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Description
There was one thing that set Nouveau Riche apart from most of the Apple family: she hated family reunions. Her immediate family was near and dear to her heart, of course, but that was about the extent of it. At reunions she was surrounded by lots of distant relatives she barely knew, and tons of dirt.

How were these hayrides any fun!? They looked extremely unsanitary. Nou understood objectively that that was their thing and they enjoyed it, but she wanted no part in any of it.

But the worst part was how some of these relatives treated her. Much like Ingenue in her worst moments, but even worse because a lot of these older ponies lacked the social graces of the modern day. Nou had gone from invisible and brushed off to some kind of circus attraction.

“Land sakes! Is that you, Novo?”

A green pony with a red mane stopped her as she tried to make her way through the crowd. Nou didn’t recognize her at all, but she gaped in awe like she knew exactly who she was and was shocked to see her there.

“It’s Nouveau.”

The young yak did her best to correct her civilly, but she hated when ponies mispronounced her name. It shouldn’t be this hard! It was basic Prench!

“Yes, that’s right! You remember me, don’t ya? Great-auntie twice-removed Apple Dumpling? I was at the last reunion!”

How the heck was she supposed to remember her?

“Sure I do. It’s nice to see you.”

Nouveau lied halfheartedly, looking around for an out. Normally she’d be following one of her parents around the whole time but neither of them were anywhere to be seen.

“Ooh! Dumplin’, you found her!”

Another voice called out as a brown pony with a green mane trotted over to her side.

“I sure did! Dearie, I bet you remember my second cousin Perfect Pie!”

Nouveau struggled to map out a family tree in her head, but gave up quickly. The bottom line was that she didn’t remember her, she didn’t know either of these mares.

“I ain’t seen you since you were a tiny lil’ foal…er, calf!”

Of course. Nou stood out among all these family members because she was a yak, she was a novelty they couldn’t forget. Yet they could hardly get her name or any of the terminology right.

“It’s sure been a long time, but I have to go—“

“Golly, I’ll never forget how soft yer fur was back then! It was like a pillow!”

“An’ it still is!”

Before Nouveau could react, a hoof reached out and stared stroking against her fur. The older mare seemed to reach way down, past the rougher outer layers and into the remains of her downy winter coat. Way past the boundaries of her personal space, of any reasonable creature’s space.

“I’d wear a coat jus’ like this!”

A coat!?

Nouveau felt sick thinking of the implications of this. Finally she backed away, more forcefully than intended but she didn’t care. She was no longer even remotely hiding how uncomfortable she felt.

“That’s enough! Please, don’t touch me!”

“Oh, I’m sorry!”

The older mares looked shocked by her outburst, but also offended. One of them tugged at her braid like older ponies did when they were cooing over a little filly.

“It was only fer a minute!”

“She said no!”

Finally a familiar voice barked out, and Nou was relieved to see her mother Diamond Tiara marching towards them.

“That will be all, thank you very much!”

She bid them farewell in a refined tone, forcing herself between Nou and the older mares as she started to lead her daughter away.

“Hooey! What happened to the days when lil’ foals gave their folks hugs and kisses?”

“There ain’t no respect these days, I swear!”

The older mares spoke amongst themselves, but Diamond heard them loud and clear. So she whipped around to deliver a comeback.

“I should say the same about YOU, not respecting my daughter when she says no! None of you get to touch either of my girls without their permission!”

Diamond Tiara was, well…headstrong for lack of a better word, in her youth, and that attitude was showing now as she chewed out the older mares.

“I said, that will be all.”

With that, Diamond Tiara marched off, pushing Nou along with her. She had made a bit of a scene and a lot of the Apples were staring at the two of them, including Nou’s other Mama who hadn’t really been there to see what was going on.

Nouveau was relieved to have finally gotten away from those mares but she was also embarrassed. She wanted them to notice her less, not more.

Diamond obviously didn’t understand the full extent of what Nou was feeling, but she seemed to have some sense of this mixed emotion as she led her towards the house.

“Now let’s get you inside, away from all these ponies.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Previous: Like Old Times
Next: Apples n Oranges

Collaboration with KannaYui

Background by EStories

Description
There was one thing that set Nouveau Riche apart from most of the Apple family: she hated family reunions. Her immediate family was near and dear to her heart, of course, but that was about the extent of it. At reunions she was surrounded by lots of distant relatives she barely knew, and tons of dirt.

How were these hayrides any fun!? They looked extremely unsanitary. Nou understood objectively that that was their thing and they enjoyed it, but she wanted no part in any of it.

But the worst part was how some of these relatives treated her. Much like Ingenue in her worst moments, but even worse because a lot of these older ponies lacked the social graces of the modern day. Nou had gone from invisible and brushed off to some kind of circus attraction.

“Land sakes! Is that you, Novo?”

A green pony with a red mane stopped her as she tried to make her way through the crowd. Nou didn’t recognize her at all, but she gaped in awe like she knew exactly who she was and was shocked to see her there.

“It’s Nouveau.”

The young yak did her best to correct her civilly, but she hated when ponies mispronounced her name. It shouldn’t be this hard! It was basic Prench!

“Yes, that’s right! You remember me, don’t ya? Great-auntie twice-removed Apple Dumpling? I was at the last reunion!”

How the heck was she supposed to remember her?

“Sure I do. It’s nice to see you.”

Nouveau lied halfheartedly, looking around for an out. Normally she’d be following one of her parents around the whole time but neither of them were anywhere to be seen.

“Ooh! Dumplin’, you found her!”

Another voice called out as a brown pony with a green mane trotted over to her side.

“I sure did! Dearie, I bet you remember my second cousin Perfect Pie!”

Nouveau struggled to map out a family tree in her head, but gave up quickly. The bottom line was that she didn’t remember her, she didn’t know either of these mares.

“I ain’t seen you since you were a tiny lil’ foal…er, calf!”

Of course. Nou stood out among all these family members because she was a yak, she was a novelty they couldn’t forget. Yet they could hardly get her name or any of the terminology right.

“It’s sure been a long time, but I have to go—“

“Golly, I’ll never forget how soft yer fur was back then! It was like a pillow!”

“An’ it still is!”

Before Nouveau could react, a hoof reached out and stared stroking against her fur. The older mare seemed to reach way down, past the rougher outer layers and into the remains of her downy winter coat. Way past the boundaries of her personal space, of any reasonable creature’s space.

“I’d wear a coat jus’ like this!”

A coat!?

Nouveau felt sick thinking of the implications of this. Finally she backed away, more forcefully than intended but she didn’t care. She was no longer even remotely hiding how uncomfortable she felt.

“That’s enough! Please, don’t touch me!”

“Oh, I’m sorry!”

The older mares looked shocked by her outburst, but also offended. One of them tugged at her braid like older ponies did when they were cooing over a little filly.

“It was only fer a minute!”

“She said no!”

Finally a familiar voice barked out, and Nou was relieved to see her mother Diamond Tiara marching towards them.

“That will be all, thank you very much!”

She bid them farewell in a refined tone, forcing herself between Nou and the older mares as she started to lead her daughter away.

“Hooey! What happened to the days when lil’ foals gave their folks hugs and kisses?”

“There ain’t no respect these days, I swear!”

The older mares spoke amongst themselves, but Diamond heard them loud and clear. So she whipped around to deliver a comeback.

“I should say the same about YOU, not respecting my daughter when she says no! None of you get to touch either of my girls without their permission!”

Diamond Tiara was, well…headstrong for lack of a better word, in her youth, and that attitude was showing now as she chewed out the older mares.

“I said, that will be all.”

With that, Diamond Tiara marched off, pushing Nou along with her. She had made a bit of a scene and a lot of the Apples were staring at the two of them, including Nou’s other Mama who hadn’t really been there to see what was going on.

Nouveau was relieved to have finally gotten away from those mares but she was also embarrassed. She wanted them to notice her less, not more.

Diamond obviously didn’t understand the full extent of what Nou was feeling, but she seemed to have some sense of this mixed emotion as she led her towards the house.

“Now let’s get you inside, away from all these ponies.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Previous: Like Old Times
Next: Apples n Oranges

Collaboration with KannaYui

Background by EStories