Avatar: The Last Alicorn. Book 4: Alicorn

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 17: For honesty no pony can deny

“We, we did it!” Twilight said, a grin on her face as she stared at the smoking scorch marks where Discord had once stood. “We've defeated Discord!”

“Was there ever any doubt?” Applejack asked with a grin, the relief flooding over her. She couldn't believe it, they'd worked so hard but it was all finally over. They'd defeated the Water Nation, crushed Discord, saved the world. She sat down and wiped the sweat from her brow. “Well, if that ain't a day of hard work, ah don't know what is.”

“Just saved the world party!” Pinkie squealed with delight as she hopped around. The ponies chuckled as they slowly got up and walked out from the strange candy palace.

It hadn't been easy, but they'd done it. Applejack sighed as she looked around. They'd been through so much and there was still so much to do, but soon she could finally return home to her family and do what she was always meant to do, work the farm. Best of all, her family would once again be... mostly complete. This adventure had paid off far better than she'd ever thought possible.

------

Days turned to weeks and months as everything was, slowly, settled. Applejack never left Twilight's side as negotiations were set, peace was made and new borders were forged. Ponies returned to their homes, their lives and the great repairing of the world had begun. But, finally everything was finished. It was all just a waiting game now, to see how things would turn out. The stress was beginning to leak away from the ponies as there was no longer a great conflict to worry about. The Avatar was even smiling more now and having time to study again.

The earth bender wasn't needed any more and it was finally time. She and her little sister, Flowerbloom, were going home. She'd wanted to start calling the mare by her given name, but she'd requested to stay who she was. Just because the Cherries weren't her genetic family didn't make them any less her family. Applejack could appreciate that.

But now it was time for the young mare to learn about her original family. Her granny, her brother and, most importantly, her older sister. There had been plenty of parties thrown since the end of the war, but she was planning to put them all to shame with a good old Apple family hootenanny.

Unsurprisingly, there were quite a few ponies waiting by the edge of the town when they arrived. The moment they were in sight, two in particular came galloping down towards them in a blur of red and light green. The two barely had time to yelp before they were tackled by Big Mac and Granny Smith, wrapped in tight hugs.

“Ah never thought ah'd live long enough tah see the day,” Granny Smith said, tears running down her eyes as she started kissing Flowerbloom on the cheek over and over. The young mare giggled, shaking her head.

“Ah never thought ah would either. Ah'm very happy tah finally be comin' here an' seein' yah all,” Flowerbloom said with a wide grin. She let out a yelp as she and Applejack were hefted up onto their big brother's shoulders and carried into town, their wagon left behind.

The crowd erupted into cheers as the two meekly waved, wide grins on their faces. They were home, finally. Today there was going to be a celebration unlike any ever seen in Sweet Apple Acres.

------

Applejack groaned as a rooster crowed off in the distance. She was laying on the kitchen table and smelled strongly of sweet apple cider. The night had been wild with ponies yelling, screaming. Treats and drinks flowed like a river. They'd all been up far, far past their curfew and were probably feeling as bad as--

“Gooood mornin' yah lazy buncha party goers!” Granny Smith said as she trotted into the kitchen. “Yah all ready for a day ah fun an' hard work?”

Applejack groaned and heard a matching groan from under the table. “What in blazes are yah doin' up so early? Ah saw yah dancin' on one'a them tables with ol' man Baggy. Yah had tah be up at least as late as us.”

The older mare shrugged. “Ah ain't got time tah lay about, not anymore. The Apple family is finally complete an' yah know what that means!”

“Sleep until this headache goes away?”

“Nope!” The old mare grabbed two pans and banged them together. “It's time for yah lazy layabouts tah get up an' get to your chores! Giddyup!” She banged the pots together again.

Applejack rolled over and found Big Mac laying under it, his hooves over his ears. “Ah leave her alone with yah for a few months an' this is what happens?”

He merely grunted before sliding out of under the table.

“Now yah all get tah work, we got a whole list of things that need fixin'. Ah'll have breakfast ready faster'n a rattlesnake's bite!”

Applejack grumbled and nodded. She trotted up the stairs and made her way straight to her little sister's room. She stopped outside it and held her breath as dread started to flow into her heart. What if it had all been a wonderful dream? What if she opened the door and the room was empty, just as it had always been? She closed her eyes and slowly reached out, pushing the door open.

It creaked slowly and after a few seconds she gathered up the courage to open her eyes.

There, sleeping on a few cushions and wrapped up in a big blue blanket, was her little sister. Applejack galloped forward and wrapped her hooves around the mare.

“What? Hey! W-what's goin' on? Applejack? What? What's wrong?” the younger mare asked as she looked up at her big sister. “Are... are yah crying?”

“A-a little. Ah'm jus' so happy you're still here. Ah thought...” Applejack reached up to wipe the tears off with her leg. “Ah mean, ah was a lil worried it was all a dream. But you're here. You're real. Ah really got mah little sister back. Yah got no idea how much ah missed yah...”

Flowerbloom chuckled and shook her head. “Ah'm guessin' this is your way of tellin' me it's time tah get up? Heh. Ah'm happy tah see yah too. So, what's the plan for today?”

“Jus' some chores on the farm. If yah wanna sleep an'--”

“Not a chance,” the mare said with a shake of her head. “Ah grew up on a farm, ah'm plenty familiar with the hard stuff. It'll be good tah do an honest day's work again.”

Applejack nodded as she got up and finally let the little mare go. It was all good. They were a real family again. The only thing missing was her mom and dad. But... that was fine. She may have lost them, but she still had her little sister. That was more than she ever thought she would. She'd move heaven and earth if she had to, to keep her safe.

The two trotted down the stairs and back out into the yard. Big Mac was already over by the barn, the sound of a hammer echoing through the yard. Now that she wasn't hopped up on apple cider and too many apple pastries, she could see the farm for what it truly was.

Wrecked.

Half the trees had been damaged with only a handful of apples left. The fences were partially torn down. The barn was in shambles and needed to have a ton of work done. That was just what she could see. But they still had the trees, there were still plenty ready for the harvest, the buildings could be fixed, boards replaced. They had each other and that was enough. The farm would be repaired through hard work and dedication. They were more than capable of giving it all they needed.

She spent the first half hour trying to train Flowerbloom, but to her surprise the mare was almost a natural. She knew how to fix the fences, replace boards and shingles, tend to the trees, she knew just about everything and only needed the occasional tip or advice. Then again, the mare had grown up on a farm, so it was to be expected. It brought a tear to the elder mare's eye seeing her little sister take to the work so quickly.

Applejack was soon back into the groove of working on the farm as well, a smile on her face. It hadn't even been a year, but it felt like decades. The firm buck against the tree, the satisfaction as the apples fell down into their respective buckets. The sawing and hammering of wood to help put the fence back together. Best of all, working together with her family to get the job done. Even though she was still pretty tired from lack of sleep, her body knew the motions well and the work just seemed to flow over her. It was hard, but satisfying. Growing trees and fruit to feed the whole Apple family and then some.

Best of all, nopony was trying to kill them, attack them or wage war. There was the occasional abandoned piece of trash, sometimes broken weapons and armor, that they had to gather up and toss in a garbage pit. But it was peaceful, comfortable and a sign that they were together again. She couldn't have kept the smile off her face even if she tried.

------

The first week passed quickly and the farm was looking up. The fences had all been replaced or fixed, they'd manage to find the leak in the roof and the barn was looking as good as ever. She'd even managed to show Flowerbloom around the town and introduce her to a few of the other workers. She'd been keeping it quiet about how she'd found the young mare, not wanting to start a panic. Once they all knew how great a worker her little sister was she'd tell them all where she had been. For now, they just suspected she was found on the journey.

Bits weren't quite as tight as she'd feared. The relief bits were starting to roll into town to help fix damages the Water Nation had done during their possession of the town. Ponies always needed food so quite a few ponies were helping around the farm to help pay off whatever food they needed to borrow. All in all, things were going great and Applejack was feeling quite good. Ponies were getting spending bits again which meant the Apples got to start depending on an additional form of currency, her favorite. The food cart.

She was just rolling into town, her cart pulled behind and loaded up with pastries, when she caught sight of the soldiers. At least a dozen of them as well as a unicorn with a clipboard. She pulled her stand to the side before trotting over to one of the townsfolk. “Hey. What's all this about?”

The mare looked up. “They're just the soldiers escorting the bits to help with the recovery. The pony with the clip board came with them, apparently he's doing some sort of census for Fillydelphia.”

“Census?”

“You know, getting a record of who is still alive, who died, how much they lost in the war, things like that. He'll probably be making his way down to Sweet Apple Acres in a few hours.”

Applejack nodded before setting up her stand. Within a few moments ponies were lining up to get a few of their pies. “Now calm down everypony, no need tah push an' rush. Ah got plenty. Two bits a pie, three for the strudels.”

While she worked she watched the soldiers walking off, heading towards the next town. The unicorn stayed and soon enough he made his way over towards her. “Hello, miss. What were the prices on those again?”

“Two bits for a pie, three for a strudel.”

The nodded slowly as he marked something down on the clipboard before tossing five bits on the counter. “One of each, please.”

“Comin' right up!” she said before happily tossing them in a bag and pulling the desserts out. He took them off to the side and she quickly got back to work helping other guests. However, after a few minutes her eyes caught him examining the pastries. He didn't seem to be eating them, instead just spinning them around in a small circle as they started getting cold. She tried to ignore it.

After a few minutes however, she glanced up and he'd began to dissect them, pulling them apart with a knife and fork. He had an annoyed look on his face, shaking his head and making a mark in his clipboard. He still wasn't eating it though and she was beginning to get a bit annoyed. She was watching him out of the corner of her eye as she dealt with the customers, waiting. Finally, after dealing with her last customer her frustration got the best of her. “Hey! If yah keep pokin' at it, it's gonna be ice cold by the time yah finish. What yah got against mah pies, anyway?”

He looked up. “Huh? Oh, sorry. I didn't get it to eat. I'm examining it for, well...” He frowned and turned it around. “This... is quite impressive. I'd almost believe these are real apples.”

“They are real apples. What, yah think these trees are jus' for show?”

He paused and then got to his hooves, holding both snacks in his magic before walking towards the counter. “Well, I'm just surprised. Five bits for both of them? There must be some secret. Food is... a bit scarce right now. Half the establishments I've passed on the way here would have sold a pie like this for ten bits and it would have been full of empty, hollow areas.”

Applejack snorted. “Well, we ain't 'most' establishments. At Sweet Apple Acres we're firm believers in chargin' ponies what somethin' is worth, not overpricin' it jus' cause we can get away with it. The ponies of this town ain't jus' mah customers, they mah friends an' ah ain't gonna gouge them when they need mah help. Ain't no proper way tah run a business.”

The stallion nodded and made a few more marks. “Sweet Apple Acres, you say? I have heard some pretty good things about your establishment. I was actually hoping to be by tonight. Would it be okay with you, miss....?”

“Applejack. An' yah can come by if yah like. Us Apples ain't ever said no tah havin' guests over. We'll treat yah right proper.” She gave a firm nod before she started packing up her supplies. “Ah gotta head back anyway. Jus' see your way over as soon as yah like. Follow the road straight through.”

“Thank you,” the stallion said with a smile. “My name is Frost. A pleasure.”

“Pleasure's all mine.” She closed up her shop and strapped the cart to her back. She gave him a quick nod before trotting off towards the city. She snickered at the silliness of it all. “Right. Like ah'd try doin' somethin' like that. After all those ponies have done for meh. Ah guess there's all sorts of ponies out there tryin' tah get what ain't rightfully theres.” She shivered and thought of the Flim Flam brothers. “All sorts, alright.”

------

Applejack's ears perked up at the sound of the gentle knocking. The chores were done for the day, so the family was getting a great chance to laze about and relax. Granny Smith was once again in the kitchen. She couldn't imagine what had come over the elder mare, but she was busting out old meals that they hadn't had since she was a filly. Everypony was working their tails off and getting their jobs done, creating a beautiful harmony in the farm. Big Mac and Flowerbloom were going over some old family photographs, telling her about all the members of their family. That many ponies could take a few nights to tell her about.

Applejack rose to her hooves and trotted to the door. She pulled it open and gave Frost a smile. “Well, ah'm happy yah were able tah make it. What yah need tah see first?”

The stallion gave her a small smile as he held up his clip board. “Well, how about we start with your fields. With all this farm land I'd like to get a tally of what was damaged and what came out okay after the invasion.”

She nodded and glanced back towards the others. “Ah'll be back in a bit! That stallion came by ah told yah about!” She then looked back to him. “It's pretty late, but yah hungry? We still got left overs from dinner an--”

“No need,” he said with a wave of his hoof. “I've already eaten. This will probably take a while, so how about we get to work?”

She nodded and followed after him. He held a lantern in the glow of his magic to light the way and she started showing him all the damaged trees, buildings and things they'd repaired. Before long they returned to the house. “Tah be honest, we're doin' pretty good all things considered. It coulda been a whole lot worse. Do yah wanna see every last thing? Ah gave yah a small lil summary, but showin' the full farm could take days.”

“Oh, I've definitely seen a lot worse. What you've shown me is fine,” he said with a shake of his head. “All of this seems almost minor. I uhh, do hope you don't expect a massive pay--”

“Not at all. Tah be honest, we've been gettin' a few stipends as it is tah pay for all the harvest we lost. We really weren't expectin' anything more 'an that.”

He nodded. “Well, that's a very nice way to look at it. Funds are, unfortunately, limited. But his highness is making every effort to ensure his ponies are being properly taken care of. The war has been hard for everypony.”

“Ain't that the truth. Ah think we came out better than a lotta folks, though.” She pulled open the door to the house and trotted inside.

“Indeed. So, it's just the four of you then, correct?”

“Yeah, we sometimes have workers come from town, but for most of the work, we do it ourselves. Used tah be a lot harder before ah came back and brought Flowerbloom with me.” She motioned towards the main room, where her siblings were nestled up by the fireplace, the book still open.

“Came back?” he asked curiously.

“Oh, yeah. Ah was travelin' with the Avatar, teachin' her earth bendin'. Ah'm surprised yah didn't know that.”

His eyes went wide. “Wait, that was you? I'd heard the pony had returned, but I had no idea you lived in this town. Your family must be very proud!”

She chuckled and gave a nod. “They seem tah be.”

He nodded before looking down at his clipboard. “Well, that seems to be just about everything I need, then. I just need to mark down the deed for the farm as well as validate my log of all the ponies who live here.” He frowned again and then looked up at the fire. “Wait. You said four before, right? Did you have a child? A new live in worker, perhaps? I only have three listed. Applejack, Big Mac and Granny Smith.”

Applejack chuckled. “Ah yeah. Flowerbloom here is a new addition. Well, sorta.”

“Is she an orphan?” he asked softly, glancing down at the mare with pity. “She seems a bit... old to be adopted.”

“Well, she ain't adopted. She's an Apple through and through. There was jus' this whole... well, she's been in the Water Nation until now. See, a long time ago there was a raid on the farm. The one that... killed our parents.” She had to pause to take a breath. She thought she'd be over it by now, but the words still hurt. Even if Flowerbloom was back. “One of their soldiers took Flowerbloom an' raised her. We met up again after she joined the resistance an' helped us fight off the Water Nation. Good child.”

The clipboard fell from the stallion's magical grip as he stared at the mare. “W-what? You mean to tell me she's a member of the Water Nation?”

“Well, she was. She ain't no more. Ah imagine she'll wanna visit a lot, though. She's a--”

“ARE YOU MAD?!” Frost yelled, startling the two sleeping ponies awake. “You can't hold a member of the Water Nation in your household! That's treason!”

Applejack glared. “Well, you listen here, she ain't no member no more! She's a member of the Apple family.”

“What's going on?” Flowerbloom asked as she got up, stretching a bit.

Frost backed away, grabbing his clipboard and holding it up like a shield. “You're crazy! I'm going to have to summon the guards immediately!” he took a deep breath and looked to Applejack. “Listen, you seem like a good mare, but this is crazy. She's a member of the enemy nation. Turn her over peacefully and this will be good. If you don't, you could lose the entire farm.”

That gave the earth bender pause, before shaking her head. “We ain't gonna lose the farm. Listen, if yah--”

“Lose the farm?” Flowerbloom asked, shaking her head. “Yah can't take the farm!” The mare ran over, shoving the clipboard away. The stallion backed up. “Listen, ah--”

“Get away from me! Water Nation scum!” the stallion roared, before picking the clipboard back up and thwapping her on the head with it.

Applejack quickly spoke up. “Hey! Now see here you--”

“Ow!” Flowerbloom snapped before taking another step forward. He tried to hit her again, but she tore the clipboard away and tossed it aside. “Now listen! Ah ain't no traitor or--”

“Get away, get away!” the stallion shrieked as he kept backing out the door.

“Stop! Ah ain't gonna hurt yah!”

“Hey! Everypony, stop, don't-- Look out!” Applejack yelled as the stallion kept backing away. He didn't listen though and backed right off the edge of the porch. He let out a yelp as he struggled to maintain his hoofing, toppling over backwards with a shriek. There was a sickening crunch. The ponies shared worried looks before galloping towards the balcony and stared.

Frost had landed on the ground, hard. His head had slammed against a toolbox that had been left out by the porch. There was blood dripping down the side. Applejack was the first to recover and she slowly walked down and nudged his hoof. “H-hello? Frost? Yah okay?”

There was no response.

“He... he ain't dead, is he?” Flowerbloom asked, her eyes wide. “Ah... ah was t-the one who left the box out. A-ah was... ah was gonna fix the porch, t-there were a few loose boards. A-ah didn't mean tah... ah didn't think he'd... a-ah never meant to... o-oh...”

“Big Mac, take Flowerbloom inside,” Applejack said softly. She moved down and put her ear to his chest. He wasn't breathing. Once she was alone she sat down on the porch and just stared. She felt the panic begin to rise in her. It was an accident, anypony could see that. They'd have to be blind not to see that. She'd just go to the guards, explain what happened.

But they'd take Flowerbloom away, blame her for it. They'd react just like he had and try to take her. Take the farm.

A shiver went down Applejack's back as those thoughts flowed into her mind. She tried to ignore them, but they blasted in her head so loudly she couldn't dream of blocking them out. She looked at the body and then the clipboard. What if they did? What if they took her sister away? She'd spent so long without her, she couldn't bear the thought of losing her. Not again. Flowerbloom didn't deserve it. She was an Apple, she deserved everything that it meant. Not to be driven out.

But the ponies wouldn't see it that way. It was just like in some of the cities they'd been at. The herd would call for her head without thinking about it. They'd be driven to vengeance for the crimes of the nation. She looked back to Frost and shivered. It was an accident. But it could destroy her sister's life and ruin everything. She chewed on her lower lip before pushing her hoof out and making the ground rumble and slowly begin to carry the stallion away.

She'd lost her sister once, she wasn't going to lose her again.

Comments

[eric-emanwu]

Hmm. For creating AJ's hell, Discord decided to use the pool and rock technique to try and trap AJ in a lie. A lie she thought she'd make for a good reason, but a lie nonetheless. Thus fulfilling his question to her, "When has a little lie hurt anyone?"

What's interesting about this version of hell was that it was a lot less up front in making it work. Rather, it was simply a return to "nomalcy" though with flowerbloom in AJ's life now as well. As I said before, AJ was one of the only members who GAINED from the war. Where so many of the others lost things, AJ, for losing the farm, still gained her little sister back, and so lives in a new dream of having Flowerbloom around all the time now. Like she was her whole world.

Though, from the beginning, there was an...oddity that they never addressed in universe: Whatever did happen to the Cherry Jubilee family? Surely Flowerbloom would've loved to introduce her father and mother to her sister, brother and grandmother. Not to mention, the tough reconciliation she's need to have with them, given that she now has ties to 2 kingdoms, and her dad killed her other mom and dad. I guess, discord didn't want to drop an ugly truth at the time?

No, he was saving his guns for an uncomfortable truth: not everyone will accept that the water nation is living among us so soon after the war. And that did lead to an accident, involving a dead census pony. AJ saw the danger rather than the facts. And so, she tried to tuck Frost away (ha ha. Frost kills apples.), beginning her time caught in a web of lies. Well, let's hope twilight can get in there soon.