//------------------------------// // An Apple a Day Keeps the Shadow at Bay // Story: Black as the Driven Snow // by Fairy Tail //------------------------------// Sweet Apple Acres - Summer - 5 Days Before Snowfall Applejack dropped the watering can and sat down next the dry, dusty roots of an apple tree. The can tumbled a few times, resonating a hollow song before resting on its side to bake in the noon sun. She pushed up the brim of her hat and turned a drained look to Big McIntosh. Water poured out from his watering can and trailed off in smaller streams, following the twisted roots. His eyes caught Appejack's, and he paused his work, setting down the can. "Big Mac, how much longer ya think we got?" Applejack asked. He stretched his back left and right and sighed as it cracked several times. He turned to the side and swung his hoof toward the vast field to their east. Applejack's squinted her eyes through the harsh beams of sun as she took in the sight of rolling hills covered with thirsty apple trees with pale, curled leaves and shriveling fruit. She could spot several workponies and volunteers dragging their hooves between trees, each with a watering can at hoof; however, the coverage was sparse and progress seemed to be crawling by. Applejack rose to her hooves, grunted, and kicked at her empty watering can with her back hooves. It bounced off a couple of trees before landing on the ground a dented mess. "I don't know what them pegasus ponies are thinkin'!" she said, "we've gone far too long without any rain." Her eyes searched the sky from each corner for a single cloud. The endless blue held only the high sun, pouring heat on the farm. Applejack slowly paced closer to her brother with her head low to the ground and her mane almost dragging in the dirt. "I hate to do it," Applejack said, "but we need all the help we can get out here." She turned her head past the barn and focused her gaze through the orchard. Her eyes fixed on the familiar red roofed clubhouse built into one of the more sturdy trees. "Eeyup," Big Mac said. He dipped his head in a shallow nod before stretching his neck toward a coming breeze. Applejack started moving a hoof down the hill. She paused mid-step and turned back. She took one more look at the leaves with their fading brilliance before building to a hustle toward the clubhouse. "Gardenin'?" Apple Bloom asked. She was adjusting a pencil in her mouth, eyes fixed on the notepad in front of her. "Tried it," Scootaloo said. She was lying down on her back, watching the clouds with a tired smile. Apple Bloom made a check mark on the pad. "Um, bee handlin'?" Apple Bloom asked. She scratched her head and adjusted the bow in her mane. "Don't remind me," Scootaloo said. She closed her eyes and rubbed several large stings on her arm. Apple Bloom made another mark. "Well, I'm outta ideas for how to get our cutie marks," Apple Bloom said. She turned over on her back and spit the pencil out to the side. "Do you have any ideas, Sweetie Belle?" A slight breeze ran through the tree limbs and the leaves acted as a crude wind chime around the clubhouse before silence took over. "Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom craned her neck and spotted Sweetie Belle with her back against the side of the stairs, hunched over. "I think she's still trying to get her cutie mark in rock polishing," Scootaloo said. She rolled her eyes and turned toward Sweetie Belle. "Not rock polishing! Jeweler!" Sweetie Belle said. She scowled toward Scootaloo before stripping her attention back toward the black crystal in her hand. She furiously wiped a dusty cloth over the stone, studying it with one eye closed. "I know I can get it if I can just get this last spot out." "Girls, are ya'll out here?" Applejack said. She pushed her way past a few branches and scanned the orchard around the clubhouse. She squinted through the unforgiving sunlight that forced its way through the thick tree cover . "I hate to ask, but I need a favor," she said. She spotted the crusaders lying on the grass around the clubhouse. "What is it?" Apple Bloom asked. She cocked her head back and shielded her eyes with her hoof. "Would you girls mind givin' us a hand with the waterin'?" Applejack asked. She motioned toward the surrounding trees. "We're really fightin' to get 'em all watered by sundown, but we really need all the help we can get," she said. "We can do that," Apple Bloom said. She rolled off her back and stood. "Yeah, what else are we gonna do?" Scootaloo said. She shifted off the table and made her way closer to Applejack. "And who knows? Maybe we can get our cutie marks in watering apple trees," she said. "That's a great idea! Cutie Mark Crusaders Apple Waterers!" Apple Bloom said. She swung a hoof into the air and met Scootaloo's with a resounding impact. "Uh, sure. Cutie Mark apple waterin'," Applejack said. She flashed a failing smile on weary lips before she caught sight of Sweetie Belle, her attention fixed on the black crystal, sitting against the stairs leading up to the clubhouse. The other two ran off toward the barn for a couple of watering cans as Applejack walked over to Sweetie Belle with curious eyes. "Hey there, sugar cube," Applejack said, "would you wanna help out too?" "No thanks, Applejack," Sweetie Belle said. She didn't even glance up from her work and continued to polish the stone. "Whatcha workin' on there?" she asked. Applejack sat on the dirt beside her and struggled to see what Sweetie Belle was doing around her movements. "Whatever it is, it sure has your attention," she said. Sweetie Belle stopped polishing and held still for several seconds. She scrunched her nose, grunted, and rolled her eyes before turning to face Applejack. "I have one more spot on this crystal to polish before I get my cutie mark. I've been polishing and rubbing and cleaning, and wiping the crystal for a whole week now, and I just have one spot left, one tiny little speck that I need to get and then it'll give me my cutie mark. But no matter what I do, I keep getting interrupted and lose my focus and the spot won't go away unless I give it my full attention!" she said. She scoffed and turned her bloodshot eyes straight to the stone. "Uh, Sweetie, I don't think that's gonna get you a cutie mark," Applejack said. She took off her hat and laid it to the side. A coming breeze swept her mane and pulled it back. "Yes, it will," Sweetie Belle said. She turned away from Applejack. "Alright, but why don't you take a break for a bit?" Applejack asked, "you don't gotta water any trees or nothin', but some time away from your job would help ya relax a bit." Sweetie Belle cut Applejack with a sharp gaze. "No," she said. She hid the crystal behind her back. "Don't make me take it, Sweetie Belle. I don't wanna do that, but you need some space from that stone, at least for a little while," Applejack said. She rose to her hooves and planted them firmly on the ground. "No! It's going to give me my cutie mark!" Sweetie Belle said. She stood and held the crystal behind her back with one of her front hooves. "No, it ain't!" Applejack said. She stepped forward and reached for the crystal. Sweetie Belle turned away, keeping herself between Applejack and the stone. Applejack reached both arms around the filly in attempts to grab it, but ended up wrapping her in a bear hug, holding her limbs still. Sweetie Belle began shouting and struggled to kick her limbs, but Applejack held her in place. In her fight, Sweetie dropped the crystal to push away with all four hooves. It rolled off of her back and left a trail of blurry blackness as it bounced twice on the grass floor. Sweetie Belle finally tore herself from Applejack's grasp, and her eyes opened wide and jaw hung open. She dropped low to the ground and furiously scoured the ground for the stone. Applejack spotted it first and leaped on the crystal, sitting on it and facing the stomping mad filly beside her. "Give it back!" Sweetie Belle said. She raked her hoof against the dirt and lowered her head. "Ain't gonna happen, Sweetie, at least not right now," Applejack said. She scooted back and pulled the hidden gem further away from Sweetie Belle. "I promise you I'll give it back, I'm just a little worried about you is all," Applejack said. Sweetie Belle was shaking in place. Her face took on a deep shade of red. "Listen, I know you're mad, but you ain't gettin' this rock right now. Right now, you look completely exhausted," Applejack said. Her body stayed tense and hard, but she softened her gaze on Sweetie Belle. In response, Sweetie slowed her breathing and stopped shaking. "Now, I need you to head on home and get some rest, okay?" Applejack said. She summoned as big a smile as she could find. "We can talk about this tomorrow, okay?" she said. Sweetie paused but eventually gave a slow nod. She inched backwards, keeping her eyes fixed on the stone's location for several steps. With each step, the filly's movements were more fluid and her face dropped to lighter shades of red. By the time she reached the edge of the small clearing, she fully turned around and hung her head low. "I'm sorry, Applejack," Sweetie Belle said. She continued to face the opposite direction. "Don't you worry about it right now," Applejack said, "you go on and get your rest; we'll talk about this later." The bright moon crept a gentle grip on the horizon when Applejack barely made it into her room before nearly collapsing on the floor. Her mane was matted with twigs and leaves poking out all over. Her eyes had developed dark bags, and the lids struggled to stay open. With each step, she dragged swollen hooves across the floor toward her bed. She turned and fell into the bed, not even bothering with any of the sheets. Her saddlebag slid off and tumbled onto the floor, spilling the contents of her canteen, spare food, and the black crystal onto the floor. Her eyes sealed shut and rejected the beams of moonlight that filtered through the curtain. She relaxed every inch, from the tips of her hooves to the edge of her nose. Sleep was creeping in from all sides when a lone thought slithered into her mind. You done forgot to water the east field. A spike of adrenaline shot through her chest, her eyes sprung open, and she tore across the bed to the window. Her bloodshot eyes scoured the orchard before she took a step back and shook her head. "Come on now, Applejack," she said, "get it together, you know you got it all." She stumbled back onto the bed and gave a monstrous yawn. She slid under the sheets and turned her back to the window before shutting her eyes again. Instantly, another thought flashed in her mind. You ran out of water. "Nuh-uh," Applejack said. She clamped her eyes as tight as she could and folded her pillow over her exposed ear, but Images flooded in from the silent darkness. Applejack saw herself, weary but stable, working her way from tree to tree with her watering can. Each blink took a little longer than the last, and she drooped her head ever few seconds before shaking it and tilting the watering can at the roots of each tree. One tree. Then two trees. Three and four. Finally, the image settled on Applejack tilting the watering can with her eyes fully closed, her hat shading the sun fully from her eyes. This time, no water came out, but instead, a black, shimmering sludge eased out and glopped onto the roots. The greasy oil seemed the glimmer in the sunlight, and when it reached the roots, the tree began to turn gray and the leaves wilted and browned with each drop. After several seconds, the tree dissolved into ash and blew away in the wind. Applejack then watched herself make her way to the next tree, doing the same thing. She continued to watch tree after tree turn to ash before she ripped her eyes open and leaped out of the bed. She stepped on the black crystal, lost her balance, and collapsed on the floor. She groaned and quickly scrambled to her hooves and sloppily slapped her saddle back on her back and replaced the tumbled gear back inside, including the stone. She then ran down the stairs with booming steps. With eyes half closed, she ran out the door and left it open. She made her way to the barn, occasionally shaking the sleep away from her head, and grabbed a watering can in her mouth and dipped it in a nearby trough of water. She submerged her head fully in the water and let the tepid, lukewarm water pull her eyes open before she let off in a sprint toward the east field with the can. Sweet Apple Acres - Summer - 4 Days Before Snowfall Sunlight peaked over the horizon to reveal Applejack still tilting a full watering can above the roots of the trees in the east field. Her mane was wildly tousled all over, and she had lost her hat about 4 rows back to a stubborn branch. She stopped to shield the sun from her eyes when the trees around her seemed to emit a soft glow. A purple haze rolled in and engulfed the trees around her. She blinked and rubbed her eyes with her hooves. A low hum seemed to emit from the orchard as spark-like lights danced in the purple mist. "Wait a minute, what's goin' on here?" Applejack asked. She took two steps back and dropped the watering can, spilling its contents on the parched dirt below. She bumped her flank into the tree behind her and saw the seemingly hot sparks flow in the air, closer and closer to the leaves of the tree. She gasped and widened her eyes; she could hear her own heartbeat triple and pound louder. "Fire! Fire in the orchard!" she yelled. She was turning and screaming all around. "Fire! Someone help!" she yelled. "Applejack?" a voice called from behind a line of trees. "Help! You've got to help!" Applejack screamed. She turned toward the voice when she noticed she no longer saw the sparks. In fact, she noticed the purple-ish mist was gone, too. "Applejack?" the voice asked again. A figure emerged from the low-hanging branches and revealed herself as Twilight Sparkle. She gave a sheepish smile and cocked her head to the side. "Twilight? Well what in tarnation are ya doin' out here so early?" Applejack asked. She removed her flank from the tree and set it on the ground. "Oh? I could ask you the same question," Twilight said. She watched as Applejack swayed back and forth and rolled her head back around. Twilight reached a hoof toward her. "Are you okay, AJ?" "Oh, I'm fine," Applejack said. She cracked a smile and rose to wobbly legs. By this point, her mane stuck out in all directions and her tail tapered off in torn ends; even her coat was ruffled in places. "Applejack! Have you been out here all night?" Twilight asked. She sat in the dirt and let her mouth hang open a little as she took in Applejack's haggard state. "I don't wanna hear it right now, Twilight," Applejack said, "the trees needed waterin', and we've got a lot of work ahead of us today, so I don't want to hear-" "Applejack, I'm not going to tell you to rest," Twilight said, "I know better than to ask that of you. But I am worried about you and want you to try and take it easy." Her eyes continued to scan over Applejack. "Listen Twilight, I appreciate your concern, but I have everything under control," Applejack said. She scowled and turned away from Twilight to face the orchard. Twilight opened her mouth to speak when a rustling came from the trees. Both mares turned to see Big McIntosh push through the line of trees. "Everythin's fine here, Big Mac," Applejack said, "just gettin' started with the day's work." Applejack moved back to the watering can and picked it up with her teeth. Big Mac watched Applejack almost lose her balance as she bent down, then he turned toward Twilight. "I'm sure everything will be fine, Big Mac," Twilight said, "but could you keep an eye on her anyway?" She shot a pleading glance to him. "Eeyup," Big Mac said. He walked to Applejack and pulled the watering can away from her and started leading her back toward the barn. "I'll see you later, Applejack. Take care of yourself," Twilight said. She watched for another second before turning away. "Twilight, wait!" Applejack said. She quickly trotted to Twilight and pulled open her saddle bag. She dug inside until she pulled out the glittering, black stone. "Sweetie Belle had this earlier yesterday," Applejack said, "could ya get this to Rarity for me? I'm gonna have to work the orchard all day today." She dropped the stone on the ground and pushed it closer to Twilight with her nose. "Oh, no problem," Twilight said. She scooped up the stone and placed in her own saddle bag before turning away. "I'll see if I can't swing by to help later."