Chapter 1

It’s a bright and sunny day at sweet apple acres. There ain’t a cloud in the sky fool enough the show its face. Granny wouldn't have it.

I suppose I got the weather team to thank for that. Them pegasus ponies don't always understand how we do things but they went out of their way to clear up today and that's something. We should send them a thank you note or something... I don't know, I was never the one who is good with this sort of thing. I suppose I'll have to learn sooner or later.

AJ's a mite too stubborn for that sort of thing and Celestia knows I ain't passing that off to Applebloom. She's more talkative than me but she don't need to be worrying about that.

Anyways it's a nice day. I hope the pegasus ponies understand why we didn't invite them along. Unicorns too. It ain’t that we’re trying to be unfriendly or anything like that. They’re fighters. Whether its monsters, or bad weather, or anything really, they fight it and they either win or they lose.

We ain’t lost nothing. Every spring I’ve seen the trees bloom in all their color and every winter I’ve seen them leaves fall away till there ain’t nothing but sticks. All part of life. We ain’t lost nothing, this is just some more life. We don’t get to fight it.

We don’t get to pretend to rule it. We’re earth ponies, we work with it and see that some good comes out. A bunch of them pegasus and unicorn ponies mourning over a lost fight would only get in the way. They don’t understand but they respect it. I suppose that’s about as much as we can ask.

We ain’t just letting any old earth pony in. This is Apple Family business and ain’t nopony who ain’t an Apple allowed. I ain’t no preacher but to our kind this ground is holy. Ain’t no outsiders allowed. Even them that are allowed don’t come here but for the big stuff.

I ain’t been in a few years myself. The trees ain’t kept up here. Call it wild, call it overgrown, call it anything but dead. It’s life, just a bit more life we gotta work with to see the good in the end.

The box don’t weigh much but it’s heavy. It don’t have much more than some old skin and bones, Granny left. Found herself some more life to live. Ain’t nothing in the box but a slice of the past, She’s gone and found a bright future. Still it’s heavy. Got all the words I wish I was talkative enough to say. All the words she knew anyways.

We all dig. Planting seeds is a family business and this one needs to go deep. AJ says a few words, hoping Granny sticks around to hear them I suppose. In our hearts we all do I suppose. AJ promises to live up to her example, Applebloom promises to be a
mare she’s proud of, Pinkie promises to save a seat for her at the next party.

‘I’ll take care of them, just like you taught me. Love you Granny,’ my heart says.

***

“Eeyup.”

Big Mac delicately slid the marker off his back and placed it. I saw Applejack look at him like she was going to start bickering but now isn’t the time for that sort of stuff. That come’s later, right now is for Granny and she wants us to be together as a family, which I guess means some bickering but telling Macky he isn’t saying enough just isn’t right.

Look at him. He isn’t looking at where we planted Granny he’s looking at us. His eyes are all determined like he’s making a super duper pinkie promise. He’s standing up tall and strong. His smile isn’t as big as it usually is but I can still see it. He wears it better than anypony I’ve ever seen. He just said more than any one of us, Applejack just didn’t listen.

Applejack turns around to take Applebloom back to the house. The big old trees can look scary, especially with the markers all crumbling up in the roots but they’re not really scary. In a few years another tree will come up, it’ll take Granny’s marker in its roots and crumble it up until it’s nothing but teensy weensy bits of dust. Life always finds a way.

Macky still looks at Applejack and Applebloom. I don’t know how Applebloom could be scared with him watching over her like that. He’s so big and strong, and one look at that smile of his and you can see how much he cares for her.

I go up and lean against him. He doesn’t mind. ‘If you need to lean, lean on me,’ he always says with that smile of his. His chin comes over and rests on my head. My hair’s all poofy and pillowey so it’s like he’s resting on me while I’m resting on him.

We stay like that for a while. I don’t usually sit still but I don’t mind. He just watches Applejack and Applebloom, his smile shows a bit of pride and a lot of love. They don’t even know how lucky they are to have a brother like him.

Once he sees that they aren’t going to get eaten by any rabid trees or anything like that he looks at me. He still has his head on mine but I know he’s looking at me, it’s like Pinkie Sense but more tingly.

His smile changes, there’s less pride and love but there’s something new. It keeps sneaking in there when he looks at me but I can never figure it out. It’s like a mouse on a ball, always just one roll ahead of me. As frustrating as not knowing what it is I still love it. I already told you I have a crush on him silly, that smile just makes me want to be an Apple but so much more.

His smile gets bigger and I can’t take it. I know it’s there but I have to see it. A half step back lets me look at his face and there it is in all its glory. It only touches his lips but in those eyes, those big beautiful green eyes, you can see the biggest smile in all Equestria and I can't help but to smile back.

***

She looks up at me and smiles. She’s got the most beautiful smile I ever did see and when she looks at me and shines it at me like that I feel a flutter in my heart. She’s family but far enough away that it ain’t really improper for me to be feeling like this. I can’t help but wonder what she’d want in me though. She smiles like that at me, like she’s smiling just for me but I can’t ever give her anything as good as just one of them smiles.

I care about her, always have I supposed, but I’d never get up the gumption to do anything about it. Hell, I can’t even get my fool mouth to work well enough to say a few words, much less to tell her how she makes me feel.

She smiles like that for me and Nightmare Moon couldn’t darken the rest of my day. But I can’t ever get myself to say anything like that I can only just care until it hurts.

***

His smile turns sad for a second and his eyes turn away. I think I can feel all the poof go out of my mane. I turn his head towards me. His eyes are so full of doubt. He’s so big but his eyes look so small. I brush some of his mane out of his eyes and give him the biggest Pinkie keen smile I can. He spent so long giving me the biggest smile now it’s my turn.

I can see the doubt going away like ice on Winter Wrap Up. His smile comes back and the pond’s ready for diving. There’s so much more of that thing in it. It makes me feel all tingly and nervous. I can feel it coming back out of my Pinkie Smile but I still can’t figure out what it is. I lean in to get a closer look. I can taste the apple fritter he had for lunch on his breath but I’m still not close enough.

Our faces are touching and I think… I think I know what it is.

We’re so close, all it takes is a little head tilt and our smile’s meet for the very first time.

***

It was calling me but dagnabbit this is important! It was only a little kiss but it promised a whole lot more and I saw the whole thing. That grandson of mine had charmed that filly without so much as a word, just like his grandpa.

She hops off towards the house with more spring in her step than any ten ponies have a right to. He pauses.

“None of this ancient family tree business now, you make an honest Apple out of that filly.”

His smile only curls his lips a bit but for him it might as well have been dancing and singing. ‘I’ll spend every day trying to get her to marry me, and when she does I’ll spend every day thanking every power that is.’

“Eeyup.”

My grandson’ll talk your ear off if you listen. I’m just glad he found a mare that would listen.

“Well get going, there better be foals wailing by this time next year!”

Author's Note:

Just a little one shot that popped into my head. hope you liked it

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Comments ( 10 )

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SuperPinkBrony12

SuperPinkBrony12 #1 · Aug 23rd, 2014 · 4 · ·

Granny Smith's playing matchmaker? Why doesn't that surprise me?

GameQubb

GameQubb #2 · Aug 23rd, 2014 · · ·

I approve of this ship, it's so heartwarming it makes me smile

Kanske_2099

Kanske_2099 #3 · Aug 24th, 2014 · 2 · ·

It's really nice ... I loved it! it was great how you describe their smiles and feelings.

Crimson Dawn

Crimson Dawn #4 · Aug 24th, 2014 · 2 · ·

The premise is unusual but I like it. Using their smiles in this way works really well. This is a relationship we don't see enough and it works. Pinkie and Big Mac bring different aspects of the character to light even in episodes (they seem to talk about philosophy when off camera on Apple family episode),

Fervidor