//------------------------------//
// ==Part Twenty-Four: Applejackery== 
// Story: Appledashery Vol. Two 
// by Just Essay 
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	Her freckles were dim that day.  They hung across a somber expression, dead and dull, just like the cold air settling around her... around everypony gathered atop that hill on the southwest side of Sweet Apple Acres.

No less than two hundred mares and stallions stood in a thick, melancholic circle—all dressed in dark grays and blacks.  Practically the entire town had gathered, along with dozens of members of the extended Apple Family.  All was silent, save for the quiet gurgling noises coming from an infant's muzzle.

Apple Bloom lay drowsily, swaddled in soft black fabric hanging from Granny Smith's flank.  Two of the old mare's wrinkled cousins stood close by, sniffling sorrowfully.  Together they gently caressed the matriarch's shoulders as breath after ragged breath slowly rattled through her.

Just a few feet to the side, Big Macintosh stood tall and proud in a black suit.  The red stallion was eerily silent, his muzzle locked in an awkward, subdued frown that was suspended between "sorrowful" and "bitter."

Applejack looked towards him.  Her ears twitched, as if to scrape the air around her for the many words that would come from her sibling's mouth.  An anxious squirm overcame her figure; she fidgeted in her black gown while biting her bottom lip.  Just then, the words of the town mayor broke the thick silence, and she glanced towards a humble podium with a flounce to her blonde pigtails.

"It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to two of our proudest, most reverred citizens," Mayor Mare said, struggling to compose herself.  She brushed back a streak of gray-and-pink mane hair before gesturing at two fresh graves situated within the humble garden before the group.  "We commit them to the Harmonic Plains, but we commit them with even greater sincerity to the memory in our hearts.  The spirit of the Apple Family has served as the backbone to this community, and the courage and tenacity they taught us every day with every fiber of their being will continue to inspire us for generations to come.  And while the tragedy that has taken these two beloved equines from us has been terrible indeed, let us not forget that they have left such priceless treasures with us... in the form of Apple Smith... and three precious children:  Big Macintosh, Applejack, and Apple Bloom."

Granny Smith sucked a breath in deeply.  Teary-eyed, she leaned her wrinkly face over to nuzzle Apple Bloom.  The infant cooed—meanwhile adults sobbed quietly, under their breaths.  A few paces over, Big Macintosh merely clenched his jaw and stood with locked legs.

Mayor Mare continued her eulogy:  "Let us be thankful that the earth pony soul that resides within the core of Ponyville has not been completely lost.  The Apple Family have given us more than a foundation."  Swallowing a lump down her throat, the pony managed a warm smile and peered in Applejack's direction.  Soft green eyes reflected off her bifocals at a distance.  "They have given us a legacy."

Applejack's ears drooped.  She breathed in and out.  Trembling.

"Let us cherish them.  Help them.  Be there for them—faithful and strong—as the Apple Family have been for us," Mayor Mare said.  "For while death has taken so much, life gives so very much more.  This—more than anything—is what gives credence to joy, harmony, and the gift of magic.  And these were also the things that our dearly departed strove for... each and every day."

Despite the warmth in those words, it was a cold silence that followed.

"Ahem... and now..."  The Mayor adjusted her bifocals and lifted a notecard.  "On behalf of the Apple Family... I've been asked to read some words written by both of the dearly departed.  They were ever and always prepared for any eventuality—be it an early harvest or a late summer storm.  It so happens that they were even prepared for this—as tragic as it has been.  So, without much further ado, here are their parting words of wisdom to us."

At last, Big Macintosh's eyes closed.  He held his ground as the Mayor quoted the words of his and Applejack's mother.

"'Spring and summer.  Autumn and winter.  Rain and drought.  Bounty and famine.'"  The Mayor paused to breathe, then continued:  "'The only constant is love.  Adoration for our friends... passion for our partners... and faith for our families.  While forces beyond this realm might take us... and while winds beyond this fertile land might misplace us... know this—among each other and among those you've yet to meet—that the only weather you can ever hope to make a harvest from is the climate of trust and loyalty.  My beloved and I have had the pleasure of sharing this among you, and we now give it back in equal portions... so that you may keep steadfast to the mutual beat of each other's hearts...'"

Applejack stifled a tiny squeak.  The teenager closed her eyes—tensing the lids in order to dam the sudden flow of tears.

"'May it wake you each morning bright and early in time for labor... and lull you to sleep with a smile each night.  This... is my wish for you.  Now and forever.'"






Part Twenty-Four:  Applejackery
(The Tale of a Freckled Pony and Her Freckled Heart)