HOME | DD

Description
Nouveau didn’t like the big Apple family reunions at all, but she could much better tolerate her more immediate family. By Apple standards, “immediate family” meant Mama’s sisters and their families, which was still a lot of ponies. But they weren’t in her face like all the distant cousins and whatnot, some of them were actually pleasant to be around.

“Whoo-wee! I sure worked up a mighty appetite out there!”

Well, marginally more pleasant.

Aunt AJ could be a lot sometimes. She was practically married to the apple farm and if you weren’t just as rowdied up about a good day’s work, you were about to get an earful from that stubborn mare.

“Oh, you should have seen the harvest! You could make pies for everypony in town with all those bushels!”

Auntie Orchard Blossom drawled out her two bits. She was more mellow than Aunt AJ but she could be chatty too, especially when she had something to be proud of.

But Nouveau was only half-listening to the conversation. Her Mama and aunts always talked about their work when they got together for dinner, it was nothing new. Spending all that time tilling the fields wasn’t Nou’s idea of fun by any means, she didn’t understand their enthusiasm, but she politely sat there and quietly twiddled her hooves while the mares caught up.

“I tell ya, it wouldn’t be such a big harvest if it wasn’t for that big stampede the other day loosenin’ the trees up. Land sakes! I ain’t seen so many cattle!”

The young yak’s ears perked up in curiosity at this next part.

“Cattle?”

“Eeyup! They come ‘round here every so often. They can be real skittish y’know, one twig snap and they’re a stampedin’. I was talkin’ to a lil’ calf the other day, she was so much like you I dang near had ta do a double take ta make sure she wasn’t!”

“But I’m…not a cow.”

Nouveau started to feel really irritated at this comment. Aunt AJ could be so ignorant sometimes but it felt like she was even more so now, especially in light of all the other things ponies had said to Nou lately. Being mistaken for another bovine was new.

But right now she was emboldened to ask some questions.

“Wait, don’t you herd them? With your dog? Don’t you think that scares them even more?”

“Uh…”

Applejack’s pride suddenly melted away as she realized what she said and to whom. She was fooling nopony and no yak, Nou was too smart for that. Even Applejack knew this.

“Well, Ryder don’t bite. He’s harmless. Y’see, the herding actually helps ‘em calm down, if we let ‘em run amuck they’d drive themselves more into a tizzy.”

“Did they tell you it calms then down?”

A thick tension quickly settled into the room as Applejack hemmed and hawed in hesitation, telling Nou all she needed to know.

“More or less, sure they did!”

The mare finally forced a coherent response.

“You remember, don’t ya Orchard?”

She leaned in towards her big sister and whispered,

“Help me out a lil’.”

But Orchard Blossom, usually a confident and talkative mare, sat quietly like she’d suddenly forgotten how to speak in full sentences. More like a version of herself from long before Nou’s time.

“Eenope.”

“Well I just know, and…”

Her eyes wandered over to Apple Bloom, who was frantically miming for her to shut up.

“Forget it. Why don’t ya come ta work with me tomorrow? You can meet all the cows and ask ‘em yerself if ya really wanna know.”

Apple Bloom knew that her sister was just trying to prove a point with this invitation, so she jumped in to try to mediate.

“Ya don’t have to if ya don’t want to, Nou.”

But Nouveau wasn’t afraid of her aunt. She’d asked a question and she wanted an answer, a real answer. And she wanted it from the source.

“No, Mama. I do want to.”

She stared straight at Aunt AJ as she spoke.

“I’ll go and talk to them myself.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Previous: Apple Colored Glasses
Next: Cattle

Description
Nouveau didn’t like the big Apple family reunions at all, but she could much better tolerate her more immediate family. By Apple standards, “immediate family” meant Mama’s sisters and their families, which was still a lot of ponies. But they weren’t in her face like all the distant cousins and whatnot, some of them were actually pleasant to be around.

“Whoo-wee! I sure worked up a mighty appetite out there!”

Well, marginally more pleasant.

Aunt AJ could be a lot sometimes. She was practically married to the apple farm and if you weren’t just as rowdied up about a good day’s work, you were about to get an earful from that stubborn mare.

“Oh, you should have seen the harvest! You could make pies for everypony in town with all those bushels!”

Auntie Orchard Blossom drawled out her two bits. She was more mellow than Aunt AJ but she could be chatty too, especially when she had something to be proud of.

But Nouveau was only half-listening to the conversation. Her Mama and aunts always talked about their work when they got together for dinner, it was nothing new. Spending all that time tilling the fields wasn’t Nou’s idea of fun by any means, she didn’t understand their enthusiasm, but she politely sat there and quietly twiddled her hooves while the mares caught up.

“I tell ya, it wouldn’t be such a big harvest if it wasn’t for that big stampede the other day loosenin’ the trees up. Land sakes! I ain’t seen so many cattle!”

The young yak’s ears perked up in curiosity at this next part.

“Cattle?”

“Eeyup! They come ‘round here every so often. They can be real skittish y’know, one twig snap and they’re a stampedin’. I was talkin’ to a lil’ calf the other day, she was so much like you I dang near had ta do a double take ta make sure she wasn’t!”

“But I’m…not a cow.”

Nouveau started to feel really irritated at this comment. Aunt AJ could be so ignorant sometimes but it felt like she was even more so now, especially in light of all the other things ponies had said to Nou lately. Being mistaken for another bovine was new.

But right now she was emboldened to ask some questions.

“Wait, don’t you herd them? With your dog? Don’t you think that scares them even more?”

“Uh…”

Applejack’s pride suddenly melted away as she realized what she said and to whom. She was fooling nopony and no yak, Nou was too smart for that. Even Applejack knew this.

“Well, Ryder don’t bite. He’s harmless. Y’see, the herding actually helps ‘em calm down, if we let ‘em run amuck they’d drive themselves more into a tizzy.”

“Did they tell you it calms then down?”

A thick tension quickly settled into the room as Applejack hemmed and hawed in hesitation, telling Nou all she needed to know.

“More or less, sure they did!”

The mare finally forced a coherent response.

“You remember, don’t ya Orchard?”

She leaned in towards her big sister and whispered,

“Help me out a lil’.”

But Orchard Blossom, usually a confident and talkative mare, sat quietly like she’d suddenly forgotten how to speak in full sentences. More like a version of herself from long before Nou’s time.

“Eenope.”

“Well I just know, and…”

Her eyes wandered over to Apple Bloom, who was frantically miming for her to shut up.

“Forget it. Why don’t ya come ta work with me tomorrow? You can meet all the cows and ask ‘em yerself if ya really wanna know.”

Apple Bloom knew that her sister was just trying to prove a point with this invitation, so she jumped in to try to mediate.

“Ya don’t have to if ya don’t want to, Nou.”

But Nouveau wasn’t afraid of her aunt. She’d asked a question and she wanted an answer, a real answer. And she wanted it from the source.

“No, Mama. I do want to.”

She stared straight at Aunt AJ as she spoke.

“I’ll go and talk to them myself.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Previous: Apple Colored Glasses
Next: Cattle