//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: A Mirrored Reunion // by currentlemon //------------------------------// “Alright, Big Mac, that’s the last barrel. We should be good to go now,” Applejack said, giving the empty container a kick.     “Eeyup,” replied Big Mac.     “Whew, we sure did make a killin’. Ponyville sure wanted its apples today!” Applejack looked at the two large bags standing on top of their stall, the golden currency just barely being held by the wheat-colored sacks. “Just look at em’ bits, Big Mac. With this kind of money, we oughta be good for the next couple of days!”     “Eeyup,” Big Mac said again.     Applejack nodded to herself. “We should go back now, it’s almost dinner time. Granny and Grand Pear should’ve made dinner by now.     Big Mac nodded and began walking away from the stand. Applejack slung the bags of bits into her saddlebag and trotted after her brother. Before leaving, she took one good look at Ponyville’s marketplace.     The entire district was quiet. Usually the area would be busy with numerous ponies trotting around, buying various goods from vendors. But as Celestia’s sun began to set, ponies left one by one. Some vendors dealt with last minute customers while others were closing shop.     Looks like everypony’s getting’ ready to leave. Applejack thought. She looked directly at the setting sun. Gosh, that’s one good sunset. Gotta admit, the Princess sure knows what she’s doing. Kind of reminds me of that time when Mrs. Cake told me about—     Applejack gasped. “Oh no! I completely forgot!”     She turned and quickly caught up to her brother. “Big Mac, take mah saddlebag and head on home! There’s something that I need ta do first!”     “Huh?” Before he could say anything, Applejack trotted up to his cart and placed the full bags of bits onto the cart.     “There’s someplace I want to go first,” Applejack replied. “I forgot to do it earlier today and now’s mah only chance before it gets dark. I just hope them flower ponies haven’t left their shop yet.”     Big Mac tilted his head as he tried to process what Applejack was suggesting. His eyes widened as he realized the implications. He solemnly nodded his head in approval, and continued trotting home.     “Thank ya, Big Mac.” Applejack galloped back toward the marketplace where several more stores had begun close. Open signs were being turned over and flocks of business ponies were making a quick exit.     Now where in the hay are those ponies? Applejack wondered. I hope they didn’t leave their shop already. Applejack’s eyes continued to wander the empty marketplace until she finally found the stand she was looking for. “Oh, thank Celestia! They’re still there!” Applejack rushed toward the shop, running as fast as she could. The sound of her hooves stamping on the ground caught the attention of the shop owners. “Applejack?” Roseluck seemed surprised by the mare’s sudden appearance. “Hi, Applejack. What are you doing here? Is there something you want?” “Hey, Roseluck, I’m glad I caught up to ya girls,” said Applejack, catching her breath. “Do ya still have any flowers left?” “Um, yes we do. But all that’s left are the buttercups,” Roseluck said. Applejack gave a wide smile. “I’ll take em’!” “R-really?!” Roseluck looked at her sisters, who in turn just shrugged. “Um, ok then. It’ll be three bits please.” “Deal!” Applejack reached into her saddlebag and gave the flower mare three bits. One of the flower sisters then rolled up a bouquet of buttercup flowers and gave it to the farm mare. “Here you go, Applejack, one bouquet of buttercups,” said Roseluck. “Thank ya kindly, Rose,” Applejack replied. “You’re welcome.” Roseluck raised an eyebrow. “Still, odd choice. Are you sure we can't get something else for you from-” “That’s alright. These flowers do jus’ fine. I don’t need anything fancy.” Applejack took the bouquet of flowers and put them in her saddlebag. “Thanks again, girls!” Applejack raced away from the marketplace, galloping past several more ponies who were leaving the area. It didn’t take her long to reach Sweet Apple Acres, her sprinting made the trip rather quick. Instead of going straight down the road to her house, she gave a sharp turn and entered the apple farm. She charged ahead, zooming through the orchard. Within a few minutes, she reached the end of the apple farm and stood at the bottom of a steep hill. She trotted upward, slowly this time as she didn’t want her bag to fall, catching her breath. After reaching the top of the hill, Applejack looked back and gazed at the sight of the farm.  The farm stretched for miles, with the entire grassland filled with red apple trees. Whew, what a view. Applejack thought. It’s always nice seeing farm from up here. Feels good too, seeing all our hard work. After admiring the view for a few more seconds, Applejack tipped her hat down and walked further along the hill’s summit. It didn’t take her long to find two small pillars that stood at the very top of the hill. Applejack sighed. She suppressed her tremble and continued onward, biting her lip as she approached the two pillars.  Sniffing to herself, examining the grass between her hooves for as long as she could bear. Finally, she took a deep breath, smiled and looked at the graves. “Hi, Ma. Hi, Pa. I’m back.” She sat down and removed the saddlebag from her back. Unclipping the cover, she took out the bouquet of buttercup flowers and placed it on her mother’s grave. “How are you doing today?” There was no response, of course. “I’m doing fine. Me and Big Mac made a lot of money today. Sold four whole barrels of apples!” Applejack turned to her father’s grave. “Granny’s doin’ ok too pa. She’s been helping Grand Pear settle back ever since he moved back in town.” Again, nothing. “Yeah, those two finally put the feud behind em’. Now they’ve been getting along jus’ fine.” She looked back to her mother’ marker. “Apple Bloom is pretty good too. Her cutie mark is really something. I didn’t imagine that helping foals find their cutie marks even was a special talent. Kind of what you did with Mrs. Cake, Ma.” Applejack sighed and shook her head. “What the heck am I doing? I’m talking to a bunch of graves fer cryin’ out loud. What am I, nuts?” She sighed and bit her lip. Yer not here to talk to a bunch of graves, Applejack. You just want to pay yer respects, that’s all. She lowered her head in shame, sighing as she took her hat off and placed it down on the ground. She sat still, observing her parent’s graves. Minutes passed, but for her, it seemed like hours. She didn’t want to leave, not yet. She wanted to be by her parent’s side for just a little longer. But time grew short, and Celestia’s sun was almost gone.  “I should go now. It’s getting late. Can’t have mah family worrying about me.” She picked her hat up and placed it back on her head. But before she turned away, her body started to tremble again. “I-I want to stay a bit longer, but it’s getting dark and I have ta go to bed early.” Tipping her hat down, Applejack sighed and faced the two graves again. “M-maybe just a couple more minutes and then I’ll head back. Don’t see the problem sitting here for a bit longer.”  “Applejack!”  “Gah?!” Applejack jumped at the sudden noise. She quickly recovered and looked to see who was behind her, only to find her little sister. “Yesh, Apple Bloom, don’t sneak up on a pony like that! Ya scared me!” “Sorry,” apologized Apple Bloom. Applejack sighed. “Jus’ what are ya doin’ out her anyway?” “Ah came here looking ya, sis. Granny and Grand Pear already have dinner ready,” replied Apple Bloom. Her eyes looked directly at her sister. “It’s getting late. They’re gettin’ a bit worried since ya didn’t come home with Big Mac earlier. Is this where ya been the whole time?”  “Oh, they’ve been worried about me?” Applejack asked. “Oh, gosh, sorry about that. Didn’t mean to lose track of the time. I just wanted to pay our parents a visit.”  “Ma and Pa?” Applebloom looked past her sister and spotted the two graves.  “Yeah, I….just wanted to pay my respects, that’s all,” said Applejack. “It’s supposed to be their wedding anniversary soon, and I wanted to give ma a bouquet of flowers. It’s a bit early, I know, but I jus’ wanted to come here since I might be busy these next couple of days.”  “Oh,” Apple Bloom trotted toward the two graves. “So, an anniversary is when ya celebrate the day ya got married, right?” “Yup. There's is two days away,” explained Applejack. “Isn’t that the same day Grand Pear left Ponyville?” Applejack flinched. “Uh, y-yeah, it is.” She bit her lip. Ah shucks, I completely forgot about that. This is gonna be awkward now that Grand Pear is here. “It’s ok, sis. We don’t have ta worry about that. Grand Pear is back and he can celebrate with us.” Apple Bloom cuddled closer to her sister and stared at her mother’s grave.  “Hey, sis, can I ask ya a question?” “Why, sure thing, Apple Bloom. What is it?” “Can ya tell me more about ma?” Applejack froze. “W-what?” “About ma, can ya tell me more about her?” Apple Bloom asked again. Applejack scratched her head. “Uh, wow, um, this came out of nowhere. Why ask me, Apple Bloom?” “Well, Ah’ve been wanting to learn more about our parents lately,” explained Apple Bloom. “Ah’ve talked to Mr. Brunt Oak, Mrs. Cake, Granny and even Grand Pear. They’ve told me more about our parents.” Apple Bloom looked away from her sister. To Applejack, it was if she was a bit hesitant to speak up. “Ah just wanted to know more about them, sis. Ya know, what kind of ponies they were, that’s all,” said Apple Bloom. Applejack raised her eyebrow. That’s odd. Why does Apple Bloom want to learn more about our parents? I mean, she already heard a lot from Mrs. Cake, Burnt Oak and the Mayor. Why is she bringing this up now? Applejack looked at her parent’s graves again. Is it because it’s almost their anniversary soon? Or maybe she’s jus’ curious and wants to know more? “Applejack?” Now that I think about it, Apple Bloom never saw Ma and Pa before. They died when she was just a foal. “Applejack?!” “Huh?!” Applejack snapped out of her thoughts and fell to the ground.     “Are ya goin’ to tell me more about Ma and Pa or not?!” Apple Bloom whined.     “Uh, yeah, of course I’ll tell ya,” said Applejack as she shook her head.     “Yay!” cheered Apple Bloom as she ran up to her sister and gave her a hug. “Can ya tell me about Ma first?”     “Sure.” Applejack trotted back to her mother’s grave and sat down in front of it with her sister. She scratched her head, trying to think of a good story to tell. “Ah ha, I think I got one. Let me tell ya about the time when Ma got into an argument with a sales pony.”     “An argument?” asked Apple Bloom. “Ah don’t think Ah ever heard of this story. What happened?”     “Well, Ma can get pretty serious when it comes to business sometimes. A real business pony, I tell ya,” Applejack said with a smile. “A sales pony was trying to rip her off over a product he was tryin’ to sell.”     “How do ya know about this, Applejack?” asked Apple Bloom.     “I was with Ma at the time. A filly around yer age,” explained Applejack. “I didn’t really understand anything at first, but boy did things get bad. Ma got so furious with the sales pony, she bucked him right in the mouth.”     “Really?!” Apple Bloom eyes widened in shock. “It got that bad that Ma hit the pony?!”     “Yeah, it did. Poor fella had to wear an ice bag on his cheek when it was all over,” said Applejack, chuckling at the memory. “Ma got in trouble with the mayor, but she didn’t mind. She can be a real fighter sometimes.”     A literal world away, Pear Butter sneezed violently atop her tractor. Taking a hand off the wheel to grab her handkerchief, she briefly wondered if Granny Smith’s old rumor about people talking about you far away had caused it, only to look back at the cloud of dust and decide that there was a much more realistic explanation.     Pear Butter scratched her cheek. No point thinking about superstition. I need to get these apples to the barn. She put her foot down on the tractor’s gas petal and continued her merry way.     It was late afternoon in Canterlot City. Pear Butter had been working in the fields all day with her husband, gathering apples for tomorrow. A delivery truck is supposed to come to their barn and pick their shipment up. Usually when a truck came to their farm, it meant payment for her family. So, she and her husband worked extra hard in the fields today, hoping for a little extra pay for tomorrow. On the back of her tractor lay barrels of apples. They were picked fresh, and ready to be shipped. Those apples sure look good. Shame we have to sell most of them. I wish I can keep some of these barrels so I can cook something up for the kids. Pear Butter eventually reached the family’s barn, where they stored store most of their equipment and produce. She put the tractor on parking and exited out of the vehicle. “Now where is that husband of mine?” asked Pear Butter out loud. “I hope he’s not over doing it. We’ve got enough apples as it is already.” She peered passed the apple trees, trying to locate her husband, but saw nothing. Oh dear, I better look for him soon. The sun is starting to set and I still need to— Her thoughts were interrupted when a sound came from inside the barn. The strum of a guitar played gently in her ears. “Huh?” She went inside and examined where the noise was coming from. It didn’t take her long to find her phone sitting on top of a box. She picked up the device and examined the screen. Wait, this is Canterlot High School’s phone number. Why are they calling me? Pear Butter sighed. I hope it’s nothing bad. Too many things are happening over at the school lately. I hope my children will be alright. She swiped the phone with her finger and moved it to her ear.