The winged pony paced the library until she made a slight groove in the wooden floor. Her friends exchanged looks of bewilderment and a small amount of concern as she continued to circle around herself. Stopping periodically to rest, she absent-mindedly scanned the titles of the books on the shelves and persisted forward again. Finally coming to a complete halt, she faced her watchers and raised her eyebrows for a response. They already shared their opinions with her but for an odd reason she could not bring herself to agree with them.

"Tonight should be fun for you, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air, "I mean, who doesn't like a party? This is like a party, right?"

"Kinda," Rainbow murmured, sitting down on one of Twilight's beanbag chairs. "Except I'm not exactly sure how to act."

"Why are you so nervous anyway?" asked Spike who reclined in the bean bag chair, "It's just the parents, right? It's just two old ponies."

"Spike!" Twilight snapped, "You don't talk about ponies that way!"

"It's not just the parents," Rainbow explained, "It's his brothers and sisters. And he has seven total." She brought herself closer to the ponies, wide-eyed. "Seven," she whispered then returning to her normal tone of voice, "Do you know how many names I have to remember? And how much small talk I have to make? I have to prove to these ponies that I am not some screw up."

"Rainbow, that's nonsense," Rarity cut in, "They'll all love you. Just as long as your keep the crude language to a minimum, they'll surely approve of you."

"Oh manure, I don't use crude language!"

"I-if you really want to make a good impression," Fluttershy joined, "M-maybe you could…dress up a little?" Suddenly, she saw the instant gleam in Rarity's eyes and tried to make a run for it. Unfortunately, Rainbow struggled getting up from the loveseat and found herself face to face with the fashionista.

"Why did you say that, Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked, causing the pale unicorn to zoom up to her face to face, "And what d'you want?"

"To take advantage at the opportunity of using this sacred muse," Rarity cooed, grabbing strands of Rainbow's hair.

"Say what?"

"To give you a make-over!" Ignoring her pleads to leave her alone Rarity placed her hooves on her friend's shoulders. "You cannot leave, Rainbow Dash, I won't allow it. Hmm, now what style can work for you…?”

"H-how about a nice couture cut?" Fluttershy suggested approaching them.

"Who's side are you on anyway?" Rainbow angrily snapped.

"I can get the make-up kit that you got me for my birthday, Rarity!" Twilight called out, running upstairs.

"Tough luck, RD," Spike murmured in her ear, "That thing is the size of a suitcase. These ponies mean serious business."

…………………….

Letting herself in, Rainbow gave an exasperated sigh as she shut the door behind her. The country mare struggled to stifle her giggles in front of her friend miserably. As she impatiently tapped her hoof, the expecting horse tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. What had initially been a sign to control her laughter only made Applejack break out into louder guffaws until she silenced them. Rainbow sardonically commented that she was pleased her despair humored her counterpart.

"Ah'm sorry, Ah'm sorry," Applejack spat out, readjusting her hat, "Ah just got the funniest mental image of them gangin' up on ya to douse ya up in girly stuff."

"Well, you can stop laughing because that's exactly what happened. The worst part was I was too fat to escape it, it was like a little trap down there at Twi's place."

"Y'know how they are," Applejack replied, "They like their frilly things and sparkles. At least they didn't go full out with the dollin' up like last time for the gala." She stepped closer to inspect the blue Pegasus and gave a small smirk. "Ah like yer hair up like that. It's kinda elegant lookin'."

"Oh please," Rainbow groaned as she grimaced, "Don't give me that. I can practically feel the mascara gooping my eyelashes together every time I blink."

"No, no this is actually a nice look fer ya." Applejack smiled at her friend's disgusted reaction. "Ya look good with yer hair up. It really shows off the frame of yer face well."

"You wouldn't believe the amount of hairspray they had to spray on," Rainbow pointed out making eye contact with Braeburn who entered the room. He set down the vase of flowers on the center of the table and sauntered over to the two fillies.

"Wow Rainbow, ya look beautiful," he complimented, tipping his hat slightly.

"Don't mention it," she replied, "Really, don't mention it. It was the girl's ideas to clean me up for your family coming over."

"Well, ya look mighty pretty, Miss Dash." She lowered her voice after Applejack swore she smelt the apple pie burning in the stove and ran into the kitchen.

"I gotta be honest, I'm nervous," Rainbow muttered, "A-and not like before-a-game-pumped-up nervous. I mean like a I-need-to-lay-down-because-I'm-gonna-mess-this-up nervous."

"Rainbow, yer gonna be fine. There's no need to be intimidated, alright?" He took a moment to think out his words. "Yer around country ponies all the time now. Just imagine me, times ten."

"Now I just gone from being nervous about tonight to dreading tonight," she joked, giving him a light punch in the arm.

……………………….

"Ah got it! Ah got it!" Applebloom announced after hearing knocks on the door. Braeburn escorted his cousin and Rainbow from the living room to the entry way to await the family members.

"Nothing to worry about, nothing to worry about," Braeburn repeated himself in a sing-song tone. Much to Rainbow's surprise, when she looked up at him she noticed that he was not directly talking to her but rather to himself.

"Braeburn!" exclaimed a portly mare as she hugged him when the door opened for her, "It's so great tah see ya!" An older stallion followed in and kept to himself as the cheerful guest squeezed the young colt until he let out an uncomfortable moan. Abruptly, a large mass of ponies stormed in gleefully hugging family residents of Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow awkwardly stepped out of the way to let him reunite with their family members. Finally, gasping for air, Braeburn finished embracing and giving each one of them a kiss and moved closer to Rainbow.

"Guys, this here is Rainbow Dash," he pronounced.

"Of course!" the chubby mare called out, "Ah remember ya use tah play with Applejack and Braeburn back in our Ponyville days!"

"Mother has an excellent memory," Braeburn clarified to Rainbow, watching her hug the athlete, "Obviously you're well acquainted with Mother Apple now."

"Oh call me Mother, sweetie," her drawl insisted.

"And this is my pa Alderman Pippin," he pointed out. The father nodded his head with a grunt. I guess all the males in this family either never talk or never shut up, Rainbow thought to herself. "'N' this is my eldest sister, Santana Apple with her husband who is also the Apploosian sheriff's son, Bronc Buster."

"Nice tah finally meet ya," the pale horse commented, pulling on the blanket in her arms, "And this is my new daughter, Apple Sauce."

"And these are the twins," Braeburn introduced, showing her two young fillies, "Red Delicious 'n' Golden Delicious. And my oldest brother Adam Apple. My younger sister by one year, Winesap. My other brother Aceymac along with my youngest sister and youngest of the family, Bailey Sweet." Rainbow's eye twitched at the herd of ponies and gave an uneasy laugh.

"It's a full house tonight," she commented light-heartedly which resulted the family members to draw closer into her. A few minutes of chattering passed before Granny Smith made the announcement to join her at the dinner table.

"Come 'n geddit!" she yelled, ringing a giant bell. Rainbow headed towards the nearest bathroom after excusing herself from the rushing ponies that trotted towards the kitchen. Examining herself in the mirror, the blue Pegasus heard voice coming for the ajar door and peeked to see that it was Braeburn and his father. She could only see a portion of his father's face along with a full view of Braeburn. The stallion's posture had stiffness throughout his body.

"Ya know how Ah feel about those type o' ponies," his father's deep voice trembled. Rainbow ducked her head slightly to be sure that the two family members did not catch her eavesdropping. "Especially some Pegasus from Cloudsdale. Not only that, but Ah can't believe that you'd go for the athletic type, one that's in the business. Show business. Ya can't trust 'em." Anger welled up in her chest but she held herself back.

"Pa, ya can't assume that every pony like her is the same. She's a carin', kind, loyal pony and she means a lot tah me." Braeburn's breathing grew heavier.

"And it makes me sick how ya just got a pony pregnant like that. Ah shouldn't know ya would've gotten yourself into trouble. Ya always do. But Ah didn't expect ya tah be so stupid!"

"Ah'm talkin' responsibility fer my mistakes," he hissed, stepping closer to him, "Darned if Ah stay with her and darned if Ah don't. What d'ya want me tah do?"

"Ah want ya to be a son that Ah can be proud of." Rainbow saw the pain glimmer in Braeburn's eye and felt a hole spreading in her chest.

"Ya do this every time, Pa. Why? Why can't we just put our differences aside fer once at these things?" The father brushed past his son into the dining room. Defeated, Braeburn began walking to the kitchen to get the entrée dishes with Rainbow following him quietly. She saw him mess with something in the cabinets from the hallway but decided to join the rest of the family members in the dining room.

"Alright, here's Mother's famous spaghetti dish," Braeburn announced as he entered the room balancing the large plate. "Big Mac's comin' out with the salad as we speak."

"And Ah got the pie!" Applebloom shouted, happily walking into the room with the pastry on her snout. The family members helped themselves to the dishes placed on the table joyously.

"And Ah have the cider," Applejack pointed out, raising a bottle in the air as she exited the kitchen.

"Ah want some!" Red Delicious called out.

"Me first!" Golden Delicious cut in, shoving her sister as she brought up a glass.

"Oh this one ain't fer the kiddies," Applejack informed passing the bottle towards the adults, "Or in this case, Rainbow." She received a glare from her friend. "Ah'll get the other cider in a moment."

"And here's to a beautiful evening with the family," Alderman Pippin broadcasted, holding up with drink, "It's good to have the Apples back together again."

"And tah Rainbow!" Mother Apple chirped, taking a quick swig of her drink as she winked at the expecting mare. Rainbow glanced over and made eye contact with Braeburn. He gave a solemn smile before pouring out the cider into his cup.

……………………………..

Eventually the relatives broke off into groups once their meal had finished. The young ponies played outside while the orange sunlight still spread through the sky as the young stallions wandered into another room festively. Eyeing Granny Smith talking to Alderman Pippin, Rainbow soon found herself face to face with Mother Apple who had shown here an array of teeth with Applejack peeking behind. Her eldest daughter, Santana Apple, led her to the back of the home while cradling her foal.

"Ah know that this is a little bit early, but Ah just couldn't wait," Mother Apple commented in a perky tone. As they walked into one of the bedrooms, Santana Apple and Applejack rested on the bed, waiting for Mother to pull out the object in her purse.

"W-what is it?" Rainbow probed.

"Ah remember when ya were a little thing who Ah saw every so often playing with my niece Applejack," she explained, pulling out what seemed to be fabric, "Ah always thought ya were an interestin' one. Ya were spunky and a lil' rowdy, but Ah liked ya from the start. You were different; ya always had that gleam in your eye." She held out a tiara with sheer mesh running down. "It was my own. Ah wore it when Ah married Pa, Santana wore it when she married Bronc, and now it's your turn to be part of the family." For a moment, Rainbow had to remind herself to breath.

"R-really, it's fine," Rainbow excused, shaking her head. Disregarding her beseeches, Mother still place the veil on her head and turn her to the nearest mirror. She hated to admitted, but Rainbow could not help but look at herself for a moment. Surprisingly, she had not grimaced and actually found herself fascinated with the role-play. She did not necessarily accepted the idea of marriage or being a bride but she did note the vast difference in her graceful appearance with her hair up and a flourishing accessory compared to her usual tomboy looks.

Then again, it only lasted a moment.

"Could we take this off?" she suggested, "Please?"

"Ah need to run to the lil' filly's room," Santana Apple notified after her mother took off the veil, "Could somepony hold Apple Sauce fer me?"

"Rainbow'll do it," Applejack interjected with a smirk.

"I don't know how-" Before she could complete her statement, the blue horse found herself cradling the foal as the young mother galloped away. It was quiet momentarily until the foal began to tear up.

"Rock it," Applejack advised, motioning her arms, "Sing it a lullaby."

"Why is this thing crying?" she asked in a panicky tone.

"It misses its momma," its grandmother told Rainbow, "Hold it close to ya, sweetie, like this." The elderly mare gentle pushed it closer to Rainbow's chest, causing it to settle down slightly.

"I can't do this. I cannot do this."

"It's workin', RD, just let it get use to ya," Applejack directed, "You're gonna have to be used to this, anyhow." Awkwardly, Rainbow began bouncing with the small creature.

"Well, this seems to be working," she grumbled.

"Ya look good with a baby," Mother Apple complimented, "Besides, there's nothing like your own."

…………………………….

"G'nite, Momma," Braeburn chuckled after she said her good-byes to his cousins in the living room.

"Oh, ya always gave the best hugs," she replied when he embraced her.

"Thanks," he responded, giving another giggle. His demeanor abruptly turned stoic as he father passed him. "Nice seein' ya again, Pa."

"Have a good night's rest," he stated, shutting the door after him. The blonde stallion leaned against the door with a grave expression that quickly broke out into a grin.

"A-Ah hope Ah have…have a good night's rest. Haven't had one of those in a while huh?"

"Mmm-hmm," Rainbow hummed as he brushed against her. She watched him stumble through the back door towards the barn. "Something tells me you’re gonna need it." She strolled over to Big Macintosh who was in the kitchen washing dishes while looking through the window.

"Didja enjoy yerself?" he probed as she approached him.

"Yeah, your family's a nice one. Hey, do you know what's gotten into Braeburn?"

"Ya mean other than two shots of salt we dared him tah drink durin' a friendly competition between him and the boys?"

"That's what I figured." A rare snicker escaped from the red colt's lips.

"Poor fellah could never hold his liquor. Always tryin' tah prove himself."

"I don't think he's trying to prove himself," she whispered, watching Big Macintosh set down another bowl. She looked out of the window to find him missing. "Uh oh, we lost him." The two ponies hurried outside, unsuccessful in finding him. Finally, they saw a tail swish back and forth follow by some dry heaves.

"Found him," Rainbow declared, sauntering over to him.

"Eeyup."

"C'mon Brae," she told him, helping him up from the bushes. His eyes were glossy as he beamed. "Let’s go inside."

"H-howdy Rainbow," he slurred, stumbling over his steps, "Hey Ah always wondered: what is yer eye color? A-Ah mean, this afternoon they…they looked a different color then th-they do now. It's…they're…it's like lavender i-in the moon now. But usually they're like…what? M-magenta? Fuchsia? P-purple?"

"C'mon Brae," she repeated, pulling his arm, "You're lucky your parents didn't see you like this."

……………….

"So what's the deal with your cousin and uncle?"

"Pardon?" Rainbow soon realized her blunt sound in her voice and spoke again as she leaned on the sink.

"I heard Braeburn and his father talk before dinner and, well, it sounds like they don't see eye to eye on certain things," she murmured to Big Macintosh, "And it seems like their tension have been going on for a while."

"Ah don't get it," Braeburn mentioned, oblivious to their conversation as he stared at the toothbrush on the counter, "W-what am Ah suppose tah do with this again?" Rainbow unscrewed the top of the toothpaste that was next to the toothbrush. She brought the tooth brush up to the nozzle and squeezed out a small drop of toothpaste and gave it back to Braeburn.

"Now run it through the water and brush your teeth," she commanded, holding back her laughter.

"You are…Ah reckon yer the smartest pony Ah know. Ah hope our foal h-has your side of the…brains."

"Ah don't know much about their relationship," Big Macintosh answered after the faucet ran, "Ah don't usually pay attention to certain things like that. Ah don't like doing that. But his father plays favorites, Ah always noticed, and Brae never did get the full amount of love from Uncle Alderman like his other kids did."

"I wonder why," she wondered out loud, viewing him spitting out the water when he rinsed his mouth.

"Ah *hic* Ah hope cousin AJ doesn't find out about me right now," Braeburn droned, heading out of the bathroom, "She can be an…an intimidatin' little filly."

"I'll get him to bed," Rainbow promised Big Macintosh. Wishing each other good night, the robust equestrian made his way down the hallway while Rainbow wrapped on of Braeburn's arm around her neck to guide him to his bedroom.

"Alright, just lay here and go to sleep," she demanded as she groggily dropped the colt onto his bed. She rolled in the covers next to him and faced him.

"W-what are ya doin' in my bed?" he questioned, letting out another snicker.

"Realizing how uncomfortable mine is," she blankly retorted, "I never knew you were much of a drinker."

"Wh-when you say 'drinker'…d'ya…d'ya mean…" He trailed off to intently think for a moment. "Nope, not really."

"I saw you take a little more than a few sips of the cider at the table. Around the time when your dad made that little speech and sat down next to you." She found him staring at his ceiling. "Anything you wanna talk about?"

"We all have our parental problems," he noted, stretching all his limbs. That statement sounded the most sober which made Rainbow furrow her eyebrows.

"Tell me about it. Listen, Brae, if something is bothering you then just talk to me about it. We promised that we wouldn't hold back our feelings anymore, right?" He slowly nodded his head with a smirk starting to appear. "I want you to be happy and not stressed, a-and if there's anything I can do to make things more comfortable between you and me and your family, parents especially…"

"This sit…situation is certainly more stickier that Ah would have…thought…of."

"Yeah, well I think your mom likes me. She's already having me try on the veil." They looked at each other in silence and broke out in laughter.

"Ah shoulda warned ya about that."

"It's fine, I saw it coming. But perhaps you should get to sleeping. It going to be a rough morning for you."

"Yes ma'am," he mumbled as he buried his cheek into the pillow.

"Let me help you with your hat," she suggested, pulling it off of his head to place onto the night stand. She looked at his slumbering face for a moment before she started to reach of the oil lamp next to her.

"Love ya." Rainbow hesitated for a moment and continued placing the hat on the stand.

"Sweet dreams," she whispered, leaning down to give him a small peck on the forehead. A small chortle escaped his lips again.

"Ah am so drunk."