Honestly

by TARAnasaur

Outlaws to the End

Applejack watched as her dad hooked himself up to the old apple cart. It was getting old and gave him a hard time. He stood there fidgeting with the latches and grumbled to himself.

"Oh Jackie, this old cart ain't what it used to be," he said, finally getting it to work.

"Why don't you get a new one?" little AJ asked.

"Well, bits are hard to come by nowadays, Jackie," her dad explained. "With the new foal, ends are gettin' harder and harder to meet."

"Oh," AJ said.

Applejack's dad pushed open the doors to the barn and began walking down the worn down path to the orchard with little Applejack right at his side.

"Ah'm so excited you're gonna finally let me help you harvest!" exclaimed AJ.

"Well, you're gettin' to be a big girl, Jackie. You ain't gonna earn your cutie mark by sitting on your rear end!" said Aj's dad laughing.

"Ah'll earn my cutie mark soon!" Applejack said blushing a little.

"I know you will, sugarcube," her dad said, laughing again.

They came up near the orchard and her dad began working right away. His strong back legs hitting the bark with great force, cause apples to fall into the cart.

"Now, little Jackie, this is how you applebuck!" her dad said giving a demonstration. "You center yourself square in the middle of the trunk and-" he gave a hard buck.

AJ watched as the apples fell. She decided to give it a try. She centered herself just as her father said and bucked with all her might. Only a few apples fell though.

"Haha, you ain't gonna earn your cutie mark like that, darling!" said her dad. "Put your heart in it, Jackie!"

Determined little AJ centered herself again and took a deep breath. She lifted her hind legs and with a great thud she hit the bark as hard as she could. This time, a shower of apples fell.

"Yeee-haww! Now that's how ya do it!" said her dad proudly.

Applejack had a proud grin on her face. Her and her dad applebucked for hours.

"Whew, almost done." her dad said with a heavy breath.

Her dad turned to buck the last tree and his face fell completely. He was looking off in the distance at something little AJ couldn't quite make out. In a swift motion he flung Applejack on his back and bolted towards their house.

"Daddy! What's wrong? Why did we leave the apples? Why are you running?" AJ questioned while trying her best not to fall off.

"Not now Applejack!" her dad growled.

Applejack's dad busted into the house and frantically searched for his wife. He finally found her sitting with their son Macintosh, and their new foal Applebloom.

"We have to go! C'mon, now!!" he shouted.

"What's going on?" AJ's mom said scrambling to get the children together.

"They're here. Coming up from the south field," He said.

"What?!" AJ's mom yelled.

"Where's Granny Smith?" Applejack's dad asked.

"In the cellar, preparing for zap-apple season," AJ's mom replied.

Applejack's dad glanced out the window. He saw the gang of outlaws drawing closer. He had feared this moment all his life. He had always knew it would come, but always hoped it wouldn't.

"Oh Celestia, it's too late." whispered AJ's dad.

He rounded up Applejack and Macintosh and scooted them down the stairs to the cellar. AJ's mom followed with Applebloom in her mouth. Her parent's ran up to Granny Smith and quickly and quietly informed her of the situation.

The only words Applejack could make out were "outlaws", "returning", and "revenge". It didn't take long for Applejack to catch what was going on. She knew her parents had a life that they weren't proud of, but they gave that up to settle down. They traded all that for a family. What could the ponies they used to run with possibly want from them?

Applejack's parents ran back up the stairs and locked the door behind them. She heard loud shouts outside. She made her way across the celler to the wooden door that led outside. She was able to peek through a hole in the old wood. She caught a glimpse of her parents. They were standing in front of a group of stallions. They looked rough, and tough, and like they hadn't bathed in weeks. Applejack tried to listen to their conversation.

"What do you want from us?!" she heard her father yell.

"You've been runnin' for far to long, you old mule." said the biggest one.

He was huge, even for a stallion. He had a dusty gray coat and a black rat's nest of a mane. He wore an eyepatch and spoke with a toothpick sticking out of his mouth.

"We don't want any part of our old life!" yelled AJ's mom. "We left your gang years ago!"

"Now, you see, there's the problem. The only way out of this here posse, is death." said the big stallion as he spit on the ground.

"We ain't done you nothin' Deadeye!" her father shouted.

"That's where you're wrong." he grinned.

Applejack watched as the one her father referred to as "Deadeye" pulled out a pistol and dropped her mother first, and then her dad. She felt hot tears run down her face as she watched their blood pool together.

Granny Smith ran up to her, tears welling up in her eyes too, and pulled her away from the door. She sat them all in the cornoer farthest away from the door.

The posse's hoof steps grew faint as they gallopped away.

The group sat in the corner, the only sounds were their breathing and their tears.

Comments

[Theater Critic]

Dafuq did I just read?

9/10

[Theater Critic]

Good story. The pacing was a little too fast. But the rest is great!

[BronyHeretic]

I'm gonna have to agree, the pacing was very fast and took away from the drama, and I had trouble visualizing some of the scenes near the end of chapter 2.
8/10

[The Grey Pegasus]

*Me reading description.*

It's Applejack's birthday and her friends all pitch in and buy her a beautiful new hat.

How nice! ... Actually have not seen too much of that.

When Applejack returns home she takes the time to think back on the memories her old hat holds.

Okay, I've seen that sometimes.

She relives the murder of her parents and her journey to avenge them.

WAIT WHAT.

Effect of description enough to make me read story.

Needs slight grammatical work- very little. Pacing's fast. But the premise seems okay.