Falsehood
"The next thing ah knew, ah was fightin' Discord by myself!" Applejack gesticulated with her hooves to emphasise the point. "Those good-fer-nothin' double-crossin' ponies just watched as ah did all the work!"
"Really?" asked Apple Bloom. Her wide eyes were fixated on her older sister. "Did ya beat Discord?"
"Yes."
"Then why can ah see him from here?"
"That's not Discord…" Applejack began fishing for words. "It's Fluttershy."
Apple Bloom pouted. "You always lie no matter what ah ask! Ah thought we didn't do that to each other. We're family."
"Exactly," Applejack said. She leaned back on the wall of the barn and let her hat fall onto her face. "That means ah get to tell y'all what to do."
Applejack heard a scuffling of hooves and a few mumbles and sensed that Apple Bloom was gone. Applejack felt a growing feeling of loneliness but shrugged it off; she should be glad to be away from those rotten ponies she called her friends. Even the thought of Rainbow Dash, whom she hadn't seen in quite a while, ignited hateful feelings. Although Applejack did not want to admit it to herself, she was embittered that her family already seemed to hate her. It was, after all, only a couple of days since Discord had begun his tyrannical reign.
Applejack peeked from under her hat and saw Big Macintosh working hard in the orchard. His steady hooves caused a mini tremor through each tree, causing every single fruit to fall. Upon closer inspection, Applejack noticed that her big brother had a stick in his mouth, and between bucking the fruits and harvesting, he would suddenly start chasing his tail.
Applejack decided that she would help Big Mac, and cantered toward him. Wordlessly, she began working beside him.
"Are ya planning on helping me buck all these trees?" Big Mac inquired, simultaneously dropping the stick onto the ground. He inexplicably let out a gruff bark at the end of the question. It was more of a demand than a request, and Applejack understood why. Under Discord's influence, the apples had become elongated and a sickly yellow colour. They were rather like…squashes. The weird fruits would sprout up within the span of a few hours and, if they weren't bucked immediately, explode. They still tasted like apples, though. Granny Smith tested them herself.
"Nope," Applejack replied, pulling herself back to the present. Low expectations, easy to impress, right?
Big Macintosh turned his back to his sister and walked to another part of the orchard. He did not even look over his shoulder once. On his way, Big Mac spontaneously began digging a hole and buried the stick in it. A wet, drippy tongue lolled out of his mouth when he stopped to pant. His canine alter-ego only took over for a short while as within only a few seconds, he was back to his "normal", hardworking self, the expression on his face unreadable.
Applejack did not understand why Macintosh took her so seriously. Half-truths and white lies were perfectly innocent. In fact, they saved her from facing the horrible truth.
"Ya know what? Ah think ah will help you with the orchard!" Applejack shouted after him. Without waiting for a reply, she turned her back to her brother and strutted away rebelliously. However, her pace soon faltered and Applejack's eyes dropped to focus solely on the path ahead of her as she drifted further and further away from her family.