Loyal To The Family (Full Story)
Applejack began to slowly open her eyes but stopped at a squint. The sun’s beams of golden light shined directly on her face. Rolling over, she began to stretch and awaken her still sleeping body.
“Yawwww” She silently yawned to herself, sluggishly crawled out of bed, and gazed towards the window where she could hear some faint noises.
Making her way towards the window, the nearly complete field had come to full view. Her big brother was pulling a large rusty plow which slowed him down as it dug deep into the ground.
“Woowee, he musta been workin’ hard all mornin’” She said taking a second to let her amazement settle.
She turned towards the door and left her room. Making her way down stairs and passing her grandmother, who was fast asleep on her old rocking chair, she made it outside where her brother was just passing by.
“Hey there Big Mac, ah see ya’ll got the fields ready for the season” She said stopping her brother, who turned his gaze towards her.
He stared at his sister for a brief moment, and then nodded his head before walking off. She began walking behind him, both of them heading towards the barn where her brother then unhooked the plow from the yoke around his neck.
Applejack was about to strap a wagon to herself when she was stopped by her brother who was now standing by the barn door.
“Ah’m gonna go wake Granny Smith. Applebloom wanted me to tell ya’ll she wanted ya to hang out with her and her friends in the tree house today.” He said before walking out of the barn.
Applejack unhooked what she had done on the strap of the wagon. “Thanks Macintosh, ah guess ah shouldn’t keep em’ waitin’” She said as she left the barn herself.
Applejack went into the forest of apple trees and followed down a path made by Applebloom and her friends. She began thinking of some of the old times she had spent in the tree house as a filly herself, smiling at each warming thought as she came up to the tree house. She could hear some faint but familiar voices.
“Oh come on! How could you not want to ride on my scooter? You know how fast I can go on that thing!”
Applejack had made it to the door, listening to the conversation inside, she hesitated on knocking.
“Ah know but ah think we need to take Spike’s favor in to consideration”
“Oh alright, but I still want to ride my scooter.”
Applejack lost her hesitation and knocked, pausing the conversation inside.
“Come in!” Applebloom’s voice busted out with excitement. As the door opened, she had an enormous smile as her sister walked in and sat next to her.
“Howdy ya’ll, what’er ya’ll little ones talk’n bout?” Applejack looked around at the three fillies who gazed back at her with exited smiles pasted on their faces.
"Spike came by and asked us to do him a favor, he wants some phoenix eggs for Twilight" Scootaloo said as she looked at her friends, then back at Applejack. "We were thinking this could get us our cutie marks." she added.
"Well if ya'll need any help ah can tag along" Applejack said in response. For some reason, she felt that she needed to watch over Applebloom and her friends.
"Nah it's ok sis, we can do it" Applebloom stood up and looked at her friends who stared back at her. "All we really need is a ladder".
Applejack stood up as well and put her arm around her sister "Come on Applebloom, don't you think it'd be cool havin yer big ol' sis around to watch you get your cutie mark in... whatever cutie mark ya get for looking for eggs" She chuckled in slight confusion.
"Nah, its ok Aj, really" Applebloom walked over towards the table in the middle of the tree house, grabbed her cape, and tied it around her neck.
"Oh well ok, the ladders by the barn. Ya'll be careful ok?" Applejack said as she headed out the door while the other two fillies suited up with their capes aswell.
Applejack began walking back to the farm. She slowed and nearly came to a stop as she thought to herself, she just knew something just wasn't right.
"The only place you can get pheonix eggs is... in the Everfree..."
Her thought was shattered bringing her back to reality as she seen a blur of colors dash by. Chatching a glimps of her sister and her friends, she smiled. "Those little ones need to be more carefull".
As she made it back to the farm, she noticed everything seemed to be untouched. There was no sign of her brother anywhere, not even in the fields.
"Hey Big Macintosh, ya'll 'round here?" She called out turning around in all directions.
She went up to the barn and even peeped inside the house where Granny Smith was fast asleep again.
"Hmmm... guess he's out somewhere, ah'll just get to work then" Applejack headed back towards the barn and began strapping the wagon to herself as she did earlier, then headed towards the apple trees.
Before entering, she stopped in front of her house once again and decided to call for her brother one last time. She was hoping to get a responce, but there was no answer. Applejack went into the forest and began to buck at the trees. About an hour or so later she came back out with a wagon full of apples.
She paused in her tracks for a moment and looked around. Thinking to herself, she felt the need to find her brother and check up on her little sister and her friends. She decided to call out her brother’s name one last time.
"Hey Big Macintosh! Ya'll 'round here or what!" She looked around, but there was no sight of him anywhere.
Applejack kept herself still to hear any noises or responses, but there was nothing. She then began to head towards the barn where she then finally seen her brother.
"Big Macintosh! Where have you been? I've been lookin' all 'round for ya" She scolded him.
"Ah been in town Applejack, you know ah had to get somethin for the plow" He pointed towards the plow in the middle of the barn.
She looked inside the barn and stared at the plow, "Oh yeah... I'm sorry, ah forgotten ya needed to get a new hook for that old thing".
"Eeyup, ah gotta get back to work on the fields Aj, ah'll be done in a bit. Just got a few more lines to finish up." Big Macintosh turned towards the barn and hooked the plow to his yoke.
"Shucks... ah was stressin' over nothin'." Applejack thought to herself as she pulled the wagon into the barn, unhooked it, and began unloading the apples. She carefully sorted out an equal amount of apples upon barrels and boxes, for some were to be sent off and others were to be used on her families apple cider.
After she was finished, she strapped the wagon back on to herself and headed towards the apple trees but was stopped. She passed the gates where she heard hoof steps dashing towards the farm.
"What in tarnation!?" Applejack spotted Scootaloo and Sweetiebelle coming towards the barn as fast as they could. As they came closer, she could see they were scared and in panic.
..
"Applejack help!" Scootaloo yelled out as she entered the farm.
"What's goin on, and where is Applebloom!?" Applejack felt that strange feeling she had earlier come back. It held a grip on her chest as she watched the two fillies stop in front of her.
The two fillies caught there breathe. Scootaloo spoke, trying to explain as little as possible. "She needs your help Applejack."
Applejack unhooked the wagon. “Who needs my help?” she asked.
“Your sister! She needs your help Applejack, and fast!” Scootaloo took lead as Applejack followed along with Sweetiebelle and they came to the entrance of the forest.
“Come on, we went this way” Scootaloo said as she went in with Applejack and Sweetiebelle following after her. They made it past Zecora’s house, and then made it to a place quite familiar to Applejack.
“This is… Luna’s castle ruins… where we found the Elements of Harmony!” Applejack looked at the young fillies. “What were ya’ll thinkin’!? It’s too dangerous out here for fillies your age!” She scolded the two.
“We’re sorry… but on the other side, there’s a tree with phoenix eggs and Applebloom tried to get them. When she climbed up the ladder, a tree branch broke and she fell. Me and Sweetiebelle came running after you when we heard her hit the ground… we… we were scared and didn’t know what to do!” Scootaloo had tears begging to stream down her cheeks.
“Well if she’s just across the bridge ah can go check on her. Stay here.” Applejack began to walk across the bridge while Scootaloo and Sweetiebelle watched as she disappeared into the fog protruding from the abyss below.
She finally made it across. What she seen confused her; there was the tree and the ruins, but no Applebloom. She began to look around, calling out her sister’s name, but there was no answer.
“Applebloom it’s time to go home!” She felt that weary feeling come back once again as she started shaking.
She began to search near the tree, but was stopped as Scootaloo called out her name.
“Applejack…? I… I can help if you need it…” She spoke with hesitation.
“Ah guess, but don’t go leavin’ my sight.” She turned and continued her search around the tree.
Applejack drew closer to the tree branch and lifted it. She paused as worry began to flood her emotions. She got closer, not sure of what to think at this point. Her sister’s red bow was caught underneath the branch and was partially covered in a crimson red liquid.
Applejack spoke silently “This can’t be happenin to ya Applebloom… ah hope ya’ll ‘er ok…”
Applejack walked over to Scootaloo who was searching near the forest lining. “Hey Scootaloo, ah’m gonna need ya’ll to go home ok, bring Sweetiebelle. Ah gotta do this on my own from now on.”
"But Applejack, I can help". Scootaloo said looking up at Applejack with tears swelling in her eyes. She could see the worry in Applejacks face.
"Ah know Scootaloo, but if ya'll get hurt then it’s on my hooves ok? Please, take Sweetiebelle and go home". Applejack closed her eyes, fought back a few tears of worry, and then nudged Scootaloo.
"Ok, I'm going... when you find her, tell her me and Sweetiebelle are worried ok?” Scootaloo ran across the bridge, met up with Sweetiebelle, and the two went home.
"Now that they're out'a here, ah gotta keep lookin". Applejack turned back towards the branch that lay next to the bow.
She walked up to the bow but then had to turn away. Trying to hold back tears, she went towards the edge of the cliff and looked down.
"It looks mighty steep" She thought to herself while hovering one hoof over the edge. She thought to herself some more, then decided to try and make her way down.
Applejack prepared herself as she put her front hooves on the edge of the cliff, gave a little push with her hind legs, and slid down. As she made it to the bottom, she hit with an echoing thud. Looking up in pain, the top was nowhere visible due to the thick smog.
"A-Applebloom?" She called out, her voice echoing through the abyssal crack. She called her sisters name out again, but the only reply was another echo mimicking her voice.
"ah sure hope ya'll aren't down here," she thought to herself.
Applejack slowly began to move forward, feeling pain in her left hoof from when she hit the ground. She went to call her sisters name again but was stopped. Something was blocking her throat, and she developed an even sicker feeling than before. Something was coming into her view.
She swallowed the blockage from her throat as she approached the unfamiliar shape. Unsure of what could be in front of her, she stood frozen and stared at the shadow lying on the foggy ground only a few feet in front of her.
"A... Applebloom...?" She silently called out, tears nearly blinding her vision. She slowly moved closer to try and get a better look. Applejack was now only a few inches away from the figure. She wiped her eyes, and lowered her head another inch or two.
She sat on her haunches and began to sob. Thinking to herself, she stomped a hoof on the ground in frustration. "It was just a stupid log!" flew across her mind, but she didn't give up. She got back up and paused with her hoof ready to take a step forward.
"W-what the..." She looked down. There was a torn piece cloth lying caught on the log.
Applejack took a closer look and noticed the same crimson red fluid on the cloth. She recognized it, as it was also on Applebloom’s bow. She used her hoof to spread out the cloth and paused. There was a small patch stitched to the cloth. It looked like a small badge with an all-yellow pony on it.
She lowered her head in worry. She didn't want to believe it, but her sister was down here, and she was hurt. Applejack raised her head and cried out Applebloom’s name, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks.
"Come on Applebloom... please don't do this to me..." She said as she pulled the cloth close to her. It was hard for her to stand, but she managed to get up and begin walking again.
Applejack stumbled a few times as her vision was more obscured by tears. As she pushed forward, she noticed another figure in the thick heavy smog. Applejack paced towards the figure and collapsed by it. Hoping it was her sister, she got closer to it. As she did, she seen it was wrapped in cloth, and a little stiff.
“Uncover it” She said to herself. She wanted to but… the sheer thought of seeing her sister hurt clawed at her brain like a cat in water.
Applejack lifted a hoof and rested it on top of the covered figure and gently ran her hoof down the side. She felt the crevices and features of the object wrapped in the cloth. Emotions set in as she began to unwrap what felt like a small animal. Applejack had finished uncovering the being, but couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She got closer to see if her eyes were playing tricks on her, but sadly, they weren’t. Applejack’s little sister, the one pony in her family she could treat as a child without getting any negative feedback, was lying there wrapped in her cape.
Applejack didn’t know what to do, or how to take it for that matter. She began to cry, got up and even began bucking at the walls of the abyss. Applejack just simply snapped and ran back the way she came, reaching the steep but climbable slope she slid down nearly eight-teen minutes prior.
"Applebloom... why!?"
She wispered to herself as she looked up towards the edge where she slid from. Hoof after hoof, she began pulling herself up and would often stop to sob or whipe away oncomming tears. After she made it to the top, she rested for a while and began thinking while her discovery was settling in. Of course, she wanted to cry and shout out to the world cursing it for what it has done to her family.
Applejack got back on her hooves, and began to walk home as she soflty continued to sob and whisper a soft conversation to heself.
"Applebloom... Remember when we first met Twilight? Hah, yeah, she was so reluctant to leave and carry on her duties but we never let her leave... And remember when everypony had met Zecora for the first time, everypony thought she was some kind of witch but you were the only one that knew she was just like everypony else..."
Applejack was so deep in thought that she never noticed she was already standing outside of her farm. Her brother had been calling her name for quite some time now and was standing in front of her.
"Ya'll ok sis?" Big Mac lifted Applejacks head but his hoof was swiftly brushed away by her hoove, and more tears made their way down Applejack's cheeks.
"ah'm fine Mac, really..." Her voice began to trail off. "ah just need... some time alone..."
Big Mac knew something was up, not just because his sister had been crying, which he deemed quite obvious, but she also lied. Reluctantly he didn't want to really drop the subject, but dicided to brush it off anyhow. He quickly went back to what he was doing, and headed towards the town. Upon reaching his destination, he noticed Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle sitting on a bench near Rarity's fashion shop and home.
"Can ya'll explain to me why my lil sis is cryin'"? Big Mac asked the two fillies.
Scootaloo looked up at him with watery eyes. Big Mac noticed they too, were crying. He noticed one little filly was missing, and asked.
"Where's Applebloom? I feel silly for not noticing she was missing before"
Scootaloo looked up at him. She went to speak but something began to block her throat, causing her to choke a little.
"Well.. you see.." She hesitantly spoke, but continued.
"We were doing a favor for Spike and.. she um.. she fell... we came back to get Applejack but when we got there, Applebloom was missing and Applejack told us to head back to town.." Scootaloo told Big Mac everything she knew.
Big Mac looked towards the ground, worry had build up in his chest during Scootaloo's explanation. He looked back at the filly, who's face was drenched in tears, and asked.
"Can ya'll take me to where she was seen last"?
Scootaloo hesitantly agreed, turned to Sweetie Belle and told her she'd be back later, then walked off with Big Mac. As they made it to their destination, Big Mac was looking around and noticed some things off about the area.
"ah'll take it on from here, ya'll head back to town. ah don't wan't ya'll seeing something you shouldn't" He said as he walked towards the cliff.
Scootaloo watched as he began examining the edge, then turned and went back to where they left Sweetie Belle. Big Mac may not have said much, but he wasn't stupid. He could see where something had slid down the edge of the cliff, he decided to head down there himself. After making it to the bottom, he brushed himself off, and began walking forward.
One thing came up after another, some things more suspicious than the other, like the very same torn cloth Applejack had passed earler. Big Mac checked out everything he passed, fear and worry was building up inside of him, till he came up to something resembling a cluster of fabric. He noticed the fabric was stained, and seemed to be stuck to whatever it was covering. He began to peal the cloth away, doing so gave him cold chills but continued unwrapping the fabric.
What he feared, what he was hoping was all just a lie, was lying in front of him. His eyes widened and filled with tears as they connected with a little filly wrapped in what was the very cape Applebloom wore in the Cutie Mark Crusaders club. She was lying there, rigor mortis had set in some time ago and she was beginning to emit a foal oder now that she was uncovered once more.
Big Mac lowered himself to the ground, tears were streaming down his cheeks as he looked at Applebloom once more.
"How could this have happened to such a beautiful, and adorable little filly like you Applebloom..." He said to the corpse, his accest seemed a little absent as his sobbing turned to crying.
After a minute or two he slowly got back on his hooves, and began towards the cliff's edge where he had slid from, and began his climb. He made it home, found Applejack, and explained everything he could to her, letting her know he know how she felt. A few days had passed and Big Mac and Applejack have been seen less and less around town.
"Twilight"! A mysterious voice had cried out from behind.
Twilight was with Spike, which wasn't anything out of the ordinary, and were shopping around town. However, though nothing seemed too strange, Spike had seemed to be more jumpy around any pony who seemed to call out, or just even walk by. Twilight had noticed, but just brushed it off and turned to find Fluttershy, who was pacing towards her and Spike.
Fluttershy came to an abrupt halt. "Have you seen Applejack anywhere? I'm getting a little worried" She said as she looked around.
Twilight looked a bit confused but noticed she hasn't seen Applejack at all recently, and noticed the conversation seemed to make Spike a little shaky.
"No, I haven't, I'm sure she'll show up somewh-" she paused midsentence.
Fluttershy turned around to spot Applejack and Bigmac walking together with their heads lowered, and eyes glued to the ground. Fluttershy turned to Twilight, exclaimed she'll be back later, and hurried off to catch up to the two. As she caught up, Applejack broke her stare away from the ground and looked at Fluttershy, who was obviously quite worried.
"Hey Applejack, I haven't seen you around and was wondering if everything's going ok" Fluttershy asked as she followed beside the hollow mare.
"ah'm doin alright I guess... just been a little busy you know?" Applejack replied to assure Fluttershy she was alright, but it wasn't fooling her enough.
Fluttershy kept quiet for a while, but eventually turned to her friend and asked "How's Applebloom?"
Applejack stopped in her tracks, Big Mac did so as well. Applejack set her gaze towards the ground, the continued walking. Everything seemed to be really quiet, and Fluttershy never brought up the question again, but continued to follow her friends. As they came up to large gate just outside of town, Fluttershy noticed she had never seen it before. Applejack put her hoof on the gate, then looked back at Fluttershy.
"Go home Fluttershy... please. Please don't follow us in here ok?" Applejack said with a stern voice.
Fluttershy nodded, then turned and trotted home. A few days passed once more, but she couldn't shake the curiosity of when that gated area was built and why, So she headed towards Twilight's
"Hey Twilight, when has there been a huge gated area on the far North-East of town? I mean... I don't really go on the East side of my house because I talk to the animals in the woods but I've never noticed it before. Come to think of it, you can't even see it from my house"
Twilight thought for a second, then invited Fluttershy in. She called for Spike, and asked for the book of Ponyville's history, which, he gladly fetched. She began rummaging through the book for something that fit Fluttershy's description.
"Ah, found it"! she said as she began reading to herself.
She stopped reading, and turned to Fluttershy, and showed her a picture in the book. "Is this what you seen"?
Fluttershy nodded her head "Yes, that's exactly what I seen"!
"Well Fluttershy... theres no easy way to put it but... thats a cemetary..." Twilight's voice trailed off as she explained to Fluttershy.
After Twilight had finished explaining everything, they both wondered why Applejack and her brother would go there in the first place. They grew worried, and Fluttershy volunteered to go check on them in the morning.
Twilight's body twitched all over as she was immediately woken by Spide, who seemed slightly on edge. She brushed it off once again and looked at her clock on the wall, it was noon. She overslept due to her and Fluttershy staying up quite late last night, then she remember she allowed Fluttershy to stay the night. She had stayed pretty late as it is, and she didn't want to send her friend home alone in the dark. She made her way downstairs and noticed Fluttershy still asleep. Twilight gently poked her side, waking up the adorable sleeping Fluttershy.
"Hey, did you go check on Applejack"?
Fluttershy jumped up, remembering she said she's go to check on her saddened friend.
"Oh my gosh I totally forgot I'm so sorry Twilight, I'll be back soon!" Fluttershy said as she got up and headed towards the door.
Twilight giggled as Fluttershy stumbled out the door still half asleep.
"I bet she'll be ok" Twilight thought to herself.
Fluttershy had kept a steady trot and made it to Applejack's farm in just a few minutes. The farm seemed quite empty, which was really odd for the farm. She hesitated, but entered the gate and began her way towards the barn, stopping every other few steps to look around. As she passed the feilds, she noticed the plow was out, however, Big Mac wasn't anywhere to be seen. She made it to the barn and stopped at the door, opening it she saw nopony was around, and gave up on the barn. She then made her way towards the house, stopped in front of the door and raised her hoof to knock, but was stopped. Fluttershy noticed the door was open just by a crack, and hesitantly made her way in.
Fluttershy stood still as the door slowly swong open, exposing a horrible scene right before her very eyes. The house was a mess, and Granny Smith's chair had been tipped on its side. Fluttershy wanted to ask if anypony was home, but her words were blocked with her fear. She was shaking erratically, her shaking seemed to have worsened as she made her way into the house. As she made it in further, her mind was screaming at her to leave, but her body kept slowly moving around the house, and eventually she made it to Applejack's bedroom door. Etched on the door was the word "Loyalty". Fluttershy's hoof uncrontrollably opened the door into a nightmare.
Fluttershy's eyes widened, and she gained full control of her body. Her curiosity died almost immediately as she ran from the door and into the living room where her heart nearly stopped. Granny's Smith's chair was now standing and slowly rocking back and forth. Fluttershy was now barely breathing at this point, her body was running in full panic mode as she made her way out of the house and off the farm grounds. She didn't stop running until she made it back to Twilights.
Twilight had been standing outside waiting for Fluttershy to get back. It was nearing sunset and she was starting to worry about her friend, who had just blindly ran into her, embracing her tightly and breaking down erratically.
"Fluttershy, what's wrong"? She looked down at her friend who was soaking her fur with tears.
Fluttershy didn't speak a word, she just sat and cried until she couldn't cry anymore. The whole time Twilight and Fluttershy sat there in front of the library, Twilight grew very curious herself. Without a word, she got up and began walking towards the farm. The sun, was now barely visible due to a dark cluster of clouds that formed over Ponyville. Rainbow Dash, who was racing throughout Ponyville, was trying to dispose of the clouds, but not even she could control them.
Twilight had made it to the farm and noticed Big Mac by the apple trees. He was bucking apples out of the tree, like he would do everyday with his sisters, but something seemed really off about it. He would remain at just one particular tree, and after the apples fell, he bucked again, causing more apples to fall.
"Where are the apples coming from?" Twilight thought to herself.
She decided to trot over to Big Mac and ask if there were any apples stuck in the tree that he was trying to get, but he didn't reply. This caused her to ask again, but she got the same results, a silent worker.
"Hey Twilight!" a voice called out causing Twilight to jump and spin around in search for the disembodied voice.
Finding Applejack just a few feet behind her, she felt relieved.
"Hey Applejack, I was getting worried about you and decided to come see if everything was ok" Twilight said with a pleased smile.
Her smile was cut short though as Applejack's gaze lowered to the ground. Twilight was again started by a voice that peered from behind her, causing her to look back once again, but at Big Mac who seemed to have beenb roken from his tree bucking cycle.
"Howdy there Twilight" Big Mac said as he smiled and found a spot next to Applejack.
Applejack looked up at Twilight and gave a sheepish smile.
"Hey Twilight... family's always s'pposed to be loyal to each other right? Well... as loyal as ya'll may know ah am, ah can't leave my family or my friends... which is why ah feel really bad..." Applejack's gaze once again found itself on the ground and Big Mac put his hoof around Applejack to try and give her some confidence.
Applejack continued "ah need to show ya'll somethin... and please don't be mad Twilight... you need to understand that they were the only family ah had left..."
Twilight thought to herself for a moment "were... had..?" but was pulled from her thoughts as Applejack asked her to follow after her. Big Mac went back to the tree and continued what he was previously doing as the two went towards the hous. After they arrived at the door, Applejack turned to Twilight.
"Please... whatever you see... ah beg of you, please don't run away" She said softly, waiting for Twilight's response.
"I promise I won't run away" Twilight said, but was slightly unsure of what she was promising to.
Applejack then opened the door revealing Granny Smith, who seemed to be asleep on her old rocking chair as it slowly swayed back and forth. Applejack walked towards her granny and then looked back at Twilight. Twilight's face grew into sheer confusion as she noticed Granny Smith was no longer there.
"Where did she...?" Twilight began saying but was cut off by Applejack.
"She's gone Twi... theres a lot you don't know about. A lot has happened in the past week and ah need to tell ya everythin' thats happened... A week ago today, Applebloom left us... when ah got home, Big Mac noticed ah was crying and in the same day he discovered her too... ah don't blame Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle for anything, they were just out crusadin' around... well after my brother got back from findin' her for himself, we decided to tell granny... who then left us a few days after words... She felt heart broken and just..." tears began to stream down Applejack's face.
"Well sugarcube... we'd better get movin" Applejack said as she made her way towards the stairs to the bedrooms.
Twilight followed behind her, however, Applejack stopped and pointed towards her bedroom door, which was still slightly opened from earlier. Twilight slowly walked towards the door and noticed some etched writing saying:
"Loyalty, it is never abonding your friends in their time of need, always being there when your friends are down, how call I call myself loyal, when on this day my friends will frown"
Twilight looked back and Applejack, who was just looking back at her with tears still flooding her eyes.
Applejack cleared her throat, and asked "Can you bring me to the Everfree, so I can be where I need to be?"
Twilight looked back at the etched writing on the door and agreed with a nod. She looked turned to look back at Applejack, however, she was no longer there, which confused Twilight, and made her feel uneasy. She knew something was wrong, but looked back at the door and slowly back to open it. The room was dark, and Twilight could barely make out anything in the room. She felt the wall for a light switch, and in finding one, wish she never had. Remembering the promise she made to not run away, she realized she couldn't even if she wanted to. One of her close friends, was hanging from the ceiling by her favorite lasso.
"Oh my god..." Twilight said under her breath as her hind legs gave out behind her.
Nopony ever thought Applejack would do this, but she did. She couldn't bare the pain of being alone. She had already lost her parents, so she deeply cherrished what family she had left at the farm. Losing her little sister was the hardest thing she could have ever gone through, not only that, but as Twilight gained the strength to get up, she looked outside and seen Applejack and Big Mac walking towards the gate to the farm, and slowly vanish. This confirmed that he was gone too. Applejack had not only lost her parents, her little sister, and her grandmother, but she also lost her will to move on.
Twilight looked back at her friend who was still in need of getting cut down. Her eyes were beginning to fill with tears, however, she was able to use her magic to cut the rope. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as her friend began to fall towards the floor, she tried to use her magic but her mind was no longer in a stable state. Twilight watched helplessly as her friend settled on the floor. Horrified, she began to cry. Looking at Applejack made her want to cry even harder, but she couldn't look away. She thought of her smiling and saying "Howdy Twi" and "Hey ther sugarcube" as she would whenever they met. She took a small step towards Applejack, one end of the rope was a few feet away, and she needed to grab it.
Naturally afraid of the dead, she hesitantly grabbed the rope and slowly backed out of the room. Seeing Applejack at the other end sliding along the floor made her feel extremely guilty and cry even more. Tears were begining to blur her vision as she turned around and began walking. The body was being following behind and oddly at ease. As she arrived at the front door, she looked at the rocking chair, which had Granny Smith sitting in it quietly smiling, Twilight smiled through her tears. However, Granny Smith then faded, as did Twilight's smile. She went out the door, and through the gates to the farm. The sun was now beginning to set, which slightly confused Twilight.
Twilight stopped for a moment.
"I thought it was nightfall already... how long have I been in there?" she thought to herself.
She had only been in there for a few minutes, but to her it was like hours. She looked back at Applejack, who was just lying on the ground and looking quite comfortable, she continued on her way to the Everfree forest. As she made it to the bridge of Luna's castle ruins, she spotten Applejack and her brother waiting for her. Twilight quickly made her way and hugged her friend, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Hey there sugarcube, ah see ya brought a friend" Applejack said, trying to make Twilight smile.
Twilight showed Applejacks success as she smiled and gave a small giggle as she answered.
"Yeah, she's quite the friend alright" Twilight's smile quickly faded.
"Well... hey Twi, this may be hard for ya but.. ya think you can toss her over?" Applejack said with a saddened look in her eyes.
Twilight took a small step back as her eyes widened and mouth peered open.
"What!? You want me to throw you off the edge!?" She screamed out at Applejack in displeasure.
"Please Twilight, its all I can ask for..." Applejack looked over the cliff, then gazed across the bridge at the castle ruins.
"Twilight, over on the other side, can you please toss my body over the edge... I'll explain everything" Applejack said as she turned towards the bridge.
Twilight really didn't want to, but she agreed and followed Applejack and her brother across the bridge. When they made it, she rested Applejack next to the edge, and positioned her hoof on her friends side.
"I'm sorry Applejack, I wish I could have been there for you" Twilight whispered to her friend as she gave Applejack a push, sending her on her way.
Twilight turned around to find the three siblings standing behind her, all with a smile on their face. Twilight's eyes began to fill with tears once more as she stared back at her friends.
Twilight's gaze aimed towards the ground, tear after tear began to fall from her cheeks. She wanted to hide the fact she was about to break down but she couldn't hide it anymore. She looked up at the three with pain in her eyes.
"Will I ever get to see you all again!?" She asked, barely getting her words out.
Applejack softly smiled "Don't worry Twi, we'll see each other again someday, ah promise"
Twilight's breathing began to shorten and her legs felt weak. She couldn't hold it in anymore, she began to break down into tears as she fell to the ground. The small group of three that were standing in front of her, were now embracing her. Twilight held her friends close to her, closer than she ever had before. Applebloom was the first to break from the embracing hug.
"Aw shucks, it'll be alright Twilight!" Applebloom said with an adorable smile.
Twilight couldn't help it, but she smiled back at the little filly. Appebloom gave Twilight one more quick hug.
"Don't worry Twilight, we'll see you again someday. So keep your chin up ok? Oh and tell Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle I got my cutie mark now!" She turned to the side to show Twilight her new cutie mark of a halo and angel wings.
"See!?" Appleboom said with excitement as her voice trailed off. She had slowly vanished to where she now belonged.
Twilight had watched as Applebloom faded and her crying seemed to subside a bit, just enough to where she can talk and catch her breath. Seeing Applebloom's cutie mark made her a little happy. Big Mac then moved from Twilight's side and gave her a small smile, and began to fade as well, however, Twilight's happiness faded just as he did.
"No! Please don't go!" Twilight yelled out, but it was too late. Big Mac was now gone and the only one who was left was Applejack.
Twilight lied on the ground and rolled on her back, Applejack did the same. Twilight was still noticably crying and Applejack whiped a tear from her cheek, causing Twilight to look at her.
"Hey Twi, no matter what we were always best friends till the end" Applejack said with a smile, causing her teary friend to smile back.
Twilight nodded in agreement, and moved her gaze back to the sky. Everything fell silent for a moment and Twilight was going through memories of her and the Apple Family. The first that came to mind was when she first met Applejack and her family for the first time. Her eyes overflowed with tears as she thought about more memories, like when Applejack thought she could buck all the trees by herself last apple bucking season, and when she tried to beat Rainbow Dash in the Falling of the Leaves race.
Applejack sat up and sighed which pulled Twilight from her thoughts. Twilight quickly sat up as well. Her eyes widened and her mouth uncontrollably dropped.
"Applejack, please don't go!" She yelled, but it was no use.
Applejack was beginning to fade and was quickly embraced by Twilight. Applejack herself had been holding back a few tears here and there, but this time she couldn't help it. She hugged Twilight back and began to cry.
"Goodbye Twilight, I'll never forget you" Applejack said as her voice trailed off and she was now completely gone.
Twilight sat there hugging herself and in tears. She was breaking down once more and was alone to let it all out. She didn't have to hold it back anymore, and she didn't want to.
"WHY!?" She screamed out, completely heartbroken.
She stood up and bucked at the nearby tree causing it to violently rattle. Twilight didn't move for a few minutes. She sat still thinking of what she wanted to do. She didn't want to go on anymore, she lost one of her best friends. Even though she had five more, things just wouldn't be the same. She made her way near the bridge and looked over the edge of the cliff.
"Maybe I can join them" she thought to herself.
Twilight took a step closer, causing some dirt to break off and fall. She hovered a hoof over the edge, and was going to let everything go.
"TWILIGHT STOP!" a voice rang out from across the bridge.
The other side was quite clear, the fog had subsided some time ago during the night. Twilight could see her other friends all together. The closest one was Rainbow Dash, who was hovering off the ground and was reading to dash towards Twilight.
"Don't come any closer or I'll jump..." Twilight said, her voice trailing off after every word.
Rainbow Dash had no choice and landed. "Look, Fluttershy told us everything, it'll be ok Twilight, we can get through this!"
Twilight looked back down at the gaping crack sepperating her from her friends, her hoof still hovering over its edge. She looked back up at her friends and before they could do anything, she pushed with her hind legs and made a small twist so she couldn't see the approaching ground. She could see Rainbow Dash, who just sped after her, stop in the air and avert her gaze.
"Goodbye... my friends..."
Author's Note
I know I made a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes, however, I will fix them when I have the time.
