Pasts

  "Applejack!" Said Twilight, walking through the long rows of apple trees before spotting her orange friend quickly.

"Hey, Twi. What can ah help ya with?" Asked Applejack.

"Well, the girls and I were all going out to sugar cube corner, and I was sent to come and find you to see if you'd like to come. Would you?"

"Sure. Just give me a sec to wash up, and ah'll be right over"

"Okay, I'll just head out. See you in a few?"

"Eeyep."

                                                                                 ***

"Hey Applejack, we never learned about your childhood" said Rainbow Dash.

"Oh yes, do tell" agreed Rarity.

"Yeah Applejack! Tell us tell us tell us tell us!" Said Pinkie quickly.

"Pinkie pie! Don't force her to if she doesn't want to!" Yelled Fluttershy. Which, for every pony else was normal speaking.

"What? Aren't you at least a little curious?" Asked Pinkie.

"Well, I wouldn't mind hearing the story, but that's only if Applejack wants to tell us."

At this, all eyes turned to Twilight. Unluckily for her, she currently had her mouth stuffed with cake.

"Whaa?"

The other five mares broke down into giggles. Twilight swallowed hard before speaking again.

"What?"

"They want to know if ya want to hear about ma' growing up and such" said Applejack, still giggling.

"Oh, sure. I would love to learn more about one of my closest friends"

"Well, ah guess it's settled. Well, let me think. Ah was born on a Friday..."

                                                                                   ***

   Sweet apple acres itself was celebrating. The first daughter had been born to the heads of the Apple family. She was a tiny orange filly with blonde hair and green eyes. She grew quickly, much as her brother had. She was also much stronger than stallions twice her age. The filly, Applejack, was known around town for being a hard worker. Ask her to do something, and she'd do it with a smile on her face. She had a happy life, loving parents, competitive older brother, and plenty of friends. Others felt bad for her, having to grow up doing so much work, but to Applejack, she was the luckiest filly in the world. But sadly, all good things have to come to an end.

   Applejack was in school one day when her brother, Big Macintosh, came running into the room. He has breathing hard, like he had run all the way from sweet apple acres. The next thing Applejack noticed were the tears. To this day, that was the only time Applejjack had seen him cry. A knot formed in Applejacks stomach as she stood up. Big Mac was talking to her teacher, who nodded sadly and looked at Applejack.

  "Applejack, you're excused for the day"

    Applejack followed Big Mac out into the hallway when he told her. Their parents, both of them, had gotten killed by a falling tree. It was a tree that had been weak for a while, and their parents were out there putting up supports when a huge gust of wind came and blew down the tree on top of them. Applejack stood stalk still as big mac told her. She could feel the knot that had formed in her stomach move up as tears formed in her eyes. Applejack just let it happen, and the sobs came in waves, each louder than the last. It got to the point where she was screaming at the top of her lungs. She was crying in piece due to her grief, but also at her helplessness. No matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to bring them back. She was too young to be able to really effectively buck apples. She wasn't able to sell apples. She wasn't able to save her unborn sister, still in their mother’s womb. A couple of class mates poked their head out of the classroom to see what was going on, but were quickly herded back into the classroom by her teacher. Finally, Applejack started to calm down and gasp for breath.

"W-why was mama out there when sh-she was nine months pregnant?" She gasped out.

"She wanted to do somethin' helpful. It seemed to be the only thing she could do, putting up fences"

"She was gonna be named Apple Bloom. Mama and papa told me last night. She was gonna be the most beautiful filly. Ah was gonna protect 'er. But ah couldn't. Ah couldn't protect anypony" sobbed Applejack. Her body shuddered as new sobs arrived. She flinched when she felt a soft hoof on her back. She looked up to see Granny Smith. Applejack sniffled and took the tissue she was handed.

    "I have something to tell you two. Where there is death, there is life. Your little sister is alive. We were able to save her. Her name is Apple Bloom. Now come with me, you two. There is a time for mourning that we'll have. Right now, you need to come and meet her."

    Granny Smith. She was never a soft apple. She always set aside time for different things to make sure it didn't interfere with their work. She nuzzled Applejack to get to her hooves and the trio made their way to the hospital. Applejack shuddered as they passed the large doors labeled 'MORGUE'. Knowing her parents were in there- no. Not her parents. Just skin suits that looked like her parents. The parents who had raised her were gone, and she couldn't do anything about it.

    They arrived in nursery and Granny pointed to a crib. Applejack couldn't see, so she climbed onto her brothers back. In the crib that Granny Smith had pointed out sat a yellow filly with red hair. She looked at them and giggled, holding out her hooves to them. A nurse entered and picked her up in her magic, covering her in a large blanket.

    "Here you go, ma'am" said the nurse, giving Apple Bloom to Granny Smith.

     Granny Smith knew exactly what to do, expertly placing the binkie into her mouth, how to hold her, and rocking her gently. The odd group made their way back to the farm. Ponies in town now knew about what happened, and they would constantly be stopped by ponies saying how sorry they were to Granny. Applejack got so frustrated by their slow progress that she eventually just walked away from them and back to the farm. When she got there, almost no pony was home. She slid past the few relatives and made her way to her room. She ran inside and quickly closed the door behind her. She let out a long breath and leaned against the door, sliding into a sitting position. A few stray tears slid down her face. She buried her face in her hooves and took a few deep breaths.

"Aj?" Said a male voice from inside her room. Applejack looked up, startled.

"Braeburn? What are you doing here?"

"Ma and pa got the news. They said we should all come up here to help for a while. Ah'm sorry, cous. Ah really am. Do you want to talk 'bout it?"

"I don't know. That's supposed to make ya feel better, right?"

"S' what ah heard"

"Okay. Well, let's talk- wait, what's that? She asked, pointing to Braeburns flank.

"Oh ya, ah didn't tell ya? Ah got my cutiemark. Sorry cous, ah thought ah already told ya"

"Well Braeburn, yah always were a bit ditzy"

"Yeah, sorry"

"Well, let's talk 'bout something better. How're things in Appleoosa?"

"Fine. We got a good harvest this year. We got plenty of ponies to help, so we finished early. We came down to help you guys, considering ya have more trees and less ponies. Though ah don't think ah'll be able to buck as many apples as you."

"Oh please. I doubt Granny and Big Mac are even goin ta let me near a tree, after what happened. Ah don't know what ah'll be doing with all of this free time."

"Well, cous, ah'll be here for a while. We could clean the barn, or play games, or feed the animals. Ma and pa said we'd be up here until harvests over, maybe longer. So we might as well do something useful."

"Yeah, ah guess that’s true"

"And AJ, ahm sorry about your little sister. I can't imagine what that must feel like."

"What do ya mean? My little sis- oh! No, she's alive. Her name is Apple Bloom and she's the most beautiful little filly."

"She is? Oh that’s great! Every cloud has a silver lining, ah guess. So, where do ya keep the pie?"

                                                                                       ***

    Applejack and her family healed over time. Applejack got big enough to buck apples, so Granny didn't have too. The farm grew big, as did little Apple Bloom. She grew into an intelligent but curious filly. She made two friends, and they would always get into trouble. Applejack eventually became the head of the family. Usually the new head would be the oldest child of the old heads, but Big Mac didn't have any interests in running the family. If you were to walk into Sweet Apple Acres, you'd see that it's so much better than it was a few years ago. Acres of sweet apples. Though, if you were to go around their barn and up a small hill, you'd see something that doesn't belong. Two tall, proud cherry blossom trees, with two small tomb stones resting in between.

                                                                                         ***

"Well every pony, that's pretty much ma foal hood sto-"

Started Applejack, but got cut off as her five friends crowded around her trying to hug her. Each one had damp eyes. Even Pinkies hair was slightly less poufy.

"I never knew. We never knew. I'm so sorry Applejack" said Twilight quietly. About thirty minutes later, the group had calmed down and were talking normally once more.

"Just wait till you all hear my foal hood. I was so awesome!" Said Rainbow Dash.

"Well, than tell us!" Said Rarity.

"Yeah Dashi! Tell us!"

"Alright, alright." Said Rainbow Dash before starting her story. What happened to Rainbow? Well, that's for chapter two to tell.