Dear Twilight Sparkle

by Penmore

A Conversation With Granny Smith

Twilight stepped into the kitchen to find Granny Smith putting down a plate of cheese and apple slices. There was already a plate on both sides and a pitcher of lemonade to accompany the light meal. The rest of the kitchen had pots and pans cooking something underneath their lids. Granny put them to a slow simmer and sat down; motioning for Twilight to do the same.

"Thank you once again for taking the time to talk to me, Granny Smith. This means a lot to me, and it will help clear up some confusion on my part." Twilight said as she sat down and poured the drinks for the both of them using her magic.

"No trouble at all sweetie, just a bit outta nowhere. I don't think I could be much help to the Princess's prized student." Granny took a sip of the lemonade and watched as Twilight set down slices and cheese on their plates.

"Oh, don't be like that Granny Smith. I've heard that you've been here since the found of Ponyville, so I'm sure there is a lot I could learn from you. Though, to be honest, there are some things, in particular, I want to know about."

"Oh? What would they be? And, please just Granny'll do."

"Well, what I wanted to talk to you about was more about someponies in particular. Specifically, Applejack's parents if that's alright with you…" Twilight had to look away at asking such a question. It would undoubtedly bring up bad memories for the old mare, but she couldn't back down now. Not when she finally had the chance to know why A.J was acting the way she was whenever the topic was brought up.

"You… want to know about my son and his wife? That's certainly not something I get asked every day. Well, I guess that's fine then, what do you want to know?"

This was it, she wanted to ask so many questions, but the fact that it was such a touchy subject made it clear that she needed to proceed with caution. She needed to ease her way into this kind of conversation and rightly asking about the death of her son and daughter-in-law was not the way to do it. "Well, to start, I'd like to know their names and how they met."

"My son's name was Charles Ross Apple, and his wife was Autumn Gold. They met in Prance during the time Charles was gone on his journey of sorts. It wasn't until they decided to marry that he came to introduce her to me, it was also the same day he decided to take over the farm with her."

"Just you? What of your husband?"

"Alexander Apple was his name; he died far away from here chasing after Charles. He never got say goodbye… I never got to say goodbye…" Granny was holding back tears, and tried her best to keep her composure in front of Twilight. She blew into the hoofkerchief provided by Twilight and wiped any stray tears.

"Sorry, I didn't mean..."

"Its ok dear, I'm just not used to talking about him as much to other ponies. I'm all right, let's continue."

"Right, well, what did you mean he chased after your son? Was this journey dangerous or something?"

"Not exactly, Charles was a stubborn stallion just like his Pa, and it didn't help that they fought about everything. It got to the point where he just up and ran off without so much as a goodbye or note. That was when Alexander went after him to bring him back or at least try talking sense into him. I never saw him again until a letter arrived asking for identification of a body. It was the hardest trip I ever made."

Twilight started to feel guilty about bringing up such horrible memories for Granny Smith. The feeling of prying into something best left alone was becoming more apparent as the story went on, but she couldn't help the need to know, to learn about why things were the way they were.

"So your son, Charles, came back to find you alone? Is that why he took over the farm? Along with Autumn?"

"Yes, he took it harder than I thought he would. After learning of his father's death, he wouldn't eat or move from his grave for at least a week. When he finally did move, he told Autumn that she was free to leave as he would stay to keep the farm going. She refused to go, and a few months later they married. I couldn't have asked for a better wife for my son even if Celestia herself offered. I loved them both, and they brought me so much happiness after such dark days."

"I'm so happy for you Granny; I can't even begin to imagine how you must have felt alone to tend to the farm all those years."

"Well, it wasn't easy, and it fell into a steep decline seeing as Alex used most of the funds to chase after Charles, but I don't regret letting him. I'd do anything for that stubborn old fool, even if it meant being unable to afford help."

"You loved him didn't you Granny?"

"Yes, I did, and still do."

There was a moment of silence as they each took a sip of their drinks respectively, and ate some of the snacks as Twilight refilled the glasses. Twilight enjoyed the momentary lapse in conversation as she was working her way up to the main reason she had asked for the talk in the first place. It would mean seeing Granny in pain for remembering, but she was so close to the truth of it all that she didn't want to stop halfway. And yet, it didn't feel right to her. It felt like she was sullying the memories of Granny with her need to fix a problem. The thought was prominent in her mind, but she didn't pay it much heed as it was replaced with even more questions as to what exactly happened to make A.J act so distant.

"Granny? I know this might be a bit much, and you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

Granny Smith sipped her lemonade and raised an eyebrow as Twilight started to fidget in her seat. "What is it dear?"

"Well… What happened to them? Charles and Autumn."

Granny put her glass down and ate another apple slice. She took a deep breath and looked out the window for what seemed like forever to Twilight. The silence was getting to her, and the guilt was starting to get too heavy. She expected some form of response instead of just silence. Even a slight deflection would be better than having to sit there not knowing what the old mare was thinking. Was she thinking of telling Twilight to get out? Did she ask too much too soon? Were the events so traumatic that she just couldn't bring herself to talk about them? Was she disappointed at Twilight for asking such personal questions? Especially after hiding away for three months and causing A.J to act slightly off the whole time? Had she really only brought up the subject just to satisfy her own needs? What of A.J? Would this all result in her losing a friend? A friend that had put her complete trust in her. Twilight started to sweat harder than she thought possible, and her breathing was getting haphazard. It was deafening how long the silence was lasting; she couldn't take much more of it, and it had only been five minutes of waiting.

"It was when Autumn was pregnant with Applebloom that it happened."

Author's Note:

Another day, another chapter! Getting things rolling with another chapter, granted it's shorter than the last one but I'm doing things at the pace I'm comfortable with and not putting unwanted stress on my need to write. I'll be doing things to the best of my current abilities so look forward to more.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my story. Please leave a comment or critique as any critique can only help me get better. Have a great day!

Comments

[p61blkwidow]

oh twilight ireally hope that you start realjseing the consequences of your actions! becuse if you dont the results will bedevestaing to your friendships! another fine chapter!