//------------------------------// // Frozen Apples // Story: A Honest Hearth // by Next Gen Wonderbolt //------------------------------// Applejack slowly trudged through the snow covered ground. She had just finished up talking things over with Twilight and had to prepare herself for tonight's show. The wind was buffeting her non-stop and kept going all the way to Sweet Apple Acres. The snow flurries torpedoed into her eyes and was blinding her and slowing her progress. Her body was barely fazed by the harsh winds but her face felt like it was getting pricked with tiny needles. She put a hoof up to her forehead to try and block the onslaught and continued her trek homewards. The snow covering the ground was thick and her hooves were starting to go numb. A shiver rippled through Applejack's muscles which caused her to cringe a bit but failed to slow her. She did stop however when her hoof covering her head bumped into a wooden pole. Applejack looked up and instantly recognized the sign. Finally! Now I can get outta this storm. Applejack let out a sigh of relief which was visible due to the cold. She continued trudging and thinking to herself. She had come so far and now it was just within her reach. The orange farm mare finally reached her destination and struggled to open the door. She managed to pull it open and leapt into the room. The wind almost pushed the door off it's hinges with the amount of force it was exerting. Snow flurries scurried into the new environment and were painting the brown floorboards a light shade of white. Applejack spun around and lunged for the door handle. She tried to pull the door back but the wind kept pushing the door farther and farther. Applejack's muscles bulged as she attempted to close the door and seal off the wind. The door finally closed much to Applejack's relief. A deep burly voice sounded behind her. "So how'd it go?" Applejack laughed a bit. "Well it wasn't as bad as Ah though it would be. Thanks for the advice Mac."Applejack turned around to face her brother who was standing a couple of feet behind her. The red stallion smiled. "Anytime." He turned and entered into the kitchen and took out some pots. "Ya'll finish the chores?" Applejack asked. "Yup." "Where's Applebloom?" Big Mac put his hoof up to his chin. "Ah think she's out with her friends." Applejack smacked a hoof against her forehead. "What?" Mac asked. "How in the hay can she be out in this weather!? It's freezin out and she's off doing Celestia knows what!" "Yup." Applejack rolled her eyes and went for the door. "Dontcha think ya think you should wear a coat?" Applejack's hoof stopped right in front of the handle. A grin grew on the stallion's face as he watched his sister retreat towards a closet and retrieve a coat. Without a word the orange farm mare slipped it on and opened the door. Instantly she was buffeted by the wind and snow began piling into the room. The flurries' assault was once again blinding Applejack, but she put a hoof up to her forehead to block out the snow. It took most of her strength just to take a step forward considering she was downwind and was being hammered by it. The coat was doing little to shield her from the cold temperatures but she pushed forward through the blanket of snow on the ground. Her hooves stung with cold each time she took a step. Once she was fully outside the doorway, she turned around and put two hooves on the door and attempted to force it close. The hinges creaked, but the sound was lost to the howling of the wind and Applejack struggled to close the door. Without warning the door flew out from beneath her and slammed shut. Applejack looked up and saw her brother standing in the doorway with a smirk on his face. Applejack stood up and nodded to Big Mac. He nodded back and walked away from the door. Applejack turned around once more and put her hoof up to block out the wind and snow. She began putting one hoof in front of the other and began her trek to find Applebloom. Meanwhile, in the CMC clubhouse, three fillies were currently sitting around a lamp in the middle of the floor. They were all shivering and tried to huddle around the fire for warmth. How the fire had not lit the treehouse on fire as well is a mystery. "See! I told you guys that spell would work!" Mystery solved. "Well so much fer Cutie Mark Crusaders' snowboarders." The yellow filly said. glumly. "Cheer up, Applebloom! We just gotta wait out this storm and then we'll be shredding snow in no time!" The orange pegasus exclaimed. Applebloom sighed and looked out the window. "Uh, Scoots? You take a look outside?" Scootaloo jumped up next to Applebloom and gazed at the blizzard. "Yeah. It's a snow storm so what?" Applebloom facehoofed. "Ya ever think that the snow will gather up?" "So what if it does?" Scootaloo asked. "If it does we can't go snowboarding silly!" Scootaloo glanced down. "Oh." The unicorn filly across the room peeked at her friends watching the storm. "It's ok, Scoots! We can do something else to earn our cutie marks!" "Like what, Sweetie Belle?" "I don't know!" Sweetie's voice cracking. "Applebloom let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, we're gonna be in here for a while." She hopped down from the window and plopped onto the floor. "Wanna play Truth or Dare?" Scootaloo suggested. "Sure." Sweetie Belle replied. "Sweet! Ok, Applebloom! Truth or Dare?" Scootaloo asked. "Dare!" Applebloom replied. "I dare you to step outside in the storm!" "That's easy!" Applebloom said as she ran for her coat. "WITHOUT your coat!" Scootaloo added. Applebloom stopped in front of her coat. "I don't know. It's mighty cold out there. AJ'll kill me if ah don't wear it." "So you're gonna chicken out?" Scootaloo said with a smirk. Applebloom huffed. "Ah'll do it!" She walked up to the door of the clubhouse and opened it. The room was instantly filled with snow and cold. Sweetie Belle let out a shriek of fright as the wind pushed her back towards the wall. Scootaloo wrapped her hooves around her to try and close out the cold while Applebloom fell backwards onto her haunches. Snow piled into the clubhouse making the occupants panic. Applebloom stumbled to her hooves and struggled over to the door. It felt like she was pushing a cart full of thirty pound apples. The stinging in her eyes overwhelmed her as she fell to the floor. The howling wind drowned out any sound and pelted her body. As fast as the door was opened it was closed by a pair of orange hooves. "Thank Celestia that's over!" Scootaloo yelled. "Y-Y-Yeah. Nice w-w-work S-Scoots." Sweetie Belle said shivering. "Uh, Sweetie Belle, that wasn't me." "Then who closed tha' door!?" Applebloom shouted. "Ah did. What in tarnation were ya'll doin' out there in the storm!?" The other pony yelled. "Applejack? Is that you? What are ya' doing here?" Applebloom questioned. "Ah was coming to find you and get ya'll outta here before the storm hit." Applejack stated. "Why were ya'll stuck out here anyway? Ya' should'a been back at the farm hours ago!" "We were trying to get our cutie marks in snowboarding!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "In this weather?" Applejack asked looking at Scootloo with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah! This much snow would've been PERFECT for snowboarding!" "But where's your snowboards?" Scootaloo smiled sheepishly. "We were coming back to get them when we got caught in the storm." "Alright well we need ta get back before this gets any worse." "Uh, Applejack, we're not exactly prepared to face the snow." Applebloom stated. Applejack stared at the three fillies who didn't have a single piece of clothing to protect them from nature's onslaught that was waiting outside the door. The only gear that was available was the gear she was wearing at the time and even that did little to keep her warm. Applejack sighed and took off the jacket. She walked up to Applebloom and wrapped it around her. "What about Scoots and Sweetie?" Applebloom asked. "Ya'll are gonna have ta share it." Applejack said. Applebloom opened up the coat to allow Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to take cover inside it. Applejack looked triumphantly at them and turned with a determined look towards the door. "Let's get outta here." Big Mac was getting himself a bottle of apple cider from the cellar when a loud slam echoed throughout the house of the Apple family. He popped the lid with a hiss and walked upstairs. He took a sip and glanced over at the door as he made his way to the kitchen. Applejack was standing in front of the door with the CMC huddled underneath her coat. He laughed silently to himself and walked over to the trio and freed them from the coat. "Ah take it ya'll had a fun time out there?" He asked with a smirk. "Loads o' fun. You should try it, Mac." Applejack snapped. Mac offered her a bottle of cider fresh from the cellar. Applejack took it and began to chug it. "Ya never did tell me." "Tell ya what?" "If ya'll have a date or not." Big Mac stated sitting down in a chair. Applejack sat down across from him and studied the bottle in her hoof. "Well, Ah do. Ah'm not sure how to go about it though. Never had time for that kinda stuff." The farm mare stated. "Don't panic. Try to have fun with it." As cliche as it sounded, her brother was right. That's how most ponies preferred it. "So, AJ, what time's yer date?" Mac asked. "Well, the show starts at four and Ah'm s'pposed to pick her up at one thirty." Applejack looked at the clock which told the time as one twenty. "Horseapples! Ah'm gonna be late!" She attempted to bolt for the door, but was held back by her brother. "Don't you think Miss Twilight would appreciate if you dressed up?" Applejack shook her head. "Twi ain't one fer formalities. Ah'll be fine now if ya'll could go and let go of ma tail." Her brother released his sister and watched as she ran out into the cold. He shook his head and sat down taking another drink from the bottle of cider. He examined the bottle then smacked his lips. "Yup, gonna need the hard cider."