AppleJack slowly woke up.
It was early, that she could instantly tell. The sun wasn't even up yet--no light broke through the windows to splash across her eyes. It looked as dark as night outside, but her clock told a different story. If the sun wasn't up now, it would be in about ten minutes or so. A good time of the morning as any to be up and about, she supposed.
The mare yawned as she shuffled out of bed and into her old, rusty bathroom. After a quick wash of her face, she made sure her teeth were scrubbed just right with a bit of toothpaste and then inspected her tongue for good measure. When her unruly blonde bedhair was finally tamed with a brush, she set it up in her old fashioned braid and topped everything off with her stetson. By now, she had managed to shake off any remaining sleep from her eyes. She stood up straighter, much brighter than before. She stepped out into the hallway with the intention of going out to the farm and starting on the work early.
As she started down, she slowed in front of a specific door.
Apple Bloom had been acting strangely as of late. She'd been a little more thoughtful and quiet in recent times, as if her gaze was in the present but her mind was off to troubling places. She looked downtrodden nearly every day, but for the life of her, AppleJack couldn't make sense of what it was.
Was she feeling sick and embarrassed to say? No, she never had been one to hide her feelings like that. Was she worried about an upcoming test? She would have studied with Twilight. Had some other filly replaced Diamond Tiara's role as school bully? Apple Bloom would have said something and her two friends would have solved the problem. In fact, just yesterday Applejack got a visit from Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo about her little sister. They couldn't come up with logical reasons as why she seemed more depressed nowadays. The mare couldn't help but feel frustrated at not knowing what the problem was without asking.
Think Ah'll check on 'er, Applejack chewed her lip in passing thought. See if she's sleepin' alright.
Applejack knew, what with the rusty door hinges and all, that she would have to be careful by peeking her head in. So she twisted the knob very carefully to keep it from squeaking and pushed very slowly on the door. It made a few light groans, but thankfully kept itself from making long creaking noises when she opened it. Within half a minute, she had the door opened just enough to peek in on Apple Bloom's bed. She saw the bed perfectly despite the room being dark, with its blankets and pillows in pristine condition.
But there was no Apple Bloom.
Forgetting to be silent, she pushed the door open the rest of the way and examined the bed in surprise. There was no sign of a sleeping filly to be seen anywhere. It looked she got out of bed at some point, but it was anypony's guess as to how long ago. Applejack frowned as she trotted out of the room and eventually out of the house. Frigid, october air nipped at her fur and blew slithering wind through her mane. She ignored it to inhale.
"Apple Bloom?!" She called out to the black sky, to darkness all around her. Nopony responded to her. "Apple Bloom!"
Frustrated by the lack of a response, Applejack sighed and began to consider other options. It had rained very hard over night, just enough to loosen the soil up. Perhaps she could look in the mud for tracks. Or even wet grass for hoof impressions, provided she venture out that far...
...There!
Not far from where she stood, a trail of tiny hoof impressions were settled in the mud. Since they were close together, she could tell that the filly hadn't been running, but rather...walking. Walking very slowly off in the direction of the oldest acres they owned. Curiously, she walked alongside the hoof prints.
They led her through patches of giant Apple trees that loomed overhead and cast dark shadows over her eyesight, nearly blocking her from seeing the trail of hooves. But with a careful squint, she would realise where the next set of tracks led. The area itself seemed familiar to her too, to the point where Applejack found it odd how the tracks were going in the same directions her instincts told her. The mare traveled many more yards, made many more turns until her path was blocked by a set of tall bushes. She could see who sitting far beyond them.
Applejack took off her stetson when she finally passed through the bushes, and slowly approached Apple Bloom from behind. Her small yellow body was facing away from her, gazing up at two trees with an expression she couldn't see from where she was. Applejack stared at the two trees as well, almost caught in the same trance-like position. But eventually, she glanced at the filly. "Apple Bloom, "
The filly's right ear twitched when she spoke, but settled down against her head again. "...hey, "
Applejack never took her eyes off the trees as she sat next to Apple Bloom. They sat in silence for a long time, but there wasn't much to indicate how long. The smallest shade of sunlight was peeking over the east horizon, turning the black into a dark purple the more it approached.
"...ah..." Apple Bloom swallowed. "...ah'm sorry if Ah worried you, sis."
Any other day, she might have robotically responded that she hadn't worried at all, but she wasn't the Element of Honesty for nothing. "Well...Yeah. Ah was a lil' worried. Ah jes'...ain't never seen you like this."
"...like what?"
"...sad."
A stretch of silence.
"...Don't know if you remember or not...but they used to be good about seein'...emotions. Knowin' what was wrong an' all. If Mac had a toothache, they knew 'fore he even spoke." Applejack nodded at the trees. "If Ah was bummed out about losing a contest, they knew and they'd talk t'me....Ah wish I inherited that. So I could help you, "
Apple Bloom shuffled in the corner of her vision. "...It's naht that simple."
"...why?"
"...a few days ago, at school, Ah...Ah was just thinkin'. About these fillies Ah heard talkin' about...a-about fun stuff they did with their families over the w-weekend..." The filly's voice trembled slightly. "...Ah thought ab-bout them over and over. Ah thought about u-us over and over. Ah know that...that Ah was ol' enough to see their faces..."
Applejack winced as she heard sniffles, then whimpers from her side. "...A-Ah don't even remember their f-faces anymore!"
"Apple Bloom, " Was all AppleJack said before wrapping her arms around the small filly and hugging like she never wanted to let go. Apple Bloom hugged even tighter and buried her face in her sister's chest. Hot tears soaked into her coat, but AppleJack could not have cared less. Her own vision seemed to be blurring up as well. She stroked her little sister with as much comfort as she could offer, because she wasn't sure how else to help. Was this even enough to qualify as help?
AppleJack slowly looked up at the two trees. She stared at them as she continued to comfort Apple Bloom and battle her own tears.
"...A-Ah m...m-miss them, AppleJack!"
"Ah know. A-Ah do too."
The sun slowly woke up.
Author's Note
Ah, nothing like writing sad stuff to calm the nerves.
For the best experience, read while listening to Clair de Lune, by Debussy