It was mid afternoon, and Twilight was relishing in the quiet of the library. She had been studying some new books sent by Princess Celestia, a warm mug of tea sitting beside her. Spike was upstairs, doing some light dusting, and for once, he wasn't humming to himself.
So it's safe to say that Twilight was slightly perturbed when she was interrupted by the frantic knocking at her door.
The lavender unicorn sighed. Surely, it was Pinkie Pie, again, with her fifth batch of cookies that week that she wanted Twilight Sparkle to try. The group of six friends were preparing for a weekend in Canterlot, and Pinkie Pie wanted to make sure everything was perfect. Twilight had made the mistake of not liking the last batch of cookies Pinkie Pie had made, and the pink mare had a sudden desire to find exactly what the unicorn’s favorite cookies were so that debacle would never happen again.
Twilight Sparkle, however, was tired of sweets altogether. She was sure if she had another cookie, she would dissolve into a pile of sugar during the next rain fall. She couldn't be sure if it was her mind or her stomach that came to the decision: don't answer the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
The unicorn eyed the door from where she stood, hoping Pinkie would go away.
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.
Spike started his way down the stairs. “Did you want me to get--”
“Shh!”
After a few moments of silence, a male voice came from the other side of the door. “Miss Twilight?”
“Oh!” Twilight walked quickly to the door, opening it with her magic. “I’m sorry, Big Macintosh. I thought you were somepony else.” Taking a look at the big red stallion, the unicorn jerked back in surprise. “What’s wrong?”
She didn’t often see the large, red stallion, but when she did, he was either hard at work, talking to a family member, or had a gentle smile on his face (save for that one time she put the spell on her doll.) But this…this was a new look completely. He looked, well…grave.
“Ah was wonderin’ if you could help me,” he said. He looked exhausted, as well.
“Of course, anything,” Twilight Sparkle said, stepping up to the stallion. “What’s the matter? Is somepony hurt?” The unicorn’s mind raced to think what it could be. Granny Smith? Apple Bloom? Applejack? Was somepony injured? Sick? In dire need of medical attention? Though she had only seconds before the stallion answered, her body reacted to the possibilities - queasiness, muscles tightening, a knot forming in her stomach.
“It’s Applejack,” he said. “Ah can’t find her anywhere.”
“Oh,” said the mare, confused for a moment. It wasn’t at all as exciting as she expected. “Do you need her for something? Is something wrong on the farm?” Perhaps a fire, or marauders, or a locally occurring earthquake that only decimated the farm.
“No,” Big Macintosh said, “She’s been missin’ since this mornin’. It ain’t like her.”
Twilight Sparkle furrowed her brow. Applejack was a hard working pony, but surely she spent some time alone. For her brother to be this worried about her seemed a little absurd. Did he glaze over an important clue?
“Did something happen? When did she go missing?”
Big Macintosh looked around. The mare could tell he was getting frustrated, probably to the point that he needed to ask somepony else for help who understood the gravity of the situation. Twilight was being far too logical for him at that moment. “We had a fight,” he said finally, looking back to the mare when he saw no other help nearby. “Ah can’t explain it all, but things haven’t been goin’ so well. Ah’m worried 'bout her.”
The unicorn thought back on the past few days. Which took her back to the past few weeks. She had hardly seen Applejack in that amount of time. She kept saying she had business to take care of with the family or things to do on the farm. Her friends were starting to get upset with her for missing every activity they had planned. But everypony had been so busy as of late. Pinkie Pie had to run Sugar Cube Corner while the cakes were getting over a nasty flu that was going around Ponyville. Rainbow Dash had been practicing on her off time for an upcoming flying tournament that could win her season tickets to the Wonderbolts Air Show. Rarity was trying to survive a shipping fiasco that caused her to be delayed in her latest dress orders. Fluttershy was in the middle of migration season – getting animals prepared to be escorted south for the winter, while preparing other animals for hibernation. Twilight Sparkle had been using the lag in social activities to catch up on her studies, per usual.
But with everything going on, everypony still had time for each other except for Applejack. Now that the unicorn thought back, she couldn't remember getting a clear answer from the orange mare as to why she was so busy. Did they miss something? Did Applejack need them and they not notice?
“Okay,” Twilight Sparkle said, stepping out the door. “Spike, can you help Big Macintosh look around town? I’m going to go get the others to help.”
“Sure thing!” Spike went up to the stallion.
“Where have you looked already?” asked the mare.
“Just ‘round the farm, and on the way here. It’s not like her to go hidin’ anyplace. If she ain’t on the farm, and no one has seen her, then Ah don’t know where to look fer her.”
“Alright,” Twilight said. “Don’t worry, Big Macintosh. I’m sure…” she tried to think of how to word this so she didn’t belittle the stallion’s worry, and instead put him at ease. “I’m sure with the six of us looking for her, one of us will be able to bring her back home in one piece.”
Big Macintosh said nothing, just nodded, before running off in one direction, Spike following behind.
-=-=-=-=-=-=--=--=-
“APPLEJACK!” Rainbow Dash called, hovering high in the air over Fluttershy’s cottage, twirling around to try and get a better view of where the mare might be.
“Oh, dear,” Fluttershy said, hanging her head low. “You don’t suppose she went into the Everfree Forest and got hurt, do you?”
It was getting late – the sun was starting to go down – and no one in town had seen hide nor hair of the blonde earth pony all day. Twilight Sparkle was starting to get into a panic as well. “We can’t eliminate the possibility,” she said, watching Rainbow Dash hopefully. “If we can’t find her in town in the next half hour, we should probably start looking there. Maybe she went to see Zecora for something?”
Rainbow Dash landed next to the unicorn, shaking her head. “This is insane! Applejack wouldn’t just disappear unless something happened to her. She’s ALWAYS on the farm. Should I do a fly by again? I should do a fly by again.” The mare was about to take off.
“No, you’ve checked the farm three times already,” Twilight Sparkle said. “Think. Where is somewhere that isn’t the Everfree Forest that we haven’t checked yet?”
Before any of the Pegasi could answer, a voice from off in the distance started yelling. “She’s in the woods! She’s in the woods!” The three mares turned to see Rarity rushing up to them, her mane frazzled. She was panting for air by the time she skidded to a halt in front of them.
“The woods? White-tail Woods?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
Breathlessly, Rarity nodded her head.
“Well,” Rainbow Dash said, sitting back on her haunches, dusting off her front hooves as though it were a job well done. “That was anti-climactic. There weren’t even mythical creatures involved.”
“You should go,” Rarity said, pointing at the cyan Pegasus, before running out of breath and panting some more.
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Uh, why?”
Taking a deep breath, Rarity answered, “Because I can’t keep up with her.”
The three friends looked at each other, before Rainbow Dash asked, “Huh?”
“She…she won’t stop running!” At this, the four exchanged glances.
“Won’t?” Twilight Sparkle asked, wondering if some sort of spell was involved. “Or can’t?”
“Won’t,” Rarity confirmed.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Rainbow Dash flew over the White-Tail woods towards Pinkie Pie’s hot air balloon. The pink mare was leaning against the side of the basket, staring down at something. “Pinkie Pie,” the Pegasus said, flying up to her. “What are you doing up here?”
"Oh, hi, Rainbow!" answered the earth pony in her usual chipper voice. "You'd never guess it! Rarity and I found Applejack! We asked all around town, asking everypony we could find - from Lyra, to Berry Punch, to Carrot Top, to Derpy Hooves, to Bon Bon, to Cheerilee, to June Bug - and no pony had seen her. But then after we had asked everypony we could think of, Derpy came back, and said she thought she saw her go towards the woods that morning, she just didn't remember who Applejack was for a second. Rarity was SO mad. We had asked sooo many other ponies before she remembered. So we got in my balloon and we found her!" She sounded proud, smiling to herself. Then her smile fell as she looked back down to the ground. "But she won't let us help her."
Rainbow Dash looked down where Pinkie Pie had been looking. No doubt, she could see the orange mare running, her mane and tail loose from her hair bands, and waving behind her. It was an odd sight to see, the farmer without her hat on and with a loose mane. Concerned, the Pegasus looked to Pinkie for answers, but the normally jovial look on the mare’s face was gone, as she seemed to be trying to figure out what was wrong, as well. “What do you mean, she won’t let you help her?”
“She got really angry when we went down there,” Pinkie said. “She’s really, REALLY upset about something, Dashie.”
“Pinkie, you can outrun ME when you want to. Why aren’t you down there with her?”
“Well,” she said, lowering her head in a pout, “She was so mean to me. She even tried to run me off the trail when I suggested a party. So Rarity said I should give her some space.”
Rainbow Dash looked at the mare below her. She had been running all day for as much as anypony else could tell, and she STILL managed to outrun Rarity? And being so mean to Pinkie Pie? “I think we need Twilight here,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m going to go down there and make sure she’s okay, but I’m not good at the whole…comforting talk thing. Got that?”
“Bring Twilight, got it,” Pinkie Pie said, seeming to perk up at being able to help. “But be careful, Dashie. When somepony gets mad at the thought of a party, you KNOW something is wrong.”
Rainbow Dash gave a gentle smile to her friend. “Okay, Pinkie.” At this, Rainbow Dash flew down to the mare. Flying just behind her, she contemplated the sight she saw. Applejack certainly SEEMED to have been running all day – she was a mess. Sweaty, dusty, and what seemed like an open sore as though she had fallen on her shoulder at one point, the mare must have been exhausted. And yet, she was still running like a mad mare.
Rainbow Dash landed beside Applejack, falling into her pace immediately upon landing. Applejack startled, looking over to the mare in shock. Her green eyes focused on Rainbow Dash for a moment, before turning her head and yelling, “Oh, consarn it!” The mare struggled to try and pick up speed, but her body just wouldn’t go fast enough to outrun the Pegasus.
“What kind of greeting is that?” Rainbow asked. “I haven’t seen you in a while; I thought you’d be happy!”
“Ah’m not in the mood, Dash.” Applejack said, before allowing herself to slow down a bit. There was no point trying to outrun the fastest flier in all of Equestria.
“I’ll say,” Rainbow Dash said. “If I was gone all day, running, I wouldn’t want to talk much either.” She gave a side glance to Applejack, but she did her best not to look at her new running companion. “Just out of curiosity, if you’re going to go out running all day, why stay in White Tail Woods? I mean, there are other places to go for a run. You must have been running in circles all day.”
“Yes, Ah’ve been running in circles,” the mare shouted back, stopping to catch her breath, her steady hoof falls the only noise that seemed to fill the gap between anypony speaking. “Ah can’t get too far from the farm, now can Ah?” Applejack seemed to choke on her words as she gasped for breath between trying to yell at Rainbow Dash and trying to run. “It’s like Winona. She don’t need a leash. She don’t need nothin’ to keep her home. She’s obligated to stay on the farm. Just her respon…responsibility to her family and the farm.” Applejack stopped talking to catch her breath.
Rainbow Dash tried to keep her eyes on the trail like Applejack had, but she couldn’t pry her eyes away from the mare. She had never seen her like this before, and certainly never heard her talk like that before. At least, if she was understanding her right. “Are…are you comparing yourself to your dog?”
“Ah don’t wanna talk, Rainbow,” Applejack barked. “You know Ah can’t do nothing to keep you from pesterin’ me, but if you know what’s good for you, just keep quiet, alright?”
The mare was hurt to hear Applejack talk to her like that. It almost made her want to flap her wings and take off right then and there. But looking at her friend, she knew there was something about this situation that nopony else could quite understand. Whenever Rainbow Dash needed to take the edge off, she would fly as fast as she could, experience the freedom of the sky, and just be a Pegasus. Surely, if Applejack had been born with wings, she would have been flying after her in the air right now. For lack of wings, her exhausted body did what it could with whatever emotion Applejack was feeling right then. The thought of what it would take for Applejack to willingly run herself to exhaustion, and then continue going made Rainbow Dash feel more connected to the orange mare at that moment than she ever thought she could.
And Rainbow knew she couldn't leave her side when she was like this.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about when you say pestering. I’m just out stretching my legs. It’s not my fault we run at the same pace.” With that, Rainbow Dash looked forward and tried to focus on the trail. She could see Applejack glance at her out of the corner of her eye, before looking at the road again. Just like that, the two mares went quiet and ran with the fury only Applejack understood at that moment.
Rainbow Dash got lost in the sound of their hoof beats. It was like a lullaby, taking her mind from the conscious world and into a world of her own. As long as she could hear the hoof beats beside her and that of her own, she went into mechanical mode – the road was traveled enough by her and her friend that it was second nature to her and didn’t pose too much of a threat. Even in her trance like state, she could easily avoid obstacles and make turns when needed. It wasn’t until the hoof falls next to her started to slow down that she realized how far they had run. Slowing down her pace, Applejack slowed to a trot, panting heavily, but still with a determined look on her face.
Watching the mare carefully, Rainbow Dash didn’t say a thing. After about a minute of trotting, Applejack glanced to the mare. “Ah thought you said you were out for a run,” she said with an accusing tone.
“Huh? OH! Oh, yeah…well….I’ve been…I have a rock in my horse shoe. I needed to slow down to take care of it...“
"A rock, huh?"
"Yeah, a rock."
"Then why don't you stop to take it out?"
"Well," Rainbow Dash said, getting flustered, "You know what they say about stopping immediately after running. It's bad for your heart, so I thought since you're trotting, might as well take this moment to cool down before I stop. Gotta take care of myself if I want to make the Wonderbolts, you know."
"Must be painful," Applejack said, narrowing her eyes to the mare, "Trottin' for so long on a pebble."
"Well, see, it only just came into my shoe when you stopped, and I didn't really want to bother with injuring myself - you know, because of the heart thing - so I thought it was better to let my hoof take some abuse while I let my body cool down. Always good to cool down after such a hard run. You know, it's not that bad running the woods like this. It's actually pretty good exercise. We should do this more often. Well, maybe under different circumstances. THE PEBBLE! I meant the pebble, not…whatever's happening with you. Not that anything is happening with you! What I mean to say is--"
“Oh, come off it, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said, huffing and shaking her head. “Why won’t you just leave me be?”
Rainbow Dash sighed. "Okay. Applejack, we've been looking for you all day. We know something's wrong. Just come back to Twilight's. We'll talk it out."
“It’s too much,” she said, shaking her head. “Just too much. Can’t Ah just run in peace?”
“You’re exhausted!” Rainbow Dash said, pointing a hoof at the mare. “Running all day can do that to you.”
“Oh, Ah haven’t been runnin’ ALL day,” the mare said, continuing on her slow trot. “Ah had to slow down a lot and drink some water from the lake a few times. Plus, when Ah fell, Ah had to stop for a while, too.”
“Yeah, what happened,” Rainbow Dash said, walking up beside her where she could get a good view of the wound on her shoulder.
“Ah tripped on a root at full speed,” Applejack said. “Nothin’ a good wash and a bandage won’t cure.”
“Great,” Rainbow Dash said. “Glad you agree. Now we can get you home and take care of it.”
Applejack shook her head at the thought. “No.”
Rainbow Dash sighed. “Applejack.”
“Jus’ gotta keep runnin’,” said the mare, trying to start running again, but faltering this time. She hung her head.
“You need to rest. You can run again tomorrow if you feel like it.”
“No,” Applejack said stubbornly. She tried to take off running again, but ended up bounding a few steps before slowing to an amble. Finally, FINALLY, she stopped altogether, and hung her head. “No…”
“Applejack…”
Rainbow Dash considered the situation. Applejack’s energy seemed to have completely run out as she lay down on the trail, laying her head in her hoofs. Panting, the mare seemed to be in a far off place, not paying any attention to her friend beside her. Considering the situation, she supposed she could lift Applejack onto her back and fly her home. The mare didn’t seem to have any fight left in her. Still, Rainbow Dash learned a long time ago to never underestimate the earth pony, and somehow she saw that situation ending badly.
Just then, Rainbow Dash heard the sound of the hot air balloon firing up above them. Applejack seemed to be snapped out of her daze and looked up, as well. Twilight Sparkle waved down to Rainbow Dash. “Oh, for Pete’s SAKE!” Applejack said, getting up and starting off in a trot again.
“Oh, horse apples,” Rainbow Dash said, trotting alongside Applejack. “Applejack, she’s just wants to help.” Before Applejack could respond, there was the sound of a snap and Twilight Sparkle appeared in front of Applejack.
Applejack drew back with a surprised yelp, before returning to the anger she greeted Rainbow Dash with. “What in tarnation do ya think yer doin’, Twilight?”
“Applejack,” Twilight Sparkle said. “You…you look terrible!”
Seeing the deathly glare Applejack gave Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash said softly, “Uh, I don’t think you’re helping.”
“Applejack, we’re here to take you home. Your brother’s worried sick about you!”
Rainbow was about to stop Twilight Sparkle from mentioning her home again, but the angry stomp from Applejack said everything for her. “NO!” screamed the mare. “Ah ain't goin’ home! Ah can’t go home! Ah can’t do anythin’ until Ah figure this out, so Leave! Me! Alone! Both of you!” Applejack looked up to the hot air balloon, where Pinkie Pie was leaning over the edge, watching the spectacle. “And you, too, Pinkie!”
Applejack reared on her hind legs, and with a renewed sense of energy, ran past Twilight Sparkle and went into as fast a gallop as she could.
Twilight seemed shocked at the display before Rainbow nudged her forcefully on her rear end with her head. “Well? Go after her!” she said. Twilight took the hint and started running after Applejack.
Rainbow took step beside Applejack. Twilight could run just fast enough to keep up with the mare, though slightly behind. A renewed burst of anger had fueled the orange mare’s muscles.
“Applejack!” Twilight Sparkle called. “Please talk to us. We haven’t talked in a few weeks. I can’t imagine what must have happened to you to make you like this. But we’re your friends! You can tell us anything. We’ll be here for you. From now on. No matter what the problem is.”
Applejack just continued on, huffing and puffing, annoyance on her face, her eyes set straight ahead. Her long blonde mane running loose gave her a wild look, and without her hat to shade her eyes, the mare looked fierce and unbreakable.
“Applejack, please!” Twilight Sparkle tried again. “I didn’t realize how bad it was when Big Macintosh came to see me earlier…”
“Big Macintosh!?” Applejack almost squeaked. “HE told you to come after me? What for? So he can yell at me some more? Tell me how Ah’m hurtin’ the family some more?” At this, Applejack couldn’t seem to find another way to express her anger at the thought than to take three leaping bounds before continuing into her gallop. When she continued, her voice was high and almost breaking. “Who’s he to judge me? After all Ah’ve done for this family! Ah’m the one who’s gotta fix everythin’. What’s he do, anyway? He didn’t raise Apple Bloom like Ah did. He didn’t have to take care ‘a Granny Smith these past few weeks. Who’s HE to JUDGE me?”
Finally, Applejack gasped for air she didn’t realize she had been losing on her rant, and collapsed to the ground. Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle immediately went to her aid, but she barked out a, “Don’t TOUCH me!” causing the two to pull away. Rainbow looked at Twilight, genuinely terrified by what Applejack was doing to herself, but the unicorn just gave her a look of concern before turning to Applejack.
“You’ve got to let it out, Applejack,” said the unicorn. “Big Macintosh mentioned you had a fight.”
Applejack sighed in disgust. “Ah don’t wanna hear about him,” she managed to pick herself up into a sitting position. All her muscles were shaking, causing her voice to waver. “Ah don’t care if he was in a full blown panic. It serves him right. Who’s been takin’ care of Apple Bloom while she’s been sick AND runnin’ the farm AND takin’ care o’ Granny Smith while she’s been gettin’ weaker an’ weaker? How am Ah supposed to take care o’ everythin’?”
“You don’t,” Twilight Sparkle said. “You could have asked us for help. You know we would have.”
"Twilight, this ain't like apple buckin' season," the mare snapped, causing the unicorn to quiet down immediately. "This is mah family. This is finances and repairs. This is farmin' and crops and a whole lick of stuff ya just wouldn't understand."
"Try me," Twilight Sparkle said, frowning.
Applejack stared at Twilight Sparkle for a few moments before letting her face soften. She took in a deep breath, let out a long sigh, and started to explain. "The farm's not doin' well. We had a poor crop this year, and we're already drownin' in debt as it is. We were countin' on a good harvest this year." The mare stopped to catch her breath.
Rainbow Dash thought for a moment. "That is totally not my fault," she said. Both mares glared at her. "What? I meant weather wise! It was a good season for growing. At least, that's what I've been told…"
“It ain’t the weather, Rainbow,” Applejack said with a sigh. “It’s the ground. The land just ain’t what it used to be, and Ah don’t know what’s wrong with it.”
“Applejack, you could have told me. I could’ve performed some tests or something to try and get to the bottom of this.”
“Ah don’t need your magic, Twilight,” said the mare in a grating tone. “Ah need good soil.”
“Okay,” Twilight Sparkle said, losing the concern in her voice and replacing it with annoyance. “Not liking the tone, AJ.”
Applejack sighed in a huff. “Well, Ah’m sorry. Ah don’t mean to take a tone with you. It’s just after that parasprite incident—Oh…” Applejack put a hoof to her head. “The contractor’s lien. The contractor’s li—do you know what that is?”
Twilight Sparkle seemed very confused by that entire train of thought. “Um…I could look it up.”
“Well, Ah’ll tell you what it is. When ya can’t pay for the work a contractor does on your house, they put a lien on it.”
“What does that mean?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Ah don’t know, they lean against it?” Applejack said, tossing her hoof up in the air. “Ah just know it’s bad, and it can mean big trouble for the farm. We can’t pay them for the work done on the house after the paraprites.” At this, Applejack gave an accusing glance to Twilight Sparkle.
“Oh,” said the unicorn.
"Wait," Rainbow Dash said, putting a hoof to her forehead. "You hired contractors? Don't you usually do that kind of work yourself?"
"Well, since there was so much work goin' on in Ponyville, and all the buildin's on the farm were eaten up and we were just gettin' ready for cider season, we didn't have the help from family or the time to do it ourselves. We needed a roof over our heads, and the contractors were givin' a discount since they were workin' in Ponyville. Granny agreed to it, and Ah didn't question it. It seemed like a good deal, but like Ah said - we were countin' on a good crop this year to pay for it!" Applejack sighed, shaking her head. “So Ah don’t need any more of your magic on mah farm, alright?”
“Well, that wasn’t really my fault,” Twilight Sparkle said, taking a step back in indignation.
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said slowly. “Because making the parasprites destroying Ponyville was sooo much better than letting them eat all the food.”
“Hey,” Twilight said. “But then they would have eaten all of Applejack’s apples, and that could have been just as bad!”
Applejack opened her eyes wide. "Ah hadn't even thought about that," she said. "So no matter what Ah'da done, it've been hopeless! All that money just wasted. There's just no escape, is there? Ah…Ah just…" Shaking her head, the mare looked like she wanted to throw up. Rather, she slowly got to her feet, and said in a trance-like state, "Gotta run…" She started off on a slow amble, with her head hanging down.
Rainbow Dash shot a deadly glare at Twilight Sparkle, who shrank down at the look. “You know,” said the cyan mare, “Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I should have tried talking to her, first.”
Ignoring Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle trotted up to the exhausted mare. “Applejack, no. We’re just getting to the bottom of everything. Please, don’t shut down again!”
With her now soft hoof falls padding along, her head down low in defeat, Applejack took on a very sullen tone. "Do you know what it's like when your momma asks you to take care of your family, Twilight?" Twilight Sparkle opened her mouth, but no answer came out, so the farmer continued. "Not even askin' your big brother, but you. Ah never could figure that out. Big Macintosh was so much older than me when momma died. And yet, she asked me to take care of everythin'. Ah raised Apple Bloom like she was mah own, learned to take care of the farm, devoted mah life to the family. Mah responsibilities."
"Oh," Rainbow Dash said, walking to Applejack's right. "That's what you meant by saying you were like Winona…"
"Ah don't know if you can understand, Rainbow," Applejack said in a soft voice, still looking at the ground. "When you have so much to be responsible for, ya can't just leave. Ah grew up on that farm. Aside from going to Manehattan as a filly, Ah never wanted to leave the farm. It weren't 'til this morning when Ah was tryin' to work up the courage to just….go away…somewhere, anywhere, that wasn't here, that I realized Ah can't leave the farm."
"But that's not fair," Rainbow Dash said, ruffling her feathers. "Why would your mom ask you to take care of your entire farm and your family? You were just a filly! You shouldn't have had to have taken care of everything! Like you said, Big Macintosh was older!"
Applejack shrugged. "Ah always guessed mah momma saw a difference between us. She knew Ah could handle it or somethin'." Applejack shook her head. Blinking back tears, she lifted her head again and started trotting. "Ah failed everythin'. Ah don't even know what happened to mah poppa's hat in that wind storm last week. Ah feel like Ah don't even know who Ah am anymore. And mah brother blames me for everythin', an' he's right. Ah failed everything. We're gunna lose the farm. I think Granny Smith is losin' it, and Ah have to start thinkin' about what we're gunna do about her…maybe even start thinkin' bout when she…" She shook the thought out of her head. "We're gunna lose everything that makes us who we are, and it's all 'cause Ah couldn't handle things like mah momma thought ah could."
"Your brother was probably just upset about everything that was happening, AJ," Twilight Sparkle said, taking on her caring voice again. "And he took it out on you because he couldn't do anything else about it. Just like you're taking it out on yourself. But you didn't fail your farm OR your family. You just hit a rough patch, which happens no matter how on top of things you are. You can't start blaming yourself. Please, Applejack. Stop this. We can take you back home and help you through this."
Applejack stopped, standing still. Rainbow Dash held her breath as she watched her friend struggle with her emotions and her own exhaustion. She wished there was something, anything she could do to make her feel better or take some of the stress away from her mind. Rainbow Dash was a free spirit – she had always been – and no matter how loyal she was to her home and her friends, she couldn't imagine the responsibility Applejack was feeling at the moment. As the orange mare teetered on her unsteady hooves, Rainbow Dash could only hope and wait, maybe carry her back home if she had to. But oh, how she wished she could do something more.
"No," Applejack said. She nodded her head as though confirming to herself what she was thinking. "No, no, no…" And then she began pushing herself into a canter.
Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle watched as Applejack tried to force herself into a gallop again. "Maybe you should go," the pegasus said to the unicorn.
The lavender mare sighed. “I thought she would come with us.”
“You’re not an athlete,” Rainbow said to Twilight. “You don’t know how numbing it can be to just keep running or flying.” She flapped her wings for emphasis.
“Numbing?” asked the mare. “She looks exhausted!”
“But when she’s running, she’s not thinking,” Rainbow Dash said. “Don’t you read books or something when you’re upset? …stretch your eye muscles.” The cyan Pegasus couldn’t help but smile at her own joke.
Twilight narrowed her eyes at the mare, before they widened. “I know what we can do! Stay with her, okay?”
“I was already planning on it.”
Twilight Sparkle gave the mare a wink before using her magic to disappear with a puff of smoke and a small snap.
Rainbow Dash turned around, seeing the orange mare was almost out of sight. She went into a full gallop to catch up to the mare, before taking up step near Applejack, who seemed too lost in her own thoughts to care about a companion near her.
-=-=-=-=-=-
Rainbow Dash and Applejack were nearing Ponyville, both in a slow gallop. The Pegasus was wondering how much longer the earth pony would want to keep running. It was getting late and harder to see. Celestia led the sun to its sleep while the two ponies were coping with the dusk, and they seemed ready to run straight through Luna's night.
Suddenly, Applejack stopped cold, skidding to a stop.
Rainbow Dash nearly fell over from the sudden halt of the other mare's hoof falls. She looked ahead to see what Applejack was looking at. Blocking the path was Pinkie Pie's hot air balloon, as well as Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash looked back to Applejack. She was leaning back, as though she were ready to bolt. Rainbow Dash stepped behind the mare and pushed her forward with her head on the orange mare's rump.
Applejack dug her heels into the ground while Rainbow Dash continued to push her. "You know Ah can kick you straight into that sky you love so much, don'tcha, Dash?" Applejack said threateningly.
"This is too important, Applejack!" called the Pegasus. "Even if you bolt, you know I'll follow you. WE'LL follow you."
Applejack sighed, and suddenly, the resistance was gone. Applejack clumsily took steps forward, Rainbow Dash right behind her just in case. But the mare didn't put up any more of a fight. Applejack had to give into her exhaustion eventually, and now seemed the time.
Fluttershy flew up to meet Applejack. "You must be thirsty after all that running," she said, handing Applejack a glass filled with water. Applejack didn't protest. She just took the glass in her mouth and drank it down. "Oh…I have more," she said, flying over to the balloon to take out a jug.
"It's fine, Fluttershy," Applejack said. However, the yellow mare flew back over with supplies to dress the earth ponies wound while she was still walking. Hovering just to her side, Fluttershy used some disinfectant on the wound, causing Applejack to hiss through her teeth, but not say anything.
"I know it hurts," Fluttershy said, as she carefully dabbed at the wound, before taking out a bandage, "But its worse to let it get infected." Fluttershy finished wrapping the wound as Rarity trotted up.
Using her magic, the unicorn wrapped Applejack in a green, woven blanket. "There you are, darling," she said, taking up step next to the mare. "It goes with your eyes. By the way, your mane looks fabulous when it's down. I would have told you earlier, but you are so much faster than I could have imagined…"
"Thank you, Rarity," Applejack said, smiling softly to the white unicorn.
Pinkie Pie bounded forward. "I made you some cookies!" she said, shoving one into Applejack's mouth before she could protest. "Give you a bit of energy! I would have made some for Twilight, but she doesn't like them."
Twilight Sparkle groaned loudly. "For the last time, Pinkie, they were OKAY!"
Applejack was forced to swallow the cookie in her mouth, coughing a bit from the force of which it was given to her. "Uh, thanks, Pinkie. And, listen, about before…"
"It's okay, Applejack!" she said, smiling brightly as she took step to the opposite side of the other earth mare. "I know sometimes parties are not called for."
"Really?!" Rainbow Dash asked, genuinely shocked.
"Well, YEAH!" Pinkie Pie said. "That's why I brought the cookies!"
Finally, Applejack stopped in front of Twilight Sparkle. The lavender unicorn gave the other mare a sympathetic look. "You know, it wasn't until Rainbow explained it to me that I could figure out why you just needed to run. What's more, I've done the same thing, but for a lot longer. I used to hide in my studies, avoiding the world. Princess Celestia had to force me to go out and meet other ponies, something I really didn't want to do. But it led me to you guys. And I had to…stop running. I can handle situations better now that I have you guys there to help me."
"So," Applejack said, sighing. "You're mah Princess Celestia?"
Twilight Sparkle brightened at the comparison. "I could only hope to be that!" she said, putting a hoof to her chest while a smile spread across her face. Rainbow Dash gave her a stern look. "Er, but, yes, I hope to be. Making you face your problems…with the help of your friends." Twilight Sparkle looked back to the balloon. "You can come out, now!"
Big Macintosh stepped out from behind the hot air balloon.
Applejack's eyes widened at seeing her brother. Immediately, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash put their forelegs around her to hold her in place.
"I am SO sorry about this," Fluttershy said.
"Oh, come on, ya'll!" Applejack said in annoyance. "Ah'm not gunna run!"
"Well, then you won't mind if we stay like this for a bit, then," Rainbow Dash said.
"Ah can still kick you into the sky, RD," Applejack said, but more in amusement than annoyance.
"Taking. My. Chances," Rainbow Dash said.
"AJ," Big Macintosh said. Applejack looked away, any amusement gone from her face. "Ah'm…sorry, AJ. Ah was just so upset with everythin' goin' wrong. Ah never shoulda blamed you."
"Darn right, you shouldn'tve!" Applejack said, turning an angry expression to her brother. "How many nights have Ah sat up with Apple Bloom while she's sick? Who's been takin' Granny Smith to the doctor, and makin' sure she's on top of her medicines, and helpin' her whenever she's too weak to get around? Who's been—this is REALLY hard for me to do when y'all are on top of me like this!" At once, the four holding Applejack into place let her go, though holding their positions.
"Applejack," Twilight Sparkle said, looking to Big Macintosh, who looked sullen. "He knows you've been working so hard for the family and the farm, but I think he wants you to acknowledge that he's doing a lot of work, too."
Applejack snorted out her nose at the insinuation.
"It's just," Big Macintosh said, faltering. Twilight Sparkle used her hoof to signal for the Stallion to continue. "Well, Ah do all the hard labor 'round the farm. Ah don't have the smarts like you. Apple Bloom ain't close to me like she is with you."
"Well, Ah'm her big sister," Applejack said. "She has more in common with me." At the look from Twilight Sparkle, Applejack bit back the rest of what she was going to say. After looking at her brother for a few moments, her anger was replaced with sadness. Her sadness consumed any ill sentiments left inside her, until her voice softened and wavered. "Big brother, Ah don't know what we're gunna do with the farm. Ah….Ah just don't know how you'll ever forgive me." The mare couldn't hold back her tears anymore, exhausted as she was. They fell down on top of Pinkie Pie, who had been holding her in place from the front, and had sat down to hold her position. The pink mare nuzzled the orange mare, the least she could do to give her some comfort. "The farm is in a big mess 'cause a me."
"It's not your fault, AJ," Big Macintosh said. "Ah know Ah said it was earlier, but Ah was just upset. Ain't nothin' none of us coulda done 'bout the yield."
"But we could lose everythin'!"
"We'll figure somethin' out," Big Macintosh said. "We always do. But not unless you get some rest."
Applejack sighed, closing her eyes. She nodded, giving into her weary body.
Big Macintosh went back behind the hot air balloon, then pulled out a cart filled with hay, blankets and pillows laid out on top.
"Aw, sweet!" Rainbow Dash said, flying up and landing on the pillows, just about to pull up a blanket.
Then she saw everypony glaring at her.
"I…was just testing the blankets." She flew off, flew over to Applejack, grabbed her around the waist, and lifted her up.
"Whoa—Rainbow Dash! Put me down!" The Pegasus dropped her off in the pillows and blankets, before landing herself onto the ground next to the cart.
Applejack chuckled softly. "Well, this is mighty clever." She laid down in the hay. "Ah feel awkward being pulled 'round, though."
"Well," Twilight Sparkle said, "it's either that or walking back to the farm by yourself after all that running."
Applejack tried to get up, before giving up and laying back on the hay. "This ain't so awkward, after all," she said, though her face told another story.
"You deserve a little bit of rest, AJ" Twilight said as Big Macintosh started pulling the cart.
The walk to Sweet Apple Acres was a slow and steady one. Despite feeling awkward to have been placed in a cart and carted home, once the mare laid down her head, she fell asleep almost immediately. Fluttershy flew up and covered the orange mare in the blanket Rarity had given her, while the others followed closely. Rainbow Dash yawned, tired from missing her mid-day nap, the panic they had all felt when they couldn't find Applejack, and all the running. Not to mention the emotional drain of seeing one of her oldest friends in such a sorrowful state.
Once at the house, Twilight Sparkle used her magic to lift the sleeping Applejack as carefully as possible and take her to her bed.
Rarity looked to Rainbow Dash. "Kind of reminds you of the Ursa Minor, doesn't it?"
Rainbow Dash laughed. "Don't tell AJ that. She'll be so mad to be compared to that thing!" Meanwhile, the mare made a mental note to tell the earth pony herself. "Plus, I don't think she'll like the idea that she had to be carried up to her bed like a baby."
Rarity shrugged, smiling. "She's tired. Though, I must say, it reminds me of having to do that with Sweetie Belle. Best not to mention THAT to her, either." Rainbow Dash made another mental note.
-=-=-=-=-=-
Applejack woke with a start. She had dreamt the most pleasant of dreams. Her and all her friends were running on a beach, splashing in the water. Above them was the moon, almost filling up the sky, watching over them as they played in the waves below. However, it was light as day. The six mares didn't have a care in the world.
But the dream quickly faded into her subconscious as the pain from her sore muscles became her reality. With a groan, she remembered what a spectacle she made of herself the day before. What had caused her to act so strangely?
Then all the memories of her problems came flooding back into her head, and suddenly, the events of the day before didn't seem so silly. In fact, if she could manage to move her stiff muscles, she wouldn't mind going for another run that morning.
Only, it wasn't morning.
It was noon.
"Oh, pony feathers!" She said, as she tried to jump to her hooves. As soon as her hooves hit the floor, however, she collapsed under her own weight. Her legs were too exhausted to keep herself upright.
Granny Smith, who could be heard rocking back and forth in the room next to Applejack's, ceased her chore and slowly hoofed her way over to the next room. Applejack was in a tangle of blankets and her own legs when her grandmother peeked into the room.
"Oh, these whipper snappers," she muttered, making her way back to her room. "Up late, not a care in the world. Why, back in my day, we had to walk fifteen miles in the snow to get back home! Uphill, both ways! There weren't no downhill in mah day, only uphill. And we woke up at the crack of dawn just to get to school by lunch time! Why, I…" the sound of rocking could be heard again, followed by snoring.
The small pitter patter of hooves followed as Apple Bloom peeked into her sister's room. "Applejack! What are you doin'?" she asked, smiling with glee as Applejack barely managed to get back on her feet.
"Shouldn't you be in bed, little missy?" Applejack said, stretching out her legs as best she could.
"Ah missed you, yesterday," Apple Bloom said. "Big Macintosh said you were out with your friends all day."
"Just…went out for a run," Applejack said, finally managing to take a few shakey steps forward. "In bed, Apple Bloom."
Apple Bloom was about to protest when she fell into a fit of phlemy coughs that seemed to last an eternity. "Ah'm feelin' a lot better!" She said once the coughs subsided.
"If you're outta bed, Ah'm bettin' you are, but just keep restin' 'til that cough is gone. We don't need you to get worse…again."
"I wanna go see with Scootaloo an' Sweetie Belle today! We've been plannin' Cutie Mark Crusaders Tea Service for weeks now!"
"Gunna serve some apple flower tea?" Applejack asked as she held the blanket up for Apple Bloom to get back into bed with.
"What's that?" asked the little filly as she allowed her sister to tuck her into bed.
"You're gunna hold a tea service while livin' on an apple farm, hopin' to get your cutie mark with it, and you don't even know what apple flower tea is?" Applejack asked, shaking her head at her little sister.
Apple Bloom coughed some more, before answering. "Well, if Ah could go see mah friends, Ah would probably know what it was by now!"
"Rest, little sis," Applejack said, giving her a kiss on her forehead. "And you'll probably see them in a few more days. No sense in getting' them sick, too, right?"
Apple Bloom just nodded, before she fell into another fit of coughs. The orange earth pony felt her sister's forehead, frowning with concern, before deciding that she didn't feel any worse than she had before. She then left the room and painfully made her way down the stairs.
Every muscle ached. She didn't realize how many muscles were needed for both running and going down stairs until each other them groaned in protest. Her knees ached, her bandaged shoulder ached, and her back was killing her. She had hoped to help on the farm that day, but she would be lucky to make it out the ---
"SURPRISE!" Applejack jumped back, as Pinkie Pie threw confetti in her face.
"What in tarnation!?" Applejack yelled, before she had to spit out confetti. "Pinkie Pie! What are you doin' in mah house?"
"We're all here," she said, stepping aside and revealing all of her friends, plus her brother, seated in her kitchen.
Rainbow Dash was chewing on an apple fritter. "Yeah," she said, before swallowing. "We knew you had woken up by the sound of you crashing to the floor," she laughed lightly at the thought. "I wish I could have seen that!"
Applejack blushed as she glared at Rainbow Dash. Twilight Sparkle walked up to the orange earth mare. "We wanted to let you rest. You needed it. We're so sorry we haven't been there for you these past few weeks. We didn't know how bad your situation was. So…we decided to help."
"Help?" Applejack asked, feeling nervous as she remembered how she had snapped at Twilight Sparkle for what happened with the parasprites.
"No magic involved, I promise," Twilight said. "Well, not for the soil problem. We did use some magic to find your hat!"
Rarity, who had been sitting quietly next to Rainbow Dash, used her magic to lift up the hat and place it on Applejack's head.
"Ya found mah poppa's hat!" She said, taking it off her head and looking at it. It looked beat up, but no worse for the wear. "Where did you find it?"
Twilight smiled proudly, "I modified Rarity's gem finding spell to track it down. It was stuck in a tree just outside of the farm."
"Ah gotta fix mah mane before Ah put it back on," Applejack said, mainly to herself.
"Nonsense, darling," Rarity said, taking a brush out of her saddle bag with her magic and levitating it to the mare's mane. "Just a quick brush. Well…and maybe a trip to the spa later. You're still messy from yesterday. But as for your mane, leave it down! I meant what I said when I said it looks excellent down."
"Ah'll be needin' two hair bands, too, Rarity," Applejack said sternly, as she allowed the mare to brush her mane.
"Well, perhaps for the next gala," Rarity muttered.
Fluttershy, who was sitting on the floor with Winona while she rubbed the dog's belly, looked up. "I made a salve I use for my animals for Apple Bloom. I heard she has that virus that's going around, the poor thing. This clears up my animal's lungs whenever they're congested. I've even used it on myself when I've gotten sick, and it works wonders!"
Applejack smiled softly. "Ah was gunna say…but you say ya used it on yourself, so Ah'm willing to give it a try."
Twilight spoke up again, "I sent a soil sample to the princess."
"Twilight, you didn't!" Applejack said. "Ah don't want you botherin' the Princess with things like this!"
"Well, I wasn't going to, originally! But when I had wrote to her about what happened…"
"Oh, pony feathers," Applejack said for the second time that day. "Now, Princess Celestia knows all about mah problems?!"
"Well, not at first!" Twilight said again. "But she got concerned when we wrote about how we had to help a friend through a crisis."
"When WE wrote?" Applejack asked.
"Oh, calm down, Applejack," Rainbow Dash said. "The Princess DID ask us all to report on friendship fluff and stuff."
Rarity nodded in agreement. "And we are all guilty of becoming so consumed with our own lives, we couldn't see a dear friend of ours needing us so badly."
"Applejack," Twilight Sparkle said, trying to move on from Applejack's bad reaction to what she had heard. "The Princess sent me information on how to fight the contractor lien. Plus, since the crop was so bad last year, the royal court can launch an investigation to see if you deserve compensation for a poor yield."
"Turns out," Pinkie Pie said, literally jumping into the conversation by jumping up to Applejack, after surely feeling left out. "When Discord did all that stuff to your crops, and the chocolate rain, and everything, he threw the soil out of balance, too! At least, that's what happened on other farms around Equestria! I mean, those giant apples needed a lot of nutrients to make them that way! So not ONLY is the princess going to help to undo what Discord did, but compensate you for your crop loss! Isn't that great?!" Pinkie Pie was now leaning into Applejack's face, pressing nose to nose.
"Uh…" Applejack looked over to Big Macintosh, who sat quietly, smiling while he listened to everything. "Is this true, big brother?"
"We can pay the contractor's a settlement," he said. "And still have enough to help us with next year's work."
"And," Twilight Sparkle said, "Since you're a vital part of Ponyville's food source, the Mayor isn't going to let you go so easily. We ALL help out on the farm during Winter Wrap Up Day, after all. She's offered the town's aid in helping get your farm back into shape while we get the soil back to how it was before it was ruined."
Applejack sat down on her haunches. "That…how….you….wha?"
"Applejack," said the lavender mare. "I've told you before. You don't have to do these things alone anymore. And I know, we didn't make ourselves available. It was the least we could do after being such bad friends lately."
"No, everypony," Applejack said. "Ah can't thank you enough. You saved mah farm. Our family! And ya went outta your way to talk me down when Ah was…well…inconsolable yesterday. Ah…Ah couldn't ask for better friends."
At this, Pinkie Pie hugged Applejack so tightly, she thought her head was going to pop off. "You're sooo welcome, Applejack! We'd do anything for you!" The others walked up and hugged the mare one by one after Pinkie Pie let go.
"Now, let's celebrate with some cookies!" Pinkie Pie said, running straight up to Twilight Sparkle, carrying a box of cookies she had pulled out from Celestia only knows where. "I made these ESPECIALLY for you to try. I think you'll like these the BEST! Lavendar Almond Cookies!"
"Oh…Pinkie…" Twilight Sparkle sighed. Rarity walked up and took one with her magic, delighting in the tastes, Fluttershy going up to join her.
Applejack took that moment to sneak outside. It felt odd to have so many ponies crowded in her kitchen. Plus, she needed a moment. She just felt…overwhelmed.
"And where do you think you're going?" Applejack turned to see Rainbow Dash following her towards the fence. "You're not gunna run again, are you?"
"Ah couldn't if Ah wanted to," she said. "Ah just can't believe it's all over. Just like that."
"Well, I think there is still some things that need to be done," Rainbow Dash said. "I don't know, ask Twilight, she knows. And we can't do too much with Granny Smith except help out. But it's better than where you were yesterday." Applejack smiled at Rainbow Dash. Just past the cyan mare, she could see Big Macintosh peek his head outside of the kitchen, eyes on Applejack.
"Ah'm not goin' anywhere," she called back to him. Big Macintosh nodded, satisfied with her answer, before going back inside. "He ain't gunna be trustin' me anytime soon."
Rainbow Dash let a smile flicker across her face, but Applejack could see her expression tinted with sadness. "What's wrong, Sugarcube?"
"Oh, I don't mean to…" she said, looking away, not intending to have her thoughts spoken out loud. Applejack stared at the mare until she shrugged and answered, "You have so much going on, Applejack. I can't imagine being in your position. I…well, I wish I could help you out more."
"Rainbow," Applejack said, catching eye contact with the mare. "Ah can't tell you how much it meant to me that you wouldn't let me go runnin' by mahself, yesterday. Sure, at the time Ah didn't much appreciate it, but…" She looked to the side, trying to think of how to say it. "Well, you did more for me than you know just by bein' at my side."
The Pegasus smiled to her friend, feeling slightly assuaged in her desire to help out more. Then, because she just HAD to, she said, "You're so lucky to have an awesome friend like me."
Applejack rolled her eyes, but smiled all the same. "Let's get inside, alright?" Rainbow Dash turned and started walking towards the door. But Applejack pulled the mare's tail and causing Rainbow to look at her. "And yeah. I'm pretty lucky to have friends like y'all." "