What are y'all three doing here? Every one of the youngsters is waitin' for ya at the obstacle course."

"Oh, I kinda wanna get ta know these two a bit better first sis," Apple Bloom started to protest.

But Applejack was already nudging the three fillies along. "Don't you worry. There'll be plenty of time for family bondin' while you're racin' against your other cousins."

As they joined the rest of the children at the starting line, Tangerine did a quick head count. "6...7...8...oh dear! There are an odd number of ponies here."

Apple Bloom did a quick count to confirm. "Shoot! Yer right! How we gonna do a seven legged race with forty-four legs?"

Tangerine glanced to the side, a bit forlorn. "I guess I could excuse myself. I probably would not be a good partner anyways."

"Woah woah woah woah!" Babs interjected. "Nopony's sitting this out. In fact, I gots an idea that I think youse gonna like!"

Within a few moments, there were four seven legged racers lined up at start along with one ten legged racer.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Tangerine asked from Babs' left.

Babs blew at her bangs again with a grin. "Don't sweat it. I know this kid from Hoofboken who came in first with four of us strapped to his hind legs."

"Yeah, and this could actually be real fun! Us doing things a little differently!" Apple Bloom chimed from Babs' right.

Applejack then trotted over the line to officiate the race to begin. "Alrighty, ponies! Ready to have some fun?"

It was then that the fillies and colts actually decided to take a good look at the course laid before them, a long twisting dirt path over several hills that ended at the tallest one in the horizon.

"Woah!" exclaimed Babs. "Is that the finish line? It's like a mile away or somethin'!"

"Actually, that's just th' marker where you go onto the next leg of the race," Applejack stated matter-of-factly.

"There is more?" Tangerine asked.

"Much more. Trust me, Ah have put together somethin' you are never gonna forget." Applejack then rushed over to the side of the lane where a bunch of filled basins were. "After the seven-legged race you're gonna wanna hurry up and head over here, where you'll be bobbin' for apples!" She stuck her head in and pulled out a threefer to demonstrate.

"Then you'll run around these trees fifty times until you're real good and dizzy..."
She whirled around the nearby apple trees really fast.
"Then you'll jump these big wooden hurdles..."
She hopscotched a bunch of stacked logs and planks, three at a time.
"And then there's the final leg, where you'll balance plates on your head while sayin' 'Pappy pony picked a pluck of prickly pluffnuggets' over and over and over again."
She spun a plate on a stick on top of her noggin while belting out the tongue twister before skidding back to start.
"Last pony standin' wins!"

There was a dead silence as the foals looked blankly at Applejack.

"...Seriously?" a disbelieving and slightly annoyed Apple Bloom broke the silence and addressed her sister.

"Seriously!" Applejack affirmed with a wide smile. "C'mon, y'all, let's start makin' some memories!"

With a whip of her tail, the mare raised the checked flag. "On your mark...get set...go!"

Well, needless to say, the foals all did decide to give it the good old earth pony try. They all shot out of the starting line, with one or two trips to start out with. All galloping in sync as fast as they could...for the first five minutes.

Panting and huffing, the trio of blanks slowed their pace to a halt in order to catch their breath. Tangerine looked back to see they had already gone twenty barn lengths from starting line, Apple Bloom looked ahead to see they weren't even a tenth of the way there yet, and Babs just raised her freckled face to sky to give a silent groan.

"Whooee! Lookin' good, everypony!" Applejack called from the distance. She then turned around to tend to the other activities. "Ooh, better go check on the quilt."

Trixie rounded about the water pump for the third time after Winona.

"When Trixie gets her hooves on you she's gonna-"

Darting under a fencepost and into the north fields where all the newly planted trees were, the playful canine weaved through the saplings as if she were a snake. Chancing a glance back, she stopped to see her azure playmate was nowhere to be seen. In fact, as she turned her body in a circle, all she could see were rows of year old apple trees and the scarecrow protecting them.

Wait a minute, orchards don't use scarecrows, do they? Winona pad-footed closer to take a questionable sniff. She was a hooveslength away when the straw hat popped off to reveal the silhouetted face beneath.

"Trixie has you now!" she cried as she emerged from the collar of the hay stuffed shirt. But while her leap was fast, the collie's reaction time was faster. As the showmare came down, she jumped up and over, giving her huntress a fresh taste of grass and dirt.

Spitting out the clod of soil in her mouth, Trixie turned to the shrinking dot in the distance of the acres. "You have no idea who you're messing with mutt. Trixie has sent packs of Lupus Majors to the great beyond and back with their tails between their legs! So if you know what's good for you, you'll stop this inane bout of shenanigans and come back with her hat at once!"

Her loud ultimatum was obviously not heard from that distance or ignored as the dog happily brisked her way into the livestock stalls and out of sight.

"......Please?"

Granny Smith admired the gleaming pearly dentures her own cousin was showing off to her as her knitting circle convened. "How long you had those new choppers, Auntie Applesauce?"

The spring green mare simply primly raised a hoof to her chest. "A lady never reveals the age of her teeth."

"Ugh." The peach elder next to her simply rolled her near-sighted eyes.

That earned a chuckle from granny and a scowl from Applesauce. "Don't you roll your eyes at me, Miss Apple Rose! I imagine you two think I have forgotten what you did to my parasol six reunions ago?"

All that served to do was get Apple Rose going too.

"We were just usin' it to help break open that piñata!" Granny said between giggles.

As the two continued to laugh, they were eventually joined by a younger third. "That must 've been some get 'ogether y'all had. Did it at least work?"

"Oh, you bet your dealyboppers it did! But that wasn't even the funniest part!" Granny told Sherbet. "When nephew Newton Apple tried to get the fandangled contraption down afterwards, it plumb fell on his noggin'! Oh ho, he looked so silly! Havin' a speckled goat's rear end fer a face! Poor fella's always had trouble with things fallin' from trees, but that there took the cake!"

"Newton, as in Cobbridge University's leading physicist teacher Newton?" Honey's ash colored hair filled the view of every mare in the group as she stuck her head upside down from above.

"Why yes, that's the school!" Granny exclaimed and then mumbled to herself. "I knew it had something that started with a C..."

"Heya, Honey," Sherbet greeted. "Somethin' we can do ya fer?"

"Just wanted to hang. I mean, there's only so much you write about a historical family in the textbooks. If it's alright, I was hoping the more aged Apples could tell me a few tales that haven't made the pages."

"Hmph, I've have you know I'm not as 'seasoned' as you might expect," Applesauce proclaimed. "Why, it was just yesterday that I trotted a good half a mile on my evening constitution. The sea breeze from the Haybale Bay was blowing every bachelor's head from the bingo parlor my way..."

Apple Rose rolled her eyes once more. "Oh boy, here we go again..."

Around that time, Applejack trotted in clutching a large quilt checked in yellow, green, and red. As she settled in down on a table, Applesauce broke away from her monologue to address her. "Applejack, delightful to see you. Are you going to join us in some quiltin'? Granny here's already managed to rope us one set of fresh hooves with Sherbet."

"Sorry, Auntie Applesauce," the farmpony answered. "Ah am busy busy busy. Y'all should get started, though!"

"Do my eyes deceive me?" Honey asked as she hovered over the unfinished blanket. "Is that really the authentic Apple family ancestral quilt?"

"Oh, I wouldn't know about ancestral," Apple Rose replied to Honey. "But we 'ave been workin' on that thing for seven generations straight!"

"Speaking of..." Granny Smith looked around quizzically. "Where are our rocking chairs? Cain't get started without 'em!"

"Ah got rid of 'em to make room for these!" Applejack pulled a tarp away to make room for a workbench with several sewing machines. "This is the year y'all are finally gonna finish that quilt!"

"Finish it?" Apple Rose looked a little quizzical too as Applejack set the quilt under the needles and yanked the starter cords.

The machines stared rattling and rumbling like a mini-earthquake. Granny Smith's hooves went up to her ears, while Applesauce's teeth nearly chattered out of her mouth.

"Won't that be excitin'?" Applejack called out over the noise. The din, however, made it near impossible for the older mares to make out.

"What's that?" Apple Rose raised her voice in return.

"I said, won't that be-" Applejack finally got the sense to switch the machine off for a moment. "-excitin'?"

The elder ponies shared an unsure glance with one another.

"I suppose," Applesauce finally said. "Although I have been told that too much excitement can wreak havoc on this youthful complexion of mine."

Apple Rose sighed while Granny Smith giggled. And so the mares sat themselves down in front of the machines and yanked their respective cords. The sewing machines roared to life once more as they dubiously fed the whirring needles new patches.

"That's the spirit!" Applejack shouted before moving on.

"What did she say?" Granny asked.

"What?" Apple Rose called back.

Sherbet, on the other hoof, was full of determination. She cracked her hooves as Honey landed nearby.

"Uh, are you sure about this?" she asked over the cacophony. "You've never threaded a needle in your life, let alone worked one of these machines!"

"An Apple cain do anything they set their minds to!" Sherbet shouted back. "An' Applejack's mind is set ta finishin' this quilt, so that's what Ah'm gonna do fer her!" With that, she began vigorously filling seam after seam with lightning quick hooves. "Ma, cain you pass me some more red?"

"What was that?" Granny asked.
"Huh?"
"What?"

Granny flicked her hoof in annoyance at the awful din of the machines. "Oh good gracious!"

"Golden Delicious? I think he's racing with his cousin!" Apple Rose replied.

Indeed he was, around and around the apple trees along with every other dizzy foal. Three in particular circled the center one, each one trying to hold a conversation over the growing lightheadedness.

"So...you ever been...to the statue...of Liberty Mare?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Yes...you can see all...the way...to Canterlot...from her crown..." Tangerine answered.

"Is it really...made in...Prance?" Babs asked.

"Uh...huh...what about...you...Apple...Bloom? Do you really...get to...run an...apple cart...all by...yourself?"

"Not since...AJ...caught me...trying to...aggguh..."

"You alright?" Babs panted.

"So... dizzy..." Apple Bloom's eyes spun and derped. She finally tumbled to the ground, sprawled out on all fours. Her head bobbed as her brain jumbled around, and her face fell flat into the dirt.

Babs and Tangerine approached the passed out filly, looked to each other, and then sighed. This race was turning out to be anything but fun.

"Woaaaah..." Trixie flailed her free hooves occasionally as she tottered from the pen railings, the posts holding them only large enough to accommodate one hoof at a time.

Sitting at the corner of the pens on the other end was none other than her hat thief, wagging her ever taunting tail. With great effort not to fall, Trixie finally made it to the peg neighboring Winona's. "Nowhere to run now, mongrel!"

With a swing of her hooves, Trixie lashed out for the hat. Winona easily ducked and Trixie wobbled badly. But she recovered and then swung again, with a little more control this time. Winona jumped over the swing. Trixie tapped her head as to how to get this cornered canine to cough it up, then she felt a point on her her forehead.

"Duh, Trixie!" She rolled her eyes at herself, then smirked as her horn lit up. And suddenly the dog now felt a tugging sensation coming from the cloth between her teeth. Of course, dogs were the undisputed tug-of-war contenders next to ponies, so she certainly wasn't giving it up that easily.

Jaws versus magic was a slightly disfavored matchup for her though. Paw by paw, she began to creep closer to the magician.

"That's right, come to Trixie her pretty. And she's talking about her hat!"

As luck would have it, a couple more seconds and she would have won had it not been for the fact that the particular part of the pen Trixie was balanced on doubled as the pen's gate. With a swipe of her paw, the clever border collie undid the latch to open the gate. Trixie yelped in surprise as the wooden poles she precariously perched on violently jerked underneath her legs losing both her concentration and her balance.

*SPLAT*

The mud encrusted mare emerged head first from the muck, warding off the adjacent pig's friendly advances. She glared daggers at the pooch who decided it was time to pick another hide and seek location.

"Trixie will get you yet!" she crowed angrily to the fleeing adversary, pausing only to sock the oinker nuzzling her mud soaked mane in the snout. "She's get you doggie, and her little hat too!"

Octavia gave a few light plucks to her strings as she fine-tuned her instrument.

"You actually brought that with you?" Twilight asked.

"Fate favors the mind that is prepared," the musician quoted. "I should not deviate from my daily practice merely because we are in an unconventional setting."

"Yeah, and who knows, Twilight? Maybe these country folk could to learn to love cello music the way I do once they hear it."

Twilight dialed down her playful smirk as she glanced over at Spike, already lying on his belly awaiting the sweet symphony to come. "No one could love cello music the way you do." And with that she walked off to find some other event to participate in.

The gray mare raised her bow, gave a contemporary bow as per custom before performing, and with a delicate sliding motion of her hoof-

A series of high pitched and fast tempo vibrations filled the air. The rarely startled Octavia nearly jammed her hoof into her cello's strings as she lost grip of her bow. Quick to recover, her finely tuned ears perked and swiveled to trace the source of the unexpected accompaniment. The sound trail led her to a particular clump of trees planted in a semi-circle pattern, giving an obscure wall to the player with the half-ring from her approach.

Peeking around the private grove, the pair saw a sight that made Spike's jaws drop. Sitting on a stump in the middle of the grove was what he could have easily described as a mirror image of his cello playing goddess. A fun-house mirror at least. This mare was lemon chiffon with a navy blue mane. Instead of a bow tie, she sported an orange neckerchief and white brimmed hat. And for the occasion, she had on a worn green blouse with barely an inch of skirt at the waist, it could have easily been mistaken for a shirt. Resting in her hooves as she fervently practiced was an equally worn violin of sorts. Though the wood was weathered and the strings were half frayed on the ends, Octavia could discern with her muse's eye that the player before her still maximized the melodious output of her tried and true partner, not wasting a single chord.

The player suddenly stopped, as if realizing she was being watched, and turned to meet her two observers. "Well hey! Didn't expect an audience until it was time for the square dance!"

"Pardon, I didn't think I wasn't the only one practicing out here." Octavia stepped forward into the clearing to speak properly with the stranger. The first thing the performer did was take notice of the cello she was carrying on her back.

"Hooowee, that's one whopper of a fiddle you've got propped up there behind your shoulders!"

"Oh no, this is a cello. A larger member of the violin family," the cellist corrected.

Her rural counterpart just shrugged. "Eh, po-ta-to, po-tah-to. So, you planning on livenin' this hoedown up too? Sure be a breath of fresh song if'n so. I've been soloing these shindigs for twelve years straight now. It ain't easy bein' the only musical Apple in the orchard, I gotta tell ya."

"Music is always better when you play together," Octavia said. "If you will have me, my bow is yours."

"Neato. What's your name anyways?"

"I am known as Octavia."

"Okie dokie, 'Tavi. You can call me Fiddlesticks. So, whatcha play?"

"Well, I am a bit partial to the works of Johann Stablestian Bronc. Particularly his six suites." To demonstrate, Octavia settled her instrument to playing level, and began to emulate the arpeggios of the prelude.

She was about seven bars in when Fiddlesticks chopped her hooves together to give a cutting motion. "Okay, okay. Hold up for a minute, fancy strings. That's real pretty and all, but I don't think you're going to hit many dance calls here with that lullaby."

"Hey, don't make fun of Miss Octavia's playing! She's a five string savant compared to anything you could play!" Spike aggressively argued.

"Really? Could she play...this?" With that, Fiddlesticks snapped her strings up and began to stroke an allegro of wild Coltic folklore.

As she progressed into an apex of the verse, a second softer voice suddenly began to echo from the ends of her chords. It was slower and diminished, but its beat did not outstand the underlying tone despite the difference. The new notes seemed to wrap around the edges of melody, bolstering it like chanting chorus. With every treble, a subtle bass highlighted its effect. It danced around the lead tune, letting its own sounds be sucked in the whirling vortex of rising crests and multiplying its soul tenfold. The deep strum then paused for a moment to let the first reach an epiphany of sonancy, then came back in faster, fuller force, still lower and softer than the lead, but now coaxing the other to time its cues. Now the first voice started to dance too, it swung in full momentum no longer letting the second voice strengthen it as much, but instead leading it to stand out in the spotlight on equal footing. They stepped together, soft and loud, high and low, but both in tandem, brimming the air with an electric feeling. Faster and faster, they spun and leaped, the excitement continuing to build.

And then abruptly they halted, face-to-face in silence, and bowed. The lone clapping of a dragon was only thing that followed.

Opening her eyes, the fiddler slowly raised her neck alongside her accompaniment, staring in awe. "So perfect...it never felt like...when did...how could have...what did you do?"

Octavia simply smiled. "I listened. I listened to what the music wanted to say, what it wanted to convey, and what it asked for to accomplish it. And then I provided it with what I knew how."

"Well pull my ears and call me a packmule! If you can use those classy threads of yours to spice up my scripts, I'll bet a doughnut and a dingbat I could whip some flavor in those waltzes of yours." Fiddlesticks raised her trusty partner to its mounted position, grinning widely. "What say you give that old timer diddy of yours another shot for me?"

Octavia matched her enthusiasm in a more calm and collected manner. "It would be my pleasure."

"So, I was wondering. Exactly what events led up to you discovering zap apples when you first settled in Ponyville?"

"What's that? What kettle I use to till?" Granny Smith raised a hoof to her ear to try and make out Honey's question. "I actually use a hoe, except when it's a dry spell, then a poker actually works better."

Honey facehoofed while Sherbet finished hemming a corner. Five more square hooves...just five more. The quilt will be done, one of the Apple clan's most crowning achievements. Applejack will surely to be proud of me!

"Rose, Ah'm almost outta thread. Can you hoof me that spool over there?"
"What?"
"Nevermind, Ah'll get it mahself."

She stretched over to grab the extra spindle, her zeal making her unaware that her other hoof holding the cloth steady was shifting. It wasn't until she was past Applesauce that she heard her friend scream.

"Sherbet, your sleeve! It's caught in the needle!"

"Huh?" Snapping back in surprise, Sherbet's hoof ended up tugging her machine to the side, knocking against it's neighbor. "No no no no!"

Applesauce scrunched her hooves at the jarring, overlapping a fold and causing a wrinkle between a red and a green. "Oopsie."

"Aah ahh! Quick! Turn it off!" Sherbet hastily fumbled with Applesauce's machine, only to end up pulling the now sewn corner on her blouse's sleeve against the needle of her own machine. *Riiiip*

"Ack!" Sherbet spun her head in alarm to see several patches bear jagged tears while the last of the old spool spread the last of its contents over it in a squiggly pattern, making a collage of imperfect triangles and trapezoids. In a panic, Sherbet jerked at the quilt to bring it out from under the needle, falling over as it gave away.

As she fell, the still sewn corner tugged at the rest of the sheet, pulling cloth from all the other other mares' sewing contraptions. One mismatched threading now gave way to a fourfold increase. Honey immediately slapped the off switches as the elders abandoned their stations for the moment to aid the distressed mare under the tarp.

As Granny finally manged to undo the stitching on Sherbet's clothing, she looked upon the disfigured blanket before her in horror.

"No...no, it's a mess! Ah ruined it!"

"There there," Granny patted her hoof. "It ain't ruined. Just a 'nother hiccup is all. Believe me, Ah've seen worse happen to this quilt. It cain be fixed."

"But you'll never finish it now! It'll take the 'hole reunion just ta get rid of all the bad patches! And it's mah fault."

"Shhshhshhhhh..." Granny hushed. "Sweeten that sour face of yers. Ah'm not mad, and neither are the girls, right?"

Apple Rose and Applesauce mmmhmm'd and nodded gently. "We'll just pick up again next reunion."

Sherbet was still uneasily. "But Applejack-"

"Will understand, trust me. It's not the end o' the world. And believe me if she so much frowns at you for this, you kin bet Ah'm going ta be givin' her a lesson on manners all the way 'til next Winter-Wrap-Up!" She then prodded her distraught daughter into an upright position with a smile only age could help master. "Now why dont'cha you head on over and grab a fritter to cheer ya up while the rest of us ladies clean this mess up?"

Sherbet stood up, still feeling completely guilty. "A-are ya sure?"

"Go on," encouraged Apple Rose. "Have some fun with the other young'uns. You don't deserve ta spend your whole time mopin' around here when you could be livin' it up with the folks."

Honey elbowed Sherbet softly. "It's okay. I'll stay here and help clean up," she whispered to her. "Why don't you take their advice and make a few fritters to calm yourself?"

Sherbet's head was soon deep in thought, and within moments, her earnest smile came back. "Yeah, fritter making. Ah'll make up for this!"

She dashed off for the cooking station. She was going to work extra hard to make sure that ran smoothly.

"Oh, and save one for me!" Honey called out.

Winona happily frolicked around the front porch. This was the longest any one pony ever bothered to play with her! That blue unicorn must really like her. What new surprise did she have for her next?

A series of whirs and buzzes answered her from a distance. Walking out back toward the source of the sound, the energetic border collie approached the family tool shed. A distinct sound of sawing, pounding, and even jackhammering could be made out from behind the closed doors.

Then all of a sudden, everything was silent. Winona cocked her head curiously as she pawed the door. Wait, was that purring she was hearing? Was there a cat inside trespassing? Winona backed up to give a growl of warning. If this was that spoiled persian from that pretty building in town, she wasn't welcome back until she admitted she was the one who took her favorite play rag, lost it, and owed her a new one!

She backed up just in time for the doors to burst open, and zooming out came not a cat, but a large wagon-like contraption that was apparently made from a spare cart, a snow plow, several metal shingles, and an old mana battery. Ponying the contraption over a set of levers that guided six appendages made from rakes, hoes, brooms, and baskets, was her favorite playmate at the reunion.

"Playtime is over you kleptomaniac pooch! Now know the full wrath of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

With a roar from the engine, the great and powerful Catch Thieving Dog and make her Pay Mark 1 rushed at said dog with alarming speed. Winona took to her heels as Trixie laughed manically after her. The arms swept at the canine, trying to catch her in their snares. Up and down the open fields they went, earth and stone being upturned underneath the gardening behemoth, the wanton upheaval ironically making the soil plowed and ready to plant.

Try as she might, Winona couldn't lose the mare this time. Her contraption was steadily closing in on her. The plow was barely touching the tip of her tail.

"Let this be a lesson to you, mess with the unicorn, get the ho-urk!"

Trixie's victory gloat was rudely interrupted as she and Winona ran headfirst into a large haystack. The mighty mound of straw engulfed the dog, the mare, and her entire vehicle, making it impossible to see. Riding blind, the mobile haystack swerved uncontrollably in erratic circles, jumps and bumps, and zig-zags. It dinged against the orchard trees like a pinball machine, hitting the acres' gate flippers.

As the final bump sent it rocketing forth, the branches caught hold of the hay and lifted the veil from Trixie's vision. She shook her head to regain her senses, then dusted a few lingering strands off her nose.

"Now then, as Trixie was saying-"

*bark bark*

Trixie's head swiveled around to look behind her. There, safely in the distance behind her machine of doggie doom, was Winona, poking her head out of the top of the haystack, hat still in mouth. Trixie growled in frustration before realizing another fact, she had stopped moving.

Glancing down, she discovered that in the chaos of the hay covered driving, her contraption had throttled up the highest incline in the fields...that had a sheer cliff of at least a hundred feet of height on the other side.

And she had just driven off it.

"I hate that dog..." Trixie empathized in the first pony. And then gravity finally caught up.

*Weeeeeeeeeeee*
*CRASH*

Big Macintosh fished another dozen globs of doughy, fruity confection from the fryer. He cantered over to the serving table, where Mosely was stacking plates. The orange stallion set a nice big one aside for the strong and silent farmhoof to set his batch down. With that latest bunch done, they now had roughly forty fritters at their table, ready to serve to everyone else. As they inspected their work, Big Mac sniffed the heavenly cinnamon aroma coming from the treats. Mosely gave a lick of the lips. The two shared a knowing look, then eyed the area around them to see if anypony was looking. Within a few minutes, the table's contents were back to zero and two pairs of cheeks were bulging at the edges of the lips with fried apple goodness.

Smiling through the mouthfuls, Mosely gave a look to Macintosh that said it all. Not a word of this to anypony.
Big Macintosh's was the same. Eeyup.

Returning their gaze to the table, they suddenly found one more pair of eyes looking to it. Particularly at the now empty plates that had taken over an hour to fill.

Applejack's face told an entirely different story. Boys.....
Mosely's eyes darted to his red partner in crime. He ate more!
Macintosh's chew swished from one cheek to the other, looking down at his orange accomplice. Eeynope!

And they were off. The orange mare huffed at the fleeing gluttons, but didn't give chase. Instead she made her way to tent where three mares in aprons were packing the apple slices into the kneaded dough.

"This is fun!" Blossomforth giggled. She stretched one particular ball into a bowl-like shape. "Hey watch this. I'm going to break the world record for apples stuffed into a fritter!"

The pale green mare with red hair next to shared a tired laugh. "Don't let Bushel overhear that. He's the current title holder!" she joked before turning to her maple friend. "So, where were we Leaves? Ah, yes. You've got eight now, dont'cha?"

"Oh, sure do," the mare replied. "Tell you what Dumpling, my Apple Tart may just be a baby, but he is a hoot!"

"Havin' fun?" Applejack asked the trio as a canary yellow stallion in a brown vest and fedora passed her with a plate full of unbaked pastries.

"Sure are!" the pony named Apple Leaves lazily answered.

"Better pick up the pace on those fritters though, huh?" Applejack elbowed Apple Dumpling and pulled a bowl of apple slices to her. "Roll, fold, crimp, slide to the left. Roll fold crimp slide to the left. Rollfoldcrimpslidetotheleft."

The nearby mares watched her with bewilderment has the farmer seemed to demonstrate her method like she was a machine. She then caught Apple Leaves completely off guard when she shoved a mound of dough in her hooves. "Now you try!"

She fussed with the dough as best she could, rolled it up, then set it aside.

"That's it!" Applejack called back as she was already on her way to another section of the reunion. "Gotta keep this assembly line movin', gals! We want every Apple here to get a chance to taste the best darn fritters in Equestria!"

Blossomforth seemed a bit perplexed. "Um, wasn't the fun to this making fritters thing making the fritters? Why do we want to rush fun?"

"You heard mah niece!" Sherbet squeezed a spot into the fritter folding station. "We gotta make sure sure we have enough for everyone here! Won't be fun if somepony goes without, comeon!" And with that, she began to fold fritters faster than even Applejack had demonstrated. "Roll, fold, crimp, slide to the left. Roll, fold, crimp, slide to the left..."

She then snagged the boat shaped dough filled with apple bits left of Blossomforth's hooves, much to her dismay. "Hey! I was still working on that!"

"Ya shouldn't play with yer food, Blossom. And you shouldn't overstuff the fritters neither. We only got so much to go around. Roll, fold, crimp, slide to the left. Roll, fold, crimp, slide to the left..."

Blossomforth wasn't sure of it, but it seemed like the little bags around everypony's eyes had grown a little darker.