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// Problem 13: Applejack's Amazing Accident 
// Story: The Alicorn Problems 
// by TheTimeSword 
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Applejack tried and tried, over and over, repeatedly failing. While everypony slept, she stood outside, planting her hooves firmly in front of the seedling. She just couldn't do it. Nothing grew, nothing moved. What did she do wrong? Why couldn't it be so simple? Sweat drenched every part of her. She'd lost her hat somewhere, she couldn't remember when. Her whole mind focused on growing the seedling, even just a sprout an inch long. Anything!

From what that idiotic book said, imagining a plant growing was the correct way. Applejack did that—it didn't work. She pictured herself growing to no results. Herself in a tree costume getting bigger? An apple in all its bright, shiny redness? Nothing worked. But she refused to give up.

For a moment, she debated on seeing Starlight Glimmer. If she sought Starlight out, Applejack believed the mare would keep her secret. But even so—that meant Applejack would need to explain her current predicament. She could simply not tell Starlight about her trying any magic at all, but what if she still failed after Starlight's teachings? There'd be no way out of it. She'd be a failure of the great magnitude. 

"Why can't I just let it go? Why am I like this?" she whisper-yelled to herself. It wasn't like she didn't know it was okay to fail, but for some reason that just made her more upset. "Just grow!" This time she did yell, barking the words at the ground. In the moonlight, she could see the dirt had moved from her furious stomping. Stopping, she looked to see if the seedling did anything. Not a thing.

In the silence she heard trotting coming from inside. Down the stairs and into the living room, a candle glided across the room like a ghost. Applejack saw the hoof around it, so it had to be Granny, which made her even more uneasy. "Granny?" she called out in a hushed voice. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"You did," Granny replied as she slowly creaked open the screen door. "Why are you still awake youngin'? What are you yelling about?"

Applejack didn't want to admit it. She tied her tongue in a knot, refusing to answer. But Granny looked deep into her eyes with that stare only the old, experienced ponies could pull off. She'd have to lie to Granny, and Applejack knew then she was in too deep. With a sigh, she hung her head. "I'm a failure, Granny. I can't do it. I ain't flown, I ain't cast no spells, I've done nothing but stand here and be mad that everyone else is doing more than me. I'm afraid that if I try anything, I'll be the same as this little seed here—sitting in dirt and not doing a darn thing."

Granny came closer and placed a hoof on Applejack's chin, raising her grandchild's head. When they both looked deep into each other's eyes, Granny smiled. "Oh, Applejack. You'll always be nothing but a failure."

"Wh-what?" Applejack spluttered, taking a step away.

"Everypony agrees!" Granny cheered, raising her hooves into the air and sending the candle sailing. "In fact, everypony is here to see you fail!" All of a sudden, the home had ponies popping out of the woodwork. Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie kicked open the screen door, laughing at her with malicious faces. Big Mac and Apple Bloom threw back their heads with laughter as they hovered over her, displaying their flying prowess. 

The flames from the candle kicked up, practically setting the house aflame in an instant. Starlight Glimmer waved from one of the windows, howling with laughter. "You'll never be as good as me even when I was a foal!"

Fluttershy even pointed and snickered at her from the kitchen window. "Even I'm better than you! Even me!" Then there were two Fluttershys in the window, a duplication spell. "Even me!" the other repeated. "Even me!"

When the house had been engulfed in fire, an explosion of flame rose in a ball and formed the head of a pony. The colors of the flame turned from red to light blue. "You'll never be anything but a runt," the voice of Rainbow Dash echoed from the face. "Can't fly, can't cast spells, you can't even grow a plant." Dash boomed with laughter, each word sending flames in every direction.

"Nooo!" Applejack screamed, kicking herself awake. She found dirt stuck to her chin thanks to drool, to which she quickly wiped away. Night hadn't yet passed on, even though she'd fallen asleep outside. It just happened to be right on the spot where the seedling sat, and the dirt on her chin had been what covered it. "What in tarnation just happened?" She scratched the side of her head, realizing now it must've been a dream. The family home looked fine, all lights were out except for one coming down the stairs.

Granny opened the screen door, her face glowing against the moonlight and the candle's glow. Applejack cringed away at the sight of her, still feeling the effects of the dream. "Applejack? What are you doing out here screamin'?" Granny held the candle close, getting a good look at her with those old eyes. "You look like something Winona threw up."

With a sigh, Applejack fell on her rump. Her body ached in places that hadn't hurt since the last time she'd bucked every apple tree in the orchard. That's what she got for falling asleep like she had. "Granny, you ain't got anypony else in there, do ya?"

There was a glint of suspicion in Granny's eyes, as though she wondered if Applejack had gone plum crazy. "Apple Bloom should be in bed?" she said slowly, feeling the words. "Why?"

"I just—Granny, I'm no good." Applejack pulled her hat up off the ground, tucking it on her head and hiding her eyes with it. "I ain't done no flying, no spell castin', and I'm afraid of being the laughing stock of my family and friends." When she finished, she looked up at the windows, hoping there wouldn't be ponies pointing at her. "I'm afraid, Granny. Afraid that I can't keep up."

"Applejack." Granny lifted a hoof and placed in on Applejack's shoulder, and for a moment she thought things might turn out like the dream. Instead, Granny shook her head. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard you say."

That kind of stung, but Applejack nodded in agreement, then wondered why she agreed at all. "Uh?"

Granny's chest heaved in laughter. "You're the most loved pony I know. From your family to your friends, I don't think a single pony would belittle you for fallin' behind. Every single one of those girls who care about you would do anything in their power to help you, if you asked for their help. They might even do so without you asking, considerin' you're more stubborn than an evergreen come winter. And seeing as how you're still out here, I know that's the truth."

"But the girls could already be better at flying or spells—and they might not even want help with the soil and dirt!" Applejack argued.

"All the more reason to go to them. Yeah, you might be last, but is that really a bad thing? Think of all the experiences you'll have to learn from. You think I got so good at flying by myself?"

Applejack raised an eyebrow at that. "Yeah, kinda."

But Granny chuckled. "Me and the girls been cheerin' each other on. Pushing ourselves to the limits of our new capabilities. Going to Manehattan and back alone? Not a chance. Goldie Delicious would've kicked my tail feathers if I had chickened out, though. We did it together."

"You think I did my work alone?" Apple Bloom asked, surprising both Granny and Applejack. The little filly had been listening from the door, keeping herself shadowed against the candlelight. "I had my friends, Applejack."

"Apple Bloom—" Applejack wanted to chastise the filly for being awake, but more importantly, she didn't want Apple Bloom to look down on her.

"Nuh uh," Apple Bloom opened the screen door and let it slam close behind her. "Let us help you, Applejack. You ain't got to do this alone. Remember those old unicorn ponies you were talkin' about? They did that stuff together!"

Applejack turned away from the two mares, staring down at the seed caked in dirt. "I know you two are right, but I just feel pathetic for not keeping up."

Granny and Apple Bloom sidled up beside her, each one grabbing onto her and hugging tight. "You ain't gotta feel shame, hun," Granny cooed. "Everything takes time. An apple orchard ain't built over night, and it don't complain that the other fruits grow faster. 'Cause once the apple tree's done growin', it produces the finest fruit there is—just like the Apple family."

"Aww, you two," Applejack wrapped a hoof around both, squeezing them tight. "I guess that means I should put this lil' fella up." The seed hovered in the air in front of her. "Shucks, I was really hoping to have a tree here."

"Applejack!" Apple Bloom cried out. "You're doing it!"

Applejack blinked, glancing down at Apple Bloom who'd became wide eyed. She then looked back at the seed, still hovering in front of her, no strings attached. "I am? Does this mean—" Before she could finish her sentence, she saw a root grow from the bottom of the seedling. "Y'all think my own thoughts were keeping me from growing—both the seed and myself?" she asked the two who nodded in agreement. "Hoo boy, I'm never gonna live this one down, am I?" 

"Oh, no," Apple Bloom protested with a grin. "After you've mastered flying and all sorts of magical spells, I am so making fun of you." They all laughed at that, and Applejack couldn't deny her little sister's plan. This would definitely be something Applejack would look back upon and laugh at. Hadn't she just told Sugar Belle a few days ago to lift off her downtrodden spirit and be the alicorn she wanted to see? Applejack hadn't taken her own advice, she now saw, and that made her laugh harder.

The laughing stopped when the seed expanded, shot its roots to the ground, and exploded to life. Granny and Apple Bloom flew to get out of the way as Applejack galloped from the expanding bark. "What in Equestria did I do!?" she hollered as the tree grew and grew. The ground shook underneath her and she tripped onto her chin, flipped, and landed with her rump in the air. Her hat landed gracefully atop her tail. When the rumbling ceased, she got to her hooves and looked back. "Our home!" she gawked, seeing part of the roof torn off. 

More importantly, however, the tree towered over the house. "Applejack! You alright?" Apple Bloom asked as she floated down with Granny. "How in Equestria did you pull off something like that?" The tree wasn't like those in the orchard. This tree looked like a redwood—one of those really big trees. It reminded her of Zecora's home that was a tree itself.

"I, uh, don't know. Did I do that?"

They all took a look around at the tree and the damage. The fence and road to the home no longer existed, a long with part of the vegetable field. Roots dug in the front of the yard like steps up to the doorway, though nothing truly blocked the entrance. In fact, after inspecting the inside and the roof, only Applejack and Big Mac's rooms appeared damaged. The roof nearly torn off from Mac's, and Applejack's had a few shingles and beams on her floor. The wall below remained intact, along with the rest of the home. Though it did have an incredibly large tree next to it—which would provide a lot of shade during summer, and that'd be nice.

Applejack's second fear held no weight. She thought the apples produced by the tree would be large things that might fall and crush their home. Instead, however, the large tree produced normal apples—and in fact already had. Branches splayed out from all directions, almost wild in nature. There would be thousands of apples produced just from this one tree. "This is amazing Applejack!" Granny told her when all was said and done. "I know damages to the home might seem bad now, but it can be fixed. This, however, is grand."

"And we'll do it together," Apple Bloom interjected.

"It's a mighty fine thing, I'll admit, but I don't know how I did it. I think I can do it again, though, with you two by my side. And there's a third who might benefit from it more than we can—if you catch my drift." Applejack grinned at the two who caught on quickly. "C'mon, before he wakes up."

The two flew ahead of Applejack and she raced to keep up. With a little kick off the ground, she flapped her wings and glided, but didn't do more than that. There would be time to learn with others who knew more. Maybe even Mac could teach her, especially since gliding up to the tops of the trees she planned to create would be too difficult to climb.

When Applejack reached the long strip, Apple Bloom pointed out a cart and a log cabin. While most of the trees had been removed and set on the edges of the empty land, the cabin sat inside the limits. A blue tarp made the door, which looked tied up for the night. The cart stood a bit of ways away—though they only needed a few of the contents inside. Surprising all three, however, the seeds Mac had purchased weren't for producing apples. Now, the Apple family had never been shy about producing all sorts of vegetables, but apples were their lifeblood. "Should we do this? This is what he wants, right?" Apple Bloom asked, she held a bunch of pear seeds.

Their mother had been a pear. Big Mac wanted all sorts of fruit trees to grow on his land, though the reason behind it remained a mystery. He wanted it, and he wanted to do it himself. Applejack understood that better than anyone now, but she couldn't leave it be. Peaches, pears, bananas. Whatever he wanted, they'd plant. Applejack gave the nod and they went to work. Only a few seeds of each fruit were needed, the trees would be massive, only allowing for a few sets of each. 

As the sun began its rise, they finished their planting. Now came the difficult part. The feeling of insecurity crushed her like a weighted blanket, but looking at her family ripped it away like a bandage. "Alright," she said, and felt the love in her heart. She wondered if the horn on her forehead was a second heart, as it lit with sparks as soon as she thought of her sister and grandmother. 

Her horn burned white hot, exploding with the spell and sending the ground quaking. Roots shot up from the ground around one seed as the trunk expanded high into the sky. There was only one cloud in the forming light of dawn, and the tree's canopy mashed it into nothing against its growing leaves. As she worked the spell on the second seed, she found she didn't need to do anything. 

To her surprise, and most likely Granny and Apple Bloom's too, the roots shot across and touched another seed. Each one touching another, growing the trunks and bark, sending the new forms high into the sky. A chain reaction, connecting them all like she connected to her family.

Of course, Big Mac had awoken at the first tree's rumbling, and shot out of his cozy cabin by the time the second tree sprung roots. He marched up to Applejack, a slack-jawed expression aiding the drool streaming down his chin. Granny and Apple Bloom fell in behind him, coming up on either side. They all stood in the shadows of the giants, everyone remaining silent until the long rows of trees ended their growth. The wind shook the newly formed leaves as the rumbling ceased.

"What did you do?" he whispered, when he eventually spoke.

"We thought you could use some help," Applejack answered him, she couldn't stop herself from sounding slightly embarrassed. "You've been out here all alone, but you should've known better, and we should've known it too. Apples don't let Apples do all the hard work alone. We're family."

Now it was his turn to be embarrassed. "Eeyup." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking down with shame in his eyes. "I just wanted to do it myself. To prove I could."

"I thought that was the case." Applejack frowned for a moment, knowing what she was about to say. "While you've been working hard to prove yourself, I've been wallowing in my own self pity. The truth is Mac, I can't do much of the things you can do. You're a real natural at this alicorn business. Growing these gargantuan behemoths is about all I can do so far—and that's a surprise to me more than anypony here."

"It's amazing," he interjected, his eyes turning back to the treetops.

"I thought I could keep up with you, and Granny, and Apple Bloom. That I could do it all by myself. I couldn't. I can't. I need to tell myself that. I don't know why you broke it off with Sugar Belle, but I realize now I was less mad about that and more upset that you acted like you were practically born an alicorn. I'm not sure if it was jealousy or flat out insecurity, but I know it was wrong. I'm sorry, Mac."

"Applejack—" Mac started to say, but he stopped himself. With a shake of his head and a stern expression, he stared down at her like an angry parent. "If this is all to get me to talk about Sugar Belle, you can forget it."

In response, Applejack smiled up at him. "It's not. You'll always have your family, even if we don't understand exactly why you do the things you do. We'll be there no matter what. Whether it's breakups or bananas, you're not alone."

His head hung sorrowful at that. "Thank you." He nodded to Apple Bloom and Granny, repeating the words. "I think I needed to hear that too. I wanted to show that I could this, and to prove I'm worthy of Sugar Belle. She's a true princess, she's always been my princess, wings or horn didn't matter. But the family orchard never really felt like it was my accomplishment. I needed to show her that I was worthy."

"Aww," both Granny and Apple Bloom cooed in unison.

"Then why even breakup with her?" Applejack asked, more confused than ever.

"I needed to prove myself. I figured, if I couldn't provide something truly worth her, I wasn't worth marrying her or taking on the title of royalty."

"Well, technically you and her aren't princesses—err, royalty," Applejack replied. "I'm not sure any of us are. I think character is what makes you that, Twilight would know more." She then waved her own words away as though they smelled bad. "Not the point."

Big Mac frowned at her with his big cheeks. "My point is that I wanted to do this by myself." His voice started to rise, and Applejack began feeling the heat of his words. Yet he simmered before he became too hot. Finally, he said, "Thank you, Applejack. I do think you're right. My family is important to me, y'all are part of me, and what you do is part of what I do. Sugar Belle gets all of us!"

"Yeah!" Granny and Apple Bloom yelled, cheering on Big Mac, and even Applejack let out a little holler.

"Did somepony say my name?" a voice called out. They all looked around, but were surprised to see Sugar Belle floating down with small flaps of her wings. "I certainly hope it wasn't some stallion looking to reconnect," she said with a huff as she landed.

Mac strode forward, bowing his head to her. "Sugar Belle, I'm sorr—"

"Nope," Sugar Belle cut him off, walking around him to Applejack. "I came back to thank you, Applejack." Sugar Belle had a set of saddlebags on her back, and she had an air of nobility. No tears, no sadness. She reached into one bag and lifted out a wrapped up box, bringing it to Applejack's face. "You were completely right."

"I was?" Applejack asked, dumbfounded. She unwrapped the box, only out of habit, just to find inside was a pastry. A muffin with a chocolate chip horn and frosting wings. "Well this is lovely lookin', though a little early for something so sweet."

"I took your advice and decide to try and find out what this world had to offer. Turns out, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Sugar Belle glanced around at the ponies around her, all except for Big Mac, of course. "I said that correct, right? Anyway. Pastries are my passion—but now everyone is an alicorn. So I decided to make pastries based entirely around alicorn designs. Don't you think it's neat? They're selling like hotcakes—well, actually the hotcakes are the only ones not selling compared to everything else." She let out a giggle and came close to Applejack. "Thank you so much. Without your advice, I would've been still here crying over Big Mac."

Applejack let Sugar Belle hug her, but her eyes drifted to Mac who looked both angry and defeated. "Uh, I mean, maybe he had a good reason—"

Sugar Belle cut her off too. "Sorry, Applejack. Had to come early this morning. I've got a new business deal for an opening of a shop in Canterlot. Princess Pastries! Look for it next time you're in the city." With a turn she trotted past Mac with her eyes closed before taking a few big steps for a flight up into the sky.

"Bye Sugar Belle!" Apple Bloom waved, but Granny quickly pushed her hoof down.

Reflexively, Applejack took a big, nervous gulp of air. "N-now, Mac, I know what you're thinking."

Instead of being furious though, Big Mac looked positively tickled. "Ain't she somethin'?" he asked, his eyes drifting over his shoulder to glance in Sugar Belle's diminishing direction.

"Beg yer pardon," Granny asked before Applejack could.

"Well, she's gonna need a lot of fruits to make some special pastries, ain't she?" Big Mac said with a wide smile. "And guess who just happens to have an incredibly large supply of different fruits?"

Applejack got it, and started laughing. "Big Mac, you crazy stallion." Granny started laughing too at the same time as Mac, leaving Apple Bloom to be the only one silent.

"I don't get it," Apple Bloom said loudly, cutting through the group's laughter. "He broke up with Sugar Belle to prove he was worthy of her love, and wants to get back together? But he already had her love and didn't need to prove anything? Am I missing somethin'?"

They all stopped laughing at that. "Uhh," Mac murmured.

Then Granny added, "Kinda sounds stupid when you explain it all out loud."

"Yeah," Applejack exaggerated the word for a few seconds, leaving it hanging like a bad cloud. "About as dumb as refusing to ask for help and feeling like a failure because of your own pride?"

They all went silent for a moment until Granny clapped her hooves together. "How about we just take the events of the last few days and wrap them all up into another one of the famous Apple family secrets, eh kids?"

"Yep," Applejack agreed instantly, Mac nodded, and Apple Bloom made a motion of zipping over her lips. None of the four mentioned the previous days for the rest of their lives.