“Thanks fer offerin’ to run the reunion this year, Apple Bumpkin,” Applejack said, smiling to her cousin as the pair made their way down to the easternmost Apple Family farm. “It was a real relief, what with the remodellin’ we were doin’ on the farm on account of… well, whatever it was that crawled out of the Everfree. Don’t know if Twilight got around to namin’ it yet.”

	“Ain’t a problem at all,” Apple Bumpkin said, her red curls bouncing as she trotted along the dusty dirt road, her head held high. “’Sides, me and Bartlett have been just itchin’ for an excuse to show off the farm to the family. I’m sure you’ll love what we’ve done with the place.”

	Applejack grinned. “Well, you know what I say, anything for family.” She glanced over the eastern orchard and grinned. “And if I ain’t mistaken, that’s a new buildin’ right there.” Applejack nodded towards the large building sitting on the orchard, fresh red paint gleaming in the noon-time sun.

	“Yup! Built that to house the new apple picker.”

	Applejack tilted her head. “You hired on some extra help?”

	“In a matter of speaking. Here, lemme show you.” Apple Bumpkin turned as the fence along the road ended, leading Applejack down a freshly-cleared dirt road to the front of the building.

	Applejack stepped over a small rut carved into the road with a wheel. “You store your carts out there, too?”

	“Yup. Figured as long as we were building a garage, might as well keep it all there.”

	“A garage?” Applejack lifted an eyebrow as Apple Bumpkin trotted up to a white-painted door and began lifting it straight up, the door rumbling loudly as it slid upwards along the roof. “What’s…”

	“You like it?” Apple Bumpkin grinned as she stepped inside, moving alongside the familiar-looking contraption. From the red-painted sides, to the brass funnel where a train’s smokestack would be, to the dials and switches on the side of the machine, to the strangely mismatched spoked wheels, it was unmistakably the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.

	Applejack’s mouth hung open. “You mean you bought that thing from the Flim Flam brothers?”

	“Those some salesponies who sold you one?” Apple Bumpkin stepped up next to the front wheel and patted the front of the thing, just below the lights which had been stuck on the front like too-wide eyes.

	“More like tried to con us out of our orchard,” Applejack growled. “I can’t believe you went and bought it from them.”

Apple Bumpkin shook her head. “Nope! We bought it direct from Mr. Buck out by Filly Delphia. After we saw how much easier it made things for the Pears, we just had to get one for ourselves.”

“Wait, you mean to tell me there’s more’n one of those things?”

	“Two in this county alone. But that still ain’t enough for everypony. Even harvestin’ our whole orchard by himself in less’n three days, Bartlett still couldn’t roll it out fast enough to do the harvestin’ for everypony else. The Peaches were plenty happy, but the Plums were plumb put out.” Apple Bumpkin laughed nasally at her own joke.

	“I see.” Applejack slowly approached the machine. “I shoulda known those two good-for-nothin’s couldn’ta made somethin’ like this.” She reached up with her hoof to rub at her mane. “Wait, you said Bartlett did it all by his lonesome?”

	Apple Bumpkin giggled. “Yup! Left me more time to sell all the cider and to work on puttin’ the rest into the cellar.”

	Applejack stared at the mechanical monstrosity. “So you didn’t do any buckin’ at all last harvest?”

	“Nope!” Apple Bumpkin grinned as she leaned against the side of the machine. “I know you don’t have a unicorn out there on Sweet Apple Acres, but maybe y’all should consider pitchin’ in with one of the other families to get one of these. It’s been a mercy on my hindquarters.” She glanced back at her hind legs and grinned. “Why, these ain’t nothin’ more than a bit of obsolete farm equipment now, practically.”

	“Yeah,” Applejack said, glancing back at her own hindlegs, toned from years of apple bucking. “Right.”