“C’mon, honey, take a picture with your big brother! It’s not everyday that we get to go to the Hayman Islands!” Sweet Cinnamon said, pushing her daughter closer to her son.
“But mommmmm, Big Mac smells icky. Do I hafta?”
“Well, I wouldn’t smell s’bad if somepony hadn’t of pushed me inta that mud pit!” Big Macintosh replied indignantly, sticking his tongue out at his little sister, Applejack.
“Somepony shouldn’t of called me a pumpkin-head!” Applejack retorted, kicking some sand into her brother’s crimson red coat. At this point, the foal on Sweet Cinnamon's back had been awoken and was beginning to cry.
“Both of you, quiet! You’ve gone and woken up Apple Bloom, shame on you.” Sweet Cinnamon silenced. Her husband, Warm Apple, picked the little foal up with his mouth and placed her on a beach towel sprawled out on the sand to try and calm the relatively new addition to their family.
“Thar, thar, Applebloom. Don’t cry. Daddy’s here.” Warm Apple whispered soothingly.
Big Mac and Applejack exchanged glances, and came to a silent agreement.
“We’re mighty sorry, we’ll be civil-like and take the picture.” Big Mac said with pretty effective puppy-dog eyes. Applejack scooted in closer and put on a huge smile to emphasize their point. It seemed to satisfy Sweet Cinnamon, as her horn lit up with a pale-olive aura the same shade as her coat, which then surrounded the camera and lifted it up to eye-level.
“Say cheese!” Sweet Cinnamon called out, and her children obliged. The camera flashed and made a snapping sound. “Perfect. Okay, now you two can go play, I need to help your father with Apple Bloom.”
Almost immediately after their dismissal, Applejack and Big Mac started to race to see who could dig the biggest hole in the sand, and then push the other into the hole while their mother tended to her foal with her husband.
The sounds of hooves digging into sand could be heard for meters to come. It was something the Apple kids wanted to do since they received the news that they would be going on a family vacation with their parents. The looks on their faces was priceless when they got the news. Not to mention that Granny Smith nearly went into cardiac arrest when she was told that she could go as well. Thank Celestia she didn’t.
“I’m gonna beat’cha, bro.”
“Oh no you’re not!”
While Big Mac spoke a big game, Applejack was way ahead of him in their little game. Her hole was now about twice as big as her brother’s, and was nearly as big as he was.
‘Perfect,’ Applejack thought to herself with a mischievous grin. She arose from her hole to see her brother frantically trying to dig faster and deeper, completely oblivious that Applejack was already finished.
Applejack then brought a hoof to her lips and gave an ear shattering whistle. “Now, girl.”
Big Mac ceased his hole digging to ask what his sister meant by that, but was instead greeted with loud barking as he faced a brown and white puppy that was charging at him at dangerous speeds.
“Nonononono, Winona, not sa fast!” Big Mac pleaded, standing on his hind legs and waving his hooves in front of him to no avail as the puppy known as Winona pounced on his chest, sending the red-furred colt back a few feet before tripping into his sister’s hole.
Sand, humiliation, and dog saliva covered Big Mac in such a way that could only come from a sibling.
“Gotcha, Mac!” Applejack exclaimed through her spasmodic laughs, earning a stoic expression from her brother.
“Not funny, AJ.”
“Shoot, it was plenty funny. The look on your face!” More laughter escaped the orange filly as she fell to the ground.
Big Mac just sighed and chalked it up on his mental scoreboard, one he definitely needed to try and catch up on. He rose from his hole with Winona in tow.
“Seriously? Usin’ Winona like that?” he asked a bit angrily.
“Ya never said I couldn’t. Right, girl?” Applejack asked her loyal canine pup, but she got no response. Winona was staring away from her owner and at the open sea and sky.
“What’s wrong, Winona?” Applejack asked.
It was then that Winona began to bark at what seemed like open skies, but these barks were more vicious, with a hint of fear in them.
“Winona... what’s wrong, girl?” Applejack asked again.
While Winona barked away at seemingly nothing, Big Mac looked up towards the empty sky, not a single cloud spotted the clear blue sky, but that’s not what bothered the colt’s senses. A slow steady wind began to stir, blowing Mac’s sandy blond mane around.
“C’mon now, Winona. Yer not scared of a little wind are you?”
More barks came from the little pup, and Big Mac continued to stare at the sky, this time seeing something coming forward.
“Ugh, AJ, I think a storms comin’...” he said as he raised a hoof to point out two or three black clouds in the distance.
“Aww, it’s just a little rain. We’ve seen worse on the farm. Don’t you worry so much, big bro.” Applejack then looked down to her small pup still barking away. “And you, missy, stop barkin’ at nothin’.” Applejack’s command went unnoticed as Winona continued her assault on her owner’s ear drums.
“You sure it’s nothin’?” Big Mac asked his sister.
“As sure as apples are juicy. Now come one, Mac, we’ve still got plenty of time before the sun goes down, an’ I wanna look for buried treasure!” Applejack said with enthusiasm that can only come from a filly her age.
“Y’know that kinda thing is only in them stories Pa reads to you...” Mac stated matter-of-factly.
“Nuh-uh, and I’m gonna prove it! I’ll be back before sunset with the biggest pile of gold you done laid your eyes on.”
“A weeks worth of applebuckin’ says you’ll come back empty hooved.”
“Deal!” Applejack barked with determination. She stuck her hoof out and took in a rugged and liquidy breath before she spat into her hoof. Her brother repeated the motion, and in a wet smack, they shook hooves, solidifying their bet.
“See you at sundown with a mountain of gold!” she called as she ran off to another part of the beach by some dense vegetation.
Mac waved off his sister with a smirk. “And that’s a week off for me.”
***
When ponies go to the beach, they know that all the sand is going to be a bit of an annoyance, but the amount blowing towards Warm Apple, Sweet Cinnamon, and their youngest daughter was far from a little annoyance.
“Thar, thar, Apple Bloom,” Warm Apple tried to comfort the foal that was still crying on the beach.
“Honey,” Sweet Cinnamon spoke up from behind her husband, “maybe we should take her back to the cabin. I think the sand is blowing into her face.” As she finished her sentence, a cloud of sand slapped Sweet Cinnamon’s side, causing her to yelp out in shock.
The wind was picking up speed and force, nearly enough to blow the big pink bow tied on Sweet Cinnamon’s mane clean off. The clouds were growing numerous, and huge black ones were beginning to form as well.
“Good idea.” Warm Apple wrapped Apple Bloom in the towel and gave her to Sweet Cinnamon. “I’m gonna try and wake up my ma. She’s been enjoying that hammock a little too much since we got here.”
“I’ll get AJ and Mac,” Sweet Cinnamon replied.
While Warm Apple trotted off to wake Granny Smith from her nap, Sweet Cinnamon was trying her best to find her other children.
“MAC! APPLEJACK!” she shouted, losing the usual serenity in her voice.
Big Mac was taking a moment to relax and imagine what his week off was going to be like, until his mother’s call reached his ears. With a call like that, it took no longer than a few seconds for Big Mac to respond. He had never heard his mom’s voice get that... intimidating before.
“Yes, ma?” he asked as he rose on all fours.
Sweet Cinnamon walked closer to her son as he began to stand up on all fours. “Sweety, where’s your sister?”
“She went off somewhere to look for some buried treasure that don’t exist,” he replied.
Sweet Cinnamon’s eyes grew wide, but she wasn’t looking at her son. Her focus was on the shore and the skyline. What was only a few black splotches on a seemingly all blue canvas a few minutes ago turned into a quickly spreading cloudy sky. The winds were starting to pick up, and from the distance, she could see what looked like cracks of lightning, and what followed was the low but steadily rising rumbles of thunder.
“Mac, go back to your father,” she lifted the still crying Apple Bloom from her back, “and take Apple Bloom with you. Tell him I went to go look for Applejack.” Her tone was calm, but Mac could tell there was something lying behind it. Even her face seemed to contort into an expression he couldn’t make out. Fear? He couldn’t fully tell, but it couldn’t have been good. Sweet Cinnamon hoofed Mac his little sister and took off where she saw hoofprints that she knew had to belong to her daughter.
“MA! What’s wrong?” Big Mac asked, the hairs on the back of his neck starting to rise at the sight of his mother’s worried facial features.
“Just go back to the cabin!”
Big Mac did as he was told and hightailed it towards his pa and granny with Apple Bloom wrapped in one of his forelegs. Sweet Cinnamon on the other hoof was sprinting where the hoofprints led her, hopefully towards her daughter. She gave another glance at the sky and what caught her eyes were multiple sparks of lightning followed by louder drums of thunder. Even the wind was picking up, more so than before as it blew more and more sand through her pale olive coat and bright red mane.
“Oh, Applejack, please be close.”
***
Big Mac was usually a pretty level-headed colt. Never showed much sign of worry even in the face of a huge problem, never spazzed out if one little thing went wrong, never was one to panic, but seeing that look on his mother’s face and the hint of what he believed was fear in her voice was something that got him riled up. He spared no time in rushing back to the cabin he and his family were staying in. It was about a good hundred meters from the shoreline, and it was just a simple wooden cabin one would usually see at a summer camp, only with a beach-like twist on the design. It was there that he saw his father guiding the old light-green mare he knew as his grandmother inside and his sister’s puppy still barking away at the clouds, but this time having more of a reason.
“PA!”
Warm Apple turned to see his son sprinting towards him with Apple Bloom in his hooves. “Mac! Where’s your ma? And where in tarnation is Applejack?”
“Ma went to go look for Applejack. She thought she could find treasure out thar.” Mac pointed his free hoof back where he ran from and towards the path his sister trekked on not too long ago.
Warm Apple looked up to the sky. It seemed to grow darker and more menacing with each passing minute. What was a peaceful calm blue sky was now a battleground of electricity and inky black clouds. The ever-growing wind speeds only added to the situation at hoof. “Son, take Apple Bloom inside with Granny. I'm gonna go get your sis and ma.”
With that, Warm Apple took off to look for his wife and daughter, leaving his son with the youngest and the oldest of the Apples. Big Mac didn’t need a second telling to get inside. He had to be brave now for Apple Bloom and Granny Smith, but on the inside, a terrible feeling arose within that just wouldn’t go away.
“Please come back.”
***
It couldn't have been more than an hour since Applejack ran off into the nearby jungle by the shoreline of the beach to prove her brother wrong, but the time she spent wandering around seemed like hours to her. The fact that both sand and plant life were blowing in her face didn’t help her much either. With so much flying around, the little filly had been going in circles. In reality, she wasn’t even one hundred meters from the edge of the beach jungle, but with so much sand blowing in her face, she couldn’t even make heads or tails which way was right and which way was left.
“I’m not lost. I’m not lost. I’m not lost,” the little orange filly continued to tell herself as she kept up with her aimless pacing. “Just gotta find my OFGH!” Applejack’s little pep-talk came to an immediate stop as she found herself face-flat on the ground thanks to an outstretched root of a nearby tree.
She pulled herself up to look around, only seeing a blur of green. “I’m not lost. I’m not lost. I’m not lost.” She ran in any direction that her legs carried her, only coming to more green and more uplifted sand from the growing winds.
"I’m not lost. I’m not lost. I’m not lost.” She continued to murmur that same sentence over and over again as if if she said it enough times, it would be true, but no matter where she walked, all that came up was sand and thick green leaves.
“I’m not lost. I’m not lost. I’m not lost.” She was going in circles. Her vision was blinded and the winds only seemed to deafen her, rendering her basic senses useless. Applejack didn’t want to come to terms with it, half out of pride, and half out of fear, but it dawned on her like the cruelest of all faiths... she was a little filly, completely lost in a jungle, blinded by a tirade of sand grains and swinging leaves.
This realization came hard and caused the little orange filly to drop to her haunches onto the ground, not bothering to hold back the tears. It didn’t matter to her anymore that she would have to admit to her brother that she was wrong. Seeing his smug face would be more of a welcome than having to endure this feeling of hopelessness eating away at her.
“Applejack?”
The filly in question snapped her head up and looked around frantically for the voice that called for her.
“Applejack?!”
The voice sounded worried and was growing louder. She recognized it and the scared little filly began to scream back.
“MAMA!”
“Applejack!”
Applejack didn’t care what was in her way. She got up and ran towards the sound of her mother’s voice as tears ran down her face. “MAMA!”
“Applejack!” Even through the thick veil of sand, Sweet Cinnamon managed to make out a running figure in the near distance. “Applejack!”
Applejack kept pressing on and on with each call made out to her. The sand blowing through still blinded her, but it didn’t stop Sweet Cinnamon from finding her baby girl. Applejack heard hoofsteps coming closer and closer. “MAMA!” With a final call, the little earth pony felt the familiar tingling sensation of magic lifting her up in a pale-olive glow. Her mama's pale-olive glow.
Following the tingling of magic came the soft feel of fur. Applejack didn’t hold back her tears of relief. She was back with her mama, she was no longer lost, and Sweet Cinnamon had her daughter back.
Sweet Cinnamon looked down at the filly in her hooves, with caring eyes, but they were glossed with worry at the tirade of wind and sand around them.”Applejack, sweety.”
Applejack looked up, trying to suppress some of her sobs to hear her mother better through the wind.
“It’s okay. Mama’s here.” She dug her head into the filly’s side and allowed her daughter to let a few more sobs out. “Mama’s here, and I’m never gonna leave you.”
Applejack’s sobs started to fade at her mother’s words as she found comfort in the relative warmth of her chest. For a split second, everything was alright, but reality is a cruel mistress.
“Applejack, honey.” The orange filly looked up to Sweet Cinnamon’s face. “I need you to be a big girl and wipe your tears. A storm’s coming and we need to get back to the cabin. Do you understand?” Applejack slowly wiped her tears and sniffled a bit before she nodded her head.
“That’s my girl.” Sweet Cinnamon gently lowered Applejack and she stood, displaying a look of forced confidence that the situation called for. “Okay, AJ, follow me, and stay very close.” The older mare took off towards the beach and her daughter followed close by.
The sight of shaking tropical leaves and waving walls of sand were the only sights to the two ponies for a minute or two, but quickly dissipated into another horrible combination. No less than a second after Applejack and Sweet Cinnamon left the shield of stretching leaves did they come into contact with sand and the pelting droplets of downpouring rain. Sweet Cinnamon looked above to see the whole sky painted a menacing black with zig-zagged lightning bolts jumping from cloud to cloud.
What came next had Sweet Cinnamon praying to Celestia that they got out of that jungle safely. Lightning cracked and a nearby tree sparked with a blinding light-blue light before catching on fire. The feel of static wavered in the air and the two ponies wasted no time in hightailing it out of there.
The sand beneath their hooves wasn’t as it was before. With the rain and wind, the sand they treaded was far from sustainable, and with each step taken, it took more energy and effort to pull out of the quicksand-like ground. Sweet Cinnamon and Applejack still treaded on, praying that when they made it to the cabin, everything would be alright.
But, everything would not be alright. With the blinding sand and rain, Applejack could barely make out her mother’s form and instead of following right behind, she ended up straying away from her mother’s path. With her sight impaired, the little filly didn’t have a clue in the world that she was approaching her own hole she dug out earlier in the day. Just like she didn’t notice that the blowing sand and rain had turned that innocent little hole into a trap.
Applejack’s plunge into the hole was inaudible, but her screams weren’t. “MAMA!!!”
Sweet Cinnamon jerked her head back towards the sound and bolted towards her struggling daughter. Applejack was trying to force herself out of her hole. The sand and rain had filled up most of the empty space already, but there was still some space left exposed, enough space to bury a filly.
Applejack’s panicked screams softened as she saw her mother appear in front of her.
‘She’s never gonna leave me.’
Maybe it was the panic of seeing her daughter in that pit, maybe it was just a bad call, or maybe she just forgot she could try and pull Applejack out with magic, but Sweet Cinnamon decided to plunge into the pit, and with her two forehooves and unmasked strength, plucked Applejack from the sinking sand.
Sweet Cinnamon was hesitant to simply throw her daughter and tell her to run. Would she even be able to see? Would she just end up lost again thanks to the blinding sand? Or would she have to find another way to save Applejack and herself? Or maybe just Applejack? All of those questions faded the instant a familiar deep voice called out.
“Cinnamon! Applejack!”
The two ponies in the pit quickly turned their head towards the sound of the bellowing voice and, without hesitation, Sweet Cinnamon flung her daughter in the voice’s direction. How Warm Apple knew to catch Applejack was a mystery. Parental instinct? Maybe. It didn’t matter to any of them, she was safe.
Warm Apple looked at his shaking daughter and saw the globs of mud-like sand on her. “AJ, what happened?”
“MAMA’S STUCK!” the filly screamed in reply, her hoof pointed back to where she was thrown.
Warm Apple placed Applejack on his back and hurried to where she pointed. Through the veil of blowing sand, he was able to make out his wife, but was instantly met with her panicked eyes.
“STOP!” Sweet Cinnamon warned. Warm Apple did as she told before his wife continued on. “Honey, don’t come closer. It’s like quicksand here. Just take Applejack back to the cabin. I’ll find a way out of here.” Sweet Cinnamon sounded calm, and her eyes seemed full of confidence in her plan, but that still didn’t help Warm Apple’s mixed feelings of this plan. But if it protected his daughter, he’d follow.
He gave an affirming nod before he took off with Applejack hanging onto him.
“Mama’s gonna be okay, right?” Applejack’s voice cracked as she tried to suppress a sob.
“She’ll be fine, darlin’,” Warm Apple confirmed, easing his daughter's worries a little bit.
The sand and rain still raged, but Warm Apple glided through with ease. He only ran in a straight line towards Applejack and his wife, so the run back to the cabin took very little time. Warm Apple didn’t take the time to open the wooden door on the cabin. Instead, he rammed into the doorway and into the cabin, leaving the door hanging by its top hinges, and set Applejack down on the floor with haste.
“Sis!” Applejack turned to see her brother run up to her and scoop her up into the biggest hug she had ever experienced. “Oh, thank Celestia!” Mac gasped out.
“Son.” Big Mac looked up to see Warm Apple gazing down at him and Applejack. “I’m goin’ back to get your ma. Stay here an’ look after everypony. And AJ,” Applejack looked up into those warm green eyes, “stay strong, and be brave. Everything’s gonna be alright.”
Applejack nodded to her dad and he donned a warm smile. If he said everything would be fine, then things would be. They just had to be.
With a bang on the damaged door, Warm Apple was out in the storm, and what a storm it was. The Apple kids didn’t even know that rain could blow sideways until then.
“Kiddies.” Mac and Applejack turned around to see their Granny Smith and Winona sitting in the back of the cabin with the still crying Apple Bloom in Granny’s hooves. “Come over here with me. We’ll wait out this storm til’ your ma and pa get here.”
The Apple kids went over and huddled next to their Granny and dog. Their presence was noticed by the foal in the old mare’s hooves, and her cries began to soften.
“It’s okay, Apple Bloom. Ma and Pa will be back.” Applejack was hoping that she wouldn’t be proven a liar, but something inside her was telling her something bad was gonna happen.
The storm raged on outside. Thunder rolled, lightning cracked, wind howled relentlessly, rain droplets and sand grain pelted the cabin walls mercilessly, and even after what seemed like hours, Warm Apple and Sweet Cinnamon still hadn’t returned.
Inside the cabin, Winona barked furiously at the storm, hoping to scare it away, and all three Apple kids huddled by their Granny Smith, praying that Warm Apple and Sweet Cinnamon would come back. More time passed and the storm continued its assault on the cabin and everything around it. The storm raged long into the evening and well into the night before finally ceasing to nothing more than a light drizzle the next morning.
The Apples didn’t sleep, they couldn’t sleep, not with Winona barking, not with Apple Bloom’s sporadic bursts of wails, not with the pounding of the storm, and definitely not with the fact that their parents hadn’t returned.
The instant the storm ceased, and only the light pitter-patter of raindrops hitting the roof was heard, Applejack burst out of the cabin like a mad mare and bolted towards the last place she saw her ma.
‘Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay.’
Applejack reached the hole she and her mother were trapped in only to find nothing but wet sand. Stricken by panic, the little filly dove into the hole and dug as frantically as she could, her tears freely falling down her face at the thought of her parents... she couldn’t finish that thought, she just couldn’t.
“C’Mon, c’mon, c’mon!” sand flew from Applejack’s hooves and the wild look in her eyes was a clear sign of her determination.
“AJ!” Applejack didn’t look away from her digging when her brother called. “AJ!” She still didn’t look back. “AJ!” The red hoof that touched her shoulder didn’t even phase her. It wasn’t until Big Mac pulled his sister away that she finally responded.
“Ma tried to save me, it’s all mah fault, it’s all mah fault! I shoulda been down there, not her and pa!” Applejack cried out, not taking any breaths. She was soaking her brother’s chest as she cried into him.
“AJ, I need you to calm down,” Mac spoke calmly, “nothin’ was yer fault, you didn’t do nothin’. I need you to know that.”
Applejack may not have believed him about things not being her fault, but she did calm down nonetheless. She looked up at her brother with a final sniff.
“Now, what happened?”
Applejack went into her story about her and Sweet Cinnamon’s plunge into her own pony-made death trap, and their ma’s possible sacrifice to save her. The whole time she explained, her tears never stopped falling.
Bic Mac brought Applejack into a warm embrace and stroked her back, trying his best to ease his sister’s worries. “AJ, you didn’t do nothin’. Ma and Pa couldn’t have sunk. Look at your hole.”
Applejack swung her head from her brother’s chest to see the her hole almost completely dug up, which brought her to the conclusion that her parents, two full grown ponies, couldn’t have sunk into that hole. They weren’t buried alive, they weren’t... they weren’t there. They weren’t there!
“Mac! If they aren’t... you know... then where are they?!?”
The shock and surprise in Big Mac’s green eyes only highlighted his uncertainty and fear. Where were his parents?
“Mac! AJ!”
The two ponies turned their heads to see Granny Smith, with Apple Bloom in her forehooves, hollering at them to come back to the cabin. They did as they were told, but were met with the same panicked look Granny had when she saw her son leave into the storm the past night.
“Mah son, and Sweet Cinnamon... were they—”
“They weren’t there, Granny,” Applejack cut her off, “I’ve no idea where they are,” she finished, trying to choke down another sob.
Sensing her granddaughter's panic, Granny Smith handed Apple Bloom to Big Macintosh and lifted Applejack’s chin so she was looking directly at her. “Applejack, I need you to calm down. I’m gonna go out and try an’ find ‘em.”
“Granny you can’t! What about your hip?” Big Macintosh pointed out.
“When mah family’s in danger, I do whatever I can to make sure they’re safe,” Granny retorted, a fire burning in the her usually dull orange eyes. “So, Mac, stay with the girls and Winona and watch after them. I’ll be back soon enough. And, AJ.” Applejack kept her look on Granny Smith as she wiped a tear from her eye. “Be strong, and watch Apple Bloom.”
Applejack nodded, and the tears stopped. Granny Smith smiled and turned back to her grandson. “Mac, you’re the stallion of the cabin. Keep them safe.”
Mac nodded firmly, and Granny Smith smiled back before she headed out the door, and for the first time in years, the Apple kids saw their Granny run.
Granny Smith was already out of the cabin, and that was when she took in her surroundings. Palm trees were torn from the ground and lay broken on the sand. Sand was blown everywhere and scattered into uneven levels on the beach, and what was the most noticeable path of destruction, was the trail of shortened grass and broken palm trees behind the cabin that led to another part of the island. Granny Smith took to the path of destruction and sprinted down it, determined to find her son and his wife.
***
There’s an old saying that after every storm, there’s a rainbow up ahead. While this was true physically, the feeling of fear and dread inside the cabin completely contradicted the old saying.
Applejack huddled in the back of the cabin with Apple Bloom in her hooves, who was finally asleep. Maybe the foal was that tired, or she just couldn’t cry anymore. Big Mac stood near the front of the cabin, constantly glancing back and forth between the front door and his sisters behind him. It seemed like hours since Granny Smith left to go look for his parents, and each minute that passed contributed to his growing anxiety, but he had to be brave.
Applejack and Big Mac were silent the entire time they were alone with Apple Bloom. Not because they couldn’t think of anything to say, but because they didn’t want to hear what the other had on their mind because odds are, it wasn’t a happy thought.
Their anxiety hid behind a mask of confidence and bravery. Why did they act strong when Granny wasn’t around? Maybe it was for Apple Bloom, or maybe it was because it was all they had to keep them from giving into their own dark thoughts on the situation.
‘Granny’s comin’ back. They’re all comin’ back. Ma, Pa, everything’s gonna be fine,’ Applejack thought to herself. ‘Pa said everything would be alright. Ma said she’d never leave.’
Images of all six members of the Apple family began to run through the filly’s mind. Happy images. No terror, just smiles. Everything would be like that again after Granny came back. At least that is what she hoped, and the sound of the door creaking open only raised those hopes higher when Applejack whipped her head up to see Granny Smith in the doorway.
‘She found ‘em! She found ‘em!’ her mind instantly told her... until it all came crashing down like the trees outside.
Granny Smith did return, but instead of a triumphant smile and two ponies behind her, she bore the face of a mare struggling not to cry. And her eyes... they weren’t dull, but just not... fully there. It was like the light in them was giving way to despair.
Big Mac and Applejack saw Granny’s face and they instantly tried to ignore what was going to come next. They didn’t want her to say it, but she didn’t need to because what she held in a hoof was all the proof they needed that their parents weren’t coming back.
In the old mare’s hoof was an undone pink bow. Sweet Cinnamon’s bow.
“Wh-where’s mama? And papa?”
“Mac, AJ.”
“Where are they?”
“I found—”
“Where?”
“Mac. AJ.” The old mare struggled hard to keep her tone even, but it didn’t stop the floodgates from breaking.
“No... no...” Applejack sunk to the floor as her face began to flood with tears.
Big Mac went to his sister’s side, and put a hoof on her shoulder. “AJ...”
“Where are they? WHERE?”
“AJ, it’s going to be okay. It’s all going to be okay.” Big Mac then pulled his little sister into a full hug, and Granny Smith joined them.
“N-no... They’re out there... I know it...” Applejack managed to say through her breakdown.
“AJ...”
“NO!” Applejack practically screamed through her tears. She started to bawl out even heavier than before. She didn’t want to believe what her mind was telling her, she couldn’t. They weren’t.
Big Mac and Granny Smith stuck with the crying filly, each trying to comfort her while they themselves were falling apart inside.
“I’m so sorry, you two, I’m so sorry...”
Author's Note
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to go check out Spike120812's user page! He deserves it.
The Anniversary
By: FluttershyisMetal and Spike120812
***
‘Wha-what’s going on? Where am I?’ Applejack thought. She looked around and saw a peaceful beach, with a small palm tree jungle to her right. Something about the beach... it was familiar to her, and it called to her like a siren to look around.
She strolled down the beach, taking in the sights, and actually enjoying herself. She loved the way the sand shifted each time she took a step. She loved the soothing sound of the waves crashing onto the shore. She loved the gentle wind blowing through her tied back straw-blonde mane. She felt like she was in heaven.
There was nothing more that Applejack wanted at that moment than to lay down on the beach and take a long and peaceful nap. But, she couldn’t, she was pulled into the trance-like motion of walking down the beach.
Her hooves were starting to sink deeper and deeper with every step. Her pupils dilated. Before she knew it, the sand was up to her knees. She was struggling to even lift her legs. This was no longer paradise, but a steadily creeping nightmare.
She couldn’t move at all. However, the sand kept on pulling her in. Deeper. Deeper. Deeper. All that was left above the sand was her head. She started to hyperventilate.
She strained to get out of her sand prison, but it was to no avail. Then, the skies filled with black clouds, more rapidly than any pegasus, even Rainbow Dash, could possibly push them. Great streaks of blinding white light began to crash down from the sky onto the beach. Thunder began to growl within the clouds. It wasn’t natural, it wasn’t a sunny paradise, it was no more than a disaster waiting to happen, and Applejack was in the middle of it all.
Applejack heard a deafening crack, and then saw a palm tree tumble down right in front of her, ablaze with raging orange flames. After a few more deafening cracks, Applejack was surrounded by blazing palm trees, trapping her in a circle of flames.
Her eyes grew wide with terror, but she couldn’t move at all. She tried to scream, but she couldn’t make any noise. She was forced to just stare at the flames, and what she thought was her doom.
She looked past the flames, and saw a monstrous sinkhole form on the beach. Then, through the flames, she saw two ponies ahead, a mare and a stallion. The mare being pale-olive and the stallion being a deep dark-red. Applejack thought these ponies looked familiar, but she couldn’t make out their faces.
Upon further inspection, and the squinting of her eyes, she noticed that they didn’t have faces. They were as blank as the sand on the beach was.
Applejack’s face contorted with raw fear. She looked away, and down at the sand that was keeping her from moving. Then, the sand started moving, changing in fact. It turned in various ways until it transformed into multiple faces; eyes, mouth, everything that could be found on any normal pony.
Yet again, she tried to scream, but no sound came out. Then, the faces started to screech. It was shrill, booming, and tortuous all at the same time. Applejack closed her eyes tight and contorted her mouth in pain, hoping it would ease the pain of the shrieks in her direction.
The screeching stopped after a few agonizing seconds, allowing Applejack to release the tension in her face and dare to open her eyes, but just like the torture the sound was, it started again, except this time, actually saying something.
“APPLEJACK!”
***
“AHHHHH!” Applejack jolted up from her bed with a quick crack of her eyes. Her bed, her forehead, and her hair was soaked with sweat. Her bloodshot eyes darted madly across the room.
After a few seconds, she found that she was back at her home at Sweet Apple Acres, and the moonlit night still indicated that she should still be asleep.
Applejack turned her head to the clock on her counter next to the bed. “4:00 AM,” she read aloud. She’d be getting up in a few hours anyway, and after what plagued her subconscious, she found herself slumping back down onto her bed, mindlessly staring up at her ceiling. She knew what day it was and why she had that particular dream, and the calendar next to her other side clearly marked out the day.
It was that same day several years ago that took away her parents. It was that same day several years ago that broke her family. It was that same day several years ago that turned what was supposed to be a dream vacation into her worst nightmare.
She remembered it all too well, and she wasn’t looking forward to remembering it even more. Throughout the years, on the anniversary of that day, Applejack was a different pony to say the least, but who wouldn’t be?
Tears started to well in the farm pony’s eyes before she tried to shut them from falling, but to no avail. They fell regardless, making Applejack feel like the helpless filly she saw herself as those years ago.
She turned her head towards her window. Luna had painted a beautiful night sky as always, and from her window, she could make out all the glimmering stars that graced the night sky. From a little farther, she saw two flashes of light trail their way quickly through the sky before disappearing from sight.
“I miss you,” Applejack whimpered under her breath. More tears started to well, and her lip quivered. What little resistance she had broke, and Applejack let her emotions spill onto her bed. Soaking the bed even more in her tears as she cried herself into an unsteady slumber.
The next few hours passed with the drifting of consciousness and unconsciousness. Applejack’s eyes were already open when her alarm went off, bloodshot and stained with the reminiscent of salty tears. She wanted to stay in bed so badly. She didn’t want to face the rest of the family today, but she knew she couldn’t stay in one place all day. Not when the others might need comforting.
With hesitance and wobbly legs, Applejack climbed out of her bed, wiping her eyes with a forelimb and coming to her bedroom door. Next to it was a small hook. On the hook was the last thing of her father she had... his stetson hat.
Every other day she wore it to remember him by, but today, she had enough to remember as is. She was out the door and made her way downstairs to meet the other members of the Apple household. Each of them was already up, each looking about as bad as Applejack, all except Apple Bloom. Everypony in the room could tell she cried the most last night and probably didn’t feel like talking much, but Applejack knew it wasn't healthy.
Applejack slowly came over to her little sister who was perched on the couch in the living room next to Big Macintosh and Granny Smith. She tried to say something, but was instantly met with a small hug and numerous whimpers.
“I miss ‘em so much,” Apple Bloom cried.
Applejack didn’t respond verbally, only stroking the foal’s back as she cried into her fur. “I know, Apple Bloom. We all do.” It was then that Big Macintosh lowered his head and let a small tear slide down his face while the elderly mare next to him looked like she was holding back a large lump in her throat.
Applejack let Apple Bloom cry into her for a good few minutes until she finally stopped and raised her head up to look into her sister’s emerald-green eyes. “They loved you, sis. And they still do. All of us.”
Apple Bloom's sobs softened up slightly. She was only a foal when she lost her parents, yet she could sense the truth behind her sister's words.
She lifted her hoof to her bright red mane, stopping where she felt the large pink bow on her head. She remembered all everything the rest of the Apple family said when she was little and started to wear it. It was always the same thing.
"You look so much like your mother."
She wanted to keep that bow forever, but today, she just didn't want to remember that the old owner of that bow was gone.
"Applejack?"
The mare in question lowered her head to Apple Bloom's level.
"I'm not hungry. Is it alright if I don't eat breakfast?"
Applejack looked to Big Mac and Granny Smith. Just by their looks, she could tell the feeling was mutual.
"I don't think anypony here's in much of an eating mood anyway. But I don't want you sittin' around and sulking. Go out and do something. Maybe play with your friends."
As if the universe had heard the farm mare's suggestion, a soft knock was heard at the front door.
Applejack got up and opened the door. Standing outside were Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. The smiles on their faces were small, not really joyful, but there for comfort.
"Hi, Applejack," Sweetie Belle greeted. "Is Apple Bloom home?"
"Apple Bloom," Applejack called softly. The filly in question made it to the door and brightened up slightly upon seeing her fellow crusaders.
"Hey, Apple Bloom." Scootaloo tried to sound enthusiastic, but came up short. She knew what today was for the Apple family. Apple Bloom told her friends all about it the first anniversary after all three of them became friends, and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo made it their mission to help lift their friend up today.
"Hey, girls," Apple Bloom greeted back meekly.
Scootaloo started to kick at the ground awkwardly, not really knowing what to say. Sweetie Belle stepped in to ease the tension.
“We were wondering if you’d like to come out and maybe crusade?” Sweetie finished with a weak smile.
Apple Bloom looked back towards Applejack, who nodded encouragingly at her younger sister. Apple Bloom turned back to her two friends and gave them a quick smile.
“Yeah, sure, I’d love to,” Apple Bloom said weakly.
“Awesome, well, what’re we waiting for? Let’s go crusading!” Sweetie Belle said with mock enthusiasm.
Apple Bloom headed out the door and treaded out of the farmhouse with her fellow Crusaders, hoping this could get today out of her mind.
Applejack watched her sister run out of the farm and into town. She smiled bitterly and turned to her brother.
“Well, at least Apple Bloom will be able to keep ‘er mind off of the anniversary. She was a complete wreck last year...” Big Macintosh nodded and watched his youngest sister march off with her friends wistfully.
“Eeyup,” he replied. “But I know somepony else who didn’t handle it s’well either. Maybe ya should go out ‘n find something to do as well.”
Applejack stared blankly ahead as memories flooded her mind. A small filly crying her heart out into her granny’s arms, wishing she could go back and change everything.
She shook her head out of frustration, and looked over to her big brother.
“I guess you’re right. I’ll go ‘n see if the girls wanna do... somethin’,” Applejack said, letting out a sigh.
“Eeyup,” was all Big Mac said in reply, and then nodded his head toward the door, motioning for Applejack to get out of the house and distract herself.
Applejack saw no point in arguing, she knew that her brother was right. She knew that if she tried to isolate herself again, like the years before. She never handled it well, usually crying alone in her room, or crying alone in the apple orchards, or crying just about anywhere alone. She didn’t want that this year. She had friends, good ones, and if there’s anything that Twilight’s friendship reports taught her, it’s that she could count on her friends to pull her spirits up.
She walked out of the front door and closed it behind her, but not before saying her quick goodbyes to the remaining Apple’s in the house. “I’ll see you two soon,” she waved off to her brother and Granny Smith. The door closed, leaving Big Mac and Granny Smith alone in silence.
“I think, I’m gonna go and... buck some apples,” Big Mac finally announced to the elderly mare with a somberness one could only expect from him.
“Okay, Mac. Just don’t stay out too late. Come in whenever you feel,” Granny Smith tried to offer.
“Okay, Granny.” Mac quietly made his way out of the farmhouse, closing the door behind him, and leaving Granny Smith alone with her own thoughts, something she wished weren’t there.
Granny Smith looked around the living room, coming across picture after picture of her family. One in particular clutched her heart in a death grip. There by on a lightstand, a small orange-framed picture of her, her son and his wife, and their three beautiful kids... her grandchildren. They were all huddled together in the sand, the sun casting a glare at the very corner of the picture. They were all smiling, looking like they were about to have the greatest time of their lives.
Granny Smith’s eyes started to water after looking at Sweet Cinnamon and Warm Apple. She wanted them back. She wanted them back just as much as the three kids in the picture. Those three shouldn’t have to live without them.
Tears fell on the photo before Granny brought it to her chest, muttering out the same thing over and over.
“I’m so sorry.”
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