One less Apple

by dumbficwriterisdumb

Good days gone

Granny Smith looked out serenely from her rocking chair at Sweet Apple Acres as Big Mac, Applejack, and Applebloom were working the fields, preparing for harvest. Not a single fruit bat or injury disturbed their work, but Granny felt useless that all she could do was watch them idly. She had been a sprightly young mare back in her day, but she sighed as she thought about her bad hip and how she couldn't buck apples anymore. After spending what seemed like several hours sitting in her chair, she finally got up and addressed the three ponies.

"Well, it's about time you young'uns took a break," Granny Smith called out to them. "You come on over to the barn and I'll get the cider going."

Applebloom raced ahead, excited to taste Granny's famous cider, while Applejack and Big Mac ambled along behind her, exhausted from the days work. It wasn't long before everypony was sitting down at a picnic table downing large mugs of fresh cider. Granny Smith sat besides Applebloom as she drank hers.

"Your cider is always the best, Granny," Applebloom chirped enthusiastically. "It's no wonder everypony lines up to our barn for cider season."

"You're darn tootin'," Granny Smith replied. "This recipe has been going on for generations, and it will go on for generations more."

"Eeyup," Big Mac said heartily.

"I'm just glad that nothing bad has happened so far," Applejack commented. "It's not unusual for some bump in the road to happen during harvest season, but I'll be darned! Nothing's been happening so far and I couldn't be happier."

"Don't jinx it, Applejack," Applebloom replied jokingly. All of them laughed and had more hearty servings of cider.

"Well, don't the time just fly so fast?" Granny Smith commented. "Fiddlesticks! If we're going to have a good harvest, y'all best be gettin' back to work. I sure wish I could help you with the bucking, but my hip just ain't what it was when I was younger." Applebloom sighed, but Big Mac and Applejack seemed relieved to be getting back to work.

"If you young'uns need anything, I'll be right here making more cider for y'all," Granny Smith called out as they headed back to the fields. "And I won't forget about that zap apple jam either. Y'all can come back now and have it on toast when you're ready." Applejack and Big Mac waved back to Granny Smith as they returned to the orchard and continued bucking the trees until sunset.

Six days had passed since their initial start of the harvest, and Applebloom returned home from school. Despite that she was tired after a long day at school, Applebloom was excited to begin another days work for harvest; she always had fun bucking the trees with her siblings, and Granny Smith always made the best cider when they took breaks. When it came time for a break from their work, Applebloom hurried ahead to meet Granny Smith at the barn. When she arrived at the barn, Granny Smith wasn't there.

"Applejack? Big Mac? Where's Granny?" Applebloom asked with worry in her voice. Applejack and Big Mac were silent for a few moments before she thought of a gentle reply.

"Applebloom, Granny Smith ain't feeling well right now," Applejack replied. "She's up in bed resting."

"Oh no, really?" Applebloom asked with sad confusion. "She told me yesterday that she'd be making more cider for today."

"That was yesterday. This is now," Big Mac said bluntly. Applebloom looked on at Applejack and Big Mac hopefully.

"It's ok. She's going to get better and then we'll make some more cider, right?"

Applejack sighed. "We'll see, Applebloom," she replied, "She'll probably be ok after a visit with the doctor."

"Probably? What's that supposed to mean?" Applebloom asked anxiously.

"Nothing. Now, why don't you and Big Mac get back to harvesting? I've got some chores I should do around the house."

"But what about you, Applejack?"

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Now get going, if you want to get a good harvest."

Applebloom sighed, but she followed Big Mac back into the orchard. Applejack stayed behind to help take care of Granny. Over the last few days, Granny's hip had gotten a lot worse. She could hardly stand on her own at this point and was almost bedridden that day. Granny should have stayed in bed for several days before, but it was only today that she finally relented and swallowed her pride. Granny Smith had always been a stubborn mare. It was also a miracle that Applebloom hadn't noticed Granny's decreased mobility as Granny had kept her pain hidden very well; it was even hard for Applejack to tell until she had fallen over earlier today. After giving it much thought, Applejack called one of the Ponyville doctors and scheduled an appointment for Granny. Even though Granny was proud and might resist, Applejack knew that she needed to see a doctor.

The next day, Applejack took Granny Smith to the Ponyville hospital as scheduled to see the doctor, much to Granny Smith's chagrin. Though Granny was able to amble along with Applejack, she protested heavily almost the whole trip.

"Doggonit, Applejack," Granny grumbled. "It was only one day of hurting. One sick day is nothing to get worked up over."

"I know Granny," Applejack replied, "But that darn hip of yours has been hurting for far too long now. Try as you might, I've seen you struggle to move, and there's no hiding anything from me."

"And I'm telling you that this is a waste of time," Granny Smith said. "I've been sore for quite some time now, and I've never complained, and I don't plan on complaining about it now."

"And that's just the problem. You shouldn't have to be so sore for that long. This is why I'm taking you to the doctor."

Granny Smith grumbled, but didn't say anything more. She knew that once Applejack set her mind on something, it would get done no matter what. She supposed that her stubborn nature ran in the family because she remembered her father being the same way. When they finally arrived at the hospital, they waited in the waiting room for what seemed like a very long time, but in reality they only waited for approximately 45 minutes.

"Granny Smith," one of the nurses called out. "The doctor is ready to see you."
The old mare got up unsteadily, and Applejack helped Granny Smith into the physician's room. When Applejack was sure that Granny Smith was ok to be alone in the room, she went back into the waiting room, uncertainty plaguing her mind.

Granny Smith sat on the doctor's bench and glared at him.

"Now listen here, young'un," she said to the doctor indignantly, "You and I both know that this is a waste of time. I'm as dandy as a dandelion and don't need no help."

The doctor smiled politely and said, "I'll take your word for it, Granny. We're just here to fix what ails you and send you on your way." He was used to old ponies proudly refusing his help, and Granny Smith was no different than the others.

"Fine. Just get this over with so I can go back to the farm. I've got cider to make, and it ain't going to make itself," Granny Smith said reluctantly.

The doctor pulled out his clipboard and began to ask her several questions. "So how long would you say your hip has been bothering you?" he asked politely.

"Gosh, I don't even know. It's probably been years, but for some reason it's been worse than usual. Probably because of all that cider making."

"Is there anything else that bothers you other than your hip?"

"Well, my front legs have begun to get a little unsteady, but it ain't anything bed rest can't cure."

"I see. Come with me, and we'll get you an X-ray right away."

Granny followed the doctor into a large white room with a huge machine in it. She put on a standard hospital gown as she stepped into the large machine to take her X-ray. "This had better not take long," Granny Smith thought to herself. "I've got to get home to oversee the harvest."

After several minutes, the X-rays were complete. The doctor looked at the X-rays and didn't find anything too unusual other than severe arthritis in her hip. Then the doctor took a closer look.

"Oh dear," he said soberly. What he had found in Granny Smith's front legs were a lot of small tumors. When he looked at the X-ray of Granny's hip again, he found several larger tumors gathered there, and some smaller tumors on her back legs as well. There was no easy way of getting this information to either Granny or Applejack.

"So what do you see, doc?" Granny Smith asked slightly impatiently. "Am I fine as pie, or what?"

"Granny, you should come and see these X-rays," the doctor replied sadly. "You need immediate medical attention." The doctor showed Granny Smith all of her X-rays, and Granny Smith gasped with fear.

"I'm afraid that you have cancer, and it appears to be very malignant. At this rate, you may only have a month to live at most. I'll go get Applejack," the doctor said soberly. Granny only looked on with sad fear and sat on the ground.

The doctor returned to the waiting room and called out for Applejack, and Applejack immediately followed. The doctor showed Applejack the X-rays and delivered the terrible news. Applejack cried and hugged Granny Smith.

"We'll have a bed prepared for Granny right away," the doctor said. "It's best that she get some rest in the hospital while we figure out a treatment plan." Applejack nodded solemnly in agreement as she left the hospital, head hung low.

When she returned home, Big Mac and Applebloom greeted her.

"How did the doctor's appointment go?" Applebloom asked curiously. "And where's Granny?" Applejack couldn't answer; she only hung her head low to hide her tears. Big Mac, sensing her distress, hugged Applejack.

"Applebloom," Applejack said sadly, "Granny's not coming home."

"What? Why not?" Applebloom asked in disbelief. Applejack sighed heavily as she tried to tell the truth.

"Applebloom," Applejack said, "Granny Smith is dying."