Apple from a Seed

Steam billowed from the tracks as Rarity stepped off onto the train platform on the outskirts of Appleloosa. Even under the shade provided by the awning overhead, the heat was baking deep into her coat through the breezy sky blue sundress she’d decided to wear, making it cling to her in uncomfortable places. It made her sick to her stomach to even consider it, but she might even be sweating!

As she lowered her carry-on hoofbag to the floor in the grip of her azure magic, she withdrew an ornate paper fan she’d bought in Canterlot a few years back and began idly flapping it to send a pleasant breeze across her face. They’d been in Appleloosa for less than five minutes and she could already feel her makeup starting to run. She should have known to wear the sweat-resistant brands she used for working out but they just didn’t have the same shine her regular ones from the Ponyville Day Spa did. Wherever Aloe and Lotus bought them Rarity didn’t know, but at the prices they charged it was a steal!

She had made it one of her life’s missions to find out where they bought their products, yet every time she asked either of the sisters, they’d simply smile a knowing little smile and assure her it was a family secret. Perhaps they had family back home in Stalliongrad that produced it? Or maybe a family friend that they imported from? Or even perhaps–

A sudden loud thud next to her brought her back to reality. Applejack was standing there, her brow sweating profusely as she leaned against a large trunk standing upright on its side. She wore a distinctly unamused frown on her face that caused her brow to wrinkle and the corner of her mouth to twist downward adorably.

“Ya’know, Rares, Appleloosa ain’t changed since the last time we were here. There’s still a whole lotta dirt and dust; you’re gonna get your clothes all mussed up again,” she groused, nudging the trunk with her elbow. It was so heavy it didn’t even budge.

“Give me some credit, Darling!” Rarity sang, batting her eyelashes coquettishly, causing Applejack’s hardened frown to falter. “Twilight taught me a spell that should keep all my wonderful ensembles sparkling like new! I’ve already taken the liberty of protecting everything I brought with me. It should last all weekend as well.”

Applejack recovered from Rarity’s wiles quickly enough, used to them as she was. “That’s another thing. We’re only gonna be here two days! Did ya’ have to pack enough to last you a month?”

Rarity sighed, lamenting her marefriend’s lack of foresight. “Darling, please! One must never be unprepared. What if the protection spell fails and I need to change into something else? Or what if I need to wear something to match a theme? A lady must look her best in every situation!”

“Rares. Nopony in this town wears clothes,” Applejack groused, waving a hoof around them. Rarity didn’t need to look around to know that every pony out and about on their day wore little. Perhaps there was a hat here or a vest there; all for the more utilitarian purpose of blocking out the sun or dirt than for fashion’s sake. It wasn’t Canterlot, after all.

Rarity sniffed, turning her nose up snootily. “Doesn’t mean that I can’t.”

“Whatever you say, Rares,” Applejack grumbled, rolling her eyes as she bit the trunk’s extendable handle and returned it to its wheels. Pausing to settle her own saddlebags more comfortably on her back, she began leading the way off the station. Realizing her pouting was being ignored, Rarity picked up her hoofbag and trotted to catch up. A wisp of her magic against the back of the trunk lightened the load Applejack was pulling and, both smiling, they shared a nuzzle.

Until a levitating paper fan appeared in front of Applejack’s face. She wanted to roll her eyes again until she felt a refreshing breeze across her face. Grudgingly, she allowed Rarity to fan them both.

As they made their way through town, Rarity couldn’t help but think that Applejack had been mistaken when she said the town hadn’t changed over the years. A decade ago, when the town was first being founded, it had been nothing but sand and tumbleweeds as far as the eye could see. Now, thanks to agricultural endeavors and generous irrigation, flora had flourished, turning the rundown western town into a lush country paradise. It was practically unrecognizable.

But despite the physical changes, the ponies that lived there were certainly the same. Every semi-familiar face, and even most unfamiliar ones, offered welcoming smiles and good tidings as they passed. Ever socially-conscious, Rarity couldn’t help but respond in kind to each one.

As they passed the more bustling part of Appleloosa, if one could even call it that, the sweet scent of fresh apples began to pervade the air and as they reached the far outskirts, an entire orchard sprawled across the horizon. Hundreds of trees rolled over the hills, blending together to create an ocean of green, dotted here and there by yellows and reds like flecks of paint flicked off the tip of some grand artist’s brush. Above, the morning sun made the sky burn gold.

Rarity couldn’t help but notice a new light in Applejack’s eyes and a vigor in her step that hadn’t been present only moments before.

Braeburn’s old green ranch house was thankfully on the closest side of the orchard, leaving the last leg of their walk mercifully short. Though the building itself retained many of the Apple Family standards –such as earthy, natural colors and, of course, apples painted everywhere– several additions had been made over the years to accommodate its newest resident. Most notably was the series of rings hovering in the air above the backyard, each fashioned out of fluffy white cloud.

As Applejack attempted to haul the trunk up the much-too-small stairs, Rarity stepped past her to ring the doorbell with her magic.

“The doorbell? Really, Rares?” Applejack asked from behind her. With an amused sigh, she brusquely threw open the door and barged on inside. “Knock, knock!” she called out to the empty living room. Shaking her head at her partner’s impropriety, Rarity followed suit regardless.

Throughout her life, whispered amongst the more unsavory circles she found herself socializing with, Rarity had heard certain things about stallions like Braeburn. Many of these things she found simply misguided and many others she found blatantly ridiculous, such as their supposed predilection for interior design. For, she thought, one need look no further than Braeburn’s living room to see that orientation does not also bestow any sense of composition or theme.

The living room had, in its origins, been fashioned with Apple Family charm and tempered with the coarse sensibilities of a frontier town. Simple wood flooring with woven wool rugs interspersed for the slightest bit of comfort, all hoofmade by the ponies of town, of course. There was little throughout the house that did not serve some functional purpose, a few picture frames in the hall being the most prominent, though the majority of them had the blue and white swirling designs typical of Cloudsdale stylings. A small collection of cowpony hats and lassos hung from hooks upon the wall, and upon Rarity’s first visit she had mistaken them for decoration. After commenting on the notion, however, Braeburn and Applejack were quick to assure her that they were very much used and not just for show, much to their amusement.

After wheeling the trunk just far enough into the room so that it wouldn’t block the door, Applejack flopped down onto the austere wooden couch, using a fluffy white throw pillow to brace her back. The instant she leaned back upon it, she let out a long, relieved groan.

“I don’t know what this is, but it’s nice…” she mumbled blissfully.

Intrigued, Rarity stepped closer to the couch and found another one. It was spherical and made of a plain white fabric. It was cute in a simple way, but there didn’t seem to be anything particularly special about it.

That was, until she poked it with a hoof. It was surprisingly cool to the touch, as though it had been sitting in the freezer for a few hours.

“Nifty, isn’t it?” asked a deep voice behind her.

She let out a surprised squeak as she whirled around to face a handsome pegasus stallion. He was using a wing to run a towel through his dark blue mane, which was slicked with sweat against his brow. Though she was happy to see him, sneaking up behind her, combined with the unmistakable scent of sweaty stallion beginning to fill the room, made her nose wrinkle.

“Hello, Soarin’. Wonderful to see you,” she said. She hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and bravely offering a foreleg for a hug. Instead of accepting, Soarin’ just laughed and waved her off.

“I know I’m a mess, Rarity. Let me take a shower first and then you can hug me, alright?”

She immediately let out a relieved breath. “Oh thank you, darling!”

“Well, I ain’t shy! C’mere, Sugarcube!” Applejack said, standing from the couch and pulling him into a hug that squeezed the breath out of him. “Little sweat never hurt nopony!” She cracked a sly grin over her shoulder. “’Course, she don’t complain when she comes over after I’ve been workin’ all day.”

Rarity gasped. “Applejack! That is hardly appropriate given present company!”

If anything, Applejack’s grin only widened at her mortified tone. “Why not? We’re all adults here, ain’t we? ‘Sides, you think he don’t know that you like to…” –she turned to Soarin’– “how do you pegasi put it? ‘Ruffle my feathers?’”

“Applejack…” Rarity warned, her tone burning with murderous intent. Soarin’ subtly tried to back away as Applejack burst into a fit of laughter but her strong foreleg wrapped around his shoulders made it impossible.

Just before Rarity could have a conniption, a series of hoofsteps sounded from the other room. A corn-yellow earth pony stallion poked his head through the door, his face lighting up as his eyes fell on the scene.

“AJ, Rarity! I thought I heard you two!” he cried as he galloped in and joined Applejack and Soarin’ in their hug. “How you two been? Didja have a nice ride up? No problems or nothin’?”

“Nah, it was uneventful; same as usual,” Applejack assured him as they pulled apart. “An’ we’ve been doing just fine. Farm’s running smoothly for once; almost enough to make me think something’s just waitin’ to go wrong. I gotta good feeling, though. I think this year’s gonna be a good harvest.”

“No kiddin’? It’s been the same over this way!” Braeburn said, his good cheer proving infectious as it began to force smiles onto all their faces. Even Rarity’s; her lingering displeasure over Applejack’s teasing starting to fade.

Braeburn and Applejack launched into conversation about how their respective farms were doing and their plans for the coming harvest season, leaving Soarin’ and Rarity alone in the dust. Chuckling to himself, Soarin’ turned to her.

“Well, they’re going to be at it for a while. Let me get your trunk and then I’ll go take a shower. Make yourself at home, Rarity. What’s ours is yours,” he said.

“Ever the gentlecolt! Thank you very much, darling.”

After a light lunch spent catching up with each other, Applejack and Braeburn went to tour around the orchard. Rarity was sure that as soon as they reached the first tree Applejack would be unable to resist offering to help out and the two would be busy for the rest of the afternoon. It left Rarity and Soarin’ alone, and they spent the time in the backyard, chatting over iced lemonade at a shaded patio table. By the time the sun was starting to set over the horizon Braeburn and Applejack finally made it back and they left to share a bath while Rarity and Soarin’ began preparing dinner.

As they all sat down at the small kitchen table with steaming plates of mashed potatoes with garlic, honeyed carrots and bowls of salads with an assortment of fruits, an uneasy silence fell over them. It seemed through some unspoken cue they all knew it was time. Yet at the same time, nopony wanted to be the first to start.

“Is the, uh… food good?” Braeburn asked hopefully, looking at everypony while he awkwardly pushed the carrots on his plate around with his fork. “I hope you aren’t, umm… underwhelmed, Rarity.”

“Whyever would I be underwhelmed?” she asked, genuinely confused.

“W-well, down home cooking isn’t exactly five-star cuisine or nothin’.”

Soarin’ gave him a deadpan glance. “Braeby, you do realize she helped cook this, right?”

“I just want to make sure she’s comfortable while they stay here!” Braeburn groused, exasperated. Under his breath he grumbled, “And don’t call me that.”

Rarity grinned mischievously as she raised her fork to her mouth. “Braeburn, darling, are you trying to say that I’m picky?”

He bolted upright, his eyes wide as saucers. “Of course not! I just thought that a mare as… cultured as you is probably used to the type of food you’d get in Canterlot’s fanciest restaurants! Probably makes our food seem pretty boring in comparison…”

“Well, thanks, dear,” Soarin’ groused. “If my cooking’s so bad then you can do it next time!”

“Now, Soar, you know that’s not what I meant! I just– urk!” he was cut off as Soarin’ shoved his fork, carrying a heaping helping of mashed potatoes, into his mouth.

As Braeburn fell into a put-off silence to chew, the rest shared a round of laughter at his expense.

Calming down, Applejack wiped an imaginary tear from her eye. “As much as I like us all teasing my cousin, I think it’s time we got down to business and talk about things.”

Her suggestion silenced the room. You could have heard a pin drop as everypony took in turns to stare at their plates, hardly daring to look up at each other for more than a second. Only Applejack was able to bear the awkward weight hanging heavy in the air.

She huffed when it became clear no one wanted to be the first to speak up. “Oh come on, y’all. There ain’t no point in drawing things out and fretting about it all weekend. We might as well just get it out of the way, right?”

“You know what, you’re right,” Soarin’ suddenly said, looking up from his plate. “I’ve never been one for beating around the bush and I don’t want to start now. I take it you’ve thought things over?”

“We have, but uh… We weren’t really able to come to a decision yet…” Applejack said, sadly looking at the table.

“It’s just a lot to ask!” Rarity cut in suddenly, unable to stop herself. “It’s not like you want her to lend you some money. Carrying a foal takes eleven months! And countless doctor visits! Not to mention… money for those visits!”

“If it’s money you’re worried about, we’re prepared to pay for all your medical expenses, of course!” Braeburn said hopefully. He glanced at Soarin’ for support and at the same time their hooves clasped on the table. “And Soarin’ has connections through the Wonderbolts! He can get you in to see any doctor you want. We want nothing but the best for the both of you and the foal!”

“But,” Soarin’ cut in gently, giving Braeburn a meaningful look, “if you have a doctor you prefer in Ponyville, we’ll be fine with that, too. The important thing is we want you both to feel comfortable doing this. Having you as our surrogate isn’t our only option and we don’t want either of you doing something you aren’t okay with.”

“Of course,” Braeburn said, nodding emphatically.

“It ain’t just about that,” Applejack said. “Rares’s just worried.”

“Of course she is,” Soarin’ said, drawing everypony’s attention. He shrugged under their scrutiny. “Hormonal imbalances, high blood pressure, preeclampsia, miscarriage… There are a lot things that can go wrong. She has every right to worry about your health, AJ.”

“You’ve done your research,” Rarity prompted.

He nodded. “Brae and I went to talk to a doctor a few weeks ago. We wanted to know exactly what we were asking of you. And we know it’s a lot. Which is why neither of us would blame you if you didn’t want to do it.”

“I want to help you both, but…” Applejack said morosely, her eyes flicking in Rarity’s direction.

“But I’m stopping you, right?” Rarity asked.

“No, Rares. You know I don’t think of it like that. I’m not about to go and do something like this if we ain’t both on-board!”

Before Rarity could open her mouth to retort, Braeburn beat her to it. “Please don’t fight. W-we didn’t wanna cause nothing like this.” The regret in his tone was enough to give Rarity pause. “This isn’t worth gettin’ you two in a tizzy. There are other options for us.”

“Now, let’s not jump to any hasty decisions,” Soarin’ offered. “Nopony has to decide anything tonight. We have all the time in the world for this, so why don’t you two take your time to talk things out. We’ll still be here when you’re ready. For now, though, why don’t we just finish dinner?”

Though she knew it was just an attempt to dissuade an argument, Rarity couldn’t bring herself to start things again. So instead she returned her attention to her plate and only the sounds of clinking forks broke the silence pervading the room.

When they had all finished, Braeburn wordlessly began collecting their dishes and taking them to the sink to clean. Applejack eagerly hopped out of her seat to help and Rarity couldn’t help but feel it was so they wouldn’t have to talk. Sniffing primly, she stood from her seat.

“I’m going to step outside for a moment. Get some fresh air,” she said to nopony in particular. Without waiting for a reply she turned on her hoof and left the room.

As she stepped out onto the porch, the cool evening air embraced her, enough to make her coat feel alight without making her shiver. The sun had mostly set behind the wall of trees before her, leaving only a few scattered rays to keep the night from truly setting in. There was a swing suspended to her right and she sat glumly upon it, leaning her head against the chain it hung from.

A pathetic sigh escaped her as she watched the sun continue on its lonely path. Despite the fact that it wasn’t cold, she almost wished she had brought a jacket.

Or a sweater.

Or a fashionable cardigan. She looked quite fabulous in the blue and purple one currently residing in her closet back in Ponyville.

Anything that could have dulled the cold in her stomach.

“What am I doing…?” she whispered.

“Sitting on a swing?” an unexpected voice answered.

She nearly jumped out of her seat as Soarin’ seemed to materialize next to her. She hadn’t even heard the door open.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” he said chuckling. “I just wanted to check on you. Make sure you were okay out here.”

Rarity looked away from him, unable to meet his eyes. “Y-yes, I’m fine. Just getting some air like I said.”

Either not noticing her dismissal or outright ignoring it, Soarin’ nodded flippantly. “Yeah, I hear that. I need to get out and feel the wind through my feathers every now and then. Dunno how you unicorns and earth ponies can stand being stuck on the ground all the time.”

Something about his complete lack of concern made her smirk despite herself. “I know the feeling. I’d be lost without my magic.”

Soarin’ let out a bark-like laugh. “And here Braeby’s always telling me he feels sorry for me!” He put on an exaggerated accent that Rarity assumed was supposed to mimic Braeburn’s drawl. “’Soar, you jus’ don’t get it! You spend so much time up in them clouds you cain’t even feel the earth ‘neath yer hooves!’”

That actually got Rarity to laugh in kind, though she tried to hide it behind a hoof. “Applejack tells me that I hold my horn so high in the air my hooves don’t touch the ground anymore!”

“Earth ponies, am I right?” Soarin’ said, shrugging. “Hey, you mind if I sit with you for a while? I brought tea!” He gestured with his chin to a plate on his back holding two steaming cups.

She nodded and scooted over more for show than necessity as he removed the plate from his back and sat it on the porch’s railing. Carefully, he picked up one of the cups between both hooves and made to pass it to Rarity but, grinning, she used her magic to pick up the other cup. Chuckling, he shrugged and sat down next to her.

Rarity blew gently across the surface of her tea, breathing in the scent of jasmine and smiling to herself. “I didn’t take you for the type to enjoy tea.”

“Misty got me into it a while ago. One of her husbands owns a tea shop back in Cloudsdale,” he said, looking like he was meditating over his cup. “She used to bring in this special blend he makes. I have no idea what all was in it, and she’d never tell, but it was the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”

“Back in Ponyville, there’s this zebra mare that lives out in the woods near town. Her name’s Zecora; she’s a good friend of ours. She grows her own tea herbs. Her blends are simply divine. I’ll have to introduce you next time you visit.”

Soarin’ chuckled softly. “It’ll probably be the next family reunion before we can make it over there. Brae can’t leave his babies unattended,” he said, gesturing to the sea of trees before them.

“Applejack is exactly the same way! Did you know she actually has to go around to particular trees, each one she’s named, I should mention, and tell them goodbye? It’s like some enormous ordeal every time we go anywhere. At least she’s gotten better over the years. It was much worse back before Apple Bloom started helping more around the farm.”

“Brae has like… twenty employees to help him keep this place running nowadays and it’s like he thinks everything will fall apart if he spends more than five minutes away. You know how hard it is to get him just to spend just one weekend away whenever I have a show?”

“Probably about as hard as it is to get Applejack to go to any fashion show I’m not participating in,” Rarity gushed. “I realize she only goes to support me. And so watching other designers showing off would just bore her to tears, but…” She trailed off as it dawned on her she didn’t even know what she wanted to say.

“But you wished you had a little more in common?” Soarin’ offered.

“Sometimes, I suppose,” she said thoughtfully. “It would be nice if we enjoyed more of the same things… We could go to plays or concerts more often, or… I don’t know, maybe I could do more around the farm? You know, I’ve thought about starting a flower garden outside the Boutique. I thought it could help me understand her more, you know?”

“I could see you with a giant flowery sunhat and like, silk gardening gloves out in your backyard digging through the dirt.” The thought was apparently funny enough he nearly had to sit his cup down because his shoulders were shaking.

Amused but feigning affront, she stuck her nose in the air dramatically. “Please! Even I’m not that bad, darling. I may appreciate looking as fabulous as possible, but Applejack has taught me the benefits of being practical. I would probably select a nice pair of cotton canvas gloves instead. Just as fashionable yet much more durable!” She smirked sideways at him. “Though the hat does sound wonderful!”

“You want a hat?” Soarin’ asked, gesturing back towards the house with a wing. “Brae’s got an entire closet filled with them. Only problem is they’re all the same kind. I mean it, design, color, style… They’re all identical.”

“Ha! Applejack has exactly the same! What is it with these Apples and their hats?”

Soarin’ laughed quietly as he looked far into the horizon. Though he was still smiling, a note of introspection entered his voice. “How’d a couple of ponies like us end up with ponies like Brae and AJ?”

A thought dawned on Rarity. “You know, Applejack never told me how you and Braeburn met. Do you mind if I ask how a Wonderbolt met the owner of an apple orchard in a town like this?”

Applejack barely even registered the heat of the water her hooves were submerged in as she rinsed a plate absent-mindedly. The coarse sponge strapped around her hoof seemed to work of its own accord, scrubbing little circles onto a plate that had long been cleaned. A sigh escaped her lips as she caught sight of the sky outside through the small window before her; the setting sun had painted the evening a deep royal purple.

And so it was with a startled gasp that she was snapped out of her thoughts as something collided with her flank. She looked down to see a familiar cutie mark.

“Bit for your thoughts?” Braeburn asked. He was half a leg deep in the sink next to her, a dishcloth wrapped around his hoof as he dried the last plate Applejack had passed his way. It seemed like they’d barely started and yet already she was on the last dish.

She shrugged, unsure what to say to him. “Nothin’, really.”

“AJ, you’re just as bad a’ liar now as you were when you were five and telling me you didn’t know how my hoofball got popped.”

Applejack nearly dropped her plate in her haste to glare at her cousin. “That was over twenty years ago, Brae! Are you never gonna let me live that down?!”

He stopped what he was doing to raise an eyebrow at her. “You popped a hoofball just by sittin’ on it, AJ.”

Her face burning, she scowled and roughly shoved the last plate into his side of the sink for drying to the sound of his laughter. She tugged the sponge off her hoof and sat it on the counter while pulling the plug from the sink to let it drain. Without anything else to do, she propped her head up on a hoof and stared out the window.

“C’mon, talk to me, AJ,” Braeburn whispered, like he was afraid of being overheard. “Keeping it all bottled up ain’t gonna do you no good.”

Applejack couldn’t help a perturbed sigh. Braeburn always was too nosy for his own good. “Just don’t know what to do. I wanna do what’s right, but… I’m not sure I know what that is right now.”

“What’s right is standing by the one you love,” Braeburn said simply without looking up from his work.

“At the cost of lettin’ down your family?” Applejack countered.

Rarity watched Soarin’ recline into the swing, getting a little more comfortable as he mulled over her question. “How we met, huh? The high-flying Wonderbolt and the frontier-hardened cowpony… It does sound like it’d be quite the story, doesn’t it? Well, the truth is it’s actually pretty simple.”

“Let me guess,” Rarity interjected. “Braeburn was a fan that approached you after a show? You were stricken by his rustic charm and took him out to dinner? Or no, I’m thinking something more informal. A nightclub, perhaps? Or a bar?”

Soarin’ nodded, looking impressed. “Wow, Rarity, you’re pretty good at this. You got it all right! Except for what you got wrong, of course.”

Rarity huffed impatiently. “Well, fine! Have your laugh and tell me how it really happened, then.”

“Aww, and here I wanted you to keep guessing!” Soarin’ began to tease until Rarity turned her death glare on him. “Fine, fine… You were partially right. We did go to a bar the first time we met, but he wasn’t a fan. Hell, he didn’t even know my name!”

“Really?” Rarity asked, intrigued. “I’ll admit I’ve never exactly been, uh… the biggest fan of the Wonderbolts, but I at least knew your names. Though, of course, that might be Rainbow Dash’s doing… She used to talk about you non-stop.” She paused to tap her chin with a hoof thoughtfully. “But then how did you meet?”

Soarin’ took a long sip of his tea before answering. “I was taking a train from Canterlot to Las Pegasus for a show when we had to make an emergency stop here in Appleloosa. Turns out some sheep had decided to camp on the rails and refused to move.” He laughed at the memory. “Anyway, I’d never been here before and I was going to be stuck for a while at least so I thought I’d see what Appleloosa had to offer. I managed to find our only bar: Old Bailey’s and, thinking a drink sounded good right about then, I went inside.

“Wouldn’t you know, I was there less than half an hour before the doors opened and this handsome little cowpony strolled in. He sat himself at the opposite end of the bar from me and started chatting up the bartender while he whittled away at a whiskey.”

He leaned closer to Rarity and flashed her a knowing wink. “Between you and me? Just one look at that face: those green eyes, that long, flowing mane, that little smile of his? I was hooked.”

“Awww!” Rarity gushed, swooning at the idea. “Love at first sight? How romantic!”

Soarin’ jerked back upright. “No, nothing like that! I just wanted to sleep with him!”

It felt like she’d been slapped in the face. She was about to reprimand him when she saw he was grinning and she settled for rolling her eyes instead.

“Sorry, but it really wasn’t love at first sight or anything like that,” he said, stilling smiling. “I just thought he was cute and wanted to spend some time with him. Maybe have some fun. I bought him a round and then he bought me one and… I don’t know. We were talking one minute and then the next he was taking me back to his house. Little did I know I’d one day call it my own, too.”

He fell silent as he stared into his tea cup with a small smile on his face. Rarity could swear she felt her heart melting a little at the sight.

“Anyway, I ended up deciding to take a later train so that I could spend the whole weekend here!” Suddenly he laughed aloud. “Even then I still nearly missed it!”

Rarity coughed behind her hoof to hide her discomfort. “Braeburn must be, erm… quite the lover,” she tried to say diplomatically.

Realization dawned across his features. “Sorry if that was too much information,” Soarin’ said, scratching the back of his head with a wingtip abashedly.

“No bother, darling. So it was just a fling at first?”

“Yeah. It was fun and we both liked each other so we decided I’d swing by whenever I was in the area. Then I started stopping by when I was on break between tours… and then I was coming by every weekend. I don’t really know where it changed, but I know the first moment I knew I wanted to be with him.”

“Oh? When was that?”

“AJ, you aren’t going to be letting me down,” Braeburn said, clearly stressed. Sighing and hanging his head, he tossed the dishcloth down and took a step to the side until they were shoulder-to-shoulder. Reluctantly, Applejack leaned against him and, after a moment, he against her.

“Do you remember that Hearth’s Warming years and years ago when we were little? I think you were about eight or nine?” he asked, his voice suddenly growing quiet and wistful.

Applejack smiled when she remembered the day in question. “Yeah, I think I know the one. We’d found where Ma and Pa hid the presents that year and sneaked a peek at them. But I tore the paper on one and Pa found out. When they called us into the living room and they was just sitting there with Granny Smith frowning like that? I thought we were goners!”

“Do you know why I told them I did it?” he asked.

“’Cuz you were older and you felt responsible. I would’ve done the same had it been me and Apple Bloom!” she said, not following.

“Well, yes, that’s true,” he conceded, nodding. “But it’s also because I love you and I didn’t want you to get in trouble.” He sighed. “The point is, AJ, that I love you. You and Mac were my best friends back in those days. Hay, you were practically my brother and sister! I woulda done anything for either of you. And that’s still true today.”

Applejack let out a delighted awwww! as she tousled his long mane. “I know you do, Brae! And I love you, too.” She pulled him into a hug, squeezing him for all she was worth and getting just as much in return.

“Thanks, AJ,” he said gently over her shoulder. Eventually they had their fill and pulled away, though they both still wore dopey smiles that only made them feel even better inside. After finding his voice, he continued. “The reason I bring all that up is so that you know I care about you. And I care about Rarity, too. That’s why I want you to forget about the whole surrogacy thing.”

“What?” Applejack asked, stunned. “But what about starting a family with Soarin’? If I don’t do it, how can you have a foal related to the both of you?”

He shrugged as his gaze turned away from her and out the window again. “It ain’t that important. Sure, it was a nice idea, but it isn’t worth you and Rarity fighting over. There are other options for us, AJ! We can try to find another surrogate; there’s an entire registry for it that we can sign up for. Or we could adopt. There are plenty of foals out there that need a home. So don’t you worry about us, AJ. We’ll be fine.”

He finally turned back to her, smiling hopefully. And though all of his words had been genuine to Applejack’s ears, none of them had made her feel any better.

“It just don’t feel right…” she mumbled towards her hooves.

“I think it was about two years after we first met,” Soarin’ said, standing up and sitting his now-empty cup on the porch railing. He walked past Rarity to the corner where he pointed out to a tree that sat a little apart from the rest. It was nestled close to the house and several plump red apples hung heavy from its branches. “I had just gotten done with a two-month tour through the Griffin Kingdom and I was on the first train headed this way. When I got here, though, Braeburn had this little sapling waiting for me. ’I’d like you to help me plant this,’ he’d said. Now, I’d never planted a tree before, but I figured how hard could it be?”

“Oh no!” Rarity said dramatically. “It’s not good to tempt fate, you know!”

“Tell me about it!” Soarin’ said as he rolled his eyes. “To make a long story short I somehow ended up coated in mud while he’d barely broken a sweat! But…” –his voice grew soft and tender– “we had a newly-planted sapling. Then he tells me he picked that one because it was my favorite: honeycrisp. Perfect for eating raw, he said, so that I could just grab one for a snack while I was doing my flight practices. And it was close to the house so that I wouldn’t have to go far to grab one while I was staying here.” He smiled fondly as he stared at the tree. “It would be our tree. One we grew and took care of together. He told me I’d have to stop by more often so that I could help him with it.”

Rarity gasped as she put two and two together. She could feel her eyes misting as she put a hoof over her mouth. A memory jumped to mind. Ponvyille Park caught in a sudden spring shower. The raindrops pounding a tiny drumroll on a metal gazebo roof. Manes slicked onto wet coats. Breath fogging in the chilly air.

A first kiss she’d never forget.

Unaware of what she was feeling, Soarin’ continued. “It just kinda hit me then, you know? The whole time I’d been coming to see this little house in this dusty little town as home. And there was nowhere I’d rather have been than here.”

Rarity swallowed the lump in her throat as he finished. “Th-that’s so very romantic. You both are incredibly lucky to have each other.”

He shrugged. “I’ve been a lot of places. Toured to every major city in pretty much every country of the world. I’ve met a lot of ponies. Lotta non-ponies, too. I wouldn’t trade Brae for any number of them.”

He slowly returned to the swing to sit next to her once again. “But I don’t think I’m any luckier than you and AJ are. You two love each other a lot; I can tell.”

It was Rarity’s turn to smile fondly. “More than I ever thought possible.” The image of Applejack’s grinning face flashed through her thoughts. The way she screwed up her eyes when she laughed or fidgeted with her hat when she was nervous… She loved it all.

But then the memory of dinner followed, threatening to ruin her good cheer. “I’m sorry for earlier, by the way. The way I acted is not the way I would like others to see.”

“What? Acting like you care about your loved one’s health?” Soarin’ asked honestly.

“You know what I meant. Put whatever pleasant spin on it you like, it was still hardly ladylike. I’m… letting my fears get the better of me. I don’t mean to, but… Well, I suppose nopony means to. I just don’t know what to do and the thought of something happening to her…”

“Scares you shitless?” Soarin’ offered. Though more vulgar than how she would have worded it, she couldn’t help but nod in agreement. He brushed her shoulder with his wing reassuringly. “Rarity… I didn’t come out here to tell you what to do or how to feel. The last thing I want to try to do is to talk you into something you might regret. What you decide has to be between the two of you.”

“That’s big of you,” Rarity said, sniffing as she tried to clear her eyes. “Not that I would have expected less, but I suppose with as badly as your letter made it sound you wanted this I would have thought you’d fight harder.”

He seemed to consider her words for a moment as he sat in silence. When he finally spoke it was low and more serious than Rarity had ever heard from him. “When I asked Braeburn to marry me, I did it because I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. And I knew there would be hardships. Foals would be one of them. It was entirely possible we’d never be able to have one. And I married him anyway.”

He turned to look at her, his eyes burning in the moonlight. “We want foals. More than we’ve ever wanted anything! And we’d love them the same whether they were related to one or both or neither of us! But Braeburn, he… He’s proud of being an Apple. The thought of his foals carrying on the family’s bloodline means something to him. He’d never say it out loud –not even to me– but he wants it. He wants it so bad that the thought of not being able to give that to him kills me.”

The sudden intensity in his expression died down and he backed away. “I’m sorry. So much for not trying to influence you, huh?” He looked so dejected Rarity couldn’t help but slide along the swing closer to him.

“Nonsense. I know what you were trying to do. And I think you’re a very sweet stallion, Soarin’.” She smiled and gently nuzzled his cheek. “I’m proud to call you my cousin.”

He laughed awkwardly before finally giving in and returning her affection. “Cousins, huh? Do we count as cousins?”

Rarity waved her hoof in a nonchalant, vague gesture. “Haven’t the faintest, darling. I’m sure the Apples would consider us as such, though.” She paused to breathe in the night air. Suddenly it seemed just the tiniest bit sweeter, like all the apples in the orchards had chosen that one moment to release their fragrance. “And thank you. I think I know what I need to do now.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes,” she said, slowly rising to her hooves. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to speak with My Darling.”

While Braeburn finished drying the last few dishes, Applejack sat at the table and watched. Her thoughts were still torn, racing miles in every direction but leading her nowhere. Her hoof tapped a tuneless rhythm upon the tabletop while Braeburn hummed some song she didn’t know. She only knew that it was one he’d known ever since he was little and always did it when he was worried.

Or when she was.

She sighed in frustration and shook her head. Fretting wasn’t going to solve anything. She just had to figure out which was more important. Not letting down her cousin or not letting down her marefriend.

To think she once believed going off on adventures and saving Equestria was hard.

If she knew anything, though, she was never going to be able to make that decision alone. There was no way she could choose between Braeburn and Rarity like that. Which meant she and Rarity were just going to have to find some way to compromise.

If that were even possible. How did you compromise on whether or not to have a foal for somepony else? Have half a foal? The thought got her to laugh until the mental image set in. That just made her want to cringe.

Still, she needed to talk to Rarity; that much she knew. She stood with the intention of trying to find her when she heard the front door open in the other room. Only a moment later the mare in question stepped into the room.

“Rares, I–”

“Applejack, we–”

Rarity actually laughed after they spoke at the same time. Smirking herself, Applejack gestured for Rarity to go first.

“Could we talk, darling? And Braeburn?” she asked, turning to the stallion that was trying vainly to appear busy drying an already clean glass. “Thank you so very much for having us over. I apologize for how I behaved during dinner. It was quite lovely.”

“Uh… No problem!” he said, taken aback.

Realizing that was all she intended to say, Applejack nodded dumbly and Rarity soon led her out of the kitchen and towards the guest room. She sat herself upon the bed while Rarity closed the door and slowly walked over to sit next to her. As one they leaned into each other and Applejack wrapped a foreleg around Rarity’s shoulders.

She wasn’t sure exactly what to say now that the moment was there. Apologize? Beg her to reconsider?

What she didn’t expect, however, was for Rarity to start things off.

“I’m sorry, darling,” she whispered. “I’m sorry for how acting like I did and for how I’ve been fighting you about all this. I haven’t been very supportive.”

“But Rares–” Applejack started but Rarity held up a hoof to stop her.

“Please allow me to finish. I’m afraid, Applejack. All I can see in my head are images of you sick or wanting to keep the foal and… I’m just not ready for that. I know I’m being unreasonable, but I can’t help it!” She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “With all that said, I’ve decided what I want you to do, darling.”

A rock settled in the pit of Applejack’s stomach at her words. It was starting to look like there wouldn’t be much of a compromise possible after all.

“Alright, Rares, I getcha. I’ll tell them–”

“I want you to do it. I want you to have the foal for them.”

Applejack stopped short, blinking in confusion until the shock wore off. “What?!”

“Like I said: I want you to do it,” Rarity said simply. “Be honest with me, Applejack. Putting what I want aside, do you want to have a foal for Soarin’ and Braeburn?”

She didn’t need time to think about it. “I can’t say I want to go getting knocked up, but I do want to help them start their family. Braeburn’d do the same for me.”

“And would you not, if you chose not to do this for them, regret it later?” Rarity continued.

Applejack couldn’t meet her eye, instead looking down to the floor. “Y-yeah, I probably would…” she mumbled. Rarity nuzzled her cheek sweetly.

“That’s alright, darling. It’s who you are. You couldn’t do something you felt would let your family down. It’s one of the things I love so much about you! And it’s also why I can’t stop you. Because you will regret not helping them. And one day, you may realize that I was the one that stopped you. I don’t want you to resent me for that.”

“I wouldn’t, Rares!”

“Regardless, I want you to do this. And I will stand beside you and support you every step of the way. We’ll do this together, alright?” Rarity asked, giving a small smile.

Applejack let out a contented sigh. “Alright. And Rares? I know you’re scared and that a part of you doesn’t think this is a good idea. And so I’ll support you, too, okay? Like you said: we’ll do this together.”

Rarity barely held back a sniffle as she wiped away a tear before it could try to fall. She threw both of her forelegs around Applejack’s shoulders, pulling her close.

“Thank you for understanding, Applejack. I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you, too, Sugarcube,” she said, squeezing her back. “Now what do you say we go tell the prospective parents the good news? Hope you’re ready to have your lungs crushed with hugs!”

To Applejack’s disbelief, Rarity managed to smile even wider. “I think, just this once, I can handle it!”