A World Without a Rainboom

by Mocha Star

The Apples Move On

Author's Note:

This is a scene added thanks to Ebony Nightwing. With a suggestion I chose to fill in some back story and leave it open for maybe others to spin-off.

It’d been a week since the fire and we was in our room just gettin’ ready ta go out. “Apple Bloom, ya gonna keep lookin in that mirror or ya gonna get ready to go out with me?”

I sighed and felt a tear trying to leave my eye. I blinked hard and looked to my big sister Applejack. Her name was Applejack now; again. Mom had told me a bit about her, but most of her life was public knowledge. TV, movies, books, fanficions, voice over work, clop -whatever that is… She had a followin’ fer sure.

“Sis, I ain’t feelin’ ready to go out. Ah, just don’t know. Ah don’t…”

“Now, Apple Bloom,” she said softly and came over to me, placing a hoof on my blank flank. I lowered my head but kept my gaze on my reflection. I let my gaze focus on my sis and my heart hurt. Ah kept doing my best to not look at her; ta not stare at her scarred face and body, her bandages that were tight and colored yella from somethin’ in her blood, and the cloth she kept ‘round her neck to cover her face when she went out.

“You have to believe in yourself. When you exude an aura of confidence, then no pony will be able to counter their attitude with your confidence.”

“Ya sound like a noble, Applejack.” I looked at her with my eyebrow raised; or what was left of it; “Doncha start using that fancy talk on me, just tell me like it is; we burnt up in a fire and we gotta live with it,” I said, looking to the floor. She pressed my flank and turned me to face her. I had to look at her, but it was so hard to do it.

“Apple Bloom, you don’t have to lookit me but you should listen. When I left all those years ago to go to Manehattan it was to get away from all this.” She motioned to the room, but I know she meant the farm. “I wanted to do something different with my life and not live the simple life. I was ready to call it quits and come home when fate had it set for me to meet a showpony.

“The rest everypony knows, pretty much. Only thing I don’t tell anypony that I’ll tell you.” She leaned in close and I got kinda excited. A secret between sisters, finally! Eleven years and my first sister secret. “I hate my life.”

I reeled back a step and bumped into the mirror. “What the? Ya mean me and...”

“No no no, I don’t hate anyPONY. Only my choice to leave.” She sat and sighed. “If I’d have stayed I know the simple life woulda been, well simple. The life I got was fulla stress and pain and so many bad choices.” She looked to her belly. Ah forgot she was pregnant.

“If I’d made better choices when I was your age I’d be happy with my life. Or, that’s what I tell myself almost everyday. Now I’m back and,” she leaned in and opened her forelegs. Ah took a step, then another and she pulled me into a hug, she’s so warm and soft but, her burns are bumpy and make me sad.

“Now I feel happier than I have in years. I was nine when I left you and the family. You were a foal not more than a few months old and learnin’ to talk and you galloped after me on my path out. Ya hugged my leg and said ‘bee-bee’ and I cried.”

“Ah don’t remember that,” I said softly as she let me go.

“We all did. Ya were adorable but I had ta try and find my way and I didn’t think apples was it.” She looked to the window and the dark moon in the sky lit the apples into dark shades, not all pretty like when the sun was out. A unicorn was walking through the orchard just checkin’ the quality of the fruit.

“Applejack, you’re great no matter what cuz yer mah sis,” Ah said without thinking. She pulled me into a hug even tighter than before, then I heard her sniffle.

“Apple Bloom, ya know just what ta say. Let’s go shopping and get some orange juice.”

“Orange juice?!” I screamed in shock, “Is it cuz of Aunt and Uncle Or-”

She laughed really loud and let me go, I fell back and bumped the mirror again, lookin’ at her all confused.

“Ah was jokin’. We make the best apple everything, I wouldn’t bring orange juice here on my life.”

“Oh, well that wasn’t very funny. Oh, maybe I’ll run into my friends out in town today,” Ah said happily, getting up and trotting to the door.

“Oh, and who might they be?”

“A couple business partners of the farm. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Diamond’s dad runs a shop and he said she had ta be nice to me. Maybe Ah’ll get my cutie mark in shopping!” I said, looking to my blank flank, then to her, all excited like. “C’mon sis! We gotta go get mah cutie mark and do some shopping.”

Ah ran outta our room in the barn and to the path and looked back. We made the barn into a nice little home and all it took was a few walls. Ah, Ah looked to the house, or what was left of it, and turned away. Ah hate Nightmare Moon and her Children of the Night. Ah hate them more than any pony could know, but until I get the chance to kill one of them for each member of my family they took Ah’m just gonna keep smilin’ and plotting.

Ah found a place under the barn that Applejack doesn’t know about, and if I plan it right… Ah think I could do some revenge down there, but I gotta be careful ta not get caught. They’re the evil ones, not me. Ah’m just gonna do some justice.

“Apple Bloom, you’re in your own world again,” Applejack called to me from down the path. Ah smiled and trotted to catch up and our evening, always evening, started.

Comments

[ferret]

Apple Bloom is pretty hard core.

[IMNOTHERE889]

Day 1: final chapter for today. And, I was like Apple Bloom, I forgot someone was expecting, heh. Anyway, I'm so gonna continue. It's so interesting!