Finally, this was it.
After months of anticipation, summer vacation had finally arrived. As the school bell rang out that afternoon, fillies and colts of all ages rushed out into the sunshine with loud cheers, eager to begin the long awaited two months of summer fun ahead. However, some were more reserved in showing their excitement, instead leaving the school grounds after the initial euphoric stampede had gone. These were the teenagers, for whom the novelty of summer vacation had been somewhat worn out.
Among the more mature of these individuals was a quiet young colt named Auburn Harvest. He and his sister Maigold attended the school together, and both had earned their Cutie Marks a few years prior. Auburn was fifteen, and his sister Maigold was twelve. Her twin sister, Apple White, had unfortunately been born with a disease that prevented her from attending school, while their youngest sister, Hazel Rush, was only two and still far too little to attend school for quite some time. They lived at Sweet Apple Acres with their parents Big Macintosh and Lilac, along with their two aunts Apple Jack and Apple Bloom.
At first glance, one could obviously tell who Auburn's father was. He was a literal spitting image of Big Mac, with a deep red coat and green eyes. The one exception was his mane, which was a softer, almost peach-like orange color compared to his father's. His Cutie Mark was a curved sickle beside a bushel of golden wheat.
As for Maigold, she had been blessed with her mother's soft tan coat, her aunt's blonde hair, and her father's bright green eyes. Popular, athletic and competitive, Maigold was often taking part in school sports such as track and field and various other sporting activities like soccer and hoofball. Therefore, it came as a surprise to no one when she won first place in the annual Running of the Leaves a few years back. It was also the day she had earned her Cutie Mark: A gold medal in the shape of an apple. Rather unfortunately, the success went straight to her head. In the months that followed, Maigold's competitive nature got her into trouble. While Maigold was undoubtedly a superb athlete, she soon developed an unfortunate habit of bragging. In addition, there were frequent moments where she would start nasty arguments with her peers if she felt they weren't performing well enough. On one occasion, she had even punched a colt named Blitz for insinuating that she was a hothead. Naturally, this event led to severe punishment from the school as well as a firm scolding from her parents later that night.
The next day, at her mother's insistence, Maigold begrudgingly apologized. Blitz was surprisingly pleasant during the whole exchange, and he admitted that he'd only said what he had because he was envious of Maigold's talent. To her surprise, he then asked if she wouldn't mind teaching him how to dodge better in hoofball. She happily agreed, though she was still sheepishly inclined to point out that she did need to work on being a little less hotheaded. Blitz only laughed it off and told her not to worry about it. They became fast friends after that.
On this particular afternoon, Maigold had found out through her grapevine of friends that a new family had recently moved to Ponyville. There was Mr. and Mrs. Petal, their teenage daughter and a pair of twin colts that couldn't be much older than four. From what her friends said, the filly was quite good looking, and it was likely that she'd start attending Ponyville Elementary once the school year began again in August.
This news interested Maigold quite a bit, for she'd been trying to find a marefriend for her older brother for quite some time despite Auburn insisting on multiple occasions that he wasn't looking for anything right now and simply wanted to focus on his school work.
But the Apple Family are known for being stubborn, and so Maigold was determined to set her brother up with a special somepony, regardless of whether or not her brother was interested.
And it was this decision that would change the course of the future.
Author's Note
Well, how was that for the first chapter? I've got a good feeling about this one. 
Auburn Harvest, Maigold and Cherrybloom were crouched behind a large fallen tree trunk, panting heavily as the rain came down hard.
They dared not speak to each other, instead attempting to use this brief reprieve to regain their breath. Their nerves were frayed; ears swiveling as they listened to the sounds of angry shouting and hooves stamping through the mud, all the while steadily getting louder.
"YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE BITCH!" Cherrybloom's father was yelling. "YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS CAN'T HIDE FOREVER! I'LL FIND YOU ALL AND CHOP YOU TO PIECES LIKE I DID TO YOUR STUPID MOTHER!"
Cherrybloom shuddered violently beside Auburn, putting her hooves over her ears as she attempted to block out her father's threats.
It was in this moment, when they were faced with life or death, that Auburn made a decision. It was both completely insane and incredibly dangerous, but he knew it was the only chance that Cherrybloom and his sisters now had of escaping.
"Mai, do you know the way home from here?" he said quickly, surprising himself with how calm he sounded.
Maigold stared at him. Auburn could see that she knew what he was thinking. After a moment of hesitating, she nodded.
"Good. Now when I tell you, run. Don't look back, just get back to town and tell the guards what's going on."
"But Auburn-" It was Cherrybloom's voice, trembling and scared. "What are you going to do?"
"I'll find a way to stall him," Auburn told her. He gave her hoof a reassuring squeeze with his own. "Look, it doesn't matter what happens to me. Just get back to town and get help." Auburn tightened his grip, trying to help his marefriend find courage. "You can do this, Cherry. I know you can."
Cherrybloom swallowed. "All right, Auburn. I'll try."
Auburn smiled at her. "That's my girl. Now go, both of you. Don't stop until you get home."
Maigold stood up, but Cherrybloom hesitated. With tears pooling in her eyes, she leaned forward and grabbed Auburn's head with her hooves, kissing him hard on the mouth. For a few precious seconds, the two held each other. Then Maigold and Cherrybloom were dashing away, Cherrybloom casting one last look at Auburn over her shoulder before she disappeared after Maigold into the dark forest. Auburn remained where he was, at last turning and heading in the direction of the angry shouting, not sure if he'd ever see his family or marefriend again.
