//------------------------------// // My Old Apple Acre Home Redux Chapter 1 // Story: My Old Apple Acre Home // by Sith_Dreamer //------------------------------// (Author’s Note: So, although I got some generally good reception out of the original version of this story, I feel like there was a lot of things I could have done better. Grammar mistakes and such aside, I know some readers weren’t happy with the ending, some had trouble getting through it due to typos and such, and I’m sure there were some that didn’t enjoy the story. But for everyone who did, I present a retelling, and its not a fixed copy/paste job, I’m rewriting this from the ground up, and may take the story in a different directions, depending on how I feel when I get to certain plot points. I want opinions based on this first chapter if anyone thinks I should keep going, or leave things as they are. Enjoy!.) My Old Apple Acre Home Redux It was a peaceful morning as the sun rose over the apple orchard of Sweet Apple Acres. The line of sunlight crept across the ground, tracing the shapes of each and every tree as the dawn swept forward, beginning the new day. The light quickly snaked its way up the side of the farmhouse, and soon yellow rays of Celestia’s morning sun were showering the still sleeping face of Applejack through the cracks in her shutters. Slowly her eyes fluttered, and with a yawn the orange earth pony pulled herself out of bed. Still a bit groggy, she trotted over to the window and nudged the shutters open with a hoof. The bright sun made her wince only for a second, and soon her eyes adjusted to the sight of the apple trees, still dripping with the morning dew. It was as beautiful as the lights ponies often strung up during the Hearth’s Warming Celebration. “G’mornin’ Sweet Apple Acres,” Applejack smiled and sighed. What Applejack didn’t know was this perfect morning, had been meticulously set up by Rainbow Dash. She knew these mornings were the best for Applejack, so she’d decided to pick days and get out early for her friend. Dash wasn’t much of a morning pony; however, and despite the fact she’d wanted to stay awake and see Applejack’s bright green eyes shimmering in the morning light, Rainbow had landed on the single cloud currently overhead and fallen fast asleep. She tossed and turned as dreams ran about through her head, and before long, without ever realizing it, she plummeted from her cloud bed towards the farmhouse below. She landed with a crash headfirst on the hardwood roof. “What in tar-Rainbow Dash! Looks like yer hard head dented mah roof!” Applejack said, at first surprised but soon smirking as the light blue pony collected herself. “Ouch!” Dash whimpered as she rubbed her head through her mane. “Uh, hey AJ. Mind if I come in?” “Why sure Rainbow. Besides, ain’t often Ah see ya out this early.” “Well, it was just such a beautiful morning, and I thought-“ Dash was cut off by an orange hoof to her mouth. “That you’d make it even more beautiful by getting’ up before mornin’. Dash blushed and took a step back, feeling a little embarrassed. “Ah, come on now sugar cube, what’s the occasion?” Dash trotted over to the wall, and with a hoof pointed to the day. “It’s the day we met, remember AJ?” “O’ course Ah do. It was terrible!” Applejack couldn’t hold back giggling, and soon Dash was too. After a few minutes, and a lot of laughs, Applejack embraced Dash in a hug. Dash could feel her face getting warm as she began to blush. “Thank ya Rainbow Dash. It, it means a lot ta me,” AJ said sweetly before releasing Dash from her embrace. Applejack walked back to the window, glancing out at the ripe red apples. Below, Big Macintosh had already gotten out and begun to buck the first trees. The official start of Applebuck Season was still a couple weeks away, but with some tips gathered from all over Equestria courtesy of Twilight Sparkle, many of the trees were already ready to be picked. With another sigh, AJ turned to her dresser near her bed, and picked her brown Stetson from it’s resting place. With a toss she had it over her blonde mane, and was ready to start work for the morning. “Well Rainbow, Ah’ve gotta-“ Applejack stopped and a thin smile crossed her lips. Rainbow Dash was now curled on the floor near the wall, exhaustion having finally gotten the best of her again. AJ nudged Dash awake again, and slowly walked the barely conscious pony to her bed. “It may not be as comfy as a cloud, but Ah think ya’ll can get some rest here,” she said before tucking the blue Pegasus in. Dash was gone to the world again in a matter of seconds. Gently, Applejack trotted out of the room, and with a hoof pulled the door shut. She headed downstairs, past Granny Smith’s antique clock that read 7:00 a.m., and out into the bright morning air. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was the clock striking ten that finally woke the rainbow-maned Pegasus from her slumber. “Five… more… minutes…”she muttered, her eyes still heavy as she tried to roll over and go back to sleep. She inhaled deeply, catching the scent of apples on the pillow. Applejack’s scent. Suddenly, Dash didn’t want to sleep anymore, she wanted to think about Applejack, to go out and append the day doing whatever Applejack wanted to. “If only I didn’t have that stupid weather team meeting today…” she moaned. Dash’s eyes shot open at the realization. The weather team was supposed to meet that morning at ten, and she hadn’t bothered to count the number of chimes that woke her. “Buck!” Dash cried, rolling out of bed and onto the hard floor. She didn’t bother straightening her mane or brushing down her feathers, and rushed through the bedroom door, down the stairs, and out the front. In no time she was soaring over the apple trees towards Ponyville. Below, Big Mac was bucking apples into several baskets around him. Fluttershy peeked her head from around one of the trees nearby, directing her animal friends to pick up the apples that didn’t make the baskets. Granny Smith sat by the barn, talking to no one in particular. Dash could also see Applebloom and her friends talking around a stump outside their clubhouse. She was sure the fillies were probably drawing up more plans to try to get their cutie marks. She didn’t see Applejack however, but since it wasn’t uncommon for the earth mare to take a load of apples into town, her whereabouts didn’t stay too long on her mind. As she headed into town, Dash had time to think about things in her life. She liked being the type of pony who made decisions on the fly, it was part of being the coolest pony in town. Things had changed when she’d first realized her feelings for Applejack. It wasn’t an instant realization for her, but eventually it had become clear. She’d started getting fluttery feelings in her stomach around AJ, and at night her she dreamed of the romance they might share. It had made her want to impress Applejack, to make her as happy as she could. Dash hadn’t hinted at her desires to her friend however, and despite all the things dash had been trying to do lately, she was pretty sure Applejack hadn’t caught on. In all honesty, Dash was afraid. Applejack was still a simple country pony in a small town like Ponyville, and Dash knew too well that some ponies had no trouble voicing their displeasure with what they called fillyfoolers. Dash hated the word. Applejack hadn’t ever shown disdain towards anypony that didn’t deserve it, but Rainbow still couldn’t bear to hurt their friendship. So she cherished every moment she could be close to Applejack. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dash landed swiftly moments later in front of Sugarcube Corner, and started for the town square where the weather team was supposed to be waiting for her. Within two steps, Dash had nearly every one of her senses assaulted by Pinkie Pie, who burst from one of the windows on the bakery. “Rainbow Dash! Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood morning! It feels like so long since I last saw you Dashie, which was actually just yesterday but that was like, ten hours ago, and ten hours seems like a long time, but it really isn’t if you go to sleep which I did and then I woke up and then it was like ten hours later and now I’m seeing you again!” Pinkie rattled on and on. “Uh, nice to see you again too Pinkie Pie, but I’m running a little late for something.” “Ooooooooooook Rainbow Dash,” Pinkie said, then continued to stand in front of her friend. “Pinkie?” “Yes, Rainbow Dash?” “I, I kinda gotta go that way.” “Yep, you sure do!” Pinkie exclaimed, and stood still. “Well I’m gonna go now Pinkie Pie. Take it easy, ok?” Dash said, now a little uneasy. “I sure will Dashie! Oh, and if you’re looking for Applejack, she’s selling apples by market!” Pinkie yelled and dashed back towards Sugarcube Corner. “I didn’t ask, Pinkie!” Dash yelled after her. “I know you didn’t!” Pinkie yelled back with a huge grin, before disappearing into the shop. “I’ll never understand that pony,” Dash muttered, while feeling quite bemused by Pinkie. When she finally got to the town square, it was nearly 10:45. There she found three Pegasi, not even half of her normal weather team. “Where is everyone?” she asked the purple Pegasus Cloudchaser. “Guess they all had better things to do when you didn’t show on time. You’re lucky my beauty appointments aren’t till this afternoon. Where’ve you been anyway? Way your mane looks, I’d say crashing into things as usual.” “Hehe, Rainbow Crash!”shouted the giant white buff Pegasus next to Cloudchaser. Dash snorted and held herself back from doing anything too rash. She turned to the third pony. “Derpy… you know what, everybody go on home. We’re not planning rain until next week, so I’ll plan for another meeting later. Sorry for wasting your time.” “Yeeeeeaaaahhhh!” the buff Pegasus shouted before taking to the sky. Cloudchaser said nothing, instead flipping her pale mane over her side and trotting off. “Yes sir ma’am team leader Rainbow Dash!” Derpy said enthusiastically, before whipping a mail carrier’s hat from the bag she carried with her, and beginning her other job. Once she was alone, Rainbow sighed, and with a few flaps of her wings took to the air again. The only thing on her mind was Applejack, and she decided she should head to the market and see what Applejack was up to. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the market area, Dash found Applejack with her usual apple cart, which was loaded down with all sorts of treats the Apple Family had been able to whip up with the advent of the early harvest. She hovered above, watching intently when a crash drew her attention. She turned from gazing at the mare she so desperately wanted, trying to find the source of the noise. She waited until she heard another crash, and tried to hone in on what was causing it. Not far from the market she could see three colts, all Pegasi and a few years older than Applebloom and her friends, hopping up and down on something. Another crash told Dash exactly what it was. She gave a few good flaps and then dove fast toward the young ponies. She sped faster and faster down, then pulled up, opening her wings and skidding to a stop inches from the ground. Dust kicked up and the air gust nearly blew the colts back. “Eh, what’s this all about?” one of the colts stomped his hooves in the dirt, trying to act tough. “Well I’d say it’s about three ponies playing with a thunderhead that shouldn’t be,” Dash smirked as she spoke. “Yeah, so? We’re, uh, learning so we can be on the weather team some day,” a brown Pegasus lied. “And so we can do this!” said a green one, who jumped on the black cloud, which sent a blast of lightning skimming past Rainbow Dash, and slamming a hole through the wall of some unsuspecting pony’s home. Dash had managed to keep her cool, despite being nearly blasted. She blew a bit of her mane out of her eyes, and puffed her chest out so she looked more like a pony of authority. “Well, I give you guys an A for effort, but as captain of the weather team, you wouldn’t last a second on the job. Besides, even for a storm cloud your construction is terrible. See those sparks it keeps giving off? It’s extremely unstable. I’m sure your mothers would all be very proud you can work with clouds, but I’d bet they’d also appreciate if you didn’t get your faces blown off.” “Hmph, whatever. This wasn’t that much fun anyway! Come on guys, lets go buck around in Cloudsdale,” the third Pegasus, a blue one, said; the sound of disdain in his voice was evident. Dash was left alone with the black cloud , which sparked and sizzled, and even sent tiny bolts of lightning which singed the grass around her hooves. Carefully, Dash moved the cloud up into the air. She wanted it away from anypony else in case it breaking it down didn’t go as she hoped. Again she was now over the market square, and could see Applejack still at the stand. What caught Dash’s attention however, was the big stallion that had stopped at the stand. Dash knew his name was Meadowsong, and plenty of the mares in town had swooned over him at one time or another. Even from where she was, she could tell he wasn’t looking over the apples. She couldn’t hear anything being said, but the more the stallion talked, the more Applejack would blush and rub a hoof over her other leg. Eventually, Meadowsong moved close to AJ, whispering something into her ear. Applejack seemed to giggle, her face maintaining the bright red, and before Meadowsong pulled way, he planted a light kiss on one of AJ’s cheeks. Dash couldn’t help but be furious. “Are you kidding me,” Dash spoke through gritted teeth. “He can have any mare he wants in Ponyville, and that’s the one he decides to try and get his hooves on. Arragh!” With her frustrated cry, she bucked recklessly in the air. Her back hooves connected with the thunderhead, which gave a crash that startled several ponies below, including Applejack. The buck sent the thunderhead spiraling away from Ponyville, sparking and crackling. Dash watched it soar, at first ready to chase it, but seeing as it was leaving the town, she decided it didn’t matter. Her mind was filled with the burning to desire to swoop down and give Meadowsong a good kick in the flank, but she decided that Applejack wasn’t anything more than a friend to her right now, so any misplaced aggression would only serve to make her look terrible. Still, she needed to blow off some steam, so she raced off towards the library. If anyone could help, she was sure it was Twilight. ------------------------------------------------------------------ “So you’re…jealous, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked after eharing Dash’s story. “Huh, me? Of Applejack? She’s a mare Twilight, why would I be jealous?” “Well actually I was talking about being jealous of Meadowsong being attracted to Applejack and not you, but it sure sounds like you’re jealous of somebody,” Twilight lowered the glasses she was wearing and closed the books she had lying all over her table. “Are you afraid if AJ gets together with somepony, that she won’t have time for you guys to spend time together?” “Well, yeah. I mean, sort of, but it's complicated. Well, no it isn’t but, I’m not very good at talking about this kind of stuff Twilight.” “Well you know, I’m always here Rainbow, and I wouldn’t mind trying to talk through stuff with you. We don’t ever spend much time together by ourselves, you know. I’d… like that,” Twilight told her, a slight blush crossing her face that Dash failed to notice. Dash nodded, not giving her full attention to Twilight. The purple unicorn had helped, and Dash was never one to open up to many ponies about her feelings. Still, without the whole story Twi could only do so much, and Dash’s heart was already sure of what she needed to do: talk to Applejack, and put everything out in the open. Dash looked up at the still slightly red-faced, but now silent unicorn. “Well, thanks Twilight. I think I’ve got some things to take care of. But maybe we can hang out later, or something.” Dash closed her eyes and rubbed the back of her head with one of her forelegs. Twilight only nodded, and watched as the rainbow-maned Pegasus got up from her spot at Twi’s table. Before she could, the library door burst open, and Rarity and Fluttershy quickly made their way inside. Both looked rather panicked. “Girls, is something wrong?” Twi asked. “Rainbow Dash, thank Celestia you’re here! Weather team, water, help, now!” Rarity screamed at Rainbow Dash. “Huh, what?” dash was taken aback. “RainbowDashThere’sAFireAtSweetAppleAcresAndWeNeedHelpNowWillYouHelpPlease!” Fluttershy rattled out fearfully, tears streaming from her eyes. “Did you say fire? At Sweet Apple Acres?! I‘m on it!” Dash sped out the door without another word. Dash soared back over Ponyville, stopping for only one moment when she saw Derpy. She quickly glided down to the wall-eyed mare. “Derpy, I need your help, please listen. Sweet Apple Acres, something is going on, I think it is one fire. I need you to round up as many members of the weather team as you can and bring rain clouds. Please Derpy, as fast as you can!” “Yes ma’am!” Derpy saluted and gave one of the most serious looks Dash had ever seen from the grey mare. Not wanting to waste any more time, Rainbow took to the air again, pushing herself to near-Rainboom speeds, hoping Applejack hadn’t returned to the farm yet. ------------------------------------------------------------------- When she arrived, the farm was in total chaos. Hundreds of apple trees were ignited in bright torrents of flame. One of the trees had crashed into the barn, setting it ablaze. The flames were creeping closer and closer to the farmhouse. On the outskirts of the farm, Dash could see Granny Smith and Big Macintosh huddled close, unable to do anything now that the fire had spread so out of control. Several of the farm animals, the pigs, the cows, and the chickens were gathered near them, though it looked like many of the animals hadn’t made it out. A small group of woodland creatures were gathered as well, with Angel-Bunny in the center. Dash assumed Fluttershy had gotten him to round up as many of the animals that lived in the orchard as he could. A moment later, her other friends, Applejack included were headed as fast as they could up the path to the farm. Dash let out a small sigh of relief. Then she heard the sound that chilled her to the bone. Boom! It was all too familiar, and quickly Dash was speeding through the rising smoke. Her fears were proven too when she reached just above the farmhouse, and there floating listlessly, spewing forth bolts of lightning and crackling with thunder was the thunderhead from earlier. “This…this is my fault….” Dash realized, her eyes wide. She shot forward quickly, hooves outstretched to take down the cloud. With amazing force, Dash reared above the cloud, and smashed down with her front hooves. The cloud broke apart with a blast, send Dash crashing to the ground near the farmhouse. She looked up weakly, surrounded by the bright orange heat. The smoke began to fill her lungs, and she coughed and sputtered . Her head began to spin and slowly she passed into unconsciousness. Her last thought was how sorry she was, that she’d just ruined Applejack’s life, and was now about to lose hers. ------------------------------------------------------------------- The rest of the ponies arrived soon after Dash, and stood around the outskirts of the farm. Applejack stood in near hysterics, while the ever solemn Big Macintosh let a number of silent tears run down his cheeks. Fluttershy snuck up next to the red stallion and wrapped a leg around one of his. Granny Smith hobbled over to Applejack. “It’ll be ok dearie, the Apple family has gotten through tough times before,” she spoke, trying to comfort her granddaughter. “And don’t worry about Applebloom, she and her friends were playing at my shop before any of this happened,” Rarity told her. Applejack shook all over, unable to speak or move. Her life was burning away before her eyes. A loud boom shook nearly all the ponies, but AJ remained frozen to her spot. That is, until she heard a familiar sound. Barking, coming from somewhere within the blaze. “Winona!” Applejack suddenly cried out, “Did anyone get Winona?” Mac and Granny Smith both glanced at one another, and shook their heads. “S-s-s-she’s still i-in there!” Applejack sputtered through her tears. “Ah’ve gotta go get her!” Before the other ponies could stop her, Applejack rushed forward into the fire. Before anypony could stop her, she disappeared into the roaring flames. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Doing her best to ignore the scorching heat, Applejack galloped up the winding path to the farmhouse. “Winona! Here girl!” she shouted as she approached. A familiar blue form caught her eye as she got closer. She gasped when she saw Rainbow Dash, unconscious in front of the house. Winona had come outside, and was lapping at Dash’s face. She whimpered as Applejack approached her friend. “Dash, wake up! Ya’ll can’t be sleepin’ now! Rainbow Dash, please wake up!” she held back tears and shouted at the downed Pegasus. Knowing what she had to do, Applejack straightened her hat and lifted Dash onto her back. She whistled for Winona, and picked the small dog up by the scruff of her neck with her teeth. Applejack looked around at the trees charring, beginning to crumble all along the path back. A loud creaking behind her only served to get her moving faster. The farmhouse behind her had caught fire, and once much of the house had started to burn, supports failed, load bearing beams had burned, and the house was now seconds away from crashing into the earth. AJ looked around hopelessly. In the flames, she thought she could see faces, laughing at her, mocking her. They were like demons, they were like the villains she and her friends had defeated in the past, finally getting some sort of revenge against her. They wanted to see her suffer, wanted to see her burn. She stamped a hoof in the dry dirt, and readied herself to run. Feeling the extra weight on her back, she wasn’t so sure she could. On her own she was fast, and had no trouble racing through the flames. Winona wasn’t a problem, but she was beginning to fear that at least one of them would end up hurt, or worse, by having to carry Dash. She wasn’t about to leave her friend. “Ah’m sorry Dash…Ah ain’t sure Ah can get us outta here,” AJ said softly. And then the raindrops hit her. At first only a few speckled her singed orange coat, but quickly it escalated into a torrent of rain, which quickly calmed the fire in her path. Thankful for the miracle, Applejack hurried as fast as she could to get them away. Briefly looking up, she saw several Pegasi from the Ponyville’s weather team streaking across the sky, rain clouds in hoof, building a wall of clouds to douse the fire. Most surprising of all, Derpy seemed to be leading the charge. Behind her, the sound of splintering wood grew to a roar, as the farmhouse collapsed to the ground. Applejack didn’t look as she joined her friends. She knew all too well that the farmhouse had suddenly become very much like her life, falling down around her.