Inside a small red barn, Big Macintosh sifted through the contents of a huge box he and Braeburn had put together the night before. He then stepped outside and looked off into the distance. Behind the barn stood the Appleloosan, using a fan to wave the smoke from a pile of flaming hay upward to the sky. Noteworthy stood beside him, with buckets of water at the ready.
Braeburn put the fan down and peeked around the wall. “I don’t see her yet. You think she saw us, Noteworthy?”
The blue stallion pondered while rubbing his muzzle. “Don’t think so. Big Macintosh picked this barn since it’s on the edge of the farm. That, and there’s only one way in.”
The Appleloosan removed his head and scratched his head. “Maybe she fetched the fire pony?”
Noteworthy stifled his laughter. “I remember when there was a fire my first week here and she didn’t want me to help, sayin’ it was an Apple family problem. Now she might let me give a helping hoof but not some stranger in a red suit.”
Braeburn then saw the hat-less Applejack charging full speed right at the barn, carrying two buckets of water. He then saw Big Macintosh waving his hooves at the mare.
“Fire inside the barn! Hurry!” bellowed the red stallion.
Braeburn pulled his head back, whispering, “Ok, we can put the fire out.”
The yellow and blue stallions doused the hay until the black smoke turned white.
“You were mighty helpful, Noteworthy,” said Braeburn, tipping his hat.
“Anytime. I’ll go ahead and go ‘round the farm for Applejack’s hat, but I promised my family I’d be home by noon.”
“Well, good luck, partner.”
Noteworthy and Braeburn shook hooves and the blue earth pony hopped over the fence. The Appleloosan then pulled over a hay bale and sat down, his role now completed.
Meanwhile, inside the poorly-lit barn, Applejack stood in the middle, searching around.
“Where’s the fire? Where’s the fire?” she yelled.
She heard the creaking barn door closing behind her and turned around. Big Macintosh used his large frame to shield the exit, and Applejack’s eyes twitched. She grabbed the buckets, slammed them to the ground, and stormed toward her brother with a growl.
“Oh, you sly brother of mine! This is your doin’, isn’t it?”
“Eeyup,” replied Big Macintosh in his usual tone.
“I told ya I’m fine so out… of… my… way!”
The big red stallion stood firm, only giving the earth mare a firm stare. Applejack’s green eyes shot daggers at him, hoping to wear him down, but got no reaction. She slammed her hoof on the ground, scattering the surrounding hay up in the air, but Big Macintosh refused to flinch.
“Big Mac, how many times do I have to tell you that—”
“That’s not why I wanted you here, AJ,” Big Macintosh calmly replied.
“Oh! Really! Then why did ya trick me to come here in such a hurry, hmmm?”
“There’s something for ya behind that pile of hay.”
Applejack glanced in the direction indicated by the stallion’s hoof. “So? What about it?”
“Take a look and I’ll let you go.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
The big red stallion raised his voice. “Then I’m not moving.”
She turned back to the yellow stacks, and then shot more glares at her brother. Another hoof slam rattled the rafters, but the big red stallion remained a statue. The cowmare puffed up her chest and exhaled a long snort before she grumbled all the way to the barn’s rear.
Her brother bit his lip, hoping the contents would allow a peek into his sister’s emotions; otherwise, he had every intention to keep his word. Big Macintosh could hear the thumping from his chest as his lungs pleaded for more air.
Applejack opened the flaps to the box, performed a cursory inspection, and closed it up again. The mare began marching forward. “Fine! I looked inside! Now step asi… wait a minute.” She hurried back and tilted the box over, spilling all the contents across floor for a closer search. Applejack’s jaw shook, and she grasped it with her hoof to steady herself. “Oh my gosh! Big brother, are these…?”
“Eeyup.”
She sifted through the items when something caught her eye: a slightly frayed green ribbon with golden thread on the sides. She carefully picked it up and showed it to her brother. “This…this is the ribbon she wore when she met Johnny Applehoof. I… I…”
“What’s wrong?” asked Big Macintosh.
“Well, it’s just that… all this time, she never had a chance to show me any of this. I wasn’t sure if she was trying to spruce up her stories a bit, you know?”
“Granny just had her stuff buried deep in storage. She was going to surprise you with these for your birthday.”
“Are all these… for me?” said Appplejack, clutching her chest.
The red stallion walked up to his sister. “All yours, AJ.”
Applejack untied the red ribbon on her mane and carefully re-tied it with the green one. Then she picked the items up one by one. First, it was a broken instrument. "Sally Hootenpony's banjo. She… she travelled all over Equestria pickin' up the spirits of anypony she met. Granny… just happened to run into her one day and they sang and danced into the night. When she woke up, Sally was gone but left her the banjo as a partin’ gift. Granny never saw her again.”
“I bet she’s dancing with her right now.”
The mare spread out a green outfit, covered by dirt and grime. Many of the seams were loose and there were small tears all over. The cracks in her voice worsened. "The dress she wore when she went up against the Bad Apple Bandits. Them snakes showed up at the Great Apple Festival to cause some trouble and she took care of 'em."
“Haven’t heard that one since I was a colt,” Big Macintosh remarked.
Applejack felt the dam holding the torrent of anguish leaking but she tried patching up the holes. She went through more of the cherished treasures, each one with a story, each one adding cracks. Then, she saw something close to the bottom of the pile and pushed the items away, spotting a dusty black and white photograph. She swiped off the filth, revealing the moment when, as a filly during Hearth’s Warming Eve, she had received her trademark hat from Granny Smith. A tear fell on the image, then a second, followed by a third.
“Big Mac…,” whimpered the orange mare. “I thought… this picture was lost forever. She knew exactly what… to get… me.”
Her orange hoof touched the top of her uncovered head and the dam finally crumbled. Applejack buried her head into Big Macintosh’s side, muffling her weeping as the photograph slipped out of her hoof and floated to the ground. Her big brother eschewed words, instead choosing an embrace to comfort her.
"Why did Granny have to go?" Applejack wept.
“It was her time,” the gentle giant said.
“But… but why was it her time?”
“Don’t have an answer for ya. Nopony does.”
His reply left her sobbing and his own red coat soaked in tears. The stallion closed his eyes, fighting to keep his emotions in check as Applejack’s pain and sorrow wore down his resolve, allowing his cheeks to collect moisture.
Just outside the barn walls, Braeburn could hear his cousin’s muffled cries and could not withhold tears. He walked out of earshot and took vigil of the tall hill where Granny’s grave stood. A light wind made the orchards all around Sweet Apple Acres sway back and forth in rhythm, giving Braeburn something else to watch for a few minutes until the breeze died down.
He then caught a glimpse of Noteworthy off in the distance, looking at a tree and giving it a soft buck. All he got in return was a few apples falling to the ground and the blue stallion moved on, repeating the process with other trees before he disappeared behind a hill.
Then, Rainbow’s weather patrol arrived in the skies above and one by one, they pushed the clouds away until the glimmer of the sun peeked through, revealing that it was two hours to noon. When half the sky was cleared, they departed, leaving Braeburn to his own thoughts. His eyes then grew heavy, and the Appleloosan positioned himself on the ground for a siesta.
When Braeburn returned from his dreams, he felt hooves gently shaking him. The Appleloosan’s eyes opened wide with anticipation, expecting Applejack or Big Macintosh, but saw Noteworthy.
“Oh. You...” Braeburn got up and shook off his grogginess. “...find her hat, partner?”
Noteworthy frowned as he shook his head. “’Afraid not. I reckon everything’s working out here?”
The yellow stallion looked up, spotting the sun near its peak. He then glanced at the red barn doors and rubbed his mane. “No idea. It’s been hours and they haven’t come out yet.”
“I’m sure everything’s all right. Well, time for me to go home. Hope you have better luck than I did, partner.” He shook Braeburn’s hoof before trotting off into the distance.
The Appleloosan lay down, then pricked his ears as he turned his head toward the red structure. “Darn. Must be my mind. Guess I gotta wait some more.”
Within the barn’s confines, the slits of light coming in had shifted to a warm, orange glow. Applejack still had her head on her brother’s side, but much of her sorrow had already left, with the rest slowly leaking out with each sniffle. Then, she turned her head away to speak.
“I was mad, big brother,” she mumbled.
Big Macintosh took a moment to respond. “Hmm? Why were you mad, AJ?”
“I don’t know why, but when she left us, I was mad at Granny and…” She paused to wipe a tear away. “…at myself. I was so confused at what I was feelin’ inside, so I tried to be brave in front of everypony so that none of ya would worry ‘bout me. I’m might sorry, big brother, for pushin’ you away.”
He gave her sister a small pat. “It’s all right.”
Applejack shook her head hard. “No, no, no, it ain’t all right. I was too stubborn with you, my family, the workers, and my friends. If Granny was still here, she’d be so ashamed of me. I couldn’t even come up with the right words to say yesterday.”
“But she’s not ashamed of you and she hasn’t left us.” Big Macintosh grabbed Applejack’s hoof and placed it on her chest. “She’s right there.”
For a moment, her heart, which had throbbed unevenly all day, slowed down, and then a warm tingling sensation burst out from the deepest part of her soul. Her pupils widened as she searched within for this new presence. “Is that... really her, big brother?”
Big Macintosh nodded and gestured towards the mementos lying on the floor. “She’s in there too, AJ, but only we can see that.”
“I don’t… I don’t follow ya.”
“They each have a story ‘bout Granny but not every pony knows about ‘em. It’s something you could share just like she did for us.”
Applejack gazed at the items when she heard the matriarch’s raspy voice. It was faint, but she could discern the words as ones belonging to the many tales she was told. “I ain’t much of a storyteller but…” She picked up the photograph and touched her grandmother’s image. “I wanna do that. It’s the least I can do for Granny to make up for yesterday.”
“Have any pony in mind to tell first?”
Applejack rubbed her eyes. “Yeah, think you can bring my friends here today? I think they’ll go easy on me and… I need to say sorry to them too.”
“You sure ‘bout doing this so soon?” said Big Macintosh, raising his eyebrow. “I’m sure they can wait until—”
“Please, big brother? I really need this right now.”
He gave his sister a long hug. “Ok, AJ. Be back quick, all right?” Big Macintosh slipped outside and turned the corner.
Braeburn ran to the red stallion, took off his hat, and placed it on his chest. “So, is she gettin’ better, cousin?”
Big Macintosh nodded. “Looks that way. Think you can help bringin’ her friends here?”
“Course I can. I can figure out where they live by askin’ around. Oh, and no luck on her hat, but her compadres can help me find it on the way back.”
“Many thanks, cousin.”
“No problem.”
As Braeburn ran off to lasso up Applejack’s friends, Big Macintosh went back to the barn’s entrance, but he stopped short of the door to scan Granny’s resting place past the smaller green hills surrounding it. A brief breeze made the trees around the grave dance as the red stallion touched his chest and breathed deeply. Before the red stallion went inside, he could feel an imaginary green hoof giving him an atta-colt on his back.