Chapter One: Apple Jack
The sun was beginning to rise in the land of Equestria and everyone but Apple Jack was still tucked in their beds. Apple Jack, though, rose with the sun, yawning and stretching as she sat up, the handmade quilt sliding down her slender frame to reveal her bare, sun kissed skin. Flipping back the quilt, she stepped out of bed and into a pair of mouse brown house shoes, scratching the back of her head through the cascading waves of hair the color of straw. Remaking the bed with practiced ease, she was making her way past the full length mirror hanging beside her door when she paused, taking a moment to look at herself in the mirror's reflection.
The first thing her eyes were drawn to was her large green eyes. They were like emerald orbs looking back at her from the shadows cast by her bangs, lightly catching the morning sun's light filtering in through the cracked blinds of her bedroom window. Moving further with her inspection of herself, she noticed the light spattering of freckles across her cheeks and nose. Everyone in her family had freckles, but hers were- thankfully- the lightest and didn't cover her whole body.
Her skin was tanned to a light chestnut color, a price she paid for her many years growing up and working in her family's apple orchard, toiling from sunup to sundown among the trees. Reaching up with long, slender fingers, she lightly ran the callused tips over the tan lines where her work shirt had left her skin a milky pale, a sharp contrast to the exposed chestnut skin. Allowing her eyes to travel further down her body, her eyes fell on her ample chest and the light brown areolas. Among her friends, she had the largest bust size, but unlike a lot of women her age, she did not flaunt them. To her they were just… there.
Her belly was lean, lightly hinting at the muscled abs lying just underneath the skin, and her hips were firm and round, like a woman was supposed to be shaped. Knowing she didn't have any man to impress, but having the desire to look clean, she trimmed her pubic hair into a light triangle above her delicate petals. Turning to the side a little, her eyes moved to the tattoo she had on her lower back of three red apples and leaves. She smiled slightly as she remembered the day she and her friends had all gone to the only tattoo shop in Equestria and they all had gotten their own tattoos placed on their lower back.
Satisfied, Apple gave herself a soft, sleepy smile, nodding as she walked into the master bathroom adjoining her room and, going to the large claw-foot tub, turned the water on to begin filling it with hot water. With that started, she went to the sink and got her toothbrush. Brushing her teeth until the water filled the tub, she watched the water rise inside the tub. Rinsing her mouth out, she turned off the tap before stepping into the steaming water with a gratified sigh. Without wasting time, she grabbed up a homemade bar of soap and a wash cloth, lathering it up before she began scrubbing at her skin, washing away the impurities of yesterday's work.
After cleaning herself, Apple Jack quickly toweled herself off, wrapping the towel around her chest as she stepped back into her house shoes, heading back into the bedroom. Going to the wardrobe pushed up against the wall, she got out a pair of blue jean shorts and light brown work blouse. Adding a pair of simple white panties and bra, she grabbed a pair of socks and took the whole bundle to her bed, laying them at the foot as she grabbed up an antique brush from her nightstand, taking the time to brush out her wet, freshly cleaned hair before pulling it back into a ponytail, tying it off with her mother's old scrunchie. Dropping the towel into the nearby laundry hamper, she dressed quickly, sitting on the edge of the bed to pull on her socks and her trademark, heavy leather cowboy boots. Taking a brief moment to check her clothes in the mirror, she nodded in satisfaction before leaving the bedroom, her boots clopping heavily on the wooden floors and stairs as she made her way through her home down into the kitchen.
After making herself an egg, bacon, and toast breakfast, she poured herself some homemade apple juice before taking a seat at the table. Looking out the large kitchen/dining room window at her family's land, she smiled softly in satisfaction at how she had taken the failing orchard and, through diligent hard work, turned it into a thriving farm. She gave herself a pat on the back, her smile increasing. She didn't need all the fancy technology and expensive clothes her friends had; through her own blood and sweat she had the means to go out into the yard, take her own eggs from the chickens, milk from the cows, apples from the trees, and vegetables from her garden. She knew how to repair anything that went wrong with her own Ford truck, mend any tears in her clothing, and replace anything broken inside her home. With the money she made from selling her produce and famous Apple Cider, she could easily purchase what little things she couldn't produce on her. Of course, she wasn't rolling in the dough, but she got by just fine, and she was happy with her life. What else could a person want?
Looking up at a portrait hanging on the wall above the dining room table, her smile slowly faded as she looked at people painted on the canvas there. The portrait was of her family a few years back… one of the last photos her family would ever take as a whole. Not long after the photo had been taken, there had been an accident. As she looked at the photo, memories of the night she had found out that everyone in her family but herself and her sister, Apple Bloom, was gone came flooding back to the forefront of her mind. She and her friends had been spending the night with her friend Rainbow Dash in her studio flat apartment after a night of drinking and partying at Equestria's only club: The Drunken Pony. They were having fun, drinking and laughing, when Rainbow's phone began to ring. When Apple had seen Rainbow's face when she called her to the phone, Apple knew something was wrong. Taking the phone, Apple could hear the sheriff's voice on the other end of the line explaining that her mother and father had been in a car accident, but it felt as if she had been having an out of body experience, as if it were all happening to someone else.
Apple and her friends quickly sobered up and, after a short drive in a taxi, they arrived at the Equestria Hospital, meeting her grandmother and her then baby sister Apple Bloom in the waiting room. She remembered Fluttershy holding her hand the whole way as Rarity whispered soothing things to her, telling her everything would be all right. Pinkie Pie, who was always so bright and happy, looked so worried and down that Apple could remember that she wanted to take Pinkie in her arms and make her happy again. But she had been so numb that she had to be helped out of the cab and into the hospital where her parents were being taken care of.
They sat in the waiting room for what seemed like hours, mostly trying to keep Apple Bloom quiet. It was almost like the baby sensed everyone was depressed and cried until her sister took her, settling down enough to go to sleep. A doctor finally came out of the back room and right away Apple Jack could feel that something was wrong. She began to weep as the doctor explained that her parents had been driving home from visiting their friends upstate when a truck driver had fallen asleep at the wheel and crashed head on into her father's station wagon. Her mother had been killed on impact, her father proclaimed dead not long after being admitted to the hospital. Apple didn't remember what happened after that, but her friends explained she just lost it, screaming and crying like a wild animal.
Returning to the present from her thoughts, she tore her eyes from the portrait and, wiping the stray tear from her eyes, she stood up and carried her empty plate to the sink, determined to not cry by focusing on cleaning the dishes she had dirtied. It had been six years now since the accident; she would not let that old wound open up. After setting the now clean dishes on a drying towel to dry, she grabbed her keys off the hook by the door and quickly left the house, crossing the yard to the old, rusty green Ford truck. Hopping into the cab, she pumped the gas pedal a few times before turning the ignition. The engine turned over a few times before it roared into life, shaking the cab a little. After a moment to let the engine settle, she popped the clutch and pulled it into drive. She needed to work to clear her thoughts and, as if sensing her urgency, the truck lurched forward and kicked up dust from the dirt road as Apple drove out to the orchard to start the day's work.
Apple parked the truck at the line of trees she would be working on today and, hopping out of the cab, was already pulling on the thick leather work gloves as she made her way to the back of the truck. Grabbing up the long wooden ladder and a dozen wicker baskets stacked inside one another. Carrying her load easily in her arms, she set to work, setting a wicker basket under each of the twelve trees in this row. Setting up the ladder at the first tree, she looped one arm through the handle of the basket, and climbed the ladder with practiced speed.
She was working on the sixth tree in the row when she heard the distant sound of an approaching vehicle. Looking up at the sun, she judged the time based on its position in the sky and nodded, "Right on time." She continued her work, filling the rest of the basket quickly before climbing down the ladder, placing the full basket in the back of the truck with the others she had already filled.
"Apple Jack!"
Looking up, she smiled brightly as she wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her leather glove. Running down from the house was her tween sister Apple Bloom, the pale yellow sundress she wore fluttering in the wind against her small frame.
Waving back at her sister, Apple Jack waited until her sister was closer before she opened her arms, "How was your trip with Granny, Bloom?"
The younger sister leapt into her sister's arm, giggling happily, "Granny and I went hiking, and we found this rock that's shaped like a heart! I brought it back with me to show you." Looking up at the house, Apple Jack could see their grandmother watching them from one of the old rocking chairs on the porch.
"Well, let's not keep her waiting, shall we?" Apple Jack smiled and, turning Bloom so she rested on her hip, they climbed into the cab of the truck, "Did you do anything else with Granny?"
Bloom sat next to her sister, still smiling as she looked out the windshield, "Well, we made a apple pie before we came here so we could all share it."
Apple Jack smiled as she drove, turning up into the dirt driveway, "That sounds delicious. It will make a nice dessert for tonight's dinner." She pulled the truck up in front of the front porch, killing the engine as she and her sister stepped out.
From the porch, Granny Smith stood up shakily from her rocker chair as the pair made their way up the steps, "Hello, Apple Jack."
"Hello, Granny Smith," Apple Jack smiled softly, reaching out and gently taking the elderly woman's arm as Apple Bloom opened the door for the pair, "how are you today?"
"Achy as ever, I suppose," the elder smiled weakly, her entire body trembling as they made their way into the house. Going back out onto the porch, Apple Bloom soon returned with her overnight bag as Apple Jack set Granny Smith at the dinner table. "Do you have any coffee?" Granny asked, patting Apple Jack's hand gently in thanks.
"Sure, I'll put on a pot, Granny," Apple Jack lightly kissed the top of Granny's head before going to the cupboard where the coffee grounds were. She smiled to herself as she put on a fresh pot of coffee, Today's going to be a good day.