//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Peace at Last // Story: Applejack's Lament // by Darkblaze15 //------------------------------// Immediately after her big sister left the house, Apple Bloom regrets everything she had said to Applejack within the last five seconds. Of course, she would be immensely upset upon learning her own sister caused the death of her parents, but she did not really mean the hurtful things she said to Applejack after hearing the story. After all, it was only an accident. "Oh, Granny Smith," Apple Bloom cries out, "I didn't mean what I said; I didn't mean to run my sister out of the house!" "I know ye didn', child," Granny Smith, "But nopony here blames ye fer feeling the things ye said." "But that's not fair!" Apple Bloom exclaims, "Applejack shouldn't have had to keep that from her own family. We've got to get her back!" "I can't believe she never told us about it," Fluttershy says, tears still in her eyes. "It's like I said," Big Mac explains, "We didn't want anypony going after her and throwing insults at her for accidentally killing our parents." "Well, what are we going to do?" Rainbow Dash asks, "She could be anywhere by now!" "We know of a few places she goes when she's feeling this upset," Granny Smith says, "We should check them places first." "Come on, girls," Twilight exclaims, "Let's get our friend back!" And everypony races out of the house to find their missing friend. Meanwhile, Applejack continues to run away from Sweet Apple Acres, away from the heartache, never stopping until she somehow ends up near the edge of the Everfree Forest. She stands at the top of a hill overlooking Ponyville, trees and rock formations ahead of her, the slope behind her. Applejack instantly knows why she unconsciously arrived at this spot; this is her family's favorite picnic spot, the place they would come to almost every day; this is one of the few connections to her parents she has left. This is where she comes to cry so nopony can see her. Applejack climbs the rocks until she finds a crevice where she cannot be spotted by any wanderers and begins to shamelessly bawl like a filly, hiccoughing and breathing tersely. The weight of everything surrounding her parents comes crashing down upon her now that everypony knows the truth. What pains her most, however, is Apple Bloom's accusing stare when she learns that her own sister betrayed them all; envisioning her outburst after the fact brings fresh tears to Applejack's eyes as she begins another emotional fit. If Applejack had known Apple Bloom would react the way she did, she might have told her about it sooner, but it was certainly too late for that know . . . * * * * "Aaaapplejaaaaack! AAAAPPLEJAAAACK!" Apple Bloom calls out to her sister but receives no reply. The search party had found themselves at the edge of the Everfree Forest, near the Apple family's picnic spot, according to Big Mac, and began canvassing the area for signs of their missing friend and relative. "I've searched all over these rock formations, but I can't find her anywhere," Rainbow Dash pants after soaring around the craggy landscape, ready to go back out. "Well, then, maybe you can help us on the ground, darling," Rarity calls out, "I for one have no desire to go crawling into any holes." "Not even for your own friend, who could really use our help right now?" Rainbow says, slightly accusingly. Rarity considers, "Well, I guess when you put it that way," she finally says as she continues to search among the rocks. Eventually, however, they begin to lose hope in ever finding Applejack. "Ugh, this is hopeless!" Rainbow Dash exclaims, "We'll never find her in here!" "If I know ol' AJ, which I do," Granny Smith begins to say, "Then she's bound to be here somewhere. This is one of her most coveted spots in all of Ponyville." "I'm gonna get a bit higher up," Apple Bloom states, "to see if I can get a better view." "Be careful, Apple Bloom," Big Mac warns. "Don't worry, I will," she responds and begins climbing. When she reaches a ledge in the cliffside, she looks around for her sister but does not pay attention to anything in front of her. Before she knows it, she is sent flying forward after tripping on a stone jutting out of the ground, landing awkwardly on her foreleg. "Oof!" Apple Bloom cries out, "That was clumsy of me." She tries to walk around again, but she feels a sharp pain shoot up her front right leg with every step she takes. "Uh oh," she says, "that's not good," and she looks around for the others. She sees them below and tries getting their attention. "Hello? Everypony, over here!" she calls out, but they are too far away to hear her, so she shouts "HEELLPPP!!" She realizes her mistake too late, however, as she suddenly hears a rumbling sound. Apple Bloom's scream for help reverberated off of the formations and cause some to come loose, thus beginning an avalanche of rocks and stone - headed straight for Apple Bloom! "What's that funny noise?" Pinkie Pie asks after inspecting another rock for Applejack. Nopony pays attention to her until she gasps, "UP THERE!" Everypony looks to where she points and sees Apple Bloom in the path of the rockslide. "Oh no!" Twilight shouts, "Double-time it to that cliff, everypony!" she exclaims as the group gallops away to the rescue. * * * * Applejack, who is still wallowing in her hideout, hears the rocks come loose and Apple Bloom's cry for help. She peers out of her hiding place and sees her little sister, frozen in shock, staring up at the rockslide; she notices her friends making their way up the cliff, but Applejack knows they will not make it in time. After going over her options for a second, Applejack takes a deep breath and charges out of her hole to save her only sister. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom is not sure what to do; she feels rooted to her spot by shock and cannot move. She closes her eyes and braces for impact . . . CRASH! The rockslide makes contact with the ledge Apple Bloom stands on, but she feels no pain, no crushing weight on her body. She inspects herself for injuries, but other than her sprained foreleg, she appears physically unhurt. She begins to celebrate her miraculous luck, but as she turns around and sees half of an orange body jutting out from underneath the rocks, she realizes that it was not luck that saved her. "Oh no . . ." she begins to say as she moves towards the body of her sister, "No, no, no . . . AJ?" she pokes Applejack's head, but she does not stir; her eyes are closed and shows no signs of steady breathing. "No, n-not y-you t-too, A-A-Applejack . . ." Apple Bloom stammers, the realization of her sister's heroic actions hitting her like a freight train as she breaks down crying; the other ponies arrive soon after. They see Applejack's limp body buried in rocks and join in Apple Bloom's distress over losing their friend and family member. * * * * One moment, there was a lot of severe, sharp pain, and then . . . there was nothingness. Quiet, unbroken, absolute nothingness . . . Applejack wakes up and immediately realizes she is no longer in Ponyville; she lies on a bed of clouds, the sunset shining brilliantly across the horizon. As Applejack takes in her surroundings, she spots a couple of ponies standing next to each other; she decides to ask them about her whereabouts. When she trots closer to them, however, she notices they are shimmery and transparent, almost like ghosts, except she can see their every detail as clear as day. She becomes extremely confused by what she sees, but when they turn around, she gasps as she recognizes the faces of her parents, their eyes shining bright and smiles lighting up their faces. Applejack is rendered speechless; "Ma . . . Pa," is all she can muster before flinging herself upon them as they materialize and become solid figures. The three ponies share a very heartfelt greeting over not seeing each other for many years. "Hello, dear Applejack," Buttercup greets her eldest daughter warmly, "We've been both hoping and dreading that this day would come." "What do you mean?" Applejack asks, then realizes her exact whereabouts, "A-Am I . . . dead?" she asks her parents. Buttercup tries to hold back tears, but to no avail, while Bright Mac nods solemnly; Applejack tries to understand everything that led up to the moment before the rocks crushed her. "No," she finally says, "I didn't wanna be taken like this. Like you were." "It's alright, honey," her mother tells her, "Everything will be fine." "But it won't be, can't you see?" Applejack exclaims, tears forming in her eyes, "Both times, it was my fault; if I hadn't run off like I did, they would never have needed to look for me and put themselves in danger. And then there was your . ." she chokes back a sob when Buttercup rests her foreleg on her shoulders. "Applejack, nopony blames you for either of those incidents," she says soothingly, gently massaging her daughter's tense back, "They were both accidents." "But I'm s-still t-to blame," Applejack continues, sobbing into her mother's waiting embrace, "I-I . ." she is about to go on, but Bright Mac gently interrupts her. "It's alright, Applejack," he says, "We've been watching over all three of you since the day we passed, so we've witnessed how much our death affected you. And, to be perfectly honest," Applejack spies a glimmer of a tear in his eyes, "we couldn't be any more proud of you." "P-Proud of m-me?" Applejack asks, stunned, "B-But w-why?" "You've gone through so much, Applejack," her mother begins to say, "More than anything a filly should've ever had to endure at as young an age as yours. But that experience has only made you stronger, and now look at you - running Sweet Apple Acres, all by yourself!" Applejack smiles a little, "Well, it's not just me; Big Mac and Granny Smith help out some, too." "We know," her father says, "Although we've also seen her taking her fair share of naps throughout the day," he adds lightheartedly, which gets Applejack, as well as her parents, laughing again. Applejack looks at how happy her parents are, and the thought of a happy future with her parents brings fresh tears to the surface of her eyes. "I-I'm sorry I ruined this fer us," Applejack says dejectedly. Her mother and father take her in their arms and try to console her. "Applejack, you didn't ruin anything for us," Buttercup says comfortingly, "Sure, we left a little earlier than expected, but we certainly don't regret our actions that day, and neither should you." "Your mother's right, you know," Bright Mac adds, "Seeing you suffer alone like you have for so many years pains us as much as you have felt. It's okay to remember the past, but to make your life's purpose about abiding by it is not the right way to handle it." "B-But if I forget about that day, I-I'm afraid I'll forget you, t-too," Applejack confesses. "It's okay to let go of some things, like the day we died, but that doesn't mean you have to forget about us," her mother says, "Just remember that, if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, or some friendly advice, we, as well as Granny, Macintosh, and even Apple Bloom, are here for you." Applejack stifles another sob, "Thank you. I love and miss you both," she adds, giving them one last hug as they become transparent again. "We love you too, sweetie," her parents reply as they fade away and Applejack closes her eyes . . . * * * * When Applejack reawakens, she is lying in a patient's bed in Ponyville Hospital; she looks around the room and smiles at the numerous gifts and cards left by her loved ones. In one of the corners of the room, she sees Big Mac and Apple Bloom curled together for comfort in an armchair; Applejack's smile grows wider thinking about the two of them not leaving her side until she gets better. She watches them until they begin to stir; Apple Bloom is the first to notice Applejack and races over to her bedside, tears of joy filling her eyes. Even Big Mac cannot hold back a tear or two upon seeing his sister make a full recovery after her incident. At that moment, a nurse steps into the room, clipboard in one hoof, a stethoscope in the other. "Oh, hello there," she says upon seeing Applejack sentient, "Nice to see you're awake. Should consider yourself lucky, most ponies with your injuries often don't make it." She checks a few things with Applejack's vitals and departs as quickly as she entered. "Oh, Applejack!" Apple Bloom cries into her sister's neck, "I'm sorry I said the things I did to you! I didn't mean any of it!" "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Applejack says, tears starting to form. "Well, I also knew about it," Big Mac confesses, "so I'm partially to blame for it." "No, it was my burden to bear," Applejack says, "but fortunately not any longer." "Really, Applejack?" Apple Bloom says, "Does this mean you'll stop moping around the house?" Everypony in the room laughs whole-heartedly - something that has not happened for a long time. "In a way, sugarcube," Applejack responds, "yes, you're right. I won't let our parents' death take up my time - after all, they're watching over us to make sure we do things right, anyways!" With that, Big Mac and Apple Bloom give Applejack as big a hug as her injuries would allow and laugh and talk about less stressful and more fun-filled times to come.