"Come on. Just two more." I was near the end of this week's extensive test and so far I thought I was doing pretty well. But these last two questions were really gettin' on my nerves. "How in Equestria am I supposed to know what 'X' equals to 'Y'? Where are the numbers?"

"Alright, class. Five more minutes and then pencils down." Miss. Ruler announced before going back to her papers.

"This sucks. Maybe if I just put 'Z'?" As I contemplated the answer, the door slammed open to reveal Granny.

"Mrs. Smith! What are you doing here?" Miss. Ruler asked as my granny came in.

"Sorry to bother you like this, but I need to get my grandson. There's a family emergency over at the hospital." As soon as she said that, I already knew what she meant.

"Granny, do you mean?" She smiled and nodded, confirming my suspicion. "Yes! I'm getting a new baby brother or sister!"

"Um, but Miss Smith we're in the middle of a test." Miss Ruler said before I just jotted down a random number and shouted.

"DONE!!"

"Come on, youngin, we got a new family member to greet!"

"Yeah, better hurry to see your new replacement," Cedar said smugly before Miss Ruler suddenly slapped his desk with her textbook.

"Cedar Pines? Detention. All weekend."

Granny sat with Mac and me in the waiting room while we waited for Ma to have her baby. Huh, so that's why it's called the waiting room.

"Granny, is Ma gonna be okay?" Mac asked while playing with that thing that has all the wooden beads on a wire. What is that thing called?

"She's gonna be just fine, deary. She's in there with your Pa right now, and they're gonna come out with a new baby brother or sister," Granny explained to us.

I let out a big sigh that didn't go unnoticed by Granny as I leaned back in my chair and just stared at the clock while waiting for the nurses to come out to give us the good news.

"Why what's wrong, sonny?" She asked as I let out another sigh.

"This will be another baby Ma and Pa will have...one that wasn't found alone like I was."

"And you think we'll love this foal more than we ever loved you? Nonsense." Granny said while wrapping an arm around me.

"Now you listen here John Apple. Family is more than looking like your parents or having the same blood it's about the love we all share with one another. That bond is why I love you, boys, as my grandchildren and why your ma and pa love you as their children. Never forget that."

With her sage wisdom, Granny gave me more comfort than I could ever ask for as we shared a big hug.

"John!" Over at the entrance, I saw Cheery and Filthy run over to us. I got down from my seat and went to greet my friends. Cheery was the first to reach me and brought me in for a hug. "Did we miss anything?"

"No. We're still waiting for them to tell us something." I gave Cheery's cheek a kiss before shaking Filthy's hand. "Did ya'll just get out?"

"We just got out when we heard the news. Thankfully, my father understood the situation and allowed me to come here instead of going to cram school." Filthy sighed as we sat back down.

"Glad my family moment was able to get you out of there," I nudged him while Cheery handed me a piece of paper. "What's this?"

"Miss. Ruler was able to grade our tests. This is yours," She handed me my test and leaned on my shoulder.

I unfolded the piece of paper and had to do a double-take at the result. "A+!! Woo, Hoo!"

"Well, congrats son! We'll tell yer parents once the nurse gives us the good news." Granny smiled when we saw the light above the delivery room turn green and the doctor came out, smiling under his mask.

"Good news everypony. The delivery was a complete success," The doctor told us. "You can go in if you like."

"Come on John! I wanna see the baby!" Mac said while eagerly pulling my arm.

"Alright alright but we gotta be quiet," I said in a hushed voice to my little brother as we walked in to find our ma resting on the bed with her mane completely frazzled and her eyes were looking heavy while holding a little bundle in her arms.

"Hey, boys." She said in a hushed voice as we noticed the little pink blanket.

Mac and I went up to the bed next to Pa and we looked at the baby in Ma's arms. Pa put a hand on our shoulders and introduced us to the baby. "Boys. Meet your sister, Applejack."

The two of us stared in awe at the little filly being held by our mother and couldn't help but give our biggest smiles, especially when she opened her eyes and looked at us curiously.

"She's looking at us!" Mac said with excitement while I waved hello to our new baby sister.

"Meet your big brothers, Applejack," Ma said while gently rocking her when she slowly began to reach out for me.

"Well look at that, she wants to say hello." Granny cooed as I let her grab my finger.

As Applejack held my finger, I felt the urge to smile and cry at the same time.

I was too young to remember Big Mac coming into the world, in fact, I just assumed for the longest time he was already there with me. But seeing her in Ma's arms and knowing what happened really put things into perspective.

"Can I hold her?" I asked. Pa had Mac and I sit in the chairs before he took Applejack in his arms. After giving her forehead a kiss, he let me hold her. "She's so tiny."

"I wanna hold her," Mac begged while holding out his arms to get a chance to hold our baby sister. With calm and steady hands, I handed Applejack to Big Mac.

The little filly squirmed a bit as she felt his hands tickle her side before she looked at him and honked his nose making us laugh.

"Look Pa, she likes me!"

"She likes you both so you boys better do a good job and protect your little sister," Pa said with a proud smile.

"Yes sir!" We both said with firm nods.

"John." I turned to see Cheery and Filthy walk in the door. "Brother or sister?" She asked me.

"Sister. Her name's Applejack," I told her as we watched Mac make funny faces at her.

"She's adorable." Cherilee smiled as Applejack laughed and the nurse came in.

"Alright, everyone. Mother and baby need their rest so I'm afraid it's time to go." The nurse told us.

"Aww, do we have to?" Mac asked as Ma took Applejack back in her arms.

"Afraid so sweetie but don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to play with her when we get home," Ma assured us.

Big Mac and I gave Ma a hug before we left with Pa and Granny out of the hospital. As we kept walking home, I couldn't stop smiling and shedding a tear at how cute my new baby sister is. Cheery saw this and kissed my cheek while holding my hand. "I saw that, you big softie."

"I can't help it. She's just so cute. I can't help smiling to the point it hurts," I told her while lightly squeezing her hand. "Not as cute as you of course."

"Charmer," Cheery told me before we kept walking back to the farm.

Later that night

"Waaahaha! Waaaaa!" I woke up from my dream of eating a giant pie when I heard Applejack crying. I jumped out of bed and headed toward my little sister's room.

When I went in, I saw she was crying in her crib. I went over and put my hand in her crib and started massaging her belly. "Shhh, shhh. It's okay. Big brother John's here."

Applejack's crying started to slow and she started to calm down a little. When her crying stopped altogether, she reached up and grabbed my index finger. I sat down in the chair by her crib and stayed there until she was ready to go back to sleep.

Morning

"John. John, wake up honey." I was woken up from yet another dream, this time by Ma. "Honey, were you here all night?"

"Mmmm, all night where?" I asked as my eyes adjusted. When they did, I saw I was in Applejack's room with my hand through the little bars. And in the crib, she was still sound asleep, holding my hand close as she did. "Oh, I guess I did."

"Well, butter my biscuits. Ain't this the cutest thing I ever done seen," I heard Granny say as she came into the room as well. "Oh, don't move! Let me go get the camera."

As Granny went to go get the camera, Ma came over and hugged me. "That was a very nice thing for you to do. You're being a very good big brother."

"Thanks, Ma," I told her as she kissed my forehead.

After Granny snapped a quick photo, my little sis began to stir from her sleep as she let go of my hand to rub her eyes and give a big yawn with maw standing over the crib.

"Go wash up hon, I got her."

"Right, ma." I yawned before gently ruffling Applejack's head and headed off to brush my teeth and get ready for another day of school.

"Come on boys, breakfast time!" Granny called us down from upstairs as Mac and I raced each other to the table for that first stack of her famous pancakes.

As usual, I was the first to make it to the table, so the first stack of fluffy goodness was mine to claim. While I poured syrup onto my stack and Big Mac got his breakfast, Ma came down with Applejack in a green onesie. "Morning boys."

"Hi, Ma!" Mac cheered while Ma seated herself next to him and he waved hello to our baby sister. "Hi, Applejack." He smiled happily as she gave a few cute babbles and flailed her arms around clearly trying to wave hello.

Ma sat next to me and I was able to give Applejack's belly a tickle, making her laugh out loud. "Alright, enough playing around. Eat your breakfast and get ready for school, young man."

"Yes, Ma." I went back to my pancakes but I also kept making faces at Applejack, making her giggle some more. She's fun to be with.

Author's Note

Sorry if this took longer than it needed to be. I've had some changes in my life recently. Namely, getting a new job. Anyway, I want to thank Valiant Charge for his help in making this chapter. The fact is, I might just have to say he's the co-writer.

Now, for some clips.