Chapter 3
Applejack
"Ok Apple Bloom, stick with Derpy. Don't stray too far away; make sure you always have Zecora's hut in sight," Applejack said, as she pulled her into a tight hug. Apple Bloom nodded.
Applejack pulled away and gave Apple Bloom one last look. Don't give up. Celestia's words ran through her head again. She needed the extra push. It was so hard to leave Apple Bloom behind right now. They'd already lost their parents, so long ago; and now Granny Smith. Applejack wasn't strong enough to lose someone else.
"Don't worry Apple-jack, I'll keep Apple Bloom safe," Derpy said, putting her foreleg around Apple Bloom. Applejack nodded. She gave Apple Bloom one last lingering look, willing herself not to tear up as she did so, and then left the hut.
She took a deep breath as she closed the door behind her. She then walked around the hut and headed for Flam's car.
Flam was on the car with Fluttershy. Together they were clearing off all of the leaves. Big Mac was supervising. He put his foreleg around Applejack as she stood beside him.
"Let me just double check that Flim didn't stuff leaves anywhere that will compromise the mechanics of the car," Flam said. He disappeared to the other side of the car.
"She'll be ok," Big Mac said.
"I hope so..." Applejack said quietly. She looked over at Flam. "Do you trust this guy?"
"Twilight does, and so I think we should too. What happened was in the past, and in the end, we didn't lose anything from it. You need to remember that Applejack. I've let it go, and I know Granny Smith did too. Don't let what happened in the past get in the way of saving the future," Big Mac said. Applejack sighed and nodded. Sometimes she was surprised by how wise her brother was.
"I hope Twilight or Zecora finds a cure for the unicorns," Fluttershy said.
"Me too," Flam said. He wiped his hooves clean. "Looks like everything is in running condition. We're all set."
Applejack jumped onto the car, followed by Big Mac. Flam flashed some magic and the car began to move through the trees.
It was a little slow moving through the forest. The car was wide and some of the gaps between the trees weren't big enough to fit the car through. It took some careful maneuvering to get around them, but eventually Flam turned out of the trees and onto the road towards the Apples' farm.
"So, Flam; were you on your way to Ponyville when you found Rarity?" Applejack asked stiffly.
"I wasn't really paying attention to where we were heading; I just wanted to keep moving. After seeing what they did to Flim, I just couldn't chance it. I'd be useless to him if my magic became scrambled as well. I didn't want to chance staying in one place, and since Flim and I are always on the move, we don't have a permanent home anyways," Flam explained, "Since the changelings are treating the unicorns differently now, it seemed the best option to keep on the move, don't sit somewhere where they can scramble me too. Rarity thought that Twilight Sparkle might be able to help Flim, and she was in no condition to walk to Ponyville herself, so that's why we tagged along as well."
"I know that part, Rarity already explained it all when we went around telling each other what had happened," Applejack snapped. Big Mac put his hoof on her shoulder.
"You're still upset with us over that whole cider thing, huh?" Flam said quietly.
"You had no right to try and sell cider in a town that was already spoken for," Applejack said, "You're con artists, that's all you are; team up with other ponies, then take all the profits and drive them out of business—"
"Applejack, that's enough," Big Mac said, "Put it behind you."
"I can't! I don't tolerate cheaters! I'm the embodiment of the Element of Honesty!" Applejack shouted.
"Um... maybe if we just all take a deep breath and—"
"Stay outta this Fluttershy," Applejack snapped.
"Applejack!" Big Mac said sternly.
"No! I can't take it anymore! I don't care if you saved Rarity, I don't trust you, a'ight? How do we know that you're not just going to run off once we fix Flim? We need all the unicorns we can right now to help free the other ponies; We don't have any room on this team for selfishness. So if you're just going to run off afterwards, then go collect your brother and leave us right now, instead of during a battle," Applejack said. The car stopped.
"Why have we stopped?" Applejack snapped.
"We're here," Flam said quietly.
Applejack looked around. Indeed, they were back at Sweet Apple Acres. It made her heart ache. From where they parked, she could see the mound where they buried Granny Smith.
"Alright; we'll take apples from the south field, as those are the ones that are in the best condition. Fluttershy, Flam—" Big Mac started.
"Oh no, Flam can wait on the car," Applejack snapped. She jumped off the car. "I'm not lettin' you step foot on our farm again. Come on Big Mac, Fluttershy, we can do this ourselves."
"Applejack—" Fluttershy started again.
"No! Just no! I can't do it. H-he just reminds me of that st-tupid contest we ha-ad, and it just remi-inds m-m-me of Granny Smi-i-ith, of the teamwork we did together as a fa-amily, and how we're not going to ha-ave that again, now that she's go-one," Applejack cried.
Applejack jumped off the car and ran. She ran through the apple trees and didn't stop when the others called her name. She ran and ran, until she tripped over a root. She lay there, on the ground, the sunless sky above her with its eerie green. And she cried. Cried for her parents, for Granny Smith, for Big Mac and for Apple Bloom. And for herself.
She knew Fluttershy had followed her. Fluttershy kept her distance until Applejack's sobs became quieter. Then she quietly walked over and sat down beside her, putting her foreleg across her shoulders.
"She's in a better place now," Fluttershy said, "It's good to think about her. You all worked really hard and together during that contest. And in the end, your quality won over their quantity. And we had a big celebration afterwards, remember? It's not a bad memory Applejack; it just hurts right now.
"I understand how this must all be very hard for you. Big Mac has had some more time to cope with the loss; you learned about it just a few hours ago. I know all you want to do right now is lie down and forget, and let the hurt go away; but that'd be giving into the changelings. Even though I do not condone violence, what you need to do is get rid of the hurt in Equestria and essentially avenge Granny Smith—Granny Smith and all of the ponies who have and will have lost their lives during this battle.
"I know you don't like Flam—or Flim—but he didn't hurt Granny Smith. He wasn't the one who ended her life. Yes, he may have tried to bamboozle you at one point, but that was so long ago. He's a victim in this too. I know it won't compare to a death, but he has to see his brother suffer. For all we know, this magic scramble is an incurable madness. Granny Smith is at peace now. And she won't have to suffer any more, ever again."
Applejack closed her eyes, letting Fluttershy's words sink in. She was right. She rested her head on Fluttershy's shoulder, some last minute tears streaming silently down.
"You don't need to be friends with Flim and Flam. But we all need to work together. Big Mac put it behind him, and he said Granny Smith did too. In the end, you didn't lose anything to them. I think right now, you're taking your anger and hurt out on Flam because there isn't a changeling in sight. You don't know how to deal with your anger and grief, because it's so strong and over powering. I know this is very unlike me, but I need you to realize this Applejack. You're just lashing out because you're hurt. But Flam isn't the right target."
Fluttershy stood up.
"We should go help harvest apples. The two guys can't do it all on their own. You take your time Applejack; come when you're ready," she said. She then flew away, back towards the south field.
Applejack sat there for a few more minutes. She cried the rest of her tears and then wiped her face. She straightened her hat and took a deep breath. Don't give up.
The car was half full when Applejack approached it. Flam was fiddling with some of the knobs, and Big Mac and Fluttershy were off a few feet away. Big Mac was apple-bucking and Fluttershy was hoof-picking the apples.
"Flam? Can I have a word?" Applejack said. Flam looked up from what he was doing.
"Oh," he said, his face falling slightly when he saw it was her, "of course. I was just working on some of the machine settings. Now the machine picks the apples and just stores them inside, rather than turning them into cider. The inside's all full; your brother and Fluttershy are just grabbing a few more to load on top of the car and then we'll be off. It took us a lot less time than we'd figured."
"That's nice," Applejack said. She sighed and closed her eyes. "I just wanted to apologize for my behaviour. I'm just goin' through an emotional time and took out my anger on you—"
Flam put up his hoof to stop her.
"It's ok; Big McIntosh told me about Granny Smith. I'm truly sorry to hear about her passing. She actually reminded me a bit of my grandmother. No need to apologize. You're grieving and I understand that. Flim and my behaviour was rude, all those months ago when we came here. We just come from different walks of life... Anyways, I've been trying to turn our ways around," Flam said.
"No harm done really..." Applejack said.
They paused awkwardly.
"I'm... I'm sorry about what happened to your brother. I'm sure Twilight and/or Zecora will figure out a way to fix him. I'm glad you saved Rarity before it happened to her," Applejack said.
"It's just so hard to see him not like himself; I couldn't let it happen to another unicorn, though I see it already has, with your other friend Trixie," Flam said. "I actually recognized Rarity as one of the ponies who we saw while in Ponyville trying to sell cider. She stuck around in my mind a little..."
"Yeah, Rarity's usually on most stallion's minds," Applejack said, rolling her eyes. Flam laughed slightly and went back to fiddling with the knobs on the car. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I think we're almost done here," Flam said, as Big Mac and Fluttershy came back with the last few apples they needed.
"I grabbed your bag from the house," Big Mac said, pointing to it on the car.
"And we got some extras for others in the group," Fluttershy added in. "Flam mentioned that Rarity said something about a seam-spell she had put on her bag so that the Elements wouldn't fly out. We think it's a good idea if she does it again for each of us. It's probably safer to keep the Elements hidden, so that the changelings can't just take them right off of us."
"Do you want to say goodbye to her again before we leave?" Big Mac asked. He gestured towards where the grave was.
Applejack looked over to it. Her eyes welled again with tears, seeing the mound surrounded by the flowers of the little garden. Applejack shook her head.
"No, that's ok," she said.
She stepped onto the car, looked over at the grave again, and said, "Now's not the time to say good-bye."