Withered and Blooming

Chapters

Prologue
Applejack
Big Macintosh
Braeburn
Apple Bloom
Apple Family
Epilogue

Prologue

It was a late spring afternoon in Sweet Apple Acres. Having finished their work for the day, the workers went about their usual business. For the copper colored mare, this meant going inside the farmhouse and resting up. She was tired from the self-inflicted day of hard work, which she was using to take her mind off of a few things.

The mare was just at the steps of the red farmhouse when she heard a familiar boom from her right. She looked and she saw a large circle of rainbow colors on the horizon over the green apple trees and a cyan spot of color topped with a rainbow quickly growing larger and larger.
“Applejack!” a voice called out. The cyan and rainbow blot eventually got close enough to be identified as a familiar cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane coming in fast toward Applejack. She was wearing her Wonderbolt uniform, complete with a blue flight suit and goggles. She eventually slowed down and stopped in the air right in front of Applejack.

“Rainbow Dash, what are y’all doin' here?” Applejack asked.

“Scootaloo has homework that she needs help with,” Rainbow Dash said. “What should I do?”

“Uhh…help her with it,” Applejack pointed out as if it should be obvious.

“Yeah, but she needs help with her math homework and I’m no good at math,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Well don’t look at me either,” Applejack said. “Ah’m no good any of that fancy mathematics that they teach over at that school.”

“Well then who always helps Apple Bloom out with her…?”

“Granny Smith used to,” Applejack said, her head lowered and her Stetson hat covering her eyes.

“Oh uhh…sorry,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’ll…ask around the Wonderbolt headquarters and see if anypony there can help me. Besides, it’s not due ‘till next week anyways according to Scootaloo.”

“Alright,” Applejack said before once again turning to walk into the farmhouse.

“Hay Applejack,” Rainbow Dash said before taking off, “if you need me…I’m finally off season next week. I’ll be back in Ponyville then. If you want me to, I can help out with anything you need. I'll be here.”

“Nah, Ah…Ah’m good,” Applejack said without turning back.

“If you say so,” Rainbow Dash said, “but I’m bringing Twilight back to Ponyville next week anyways. That way if you need it, you’ll have me, Twilight, and Soarin’ all here for you.”

Applejack still had her head turned toward the door and she didn’t say anything at all. All she did was stand there with her head down. Knowingly, Rainbow Dash decided to continue help comfort her.

“Listen I uhh…I’m sorry for your loss,” Rainbow Dash said. Saying something like that is awkward because of how corny she thinks it sounds. “Just uhh…remember if you need somepony to talk to you’ve…got your friends.”

“Ah…know Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said. “Thanks.”

“No prob,” Rainbow Dash said before taking off into the sky.

Applejack sighed before going in. “Ah’m glad for ya help, Rainbow Dash, but…this is somethin' I need to go through with mah family.” She walked inside the farmhouse to meet with her family.

Sitting at the table was a cream colored earth pony filly with a red mane who was holding a pencil and writing on some paper. Next to her was a large red earth pony stallion that was watching her as she did her work. She would, every once in a while, ask a question and the red stallion would answer in as few words as possible.

“Does this look right?” Apple Bloom asked after holding up her paper for Big Macintosh to see.

Big Mac answered with his typical reply. “Eeyup,”

“Well if there were one good thing you got from when y’all used to date Cheerile, then learnin' math was it,” Applejack said. “It’s mighty helpful right about now.”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac said once again.

“Ya both make sure to keep at it now,” Applejack said. “Ah’m goin' to hit the hay for the day. 'Night everypony.”

Apple Bloom's and Big Macintosh’s eyes followed Applejack as she went upstairs. Once she was gone, Apple Bloom asked “This is the third day in a row. Why is Applejack goin' to bed so early lately? Ah hardly get to see her nowadays because of it.”

“Your sister is workin' herself too hard,” Big Mac explained. “Ever since Granny Smith moved on, Applejack thinks she needs to work harder in order to do everything that Granny Smith used to do when she was alive. We’ve all had to work on different jobs but Applejack feels she needs to do the most. All of the extra work probably helps keep her mind off of Granny Smith's passing.”

“Ah know,” Apple Bloom said. “Ah miss Granny Smith as well.”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac said for the third time.

“But Ah also miss Applejack,” Apple Bloom said. “Ah hardly get to see her because you bring me to school each day and Applejack is always in bed in the afternoons.”

“Don’t worry, Ah have a plan,” Big Mac. “If Ah can, Ah’ll get your sister back soon, Apple Bloom.”

“Alright, Big Mac,” Apple Bloom said.

Big Macintosh left the table and started up the stairs. Instead of going to his room, he stopped by Applejack's room and let himself in. Applejack was lying in bed with her Stetson hat placed on the wooden desk next to her bed. Applejack thought she was crying in privacy. Of course, as soon as Big Mac let himself in and Applejack noticed, she wiped away her tears and tried acting like nothing was wrong which, for the Element of Honesty, was futile.

“Hay Big Mac,” Applejack said. “What ya doin' in here? Ah want ta get some shut eye before headin' back to work tomorrow.”

“Applejack, you’ve been workin' too hard lately,” Big Mac said. “You’re gonna wear yourself out soon and you’re not spendin' any time with any of your family. It’s just work and sleep for you nowadays.”

“I’ll be fine,” Applejack said.

Big Mac sighed, "Don’t ya remember that one Applebuck Season years back? The one where ya were working yourself half to death because I had that injury and ya refused to get any help? Did ya already forget about that day?”

“Yeah, well Ah’m not applebuckin' right now am Ah?” Applejack asked.

“Ah’m bringing in some help tomorrow,” Big Mac said, without giving Applejack any choice. “Ah’ve sent a letter to Caramel in Manehatten, Breaburn in Appleoosa, and Ah’m bringin' in Fluttershy.”

“Ha! Ah knew it!” Applejack announced. “Ah should have guessed that’s what you’re playin'!”

Big Macintosh backed up a bit, surprised by Applejack’s sudden outburst. “What are ya talkin about?”

“Ya are just gettin' your marefriend on the farm aren’t you?” Applejack asked. “Ya think by throwing me a bone and bringing Caramel here, Ah’m goin to let you bring Fluttershy into this.”

Big Macintosh was silent. While his feelings for Fluttershy was not the main reason for wanting to bring her on the farm, that was the exact reason why he was bringing in Caramel. Applejack knows that Big Macintosh does not like that Sweet Apple Acres Farmhoof at all, which is why when he isn’t helping out at the farm Big Mac wants him as far away from his sister as possible. However, Applejack did not trust Big Mac and Fluttershy in the same place alone because of various misunderstandings.

“Ah’m concerned about your health,” Big Macintosh said. “Ah’m bringin' them in whether you want me to or not.”

“And Ah ain’t gonna get much of a choice now am Ah?” Applejack asked.

“Eenope,” Big Macintosh said turning around to leave. “Ah’m gonna have Fluttershy help with the animals, Breaburn work on cookin' all the pastries Granny Smith used to, and Caramel can help with all of the odd jobs as usual. Y’all can continue doin' your usual apple bucking and Ah’ll work in the fields as usual.”

“Ah’m just gonna let you know, if Ah catch ya messing around with Fluttershy you’re gonna get it from me,” Applejack said.

“Ah’ll make sure to pass the same message to Caramel when he gets over here,” Big Mac said. “Get some rest for tomorrow. Y’all need it.”

“Alright,” Applejack said.

Big Macintosh walked back downstairs to see Apple Bloom crying while hugging the Apple Family Dog, Winona. Winona didn’t mind and was licking Apple Bloom's face, trying to help comfort her. Big Macintosh sighed and walked up to put a hoof over his youngest sister.

“It’ll be alright Apple Bloom,” Big Macintosh said. “We will all get through things, eventually.”

Author's Note

What is this? A Fluttermac Shipper that actually admits CheerlieMac is actually semi canon? Well actually I don't hate Cheerlie X Big Mac and I even watched the Hearts and Hooves day episode before I had any shipping alliance. I just still like Fluttermac better. But of course don't expect that's all that's there since you can probably already guess there is plenty of shipping going down in this fic. Including some friendshipping with Apple Bloom and a character I would have inlcuded if it weren't for the tag limitations.

Applejack

Applejack didn’t know whether she should be happy or annoyed at her brother. On one hoof he was basically giving Caramel permission to return to the farm. Caramel had been an on and off duty farmhoof for a few years now, ever since they needed help during a Winter Wrap Up some years back. He tended to be a klutz and messed up a lot, but he continued to try his hardest and worked sometimes even harder than Applejack or Big Macintosh. And it was because of that Applejack became infatuated with him.

Though it was probably his greatest mess-up that was the reason Big Macintosh didn’t trust him. Caramel a few Hearts and Hooves days ago dated a pegasus called Wind Whistler. At that point in time Applejack had only a small emotional connection with him so it only caused her to feel a small pang of emotions that she didn’t know anything about. Though it was after they broke off Caramel and Applejack started dating which was where Applejack started realizing her feeling for him. Of course Wind Whistler still retained a bit of a fling for Caramel, and one day both Applejack and Big Macintosh caught those two kissing. Caramel constantly told the two that it was Wind Whistler that kissed him first and while Applejack eventually believed him, Big Macintosh had lost his trust in Caramel and no longer liked him to be around for more than he needed to be. That happened about six months ago and Big Macintosh still carried the grudge on his old friend.

On the other hoof Applejack didn’t feel like they needed help around on the farm. When they needed help, Applejack would stubbornly accept some help from her friends. She learned that lesson a long time ago and she still hadn’t forgot it.

However if she didn’t feel that they needed some help on the farm, then she didn’t like the fact that Big Macintosh had brought in some help. Even Caramel, though Applejack did like the fact that Big Macintosh had let him back on the farm. It was a pride thing and something Applejack needed to work on, but Applejack felt that they don’t need any help at all around the farm. She had made sure to rest up plenty and did not felt fatigued at all during the day.

But when Big Macintosh got something on his mind, he was stubborn with it until the end, and he would not accept any other option. He had the Apple Family stubbornness in him and arguing with him was a waste of time. So Applejack was going to have to deal with his stubbornness and let them work on the farm as much as she would rather do all of the work. As much as she wanted to do all the work. Because it was the only thing that was keeping her mind off of Granny Smith.

Applejack flipped over on her right side in her bed, and tried harder to fall asleep before she ended up thinking about it.

The next morning as soon as the first train into Ponyville stopped Caramel stepped off. The caramel colored earth pony had two large saddlebags to his sides that held a lot of things in it. Including a note that he caused a spike in his emotions.

Last night while he checked through the mail in his apartment in Manehatten he found a surprising letter from Big Macintosh that stated he was allowed back to help out with a few things on Sweet Apple Acres. It had been a while since he had been at Sweet Apple Acres due to a misunderstanding with an old marefriend of his, Wind Whistler, so he was glad for the chance to finally make things up to the Apple Family.

When he walked across the wooden platform and into the dirt path towards Ponyville he noticed Pinkie Pie bouncing towards the train station. The pink earth pony gave him her natural enthusiastic hello before she returned to her bouncing pursuit towards the train station. Caramel assumed that the party pony somehow knew that there was somepony new coming to Ponyville and that was why she was heading off to the train station.

Caramel walked into Ponyville and went towards the center of the town. According to Big Macintosh he got a possibly permanent job on the farm so long as he “didn’t mess around with Applejack.” So therefore he needed some lodging in Ponyville since he would be staying here for a while. Luckily Ponyville was pretty easy when it comes to lodging so all it took was a quick visit to Mayor Mare in Town Hall and a bunch of papers and Caramel got himself a small house on the edge of town right next to the path to Sweet Apple Acres. It was nice and close to Sweet Apple Acres so Caramel wouldn’t have to worry about a long walk to there.

With a deed in mouth Caramel walked towards his new home in order to get set up there before he started his job over at Sweet Apple Acres. While on his way over he happened to pass by Apple Bloom, who was walking alone and not with her two friends interestingly enough. She also looked down on something so Caramel wondered whether something happened between her and her friends, but he decided that was probably a question for Applejack. So he continued on towards his new house to move in.

Caramel got himself a usual square pale house that wasn’t really large in size, in fact it was a quite small house, but Caramel was satisfied with what he got. As he walked in he noticed it was partially furnished which was part of the deal and the reason why the house was small. All of the furniture in Caramel’s apartment in Manehatten belonged to the landowners and Caramel didn’t have the bits to buy himself some new furniture so anything he can get works. No matter how small.

Caramel left one of his saddlebags inside his apartment and keeping the other handy he took off for Sweet Apple Acres. He would have spent some time actually setting up his stuff, but he wants to redeem his broken reputation and he wouldn’t be able to do that if he was late to work on the first day of the job. So while he might end up sore and not feeling like setting up today, it would be worth it if he wanted to redeem his broken friendship with Big Mac and get closer to Applejack.

Caramel ran out of his house and on the dirt path towards Sweet Apple Acres. He passed through the white gate and saw Big Macintosh as he walked out of the house going on his own way. As they both passed by Big Macintosh stopped right next to Caramel and looked down at him with his usual stoic face.

“Ah’d recommend you be careful,” Big Macintosh said. “Y’all are on very thin ice.”

“Y-yes sir,” Caramel said.

“Good. Your first task is to fix the pig pen,” Big Mac said. “Ah’d have Apple Bloom do it but…” Big Macintosh looked over in the direction of Ponyville. “You’re in charge of it. Try not to screw up too much.”

“What’s going on around here?” Caramel asked. “I just saw Apple Bloom a few minutes ago and she didn’t look too happy.”

“It ain’t my place to explain it to you,” Big Mac said. “Y’all can ask Applejack when ya see her. If she’s in the mood ta talk.”

Big Macintosh walked away without saying another word, heading on the road strangely enough towards the Everfree Forest. What he was doing there Caramel didn’t know, but he probably had some reason for going there. If Caramel had some sort of guess, it was to visit Fluttershy.

He grabbed out a hammer and some nails and walked to the pig pen. The grayish fence around the pig pen was in somewhat of a sorry state, though it still stood and from what Caramel could see the pigs were still in the pen, lazing about on the late spring day. Caramel looked to see what he could do to fix the fence, and then started hammering in. He didn’t bring any wood with him, but this was more of a fix job then a building job which Caramel was relieved about. He was sure he would mess up if he tried building the place.

Caramel continued his work for a while and didn’t really focus on the going on’s of the farm around him. He did glance around every once in a while to see if he can catch a glance of Applejack, as he hoped to talk to her after having not seen her in six months. But any time he looked he didn’t see Applejack, probably because she was further within the orchard next to the apple trees. Caramel was sure she would end up coming back towards the house eventually anyways so he didn’t want to go out and find her and give her the wrong idea.

As Caramel hoped Applejack eventually walked from the direction of the orchard to Caramel’s left. She had her hat covering her eyes as she walked along so even though she was facing towards Caramel she didn’t see him. Of course because she was so close to Caramel, he decided that now would be a good time to get her attention and try to talk to her.

“Hay Applejack!” Caramel said, as he lifted his right forehoof up to wave at her. Unfortunetly he forgot that he still had a hammer in his mouth so when he said that it sounded more like “Hay Ahheah.” Also the hammer dropped just barely missing his left forehoof. He gave out a nervous laugh, thinking that Applejack probably thinks he was a total dork.

Applejack looked up and Caramel noticed something under her eyes glinting in the sunlight but he wasn’t able to see exactly what it was. When she saw him, she gained no smile on her face like Caramel was hoping to see on her. Instead in a businesslike manor she looked over at the fence that he just finished fixing.

“Hay Caramel,” Applejack said. “Looks like Big Macintosh set ya up on fixing that fence. And it looks like ya did a mighty fine job at it. Nice one. Now would ya see if Big Macintosh is done plowin the field, and if he isn’t then could y’all get him to? Ah hope he isn’t shirking his work just because he brought his marefriend on to the farm.” Gone was the usual friendliness of Applejack’s voice and it almost made Caramel flinch. He just realized what Big Macintosh meant when he said Applejack might not be in the mood to talk.

Something must have happened around here, Caramel speculated. First Apple Bloom is walking sadly through the streets of Ponyville, and now Applejack doesn’t have the energy and cheer she used to have. I’d also say something about Big Macintosh, but it is impossible to get anything out of him usually.

Now Caramel would normally be happy to go do what Applejack wants him to, but Applejack’s tone was unsettling him. It made him really worried about her, so instead of doing what she told him to do Caramel followed her as he hoped to get an idea of what was wrong. He was about two feet behind her, when he realized something.

If something went wrong, if something happened, if he were to screw up like he usual does, then he would miss his chance of working here and actually having a job he likes unlike in Manehatten. He would also lose his chance to be around Applejack which was something he had wanted for the past few months. All it would take was one mistake, and all this would be taken away from him. He also just got his apartment, just paid for it, and hadn’t even been in it for more than one day. If he were to screw up and lose this job he would either have to find some other job in Ponyville or move back into his old job in Manehatton which he would rather not do. So all he would need was one of his usual screw-ups and he would be faced with a lot of heck.

Those thoughts stopped Caramel’s purist of Applejack for a few minutes as he watched Applejack walk in farmhouse. But eventually he decided to continue his purist. He could easily tell that there was something wrong with Applejack and possibly the Apple Family entirely and unless he knew what was going on he would feel out of loop and if there was anything he could do to help he wouldn’t without knowing about it. So he followed Applejack into the farm house to see what was wrong.

As Caramel walked in he noticed a smell coming from the kitchen. He thought that maybe Applejack was cooking in there but when he looked in he instead noticed a yellow stallion in a brown vest and a brown hat. He seemed to be talking to somebody who spoke in a familiar high pitched voice but since it obviously wasn’t Applejack Caramel looked in a different place.

Caramel finally found Applejack in the living room. She was sitting on a midnight blue couch looking up to the left side of the room from Caramel’s point of view. She still had a look of sadness in her eyes as she was looking up yet she was avoiding tears for now. Caramel looked at her for a few seconds before getting the bravery to walk up and talk to her.

As Caramel was walking up to Applejack she noticed him and had the first word. “Caramel what are y’all doin inside?” Applejack asked. “Shouldn’t y’all be out there workin?”

“Well I would be but I saw you walking in here and you looked down,” Caramel said. “I wanted to know what’s eating you.”

“It ain’t none of your business,” Applejack said sternly. “It’s somethin that has to do the Apple Family only.”

“What happened to you Applejack?” Caramel asked. “You used to be so cheerful and friendly, and while yeah you were stubborn you always had a kind heart. Is this about what happened six months ago?” Caramel didn’t think it was, but he asked just in case Applejack and Apple Bloom have two different problems. “I told you that Wind Whistler kissed me. I wanted to evade her and I was just about to push her back when you saw me. I would never cheat on you like that.”

Applejack looked to the floor. “Ah know that. It took me a few weeks, but Ah believe ya. Big Mac still doesn’t trust ya on that, but Ah believe ya.”

“Then what is it?” Caramel asked. “Come on Applejack. You’re supposed to be the Element of Honesty, yet you’re not being honest with me. What is going on? I saw Apple Bloom on the way here and she seemed down as well. What happened here?”

“Ah…don’t like thinking about it,” Applejack said.

“Just like you don’t like remembering that your parents are gone?” Caramel asked, as he noticed the familiarity of the way Applejack was hiding it. It reminded him about how Applejack would hide the fact that her parents were gone when he first came there.

“Ah…yeah,” Applejack said.

Caramel got on the couch next to Applejack’s left and put his right hoof around her in a hug, being careful to make if comforting instead of awkward. “Applejack, if you need to talk about it I’m right here,” Caramel said.

“Thanks Caramel,” Applejack said. “Just…give me a second.”

Caramel just stood there and waited for Applejack to say something. Applejack once again looked up towards the ceiling, probably thinking about what she was going to say to Caramel and how she was going to say it. She eventually placed her hat on the couch cushion and then turned over to look at Caramel.

“A few days ago…Granny Smith…died,” Applejack said. Saying that caused the tears that were on Applejack’s face when Caramel first saw her to once again flow. She pressed her head into Caramel’s chest and he felt the slippery wet feel of her tears against his fur. He squeezed a bit more with his hoof and wrapped his second forehoof around her.

So that’s what’s going on around here, Caramel thought as he let Applejack cry into his arms. Granny Smith died. I wonder if that is the reason why Big Macintosh let me back here and why that yellow stallion is here? To help fill up the positions that Granny Smith left behind. And that’s why Apple Bloom was also walking sadly through the town. Granny Smith was like a parent figure to these guys since their parents were gone. And now she’s gone.

“I…I wish I could say something to help you,” Caramel said. “But I…don’t know what to say. I know how important Granny Smith is to you.” He heard Applejack’s muffled cries intensify. I am such a dolt, Caramel thought in response to her cries. I try and comfort her and I only make things worse. I am such a klutz. I don’t know how to comfort her. I haven’t had any of my family die yet. What could I say to her? I don’t even know how she is feeling right now. I don’t know what could possibly make Applejack cry like this when she is so strong normally.

“Listen Applejack I…” Caramel said.

“Nah it’s…alright,” Applejack said. “Caramel…I’m glad ta have ya back on the farm.”

“Well I’m…glad to be back,” Caramel said, not really expecting that. “I’ll try not mess up again and get myself kicked of the farm

“Please don’t,” Applejack said. “Ah…Ah’d like you to be around. It’ll help…me feel better about losing her.”

“I’ll be here,” Caramel said. I’m comforting her…just by being here? Well then I’m going to try and be here for as long as I can.

Big Macintosh

Big Macintosh opened the door and walked outside of the barn, bound for Fluttershy’s cottage to bring her in. He already asked her if she would be willing to work with them on the farm and she said yes, so he didn’t really have to worry about that. All he had to do was avoid the ever protective eye of his sister.

As he was walking forward towards Fluttershy’s cottage he passed by a very nervous looking Caramel who was heading towards the house. While they were passing by each other Big Macintosh decided to take the time and give him an idea of what he was doing. That…and make sure he understands him position right now.

“Ah’d recommend y’all be careful,” Big Macintosh said. “Y’all are on very thin ice.”

“Y-yes sir,” Caramel said in a very nervous tone.

Good. Maybe if ya understand that Ah mean business, y’all won’t break my sister’s heart again, Big Mac thought. Because if ya do, Ah’ll break every bone in your body.

“What’s going on around here?” Caramel asked. “I just saw Apple Bloom a few minutes ago and she didn’t look too happy.” Big Macintosh didn’t give him any details of why he was coming back yet. He thought it would be better for Applejack to tell him about Granny Smith.

“It ain’t my place to explain it to you,” Big Mac said. “Y’all can ask Applejack when ya see her. If she’s in the mood ta talk.” Big Macintosh left him without saying another word.

He decided to take the scenic route to Fluttershy’s cottage, avoiding Ponyville altogether. He could have walked through Ponyville but he would rather avoid talking to too many ponies. He was never known as the most talkative pony anyways, but he still didn’t want to do any interactions with anypony. With one exception.

Fluttershy’s cottage came into Big Macintosh’s view, along with the Everfree Forest behind it. Everypony in Ponyville, including Big Macintosh himself, wondered why the most timid pony in town stayed so close to the most dangerous place outside of town, but she didn’t seem to mind and nothing had happened yet.

Outside the cottage Fluttershy was flying around feeding all of her animals their usual feed. The yellow pegasus was quickly darting around carrying a medium sized bag of feed which she handed to some of the smaller animals and a saddle bag full of vegetables. Big Macintosh stopped to watch her as she went about her work, not wanting to interrupt her. And of course watching her fly around was a bonus to that. Big Macintosh wouldn’t really admit it but Fluttershy is one of the only things that can easily distract the down to earth pony.

Eventually Fluttershy noticed Big Mac was there and watching her so she flew down towards him. Nervously Fluttershy said to him “Umm…I’m sorry. I didn’t notice you were here. Is it…time for me to work on the farm?”

“Nah take your time Fluttershy,” Big Macintosh said. “If y’all need ta feed your critters then go and feed your critters. Ah don’t want ta break your schedule just so you can help you on the farm.”

“No it’s ok,” Fluttershy said. “I just need to give Angel his carrots and I’ll be able to come and help you.”

“Alright take your time,” Big Mac said.

Fluttershy walked over towards her pet rabbit, which was by the side of her cottage, with a few carrots in her mouth to give to him. “Here you go Angel Bunny,” Fluttershy said to him as she put the carrots in front of Angel for him to eat.

Angel looked at her with a look that pretty much said “are you kidding me?” He was about to put up his usual defiant attitude and stubbornly deny his food, but then he looked to Fluttershy’s right and a bit behind her. Standing there was Big Macintosh giving Angel a stoic yet powerful look telling him that he better eat now. Angel quickly took the carrots and ate them quickly to alleviate the stare down that Big Macintosh was giving him.

“Good boy Angel,” Fluttershy sad. “Now Mama’s going to be gone for the rest of the day. Be nice now.” Fluttershy walked off and when she wasn’t looking Big Mac gave Angel a look that said “or else” before following her.

“So Mac umm…” Fluttershy stuttered around for a bit as she tried to find the words to say to him. “How…are you and Applejack doing since Granny Smith umm…” in a very soft voice to the point where Big Macintosh could hardly hear what she was saying she squealed “died.”

“Well Applejack is tryin to hide her feelings by burying herself in work,” Big Mac said. “Ah’m worried about her which is why Ah’m bringin in some extra help, includin you. Ah got Caramel and Breaburn comin in. Maybe if she ain’t so focused in her work she can work past it.” Big Mac sighed. “It sorta reminds me on how she handled Mom and Dad’s death. She wouldn’t talk about it at any point in time, and wouldn’t think about it if she didn’t have to. If anypony brings it up, she tries to change the subject. She ain’t lyin about it if she didn’t think about it. It took her too long ta come to terms with it and even talk to Apple Bloom about it and Ah don’t want her to do that now.”

It took him a few seconds, but Big Macintosh realized that he spoke much more then he usually did. One would think when you put the two shyest ponies in Ponyville together you would get silence, but that didn’t happen at all. In fact, the two of them almost found it easier to talk with each other than others around them.

“If she needs me to, I’ll be sure to help Applejack,” Fluttershy said. “After all, she’s my friend and I’d hate to see her hurt. But what about you? How are you feeling about it?”

“Ah’m fine,” Big Mac said. “Ah said my goodbyes and Ah’ve moved past it.”

“But it only happened a few days ago,” Fluttershy mentioned. “I know when I lost my grandmother I cried about it for a few weeks. It took both Rainbow Dash and Rarity comforting me before I was able to feel better about it. Have you even cried once about it?”

“Ah don’t need ta cry about it,” Big Mac said. “Ah got over it. Now Ah need ta make sure my family is able to get past it. They’re all still hurtin from it and Ah need to help them.”

“Umm…well I’m sorry for saying this but…you’re doing exactly what Applejack is doing,” Fluttershy said. They both stopped their walk at about the point where the Farmhouse of Sweet Apple Acres was in view but mostly on the horizon. They still had a few minutes to walk before they reached the farm itself.

Big Macintosh just looked at her silently, wondering what Fluttershy was getting at. He stayed naturally quiet, and tried not to look at her with an angry expression or a strict one, but one of wonder. Unfortunately that didn’t come across exactly how Big Macintosh wanted because Fluttershy backed up a bit away from the path because he thought Big Mac might be angry with her.

“I’m…sorry,” Fluttershy said before heading towards her house with tears starting to form in her eyes.

“Fluttershy wait,” Big Mac called after her quickly. “Ah’m not mad at ya. Ah just want ta know what ya mean.”

“Well it’s just…you’ve been focusing helping your family but…” Fluttershy’s eyes darted around everywhere but at Big Mac “you’re not helping yourself. You’re not thinking about how you. I’m sorry but…you’re bottling up your emotions and you don’t want let them out.” Fluttershy backed her head away and walked back a bit more. “I’m…sorry if that makes you angry but…it’s the truth.”

“So…y’all are saying Ah need ta...?” Big Mac asked.

“You need to open up a little,” Fluttershy told him. “Let out your sadness. Don’t keep all you emotions bottled up because that isn’t healthy for you. Yes you need to help you family through this but…that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get through it yourself. Maybe…you need to spend some time crying about it. I always feel better about something after I’m done crying about it.”

“Ah ain’t the type of stallion to cry about things,” Big Macintosh said.

“You wouldn’t think Rainbow Dash would be the type of mare to cry about thing either but she does,” Fluttershy pointed out. She focused on Big Mac’s eyes finally for the first time since they started talking. “She even told me that during that trial, when she thought she lost Scootaloo, before she came out of the forest she was crying. Everypony needs to cry every once in a while. Even if it is where nopony else can see you, you still need to let it out.”

“Ah…ain’t sure Ah know how,” Big Macintosh admitted. “Ah haven’t cried since mah parents death.”

“*Sniff* Big Mac, what are we gonna do now?” Applejack asked him with tears flowing down her face. “Without mah or pah…” She buried her head onto Big Mac’s shoulder.

“Ah…Ah don’t know,” Big Macintosh said. He wiped off the tears from his eyes. “But Ah promise ya that Ah’ll…Ah’ll get strong for ya.” He looked over towards his baby sister, still in her crib, completely oblivious to the sadness around her. “I’ll become strong for the both of ya. You and Apple Bloom.”

“Ah promised myself that Ah wouldn’t cry back then,” Big Mac said. “Ah promised myself Ah would stay strong for the both of them. So whenever they need it all they would hafta do is look at their brother for strength.”

“Mackie,” Fluttershy said, “come with me. Umm…if you want to that is. It’s just…I have something to show you.”

Fluttershy started walking over to Sweet Apple Acres, and Big Macintosh followed her questioningly. As she walked into Sweet Apple Acres she looked like she was looking around for something. She eventually walked up to the farm house and took a left. Each time she passed a window she would look into it until she reached the window that had a view of the living room.

“Look in here,” Fluttershy commanded in the least commanding voice possible.

Big Macintosh looked in to see his sister Applejack sitting on the living room couch with Caramel next to her. Applejack was crying into Caramel’s chest and Caramel was comfortingly rubbing his hoof in circles on Applejack’s back. Caramel didn’t really look like he knew what he was doing, but he looked like he was going to try and help Applejack as much as possible.

“I saw Caramel follow Applejack inside the house,” Fluttershy explained. “I knew Caramel would be doing all he could to help Applejack through her sadness.” Big Macintosh looked back towards Fluttershy. “So you see, you don’t really need to worry too much about your family right now. Applejack has Caramel to help her out. Any you…can have me help you. I’m here if you need a shoulder to cry on.”

“Ah…thank ya for that Fluttershy,” Big Mac said softly. “If ya don’t mind, can we take it deeper in the orchard? Ah don’t want mah family ta…see me weeping.”

“If you want me to,” Fluttershy said. The couple both walked away from the farm house and farther in the forest of trees to the back of Sweet Apple Acres.

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay on this chapter, but school keeps my busy, I'm working on other stuff on my dA account, and FlutterMac is hard to write for. This is probably not the most original thing I've wrote but frankly, "Ah really don't care."

Just a quick question though. Do you mind the fact that I switch randomly between Big Mac and Big Macintosh or should I stick with one and keep it that way?

Braeburn

The train bound from Appleoosa to Ponyville just arrived at the station. It was a brown colored train with several wooden cars and a yellow colored roof. Inside the train there was a tan earth pony stallion with a yellow mane that was covered by a brown cowboy hat. His tan coat was also covered in the front to about his forehooves with a brown vest. As soon as the train stopped in Ponyville, the stallion got up out of his seat and prepared to get off.

He had recently got a letter from his cousin, Big Macintosh, which he kept in his vest pocket and had actually memorized. It wasn’t really that long though so that wasn’t surprising. The letter said:
Dear Braeburn:
As y’all know, Granny Smith has recently passed away. Because of that, we’d like y’all to come over and pick up from the loss if ya can get away from Appleoosa.
Big Macintosh

Braeburn guessed there was some sort of double meaning somewhere in there but that was beside the point. His family needed some help so he was more than happy to take the next train over to Ponyville and help out. It wasn’t that difficult making sure that Appleoosa was in good hooves since there are still a few apple family members there and the buffalo are also there to help. So Braeburn was ready to stay in Ponyville for as long as he needs to be. And he even had somepony besides family that he can visit.

All Braeburn had to do was take a step outside he suddenly a bunch of pink filled his view. Braeburn shouldn’t have been surprised that he was only seconds out of the car before she came up to him, but it still did catch him off guard. Braeburn took a step back, almost causing him to walk into the train again.

“Welcome to Pooonyville!” said a high pitched voice in a parody of what Braeburn says to anypony that comes to Appleoosa.

“Pinkie Pie!” Braeburn said. “Well Sugarplum ya sure surprised me if that’s what you were goin for.”

“Aw come on Braeie!” Pinkie Pie said. “Shouldn’t you be used to my surprises already?”

She had a point there. Ever since the two of them started dating a few years back Pinkie Pie would randomly pop up in Appleoosa with no explanation. Braeburn finally figured out what Cousin Jay Jay meant whenever she said “it’s Pinkie Pie, don’t question it.”

“I guess you’re right,” Braeburn said. “Well Pinkie, I’d like ta stay and chat, but I need to head over to Cousin Jay Jay’s place. I don’t want to be late from helping them out on the farm. I’ll see ya later.”

Braeburn tilted his hat towards Pinkie before walking into Ponyville. “Whatcha doing there?” Pinkie asked.

“I ain’t exactly sure but if I had my guess it’d probably be baking,” Braeburn said. “I know that’s what Granny Smith used to do back when she was still alive.”

“Alright then let’s go!” Pinkie said as she bounced ahead of Braeburn on the way to Sweet Apple Acres.

“Let’s?” Braeburn asked. “Y’all mean both of us?”

“Of course Silly Billy, what other pony do you see around here?” Pinkie Pie asked. There were several different ponies around the station at that time, but Braeburn got what Pinkie was getting at.

“But what are ya…?” Braeburn was about to ask, but Pinkie quickly hopped away before he was able to. “I…should have guessed that. That mare is so random the wise old mares in Appleoosa couldn’t get her. But I guess that’s what makes her so interesting.”

Braeburn hit the ground running in order to catch up to Pinkie Pie. Pinkie got a good head start and was going fast so while Braeburn ran through pretty much all of Ponyville, while dodging all of the ponies that were walking the streets. Ponyville was not that crowded in the morning so he didn’t have too much trouble in the streets, however he did nearly run into a purple dragon he remembered seeing a long time ago but can’t remember his name. Luckily thanks to a quick timed jump he managed to get over Spike and then after landing on the floor with a loud clop and then giving a quick apology he continued forward towards Sweet Apple Acres.

He caught up to Pinkie Pie as she was just passing by the white fence into Sweet Apple Acres. Besides Pinkie, Sweet Apple Acres was completely void of any other ponies except for Caramel, who was busy hammering down on a fence. And he was obviously not paying any attention because he didn’t even notice the loud high Pinkie Pie gave him before she went inside the farmhouse.

“What are ya doin there Pinkie?” Braeburn asked himself. He shook his head and then followed her in. He didn’t really want to let himself in unannounced, but he was interested in what Pinkie was up to and the other Apple Family members seem to be nowhere. So he thought he would go in quickly and get an idea of what Pinkie was doing.

When walking in he just happened to see her pink tail disappear to the right. Braeburn continued to follow her into that direction and when he finally saw here again she had a cook book open and was reading it. She then went towards the fridge and grabbed out some milk and some eggs.

“Pinkie, what are y’all doin in here?” Braeburn asked. “Shouldn’t ya ask before you come barging in to their home and usin their ingredients?”

“Oh good Braeburn, you’re here!” Pinkie said. “We need to bake some cakes and a few cupcakes! And maybe some apple fritters, apple dumplings, and some pie!”

“What the…?” Braeburn was confused, but he was used to that when it comes to Pinkie. “Why do ya need to bake all this stuff?”

“It’s a surprise! Duh,” Pinkie said. She quickly dashed over to the cupboards and grabbed out some cake pans, cupcake pans, backing sheets, and whatever other utensils were in there that she needed for cooking.

“A…surprise?” Braeburn asked.

“Yeah, now get cooking!” Pinkie said. “You’re not going to just let the mare work in the kitchen!”

Aside from the sexist comment, Braeburn was caught between pulling Pinkie Pie out of the kitchen before she wastes everything and letting her stay in and work. Pinkie Pie usually had an altruistic attitude and wouldn’t do something like this unless she had a good reason for it. She probably had some good reason for wanting to bake in here. The only problem was, as Braeburn knows full well from the buffalo incident a few years back, even if she had a good intentions those good intentions can often times fall flat into making something worse. Braeburn had seen it all too many times from her marefriend.

“Pinkie, would you mind telling me what it is your doin?” Braeburn asked. “I’ll Pinkie promise I won’t tell.” And he wouldn’t dare break that. The first time he broke a Pinkie promise… Braeburn shuttered at the memory of it and then repressed that down. He didn’t need or want to think about that day.

“Don’t you trust me Braeie?” Pinkie Pie asked playfully. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

The whole house setting on fire, Braeburn thought. But I guess she’s…right. I just still don’t like the fact that she’s using Cousin Jay Jay’s food in order to make somethin. For whatever reason she is doin it, if it’s for some sort of good reason gone bad, I’d really hate for all that food to go to waste.

“I want to trust ya, I really do, but I know you can sometimes go overboard Sugarplum,” Braeburn said, trying to explain it as best as I can. “If you can tell me, then I’ll decide whether you should be doin what your doin here. I’m not going to spill your secret. After all, I am the cousin of the Element of Honesty.”

Pinkie Pie opened her mouth to say something, but then suddenly she had some of the random body spasms, known as her “Pinkie Sense,” go off. Braeburn watched as her tail and hooves randomly shook and even her head shook after a certain time. After the spasms were over she looked over Braeburn’s shoulders with a worried look.

“What’s up?” Braeburn asked.

“Somepony is coming in!” Pinkie Pie said in a soft voice. In a speed that would make Rainbow Dash jealous she dashed over towards the right side of the room as far as she could. “Try to get them to go away. They can’t ruin the surprise!”

“But I…” Braeburn started but he was interrupted with a voice behind him.

“Braeburn? Looks like y’all are here already.”

Braeburn looked back to see Applejack standing directly behind him. As soon as he caught his cousin’s gaze he immediately got some guilt from the fact that he was inside without anypony’s knowledge. So of course he wanted to apologize to his cousin but before he could get a word in Applejack spoke again.

“Looks like Big Mac lead ya in huh?” Applejack said. “Ah wasn’t exactly intendin on havin ya cook but Ah guess if Big Mac wants ya to do that then Ah ain’t gonna argue.” Applejack grumbled “even though Ah was just about ta do that.” She walked the other way into the living room leaving Braeburn bewildered at his cousin’s behavior.

Braeburn went from feeling guilty about deceiving his cousin accidently to worry about her behavior. Sure he still felt a little guilty since she was assuming Big Mac let him in, and that’s untrue, but her cold and grudging behavior just threw him off. He stood there staring at her for a few seconds in shock.

“I figured Granny Smith’s loss was affecting them somehow, but I didn’t see that coming,” Braeburn said to himself. “What happened to her usual never-give-up attitude she always gives us? She ain’t exactly the kindest mare in the world but she is usually so much better than this.”

“I know that,” Pinkie Pie said. Braeburn walked in and looked to see she was still hiding at the right side of the room.

“What’s been happenin around here?” Braeburn asked Pinkie Pie. “I know Granny Smith died but I didn’t know things were this bad.”

“Don’t you miss her?” Pinkie Pie asked curiously.

“Well yeah I do,” Braeburn admitted. “I really do miss her, and I’m sad she’s gone.”

“Well imagine how you are feeling right now, only much worse,” Pinkie Pie said. She was strangely enough completely still while talking. “Applejack, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom all lived with Granny Smith. They’ve been close together for years now. In fact, Granny Smith was almost a parent to them since their parents were gone so early. So each of them are really sad about her being gone.”

“I…can imagine,” Braeburn said.

“So that’s what I’m doing here,” Pinkie continued. She walked up closer to Braeburn. “I’m going to throw Applejack, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom a ‘feel better and smile even though you’re sad about your loss’ party. I want to cheer them up because they’ve been so sad lately.”

“I…should have guessed,” Braeburn said, feeling foolish. “I’m sorry for doubting you Pinkie.”

“It’s alright Breaie!” Pinkie Pie said, the cheer coming back to her voice. “So are you going to help me?!”

“Yeah, I guess I’ll help ya now,” Braeburn said. He walked over to the other side of the table next to Pinkie Pie. “Let’s get down to work shall we? We’ve got lots of cheering up to do for Cousin Jay Jay.”

Author's Note

Alright, time for a little BreaPie. This chapter admittedly could have gone better but then again I had difficulties with this chapter. Don't worry, my chapters get better from now on because the next few chapters are much better planned out.

Anyways next chapter it's time for Apple Bloom...and if you've seen the oneshot I submitted last you can probably already guess who she is going to be with for the duration of the chapter.

Apple Bloom

“It ain’t fair,” Apple Bloom said as she walked the streets of Ponyville. “It ain’t fair! Why’d Granny Smith hafta leave like this? It just…it ain’t fair.”

Apple Bloom was walking through Ponyville with her head down towards the dirt path below her. She didn’t need to look up to where she was going since she knew the direction anyways, and she really didn’t want to either. She was full of sadness right now and she didn’t want to or care to hide it right now.

Apple Bloom looked up after a while to make sure she was going in the right direction. She saw a river running through Ponyville and a house with a water wheel right next to that river. Fishing in the river was a white unicorn stallion with a straw hat covering his head and his horn and a blue shirt with flowers all over it. Apple Bloom walked up to that stallion and waited for him to notice her before talking.

“Hay Sweetie Belle’s dad,” Apple Bloom said to him. “Is Sweetie Belle here?”

“Hay Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Bell’s dad said. “Nah, Sweetie Belle is gone today. She has some sort of singing performance today.”

“Ahh…ok,” Apple Bloom said, her head falling.

Magnum noticed her sadness so he quickly said “But come back tomorrow and Sweetie Belle will be here. I’ll even tell her that you were here.”

“Thanks,” Apple Bloom said before walking off slowly. As soon as she was out of Magnum’s hearing range she let out a loud sigh. “Well there goes that idea. Ah was really hopin that Sweetie Belle was here.”

Apple Bloom lifted her head up and looked over in a direction of Rainbow Dash’s cloud manor. She couldn’t see it from here but she did know that it was in that direction. It is also as of a few weeks ago, the place that her friend Scootaloo calls home. Rainbow Dash had recently adopted the young pegasus filly, and ever since that happened Scootaloo had been looking really happy whenever Apple Bloom saw her. Especially since she got to stay at the Wonderbolt headquarters whenever Rainbow Dash was there, so she got to know the best flyers in all of Equestria.

Unfortunately that also means whenever Rainbow Dash has some sort of performance for the Wonderbolts, like she does today, Scootaloo has to go with her to that performance. That wasn’t bad for Scootaloo, in fact she absolutely loved it, but that means she wasn’t around Ponyville that day. And Apple Bloom could really use some of her friend’s happiness right now.

“Sweetie Belle…Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom said to herself as she walked through Ponyville mindlessly. “Why do ya both hafta be gone today? Why can’t ya both be here?”

As Apple Bloom walked through the town she eventually heard a loud and familiar voice shout out, “Watch out!”

Apple Bloom looked up, worried that she was in the way of something, but it wasn’t her that was in the way. In front of her, Spike was looking forwards with fear crouching down to brace himself as her cousin Braeburn was on a collision course with him. As Apple Bloom was watching she was worried that Spike would get hurt, so she tried thinking of a way to get him out. Luckily Braeburn jumped as high as he could and he managed to miss hitting the dragon by just a few inches. As soon as he landed back on the ground with a loud clop he turned back to look at Spike.

“Hay there, are y’all ok?” Braeburn asked.

“Y-yeah,” Spike said. “I’m…fine.”

“Alright then,” Braeburn turned around back in the direction he was originally going. “Sorry about nearly runnin you over there.” Braeburn continued on to what he was doing.

“T-that’s alright,” Spike said, still bewildered.

Apple Bloom ran up to Spike. “Spike, are ya ok?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Yeah…I’m fine,” Spike said after breaking out of his bewildered expression. He looked over at Apple Bloom.

“Well that’s good. Ah was…Ah was kinda worried that he was gonna crash into ya,” Apple Bloom said.”It’s nice ta see your still ok.” Apple Bloom was washed with relief, but along with that relief she remembered something. And that memory caused her to turn her face away from Spike’s so that he wouldn’t see her cheeks go red.

“That was…your cousin Braeburn right?” Spike asked, figuring that was why Apple Bloom was turning away: out of embarrassment that her cousin nearly ran over him.

“Yeah it was,” Apple Bloom said. “Ah wonder what he’s doin here?”

“Well maybe he was heading back to Sweet Apple Acres,” Spike said as he looked back in the direction that Braeburn ran, noting where it would lead. “If I were to guess, he is probably there helping out since your grandma died.” Unfortunately for him, Spike didn’t realize his lack of tact until he looked over at Apple Bloom’s expression. She was once again facing him and no longer blushing. Instead she looked sad.

“S-sorry about that,” Spike said. “I…sorry.” Spike thought for a bit, thinking about how he would make up for his lack of tact. “Hey uhh…do you need somebody to hang out with today since Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are gone.”

“How did ya…?” Apple Bloom started.

“Twilight sent me a letter telling me that she and Rainbow Dash would be returning back to Ponyville after Rainbow Dash was done with her performance this weekend. I figured Scootaloo would be with them,” Spike said. “And as for Sweetie Belle…Rarity told me.”

Ah should have figured as much, Apple Bloom thought. After all Spike…still has that crush on Rarity. That didn’t help her feel better at all.

“Well, Ah guess if ya want ta hang out today…that would help,” Apple Bloom said.

“Alright then,” Spike said. “What do ya want to do?”

Hmm…I’ve got an idea, Apple Bloom thought. Ah’ve been savin this just in case Ah need it for somethin like this. And it’ll help keep my mind off of things. “Think you’re able ta keep up with me Spike?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Uhh…I don’t…know?” Spike asked. “You are an earth pony and have four legs against mine. I really don’t think I have much of a chance.”

“Really? Do y’all want some more motivation?” Apple Bloom said as she walked up uncomfortably close to Spike.

“Motivation?” Spike asked as he backed away from Apple Bloom’s advance.

“Ah happen to be keeping a nice tasty jewel,” Apple Bloom said. “It’s a nice tasty emerald Ah got as a quick thanks from the Cutie Mark Crusaders for helping fix up a few things for their new headquarters. If ya manage to catch me, then it’s all yours.”

Spike’s mouth naturally started watering at the thought of the gem, like it did with all gems. “Alright, you’re on,” Spike said.

“Come and get me then,” Apple Bloom said as she dashed off.

“Woh, hey wait!” Spike called out as he attempted to follow her.

“I ain’t about to wait for ya!” Apple Bloom called back. “Ya hafta catch up to me if ya want that emerald.”

Apple Bloom ran in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, while hearing the panting of the dragon behind her. She planned on losing him once she got into the orchard and then turning this game of tag into one of hide and seek. She was going to elongate this for as long as she could.

Cause this is the only way Ah’m gonna…keep my mind off things, Apple Bloom thought as she ran. Ah know this ain’t…what Ah’d like but it’s still better than nothing.

The two of them kept running at a pretty fast speed towards Sweet Apple Acres. Apple Bloom was keeping her pace as she was advancing and Spike was just barely keeping up, though he was certainly trying. By the time the two of them passed by the open white fence before Sweet Apple Acres though they were starting to get fatigued so Apple Bloom immediately went for the trees.

“Now ya hafta find me,” Apple Bloom said as she ducked behind the house and into the trees.

Spike stopped for a moment next to the red farm house in order to catch his breath. He put his left claw on the right side of the farm house and he watched the cream colored earth pony run and then become obscured by the multiple apple trees. After taking a few seconds to catch his breath, he ran into the forest of apple trees after her.

“Apple Bloom, where did you go?!” Spike called out.

“Ah ain’t about to tell you!” Apple Bloom said back to him. Of course because she yelled at him Spike heard the direction her voice was coming from and ran to his left. He eventually found Apple Bloom and jumped over to catch her, but Apple Bloom dodged to the right out of the way just in time causing Spike’s face to collide with the bark of the wood of the Apple Trees. “Woops, sorry,” Apple Bloom said with a nervous laugh before running off again.

As soon as Spike peeled his head away from the bark he looked over to his right, but by then Apple Bloom had once again ran away. Spike, with an annoyed expression, ran in that direction around the trees as he went because he was no longer on the path. He was hoping while he was running through the trees that he would hear the steady trot of Apple Bloom’s hooves as she ran. Unfortunately Spike wasn’t able to hear her trotting at any point in time, but he did hear her voice.

“Givin up already Spike?” Apple Bloom asked. “Can’t keep up with a filly can you?”

“No, I was just waiting for you to do that!” Spike said. He heard Apple Bloom was somewhere up ahead of him and once again hit the ground running in his pursuit. This time Apple Bloom moved out of the way after she talked to him, but it was too late. Now Spike could hear her hooves stamping across the grassy orchard so he now had her tracked.

Of course Apple Bloom still had superior speed to Spike’s, however now Spike had the advantage of cutting quarters in order to catch up to her. They were no longer just running in a straight line and that gave the chaser all the advantage. Spike cut a corner and after finding some bushes to hide in, he went in there and waited for Apple Bloom. He waited for the steady trot of Apple Bloom’s hooves to come close enough before he came out and pounced at her.

Apple Bloom yelled in surprise and tried backing up but she wasn’t able to move back fast enough. Spike landed on her from above and pinned her down to the ground. Apple Bloom was on her stomach with her hooves pressed flatly on their sides. Apple Bloom was completely stuck with no hope for movement. Thought that didn’t mean she wasn’t trying.

“Give up yet?” Spike asked as he continued to pin down Apple Bloom.

“Urrgg…I…” Apple Bloom took a deep breath. “…Yeah, Ah give up.”

Spike got off of her letting Apple Bloom stand up. As Apple Bloom stood up she shook her hooves off a bit in order to shack off the pain of having them flat on the ground. After shacking her hooves off Apple Bloom looked back at Spike.

“Alright Spike, Ah’ll get you that jewel now,” Apple Bloom said. “Come on.”

Apple Bloom took Spike back towards the path leading through the orchard. They both walked along it until they reached the cream colored clubhouse that was the original Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse. By the time they went up to the clubhouse it was already evening and the sky was orange. Apple Bloom led Spike up the staircase and into the clubhouse.

Once inside the clubhouse, Apple Bloom reached into the side a wooden couch she built that was set underneath a map of Ponyville. After a few seconds Apple Bloom grabbed out a large emerald with her mouth and handed it into Spike’s hands. “Here y’all go,” Apple Bloom said after handing it off.

“Thanks,” Spike said. He sat down and started nibbling on the jewel and Apple Bloom sat next to him, watching him. Spike quickly finished off the gem and then put one claw on his stomach in satisfaction.

After a while they both noticed that the sun was starting to fall and it was getting late. “Well Spike, y’all better be headin back to the library and Ah should probably head home,” Apple Bloom said. “Thanks for playin with me. It really helped.”

“Yeah, it really helped me to,” Spike said.

“Wha…?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I learned today…Rarity has a coltfriend,” Spike said sadly.

“Oh…Ah…” Apple Bloom didn’t know what to say. On one hoof she was happy that Spike was free but on the other hoof…she knew how much Spike liked Rarity so she could tell he must not be feeling good about it. “What happened?”

“Well…” Spike said.

“Listen Spike, I should have probably told you about this before…” Rarity started. But her speech fell on the dead ears of a dragon with his arms crossed and an angry expression on his face.

“Ya think?” Spike said. “How could you do this to me? I thought…”

“Listen Spike,” Rarity interrupted. “I want you to know something. You are such a hard worker. You are always working so hard for me and without complaining either. You are nice and can be such a gentlecolt. I am sure you could make any mare happy.”

“Then why not you?” Spike asked. “Why can’t I be the one to make you happy?”

“Because Spike,” Rarity said, “you are just simply too young for me. I wish it were otherwise, because you would make a fine colt…or dragon for me, but that is how it simply is. Were you just a few years older, than I would be happy to accept you.”

“Well that ain’t so bad,” Apple Bloom said. “At least she let ya down gently.”

“I…guess,” Spike said.

“Hay listen Spike, it ain’t all bad,” Apple Bloom said. “Rarity told ya you could make anypony happy. Maybe someday you’ll find another pony.”

“Maybe…” Spike said. “Sorry Apple Bloom. I probably shouldn’t be dumping this all on you when you have your own problems to deal with. I just…I guess I need a little time to…accept this.”

Ah figured he would, Apple Bloom said. “Well hay, if ya need somebody ta help Ah’m always here. Y’all can help me get over…Granny Smith…and Ah’ll help ya get over Rarity.”

“Yeah…I guess,” Spike said. He looked over at Apple Bloom. “I had a lot of fun today. It really helped me keep my mind of things. So yeah, we should do this again. You know, you’re a really great friend Apple Bloom.”

“Yeah…thanks,” Apple Bloom said as she turned her head away so Spike couldn’t see her blush.

Spike stood up. “We should probably both head home now. Let’s go Apple Bloom.”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Apple Bloom said.

As they both exited out of the clubhouse Apple Bloom went into her thoughts. Ah’m glad Ah got ta spend this day with ya Spike. Even if it’s just as friends, Ah really enjoyed it. And maybe…maybe someday we’ll be more than that. Because Spike, Ah want ta be the mare that you make happy.

Author's Note

Alright now time for some SpikeBloom. I had a lot of fun writing this because it is so much more lighthearted then the previous chapters. So much enjoyment.

And yeah, those last lines are my opinion of Sparity in a nutshell: I would like it so much better...if Spike was around seven or so years older. I just never really feel comfortable shipping at such a high age gap. Otherwise I don't really mind Sparity fics and have seen some pretty good ones but I still just can't myself ship at that large of an age gap.

Apple Family

“Here you go Apple Bloom,” Spike said as they stopped in front of the farmhouse.

“Thanks for takin me home Spike,” Apple Bloom responded.

“Uhh…you’re welcome?” Spike said questioningly while rubbing the back of his head with his claws in confusion. “Your house was…sort of on the way for me to go home Apple Bloom. So it was really no problem.”

“Oh yeah Ah uhh…Ah meant thanks for walkin back with me,” Apple Bloom said nervously. “Ah…really appreciate it.”

“Well no problem I guess,” Spike said while still scratching his head. “It was still on the way but, whatever.”

“Yeah Ah know it’s just uhh…ahh horseapples!” Apple Bloom cursed. She was tongue tied and not really able to state her gratitude how she wanted to without tipping off to Spike that she had a crush on him. She didn’t want Spike to find her creepy, and Spike was already recovering from being rejected by Rarity. He didn’t need to know that and have it confuse him more.

“Apple Bloom,” said a voice in a warning tone. Apple Bloom looked over to see Big Macintosh and Fluttershy walking towards them on the path from the back of the farmhouse towards the orchard. As soon as they reached the front of the farmhouse Big Macintosh looked directly at Apple Bloom. “Watch your language Apple Bloom,” Big Macintosh told her, still keeping up his stoic face yet making sure it was known he means business.

“Sorry,” Apple Bloom said with her face falling.

While Big Macintosh was looking at Apple Bloom Spike noticed something. “Are your eyes…red and puffy?” Spike pointed out. “It kinda looks like you’ve been cry…”

“Spike, I believe it’s time for you to be going,” Big Macintosh said quickly before Spike could finish. He turned his gaze from Apple Bloom to Spike.

“Yeah I’m going,” Spike said. “See ya,” he said with a wave before turning on the path back to Ponyville.

“Where are you going?!” asked a high pitched voice. Spike didn’t pay much attention to it, or where he was going until he ran into a pink fur coat. Spike backed up and then looked up to see Pinkie Pie staring down at him.

“Pinkie!” Spike yelled. “How did you…when did you…?” Spike closed his eyes and stopped talking for a few seconds. “It’s Pinkie Pie, don’t question it.”

“Well good, since you’re done questioning it, come on!” Pinkie Pie said as she started shoving Spike towards the door of the farmhouse with her forehooves. She made Spike do a 180 with one motion and with each push Spike went closer and closer. “You three as well. We all have to come inside for a surprise!”

“Umm…Pinkie I…” Fluttershy mumbled out to no avail. Pinkie Pie was constantly bouncing in between the three ponies and the one dragon and pushing them all towards the farmhouse and inside.

“Pinkie, would ya mind explainin what this is about?” Big Macintosh asked when they reached the doorway.

“You’ll see when we get there silly Billy,” Pinkie Pie said as she attempted to get them all through the doorways. Unfortunately stuffing a stallion, a mare, a filly, and a dragon through a small doorway at the same time did not work out well so they all ended up stuck uncomfortably together with Pinkie Pie pushing on all of their backs in an attempt to push them through.

“Pinkie…Pie,” Spike grunted out.

“Y’all…are…kinda…” Apple Bloom continued for him.

“Hurting…us…” Fluttershy finished off.

“Ee…yup,” Big Macintosh said.

“Just a few…seconds,” Pinkie Pie said.

This time she was pushing using her head to try and get them through. As she pushed her hooves were scraping across the ground causing lines to appear where she dug around into the ground. Pinkie Pie, finally getting that this wasn’t working out at all, backed off to try something else. When she walked back everybody peeled themselves off the door/wall and brushed themselves off if they were Spike, or stretched if they were everybody else.

“That was…painful,” Apple Bloom said as she stretched her forelegs.

“At least none of you ended up hitting my head spikes or my tail spike,” Spike said. “At how close we all were that would have really hurt.”

“Yeah…we were kinda…close,” Apple Bloom said, her face turning away from everybody else so they could avoid seeing her blush. Fluttershy also blushed when she heard what Apple Bloom said, but she didn’t hide it like Apple Bloom did.

“Alright I’m ready!” Pinkie Pie yelled out.

Everybody looked over to see what she was doing. In a speed that would make Rainbow Dash jealous, Pinkie Pie was running at them with the skull of her head facing their direction and her eyes looking towards the ground. Spike and Apple Bloom yelled out for her to stop, while Fluttershy did her very quiet version of yelling and Big Macintosh was silent. But Pinkie either didn’t listen or did not hear them because she continued to run and ran into all of them because they happened to be in a straight line leading to the door.

Pinkie Pie successfully knocked everybody inside the house, but also caused them all to go flying. They flew across the hallway until they each landed on the wooden floor in different spots. Big Macitnosh was the closest to the entrance, followed by Fluttershy, then Spike, and finally Apple Bloom was thrown the farthest.

“Ow!” said the collective voices from all of them as they landed on the ground.

“Woops,” Pinkie Pie said. “Sorry about that.” Pinkie Pie pointed to her left with her left hoof as everybody got back up from the floor. “Everypony…and Spike…in here!”

“Why are we going in there?” Spike asked.

“It’s a secret to everypony,” Pinkie Pie replied. “Now come on!”

Everybody questioningly walked where Pinkie Pie pointed them all into. They ended up in the living room, where they saw Applejack and Caramel sitting on the couch waiting as well. They both looked just about as confused as everybody else was feeling.

“Ya got any idea of what’s goin on sister?” Big Macintosh asked.

“Ah ain’t gotta clue,” Applejack responded. “Pinkie just told us ta wait here while she goes off ta get everypony else. Ah didn’t even know Pinkie was around.” Applejack then looked to see Spike was here as well. “Ah didn’t know you were here either Spike.”

“Well I wouldn’t be, but Pinkie Pie forced me in here,” Spike said.

Spike then walked into the room and sat down on a wooden couch on the other side of the room. As soon as he sat down and got comfortable Apple Bloom ran up to the same wooden couch and sat next to him. Spike looked at her with surprise but after a few seconds didn’t think anything of it.

“I guess…we just got to wait and see what Pinkie wants,” Fluttershy said.

“Well she’s probably goin to get Braeburn,” Applejack said. “So Ah can’t imagine she gonna take long since Braeburn is just in the kitchen.”

“Ya had Braeburn go into the kitchen?” Big Macintosh asked. “Ah didn’t think ya would do that.”

“Ah thought that’s what y’all had him do,” Applejack said.

“Nah it isn’t,” Big Macintosh said. “Ah haven’t seen him all day. What would make ya think Ah put him in the kitchen anyways?”

“Because y’all seem so keen on replacing Granny Smith!” Applejack said. “So don’t mind me if Ah though ya would have him do what she should be doin!”

There was silence after Applejack said that. After saying that Big Macintosh lost his stoic face for a few minutes and instead it was replaced with surprise at what Applejack was saying. He face turned to Caramel and in a talk that guys would only understand he asked Caramel where Applejack got that idea without any words. Caramel responded with a look that told Big Macintosh he had no idea where that came from since he didn’t give her that idea.

“What do ya mean?” Apple Bloom took the initiative and asked. “Big Macintosh would never do that.”

“Sure he wouldn’t,” Applejack said sarcastically. “He also isn’t bringin other ponies to the farm to help out around here. And Ah’m sure he didn’t think about havin Braeburn work in the kitchen at all. What next Big Mac? Gonna have somepony get Granny Smith’s chair now? Or are ya gonna get rid of it so we don’t hafta think about Granny Smith anymore? Do ya think somepony like Fluttershy or,” she turned to Caramel, “no offence to ya,” she turned back to Big Macintosh, “Caramel can replace Granny Smith?”

“Where in Equestria are ya gettin that idea from?” Big Macintosh asked. “Why do ya think Ah would replace Granny Smith? Ah can’t do that even if Ah try.” Big Macintosh pointed a hoof over at the picture of Granny Smith to his left. “After our parents went away, Granny Smith was the closest thing we had to a parent. She raised us Applejack. She may not have been as good as havin both our parents, but she did a dang good job for just one pony. Ah could never forget her and Ah don’t want ta. Ah would never be that ungrateful. But that doesn’t mean Ah’m not gonna move on. Ah want us to move on Applejack, not forget about her. Ah want us to go back to our normal lives, and go back to runnin this farm, because Ah know Granny Smith wouldn’t want us ta be mopin around after her death. She’d want us ta keep workin the farm and keep her memory goin.”

There was once again silence. This time though it was reversed as Applejack looked at Big Macintosh with surprise. Whether it was the fact that the normally quiet and stoic farmpony was suddenly talkative and emotional, or the truth of what he was saying, everybody just looked at Big Macintosh with an undivided attention, even though he was done speaking.

“Ah…Ah know Ah ain’t gonna forget Granny Smith any time soon Applejack,” Apple Bloom said, once again breaking the silence. “She…might have been a little crazy at times, but she was an great grandma. Its thanks ta her we have this farm and it’s thanks ta her that Ponyville is founded. Without her Ah would have probably never met mah friends.”

“I don’t plan on forgetting about Granny Smith either.” Breaburn walked in the living room with Pinkie bouncing closely by his side. “I may not have gotten to see her much, we really only talked during the Apple Family reunion, really interesting. She’s not the type of mare you forget any time soon. And Jay Jay, I’m not here to replace her. I’m just here to give you guys a little help.”

“Ah…Ah know,” Applejack said. “Ah just…Breaburn when Ah saw ya in the kitchen and smelled what y’all were cookin Ah just…” Applejack started pouring tears down her face again, “Ah thought of Granny Smith and it hurt. It hurt thinkin somepony was doing what Granny Smith used ta be doin. And…Big Macintosh, Ah’m sorry. Ah…didn’t really like idea of ya bringin in everypony ta help out in the first place and when Ah saw that…Ah just became angry at ya. But ya didn’t deserve that. Ya just were tryin to help.” Caramel moved to his left a bit to comfort Applejack by putting his hoof around her.

“Ah ain’t the only one ya need to apologize to,” Big Macintosh said. “Ah also did this so ya can spend some time with your little sister. Remember, ya ain’t the only one who is hurtin from all of this.”

Applejack looked over at Apple Bloom. “Sorry Apple Bloom. Ah was so focused on mah own feelings about losing Granny Smith that Ah forgot about yours. You’ve probably been hurtin about this too, haven’t ya?”

“Yeah, Ah…sort of have,” Apple Bloom said. “But…Ah had some help. Spike helped me feel better by playin with me today.”

“You’re welcome,” Spike interrupted. Apple Bloom gave him a quick, but gentle, kick in the stomach for that causing Spike to come in to his chest.

“And any time Ah needed it, Ah could just cuddle with Winona,” Apple Bloom continued.

As soon as she said that a bark sounded from another room and the Apple Family dog came running happily into the living room. Winona bounced on to the wooden couch Apple Bloom and Spike were sitting on and started licking Apple Bloom in the face. Apple Bloom wrapped her hooves around Winona and laughed while Spike slid to the left a bit.

“I guess this is partially my fault as well,” Breaburn said. “I kinda let myself in without talkin to you guys when I saw Pinkie dash in here. And I wanted to tell ya what Ah was doin here, but I Pinkie Promised I wouldn’t ruin the surprise.”

“What surprise?” Caramel asked.

“You ready Pinkie?” Breaburn asked, turning his attention towards Pinkie Pie.

“Yup, I think we are,” Pinkie responded.

Pinkie Pie then nonchalantly walked to the center of the room, which was already strange enough for everybody. Of course then she went back to normal as soon as she pulled out, naturally from nowhere, her Party Cannon. She fired the cannon and somehow a party that was bigger than could possibly fit in the cannon came out. Included was a bunch of streamers, confetti, and snacks that included pie, apple fritters, and even a brown cake.

“What in the hay?” Applejack said.

“We’re throwing you a party!” Pinkie Pie said loudly.

“Pinkie figured since y’all are so down because Granny Smith passed we’d throw you a party to help you feel better,” Breaburn said. “And I helped her out with it.”

“I thought you guys might want to have a good time!” Pinkie Pie said. “You guys haven’t smiled when I’ve seen you in such a long time and have always been so frowny, so I wanted to get you guys to smile again!”

“Well…” Applejack took a deep breath. She looked up at her good friend “Thank ya. Thank ya kindly for thinkin about us Pinkie.”

“No problemie!” Pinkie Pie said. “I was going to wait until tomorrow since Dashie and Twilight would be here as well, but since you guys already brought Braeburn and Caramel here I thought I’d do it today!” Pinkie Pie lifted Applejack and Caramel off the couch and on to the floor. “Now come on you two, it’s time to have some fun!”

Braeburn started the record player to play a western song with a cheerful beat. After he was done doing that he managed to get Big Macintosh and Fluttershy on their hooves and dancing. Albeit they danced awkwardly because the two of them were both shyly dancing and not really good at it either. Applejack and Caramel started dancing as well, and Applejack pulled Caramel into a dosey doe.

“Come on you two, you need to join in as well!” Pinkie Pie said after hopping to where Apple Bloom and Spike were sitting.

“I don’t really get why I’m here,” Spike said. “I can understand why you brought Fluttershy here, but why me?”

“Because you need some cheering up too, now don’t you?” Pinkie Pie said. “And what’s better to cheer you up then having some fun with your friends?”

“And come on Spike,” Apple Bloom said. “It’s not like ya need ta be home anytime soon. So why don’t ya stay a little while longer and have some more fun?”

“I…guess,” Spike said. Spike and Apple Bloom both got off the couch and danced next to each other. They didn’t dance with each other, because Spike wouldn’t feel right doing that after getting let down by Rarity and Apple Bloom respected that, but they still did have a good time together.

After getting everybody else to dance Braeburn and Pinkie Pie started energetically dancing themselves. So everybody within the farmhouse danced and had some fun. Even Winona bounced around on the floor and every once in a while would knock somebody out of their dancing to give them a sloppy lick. Including Spike, much to his dismay.

“Uhh eww…” Spike said as he was on the ground getting licked by Winona. Much to the laughter and enjoyment of everybody around him as they all stopped to look at him.

“Hay, that just means she likes ya,” Applejack said.

“Or maybe she’s just payin ya back for the times ya were supposed ta be takin care of her and instead gave her to me,” Apple Bloom said.

“That happened years ago!” Spike said.

“Well… maybe she wants to cheer you up,” Fluttershy said. “You know, you really look cute right now.”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac chimed in.

“Aw!” Pinkie Pie squeed. “I need to take a picture of this!”

“A picture?” Spike asked. “Where the heck are you going to…?” But he was interrupted by the flash from a camera Pinkie Pie somehow managed to make appear.

“Alright, now Pinkie make sure ta sent that picture to Twi when she gets back tomorrow,” Applejack said through her laughter.

“No you don’t have to do that!” Spike said as he tried to get up and get Winona off of him.

“Hay, I’m sure Twilight will find that about as cute as the rest of us,” Caramel said through his laughter.

“Ah know Ah do,” Apple Bloom said. “That’s a picture Ah’m keepin.”

The laughter at Spike’s expense continued to sound through the house. As they were all laughing, Braeburn walked up to Pinkie Pie. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds because he wanted her to enjoy herself but when Pinkie Pie finally noticed him.

“Well Pinkie, looks like ya managed to do it,” Breaburn said. “Ya got them all laughin again. You sure do show why you’re the Element of Laughter or whatever it is.”

“Yeah, I did!” Pinkie Pie said. “It’s nice to see them finally smile again!”

“I’m sure Granny Smith would really appreciate y’all helpin them through this,” Braeburn said.

Author's Note

And so the entire family plus friends comes together. So therefore we got every matchup in previous chapters here and accounted for. Yay isn't that grand. Also Winona has now made more of an appearance in this one fic then Tank has in any of my SoarinDash/Scootaloo fics. Hmm...I wonder if I like dogs a lot?

Anyways, now that that's over, I wanted to ask you guys something. Do you think I should just consider this the last chapter and move on? Because it may just be me, but I don't feel like this fic is having my best quality in it. And beyond this chapter the fic sort of changes style and instead of doing this whole one day through different perspectives thing it will have like one or two chapters per like a day and then do a major time skip. But I guess I'll leave it up to you. Should I continue this fic or move on to Blooming Travels?

Epilogue

“Alright y’all it’s time ta start a good day of work!” Applejack said the morning after the party. Everybody was in the farmhouse living room, the same place as the party last night. Well everybody except for Pinkie Pie, Apple Bloom, and Spike. “So let’s get to it!”

“I’m ready Applejack,” Caramel said.

“Good,” Applejack told him as she went up right in front of his face. “Remember, it doesn’t matter to me whether you screw up or not, just try and make sure to fix it afterwards will ya?”

“You bet I will,” Caramel said. What he wasn’t expecting was the response to that answer. As soon as those words parted his lips, they were instantly silenced by another pair of lips. Applejack gave him a little kiss before the day started, and of course Caramel’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Ah just wanted ta make sure about that,” Applejack said. “Now show me why Ah liked ya when you were workin for us in the first place by workin has hard as ya always do.”

“I’ll make sure to do that,” Caramel said.

Applejack walked over to Big Macintosh and Fluttershy. “You both ready as well?”

“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh naturally said.

“Yeah I’ll…I’ll try,” Fluttershy said.

“Just remember Fluttershy, if y’all ain’t able to help us and feed the animals ya take care of back at home at the same time, your welcome to go back ta doin what you used to do,” Applejack told her. “Ya don’t need ta help us if ya just can’t do both at the same time. We don’t want you to work yourself too hard.”

“Ah would never have her work harder then she can’t handle,” Big Macintosh said. “Ah’ll make sure she ain’t workin too hard.”

“Thanks Mackie,” Fluttershy said to Big Macintosh.

“Look who’s talkin about workin too hard cousin,” Braeburn said. “Ain’t one of the reasons I’m here.”

“And who asked you?” Applejack said as she moved her cousin. “Are you sure you’re fine Braeburn? Left Appleoosa in good hooves?”

“Yup,” Braeburn said with a nod. “I ain’t about to leave the family in Appleoosa without making sure they’re fine first. Don’t worry bout them, they’re in good hooves. I’m here ta help you out cousin with whatever ya need me ta do. And I can stay here for as long as you need me to.”

“Thanks cousin,” Applejack said. “I guess…if ya don’t mind that is…”

“What are ya, Fluttershy?” Braeburn asked, which gained a blush from Fluttershy and a small, quick chuckle from Big Macintosh.

“Sorry,” Applejack said. “What Ah mean ta say is…if ya want to Ah’d like ta have you cook like Granny Smith used to. Ah’m an ok cook on my own, but Ah know Ah ain’t as good as you.”

“Well thanks cousin,” Braeburn said. “I’m glad you’re letting me.”

“Just make sure this time if Pinkie randomly comes into the house ya let somepony know,” Applejack said. “Ah don’t need her suddenly surprising all of us. And Ah also don’t want you two to have the run of the house. Ah know full well we won’t have much of a house left if that happens.”

As they were all planning there was a loud knock on the door. “Y’all can come in!” Applejack called out when she heard the knocking. “The doors open!”

“Alright then!” came a confident voice. The door opened up and some hooves trotted across the floorboards. Eventually they saw Rainbow Dash and Twilight walk from the right into the living room door, and then walk in.

“Hay everypony,” Twilight said. She was levitating a book in her face that was titled ‘How to Help your Friends when they are Grieving from a loss.’ “Listen I know that you are feeling sad from your loss,” Twilight said in a voice that made it obvious she was reading straight from the book, “but your friends are all here to help you through it. If you need anything from us, we are all here for you.”

Rainbow Dash looked over at the lavender alicorn and groaned. “Really Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Could you be any more obvious?”

“Well at least I’m trying to help,” Twilight said in an annoyed tone of voice as she looked back at Rainbow Dash. “What have you done so far?”

“Well excuuuuuse me princess!” Rainbow Dash squabbled with a hoof trust in Twilight’s direction. It didn’t hit her, but it served a point. “I’m not good with all of this whole mushy stuff. Soarin’ is the one that’s better with all of that.”

“Where is Soarin anyways?” Applejack asked. Twilight and Rainbow Dash stopped their arguing and snapped their heads over to look over to their friends, just suddenly remembering that the friend they want to help out was here right now. “Shouldn’t he be with ya both right about now?” Applejack mumbled the next part of her speech. “And askin me for some pie?”

“Well saw Apple Bloom on the fly in here, or at least me and Soarin did since we left Twilight in the dust,” Rainbow Dash said braggingly, gaining her another angry look from Twilight.

“Show’s just why you’re the Element of Loyalty,” Twilight mumbled sarcastically.

“Hay, if a monster suddenly came and attacked I would have come back without a second thought,” Rainbow Dash pointed out as she turned back to look at Twilight. “And might I remind you because you pointed that out you almost beat me in the race anyways? If I weren’t so loyal I would have beat you by a mile easily.”

The Apple Family, plus Caramel and Applejack all looked at each other as Twilight and Rainbow Dash started bickering again. They all enjoyed a good laugh as they listened to the athletic pegasus and the book smart unicorn fight about something somewhat pointless. It was of course their combined laughter that clued Twilight and Rainbow Dash back into noticing them.

“You guys are…laughing?” Twilight asked as she flipped through the pages of the book. “This can’t be. According to the Kübler-Ross model you shouldn’t be reaching the stage of Acceptance until last stage. And even after that it should take you weeks before you are able to laugh. You are going much faster than you should be.”

“Trust me, this isn’t nearly as hard as we laughed last night,” Breaburn said as he moved past Applejack and in front. “Ya should have been there. Pinkie and me threw a party for the Apple Family to help them feel better. And we had a real good laugh during that party thanks to that little dragon of yours.”

“Spike?” Twilight asked. “What about him?”

Braeburn pulled out a picture from his saddle bag and Twilight used her magic to put the book she had down on the table and then after setting it perfectly on the table Twilight levitated that photo in front of her face. She looked at it for a few minutes, taking in all of it’s features before she started laughing hysterically from what was depicted on the picture. Rainbow Dash’s curiosity got the better of her so she went behind Twilight to try and see what Twilight was looking at, but Twilight kept snapping the letter away from Rainbow Dash’s view, much to her annoyance. Rainbow Dash back and forth a few inches behind Twilight in order to get a better view, but Twilight’s magic was faster than Rainbow Dash’s acceleration.

“Oh come on!” Rainbow Dash said. “Will you let me see the picture?”

“Nope,” Twilight said. “Consider this your parenthood lesson in patience. You’ll need it. After all, patience is a virtue.”

“But it’s a boring virtue!” Rainbow Dash said as this time she rounded Twilight in a flash and stole the photo right out from in front of her face. Rainbow Dash then looked at it herself and fell to the floor, landing hard on her back, laughing. “Hahahaha, poor Spike!” Rainbow Dash said as she kicked her hooves in the air from laughing. “He gets more kisses from Winona then he’s ever gotten from Rarity!”

“Uhh…Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said. “Rarity…has gotten her own coltfriend and…it isn’t Spike.”

“Oh,” Rainbow Dash said. She stopped laughing and got back up on her four hooves, feeling guilty. “Sorry.” Rainbow Dash handed the picture back to Braeburn and then walked back to her position next to Twilight.

“Yeah she told me hoping I could help her let Spike down gently,” Twilight said. “I gave her advice from the book ‘letting your friend down gently’ but I’m still not sure how well Spike took it.”

“Well Spike looked like he was havin a good time last night,” Applejack said. “And he and Apple Bloom apparently were havin a fun time playin yesterday. So Ah don’t think things were too bad for them. Speaking of Apple Bloom…” Applejack said in a deliberate voice to make Twilight and Rainbow Dash realize they still haven’t told her about that.

“Oh yeah!” Rainbow Dash realized. “Anyways we saw Apple Bloom while flying over here and since Scootaloo was on my back I was going to drop her off to play with Apple Bloom, but Soarin’ wanted me me and Twilight to move on instead. So I had Scootaloo fly over on Soarin’s back and me and Twilight moved on.”

“Hay Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo called down from on top of Soarin’s back.

Apple Bloom looked up into the blue skies to see the white pegasus stallion slowly descending towards the ground. As she looked up Scootaloo moved a bit to the side so Apple Bloom could see her. As soon as Scootaloo was in viewing distance of Apple Bloom she lifted a hoof in the air and started waving towards her friends.

As soon as Soarin’ was just a few yards over the ground Scootaloo hopped off Soarin’ and hovered back to the ground afterwards. She landed on the ground right in front of Apple Bloom after doing a quick front flip. Scootaloo then looked over at her friend, thinking of what exactly to say. Scootaloo hadn’t talked to Apple Bloom lately because of Granny Smith’s death and even though she wanted to help her friends, just like Rainbow Dash Scootaloo wasn’t really good with all of the sappy stuff. So she decided to talk about the show last night in hopes to cheer her up.

"You should really have seen last night's show!" Scootaloo said. "Man, was it awesome! They did so many cool loop-de-loops and tricks! They even did this one trick where they all flew real high up into the air!"

Scootaloo jumped up and started flying high in order to act out what they had been doing.

"And then they all flew around Rainbow Dash with her in the middle!" Scootaloo started flying downwards as a demonstration, and Soarin' spread his wings out, just in case he needed to catch her.

"Rainbow Dash went faster and faster and faster-" Scootaloo didn't go down that fast, though, to Soarin's relief.

"Then she did a Sonic Rainboom with the Wonderbolts all around her, and they somehow caused the colors to go bright and flashy!" Scootaloo finally settled back down on the ground.

"Finally, once they reached where I was, they all went off in different directions, except for Rainbow Dash, who was still in the middle. This huge explosion of colors went into the audience! It was so awesome! You really should see one of their shows some day! Hey, as soon as she's back on season, why don't I have Rainbow help me get you tickets?

“Naw it’s ok Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom said. “Ah’m feelin less sad today then Ah was before. Ya don’t hafta go through all that for me.”

“No I’m going to,” Scootaloo said. “I was going to do this anyways. I’m just also bringing along Sweetie Belle to join in on the fun.”

“Well alright but…” Apple Bloom looked away as she thought for a second. “If ya can get ticket for Sweetie Belle and me then…can ya also get tickets for Spike?” Apple Bloom looked back at Scootaloo. “Please?”

“Uhh…yeah I guess,” Scootaloo said as she put confusion on her face. “Why?”

“Well uhh…Spike sort of got let down by Rarity and…Ah think it would really help him,” Apple Bloom said.

“Ok, I’ll make sure to get him tickets as well,” Scootaloo said. Scootaloo then turned around and looked at Soarin’. Apple Bloom also went to her side and looked over at Soarin’.

“Yes, we can probably get you guys three tickets when we’re back in season,” Soarin’ said. “Anyways, you two can go off and play now. Just make sure to come back to Sweet Apple Acres before nightfall. That’s where you’ll find Rainbow Dash and me.”

“You're probably going to be stuffing your face with pie,” Scootaloo mumbled.

“Ah never really got that,” Apple Bloom said. “Why do ya like pie so much? Especially our pie.”

Soarin’s face flashed a bit of worry for a few seconds but he quickly got rid of his worried expression as soon as it came. He managed to flash through that before Apple Bloom and Scootaloo noticed anything. He then put on a normal, if somewhat forced, smile on his face.

“Because it’s just that good,” Soarin’ lied. “I’ll uhh…see you two later.”

Soarin’ then took off from the ground with his wings extended and ready to fly, leaving the two fillies to play. He turned around and flew in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, passing over the grassy fields below. He flew as hard as he could, going at speeds that only Wonderbolts tend to go at.

Sorry…I lied to you, Soarin’ thought as he flew, his wings beating rhythmically behind him. I just…I can’t tell you that. At least not now after you just lost Granny Smith. You’re happy right now, and your sister probably is also. So I can’t tell you about the pie that saved my life…or the fact that I was probably the last pony to see your parents alive.

Author's Note

Well here you go. Here is the epilogue of Withered and Blooming. The Apple Family has found a new happiness even in the misted of that death, is already deciding what jobs their going to do in the future, and Rainbow Dash is now off season which means Strength Through the Storm is going to probably happen soon. I think it's about one or two weeks after this fic based off memory. Also Apple Bloom now has something to look forwards to as her friend is offering to take all of them to the Wonderbolts as soon as she can, and she even managed to get Spike tickets. Bet she's going to make sure that Spike sits right next to her if I had my guess. And you get your usual twist ending from me that throws the whole thing out of wack. Sounds like things are going great. So I'll see you all...in the sequel.