What Happens When You're Gone?
"Woah!"
Applejack crashed into the ground with a loud thud, the apples she had been carrying into the barn spilling all over the hay-covered floor. With an irritated groan, she pushed herself up, glaring around at the mess that she'd have to pick up later. Her face contorting into an irritated frown, AJ began to search for what she had stepped on, which was probably one of Apple Bloom's toys. After a few minutes, she found it - a small shadow of a something that she had somehow kicked into the corner.
"Apple Bloom!" The farmpony called out, not bothering to hide her irritation as she walked over the corner. "Get your tail in here this instant!" As she yelled, she reached out with a hoof to pull at the object. As it rolled into the sunlight, a pang of sadness seemed to hit Applejack right in the chest, and her ears instantly went back upon seeing her mistake.
... Oh.
She thought about telling Apple Bloom to just run along, that she'd meant to call for somepony else, but before she could try, her Apple Bloom was already skittering into the barn, her mane slightly messy from the outside breeze.
"Yeah, sis?" She responded, trotting forward eagerly. "Did ya need help with these apples or somethin'?" The filly asked, carefully sidestepping the fruits that had been thrown around the barn. "How in the name of Celestia did these even get all over the place, anyway? What, did ya-" Apple Bloom stopped midsentence, finally seeing the small green tennis ball that lay at Applejack's feet - the one that had been Winona's favorite up until the day she died.
Applejack saw her sister's pained expression and hurriedly kicked the ball to the side before walking forward. "Sorry, Apple Bloom... I thought that you left somethin' in here, is all. You can run on, if ya want; go play with your friends."
"Alright..." Apple Bloom responded, turning around. She took a few steps before slowing down and looking back at AJ, coming to a halt. "Applejack? How come... How come you're still workin'? Even though... Y'know."
Applejack sighed a little bit, going to sit by her sister. Together, they looked over the orchard, not saying anything for a few minutes. At last, AJ turned to look at her sister with gentle green eyes. "Death is a part of life, Apple Bloom. If there ain't any death, there ain't any life." The mare paused and blinked at the filly. "... Does that make sense?"
Apple Bloom let out a small huff, sinking down so that she was laying on the barn floor. "I dunno..." She muttered, absently kicking an apple with her hoof. "Death and life are two completely different things, sis, or, at least I thought. So sayin' that without death, there ain't any life... Well, it just don't make no sense." She looked up at Apple Jack pitifully. "Wouldn' it be the other way around?"
"... Well..." Applejack started, taking a second to mull over how to explain. "You know how Mama and Daddy passed on, right, sugarcube?" The mare asked tentatively, waiting for her little sister's response. Apple Bloom meekly nodded her head, looking as if she was dreading the current subject.
AJ responded, reached up and took off her hat, setting it to the side. "You were at the barn, havin' your nap, I was helpin' Granny Smith with the chores, and Big Mac was with 'em." The Earth Pony chuckled for a second. "He wasn't nothing but a lil' colt back then." Applejack turned her green eyes towards her little sister. "And, when they were on the outskirts of the farm, lookin' where they could clear more property, two Timberwolves showed up to see 'em."
Apple Bloom's breath caught as she listened, and glued her eyes to the floor, trying her best to hide her uneasiness. Applejack noticed, and placed a comforting hoof on the filly's shoulder before continuing.
"Daddy told Mama to get Big Mac, who was standin' off by himself weedin', and then he started tryin' to distract 'em." Applejack closed her eyes now in grief. "He ran, hollerin' like he went crazy, and got one to follow him. Big Mac says that Daddy ran into the woods and... he didn't come back." Her voice trembled, and the mare had to take a deep breath to regain her composure before continuing.
"The other one went for Mama and Big Mac... Mama pushed Big Mac away and told him to go get Granny before turnin' towards it and rearin' at it, tryin' to fight it." There was a pause. "... Us Earth Ponies are brave and strong, but we ain't strong enough to stop a Timberwolf. Mama knew that, as well as Daddy, but they gave themselves up to save Big Macintosh. And if they hadn't done that, you wouldn't have a big brother no more, either."
Silence. Applejack stayed quiet, letting her sister process it... after all, she remembered having the same conversation with Granny Smith when she herself was just a filly; it had been a lot to take in.
After a long two minutes of silence, Apple Bloom finally spoke up, her voice meek. "So, Mama and Daddy died... to keep Big Mac alive?"
"Yeah," Applejack sighed. "They sure did."
The pair sat for a few moments, looking out and watching the farm glisten beneath Celestia's sun. A silence, not quite comfortable, but not exactly stiff, fell over the pair, as they both mulled over the words that had just been exchanged. Applejack's mind was somber, full of thoughts of her parents and her family's latest loss. If she concentrated real hard, she thought that she could see all three of 'em, wherever they were...
"Applejack?"
AJ turned her green eyes towards her sister once more, their gaze gentle. "Hmm?"
The filly was quiet for a second. "What... What happens when you and Granny and Big Mac die? Wha' do I do next?" Apple Bloom's eyes started to fill with tears, and her speech began breaking up. "W-With all a' you gone, I won't have anyone else..."
"Hey, now, you hush that talk before I have to do it for ya." Applejack scolded, using a hoof to pull Apple Bloom closer. "Apple Bloom, death can be unexpected; I ain't gonna tell ya that you don't hafta worry about it right now, because I could go just as quick as Mama or Daddy or Winona, and you know how Granny's doin' right now." Apple Bloom sadly sighed, and Applejack wrapped her tail around the filly to comfort her. "But, when it comes our time, you ain't gonna be alone. You're gonna have Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo and whoever survives Big Mac and me for a special somepony."
Apple Bloom, despite her distressed state, giggled.
"And, you'll have all sorts a' your fillies and colts runnin' all over, and you're gonna be all over the place just to keep up with 'em, but you ain't gonna be alone; you'll be just fine. And you can come and visit our graves every Sunday just like we do now with Mama and Daddy." Applejack smiled faintly and nuzzled her sister gently. "You're gonna be alright, sugarcube. Just you wait."
~~~
Apple Bloom picked up the bundle of flowers that she had set by the door a few hours ago, tossing her braided mane over her shoulder and backing out of the house into the gentle orange light of the sunset. She took a minute, admiring the gentle glow of the orchard, before looking back over her shoulder to call back into the house. "Apple Briar, I know that you're tryin' to get all dressed up, but the sun's gonna set soon, and then we won't be able to make it!"
A few seconds later, the orange-coated filly tumbled out of the house, galloping madly up to her mother. "Sorry!" She gasped, sliding to a halt. "My bow wouldn't stay."
Apple Bloom chuckled a bit, reaching out with a hoof to brush purple and red strands of Apple Briar's mane back into place. "It's alright, but come on. We'd better hurry." Apple Briar nodded, and together, the pair set off, making their way down a beaten dirt path that wove through the orchard. They had barely even gotten a few feet down when a golden blur zipped past their hooves, barreling into the brush beside them.
Apple Briar squealed in delight, running in the direction. "Faith!" The filly laughed. "Come on!"
The little Golden Retriever puppy poked her head out of the brush, making Apple Bloom giggle. "Come on, Faith. You can come, too." Faith let out a happy yip in response before leaping forward and galloping up the path clumsily, with Briar right behind. Apple Bloom smiled fondly, shaking her head as she continued walking. At long last, she arrived at the hill, where Faith was sitting patiently with Briar, the two of them obviously happy after their playfulness.
"Hm." Apple Bloom chuckled, setting down her flowers. "You always know when it's Sunday, don't ya?" Faith barked in response, jumping up and wagging her tail. With a slight smile, Apple Bloom reached up and removed her hat - one that Tender Taps had given her - and set it onto a nearby rock before picking up her flowers and approaching one of the graves. She placed them onto the dirt gently before going off to sit next to the headstone. After a moment, Apple Briar joined her, and they both settled in. At long last, Apple Bloom finally spoke.
"... So how've ya been, sis?"
Both Apples talked to Applejack for several minutes, catching the mare up on just about everything that had happened throughout their week. After all of the news had been told, and the sun had begun to set, Apple Bloom rose to her hooves, stretching before getting her hat and placing it back on her head. "See ya next week, Applejack. Have a good sleep."
Faith spotted something up ahead that interested her, and took off at lightning speed, desperately trying to catch it. As soon as the little dog disappeared, Apple Bloom looking down at her daughter with concern. "Alright, sugarcube, what's buggin' ya?"
Apple Briar visibly blushed, and turned away from her mom. "It's nothin'." She mumbled. This response only earned a gentle shoulder bump from Apple Bloom, who persisted.
"You're a talkative little filly, and you know it. Plus, I'm your Mama; you can tell me anything." After a second, she quickly added, "Or ask me, if you needed."
Apple Briar hesitated, clearly debating with herself, before opening her mouth to speak. "... Why do ponies have to die, Mama? Why does anything have to die? I don't remember all that much about Aunt Applejack, but I remember that she didn't deserve to die. It ain't her fault that the tree fell on her." She mumbled, kicking a hoof in the dirt.
Apple Bloom smiled faintly, remembering how she had asked nearly the same question to Applejack all those years ago. "Well... Death is a part of life, Apple Briar. Without death, there's no life."
"... Mama, that didn't make a lick a' sense."
"I know it's hard to understand; it was hard for me, too. But, think of it this way..."
Author's Note
Applejack's parent's death inspired by the story by Ink Rose.