Living in a time of Autumn

Chapter 2.

Making her way downstairs was an interesting experience to say the least. Yet eventually Applejack got through it and was able to make it all the way down without falling. As she made her way to the place that the smell of food wafted in, she was met with a smiling creature, cooking something on a stove.

“Good morning Applejack. I can’t believe today is the day. You have grown so much. Happy birthday sweetie.” Said the creature, who was similar to Applejack. It was probably it’s mother, Applejack reflected.

“Hey, my darling girl, come sit down and tell me about this drawing you made us.” Came the masculine voice from another room. Probably the father. Applejack finally had the revelation of why these people were so familiar. They were like her parents! Her parents, if they were these creatures.

“Ah ok, coming.” Applejack said, as she moved away from the kitchen and sat next to her father. He was reading a newspaper and had a drawing on the table in front of him. There was a plate of food on it, covering whatever the main drawing was.

“Come sit honey, your mother is making your favorite breakfast. Glazed apple fritters, correct?” He said.

“Uh, yeah. Those are my favorite; how did you know?” Said Applejack.

“You asked us to make it yesterday evening, don’t you remember?” He said.

“I guess so.” Said Applejack. At that moment, her father moved away his plate and showed the drawing to Applejack.

“This is a pretty good drawing Applejack; you are your friends are quite the artists.” He said. The picture was three pumpkins with faces on each, with the third one being herself, in this form, carving the final face. It was quite an interesting drawing to say the least, but Applejack was never the creative type.

“Thanks, I guess.” Applejack said.

“You are your friends, the CMC, right? They are all pretty creative.” He said. Before Applejack could reply, her mother brought in a dish of food, placing a square in front of Applejack.

“Dig in sweetie. Even though it is your birthday, you still need to help Apple Bloom rake in some leaves that fell near the back of our house. After that, you two are going to have an adventure that she has been planning in the woods all of yesterday.” Said her mother.

“Apple Bloom?” Asked Applejack.

“Yes, your older sister has planned out your day, and she is waiting for you outside when you have finished breakfast, so eat up.” She said. She set down some silverware in front of Applejack, with the plate that smelled delicious. Without a second thought, Applejack grabbed the fork and eagerly stabbed the food.

“Happy birthday Applejack. It’s going to be such an exciting day today!” Her mother said. As Applejack dig into her food, her parents returned to their work. Finishing the delicious food, Applejack was about to head out before her mother caught her.

“Don’t forget to put on your fall clothing. Wouldn’t want to catch a cold on your birthday.” Said her mother. Confused, Applejack waited as her mother went to a closet and grabbed a coat. Thankfully her mother helped her put on the garment. Satisfied that her daughter would be well warm, she gently pushed her out the door and sent her on her way.

As Applejack made her way to the backyard, she was amazed at how beautiful everything was outside. She was used to bright and vivid colors. What she saw was a different contrast and everything seemed a little bleaker, but still very much real. Looking at her surroundings, she noted that the trees had their beautiful fall leaves, and that most is not all has shed their leaves. The backyard expanded into a forest with a steam running through it.

As Applejack was looking around the backyard vicinity, she saw that the leaves were collected into piles around the trees. The collector was hard at work raking the leaves into piles, and this worker seemed to be her older sister, Apple Bloom. She quickly recognized her little, well now older, sister hard at work. It was strange to see her younger sister be older than her, her features more developed while it seemed that Applejack was younger. Applejack had enjoyed the time of being an older sister to Apple Bloom and now the tables have turned, and now it would seem that she was on the receiving end of sisterly affection.

When Apple Bloom noticed her younger sister starting at her while she was hard at work, she smiled and waved her over. “Boy Applejack you sure slept in late. I was able to do most of the work, but I still need your help raking the remainder of these leaves up. When we are done with that, I can get us some trash bags and we can fill them with the leaves. Here, take this rake and help me finish up.” Said Apple Bloom.

For the next hour and a half, Applejack and Apple Bloom worked on pilling the leaves up. It was hard work, yet Applejack enjoyed it. The experience of holding something in one’s hand was fantastic. She could feel herself working up a sweat as she worked. Once they had finished clearing all the leaves that were inside the boundary of the backyard, Apple Bloom went inside to grab some trash bags for them.

Eventually, Apple Bloom returned with the trash bags. Applejack held the bag as big and best she could, while Apple Bloom dumped leaves into them. It was another hour of gruesome work, but eventually they cleared the yard of all the piles of leaves. Once finished, Applejack sat and set her back against a tree, with Apple Bloom tying the last bag and tossing it into the pile they had created of all the bags.

“I have to tell dad that we are done, then we can go have our adventure. Stay put.” Said Apple Bloom. As Apple Bloom returned into the house, Applejack turned her eyes to the forest that they would be exploring. What mysteries lie hidden away in these woods? Was this place like the Everfree forest? So far it seemed that this place didn’t have magic. Applejack’s thoughts were interrupted when she heard two voices leaving the house.

“Yes, you two can go. Enjoy the rest of the day.” Said her mother.

“Thanks, it’s going to be a blast.” Said Apple Bloom, who was holding the piece of paper that was her drawing. Turning away, she ran over to where Applejack was sitting. “Alright, Mom gave us the go to explore. Are you ready?”

Not really knowing what else was to entail, Applejack agreed. “Let’s go have an adventure.”