The sun shone brilliantly in the clear blue sky, with no clouds to be seen for miles. A slight breeze rolled through, cool enough to provide a nice break from the heat but not cold enough to be bothersome.
Somethin’ about this weather just don’t fit right, Granny Smith thought with a sigh as she watched the two caskets of her son and daughter-in-law, Pink Pearl and Honeycrisp, being lowered into their final resting place. Their surviving young son, Big Macintosh, tried (and failed) to hold back the tears Granny knew would come one way or the other. Wrapping a protective hoof around him, she pulled him into a tight hug, both on the verge of breaking down and sobbing in front of the entire rest of the Apple clan.
She wiped her eyes before laying the last bouquet of flowers on the freshly filled grave, the bright yellow flowers drowning in a sea of roses. Taking her leave, she hopped into her old Flim-Flam pick-up truck before embracing her red-eyed grandson. He was openly sobbing now, tears painting dark splotches on her funeral dress.
“Oh Big Mac,” she said, “don'tchu ’ worry yer pretty lil’ head now. Granny will take good care of ya’, you’ll see. How ’bout I turn on the radio, would ya’ like that?”
“Eeyup,” was all Big Mac could muster. He sat back in his brown seat, gazing out his window at the passing landscape. Row upon row of cornfields dotted the landscape, eventually changing from tall cornstalks to apple trees as they neared Granny’s farm far on the outskirts of the newest Equestrian metropolis, Ponyville. Originally founded almost 100 years ago by Granny’s own immediate family, the small village had ballooned into a bustling city with the founding of TrixCorp, a high-tech firm dedicated to finding new applications of both technology and magic, usually by combining a healthy dose of business acumen with more than a few shady dealings.
It was dark by the time they made it back. Apple trees surrounded the road, their crisp orange and yellow colors shining in the glow of the headlights. Big Mac was still staring off into the night sky while Granny fumbled with her keys, missing the keyhole every time she thought she had it. Cursing under her breath, she would have missed the bright, hot meteorite heading straight for her farm if Big Mac hadn’t jumped with fright.
“Granny,” he said, tugging on her dress.
“Hold on darlin’, I’m almost done.”
“Granny….”
“Now Big Mac, let’s git inside first before jawjackin’ okay?”
“But Granny, look!”
The burning meteorite passed immediately overhead, lighting up the night for a brief second. Instead of hitting the farm, as they had both originally feared, it just barely missed it and landed among the apple trees, dirt and wood splinters flying everywhere. Small fires and broken trees littered the spot of the crash, smoke rising off the capsule.
Big Mac trotted over to it, carefully avoiding the flames. Granny followed him as fast as she could, too stunned to say anything. She looked out over the edge, being careful not to fall into the crater. A loud hiss came from the pod as the it opened, steam clouding whatever was inside it.
“Stay back darlin’, it could be dangerous!” Granny said as she finally snapped out of her stupor. The steam cleared in the face of a light breeze, and both mare and colt gasped as it revealed a small filly. Despite the less-than-successful landing, the baby was unperturbed and continued to sleep. Wrapped in soft blue and red blankets, the filly yawned and rubbed its eyes before turning over.
Big Mac, unsure of what to do, looked at Granny, who stalled a moment before reaching in and grabbing her. Pushing aside part of the blanket, she noticed the filly had an orange coat with a bright yellow mane. Three small freckles dotted each of her cheeks, which were pulled up in a grin.
Why would a baby be in some sorta’ space rocket? she wondered. And if they’re so advanced, why did they send it here?
The filly, meanwhile, had woken up, and was staring at Big Mac, her sleeping smile still plastered on her face. He held out a hoof, unsure of what to do, when the baby grabbed it, causing him to jump back in pain.
“Ow! She’s purty strong Granny,” he said, rubbing his hoof ruefully.
The old mare chuckled before replying, “Is she? That’s good, at least she’s healthy.” A loud grumble sounded from the filly’s stomach, and she began reaching for one of many apples scattered in the ground.
“Sure is hungry,” Big Mac said. He picked one of the apples up and dusted it off before giving it to the baby, who was about to eat it before Granny snatched it away.
“Big Mac, that’s no way to feed a baby! You gotta’ break it up for her, so she don’t choke on no-” she was interrupted by a large crunching sound. Looking down, she saw that the filly had chomped the entire apple down in one bite.
“-seeds,” Granny finished, flabbergasted at the feat. ‘Such a young child shouldn’t be out here all alone. And from those newspaper stories, an orphanage would be just as likely to make her into one of them hooligans as it is to raise her,’ she thought. Looking at the baby with a twinkle in her eye, she said, “You sure are an odd ‘un. What do ya’ think of Applejack, Big Mac?”
“Applejack?”
“That’s her name. At least, now it is. Say hello to yer new big brother, Applejack.”
The baby giggled at Big Mac, who smiled back at her. Granny leaned over and picked up the red and blue blanket, now noticing the red stylized S embroidered on it. Wondering what it could stand for, she handed it to Big Mac while they trotted back to the pick-up. Applejack giggled as they drove over the small potholes dotting the road, Big Mac doing his best to keep her from bouncing too high. After they made it back to Granny’s house, Granny sat on the couch with Applejack in her arms and Big Mac sitting next to her. She told them stories of when she was a young filly just moving in, and soon the two fell asleep.
Laying Big Mac gently into his new bed, she cuddled with the filly since she didn’t have a crib for her. She made a mental note to get one tomorrow, and looked at the red S on the blanket once more. A slight chill came over her the longer she stared at it, and with a yawn, she fell asleep, thinking to herself how fortunate it was that Applejack literally appeared out of the blue to fill her old heart with hope once more.