Apple Family Drabbles

"Applejack? What are you doing out here so late?"

"Oh hey, Big Mac. I'm just... stargazing."

Big Macintosh stopped short of the shade of the apple tree Applejack sat under, the shadow of worry haunting the look on his face as he frowned at his sister. Applejack looked... depressed and unresponsive to say the least for one reason or another, and even as he approached she didn't turn her eyes away from the blinking and twinkling stars in the night sky above, those beacons of light that stayed ever immutable and always shone down to the world below them.

"I miss them, Mac. I miss them so much."

The blond man knew was she was talking about. If one was watching them with eagle eyes from afar, they would still notice that Big Macintosh looked pained at the mention of his family's missing parents by his sister. He looked down at her, but said nothing. He knew what she was feeling; what she was thinking. What could've been; What couldn't have been. He had given it considerable thought himself - and occasionally he still did like his sister was doing right now.

"Me too, AJ. I miss them too."

It hurt, losing your parents to forces beyond your control, as Big Macintosh learned first hand, Applejack second. There were even days when he wished he was the one gone instead of them. He shook his head and moved to sit beside Applejack, who still stared at the sky, looking for any sign of that unforgettable pair of shooting stars. But there wasn't any. Not a single one. She closed her eyes and rested her head on her brother's shoulder, sighing morosely.

"Come on now, Applejack. Let's head home."

"Yeah..."