//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: Apple's Core 
// by Saiko 
//------------------------------//

	A quiet evening it was, silent and dark, with atmosphere utterly perfect for a sad, very sad pony, one who wanted to be alone, to have a moment only for herself. The moon has already appeared on the inky sky, clear and beautiful this night, with stars strewed all over it. The silver light illuminated green gables near Sweet Apple Acres, making already present drops of dew glitter. It was chilly; the recognizable scent of night filled the air, completing the scenery and making it truly beautiful. A place everypony would like to find themselves in; a place whose charm stunned mainly because of its fetching simplicity.

Applejack has been laying there for what seemed to be ages. The cold and dampness of the ground didn’t really affect her; she wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings at all. Lost in her thoughts, she was staring at the moon, empty-eyed, not even noticing it. Memories were overflowing her for it was The Day – the only day when she would let herself give up on being the pony everypony else could count on. The day when she would always just leave without a word, followed by her brother’s and granny’s compassionate gazes, and spend the time alone. Mourning.  

The Day was always bleak and gloomy, with weather perfectly suiting Applejack’s mood. Sometimes it rained, sometimes it did not, but regardless – almost every year the sky was clouded, heavy, hanging over pony’s head like some kind of a judgment; omnipresent, never ceasing to force others to pay attention to its presence. This year, however, was different. The clouds have scattered around the noon and since then till night’s arrival the sun had been restlessly shining. It had been so, so irritating for Applejack – the first time the world wouldn’t acknowledge and embrace her sadness.

It shouldn’t have acted this way; the time between autumn and winter, the time when The Day always occurred, was supposed to put everypony in bad mood. Applejack felt betrayed by nature, her one and only friend on The Day; the duplicitous friend that decided to keep laughing happily when she wanted somebody to be compassionate and caring. All of it, combined, made the orange pony welcome night with relief; even though there were no clouds to create the dull atmosphere, darkness and silence were enough to please her. Contemplating, Applejack was too lost in thoughts to notice a Pegasus trying to catch her eye.

‘AJ?’ she asked, insecure. Her friend paid no attention at all; she just lay on the wet grass, staring at a nonexistent point somewhere in the sky. ‘Is everything alright?’

Rainbow Dash gently touched Applejack’s shoulder. She quickly backed off as the earth pony stiffened, forced to leave her own closeted world. Applejack’s sad gaze had finally concentrated and she noticed her friend standing nearby. The Pegasus wasn’t sure how she should act; it was the first time she has ever seen her mate behave this way. AJ always kept her hooves on the ground, never had her head in the clouds and absolutely never ignored others. Especially not Rainbow Dash with whom she had to start a row every time they met. 

So they just stood there – well, one stood, one lay – and stared at each other, Applejack torn away from her meditation, Rainbow Dash suddenly lacking her usual confidence. She had come here because she was bored; wanting some fun conversation or quarrel, maybe one of their private competitions, maybe something more peaceful – she had nopony to spend time with and she though meeting AJ would be a good thing to do. The pony wasn’t present in the Sweet Apple Acress but flying away, the Pegasus managed to see her on a nearby gable. She had approached loudly as usual, bragging about some stuff of little importance, wanting to draw friend’s attention to herself, but surprisingly, it didn’t work. 

She felt alarmed then and tried talking to Applejack with calmer attitude – and by such a responsible action she got herself involved in this terrible mess. Because what was she supposed to do? She couldn’t just leave without a word now that the earth pony had noticed her – and even if she hadn’t done so… After all, Rainbow Dash represented the Element of Loyalty. Withdrawing without even trying to see what was wrong wouldn’t be too loyal, now, would it? But after deciding that leaving wasn’t an option, the Pegasus’ problem didn’t disappear. What should she say, what should she do!?

It was obvious that something horrible had happened. Rainbow Dash wasn’t the comforting type of pony though. Twilight would have known what to do, or Fluttershy, or… or Applejack, gawddammit, if she hadn’t been the one who needed help. The hay with it! Rainbow Dash thought, finally deciding it was no time to do analyzing. She had to do something. Now.

‘D…do you want to talk to me about it?’ she asked, surprised at how easy being compassionate was. She always cared about others’ problems and just now has she noticed that comforting was all about showing she did instead of acting like it was no big deal.

‘Ah…’ Applejack didn’t know what to say. Every year, she spent The Day in silence, alone, mourning on her own, never speaking. Now, forced to talk, she didn’t know if she would manage to do it. And Rainbow’s question was a good one: did she want to talk to her? Did she want to share her weakness with another pony, and if she did, should the chosen pony be the rainbow-maned Pegasus, one that was never serious and often ended up hurting others, more or less on purpose? It was all too much thinking, too much thinking about the outside world Applejack has always rejected on The Day, so she just burst into tears, making Rainbow Dash drop her jaw and just look at her in awe. The pegaus slowly leaned over her friend, having in mind her previous reaction to body-to-body contact. Applejack didn’t seem to care so she placed herself next to her, now also laying on the grass. It was absolutely uncomfortable and made her coat wet.

‘AJ…’ Rainbow Dash murmured, realizing her friend has probably been lying on the cold ground for hours. ‘You’re going to catch a cold.’

Applejack would probably smile if it wasn’t The Day; cuteness of the Pegasus trying to express her care overwhelmed her. As a strong, dependable pony, she’s never needed Rainbow’s concern. They would usually hang out with their other friends, making it impossible for them to talk privately, and their one-on-one meetings usually regarded doing favors or rivalry stuff. It was just impossible for such ponies to find themselves in kind of situation that was happening then – the “I can handle it” Applejack and the “It’s no big deal” Rainbow Dash? No way. But there they were, sharing an unimaginably awkward moment. Eventually Rainbow Dash sighed quietly and wrapped her wing around the earth pony’s cold, shaking body, trying to share her still present warmth.   

And so they lay. It felt as if every second was a long, long hour of silence, coldness and oppressive sadness, and every moment Rainbow Dash spent with her friend was like a completed challenge on her quest towards representing the Element of Loyalty as worthily as possible. She was determined to stay, no matter how long. Her coat got impossibly wet, muscles ached and wing felt terribly numb but she wouldn’t move. Having spent at least a few hours this way, at the hour when you could feel sun’s presence just behind the horizon, Applejack has moved for the first time since her body ceased to convulse as her sobbing slowly stopped. She gently nuzzled Rainbow’s cheek, sure she has already fallen asleep, but the Pegasus instantly met her gaze, unsure of what was hidden behind those abstruse eyes. The earth pony seemed to be surprised by her companion’s consciousness. 

‘Thanks’, she whispered, and went silent again, but this time her glance wasn’t empty. She was lost in thoughts, wondering what her next words should be, and it was a noticeable improvement if compared to her distracted attitude from before. The bizarre catatonia finally let go of the pony as she decided to speak. ‘Rainbow, Ah…’ she began, concerned look in her eyes, about to apologize, as if she had been the one who made the Pegasus stay with her all night. 

‘Don’t.’ Rainbow Dash replied, small smile on her lips, somewhat surprised by the way she instantly understood her friend’s intentions; she’s never been able to figure out ponies’ feelings before. A change for the better, she thought. Or maybe not? Maybe it was easier not to care? She decided to consider this afterwards as then was the time when Applejack needed her full attention. The earth pony sighed.

‘It’s been so long, ya know, and I still can’t deal with it.’ She began. Rainbow Dash was all ears as her friend finally decided to talk to her. ‘It’s already been… Ten years. Ten long years. You mighta heard about this or not; the Apple family hadn’t been too outgoing before I and Applebloom got older. Granny Smith minded her own business, Big Macintosh was as quiet as he is now and mah parents… All they needed was each other. They didn’t consort with anypony unless it was really necessary. So nopony really noticed…’ her voice started shaking, tears appearing in the corner of her eye. ‘Their death.’

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. She has never, ever thought of Applejack’s parents – the Apple family consisted of the granny and her grandchildren plus hundreds of more or less known to her relatives from all of Equestria, and it was a fact known to all. She didn’t know her current friend when they were fillies – busy with her trainings at the Flying School, always trying to impress other pegasi, she didn’t pay attention to ponies living in Ponyville, a town she visited only now and then.  Therefore, she had no idea something bad happened, and other ponies must have known as little as she did – it would be impossible not to hear Apple couple’s death mentioned if it was a widely known issue. Rainbow Dash couldn’t imagine how such an important thing could have gone unnoticed for so many years, but eager to find out more, she gave Applejack a compassionate look and encouraged her to continue. 

‘It happened when Applebloom turned one. Mah parents thought it was easy enough for Granny and us, Big Mac and me Ah mean, to take care of her. They wanted to spend some time alone and they did… They departed on the last sunny day of that year and never came back. Information about an accident they were involved in arrived the same day it had occurred. Ten years ago… Ten years ago. It’s been ten years!’ she raised her voice. ‘I was still a filly then, ya know, but I’ll never forget the looks on their faces as we parted for the last time. They were so happy and it might be good it was the last time I saw them. Because…’ Bitter smile curved Applejack’s lips. ‘the bodies never returned, not even they. There was no funeral. No proper burial. Just the messenger, with an awkward look on his face as he delivered a message making what was left of our family fall to pieces. We had to work hard from then on, you know. Granny was old, Applebloom was almost a newborn, and there was also a whole farm to take care of… The rest of the… family… wasn’t as keen on visiting us as they are now. Everypony was busy. Everypony had some important business to attend hundred miles from anywhere. Nopony cared! Nopony cares! We’ve been alone with it, always, and yet we had to move on with smiles on our faces or otherwise, Sweet Apple Acres would go bust. Now it’s the whole family’s pride. Then it was a burden, a burden too heavy for everypony apart from us. Orphans! All alone. It seems that the family is always with me, eh? That we support each other? Stick together? So I’ll tell you, Dashie. For all those years, with old, tired Granny, with silent Mac, who had his own ways of dealing with it, with filly Applebloom whom I couldn’t worry with things she didn’t even remember… oh, Ah love her, Ah really, really do, but I envy her so much, her innocence and unawareness…and, Dashie, with all the duplicitous relatives… For all those years Ah’ve been alone.’

Then, silence struck again. It filled the air, not at all awkward this time. It completed Applejack’s speech perfectly, letting Rainbow Dash rethink everything she has just heard, giving all the pieces time to find their place in the mosaic of her friend’s life. How could have she been so stupid, so blind, so egoistic? How could they all? Nopony ever wondered why the pony was the most dependable, the most hard-working, why she fended for herself so well. All the traits which everypony appreciated came hard to Applejack, they were an effect of her everyday life’s horror. And the worst thing was Applejack was right. According to everything that had happened to her, and also to the things that should have happened, but they had not – she was alone. And nopony cared. 

‘AJ…’ Rainbow Dash whispered with feeling. This short word meant more than a thousand of them would have, and the pegasus stayed quiet for a moment before going on; she let the simple phrase have its place in the conversation. ‘You were alone, but now you’re not, nor will you ever be. Believe me, will you?’ She gently moved Applejack’s face towards hers, forcing her to make eye contact. ‘AJ. Nopony knew so nopony could have cared, and it was bad of us, more, it was truly evil. But it ends here, do you get it? I’m with you. I am and I’m never going to let you down.’

Words were leaving Rainbow’s mouth, flowing as a river. She didn’t really think as her tongue formed next and next vowels, everything she was promising just seemed to be the right thing to say and, moreover, the right thing to do. Because then and there, Rainbow Dash knew she would keep her promise, she would make up for all the years of Applejack’s suffering. The Pegasus felt so pathetic now, going back to days when she would consider the poor pony one of her best friends, knowing about her nothing at all. ‘I’m with you, AJ. From now on, for real, I am. You will still be the strongest pony I know even if you won’t have to handle being like that on your own. AJ.’ Rainbow finished with the same magic word she had begun with.

‘Ah… Thank ya, Rainbow. I’m sorry.’ Applejack said; she lifted her head, seeing the sun rise from beyond the horizon. Pale pink light glowed in the sky, encircling the blazing ball which was slowly climbing its way to the top of the sky. A reflection glittered in her eyes, making them seem alive for the first time since the Pegasus had arrived. ‘Ah shoulda kept my mouth shut. Let’s just forget, ‘kay?’ She smiled weakly and tried to get on her hooves but her body didn’t listen. Her head started to spin as soon as she had gotten up and she tripped, disorientated look on her face again.
‘I told you, silly’ Rainbow Dash murmured. ‘Laying on cold, wet, damp, disgusting grass never ends well!’
‘Ah’m okay now, understood?’ Applejack growled, a bit more harsh than she had intended to.
‘Nah.’ Her friend grinned. ‘Time to get some sleep, AJ. In a bed, under a blanket…’ she briefly looked at the trampled grass on which they had been laying for hours, disgust on her face. ‘Not here! I wish you could experience a nice lil’ nap on a cloud but I guess you’ll need to stick to your bed. So we’re off!’

She grabbed Applejack and lifted her in the air with ease. Rainbow’s cracking laugh filled the air as her friend started calling her names and demanding to be released.
‘You sure you want that?’ she giggled, pointing to the ground, now far, far away, and felt extremely happy seeing a shy smile appear on the earth pony’s lips. The sadness was still present in her eyes, but it was obvious she felt amused; there was this slight, almost invisible sparkle in her gaze that showed hope. 

And yes, it was hope Applejack was feeling at that moment. She knew it was naïve, she knew she should not believe others. They have betrayed her too many times; everypony had let her down at one time or another before she met her current friends and she was sure they would also do so if they found out that the most helpful pony they knew was actually the one needing assistance. Her feelings were too complicated even for herself to understand. Actually, she didn’t want to understand; she was afraid. Afraid of others, afraid of herself. Afraid she would lose everypony if she opened up to them. Afraid nopony would need her anymore if she became weaker. Afraid she would break down if she let the sadness inside on days other than The Day; The Day that, as she has just noticed, had already ended. It was time to be strong again. There was no need for hope; Rainbow Dash didn’t care and she would soon forget. As soon as she needed Applejack’s help. The earth pony smiled, finally content with the conclusion she reached, and Rainbow felt odd kind of warmth somewhere deep inside her seeing her friend finally cheer up. 

Having flown in circles for a minute or two in order to warm up, Rainbow Dash decided to eventually let go of Applejack. She reached the Sweet Apple Acres – in ten seconds flat, I tell you – and asked her passenger which window belonged to her. The pony, glad to finally find herself closer to the earth, pointed what she had been asked to point and opened her eyes wide as the Pegasus moved her free hoof quickly near the window and made it open with a quiet squeal. 
‘How’d ya do this?’ she asked, utterly surprised.
‘Magic.’ Rainbow Dash smirked.
‘Magic schmagic…’ Applejack murmured, still in awe.
‘Hey, that’s my line! Cut it or I’ll sneak up here at night… and…’
‘That’s ‘kay, Dashie, don’t wanna hear it! Ya can have yar line.’
‘Yeah, yeah, it was way too awesome for you.’

They entered the room laughing. Their brief happiness was heartfelt and it scared Applejack. She didn’t want to be sincere, she didn’t want to let anyone too close. She didn’t want to get hurt, but she couldn’t help smiling as she saw Rainbow’s intentions clearly visible in her eyes. At face value, only her usual sarcastic attitude was present, but somewhere behind it care and concern could be seen. And… fear? Maybe. 

But Applejack was too tired to think anymore. Rainbow’s face blurred in front of her as she lowered her eyelids, nearly closing her eyes, only a washed out part of the surroundings visible now. The smile stayed at her face as she felt being lay on the bed. Only then, suddenly feeling so comfortable, has she fully noticed her weariness. She wanted to wrap the blanket around herself, but the Pegasus helped her out and she felt so, so pleased and relieved. The Day had ended, so had her penance, and she could finally relax. She could imagine anypony in Rainbow’s place kissing her forehead good-bye as she was slowly drifting off into sleep, but… no way. It wasn’t anypony, it was Rainbow Dash, and instead of a cute peck, Applejack felt a nudge hit her shoulder. She opened her eyes, surprised, and her friend just laughed and left the room.
‘Night, AJ!’ she heard. Isn’t it more of a day now?, she had managed to think before closing her eyes again, and fell asleep in an instant.


***


‘The hay have I done!?’, Rainbow Dash yelled towards the rising sun. She had flown as high as she could and now, feeling the cold wind freeze her to the bone, she kept shouting and shouting. She was tired and frustrated. She was breathing heavily, angry at herself for saying what she said, angry at herself for being angry at herself, too. What she promised was the right thing to do. What she said was the right thing to say; it was clearly visible that she has given Applejack hope, even though the earth pony would never admit it. And it was so, so obvious – a pony like Rainbow Dash could never keep her word. She felt terribly. It was a nice, warm feeling, helping somepony else for the first time instead of laughing at them, but she knew she couldn’t stay this way and she knew that, being the most loyal pony of all, neither could she abandon Applejack. Final exhausted breath out of her mouth, Rainbow Dash recited:

‘Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.’ Then, closing her eyes, she gave out the loudest scream ever. ‘I WON’T LET YOU DOWN, AJ!’
She could have sworn she heard a loud “forever” echoing somewhere far away.