//------------------------------// // A Day in an Apple's Life // Story: Canterlot Academy: Knights of the Dark Moon // by LordLycaon //------------------------------// Applejack mumbled groggily as her alarm went off, blaring incessantly to pull her from a nice dream she couldn’t quite recall. She reached over and slapped at the clock until she finally found the snooze button. She yawned and gave serious thought to just drifting back to sleep, but she knew she had a morning routine to keep. She muttered to herself as she tossed off her blanket and rubbed her tired eyes. Being raised a farmer, she used to waking up before the sun did, but she always liked to take any opportunity to sleep in when she could. The dim light of the rising sun shone through the window, and she could see her roommate was still sound asleep. She saw the case the other mare kept for her earplugs, and knew that her roommate hadn’t heard the alarm clock go off. Applejack quietly left the room and headed for the shower; she knew her roommate liked to take her sweet time getting ready in the morning, and if she wanted to have any hot water for herself, she had to get in the shower first. After she’d finished, she went back to the bedroom to grab her bag and trusty Stetson. She frowned a bit as she heard her roommate stirring around inside. Once inside, she saw Octavia sitting on the edge of her bed, wiping away the last vestiges of sleep. “Sorry, Octavia, didn’t mean ta wake ya,” Applejack apologized as she moved towards her bed, straightening out the sheets and tucking them neatly into the corners of her bed. The gray-coated, dark-maned earth pony yawned and shook her head. “You didn’t wake me, Applejack. I awoke on my own.” Her eyes fell upon her brush on her nightstand, and she ran it through the tangles in her mane, removing any sign of bedhead. Applejack nodded and grabbed her two favorite red hair ties and tied them on the ends of her mane and tail back as she customarily did, then donned her hat. “Ya got yer music practice again today, right?” she asked. Octavia nodded. “Indeed, and I’ll likely not be back until later in the day.” Applejack retrieved a pair of water bottles from the ice chest and offered one to her roommate. “Thank you,” Octavia said with a grateful nod. “You should find out if you made the track and field team today. You did make it, correct?” Applejack inclined her head, a small smile crossing her face. “Ah think so. Hopin’ Ah made the team, but Ah’d be a liar if Ah said Ah wasn’t nervous.” Octavia gave a polite smile. “I’m sure you’ll make it. You worked very hard at the tryouts; the coach would have to be a complete fool not to have you.” Applejack smiled at the compliment. She and Octavia had been roommates for three weeks now, and the two had gotten along well enough. Honestly, though, she wasn’t sure if she could really call the prim and proper earth mare a true friend or not. Octavia was a bit too formal for her tastes, but she knew she was an honest mare. The gray mare hopped off her bed. “Well, I’m off to the washroom. I’ll see you again soon, Applejack.” Applejack tipped her hat as the other mare left. When Octavia was gone, Applejack walked towards the window and leaned on the sill to watch the sunrise. Her eyes eventually settled on a picture frame on her night stand. She smiled wispily at the photograph inside. She saw herself, a large, red earth pony stallion, and an elderly, light-green mare standing together, as well as a small, yellow coated filly with her bright red mane tied up with a large pink bow, who stood happily in front of Applejack. All four of them had broad, jovial smiles on their faces as they stood before their family farmhouse. It was taken the day she had received her acceptance letter to the Academy; it had been a happy day for her and her family, one she would never forget. She lay a gentle hoof on the frame of the photograph. “Hope y’all’re gettin’ along well. Ah promise to write again soon,” she said softly. -o- Applejack sat at the lunch table with her friends later that day, though Rainbow Dash was conspicuously absent. The cafeteria was bustling with students collecting their midday meals and chatting excitedly with friends. Her own friends’ conversation was lively; they were all sharing tales and jokes back and forth and generally having a good time. Applejack, however, was distant to the noise around her, only picking at her salad, not really hungry. “Applejack, did you hear me?” Twilight asked. One of her textbooks was lying wide open near her meal, as per the norm for her. “Hmm?” the orange mare responded distractedly. “I asked if you made the track and field team. Have you found out yet?” Twilight repeated, watching the other mare curiously. “Oh. Well, Ah don’t actually know yet. They haven’t put the list out yet. We’re all still waitin’.” “Well, hopefully they’ll let you know soon! I’m so nervous and excited for you and Rainbow Dash! I really want to know now!” Pinkie said, squirming in her seat in agitation. “Pinkie, don’t you think that Applejack has more reason to be nervous? She is, after all, the one trying out for the team,” Rarity said, wiping her mouth with a handkerchief conveniently supplied by one of her followers. “Yeah, but I’m excited for her, too. Making the team is a huge accomplishment, and I want her to be happy.” “Ah’m excited, too, Pinkie, but Ah’m being patient. No use gettin’ worked up over somethin’ ya can’t rush.” Applejack finally pushed away her salad. Fluttershy looked to the mostly-untouched meal and back to the mare. “Are you all right, Applejack? You didn’t really touch your food.” Applejack looked to her meal and sighed. “Ah’m not hungry.” Fluttershy tilted her head. “Are you sure?” “Ah’m fine, Fluttershy,” she grumbled a bit. “You don’t really sound all right.”  Fluttershy said in concern. “Ah said Ah’m fine,” she snapped. Fluttershy gasped and shrunk back, her other friends looked to Applejack in amazement. Applejack’s shoulders slumped a bit in shame for startling the pegasus; whom, she realized, was only trying to be helpful. “Ah’m sorry, Shy. Ah didn’t mean to snap at ya like that.” Fluttershy pushed a stray strand of her mane behind an ear. “I-It’s all right,” she said quietly. “I didn’t mean to make you mad.” Applejack shook her head. “Ya didn’t, Ah just…” She blew a frustrated sigh. “Do you want to talk about it?” Twilight asked. Applejack looked away. “No, Ah don’t.” “Applejack, we’re your friends. If something’s wrong, you can tell us. We don’t like seeing you upset.” Pinkie said. “Come on, let’s put a smile back on your face!” The pink mare went so far as to push up Applejack’s cheeks in a forced smile. Applejack gently pushed her back. “Thanks, Pinkie, but it’s not somethin’ any of y’all can really help with.” “Are you sure, darling?” Rarity asked. She nodded slowly. “Ah’m sure. Thank y’all for carin’ so much, though. Ah really do appreciate it, but it’s a mite too personal.” The other girls all nodded or spoke their welcomes and didn’t press her further. Applejack sat quietly after that, staring out the large windows of the cafeteria. Her eyes fell upon a lone apple tree, and a small, nostalgic smile crossed her face. ‘Would it truly be so bad to tell them?’ a thickly accented voice asked. It was a voice she didn’t recognize. She turned to look for the speaker, but didn’t find anypony nearby who could have spoken. She brow furrowed as she looked around. “Did y’all hear somepony talk just now?” she asked her friends. They turned to regard her. “I hear lots of ponies talking.” Pinkie motioned to the other students in the cafeteria. Applejack gave her a flat stare.  “Ah meant at us.” “No, nopony has said anything to us,” Twilight said, looking up again from her textbook. “Nothing that I’ve heard, at least.” She looked away pensively. “Could’ve sworn Ah heard—“ “Applejack!” She turned to see Rainbow Dash fly towards them. The pegasus’ eyes were alight in elation, and she pranced like a giddy schoolfilly once she landed. “What’s got yer tail in such a knot, Rainbow?” Applejack asked. The pegasus grabbed her by the shoulders, lifting her from her seat. “I made the team! I was the first one on the list for the fliers! This is so awesome!” All of their friends instantly wore wide, happy smiles for her. “Way to go, Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie cheered and the two shared a high-hoof. “We knew you’d make it, Dashie,” Fluttershy said happily. Twilight’s smile faltered after a moment. “But what about Applejack?” Rainbow’s blinked and her elation vanished. “Oh. I, uh... I didn’t see your name, Applejack.” Their friends all gasped in shock. Applejack felt like somepony had hit her in the gut. “W-what? Ah didn’t make the team?” “The list is on the bulletin boards down the hall. Go see for yourself.” Rainbow pointed down the hallway she had come from. Before any of the others could say anything, the earth pony mare charged down the hallway. “Applejack! Wait!” Twilight called after her, but looked to Rainbow in confusion as the pegasus started snickering and laughing. “Rainbow, what’s so funny? Applejack didn’t make the team! She must be devastated!” The pegasus wiped away a tear of mirth. “Oh, she made the team,” she said nonchalantly, waving a hoof at her. “But you said—”  Her grin grew wider. “I never said she didn’t make the team.” Twilight’s jaw dropped.  “So you…” “You lied!” Rarity finished for her, sputtering in outrage. Rainbow’s sly grin grew wider. “I didn’t lie. I just didn’t say.” “Dashie!” Fluttershy reproached her, giving her an unamused look. Pinkie giggled. “That’s actually pretty funny! Good one, Dash!” “I know! I deserve an award for acting for—” “Rainbow Dash, you crayon box of a liar!” Came an outraged shout from the doorway. They all turned to see a flushed Applejack glaring daggers at the pegasus. “Er, gotta go,” the pegasus said quickly and flew off out another way. “Get back here, ya varmint!” Applejack took off in pursuit. The remaining friends and a few spectators all had a laugh at the two. -o- Later on that day, Applejack was in one of the racquetball rooms of the Academy. Racquetball was a favorite sport of hers; the fast pace, need for quick reactions, and unmercifully and repeatedly striking a ball just felt like a good idea to her at the moment. She wasn’t really angry at Rainbow Dash. She openly admitted that the other mare had pranked her good, but she still wanted to whack her upside the head for it—repeatedly. Applejack served the ball and sent it sailing at the forward wall. It bounced and flew back hitting the wall behind her. She let it bounce once before hitting it again. As she played, her mind was on her family. She was elated when she had made the track team, but the joy was restrained as she realized the source of her mood: she was homesick. All her life, she had lived on the farm with her family and nowhere else (except when she stayed in Manehattan with her aunt and uncle for a while, but that was another story entirely). Being away from them now… it was different, and she missed them all. She never regretted going to the Academy, of course; it was what she’d wanted for so long, ever since she was a little filly making the decision to join the Royal Guard when she was old enough, but she still missed her family. She had just missed a return volley when she heard the small door to the court open. In stepped Wanderer, a racket gripped in his teeth and a canister of balls held under one foreleg. He saw her and smiled a greeting. “Hey there, Applejack. Playing alone?” he asked as he set the canister in a corner of the room. She wiped the sweat from her brow. “Yeah, just practicin’ some. What about you?” “Gonna do the same.” He began to do some warm-up stretches. “I wouldn’t mind a practice partner, though. Wanna play?” “Sure, Ah’d be fine with it.” She looked at him curiously as he finished stretching. “Didn’t know ya played racquetball. Figured ya to be the type to join the hoofball team or somethin’.” He snorted. “It’s not really my cup of tea.” He picked up his racket in his teeth again and tossed her a ball. “First to five?” he asked, a roguish smile crossing his face. Her grin matched his. “You’re on.” They took their spots and Applejack threw the ball up to serve. “Saw you made the track team,” he remarked. Distracted, she missed the serve and turned to glare at him. “I won’t count that.” He grinned at her. She snorted and picked up the ball. “Thanks. Ah saw that you made the cut, too.” She served the ball, it ricocheted off the wall and came back at him. He easily hit the ball back and got out of the way as she rushed to return the it. “I did,” he said wide smile. “I’m glad I made it. Glad we both did, actually; I still can’t believe you beat me like that.” When the ball came back he had to dive to catch it before the second bounce; it hit the forward wall weakly and bounced back. With a muffled curse, Applejack tried to get to the ball but missed it before the second bounce. “That’s one for you.” She tossed him the ball. “As for the race, Ah just did what Ah had ta do.” He nodded in understanding and stepped up to serve. “At least we’ll be on the same team now.” He hit the ball, and she rushed forward to return it. She hit it hard enough that it bounced off the forward wall, and then off the back wall. He tried desperately to hit the difficult shot, but missed completely. “Darn,” he muttered. “One for you.” He raised an eyebrow at her challengingly. “You’re gonna make me work for my win, aren’t you?” She returned that dare with one of her own. “Who said you’re gonna win?” He grinned widely at her. “Well, I’m certainly not gonna lose.” “That a fact? Well, we’ll just see about that, partner.” She tugged her hat down tighter, her eyes blazing with competitive spirit. “Let’s do this.” He matched her expression. The following match between the two earth ponies could only be described as intense. The two skilled players did their best to outdo each other as the room echoed with the sounds of the ball bouncing off the wall, and the two taunting, congratulating, and laughing at their game. They even attracted a few spectators from the windowed balcony above. The unexpected audience would often cheer for a good point or gasp at a close recovery. Throughout the game, Applejack was having a great time. The match made her forget about her homesickness for a while as she allowed herself to live in the moment and have fun. The game kept close the entire time, neither competitor gaining a lead on the other. Finally, it came down to a score of four to four, and Wanderer was serving. “Game point. You ready?” he asked, glancing at her. “Like ya said earlier, let’s do this.” She set herself, ready to win the match. He laughed. “Here we go.” He served the ball rather hard, and it bounced off the forward wall and off the back wall; the same shot she’d used on him earlier. Rather than chase after it, she ran to the middle of the court and hit the ball after its first bounce. Her eyes widened as the ball bounced right back at her, and she ducked quickly. She felt the whoosh of Wanderer’s racket above her head, sending the ball back at the wall. His momentum caused him to trip over her, but he caught himself before he could smack face-first into the wall. “Sorry,” he muttered quickly. She saw the ball return and dived to send it back. Wanderer was there to return it again, but his weak swing only barely hit the forward wall, and the ball bounced off the floor before it got to the middle of the court. Applejack again dived for the ball, but it bounced a second time before she could get to it. “Ah, pony feathers,” she muttered, thumping one hoof to the floor. “Such language.” Wanderer chuckled and offered her a hoof up. “That was one heck of a game, Applejack. You almost had me there a few times.” She accepted the hoof up. “Thanks, Wanderer. Let’s get a drink. Ah’m parched.” They collected their gear and took a seat at some nearby bleachers. The two sat and chatted for a time before Applejack’s mind again drifted to thoughts of her family. ‘What harm could it do to talk of family?’ Again, she heard the voice from earlier. She looked around for the speaker, but didn’t find anypony other than Wanderer. Now that she thought about, the voice’s accent sounded Stalliongradian. Were there any Stalliongradian ponies in the Academy? She shook her head, brushing it off as a thought for later. She looked to Wanderer as he rambled on about something she hadn’t been fully paying attention to. “—and that’s how I’ll get my name in the history books,” he continued to say. “Say, Wanderer, if ya don’t mind my askin’, ya got any family back home?” she asked, interrupting his rambling. He blinked in surprise at the sudden question and looked to her curiously. “Well, I have my mom at home in Greensborough; and my cat Chewie if he counts.” He smirked briefly before speaking again. “Why do you ask?” She looked away for a moment. “Ah’m just curious is all. Do ya have any other close family?” He shrugged. “No immediate family, no. I’m supposed to have a few cousins around Equestria, but I don’t know any of them. Not personally, anyway.” He looked to her. “What about you? Any family back on your farm?” She looked to the floor a moment and sighed; what harm was there in telling him? “Ah got my brother, Macintosh, Big Mac we call ‘em, my granny, Granny Smith, and my little sister Apple Bloom. Our dog Winona, too. The four of us run Sweet Apple Acres down around Ponyville.” “Sweet Apple Acres? I’ve heard that name before. Isn’t that where the zap apple jam comes from?” Wanderer’s eyes light up brightly. Applejack smiled; a warm, proud smile. “Yep. It’s a special recipe my granny makes. We get ponies orderin’ our jam from all over Equestria.” “Oh, man, I love zap apple jam! Mom would serve it with toast, and it's always fantastic! There’s nothing better!” Again she smiled. “Thank ya kindly. Glad ya enjoy it so much.” She looked to him curiously. “Ya mentioned your ma, but what about yer pa?” Wanderer’s expression went flat. “My dad died when I was little. Really little. He was a lumberjack, and… there was an accident at the lumber yards.” Applejack winced. “Ah’m sorry.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t really remember him that well. Wish I did, but what can you do?” She nodded, certainly relating. The two sat in silence for a moment before Wanderer spoke again. “What about you, Applejack? You mentioned your granny and siblings, but what about your parents?” She closed her eyes at the question and the edges of her mouth turned up slightly in a snarl. He flinched at her expression, certainly not expecting anger. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” She shook her head. “No. Ah asked ya first, it’s only fair ya get an answer in return. My… my ma and pa were killed by timberwolves.” Wanderer winced, his eyes widening in shock. “They were out collectin’ things from the Everfree Forest. Nasty place, not the kindest to ponies, but my ma went all the time to find mushrooms and other things that grow wild there. She was out on her usual trip when a pack of them wolves found her. Pa ran to help when we heard Ma screamin’. Ah went back to get Big Mac and the farmhooves to help out, but by the time we got there…” Once again, she scowled fiercely. “There was, nothin’ we could do.” Wanderer looked at her, his expression softening. “How old were you?” “Ah was just a little filly, but Ah remember everythin'.” She looked ahead with a scowl. “It’s because of that Ah wanna be a guard. That way, Ah can protect my family and Equestria. Ah don’t want anythin’ like that to happen to anypony else. No little filly’ll grow up without her parents on my watch.” He nodded in agreement. “You’ll make it. If you work as hard at being a guard as you do at sports, you’ll be a captain in no time at all.” She snorted but smiled all the same. “Might be, but Ah have to graduate first.” He smiled in humor. “Don’t we all?” They shared a laughed but she sighed again. “Ah still miss’em, my family.” “Have you written to them lately?” “Ah mean to, but Ah haven’t yet. Still, it ain’t the same as seein’ ‘em.” She took a long drink of her water. “Homesick, huh?” She nodded. “I know how you feel. Maybe, come winter break, you can head home and see them. I plan to do the same thing.” A wide smile grew across his face. “Mom always cooks us a big meal for the holidays.” He looked back at her. “You just gotta be patient, you know?” She agreed, and the two chatted a bit longer before she looked to a nearby hanging clock. “Well, Ah’d best get going. Gotta meet up with my friends before the day is done.” She stood and collected her hat and gear. Just as she started away he spoke again. “We’re tied now.” She turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “You beat me at the race, and I beat you at racquetball. We’ll have to break the tie and see who wins by the end of the year.” He grinned wickedly. She returned the grin and tipped her hat. “Wouldn’t have it any other way, partner.” -o- When Applejack finally made it back to her room in the dormitory, she was good and tired. She’d met up with her friends after racquetball practice and spent the rest of the evening with them. Friendly chatter led to boasting, then to an impromptu hoof race with Rainbow Dash, who had done most of the gloating that instigated it. When Applejack won that race, the pegasus instantly demanded a rematch. After beating her a second time, Rainbow had grudgingly admitted defeat. Combining all the exercise she had done for the day and some long-winded help from Twilight with some rather tricky homework left her barely able to keep her eyes open. As she entered her room, she saw that Octavia wasn’t present, and saw that she had left her gramophone set out on her night stand. Applejack knew that Octavia liked to listen to classical music when she was alone, claiming that it gave her inspiration when she was trying to think up songs of her own to play. Applejack didn’t care much for such music, but didn’t begrudge the other mare for liking it. In fact, some of the songs Octavia listened to could be quite relaxing. With a tired sigh, she tossed her saddlebags at the foot of her bed and untied the bands holding her mane and tail in place. Her eyes fell upon the picture of her family as she readied herself for bed, and a wispy smile crossed her face. “Guess Ah should write to ‘em before Ah call it a night,” she said to herself. She set her hat on the bedpost and reached under her bed for a case she kept there. The case held spare inkwells, quills, and parchment for whenever she needed them, and she knew the ink pot she had in her bag was empty. Gripping the handle of the case with her teeth, she tried pulling it out from under the bed, but it caught on the bed’s frame. “Come on, you,” she growled as it still refused to move. Had she not been so tired, she would’ve realized that she could’ve just lifted the bed up enough to free it; however she only continued to pull. Finally she gave it a tug that set it free, but threw her off balance. She stumbled back with a surprised yelp and bumped into Octavia’s night stand. The gramophone teetered and fell before Applejack could catch it, landing violently with a loud crash to the hardwood floor. Her eyes went wide at the sight. “Oh, no,” she gasped in shock as she surveyed the damage. The cone was heavily dented, the edge of the box that struck the floor had splintered off and the arm to the record player had been bent to an angle that it shouldn’t. There was no way that she could repair this sort of damage. “Oh, what am Ah gonna do!? Ah didn’t mean it!” she said to herself, looking around with worry. She took in a calming breath to steady her nerves. “Calm down, Applejack. It was an accident, she’ll understand.” She picked up the gramophone and was about to set it back in its place when the door to the room opened, and in walked Octavia. “Applejack? What are you—?” Her eyes widened as they fell on the broken machine. “My gramophone! What happened to it?” The gray mare roughly took the machine from Applejack to better look at it. “Well, Ah was—“ “Applejack, did you see what happened?” Octavia cut her off. “Octavia, Ah—” “Did you, or did you not?” “Ah…” Applejack let the words die in her throat as she looked to the other mare. She knew what had happened was an accident! She had never meant for it to happen, but if she knew Octavia as well as she believed she did, she would not take damage to her property lightly. Applejack didn’t want any bad blood to brew between her and her roommate. If she admitted to breaking the gramophone, Octavia could fly off the handle, and the two would likely spend the whole school year at each other’s throats. That was not the kind of experience she wanted during her time at the Academy. Lying, on the other hoof, didn’t sit well with her. Applejack prided herself on being the most honest and straightforward pony around, but would being honest now be the best policy? She could lie and find ways to keep the blame from herself, but the thought of it made her sick inside. And who knew how long she’d be able to keep the lie going before the other mare learned the truth? She truly didn’t know what was right to do in this case. These thoughts filtered through her head as Octavia watched her closely. “Applejack, do you know who did this? Tell me so that we can go to the headmaster and have them disciplined!” Octavia stood up and started heading for the door with a determined look on her face. “Octavia, wait,” Applejack pleaded. The gray mare turned back to her. “What is it?” Applejack sighed. Should she really risk it? ‘Pony up and take responsibility for your own actions, accident or no.’ The thought crossed her mind, and she stood straighter; she knew what she had to do. “Octavia, Ah was the one who broke your music thingy.” “Gramophone,” Octavia corrected absently, but then looked to the orange mare in shock. “Wait, you did this? But… why would you do such a thing?” “Ah-Ah didn’t mean to, honest! Ah was tryin’ to get my case from under my bed, and Ah pulled too hard. Ah fell back and knocked yer gramophone over, and it broke before Ah could catch it.” Octavia looked to her broken machine for a quiet moment. Applejack lowered her head in shame, her ears pining back. “Ah’m sorry for breakin’ it. Ah know it meant a lot to ya. Ah can try to earn the bits to have it fixed if ya let me.” She privately hoped her offer would appease the mare, and that she wouldn’t hold the accident against her. To her surprise, Octavia smiled and chuckled softly. “Ah, uh, what? Wh-what’s so funny?” Applejack stuttered, caught completely off guard by the gentle laughter. The other mare looked to her with a small smile. “In actuality, Applejack, you have done me quite the favor.” Applejack’s confused expression didn’t lighten up in the least. “Uh… beg pardon?” “This gramophone was very old and consistently stopped working when I used it. I had written to my father for a replacement, but he refused until this one stopped working entirely.” “So-o-o… you’re… not angry?” “For Celestia’s sake, whatever for? You helped me, believe it or not, and I should be thankful to you.” She gave Applejack a quick, thankful hug and turned for her desk. “I should write straight away to my father. A new gramophone would be simply divine.” Applejack watched her for a stunned moment and shook her head. Apparently, Octavia hadn’t planned to see the headmaster; she likely figured out what had happened from the start. Applejack guessed that Octavia was testing her to see if she would own up to her mistake. The farm-raised mare stood proud, pleased that she had done the right thing in being honest. She firmly felt now that lying would not have gotten her anywhere, and would only have given her grief in the future that she never would’ve wanted. She collected her case and got her writing materials out, and sat down to write that letter to her family that she’d promised to send. She made sure to tell of her friends in the Academy, everything she’d done since her last letter, and, of course, the admittedly rather long day that she had just had. Once she finished, she went to bed with a wide, pleased smile on her face.