Sweet Apple Acres was a lot darker under starfall than Rainbow Dash remembered—not that Rainbow had many recollections of having visited the orchards under the veil of night. She flew at least three wide circles before spotting a smattering of lights before and determining them to be the windows to the Apple Family's household.
Coasting slowly towards the ground, she touched down on springy earth and reached into her saddlebag. Pulling out the brown pouch of medicine, she shuffled her way towards what she determined was the family's front porch.
She had already mentally rehearsed a silly yet ridiculously polite speech to simultaneously apologize for her late arrival and to explain how Big Mac forgot the second dose of medicine. About three feet from the front door, however, Rainbow Dash completely lost all train of thought.
As soon as her hooves scraped onto the front edge of the porch, she heard what sounded like labored breaths, or the squeaky echoes of a dog whining. As she drifted closer, a cold avalanche of numbness swept over her heart. Horrified beyond belief, she nevertheless slithered further until she could see faintly into the front windows of the home.
Lit by a dim smattering of candlelight, two figures could be seen besides an old, old chair with an afghan thrown over it. A wrinkled, green equine sat hunched over, and her thin limbs were wrapped gently around a mare kneeling before her, a mare who was shuddering, a mare who had collapsed, a mare who was sobbing inconsolably.
Rainbow Dash's voice gently cracked, "Applejack..."
"There there, darlin'," Granny Smith's voice warbled through the thick shadows. "No reason for yer fussin'. This here's a strong family. We've fought our way through worse straits, and we'll certainly make it through whatever life's tossin' at us now..."
"Granny, ya d-don't get it..." Applejack's voice buckled and heaved. "I th-thought they were new horseshoes for Big Mac! But it ain't!" A wheezing sob. "It was a c-care package from Filthy Rich. It was some unnecessarily f-fancy way of maskin' over wh-what he really wanted to t-tell us!"
"We both know about Filthy Rich, Applejack. We saw this comin' from miles away..."
"But it sure don't make it r-right!" Applejack whimpered and wheezed. "What business does he have g-givin' up on us like this?! He's had an agreement with the family for d-decades!"
"I'm 'fraid it has everythang to do with business, darlin'. That's just how Mr. Rich thinks. It's just like how his dad fancied doin' things too. Their family joined us for business, and now—I reckon—with things goin' as poorly with the crops n'all, it's a right smart decision for their business to leave us all the same."
"But what are we gonna do, Granny?!" Applejack mewled like a distraught kitten. "Workin' with the Riches is all I've evern known s-since I was a filly! Maybe I can s-save our crops from dyin' or keep this farm afloat—but finding a new business partner?! I c-can't juggle all of that! It's t-takin' every darn breath I have to give to keep our apples growin!"
"Shhhhh... it's alright, darlin'..."
"No, Granny! It's not alright!" Applejack shuddered, bordering on hysterics. "We c-can't lose this here farm! It's who I am! It's who we are! Granny, h-how are we g-gonna survive if everythang goes under?!"
"We will, Applejack..." Granny Smith lovingly stroked the mare's tousled mane. "We will. You know why? Because we're stronger than anythang. We're stronger than the Riches, we're stronger than Ponyville, and we're even stronger than Sweet Apple Acres. We don't need this here farm to be a swell, rootin' tootin' bunch of dependable apples! Equestria needs us, and Equestria's gonna have us—and all of our sisters and cousins—no matter what, ya hear?"
"I... I just can't imagine..." Applejack's voice dipped in and out of incoherent whimpers. "All my life, I've wanted to make th-this land prosper. And now... t-to give it all up? It's... it's l-like giving myself up! I hate it, Granny! I hate it somethin' awful!"
"Oh, Applejack." Granny sniffled, leaning over to nuzzle the collapsed mare. "Reckon it's all my fault. I'm old enough to have seen where the local economy was goin'. I shoulda prepared ya, honey. I shoulda encouraged you to branch out, perhaps taken more than one trip to the Oranges in the big city. Maybe then this wouldn't have been such a plum shocker to ya..."
"It's not what I want, Granny..." Applejack sobbed. "It's like I'm losin' everythang I hold dear. I... I don't know what to do..." She curled into Granny's embrace and let loose a muffled wail. "Nnnngh... feel... f-feel so weak... so lost..."
"That's fine. That's alright, darlin'. Let it out. We can deal with tomorrow when it comes. As for now, don't be feelin' afraid or nothin'. Just let it out..."
Applejack did, in tiny gasps and whimpering breaths.
Granny Smith patted her shoulder. Something darted in her peripheral vision, so she looked up. Squinting hard, she thought she could make out a brown package lying on the window sill, but she couldn't be bothered to examine it at the moment. She consoled Applejack into the cold, dark night.
Rainbow Dash slammed the door to her cloud home behind her.
She slumped to her knees, panting heavily. She couldn't tell if it was the rapid flight or...
A wince ripped across her muzzle.
She planted her face into her hooves, seething slightly.
Cracking the joints in her shoulder, she stood up tall and strong and made for the opposite end of the house.
Rainbow Dash sat at the table to her kitchen, staring into the bowl of salad.
She had taken two bites out of it, maybe three.
At some point, she stopped eating, and chose instead to stare into the dish of fresh, crunchy greens.
Her stomach didn't gurgle—not once.
Fuming, she picked the bowl up, drifted by the sink, and tossed the worthless meal against the drain, edible leaves and all.
Fwomp!
Rainbow Dash fell into bed.
She rolled over, curling up beneath the bed covers.
A deep breath stirred through her, and she glared into darkness with two knife-sharp ruby eyes.
Second passed.
Minutes...
Rainbow winced. She clenched her eyes shut and snuggled even deeper beneath the covers, as if she was spelunking into a deep cave. Beyond the echoes of her labored breaths, she could hear something piercing through.
With a low growl, she clutched her ears, flattening them against her skull as she attemped to drown out the sound.
She failed.
With a high-pitched grunt, she kicked the covers off, stumbled over numb limbs, and ultimately fluttered her way across the house.
Rainbow slapped the side of the stall. Thunderclouds rumbled through the house's foundation, pouring a liberal curtain of water into the tiny partition.
Rainbow stood her body up against the wall of the shower. In the darkness, she allowed her body to be soaked from mane to tail. Her ears filled with noise: the endless rush of water and trickle of liquid.
It too failed.
Rainbow panted and panted. She slumped down until she curled up into a little ball in the darkness, bathed in artificial rain. She hugged herself and gritted her teeth.
There was no escaping it. The sound of Applejack's sobs found her, slicing through her head like a bullet, then bleeding cold into her heart.
Rainbow's face scrunched up. She waited until the shower had thoroughly soaked her features, and only then did she let the tears flow like hidden tributaries. She flew her muzzle into her drenched forelimbs and sobbed quietly, her body trembling as the sound of her cries approximated the weeping mare lodged deep in her raw memories.
It wasn't until an hour later that she felt exhausted enough to attempt sleep, and even then the tears followed her.