In the sunset, on the platform of the Ponyville train station, members of the Apple family were saying their goodbyes to Grand Pear.
"Goodbye, Grand Grandpa! We're really going to miss you!"
Apple Bloom looked at Grand Pear walking toward the platform with those big eyes of hers that could melt the heart of any sentient creature.
"That's right, Grand Grandpa, come visit whenever you have time. Sweet Apple Acres is always open for you."
"Yep."
Unlike the children, Granny Smith did not show too much reluctance to part. Instead, she bade farewell to her old friend with a rather unique tone:
"You stubborn old mule, don't go getting yourself kicked out of the house by your daughter and son-in-law the second you get to Canterlot."
Grand Pear did not talk back to Granny Smith; he chose to ignore her remark. Standing by the train door, he turned around and waved a hoof at the little ponies of the Apple family.
"If you miss Grand Grandpa, just have that little rascal bring you to Canterlot for a visit!"
"Visiting Canterlot won't be a problem at all," Bingtang Xueli said with a shrug.
As the train slowly pulled away and carried him into the distance amidst the sunset, the Apple family and their new member turned around and walked back toward home, chatting and laughing.
Inside the large farmhouse, the other ponies were busy preparing a big feast for their new family member, while Apple Bloom watched him unpack in her new cousin's room.
"So many instruments!"
Apple Bloom looked in surprise at the variety of instruments hanging all over the wall, her eyes wide as saucers.
"Can you play all of these?"
"Of course I can." Bingtang Xueli used that overly sweet tone specially reserved for talking to children as he rummaged through his suitcase. "Cousin has all sorts of good things here. Let's see if there's anything you like."
With that, he pulled out various items as if performing magic tricks.
"A zebra totem mask? No, that looks way too weird on a pony. A bison plush scarf? No, it's summer right now, and who would wear this thing? Griffin Island shortbread? Also no, I use this thing as a hammer... Aha! How about this one?"
He joyfully pulled out a particularly gorgeous sapphire, looking about the size of a goose egg.
"This would look great with your bow!"
"But..." Apple Bloom glanced at the sapphire. "This looks awfully heavy."
After hearing his cousin's remark, Bingtang Xueli pondered for a moment, then looked back and forth between the sapphire and his cousin, before finally slapping a hoof against his forehead and sliding it down his face.
"Well, I really am quite foolish."
At that moment, Apple Bloom poked her head into the suitcase and curiously pointed a hoof at a pouch of small purple stones.
"Cousin, what are these strange stones?"
"Oh, those are soundstones."
"Soundstones? What are they used for?"
"They're magic stones that can record sound. You just inject a little magic into them to record and play back audio. When I finish writing music, I record it with soundstones and mail them to my music company in Manehattan. They transfer the songs from the soundstones onto vinyl records to sell."
"You even have your own company?!" Apple Bloom asked in astonishment.
"To be precise, it's a company I started in partnership with another pony. I don't have to manage the operations—I'm only responsible for making the music. Every month, they deposit a portion of my share of the gold coins into my bank account."
He paused and thought for a moment, but did not say anything further.
At that moment, Applejack's voice came from outside.
"Cousin! Are you done packing? We're getting ready to eat!"
"Coming, cousin!" he shouted outside, while picking up Apple Bloom in his mouth and placing her on his back.
There was no helping it; Bingtang Xueli simply adored this child. Such a cute, well-behaved little sister was practically melting his heart.
"If any young scoundrel sets his sights on my sister in the future, he'll have to defeat me in a duel and walk right over my dead body."
So he thought, ignoring Apple Bloom's protests that she was already a big kid. But to be honest, even if he had noticed, he would only have thought Apple Bloom was even cuter.
"Cheers!"
At Sweet Apple Acres, the dining table in front of the Apple family house was laden with all sorts of apple dishes.
"Goodness, this is absolute—I mean, this is so delicious!" Bingtang Xueli stared at the glass of apple cider in his hoof in astonishment. "This is definitely one of the best drinks I've ever had!"
"Of course! There isn't a single pony who doesn't fall in love with the taste of our family's apple cider!" Applejack said proudly, her nose practically pointing up at the moon to fetch Nightmare Moon down.
"Indeed," Bingtang Xueli nodded. "I think this tastes much better than the pear juice my granddad squeezes."
Hearing this thrilled Granny Smith so much that she practically bounced out of her chair and did a tap dance on the spot.
"You've got good taste, young fella," Granny Smith said happily as she sat back down. "I sure hope that old coot Grand Pear could hear you say that, hahahaha—cough, cough, cough."
She was so happy she laughed until she ran out of breath.
"By the way, cousin, have you thought about what you want to do? I don't think a build like yours is cut out for farm work."
Applejack re-examined Bingtang Xueli, then glanced at Big Macintosh sitting beside him. She confirmed it: Big Macintosh could definitely fit two of him inside.
"Oh, that's true. If I had to do farm work, a single day's job would take me at least a week," he smiled and said. "Don't worry, though; I'm not here to freeload. I have a job."
"Oh? You have a job? I thought wandering singers were the kind who performed for other ponies to get tips. Oh, oh, sorry, I didn't mean to look down on you," Applejack said apologetically.
"No worries at all," he waved a hoof. "And you're right—wandering is the hobby, singing is the job."
This remark nearly choked Applejack.
"So what does your job actually involve?"
"I know, I know!" Apple Bloom suddenly shouted excitedly. "Cousin is amazing! He has his own company, and he doesn't have to manage anything. He just mails some stones out, and ponies wire money straight into his bank account!"
Nice going. Even though she was just repeating what Bingtang Xueli had said, somehow it sounded a little wrong.
"Uh... so you sell gemstones?"
"Incorrect." Bingtang Xueli smiled and re-explained his job to everyone from the beginning.
"Oh! That sounds pretty impressive! How much do you make in a month?" Applejack asked in surprise, then raised her apple cider and took a sip.
"Not much, around five thousand bits a month, I suppose."
"Pfft!"
Applejack spat a mouthful of apple cider right onto Big Macintosh's face.
"Five thousand a month?!"
"About that. If I release a new song, depending on its quality, I might make another one or two thousand extra," Bingtang Xueli said while handing Big Macintosh a tissue. "In the very beginning, it was only a few hundred a month. This is the result of three years of hard work on my part; I get a royalty for every single record they sell."
"I see. Well, that certainly is impressive. So that makes you a big music star?"
"No, no, just moderately famous."
Though his words were modest, the smile on Bingtang Xueli's face completely betrayed his triumphant mood.
"Right, I'm planning to go set up a mail transfer in a couple of days so they can wire the money directly to me every month, saving me the trip to the bank. Besides, since we're all one family now, the money I earn is for everyone to spend."
"Huh? No, you shouldn't..."
Bingtang Xueli waved a hoof to cut Applejack off.
"I said it before, we're a family from now on. I can't just freeload here, can I?"
Applejack smiled and shook her head.
"Well, all right then. I won't bother with all that fussy, long-winded politeness."
"Now that's what I like to hear."
Bingtang Xueli raised his glass, and everyone clinked glasses once more.
"By the way, cousin, can you play something for us? I'd love to hear you sing, would you?"
"Sure. Of course." He stood up and trotted toward his room.
"Wait for me!"
Soon, he returned carrying a long black rectangular case.
"This is one of my favorite instruments." He sat down and opened the case to reveal a guitar with exquisite craftsmanship, though it looked somewhat aged.
"I made this with my own hooves. My performances can't go anywhere without it."
With that, he plucked the strings a few times, and a succession of beautiful tones rang out.
"Let me think about what song would be best..." He glanced around, and suddenly a lightbulb appeared over his head.
"Let's go with this one. It's just an instrumental piece, though, no singing required."
With that, his hooves strummed the strings once more. The melodious and beautiful sound flowed forth like a trickling stream, resembling moonlight filtering through the gaps in the forest canopy to cast a scattered glow upon the earth, or perhaps a fresh morning mist brushing against one's face.
As the tempo quickened, the music seemed to blend with the environment. The chirping of summer insects sounded like an accompaniment to the piece. Listening closely, it felt as though countless fireflies were dancing joyfully all around.
As the music grew brisk, the fireflies seemed to emerge. At first one or two, flashing with faint light; gradually, more and more fireflies fluttered across the sky, until the night sky itself seemed to burn with a golden luminescence. Teasing one another, they swooped and soared to the classical rhythm of the music. In an instant, the forest came alive. Thousands of small lanterns hung across the black canopy. Wherever the fireflies landed, golden light welled up, eclipsing the serene silver glow of the moon.
As the music reached its climax, a burst of fireworks seemed to pierce the sky, followed by a second, a third... Countless fireworks instantly illuminated the dawn, their crisp explosions echoing through the woods.
The song ended. He placed the guitar back in its case and looked at the other ponies.
"This piece is called 'Night, Fireflies, and You'."
All the ponies remained immersed in the music, as if savoring it or reminiscing.
"That was amazing," Applejack said in astonishment. "It's truly incredible. Listening to this song, it felt like I actually saw fireflies dancing all over the sky and beautiful fireworks up above."
"Yep," Big Macintosh agreed with a nod.
"This piece could actually be even better; playing it on just a guitar still can't fully bring out its full effect."
"If you brought out its full effect, I'm afraid I'd cry from being so moved."
Apple Bloom's remark successfully cracked everyone at the table up. They continued eating their food and listening to Bingtang Xueli tell tales of his travels out in the world, laughing and chatting until Apple Bloom began to yawn.
"All right, I think everyone's eaten enough, time to head back and get some rest."
Bingtang Xueli nodded in agreement. Having been through quite a bit today, he was indeed tired.
Together they cleared the table, then returned to the main house and headed off to their respective rooms to rest.
Just as Bingtang Xueli reached his doorway, he suddenly paused as if remembering something. He turned and looked toward Applejack's room. Applejack had just reached her door and was about to push it open.
"Wait a second, sis," he called out to Applejack.
"What is it?"
"Are we heading to town to sell apples tomorrow?"
"We should be. Why? Are you coming along?"
Bingtang Xueli nodded and continued, "I'm planning to head into town to take care of some business, and by the way, meet some other ponies and make some new friends."
"Oh! That reminds me," Applejack seemed to recall something. "You haven't met Pinkie Pie yet. Tomorrow she's definitely going to say, 'It's already been a whole day! You're so late!'"
Watching his cousin's exaggerated mime, a few question marks popped up over Bingtang Xueli's head.
"This is...?"
"Ahem, nothing," Applejack said somewhat awkwardly. "You'll find out tomorrow. I'll come wake you up tomorrow morning."
"Alright! But just walk straight into my room to wake me up tomorrow morning; knocking won't wake me. If I say something like 'just a few more minutes' or 'I don't want to go,' ignore it and drag me straight out of bed."
Looking at Bingtang Xueli's confident smile, Applejack felt rather unconfident about her ability to drag him out tomorrow.
"Well then, I'm heading to bed. Goodnight, cousin."
"Alright! Goodnight, sis."