My Baby Sister

She wondered if she’d seen Apple Bloom this happy in the past few days, but probably not.

The smile she wore as she finally allowed herself to have some fun was one that reminded Applejack of a time long gone.

Only a few weeks, she told herself. Maybe that was wrong though, maybe it was even less time that had passed.

She hoped that to be true. Only a few weeks in this old shack would down everypony’s mood, even though this had been their father’s palace. Now it was theirs, now they needed to find their happiness in these cramped rooms. So it was with a smile that Applejack joined in her sister’s game.

The filly sat on her rump, pretending that that cactus plush toy of hers was tied to some imaginary railway while she herself pretended to be a superhero princess, apparently.

Applejack caught a glimpse of the wooden train in the corner of her eye. She took it and started to make “Choo-choo” noises as she rolled it slowly towards the cactus plushie.

For a moment, Apple Bloom just looked at her confused, but quickly grasped what was going on as the train ran ever closer to its victim.

The train sped up on the final stretch, but only centimeters before it would hit the cactus, the hero leaped into action. Apple Bloom grabbed it out of a jump and rolled out of the way. Though her reflexes were sharp, she landed on her stomach and not on her legs, as she’d planned. The undignified thud she made on the ground wasn’t quite worthy of a hero, yet she immediately rose up and turned towards Applejack.

“Hah!” she proclaimed. “Ya'll never beat tha printheth of thunda!”

Applejack barely made out what she said, but Apple Bloom laughed loudly. It was honey for the elder sister’s ears, because to her nothing else mattered anymore.

“I'll get ya next time,” she said and then added a maniacal laugh.

For it, she grabbed a fake mustache off the side. She'd found it back when she'd prepared the room, but had yet to figure out where it'd come from.

It was only the first kidnapping attempt on this wonderful morning, if it was morning still. Legs ached, wounds throbbed and she felt the bandages pressing against her coat, but she kept on laughing with her little sister. Her teeth were black, her smile looked slightly pained, but she was truly happy.

Applejack kept telling herself that nothing else mattered.

After a while, Apple Bloom stopped. “I wanna play something different now,” she said and went to look around the room for something new to do.

Toys were limited, but what they couldn’t provide, the two siblings made up for in imagination. Superheroes, knights, even princesses, bakers, post ponies, the list of things they did became longer and longer.

Applejack didn’t want to admit it, but her legs were losing strength. When was the last time she’d truly, truly slept through a night? She’d spent her nights awake, doing things she hoped Apple Bloom would never find out about and her days watching over her baby sister.

I’m all she’s got, Applejack reminded herself, making herself gain strength from it.

Once every so often, Apple Bloom would fall over. A natural thing, walking was troublesome for the filly, she hadn’t been doing it for long. Still, it became more noticeable. Even that cute waddle of hers became more disjointed.

As she went on to look for another game to play, Applejack took the chance to sit down. Legs hurt, wounds ached, as they always did. They made themselves known, more and more. It was a bit worrisome, but not too much. She could keep on.

“You alright, sis?” came the question from the filly.

She thought about answering, she thought about nodding, but all she did was lift her eyes up to the ceiling. “I’m a bit tired,” she said after a moment, “Just need a quick rest.”

Apple Bloom, after a moment nodded. “How about I’ll make us some lunch?”

The most adorable smile was on her face, sure, but Applejack couldn’t help but immediately think of all the bad things that might happen to Apple Bloom in the kitchen. There were knives and forks, the oven and even the dishes could be dangerous to a young filly like her. Applejack couldn’t let little sister get hurt.

“Nah, if yer hungry I’ll just go and whip us something up.”

“Are you sure? You look like you’re about to fall asleep,” Apple Bloom said, her voice carrying a worrisome tune.

But Applejack only laughed it off as she rose. “Don’t cha worry, yer big sis’ got everything under control.”

Legs unsteady, throat itching, as always. There was a fire kindling itself in her belly, a hunger starting to burn. Nothing a sandwich can’t cure, she lied to herself.

And so, she went to the kitchen, with the clock showing that it was some time after noon. Five minutes, ten, maybe even fifteen. The clock in this tiny kitchen beneath the earth always ran wrong, since nopony had cared for it for the longest of times. Now Applejack attended it with miniscule care. There were always other things that needed her attention.

Lunch was oats and what remained of the flowers she’d preserved. She took note of how scarce their food had gotten as she prepared it and with a chill running down her spine she understood that she would need to go out again.

She wasn’t afraid of what was outside, of course. Applejack knew all the ponies in Ponyville. They were her friends and would never harm her, but she would need to go at night, when Apple Bloom slept once more, when everything was safe and everypony else was sleeping.

And nopony would come knocking then.

The plates were cracked, the glasses had dirt on them that wouldn’t be washed away. Her legs hurt, she noticed, more and more. That was bad, but she kept on preparing and went to look for some bread.

The cupboards, the bags on the kitchen counter, they held none. Have we eaten everything?

They’d only been here a few days or two weeks. It hadn’t been that long a time and she was sure there should still be some left, but there wasn’t and she felt her hooves shaking as she looked around the room again.

Apple Bloom needs bread, she thought. She needs to eat healthy, needs to be happy.

Her breaths were short and hectic, her movements frantic, but she wouldn’t find any bread in that sunforsaken place they called their paradise. Moments of searching later, and Applejack felt like screaming.

“You alright?” A voice came from the door.

For a moment, Applejack thought it to be Rarity, who was bemused at how disorderly her home looked, but as she turned she only found a little filly with a slightly wet diaper standing there. She looked a bit scared and a bit worried.

Applejack tried to smile. “I’m fine. It’s just. … We might’ve actually eaten up all the bread this morning.”

There was no proper way to say it, so Applejack just laughed it off. “You’ll have to do with that,” she pointed towards the single bowl she had picked out and wherein she’d mixed what she’d found.

Apple Bloom couldn’t see it from where she stood, she was too small, but nodded nonetheless. “Kay,” she said, trying to give a smile.

With that she helped Apple Bloom up a chair, then put her bib around the neck. Of course, her little sister rolled her eyes, but there was no comment, no fighting, just a smile for her big sister.

Applejack smiled right back and as her sister got down to the messy business, she sat down beside her and put some of that oat-flower-salad-thing on her own plate. Fluttershy would could’ve salvaged this, she was sure. Or maybe she herself could’ve done something different.

It didn’t matter, she needed to get to town, find more resources to work with. It would just be another night with next to no sleep. She was used to these already.

“Are you really okay?” Apple Bloom asked after she caught her sister staring down at the food.

Applejack looked up, tried to smile. “Of course, keeping up with you is just a bit hard for a pony as old and brittle as me.”

She stretched herself, felt the muscles tense up as they told her brain to stop making them move so much.

Apple Bloom stuck out her tongue. “You’re not old, just sleepy.”

The big sister shrugged.

“Oh, I’ve got it,” Apple Bloom suddenly said, slamming her hoof on the table. “How about we take a nap together?”

Whether it was that great an idea to be excited about, Applejack did not know, but the reasoning seemed good with her.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” she answered and tried to take a bite.

She put a spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth, but it felt like it became ash in her mouth. Almost she would’ve spat it out, but she didn’t want to set a bad example. Granny Smith had taught them that whatever landed on the table got eaten. So she swallowed that one spoon, let it wash down her throat like poison smoke. It didn’t feel good, but this was how it was meant to be.

They didn’t talk much. Applejack knew her kid sister to be quite sleepy already. As she watched her eat, she didn’t doubt that she missed her mouth not only because of those shaky little hooves of hers, but also because she could barely keep her eyes open. It was kind of adorable really, and Applejack would’ve loved nothing more than help her eat.

Yet she tried to sit still and only turned her head around.

The kitchen was a small room. A round table, two chairs, a small stove and some compartments for storing all manner of food. The most recognizable thing about this place was a singular picture on the wall, showing a stallion and a mare before a barn. The colors were faded, their gazes were transfixed on one another and she was pregnant, presumably with a colt.

There were only so few pictures left of their parents and the majority came from before Applejack’s time. It was strange how they just seemed to fade out more and more as time went on. She knew that there existed whole books of them as foals back in the house, but by the time Apple Bloom was conceived, neither of them had wanted to take anymore pictures.

Sometimes, Applejack wondered why. She remembered both of them fondly. She remembered how her father’s cologne smelled like hazelnuts and would mix with the apples of the farm. She remembered her mother always telling her and Big Macintosh stories of the old equestrian horrors to bed.

There were a lot of things she remembered, truthfully, but she couldn’t think too much about it now. Now, her sister needed her and she couldn’t let anything get to her.

“So,” her sister finally said, “I’m done.”

She hadn’t eaten much, of course and quickly put her binky back in her mouth. Of course, quite a lot of food hadn’t even reached the mouth, but cleaning up oatmeal shouldn’t prove that difficult.

Applejack stood up, feeling a sting of pain running through her legs as they planted themselves on the ground. She clenched her teeth and then pretended nothing had happened, hoping that Apple Bloom wasn’t paying attention.

So she quickly made a grab for a towel. “Let me just get you cleaned up.”

When they’d come here, Apple Bloom fought her sister’s treatment like a little devil. Even something like wiping her mouth could’ve easily been mistaken for a wrestling match by outsiders, Applejack mused. Maybe she’d just needed a proper talking to, considering how Applejack could just wipe the oats off her without her even making a grumble.

It made the big sister quite happy that her younger sibling was finally able to accept the help she so clearly needed. My baby sister, Applejack thought, I’ll protect you forever.

“You’re takin’ too long,” Apple Bloom noted after one wipe too many.

“Well, ya made quite the mess of yerself,” Applejack countered.

Now Apple Bloom let out a grumble, folding her scarred, blackened hooves before her chest. Applejack giggled.

“But I’m finished. How ‘bout we two get ourselves some rest, then?”

To that, Apple Bloom nodded aggressively. Someone can’t wait to get some sleep, Applejack thought, picking her sister up and putting her on the ground. She couldn’t wait to get some sleep, too, after all.

And so they walked back to the ladder.

“How’d ya like this mornin’, sis’?” Applejack asked, as they left the kitchen.

“It was awesome. Ya really helped me through a slump there,” Apple Bloom said with a happy laugh.

Applejack shrugged. “I changed worse.”

Her sister blushed furiously and lightly knocked against AJ’s shoulder. “I didn’t mean that!”

“No need to worry ‘bout it. That’s what the diapers are for anyw–”

Apple Bloom’s head was as read as a tomato by this point. “Can we pleeease agree to not mention that forever-ever again?”

Halting before the ladder Applejack looked at her sister skeptically. “Yer don’t need to be embarrassed about nature, Apple Bloom.”

And her sister stood there, the otherwise constant suckling having stopped. She clearly did not know what to say to that, except: “Please don’t give a speech about this topic, I wanted to have a bit of peace in mah head for a while.”

Applejack sighed. “Apple Bloom, all I’m sayin’ is that it’s alright for you to be not able to hold it. Yer a foal, and we still need to figure that whole potty training thing out anyhow.”

Now that Granny can’t help with that, she added in her thoughts.

Apple Bloom clearly wanted to say something, but acceptance appeared to kick in as she just resigned herself to suckling that binky of hers. She wasn’t quite as grownup as she thought herself to be, and sometimes Applejack just needed to be there to remind her of that fact.

“Alright,” Applejack then said, “time to get our padded little princess to bed.”

She lifted Apple Bloom up and then, with her leaning against her elder sister sister’s shoulders, took the steps of the ladder once more.

Muscles ached, eyes felt heavy. Even Apple Bloom’s weight became more and more apparent. Applejack didn’t really want to admit it, but she was getting worn out. Her body protested against every step.

A bit of rest shouldn’t hurt. She needed the strength once she got out again. Tonight and then when they went for Twilight’s place later this week. Of course, she needed everything to be perfect for that journey, since leaving a mess wasn’t something she wanted to encourage in Apple Bloom.

Well, I’ll think about all that after the nap, Applejack thought and took the last step before the trap door.

She put her free hoof against it, pushing it. The tiniest of cracks came through and she saw the barrel still stand there, of course.

Then something crashed through the front door, a pegasus made of fire and fury, screaming like it brought hell itself. Its scream sent Applejack into a shock and she lost her balance, falling back-first down from the ladder. She saw the door closing and then felt herself crashing against the ground. The pain went through her body in a wave.

Her lungs caught no air, her heart skipped a beat, she felt a strange, wet sensation between her legs and her eyes just stared at the closed trap door.

Between the small cracks in the wood, she could make out a green light and she heard the steps of something getting up, stumbling against the walls. Yet she barely managed to blink, or even catch a thought. Her headspace was empty.

Apple Bloom, shielded from the fall by her sister, appeared in front of Applejack’s face. Her nose was bleeding, had hit the floor and her eyes moved around nervously as she tried to check up on her sister.

“Applejack,” she said, the voice as shaky as the rest of her.

Applejack remembered her father saying her name like that when she’d done something wrong.

“Are you okay?”

The filly kept her voice down. Applejack, however, only really noticed that her paci wasn’t in her mouth, the rotten teeth in plain sight. Her little sister was bleeding and parts of her face and body were blackened and hairless. In a way, she looked like a corpse that hadn’t realized it should be decomposing soon.

Huh, was all Applejack’s brain managed, but she tried to find some words nonetheless. She was the big sister and Apple Bloom needed her to be strong.

“There’s no guest s’pposed to be comin’ today,” she mumbled.

Apple Bloom stared at her and fumbled for words, but then that beast above took a step forward and she immediately hugged her sister. She made herself as small as possible and shook so much. Applejack could see how afraid she was.

Ashes fell through the wooden cracks and on Applejack’s face, but she made no move. All that she did was take in the silence as she tried to figure out what had just happened. That was all she could do.

At least, until the beast knocked on the trap door.