Apple Family Drabbles

Apple Bloom watched the rain platter against the living room windows on the floor of her home, and for the fifteenth time sighed:

"I'm bored."

With her in the living room was the rest of her family; Applejack and Big Macintosh were notably playing a quiet round of Chess on the nearby sofa while Granny Smith was napping on her rocking chair near the fire place. Since it was a rainy day and their matriarch didn't want anybody to get sick while they worked, Granny Smith decided to make her grandchildren take the day off (despite their protests which she silenced with a stern look on her face) and relax, while Apple Bloom's bored predicament was due to her friends being sick and being unable to go and hang out with her.

The weather outside was showing no signs of change, despite the youngest Apple wishing there was - the depressing giant grey shapes that were the clouds above her home were dominating the entire mid-afternoon sky as far as her amber eyes could see. The usual orange that tinged the sky at this particular time was nowhere in sight, and judging by the steady rain it was going to stay that way for quite a while. Apple Bloom, unable to help herself, sighed again in boredom.

But this time, she caught her older brother's attention.

Big Macintosh frowned the moment he saw a settled Apple Bloom laying her head in her arms, immediately knowing her problem. A part of him wanted him to forfeit the Chess match just so he could help her now, while the other part wanted him to bide his time for the right moment to do so. He was still in the middle of a match against Applejack after all and despite having a great bond with her, he knew it was a bad idea to end it so abruptly just when things were going right for her for once - he had lost a lot of pieces to her thanks to her increase in skill and was now on the defensive.

Glancing at the younger blond across him who was currently thinking of a way to counter his latest move, and seeing no harm in it, Big Mac turned to Apple Bloom.

"Why don't you go watch TV then, 'Bloom?" He asked her, glancing back to his other sister in time to see her capture his Pawn with her Knight.

"Eenope." The redhead sluggishly shook her head. "Been there, done that, Big Mac. There's nothing good on TV right now."

The blond pursed his lips and hummed thoughtfully, mentally smirking when he realized Applejack fell for his trap. That aside, he thought of a way to rile his youngest sister to liven things up a little. "Well, there's always my books on mathematics to read from, lil' sis..."

"No way, brother!" Apple Bloom groaned audibly, rolling on her back to ineffectively glare at Mac. "All those big words they use always make my head spin! You know I don't have your insane understanding of math!"

Applejack chuckled at Apple Bloom's words, understanding her point of view. It went without saying in the family that Big Mac was a genius at math, if not a prodigy - but at his request he preferred to just keep it between themselves. "Now Apple Bloom, you know your brother was just fooling around with you. Right, Mac?"

"Eeyup, I was." Her brother nodded, smiling as he moved his Bishop to take Applejack's Knight. "And... Checkmate."

"Checkmate?!" Applejack suddenly gasped in surprise, her eyes widening as she instantly stared down at the chessboard in bewilderment. "Wait a minute, how the hay is that possible?!"

"Look at the board closer, AJ." Replied Big Macintosh with a soft laugh, gently getting off the sofa. "You'll see why."

As a flabbergasted Applejack was left alone on the sofa trying to make sense of what just happened, Big Macintosh stretched and approached his youngest sister, lowering himself to one knee on her side. Apple Bloom on the other hand blinked at her brother and curiously tilted her head at him. Big Mac just smiled in return, and without warning he slowly propped himself on the floor. Now the two siblings were lying side-by-side together, albeit uncomfortably in Mac's case.

Nevertheless, Big Mac said to his sister casually: "Hey."

"Hey." Apple Bloom replied casually as well, rolling to lie on her side to better look at her brother.

It was Mac's turn to tilt his head at his sister. "What's going on?" He asked her nonchalantly.

"Not much." The redhead shrugged slowly. "You?"

"Same here." Big Mac mirrored his sister's shrug. "Bored?"

"Eeyup." Apple Bloom nodded. Then a look of comprehension dawns on her face. "You too, huh?"

"Eeyup." Big Mac said with a disarming smirk. "So..."

"Yeeaah..." Apple Bloom idly replied, scratching the back of her head.

Silence passed. Then they both laughed.

Big Mac was the first to stop, but he kept his smirk. "You know Apple Bloom, it's not that bad having nothing to do."

"But it's boring!" She pouted.

"I know it is."

"So?"

"Ahem."

The siblings looked up to see an annoyed Applejack glaring down at Mac.

"I want a rematch." She simply said.

"Eenope." Big Macintosh shook his head. "I've reached my limit playing Chess for today, AJ, and now I just want to lie down with Apple Bloom and get some rest for tomorrow's workload."

His sister's left eye twitched. "... Fine. We'll play after we finish work tomorrow then, Big Mac."

"Sounds good to me." Big Mac watched his sister turn to go, but then had an idea. "Say sis, why don't you come and join us?"

"Eh?" Applejack whirled around, momentarily confused. "You mean lie on the floor with you two?"

Apple Bloom pursed her lips in thought as she snuggled to Mac. "Why not?"

"M'kay then. I don't see a reason why I shouldn't. But hold up, I'll go get us some pillows and a blanket to make the floor more comfortable."

Later all the three Apple siblings were now on the floor, with Big Mac's little sisters snuggling to him on both his sides for more warmth and comfort even though they had their pillows and shared blanket. Apple Bloom had rested her head on her older brother's chest and found his heart's pleasant rhythmic beating enjoyable to listen to, while Applejack was just content lying there with her brother's big arm wrapped protectively around her. Big Macintosh, loving being snuggled to by his sisters, just had a big smile on his face.

"You know, it's been a while since we've done something like this together, Apple Bloom. Aren't I right, Big Mac?"

"Eeyup. It sure has been a long time, AJ. Too long."

Apple Bloom didn't say anything, but a quick check by Big Mac confirmed that she just feel asleep.

"Aww... She's such a sweet little thing. She already fell asleep."

"Hehe. Cute, isn't she? Ma and Pa would've been proud of the little girl she's grown into."

"Yeah... Goodnight, Mac."

"Goodnight, lil' sis."

And with that, Applejack followed in her little sister's footsteps and shortly fell asleep. With his two little sisters' heads on his chest, again Big Mac couldn't help but smile.

"Sweet dreams, the two of you."

Soon, he too fell asleep.

But unbeknownst to the sleeping siblings, their grandmother was awake the entire time, and in her hands was a camera. It wasn't a modern one, but she had used it so many times that she minded and cared if it was. She glanced down at it, bittersweet yet old memories resurfacing. Regardless, a soft, happy and teeth-less smile graced her lips in remembrance.

She looked back up, the look in her eyes content, and took a silent, deep breath.

Click.