Parents- AJ

Peach Velvet is a short and sweet earth pony. All three of her children will grow to be larger than her, inheriting more of the draft horse in their father than they did from her. However, of the three, Applebloom will look the most like Peach Velvet. She’s from the renowned and sophisticated Orange Family in Manehatten,  and is the younger sister to Mosely Orange (the canon name for Uncle Orange). Not quite a girly girl, but not quite a tomboy either, she’s a “spoiled sweet”, where she got everything she ever wanted in life due to her parents wealth but still remained down to earth and doesn’t mind to get to the nitty-gritty. In fact, she grew tired of depending on her parents’ wealth and set off to support herself, where she eventually opened up a relatively successful bakery, known for her delicious pies and cakes, especially her peach-based ones.

And then there’s Hard Cider, the large and intimidating stallion. Hard Cider has been named one of the largest stallions to ever live, clocking in at a whopping 7’5 feet at his withers. He’s big, he’s frighteningly strong, he has a voice that’s so deep it vibrates within your chest, and his affinity to leadership has led him to having the nickname “Chief”. He is the son of Granny Smith, and the eldest among five brothers and sisters (three younger sisters, one younger brother). At some point, around the time he was old enough to buck apples and his twin siblings were born, his father suddenly upped and left, leaving Granny Smith to raise all of the kids on her own. Hard Cider soon took up responsibility after that, making him the “stallion of the house”. He helped his mother feed and dress his younger siblings for school as well as escort them there, helped them with homework, worked out in the fields often, all the while balancing his own school work. And of course, relatives helped them through the hard times (including Chief’s father’s parents; they definitely didn’t agree with what their son did to the family), but that didn’t stop the colt from eventually dropping out of high school so he could better support his family (despite the relatives help, they weren’t able to be there all the time, no matter how hard they tried).

These events led Hard Cider to be a strict, down to earth, straight forward and blunt sort of guy, sometimes forgetting how to just sit down and relax. He mellowed out a lot after meeting Peach Velvet though.

Speaking of, they met in Manehatten. Chief was on a business run to deliver apples to a bakery, and lo and behold, that bakery was Peach Velvet’s. As soon as she saw the large stallion, she was smitten, and throughout the transaction she flirted with him. Thing is, he payed the flirting little to no attention, barely acknowledging her for anything more than a client. As soon as they finished the pay for the haul of apples, he tipped his hat, hitched up his wagon, and immediately set off. Peach was a little surprised by it all, and at first figured “eh, oh well.”

It was the second time she saw him (again, on apple business) that she found herself having a bit of a crush on the guy. Once again, he completely ignored any of her flirting and just continued with making sure the order was correct, something that began to frustrate the mare. Finally, once the pay was settled and he hitched himself to his wagon again, Peach boldy asked him for a date. He politely refused with that deep, country drawl of his, saying he had no time for courting when there was work to be done. More than a little surprised by his response (and frustrated), she asked if he could at least give her his name. With a shrug, he did. “But evry’ne calls me Chief.” He said. So with that, he set off again, letting Peach Velvet mull over the strangeness of the stallion.

The third time she saw him he wasn’t delivering apples to her, but instead to the grocery store a couple of blocks down the road. It was simply a chance meeting; she had to go shopping for some groceries to stock up her fridge and he just happened to be there. This time, instead of flirting so… obviously, she decided to simply talk to the stallion, try to get to know him. Once again she found herself growing annoyed due to just how short he was. While polite, he kept his answers clipped and he didn’t really answer anything more than he needed to. Undeterred, she continued to talk to him, until he had to leave. That’s when she told him her name, to which he said nothing and simply left.

Discouraged by his lack of response, Peach Velvet went home.

The next time they met was once again because she needed apples and ordered them. He showed up, and the same routine started up, only this time she was far more subdued and was only making friendly talk (still a bit discouraged from their last encounter). Once again, a payment was settled and he hitched himself to his wagon for the long trek to his next shipment, but before he headed off he tipped his hat to her and said, “Pleasure seein’ ya’ll ‘gain, Miss Velvet.”

That was all the encouragement Peach needed to continue to try and get to know the stallion better, maybe even get a date with him in time. At the thought her heart would leap.

This went on for months, then about a year, then about two. Slowly Hard Cider melted and opened up to her, becoming friendlier and not as short with her, his voice warmer and eventually he began smiling when he saw her. As for Peach, she only fell deeper, until she couldn’t even stand next to him without her legs shaking or blushing when he looked at her.

One day, Chief didn’t hitch himself up like he normally did. Instead, he scuffed his hoof across the ground and had his ears flat, a funny sight for such a stallion so large. Peach waited patiently for him to continue, and he finally said, “Uh… how, uh… w-would ya’ll like ta maybe… Ah dunno, grab a bite, er sumthin’?

Peach asked, “Hard Cider, are you asking me out to dinner?” The large stallion in question only blushed a bit and nodded his head. Of course Peach said yes. c:

Sooooooo they began dating. About a couple of months past before Chief asked if she wanted to meet his family, (which she did with hilariously charming results), and he in turn met her folks.

Contrary to popular speculation, it was Peach Cider who proposed to Chief. It wasn’t anything too grand, just her shyly presenting him a necklace with half of a peach-shaped pendant, while she was wearing one that was a pendant in the shape of half an apple (the pendants would fit together when placed next one another) and with her comically blurting “I want to marry you”. Of course Cider said yes. c: 

Sadly, as we all know, these two are long since deceased; Hard Cider died protecting his family and farm from a group of burglars trying to destroy the farm (or from a pack of wild animals invading the farm; whichever you prefer). Peach Cider died shortly after giving birth to Applebloom due to birth complications. :C