On the carriage ride over, even Apple Bloom was unusually silent. Big Mac just stared out the window, as per usual, and the three hadn’t said a word until they stood outside of Granny Smith’s hospital room door.
“AJ, we goin’ in?” Apple Bloom mumbled, shuffling from hoof to hoof as she looked from the floor to her big sister. The little filly’s light orange eyes were wide and moist, and for brief intervals, a heavy shiver would pass through her body. Applejack looked to Big Macintosh with pleading eyes, but what she was pleading for, she didn’t know.
“Mac, you really think this is a good idea?” Applejack asked, her voice barely above a whisper. For the brief moment before he answered, all was silent in the hallway. The only noise they could hear was the faint beep… beep… beep coming from inside of Granny Smith’s room. Every time the beeps would pause for a moment, AJ’s heart would sink into her belly and she had to stifle back a terrified gasp.
“We gotta see her now, AJ. You know that it’ll be time soon.” The red stallion rested a protective hoof on her shoulder. “She needs us now more than ever.”
“Ah know…” She turned to Apple Bloom. “Bloom, are you sure that you want to come? Ah can take you home if you want. This might be pretty scary for you, so Ah understand—"
“No!” Apple Bloom hissed, trying to keep her voice low. “Granny Smith is mah granny too! And Ah wanna see her!” The young filly stomped a hoof lightly and snapped her gaze from her older sister towards the door, saying nothing else.
Applejack merely nodded, and it took all of her strength to push open the door to Room 413 and usher her family inside. Granny Smith’s room was almost completely white. The walls were shiny white, the cold, hard floor was white, and the tiled ceiling was white. A single, large window took up most of the back wall, offering a beautiful view of some branches, and from the right angle, a little bit of sky. A curtain was pulled across the room, preventing the Apple family from seeing their grandmother. A few bland, metal furnishings such as a table and a few chairs could be seen, but overall, they just added to the room’s depression. Just like always, the only sounds to be heard was the slow, sporadic beep… beep… beep.
“G-Granny?” Applejack called out, trying to steady her voice. Any attempt to sound upbeat and happy was lost. The three waited for a response, but heard none. The two older Apple’s exchanged worried glances, and they walked slowly over to the curtain.
“Granny? We’re c-comin’ in, if you can hear us.” AJ suppressed a shiver as she gripped the curtain, took a deep breath, and tugged it back slowly. Even though she had seen her grandmother lying in the hospital bed so many times, it still made her wince, seeing a beloved family member tied up with tubes and machines. Big Mac looked away out the window as quickly as he could, and Apple Bloom let an audible gasp slip out, much to her older siblings chagrin.
“H-Hey Granny!” The three younger Apple’s remarked. Applejack’s green eyes as wide as they could possibly be as she sat down beside her grandmother’s bed on a nearby chair, hanging her Stetson hat on the back of it. While Granny Smith’s body didn’t move, her own light orange eyes flickering slowly from Applejack to her other grandchildren. A weak smile broke out on her face when she saw them.
“Kids! Ah’m so happy to see y’all here today!” The elderly mare tried to sit up to hug them each, but grunted from pain and exhaustion when she got halfway up, and collapsed back onto the bed. All three Apple’s lunged towards her as she fell backwards.
“Granny, d-don’t try and sit up! Don’t exert yourself too much, ya hear?” Applejack affirmed, holding a hoof gently against Granny Smith’s shoulder. The older mare nodded meekly, as if she were embarrassed.
“Ah apologize, AJ. Ah’ve just missed y’all so much! Ah haven’t gotten ta see ya in almost a week!” Granny mentioned, something that made Applejack wince in shame.
“Ah know Granny. Ah’m sorry for that. Life on the farm has been real busy lately without you around to take care of us!” All four Apple’s grinned, despite themselves. “There’s nopony to help Apple Bloom with her homework, nopony to make us dinner while me an’ Mac are out workin’…” The smiles disappeared. “Been real busy lately.”
“Oh pish posh Applejack! You ponies are the ones who have been takin’ care of me this whole gosh darn time!” Granny gave a wide grin as she very slowly slid her hoof towards Applejack’s. The Element of Honesty picked up on the hint and quickly took the elderly mare’s hoof into her own, holding it tightly against her chest.
“I brought a present for ya, Granny!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, beaming with pride as she dug through her left saddlebag for a moment before pulling out a shoddily made wooden picture frame. In it was a child’s drawing of three mares and a stallion all sitting together under a smiling sun. Bloom held it up to show her grandma.
“Oh my, now isn’t that just lovely?” Granny Smith cooed proudly. “Bring it closer so Ah can see it, dear.”
“Do ya like it?!” Apple Bloom shuffled closer and crawled up onto the hospital bed, lying down beside her grandmother. Applejack squeezed her eyes shut and prayed to Celestia that she wouldn’t cry.
“It’s positively marvellous deary! Is that me, in the middle?”
“Yep!” Apple Bloom giggled with joy as she pointed to each of the characters. “That’s me, and that’s AJ, and that’s Mac, and that’s you in the middle, yeah! You’re in the middle cause you’re the center of this family!” Bloom looked up to Granny Smith for approval, but the old mare was completely silent.
Oh Apple Bloom… Applejack thought, biting her lower lip hard. The hauntingly slow beep… beep… beep filled the room. Big Mac coughed awkwardly, drawing everypony’s attention.
“So Granny, Great Uncle Apple Strudel’s been askin’ ‘bout ya. He said that he really wants to come in for a visit, but hasn’t been able to find anypony to take care of his farm down there.”
“Oh, well innit that sweet of him! Why, Ah haven’t seen my dear baby brother since the last Apple Family Reunion! Ah do hope he gets up here in time.” She let out a short, harsh laugh as she mused with a forced smirk. Everypony in the room awkwardly laughed. The entire trip was turning out to be faked smiles and held-back tears. Granny Smith looked deep into the faces of her three grandchildren, the most beloved ponies that she could have ever known.
“Kids, Ah know that this must be hard for you. Seein’ your grandma all hogtied up in wires and tubes just like a pig… shucks, it even embarrasses me, seein’ myself in the mirror over there.” She briefly glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Granny Smith was always old, but she looked even older now, with tubes coming out of her nostrils, most of her mane missing, and her green coat now faded. She looked away again, tears threatening to escape.
“Aw come on now, Granny, that ain’t true. We love comin’ to visit you! You’re still the same ol’ Granny as you’ve always been! Isn’t that right, Apples?” Applejack looked hopefully towards her brother and sister, but in seeing their pained expressions, AJ couldn’t hold in her despair any longer. She let out a single, loud sob as tears began flowing freely down her face. Apple Bloom joined in, turning and crying into her grandma’s shoulder. Granny Smith put a comforting hoof around her youngest granddaughter.
“T’aint fair, Granny! First Ma and Pa died, and now you will too. Why do you have to go?!” Apple Bloom sobbed. “Why can’t you stay with us just a little longer?”
“Apple Bloom!” Big Mac scolded, his brow furrowing. He stepped closer to grab his youngest sister by the scruff of the neck and pull her off of their grandmother, but thought better of it. “Don’t be talkin’ ‘bout such things!”
“But it’s true, Mac! You know it is! Granny, you’re gonna die, aren’t you?” Bloom stared up at their grandmother with wide eyes. Granny Smith choked back a sob and pulled her granddaughter close.
“Yes, Half Pint, Ah will.” The old mare nodded once as she whispered, her voice breaking. “And Ah’m gonna miss all y’all very much. But it’s just my time to go, Ah suppose.” Applejack moved closer and kneeled down on the floor, her green eyes filled with desperation and tears.
“Granny, please, stop this! You know that ain’t true! The doctors here are gonna do everything they can to make you all better again, so you can come and help us out on the farm!”
“Oh fiddlesticks, AJ. You know that my time is coming close. Ah don’t want you to worry about me though. Ah’m gonna be happy, when Ah go up to Paradise. Ah won’t be in pain anymore.” She smiled weakly. “Ah get to see your Ma and Pa again.”
“Granny!” Applejack wailed, sobbing openly into the white bed sheet. Big Mac stood, shaking, at the foot of the bed, trying to be strong for his sisters and grandma, but was failing miserably. “How are we supposed to do this without you around? None of us here can make zap apple jam like you can! None of us can sew like you can!” She squeezed her hoof. “I can’t do those fancy mathematics like you can! Who’s gonna help Apple Bloom?!”
“Come now, Applejack! You kids can do just fine without me around. Sweet Apple Acres is in your care. Always has been! You’ll learn to cope without an old mare around holdin’ ya back.” Granny Smith let out a loud, hacking cough.
“Granny, you never held us back, ya hear?” Big Mac affirmed, moving closer to his sister. “If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t know the first thing about running an apple orchard!”
Beep… beep… beep.
“But Ah did hold you kids back. Ah embarrassed you all the time, especially you, Half Pint.” She turned to Apple Bloom. “Ah never did apologize for embarrassing you in front of your little friends, deary.”
“G-Granny, stop it. You don’t need to apologize for anything, ya hear? Ah love ya, no matter what happened.” Apple Bloom snuggled closer and re-buried her head into Granny Smith’s shoulder.
“Granny, we already had to bury Ma and Pa. How can we lose you too?” AJ asked, her voice trembling and her throat hoarse. Granny sighed deeply, a shudder passing through her as she did.
“Kids, the day that Ah had to watch my own grandchildren bury my son and daughter-in-law was the most difficult day of my life. Ah’ll never understand why those two wandered too close to the Everfree Forest that one evenin’, but Ah have regretted not bein’ able to say goodbye to them every single day of my life. Ah think that’s the worst part about somepony close to you dyin’… not bein’ able to say goodbye.” She looked up hopefully at her grandkids. Even Big Macintosh was crying openly.
“But you three get what Ah never got to have. You three get a chance to say goodbye. So instead of sittin’ here, blubberin’ and carryin’ on, why don’t you use this time to say somethin’ that you’ve always wanted to say?”
Beep… beep…
“Granny… Ah wanted to thank you for always helpin’ me with my homework every single day. Ah know that you don’t have very good eyesight, and it’s hard for you to remember things, but you still sat there with me at the table for hours until we had solved every single question.” Apple Bloom looked up at her grandmother with wet eyes as she whimpered meekly, her voice barely above a whisper. “Ah never thanked you enough for doin’ that, but Ah’m sayin’ it now: thank you.”
“Aw shucks Half Pint. It was no problem at all. Ah enjoyed that time that Ah got to spend with you! Ah wanted to thank you for helpin’ me so much with cookin’ dinner every night! You’re the best little chef that an old mare could ask for!” Granny Smith ruffled Apple Bloom’s mane, putting her big bow off center. Bloom gave her a weak smile.
“Does it hurt, Granny?” AJ whispered softly. They could barely hear her.
“Wuzzat?” Granny Smith leaned towards her oldest granddaughter, putting a hoof to her ear in order to hear better.
“Does it hurt?” AJ murmured, slightly louder this time. Granny shot Big Macintosh a confused look.
Beep… beep…
“She’s askin’ if it hurts, Granny. Does it hurt?” The red stallion’s voice was loud and booming. AJ looked up at the mare, and was surprised to see that her grandmother was fixing her with a deep, genuine smile.
“My dear AJ, of course it doesn’t hurt!” Granny Smith laughed. It was a weak laugh, one that left her winded for a long moment afterwards, but it was an honest laugh nonetheless. “It doesn’t hurt at all. It’s just like falling asleep. That’s all it is. Don’t you worry about that.”
“Are you sure? Do you promise, Granny? You won’t feel any pain at all?”
“Ah promise, sugarcube.” Granny Smith winked at Applejack, using her own nickname against her. AJ gave a faint smile. It was a nickname that her mother used to call her, back when she was alive. Nopony ever called Applejack ‘sugarcube’.
Beep… beep…
They heard a knocking on the door. As the four ponies turned to look, a pretty nurse in a smart white coat poked her head in.
“I’m very sorry, but visiting hours are over. I’m going to have to ask you to take your leave until tomorrow morning.” Without another word, the mare’s head disappeared again and she was off. The Apples turned back to each other and the room was silent again.
“Well, Ah guess it’s time for you kids to be off.” Granny Smith’s voice wavered as she spoke.
“Ah guess so. We’ll come back again in the morning Granny. Don’t you worry.” AJ frowned as she promised, putting her hat back on and giving her grandmother’s hoof one last squeeze before standing.
“Ah’ll hold you to that promise, sugarcube. Ah’m gonna miss y’all so much. Ah can’t wait to see y’all again.”
Beep… beep…
The three Apple children all leaned in and hugged their grandma separately. Big Mac helped Apple Bloom hop off of the bed as Applejack slowly started towards the door. AJ turned to give her grandmother one last glance as her brother ushered their sister out into the hallway.
“Goodbye, Granny. Ah’ll miss you.”
“This isn’t goodbye, sugarcube,” Granny affirmed, her face beaming with a surprisingly wide smile. “This is only ‘see you later.’” Applejack gave a final smile before turning around and closing the door tightly behind her. Big Mac and Apple Bloom were already walking down the hallway, Bloom riding on Mac’s back.
All three expressions were somber as they stepped outside into the rain. It was as if the pegasi knew that today was a day of sadness. Applejack looked up to Granny Smith’s window as they passed by heading towards their carriage. The window was half obscured by a large oak tree that blocked the view.
“See you later, Granny.”
~~~~~~~~~~
In her bedroom, Granny Smith closed her eyes. Her heart had swelled with happiness in being able to see her beloved grandchildren one last time. While she felt upset that she was leaving them behind, the elderly mare was still excited in being able to see her beloved son again sometime soon.
Beep… beep…
After all, she was just falling asleep.
Beep… beep…
“See you later, kids.”
Beep… beep…
Beep…
…