What Happens In The Apple Family
Chapter 1
Apple Bloom trudged through the snow and ignored the icy sidewalk alongside where she walked; sure that one step on the ice embedded concrete would send her spinning. Lights glowed warmly in front of her, and she sighed as she looked back at Sweet Apple Acres. The place hadn't been the same since Granny Smith had passed and Big Macintosh, the shy red farm colt left for a mysterious mare from Trottingham. The grief had taken over everyone who inhabited the farm, especially Applejack, Apple Bloom's big sister who she held dearly to her heart. It was hard to remember a time when A.J. didn't just sit at the window, huddled in her grandmare's old rocking chair, pulling the special quilt she was giving as a filly tightly around her, rocking slowly in a world of deep depression as dark as the shadows falling against the remnants her heart.
When Granny Smith passed, everything crumbled.
"Granny, Ah' got you those seeds you needed." Apple Bloom set down the seeds and knelt down, picking up and dropping apple tree seeds, mirroring Granny Smith, who slowly planted them with painful effort, and Apple Bloom could practically hear her ancient limbs creaking with every movement.
Granny Smith mumbled something that the young mare could not understand, and shakily stood up. "A-Apple..Bloom, g-get me inta' the house, p-pa-lease, Ah' need mah medications…" She reached blindly for Apple Blooms shoulder, and slung her hoof around her neck. The yellow pony's soft red hair caught under her grandmare's grasp and she yelped in protest, but managed to keep it in the lowest volume as to not concern her.
She could hear Big Mac laughing and a shrill, playful squeak erupt amongst a few rows of apple trees as she trudged back to the house. He was with his fancy new girlfriend from Trottingham. For months now, Poppy Seed and he had been dating, and every day was hell for Apple Bloom, who was bullied by Poppy constantly, but always behind Big Mac's back. His love for her made him so blind to the fact that Apple Bloom was being bullied by his mare-friend, but the perky mare put up with it. Seeing at least one of her family members this happy was not worth ruining their relationship.
Apple Bloom lay Granny on the couch, and clicked on the television for her to watch while she organized her pills and medicines. She fiddled with the caps until they popped open, revealing her daily meds that were to be taken. Her dementia was the worst out of all of the sickness and disease that riddled her body, a warning of age that cursed the old mare.
Piling the multi-colored pills on a small saucer, she balanced a cup of water on her head, and clutched the plate between her teeth. Granny Smith sat, dazed, on the antique couch, counting the buttons on the remote control.
"Oh- hello, Princess Celestia! My, my, my, we haven't spoken in ages!" She sat up in delight and kicked her hooves over the edge of the sofa and stood on all four legs. Looking at Apple Bloom in sincere confusion, she gasped "Wait, who are you..? By golly, you aren't Miz Celestia at all!" Her eyes widened and she frantically backed up against the far wall. Apple Bloom was shocked- never before had her own grandmare questioned her identity. She may have forgotten how to go to the bathroom or make Zap Apple Pie, and even tried to invite a beetle to dinner, mistaking it for a homeless pony in need of some good ol' hospitality. But she had never, ever before forgotten Apple Bloom, the one who took care of her, who loved her and still thought about her.
The mare's eyes began to water as Granny Smith went berserk, hiding behind chairs and screaming for help. "Leave, right this instant! You're on Apple Family property, now scoot!" Her shrill cries rang throughout the farm house, hurting her ears. The old pony reared back on her hind legs as Apple Bloom took a step towards her.
"G-Granny, it's me," She cried between sobs "Apple Bloom, remember?" She held her front legs out, hooves outstretched, waiting for her grandmare to remember. Apple Bloom pointed to her cutie mark, a red and green apple clashing, a reward for being a faithful Apple Family member and being skilled in picking the best apples.
Granny Smith screamed once more, throwing a chair in the direction of her grandfilly. Both of the ponies were crying now- Apple Bloom, out of sorrow, and Granny Smith, out of fright and frustration.
"Just leave, ya' hear?"
The yellow mare inched forward, crying, and said "Remember, me, you know, Apple Bloom? It's me!"
"Ah' don't care who you are, Ah' don't know ya'! Now please, leave!"
Just then, Big Mac strode into the house, his hair tousled and Poppy Seed following close behind, a ditzy expression strewn across her face. He gasped as soon as he saw Granny Smith huddled behind the kitchen table, where she had knocked down several plates and chairs. Splinters of wood and porcelain shards dug into her pale green fur, and blood dripped down her several wounds in crimson surprise. Eyes crazy and hair a mess, any other pony would agree that Apple Bloom had harmed the poor old mare. She rocked back and forth on her bottom, whispering things nobody could hear or make out. But as Big Macintosh locked eyes with his little sister, standing shocked, tears drying on her yellow fur, and letting out choked sobs now and then, he knew that it had gone too far.
He walked slowly towards Granny Smith and lifted her up over her back, making soft clicks on the hard wood floor every time his mighty hooves touched down. Apple Bloom bit her lip and wiped the tears off of her cheeks with a hoof. Poppy Seed stood at the door in shock, moving out of the way when Big Mac shoved past her, Granny Smith lay strewn across his back, mumbling and staring up into the nothing she found so interesting as her carrier headed for the hospital.
Apple Bloom did not know that those last moments were the last that she would ever see her beloved granny alive- ever again.
Chapter 2
Apple Bloom stomped her hooves at the entrance to Twilight Sparkle's library, snow flittering off and onto the doormat. Even at this hour, the mare could always depend on her sister's good friend to be poring over her books, studying for Celestia knows what. As the apprentice of the princess herself, Twilight was quite the brainiac and knew just about everything there was to know.
Sure enough, Apple Bloom walked in to a mess of books, either piled in neat stacks or strewn across the floor in complete disarray. A soft purple glow radiated from behind a fort of thick books on the subject of the anatomy of ponies to how to make potions for flight. The purple mare sat hunched over, her horn magically flipping through a book's pages at a steady pace. Apple Bloom coughed and the librarian looked up from her book.
"Oh, hi, Apple Bloom! Gosh, I haven't seen you in forever!" She shut her book and stood, knocking over a few books as she did. She blushed and rubbed the back of her neck with a purple hoof. "Um…How's Applejack?" Her soft smile faded into a worrisome grimace and she tried not to think of the deep depression her friend was trapped in.
Apple Bloom shifted nervously on her hooves, looking down at the floor. "Well," she said "She isn't doing better, but she's not getting worse. She ate by herself today, though. A whole apple! Ah' wasn't even there to help her." Apple Bloom tried to smile, but Twilight knew it was a fake one.
"Oh, well, that's good…" Twilight looked around uncomfortably. "So…What do you need?"
"Just some books... It gets boring at the farm. Ever since crops started dying down, Ah' don't have to do much other than watch Applejack and make sure she's eating. Thank Celestia some of the town ponies offered to pitch in. It's getting harder and harder to run the place without our best farmers. Plus, Ah' was going to see if Applejack wanted to take up reading with me."
Twilight nodded her head and smiled warmly. "Sure, I can help you with that," The mare trotted over to a shelf seemingly untouched from the mess. "So, do you like mystery, romance, adventure, horror…?"
"Oh, erm, just gimme' anythang' good, if ya' can. We don't read much, so I guess we'll just find out."
Twilight Sparkle blinked, then sprang to action, piling books into a canvas saddle bag, yanking books off the shelves fast or carefully pondering over a couple. As soon as the saddle bag was full with an assortment of novels, she hoisted it up and assisted the smaller mare with it. When Apple Bloom was all set and ready to go, Twilight walked her to the door.
"Well, be careful on your way back home. And you can bring back the books anytime."
The yellow pony nodded and turned towards the door, but the librarian stopped her.
"I…I do hope that Applejack gets better. Send her my condolences." Twilight's lip quivered as she thought about the absence of one of her best friends, a fellow Element of Harmony. "Tell her we all miss her."
Apple Bloom looked down at the grass, carefully watching the twitching blades of green as they leaped up from where she had stepped on them. "Ah' will,"
She stepped away and gave the purple unicorn a sincere look, then turned and trotted away, her hooves clicking softly on the smooth sidewalk of Ponyville. Deep in her heart, she knew that Applejack wasn't going to get better.
Chapter 3
'Where's the rum when ya' need it..'
Applejack rummaged silently through the cellar, peering behind old bottles of mature apple cider, barrels of that fall's apple harvest and many canned delicacies such as peaches and cinnamon apple slices and all kinds of fruits grown on the farm. Their famous Apple-Peach Rum was supposed to be down there, where Applejack had stowed it away. She liked it because it was strong and just one bottle could leave her dizzy and ditsy, forgetting her sorrows and worries.
Ever since her beloved Granny Smith had died, Applejack turned to drinking. It numbed her pain and helped her with the grief. Better to forget about you problems than sort them out was what she told herself every time she popped out the cork of that dark, bitter bottle that solidified her small sliver of sanity.
The farm pony searched, rather frustrated, for the bottles of rum in the darkest corner of the old cellar. She threw her hands up in frustration, brushing her fore hoof on the rafters. The wood was moist and exposed sharp splinters that hurt like hell- enough to make this light orange mare erupt in a flurry of cusses, damning Princess Celestia herself in pain and anger at the stupid little shard of wood caught in her hoof. Roughly yanking the splinter out with her teeth, she shoved aside a barrel of apples in front of a shelf. There sat the last few bottles of rum.
"Ha. Gotcha'."
Grabbing a bottle, she trotted up the creaky old stairs of the damp, dark cellar in grim victory. The mare caught sight of her younger sister, Apple Bloom, walking slouched and determined up the road to the farm house. Her saddle bags were bulging with books, and Applejack snorted.
'If this is another trick to get me up in the mornin'…Sshe ain't gone' get nowhere with those silly books of Twilight's.' Applejack winced at the name of her old friend. She hadn't been to town in months, and certainly hadn't had any contact with her 5 best-friends since then. Apple Bloom had cautioned them all that she was unstable and wasn't willing to talk to anyone yet. Since then, they all kind of stopped trying. Even Pinkie Pie, the joyous pink earth pony who never gave up- the last time she had come to visit, Applejack yelled at her, called her annoying and told her to grow up and get out. That was the only time Pinkie Pie had ever cried…
Of course the other 4 friends, and fellow Elements of Harmony, were shocked and came to talk to Applejack, and scold her on her insensitiveness. She responded with silence and just stared out the window until Rainbow Dash shoved her. The orange mare, stricken with surprise and shame, lashed out and snapped at Dash that she was a worthless piece of garbage, and that flying like an arrogant idiot would get her nowhere. And screamed at Twilight that she was a stuck-up egg-head, demanded Fluttershy to stop being such a shy and introverted little twerp, and yelled at Rarity to stop acting like a movie-star when all she would ever accomplish was making ugly, trashy dresses for her friends that didn't even like them.
They never came back.
Applejack slammed the cellar doors closed and ran into the orchard, clamping the glass bottle as tight as possible in her teeth. Tears ran down her orange cheeks, then flying off in the fast current of wind she braced past as she ran, deep into the orchards before finding a tall apple tree that tow ered over a clump of younger ones. The mare hastily wiped off the salty tears, and lifted the bottle to her mouth. The cork popped off with a tug of her teeth and she greedily gulped the bitter drink, substituting her sadness with blind drinking.
Not long after she was almost done with the bottle did she hear Apple Bloom calling her name.
"Apple Jack," she called "Where are ya'?"
Apple Jack wiped her mouth and stood. Chugging the rest of the bottle down, she stepped forward dizzily and dug into the earth with her hoof, dropped the empty rum container inside and patted the dirt back over it.
"A.J.," Apple Bloom trotted over to her sister with a lantern swinging in her mouth with every step. "Where ya' been?"
In response the drunken pony burped and swung her hoof around the younger mare's neck. Her breath reeked of rum as she whispered into her ear. "Ah' got…BUURPP…Suh-some…Some more rum."
The scent of intoxication that hid in her already foul breath was enough for Apple Bloom to realize that Applejack found the rum-again. She sighed and supported her drunk sister hopelessly back to the farm house, ignoring the pony's remarks about the world.
"You know what…Yah-yah know what! Ah' think…Ah' think apples is stew-pid. Real stew-pid. We should start a vacuum makin' bid-ness! She grinned and released another whiff of stinky rum air, and Apple Bloom nodded.
"Sure, A.J., let's start makin' and sellin' vacuums…"She offered through gritted teeth. Applejack was now laying across her sister's back, staring up at the stars and giggling between every burp or alcohol induced complaints or opinions.
"H-hey… BUURPP…Where in the world did that lazy brother o' ours go? He's supposed to be picking apples!" She finished, shaking an angry hoof at the air.
"He went to live with Poppy Seed, Applejack, remember? They live in Trottingham together- in the city."
Applejack considered this with a pouted lip, and slid off of Apple Bloom's back. "I don't think Ah' appreciate that...No, Ah' don't appreciate that at all…" Her eyes narrowed in anger and her younger sister braced herself for a tantrum. Whenever they got on the subject of Big Mac, A.J. remembered how he'd abandoned the farm, the whole Apple Family. Just for his fancy marefriend from Trottingham.
Staring off into nothingness, the now angry and determined looking pony turned around and glared straight into Apple Bloom's eyes.
"He needs to come back."
Her sister nodded and stepped forward to embrace her sister, trying to clog the upcoming flow of anger and deceit. "A-Ah know, sugar, but…He left. And now we have to be thankful for the faithfulness of our friends, who come all the way up here every day and help with the harvest. How's about we go back on up to the house and fix us up a nice cup of hot coco?"
Applejack snorted and stamped her hoof. "Who said that lazy fool could leave? Just leave us here, with nobody but the rest of our stupid family to help with the harvest? Cousin Apple Seed left us yesterday, same with Gala Seed and Pink Lady the other week! How in tarnation are we gonna get this place up and running again, grow our apples the way Apple Family does, without the dang Apple Family? Big Mac left us, Apple Bloom! He left! And here you are, a dumb filly, believing that everythang's' gone' be just peachy!" She paused and spit into the earth beside her. " Why…Why do you believe that? He ain't never comin' back, so why try? Why try, Apple Bloom? The orchard's a goner. The whole dang' place and the people in it might as well be, too. Nobody can help us. We'd be better of selling our hoof shavin's…"
The young, yellow mare stood frozen in the moonlight, biting her lip to halt the tears trying to race down her freckled cheeks. Shaking her head silently, she worked up the courage to say what she was thinking.
"Y-You're wrong, Applejack. We're doing just f-fine…But apparently, you can't appreciate what these fine folks are doin' here," Apple Bloom's soft orange eyes shined in the moon light, as she peered at her big sister in disgust and sorrow. "Because you're too dang' busy drinkin' and wasting away in that dumb old rocking chair. You are worthless now, and you wanna' sit here, talkin' bout' who ain't doin' their duty, who's a' leavin' and who's not."
Applejack stood her ground and stared back at Apple Bloom, her expression a stone carving of her face.
"Well, you can go on and just git'. Nobody wants a worthless, lazy pony who won't do nothin', all day and every day. Because that's what you're good at, right? Not bucking fer' apples or selling them at the stalls. You're just mighty fine, though, at feeling sorry for yourself. You think nobody else misses her? Do you have the nerve to say that Ah' don't? That Big Mac left us for nothin'? He can leave if he darn tootin' wants to leave…And so can you."
Apple Bloom shifted defiantly on her hooves, waiting for a response from Applejack. She looked down on her sister, who looked down at the grass, observing a blade of grass.
"Maybe…Maybe Ah' will." And with that, Applejack slumped over in a tired last say of the argument. Even unconscious, she acted drunk- mumbling old tunes and fluttering her eyelids uncontrollably.
Apple Bloom reluctantly slung her sister over her back again and finished her trek back to the farm house and through the rows and rows up of apple trees.
Chapter 4