> The Apple Tree
>  by Silver Inkwell
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Apple Tree
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There once was a single apple tree that grew all alone in the middle of a field, or perhaps maybe it was a farm, but no pony really knows since this took place so long ago, but no matter, this story is not about them, it is about the tree instead, for while the tree grew alone it was not lonely, and while it was no more special, odd, unique, or any different than any other tree that much, it still felt and was slightly different based upon the position where it stood.

The apple tree lived a simple life, plain, ordinary and no more different than any other tree for it was not special or unique, but it still felt that way.
It produced the apples when the time and season came, and when the season for winter finally came each year it would drop its leaves in order to protect itself from the cold harsh icy winds that always came with the onset of snow.

And while the tree didn’t know where it came from or who planted it, it really didn’t care about it that much at all, it is a tree after all, it can’t really think for itself, but the pony who did plant the seed that would later become this apple tree was still alive, and don’t ask the tree how it knew that since it can’t talk back to you to respond, and don’t try to find that pony either, they are long dead by now. But no matter, back to the story, the pony who planted the apple tree seed that later would eventually became the tall tree that it was now, or rather back then, well he lived quite well and he eventually settled down with quite a nice family, but the tree didn’t care, life and time went on for it.

Years passed without any kind of small change, the planter of the apple tree seed eventually grew old and died as all ponies did, and the tree was grateful that it could live much longer than most ponies, life was a precious gift, and the one given to ponies was just so short and tiny it really didn’t matter to trees at all, and so it did not really notice or care for his death until they decided to bury him near the roots and soil of this tree, and that annoyed and upset the tree very slightly, but since it could neither speak or move it had to tolerate him, and so it was that way for many years until one day things changed.

Over the years the tree had grown dull to the pain in its side, whether it be of his planter carving his love on the bark of his skin (stupid ponies, they were always trying to hurt him and other trees, why couldn’t they ever stop?).

But one day it felt a new kind of pain, not one on the outside, but the inside instead, and it knew as well as the pony who cared for it that it was dying.

The tree was very old and had produced for many years, but this would be the last harvest it could produce before it would be chopped down as all other trees, and the reason why this particular apple tree knew that was because other trees could ‘talk’ or ‘communicate’ with other trees.

It was quite useful for knowing if there was a blight or disease and if you were bored or if there was any danger or peril at all, but other than that it was really quite useless, after all, it wasn’t like the trees could react to the news in any way or really prepare themselves, all they could do was stand and wait.

And so it was that the harvest was the last one it produced and then when winter came the new care taker of the tree stood over it with an axe ready at hoof to chop it down, but before he could something surprising happened.

Suddenly a small single apple seed fell down from its branches which now lay bare with the onset of the cold icy winds of winter and the snow.

But this year the earth was bare of any fallen snow, but it was still very cold, and then the care taker looked down at what had fallen, picked it up, and then he put it in his pocket and the apple tree could only hope that it would be planted so that more of his kind could live on and produce as well.

And so the care taker took his axe and very slowly chopped the tree down for he and every other care taker of this very particular apple tree had grown fond of it and developed feelings for it, which is one reason they let it live on so long.

Once the care taker had finished chopping the tree down it fell down with a great sound echoing slightly around the surrounding area. Then he took his axe and chopped up the tree into smaller piles of wood to be used to burn in his fire at home later on. Then once that was done he sighed and looked at the tiny little apple seed that had fallen down on the ground and held it in his hoof.

He didn’t know why it was up there or had fallen, or how, but he did know that he would plan this little tiny seed where the previous tree had stood, for he wanted to honor the memory of that tree. And so he did, and that tree grew up, and then it grew up, and then it grew old, and then it was chopped down.

But the care taker of that tree also decided to plant a seed where it had stood and so a tradition was established to plant one apple seed where the previous tree stood, and while it was bad for the ground and each tree grew weaker unless the soil and dirt was given time to recover, there was always an apple tree in that spot, and so it went on for many years even as the landscape and area around them changed, houses were built, houses were torn down, there was a park, and then there was none, other trees were planted, and then they died too. But eventually because there was always an apple tree there where it stood no matter what the ponies of the town decided to place a stone marker to always remember the ‘eternal’ tree of apples, for there always had been and always would be an apple tree to stand there even if other things changed.

And so we must remember that while the world may change around us, we do not ever need to change for it no matter what anyone else says.