It was that day again, that one day a year when Granny Smith and Big Macintosh were up hours before dawn. Apple Bloom could tell from the moment she woke up and heard no other signs of ponies stirring. She peered out the window; there they were, standing by the farm's front gate. Every year, without fail, the two of them would stand by the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres and wait, from sunrise to sunset. Apple Bloom had never questioned it, save once. One year, as they stood there, she'd walked down from the house and asked them, "Who're you waitin' for?"
The unfathomable sorrow that filled the eyes of her brother and grandmother had so worried her that she'd apologized, and had promised not to ask again. Granny had told her it was alright, that it was just something the two of them had to do. The old mare had smiled, but the sadness still filled her eyes.
That night, as she'd been lying in bed, she'd heard them talking and had snuck down the stairs to listen. "She doesn't remember," Big Macintosh had been saying. "How can she not remember?"
"She was just a baby," Granny said. "She didn't have the time to get to know her."
"Then why don't we tell her, Granny?" her brother had asked. "Why don't we tell her about her?"
"And fill her head with sadness over somepony she never knew?" Granny asked back. "No, it’s better if it’s just our burden to bear."
They stopped talking after that, and the little filly had snuck back upstairs. She…did they mean Ma? But no, they visited the graveyard regularly. They talked to her about her parents. So that couldn't be it.
It wasn't until a year later that she figured it out. At the family reunion, they'd had a photograph taken of the whole Apple Family. When she'd seen it framed, she noticed something odd. She had a knack for telling how things were supposed to go together. Granny Smith in the center, Big Mac to one side of her, and Apple Bloom front and center, with all the others clustered around. Yet even though they'd all had to squish together like apples in a pie to fit in the shot, there was still space enough for a pony right opposite Big Macintosh. A missing family member. That's who Granny and Big Macintosh always waited for.
After realizing there was a day when Granny and Big Mac spent sunup to sundown waiting, Apple Bloom had made it her own custom to take care of the chores while her family held its watch. She'd slop the pigs, water the crops, fix up anything that needed work, and have dinner ready for them when they returned to the barn. That year, however, she changed something. When the other two Apples walked in after sundown and saw the table, they were speechless. There, along with the normal three settings, Apple Bloom had set another place. She'd looked at them expectantly, and, eyes filled with tears, they'd shaken their heads no. She'd hugged them both, and they had eaten in silence, a bittersweet meal. Bitter because the fourth spot remained empty. Sweet because Apple Bloom was sharing their burden with them, even if she didn't fully know what it was. After dinner, Granny picked up the hat that had hung on a hook by the door since her parents’ deaths. The elderly mare trotted back to the table and placed it on Apple Bloom's head, her smile a mixture of pride and sadness.
***
Now, Apple Bloom hurried about the kitchen, occasionally having to adjust the Stetson perched atop her mane. It was past midday now; just a few hours more before the yearly vigil came to a close. The fourth place was already set. The filly set the kettle to boil, then checked the bread rising on the counter. Seeing it was ready, she slid the tray into the oven. As the oven door swung shut, she paused, listening. It sounded like somepony was knocking at the back door. That was funny. It was far too early for it to be Granny and Big Mac. But who else could be at the back door?
The knocking started again. Apple Bloom trotted down the hall to the back door and opened it. A young mare stood there, dressed in Manehattan style. Her blonde mane was coiffed, her dress hiding her Cutie Mark. A look of shock passed across her face, but it was gone before the filly could be sure it had even been there. "Excuse me," the mare asked, "is this Sweet Apple Acres?"
"Sure is, Miss," Apple Bloom replied. "Is there somethin' I can help you with?"
"I'm an…old friend of the family," the mare said. Apple Bloom noticed her eyes dart slightly to the side. The filly’s own eyes narrowed in suspicion. Some friend, telling a lie like that.
"An old friend, huh? Then how come I ain't never seen you 'round here before?"
The mare blinked. "I used to live nearby, but I haven't in a long time. It must have been before you can remember."
"I don't suppose you'd mind if I checked with Granny and my brother?" Apple Bloom started to close the door.
"Now, just wait a sec," the mare begged. Apple Bloom stopped with the door cracked just wide enough for her to see the stranger's face as the mare continued, the fancy fading from her voice. "Now, I know you don't know me from apple pie, but I don't mean any harm. If you'd just let me talk, I'm sure you'd understand. And if you don't, then you can call Granny Smith and Big Macintosh and I'll leave, I promise."
The filly considered. Even though she didn't fully trust this mare, she'd known her family by name…without her mentioning. And they'd be back soon, anyways; less than an hour and the sun would go down. It wouldn't do for them to come back and learn that Apple Bloom had been unneighborly to somepony. "Alright," she agreed, swinging the door open. "Come on in. I ain't gonna keep you out on the back porch while you talk."
"Thank you kindly," the mare said. She trotted in, pausing for an instant on the threshold. "Just like it was…" she muttered.
"Pardon?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Nothin'," the orange mare said quickly. "Just thinkin' aloud." She sounded just like another Apple now, the same familiar accent in her speech.
"You said it's been awhile since you lived around here?" Apple Bloom asked as she led her guest into the sitting room, though she almost seemed to know the way already.
"Too long," the mare said. She glanced around the room, drinking it in. She noticed something about one wall. "They've been fixing up the place," she commented as she took a seat on a cushion.
"Yes ma'am," Apple Bloom said proudly as she sat down opposite. "I just patched up that wall last week."
"Is that right?" the mare said. "Shoot, it's a wonder you don't have your cutie mark yet.
"I dunno," Apple Bloom said. "There's lots of things I'm good at. Sides, me and a few friends all get together when we’ve got time and try to find our special talents. We've got a big list we've been trying."
"Anything good?" her guest asked.
Apple Bloom launched into a description of all the messes she and her other friends with blank flanks had been getting into. In retelling them, she had to admit to herself that a number of them had been foalish, and downright funny in retrospect. The two ponies soon were cracking up. "You sure have grown," the mare laughed.
"Wait, you mean you knew me?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Must've been before you can remember," the mare told her. "Back then, I had a blank flank myself."
"Oh? How'd you get your Cutie Mark then?"
"Well…" the mare said, thinking. "To be honest, I'm not really sure. I got it one day, and I thought I understood it, but then…not long ago, I had to ask myself if what I thought it meant was really what it meant." An awkward silence filled the air, until a sharp whistle broke the quiet.
"You want some tea?" Apple Bloom asked as she sprang up to get the kettle. "I think we've got some apple spice, if you like that."
"That'd be just fine, thanks," the mare said. "Just fine…"
"I'm sorry Granny and Big Mac ain't here to meet you," Apple Bloom continued as she prepared the tea. She carried a tray with four cups back into the sitting room and placed it on a table. "It's just that today they're expecting somepony."
"Somepony? Who?" her guest asked. She picked up one cup and took a sip.
"Just somepony," Apple Bloom said, avoiding a more complete answer.
"They'll be back soon, though?" the orange mare asked. She nodded at the other two cups of tea.
"Yeah." Apple Bloom sipped her own tea. "They've been out front of the farm since sunrise. To be honest, I was kinda surprised you didn't see them."
"Oh, I took a different road," the mare replied. "I took a lot of different roads..." She trailed off for a moment, lost in thought.
"Want to see what else has been fixed up?" Apple Bloom asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"I'd like that," the mare said, setting down her cup. "Lead the way."
Apple Bloom started to lead her guest up the stairs. "Granny's room is downstairs, and Big Mac's is here. The office room is downstairs too, past the bathroom, and my room is…" she noticed the other pony had stopped at a different room.
"What about this one?" she asked. The horseshoe on the door shone in the fading light.
"That's the…" Apple Bloom paused. "You know, I'm not sure. We just sweep and dust it every few months, but other than that it's closed. Like it’s...”
“Like it's waiting for somepony,” the stranger finished. She pushed on the door. Apple Bloom almost objected, but something stopped her. It just seemed…right. The door opened, light from the setting sun streaming into the room. A filly's room, a bed in one corner, old books on a little desk in another. Some drawings were hung on the walls. Slowly, the guest stepped into the room. She took in the sight. "They kept it all the same," she whispered. "All these years, and they were waiting for me to come home."
A name, buried deep in the depths of Apple Bloom's memory surfaced. "Applejack," she breathed.
The name snapped the orange mare from her revery. "Oh, Apple Bloom," Applejack said. "I'm so sorry." Tears filled her eyes, then spilled over onto the floor. "I just left, and I got all caught up in Manehattan. I forgot who I was, and-" Apple Bloom hugged her sister.
"It's alright," she said. "You're home now." Her own tears joined those on the floor. "You're home."
***
The front door opened as Granny and Big Macintosh walked in, with Winona dragging her tail behind them. They sighed, then trotted into the dining room, eyes downcast. They looked up as they entered, already shaking there heads…and stopped. The fourth place was set. But this time, there was somepony there. "Howdy, y'all," Applejack said nervously. She smiled as she stood to greet them. "I'm home."
The other two ponies immediately embraced their long lost relative. Apple Bloom joined them, and Winona jumped up on Applejack's back and licked her happily. The Apple family just stood there, after so long, finally whole again.
Author's Note
This story was partly inspired by Miranda Lambert's song The House That Built Me. Obviously, it isn't from the regular universe. This is one possibility if Applejack had stayed in Manehattan.