//------------------------------// // Confession // Story: Irises Identical // by Cloudswirl //------------------------------// Twilight inhaled sharply as she skidded to a halt in front of The Apple Family barn, the contents of her light blue saddlebags rattling. “Hurry up Spike!” She yelled over her shoulder as the baby dragon trudged after the unicorn, weak with exhaustion. “Well *pant* it’s not like its everyday that you… *gasp* you go bolting out of the library for no good reason,” Spike collapsed on the dirt in front of the building. “What’s going on Twilight? All you’ve been doing is pouring over the same stupid book for the past fifteen minutes.” “Because it’s the only book that talks about Apple Family History,” Twilight levitated the slim red book out of her bag, “I looked through my entire pony history collection!” “Why?” Spike asked, “do you have a book on every single pony in Ponyville? Cause if you do, that’s kinda creepy.” He took the book from the pony and started flipping through it curiously. “I do not!” Twilight argued, “A few months ago Applejack loaned it to me when I asked her how big The Apple Family was. She didn’t say anything; all she did was pull this out. Apparently her great aunt wrote it, she was a surprisingly accomplished author! Did you know she once wrote for- Spike, are you even listening to me?” The dragon was staring at Twilight with a dazed look, “What?” He said, suddenly bored out of his skull, “Oh, sorry Twilight, what was that?” The unicorn gave a frustrated moan and knocked on the wooden door. The two waited for a few seconds until Big Macintosh answered the door. “Good mornin’ Miss Twilight, what can Ah do for ya?” The stallion gave a friendly smile at the two visitors. “Good morning, is Applejack around?” Twilight noticed a yellow filly appearing in the hallway. “Hey Big Mac, is that Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom asked, a piece of toast in her hoof. “She said she was comin’ by around 8:30.” “Nope, it’s jus’ Twilight Sparkle and Spike. Ah think Ah saw Scootaloo and Applejack headin’ to the barn,” Big Macintosh said, turning back to his sister’s friend. “Thanks Big Macintosh,” The lavender pony started toward the barn as the red pony closed the door. “C’mon Spike, let’s go find Applejack.” Twilight took the history book from her assistant with her magic, putting it back in her saddlebags. “You never even told me why we came here in the first place,” Spike accused, plodding after the book nerd unenthusiastically. “Spike, if all goes well we’ll both figure out what’s going on.” The unicorn slid the opening aside with her hooves. “Applejack! Are you in here?” She noticed Applejack sitting next to a scooter, with Scootaloo on the other side of her. The country mare heard Twilight shout and turned her head. “Hey sugarcube!” She said quickly, “what’re ya doin’ here? Didja think of…” she looked at Scootaloo nervously, “this year’s sales already?” “Farm profits? Is that what this is about?” Spike asked, his arms crossed, “seriously?” “Umm… yes!” Twilight could detect Applejack’s lie and decided to play along, “Applejack needed to calculate the sales from last year, but she’s not very good with mathematics. I offered to do it for her instead.” “Oh yeah?” The dragon raised an eyebrow, “what were the profits then?” “Be quiet and you‘ll find out later!” The unicorn whispered, putting on a cheesy smile. “Scootaloo! There ya are!” Apple Bloom appeared in the entryway, a huge grin plastered on her face. “Hey Apple Bloom! Are you ready for some crusading?” The orange filly jumped up and put on her purple helmet. “You bet Ah am! Let’s get going, Sweetie Belle’s waitin’ for us at Town Square!” Apple Bloom left just as quickly as she came, with Scootaloo trailing behind her. “Sheesh Twi,” Applejack wiped sweat from her brow, “Ah was beginnin’ ta think Ah’d be stuck with her forever. Thanks fer that. So, Whadja find out?” “First off, I think this is yours,” Twilight brought out the thin book. “second, I want us to talk with Granny Smith.” “Granny Smith? Why do ya want ta talk to her about it?" The earth pony gave her friend a confused look, "This is really personal Twi, Ah'm not sure 'bout this." "Yes Applejack, it’s really personal. She’s your grandmother. If anypony has answers on Snow Apple, it’d be her." "Snow Apple?" Spike asked, "Who’s Snow Apple? Is she a member of the Apple Family?" "Shoot, why did I have to say that?" Twilight mentally punched herself, "Sorry about that Applejack." "That's okay sugarcube, Ah can trust him," Applejack waved a hoof at the matter, "Ah just don't feel right talkin' about this with my family." "Please Applejack," The unicorn begged, “I promise you they'll have the answers if we just speak with them."Applejack looked between her friends pleading eyes and Spike, who was very confused. Did the country pony really want to talk to her kin about the possibility of having another...? "Alright Twi," She sighed, getting to her hooves, “Ah guess we could give it a try, follow me." The mare trotted over to a simple wooden door, Spike and Twilight followed suit inside the Apple Family's living quarters. Granny Smith was lounging in her rocking chair in the small area, fast asleep. "You two can sit here,” Applejack whispered, pointing to a small pink couch. "Granny?" She shook the elderly mare gently. "Wake up Granny." "Wha? Who's there?" Granny Smith awoke from her doze, confused. "Oh hiya young'un, what'd ya need? Is Uncle Apple Strudel here yet?" "Uncle Apple Strudel?" The country mare was now equally puzzled, "Granny, he's not comin' for another two weeks. Ah got Twilight Sparkle and Spike here, we wanna ask you something." "Aw, well go right ahead darlin's, Ah ain't goin' nowhere in a hurry." The green mare reclined further in her seat, prepared to speak. "Thank ya Granny, but first Ah gotta go get Big Mac, Twilight wants ta talk ta him too." Applejack disappeared into the kitchen, a few seconds later to return with her older brother. "What's this about, Miss Twilight?" Big Macintosh asked, "Applejack said somethin' about a... family member?" Grandmother and Grandson exchanged curious glances as Twilight took two books out of her saddlebags. Granny Smith gasped in horror and shock at the sight of the photo album. Tears welled in the elder’s eyes while Big Macintosh stared at the same book in disbelief. "Whydja keep it Granny?" He asked quietly, "Ah thought ya threw it out..." The stallions eyes wandered to the ceiling. "Ah meant to sonny, Ah really did," The green pony grabbed a tissue from a nearby side table, "Ah just didn't want to lose... memories of her." "I'm assuming you both know who this little filly is," Twilight flipped to a picture of Snow Apple, playing with Applejack. Granny Smith burst into tears when she saw the picture, the red earth pony just hung his head and wept silently. "What’s wrong?" The orange pony asked, frustration growing despite the pained expressions of her family, "Who is she? Why didn’t anypony tell me about her?” The elderly mare looked into her granddaughter’s eyes solemnly, "Now Applejack, Ah need y’all to remember, Ah’d never do anything that wasn’t for yer own good. Ah’d prefer this book had stayed hidden forever, but Ah suppose it was only a matter of time till someone found it. Ah’m jus’ glad it was you instead of Apple Bloom. The story Ah’m about to tell you, it ain’t exactly the happiest one in the world. Ah can only hope, when Ah’m through, you’ll understand why we kept this from you.” "Eeyup," The red pony said sadly, fighting back tears. Granny Smith took a deep breath and began her tale, " After yer Ma and Pop had yer brother here, they wanted another foal. They had… So much love to give, they jus’ wanted to share that. Time went by, and yer Ma started showin’. Well, after nature took her sweet course, they had two beautiful fillies ta share that love o’ theirs with. Ya couldn't spot a happier family in all of Equestria than the one they had. One day, yer Pa decided to have a nice little picnic. One of the fillies, the youngest by a minute, wasn't bein' watched," The mare gave a hard swallow, "We was packing up, and yer Ma looked all around an’ realized her foal was gone. Next thing ya know, we hear a wail comin' from the Everfree Forest." Granny once again began to cry, “By the time they got there, it was too late, we couldn’t find her. We searched day in day out, Apples from all over Equestria came to help look fer their missing kin. We spent weeks scouring that forest. Nuthin’. Couldn’t even find a body. In the end, we called off the search an’ said our goodbyes. Prolly, some timberwolf or manticore got ‘er. Ah’m sorry we lied to you. Ah’m so sorry.” Applejack, Twilight, and Spike all stared at Granny Smith with a look of sadness and shock. Silent tears rolled down Applejacks cheeks; she didn't believe a single word she was hearing. “Snow Apple," The green pony finished, "wasn't with us anymore." "So that's it then?" Applejack said quietly, outraged, "Ya'll been lyin' ta me all these years!? And for what?! Knowin' I would never ask about her!?" "Applejack," Twilight whispered, “They were just trying to protect you." "Protect me!?" The country mare’s blood came to a boil, "PROTECT me!!? From knowin' that Snow Apple was," She gulped, "That she was DEAD!?" "We just didn't want ya growin' up sad, sugarcube,” Granny said. “We didn’t want ya to spend forever grieving over your twin sister.” “Ah don’t wanna hear it! Y’all lied to me about my own sister!” Applejack got up and stormed out the front door. “Applejack! Wait!” Twilight shouted. It didn’t matter. She was already gone.