Applejack felt her mane fly in the wind as she galloped down a field on the outskirts of Ponyville. With the morning sun shining brightly down on them, she squinted her eyes and locked them at the only tree which stood a short distance away. Giving herself one last push, she rushed forward, leaping and touching the trunk.
“Ah’m first!” Applejack shouted with elation as a cyan pegasus zipped beside her, touching the trunk of the tree mere seconds later.
“Horse feathers!” Rainbow Dash cursed, kicking her hind hooves in the air.
Applejack pushed herself off the grass, giving a joyous smirk as she turned to face Rainbow.
“Another close one, Rainbow!” Applejack spoke between pants.
Rainbow gave a frustrated sigh. “Yeah, all the races we’ve done have been nothing but close!”
Applejack lowered herself to the foot of the tree, her back resting against the bark as her eyes gazed at the small village a short distance away. Mimicking Applejack’s actions, Rainbow sat next to the pony, gazing on to Ponyville as well. Reaching into a nearby saddlebag, Applejack pulled out two bottles of fresh apple juice, passing one of them to the pegasus beside her.
Rainbow didn’t waste any time, quickly twisting the cap off before putting the bottle to her lips. Raising it, she felt the refreshing liquid give her some much needed vitality.
“Ahhhh.” Rainbow lowered the bottle, exhaling slowly. “I’ll beat you next time, AJ.”
“Oh yeah?” Applejack taunted before drinking a few sips herself. “Ah doubt it! What’s the score again?”
“Fourteen fourteen,” Rainbow answered, taking another swig of the juice. “The next race will decide it all!”
“Ah gotcha. We can race anytime, anywhere!”
“You’re on!”
“Up for a race now?” Applejack suggested.
“Whoa there cowgirl, let’s take a break first. N-not that I’m tired or anything!” Rainbow defended. “I’m just... c-cautious that we might pull something!”
Applejack chuckled. She knew that Rainbow would get defensive. Years spent with the pegasus had allowed her to pick up on Rainbow’s personality.
Silence enveloped the two mares as they took more sips of their beverages.
Applejack broke the silence with a stray thought that crossed her mind. “Ah still can’t believe how competitive we got during the Running of the Leaves a few years back!”
Rainbow responded with a hoof to her face. “Oh pony, don’t remind me. We were the worst.”
Applejack gave a firm nod. “Heh, if my ma saw me, she would’ve been so disappointed!”
Rainbow didn’t respond, her fear of treading on this territory scaring her voice away.
“My ma always taught me that your friends and family come before first place. Ah can’t believe ah forgot that...”
Rainbow’s mind raced to arrange the question in her head to come out in a way that wouldn’t cause unease between them.
“S-so what was your mother like, AJ?” Rainbow asked, turning her head up towards her friend.
“My ma?”
“Y-yeah. If-if you don’t mind me asking about it,” Rainbow stammered out, her eyes locked onto the bottle which she grasped in her hooves. She nervously awaited Applejack’s answer for what seemed like minutes but were only seconds.
“Ah don’t mind. Ah remember her as clear as water from the river! Ah remember that her name was Apple Crisp and that she was one of the kindest, most forgiving ponies ah have ever known.”
“How far can you recall?”
“Hmm... Ah remember when Ah was just a filly...”
Applejack closed her eyes as her mane was brushed slowly by Apple Crisp. With each pass of the brush. Applejack could feel the split ends that had accumulated straightening out. Her ears stood up straight upon hearing her mother’s soft, soothing voice start to sing.
“There are loved ones in our family.
Whose dear forms you often miss.
When you close your Earthly stories.
Will you join them in their bliss?
Will our circle stay unbroken?
By and by, by and by.
There’s no better home awaiting.
So dry your eyes, dry your eyes.”
As she continue the song, Apple Crisp swung her head left and right, causing her light-green mane to flow in the wind. Her mane flowed down all the way to her shoulders, tied neatly at the end with a ponytail. Each lock of her mane was expertly groomed, something many ponies would not think a farm pony like her would do. However, Apple Crisp took great pride in grooming, hoping to transfer the same knowledge to the filly she was tending to.
With one last stroke of the brush, Apple Crisp spoke in a warm, motherly tone. “All done, my sweet filly.”
Applejack turned back towards the mare, wrapping her hooves around Apple Crisp’s yellow coat.
“Okay, now go do your chores!” Apple Crisp instructed.
“Aw, ma, do I have to?” Applejack groaned.
“How about this? Do your chores well and I’ll make you a plate of apple fritters. Sound good?”
Upon hearing the words ‘apple fritters’, Applejack’s whole face lit up. Giving several quick nods, Applejack stood up before galloping out of the house.
Hearing several hoofsteps from behind her, Apple Crisp turned to her right to see a stallion standing beside her, sporting his bright golden mane with several red streaks running through it. The top of his head was covered by a stetson hat.
“Have you told her?” the stallion spoke in a deep voice, rubbing Apple Crisp’s belly with a smile.
“You know its not time yet and that it ain’t easy for me,” Apple Crisp explained, giving a playful nudge to the stallion’s banana yellow coat.
The stallion laughed softly. “Well, whenever you’re ready darling.”
“Mm hmm. Now go do your chores Mr Creston!”
“Yes, ma’am!” The stallion lifted his hoof to his head in a playful salute before trotting away.
“She always looked out for me. Always protected me.”
Applejack leaned over a wooden barrel, taking note of the many apple drippings and stains that had been left from the last batch. Trotting towards the hose that sat only a few feet away, she twisted the silver nozzle but found that only a few drops of water dripped from the end. Turning back around to the pipe the hose was connected to, she reached out to the valve with her left hoof while holding the hose tightly with the other. As soon as the valve was turned, a large stream of water shot out at the end of the hose, sending the hard metal end flying and striking Applejack on her head.
At first, the filly didn’t feel much but a small discomfort. However, after a few seconds, a large surge of pain rushed through her body as if her whole head was on fire. Loud wails escaped Applejack’s mouth as she collapsed onto the ground.
Apple Crisp’s ears perked high at the sound of her beloved daughter crying. Her heart raced as she galloped away from the orchard and back to the farm, where Applejack lay, gripping her head and crying loudly.
“Applejack!” Apple Crisp shouted in horror, rushing forward and picking the filly up. Pushing her hoof away from her forehead, she saw a noticeable bump where the metal end had struck, turning the skin around it a sickly black and blue. “Oh my, that’s a pretty bad bruise.” With an aching heart, Apple Crisp quickly carried Applejack back into the house, sitting on the couch and rubbing the filly’s forehead tenderly.
“There there, my filly,” Apple Crisp spoke in a soft tone, bringing her lips to Applejack’s forehead and giving it a light kiss. “Shhh. It’s okay. It’ll be okay.”
Taking a deep breath, Apple Crisp started to sing in her melodic voice once again.
“You can picture happy gatherings
Round the fireside long ago
Don’t you think of tearful partings
I won’t leave you here alone
Will our circle stay unbroken?
By and by, by and by
There’s no better home awaiting.
So dry your eyes, dry your eyes”
As Apple Crisp continued to sing, Applejack felt the pain wash away with the words, her tears and sobs subsiding very quickly. Once Apple Crisp heard the silence, she stopped her song.
“There. Better, AJ?”
Applejack gave a slow nod, feeling only a little sting where the bump was. Her mother’s mouth widened into a smile, giving Applejack another kiss on her forehead before setting her on the floor.
“Go get ready for dinner time,” her mother instructed. Applejack returned her mother’s warm smile before galloping up the steps and to her room.
“Your mother sounds like a really great pony,” Rainbow commented, giving all of her attention to the story Applejack was weaving.
“Yeah! Ah always looked up to her. How she could stay so calm when there would be something wrong.” Applejack gazed up at the sun, which had moved to its peak in the sky. “That song she sang to me is a song passed down from generation to generation in the Apple Family. Ma told me that Apples sing it to a family member when somepony’s feeling hurt.”
Rainbow twisted another bottle of juice open, taking a sip. “Wow, a song passed down through family? That’s a first...”
“Ah remember how close we were. Big Mac, Granny Smith, Ma, Pa and I. We would always look out for each other!” Applejack raised her volume a little as she used her hooves to animate her words.
“What was your father like?” Rainbow asked.
“Pa? Oh, he was the pony that taught me how to buck trees! When Ah was a filly, Ah was a horrible treebucker. Maybe one of the worst in the Apple family!”
“What? You?” Rainbow repeated in disbelief.
“Yeah, Ah know Ah do it well now, but Pa was the one that taught me that.”
Applejack slammed her hind hooves onto a trunk as hard as she could. Looking up, she saw that the apples merely shook but none of them had fallen.
“Oh horseapples!” Applejack kicked a cloud of dust up.
“Come on, AJ. Don’t give up. Make sure you bend your hooves and kick. It’s not the strength, it’s the technique. Like... this!” Creston lifted his hind hooves and struck the tree next to Applejack, sending all of the apples tumbling down into several well-placed baskets.
Applejack took a deep breath in, lifting her hind hooves up once again and planting them onto another tree. However, once again, no apples fell. She collapsed to the ground, letting out a large sigh.
Creston scooped up the little filly, putting her on his back. “Don’t worry, AJ. You’ll get it eventually. Father’s promise!”
“Pa taught me that Ah could do anything Ah set my mind to. That there wasn’t no obstacle too big that Ah couldn’t overcome.” Applejack’s smile grew into a grin. “He always supported me, no matter mah choices.”
Creston drew the curtains to the window in Applejack’s room, with the filly snuggled comfortably in bed.
“Hey, Pa, can I ask ya a question?” Applejack spoke, staring intently at her father as he trotted up to her bedside.
“Well, that’s already a question. So I guess the answer would be ‘yes’!” Creston joked, causing Applejack to giggle.
Once her laughter had settled down, Applejack stammered out, “P-Pa... what if my special talent ain’t got nothing to do with apples? What if Ah’m good at something else? Would ya be mad?”
The smile that appeared on Creston’s face was a small, yet soothing one as he leaned in close, giving Applejack’s forehead a peck.
“My daughter. No matter what your talent is, know that we support you all the way. Talent in apples, music or anything else, you’re our daughter and we’ll love you.” Creston pulled the blanket up to Applejack’s neck. “Father’s promise.”
Applejack sighed in relief, wrapping her hooves around Creston’s neck. “Thanks, Pa!”
“And I remember the time when Ah was told Ah was going to have a sister! Howee, Ah was so happy!”
Applejack sat next to Big Mac as the family gathered in the living room. Creston and Apple Crisp rested on the couch as Granny Smith leaned back in her signature rocking chair.
“Kids, we have something to tell you,” Apple Crisp started, rubbing her slightly larger belly. “Our family is going to get bigger.”
Big Mac’s eyes opened wide at the realization. However, Applejack simply sat with a blank look in her eyes. Creston caught the glazed stare, continuing from Apple Crisp’s sentence.
“AJ, you will soon have... another filly to play with.”
Applejack’s blank gaze didn’t change.
“W-what we mean to say is...” Apple Crisp stammered slightly.
“Yer gonna get a sibling, Applejack! Yer ma’s pregnant!” Granny Smith explained, throwing her hooves into the air.
Applejack’s eyes quickly grew almost twice their size as she leapt to her hooves. “Ah’m gonna be a big sister! Ah’m gonna have a little sister!” she exclaimed excitedly, grabbing Big Mac and bringing him into a hug. “And Big Mac! Ya gonna be a big brother to two sisters!”
Big Mac beamed, opening his mouth to reply with a “Eeeyup.”
Rainbow had all but forgotten about her juice as Applejack continued her tale, her hooves waving in the sky as she continued her story, speaking extremely quickly, “T-then the day Apple Bloom was delivered! Ah remember it like it was yesterday!”
”Excuse me!” Applejack shouted out as she galloped down the hallway, barely missing several nurses. Big Mac and Granny Smith weren’t far behind as they finally found the ward which they were searching for. “Ward 12! Over here!” Applejack was the first to turn into the room and caught sight of Apple Crisp and Creston in a bed at the end.
Creston was sitting beside Apple Crisp as she cradled a very young filly wrapped tightly in a blanket. Applejack trotted up to the couple, her gaze locked onto the red-maned filly in Apple Crisp’s light grasp.
“Applejack, this is your new sister, Apple Bloom.” Apple Crisp passed the young filly towards Applejack.
As Apple Crisp placed Apple Bloom into Applejack’s hooves, Big Mac and Granny Smith trotted into the ward. However, Applejack didn’t notice. All of her attention was on the foal she was holding. She didn’t dare move, feeling as if she was handling the most precious and fragile gem in all of Equestria.
“Hey there,” Applejack spoke tenderly, a smile crossing her lips. “Ah’m your big sister, Applejack. Ah’m gonna take care of ya, protect ya and play with ya. Ah’m gonna be a really good sister and we’re gonna be the happiest family in all of Equestria.” She lifted her hoof to comb a stray strand of Apple Bloom’s mane away from her face. “Ah promise.”
“That must’ve been a really awesome time! Seeing your little sister born like that!” Rainbow exclaimed.
“Mm hmm! Ah would play with that filly everyday. Learn to take care of her, change her diaper and even play with her when Ma and Pa were busy! They were so happy Ah was taking care of her!”
Applejack trotted up to the cradle in her parent’s bedroom with Apple Bloom in hoof. Placing the sleeping filly into the cradle, she leaned down to kiss the foal on her forehead.
From behind, she felt her mother give her a tight hug.
“You’re being such an amazing sister, Applejack,” Apple Crisp praised her. “You always take care of her and make sure she’s happy all the time..”
Applejack gave the mare a puzzled look. “Isn’t that what family is supposed to do?”
Her mother chuckled at the filly’s innocence, rubbing her mane. “Yes, AJ. That’s what families are supposed to do...”
“Ah also remember one of the best moments was just months after Apple Bloom was born! Ah was out on the farm and...”
“Nnngh!” Applejack grunted, hitting the trunk of the tree. To Applejack’s dismay, once again, no apples had fallen. Feeling her hooves buckle, she fell to the foot of the tree, another disappointed breath escaping her lips.
“Ah’m a failure of an Apple...”
Creston picked the filly up in his hooves, making her face him and stare into his cyan eyes.
“You aren’t a failure, Applejack. Never think like that,” her father spoke in a stern, yet warm, voice. “Give it another shot.”
“B-but—”
“Come on,” Creston coaxed Applejack, pushing her up lightly.
Applejack prepared her hind hooves, positioning them a short distance away from the tree she had chosen. Slowly, she drew them back before pushing them towards the tree and smashing them square on the trunk. She turned back around, certain that no apple had dropped. However, to her astonishment, she heard something fall onto the ground. As she turned her head back around, she saw that a round, bright-red fruit had dropped into one of the baskets.
“Ah did it! Ah did it!” Applejack leaped and hopped in joy, her shouting and screaming resonating through the orchard. She quickly jumped into her father’s waiting hooves, both of them collapsing on the ground.
“I knew you could do it, my daughter!” Creston said with a grin. Lifting his right hoof up, he lifted the stetson hat off his head and placed it on the filly, seeing it fall past her eyes. He couldn’t help but chortle at the sight. “You’ll grow into it, AJ. You’ve earned it.”
Applejack lifted the hat away from her eyes. “You sure? It seems a little... big.”
“You will. Father’s promise.”
Applejack’s smile quickly dissolved as she finished her story. Rainbow raised her eyebrows at the sight, her mouth opened slightly to speak but no words came out.
“A-Applejack?” Rainbow called out after a short moment of silence.
“T-that was just days b-before...” Applejack’s voice cracked as she felt a lump forming in her throat.
Rainbow waited for her to continue, but the only thing that followed was silence, which engulfed both mares.
“A-AJ, are you okay?”
Applejack gulped, silent as she closed her eyes tight. After several seconds, she finally spoke again. “A-Ah remember when I woke up one day and there weren’t any noise.”
Applejack rubbed her eyes as she yawned. Her ears twitched to hear the familiar sounds of the farm. Whether it be the sound of the plow being driven through the fields or the sound of her father and mother shouting orders through the orchard, her ears perked for something. However, she heard something that instantly told her something was wrong. She heard silence.
Applejack leapt out of bed, flinging the door open and starting to trot down the steps. On her way down, Applejack heard the soft sobs of ponies in the living room. Upon reaching the first floor, she saw Big Mac and Granny Smith in tears. The very sight unsettled her greatly.
Big Mac was the first to notice her. Tilting his head upwards, he opened his mouth to speak. “AJ...”
Rainbow could barely make out Applejack’s words. Her voice was broken as she tried to continue.
“T-there was a plow that got loose and... and Ma... a-and Pa they...”
Rainbow felt something take her over. She reached out both of her hooves and pulled AJ into them, letting AJ rest her head onto Rainbow’s shoulder.
“T-then we got... we...”
An umbrella over Applejack’s head did nothing to stop the large downpour of rain. She stood with trembling hooves next to Big Mac, who was in the front of a large crowd of ponies, all of them Apple family members. Staring at the caskets which were being lowered into the freshly dug graves, Applejack felt a pain she couldn’t comprehend deep in her chest. A pain that felt as if somepony had ripped out her very heart.
She started to lose sight of the coffins as they descended deeper and deeper. Applejack felt her hooves collapse from her weight, every last drop of energy leaving her. Noticing this, Big Mac quickly lifted her up and lay her on his back, his eyes in tears as well.
Applejack was barely conscious, the atmosphere starting to eat away at her composure. She closed her eyes tight and gripped her brother, hoping that she would wake up and this would all just be a nightmare, something she could laugh about with her mother and father again.
“Please wake up. Please wake up. Please... wake up,” Applejack repeated as mental and physical exhaustion overcame her, pushing her deep into slumberland.
“A-Ah felt so helpless! W-what if I could’ve done something, Rainbow!? What if I could’ve!?” Applejack screamed into Rainbow’s coat, tears dripping down and matting the pegasus’ fur. “What if Ah woke up earlier? What if Ah could’ve helped? What if Ah was a little stronger? What if—”
Without warning, Rainbow broke the hug, staring straight into Applejack’s bright green eyes. “Listen to me ,Applejack. You are not to blame here. It was an accident. You wouldn’t have been able to do anything! So what if you woke up earlier? You wouldn’t have been able to stop it, it wasn’t your fault!”
“B-but what if—”
“Your parents don’t blame you either, AJ! I’m sorry if you think that’s not in my place to say, but they wouldn’t have blamed you! And they wouldn’t want to see you blaming yourself this way!”
“I-if they were still around. M-maybe Apple Bloom would have grown up with the love Ah felt! It ain’t fair, Rainbow! It just ain’t fair!” Applejack shouted through several quick breaths.
“Apple Bloom did grow up loved! She grew up with you, AJ! Maybe she didn’t feel your parents love, but she felt yours and it’s still the love of family!” Rainbow continued. “Blaming yourself right now wouldn’t do anything. You’ve given everything you could to your family. What more can anypony ask for? Your parents would be so proud...”
Applejack felt all of her barriers break, she didn’t want to hold back anymore, she couldn’t. Years of held back tears and pain consumed her. Rainbow brought her back into her hooves, feeling Applejack’s agonizing wails pierce her heart as well. Rainbow made sure that she wouldn’t let go until Applejack had cried it all out.
Applejack held Rainbow at hooves length, sniffing slightly.
“Feeling better?” Rainbow asked, concerned.
“Y-yeah. Thanks, Rainbow.” Applejack wiped her eyes and snout. “Ah’m sorry about this... for not finishing the race and all.”
“Hey, that’s the last thing you need to worry about. We can finish the race anytime, anywhere,” Rainbow said with a smirk.
Applejack gave a pained laugh. “Y-yeah... hey, Rainbow. Ah better head home. Ah’m pretty beat.”
“You sure you’re okay, Applejack?”
Applejack gave a mild nod as she picked up her saddlebags and strapped them to herself. “Ah’ll be fine. See ya soon, Rainbow.” Applejack waved.
“See you soon!” Rainbow waved back as Applejack trotted away from the pegasus.
Standing up herself, Rainbow kept her gaze locked onto the troubled mare before letting out a sigh and shaking her head.
Applejack stood, gazing at the two pieces of stone in front of her.
“....and that’s how I realized that home was where I belonged after all and then my cutie mark appeared!” Applejack finished her story. Suddenly, she felt her hat get pulled over her eyes, obscuring her vision. Lifting the culprit off from her back, she laid the foal down beside her.
Applejack pulled the hat back to where it belonged, looking at the two graves. “Apple Bloom is turning into a great filly as well.”
Applejack lowered herself down, passing a small rose to the filly. “Go ahead Apple Bloom, give this to Ma.”
Apple Bloom grabbed the rose, crawling forward to the grave marked ‘Apple Crisp’ and planting the rose firmly into the dirt.
At the same time, Applejack pushed the rose into the grave marked as ‘Creston’, a familiar feeling of pain overcoming her.
“Big Mac and Granny Smith are doing great. Big Mac’s turning into an amazing stallion. Somepony you’d be proud of, Pa.”
With a tear flowing from her left eye, Applejack opened her mouth and started to sing.
“One by one the seats were emptied
And one by one, they went away”
“Now our family is parted
Will it be complete someday?”
Rainbow lay on a cloud above, listening intently to Applejack’s harmonious voice. She took a breath in, holding back the tears she so desperately wanted to shed.
“Will our circle stay unbroken?
By and by, by and by.
There’s no better home awaiting.
So dry your eyes, dry your eyes.”
Applejack smiled at the two tombstones she stood in front of.
“Thank ya two for coming to the Apple Family Reunion this year. Ah sure did miss both of ya.”
Applejack smiled softly. She paused, her eyes closed tight. Usually, this was when she would break down, tears flowing out from her eyes until she either collapsed or cried herself dry. However, this time she felt strangely... at peace.
“I’ll visit you two again soon, alright?” Applejack spoke softly.
Trotting away, the only thing that remained at the two graves were two fully-bloomed roses.
Both bright red.
Both full of life.
THE END
