//------------------------------// // Applejack and Apple Bloom // Story: Motherly Bonds // by EldinKaiser //------------------------------// "SIs! C'mon, wake up! We gotta start gettin' everything ready for dinner tonight!" I heard Apple Bloom call out from my door. I rolled over in my bed and yawned softly, doing my best to wipe the sleep from my eyes. "Apple Bloom, the sun ain't even came up yet. We haven't even had breakfast. Besides, I don't think Granny is even up right now." I yawned out. "She's the one who woke me up. Sweetie Belle, Button, Rarity, and Spike supposed to be coming up later tonight for dinner." She said, making sure that I was sitting up in the bed before heading off to Big Mac's room. I let out an annoyed groan as I flopped back down on the bed. "Coulda given me a bit of a heads up, couldn't ya Rare?" I asked myself before finally sitting back up and getting up for the day. As I made my way around the corner, I see Apple Bloom burst into Big Mac's room. "Big Mac! Time to get up!" I hear her call out, only to get an immediate "Nope!" from Big Mac. "Aww, c'mon. We're gonna be having guest over for dinner tonight." She whined out. I heard a grunt come from his room before I hear Apple Bloom fussing out. "Wait! Put me down!" I heard her call out. I stepped around the corner to see him walk out of his room with her over his shoulder and sat her down on the other side of the hallway before turning back around to his room and shutting the door behind him. I couldn't help but to laugh a bit. I walked over to Apple Bloom and smiled. "C'mon Sugar Cube. Today is one of his few days off so let him get some rest. He needs it." I said as I helped her back to her feet. She immediately crossed her arms and began to pout. "But, we're gonna need all the help we can get." She cried out. I scratched my head, trying to figure out a solution. "Well, how about this. Go ahead and invite them on up here and they can help us get everything prepared. Besides, I'm pretty sure it might do both Rarity and Sweetie Belle some good to learn some good country cooking." I joked. A small smile formed on Apple Bloom's face as she let out a small laugh. "Yeah, alright then. I'll go ahead and head back to Ponyville to talk to them and get them up here." She said before taking off down the stairs and out the door. As I began to head down the stairs, I glanced over at Big Mac's room and knocked on the door. "Apple Bloom, let me sleep!" I heard him call out. "Wrong pony Sugar Cube." I said, opening the door to see him with his back turn towards me. He peered over his shoulder and groaned. "You're gonna be trying to get me up now?" He asked. I shook my head and walked over to his bed. "She's a lot like you at that age." I teased. I heard him let out a small chuckle as he began to sit up. "Yeah, a bit, though when someone told me that they're trying to sleep, I usually took the message." He yawned out. I rose a brow at him and shook my head. "Oh yeah, lemme tell ya. When you first moved in, I remember Granny throwing you out in the barn because you kept her up an hour past bed time." I said with a smirk. He laughed and nodded. "Yeah, Granny wasn't to pleased." He said, running his hands through his messy mane. "Is all of them actually coming up here or is she gonna bail out like last time?" He yawned out once more, trying to not pass back out. I sat down on the bed beside of him, resting my head on his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm not ready at all to host any guest." I said in a tired tone. "Hey! Yall better be comin' down her t' help me!" We both hear Granny call out from downstairs. "Yeah, yeah. We'll be down there in a minute." I called out, getting up from Mac's bed. "We'll ya heard her. C'mon." I said, beginning to head on out the door. "Hey, AJ. Do you think we should tell Apple Bloom?" Big Mac asked in a serious tone. I froze on the spot and hung my head a bit. "Mac, it'd kinda tear her world to shreds. I mean, she's a full grown mare now. To hear that we're her parents wouldn't end well." I stated, the thought now lingering heavily on my chest. "Apple Jack, your parents are gone. My parents are gone. As far as she knows her parents are gone, but in all reality, we've been here all along. I've been watching her grow up and every passing day it seems like that's all she wants is a mom and dad." He said, hanging his head as well. I stood there in silence for a minute before Granny came around the corner, breaking apart the awkward silence. "It's like Apple Jack said, it could possibly tear her world apart. Though Big Mac has some good points. You two young'ns knew your parents. It was sad to say that you two lost your parents, but that poor baby never knew her mom and dad when in all honesty they've been right in front of her this whole time. Now, I ain't tellin' y'all what to do, but do what y'all think is best for Apple Bloom." Granny said. We both nodded softly and looked up at her. "Granny, do you think we're bad folk for keeping her in the dark for so long?" I asked. She shook her head. "Not at all. You two were still really young and couldn't handle the responsibility. On top of that, Big Mac was abandoned at that age. If it wasn't for your maw and paw, he would have probably wasted away on the streets. Though after your parents passed away, I should have kept a better eye on you two." She said before heading back down stairs. I gave a defeated sigh and looked back at Big Mac. "Well, you're her father, I'll let you make the call on this Sugar Cube." I said before turning around to head downstairs as well. An hour passed as Apple Bloom came back to the house with a very exhausted Button and Sweetie. "I didn't even know that pony's woke up this early." I heard Button say as he came in. I walked into the living room and looked to see Sweetie with her head resting on Button's shoulder, both of them extremely tired. "Well, there's two of y'all, but not the other two." I said, handing the both of them a cup of tea. They both grabbed their cups and began to sip on them. "Well, mom and Spike should be on their way soon enough. You know how mom can get." Sweetie Belle said. I froze and looked at her, slightly confused at what she had just said. "Wait, I didn't know your mom and dad was coming as well." I said in panic. "Well, I found out something earlier this month. Apparently, Rarity is my mom and after constantly asking her I found out that Big Mac is my dad!" She blurted out. I froze for a second before turning on my hill to head up the steps, stormed into his room. "Big Macintosh, we need to talk! Get to the barn! Now!" I demanded. "Why, what's going on?" He asked before I reached up, grabbing him by the ear and pulling him downstairs pass everyone else. As we arrived to the barn he pulled away, rubbing his ear and glaring at me. "What the hay was that for?!" He snapped at me. "Since when did you and Rarity have a fling?!" I asked, my body trembling with anger. He froze for a second before hanging his head. "Gah, damnit. You remember all those years ago when we were all young and magically all y'all came into heat at once?" He stated, the memory coming back as I blushed deeply. "O-Oh yeah." I said, pulling down my hat to cover my face. "Now if you think about it..." He then froze and brought his hands to his face, groaning out. "I should have seen this sooner. I need to go check something." He said, walking past me and out of the barn, heading down the road in a quick run. I watched him, then shrugged and walked back in the house. "So, if that means my brother is your dad, that means I'm your aunt?" Apple Bloom asked. Sweetie scratched the back of her head. "Well, not exactly, you see your par-" "Sweetie Belle! Step outside with me for a minute, please." I yelled out, dragging her outside. Sweetie looked up at me slightly confused. "So, I take it she doesn't know yet?" Sweetie asked, immediately getting a response as I shook my head. "No, not yet. We're still trying to find the right time and day to tell her." I said in a frustrated tone. "It's kinda hard to say 'Hey Apple Bloom, your mom and dad are still alive and well. In fact, we've been here this whole time. Just to scared to say anything outta fear of you hating us." I stated, my tone slowly filling with worry. Sweetie scratched her chin for a second, pondering something. "Well, that might be the best approach at it. Kind of like a bandage." She said bluntly. "Yoohoo!" I hear Rarity call out from the road. "Sorry about being late. I didn't know we were starting this early." She said, already bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Spike, on the other hand, was dragging along, almost dead to the world. "Hey AJ." Hey yawned out, waving to me. "Howdy y'all. Sorry about bringing y'all here so early. Though it might be for the best." I stated, looking into the window to see Button and Apple Bloom talking in the living room. "Hey Rare, can I talk to ya for a moment?" I asked. "Of course. Is everything alright?" She asked in a worried tone. I shook my head and gave a heavy sigh. "Not really. I'm kinda struggling a bit right now and need to figure something out." I said with a heavy heart. "Whatever could it be that is dragging you down, darling?" She asked. "You know the situation because you had to do it with Sweetie the other week. I just can't figure out a way to tell Apple Bloom that I'm her mom." I said with a heavy heart. "Big Mac was right. It is time that she has her mom and dad back in her life as her parent.s, but for the life of me, I can't figure out a way to tell her." I said, racking my brain for ideas. Rarity came up to me and placed her hand on my shoulder. "Darling, this needs to be done soon. Granted, I was in the same place as you are now when it came time for me to tell Sweetie Belle, but ever since I told her, we've been so much closer." She said, doing her best to bring up my mood. I gave a faint smile and nodded softly. "Alright, thanks Rarity." I said before turning to walk back into the house. I looked at Apple Bloom and then up at Granny. "H-Hey Granny, I'm gonna barrow Apple Bloom for a bit." I said, my own voice cracking from how nervous I was. Apple Bloom looked up at me slightly confused, but nodded. "Alright sis, what do ya need?" She asked. I gave another faint smile before grabbing her hand. "Come with me, I need to talk to you about something." I said, walking back up the steps and into my room, shutting the door behind us. She looked up at me with anticipation. "What is it sis?" She asked, a smile on her face. I let out a audible gulp before a wrapped my arms around her and held her close. "Is everything ok, Applejack?" She asked. "Apple Bloom, this is kind of difficult to say, but..." I paused to figure out how I'm going to word this. "Let's, uh, play a quick game of what if!" I blurted out. She looked up at me and gave a soft smile. :Well, alright then." She said before sitting down on my bed. I walked over and sat down beside of her. "What if, say for example, me and Big Mac were your mom and dad?" I said, hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst. She sat there for a moment, trying to process what I had just asked and began to laugh. "That's a good one sis. Really, what's going on here?" She asked, a slight bit of worry in her voice. I sat there in silence for a moment and shook my head. "Nothing's going on sugar cube. I'm being serious on this. Me and Big Mac are your mom and dad." I said to immediately see the look in her eyes change drastically. We sat there in silence for a bit as she processed what I just told her. "W-Wait, so you're my mom and not my sister?" She asked in a cracked voice, tears immediately swelling up in her eyes. I nodded softly to reply to her question. We both sat there in silence for a long while before we heard a knock on the door. "Be down there in a bit!" I called out before looking back at Apple Bloom. "A-Are you gonna be ok, Sugar Cube?" I asked, wrapping an arm around her, though to get an reaction I was expecting. She wrapped her arms around me and held me close, sobbing into my chest. "W-Why didn't you ever tell me? Why keep this lie up for so long?" She asked. "I-I'm a full grown mare and you're just now telling me this. Why?" She asked, still sobbing into me. I wrapped my arms around her to hold her close to me. "Apple Bloom, when I had you, I was still really young. I was terrified of what to do. I didn't know what to do. Though please understand..." I said, reaching up to place my hands on her cheeks. "I have and always will love you. I've always wanted what was best for you and will always see to it that you have the best anypony could ever ask for." I said, reaching up with my thumb to wipe a stray tear from her eye. "I just hope that you won't be mad at me and your dad." I said, looking down at her. She reached up with her hand and a big smile on her face. "I-I couldn't be mad at y'all." She said, wrapping her arms around me once more, a mixture of laughs and crying coming from the both of us. We pulled away, the both of us having smiles from ear to ear. "You gonna be ok Sugar Cube?" I asked, resting a hand on her shoulder. She nodded and then froze, giving me an awkward look. "Wait, you two are brother and sister, right?" She asked with a rose brow. I laughed and shook my head. "No, Mac's folk ended up kicking him out and mom and dad brought him in since he was always eager and ready to work at the barn. Though as we grew up, we became closer and closer until I went into my cycle and was about as wild as a whole heap of rabbits. Though, when I went into cycle, so did Rarity and seeing as how Big Mac was one of the few stallions in Ponyville at the time, he was being chased after left and right." I said with a slight blush. "Though when I found out I was pregnant with you, granny chased Big Mac down with the buck shot." I said before bursting out in laughter. She looked up at me and cocked her head to the side. "What's so funny?" She asked, slightly concern about hearing that. I shook my head and smiled. "Granny held him at point blank, hauling him all the way back to the house saying "You done got her pregnant! You ain't going anywhere!". Though, when we talked it over, we all agreed to raise you as our little sister. Granny said that she'd help with you as long as we don't say anything until you were ready." I said, looking back up at her. "And we believe that it was time to find out that you still have your parents with you." I said, pulling her back into a close embrace. She nodded and smiled once more. "So, where is Big Ma-, I mean dad?" She asked. I shrugged softly and stood up, helping her up. "He said that he had to check something out and took off down the road." I said, helping her up as we left the room and began to head downstairs. As we walked down the steps, Rarity quickly pulled me aside. "There may be a third sister." She whispered into my ear. I froze and looked at her. "Wait, who?" I asked. "Scootaloo." She stated.