"AJ! I'm home!"
It startled Twilight how quickly and harshly Winona reacted to the sound of Apple Bloom's voice. She dashed from her place under the kitchen table, where she'd been dozing at Twilight and Applejack's feet, and shot toward the living room, a snarling, barking blur of fur and teeth.
Applejack's response was scarier. Her fingers gripped the rim of the kitchen table so tightly that Twilight worried she'd break it to pieces, and her expression soured into a smoldering grimace. Twilight wondered if the sisters were angry with one another, but when Apple Bloom bounded into the kitchen, Applejack greeted her warmly.
"Yer home early," said Applejack, looping her arm around Apple Bloom's waist. "Wasn't expectin' you 'til tonight."
"Sorry about that." Apple Bloom squeezed her sister before pulling away. "Woulda called, but my phone shit the bed."
"Hey – watch your mouth. Yer in the presence of royalty."
Giggling, Apple Bloom clapped her hands over her mouth, and winked at Twilight. For her part, Applejack's grimace had stretched back into a smile, but there was a tension in her gaze that Twilight didn't understand. And Winona was still barking.
Twilight masked her confusion with a grin.
"So," said Applejack. "What'd y'all get up to?"
"Shoppin'. Rarity'd have kittens if she saw the boutiques in Baltimare."
"Didn't know that was your thing."
"It... really ain't," said Apple Bloom. Twilight heard the front door close, though Winona's barking could still be heard from outside. "But I don't mind."
From the kitchen's doorway came a phlegmy sigh. "Dangit, A.B., that dog could'a taken a leg off'a me!"
Twilight turned toward the speaker: a stocky man in flannel and jeans carrying a pair of shopping bags, crowned with a rawhide hat. His rough stubble wasn't so much salt and pepper as it was salt and cayenne, a familiar shade of red that matched the ponytail dangling from the back of his hat.
Twilight looked toward the sisters. Apple Bloom's hands were laced behind her back, her lips pursed. Applejack was gripping the table again, gazing away from the door.
"Sorry, Pa," Apple Bloom said.
Applejack's fingers clenched harder. The wood creaked.
Twilight understood why Winona wouldn't stop barking.
Apple Bloom excused herself, muttering about taking the dog upstairs. She pecked Applejack's cheek and left, pausing long enough to half-heartedly hug the man in the doorway.
"Sorry for droppin' in like this," the man said sheepishly. "I would'a kept her the whole day, but we maxed out my card in Baltimare..."
Applejack snorted. Her lips moved subtly, forming inaudible words. The living room door opened and shut; Twilight heard claws scrabbling against the hardwood floors and hissed admonishments from Apple Bloom as she led the dog to her bedroom.
"Winona, no, Winona come. Good girl, Winona. Let 'im be."
Applejack never budged, nor spoke a word.
The man didn't speak either until Apple Bloom was shut in her room. When he did, it was with a lopsided smile. "Your granny around?"
"Nope."
A nervous edge crept into his voice. "Your brother?"
"Nope."
"Well. Sorry I missed 'em." His eyes found Twilight, and he set his bags down, sticking out a meaty hand in greeting. Twilight shook it, her dainty purple hand lost in the man's calloused grip.
"We ain't met, I think. I'm Bright McIntosh. Call me Mac."
"Twilight Sparkle." Twilight pulled her hand away and tucked it into her lap. "You must be Applejack's––"
"Somethin' else you needed?" Applejack interrupted sharply, without looking.
Her vehemence made Mac step back, though he remained smiling. "A word of greetin' might be nice. Was hopin' fer a howdy."
Applejack's nostrils flared as she set a venomous gaze upon Mac. "Howdy."
It was enough to curdle Mac's smile. "I, uh... got a long drive back to Baltimare. Tell your sister I'll be outside a minute longer, if she wants to see me off."
When Mac realized Applejack wasn't going to answer, he sighed, dipped his hat at Twilight, and left the room with his shoulders slumped.
Applejack waited until the front door shut to speak. "Sorry you had to see that, Twi. Didn't know he'd show up, or I wouldn'ta had you over.'"
"Don't apologize," Twilight said softly. "I'm sorry if I saw something I shouldn't have."
"Ain't no secret. Jus' something I try to keep away from my friends." Applejack glanced at the bags and scoffed. "'Maxed out his card.' Surprised he didn't ask for gas money."
Not knowing what to say, Twilight gripped her hands together.
Abruptly, Applejack spoke up again. "My Ma passed when I was a little girl. He walked out on us not long after, an' Granny reared us instead. A.B. was little when it happened, so she never knew anythin' else, an' when he came crawlin' back, she was willin' to give him a shot. But Mac an' I, we remember how it felt. An' as far as we're concerned, our parents are dead – our Ma an' Pa, both."
"I wish I could understand," said Twilight.
But Applejack stared through her, and shook her head. "Yer lucky you don't. An' I hope you never do." Her lips twitched, and she looked away.
Outside, a truck's engine sputtered and coughed as tires crunched on the gravel driveway.
Every blow that Applejack landed against the trunk of a tree echoed across the orchard like a thunderclap, which meant that Twilight heard her long before she saw her. She was braced on her front hooves, ready to buck another trunk, when she caught sight of Twilight and dropped to all fours, grinning.
"Yer home early. Wasn't expectin' you 'til the day after tomorrow. Everything okay?"
"Yeah," said Twilight. "I just got homesick."
"Huh." Applejack rocked forward onto her front hooves again. "Well, what can I do ya for? World need savin', or you just lookin' fer somethin' sweet to bite into?"
"Neither. Just wanted to keep you company." Twilight settled onto her haunches. "Do you mind?"
"Not one bit. Lunch'll be on soon; lemme just nail a couple more'a these, an' we'll head over." With a crack that made Twilight cringe, Applejack slammed her hind hooves into the tree. Apples tumbled from its boughs, into carts and baskets assembled around the trunk.
"Y'know, I reckon it's hard to get homesick over there." Applejack selected another tree circled it in search of the best spot and angle to strike from. "Everything's supposed to be the same there as it is here, right?"
"Yes and no. It's hard to put into words."
"Well, everypony's supposed to be the same at least, right?"
"More or less." Twilight bit her lip. "Applejack... is it okay if I ask you something personal?"
"Anything, Twi. You know that." Applejack turned her back to the tree trunk, planted her front hooves in the grass, and leaned forward.
"...What was your father like?"
Applejack lost her balance and her buck went wide. One of her hooves grazed the trunk, gouging a crescent-shaped gash in the bark. Gravity pulled her to the ground with an oof, and she lay there, groaning.
Twilight cantered forward, heart lurching. "I didn't mean to––"
"Nah, you're... you're fine, Twi. Just took me by surprise." Wincing, Applejack let Twilight guide her back to her hooves. "I ain't used to anypony askin' 'bout my folks. Most kinda tiptoe 'round the topic."
"I was worried that might be too personal." Twilight glanced away, fluffing her wings. "I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything."
Applejack bowed her head. Then she cleared her throat and looked clear-eyed at Twilight. "Don't be sorry. Doc says it's good fer me to talk about 'em."
Gently, she pulled away from Twilight's grip and turned toward the tree with a sigh. She stood, stock-still, for so long that Twilight began to wonder if she wasn't going to stay silent after all. She wouldn't have blamed her.
When Applejack did speak, it was in a low, quiet voice. "If you know me an' mine, then you kinda already know my Pa. Apple Bloom takes more after Ma than him, personality-wise, but she's his spittin' image. He was big an' strong, but gentle, real gentle, just like Big Mac. Never raised his voice at any of us, never showed nothin' but love to our Ma."
She raised her hoof, trembling, and let its edge rest inside the gash she'd carved with her misfired buck. Twilight dared to edge closer, coming alongside her friend. "What about you, Applejack?"
"...Granny says I got his honesty. His sense of duty. The most dependable of ponies – that's what he was."
"Sounds like somepony I know."
"If I'm half as honest an' dependable as him, then I reckon I'm a decent enough pony." A self-conscious smile crested Applejack's face. "But there's no substitute fer him. He was everythin' we were, an' more – the best pony I ever knew. No offense."
"None taken." Twilight unfurled a wing and let it rest over Applejack. "He sounds like a wonderful father. I'm sorry I never got to meet him."
"Me too. You would'a liked him." Applejack sniffed and leaned into the hug. "But he's always with me. Long as me an' mine are alive, he'll always be with me."
They stood like that for a while, until Applejack disengaged herself, giving Twilight a sidelong look. "You've never asked about my folks before."
Not knowing what to say, Twilight folded her wings tightly.
Applejack pursed her lips and looked back at the tree. "You know, I've always wondered... never asked, but always wondered... the other Applejack, the one from the other side of the mirror. This how it is for her, too?"
Twilight thought of the other Applejack with herhead bowed and the brim of her hat pulled low. She thought of a sputtering engine, tires crunching on gravel, and Apple Bloom crying out as she raced downstairs to catch her father, to say goodbye before he left her behind.
"Yeah. This is how it is for her, too."
Author's Note
Special thanks to Dubs Rewatcher for editing and feedback, and, as ever, to the Writeoff Association.
