Run Like the Wind, Applejack!
When Big Macintosh told her the news, Applejack immediately dropped everything. It didn't matter that she was in the middle of applebucking. This just couldn't wait. She just had to get there as quickly as possible, get to the door she so desperately wanted to open. She started to run to the other side of town.
What would she do when she got there? What would she say? Should she say anything at all? A thousand thoughts ran through Applejack's mind, but she cast them all aside, for they didn't matter. What was really important, is that she got there in the first place; over there the words and actions would come naturally.
Today would finally be the day, the day so many of her questions, worries, fears, and angers would be answered. So many emotions were boiling beneath that calm expression of hers. She would get things off her chest, that had been plaguing her for years. That day many years ago, when this had all started, was still etched deeply on her memory. Since that day her feelings towards it had shifted several times: from rage to fear to self-pity and back. She needed this more than anything, more than she was ever willing to admit.
Within just a couple of moments she left Sweet Apple Acres behind her. She entered Ponyville at record speed. Unbeknownst to her, she shot past a familiar blue pegasus, that woke up in the process. The pegasus immediately followed Applejack.
“Applejack! Why the rush?” Rainbow Dash shouted after her friend.
Applejack turned her head around, not slowing down. “No time ta explain! I'm sorry, RD!” Her friend was steadily gaining on her. Applejack wanted to avoid conversing with anypony at any cost. Applejack had to end the conversation before it had even begun.
“What did you say? I can't hear you!” Rainbow Dash yelled back.
“I said, I have no time ta explain! I'm...” Applejack abruptly stopped, as she hit her head on a street lamp. She picked herself up and tried to shake off her dizziness, as Rainbow Dash caught up with her.
“Gee AJ, I've never seen you run that fast. What are you so worked up about?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Applejack put on a very stern face and in a voice just as earnest she explained: “I'm awf'ly sorry RD, I really, really don't have any time ta chat. I gotta get there as fast as mah hooves can fly.”
“Why? Where are you going?” Rainbow Dash asked, but her question fell on deaf ears.
Applejack didn't wait for a response. She was already back on her feet and running.
Deciding that Applejack probably had a reason for her secretiveness, and that Applejack would tell her sooner or later, Rainbow Dash went back to napping on a nearby cloud.
* * *
Crashing into the lamp had cost Applejack precious seconds, seconds she didn't want to waste. She had to pick up pace, the task at hand didn't admit any delay.
She couldn't talk with Rainbow Dash. She couldn't talk with anypony. In fact, she had never talked about this particular subject, not with her friends, not with her family. Especially not with her family. It was an unwritten rule in the Apple household not to speak of this. All the more surprising was that Big Macintosh was the one who brought it up. That he even spoke about it at all, meant that this wore just as heavy on his mind as on hers.
At last, Applejack had finally reached town square. A giant crowd of ponies had gathered over there. Apparently, the mayor was giving a big speech and half the town was attending.
“Great! Just perfect!” Applejack said to herself. “Of any day in the history of Equestria, she just had ta pick this one for 'er speech.”
She decided to just get it over with and squeeze through the masses, trying to reach the other side as quickly as possible. Over and over again, Applejack pushed aside ponies, less gently than she should have, uttering 'scuse me-s and pardon me-s along the way. Inevitably, she bumped into a unicorn she would have rather not bumped into.
“Applejack, my dear! Fancy meeting you here,” Rarity greeted.
“Hey there, Rarity! I'd love ta stay an' talk, but I'm afraid I don't have the time,” Applejack replied.
“Really? How unfortunate!” Rarity said with a look of concern. “What do you have to do?”
Applejack had continued to squeeze herself through the crowd and was slowly getting out of Rarity's sight. “I can't explain. I gotta run,” she responded.
This excited Rarity's curiosity; now she simply had to find out. “Why can't you tell me? Is it a secret? Oh, you simply must tell me!”
Due to her much more slender physique, Rarity could get through the crowd much quicker, rapidly catching up with Applejack.
Applejack grew annoyed with her friend. “Rarity, leave me alone! How many timesI have ta tell ya: I don't have the time!”
Rarity didn't give up. “Oh please Applejack! Please, please, please! Pretty please! I'll do anything for you, if you tell me.”
Applejack was almost through, she could already see the other side of town square. “No means no!”
“I can't take no for an answer. I simply must know, you hear me? I must! I'll treat you to a massage, I'll give you a makeover, I'll make you a new hat, really anything if you just tell me!”
Rarity tried to grab Applejack by her tail, but it slipped through her grip. Now Applejack had reached open space again, and took off like a bat out of hell. There was no way Rarity could catch up to her. Even if she tried, she would only work up a sweat.
* * *
Getting through town square had taken much more time than Applejack would have liked. After all those minutes, she might be too late already. Maybe she had been too late from the beginning. What she so desperately sought might have been gone, long before she heard the news by her brother. What then? Would she wait? Would she give up, go back to work, and try again tomorrow? She had been waiting for this day for years; clearly one more day wouldn't matter.
Irrelevant. All this was just speculation. Applejack knew it wasn't too late. She probably didn't even need to rush, but her head and her heart told her to do so anyway. She wanted this just so very badly. Every thought, every feeling, every muscle in her body had nothing but full determination to get to her goal. It wasn't far anymore. Just a couple of blocks and she would have reached her destination.
Suddenly her head deep into a book, a purple unicorn appeared behind a corner. Applejack couldn't stop in time. The full force of the collision sent both ponies, the book, and the content of the unicorn's saddle bag flying through the air. Sheets of paper lay everywhere.
For the second time that day, Applejack picked herself up from the ground. “I'm awf'ly sorry, Twilight! I didn't see ya there.”
“I'm all right, Applejack. Don't mention it. But what's all this commotion about?” Twilight responded.
Applejack started to pick up all the sheets. “Well, there's just some place I really need to get to. I...”
Should she really be doing this? It was Applejack who had knocked Twilight over, but still Applejack had neither the time nor the inclination to help. On the other hoof, Twilight was one of her best friends. It was just plain rude to leave her like this.
Twilight noticed the look of distress on Applejack's face. She simply smiled at her friend. “Go on then! You don't have to wait here and aid me. I can gather these papers myself.”
Applejack looked doubtful. “Yer' sure, Twi?
With her magic, Twilight picked up all sheets of paper at once. “Yes, I'm sure! Now go! What are you still waiting for?”
Applejack smiled back at her friend. “Thanks, Twi. I owe you.”
With that Applejack got back on her track, galloping as fast as she could towards her goal. Twilight gazed after her for a moment, but was soon back to rearranging her papers.
* * *
Applejack had finally reached her destination. Behind that white wooden door lay the exact thing she had longed for all day, probably longed for all her life. It was just one twist of the doorknob away, just one gentle push and she could face it. So many problems, thoughts, and feelings could finally be resolved. What was she waiting for?
Suddenly doubts crept into Applejack's mind. Maybe this had been a bad idea. Maybe she wasn't as ready as she thought she was. She would need to calm down, think everything through once more, every possible outcome of this situation. What could she say? What could she do? Maybe tomorrow was a day as good as any to try again.
Wasn't it ironic? For what felt like an eternity, Applejack had been running, desiring nothing more than to get here as quickly as possible. And now that she had done so, she wanted to continue running, only in the opposite direction, far away, to the place she came from.
It was hopeless. There was no time for procrastination. If she wouldn't step through that door today, right now, Applejack would never be able to gather the courage to do so. A thousand thoughts rushed through her head; Applejack wanted to speak them all at once, when she would finally open the door.
Applejack swallowed all her fears. She reached out for the doorknob. The door slowly opened. Immediately the two ponies inside turned their heads and looked at her.
“Hey-ah, Mom! Howdy, Dad!”