As Apple Bloom and Granny Smith headed off to their beds, and Pinkie Pie got herself packed and ready to leave for the train station, Applejack stood in the backyard of the Apple Family home, looking up at the stars.
She thought about home, and how this place—even though her family was here—wasn’t it. Her home was back in Canterlot, which felt like such an alien thing to say considering how much she loathed that horrid city ever since she set foot in it.
But then she realized; her home wasn’t in Canterlot, her home was in the library.
Not that she considered the library a home in the literal sense—it belonged to Twilight, not her, after all—but the library is where so many of her best memories came from, either from experiences inside it or thanks to the friends she’d made because of it.
Her home was with her family, and though she loathed to admit it, and despite how her heart swelled with affection for Big Mac and Apple Bloom, her family wasn’t the ponies that shared the Apple name—her family was with Pinkie Pie, and Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle and Spike, and of course Rainbow Dash.
Applejack felt a laugh leaving her lips as she thought about Rainbow, and she wondered what her firecracker of a marefriend was up to right now. Applejack heard that Rainbow was going to be on a mission while Applejack was in Appleloosa, and Applejack prayed that it went well and that Rainbow could return home safe.
Applejack made a little promise to herself that she’d smother that beautiful pegasus in kisses the next time she saw her.
“Leaving already?” Big Mac said as he came out of the house and into the yard, giving Applejack a pat on the shoulder that distracted her from her girlfriend thoughts.
“Yeah,” Applejack sighed, running a hand through her mane, “gotta open up shop tomorrow.”
“Sorry about Granny, by the way,” Big Mac said bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck, but Applejack just shrugged in response.
“Not your fault,” she said, trying to affect a cheerful tone as she playfully tapped Big Mac’s gut. “I ain’t got no one to blame but myself for the way she treats me. Cuz she ain’t wrong, y’know? Ever since the foundin’ of the Slayers, darn near every child of the Apple family’s become a Slayer, and in all that time, there’s been maybe half a dozen that’ve retired early. Can you blame her for bein’ disappointed in me? I can’t.
“So you ain’t got nothin’ to apologize for, Big Mac. You ain’t a failure like I am.”
“You’re not—”
“I know, I know,” Applejack chuckled awkwardly, and giving Big Mac a gentle shove. “I’m just jokin’… mostly.”
“You’re not a failure,” Big Mac huffed, crossing his arms.
“Thanks,” if nothing else, Applejack appreciated her brother’s support.
“Honestly, you’re pretty lucky,” Big Mac said, and Applejack arched an eyebrow at him. “You got out.”
Applejack winced. She was sure Big Mac was trying to make her feel better or something, but reminding her that she’s the reason why he had to become a Slayer at all, despite how much he hated it, didn’t do anything but make her stomach pang with guilt.
Big Mac was supposed to be a baker. And yeah, if he had become that instead of a Slayer, he’d have to deal with all the grief that Applejack gets, but he’d always have the support of his sisters, and that includes Pinkie and Rarity.
But if he had taken that path after Applejack left the Slayers, it wouldn’t have brought shame just to him, but to the entire Apple family. Applejack could bear the shame of being the ‘failure’ Apple, and Big Mac could’ve done it too, but neither of them could bear the responsibility of dragging their entire family, their entire lineage, through the mud like that.
And that’s before even getting into the money aspect. Granny Smith was retired, but she didn’t have many bits to fall back on; the retirement plan of most Slayers was pretty much non-existent, especially since almost none make it to retirement age anyway.
So if the family was gonna have a roof over their heads, somepony had to make money, and it wasn’t gonna be Applejack and her nothing little blacksmithing job. And bakers don’t make enough to live on, but Slayers do. Barely.
So Big Mac had to become a Slayer, because of Applejack’s failure.