//------------------------------//
// XV:  ...Memories of Apples... 
// Story: The Color of Apples 
// by Jet Howitzer 
//------------------------------//

(A finale, of sorts.  There will be an epilogue, along with a sequel.)

Your alarm sounded, and you groggily hit the snooze button, demanding from the infernal device just another five minutes of rest.  Not out of compassion, but programming, the device yielded, and five minutes later it sounded once more, its shrill cry requesting your immediate attention.  Grudgingly, you silenced the alarm once again, and you rolled out of bed, making sure not to rub your bandages too much.

You entered the bathroom, and grimaced as you looked at the scar that ran along your cheek, marring your otherwise untouched facial features.  Your back was almost completely covered in bandages, and a good portion of your chest was also bandaged.  You took care while cleaning yourself, making sure to remove the bandages in the appropriate order.  The shower was agonizing, as the warm water flowed along the blisters and open cuts along your back.

Thankfully, you had grown adept at washing your burns, and so you finished quickly.  Already your skin had begun to heal the wounds, but even the vaunted healing of earth ponies would struggle to fix what you’d done to your body.  Another fifteen minutes were spent rewrapping your back, and applying the appropriate salves.  With a small smile, you exited the bathroom, and you headed down to the front door of your humble home.

Rather than head to Sweet Apple Acres, as was the norm, you made your way to the medical clinic.  The streets of Ponyville were beginning to fill with merchants looking to head to the marketplace, and some gave you polite nods as you passed by them.  You were free from distractions, so you thought back on the events that followed your daring, albeit stupid, rescue…





You heard a voice calling out, but the words were muffled, so you couldn’t make out a word of it.  You cracked open an eye, and the only thing you could see was the infinite expanse of the blue skies so far above.  It was so peaceful that you managed to leave your troubles behind, for a time.  The agonizing pain of your back faded to a dull throb as you felt yourself begin to lose all sensation in your body.

A different voice sounded out this time, and it had such a different tone to it, that it pushed itself further into your awareness than the other voice did.  It was soft, and feminine, with an accent.  A beautiful accent, bringing back memories of apples.  But even that voice slowly faded from your perception as the world began to grow narrower, and you slowly lost sight of the rubble around you.

You felt a pressure on your side shift, but it barely registered, and the world began to grow darker.  Is this what its like?  Just a slow fade to black?  The pressure intensified, and then your view of the beautiful blue sky was replaced with the face of a mare.  Her beauty stood out amongst the sky, and you raised a hoof to her cheek.  Her mouth opened, and you could tell that she was speaking, but her words never made it to you.

Your words sounded out clear as a bell in your mind, and you could only hope that they reached the mare in front of you as clearly as they sounded to you.  “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can hear you.”  The mares eyes widened, and she began speaking again, only her words still failed to reach you.  You looked into her eyes, and snippets of your past flitted through your chaotic mind.

Sound slowly began filtering in as you looked into her eyes, but suddenly her gaze shifted, and then she began speaking again, but clearly not to you.  Without her eyes to look into the world descended back into silence, and soon you could see nothing but the mare before you.  The sky behind her slowly faded to black, and the sensations of pain rushing to your brain faded to nothing, and you just let it happen.

But then, she looked back down at you.

Those eyes.  You watched her mouth move, and you could hear her words in your mind, if not in your ears.

“I love you.”

You tried to respond, to tell her you felt the same, but no matter how you tried you couldn’t get control of your body.  As you fought for control the world continued to fade, this time, though, the mare was fading too.  Her eyes stayed, though, twin emeralds shining as bright lights against the blackness that threatened to swallow you.  From the silence came a single exclamation, and then nothingness.

“No!”





A massive jolt surged through you, and you felt your body convulse violently.  Your eyes snapped open, but all they saw was a blinding whiteness.  Muddled voices sounded around you, but they were lost to the ringing in your ears.  A mare moved between you and the light source, and her words were swallowed by the ringing, but the smile on her face spoke volumes.  Several minutes later, and you were reclining on a bed in a small room not far from where you woke up.

Several machines surrounded you, and you could actually hear the repetitive tone of the heart monitor beside you.  As you relaxed you saw a mare speaking to a nurse at the desk outside.  You recognized her, despite the bandages wrapped around her body.

“Applejack.”  You wanted to shout out, but the scratchiness of your throat prevented you from exceeding a normal speaking voice.  It seemed to have been enough, though, as the mare turned, and her eyes widened.  She rushed into the room, and she quickly embraced you.  The pain that lanced along your back was worth it, though, for the look in Applejack’s face as she pulled back from the hug.  She quickly kissed you, and you felt the passion in the kiss.  After a moment you pushed her back, and she let you.

“I knew I’d get you back, AJ.  I just didn’t know how much it would take out of me.”

“And I knew you’d come.”  She embraced you once again, and you let her.  “Now let’s get you fixed up, and back home.”





You reached the clinic, and the nurse looked up as you entered, and she gave you a small smile.  She knew why you were here, and so no words were needed.  You hesitated at the door to Sunburst’s room, not sure what you’d do there.  You cast aside your doubt, though, and you pushed through.  She was in the exact same condition as when you had her brought here from Manehattan, not that you were expecting any changes.  You had hoped, though.  Hell, you’d even written to Celestia at Twilight’s insistence.

But now you were helplessly standing and watching as your sister existed apart from it all, in a world of her own creation.  Was it one of love and compassion, or a place where her deepest fears and insecurities plagued her every moment?  You couldn’t even hope to guess, and you suspected that you’d never know anyway.

You sat for countless hours, until you heard the sound of a door opening.  Your first guess was Applejack, but the filly that entered silently surprised you.  She just walked over to the chair on the opposite side of the bed, and she just looked at her mother for quite some time.

“Tell me about her.”

“Everything?”

“Yes.  I want to know about her.  She’s…  She’s my mother.”

“Sunburst was… Well, she wasn’t the most morally upstanding mare…”


<><>


“…And then she just told me she was going to rest a few minutes.  The rest… Well, you already know the rest.”

Visiting hours had ended quite some time ago, but the nurse had let you stay, not wanting to interrupt the moment that you were sharing with Scootaloo.  You wanted Sunburst to wake up throughout the whole time you were speaking, but she never stirred, or did anything that would indicate that she was aware of anything happening outside her own little world.  You stood, wincing from your injuries, and you placed a hoof on Sunburst for a moment, trying to think of something to say, but everything that came to your mind sounded hollow.

The door opened again, and you saw Applejack enter the room.  She moved next to you, and you welcomed her company.  She pulled on your hoof gently, bidding you to leave, and you let her, not wanting to spend any more time in the company of the comatose mare.

Just as you reached the door, you looked back one last time, and you met your sister’s eyes.

“I knew you’d look back.  You always did.”








(Epilogue, then Author's Notes)