"Applebloom? We're home!"
There was a hurried sound of hooves clopping against floorboards as a small yellow filly ran into the living room, her mane uncharacteristically waving free behind her like a trail of fire as she round the corner from the kitchen and leapt into the air.
Big Mac barely had time to shout in surprise before he was bowled over by the giggling blur before he himself burst out into a deep thundering chuckle as he pulled himself up out of the dirt and gingerly pulled his little sister off of his thick, muscled neck. The stallion shot a glance to Granny Smith who was grinning ear to ear (or rather, wrinkle to wrinkle).
"Oh Big Mac, Ah've had such a wonderful tahm! Ah did all th' chores and Ah read sum books and Ah listen'd to sum music and Ah watched the moon come up!" The tiny filly was prancing around in a tiny circle between her brother and grandmother, obviously still excited about her day of freedom. "Ah even stood on th' kitchen table!"
Applebloom stopped in mid prance and looked sheepishly at her guardians, "But, uh, don't tell Applejack that last part! Ah was a totally responsible pony th' whole tahm!"
Big Mac let out another rumble of laughter as his little sister posed and gave him a very stern and serious look before nodding and giving the filly a gentle hoof-sandwich. "Eenope!" He grinned before walking into the home that the Apple family shared together. He had meant that he wouldn't tell Applejack, it had been all that he could do to convince the stubborn mare to NOT to turn around and check on Applebloom. Big Mac knew that there was a time in every filly and colt's life when they just had to be trusted with responsibility and there was no harm in letting Applebloom bend the rules. Big Mac turned just when he was inside the doorway and helped the creaky form of Granny Smith up the short step into the house as Applebloom bounced in behind her.
"Where is Applejack anyway? Wasn't she supposed to be with you Big Mac?"
The question made Big Mac's happy grin fade into something that was a mix between a frown and a grimace.
"Yer sister just had to take care of somethin first" The stallion said matter-o-factly and walked into the kitchen where the chore list sat on a table that was only slightly scuffed with hoof marks, leaving a bewildered Applebloom standing alone in the hallway.
The freshly cut grass smelled just as sweet as it always did this time of year.
Applejack slid free of the pie-cart harness and stretched, thankful to be free of the apparatus for the moment but not allowing erself to enjoy the moment too much. It wasn't proper after all.
Not here.
Straightening her stetson and taking a determined breathe, the orange mare stepped towards the two large iron gates that chained open, revealing the softly rolling hills that were dotted with marble memorials of all shapes and sizes. She couldn't see any other ponies there, which to be quite honest, and Applejack was, suited her just fine. The mare stepped along the packed gravel path that weaved gently through the rows of headstones, closing her eyes and letting her hooves guide her along the path that she had made so many times, just listening to the serene sounds of the cemetary. Birds chirped and fluttered in the sapphire blue sky overhead, bees buzzed gently as they drifted from arranged flower to arranged flower, taking extra care not to disturb the tokens of remembrance that had been left behind in their search for pollen.
It was a peaceful afternoon, and it was what everypony here deserved. Applejack was almost glad for the distance for entirely different reasons than usual. While it usually gave her time to think of what to say, today she simply enjoyed the walk and within a few more minutes and one hill later, she had arrived, and the farm pony opened her eyes with a sad smile on her face.
There, as expected, was a single large headstone of marble and quartz that gleamed in the sun, untouched by the shade of the nearby oak tree. The orange mare took a seat on her usual spot on the grass, slightly off-center and on the left side of the headstone's engraving. She didn't bother with reading the words that had long ago seared themselves into her memory.
"Hello Ma, Pa" Applejack said gently, as if to not wake them. "Ah know it's not...that day, but Ah felt like comin' to talk to ya"
The headstone said nothing.
"Ah...Well, Ah just thought you should know that we let Applebloom stay by h'rself yesterday. It's th'first tahm Ah felt like she could do it. And Ah almost couldn't do it. Big Mac and Ah, we were making the annual pie deliv'ry and we'd gotten a'cup miles from the farm 'fore Ah wanted to turn back, but Mac talked me out of it!"
Applejack gave the tombstone a weak grin that quickly faded in the silence. That old part of her that thought this was silly began to burn in her cheeks, but the mare shoved the feeling down and continued on.
"And it was so hard, Ma, Pa. Every step Ah took it felt like Ah was jus' leavin' her there helpless. Like Ah was abandonin' her. Like I didn't love her 'nough to stay. It felt like when you both left all over again"
A voice in the distance caused Applejack to jerk her head towards the crest of the nearby hill as she rubbed away the tears forming in her eyes. Two ponies that the farm mare didn't recognize were laying flowers on a nearby grave and talking not so quietly to themselves, about themselves. Applejack glared at the two before turning her attention back to the stone faced memorial, confident the intruders were out of earshot.
"Ah know it's just me bein' protective an' all, but...It hurt. All the way to through the swamp Ah just kept thinkin' "Whut if she's hurt? Whut if somepony is tryin' to break in? Whut if she-she needs me and Ah'm not there? Whut if she's afraid Ah'll never come back?" Applejack sniffled and wiped away a tear that was rolling down her cheek and leaving a dark streak in her orange coat. "Whut if Ah got hurt and Ah never saw her aagain? Whut if Ah die without ever tellin' her how much she means t'me?"
More silence. More nothingness from the wide monolith in front of her.
"She's mah sister, but she feels mor' like a daughter t'me. Ah know Granny Smith and Big Mac help an' all, but Ah'm the' one that does most of the raisin. Ah'm the one she comes to when she's in trouble. Ah'm the one that kisses her goodnight and tucks her in" Applejack said before she paused and stared at the monument, her green eyes wet with tears as they searched for some kind of answer, some kind of acknoledgement from the object in front of her.
"Ah just never want her to feel like I..We didn't love her enough. Ah felt like that for so long after you left, Ma. Ah just didn't want her to go on through life thinkin' that the last time she saw her sister was the back'o some cart fading into the distance without so much as a I love yew"
It was part of the story the stone had heard many times before. The blame would come next. It was ready for it. It expected it.
"But...And it took me all the way to the bayou to realize this, but even when Ah'm not gonna be there, when Big Mac and, Celestia forbid, Granny Smith isn't, she'll always have somepony lookin' out for her. Because Ah remembered that yer watchin' us from...wherever it is yer watchin' us from, and that means that Applebloom and the rest of us are never alone"
The sun had dropped just enough that a single sliver of shadow from the oak tree rested upon the corner of the tombstone. It was a curious shadow that made the emotionless object appear troubled, as if this was something that it had heard before, but not really felt as if those saying it had meant it.
"Ah better git goin. Ah told Big Mac Ah was gunna stop by for a visit, and he looked all suh-picious at me like Ah was gunna do somethin' crazy. It's stil a way back to the farm from here, and my dogs are barkin' from pulling that cart for so long"
Applejack pulled herself before setting one orange hoof on top of the gravestone and giving it an affectionate rub. It was smooth like always and comfortably warm from the afternoon sun's rays. It felt reassuring to Applejack, though the headstone would never acknowledge it.
"Ah...Ah think that Ah might bring Applebloom next time. If Ah think she's old enough to stay by herself, then it might be time that she came to be properly introduced to yah" Applejack said with a sniffle and a sad smile. "Ah know she's been here 'fore, but Ah think she might get it now. Why Mac and Ah come her to talk"
The mare leaned in and rested a hoof on each engraving before giving the memorial a light kiss.
"Well...Ah guess Ah need t'git goin'." She said as she stepped back onto the gravel path. She looked up the path towards the crest of the hill and saw that the other ponies had long since left. That was good, she didn't want to interrupt their private time like they had almost interrupted hers. She turned back to the headstone.
"Ah love you, Ma and Pa. And thank yew for always atchin' over us"
And with that the stone was alone again as it's visitor hustled back along the path with a quicker gait than she had used on her way in. The afternoon slowly faded to evening and the fireflies of summer came out to play in the twilight as Luna's moon rose slowly above the horizon. The cicadas began singing with their partners in crime, the crickets, as dew settled upon the grass of the cemetary and the chill of a summer night settled upon Equestria.
And the stone, still oddly warm, endured.
Author's Note
This was written for a Equestria Daily Writer's Training Ground prompt. The prompt was "Applejack decided against checking in on her sister and continued her delivery. Later, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith return to Sweet Apple Acres to see Apple Bloom doing fine, but Applejack's still gone..."
It may be a path well trodden at this point, but I felt like this was somethinga big sister/mother would do after leaving what accounts for her child alone for the first time. She has to have faith in her sibling, faith in herself, and faith that no matter what, everything is going to turn out fine on it's own. Letting things concerning the Apple family work out on their own is something we've seen Applejack struggle with this season, and I felt like Applejack realizing that Applebloom is, at least in Equestria, never alone would help ease some of her anxieties about the situation.
Visiting her parents seemed like the right way for the world to tell her that "its okay".
