Chapter 11: Apple Family Reunion Part 1

A/N: I'm breaking this up into two parts. The first deals with a little turbulence in Harry and Applejack's relationship as mother and son. The second half deals with the Reunion itself.

Last Quick A/ N here: This takes place before The Best Night Ever, but after Bad Seed and FIM Parts one and two. And Over A Barrel because Braeburn is in it. I'm not sure I'll do Bad Seed.

"Heh, found 'em!" Applejack called down from their "Attic" in their barn. She tugged them to the edge of the area and tossed them down to Granny Smith. The dust tickling her nose.

"Achoo!" The old mare sneezed. "Why thank you Applejack. I can't believe its been almost 3 years since our last family Reunion."

"Well, you have been talking about it since then." Applejack said nervously. See for every family reunion since Harry lived with them, she had come up with a reason not to let him be noticed. His first Reunion when he was three he was pushed off to Rarity cause she needed help in the Boutique designing foals dress clothes. Harry spent an unhappy day modeling tuxes...and even an occasional dress much to his dismay. Rarity said he had the figure of a young filly back then. But now he was a growing colt and couldn't model filly dresses which he thanked whatever deity existed for it. The last Reunion not only Harry, but Big Macintosh missed it. See they where selling land to this sneaky dealer who had a reputation of ripping off his customers. And well...

"Twenty thousand!" Harry said to the older stallion. "Its forty acres!"

"Its practically mud! Ten thousand!"

"You'll sell it for twice this to some major corporation! Twenty!"

"Ten thousand!"

"Twenty Thousand!"

Big Macintosh watched the two back and forth like a tennis match.

"Its practically mud!" Harry said sneakily. "I won't take less than ten!"

"I'll sell it for twice this to a major corporation for land developement! I won't give you more than twenty thousand Bits!"

"Deal." Harry said w ith a smirk holding out his hoof. The two shook hoofs.

"I'll go draw up the paperwork now." The stallion with a Bit symbol ripped in half Cutie Mark said. And Sneaky Deal left to draft the paperwork. The unicorn not noticing Harry and Big Macintosh about to crack up laughing.

"Harry! How are them RSVPs comin' along?" Granny Smith called back to Harry who had several invitations on a hay bale. "Who's showing their muzzle at the Reunion?"

"Everypony!" Harry said excitedly. It would be his first reunion EVER! And he got to meet EVERYPONY! Or course, he already met most of the Apples from Appleloosa.

"Everypony?" Granny Smith said in shock. She turned to Applejack. "Feathers on a goat." She turned back to the littlest of their bushel. "Are ya sure?"

"Well, I got RSVPs from Apples from Yonder Hill, Hollow Shades, Galloping Gorge."

As Harry listed all the places Granny Smith looked on in shock. Not EVERYPONY ever made it before. "Foal Mountain, Apples from Fillydelphia, Talltale Town and all the Apples from Appleloosa! Yay! Cousin Braeburns coming!" Harry said excitedly. Braeburn was his favorite cousin like Babs was Appleblooms.

"Guh?" Granny Smith said in shock.

"And let's not forget. MANEHATTAN!" Applebloom, who was helping Harry sort the invitations. "Babs is coming!" She joined Harry in bouncing around excitedly.

"I think we're gonna need a bigger Cider trough..." Granny Smith said nervously.

^Theme Song Break^

Applejack loved her son, she really did. But she was also worried about what the family might think of her being a single mother. The Apple family being more conservative in the ways of foal rearing and all. So as the foursome of Applejack, Granny Smith, Applebloom and Harry sat at the table, the mare was trying to find yet another way to worm her way out of introducing him to the Apples. Though she knew she had to do it sometime.

"Shoot, looks like the family's done grown ten fold since our last reunion." Granny Smith said as she saw all the invitations in the wheelbarrow that Big Macintosh brought in. "I'm gonna be plum busier than a worm in a rotten tomater trying to get everything ready."

"Well I could always help out Granny." Applejack offered. Grateful for a distraction.

"Me too!" Applebloom said.

"Eeyup."

"Yer too young." Applejack said before Harry could offer to help too."

"Apple Bloom's two years older than I am!" Harry protested.

"No." Applejack said sternly.

"Well I sure would appreciate that young'un." The old mare said gratefully. "Granny's a little bit rusty in the Gitty Ups since the last time all the Apples got together."

She said this as she pulled her wrinkly skin up. Showing what she looked like when she was younger.

"You may be a tad old Granny." Applejack said as Harry pouted lightly. "But yer still as full of spark and fiesty as ev-"

"Who you callin' old?" Granny Smith snapped getting in Applejack's face.

"Uh." Applejack said nervously. "I just meant, why don't you let me take over puttin' the Reunion together this time around? That way all you have to worry about is enjoying yourself."

Granny Smith thought for a moment. "All right young'un, you got yerself a deal." She put a hoof to Applejack's chest. "Your in charge."

"You just tell me what the Reunion needs." Applejack put a forleg around her grandmother. "And I'll take care of the rest."

"I'll do better than that. I'll show ya what it needs."

Later that night, Applejack, Granny Smith, Apple Bloom and Harry where all sitting around a photo album Granny Smith had brought out. The three females where on the couch. Harry stood behind Granny Smith looking over her shoulder at the pictures.

"We've been hosting these Reunions here at Sweet Apple Acres every three years since we first planted roots here in Ponyville."

"Hey, who's that?" Applebloom asked pointing to a young filly with a stirrer in her muzzle standing over a cauldron of something.

"Well that'd be yer Great Auntie Applesauce when she was just about yer age." Granny Smith explained in fond memory. "Now she used to go by another name but everypony started calling her Applesauce after her teeth fell out while she was making Apple Jam." She pointed out at two photo's of an older Applesauce with another showing her teeth in a cauldron of Jam. "Yeah. Never did find them teeth in all those jars."

"That's you Granny." Apple Bloom pointed to a group photo of Granny Smith when she was a filly surrounded by filly cousins and gathered around a quilt.

"Sure is. Apple family's been working on that old quilt since our first reunion..." Granny Smith remembered the moment fondly.

"I can do it." Young Granny Smith said eagerly taking a piece of fabric and putting it close to the quilt before taking a needle and thread into her muzzle. Unfortunately for her, she neglected to knot the end of the thread and when she finished...

"Oh...fingle fangle." Young Granny Smith said irritably. The other filly cousins giggled.

"Well, nopony told me ya actually had to knot the end of the thread first." Granny Smith said to the giglgling Harry and Apple Bloom.

"So I need new quilting materials. Fabric, needles, thread." Applejack noted to herself. "You've really been working on that quilt since the first reunion?"

"Sure have. Don't think we'll ever finish that dogone thing." Granny Smith said eagerly.

"Hey. What's going on here?" Harry asked the old mare pointing to a picture of two ponies over several cooking pots.

"Well ya know how us Apples enjoy a good Fritter..."

Half Baked Apples was bringing a fresh baked plate of Apple Fritters to a table where one Apple Family stallion with a bushy red mane, cowboy hat with an Apple symbole on the brim and an orange coat eagerly awaited them. He stupidly did not wait for them to cool off.

"Hot hot hot!" The stallion said. His mouth hot with cooking oil that hadn't cooled off. He rushed over to a cider barrel, stuck his head in and sucked in as much cool cider as he could.

Half Baked shook his head. Then turned back, but the fritters where gone! "Hey! Where'd all them Apple Fritters go?" There was a small burp. Half Baked looked down ans saw a toddler filly. "And who might you be little one?"

"I'm Applejack!" Baby Applejack said eagerly. Then burped again. "More Apple Fritter?" She asked.

Half Baked Apples smiled at his niece.

"That was how we found out that yer Momma had the appetite of a full grown stallion." Granny Smith smiled as she elbowed Applejack while Harry and Apple Bloom giggled some more.

"Course that wasn't the only time that happened." Granny Smith said as she pulled out a photo behind the photo of baby Applejack. It was of Harry!

"I don't remember this being mentioned." Applejack said to Granny Smith who laughed.

Granny Smith was frantic. Little Harry had somehow escaped. She spied Half Baked cooking Apple Fritters with his wife.

Younger Braeburn this time put a hot fritter into his mouth...These Apple stallions love Apple Fritters...hot or cold.

"Hot hot hot! Cider cider cider!" Braeburn muffled with a mouthful of hot fritter. He stuck his head in a cider barrel. His teenage mane completely soaked.

"Hmm...this seems familiar." Half Baked said rubbing his chin. He turned. The fritters where gone! "Hey! Where'd all them Apple Fritters go?" A small burp came from below. "I knew this seemed familiar." The growing older stallion said with a smile. He lowered his head with a smile and gasped lightly. It wasn't an earth pony! It was a baby unicorn with WINGS!"

"And who are you little one?" Half Baked asked the young colt. He could just tell. It came with age.

"I'm Hawwy." The baby said eagerly with another small burp. "Whewe Mommy?"

"There you are young'un." Granny Smith sighed as she saw Harry under the Table with Half Baked ("Gwammy!") "Aww. Don't this remind ya of the time?"

"Sure does." Half Baked said in fond memory.

"FLASH." Granny had brought out the camera.

"This'll be our little secret young'un." Granny Smith said later that evening as she tucked the picture of Harry and Half Baked behind the picture of Applejack and Half Baked. Harry was sleeping off those fritters now next to her. Curled up as Applejack and Big Macintosh where putting things away.

"Better get twice as much honey and flour then. 60 buckets of apples. Wood for the fire. Cooking oil."

"Well stick an apple in mah mouth and roast my rump! This sure brings back memories" Granny Smith said looking at a picture of herself and Apple Rose. "You know how Braeburn and Babs are your favorite cousins? She asked the two youngest of their bushel. "Well Apple Rose is mine. We entered the seven legged race every reunion."

"We're gonna win this time cousin!" Young Apple Rose said eagerly as she and Young Granny Smith worked together to move.

"You bet yer hot diggity deirere we are!" YGS agreed eagerly. They started off just fine. But soon...They fell right on their flanks. The two fillies laughed it off.

"We never won a single one of those races." Granny Smith said fondly.

"The races. We'll need cloth ties...a finish line. Not much to a Seven Legged Race." Applejack said as she started pacing back and forth.

"And finally there's the big family photo." Granny Smith said pointing to several photos of the Apple family. Small at first, but eventually got bigger as time went by. Harry noticed Apple Bloom in one where she was very young.

"Where am I?" Harry asked. Pointing to said picture. "I remember the blue coated pony." He pointed to the older Half Baked Apples. Unfortunately he and his wife both passed on last year. But Harry was no where to be found in the picture. Even little baby foals where in this picture.

"Ugh." Granny Smith said uncomfortably. "Applejack will explain." She said sadly.

Harry looked to his mother. She looked nervous. "Are you ashamed of me?" He asked. Looking down to the floor. "You made sure I was never at any reunion." He had started noticing when he and his uncle went to make that land deal last Reunion. He noticed ponies in stage coaches heading toward the farm as he and Big Macintosh left Ponyville for Canterlot.

"I told ya he'd figure it out one day A.J." Big Macintosh glared at Applejack. "Now ya can't avoid it anymore."

Applejack rubbed the back of her head nervously. "I ain't ashamed of ya. Heck I'm proud as any momma could be of her foal. But ya gotta understand that the Apple family's got very...traditional ideals as to rearing foals." She started to explain. "Most mares of our family don't approve of single mothers."

Harry got down and trotted around to the front of the couch. "That's why I've felt insecure about what you feel about me?!" Harry said angrily to his mother which shocked the other three ponies. "Your worried about your reputation?!"

"What? No I was just-" Applejack protested but it fell on angry, deaf ears. Harry stomped upstairs.

"Oh dear." Granny Smith said nervously. "That foals angrier than a cat gettin' a bath."

"Eeyup." Big Macintosh agreed simply. He had never seen Harry that mad.

Applejack just sat there. What had she just done?

Later...Everypony was getting ready for sleep. Harry was packing a suitcase.

Knock knock knock.

"Go away." Harry said angrily. His horn glowing as several magic books shrunk and packed themselves in his suit case. He levitated his suit case into his saddlebag. The door opened to reveal Applejack.

"Where ya goin' ?" The upset mother asked her foal.

"Canterlot. At least I know Grandma loves me. You won't have to worry about your reputation being ruined." He hissed angrily. Applejack winced. He was really mad.

"Come sit with me." Applejack said patting a spot next to her on Harry's bed.

Harry glared. Applejack glared right back. Harry looked down in submission. "Fine." He sat his flank on the spot and looked away from his "Mother."

"I want ya ta know I understand why yer mad at me." Applejack said.

"No you don't." Harry said sadly. "You just think you do."

"Whaddya mean?" Applejack asked.

"Come on Momma. The Apple Family is EARTH Ponies. LOOK AT ME." Harry said. His wings and horn. "I'm a freak in a family of Earth ponies." His eyes started tearing up. "Who wouldn't be ashamed of a FREAK like me?"

"Oh sugarcube." Applejack said realizing why Harry was so upset. She pulled him into a one armed hug. He cried into her shoulder. "Is that what this is all about? Why you think I'm ashamed of you and all? I told ya before I ain't ashamed of ya. You've accomplished more than any foal your age has. I just." She rubbed the back of her head again. "Never quite figured out how to explain how I got a foal with no father."

Harry sniffled. "I would think, "I found him at the gates of the farm in a basket," would be enough." He sniffled.

"Then that's what I'll say." Applajack said hugging her son again. "I'm so sorry sugarcube. I never meant for you to fell like I was ashamed of ya."

She hugged him till he fell asleep. She set his saddlebag down and covered him up as Apple Bloom came in.

"Wha't goin' on?" Apple Bloom asked seeing the saddlebag on the floor packed.

"Everything's all right Apple Bloom. Go to sleep." She said before closing their door.

To Be Continued...

There ya go. A bit of relationship developement. Plus you got to see Baby Alicorn Harry! I hope you enjoyed part 1! As I said earlier Part 2 deals with the Reunion itself. And I WILL be doing Raise This Barn. I love it. Its catchy. Plus I plan on including Harry in a couple of scenes. I really hope you enjoy that too!

By the way, I now have a youtoube downloader that lets me play videos I've downloaded in Airplane mode on my Smartphone so I don't use data! I've downloaded several episodes including Baby Cakes so I plan on updating Raised By Cakes soon.

Next "Episode" after Apple Family Reunion is Wonderbolt Academy. Celestia wants Harry to observe different types of Military Training in Equestria. So Harry tags along with Rainbow Dash when she goes to the Wonderbolt Academy.

Please Leave me a review. Or Baby Alicorn Harry will be sad.