"So, uh...why are we doing this again?"
Kicking over an empty crate next to her, Sweetie Belle could only stare into yet another, freshly excavated mess. All this trash didn't speak to her in any way. Neither physical, nor spiritual. And whatever it was they were trying to accomplish, she didn't see it go forward in any way. And she certainly didn't enjoy it, no matter what she'd been promised earlier.
"Ah told ya, this was the perfect plan!" Apple Bloom nevertheless chanted from behind, her voice more motivated than both her friends' moods combined. "We could get our cutie marks in literally everything, so we'll just go to a place that has literally everything. We're sure ta find out about our destiny this way."
Sweetie Belle frowned. "Yeah, I get it. Probably just don't see how your family's attic qualifies for having literally everything."
"Well, if you ask me...I'm not sure we'll find anything exactly useful up here," Scootaloo said, adding her part to the conversation. "'Cept maybe getting the heaviest hayfever in forever from the sticky air in this place. I don't think I wanna be marked as allergic for the rest of my life. I mean, have you even seen what some of those pollen trees can do to ponies?"
"We could always get out on the orchard, and try some apple bucking. More of a classic approach. Y'know, since we're already here, and all," Sweetie Belle tried to convince her farmer friend. "Your family all seem to be quite happy with it."
"Buckin' apples?" the earth pony filly replied. "Ah don't see how that's s'posed ta make me feel special...it's like everyone around myself already keeps doin' that. Like Applejack does have her apple-related cutie mark, and Big Mac...heck, even Granny Smith has sumthin' apple related back there." She pointed to her flank, which was still devoid of any kind of colorful picture.
"Yeah, you'd fit right in," Scootaloo answered with a sarcastic grin. Turning to Sweetie Belle, she added, "Still, we could always try other fruits or vegetables. You know, like, squishing grapes or...squeezing lemons, or..."
"...smashing pumpkins...", Sweetie Belle added, while rolling her eyes.
"Of course! A smashing pumpkins cutie mark. Heh, could you imagine?" the pegasus filly chuckled at the thought. Simultaneously, her two friends simply deadpanned, unsure what to do with this information.
"Ah'd rather not," Apple Bloom stated. "Havin' all year off but Nightmare Night seems kinda nice, but...also pretty boring. An' y'all don't see nopony smashing any pumpkins any other time than that, right?"
"I guess you have a point," Sweetie Belle hesitantly confirmed her, upon turning back around to face another crate. "Also, what's in that one? It seems kinda fancy."
It did, indeed. Turning around to face her discovery, the remaining two crusaders quickly spotted what she meant. A large oaken box stood before them, about three feet wide and a good one-and-a-half feet tall. It's edges were all fixated with steel hardware, holding the massive construct together. Judging from the rusty nails inside those metal bars, they seemed to have been nailed into the wooden surface decades ago.
Had there once been a lock attached, it certainly wasn't there now. Whether it simply rusted away in time, or someone forcefully removed it somehow, there was no way the three could still tell at this point. Time had truly taken its toll upon the chest's every feature. Even Scootaloo let out an impressed whistling, seeing what stood before her.
"That looks pretty cool," she remarked, before turning to Apple Bloom with excitement. "Can we open it?"
"Ah s'pose so," the filly answered. "Doesn't seem locked or anything. Or restricted for that matter."
Before finishing her thought, a light green aura had already begun to flicker around their unicorn friend's horn. Within a few seconds, a similar appearance expanded over the lid, before it slowly creaked open. When finally the entire wooden crate stood wide open, Sweetie Belle panted in exhaustion for a few seconds, sweat forming on her brow. "Wow," she said. "This thing's heavier than it looks, I give you that."
All the more curious, the crusaders leaned forward. Apart from the mess of all sorts of unidentifiable objects within the main box, there also was a black inscription printed on the inside of the lid. Years had come and passed, making it barely legible by now, but -
"Ain't that some fancy talk?" Apple Bloom burst out upon trying to read the small, cursive letters. Her eyes narrowed in distrust at the sight. Considering her earlier experiences with that particular language, a certain sense of doubt was hardly a surprise, coming from her.
"It's not that, stupid," Sweetie Belle scolded her. "It looks pretty fancy, though. As in, y'know, highly fashionable, and all that. Like those cursive writings ponies used a few centuries ago. Rarity told me about those...and how to read them. I guess I can give it a try."
"Well, go on then. What's it say?" Scootaloo asked, shivering with anticipation. Her sense of adventure had become wide awake, ever since discovering the strange object, and its potentially mysterious past.
Sweetie Belle narrowed her eyes. "Ugh. It's pretty dark in here...but I'll do my best."
"Can't ya light it up with this little trick y'all do with her horns?"
"Sorry, Apple Bloom," she answered with a frown. "Illumination magic hasn't come up in my studies, yet. I...might have to ask Twilight about that later. Uh, let's see, anyway." She began to read with some stumbling. "That first one's a 'P', I'd say. So...P-Pro-Prop...ah, property. Property of, uh...I guess that one means Apple. Apple...Forrest. Yeah, probably. And there's even a time and date. Or at least, I think that's what it is. Says Dodge Junction, the year is..."
She raised an eyebrow. "eight-six, I...really can't make out the last number. I guess it's eight-hundred and sixty...something. And Apple Forrest was probably one of your ancestors, or something."
"Eight-hundred?" Scootaloo's eyes widened in amazement. "Like, they start counting from the banishment of Nightmare Moon, right? And it's already been over a thousand years today, so..." she gasped, pointing at the box. "That thing must've been here for a good hundred and fifty years or so!"
The three fillies fell into a stunned silence for a few moments. Only after a while did they look at each other with growing grins on their muzzles. "Are y'all thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"
And with a battle cry that would've made any buffalo chief proud, they leaped towards their newest discovery, eager to plunder each and every one of the treasures it had to offer. All thoughts about getting their cutie marks on some dusty attic were quickly forgotten, replaced by something far more interesting to any young child's mindset.
Bright sunlight fell into the Apple family's kitchen window, illuminating the magnificent sight that was Sweet Apple Acres. Outside, hundreds of strong and healthy apple trees were carrying thousands of light green apples, supposedly of similar quality. Only another month or so, and most of them would be ready for harvest. A truly impressive time of the year.
Applejack smiled at the sight. The place really had expanded quite a lot since she'd been a filly. Another successful harvesting season would make for another year of hard work for her to be proud of. Hard physical work, of course. And exhausting, at that. But she wouldn't want to have it any other way. Getting rewarded with the beautiful sight brought to her now was all she could ever really ask for. All by itself, this was what she was supposed to be doing. What made her happy.
Turning her back to the window, she glanced back towards her brother. Big Macintosh was peacefully seated at the table, devouring his third pancake in five minutes. With every other pony, Applejack would have deemed it unhealthy, but she knew her brother better than that by now. Hard work always made him hungry. And through all his modesty, Big Mac could probably gulp down more than half a ton of these per day...given he'd feel comfortable about it.
"Enjoyin' yer meal, ah take it?" A smug grin across her muzzle, Applejack approached the table. But now, with the sight of the orchard out of her mind for a second, her thoughts soon wandered to something else regarding her situation. Something, that even a satisfied "Eeyup" from Big Mac couldn't distract her from.
Sweet Apple Acres, including their farmhouse and barn, was rather peaceful at this time of day. And excessively quiet. Too quiet, given the three lively fillies currently 'cleaning' up the attic. They had volunteered to do so just yesterday afternoon and, against her better judgment, Applejack had agreed to 'whatever made her sister happy'. She was positively surprised not to have a tornado dismantle the building by now. Or an ursa major. Or a pack of timberwolves. Or the divine wrath of nature herself, brought down on the farm in a million blistering blazes...she felt like abandoning that train of though rather quickly.
"Wonder what those three are up to back there," she mumbled, one hoof pointing up. "Haven't cleaned out the place in ages, either. Ah think quite a lot of that trash's been part of our family before we even moved here. No idea what's gonna happen next..."
"You need ta calm yerself down," Big Mac replied in his usually dull voice, not taking an eye off his meal. "T'aint nothin' up there anypony could possibly..."
He didn't get very far, when suddenly a loud, blasting sound made the entire room vibrate. Though initially uncertain of its origin, and admittedly a little shocked, Applejack quickly managed to figure out the details. Whatever that was, it clearly came from somewhere upstairs. Also, it sounded like...a marching band?
The two earth ponies had hardly a second to discuss, just enough to exchange nervous glances, when a deep male voice started accompanying the music:
Hurrah! Hurrah!
For southern rights, Hurrah!
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag
that bears an apple mark!
The lyrics repeated themselves once, then cut to a stanza of some more text. All of which was more than morally questionable. Applejack needed a moment until the gears in her brain connected, but she eventually figured it out. This 'song' sounded like one of those things that generation of apples would come up with. The one they didn't talk about too much, since it easily cast an extremely repulsive light on their entire clan.
Eventually grasping the association, Applejack's eyes went wide in shock. A thousand questions spun around in her mind, first of all the one: How did they even get to that? Also, if Granny Smith would be disturbed in her regular naptime...woken up by this...Applejack would rather not imagine. She could only tell the entire furies of Tartarus business she feared just minutes ago didn't seem so far away, all of a sudden.
Big Mac didn't seem to share much of her fears, anyhow. He was too busy chocking on crumbs of pancakes, while longing for a glass of water.
Ignoring her brother as one of the lesser priorities now, Applejack leaped to the door, and raced up the stairs. He would be able to take care of himself. He always did. Once upstairs, she raced along the corridor as fast as her four hooves would carry her. Smashing open the door to her little sister's room, she let out a reaction much more aggressive than she'd planned to do.
"STOP THAT THIS INSTANT, YA LIL'...whoa, what?"
She stared at three confused faces in shock, and they stared back. When sending the crusaders up to the attic, this had been the least of Applejack's worries. But now, she could hardly believe her own two eyes. This was not good. Not good at all.
The music originated from their old gramophone, which the crusaders had somehow managed to sneak into her sister's room. Some old record was happily playing away on it, until a sudden spark from Sweetie Belle's horn caused its spinning to stop. The room fell dead silent in an instant. And Applejack still found no words.
Somehow, the three rascals had fixated a piece of tapestry on the wall above the phonograph. No, not that...it was more like a banner, or a flag. And it displayed exactly what the poor mare had feared: A x-shaped, blue cross with a thin, white frame in front of a scarlet background. A total number of thirteen white apples embroidered the navy blue part. Adding up to the whole scenery, the three kids in front of her had spread several pairs of uniforms on the ground. They were made up from a light-gray jacket and an oddly shaped hat of the same shade. A brass symbol of two crossed sabres was embroidered on the front of each of the latter.
Applejack facehoofed. "Ah know ah shouldn't have trusted y'all..."
"What's wrong, sis?" an innocent looking Apple Bloom asked, looking up at her in surprise. "We jest found these old things in an old box up there..."
"Yeah, from some dude named Apple Forrest, apparently," Scootaloo added, fidgeting with her wings. "Looks pretty cool...and old, I guess. Like those jackets Daring Do keeps wearing. Only the ones you got here weren't exactly for pegasi, I think. I tried to put one on, and it totally didn't fit...especially with the wings and all..."
Apple Forrest. Oh, sweet Celestia...
But of course, Apple Bloom wouldn't know. They never talked to her about the more difficult part of their family's history...yet. She'd be too young to understand it. Or at least, that's what Applejack kept telling herself. As of now, there probably wasn't any way around it. Still unsure about how to handle the situation, Applejack let out a nervous chuckle.
"Now, come on, y'all. Ah don't think those things belong to you, right? We better just get them back to where you found them, before we put any damage to them by accident..."
"Applejack?" A raspy, elder voice called to them from outside. "Whut in the hay's going on over there?"
Within an instant, Applejack's eyes went almost as wide as saucers. She needed a good explanation, and she needed it now. Granny Smith wouldn't be happy about this, and if it looked like she herself was somehow a part of all this...that would only make it worse.
"Nothin'!" the orange mare thus called out. "Nothin'...at all. Got everything safe and sound by myself...don't you worry..." Under her breath she added, hissing: "You better get them things outta sight real quick. And get all this back ta where y'all found it, soon as ah've dealt with this. I don't care if y'all shove it under the bed or whatnot, jest do it! Ya hear?"
The fillies still didn't seem to understand, but nodded and complied with her orders, nevertheless. They hastily began putting everything away neatly, not without some confused murmuring, while Applejack stepped back out of the hall. She tried her best to look confident.
Stepping out of Apple Bloom's room, she immediately found herself face to face with a very mistrustful looking Granny Smith. The older mare had her eyes narrowed in suspicion, even now. Staring right into those of her grandmohter sent another jolt down Applejack's spine.
"You hear all that?" she asked. "I just got woken up by sum dang hell of a noise. You better have some explanation for all this!"
"I - uh - sure..." she stuttered. "Listen, ah'm sorry. These three rascals wanted to clean the attic, and made a total mess o' th' place...as usual. Nothin' ta git any...more...suspicious about. And...Ah'll clean it back up, later on, that alright...with ya?"
Granny Smith continued to stare at her face for another minute or so, her eyes obviously determined to scan the young mare's face for any sign of guilt. And she probably wouldn't have to look for very long. Applejack already felt the sweat run down her face.
Suddenly, the light-green mare broke into a knowing grin. "You've always been a bad liar, Applejack," she replied, jokingly. With a wink, she added, turning back around, "Some time, I'm gonna hear an explanation for all this, you hear."
"Sure...", Applejack replied with a panicking grin. "Jest...don't mind it. Ah've got it all under control..."
"That's certainly a relief ta my old ears," Granny Smith called out, just before disappearing back in her room. Applejack let out one long, deep breath of relief.
Now, to explain all this to the little ones...
Long shadows fell onto Sweet Apple Acres, as Princess Celestia's celestial sphere swiftly made its way towards the western horizon. The sky had long since turned from its azure shade of the afternoon to a dark crimson, and would soon fade to black entirely. At this time of the year, it wouldn't take much longer for the sun to completely disappear behind the darkened, crooked tips of the Everfree trees bordering the farm at its outermost extend.
After that, everything and everyone would become engulfed in the welcoming, navy-blue blanket that was night. Luna's night. A preacher of nightmares no longer, but someone who brought calmness and peace to the inhabitants of Equestria. Even if it only lasted until the next morning's work would begin.
The farm's inhabitants didn't have any time for resting just yet, however. All three young Apple siblings had a few more pressing issues to get off their minds before allowing themselves some rest. Shortly after Granny Smith had excused herself to call it a day (she would always get a little picky on her resting times), the others decided to clear up the mess that occurred to them earlier today. Besides, the youngest member of the Apple family had grown old enough to face the truth, as it was. Applejack had decided on that now, and she wouldn't change her mind back again.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had left for their respective homes a few hours back. The Apples decided it was probably for the best having a talk with their younger sister only, first and foremost. Because history or not, all of this was also a personal issue, concerning their family. And whether or not Apple Bloom would share what she learned with her two friends later on would solely be up to her.
Now, huddled up in front of the warm, welcoming fire, the three spent a good five minutes or so by silently looking into the flames. The tension that was still hanging in the air now made it hard for anypony present to speak up. Apple Bloom cast a confused look to each of her siblings. Neither of which felt certain about how exactly to start this conversation. And the yellow-coated filly knew her family well enough to realize whenever they were dealing with some serious issue, so she decided not to say anything...for now.
"Alright then," Applejack finally started with a sigh, breaking the silence. "I hope you got an idea why we're here right now, AB?"
Apple Bloom bit her lip, still trying to determine what kind of trouble she had gotten herself into, this time. "Well, ah can't say I'd know for sure. But ah guess it's gon' be somehow connected to what happened earlier today. Right...?"
"Eeyup," her brother added to the conversation with a nod. "An' don't worry, we won't blame y'all for what happened. But it don't need ta happen ever again, either. And we think ya should know why that is."
"Oh. Okay then," Applebloom answered with a nod. "It ain't that bad, though. Is it?"
"Well..." Applejack began, hesitantly digging a hoof in the ground. "Listen, sugarcube. We all are a happy family today. We all get along among each other, and with other ponies and whatnot. We don't discriminate, and treat everyone the same. That's the way to do it, and that's how it's always gonna be. Right?"
"Right."
"Now, truth is, it ain't always been like that. In fact, our family's been experiencin' some pretty dark times a while back. Real dark, I mean. It probably don't quite compare to that whole Nightmare Moon business a thousand years ago, but it still was pretty heavy. The pony behind all that trouble was a colt named Apple Forrest. That box y'all discovered upstairs...well, that was also his." She trailed off for a moment, frowning. "Ah'm honestly sorry y'all had ta find out about this whole mess like that. In fact, I thought fer sure it warn't even there no more. That it had been gone for good moons ago. Well, jest another thing your big sis couldn't get right, for once."
"Okay," Apple Bloom repeated, this time a lot quieter than before. "So what's with this Apple Forrest guy? He must've done some pretty bad things, the way y'all keep goin' on about him."
"You got that right," Applejack replied, grimacing. Knowing full well she couldn't push it any further, the earth pony mare took another deep breath, before finally telling her younger sister the truth. About how the ponies of Equestria didn't always treat each others as equals, and how some were always considered lesser born than others. Some of the lowest ranks were nothing like property, sold and traded between those who could afford them.
When the time came to abandon that unfair system, and finally bring equality and harmony to everypony in the country, most ponies caught on rather quickly. Especially the most sophisticated urban centers like Canterlot supported the new laws almost from the very beginning. Other regions however, did not. And no matter how much Applejack hated to say it, their ancestors were well among that latter group. They even waged a war on the crown to keep their established system. Tried to leave the nation of Equestria along with all their land, and failed. Resettling to what was now Ponyville had then become Celestia's main initiative to break with their conservative tradition.
As all of them could see today, that strategy had obviously worked quite well.
For a good fifteen minutes longer, Applejack's voice kept echoing through the room, explaining what exactly those old relics on the attic meant. It was a long and painful narrative. Trying to be completely honest, she made sure not to leave out any details. And still, the innocent young filly clung to her lips with every word she said, eyes growing wider and increasingly terrified with every spoken word.
By the time her older sister finally fell silent, Apple Bloom stared into the fire before her with wet eyes. And again, the room fell silent for a good while. It took the young filly a moment, before she managed to get her voice back up. In fact, for just a moment Applejack worried that she might have taken all this just a tad too far. That probably her little sister wasn't ready for this kind of information, after all. But there was no going back. Not now, not ever. Visibly shaken, the filly looked up to her, addressing her older sister with what was barely above a whisper.
"Are - are y'all sure about that?" she asked. The slight nod that followed, coming from Big Mac, seemed to hit her hard like a brick wall. Always assuming the story itself hadn't already done that.
"Ah can't believe we're all jest datin' back ta..." she paused for a moment, setting the word right for herself to pronounce.
"...well, slavers."
A dreadful silence filled the room for the third time this evening, with all three little ponies just staring dead ahead into the flames. Whether it was just about trying to avoid any more dreadful confrontations, or coming up with what to say next, this probably was the best way to win some time. This entire discussion had become a lot more uncomfortable than any of them expected. And it would have easily stayed that way for ages, hadn't Applejack decided to speak up after a short while.
"Now, listen here AB. Jest because of what I told you right now don't mean you'll have to feel any less about yerself, ya hear? That, uh...slavery thing has been pretty common in certain places of Equestria back in the day. Much as I hate ta say it..."
"So all of this may have also happened right here in Ponyville?"
"Yes, lil' sister, it could've happened. I'm afraid it could."
Apple Bloom swallowed a lump in her throat.
"You see, a couple of generations ago, Celestia decided she didn't wanna put up with this no more," Applejack resumed. "Told 'em that all ponies had their right for freedom as much as the ones that already owned them rights. She wanted ta pass a law for that. Only some ponies disagreed with that, an' yer ancestor even went as far as to split himself an' his lands from the nation of Equestria...I already told ya the rest."
"Yep," the filly answered. "Leadin' right on to the bloodiest war ever fought in our land...ah think ah'm gonna need a while to cope with that."
"You take yer time," Applejack told her. "Ah know how hard it is. We've all been there." Looking up at her older brother she added, "ain't that right, Mac?"
"Eeyup," the stallion uttered his signature reply, once again combined with a simple nod. "Worst thirty minutes of muh foalhood, alright."
"Well, the point is, we ain't mad with you, sugarcube," Applejack resumed. "Like ah said, you couldn't know. It's jest...ya get why we don't want y'all goin' around, showin' off with this sort of thing, that right?"
"Sure."
"Good. Ah hope you still get some good sleep tonight. Oh, and Big Mac," she added. "We should make sure ta get rid of all that stuff from upstairs." With a frown, Applejack glanced at the red, white, and blue flag that now lay upon their dinner table, neatly folded and in place. "That thing belongs in a museum, if any. It sure ain't got nothin' to do on anypony's wall no more."
A low sigh directed the mare's eyes back to her sister, standing to her other side. Apple Bloom slowly looked up to her, much like she prepared herself for adding one last bit to the conversation.
"Okay, sis. I...I think I get it. I'm gonna go, tell Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo tomorrow, if that's okay. Jest like y'all told me, and...I'm sure they'll understand."
"I'm sure they will," Applejack replied with a smile. "Ah was hopin' you'd suggest that. We'd have probably asked you for that, anyway. Ain't no point in keepin' secrets between ponies, especially not friends. Jest...it don't help yer friendships nothin', is all."
"Alright then," the filly answered, nodding one final time. "And something else, y'all? For what happened today, well...ah'm...ah'm really sorry."
"Not yer fault, sugarcube," Applejack replied, as she did the only thing appearing reasonable in this situation. Without hesitating any further, she drew her sister into a warm, friendly hug. And after just a moment's hesitation, the filly happily joined in to her sister's loving embrace. "Not yer fault."
