The Sinister History of the West Orchard.
When I was a foal he used to tell me stories all the time, these were of all kinds, some funny, some surprising and some frightening.
These last ones he used to tell on Nightmare night, when we would go out trick-or-treating with my friends, we would always come back to the farm for a big sleepover and he would always regale us with a story that would make our blood run cold and keep us awake long enough to stay up that sleepless night.
I remember asking my mom Sugar Belle how was it possible that my dad always had a good story to tell and she always used to answer me.
“Well honey it's just that your daddy has a great imagination and he also loves to talk.”
As time went on I grew up and the stories became less and less frequent, until finally one day they stopped, I matured and became a strong stallion, just like all the Apples my destiny was with apples, of that there was no doubt, even my Cutie Mark was an apple wedge next to a measuring ruler, I knew that just like my father and his father before him I would work with the land all my life, but I wanted to go further afield.
As I grew older and watched my parents grow older I realized that the work being done was grossly inefficient, Equestria had come a long way technologically since Princess Twilight had been crowned and there were now many more farms throughout the kingdom that met supply and demand quotas for the big cities, I believed that was something Sweet Apple Acres could aspire to, We were already a very prosperous and large farm, yet I was confident that we could become the largest distributors of apples in the entire kingdom, not to mention the fact that, if I could fine tune the planting, tending and harvesting process, the older members of the family, like my parents or my Aunt Applejack could stop grinding their bodies with the arduous and tedious work.
So I worked diligently every day on the farm while I pursued my studies in engineering and management, my family was very proud of me, after all I was one of the few Apple's who could graduate in a professional career, the other who had achieved such a feat had been my aunt Applebloom many years ago.
When I finished my studies I put my hooves to work, and began my process of streamlining the family farm, I hired workers and partnered with several colleagues I met in college, the plan was to build a network of conveyor belts throughout the farm, these would have a dual purpose, on the one hand the obvious one was to transport all the baskets of apples to the center of the farm where they could be easily unloaded and stored, The second was that these conveyor belts would be equipped with a system of pipes that would carry water to all corners of the orchard, thus guaranteeing not only a constant supply of water during the dry season, but also, in the case of wanting to plant more trees, an easy way to provide them with the water required for their care.
I presented the project to my Aunt Applejack and she approved it with two conditions, whatever was to be built had to not be invasive or clumsy with the farm land and it could not be built in the field further away from the farm or to the west, the first condition was no problem, after all she respected trees and nature, I knew that in the east field was the reserve of fruit bats, so it was understandable that building there meant taking away the home of these magnificent animals, but why couldn't I build in the west field either? I asked about it and my aunt just answered.
“That is the section of the orchard that your father is in charge of and he has always been very reserved with those trees.”
Obviously not finding a satisfactory answer I asked my father for explanations, believing that it was just a simple emotional attachment or something like that, however my father confirmed my aunt's condition, he told me that he could do with the rest of the orchards all he wanted but the west orchard was out of the question, when I insisted with the why of this he answered me with something that left me even more intrigued.
“That orchard was one of the first that our family planted when they settled on this land, due to the uneven terrain the trees grew crooked turning it into a confusing maze that complicates any work to be carried out, that is why from that field I can only grow a few lines of trees, it is impossible to go deeper without the proper equipment, therefore it is not a good place to build, so I am very sorry son but the answer is still nope.”
I left it at that, after all I had seen that field from afar all my life and it was true, the trees had grown crowded and bent in unnatural ways, bumping into each other and intertwined in a wall of wood that did not allow to see more beech than a few meters, thinking about the amount of time and resources I would have to spend to make my way through that forest deterred me immediately, there were enough trees in good condition to guarantee an almost infinite supply of apples so the extra work would not be necessary.
After much discussion and design adjustments we built conveyor belts made of 100% natural materials, wood polished with resin to guarantee durability and resistance, accompanied by pipes made of sugar cane, the only section of the mechanism that was made of a flexible metal alloy was the conveyor belt, as there was no material malleable and resistant enough to replace it, however the more the net was extended along the fields the more evident were the advantages it provided, However, the more the network was extended across the fields the more obvious the advantages it provided, the faster the harvests were made the longer it went on, Zap Apples seasons didn't take half a day to be fully harvested and the health of the trees had never been so good.
Finally the day arrived, we reached the boundary of the west side of the farm grounds, before us rose the towering wall of apple wood, curiously the twisted and fused wood of the trees made them look even bigger than a regular apple tree, as did the shiny apples that hung from their branches, these were huge and at a glance looked juicy, I wondered how many of those perfectly good apples were wasted every year behind those trees.
Clear Angle, one of my friends who helped with the design and construction of the net approached me, her mint colored fur was stained slightly from the dirt she had been moving, she was wearing her construction helmet and vest also stained along with her tool belt.
“Alright Big Sugar, I think we're done here, mark the final anchor points with the equipment and we'll get ready for the installation of the return conveyor belts...”
“No, wait...” I said, thoughtfully ”It may not be finished yet...”
“What are you talking about? This is the west field boundary isn't it?” she asked, clearly confused.
“Yes it is, but have you seen those apples yet?”
She looked up and saw the large, bright red fruits above her head.
“Ehh yes, I see them what about them?”
“It just so happens that those trees might have the biggest apples there are on the whole farm!” I exclaimed excitedly, she on the other hand looked even more confused.
“Well..yes I think they do look a little bigger than the rest of the trees but have you seen those trunks yet?” She pointed her hoof at the wooden wall “They also look thicker than that of any tree on the farm, if we wanted to pass through them we would have to take down the whole tree line...”
“Yes...” he replied thoughtfully ”And that would be way over budget?”
She pulled out her calculator and began typing rapidly.
“Well, as far as resources are concerned there would be no problem, the funding we get from the extra apple sales would be more than enough for a couple more kilometers of transportation line, but that's not all to consider, the workers contract is about to expire, if you want to extend the term you would have to renegotiate the payments not to mention the permits with the mayor's office, in short it would be at least six months of administrative work and then another six months to manufacture and transport the new parts...”
I was silent for a long moment, I knew I was breaking with the only condition that my aunt Applejack had set for me with my job, but I also knew that, the Apple family was in trouble, not because of money at all, we were more prosperous than ever, but because of a generational issue.
From my Aunt Applebloom's generation, who began to take unconventional life paths by family standards, the droughts that wiped out family settlements throughout Equestria, and that it was becoming more and more common for an Apple marriage to produce no offspring, the idea that the Apple family would soon cease to exist began to creep up on all of us.
Not even my aunt Applejack, the current matriarch of the family, had had decadence, even when she had the opportunity to adopt with her wife Rainbow Dash she decided to focus one hundred percent on the work, and although the new generation was already preparing to take over the farm sooner or later, if I was honest with myself, I doubted they would do a good job.
It wasn't their fault, not at all, after all most were raised away from the farm and the countryside, they never knew manual labor until much later in their lives and how important proper care of the orchards is, I feared that this would inevitably lead to a period of adjustment and thus a bad season for the farm and crops, if that was a possibility then I should do everything I could to ensure a small family fortune now to at least ease the burden on future generations.
“You know Clear Angle...” I started to say finally ”Don't pick things up yet, do me a favor, go around the tree wall with the team and find some good spot to start logging...”
“Are you sure Big Sugar, won't Mrs. Apple be upset?”
“Leave my aunt to me, if there's a possible safeguard for the farm back there I won't let it go.”
“Understood...”
At that moment Soft Splint, another good friend, came running in from the farm, panting and shouting over a hill, calling out to me.
“Big Sugar! Big Sugar! Come quick!"
I hurried over to where he was, he looked very tired and was sweating profusely.
“What's wrong Soft Splint?” I asked somewhat concerned.
He could barely answer me between gasps.
“Your...your mom, she...she...wants you to go to the hospital is .... your dad...”
My eyes widened like saucers, my father had been sick for a while now, ever since he had suffered an accident during the harvest a few years ago that left him unable to continue working, his health had been in a steady decline, the doctors said it was because his body was resenting the excessive amount of work he had had to take on throughout his youth, that now that he was older all that tiredness was coming back to him in the form of weakness, my mother and I did everything we could to make sure he had proper care, but no matter what we did, every day that passed he became weaker and weaker, until a few months ago we finally had to admit him to the hospital, we were told that there was no guarantee that he would recover, that we should prepare for the worst, yet my father remained optimistic, something that inevitably rubbed off on my mother and I. He asked me not to stop working, he asked me not to stop working, he asked me not to stop working, he asked me not to stop working, he asked me not to stop working, he asked me not to stop working, he asked me not to stop working, He asked me not to stop working for him, he knew that my work was important and he did not want a simple cold to prevent me from doing it, I obeyed him and focused on work trying not to think about how bad he could really be, and now I was regretting that situation.
I ran at full speed through the field towards the farm, once there I quickly left my tools and ran in the direction of Ponyville, as I ran through the town I could see many ponies walking quietly down the street, I felt angry for a moment, thinking it was insensitive of them to be so happy when my father was suffering but I dismissed those thoughts, I knew they came from the sadness and fear that slowly formed in my chest, I knew my mind was trying to distract me with other things to not have to think that I might be arriving too late.
By the time I arrived at the hospital the sun had already started to set on the horizon, I quickly went inside and ran past the reception desk, I didn't need to be told which room it was, I already knew the number and the way by heart.
I turned one last corner and found myself face to face with my aunt Applejack, she was standing outside my father's room in the company of her friends and his wife who was hugging her with her wings while she covered her face with her hat in an attempt to hide her tears, when they all laid their eyes on me, my heart sank, for a moment I thought I had not arrived in time but quickly my aunt jumped in to hug me and said.
“He is waiting for you...” I could hear in her voice how she was clearly trying not to burst into tears ”Go in there to say goodbye...”
“Aren't you coming?” I asked as I hugged her back.
He didn't answer me, he simply pulled away returning to the embrace of his pegasus wife who looked at me and said.
“She...doesn't want him to see her like this...”
I respected that, despite being a sensitive and very loving mare, my aunt always had trouble expressing something as simple as sadness, but when it was too much, I nodded my head and carefully walked into the room, hearing choked sobs and a chuckle or two inside.
My father was prostrate on his bed, dressed in a hospital gown, his graying hair rested on a fluffy pillow and his dull red fur looked as fluffy as ever, next to him was my mother, who was holding his hoof between hers, struggling to hold back the tears, there was also my aunt Applebloom who did cry openly, constantly carving her face in a desperate attempt to stop the torrent of tears, it was a sad scene at first glance but, quickly my father spoke.
“Oh come on Applebloom don't cry anymore, at this rate I'll end up drowning...”
My parents let out a weak laugh after his comment, one that inevitably infected my mother and aunt, who laughed heavily as they moved in for a hug.
“Ugh and now I think I'll be crushed to death...” he said mockingly as he returned the hug with one of his huge paws, patting both of them on the back.
At that moment he noticed my presence, dedicating me a huge smile and gesturing with his other hoof for me to come closer, my mother upon seeing me ran to me to hug me, crying on my shoulder and whispering.
“Good thing you made it in time sweetie...”
“Yes...” was all I could say to him, I still couldn't believe this was happening.
As he approached the bed I noticed the state my father was in, his face was haggard and his once imposing body was extremely thin, I could feel the tears, threatening to well up in my eyes and my breath hitching, without hesitation I jumped in and gave him a tight hug, a hug that he weakly returned, they hardly seemed like the same powerful hooves that lifted me into the air when I was little.
We stayed like that for a long moment before finally separating, at which point my father looked at my mother and nodded slightly to her, she, at this approached him and gave him a deep kiss on the lips before pulling away, grabbing my aunt by the shoulder and then heading for the exit, once the door closed behind them my father took a breath before turning to me.
“My little Big Sugar...” his voice sounded breathy and I could tell he was having trouble breathing ‘My boy look at you, you're a grown up pony...quite the honest and honest stallion...’ I couldn't answer him, I just listened to him ”I dare say you are the greatest Apple that ever lived, you made sure our family had a glorious future, truth be told.... that smart part of you I'm sure you inherited it from your mother hehe... because I, I was just a stubborn hard headed stallion, that the only thing I brought to the family was muscle...”
“Don't say that dad...” interrupted him ‘If anyone deserves the title of the best Apple in history it's you, you taught me everything I know, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have even known what I was capable of, and you always supported me, even when I decided to go against the family traditions, you were always there...’ I felt a lump in my throat, I couldn't continue.
“Son...” he put a hoof under my chin and lifted it slightly ”Don't cry for me, I'm an old pony, and all old ponies have their time sooner or later, you shouldn't be sorry for the past generations, better think about helping the future generations...”
I couldn't help but smile at his words, that was the reason for my diligence he taught me that the most important thing is to always give your best to ensure a good future.
“I know dad, that's why you don't have to worry...” I said proudly ”I have a plan so that the family doesn't have to worry for a long, long time.”
“Oh really?” he asked with intrigue and smiling ”And do you think you can tell me what that fantastic plan is...I would really like to know what my son plans to do with the farm when I'm gone...”
We both laughed for a moment before he finally answered me.
“Well pa, you know the project is very close to being finished, we already installed the mechanisms all over the farm creating the perfect network I told you about so many years ago...”
“Yes, I am really proud of what you have accomplished son...”
“Well, this morning I asked myself why stop there, you know, I noticed that the apples in the west field are much bigger than conventional apples, so it occurred to me that, letting them go to waste is a very bad idea...”
“What are you talking about son..?” asked my father, at the time I didn't notice it, but his face had gone from serenity to concern surprisingly fast.
“Well I don't think we should stop the construction just yet, if I can make my way through the tangle of trees I'm sure we could get even a little bit of that big crop, so I asked Clear Angle and the others to test the ground for...”
“NO!!!” my father suddenly exclaimed, louder than I thought he could at the time ”Please tell me they haven't gone through the tree line.... “ my father, surprisingly got up from his bed, sitting on the bed and holding me by the shoulders with his hooves, I could hear his heart monitor beeping at incredible speed as he clung to me and shook me, out of surprise I couldn't answer him which made him speak to me in even more desperate tones of voice “Son please tell me they haven't touched those trees...!!!”
I finally reacted and was able to give him a halting reply.
“No dad, we haven't done anything yet, I just asked the boys for an evaluation...”
My father then let out a huge sigh of relief, dropping weakly onto his bed once again and his heartbeat slowly returned to normal.
“Dad...what the hell?” I asked in shock, he just looked back at me and replied.
“Son...the west orchard is forbidden you know that, those trees are not to be touched...”
“Yes I know that dad, but I know if I talked to my aunt Applejack and presented a detailed plan she...”
“NO!!! Son No!!!, it's not because of your aunt why they are forbidden, those trees are my responsibility, the one who forbids it is me!”
“But why? I don't understand, they are a little crooked but clearly those trees are healthy, why do you refuse to let us harvest them?”
My father was silent for a long while, he seemed to be lost in his thoughts, for a second I panicked thinking he had already died but a loud sigh quelled that fear, finally he made the effort again to sit on the bed, leaning his back against the wall, he looked at me and spoke.
“Big Sugar, remember when you were little and I used to tell you stories?”
The question surprised me, it didn't seem to have anything to do with what we were talking about just a second ago, I assumed he wanted to drop the subject due to his current state and I understood that, so I answered without further ado.
“Yes dad, if I remember, you were the best storyteller in the family...”
“Correction, I'm still the best storyteller in the family!” he claimed in a mocking tone, letting out a laugh before turning back to a serious expression ”Well son...I think it's about time I told you one last story, one that is possibly the most important story I've ever told you...”
I didn't understand where he was going with this, but I didn't want to question him, after all, who knows what thoughts go through the mind of a pony that is about to die, I said nothing and just listened to him.
“And also...” he paused for a long moment, as if debating whether to continue or not ”Of all the stories I told you, this one, is the only one that is true...so I ask you, just as when you were a foal, that you believed everything I told you without question, I ask you to once again be that little boy who trusted my word and my stories, no matter how far-fetched they were, Can you do that for my son?”
I hesitated, what was I supposed to do, refuse, it would be rude not to take him seriously, even worse, there was no intention to play a last joke on him or anything like that, he looked like an old stallion coming clean, in the end I saw no choice and simply answered.
“Sure dad, I hear you...”
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
It was many years ago, your grandparents had died very recently and your aunt Applejack was devastated, your great-grandmother Smith was devastated too, they were both locked up at home for weeks, only worrying about eating and taking care of your aunt Applebloom, who was just a baby at the time.
This caused the fields to become very neglected, we lost a good part of that year's crop, I knew that this would cause us a lot of problems during the winter so I decided to do something about it.
By this time I had already noticed that the trees in the west orchard were different from the others, their beautiful apples seemed not to have deteriorated one bit even though they had been abandoned long ago, their trees also looked nothing like the ones in the east orchard, which were parched and hardly bore fruit.
I figured that, if I could establish a suitable site, I could harvest several trees a day, this would certainly allow us to survive the harsh winter without problems and who knows, maybe next year we could start reintegrating that part of the land, so I set my hooves to work.
One afternoon after work I headed out to the west orchard, making my way through the trees and into it, the place was amazing, the treetops barely let in a little sunlight and yet the apples grow in the shade without any problem, also the trees seemed to get bigger the further I went, so much so that I got to see trees so huge that they were equivalent to sixteen apple trees together, I also noticed that no sound could be heard in the whole place, no insects, no animals, not even the sound of the wind, the only thing that resounded when I was there was the sound of my own footsteps and my breathing, maybe you think that all that was too strange but for me, it all seemed to be something magical.
I managed to find a small clearing somewhere to the north of the orchard and there, I started the construction of a small shed, it seemed a better idea than having to carry and bring my tools every day, and once I finished it the real work began, the hardest part was to start getting rid of the weeds, I had to pull out all the weeds if I wanted the land to be more suitable for harvesting, That's when I realized that the trees were not the only thing growing abnormally big and strong in that place, absolutely every single one of those plants was a pain to remove, even when I tried to cut them with my garden shears they seemed to resist, I spent hours pulling weeds and removing stones every afternoon and I was back home before nightfall, even with that setback, I finally managed to flatten enough land to bring the first baskets and start harvesting.
It took me an absurd amount of time to get to fill a single basket that first day as the apples just wouldn't fall from the trees, even kicking them with all my might the most I could get was two apples per tree, so I had to apply less orthodox methods to get a considerable amount, I used ladders, scissors and ties to pull them one by one from the branches, I still remember the exact moment when I took one between my hooves and tasted it, believe me when I tell you, that never in all my life have I ever felt something so incredible again, like the taste of that first bite, it was so sweet and so sour at the same time that I could feel my paws trembling and my fur bristling, at that moment I was more determined than ever that bringing these apples home would bring my family a prosperity never seen before, I was convinced that all of Equestria would form around Sweet Apple Acres to taste these indescribable delights, maybe we should even plant their seeds closer to the house so the harvest would be less torturous.
I worked tirelessly, I didn't even notice when it got dark, it wasn't until I saw that the few rays of light sneaking through the leaves had disappeared that I realized I had lost track of time, I quickly turned on the small oil lamp I had with me so I wouldn't be completely in the dark, I began to gather my tools and put them away in the shed, hurrying as I was sure Grandma would scold me for not being on time for dinner, then I heard it.
As ironic as it sounds, you have no idea how strange it is that, in a completely silent environment suddenly a sound appears, I had become so used to the unnatural calm of the place that it made me startle, it took me a moment to calm down enough to realize what it was I was hearing, it sounded like breathing, deep and heavy.
I didn't understand it, it didn't make sense, I was sure I hadn't told anyone in the family about this place and this was the most secluded orchard in Ponyville, so it wasn't possible that it was some curious person who started to prowl the field, much less at that hour, I even thought it was a figment of my imagination, that having been so long in that place had made me start hearing things, but then I saw the silhouette of a pony.
He was sitting with his back to me right on the edge of the clearing, no doubt it was a stallion, he was hunched over and seemed to be resting, I rubbed my eyes a couple of times to make sure I wasn't seeing wrong, but no, there he was.
I was silent for a second, waiting for him to tell me something, but he just stood there, with his back turned, then I thought that maybe he had lost his way, that he had ventured where he shouldn't have and ended up disoriented, at this thought I decided to approach him, I took a couple of steps forward and spoke to him cautiously.
“Excuse me...are you all right?” he didn't answer me, he just kept breathing heavily, at this I tried again, maybe he hadn't heard me ”Sir! Are you all right?”
“My head...hurts...my head...”
This time I didn't wait a second before answering, his voice sounded strange, as if someone was talking through one of those phones made with cans and a string, it sounded choppy, distant, still, the silence of the place allowed me to understand him, for a second I thought he would have fallen and hit against some rock, maybe that's why he seemed so disoriented, I took a step forward with the intention of helping him but suddenly my legs stopped moving forward, it wasn't because I wanted them to, they simply stopped moving, it took me a moment to realize that I was sweating, as if I was under the midday sun without having had breakfast, my legs then began to tremble as if they were made of apple jelly and all my fur bristled instantly.
If I had to describe the feeling it would be as if your whole body was freezing to death but your brain hadn't noticed, as if you had been hit and didn't realize it until your head bounced off the ground, suddenly I felt my lungs without oxygen and my heart pounding, when I finally understood, something was terribly wrong.
This whole situation was wrong, I thought, if this pony managed to sit on the edge of my clearing in the middle of this silent forest how the hell did I not manage to hear him approaching? Sure I was engrossed in work but I'm sure I would have noticed the footsteps of an adult stallion making his way through the underbrush, just as I took a step back with the intention of walking away, as if that pony read my mind, he spoke again.
“My head...hurts so much...my head...please...help me...”
The voice still sounded muffled, but it was certainly louder than the previous time, the breathing became more pitiful and exaggerated, as if he wanted to emphasize the fact that he was hurt so that I would worry, but on the contrary this only made me activate my alarms more, I took another step backwards this time with the intention of not making noise, but he seemed to notice immediately.
The figure rose abruptly from the ground, standing on two legs instead of four, he kept his back to me but now seemed to look up, I froze at the sudden movement, now that I could see him better I could tell he was much taller than he looked, even though he was standing on two legs I could see he was at least twice the size of an adult stallion, This terrified me, the pressure in my chest grew and, in a fleeting moment of lucidity, I came to a conclusion that sounded so crazy, that in any other situation I would have discarded it completely, but right now, I saw no other alternative, that standing in front of me, it was not a pony, poor me who did not know that this resolution would unleash all the madness.
The instant that went through my mind the thing turned around and I could feel myself turn pale instantly, it had no fur, its skin was greenish and wrinkled like a rotten pear, from the base of its belly, to the top of its neck there was what appeared to be a huge puncture scar, this was reddish and yellowish closed as if the only thing holding it up was the strength of the thing's skin, but its face, its face is what has accompanied me throughout my life in nightmares.
I don't know how to describe it and I know it sounds strange, but it looked like, the imitation of a face, as if a cardboard mask of a pony's face had been soaked and crumpled over someone's face, the features were barely distinguishable, the features were squeezed into the center of the face creating a grimace that, I guess, was trying to imitate a smile, before I realized what was happening, my body jumped without my permission backwards into the shed, closing the door and holding it tightly, my lamp fell to the floor giving the place a half illumination, casting shadows on the wall with the tools I had already put away, and for a second, nothing happened and the next second, everything exploded in my face.
The shed shook violently, it was as if a tornado was right on top of me trying to rip the structure from the floor, the wood creaked and cracked little by little, at that moment I didn't think about it but later I would thank Celestia for giving me the idea of placing double reinforcements with screws sunk into the hard earth, the shaking repeated for several horrible minutes, and, although I could hear the noise the shed was making, I could hear absolutely nothing on the outside that was moving to provoke it.
By the time the assault against the walls stopped I was lying on the floor, my back against the door and shaking uncontrollably, it all seemed to be over, I still wasn't able to hear anything outside but I was sure there was nothing around anymore, just as I was getting up, thinking I should stay there until dawn something impacted against the door, this time I could clearly hear the sound of something heavy being thrown through the air and hitting the door, Whatever it was, it clung to the sides of the shed, pressing its body against the structure as if it wanted to destroy it with a big hug, the next thing I heard was the sound of the wind, it appeared suddenly, blowing like a furious gale, it was deafening since, again, I had gotten used to its absence, one by one the common sounds of nature became present but, given the circumstances, instead of provoking me the typical feeling of calm and tranquility they only managed to disturb me even more.
The cacophony around me distracted me from what was above me, it wasn't until I felt the splinters of wood falling on my forehead that I looked up and could see, something was hitting the top of the door, over and over again like a hydraulic hammer, causing the wood to give way and little by little a hole was created.
I panicked, I pushed my whole body to the other end of the shed and I could see how the hole grew with each impact, I tried to see what it was but it just looked like a green mass with no shape, the impacts continued one after another, one after another, I could already feel the tears falling down my face as I could not stop shaking, I thought, this is the end of me, it's over here, suddenly the terrible gravity of the situation hit me like a truck, I could not go back home, I would never see my family again, dying here, in this shed in the middle of nowhere.
At that moment I thought of my parents, I don't quite know why, but suddenly the idea of seeing them again made me feel happy, the soft embrace of my mother and the firm touch of my father, I really missed them both, maybe, going with them wouldn't be so bad, the only thing I had to do, was to close my eyes and it would all be over soon.
But when I closed my eyes I found something else, memories of my grandmother and my sisters, I thought that now they would have to take care of the farm alone, what would happen to them then, could they do all the work alone? Grandma was already old enough and Applejack was still too young, they couldn't handle the whole orchard and then what? Would they have to sell the farm? Move out of Ponyville? Go far away from home? Those questions overshadowed everything else, I couldn't leave my family, not like that, they needed me and I needed them, after all we were family and in this world there is nothing more important than family.
I opened my eyes to find that the hole in the door was already the size of a head, at that moment the deformed face of the thing peeked inside, its face opened at the same time that the sound from outside became louder and at that moment I realized that there was no sound from outside, all the noise I had heard came from inside the face of the thing which opened completely revealing a huge black hole where its face had been before, it sounded as if a thousand forests were creaking and blowing from inside the hole, as if life itself was contained inside, this was accompanied by a whirlwind of screams of all kinds that seemed to get lost in the hecatomb of thunderous sounds, It was then that I saw it, right in the center of the hole, seeming to float in it, there was a huge apple tree seed, as big as my brown shiny paw, at that moment I plucked up courage, let out a scream and kicked the door with all my strength.
The impact tore the door off its hinges, throwing the monster along with the wood far away until it crashed somewhere out of my sight and out of the clearing, I didn't hesitate, I took the lamp and ran as fast as I could, as I advanced, making my way through the trees seemed to dance around me, twisting in impossible ways but without giving off a single sound, I could feel something behind me, although I couldn't hear the footsteps, I knew it was following me, at one point I even thought I heard the wind whispering behind me, I could feel something behind me, although I could not hear the footsteps, I knew that he was following me, at one point I even thought I heard the whisper of the wind right in the back of my neck, I was tempted to look back but I resisted, I thought that if I did, I would be condemning myself.
Finally I managed to reach the end of the trees, I crawled the last few meters and got out, even so I did not stop, I ran without stopping while little by little the silence was behind me, when I finally realized where I was I realized two things, I had already reached the farm staggering and I had peed myself, from fear.
I never told anyone what happened that night, not my grandmother, not my sisters, not even your mother, it took me a whole month to get back to work properly and, when I finally could, I planted a line of trees right at the edge of the west orchard, I deliberately planted them close together so that as they grew they would leave no room for any pony to get in, those trees grew strangely fast, and by the time they bore their first fruit, I realized that they were the same kind of apples I had cut down that day, and even at the top of one of the tallest, there was an apple with a single, large bite out of it.
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I looked at my father in disbelief, I didn't know what to think of what he just told me, it was too absurd, crazy, for a moment I thought it was simply one more of his stories, one last tale to provoke nightmares before he left, but seeing his eyes I knew he was serious, finally I could compose myself enough to ask a single question.
“And that, did you ever see him again...?”
“Never...” he answered coldly ”But there were nights, on those cold nights when one finds it hard to fall asleep, that just when I was on the border between sleep and reality, that I could have sworn I heard the wind whistling directly in my ear...”
I said nothing more after that, we both remained silent for a long while until my aunts and mother came back into the room, my father regained his spirits and we spent the rest of the night talking and laughing, finally, a few minutes before the sun rose, my father took his last breath and left this earth.
We buried him under the Siamese tree that my grandparents had planted, his funeral was on a very sunny day, the birds were singing and the wind was blowing gently, my mother and I were the last to leave that day, hugging over his grave as we cried, remembering him.
After that he gave new instructions to my team, the progress of the project ended there, we turned the conveyor belts around and finished the project, of course, before all the workers left for the last time I hired them for one last small project, with the materials left over from my life project, I had a wall built on the edge of the west orchard, tall and thick, it extended along the wall of trees and to the end of the Apple family's land, I almost didn't do it, I wanted to leave it as a bad memory, However, I was forced to change my mind when, one day, while I was walking along the edge of the line of huge crooked trees, with my gaze lost just at the line where the treetops give way to the sky, I noticed a very interesting detail in the tree line, I noticed a very strange detail, right at the top of one of the trees, on a high branch, there was a single apple, huge and juicy, but, unlike all the other apples in that field, this one had a huge bite that remained shiny and dripping juice on the side.
I told this to my Aunt Applebloom and she, as the family historian, allowed me to write it in the record, now this will be preserved for all future generations of the Apple family, as a warning and reminder, one that will stand even when I have departed this world, if you read this, dear relative, even if you do not believe what is written here, at least heed the rule, which from now on will be forever etched in the memory of Sweet Apple Acres.
Do not, for the world's sake, wander into the West Orchard.
