The sun shone high in the skies and the cold wind blew in her face as she looked out at the sight before her. Twilight Sparkle, standing atop a high green hill, looked down upon the vast acres of apple trees, which made up the bulk of the lands of Sweet Apple Acres, home to her friend, Applejack. She smiled as she looked upon those beautiful trees, fully laden with their titular fruits, and half expected that, any moment now, Applejack herself would come out and start bucking them, one after the other, as she always did. But, she knew that was not to be the case today. Instead, her eyes drifted to the more open fields, near the Apple family home, where a great number of tables, foods, and games had all been laid out. A pony would look out at all of that and know one thing; that something big was about to happen. And so it was that something did indeed happen soon afterwards, as the young unicorn, after squinting her eyes a littler, began to see a cloud of dust rising from a faraway hill. Within moments, she saw them; a massive collection of earth ponies. Mares, stallions, colts and fillies alike, all charging towards Applejack's home. Even from this distance, Twilight could recognise more than a few of them, as she had been introduced to them on her first day here in Ponyville. There were Applejack's numerous relatives, and they had been gathered here for the annual family reunion.

It was a heart-warming sight, seeing all of those ponies, that massive family, all gather for such an occasion. Even as far away as she was, Twilight could see they were happy, and excited, and some just plain relieved at being given a reprieve from what was undoubtedly a long time of working their own orchards. When they arrived in the fields in earnest, Twilight watched as Applejack herself came onto the scene, exiting the big red barn of her family, followed shortly by Apple Bloom, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith. The orange mare approached her relatives and greeted each one in that usual friendly Applejack way of hers. Twilight giggled somewhat, remembering all too well how enthusiastic she'd been when she met her all those months ago. And now, she was giving that same courtesy to all those in the fields. It didn’t take long for that enormous family to soon get down to business, with some breaking out into big collections of dances, while others busied themselves with the huge apple-based buffet tables that Applejack had prepared. As for the youngsters, they had begun playing some of the games, and it was here that Twilight noted that Apple Bloom had joined up with her Manehattan cousin, Babs Seed, and started in their own little race with a few of the other fillies. Overall, it was a pretty sweet sight. A sight of warmth and family.

Having looked upon this loving family gathering, only now did Twilight begin to move, walking at a slow and steady pace down the hill. She knew that this was a family matter for the Apples, but even so, she couldn't help but feel the need to check in with Applejack and see how she was getting on with all of this. And so it was that, after reaching the bottom of that hill, she began to walk across the field, and very soon, she was surrounded by Apples. Not even the biggest celebrations of Canterlot ever had this kind of warm, friendly and just plain fun atmosphere to them, and it was hard for Twilight to not smile at all of it. As for the Apples, while some seems quite surprised to suddenly see a unicorn in their midst, most took it in stride, giving her a friendly smile and a tip of their hats. Some actually recognised Twilight from last year’s gathering, when she had first arrived in Ponyville, and rushed to greet her, to which Twilight always returned an appreciative smile to. Seeing all of this, and just how welcoming the group around her was, it made Twilight feel truly at home here, even though she knew this was neither her family nor her home. Even so, it was a good feeling all the same. In time, she caught sight of Applejack, who was busy re-filling a bowl of apple fritters on the buffet table. After clearing her throat, Twilight caught Applejack's attention, leading to the latter smiling.

"Well howdy, Twilight! Ah didn't expect ta see y'all here!"

Twilight smiled back at her before replying.

"Sorry to interrupt you, Applejack. I just wanted to know if you're doing okay here."

The smile on the earth pony's face widened as she looked to the gathering of her family around her, waving a hoof to each of them.

"Shoot, Twi! Ah'm just dandy! Thanks fer the offer an all, but ah'm doin just fine!"

Twilight nodded at that.

"Just remember...I'm always here if you need a helping hoof with anything."

The quiet tone in which the young unicorn had spoken those words caused Applejack to pause somewhat. In an instant, memories were called forth for both of them. A mental image of harvesting apples all by herself, with her growing more and more stressed and tired with each passing day. Had it not been for Twilight's intervention, it's likely that the orange mare would have been completely overwhelmed by that incident. Realising that her friend was thinking this, and knowing that she had her best interests at heart, Applejack's smile grew smaller, but nevertheless remained warm and appreciative, as she placed a hoof upon the young unicorn's shoulder.

"Ah appreciate that, Twi. Ah really do. But Apple family reunions tend to be worked by Apples only. No offense or anythin...it's just kinda our tradition."

With understanding crossing her face, Twilight nodded at that, before then turning to the many other ponies around them, smiling as she did so.

"Well...you certainly seem to be doing a good job so far, AJ. Everypony seems pretty happy here."

Applejack let out a brief chuckle at that.

"Ah'll say! Everypony in our family looks forward ta this every year! Y'all saw how good it was last year. And this year..."

She placed a hoof upon her own chest and gained a look of pride upon her face.

"...ah aim fer this ta be the best an biggest Apple family reunion ever!"

The enthusiasm with which she'd spoken those words was clear, and Twilight knew she'd meant every word of it. Even so, it was not a smile that now shone on Twilight’s face after hearing that declaration, but rather a look of slight worry. Taking a step forward, Twilight looked to her friend and spoke softly.

"Just remember, AJ. Don't push yourself too far. Some ponies...well...they might just appreciate being with their family. Going all out is all well and good, but be careful to not let that drive spoil the day for some."

Applejack looked to her, and at first, looked somewhat taken aback by those words. However, yet again, she knew that, deep down, Twilight was just looking out for her. And the fact that she seemed to be thinking of her family's wellbeing at the same time was more than enough for the orange mare to give her a look of great appreciation.

"Thanks fer the kind words, Twi. But y'all don't need ta worry about me. Ah know what ah'm doin."

Placing a hoof upon the young unicorn's shoulder yet again, Applejack smiled and tipped her hat at her, before promptly moving away and getting back to her work on the buffet table. Deep down, Twilight knew that her friend truly believed what she’d said, and yet, she bore a knowing smile, with her memories making her very much aware of what was in store for her. Even so, she remained silent, turning away and starting to walk away from Sweet Apple Acres. Much like how it was when she entered, she found that many of Applejack's relatives stopped to speak with her, giving her a hearty farewell as she made her way out of the fields. Smiling at this, it wasn’t long before Twilight found herself back in the town centre of Ponyville, which seemed so much emptier when compared to the hustle and bustle of the Apple's lands she'd just come from. Even so, she made her way to her home, the Golden Oak Library, and used her magic to open the door. After entering the place and closing the door behind her. Twilight looked over her shoulder, through the tiny circular window of that door, and looked right back in the direction of Applejack's farm. In time, her knowing smile became a slight giggle, as she shook her head slightly and spoke in a quiet manner.

"Oh AJ...you'll learn. It'll be difficult, but you'll learn by the end of this. At the end of the day...it's about family. That's what matters."

However, after uttering those words, Twilight's smile faded a little, and she found herself deep in thought.

"...Family."

She spoke that word, over and over, giving it a lot of thought, before, for some reason, a look of slight guilt crossed her face. She let out a deep sigh, after which she started walking over to a nearby desk. Once she'd taken her place upon it, she lit up her horn and used her magic to levitate a fresh piece of parchment, along with a prepared quill of ink. She stared at the parchment for some time, thinking over what she wanted to write, until at long last, a small but sweet smile crossed her face. Lowering the quill, she put it to the parchment and began to write, speaking her words out loud.

"Dear Mom and Dad. I know I don't write to you as much as I should, but I felt that...I should probably fix that. So...first thing's first. How are you?"