A Clap of Thunder

It came as a clap of thunder. The whole house shook, my dreams were shattered by the force of the sound. I was out of bed and on my hooves, ready for anything when Papa Rome burst in the door.

“Spruce!” Noticing me up already, he nodded in approval. “Zap Apples are here. Go out ta the field, grab all the crossbows, and make sure all the quivers are full.”

I wanted to ask questions, but the old man was off and away before I could register my orders. Zap Apples. Crossbows. Okay, I still don’t know what they’re for, but I guess we’re doing this.

While I’d been prepped on what to expect for the most part, nothing could prepare me for the sight that greeted me when I went out into the night. Over on the east side of the orchard where the fields halted by fence and further beyond was the great darkness of the Everfree. Normally, there’s just an empty lot there.

This morning, there was an entire grove of glowing trees. Lightning streaked across their trunks and branches, bright blue-green flashes of brilliance in the midnight air, like the Goddess herself had dropped them all by hoof into the world. Their leaves shimmered in the darkness, flashing like bulbs, their color was charged with a glow like everything about them was otherworldly. The deep mahogany of their bark, the stunning near-black green of the thick leaves. I’d seen all kinds of trees here in the orchard, around Ponyville, and even on excursions to Canterlot alongside the Everfree. These were like nothing else.

I was stopped in my tracks. Yesterday, Annie and I were talking under a tree just a little ways away from this empty lot. An entire wood in an instant.

“Spruce, buddy!” Empire had come galloping, slapped my shoulder to wake me up.

“Uh, yeah?”

“We gotta move!” He ushered me along to the shed by the high wire-lined fence around the new patch of orchard. “Pa told ya what ta do, right? We ain’t gonna get ‘em all if we don’t get on with it.”

Trying to blink the shock away, I followed along. Inside the shed, there was a rack of spears, several crossbows from various ages, all recently restrung, cleaned, and polished. Bolts filled boxes stacked upon each other, lined neatly in pyramids, straps facing out for anypony to grab and run away with.

I opened the first quiver, checked that it was full, seeing the sharpened, slightly glowing projectiles in order, then threw the strap over my neck. “How many of these do we need?”

Empire had loaded himself up with bows, taking five of them off the rack. He paused for a moment to consider. “One fer Jazz and Tango, two everypony else. Pa’s gonna get the spears, but those are just fer us.”

Crossbows and spears? “Empire, are we going to war or something?”

He scratched at his mane. “Oh, right. It’s hard ta explain when ya haven’t seen ‘em, but now that they’re here, Ah guess ya ought ta know. Zap Apples are a magic fruit that show up fer one week every year sometime in the fall. The trees appear in a flash of lightnin’ with a clap of thunder so loud, ya can hear it all the way in town. In a bit, the magic they summoned is gonna merge with the magic in the land and start producin’ fruit. The number always changes, but usually, ya can count on about three hundred trees full of fruit on this patch of land and a little deeper inta the Everfree.”

He hefted the crossbow. “While we try ta get what’s safe ta get first, we’ve got ta go in deeper later on ta gather the rest. Sometimes, things wander out ta eat the apples. Other times, things show up when we’re in their territory. Timber wolves, bugbears, cragadillies. Ya never know what you’ll run inta. Somewhere in the records, there’s talk of a chimera and a manticore showin’ up durin’ the Zap Apple harvest. If we ain’t prepared, ponies die in this season, but since Ah know ya’ve seen the books, ya know what these things are worth ta the orchard. So, move carefully, stick with yer partner, and if ya see somethin’, say somethin’.”

He tossed the weapon to me, then threw a few ammo boxes on his neck too. “Let’s move.”

I followed along quietly. I’d never seen them, but I’ve heard the timber wolves. On nights of the full moon, they howl. A deep, moaning sound that carries across the air like a bird on the wind and chills the spine like snow on your back. I’ve read in the records what timber wolves will do to a pony. Magical cursed wood monsters. They don’t eat; they rip and tear and scatter. The forest feeds, the trees produce more wolves.

And Annie is about to walk out here to kick trees and pick fruit non-stop while those things are just out of sight.

We all gathered by the fence gate. Everypony was armed to the teeth. Empire and I were carrying spears, and Papa Rome was totally decked out in royal guard armor. In spite of all that, I seemed to be the only one on edge here. Even Rose was all smiles and bright and chipper.

The stallion in charge began to march. “The time has come once again, y’all.” He looked over his shoulder, through the fence at the glowing trees. Little flashes of cyan energy floated around them in rapid arcs to disappear wherever they pleased. All around in the leaves, uniform orbs grew out of nothing, glowing in one color, then shifting through the rainbow in succession.

“Here in a moment, every one of these trees is gonna have a couple hundred pounds of Zap Apples just like any other apple tree in this orchard. These are special, but they ain’t no different than what ya already know.” The big red guard nodded at me. “Spruce and Ah are gonna go scout ahead. Rose, Tango and Jazz, y’all are on buckin’ duty. Annie, Empire, y’all are on watch. See somethin’—”

“Say somethin’,” they all called back.

The Captain nodded. “Good. Y’all call, and we’ll come runnin’. Things look too dangerous, ya get out of the field and close the fence. Everypony understood?”

The family straightened and saluted. “Yessir!”

A little lost, I followed suit. “Yessir!”

Turning to face the trees, Rome put a hoof on a huge reinforced beam of wood that made the big gate latch. Razor wire lined the fence and curled out toward the forest, keeping whatever was on that side out. Magical wooden carnivores, six-legged winged bears, rock-skinned lizards, cat monsters with bat wings and stingers, and whatever the hell a chimera was.

And they do this every year.

The glowing orbs changed colors ever more rapidly until they got brighter and brighter. The whole forest flashed, thunder rocked the world, and every single tree was filled with fruit striped in rainbow. They sparkled, they glowed with magic, and little streaks of bright lightning scattered and trailed away from them.

Rome heaved the beam up and set it to the side with a loud thud. “Move!”

The sun had risen. Noon found its way over the orchard, but not quite into the Everfree. Deep inside, the canopy grew thick and harsh. Light came down in streaks, illuminating the green and the dank where the brilliance of the Zap Apple trees couldn’t be found. We’d been counting all morning, we’d covered at least five acres of forest, and still more trees were found deeper in. One tree would bring in a quarter of a year’s worth of bits for a single pony.

All we had to do was risk our necks.

“Spruce, now!”

Terrified to my core, I worked up all the hysteric fear I could muster and put it into my foreleg. Screaming at the top of my lungs, I hurled the spear with every ounce of might at the horrible wooden beast. It pierced the monster’s head, and just like that, the branches scattered.

I sank to my flanks. Every year. They do this every single year. How many of these things has Rome killed? How many has Annie killed? And they’ve been doing this their whole lives. Good Goddess.

Breathing hard himself, Rome came over to pat me on the back. “Good job, Spruce. Yer technique needs work, and ya’ve got ta stop screamin’, but we’ll make a soldier out of ya yet.”

Deeper in, a low moaning howl cried in sorrow.

I shot to my hooves, grabbed the spear from the scattered pile of branches and scanned everywhere, listening for anything and everything.

Rome was totally unbothered. “Another soul returned to the forest. But don’t worry, he’ll be back next year.” He reached down into the pile, found a branch with a slight green glow to it, then stuck it in his saddle bag. Unlike mine, his crossbow was totally untouched, and everything we’d come across had seen the end of his spear.

I, on the other hoof, had panicked more than once and fired wildly at anything that moved in the dark. This timber wolf here was unlucky enough to be caught in the crossfire.

“I don’t know how you do this, man.”

The big stallion in his pristine armor sent me a golden glance. “What, after yer time in the city? Come on now, ya’ve got ta know that the scariest thing on this earth is another pony, don’t’cha? Beasts are just that, beasts. Every wolf has a way it’ll come at ya, and with enough practice, ya can know them down ta their core. A pony on the other hoof…” He shook his head. “Even a lifetime might not show ya who they are.”

My heart had finally steadied enough for me to relax a little. “Whatever you say, but that thing wasn’t about to have reservations on tearing me limb from limb.”

Rome scanned around us, then started back toward the orchard. “Ah think we’ve found all our trees fer this harvest. Let’s head back and help out.”

I shivered. “Anything to get away from this place.”

The older stallion looked at me in a way I have never seen before. He’s a rock when he wants to be—he’ll always find my weaknesses and poke at them, make jokes at my expense and all that—but this was new.

“Something wrong, Rome?”

He shrugged, totally at ease even under hungry eyes. “Ta be honest, Ah had higher expectations.”

Cautiously, I scanned the dark forest again. Further ahead, glowing patches marked the Zap Apple Trees, but out here, there was wood, bush and darkness. Never in my life had I been so horrified by my own colors. Anything in here could see me for miles. “Why’s that?”

Rome snorted. “Thought ya’d be braver than this.”

I blinked. “Huh?”

Rome stopped. I stopped. “Ah’ve got friends, Spruce.” He studied me, then rubbed at his leafy beard. “But, that ain’t what they called ya back in the city, is it, Undertaker?”

My muscles tightened like another wolf was staring me down. “What about it?”

Throwing a hoof up, he continued walking. “Nothin’ in particular. Ya ought ta know me by now, Ah’m not about ta go breakin’ promises. As a matter of fact, Ah’d keep ya on fer next year if ya’d stay. Ah can see why that crooked Chevalier kept ya.”

Ho-lee shit. Who even is this guy? Where is he getting this information? Annie told me he was royal guard, but how far up did he go? And… he wants me to stay?

I stopped. He stopped. “Alright, ya lost me. What are you saying? You know who I am, you know what I did, and apparently, you even know the boss. What’s your deal?”

Tilting his head, Rome adopted a raised brow that I’ve seen in him and the kids. They all do it, and it always makes me feel like they can see right through me. “Me? I’m just a retiree runnin’ an apple orchard my family has always had. You’re awful young, and that leaves ya short-sighted. Today, tomorrow, the next day. That’s about as far as ya think ahead. But us older stallions? We’ve got futures ta prepare.”

He waved a hoof to the forest surrounding us. “Ah’ll give ya credit, ya fight instead of runnin’, but that’s just because ya’ve seen blood before. You’re a killer, not a soldier; a beast. Ya come out in the dark, ya hide in the shadows, and when the opportunity shows itself, ya strike.

“A soldier stands out in the open. A soldier puts himself in front of what he defends. A soldier knows his fear, understands it, and masters it.” He looked me up and down. “Tango could probably take ya on her own.”

This old bastard. Every single time, he can’t just say what he means, and he just insults me instead. “Goddess graces, what the hell do you want from me? I didn’t end up in this place by choice, I didn’t come here just to become some orchard lackey—you’ve got me in cuffs!” I stabbed the spear into the ground. “What, am I so pathetic that you brought me out here to train me? To groom me into another one of your little soldiers or something? Is that what this is? Or is this your way of telling me that if I step out of line, you’ve got a place where nopony will find me?”

Amused, he set his own spear into the ground and sat down. The crack of a branch set me wide-eyed and ears alert.

“What was that!?”

Rome chuckled. “Our little stalker is just gettin’ a bit careless, that’s all.” As if it were the most mundane thing in the world, he waved it away. “Fer a moment here, let’s say Ah happen ta understand yer point of view. Ah spent some time in Manehattan, Ah know what the nastier side of the city is like, and Ah’ve seen dozens of kids just like yerself. Ah understand ya, Undertaker.”

Staring straight through me with that golden glare, I was paralyzed. The fear of the creature at my back, the fear of this stallion in front of me. Somehow, he was scarier.

“Now, what Ah want ta know is if you ever tried ta understand me. Use that head on yer shoulders fer a moment and think. Why would Ah keep ya? Why would Ah let ya be on my land, around my kids? What value are ya ta me, if Ah know exactly what ya are?”

Well, he was right about one thing: I’d never considered why. Has he known all this time? Everything I’ve done? He knows my real name; how could he not? And yet, he hasn’t kicked me out or anything. He could’ve gotten rid of me at any moment, and yet, here I am.

I tried to meet his golden gaze. “I don’t understand.”

Rome stood up. Towering over me, he looked down on me with another new expression. He patted my head. “Ah, know, Spruce. It’s what Ah find so disappointin’ about ya.”

He picked up his spear, reeled it back, all the massive muscles under his armor bulging like thunderclouds, and launched the weapon. It flew into a bush faster than a crossbow bolt, and right behind me, branches clattered to the forest floor.

He stepped up to the bush, reached down to pick up another glowing branch to add to his collection, then retrieved his spear. “Ah don’t have any plans ta get rid of ya or sell ya out. Ah’d like ta keep ya if ya want ta stay. But if ya don’t, Ah won’t even hold ya ta our original term. Soon as winter comes, you’re free ta go.”

The soldier approached and offered me a hoof. “December will be here soon, but consider it. Us, this place, yer future. If ya take nothin’ else away from this—make a decision ya can be proud of.”

Once again, I was stunned silent. What does this mean? What is he saying here? Between learning all the jobs, reading all the materials and the things I wanna do with Annie, I haven’t had time to consider anything else.

What is a decision I can be proud of? Am I proud of anything I’ve done? The boss used to talk a lot about earth pony pride, but this isn’t the same.

What do I want?

On the last day of the Zap Apple harvest, I was on bucking duty. Apple season proper wasn’t quite here yet, but in the next few days, it would be. The total count came to three hundred and fifty-six trees, and on this final day, we were ahead of schedule. Papa Rome wanted to see me buck an acre’s worth of trees on my own.

They’d gone out and harvested all the more dangerous ones, and Empire even took down a bugbear on his own defending his little siblings. Even after the call had gone out, the thing was down and under his hooves before the Captain could get there. That kid was gonna be somepony, growing up and making a name for himself, making a name for his family. Empire is somepony worth being proud of.

After a week of ‘considering it,’ I didn’t think I was. Bravery, courage, the heart and strength of a stallion. These ponies knew what that was, how to cultivate it, and exemplified it. I was just some thug from the streets of Manehattan.

All the confidence I’d built up over the years, the persona of Undertaker, the gallantry of being one of Ebon Chevalier’s Black Knights. It was all fake.

I had to lie, pay ponies to look away, hide everything I did from everypony. Nopony would be impressed if I said anything about my kill count. Nopony would pat me on the back and tell me I did a good job for taking Clean Slate off the ballot. The bits, the booze, the mares, the drugs—did any of that ever make me really happy?

Clean Slate had a family; now, his kids don’t have a father. If their mom can’t pick up what he left behind, what becomes of them? If they’ve got a boy, where does he go to find what his dad had for him? Well, you know where he goes. Our guys would be out there looking for a kid like him. They’d see what he was, his raw, untapped potential, and they’d bring him to the boss. Then, he’d be Undertaker.

At least Annie’s cousin has a legacy of ink. What did I have, what did the gang have, but an empire of dirt? Ponies will never know the why or how of the Manehattan building. They can’t; they’d be appalled. Regular ponies formed governments and laws to stop us from doing what we did. This whole country, Equestria, was built to keep a system like ours from forming. A place where strength didn’t rule and ponies could live free in harmony.

So, what did Rome see in me? I get what the boss saw in me now, a tool he could apply easily to any problem he had without so much as lifting a hoof. A hammer in search of a foal.

Why spend all this time and effort on me? Why let me go when you’ve all put more into me than I was ever worth? What do you see that I don’t?

The morning was colder than it had been, somewhere in the fifties today. The sun was still an hour away from rising, and I was preparing for my day. A whole acre, all to myself. They think I can do it, so I have to.

That look on Annie’s face was the same one Rome used on me in the Everfree—disappointment, pity. If nopony else, I can’t have her looking at me like that. I didn’t miss the signals; I know why she told me what she did. I fell out of the sky like magic. I’m the stallion who comes out of nowhere to sweep her off her hooves and give her that life she wanted.

Except, I’m not him yet.

If I can land the right kick, if I can buck these apples like they do, then I can become him. I can be the stallion she’s looking for. I just have to do something I’m proud of. Something I could look her in the eyes and say I did and have her smile at me, just like Rose smiles at Rome.

Nopony else was up yet. I’ve been told not to go out into Zap Apple territory alone. I’ve seen the horrors out there, but this is the first step, and I’ve got to do it myself.

I psyched myself up, practiced some of my old boxing kicks, and once I was good and warm, I grabbed one of the apple barrels, and trotted on to the eastern side of the orchard where the Everfree loomed.

Over the course of the week, the glow of the Zap Apple trees faded. Today, the light was weak. Little more than a dim shade casting like a lamp. The magic that created these things in a flash was fading just as fast. Once it was gone, they’d go too.

I hadn’t practiced enough with the crossbows to trust them, so I decided to go with the spear today. My protection at my side, a barrel ready to collect, the next hurdle was the gate. This one beam was practically a whole tree. On top of that, it was reinforced with iron bands. To call it heavy would be an understatement.

More than the bucking, this is what I’d warmed myself up for. I got under the right side for the most leverage I could muster, put hooves on the ground and under the beam, and with everything I had, I pushed. Slowly, ever so slowly, the beam rose. The weight shifted, the giant block of wood scooted, and with one last grunt, the thing slid off. It was still partially on the right side latch, but I only needed it out of the way to open the gate.

Mission accomplished, I snuck inside and found my way to the northern part where the unpicked acre was. Once they were off the branch, the Zap Apples no longer glowed, but retained their crazy colors. They come with rainbow-striped skin, and though the flesh is like any other apple, the juice shines with that iridescent shimmer. And here were a hundred or so pounds of glowing, fresh Zap Apples, waiting for me to buck them.

Approaching my first tree, I laid the spear down nearby and pointed at the greater forest, just in case something decided to visit me. Then, I set the barrel under the branches and inspected the tree. I’ve seen Annie just clap a tree and make an apple or two fall, but to get everything, you really gotta ram into it.

The tingle of magic hummed in the air and under my hooves. Fading as it was, it sang a soft note brightly wherever you walked. I could feel it in my veins. Trace it through the ground, up the roots, into the trunk and down the branches. I followed my hoof along the glowing bark to the point where the magic pooled the most. A little notch in the thunderbolt-like tree was just a shade brighter than the rest.

I planted my front hooves and got ready. Annie’s form came to mind, the way her legs were bent, how she rocked into the kick, how her whole body and all the magic in it moved with her will toward the apples. One, two~ three.

Thunk!

The leaves shivered, the bark shook, and rainbows rained down on me.

“Yes! I did it!” I went to punch the air in joy, but a Zap Apple landed in my hoof instead. This close, the fragrance of the thing finally hit me. Electric, vibrant, every color and every flavor, sweet and sour and savory and fresh. My mouth watered. I shouldn’t eat this. This is worth a lot of money to the orchard and keeps them going through the winter. If I eat it, they can’t sell it, which means they can’t buy food when they need it.

“Go on. Ya’ve earned it.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin. Annie appeared from behind one of the harvested trees just out of the corner of my eyes. I swallowed. “I, uh…”

She rolled her golden eyes and approached with her easy swagger. “Oh, don’t make excuses, Sugarcube. Ya did it, just like Ah taught ya. Not a single fruit left on the branch.” She looked around, noting a few scattered apples on the ground. “Didn’t make it all in the barrel, but that comes with time. We’ve got a lot more orchard fer ya ta practice on later. But fer now, why don’t ya taste the fruit of yer labor? These only come around once a year.”

Caught rainbow-hooved, I figured I should just accept the gift. It smelled incredible. Between this and the jam from the spring, it was easy to see why these things sold for so much. A dangerous harvest, a random appearance, and the wildest fruit known to ponies.

I bit in, and suddenly, I was taken somewhere else.

Mom and I on a sunny day in Manehattan park. The boss giving me my pendant. Annie under the tree.

When I came back to reality, the flavor hit me like a bowling ball. The intensity of the jam taken to one hundred, electric and sparkling, bubbly like soda, sweet and sour, soft and inviting, pleasant and light. The taste of a fond memory.

Before too long, I attacked the thing, eating it core and all. Strangely, there were no seeds in this, nor a change in texture anywhere. It was all just that amazing, incredible Zap Apple through and through.

“This is crazy. I thought it would be just like any other apple, but this is weird all the way. No core, no seeds, no stem. What are these things?”

Annie stepped in close with a smile I’d never seen on her lips. “Zap Apples are special. They’re totally magic. They don’t grow anywhere else, ya can’t grow ‘em yerself, and they’re quite literally a fruit unlike any other. Not just anypony can harvest ‘em either. They’re awful picky about who they let in, and our family has been here fer a long time. They were the first thing we ever sold, the reason this orchard exists in the first place. Magic chooses ponies it thinks are worth it. And so do we.”

She leaned in and pressed her lips against mine.

I thought my heart was going to explode. She was everything I imagined and more. Not even Zap Apple could compare to this flavor. A flash of lightning, a clap of thunder. It was over in an instant.

Annie licked her lips, totally pleased with herself, smiling at me. “Why don’t’cha ya get on the rest of these, Sugarcube? Ah put down a lot when Ah bet on ya back in the winter. Show me you’re worth it.”

Overwhelmed, joy filling every inch it could and spilling out, I collected my shivering body and straightened up.

“Yes, Ma’am!”