//------------------------------// // 6: Applejack // Story: Pretty Little Ponies // by sister_mike //------------------------------// 6: Applejack Applejack arrived home just as Granny Smith and Apple Bloom were putting dinner on the table. The smell of sweet hay and sautéed mushrooms filled the air and Applejack's stomach grumbled. She hadn't been in the mood for any of Pinkie Pie's cupcakes earlier, and she hadn't had anything to eat since before the funeral. But now with the smell of dinner in the air, her stomach rumbled like thunder and she realized just how hungry and exhausted she was. "How you holdin' up hon?" Granny Smith asked. Like almost everypony in Ponyville, Applejack's grandmother, sister, and brother had been at the funeral. Although Applejack had sat with her former friends, she was relieved to know that her family was out there for her. "I'm doin' alright," Applejack sighed. She collapsed into a chair just as Big Mac entered the kitchen and sat down beside her. He shot her a small smile and began to pile food on his plate. Applejack was extremely close to her family. As her relationship with her former friends began to disintegrate, she spent more and more time on the farm. She had her older brother had grown closer together, and she had begun to spend a lot more time with her younger sister. Granny Smith began to share more family stories with her and Applejack had learned a lot about her parents that she hadn't known before. Who needed friends when you had friends amongst your family? "It was a beautiful ceremony," Granny Smith said as she sat at the table. "But it was sad. How can somethin' be beautiful and sad at the same time?" Apple Bloom asked. She shoved a spoonful of mushrooms into her mouth, a small frown set on her face. "Many things can be two things at once, AB," Applejack said. Things and ponies. Ponies like Golden Pearl. She could be so polite and rude at the same time. She was beautiful and ugly. Sunny and dark. Good and bad. "It's not something I expect you to understand at your age." "Sounds confusing," Apple Bloom said around her mouthful of mushrooms. "It's so sad that poor young mare was missin' for a year and she was buried in her own backyard. And nopony knew," Big Mac said. Applejack pushed her food away, her appetite suddenly gone. Tears formed in her eyes as Big Mac's words set in. "Hush now, Big MacIntosh. Time to talk 'bout somethin' else," Granny Smith said sternly. She looked over at Applejack and gave her a look of concern. Big Mac looked down at his plate, and Apple Bloom coughed uncomfortably. "If y'all excuse me... I don't have much of an appetite after all," Applejack said. She pushed away from the table and headed up to her room. Closing the door behind her, Applejack collapsed on her bed and buried her head under her pillow. She bit back her sobs and took a deep breath. It had taken Applejack nearly a year to get over the disappearance of Golden Pearl. She had been the main pony to put up the missing posters all over ponyville. For the first few months she had regularly gone down to the police station to see if there had been any updates. Applejack hadn't carried a phone at the time, and had to do everything by foot. She had gone out regularly with search parties, and had even conducted a few privately on her own. Even long after the other girls had given up, Applejack didn't. She couldn't. Because Golden Pearl had meant so much more to her than just a friend. The feelings she had had for the sunny earth pony were unlike any other feelings Applejack had ever had. She'd never spoken about her feelings, unsure of who to talk to about them and who would understand. Surely her grandmother and siblings would look and think of her differently if they had learned that she had romantic feelings about one of her best friends. But they were so much more than just romantic feelings. The way her heart fluttered and nearly burst out of her chest every time she saw that golden curly mane. The way that her hooves would instantly sweat whenever she looked into those emerald eyes. Golden Pearl was the sun in Applejack's world, and when she had disappeared, it was as though the actual sun itself had vanished. And now, after it had taken her so much effort to try and let Golden Pearl go, to know that she must have run off on some fancy adventure, probably with some handsome stallion, only to learn that she was dead and buried in her backyard... All of this talk about her was bringing up old and strong feelings that Applejack had gone to great lengths to bury. Of course now there was no way for her to explain or outlet her emotions, except to cry into her pillow. How was she supposed to express her feelings for Golden Pearl, if she was gone? There had only been one brief time, shortly before her disappearance, that Applejack had tried to take a stab at expressing her feelings for Golden Pearl. And for one brief, short moment—a small, stolen kiss in the silo—it had seemed like Golden Pearl may have returned her feelings. But now Applejack would never know for sure. Sometimes, when she thought back on that kiss, she really felt that Goldie had shared her feelings, that she was just as secretive and shy about them as Applejack was. And other times, more often than not, she figured that Goldie was just being herself, playing Applejack for a fool and adding her embarrassment to her long list of secrets to hold over her and the others. "Applejack? You alright?" Apple Bloom's voice came from the other side of her door. Applejack sniffed and pulled her head out from under her pillow. "Y-Yeah, I'm alright. But I'd like to be left alone for a while," Applejack said. "Alright. I know you said you weren't hungry, but I brought you some dessert anyways. It's just outside the door here," Apple Bloom said. Applejack sighed and listened as her sister walked back down the hall. She waited until the footsteps were gone and then quietly opened the door and slipped the piece of apple pie inside. She sat back up on the bed and pulled out a box from underneath it. Slowly, she began to pull out old photos, flipping through them, careful not to spill any pie on them. Pictures of Golden Pearl and the others. Pictures that she had hidden away for a long time, along with all of her other feelings. Feelings that she could not stop from resurfacing. More tears began to spill from her eyes, as Applejack sat on her bed, filling her broken heart with apple pie.