//------------------------------// // Hidden Tears // Story: Orchard of Broken Memories // by G4PONYTales //------------------------------// “Applebloom, we need to talk.” The young filly looked into the honest eyes of her older sister; eyes which saw so much into others, and exactly into her sister’s. The rain continued to pour from heavy skies, cascading down her long dripping main and drenched fur. The two soaked sisters looked at each other in silence. But inside Applebloom’s head, the song that had haunted her for so many days was playing. We're far apart in every way, but you're the best part of my day. And sure as I breathe the air, I know we are the perfect- “Applebloom. Listen; please listen. I know what yer thinkin’. It’s ‘bout what ‘appened these past couple a’ weeks, ain’t it.” Applebloom felt her head nod slightly; just enough to confirm the suspicions of her older sister. What came in response was unexpected: “Listen; a’ know yer upset an’ all, butcha can’t go runnin’ off like that without tellin’ anypony; you really had me and yer friends worried when you didn’t show up at school. It really wasn’t fair fer you ta get me worried so; me havin’ no idea where you’ve been.” This was somewhat of a white lie, for Applejack did know from the beginning where Applebloom might be due to the sequences of the past weeks’ events, along with her behaviour around the farm. Nevertheless, what Applebloom had done was completely dishonest, and some discipline still needed to be enforced. “You shouldn’t write fake letters ta teachers like that, for you can really…”  Applejack’s voice began to falter as her sister started to tremble, her eyes filled with the buildup of raw emotion. “Oh dear, I… Applebloom, yer havin’ a hard time with this; ain’t ya. It’s our parents bein’ dead, ain’t it.” Applebloom stood frozen, without an indication of yes or no. But Applejack knew the truth. She pulled her sister into an embrace and they sat at the gravesites while the rainwater and tides rolled in. ______________________________________________________________________________ The two ponies sat together for a long time by the gravesites of their parents. Applebloom, having cried herself out and become somewhat comforted with the warmth of her sister, slowly felt a question echo in her mind. It gradually replaced the memory of her mother’s song as though being right here began to shift her thoughts towards bigger questions - one really big question that hit her in the chest like one tide signaling the beginning of an anticipated storm. Despite her inner, thrashing feelings of confusion, the sky began to clear. Clouds parted; sunlight streamed through the cracks; there was even a big rainbow in the distance that Applebloom could practically reach out and touch. Her conflicting mind went to the idea of Scootaloo riding across that rainbow; anything that could distract it for the slightest moment. Applejack’s eyes met hers, and the thought came back; smashing against Applebloom’s chest. “Will you be okay, Applebloom?” Applebloom wanted so much to say what was on her mind, but her tongue had been tied the entire afternoon. For some reason, she found herself nodding stiffly. “Remember; I know this’s hard fer you, but you can’t go off wanderin’ like you did. You had us all worried. And please talk ta me if yer upset, because I’ve been worried a long time.” Guilt began to settle into Applebloom’s chest; a new feeling amidst the confusion and chaos. “We can visit this gravesite again soon, if ya want, but fer now I think we should head back to the farm, okay?” There was a hint of something behind Applejack’s kind words of discipline; something right behind her voice and eyes that was hard to read. If it wasn’t for her own conflicting emotions, Applebloom probably would have asked what was wrong. If there was one thing she knew, it was that it was sometimes hard being the big sister. Therefore, as the two ponies headed home, one certain thought of resolution began to settle in the centre of Applebloom’s mind; that she would try her best to hide her emotions from now on, and make things easier for everypony. That way, they wouldn’t feel obligated to answer her big question. ______________________________________________________________________________ But the question kept grating at her, all throughout the day.  he maintained a smile while doing her chores on the farm; she talked to Big Mac, Applejack, and Granny Smith as though everything were okay. She even - in an effort to hide her feelings further - offered to do extra chores on the farm to make up for her sulky behaviour. This clearly pleased Applejack, and to Applebloom it almost helped take her mind off things. So Applebloom worked until dusk, when her sister finally called her in. ______________________________________________________________________________ “Are you sure yer okay, Applebloom?”, Applejack asked while tucking in her sister that night.  “You worked awfully long hours today; I’ve never seen you so devoted before.” Applebloom smiled widely despite the aching in her limbs and rongoing restlessness in her mind.  “I just, you know, wanted ta make up fer my weird behaviour.” Applejack smiled a bit, despite the confusion in her eyes. “Ya did seem awfully upset earlier today; it’s like a whole week ‘as passed since this mornin’. The memory hit Applebloom in the chest, but she maintained her smile nonetheless. “Well, it did really help havin’ ya there ta comfort me.”  That was at least one part of the truth. “Well then…” Applejack seemed pleased. “I’m glad a could help. But fer now on, you have ta promise me ta consult me about these concerns, and not take them on yerself. Ai know how it’s been since…” A flash of pain showed quickly in Applejack’s eyes, before she closed them and sighed deeply. “Just… please talk ta me ‘bou these things.” This was all it took for Applebloom to know that the question gnawing at her could not ask the question gnawing at her without possibly upsetting her sister. ______________________________________________________________________________ Applebloom tossed and turned in her bed that night. The exhaustion in her limbs begged for sleep, but her mind would not slow down. There were worries and confusion that weren’t calmed even with a day of hard work; thoughts which could not be cleansed by blissful unconsciousness. Aside from pondering her question, Applebloom started to go over the events that happened a little over a year ago. A few weeks back was the first anniversary of their journey in discovery. Now that the anniversary passed a couple of weeks back, Applebloom remembered the time where she and her siblings searched for the history of their late parents. What they learned was that their parents were star-crossed lovers of two rivaling families; the Apples and the Pears. But they loved each other nonetheless, married nonetheless… and disappeared. Applebloom knew, with her other siblings, that her parents were dead. Her sister had explained it so tenderly to her shortly after the siblings learned their parents’ history. But Applebloom wasn’t content; the unraveling of family history only brought up confusion for her, like The Shadow rising from the very spell that awoke The Pillars of Old Equestria and brought about conflict - both situations were a result of unraveled history. The question that had slammed Applebloom in the chest ever since that day was this:  What was the cause of her parents’ death? There was nothing more Applebloom could do except cry herself to sleep, pondering on a solution that doesn’t seem to come. ______________________________________________________________________________ Applejack rose early the next morning. She had dreamt of the day that the three siblings searched for the history of their parents, and got all the answers of their history. Then, when Applejack turned around, Applebloom had run away. The remainder was very blurry and distorted, like most dreams. The sun through the window had barely broken the horizon, but there was still a busy day ahead. Breakfast to make; school to attend; chores to do. But Applejack’s mind felt foggy with the remnants of her dream. She knew something was bothering her sister, but didn’t know what. She also didn’t know how to reach Applebloom with such a hard topic that had been unraveled only a little over a year ago. ______________________________________________________________________________ “Breeeeaaaakfast!” Applejack called, ringing the breakfast bell and before she knew it, a blurry-eyed Applebloom stumbled into the kitchen. “Well, hey there sugarcube; I’m making pancakes!” In an effort to butter over an elephant in the room. Applejack slid a plate piled high with apple and blueberry pancakes onto the table for her sister. “Eat up quick; you don’t wanna be late fer school do ya?” Applebloom made her way to the table with bangs drooping in her eyes. She didn’t look up. Applejack frowned. “You okay, Applebloom?” What she expected to see was Applebloom look up, smile, and say everything was alright. But this time, she didn’t look up, and the words came out in a mumble.  he was back to her old self from the past few weeks. ______________________________________________________________________________ The rest of breakfast had been silent between the two sisters. Applejack either didn’t know what to say, didn’t want to say anything, didn’t feel she needed to say something… who knew. Applebloom didn’t know. The filly trudged over to school in a sort of fog. Her resolution to stay happy was somewhat lost as of the past evening, the night’s bout of tears a helpless lamentation. Now she had to face the day, and go to school; there was no getting out of it this time around. The Earth Pony’s feelings of the day before at the gravesite were mixed. She felt guilty for ditching school; curious at Applejack’s stern, comforting but somewhat passive reaction; frustrated for her unanswered question; angry at herself for not having the guts to ask. It was through long bangs hiding her red dreary eyes that Applebloom caught sight of her friends. ______________________________________________________________________________ “So if Applebloom does show up today, what do you think we should say to her?” Asked Scootaloo. She rode her scooter slowly alongside Sweetie Belle on the way to school. The unicorn looked uncertain. “I’m… really not sure.  I mean, the whole situation is kind of awkward; what if she doesn’t want us knowing that we spoke to Applejack about her behind her back?” Scootaloo tried to imagine an angry Applebloom finding out what they did the day before. “Well,” she replied, “to be fair, maybe she should know what happened as a result of her avoiding everypony and having us so worried.” “Applebloom is going through a hard time, Scoot,” said a defensive Sweetie Belle. “Ponies can sometimes act out of character if they’re really sad. If you can recall, you suddenly didn’t want to perform the flag-carrying routine. You were so excited about… until Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon made fun of you for not being able to fly.” Scootaloo flinched when the subject was brought up, but she knew Sweetie Belle didn’t mean any harm. “You could be right Sweetie, except that that was a situation of bullying, not… Applebloom’s situation is just very different.” There was a period of silence after that. “I see Applebloom now”, said Sweetie Belle after a few moments. “How about if we just go up to her, and act like everything’s natural. “Like they are”, mumbled Scootaloo beneath her breath. The two went over to meet their friend. ______________________________________________________________________________ “Applebloom! Hi!  How are you today?” Sweetie Belle said brightly. To the two friends’ surprise, Applebloom barely looked up as she mumbled something they didn’t hear. Scootaloo decided to go along with her own idea. “Are you sure you’re okay, Applebloom? You had us worried yesterday when you disappeared so suddenly.” Sweetie Belle shot her friend a look, before grinning back at Applebloom. Applebloom looked up slightly from beneath her bangs. “I was sick; ai gave a note ta Ms. Cheerilee…” the words were slightly slurred, like she was almost falling asleep. Scootaloo continued in earnest. “Applebloom, I hate to be pushy but you really don’t sound like yourself. Are you sure you’re-” “Ai’m fine, fine…” Applebloom waved the two friends off. “I’m just… gettin’ over it, okay?  Ma sister said… Ai shouldn’t miss so much school.” “Well… okay.” The two other ponies were at a complete loss for words. ______________________________________________________________________________ When the bell rang, Scootaloo pulled Sweetie Belle aside. “Hey”, she whispered. “Remember what I said about asking somepony for help?” Sweetie Belle looked surprised at the suggestion. “Yeah, that’s right…” but we know where Applebloom is now; what could somepony with powerful magic do at this point?” “Well,” Scootaloo’s ears perked up. “The pony I’m thinking of isn’t just somepony with powerful magic, but she happens to know a whole lot about friendship. Sweetie Belle’s ears immediately perked with realization at the brilliant idea. “I think”, continued Scootaloo, “that we should consult her after school.”