It was a sunny day at Sweet Apple Acres. Apple Bloom was leading her friends to the barn.
‘Apple Bloom, why did you want us to come here?’ asks Scootaloo.
‘Cuz I just found a new room in the barn I have never seen! Who knows what cool stuff might be in there. I thought maybe we should check it out.’ Replies Apple Bloom.
The three fillies head through the barn. They wander until they come across a wooden door, held onto it's frame by rusty hinges, with torn wallpaper surrounding it.
‘This is it!’ says Apple Bloom in excitement as she runs in.
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo exchange worried looks before following their friend into the room.
Once they got inside, all they could see were cobwebs and dust covering every inch of the area.
‘This is…uh…’ Scoolatoo starts, trying to find some word, any word, to come out of her mouth.
‘Let’s look around a bit. Maybe we can find something in here!’ says Sweetie Belle, trying to sound optimistic toward her friend’s new find.
The fillies look around and see many normal things like an old bed, a closet filled with clothes that look like they were from the last decade and a picture frame on the bed side table.
The picture catches Scootaloo’s attention as she walk towards it. It had six ponies in it; an elderly mare, a young mare, a stallion, a filly, a colt and a foal.
‘Hey, Apple Bloom. Check this out.’ Scootaloo calls out. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle trot towards the picture catching Scootaloo’s eyes.
‘Is that your family?’ asks Sweetie Belle
‘Yeah, it is. There is me, Applejack, Big Mac, Granny…’ Apple Bloom says, pointing to the pony she names.
‘And those are…’ she pauses when she comes to a mare and stallion she knew she recognized, but couldn’t find the words to name them, ‘my-my parents.’
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo’s eyes widen with shock, ‘your parents!?’
Apple Bloom was taken aback. Without thinking, she snatched the picture frame and runs out of the room.
‘Apple Bloom! Wait! Where are you going!?’ Sweetie Belle calls out as she and Scootaloo run after her.
Apple Bloom runs to the kitchen, drops the picture on the tables and calls out to her family, ‘Applejack! Big Macintosh! Granny Smith! Come out here!’
Applejack comes running in a second later, wearing a hoofball helmet she took from her brother and carrying a saddlebag full of apples to use as ammo, ‘What happened! What’s wrong!?’ she exclaims in panic. She looks around to only see her little sister making an innocent smile, and takes a deep breath of relief.
Big Macintosh and Granny Smith arrive moments later, both looking exhausted. ‘Now what’s the matter?’ Granny asks, ‘I was in the middle of a really good nap and Big Mac was bucking apples with your sister!’
‘Eeyup!’ adds Big Macintosh.
‘Look what I found in a hidden room!’ Apple Bloom says, pointing to the picture frame.
Granny Smith’s eyes sparkle, ‘Would you looks at that! I haven’t seen this picture in years.’
‘Is that…our family!?’ asks Applejack in shock
‘Eeyup’ says Big Mac
‘Where did you say you found this?’ asks Applejack to Apple Bloom
‘Well, I was looking around the barn when I saw a tear in the wallpaper. I…uh…accidentally pulled it a bit more and saw that there was a door covered by it. I tore of all the wallpaper and I was right! Then I ran to tell Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo…wait…where are they?’
‘Right here!’ says familiar voice behind them.
The family turns to see Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle at the door, panting from exhaustion.
‘Apple Bloom, could you take us to this room you found?’ asks Applejack.
‘No problem! Let’s go!’ says Apple Bloom, ready to lead her family to the room, ‘Do you guys wanna come too?’ Apple Bloom asks her friends.
The two fillies respond with a sigh, collapsing onto the kitchen floor.
*******
‘Here it is!’ Apple Bloom exclaims, introducing the room for the second time.
The family is speechless as they follow the filly into the room and look around. Not one knew what to say, so they all remained silent.
Apple Bloom was confused by the silence, ‘aren’t y’all gonna say anything?!’
Big Mac and Granny signal Applejack to say something.
‘We should…uh…probably clean this place up for when they…’ Applejack struggles to say, almost swallowing the last words, ‘…come back from their trip’
Big Mac smiles and agrees with a “Eeyup”.
Apple Bloom raises an eyebrow.
Big Macintosh takes another look around and starts to shed tears.
Apple Bloom notices this. ‘Big Mac! Are you crying?’ she asks, not sure of what was going on with her family.
Applejack notices this too and whispers into her brother’s ear, ‘its ok, Big Mac. Calm down. Not right now, at least not with her here.’
Applejack bobs her head in her sister’s direction.
Big Mac looks down at both his little sisters’ concerned faces, wipes the tear from under his eye, and replies to Apple Bloom, ‘Nope!’
Granny Smith, not sure of what to do, says, ‘Well, I bet we’re all real busy right now’ with a laugh, trying to sound convincing,
‘Thanks for takin’ us here, squirt, but I need to get back to my nap. And your brother and sister will probably need to get back to buckin’ those apples.’
With that, Granny, Big Mac and Applejack leave the room before Apple Bloom could question any more.
*******
Applejack and Big Macintosh went back to bucking apples. There was not a sound from their mouths. Neither of them could stop thinking about that room. Every buck would miss the tree, and when it did hit, they failed to catch the apples in the basket.
‘We are just not into it right now’ Applejack admitted, ‘let’s just try tomorrow. We don’t want to waste any apples by having them bruised’
Big Macintosh nodded his head in agreement. He looked at the sun just in time to see it set. He follows his sister back to the barn. Dinner that night had the same silence. Apple Bloom became frustrated by this and bursts out, ‘What is goin’ on with y’all today? Ever since I showed you guys that picture, y’all have been acting really strange.’
Applejack, not wanting to upset her sister, says, ‘We’re sorry, sugercube. We’ve just been having a lot on our minds. Don’t you fret ‘bout us. We just need some rest. I promise that everything will be back to normal in the morning.’
Apple Bloom is disappointed by this, but nods her head anyway, finishes her dinner and heads to her room for bed.
Big Macintosh lets out a loud yawn, followed by his eyes closing slightly.
Applejack giggles. ‘You better get some rest too, big brother!’
‘Eeyup!’ he replies and starts to head upstairs.
‘I’ll come with you. I need some snoozes myself!’ says Granny Smith as she catches up to her grandson.
Applejack is left alone on the dining table, unsure of what to do. “Everything will be back to normal in the morning” she reminds herself. Then she follows her brother and granny upstairs for a good night’s sleep.Just before she goes to sleep, she looks out of her bedroom, and sees the same two shooting stars she knew she had seen before. And with a sigh and a heavy heart, she crawls into bed, closes her eyes and drifts to sleep.
*******
Applejack wakes up the next morning with a bang; knowing she had a nightmare but couldn’t remember what is was about. She hears laughter coming from outside so she looks out the window. The light from the sun made her eyes squint. Once she could regain her vision, she looks to see her brother and sister playing with a ball in the front yard. ‘Maybe everything is back to normal!’ she tells herself with a smile.
Applejack trots down the stairs, trying her best to forget about the dream. She enters the kitchen to see Granny Smith making some cider.
‘Morning, Granny! What are ya doing makin’ cider now?’
‘No reason. We have apples so I decided to make cider for you kids.’ Granny replies.
‘Thanks! I’m gonna head out for a walk.’ Applejack says as she heads out the door.
‘Don’t be gone too long!’ Granny calls out as Applejack leaves.
The mare trots down the trail passing through the farm. ‘Look at those beautiful apples!’ she says while admiring the fruit she loves so much. The apples glistened in the sunlight, and almost danced in the wind. ‘I cannot wait to start bucking these!’
She looked around and noticed something peculiar about one of the trees in the distance. On the branch of the tree hung a busted-up tire swing. And there she saw-
‘Push me higher, Papa!’ An orange filly called out to the tan coated and orange maned stallion beside her. The filly was swinging on the tire, giggling with every motion.
‘Sure thing, Applejack’ said the stallion as he got up behind her to give her a push. Both smiled at each other.
As Applejack looked closer, the two ponies started to disappear, until there was nothing else but the broken tire swing.
Applejack shook herself out of her daze and continued to trot. The mare had no idea what to think of what she had just seen, or at least she kept telling herself that.
As she continued to walk, she heard voices to her right. She turned to see an open field and five ponies having lunch: two mares- one much older than the other, a stallion, a colt and a filly. They were sitting on a red and white picnic blanket, eating sandwiches.
‘Big Mac, could you pass me another sandwich?’ the mare, with a lime green coat and rosy red mane, asked the colt sitting on one corner of the blanket.
‘Eeyup!’ says the colt with a smile as he passes a sandwich to the mare.
‘Kids, we have some good news!’ starts the same stallion seen earlier, ‘Your mother and I are expecting a foal! You both are getting a brother or sister!’
The filly and colt’s eyes sparkled with the news as they jumped up and down with excitement.
Suddenly, they start to disappear, vanish into thin air, leaving behind a bunch of apple trees where the open field has once been.
Applejack shook herself out of the trance, almost shedding a tear.
She continues her walk until she reaches the end of the path leading out of Sweet Apple Acres. But instead of seeing an open road, she saw an old mare, a colt and two fillies - one older than the other - standing at the gate of the ranch, with the mare and stallion she had seen earlier looking down at them. The two had two suitcases behind them. The colt and the older filly run up to them and give them a big hug.
‘Don’t you worry, kids.’ Starts the mare in a very soothing, almost angelic voice, ‘We won’t be gone long! We will only be gone for a few weeks. We will be back soon. Take care of each other until then!’
The mare and stallion give a kiss on the cheek to the colt and the two fillies; give one final wave to the four and turn around to begin their journey.
Applejack closes her eyes and begins to cry, begging Celestia not to let her see any more of it. She runs back to the farm and sits under her favorite tree. All she could do, all she knew how to do at that moment, was cry. She tried not to think about it, but the pain was too much for her. Why!? Why did you have to go!?
‘Applejack…?’ says a sweet voice in front of her.
Applejack looked up to see Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom and
Granny Smith. She was embarrassed to see her family watch her break herself apart like this. She wipes her tears and stands up tall. ‘What are y’all doing here?’
‘You don’t need to pretend, Applejack’ Starts Granny Smith, ‘We all know what has been bothering you. It is about…them, isn’t it?’
Being once again reminded of her parents was too much for Applejack. With tears filling her eyes once again, she could only nod her head in agreement as she falls back onto the base of the tree.
‘Applejack-‘starts Apple Bloom, ‘I know you are upset about our parents’
Applejack was surprised to hear her sister mention her parents.
‘What are you talkin’ about? Mama and Papa will be back soon. Why would I be upset about them?’ she tried to say with a serious face.
Apple Bloom shot her a look. ‘Honestly, Applejack! How long will you pretend that they are going to come back? You don’t need to pretend for my sake, I know the truth.’
Big Macintosh stepped up. ‘She isn’t pretending for you.’ He starts in his normally unheard low voice, ‘She is doing it for herself, even if she doesn’t know it.’ He turns to his crying sister, ‘You want to forget it happened. You want to believe that they really will come back.’ He leans down to comfort her. ‘We all do. But they are not coming back. It is a hard to accept, I know. But remember something; we will always have each other. You, me, Bloom and Granny; we will always be part of an ever expanding family: the Apple family.
Applejack rises up, whispers “thanks” into his ear and gives a big hug to her brother, which is joined by Granny Smith and Apple Bloom. Big Mac wipes the final tear from under his sister’s eyelid.
‘Why don’t we all have a picnic here at the farm?’ Granny suggests. ‘We have plenty of cider!’
‘Yeah! And I can help Applejack make sandwiches!’ says Apple Bloom, hopping excitedly in place.
‘Eeyup!’ says Big Mac.
The family spends their lunch having a wonderful picnic, filled with sandwiches, cider and smiles! After all, at the end of the day, they are Apples to the Core!
Author's Note
I wanted to try something different, so i wrote this story in 3rd person instead of 1st person. I hope i still get the same feelings from you all. Please enjoy and comment on what you thought!
