[Ponyville] Foalish Introduction [Closed for now]

[Hippo]

Applejack nodded with the other ponies, as everyone seemed to agree, Valen's experience so far was nothing short of taste testing sour apples. And then Granny shouted a threat of something about being court-martialed. That was a random Granny interjection, but it made Applejack realize what she said when she said that anypony who visits the farm is as good as family to her. Applejack spoke objectionably to everypony. "But see, that's just it. Valen IS family. He's a cousin on mah mother's side, son of mah Uncle and Aunt Orange. So we need to give him the love, care, and attention he deserves for simply being of the same blood, even it's not 100% apple blood."

Applejack thought for a moment and then delivered her short plans. "So here's the plan. Gerty, you are good at drawing. Do you think you could draw Valen something special? Something maybe he would like? Sunrise, you already helped him by fixing his teeth. But he can go back to eating sweets as soon as he wakes up right? Do you think you could get him a big bag of special treats with his name on it for him? I bet he's gonna be powerful hungry when he gets up, anyways. And Granny? Granny!?" Applejack shouted to her hard-of-hearing elder. "Granny, do you think you could gather up some comfortable blankets and pillows for a nighttime picnic?" Applejack looked at the other mares as she revealed her big secret. "We're gonna need those blankets and pillows if we're going to be comfortable outside for a session of marshmallow roastin'!" Applejack smiled big and winked an eye.

"Alright, Granny! Bring out them pies! I'm more hungry than a newborn caterpillar during harvest season!" Applejack tied a kerchief around her neck as she licked her lips for supper.

Make your last post for this time period, as our next round will take place later in the evening.

[Mojo]

"You got it, AppleJack!" Granny Smith shouted as she gave a 'military salute' with her left front hoof as she marched into the kitchen, returning moments later with several fresh apple pies. "Everypony eat up! Got plenty of pies! And while y'all's eatin', I'll go fetch them blankets and pillers fer ya!"

Moving as fast as she could (which was still very slow), the elderly mare walked into a hall closet and pulled down a big woven basket that was loaded with many colorful blankets.

"Thar's the blankets, now I gotta git the pillers!" the gray maned mare neighed as she stuck her head into the closet once more and began to pull white feather pillows out one by one. "HOW MANY ARE YA GONNA NEED?"

[SteelEagle]

Everypony went through stages in life that required such mental acuity and relaxation that they demanded slumber. Rarely did such stages start their activity and transition somepony from one realm of existence to another in a planned manner, as their very nature demanded discordant emotions and thoughts colliding haphazardly and with a lack of control. They demanded internal dissent and chaos and the background noise of a mind maturing enough to accept it. It was the start of something grand, the start of something terrifying, the start of understanding and appreciation for life outside one's norm. Maturity of soul and the grandness of life lessons were rarely able to be seen nor felt. Sleep was where it plied its trade, and Valen found himself trapped in a beautiful nightmare.

The events of the day collided and broke him. His mind tasted the fear as the tongue may taste the dirt or the soul feel such heavy blows as repeated failures compounded on one another. Such was the requirement for something new to be born, something better and stronger than that which stood before in a space fruitlessly occupied by shaking foundations. He had to be broken. He was broken. Now the mind worked to rebuild, but found itself aimlessly constructing something different. Perhaps it came to everypony, but to Valen who could comprehend only the dark space between awareness and dreaming, he felt it uniquely. Realizations were distant and maturity felt out of hoof only because a mind shackled so soberly with an inability to aware lacked the ability to fully understand what was happening to it. That was fine. His mind was still incapable of grasping the realizations that hit him as he slept. This is when mental growth hit, and as all spurts of awareness were wont to do, he was apt to not know them for some time.

Some time, many hours perhaps, after his body had come to rest it rose suddenly. He had not moved an inch the whole time, having fallen asleep in the very position Applejack had tucked him in and not having the energy to even kick out the nicely tucked in sheets. Valen turned to give this room, her room, the once over with bleary, drained eyes. A small vanity that collected dust hosted a rope that seemingly revolted at the thought. Next to his head, an alarm clock and lamp held vigil, also having gathered dust. Apparently an earth pony had little need for the former and Applejack saw little need for the latter. Beyond that, her room seemed bare, empty. Not lifeless as in this half-awake state he could not make out the finest of details, but utterly lacking in the evidence of a miscreant or unsavory adolescence. To her had come just work, a long line of tasks which had been thrusted upon her.

Valen's head fell back down and he fell asleep once more, his brain kickstarting as the information from the emerging subconscious was deciphered by whatever third party influence sought growth in him. The details of her history and personality coalesced with the philosophical musings of growth that purged foalishness for that moment from his memory. She was a strong mare who kept a smile, who worked hard and with love, with care and attention given to pony and tree in their required manners and then some. What had created this mare?

It was as if the awkwardness of her adolescence never happened. Wherever she maneuvered, the earth would erupt in life and lay down in front her as if she were it's priestess and it existed only to obey. Her movements were not marked with the subtle strain of trained repetition, but with a grace that only comes through the intention of nature. Such grace that cannot be described with words, but is recognizable to every creature that lays eyes upon it. This was her domain and she belonged to it as it to her.

The answer came to him. Life itself and the lessons taught to her by both failure and success were what had created Applejack. This had in turn crafted a pony with such command of the aura around her that within its beam few things could escape her influence. Earlier, how many times had his raging emotions been halted by kind words or smiles? And his experience with the work told him that she had to have a mastery of the Earth Pony's connection with nature to handle such loads and chores. This was the result of success. This was the result of failure. Terrible, nasty failure. Her room told him she was a pony devoted to the orchard, which in turn had produced such bounty for her. Symbiotic relationship between mare and nature, between success and failure.

He had failed that day, and not just physically. His body had been found wanting at nearly every assigned tasked. His will had been broken with ease and every possible avenue of success had been blocked and then smashed in his face. He had crumbled earlier and wept, angry and hurt, another failure to toss in a shamefully large pile of them. He had failed; he was a failure. Such was the conclusion he solemnly reached subconsciously.

But it did not have to be that way, remain that way, stay that way, block his growth and stunt his ability to mature. He had failed and from this success would spring. Born from it would be something new, better, greater. In Valen's dark and ageless slumber he would learn something awesome and powerful. In ways he wouldn't yet realize and would only come into focus weeks, months, maybe a year later, Valen was learning to persevere.

*******

It had been a few hours since he had half-woken up and studied her room without focus when Valen finally awoke. He pulled himself up and felt the dull drumming of his head lessen as he stood up, like the bass was being dropped until it vanished into the orchestral score of life. He took a few steps and the bones in his body protested, Valen's response to arch his back unconsciously until he heard a sickening crack and relief spread up and down his spine. He slowly walked to the door and opened it before making his way down the hall and stairs, taking care to give his shaken hooves the confidence to move forward. When he crested the bottom of the staircase, he allowed his voice to carry forth.

"Hello? I hope everypony is still awake..." He said, the possibility that he was about to interrupt the sleeping schedules of orchard folk leaking in weakly.

[Hippo]

Applejack walked out of the carrot cottage. She had just allowed Gerty to stay the night in a spare bedroom. Hopefully, her memory would get better over a good night's sleep. Fortunately though, before she went to bed, she left a drawing present for Valen that was left on the dinner table in the kitchen in the barnhouse. Gerty knew he would love it, and Applejack thought it was pretty neat too. She wishes she could draw like that, but she has talent elsewhere. Next to the drawing was a sealed envelope that said VALEN, TAKE THIS TO THE BACKYARD BUT DON'T OPEN IT YET.

Granny Smith had baked lots of snacks and tasty treats for an outside late night picnic. The sweet midnight banquet would include leftover apple pie, apple strudels, candy apples, marshmallows, and lots of candies that Sunrise Wisp had provided. Sunrise was also helping Applejack pick up firewood for a campfire that was to take place at Applejack's favorite camping spot on the farm. The spot was so special, that Apple Bloom and she had set up a permanent tent for special nights where the sisters would spend an evening roasting marshmallows and telling stories. A true socially bonding spot. Sometimes, they even decided to sleep under the stars as weather would permit. Applejack was sure Valen would love it.

Applejack gave a positive sigh as she slowing walked over behind the barn area, picking up tools and rakes that were left out and pitched them against the building not to be stepped on. For it was dark outside now, and she didn't want anypony risking injury. Behind the barn, Applejack was setting a fire up. This fire, however, was not out in the open, but was kindling a large pot of water with a pump on it. This apparatus hung right over a wooden stall that allowed for ponies to take much needed outside showers, before they pranced their muddy hooves inside the clean house. Unfortunately, Applejack was unable to allow Valen a shower before he slept. But she wanted him to feel clean before he didn't anything else. She figured by the time the water was heated up, Valen would be up from his nap.

[Mojo]

"I'm a comin', AppleJack!" Granny Smith neighed as the slow moving elderly mare walked over towards her. "Got it all set up fer ya jist like ya wanted! Got plenty of picnic food over yonder on that table. Fresh apple pies too! We're gonna give Valen the best hospitality in all the land! By the way, what ever came of Gerty? Ain't seen hide nor hair of her fer a long spell. Is she doin' alright?"

Granny couldn't remember all that had happened to Gerty earlier, but she did seem to remember a few sketchy details about the cart ride they shared earlier. The bits and pieces of the incident she could recollect didn't make much sense, but the gray maned mare DID seem to recall that Gerty had gotten injured somehow.

[SteelEagle]

Valen found the downstairs utterly abandoned. Perhaps after a hard day of labor for the greater good of the family they had laid their heads to rest on their warm pillows in their beds in their older style, though still quite effective, rooms. He couldn't blame them. If his chores today had been any indication of the intensity and scale of what they considered a fun day on the job at an orchard, it was bone chilling and heart-pounding to consider what they would consider a hard day's work. Was he to find out? Scratch his previous assertion, for that thought did chill his bones and forced his heart into a vicious drum solo. Valen could only shake his head and recover from a momentary dizzy spell as his heart went into overdrive, calming back down when he could convince it that all was well. That was a lie and he knew it.

Everything was not well. The nap had done wonders but rest alone could not heal beyond allowing the mind to cope. No doubt that was a powerful tool, but the brain could not by itself make him ignore his richly deserved hunger nor his various physical ailments. What it did allow him to do was plain deal with it, which is exactly what he needed to do. He assumed the orchard folk did just that and while he was by no means equal to them in, well, any way he could think of, he was perfectly fine with pulling the wool over his head for the day. Or week. Or month, sweet Celestia, a month. He might be completely destroyed. Valen wandered around the kitchen and initially thought that he might find himself something to eat, to calm the storm that even dulled seemed to make his innards implode. A quick search around the kitchen revealed this was a foolish proposition, a forlorn hope of the cruelest kind. He had no innate cooking ability and as a skill it was beyond awful, and everything in the kitchen required either cooking or seemed to be more in line with Granny Smith's tastes. Prunes held no special place in his heart.

Dejected and defeated once more, Valen considered his options. Were was Applejack sleeping if not her own room? She had been kind, choosing to let him recover from her day of work-torture-funhouse play time. None of them snored? Deep sleepers and a house so quiet that he felt some guilt even walking, his well-made and expensive horse shoes having slightly more click and clack to them than your average run of the mill horseshoes. He did not feel tired, at least not anymore as his nap had been divinely inspired. He could either stand in the house like some creepy little colt, or he could go and study the orchard some more by laying down in the grass and listening to the somewhat unnerving silence. Of all the options, that was the most likely to be successful.

Valen opened the door quietly and shut it with just as much precision, slowly and carefully heading down the stairs to minimize the sound of his shoe-clad hooves. Once he met nature, he started a healthy trot. He had no ambition of heading deeper into the orchard to do some communal loonyness with the spirits of the orchard or whatever manner of silliness the less realistically inclined pony would consider doing, but a nice hill within rock-shot of the front door seemed to be a fine place to rest his flank. Besides, even if he was doomed to a month of hard labor in the blazing sun, he could always rest in the silence and beauty of the orchard at night. Valen chuckled loudly to himself- now that sounded like a pony who was going to commune with orchard spirits.

[Hippo]

Applejack spotted Valen over on the hill he was resting at. She ran over with joy. Taking him by his shoulders, she picked up Valen in haste to her better judgment. "Little cuz! You're awake! Come here, I got somethin' for ya." Applejack swept Valen up onto her back, his legs straddled the ridges of her spine. She walked him over to where she was preparing a session for Valen to wash up. Granted the apple family had all the water closet fixings inside, Applejack thought it would be best if Valen's muddy and beaten pelt was rinsed down and scrubbed well outside in their utility-sized showering tub.

She dumped Valen into the tub which was already filled with warm water, heated by the flames that kindled underneath it. Applejack grabbed a crowbar. "Nao hold shtill. Let'sh get theshe shoes off ya." She swung the crowbar towards Valen and into the water. She lifted him up by his legs and pried off all four horseshoes that he was wearing. In a matter of seconds, she had taken them all off and piled them outside of the tub. She then grabbed a knife. A blade that could easily pierce the skin of a pony if it was not carried with caution. Applejack reached into the tub and grabbed his feet again, taking her knife in mouth to the dirt and gunk that built up on Valen's hooves. Even Applejack's hooves weren't this dirty most of the time.

After a good scrapping of his hooves, Applejack set him back up straight and allowed him to observe as normal. Applejack grabbed a long brush with very large bristles that were soft to the touch. Back and forth, Applejack started brushing his entire body, enough to have bubbles inspired by the soap in the water accumulate over the height of his body. Applejack made sure she got Valen nice and lathered before dropping the brush and putting her front hooves to a water pump. As she pumped, warm water came raining down on Valen in the tub, washing away suds on his body and face, and dissipating the bubbles that blocked his vision. She did this for a good couple minutes, giving Valen a chance to wander in the tub to his own desire. The tub was filling with water, but the tub's rim was not any higher than the base of a foal's tail.

After ample amounts of rinsing time endured, Applejack stopped pumping and grabbed a large bath towel that hung on a nearby clothesline. The towel sported the trademark apple logo the family labeled everywhere, and featured a strong helping of the color orange. With the towel, she grabbed Valen and pulled him out of the water. Wrapping him into a practical ball of pony, she covered him in the towel and rubbed his entire body. Gently, yet forcibly, she dried Valen's pelt to the point to where when she removed the towel, Valen's pelt hair stood on it's ends, and his mane and tail were in the shape the towel last allowed. Applejack grabbed an over-sized comb and began running it through his mane and tail, sculpting his hair to a respectable position, even if it's not his usual style.

Applejack draped the towel over Valen for him to use if he wanted and she walked over to where his dirty shoes were. One by one, she took the shoes and scrubbed them clean in the tub using a stiff bristled brush. As she did so, she talked to Valen. "Feel good and clean, little guy? I figured you were wanting a bath, so I set this up for you." She grabbed shoe number two. "I got some fun stuff planned tonight, I hope you aren't too tired. Do you like candy?" She grabbed shoe number three. "Did you get that envelope with your name on it inside the barnhouse? You need to go get that, I gotta show you something cool!" She grabbed the last shoe. "And then after that, I want you to join Sunrise, Granny, and myself over by one of my favorite spots on the entire farm, a secluded area where Abby and I always spent our sister nights together when it's not rainin'."

Applejack took all four shoes, all of which were shimmering with the sparkle of clean stainless steel and set them next to Valen. "You know how to put your shoes on, right? Meet me by the tool shed once you get that envelope." Applejack winked at Valen. She had a few surprises for him, and she couldn't wait to show him some of her greatest loves of life. Sharing was the most important thing to her in the whole world. For, without the ability to share things, everything the family stood for, all of the sales of apples, all of the donations to Appleloosa, all of the friendships built over the years, they all would become null. Applejack loves Valen. And she shared things with ponies she loves. She just hoped Valen would appreciate it, after his experience on the farm had been so hazardous.

Granny was nearby when Applejack walked to the tool shed. "Great! Oh my, I'm gettin' so excited now. This is my favorite part of havin' family an' friends. Oh no, Gerty's fine, Granny, I put her to bed in the carrot cottage for the night. I think it would be best if she put down for the night, maybe in the morning she'll have all of her memories returned to her." Applejack sat on her haunches, and looked up at the stars that started to show through the now darkened sky. She reminisced as she thought about the beauty of the opportunity to give something to somepony else. Surely, it always felt better to give than receive. "We need to make sure everything is perfect for Valen. And I'm about to share with him our family ritual." Applejack winked at Granny Smith, hoping she would get what she was saying.

[Mojo]

Granny gave an understanding nod to her granddaughter. The elderly mare was forgetful at times, but old Apple Family traditions was one thing she ALWAYS remembered. This thought gave Granny Smith a bit more 'pep in her step' as she continued to help get everything ready for later on.

"There Applejack, how does all this here look? Need anything more?"

[SteelEagle]

Valen had trotted over to his appointed, beautiful position with which to allow himself a moment of reflection and peace when the cruel hooves of fate drew in after an equally sinister silence that preceded it masked the approach of Applejack. How was it that under no circumstance could he hear the fervent and speedy gallop of a healthy, muscle-having Earth pony approach? Perhaps it was his years of living in the city that dulled them but regardless, there was not going to be a period of calm and rest without the over-bearing nature of revelation and internal disharmony running roughshod over him. That was silly for him to have thought he would have such luck.

Before Valen could even orient himself to the sound of oncoming hooves, he was up on Applejack like she was offering him a piggyback ride on her shoulders. It was disorienting and he could feel his little heart start beating the drums of panic once more as images of the earlier series of increasingly disastrous disasters pierced his inner defenses. The breach was swiftly contained as he realized that this was, after all, Applejack and she promised him something he would enjoy. How lame would it have been to have had all that interpersonal semi-mystical manure happen to him while he slept only for him to freak out right off the bat? It would have been incessantly lame and while he may have preferred quite a number of lame things, he was not about to up the ante just yet. Valen regained himself and smiled- even a nervous smile was an improvement.

"A-Applejack, you could have just asked!" He semi-protested, more kidding than anything else. He doubted words were much exchanged in these parts; actions spoke louder than them, as the saying went.

Then he was thrown into a- IS THAT A CAULDRON FOR BOILING PONIES IN OH DEAR CELESTIA THEY'RE CANNIBALS- bathtub full of water, he calmly reminded himself as he sucked in the warm, warm water. He wasn't sure whether she had just stopped short and he had flown or if he was truly tossed in but the result was the same as he twisted and twirled in the bath water. Well, he could certainly use a bath and he was buoyed by this thought as he rose to the surface. The first thought on his mind was to thank Applejack for this very kind-

-SHE IS WIELDING A CROWBAR AND IS COMING FOR MY SCALP, LUNA'S STARS!

He had no time to refute this crazy thought as the crowbar made contact and pulled him up, discombobulating the colt as she went to work on his hooves. It took him a full second to do anything but freeze up at the first feeling of fear, and that was all he needed to have in order to realize she was just taking his horseshoes off. With a crowbar. If his head wasn't under the water as she took the horseshoes off he'd say something about the delicacy of his custom made Neeeeeeeeighky horseshoes and how a crowbar was everything but the right tool for the job, but his head was under water and that was the end of that petition. After a few more moments he could feel his shoes were off and started to pull his head out of the water. He saw his cousin with a knife- TARTARUS BELOW SHE'S GOING TO GUT- he shook himself and allowed his head to fall back in, fighting back the paranoia and fear that with great despnation assailed his defenses. It wasn't going to happen; she was a good mare and it was beneath him as family to freak out.

Just as he calmed himself, he felt his hooves shock and send a tingle down to every nerve in his body as she went about cleaning the gunk off of his hooves. It was alarming how alert his nerves were to this scraping feeling and he bunched his shoulders up as she did it, almost feeling like he was about to freak out from the 'tingles' as his mother would call it. Soon, that passed and he was propped up to enjoy the warm water once more. His hooves felt nearly weightless without the shoes, as if he was a balloon without a tether. She started brushing him, a nice mixture between a soft brush and the sheer strength of Applejack. For a colt accustomed to fine treatment, it was brutally enjoyable. He could feel the day's worries and trials being washed away in senses both literal and figurative, the bubbles rising and overtaking him just as his body settled from being dropped in like a bad soap. She had done this before, many times he felt like, and he gave a silent thanks to his little cousin Apple Bloom who was not here for providing her sister with the experience necessary to properly pamper him. He was left alone for another brief moment before she started pumping more water into the tub.

He fell back into it and allowed the water to own him completely, letting out a contented and relieved sigh. No, his paranoia had been proven false and now he felt entirely silly as Applejack worked herself to provide for him. What was it about a foalish mind that so swiftly settled on outlandish scenarios? Whatever it had been had set his mind at an uneasy level that only now, as Applejack pumped the water, came back down to Earth. It was so rude of him to think such things as he saw her work so hard to provide for him; as much as she was promising him something wonderful, she was already doing it. He fell back some more and allowed the water to rise to his face. The only thing that was missing from a true spa experience was a back massage and some fragrances. Did a farmer mare have fragrances? He'd have to find out. First off, paying her back in some small way.

"Thank you, Applejack. This is simply luxurious," He said softly, falling into a spa-acquired accent by the end. He wondered if she had ever been to the spa and knew the greatest luxury one could ever ask for. If not, then this cursed mare would have to allow Valen to treat her. It was only proper.

He was in the midst of this comfort when he was pulled out and she set upon him with a towel. Having somepony else dry him was in many ways highly uncomfortable and once or twice he felt his limbs clench up in response. Still, he doubted he could stop her from doing whatever it was she was going to do and in a matter of moments he was dry. He couldn't even comment on the manner of his hair, which was standing on edge, as she went to brushing him quickly. It wasn't his style but it was still something and while the entire experience was somewhat emasculating, he wasn't a colt with much to emasculate in the first place. She started drying his horseshoes but before she could speak, he started.

"That was wonderful, Applejack," He said with almost no nervousness remaining. She started cleaning his horseshoes with as much care as his mum and through the process continued speaking. Did he feel good and clean? "Yes, as a matter of fact I do." Was he necessarily wanting a bath? Not really, but it was a wonderful surprise that the mare had in store for him. He just had a nap, so he didn't find himself devoid of energy and- "Of course I love candy!"- he smiled as she continued. Candy, candy, candy! She finished with some marching orders and he excitedly nodded and ran off.

It didn't take but five shakes of a flank for him to make his way to the barnhouse and see the envelope. A large part of his mental power was exhausted trying to follow orders, as any foal around a secret envelope had a natural desire to buck orders and open the envelope up. Celestia's grace above, he was no ordinary colt and he clasped the envelope in his mouth and started trotting back. Inside, his excitement was building. What was going to happen? He rarely had such reasons for excitement. He led a very regimented and organized life as even his silly fun and enjoyment fit within the parameters of a schedule. That extended to the types of gifts and surprises he got from his parents and beyond: Wonderful and boring. The joy never felt different but perhaps he had become accustomed to it. This felt utterly different, the unknown unknown of what constituted fun and surprising to a farm family. It then struck him as comical that it would be very surprising if he received something he would get back home. Surprising and boring, however, did not seem the Apple family way. Exciting yet commonplace seemed more the style.

Valen trotted to the appointed location, spotting the Apple family. His pace quickened, the shoes he had made sure to put back on his hooves pounding away with abandon as he drew close.

[Hippo]

Applejack beamed as she saw the excited colt run up to her. This was the first time she had seen this much excitement from him. It was almost like he had returned from a long trip and his eyes rayed the joy of seeing hid older cousin for the first time in days. Applejack, who was not foreign to such a response received goosebumps that riddled her spine. The feeling never got old to her. "Well I'll be a peachy on a plum tree. You grabbed that envelope lickety split!" Applejack rubbed Valen's mane back down to a mess, just enough for him to not be able to boast his style. She wasn't sure why she did it, but it felt like she needed to in order to keep the foal from putting on a saddle that was too big for him. Applejack knew what Valen was all about, so she 'fixed' his mane accordingly. "Just hold onto that for a few minutes, alright?"

Applejack responded back to Granny. "Oh Granny, it sounds like we got everything squared away. I hope Apple Bloom comes back before too late. She loves to eat marshmallows!" Applejack winked at Valen, giving him just a hint of what he could look forward to. What pony, especially a young foal, could resist a snack of marshmallows? "Granny Smith, come with us, wont you? In fact, could you tell us the story of when you and mah great grand dad planted yur first apple tree?" Applejack picked herself and walked towards the apple orchard, along a path that fell into the abyss of apple trees, which shadowed the light that emitted from the candles inside the barn and cottage. The deeper they got, the more they relied on moonlight to see. Applejack's smile, however, failed to drop even the slightest.

[Mojo]

"That thar's a dandy idear, AppleJack!" Granny Smith neighed as she followed them, telling the story as she walked.

“It was a long, long time ago, before there was a Sweet Apple Acres er Ponyville fer that matter! I was a little filly at the time. After we got settled and discovered Zap Apples, Pa wanted to git an apple orchard goin’ quickly, and since all those apple seeds we planted wasn’t gonna grow into an orchard overnight, he made up his mind to go out into the wilderness, find a full grown apple tree and replant it in our backyard! Naturally, I and my brothers went with Pa to help him out. After trotting through the woods fer a long spell, Pa stopped THE most wonderful apple tree we’ve ever seen! Magnificent branches, good sturdy stock and nearly ready to bud too! We carefully dug it out and carted it back home, planting it not far from the house. After a few weeks, Ma and Pa noticed that the tree wasn’t blossoming. While they and my brothers was tryin’ to figger out the problem, I took a stroll over to the tree. Don’t ask me how or why it happened, but I could swear that tree was, talkin’ to me! At first I thought it was my imagination, but that tree called me out by name and told me how lonely it was! Well, I could understand that, being moved away from familiar surroundin’s can be really distressin’ to anypony, or fer that matter, any tree! So from that day on, everyday I’d go out and talk to that tree. I kept it company durin’ the day, even slept under it at night. Ma, Pa and my brothers all thought I was crazy, but I knew exactly what I was doin’! One week later, I woke up to see that the tree had finally blossomed! I was so happy, and boy was Ma and Pa surprised! When they saw how healthier that tree had become, they began speakin’ to the tree too! We even went back into the woods and transplanted more of the other apple trees from where we got that one! We had a bumper crop of apples that year! SO many apples that we began sellin’m to neighbors, even bakin’m into pies to sell too! And that’s how our apple orchard started, with that first apple tree. His name was Rootstock, he told me himself! Good ol’ Root’s still out thar, give’n us a good yield of apples every year. I still walk out into the orchard and talk to Root from time to time. Say Valen, ya wanna meet’m?”

[SteelEagle]

Valen was a risk-averse pony who had a healthy streak of judging when to declare something a lost cause and trot away with what remained. At this stage and with Applejack's repeated assaults upon his mane, any semblance of superb styling had flown faster than a pegasus out the window. She ruffled his mane some more and sent into chaos before doing what she could to reset it, which in effect was just making it a little more chaotic. He smiled and attempted to pull away from her but found the effort fruitless- any mare who could handle an orchard like the vastness that was mislabeled Sweet Apple Acres could handle with breezy work a colt of his size. He wanted to protest her assault but found that the envelope in his mouth impeded his ability to speak profoundly. Why, he bet Applejack had planned this all along, her sly and cunning ways now finally revealed to him, he thought with amusement.

That amusement did not abate when she mentioned marshmallows, Valen's eyes lighting up tremendously as the very thought of the gooey deliciousness sent his mane on edge. It was a rare, rare thing for there to be marshmallows within a hundred yards of a colt of his temperament. His parents didn't like the gooey mess they caused and more to the point there wasn't a fire worthy of them in his household. The magically-enhanced fireplaces provided warmth, but the lack of a truly hot fire stole the wind from the sails of any prospective marshmallow event. He could count more hooves on him than occasions where he had eaten marshmallows, which was a source of deep sorrow seeing as marshmallows were likely one of the greatest things ever invented. Again, in his exuberance, he was denied the ability to speak because of the envelope. Applejack and her crafty wit struck again.

They continued to walk deeper into the orchard and the ritualistic feeling of the whole event grew as the moments passed quickly. Away from the warm light of glowing civilization the candles and lamps that provided illumination in the world governed by Luna they could only see the trees that crowded around them in their uneven and likely chaotic rows through her eternal goodwill and gift of moonlight. It draped in and out and ducked in between the limbs of the great trees gracefully, the soft light of the night providing what they needed and little more in its glowing conservation. It was harder for Valen than it was for the farmers to see, of this much he was certain. In the crowded city of Manehattan the towering skyscrapers blocked from view all but the most brilliant of moonlight in the darkest of places, streets and buildings positively glowing with the false light of magic and basic electricity that sought to emulate Celestia and by doing so dishonor Luna's work. Why did anypony need a lamp in a small town like this, Valen wondered, when the moon did the job perfectly well? It was so different from what he was used to and he liked it.

He was in the middle of a heavy thought process when Granny Smith started her story, which took him a bit by surprise. It took a few seconds for him to catch up but when he did he heard a doozy of a story. Her story displayed the difference that just a few generations can make. Her kin thought her mad because they did not understand then what was widely understood now: All ponies, even the most boring Earth pony, are magical creatures. Earth Ponies commonly have an innate connection to the Earth, the soil, the air they breathed and the snapping energies that crackled soundlessly around everypony. It didn't come as a surprise that she and her family were able to talk to trees and commune with them as fools commune with sages as they were perfectly situated by fate itself. He smiled- it was very sweet to hear the story and even before she asked him if he wanted to talk to Root, he gathered that was the end of this path they tread together. It once again added to the ritual aura that surrounded it, an initiation of sorts into a loving fold. He felt entirely inadequate to be here or be a party to such wonders, honored to be considered and terrified that he was unworthy.

"Yes, Granny Smith. Meeting Rootstock would be a delight," Valen stated as he allowed his pace to slacken for the benefit of Granny Smith.

"Well, as long as there are marshmallows still! I've only ever had them two or three times. It's almost impossible to find a good fire in Manehattan that isn't magically enhanced and has a real fire at its core rather than flailing embers," He added, nodding faux-grimly at Applejack. Come Tartarus or high water, he was going to get some marshmallows.

[Hippo]

[colour=#ff6600]Applejack turned around in her pace as she realized the other two slowed during Granny's story. She smiled as Granny lectured on the findings of communication with trees, something that at some point in time seemed so trivial and pointless. But today, it was like common knowledge at the orchard, even if Rarity didn't understand. Trees need bedtime stories, too.[/colour]

[colour=#ff0000]"Yup."[/colour][colour=#ff6600] Applejack made a slight detour in their route towards Rootstock. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "See, Valen, us apple ponies have a special connection with these trees. And since you're technically part of the family, so do you!"[/colour][colour=#ff6600] Applejack winked at him. She had wondered if Valen would get it. It wasn't as if the trees actually spawned mouths and talk audibly to the ponies. It wasn't even telekinetic. I was a feeling, an understand that you could sense in the bottom of your soul that a tree was speaking with you. Honest Applejack would actually be very surprised if Valen was able to have a conversation with a tree, especially since it was his first time. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Here we are, Valen. Meet, Rootstock."[/colour]

[colour=#ff6600]Applejack placed a hoof gently on the bark and caressed it slowly in a swirly motion. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Hey Rootstock! How's it hangin'?"[/colour][colour=#ff6600] Applejack looked at Valen as she spoke. Her facial expression was sturdy. Smiling with joy, but serious enough to help the colt understand that this truly was no prank. This was as real as it gets.[/colour]

[Mojo]

[colour=#006400][colour=#00FF00][colour=#00FF00]

[/colour][/colour][/colour]

Granny Smith smiled as she slowly walked up to Rootstock. Telling that old story had brought so many happy memories that the elderly mare couldn't help but smile. She even giggled a bit at AppleJack's question to her tree friend. Granny closed her eyes and, low and behold, she could 'hear' Rootstock talking to her once again.

[colour=#00FF00]"He said 'my branches are hanging fine,' " [/colour]the gray maned mare said, [colour=#00FF00]"Oh, and Rootstock says howdy to ya, Valen! Even after all these years, Rootstock still speaks to me! Sometimes he ain't got much to say, and sometimes when I'm out here with him, I do all the talkin', but I reckon this here tree'll always be special to me. Can ya understand that, Valen?"[/colour]

[SteelEagle]

Valen wasn't sure about having any sort of special connection to nature. A special connection to pavement, perhaps, or an expertise in negotiating retail seemed far more likely. He doubted his parents had anything beyond their material connections and negotiating skills. The skills that paid the bills as it were did not include speaking with trees, which seemed an oddly Apple family specific thing. Despite being related, he had his personal doubts that he would be able to communicate with the trees as well as they could. The Apples, after all, harvested apples on ancestral ground and were in-tune with nature. He was in tune for a hooficure and a nice spa session with lemon pie at the end, and now that he thought about it, there was an appointment he'd have to make sure to cancel.

That didn't provide so much of a distraction that he couldn't look at what the two wonderfully nice lunatics that passed for family were doing. They weren't truly insane, but even as a pony who knew of their special connection, he had to admit that it certainly looked awkward. He supposed that rituals often did. Applejack and Granny went about conversing with Rootstock for a short while, both of them equally friendly as they were deadly serious. Valen, however, heard nothing but silence as his relatives held a brief conversation with Rootstock before turning to him for his involvement. He took a deep gulp as he stepped towards the tree.

[colour=#0033cc]"Well, I didn't hear a peep, but, uhh, I'll try," [/colour]He muttered an affirmation weakly as he slowly closed the gap between him and Rootstock until it was just him and the tree. He didn't feel anything, didn't hear anything, and he certainly had his ear on the trunk unknowingly long enough to have heard something. Well, Granny Smith said he could sometimes be a bit quiet.

[colour=#0033cc]"Err, uhh, hello there Rootstock! My name's Valen Orange and...uhh...I like your branches!"[/colour] Valen offered in a fit of panic and was so pleased with himself that he patted the trunk.

[Hippo]

[colour=#ff6600]The leaves on rootstock shook, not altogether, but in single places at a time. The shaking got closer and closer to the bottom, until finally, an apple emerged falling through the leaves, hitting Valen on the head.[/colour]

[colour=#ff0000]"Oh! I'm sorry, Valen. It hit you're head, you ok?"[/colour][colour=#ff6600] Applejack hugged Valen immediately, trying to level out any discomfort. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Rootstock didn't mean to do that. Sometimes that just happens."[/colour]

[colour=#ff6600]Applejack zipped to Rootstock's trunk. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "Isn't that right, wittle Wootstock?"[/colour]

[colour=#ff6600]She turned to Valen. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"You forgive Rootstock, don't ya?"[/colour]

[Mojo]

[colour=#006400][colour=#00FF00][colour=#00FF00]

[/colour][/colour][/colour]

[colour=#006400][colour=#00FF00][colour=#00FF00]"Sure! Ol' Rootstock here wouldn't hurt a fly on purpose," [/colour][/colour][/colour]Granny Smith said. [colour=#00FF00]"Apple trees ain't violent at'all! But they sure do need plenty of tender lovin' care. That's why Sweet Apple Acres apples are so special, Happy trees make happy apples, I always say."[/colour]

The elderly mare reached over to hug Valen.

[colour=#00FF00]"You alright, youngin?" [/colour]the gray maned mare said softly as she looked up to Applejack. [colour=#00FF00]"Why is everypony we've been havin' as guests lately gittin' bonked on the head all the time?"[/colour]

[SteelEagle]

The apple cracked against his skull, not that there was much it could do by this stage that hadn't already been done by a combination of hard work and fevered chickens on a rampage. His eyes rolled for a bit in response, but beyond that he lacked any real response to it. If he wasn't getting used to unreasonable head trauma at this stage, then he wasn't fit to be an Apple pony for a while. Or even survive as one, come to think of it. How did these ponies manage, what with the ponycidal trees on the loose? Well, not on the loose and he figured that Applejack did as much to them as the reverse.

[colour=#0033cc]"I'm fine. I may be a city colt but if anything has enured me to being attacked by apples, it was today's chores. You lead quite the, uhhh, rough life out here in Ponyville, Applejack,"[/colour] Valen offered with a wry smile and a polite smile to Granny Smith, who was catching onto the same thing he was. Ponies had a habit of getting slammed up and around the head on this farm and he knew for a fact that brain cells came to Sweet Apple Acres to die. But that was a secondary matter, all things equal. He was here to experience that special connection, a crackling yet subdued energy that came with family. He would worry about his head later.

[colour=#0033cc]"And yes, of course I forgive the tre- err, Rootstock. After all, he is just a silly apple tree," [/colour]He said with a slightly exaggerated baby talk tone if not vernacular. The fact that the tree was older than him or Applejack didn't matter as much as the fact that he followed a simple little piece of advice; when in Roam, do as the Roamans.

[Hippo]

[colour=#ff6600]Applejack chuckled as Valen spoke his funny opinion. Obviously he was joking. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "It's not a rough life, Valen. It's great here!"[/colour][colour=#ff6600] Applejack walked away from Rootstock and started down the path again, motioning for the other two to follow. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"We're almost there."[/colour]

[colour=#ff6600]Applejack heard Valen say that he would indeed forgive what he may have thought was pointless to forgive, but then displayed his ignorance as he labeled it a 'simple old tree'. It flustered Applejack, but she responded with a loving soft teaching voice. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "Not just a simple old tree. He's one of many old trees, and all of them are important. And I'm gonna show you why."[/colour]

[colour=#ff6600]A few moments later, Applejack arrived at a spot in which a shovel was pitched into the ground, as if it was marked for digging. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Here, let me hold that envelope for you."[/colour][colour=#ff6600] Once Applejack took Valen's item, she pointed at the shovel. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Well. What are you waiting for? Get diggin'!"[/colour]

[Mojo]

[colour=#006400][colour=#00FF00][colour=#00FF00]

[/colour][/colour][/colour]

[colour=#006400][colour=#00FF00][colour=#00FF00]"This is so excitin'!" [/colour][/colour][/colour]Granny Smith said softly as she finally caught up to AJ and Valen. The elderly mare nodded and smiled, realizing the importance of what the colt was about to do. Even though she did have issues with memory loss due to her advanced age, Granny Smith did have a sense of history and tradition as the oldest living member of the Apple Family should. The gray maned mare turned to look at her granddaughter and smiled. Hopefully, this would be a moment Valen would remember for the rest of his life.

[SteelEagle]

Digging holes wasn't a skill that Valen had picked up in the course of his hoity toity life in the urban jungle of Manehattan. There just wasn't a place to go around digging random holes for the sheer thrill of it that he suspected that ponies around here had more than enough space and time to do so. He also lacked the inclination, seeing as digging holes seemed like an odd choice. And there was the looming possibility of getting a terrible amount of dirt on his coat. He wasn't a prissy pony- well, maybe a bit- but he didn't see why he should get dirty without a really good reason. At least here there was a decent reason.

[colour=#0033cc]"Well, let's see what's down here, shall we?"[/colour] He offered up with joy, putting the shovel into the dirt and pushing down. It didn't go down very far, but the fact was that he was in this for the long haul. Literally. He had no other choice. He continued churning away, time ticking by swiftly even if the amount of dirt displaced wasn't that great. Still, he continued.

[colour=#0033cc]"So, what're we doin' here?"[/colour]

[Hippo]

[colour=#000000]Applejack watched as Valen dug. She started remembering her time. She was very young. So young, that she can't even remember some of the things that happened on that day. But she could remember this. How could anypony not remember this? Valen was digging as deep as he could, which wasn't too deep, but it was ok. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "Ya see, Valen. The Apple family has a long lasting tradition. It's a ritual everypony in our family has participated in, and it brings to officially be part of the family. You're parents are mah Aunt and Uncle Orange. Heh, not exactly apples in nature, but they are still part of the family. And so are you."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Applejack stepped over to Valen, and reached down into the hole he dug, getting a feel of the soil and how deep it was. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "That's good enough. Alright, now hop on outta there."[/colour][colour=#000000] Applejack grabbed Valen by the neck and set him down out of the hole. She gave him back the envelope. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"You Valen, are going to plant a tree. For generations, this family has made apples and other fruits and we celebrate one another and out livelihood by planting out own tree just when start growin' up. This tree will be yours Valen. It will be your symbol of your place in this family, just as all of these trees have a place in this orchard." [/colour][colour=#000000] Applejack pointed out over the orchard, which was now glazed with a light fog that glowed in the moonlight.

Applejack smiled down at Valen. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Well? What are you waitin' for? Plant them seeds!"[/colour][colour=#000000] Applejack reared with excitement.[/colour]

​

[Mojo]

[colour=#006400][colour=#00FF00][colour=#00FF00]

[/colour][/colour][/colour]

[colour=#006400][colour=#00FF00][colour=#00FF00]"That's right, my little pony," [/colour][/colour][/colour]Granny Smith said, [colour=#00FF00]"Now is yur turn to take yur place in Apple Family history! It's a part of yur heritage, part of who you are. Ya may be a city dwellin' Orange, but at heart, yur jist as much an Apple as the rest of us here! We're plumb proud of ya!"[/colour]

The elderly mare smiles as she watches Valen work. Her mind raced back to the time she was a little filly, and planted her first 'solo' apple seeds. Then in sequence, her mind races forward to when Big MacIntosh did, and then AppleJack, and lastly, little AppleBloom who had gone through this 'rite of passage' when she was a younger foal. Her mind then returned to the present, where Valen was busy with the task at hoof.

[SteelEagle]

Valen was not a pony ruled by tradition and ritual, the pomp and circumstance of ceremony driving others but never him. It just always seemed to him that those lost in the trappings of ritual and tradition were more likely to have their hooves firmly planted in the past and were less likely to move forward. Why cling to the past when the future was bright to the point of being blinding? It was an easy thought when you were surrounded by the hallowed canyons of modernity that were Equestria's dense population centers. The old was shuttered off before being cut off and dispatched into the dustbin of history, where it's trail ran cold as upon its grave an endless stream of work was completed to build something new. Better. Usually better. That was what his mum and dad said: Life was about moving forward, getting better, improving on the old. That left little room for ritual. Tradition. Ceremony.

But out here, there was a rustic stillness that pervaded the hurricane of motion and action that defined the Apple family. For all of their ceaseless excitement and activity, there was a sense that it was done under the umbrella of generational experience. This was a family who's strength came not from their drive, but from their past. Their name was more than a title, it was a calling, a connection, the sort that was rare to find in a society so devoted to individuality like Equestria. They looked around and saw their shared history grow stronger with every generation and their additions to it, their promises to the future, were planted in the past. This ritual of theirs, a ceremony that was normally utilitarian told him all he needed to know about the Apple family. They were more than a collection of loving farmers. They were, each of them, a new chapter in a neverending story, one told by the growing orchard around him. Powered by ceremony. Ritual. Tradition.

Valen was under no illusions. Planting this tree would not make him an Apple, at least not as much they might wish. He would not have a change of heart or ideal. But he was honored tremendously. To be considered fit to add his mark to their neverending, always expanding history was not something to be taken lightly. Long after he passed away, long after even his name was lost and nopony could even remember his gravestone, his tree would remain and would forever be a reminder to all that there was once a pony named Valen Orange, beloved cousin of Applejack, and he loved the Apples in return and planted a tree in a ceremony that came before him. A ritual that would exist long after. A tradition without end.

[colour=#0033cc]"Applejack,"[/colour] he began slowly, his mind working feverishly as it started to jolt awake for the first time all day with the musings of a mind given to philosophy, [colour=#0033cc]"I'm honored you consider me worthy of this,"[/colour] he finished, grabbing his envelope and tossing the seeds out. He went about finding a nice location for them before covering them up.

[colour=#0033cc]"Are all of these trees...?"[/colour] He let the implied question hang, eyes taking in with renewed wonder the sheer scale of the orchard. It took on a new level of breathtaking fury and energy to think that he stood not only amongst the most successful orchard in history, but the most successful family portrait and memorial as well. He started to feel equal parts inadequate and ashamed, for things kept from them were decidedly against the grain of these types. He quickly jumped out of the hole as if the thing was haunted, settling next to Granny Smith with a sheepish smile.

[colour=#0033cc]"How long does it take for them to grow?" [/colour]Valen asked hesitantly, contemplating with increasing conflict his inconsistencies with the Apple family way. But even then, even with that sour note holding him back, Valen now knew the power of ritual. Ceremony. Tradition.

[Hippo]

[colour=#000000]Valen took his seeds and put them into his hole and then climbed out. He felt honored that he could have his own tree on the farm. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Don't feel so belittled, Valen. Everypony in our family has this privilege." [/colour][colour=#000000] Applejack chuckled. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "And sometimes it even becomes a case of competition, or whose tree sells the most fruit ever year. But these things are wasted arguments, because they all are very fruitful under our care."[/colour][colour=#000000] Applejack dipped her head and thought for a moment, dropping her smile as she did so. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "I just hope that we can still care for this one as easily as the other ones."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Valen asked how long they took to grow. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "Your tree will take just about as long as all the others. In about three years, the tree will be taller than you, and in four or five it will start bearing fruit. But in this case, I just hope we can take good care of it in the winter time. We're gonna have to be special with this tree when it gets to winter time, and make sure the weather ponies know to leave this tree with no frost." [/colour][colour=#000000] Applejack looked at Valen and smiled when she revealed to him how special this really is. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "Because this isn't even an apple tree, partner. Its an orange tree!" [/colour][colour=#000000] Applejack took the shovel and hoofed it back to Valen indicating to him that it was time to bury the seeds. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "So. What's the name?"[/colour]

​