Author's Note

So I'm pretty sure all of you were wondering how The Apple Family would be affected by Grogar's trick, and I hope this helps give you some answers.

Enjoy!

Interlude- Breaking Dawn At Braeburn's

Braeburn awoke early that Saturday morning. It was another beautiful day in Appleoosa, even though the sun hadn’t risen over the horizon yet. Braeburn adored his town. Every day, he’d get up and work the fields without complaint, finding more and more reasons to enjoy himself as the fields and crop grew. Their relationship with the buffalo was stronger than ever, especially with Little Strongheart remaining a close friend.

Every day in Appleloosa seemed to him to be a day in paradise.

He got up, and did some of his chores. He bucked some apples, hauled some carts, and did some watering. This wasn’t nearly half his daily chores, but he had something more to do today many miles away.

Grogar had paid particular attention to the lives of the Element Bearers, and knew that the Matriarch and Patriarch of the Apple Family branch in Ponyville were deceased, and those who lived there now were elderly. So, he’d had to get a bit creative with how they would be cared for. Braeburn was the relative closest to their branch of the family that would not be affected by the mist, but Grogar had implanted a specific memory in his mind to aid them.

The evening before, Braeburn had gotten word from Granny Smith that his help was needed in Caring for the foals at her home. Though she and Grand Pear were there, they were still elderly, and three foals were a lot to handle for any pony. He’d said he’d be glad to help, and was due to hop on the train to Ponyville that morning. Hopefully he’d be there by the time the foals woke up.

As he packed his saddlebags, a saddened look crossed his features. It was a shame what had happened to Granny Smith’s son, Bright Mac, and daughter-in-law Buttercup. No foals deserved to go without their parents. Certainly, they would always have their grandparents, but he knew it wouldn’t be the same for them. Not knowing the ponies who’d given them life, who had loved one another so deeply that they were born. It just wasn’t fair. He knew he couldn’t change that, but to lend a hoof to them, to be able to say he helped their family, well, that was as close as he could get to putting a salve to their wounds.

He didn’t like to leave Appleoosa. This little slice of paradise was every bit his home. He hated thinking of leaving the settler ponies he’d come here with less hooves to help them, but it hurt even more to think of those three foals not being cared for. He’d watched some of the parents in town with their foals, and had seen how much they cared for them. He’d helped out and foalsat for them a number of times. So Granny Smith reaching out for his help wasn’t unfounded. He just wondered if his four hooves would be enough to help them.

He finished packing his saddlebags and got them over his back, tightening them before he headed for the train station. Normally he saw Sheriff Silverstar on the way there, but not this morning. Of course, he had two colts of his own to look after so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that he wasn’t up this early. Braeburn made it to the train station, gave his bits to the conductor and took his seat.

From his window, he could see the Apple orchards he’d helped plant. There was a pang in his heart knowing that he might not see them for a while, but at the same time, there was an odd excitement in the idea. He wanted to remember that image, not just for if he became homesick, but to see just how big the trees might have gotten in his absence. It was exciting to think of how much they would grow and flourish, even if he wouldn’t be directly involved in making it so this time.

As the train departed from the depot, he watched the town he loved become a blur, and said a mental goodbye to the folks he cared about there, and the trees he loved to tend to, along with the town itself. But hopefully, this experience of leaving home and experiencing some new things would be one that would help him to come back stronger for it.

The luxury of being able to sleep in was not one Braeburn was accustomed to. But the train did have cars for that, and with three foals that would need his help, he had a very good feeling that he’d need all the sleep he could get. So, he’d gone to the sleeping car and tried to lie down and rest, but all the while, his mind kept conjuring up things to do.

It took a monumental effort to make that never-ending mental ticker tape shut off. Making that list of things to do stop writing itself was hard. Normally by the end of the day when he slept, he’d gotten everything done and could get the rest he so deserved. But having been awake, only doing half his daily chores, and still having a day full of responsibilities ahead made it extremely difficult. Mercifully, he was able to turn off that list in his brain by picturing the image he now held dear of the apple trees back home. He shut his eyes, and pictured the trees, the smell of the earth with it’s rich soil, the scent of freshly picked apples, and the comforts of home.

Before he knew it, he was asleep.

He slept for perhaps four hours, before waking and finding Ponyville just over the horizon. It gave him time to shake the sleep from himself and wake up properly, before moving to get his saddlebags. Not long after he’d slung them over his back, the train whistle sounded, and it screeched to a halt. The doors opened to the depot, and he took in a breath.

It was time to help his cousins.