An Average Everyday Reunion
“COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!” A rooster’s crowing echoed throughout sweet apple acres, signaling the start of a new day.
Applebloom let out a tired groan as she slowly stirred from her sleep, before rolling out of bed. As much as she was used to waking up at the crack of dawn, nothing could beat the warm embrace of a comfortable bed. Today was special though, today she was going to plan out the yearly Apple Family Reunion with her big sister Applejack. She couldn’t sleep in on a day like today!
With a cheerful skip in her step, she trotted out of her room and down the hallway, practically gliding down the stairs. As she came to a stop in the dining room she greeted her older sister with a large grin, “Mornin’ sis!”
Applejack looked up from the weathered old book she was currently reading and returned a smile of her own, “Mornin’ Applebloom, you sure seem in a good mood today.”
“Of course ah am, we get to plan out the reunion today!” She excitedly beamed, earning a laugh from the elder Apple sister.
“Dontcha think you want to grab some breakfast first?
Applebloom paused for a moment, “Well ah guess that’s a good idea.”
“Can’t plan out a reunion on an empty stomach, now, ah already made up some eggs if you’re feelin’ a little peckish.”
The filly cheerfully took her seat at the table as her sister slid a plate over, heading back to her own seat.
“So how many have you written?” She asked in between bites.
“Just a couple so far, ah knew how excited ya were for this so ah wanted to wait until ya rolled out of bed, plus there was a commotion out in the yard with a few of the chickens and a very daring pig earlier. Hopefully ah sorted that all out.” Applejack slid the book over toward her sister, pointing out the two she had already written out, “Already wrote out invites for the Fritters and the Cobblers, why don’t you choose who’s next?”
Applebloom studied the page for a few minutes, looking over all of the names in between bites of breakfast.
The different familiar names all stood out to her, bringing a smile to her face as she looked over them. Applejack had usually handled this part and as a result, Applebloom had never actually seen the list for herself. Some of the names had little notes scribbled over them, while others were left untouched. Each seemed relatively normal except for one of the names toward the bottom, which looked like it had been very aggressively crossed out a long time ago.
“So why’s that one crossed out?” Applebloom asked, pointing toward the strange crossed out name.
“That one there?” Applejack scooted closer, “We don’t really talk about ‘em. Those are the Blood Oranges, an old family from out in Hollow Shades that did somethin’ that convinced Granny Smith to never invite them to another reunion again. But she’ll never say what.”
“Hollow Shades? Isn’t that the place that was supposed to be abandoned?”
Applejack shrugged, “May as well be. No one ever goes there anymore and that’s gotta be for a good reason.”
“Well they can’t be that bad, what did they do ta make Granny Smith so mad anyways?”
“No one knows, we almost forgot that they were a part of the family.”
“But they’re our family too, dontcha think that maybe we oughta give ‘em a second chance? If they did something so bad such a long time ago then maybe they’ve changed.”
Applejack shook her head, “Granny made it clear she don’t want them round and they haven’t made no effort to work it out for a long time.”
“But what if they’ve just forgotten about us?”
“Then they won’t care none if they’re not invited.”
“But Applejack—“
“We’re not invitin’ them and that’s final. If Granny Smith crossed out their names then she did that for a reason and we're not gonna question it.”
Applebloom let out a small sigh, “Alright, but ah still don’t think it’s fair.”
The elder apple sister noticed her sister’s more reserved posture and lowered her tone of voice, “Don’t feel bad or anything, you’re not in trouble, ah was just getting a little heated about that, there’s not much that gets Granny Smith to do somethin’ like that and ah guess I just feel like I’ve got a grudge”
Applebloom nodded, “Okay, well who’s next?”
“Well, do you want to choose or should I just start listin’ off names?”
“How about you pick ‘em and I’ll write ‘em down?”
“Teamwork?”
“Is there any better way to do it?”
“That’s the spirit! So how about the Golden Delicious family.”
“Got it,” she started scribbling their name out onto an invitation, “and who’s next?”
“The Opals”
She jotted that family down too, “Next.”
“The regular Oranges.”
“Regular Oranges, got it.”
“The Beacons.”
“The Beacons?” Applebloom looked up from the invitation, “Ah’ve never heard of them before?”
“That’s because they seldom come to the reunions, always been so busy but they’re part of the family so we still send ‘em one.”
“But you won’t send the Blood Oranges one”, Applebloom muttered under her breath.
“What was that?”
She shook her head, “Uhh, nothin’ just talkin’ to myself.”
Applejack nodded slowly, her ears twitching as the sounds of clucking chickens grew louder outside. She looked back toward Applebloom and shook her head, “Do ya mind if ah go check on that real quick? I though ah’d sorted it all out but I guess there’s still some trouble goin’ on.”
Applebloom shook her head, “Ya mean ah get to write these out on ma own?”
“Ya don’t have to, but ah trust ya if ya want to.”
Applebloom nodded, “Well ya better go take care of that then, ah’ll get this all finished up big sis!”
Applejack gave a quick nod before trotting out the door, leaving Applebloom alone. She pulled the book over and began to write out more invitations, pausing as her gaze drifted toward the crossed out name again.
It’s not fair ta leave ‘em out of the family reunion, Applebloom thought to herself. She snuck a glance out the window, letting out a small laugh as she watched Applejack chase a few flustered chickens and a very energetic pig around. Turning back toward the page, she hesitated for a few moments before taking a closer look at the address, quickly writing out an invitation for the Blood Oranges and sliding it into the bag with the rest.
She continued to write out the remaining invitations, quickly going down the list and burying her secret until she had finally finished the rest, letting out a small sigh of relief, she gave her aching hoof a rest and then stood up and slung the large bag over her back. Trotting out the door, she greeted Applejack with a nervous smile, noticing that she had managed to corral most of the chickens into their coop, though a few were still running around, “Heya sis, ah’m gonna go drop these off, need anything else while ah’m out?”
The elder mare shook her head, taking a moment to catch her breath as the animals continued to run around her, “Are ya sure you’ve got that on your own? You didn’t leave anyone out did ya?”
Applebloom shook her head, “Nope, ah got everyone’s invitation all written out.”
“Alright, well ah’m still a little busy here, do ya think you’re good to handle that on your own?”
“Of course, ah’m just bringing ‘em to the post office like usual, it’s not that hard,” She replied back with a smile.
Applejack let out a small laugh, “Alright, just makin’ sure. Don’t be afraid to ask anyone if ya need any help, ah’m sure they won’t mind a bit.”
“Gotcha sis, I’ll let ya get back to your rodeo now.”
Applejack let out another chuckle as Applebloom trotted off, quickly resuming her chase.
The bright moon cast a dim glow over Blood Moon Orchard, giving the entire farm an eerily peaceful ambience. The wind gently rustled through the leaves, filling the air with a quiet noise that almost seemed to echo through the moody valley. This was the kind of environment that Citrus Swirl had always woken up to, and despite being boring and uneventful, the same old routine never ceased to bring a smile to her face.
This was her home, and it always had been, even as the quiet town had decayed into obscurity over the years. The once thriving locale had withered and fell apart over the years, some places outright crumbling away into nothingness, leaving only a few small settlements scattered along the outskirts. The old part of town was one of these places, with the majority of it now being taken up by a large sinkhole that opened up into the ruins beneath.
As weird as it was, for a small time this actually gave the town a much needed spike in visitors, and even now there were still the odd travelers that ventured out there, but it couldn’t compare to how the place had been long before. Nothing was spared from the cruel dance of time here, not even the once booming farm that Citrus called home. Sure, it didn’t make as much as it had in the town’s heyday, but it still carried a legacy that Citrus Swirl could be proud of, and one that she hoped to continue on as long as she was able to.
Today was a nice break from the usual routine, a mysterious letter from a town far far away had greeted her as she went out to start her usual night’s work, and the implications of what it could mean to her and her family had kept her inside for a lot longer than it should have.
Dusty leather bound albums littered the small kitchen table as she paced around the cozy room, occasionally stopping to browse through one of the volumes.
“Do you know what this means, Cherry?” She asked her fiancé, turning her gaze toward the crimson bat pony.
He replied back with a confused shrug, “No, but I’m guessing it’s important if it’s kept you away from the chores for so long.”
“Important is definitely an understatement. You know how I thought me and the others were basically the only ponies left in our family?”
He nodded, “Yeah? So what’s that have to do with a bunch of dusty old books?”
“It turns out that we might not be,” she excitedly cheered back, “I had to do a lot of digging, but it turns out that we still might have some very distant relatives out over in Ponyville.”
“Huh, and what makes you think that?”
The mare pulled one of the albums over, gently turning the page toward a very tattered family tree, some parts of the page faded and torn beyond recognition, “This is pretty old, but this side of the tree is my grandmother’s side,” she pointed toward one of the less tattered branches, “if you trace the lineage back far enough you come to the stallion that originally founded this farm.”
“Blood Moon?”
She nodded, “His wife was a citrus farmer who used to live near Ponyville too, did a lot of business with Blood Moon and the two eventually married. They decided to merge their farms and started growing both here. That’s why we have mangos and oranges,”
“And cherries,” he added.
She smiled. “And cherries. It seems like they had the same idea that we did, and it probably saved both of their farms in the long run.”
“So what was her name?”
The mare looked down at the family tree, “Citrus Sunrise”
“And you think she still has family out there?”
“It seems like it,” she answered with a shrug, “I haven’t left this place in so long, the name in the letter doesn’t ring a bell.”
“What’s the name?”
“The Apples.”
Cherry let out a small laugh, “The Apples. As in the Apples that run Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyville? You know, one of the most well known apple orchards in all of Equestria?”
Citrus shrugged, “Never heard of them. You’re kinda forgetting that I don’t get out much. It’s kind of hard when you’re basically the only pony holding down the fort here.”
He gave a short nod, “Well that’s also because you don’t let anyone else step in to help run the farm… but I guess that’s a good point. So, what’s the plan then?”
“Plan? I mean I want to accept the invitation, but who’s going to watch the farm if I’m gone?”
“Mystic Ember, Knockturn, Stormbreaker, Vanilla Dream, or you know, one of the dozens of other ponies that live out here?”
Citrus paused for a moment, “I… well, you know how much this farm means to me, how can I be sure they’ll really take care of everything?”
“Because they’re your friends. You’ve been cooped up here for so long, why don’t you take this as an opportunity to get out for a little while, I know there’s not very many ponies still here, but I’m sure one or two could watch over the farm for a few days while we’re gone.”
“I…,” she hesitated, “I mean do you think it’s really worth looking at?”
“It’s just a short trip, if it means you get more answers on your family history then I’d say it’s worth it.”
A small smile spread across her face, “You know I love you right?”
Cherry smiled in return, “Obviously. So what do you say? How about a little weekend getaway?”
“If we’re going we should bring along Nebula and Lamplight.”
“Do we really need to bring those two along?” he asked with a heavy sigh.
“Yes,” She nodded, “they’re my brothers and they have just as much of a right to go see their family as I do.”
“But they’re so… loud.”
“And?”
“And well… they’re just exhausting to be around. I feel like I need a rest after listening to their stories.”
“Well, don’t worry about it. I’ll make sure they’re in their own separate car for the train ride over. Would that make you feel better?” she teased.
Cherry sat in consideration for a few moments before smiling, “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you, okay?”
“C’mon, let’s go give ‘em the news.”
Applebloom sat up on a small hill and excitedly watched as the different families flocked into Sweet Apple Acres. This was always one of her favorite parts of the day, getting to see all the cousins and relatives she never usually got to see, and maybe today she’d even get to meet some long forgotten relatives. She had no real idea what the Blood Orange family looked like, or even if they were going to show up today or not, but she figured that she’d know them when she saw them.
“What’re ya up to sis?” Applejack asked as she trotted up.
Applebloom looked up and smiled, “Just watchin’ everypony come in, this is always so much fun!”
“Ah bet, now why don’t ya come on down and actually spend some time with em? They’ve been askin’ all about ya.”
“Ah’ll join ya in a minute sis,” She replied with a quick nod, “Ah’m just keepin’ an eye on who’s showin’ up.”
“You’re really takin’ this seriously, ain’t ya?”
She nodded, “Of course, if ah’m gonna do this from now on ah gotta be serious about it.”
Applejack let out a small laugh and shook her head, “Alright Applebloom, just make sure ya relax and have some fun, it can’t all be work.”
“Ah will.”
“Promise?”
She nodded, “Promise.”
“Good, ah’ll see ya down there with the rest, we’re gonna take a big family photo soon, and ah don’t want ya to miss out on it, okay?”
“Okay Applejack.”
“Thanks Sis,” Applejack finished as she started to trot away, leaving Applebloom alone again.
She sat alone for a while longer, watching the familiar faces with eager excitement, though much to her own disappointment she didn’t notice any new faces among those in the crowd.
Maybe they’re just late. She thought to herself. Letting out a small sigh, she stood up and started to trot down the hill, coming to a stop as she reached the large crowd of Apples that had come from all over Equestria.
Voices and accents from every inch of the continent filled the air, bringing a smile to her face as she started to greet her various relatives. Greeting her family with a smile, Applebloom couldn’t help but glance over toward the farm’s entrance in between all of the conversation and questions, still hoping that the Blood Moons would trot up any minute.
The questions about how she had been and what she had done since the last year continued to bombard her, pulling her gaze away so she could actually reply back without looking as disinterested as she actually was at the moment.
As much as Applebloom tried to duck away from the conversations, she found herself pulled into another. Her quest would have to wait for now, as much as that annoyed her. The talking continued on for a long while before it suddenly started to die down, various gasps and whispers echoing out as the different apples started to look over toward another family in the distance.
Seeing the perfect opportunity to sneak away, Applebloom trotted toward the source of the commotion, taking sight of a quartet of bat ponies that were slowly trotting up to the rest of the family. The orange colored mare that led the group had a nervous, but confident smile on her face despite the odd looks she was getting. This had to be them. While she had never seen a picture of the Blood Oranges, if there was ever a pony that could fit the bill it would be this mare.
Pushing her way to the front of the crowd, she found herself standing face to face with Applejack, who had an even more concerned look on her face.
“Who are they sis?” Applebloom asked innocently, trying to gather more information.
The elder Apple sister stole a few glances over to the quartet, before turning back toward her, “Ah don’t know, but ah have a bad feelin’ about them.”
“Do ya think they’re family?”
She shook her head, “I dunno, but after that whole incident with Fluttershy I don’t even want to risk bringin’ ‘em near the orchard.”
“Dontcha think that’s goin’ a little overboard?”
“Maybe it is, but better safe than sorry.”
A small cough interrupted the conversation as the somewhat nervous looking bat pony greeted the pair with a small smile, “Uhh... hi? My name is Citrus Swirl, and you must be the Apples right?”
Applejack returned an uneasy smile of her own, giving a nervous nod back, “That would be us, can ah help you with anything?”
Citrus shook her head, “No, I just wanted to introduce ourselves. I honestly didn’t even know we still had any living relatives, I guess I just haven’t left my farm in so long that I had never heard of you before.”
“Uh huh, now ah’m sorry if this sounds a little rude, but who're you four?”
Citrus glanced back toward Cherry and her two brothers, “Oh, well that’s my fiancé Cherry, and my two brothers Lamplight and Fractal Nebula. You might know us better as the Blood Oranges. I guess we shared an ancestor a very long time ago.”
Applejack’s face dropped slightly, as if Citrus had said something wrong, “The Blood Oranges… that uh… does ring a bell. And uh, ya just decided to show up here out of the blue?”
Citrus nodded, “Well, we got an invitation in the mail about a big reunion, and well, we decided to stop by and say hi. Maybe even reconnect and learn a little more about our family history, you know?”
Applejack smiled, “Well, ah can’t say I was expectin’ ya, but ah guess you’ve come all this way, so uh, feel free to talk with some of the others, just keep your distance from the trees. They’re our pride and joy, and ah’m sure you’d understand how much we try and keep em in good shape.”
Citrus returned another smile, “Oh, I have a good idea. I run a Blood Orange orchard back in the Hollows, and I don’t let anyone I can’t trust near them. It’s our livelihood after all.”
“Ah’m glad ya understand. It’s uhh, nice to meet ya and all, but I need to get back to some of the family. Feel free to stick around for a little while though.”
“Thanks,” she replied back, a warm smile spreading across her face, the unease seemingly melting away.
Citrus nervously glanced around at the different groups of Apples that were gathered around the farm. When she had decided to show up to the reunion she had expected to see maybe a family or two, three if she was lucky. There were just so many different faces that she had never even imagined seeing here, and it was all so daunting to her. She couldn’t even begin to count how many different ponies had shown up, but it was without a doubt more than she had ever seen in one place in her life… by a lot.
Her nervous glances continued, the muttering of voices combining into a loud cacophony that seemed to drown out the normally composed mare’s thoughts. Unsure of what to do, she glanced over to Cherry, meeting him with a worried look, “Where should we start first?”
He shrugged, “I don’t think there’s really a proper place to start. I know you’re not used to crowds like this, but they’re your family. Just go ahead and say hi. You know, introduce yourself; tell them a little bit about you.”
She gave a small nod and turned back toward the different families, taking a few steps forward and toward a small group of orange colored ponies.
She quietly cleared her throat and greeted them with a cheerful, “Hi! I’m Citrus Swirl. Nice to meet you!”
One of the mares smiled, “Citrus Swirl, eh? Small world, my name’s Orange Swirl. These are my sisters Orange Peel and Orange Vanilla”
“Really?” She perked up, “That’s really cool, I’m going to guess you’re an orange farmer too?"
“My parents are, it’s not really my thing though, but I still help out every once in a while. What about you?”
“Oh, we run an orchard over in Hollow Shades, it’s been in our family for generations now.”
“There’s still ponies over there?” She nervously shuffled her hooves, “I thought that place has been abandoned for ages now. I guess the old ghost stories always creeped me out enough to make me think that nopony would ever bother living there.”
“Well we’re still living there… not a lot of ponies are though, so I can’t blame you for not hearing about us. I guess maybe the ghost stories really did get to some of them.”
“I’m sure it’s a nice place,” She added, pausing for a moment as she glanced back toward her sisters, “I’m… sorry, this is gonna sound rude, but we were kinda in the middle of a conversation.”
Citrus slowly nodded, “Oh… I’m sorry, I guess I’m just not used to stuff like this.”
“It’s fine. Why don’t you go chat with some of the other families. We can talk later or something, if you want.”
“Sure… sorry if I was interrupting or anything.”
“It’s fine, it happens.”
Citrus awkwardly walked off to the side, turning toward Cherry, “Well that went about as well as I expected.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it, you just gotta go find the right ponies to talk to… probably ones who aren’t so deeply engaged in conversation.”
“You think?” She flatly replied, “I guess I really do need to get out more.”
“How about those over there?” He pointed toward a couple of older ponies who were standing near the edge of the orchard, “They look friendly, probably not the most interesting conversationalists, but maybe they’ll be more grounded in what you’re used to.”
“I guess it couldn’t hurt,” She replied back, starting toward them.
The older couple’s eyes widened as the pair approached them, no doubt unaccustomed to seeing bat ponies in Ponyville, or really anywhere for that matter.
Citrus lowered her voice to a whisper, “I really don’t know if this is such a good idea… they already seem a little spooked, like they saw a ghost or something.”
“Which is why you should show them that we’re just here to say hi. They probably aren’t used to seeing bat ponies around, we kinda look a little scarier than your normal average pony.”
“I guess you have a point. No big fanged smiles then, got it. “She gave a small nod and continued forward, giving a small smile as she trotted up to the pair, being sure to look as friendly and cheerful as she could, “Hiya, we’re the Blood Oranges and this is our first time coming to one of the reunions. Nice to meet you!”
The older stallion gave a slow nod, “Good day… ah’m uh.. Apple Sauce, and this is mah wife, Apple Cobbler.”
The mare gave a nervous nod, “Nice ta meet ya, miss… Blood Orange.”
Citrus let out a cheerful laugh, “Oh, my name is actually Citrus Swirl, I don’t think anypony in my family has gone by the Blood Orange name in years,” She gestured toward her family with a wing, “These are my brothers Fractal Nebula and Lamplight, and my fiance, Cherry.”
The three gave a short nod.
Apple Cobbler eyed them for a few moments before giving a small smile, “So… are ya four just visitin’ or are ya from out of town?”
“We’re from Hollow Shades.”
A worried look briefly flashed across her face, quickly being replaced by a nervous smile, “That’s that old ghost town… where the shadow pony lives right?”
She shook her head, “You’ve got the ghost town part right, but the pony of shadows was just a one time thing there. He was reformed, and the place is doing just fine again… well as fine as it can. I guess the ghost stories really did give the place a bad reputation, it’s perfectly normal though, I promise.”
“I see…” Apple Sauce replied back, exchanging a nervous glance with his wife, “Well… it’s nice ta meet ya bunch. You’ll have ta excuse us though, we’re supposed to go help Granny Smith with the family dinner.”
“It’s okay. I understand,” Her expression dropped, “It was nice to meet you two, hopefully we can spend some more time getting to know each other later.”
“Mhmm, we’ll see if we have some time later.”
The pair started off, giving nervous glances behind them as if the Blood Oranges were some kind of monsters waiting to strike.
Citrus sat down and let out a sigh, “Maybe this was a mistake, they were definitely scared of us.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say it’s a complete waste, it’s still a beautiful day out. We’re all here together too, and we haven’t done that in years.”
The mare shrugged, “And Nebula and Lamplight aren’t arguing so that’s a plus too I guess.”
The two brothers perked up as they heard their names, earning a small laugh from Cherry, “See? It’s not a bad day at all. Why don’t we go spend some time in the shade, maybe grab a bite to eat and try meeting some of the other apples. Third time’s the charm right?”
“Are you sure you don’t want to just call it quits and go do something else? There’s lots of touristy things we could do here.”
He shook his head, trotting up next to her and pulling her close to him “They’re your family and I know how important this all was to you. We need to at least see it through. If anything, just to find out why they’ve ignored you for so long.”
She leaned into the embrace and nodded, “Okay, we’ll give it another go and see what happens.”
“See? Now there’s the confident Citrus I know and love!”
Applebloom glanced over to the Blood Oranges, who seemed to be keeping to themselves. They had mingled a little bit, but it always seemed to end with them going back into their own little group, sitting away from the rest of the Apples.
Looking around to make sure that she wasn’t going to get pulled into any other kind of festivity, she started off toward Citrus, approaching the mare with a warm smile.
“Hi there!”
Citrus broke her conversation with Cherry and smiled, “Hi, you’re Applejack's sister right?”
She nodded, “Ah’m Applebloom, and you’re one of the Blood Oranges, right?”
“Uh yeah,” she paused for a moment, “Sorry, I’m not the best conversationalist. This is kind of the first time I’ve ever been around this many ponies. It’s a lot to get used to.”
Applebloom smiled, “Well, we’re glad ta have ya here. Are ya’ll having’ a fun time?”
Citrus hesitated for a moment before replying, “Well… to tell you the truth, it’s kind of hard for us to. We’ll make a few introductions, and even have a couple of conversations here and there, but we just feel like… well like outsiders.”
Applebloom’s expression fell for a moment, “Well, ah’m sorry ta hear that. Why don’t ya tell me a little bit about your side of the family?”
“Do you really want to know?”
She nodded, “Well, of course! You said ya feel like outsiders, so why don’t ya tell me more about yer self.”
Citrus looked toward her family and then back to the younger Apple, who gave her a reassuring smile, “Well, I can’t promise it’ll be interesting, but if you’re so interested then I’d be happy to share.
We work on an orchard out in Hollow Shades, mostly growing blood oranges, mangos, and now cherries. I honestly don’t even know what the proper title for him is, but my lots of greats grandfather, Blood Moon started the orchard, and I guess he married one of your family’s lots of greats grandaunt, Citrus Sunrise.”
“Is that where ya got your name from?”
Citrus Swirl nodded, “It sure is. Grandpa Blood Moon grew mangos, and Grandma Citrus grew oranges. When they got married she moved to the Hollows and the two started growing their favorite fruits together, and it’s been that way ever since.”
“Up until now,” Cherry added.
“Up until now,” Citrus smiler, “Cherry’s family owned a small cherry orchard, and when we got engaged he brought a few trees over too, and well, I guess history is repeating itself.”
“You're a Cherry farmer too?” Applebloom excitedly asked.
“Yes, no relation to the ones from your family though,” Cherry replied.
“That’s still really cool. So what about the others? Are they farmers too?”
Citrus shook her head, “Kinda. They’re a couple of astronomers that sometimes help out with the chores- when I can pull ‘em away from their obsessions long enough.”
“You say obsession, I say hobby,” Lamplight cut in, Nebula giving with a short head nod of his own.
“Is it fun?”
Fractal Nebula nodded, “It’s beyond fun. There really isn’t anything new that we’ve discovered that other astronomers haven’t already, but some day we will find something nopony else has.”
“Ah never knew we had such a cool branch of the family.”
Citrus frowned a little. “You’re telling me, I just found out we have an actual family.” She paused for a moment, letting out a small sigh. “I just wish I knew what to talk about; it seems like everypony’s avoiding us.”
“They just don’t know enough about you,” She glanced over to Applejack, who was talking with Granny Smith, “Ah don’t know why, but they crossed your name out on our big list of family members. Applejack said that your lots of greats grandparents did somethin’ ta make Granny Smith mad, but ah don’t think you’re bad at all.”
Citrus raised an eyebrow, “They knew about us all this time? And we never got an invite until now?”
“Ah don’t think all of them did, ah only just heard about you a couple days ago when ah was writin’ up the invites with Applejack.”
“So why did she wait this long to send us something?”
“She uh… didn’t. Ah saw that your family was crossed out and thought it wasn’t fair that you were all being left out. Ah didn’t know if you were all still around, but ah decided to just write an invite anyways.”
“Then we weren’t really welcome here to begin with,” Citrus replied with a frown, “So why did you bother inviting us?”
Applebloom shook her head, “Ah didn’t think it was fair, and ah knew they wouldn’t turn you away if you showed up here. They just needed that nudge to realize ya weren’t all that bad.”
“Since when were we bad?” Citrus asked indignantly.
“Applebloom, are ya over there? We’re almost ready to take the group picture,” Applejack called from a distance.
The orange mare trotted up toward the group, coming to a stop a short distance away, “Did ya hear me sis? It’s time to get ready.”
“Applejack, can I ask you something?”
The mare turned toward Citrus, giving a small nod in return, “Sure ya can… Citrus, was it?”
“Mhmm… is it true that we weren’t invited here? That we’ve been ignored for so many years?”
Applejack looked around for a moment. “Ah don’t know what you’re—”
“ — Applebloom told us everything. That your grandmother doesn’t like us or something.”
“Ah… look, y'all seem nice, and ah’m sure ya didn’t do nothin’, but we didn’t want ta take any chances.”
“So you ignored us. Pretended like we didn’t exist?” Citrus retorted back with an accusatory tone.
“Ah… well, you see—”
“ — Did you ever stop and wonder how that would make us feel? You’ve all been welcoming enough today, but that doesn’t excuse the years we spent thinking that we were all alone, all of that because of some vague thing that made your grandmother mad. Can you at least tell me what that was?”
“Ah don’t know to tell ya the truth.”
“So why bother excluding us for so long then if nopony even remembers? Because your grandmother got upset at something our family did way back in the day?”
“Well, Granny doesn’t get mad at much… ah guess I just thought it was something crazy like the whole Flutterbat incident.”
“The what incident?”
“Well, a while back one of our friends kinda turned into a bat pony and gobbled up all the fruit from our trees… ah guess ah just thought that maybe they did somethin’ like that.”
“And let me guess, you were worried that we’d eat all your fruit trees when we showed up?”
Applejack looked away, “I ah… ah’m sorry about that.”
“What in tarnation is causing such a ruckus over here?” came the voice of Granny Smith, interrupting the pair.
Applejack turned toward the old mare, “Nothin’ Granny, ah’m just talking with Citrus here.”
“Citrus? Never heard of her.”
“You might know our family as the Blood Oranges, does that ring a bell?”
The old mare’s face shifted into a sour expression, “The Blood Oranges, ya say? They were those no good bat ponies and ain't welcome on this here farm!"
Applejack's expression hardened as she turned to the bat ponies. "Well, ya heard her. She don't want no bat ponies gobbling up our crops."
Granny turned to Applejack with a puzzled expression. "Wha? What are ya talkin' about?"
Applejack turned back to her as a large number of Apple family members started to gather."Ya don't want them here because they eat our fruit, right?"
"That ain't the reason, ya idjit!" Granny yelled. "They said ma pa’s Zap Apple Jam was no good.”
Everypony just stared in shocked silence for a moment. Cousin Apple Jam fainted.
“That’s what this was all about?!” Applebloom asked in surprise.
“They said they didn’t like it much, and ah said if they didn’t like it then they can just go get their jam elsewhere,” Granny asserted.
Applejack raised an eyebrow, “Granny, ya just ignored them for all this time because they didn’t like your jam? Was that really such a big deal that ya had to just completely cut off all contact?”
The old mare spat. “Blood feuds have been started over less.”
Citrus continued staring for a moment longer before bursting out laughing. “That’s really what this was all about? Our family’s been ignored for so many generations because our lots of great grandparents didn’t like the taste of some jam…” She let out a few more laughs. “Here I was expecting that Grandpa Blood Moon burned down her barn or something, and he just got cut off because he didn’t like jam.”
“It does seem a little silly when ya put it that way,” Granny Smith replied.
“That’s one way ta put it,” Applebloom added in, “So, are ya gonna say sorry for ignoring them for all these years?”
“Well? What do y'all think of our Zap Apple jam?”
Citrus started to reply, but paused again, “Well, we uhh… never tried it. I guess it just never made it’s way over to The Hollows.”
“We have some back over by the farmhouse, why don’t we head over there and settle this whole grudge once and for all?” Applejack proposed.
Citrus looked over to Cherry and her brothers and then back to the orange mare, “That sounds fair to me.”
“Great,” She smiled, “Let’s go settle this.”
Citrus and the rest of the family followed Applejack’s lead, eventually reaching the farmhouse and stepping inside. She reached into the cupboard and returned with a jar of rainbow colored jam and a piece of bread.
Applejack carefully spread some of the strange looking jam onto the toast and offered it to Citrus, who hesitantly took it.
Citrus took a tentative bite of her toast before looking up toward the old mare.
“So… what do y’all think?”
“It’s…” She started, pausing momentarily.
“Yes?”
“It’s… amazing!” she replied back with a gleeful grin, quickly scarfing down the rest of the treat, “I really don’t see what Grandpa Blood Moon was on about.”
“So does that mean they’re a part of the family again?” Applebloom excitedly asked.
Granny Smith sat in consideration, “Ya really like it? Not just sayin ya do?”
Citrus excitedly nodded, “I love it!”
The old mare smiled, “Then don’t I feel like an old mule for keeping a grudge all dis time. Y’all better come along, we got a family photo to take!”
