The Heart of Winter

by StormDancer

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Applejack, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 4981

With Sweet Apple Acres reduced to a barren wasteland and Ponyville suffering through hunger and freezing temperatures, Applejack wanders in a blisteringly cold night and reflects upon the 'gift' their princesses are giving them.

Equestria's sun and moon are, and have been, controlled by it's princesses since before recorded history. It's a special place full of wonders and countless beauties, but it is also a place where their princesses must sometimes withhold such gifts to allow other, more subtle, gifts to be accepted. Applejack wanders through a nearly empty Ponyville and a barren Sweet Apple Acres and quietly reflects on one such 'gift' while her family, and Ponyville, goes hungry for the third month in a row.

Published 2014-02-12 18:30:05 UTC
Last updated 2014-02-12 18:30:05 UTC

As the Night Falls

Author's Note

I firmly believe that any story, no matter how brief, can contain the seeds of much deeper stories. Sometimes it is proper to write the larger story. Other times it is more powerful to focus upon the elegance of a single moment, scene, or event.
I hope this short story has something for those who might otherwise dismiss the show and its characters as simple while still being rewarding for those who already enjoy the show for what it is.

As the Night Falls

As the Night Falls

Cold.

It was cold.

No matter how many layers she put on or how tightly she strapped her saddle to brace against the wind, it was a simple fact that Applejack was cold. The snow was up to her chest, making every step a bracing battle against the frigid white of winter while the snow that did touch her melted just enough to chill her to the bone, sapping her strength and taking a little more of the precious warmth her body was desperately trying to horde. Her sides and neck were beaded with sweat from the effort of trudging through the deep snow, something she knew was dangerous, but there was really very little she could do about that at the moment. With the cold came such needs as fresh water and fetching whatever food could be drawn from the cellar or what might remain in one of the lofts or silos.

And after more than three months, she knew there was pitifully little left.

Sweet Apple Acres was barren. It had been that way since Princess Luna had begun to stretch her nights, ever so slowly, to be longer while teasing Celestia into shortening her days. After all, they shared control of Equestria, and that meant bestowing their gifts equally. The only problem was that Luna pointed out that Celestia had a roughly 800 year surplus of 'gifting' her sun to their subjects... being generous of course... since Celestia had raised the moon on a nightly basis for her thousand year time out.

The result was a winter that had frozen lake and stream, trapped entire towns, and shorn the leaves from all but the evergreens... and even they stood wilted, their limbs hung heavy with thick sheets of ice. It might have looked like a Hearths Warming card, if not for the pitifully few lights that still flickered in town, valiantly defying the blistering cold and the ever lengthening nights.

At first, it hadn't been so bad. Fillies and colts ran and played, their parents or guardians making sure they had a scarf or an extra fluffy hat... nothing too serious about a snow day after all. But as a day turned into days, then a week, a few ponies began to suspect something was amiss. This wasn't the scheduled arrival of winter - all chill and pristine like winters normally were. This wasn't a preamble to holidays or a follow up to the running of the leaves, far from it as the running had been cancelled due to weather. This was a creeping cold that simply grew worse by the day, causing ponies to bundle up and seek shelter inside.

Where normally the town would quiet earlier and make warm, filling, meals to stave off the chill, it could still be felt as little more than an inconvenience... and one that no pony would object to given the holidays and good cheer that came with weathering the seasonal period of rest for the land's flora and fauna... this winter though, it was becoming cruel.

Applejack paused in her trek, her breath coming in a measured pant, not unlike how she would be after dragging the old plow through the south fields before planting. She knew it wasn't a good thing to be breathing that hard, not in this cold, but the effort she had to put towards simply moving through the dense snow was akin to a day of hard labor and she could tell that as soon as she got feeling back in her legs that they would be burning from exposure. Taking a moment to brace herself again, she glanced over her shoulder back the way she had come and frowned at how little distance she'd actually managed to travel. Even though she had been pushing herself for what felt like hours, probably at least twenty minutes if she thought about it rational-like, she could still see Ponyville's main street clearly, the dark silhouette of the library and town hall plainly visible against the starlit sky.

She shook her head, the act dislodging a clump of snow that shocked her as it landed just above her saddle and lanced under her winter clothing with searching claws of liquid ice, before she counted out the windows which still had candles lit in Ponyville. There were eight. Eight candles lit in the entirety of the town on a night like this. Eight candles which shared their homes with the eight remaining fireplaces which could claim to house fire enough to heat their respective homes and, by extension, the ponies that resided within.

Town Hall was one. The candle shop was another. The schoolhouse held a candle, but the fireplace was only kept lit to keep the bell from becoming too cold and possibly cracking if the fire needed to be stoked. The remaining five windows were of ponies she didn't know personally... she only knew they were lit because she had made her rounds once again to check for anypony who might be injured or laying half frozen in need of help. Eight windows. Eight fireplaces. Eight buildings in all of Ponyville still had heat.

Eight buildings still had life.

Shuddering against the frozen trek she knew she would have to make, and then make again tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that, Applejack huffed out a breath that clouded her vision before freezing and drifting off into the night before she pushed one hoof forward again into the snow as she angled back towards the Acres. The night was clear, making it all the colder, but there was a slight wind which occasionally flapped the odd banner or flag which had broken its icy skin free. She lowered her head, her customary Stetson sitting somewhat oddly from the thick wool lining she had padding its interior to help deal with the cold.

Her hat, for all its durability and comfort, was ill suited to dealing with the cold. If Rarity's boutique had had a lit window, she would have happily trudged the quarter mile to it, knocked politely, and invited herself in for a warm cup of whatever Rarity thought would 'go well' with a cold winters night. Probably something fancy or that would be served with tiny, hard, cookies that she wouldn't know the names of. Cookies weren't important right now though, Applejack thought, besides, Rarity's boutique hadn't had a candle, or a fireplace, lit since Rarity left it some weeks before. There was nothing there now but a frozen, empty, building filled with frozen, fake, ponies wearing frozen, fancy, dresses. Rarity wasn't there.

Of course, Sugarcube corner would have been open... if the Cakes hadn't fled as well. Pinkie had tried desperately to keep the bakery open, its kitchen running and food coming for any and all who were still in the town. She had pulled out all the stops. First there were parties to keep morale high. Then there were extended hours to help keep ponies from having to use so much wood in their fireplaces... the bakery had to stay warm after all, so why not share the heat? Then there had been sales. Specials. Requests. Pinkie had tried everything she knew to keep Sugarcube Corner open, finally resorting to free samples to try and make sure anyone who was left could still eat, even if they had no bits left after buying their wood from the rare tradespony or trying to chip through the ice and drag their own back home. In the end, Sugarcube Corner had been forced to close its flues and seal its ovens only a week or two after Rarity's boutique. Pinkie had wept openly until she realized that her tears were making puddles that would become slip hazards if the shop ever warmed up again.

Pinkie had left only a day later.

Rainbow Dash, for all her 'awesomeness', hadn't lasted long at all. Applejack sighed, remembering when her rainbow maned friend had flown into town for the last time, a beaten look on her face, as she informed them all that her job as a weather-mare was going to be keeping her more and more busy as they tried to find a way to bring in a warm front to help ease the cold. She had promised to drop in whenever she could, even telling Twilight where she was going to be in case of emergencies so Spike could get her a letter if needed. Applejack hadn't seen her in almost 3 months... not since the 'warm front' melted the first layer of snow, only to have it freeze overnight into an even thicker layer of ice which crippled much of the remaining life in Ponyville, completely freezing the market and town hall.

Rainbow didn't come back after that and Applejack didn't know if it was shame, embarrassment, or something worse that kept her from responding to the letters the remaining friends had sent.

Fluttershy lived outside of Ponyville proper, next to the Everfree Forest, and had not had any of the help that Ponyville's citizens had initially provided for one another. It wasn't their fault really, the quiet pegasus was never one to impose and was almost invisible for years until they had all met and slowly helped her to bloom into the wonderful mare she was. Applejack had made sure that she'd checked on Fluttershy at least three times a week, no matter how bad the weather had been, since the cold had set in. Fluttershy had ample supplies of wood and food, not to mention the nearly elemental force of nature that was the collective efforts of her animal friends, but that resource was one that was slowly being taxed even if she wasn't utilizing it. While Fluttershy didn't eat much, she still needed food, water, and wood... and while she had all three in abundance, she also had a need that no other resident of the town did: the need to feed hundreds of pets.

It hadn't taken much longer than Pinkie leaving Ponyville for Fluttershy to start to run low on certain types of..... specialized... pet foods. She had grains and vegetables in stockpiles, cellars, crates and barrels - they all could be stored easily and kept well. She did not have an abundance of the foods some of her other animal friends consumed on hoof. First to leave were the larger friends... Beary the bear, Nibbles the puma, and Sniffles the coyote, but soon others began to flee, choosing to take their chances in the wild over a sure, slow, saddening starvation while being tempted endlessly by the multitudes of well fed snacks that chittered and scampered throughout her cottage.

And, much like Pinkie Pie, once Fluttershy had seen her life's passion slowly slinking away, a timid creature reluctantly striking out on its own after its belief in absolute security under Fluttershy's care having been shattered, well... she'd left not long after. Unlike Rarity, Rainbow Dash, or Pinkie Pie, Applejack still saw Fluttershy occasionally. The heavily bundled up mare would be drifting over the snow, carefully searching for any of her little friends that might have come back looking for a warm burrow or a fresh meal... both of which she would happily provide, often with a warm bath and medical treatment for their frozen feet, paws, wings, or what have you. Applejack wasn't exactly sure where Fluttershy went when she wasn't at home, but she could tell long before she arrived, that Fluttershy was still around - her cottage still bled a thin trail of smoke from her chimney into the night sky. Even though she never left a candle in the window, as long as Applejack could see the smoke, she knew Fluttershy was still around.

Applejack still checked on her every few days.

Glancing up, looking into the wind, Applejack noted that the clear night was just beginning to have some of the stars become blacked out by the heavy blanket of snow clouds coming in from the Everfree Forest. She grimaced, the thought of even more of the abominable white monster that had assaulted the land only troubled her more. Sure, her family was alright for the time being, they were Apples after all, but that didn't make it a comfortable thought to be seeing even more snow on the horizon. Between Big Mac and herself, they'd managed to keep the roof clear enough that they weren't in any danger of a collapse, but every snowfall made it more difficult. No matter how well they brushed it off, without the pegasus ponies or unicorns to help clear the hard to reach spots, it would continue to slowly build up more and more over time. Worse, even with their entire season's harvest, nopony could live indefinitely on nothing but apples, corn, celery, or other produce without a proper means of resupplying it. Even though they were almost completely self sufficient, any time anything broke, it became one more thing they would have to fix, or jury-rig to maintain... compounding small problems until she could imagine a point where they would be helplessly trapped by their own stubbornness. It was not an image she particularly enjoyed. They were earth ponies, the Apples, and that meant they were realistic, hard working, dependable ponies, but that didn't mean that they could do everything.

Twilight Sparkle had reminded her of just that fact just a day ago... a day before she had closed the door to the library with Spike bundled up on a thick saddle, strapped over a heavy blanket which was magically enchanted to stay warm, wrapped around her purple body. Twilight had looked distraught. If it wasn't the loss of her friends, it was the feeling that she had failed them, or the town, or herself, or the princesses.... or any number of other things that that unicorn got stuck in her head. Applejack couldn't really guess, but she knew Twilight was torn about leaving Ponyville behind. Ever since she had moved to the library a few years back, she had been making constant efforts to become more open, more caring... to engage with others and become a better friend to any she could. Applejack could understand the dilemma that Twilight had faced, it was the same one she had been facing herself.

"I can't leave it all behind. I know I need to do something more just to keep ahead of this here cold, but I can't leave it all behind." She muttered to herself as she continued her slow, plodding, march through the drifts. The wind had picked up somewhat with the coming snow, tiny flecks of ice bit at her face as she looked up to determine how much further she had to go. Sweet Apple Acres wasn't too far off, she noted with a sense of relief. All she had to do was make it back to the homestead, get inside and knock off the ice that covered her like a second skin, get some hot food in her, and take a bath to get the blood flowing back in her legs. It wouldn't all look quite so grim once she was warmed up. After all, Big Mac and Granny were still there, just like always, keeping things together like the family they were. Applebloom would be running arou... no, 'Bloom didn't figure into the picture anymore.

"Hayseed," she glared at the snow before her as she squinted into the suddenly blurry night, "I didn't mean to think about ya 'Bloom. I'm sorry.... I just....I just can't right now."

Shaking herself from the brief but painful memory of her absent sister, Applejack blew out another breath and finally pushed past the first fence of the outer fields of Sweet Apple Acres. Normally, these trees would have been completely bare, their succulent fruit harvested before the running of the leaves, pressed into cider, sold, or made into one of the countless dishes her family was known for, but not anymore. Tonight, like every night for the last few months, the trees were bare of fruit and leaves, but sported a glass-like skin of ice that only seemed to grow more and more prominent as the days went on.

Now, as she gazed out into the fields, the countless trees looked like nothing more than the battered, broken rib-cages of fields of dead ponies left to glisten in the moonlight. As if on cue, the wind picked up again, causing the trees to bend heavy limbs cloaked in a hard, brittle skin. The sound was like a moan, more felt than heard, accented by the bone-snapped crackling of ice shattering and falling in the night. It was a deeply beautiful scene, with a horrific accompaniment... Applejack frowned at her own thoughts. No doubt Twilight would have come up with something far better than that description, but she wasn't the unicorn... she was just a simple farm pony.... an Apple in the cold of night.

Looking out over the fields, she felt her heart skip a beat as her gaze passed over the homestead. There were no windows lit and the chimney had no smoke trailing from it. With cold dread, Applejack drove herself to a near run, forcing herself through the shoulder deep snow as she prayed to Celestia that everything was alright. Big Mac and Granny had to be there. They had to be alright. She couldn't be the last Apple.... not after her friends left... not after Appleblo.... not after how much she missed seeing 'Bloom.

Struggling up the steps, she pounded the door open. Inside, only the faint scent of apple pie, scrambled eggs, wood, oil, and her kin greeted her. The lanterns were all missing and the cookstove was unlit. She noticed a decided lack of tables, chairs, dishes, and pretty much everything else. The homestead was empty.

Applejack stood in the doorway, looking in at the gutted, empty, husk of her family's home since before the founding of Ponyville. The cold that had been seeping into her bones for the last few months, the cold that she had fought off with every fiber of her being, congealed and solidified into a heavy stone deep in the pit of her stomach.

She was alone. They'd left her. Her friends were all but gone and Fluttershy was barely a shadow of her former self without her animal friends to take care of (and in turn take care of her). The town was nearly empty, only eight homes still clung desperately to light and life. She had tried so hard, so very hard, to make sure everypony was alright, that they had everything they needed to stay safe, even going so far as to offer them food and shelter if they couldn't keep their homes warm or if their pantries became too thin to support them. The farm had enough... it was never a lot, but Apples took care of the ponyfolk, and Ponyville was the ponyfolk.

Ponyville was the ponyfolk. Applejack hadn't realized when she had started holding her breath, but she let it out with a rattling half sob, half gasp. She was an Apple, maybe the last Apple, but she wasn't going to give up on them. There were still eight homes with candles. Eight homes with light and life. Eight seeds that could be nourished and coaxed into growing. Trees survived the winter. Apples survived the winter. And if there was one thing she knew, it was App...les.

Applejack blinked as she realized that she had never even considered it possible for Sweet Apple Acres to be empty, for Granny Smith and Big Mac to pick up and leave. She knew it could happen, somehow, somewhere in her mind she knew it was physically possible, but the thought was so alien, so utterly absurd, that she had never considered it, even in musings. For the first time in her life, Applejack wondered if it were possible for an Apple to ... she was sure there was a word for it ... get rid of kin.

Maybe she didn't know Apples as well as she thought.

Whatever the case, she wasn't giving up. As long as there was even a single candle in Ponyville, she'd be the Apple they deserved. She'd share what she had, give everything that she could, and do anything possible to make sure her promise to help anypony in need was kept.

Sniffling back what was most certainly the cold and not a deep hurt of abandonment and long standing suffering in what seemed to be an increasingly uncaring world, she scrounged around until she found the chair Appleblo....'Bloom had accidentally broken in her attempt to get her cutiemark in 'furniture-repair-YAY!'... one of the last attempts the Cutie Mark Crusaders had tried before the freeze. Gripping the chair leg in her teeth, she beat back the memories of her sister careening around the farm or racing through town or tumbling in the back door covered in who-knows-what along with her two friends, and stomped on the cross brace. The sharp snap of the leg breaking sent a wave of sadness through her as she destroyed one of the last things her sister had touc....no. It had to be done. She could remember 'Bloom later, the chair was nothing more than material. It wasn't her.

With almost mechanical motions, Applejack moved from room to room, gathering up small bits and pieces she could use. A scrap of paper wedged in the door frame, a twist of torn fabric swept up against the wall, a fat dust bunny probably overlooked in the weekly cleaning, a loose nail, a spare saddlebag that Big Mac apparently forgot in his haste to get out before she'd come back. Applejack glared at the bag for a moment before shuddering... she couldn't stay angry at them. They had their reasons. Granny Smith was getting on in age and Big Mac knew how stubborn both his granny and sister were. He had probably packed things up so that there wouldn't need to be a fight. He might have even left her the bag on purpose, to... apologize for leaving her behind.

For breaking up the Apple family.

She shook her head again...must be dusty in here, she thought, trying to clear her eyes. After a few last minutes scavenging the house, she finally wrapped a piece of scrap fabric around the broken chair leg, tied it off, and rolled it in some of the grease from breakfast that was still stubbornly clinging to the sink. Setting her improvised torch aside, she went back over and finished breaking up the chair, loading the wood into Big Mac's old saddlebag. With a final look around her home, she turned, fully intending on making a home somewhere in Ponyville, somewhere where she could be around other ponies.

She was just walking out towards the door when she saw how dark it was outside. Ponyville had no candles lit anymore.

Applejack stood stock still, the wind outside moaning while the orchard cracked and shattered. Snow flew by in gusts of uncaring, icy, fangs borne upon a malevolent wind, driven by a long exiled, rarely understood, princess. Applejack sat, her mind silent as she tried to come to terms with what had happened. She was alone. There was nopony left. So many of them had asked her to come with, to leave the farm behind and follow them to other towns or cities. So many had tried to pull her away from her home, her kin. And she had stayed. She had stayed to keep the family together, to keep Ponyville together, to make sure everypony was safe.

She had stayed. And now she was the only one left.

"A-Applejack?" A soft voice, nearly a whisper, caught her attention. Ah....not alone after all... Fluttershy was still here. Fluttershy was as much a part of the Everfree as Applejack was a part of Sweet Apple Acres. She would never leave.

"Applejack... are you coming?" Fluttershy carefully stepped nearer to Applejack, the timid pegasus's fur and feathers fluffed up as much as possible to keep the cold at bay. Applejack knew that, unlike earth ponies or unicorns, pegasus ponies were better suited to the cold, their natural habitat being higher altitudes with lots of moisture meant that even in the coldest of weather, they would often wear little more than a vest and hat. Fluttershy was wearing a scarf, boots, a hat, and a fluffy sweater-type coat of some sort... Applejack knew it was cold.

"Applejack, everypony's worried about you. Please come with us. We're all waiting."

"Fluttershy... it's gone. Ain't nothin left a Ponyville. I don't rightly know what to do."

"Then just follow me. I'll help." Fluttershy extended a hoof and waited for Applejack to rise. After a few moments, Applejack rose and started moving towards the door.

"Applejack... w-where are you going?"

"Out." Applejack gestured slightly. "Out there."

"But, there's nothing out there."

"I know that Shy. But you said everyponies waiting 'n I can't see any point'n delaying any longer."

"Applejack?"

"I'm goin' for a walk Shy. You take care of yourself." Applejack took a step before she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She tipped her head to look at the buttery yellow leg and the soft blue boot fitted snugly upon Fluttershy's forehoof. When she looked up, all she could see were the worried green eyes of her friend, confusion in her gaze.

"Applejack, you don't have any work to do right now. We're all waiting. Why are you leaving"

"I ain't leaving Shy.... I'm coming home I guess."

"Applejack, you are home... you must be too cold.... just....just follow me okay?" Fluttershy backed up just a tiny bit, a hopeful smile plastered on her face.

With a sigh, Applejack turned to follow Fluttershy, it didn't seem quite so cold anymore, she couldn't really feel it in her legs and her chest just felt heavy. Applejack frowned slightly. If Ponyville had no candles lit, then they had all finally gone away. She guessed it made sense then that 'Fluttershy' would show up to lead her away into the night as well. She walked slowly through her empty home, past the empty living room, past the empty halls, past the empty kitchen with the flameless cookstove, and out the back door.

Snow whipped at her hat and clothes, the wind having picked up since she had arrived. Even without the fire, her home had seemed warmer for lack of the wind, but now Applejack once more found herself being chilled as every last vestige of warmth left her. 'Fluttershy' flapped a few paces in front of her as she led her out into the desolate frozen orchard. Overhead, the moon watched impassively as the heavy, snow laden, clouds slowly consumed Luna's night.

Ah, the barn. Fitting, Applejack thought as 'Fluttershy' led her into the night. Makes sense for the last Apple to be at work, not lazing about in bed or somethin.

With a final glance toward the moon, the moon that had taken her so long to get used to after Luna had returned, Applejack offered a small prayer for mercy, opening her eyes just in time to watch as Luna's moon was blotted out by clouds. "Figures"

The soft creak of the well oiled hinges brought Applejack's attention back around, and she stood stunned for a moment as the light of a magically contained bonfire washed over her. Inside, dozens of ponies were seated around the large fire, listening in rapt attention as Princess Luna told a story. Bowls were clutched in hooves or passed between ponies as Pinkie trotted around with a pair of soft, bright pink, slippers, and offered small cookies. Rarity smiled and nodded at Applejack from where she was passing out heavy winter clothes while simultaneously repairing goods for the ponies present. Rainbow Dash was busy stuffing tufts of cloud into the cracks in the barn and layering flats of hay while another pegasus secured them to the rafters with rope. Big Mac and Granny Smith were busy passing out food while Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo trotted around, helping to set up cots and pass out blankets and pillows. Fluttershy gently pulled her in as a magenta glow shut the door behind her, wrapping the earth pony in the soft glow of firelight and the warmth of the well maintained, recently built, Apple Family Barn.

A moment later, Twilight Sparkle trotted up with a warm smile on her face and a steaming mug of cider which she offered to Applejack. "Applejack! We were so worried when it started getting dark. Princess Celestia sent me a letter to let us all know that the solstice is tonight and it will start getting warm again! We left you a note when Granny said to just use the barn. Is everything alright? You look a little.....off." Twilight leaned in close, scrutinizing Applejack as she tilted her head.

Applejack, tears in her eyes, reached out and hugged her friend. "Nah. Twilight, just a cold night in the heart a winter't's got me down." She smiled as Pinkie Pie appeared next to them both and joined in the hug, a cupcake balanced on her head. "I'll be just fine."