Chapters Everything Went Down Hill
"Ahhle loom, I'm ack. I ound us dinner and - Ahhle loom?" Apple Jack carefully set the small, white trash bag that she had been carrying carefully onto the ground. Her mouth was filled with a foul sweetness from the cheep bag, but she didn't have any other way of carrying it. She hoped that something edible could be found in the sickening mess of filth, as she was too tired to make another eight mile trek to the nearest town and back. Her legs burned, and she felt ready to collapse in the shelter she had made for Apple Bloom, Big Mach, and herself.
It was a small structure, composed of sticks, mud, and leaves. It kept them out of the rain, but the freezing winds of winter could still break through the construction's defenses. But after her travels to the town and back, Apple Jack was always too tired to fix it up. Big Mach wasn't much help, but it wasn't his fault. The chilly weather had caused him to become sick, and he too weak to assist Apple Jack. But Apple Bloom was fairly healthy, and Apple Jack was surprised that she hadn't rushed out to greet her.
"Apple Bloom, you in there?" She could hear what sounded like a quiet humming from inside the shelter she'd made. "You all right?" Apple Jack peeked inside and instantly felt light headed. Big Macintosh lay motionless on the ground. A large gash was opened at his throat, and blood stains coated his body. A sharpened wooden stick lay next to him, which was covered in the crimson liquid as well. Apple Bloom was wrapped around his body, whimpering, and Big Mach's fur was stiff with her tears.
Apple Bloom looked up at her sister, eyes glistening. "I'm s-sorry Apple Jack. I t-tried to s-stop him. This is all . . . all my fault." Apple Bloom once again buried her face into her departed brother's coat.
"Now, now. This is most certainly not your fault, Apple Bloom," I reasoned with her. I bit my cheek in an attempt to stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks, but it was hard. "I know this is tough for you, b-but try to tell me what happened." There was a long pause and I walked over and began stroking Apple Bloom's back. She took shallow breaths, but after a while, they slowed to a more stabilized pace. Apple Bloom picked her head up,although she didn't look at me.
"I could feel it for a while now. A sort of helplessness. He was angry at himself for how useless he had become. I think he felt guilty for not helping, and for the fact that we had to use energy to help him." There was another pause. I rubbed my cheek against hers, encouraging her to continue.
"He'd been sharpening that twig for the past few days. I thought he was just doing it because he was bored but . . . but . . ." The tears started cascading down her face. I clutched her tight.
"I know sugar cube, I know. Deep breaths."
"And I th-think he missed Granny. Well-Well we do too but, you know, he, and he . . . t-told me that it was too late for him to pull himself back together at this point, but he told me, never ever give up. Then he did it. He killed himself Apple Jack. He killed himself!" She was screaming her words now. She clutched her chest, as she was forced to focus on her breathing once again. Apple Bloom couldn't stop looking at Big Mach's body. I couldn't believe she had to see this at such a young age. I knew what I had to do.
I began scooping dirt with my own two hooves. I dug into the night, long after sunset, but Apple Bloom was still awake. She wanted to believe that this was all a bad dream, and she sat there, waiting to wake up. It was near midnight when i finished the hole. I walked calmly back into the shelter. Apple Bloom didn't even look at me until I started pushing Big Mach out of the small structure we now lived in. When she realized what I was doing howl and wail. She kicked me, bit me, and scratched me with all her might.
"No, Apple Jack, no! I'm not ready yet! No, stop! Let go of him, let go!" But I didn't. This was the only way. I made it to the pit, dropped Big Mach in and began trowing the dirt back in. "Stop! Stop!" I finished after what seemed like hours. I grabbed the shrieking filly and let her beat me. I massaged her head and soon she began to relax.
"That's it, quiet now. Just let it out. He's gone, he's gone, I know. Too much has happened to you scene Flim and Flam took over the Apple Farm. But it's true, he's gone."
Everything Went Down Hill
Apple Jack woke up to find that they had never made it back to the shelter to sleep. She had been laying on the ground with her younger sister the whole night. But now the sun was starting to shift over the horizon, and the dry air of winter scratched against Apple Jack's throat. She glanced sadly at the patch of dirt where she had buried her brother that night,and the who experience was emotionally exhausting for both Apple Jack and Apple Bloom. But it was time to get up, as Apple Jack had to prepare breakfast for her younger sister.
The dead leaves crinkled underneath her hooves as she walked over to the trash bag she had carried home from town the other day. Untying the tight knot at the top of the bag, a wave of what had to be the most disgusting odor in the world, pored out of the opening. Emptying the bag, items of all shapes and sizes rolled out onto the ground. Apple Jack began sifting through the stinky stuff for anything that could be eaten. Most of the trash couldn't, as a large portion of the bag's contents were things such as cans, bottles, plastic bags, diapers, you name it. Their were other things that Apple Jack couldn't even identify. After a few minutes of searching, Apple Jack located a partially eaten bagel, a water bottle that was still about half full, and a couple carrot stems and apple cores. It wasn't much, but it was something.
After dragging the food over to the safety of the shelter, Apple Jack began collecting small containers that could be used for storing rain water. She only found about two that were undamaged and clean enough to be used. She put the rest of the junk still on the ground back into the trash bag, and consumes half of the food she found. Then she quietly trots over to Apple Bloom to wake her up.
"Hey, Apple Bloom." Apple Bloom shifts onto her side to face her sister before speaking.
"You gonna head into town again?"
"Yah, but are you gonna be okay without . . . You gonna be okay by yourself?" Apple Bloom paused for a moment. I could tell she was still sad about our resent loss, but she was doing a lot better. I Think she accepted that it had happened, and there wasn't much we could do at this point. He wiped her eyes before continuing.
"I-I think so. There aren't any dangerous animals around, are there?"
"Not that I know of, sugar cube. I'll be back before sunset."
"Bye, Apple Jack."
"Good bye, Apple Bloom." She set off, and while she was walking, she considered why she was going to town again. She didn't have bits to buy anything, and she hadn't found anyone willing to give her a job. She was far away from Ponyville, and no one knew how reliable and hard working she was. But there was nothing she could do, just like when Flim and Flam took over. The memory caused her great pain, but she couldn't help but go through what happened again.
"Fear not everypony, there's more than enough cider to go around!" Flam's words seemed flow out of his mouth and tighten around Apple Jack's stomach. Flam flashed a taunting smile at her, then joined into his brother's triumphant laugh. Apple Jack started to walk away, but then realized no pony stepped up to get cider.
"Go ahead every pony, go on y'all, it's okay." If she had to give up the apple farm, the least she could do before leaving Ponyville would be to let everypony enjoy the cider that the Apple family's trees produced. Then she remembered how'd she'd seen Flim and Flam turn off quality control. Maybe, just maybe, the others wouldn't buy any cider, forcing them to leave. Apple Jack looked hopefully at the Flim and Flam's Apple Cider filled barrels. They were over flowing with rocks, twigs, and leaves. But Flim noticed Apple Jack staring at them.
"Hey, brother of mine, perhaps we should make some new cider for everypony. One of higher quality, as they say."
"Good catch, Flim. Hey Apples, only paying customers are allowed on our property."
"Yah, so get moving!" Another round of laughter exploded from the two.
Apple Jack hadn't realized how long she'd been in thought. She was near to the town now, she'd most likely replayed the scene over in her head.
"No, I gotta focus on the now," Apple Jack told herself, and she trotted off towards the busy streets of the town, dirt kicking up behind her.
Everything Went Down Hill
The town wasn't exactly large, but it wasn't small, either. A long, dusty path cut through the busiest part of the land, along side of which small wooden carts and shops stood. Through the fogged windows ponies were visible, examining what was for sale. Small bits of paper and cans were scattered around the place, but most of it was clear of the path. Towards the edge of town, little cottages faced towards smaller strands of walking area. Apple Jack was getting pretty good at navigating the place, but she wasn't a fan of what she had to do everyday.
It wasn't the fact that she was working with trash, well, sort of, but the main reason was that her work made her feel dishonest. She knew that the ponies here had willingly thrown away their trash, but it still felt like their property to her. Not that Apple Jack had much of a choice. She had no money, and around these parts no pony had heard of her, didn't know how trustworthy and strong she was, so she could never land herself a job. Not only that, but she knew that if anypony caught her, they wouldn't exactly be pleased. She couldn't even stay here until it got dark, making it harder for ponies to notice her, but she had to get back before that to take care of Apple Bloom.
It took anywhere from a couple minutes to an hour to find a good time to strike. There seemed to be a never ending flow of ponies. But, lucky for Apple Jack, the preferred moment struck rather early that day. Dashing towards a small dumpster behind one of the shops, she bucked it over. To her dismay, the trash bag had ripped, and junk was spilling out through the hole. Frantically, Apple Jack began picking through the smelly stuff, not looking for anything in particular. Her heart started to race as multiple groups of ponies began filing out of the stores. Beads of sweat began to form above her brow as she realized she had cornered herself in a small alley. Apple Jack began to pleading, praying under her breath.
"Please, please don't let them see me. Please let them go away. Please let me get out of this. Please-"
"Hey, what're you doing back there!" Apple Jack looked up to find a pair of eyes glued to her. More ponies looked her way at the sound of the young mares voice.
"I . . . I, I . . . um-"
"What are you doing?" The mare looked around. "What is she doing?" The ponies started to mutter things about the police, and Apple Jack's hindquarters nearly gave out.
Another pony began yelling. "Police? Police! There's sompony suspicious in the alley! Somepony get the police!" Doors started to open.
"Oh Celestia, what do I do?" Apple Jack began to back up only to bump into the wall behind her. She had to get out of there, but their was only one way. Through the crowd.
Apple Jack started to run as fast as she could. She shoved ponies aside, knocking them to the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a stallion lying on the dirt. A pool of blood was forming around his head. Apple Jack choked back tears. She'd hurt somepony, probably more than one. Now she was a criminal. Now their was no hope.
"Quick, over here!" Apple Jack turned her head towards the sound to find a figure in the distance. The pony was wearing a long cloak, preventing Apple Jack from seeing the pony's face. She didn't really care who it was. She needed to get away from anypony who saw her just then.
"I mean it, come here! I'm trying to help you." Apple Jack glanced back at the crowd behind her. The distance between them was becoming smaller and smaller. Her legs started to burn from running after her travels to make it here in the first place. She couldn't go on much longer.
"Come on, you can trust me!" The group of angry ponies was gaining on her. She could see their faces clearly now. She didn't have much time to decide if she trusted the pony or not. She rushed over to the figure.
"Now, get under my cloak." Apple Jack did as she was told. "I'm gonna try to teleport us both back to my place." Apple Jack perked up at this.
"Try? Have you even tried to teleport two ponies before? How do you know it'll work!" Apple Jack could hear the thundering sound of hoofsteps growing closer and closer.
"I don't!" The crowd was inches away.
"What! Are you out of your m-"
And with a puff of smoke, they were gone.
