Applejack stared at the front door... a plain, purple door. Nothing special about it. Except, this simple door was all that stood between her and the most dreaded conversation of her life, one that would change everything forever. How long had it had been? Minutes? Hours? She really didn’t know or care how long she’d been standing there. All the way here, she had told herself she could turn around, keep her heritage a secret with nopony the wiser. But here she was, before the front door of her parents’ house. Last chance. Every fiber of her being begged her to run away, to go home and forget the whole thing. Nopony would have to know. She could live her life in ignorant bliss. But then again, the last week had been anything but blissful. Somehow, she found the courage to raise a hoof. Knock! A cold shiver ran down her spine. Still not too late to make a dash for it, hide until the coast was clear and slip back to Ponyville unnoticed. Only with the greatest of determined self-conrol did she stand her ground. On the other side came rumblings, and the knob slowly turned. The die was cast. The door swung open to reveal a middle-aged stallion.
“Hello there,” he greeted.
For a moment she just stood there, unable to do anything except stare up at him.
“Can I help you miss?” he asked.
Applejack released a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding and focused on why she had come. “Uh... howdy sir. Ah – Ah was hoping Ah could talk with ya.”
“Oh, sure.” Though obviously puzzled, he stepped aside and allowed her to enter. She stepped inside, examining the spacious living room filled with modern furniture and an unusual number of Princess Celestia collectibles. Thud! Applejack nearly jumped out of her skin when the door shut behind her. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, though it still felt like she was walking on eggshells.
“Hon, somepony’s here to talk with us,” he called.
After a moment a blue pegasus mare emerged from the other room. “Hello,” she greeted.
“It’s, uh, nice to meet you,” said Applejack, reaching out a hoof to the mare.
“I’m Windy Whistles,” she replied, getting a tepid hoofshake from the farm pony.
“And I’m Bow Hothoof,” added the stallion, shaking Applejack’s hoof.
“Applejack,” she barely managed to say.
“Will you have a seat?” offered Windy, motioning to the closest chair.
“Sure.” Applejack took a seat, the two pegasi sitting down next to each other on the couch across from her. Though the distance was only a few feet, it felt like miles separated them.
After a long moment of silence, Bow began, “So Applejack, we don’t see too many earth ponies here in Cloudsdale.”
Applejack snapped back to the moment. “Oh, uh – Ah’m from Ponyville.”
“Ponyville! Then you must know our daughter Rainbow Dash,” exclaimed Windy.
“Actually Ah do. She’s mah best friend.”
Windy took a long gaze at Applejack. “Wait a minute!” Flying over to a bookcase, Windy pulled forth a large scrapbook and began rifling through it. “I thought you looked familiar.”
Applejack’s heart pounded in her chest as her breathing grew shallower. She felt she might experience a full-blown Twilight meltdown.
The pegasus produced a newspaper clipping heralding the rescue of Princess Celestia and the defeat of Nightmare Moon. “You’re one of the Elements of Harmony.”
“Yes ma’am,” Applejack confirmed, her heart sinking at the realization that Windy only knew her as an Element and not for who she truly was.
“Don’t that beat all,” proclaimed Bow. “Oh, I’ve bet you’ve got stories to tell about my little dashie.”
“A mite.”
“So what brings you to Cloudsdale?” questioned Windy.
That was the question Applejack had been anticipating – dreading – since before she even arrived at the front door. Such a simple question, with such a simple answer. An answer that was years in coming. A truth that, once revealed, could never again be concealed. A revelation that would change her life, and theirs, in ways nopony could ever possibly foresee.
Applejack slumped slightly and her face fell. But these visible reactions were nothing compared to the swirling maelstrom inside her, a potent mix of emotions that sickened her stomach and weighed heavily on her mind. Still, Applejack fought to regain her nerve. She had come so far, endured so much, to come to this point that she refused to throw it away.
“Ah’m – Ah’m here ta talk ’bout yer daughter,” she replied weakly, the best she could manage.
“Is everything alright?” asked a concerned Windy.
“Did something happen to Rainbow Dash?” demanded Bow.
Applejack shook her head. “Rainbow Dash is fine.” Both parents let out a collective sigh of relief. “Ah’m actually here to talk about your other daughter.”
Both ponies exchanged confused looks between themselves. “We only have one daughter,” stated Windy, a slight nervousness underlining her voice.
Applejack gave them a hard glare. “No, ya don’t,” she said flatly.
They continued returning bewildered expressions until a dawning realization turned their confusion to horror. Windy put her hooves to her face. “You know? Does that mean – oh Celestia!”
Bow rose from the couch and examined Applejack. “Are you....?”
“Eeyup.”
Bow fell back onto the couch next to Windy. Both ponies sat in shock, staring at a ghost from their past. A tense silence settled over the room as the three ponies engaged in a long, awkward staring contest. At last Windy spoke, her voice cracking. “How... how did...?”
“How did Ah find out?”
“Yes,” she whispered, looking away.
“Granny Smith on her deathbed told me Ah was adopted. Turns out Princess Twilight Sparkle is real good at research. She was able to determine you were mah parents.”
Upon hearing Applejack’s words, Windy gasped and silence returned to the room. Finally, Applejack said, “Ah came – Ah came ta find out why –” She turned and wiped her wet eyes, refusing to let them see her cry.
“Why we gave you up?” finished Bow.
“Yeah.”
The two pegasi looked at each other, apparently aware this day might come yet never fully prepared to face it. “It started... well, it started in high school. Your – ” the stallion forced the words “– mother and I were high school sweethearts.”
“Love at first sight,” added Windy softly. “Inseperable. During our senior year, that’s when we discovered....”
“Ya were preganant with me?” supplied Applejack.
Windy nodded, tears starting to stream down her face. “We were scared and didn’t know what to do. We were unwed teenage parents. We – the two of us kept it secret until we could figure out what to do.”
“Y’all’s parents didn’t even know?”
“No,” confirmed Bow. “Nopony but the two of us.”
“My parents were out of town and I was alone when I went into labor. You were the most precious thing I’d ever held.” Windy began openly weeping, and Bow wrapped a foreleg around his wife. “Imagine our surprise when we discovered that you were an earth pony.”
“It’s my fault,” admitted Bow. “My grandmother was an earth pony from Manehattan.”
“Your fault? Ya think being an earth pony is a bad thing?” spat Applejack.
“Cloudsdale, it’s just – it’s just no place for an earth pony.”
“So ya just decided ta give me away?” asked an incredulous Applejack.
“We were scared Applejack. Two scared teenagers,” wailed Windy through her tears.
“So why Ponyville?”
Bow explained, “Cloudsdale was floating nearby at the time, and the town was founded by earth ponies, so we –”
“Knew it wouldn’t raise too many questions?”
“Yes,” confirmed Windy.
“And the Apples?”
“We didn’t want to risk going into town,” continued Bow.
“So ya dropped me off at the first house ya could find?”
Windy shook her head. “We watched them with their young foal, so we knew they were a loving family.”
A tense silence followed. “Why –” Applejack choked. “Why didja never visit?”
“We considered it,” said Bow. “But us suddenly popping up out of nowhere would have done more harm than good.”
“For me... or you?”
Windy protested, “We loved you Applejack. Giving you up was the hardest –”
“If ya really loved me, ya wouldn’t have abandonned me in the first place.”
Everypony remained quiet for a long time as her words hung like death over the room. Finally, Windy said, “Perhaps we could start over? Be the parents you deserve?”
Applejack rose from her chair. “Mah parents are buried back on the farm.” She walked to the front door and opened it.
“Are you going to tell her?” asked Bow.
Applejack stopped in her tracks and sighed. “I’ve always loved Rainbow Dash as a sister. That’ll never change. It doesn’t really matter ta me one way or the other. Y’all created this mess, so Ah’m leavin’ it up ta y’all.” She paused. There was so much to say, so many things she wanted to know. But the words wouldn’t come. She shook her head, leaving the house and slamming the front door behind her.
Two pegasi remained in the living room, holding each other in painful silence.
The End