//------------------------------// // As you hang by the willow tree. // Story: Outlet. // by Reptilicus //------------------------------// Applejack had only been home for an hour and had only managed to tell a small portion of her tale to the others sitting around the table. It was good to be in the comforts of the farm again, away from the bright city with it's lights, sound, and fury. The stillness of the land was a welcome change to the metal chaos. It felt good to be eating a home-cooked meal made with love, as opposed to a finely tested expensive dish at a fancy bistro, loaded with more spices then it ever really needed. Yet most of all, it felt good to be surrounded by family. Ponies that she loved and who loved her back. Ponies who would always love her no matter what. Who knew the kind of mare she was and always would be. The constant unending flow of chatter coming from the orange pony seemed endless as she explained all the things she had seen on her short trip away from Sweet Apple Acres. She'd only been gone for a short while, but in the strange and often unwelcome confines of the big city, it may as well have been an eon. The other members of the Apple family sat around, listening intently, asking questions when they felt it was appropriate. "Oh and then the next day the two of us went to the Canterlot Zoo. They had all sorts o' stuff there. Goblins n' trolls n' will o' the whisps. Toucans, flamingos, kobolds and all manner of weird critters. They even had chickens there, Granny!" "Chickens? In a zoo? Why in the world would they do that?" "They were chickens from a far-off land I guess. They had these lil'....poofs of feathers sticking out of their faces. Made 'em look like walkin' q-tips. Can't imaging how they see nothin' through all that. They had black geese too. Black with white feathers on their tummies. Very pretty!" "Did they have any elephants, AJ?" Applebloom asked from her highchair, waving her spoon around in the air. "Shoot, they even had a mammoth there, Bloom. Twice as tall as any elephant I ever seen. And covered in long shaggy hair from his top to his bottom. Like a bear. If you gave the zookeepers a few bits they'd let ya toss whole heads of lettuce to 'em. Ate 'em in on gulp. Rarity thought they were flea magnets. Glad the mammoth couldn't hear her." "I wanna see the zoo!" Applebloom squeaked loudly, her enormous eyes gleaming with excitement. "Can we go someday, Applejack?" "A 'course we can. When I feel like sittin' on a train for a few hours again." "Aww!" "It was a pretty impressive pile of animals. Messy though. Made me re-appreciate how kindly all our cows and pigs are over here. Believe it or not I think Fluttershy still owns more animals than that there zoo does." "How'd yer whole....art selling go?" Big Mac asked in his deep booming voice as he shoved a flapjack into his mouth. "I....think it's goin' well. Rarity said that I am fully saturated which I think is her way of sayin' my art is popular. So now that ponies want it, I guess we find a way to sell it off and make some bits." "Seems like y'all had a nice little adventcha there, Applejack." Granny Smith leaned over and gave her eldest granddaughter a hug. "I knew ye'd have a good time." "Well it wasn't ALL great." Applejack replied with a small roll of her eyes and a grin. "But it was pretty good. Wouldn't wanna go there again anytime soon but....you were right Granny. I guess I'm glad I went. Me and Rarity are on real friendly terms after it all. Didn't even bicker any for the last week! She turned out to be a lot more fun to hang around with than I figured at first." "Does this mean next time me n' Sweetie Belle n' Scootaloo have a sleepover, you could come to?" Applebloom smiled widely, her pink bow flopping up and down. "I don't think so, Bloom. Last time I had a sleepover me and Rarity destroyed half o' Twilight's house." "How is Miss Twilight these days?" Big Mac asked from around another mouthful of breakfast. "She's fine as usual! She seemed real happy when she got back from visitin' her family. Said it helped straighten her out. Made her fret a lot less. Probably a good thing, I reckon. I'm always scared she's gonna pop a blood vessel or somethin' from worryin' so much. She said she's glad to be home now. Can look after Spike proper. " "Seems like ya three had a real nice trip, Applejack. Least it got you out off the farm and relaxin' for a while." Big Mac went back to chewing slowly on his food, a look of serene tranquility on his face. ******************************************************************************************************** Later in the day found the orange earth pony trotting merrily down the road. She had a small hop in her step as she walked. It had been a good last few days. Confidence-building, having fun, understanding friends better, it seemed like everything was going pretty alright. The day in particular was pretty as well, which only added to her cheerful mood. The sun was perfectly positioned at it's noontime destination, beaming its rays to the planet below, fueled entirely by Princess Celestia and her love for her subjects. On a summer day, most ponies would be walking around with small parasols fastened to their backs to shield them from the sun. But luckily for everyone, it was fall. And the heat from the sun warmed the chilly air making everything pleasant without being humid. It was perfect weather for just about anything in fact. But today Applejack decided she was going to look for her old friend Rainbow Dash, assuming that she'd probably be napping somewhere on a cloud as it hovered idly above town, as she tended to do. It was sort of iconic in a way. Applejack turned sharply at the street corner and entered Ponyville Park. It wasn't exactly a shortcut, but now with the leaves changing color and the environment just feeling so pleasant, going through the park would be a nice treat. She trotted happily down the road and smiled at what she saw. Her search for Dash had been cut short since at the moment the flying daredevil was conveniently in the park, hovering down the dirt path with a few pinecones cradled in her cyan arms. Applejack sped up to a gallop as she raced to meet her friend. "Well howdy there Rainbow! Fancy seein' you over here! Just who I wanted to-" she was cut off abruptly by Dash's hoof that quickly ceased any sounds from exiting Applejack's mouth. "SHUT IT, AJ!" Rainbow rasped, her normally rough voice becoming a hiss as she whispered in panic. "You're gonna wake her up and screw up Castle Pinecone." Applejack glanced down at the park bench the two had arrived at and snorted with laughter. Pinkie Pie was lying across the bench, snoring sweetly as a large bubble of mucus sat perched on her nostril, growing and shrinking as she exhaled. Atop her body lay a whole systematically piled group of pinecones, each delicately adjusted to form a castle. There was even a group of tinier pinecones sitting in a circle around the park bench, small twigs at their sides like armed guards. One cone near the front had a small leaf placed on top of its head and a spiderweb dangling from it's side like a cape. "That's the King." Rainbow muttered quietly. "I got bored waiting for Pinkie to wake up from her nap so I made this." "Too bad she's gonna knock it all over when she gets up. Then yer lil' masterpiece there'll be ruined." "Yeah, the fall of the great Empire of Pine. Their pineconey memory lost in time. Anyway, what's up AJ? Whatever you need, the Dash can provide!" "Well..." Applejack began, nervously adjusting her hat. "I kinda wanted to talk to ya about....you'n Pinkie I guess." Rainbow visibly tensed up, squinting her eyes as the pinecones fell from her grasp. "Why?" "Well, Rare told me abou-" "UGH! I knew I should never have told Rarity about that. Half the town probably knows Pinkie's crazy and I'm a crybaby wimp now! More junk I have to deal with." "I think it's real cute that y'all are so close now, Sugarcube!" Applejack smiled in panic, trying to salvage the situation. "What? WHAT!?" Rainbow bristled as her pupils contracted in alarm, her tail flicking wildly. "What are you implying? Huh!? Is that why you're here? To spy on us?" "Oh, for the love of...NO! Dangit, Rainbow I don't care if you n' Pinkie are all buddy-buddy now after you used to think she was the most annoyin' pony in town. It's great that you got over it, realized she's nice, and made a good friend. I just wanted to ask ya some advice on that subject." "Subject? SUBJECT!?" "Friendship." "Hmmph. Fine, what?" Rainbow sat on her haunches, crossing her arms and continuing to give Applejack a very skeptical look. "Right, so you and I are pretty square, right? I mean we've known each other for a long time." "Yeah, so?" "Now I don't really know what it is y'all confide in Pinkie about, but I guess I'm kinda curious why ya never came to me with your problems n' such. Or even Fluttershy. You've known her since you were a filly." "Jeez, AJ. Are you jealous that I tell Pinkie stuff? She makes me feel comfortable. It's not like I enjoy hanging out with her more than you." "No that ain't it. It's just.....ahhh how do I put this. How did you like....start it off? Like I know you well enough to know you hate talkin' about yer emotions, Dash. I remember you managed to pretend like nothin' was up after you lost that Wonderbolts internship. Took near a week before we could tell there was anything botherin' ya." "Yeah, I don't like being sappy and stuff with you guys. So what?" "Why are you able to do it with Pinkie Pie, then? What's different?" "Ah, geez I dunno. I guess....when I saw Pinkie kinda losing her mind and talking to herself it was like....I saw Pinkie. The REAL Pinkie. She pretends she's always happy and confident but she's not and I felt really bad for her. And she saw right through me, too. She knows I'm scared of failing and being alone and...heck just about pretty much everything I guess..." Rainbow trailed off, looking at the sky. "Pinkie doesn't care if I fail at something. I don't need to be the best near her. She likes me just the same." "So then what?" "Then what? Well, I don't know. I knew what she was really like and she knew what I was really like and we didn't have to be so....defensive? Evasive? That seems like the word Twilight would use to describe it. Can we stop talking about this please? Why are you asking me about this stuff?" "Well you know I'm kinda like you in alotta aspects, Dash. I like my privacy. Don't like worryin' folks about my own troubles. But....with Rarity I dunno. I feel like I could tell her about things that make me all sad n' mopey and she wouldn't think any different of me." "Well hey, neither would I. I just don't wanna hear about it cause it'd be boring!" "Thanks." Applejack said flatly, frowning. "I guess I ain't real sure how to break the ice with that sort of stuff. I'm real worried these days about....well a lot of things. Things I can't really talk about with my kin." "Can't really help you with that, AJ. It happened pretty much by accident for me. One day I thought I couldn't stand Pinkie and now....." Rainbow cast a small sad glance at her sleeping friend. "I dunno I feel like I need to be a bit more caring than I usually am. Think about her feelings, try not to hurt her, treat her more like a sister I guess. Keep her safe." "What do ya get out of that?" "Hugs? Free food? I dunno, AJ. I just like hanging out with Pinkie Pie. Is that a crime now? Do I need to go to jail?" "Well I think that's awful nice of ya. I know ya like to think of yourself as some sort of cool lone-wolf character. Makes me smile to know you found a sidekick." "Yeah, whatever." Rainbow began reorganizing the pinecones she had dumped on the ground, eager to get back to her castle. "You tell anypony we had this conversation and I'll pop you right in the mouth." "Haha! Yeah I'd like to see you try that, hon. But don't worry yourself none, your secret's safe with me." A bright flash of light arched across the sky. A moment later it was followed by the low rumble of distant thunder. A few small stray raindrops began to drip perilously from the sky, creating small dark spots on the dirt path over the park. Applejack looked up at the sky and sighed. What had once been a perfectly blue hemisphere was now becoming full of dark cottony clouds that threatened to cover the sun entirely. Rainbow ignored the small drizzle, continuing on her plant-based architecture unabated. She stretched one of her large blue wings protectively over the slumbering Pinkie, sheltering her from the rain. "Well ain't that just the way, huh? Finally have a warm autumn day where I don't need to bundle up and it stars rainin'. Well I guess I'd better head home. See ya Rainbow." "Figures the weather team would have a storm planned during one of my few days off." Rainbow muttered to herself with a grumpy snort. "Well I'm not going home yet. Gonna finish this dang castle if it kills me." Applejack began her trot home, saddened at the sudden change of weather. How unfortunate now that in the midst of such an interesting and personal conversation with an old friend that the sky would suddenly strike down so harshly. It would almost have felt like an omen, and perhaps it was with the way the lightning shrieked through the sky. The wind quickly picked up, threatening to blow Applejack's soaked hat off her head as she swayed in the current, fighting her way back through the streets and storm to Sweet Apple Acres. ************************************************************************************************************* Across town the rain pattered loudly atop the Carousel Boutique. A beautiful extravagant building that housed not only Rarity's popular seamstress business, but also served as home for her and her younger sister Sweetie Belle. True to it's name, it looked much like a carousel. Wooden horses mounted on posts went around the outer perimeter of the building, each decorated in a fancy dress of sorts, shielded by the outstretched circular roof of the building that looked like lace. Within it's confines the lights were dimmed as the sisters relaxed. Sweetie Belle resembled her sister quite a bit. Both were pearly white unicorns with large beautiful curls of hair. Sweetie's had small stripes of pink in hers. She had little interest in fashion, but much like her friends, Applebloom and Scootaloo, she was willing to help her sister with anything if it might result in her earning her cutie mark. Such a thing would finally answer once and for all what the tiny filly was most talented at and destined to become. At the moment she was laying on her stomach, a short green crayon clutched in the bulb of her hoof. Not being able to play outside meant her plans to find her special talent in town would need to wait until later. For now she was thoroughly engrossed in the crayon drawing before her, a depiction of a dragon eating a cow that was wearing a top hat. The scribbles were coming to an end and the filly's mind wandered to a far more important subject. "Hey Rarity?" she shouted into the darkness. There was a small splash of water from another room, a few feet down the hall. "Yes, Sweetie?" "Are we gonna enter the Sisterhooves Social again this year?" "Of course we are, dear. It was good fun last year. I'm bringing a hairnet this time, mind." "Scootaloo is gonna ask Rainbow Dash to go with her." "She is not Rainbow Dash's sister." "I know but she reeallllyyy reaalllly wants to be." "Yes well, that little urchin is going to need to realize that breaking into Rainbow's house every night and holding on for dear life is not the same thing as adoption." "You should come see this drawing I made!" "I'll look at it later, Sweetie. I've been so busy today and I really do need this bath. Very badly." "Can I join you?" "I'm currently basking in the pore-cleansing embrace of camel's milk spiced with swan fat and eggplant rind, Sweetie. So unless you want to smell as rejuvenated and lovely as I do to your little friends later, I would not recommend jumping in here!" Sweetie made a face. Indeed she did not want to partake of the same fancy baths and other beauty measures her sister took often to stay looking her best. While the two may have looked the same, Sweetie's interest in fashion was very shallow, and unlike her sister she preferred to play in the mud and run around the garden as opposed to sewing clothes. She began placing the crayons back into her box when suddenly she heard a very quiet ding from the kitchen. Her large ears perked up, standing at attention through her pink and lavender curls. There was that ding again. A very familiar ding. "Rarity?" "Yes, Sweetie Belle?" "I think the telegraph is ringing." "Oh good gracious, well isn't that just peachy! Right as I was starting to finally relax too." There was a loud splash of water followed by the click of hooves on tile as the door swung open. Rarity stood in the doorway, two mint green towels wrapped around her dripping body, a mud mask on her face, and curlers in her hair, frowning vehemently. She made a dash towards the kitchen, slipping from the combination of clean tile and wet hooves as she ran. Sweetie sat in place, hearing panicked and rushed voices from the kitchen. There was some muffled shouting followed by a squeal of delight. A minute later Rarity came trotting out of the kitchen, holding her head proudly in the air with a smirk. "I need to go and give some very important news to someone very special, Sweetie. Best news I've heard all day in fact!" "Oh, ok." Sweetie wagged her curly tail happily. "When are you gonna be back?" "Shouldn't be more than a few minutes. When I get back you and I are going out for ice cream to celebrate. Now let's see this drawing you've made." Sweetie picked the drawing up in her mouth and craned her short neck upwards to give Rarity a view of her masterpiece while also shielding it from her dripping sister. Rarity studied it intently for a moment before raising an eyebrow. "Why is this cow wearing a top hat?" "He is a very fancy cow. He takes baths like you do." "Well I feel honored to be compared to such a noble bovine. Note to self: eat less sweets. But I must run, be right back!" And with that, Rarity turned and burst through the doors of the Carousel Boutique, leaving curlers, bobby pins, towels and wet hoofprints on the tile in her wake. Sweetie watched her big sister run into the rainstorm, quickly disappearing into the fog of grey and white as the downpour continued. She'd never seen her sister so eager to run out into bad weather, especially when she wasn't looking her best. Whatever the news was had to be really important. ************************************************************************************************************ Rain on the Apple farm was generally a good thing. It meant that the plants would be nourished, saving the family time doing it themselves. It meant the soil would be slightly easier to till for the next couple of days. But mostly it meant the unsaid agreement between the Apple family and the Weather Team of pegasus ponies that lived above Ponyville was still in check. Though neither side would admit it, refusing to even utter a word, the Weather team gladly made sure to send a few extra rainclouds towards Sweet Apple Acres, and in return they all got a discount on the produce they purchased there. All it took was a small nod of acknowledgement when harvest time came, and the two sides knew that the pact remained sealed. It was a good pact that made everyone's lives just a little bit easier. Of course the rain caused a few smaller issues as well. When it rained, it POURED. Hard. And any vegetables that were growing in pots, needing special varieties of soil had to be dragged back to the barns one by one, to avoid being drowned in the downpour. With the way the weather was, the family had to work fast to get the plants to shelter, and by the time the chore had been completed they had worked up an appetite. The four Apples sat around the dinner table, covered in rain and mud, digging into a quiche made of diced squash, crushed acorns, and garlic. It was a slightly more lavish meal then they generally prepared, often happy to simply eat the vegetables raw or tossed into a salad or baked into a simple crust, but today was special. The eldest daughter was home, the harvest was looking to be good this year, and Applebloom had brought home an A- on her math test. It was as good a time as any to celebrate. However their meal would be sidetracked halfway by a loud rapping on the front door. In fact whoever it was, happened to be hitting the door so hard that the wobbly knob managed to turn precisely enough for it to swing open and slam against the wall, revealing a completely drenched white unicorn, her hair flopping recklessly all over her petite form as she grinned widely. "Oh goodness I didn't break the door did I?" "Rarity?!" Applejack shouted, looking surprised which was not an emotion she regularly experienced. "What on earth are you doing out in weather like this? Y'all could get hurt. Heck ya could catch the flu like that!" "Oh pshah, you are worrying far too much, besides." Rarity galloped in, seizing Applejack in a very drippy hug as she slid to a stop at the table. "I have some sensational news!" "Uh...." Applejack sat awkwardly in her chair, half dragged off of it by the embrace. Big Mac shot his younger sister a devious grin as she flailed awkwardly. "You can let go now, Rare." "Oh yes! Oh dear I almost forgot why I ran all the way here! We've finally crossed the threshold, Applejack! THE THRESHOLD!!" she tightened the embrace roughly, nuzzling her friend and laughing aloud, causing Applejack's cheeks to go very pink. "What in tarnation is going on, Rare?!" "The Manehattan Fine Art Society is what in tarnation! We're going to have a private exhibition and auction just for YOUR work, Applejack! Some pony recommended us! Isn't that wonderful? This whole thing will finally pay off!" "I.....I....." Applejack's lower jaw trembled slightly, her green eyes darting around the room. She was unsure of what to say. Every thought, every instinct was going haywire in a mixture of fear and horror. A solemn knowing glance passed between Granny Smith and Big Mac. Applejack gasped loudly, fighting for breath, finally turning to Rarity. "Th....that's great...Rare." "What's wrong, Applejack? You've gone very pale." "Nothin's wrong I'm....uh...perfectly fine." "You don't sound fine." "I'm really fine. I'm r... real happy we can finally sell the art, Rarity." "You don't seem happy. Applejack I've known you long enough to know you're an awful liar. Well now? Out with it!" She drew her face uncomfortably close to her friend, casting a dark menacing glare into her eyes. It was true, being the Element of Honesty meant Applejack couldn't fake anything, even if it meant an old painful memory. "I've been to Manehattan before." "Let me guess, you didn't enjoy it there?" "Yeah, somethin' like that." Applejack winced slightly as Big Mac coughed uncomfortably. Granny Smith shot him a small glare and whispered a quiet "hush" in his general direction. "How long was it since you last visited?" "I dunno, Rare. I was a little filly when I went. Younger than Bloom is now. Six maybe seven." "It's changed a lot since then, Applejack. But if you really don't want to go, then I will respect your wishes and not beg you to like I did with Canterlot. I'm sure I could handle things." Applejack furrowed her brow as she stared into the deep blue eyes of her friend. On one hoof, she had promised herself she'd never go back to that particular city ever again as long as she lived. On the other hoof, getting to hang out with Rarity some more away from Ponyville sounded by far more fun and interesting than making cider for the next week or so. Could a town that awful truly change? Maybe it was time to take another leap of faith. At first Applejack and Rarity hated each other, fighting constantly and nearly destroying Twilight's library during a slumber party. For a time they didn't even like their sisters being friendly with each other. But, Applejack had taken a chance and had realized Rarity was an amazing pony and fun to be around. Simultaneously, despite her initial dislike of Canterlot, she had found herself enjoying the extravagant albeit arrogant city and all the things it had to enjoy. And if it hadn't been for Rarity, she'd never had built up the courage to leave the farm in the first place, go on a trip, and see a small part of the world. When it came right down to it, Applejack realized she trusted the promises of a friend more than her own instincts. She took a deep breath, hedging all her bets on the next carefully chosen words. "Do ya want me to go?" "Of course I do! This is all for you, after all. It would be positively dreadful if I had to be there all by myself." "Well....." Applejack cast a quick glance at her family. Granny Smith frowned slightly and looked down at the floor. There was a pleading look of dismay in Big Mac's eyes and an oh so subtle, almost invisible shake of his head. ".....I guess, I'll go." "You are absolutely sure about this?" "Y...yeah. Yeah I'm sure I wanna go this time. Just you n' me." "Wonderful! Once I work out the schedule and find someone to look after Sweetie, oh and get the proper train tickets, oh and we have to see what Auctioneers are available and oh there's just so much to do!" Rarity nibbled on the end of her hoof, looking worried. "You wanna stay for dinner? We're havin' quiche! Got salted acorns in it." "OH! Thank you so much but I already ate. In fact I promised Sweetie Belle we'd go out for dessert." "Can I go?" Applebloom squeaked, finally feeling it was her turn to speak. "No, you need to finish yer dinner, dearie. Gitcha a big slice a' pie afterwards!" Granny replied, waving a fork in the air. With another clatter of hooves and a slam of the door and Rarity was once again lost to the rain, enveloped by the grey mist that was shrouding the land. Applejack sat for a moment in her chair watching the galloping silhouette become lost from view as the broken door swung open on it's hinges again. For a moment the family sat in the silence, watching Applejack in her chair as she stared out into the rain, breathing quietly with an enigmatic expression. Big Mac was the first to speak and break the silence. "AJ you know you don't.....HAVE to go this time. Miss Rarity clearly wouldn't mind if ya didn't. In fact I think you should stay here." Applejack turned slightly staring at her brother. His face said it all. Worry etched across his chiseled and worn features. Applejack sighed to herself. "What if she wants to know why I changed my mind?" "We can find something you can use as an excuse, AJ. I don't want you goin' back there. Ever. I don't want to.....lose my little sister again." Big Mac cleared his throat and stared at his meal. He'd never been good with words. The last thing he wanted was Applejack to return to Manehattan. Her last experience there as a child had broken the family, and caused deep hurt for everyone involved. "What do you think, Granny?" Applejack whispered, not taking her eyes off Mac. "Think I made the right decision?" Granny Smith leaned back in her chair, putting a comforting gnarled hoof on her granddaughter's shoulder. "Applejack, yeh know I should eh told ya this back when yeh asked me about Canterlot but ya needed a good shove in the right direction. I love you, dearie. I love you more than I can't even express. But....yer gonna have to start makin' yer own decisions." "Normally I'd agree with ya. But, this is different. You know that." "That I do. That I do. If you go, you promise me, Applejack." Granny Smith placed her hoof on Applejack's chin, forcing her to turn her head so the two generations could see each other face to face. Applejack's full of worry and Granny's full of grave concern. "You promise me yeh don't go near them Oranges. Nobody needs to know about them. If you see 'em, don't talk to 'em. Don't give em the time o' day. They don't deserve any more of our kindnesses, ya hear?" Applebloom raised an eyebrow at the conversation. She'd never met these family members being mentioned in hushed tones. "Granny how come we never see Auntie and Uncle Orange? Ain't they our kin?" "Not anymore, child." Granny responded in a voice very grave and quiet. She leaned forward and began to cut into her quiche again. "Eat yer food, dearie, it's gettin' cold." And thus, the Apple family began once again to eat dinner. The joy and happiness in the room was gone, replaced by a melancholy tone, full of thought and reminiscence. None wished to speak after the conversation that had just happened. The topic was one they had all dearly hoped they'd never have to discuss again. One they hadn't discussed in more than a decade. Old wounds that had long since scabbed over now found themselves itching and oozing, ruining the celebratory gusto that filled the house. Even the lights seemed dimmer as the family ate. Their minds occupied by dark thoughts and old memories, betrayed by the sun, and moving from shade to shade.