Chapter One
“We are gathered here today, under the radiant moon, to celebrate the honest life of Ponyville’s beloved Applejack; a pony who’s heart was as bright and gold as Celestia’s sun. The beautiful aura that Applejack carried with her was contagious...one look into her sparkling green eyes and your soul would be healed, the muddy wisps of your day erased. She...she was my...my….”
Princess Twilight Sparkle couldn’t go on. Her voice was trapped in her throat, angrily banging on the bars of the prison that was her heart. Its desperate screams, echoing through her ears, lingering and driving unforgettable thorns into her brain, never to go away. Her eyes refused to meet anypony’s, stalling themselves by tracing the apples on Applejack’s golden grave.
This can’t be happening.
Twilight Sparkle choked on a sob as her soul collapsed; a rotted building, destroyed by the hammer of grief. Her ears flattened, slamming the door to her brain, overwhelmed by the chemicals of friendship.
This can’t be happening.
“...my friend,” she whispered quietly, her voice and her memories carried away by the evening wind.
The delicate leaves on the apple trees around her rustled, urging her to go on. There was so much she could say, so much she could tell about the freckle-faced pony who was determined, and sacharrine to anypony who crossed her path. Twilight could perhaps talk about the various times that Applejack had saved her life, her soul, her heart.
All friendship does is break you.
A tender touch, vibrating with love and sorrow, landed on her shoulder; dragging her from under the rolling waves of her bereavement. She looked up, her eyes swimming with tears that held so many words, so many metaphors...none great enough for one of the six ponies that had changed her life with their beautiful sacrafices.
“Twilight, you must go on. For Applejack,” Princess Luna urged her on, her hoof flinching. Her teal eyes were shimmering with the stars above; souls of ponies who had passed, their stories yet to be shared. Her mane flickered across her solemn face. “She deserves a powerful passage of words so she can ascend to the stars...she requires a remembrance in Equestria. Her story will be told again and again, but only if you go on,” a slippery tear slid down her cheek, “only if you go on.”
Twilight searched Luna’s face as she retracted her hoof from Twilight’s shoulder. The answers she seeked weren’t there; perhaps they would never be found. Perhaps they were destined to swirl away with the evening wind, destined to rest amongst the stars. Her heart withered away as Princess Luna closed her eyes and sauntered back to her place next to Princess Cadence, regret and remorse twisting her mind.
Twilight sniffled and looked to Luna’s sky, a new determination circling her veins. Applejack wouldn’t of wanted me to grieve her, she thought, her eyebrows furrowing. She would have wanted me to carry on with my life...while keeping her close, yet far, from my heart.
“Applejack’s purpose was clear,” she continued, her voice quivering, “she would spread the magic of honesty and grit across all of Equestria, dowsing the fire of greed and dishonesty with the waterfall that cleansed her soul. She would care for her orchard, her friends, her family; as Applejack always said, ‘Everypony in Equestria is my family, as long as they have a heart.’
She allowed me to understand the complexity of trust, the deep cave of believing even when it seems you won’t prevail. I remember, the first day I met her, when Nightmare Moon still had the dark cloud of jealousy clouding her heart, that Applejack saved my life when I was about to plummet to my death. As I hung on a cliff, in the depths of the Everfree Forest, my heart misguided and hard, she held onto my hooves, her eyes compassionate and worried. ‘Let go,’ she had said to me, and after dismissing her honesty as madness, I decided to trust her.
I was saved. I let go of her hooves, and two of my friends caught me before I hit the ground. I knew then that she was honest. I knew then that if I ever needed assistance, Applejack would be there. Even though my brain was completely content on studying and learning as much as books would give me, and was blind to the beauty and magic of friendship, in the center of my heart, I knew.
So, citizens of Ponyville, I want you to understand that you are part of Applejack’s family. If you have a heart, than you have always been a part of it, even if you were completely oblivious. Even now that she has passed, her soul lingers everywhere, to the depths of Tartarus to the tips of her apple trees and the clouds above. I wish you to always remember Applejack, the pony who was put others before herself; one of the few ponies that opened my eyes.”
Twilight’s cheeks were damp with unnoticed tears, slithering silently down her face, their trails drying into crust. A sob escaped her throat, the sound wrapping itself around Ponyville’s ears, plunging into Ponyville’s heart like a steak. Her description of Applejack seemed pathetic to her, almost childish; a filly could’ve done so much better, in her opinion. But it was all she could say. There were so many words, but it was all she could say.
She shuffled her wings, lying her hoof on the lid of Applejack’s closed grave. Applejack’s body, limp and liveless, lay peacefully against the words that Twilight had spoken, staring into the whiteness of death. Closure was drifting across the air, ready to assemble a ladder for Applejack to climb to a calm, soothing place.
But Twilight still had more words trapped ruthlessly in her inner prison. If she didn’t say them, she would die inside, regardless to her immortal soul.
“Applejack, as much as we wish for you to stay, as much as Equestria wishes you to stay, you must leave. As much as your death was untimely, you must find a bliss that you can fade into, away from your emotions. As much as I wish for you to stay, you must leave. Applejack, there is nopony in Equestria that is like you. You will always be unique, beautiful, and a soul that shall be remembered. Find your peace, Applejack, and hopefully I will see you again someday, perhaps at the last specks of time. Goodbye, Applejack…goodbye, my friend.”
A withered sob cut across the silence, causing everypony to look at a pony across from Twilight. Ponyville’s most respected senior, Granny Smith, was crying on her grandson’s back, her face wrinkled and desperate. Big Macintosh huddled close to Applebloom, who was also sobbing, her little bow drooping, as if it had feelings as well...as if it mourned Applejack, too. The three cried into each other’s souls, never to be separated. Nopony whispered, nopony pointed their hoof. They all understood.
They all understood as Big Macintosh wailing increased as he clutched an object closely to his throbbing heart, wounded by sorrow. His wailing increased as his tears seeped into the moth-eaten leather, worn by years of service atop Applejack’s brain.
They all understood as Big Macintosh placed the steston on his head.
Twilight cleared her throat, twisting her neck slightly towards her sister-in-law and Princess Luna, questioning if it was time. Princess Cadence was weeping into her husband’s shoulder, as the latter stared into his little sister’s eyes, his own glazed and unfocused. Princess Luna bit her lip, squeezing her eyes shut for fear of more bitter tears escaping the barrier of her unreadable eyes. Twilight turned back to the grave, realizing that it was her decision. Is it time? Is it time for her to go? Is she ready?
Am I ready?
No. She wasn’t. The universe was cruel, doing this to her. Tearing away her friends and ripping them to shreds, like pieces of forgotten parchment, carried away by the howling wind, catching on rubbish and corners of trash cans. Did the universe have no heart? No soul? Did it wish this horrible fate to everypony who ever walked, ever lived, ever spoke?
Twilight hung her head, the frigid class of the grave’s lid embedding itself in her body, in her essence, as she lightly lay against it. Maybe she wasn’t ready, but Applejack was. It would be dishonor to Applejack’s presence to keep her bound to the earth, tangled in her own emotions and apologies. Twilight gazed at Applejack’s eyelids, and imagined them fluttering open, looking into her own, and whispering, “Twiligh’, Ah’m gonna miss ya, but ya haveta let me go. It’s the only way.”
Twilight lifted her head and exhaled, her breath turned to frost by the chill of the night. She removed her hoof from the glass, creating a frosted print, clouding a fraction of Applejack’s sleeping figure. She pulled it close to her chest, as if it contained a part of the golden soul that rested below her.
A song came to mind. A song, sneaky yet serene, came to mind, flowing through her vocal chords before she could hault, before she could think, before she could feel. A song, a song that will always be remembered, yet always be forgotten, began to sing itself.
“We traveled the road of generations,
Joined by a common booo-ond,
We sing our song across the pony nation,
From Equestria and be-yoooond.”
It was slow, a monotone, a skeleton of the real song. Coming from Twilight’s rasping throat, it was solemn, unbearable, yet desired. It seemed emotionless, but at the same time, it was filled with so many unspoken, sparkling memories, it seemed to burst at the seams. The citizens of Ponyville, the princesses, standing with their heads hung in a wide circle around Applejack’s grave, looked up, their vocal chords becoming entranced. Before they could hault, before they could think, before they could feel, they entwined their voices with Twilight’s, becoming one.
“We’re apples forever,
Apples together,
We’re family but so much mooo-re,
No matter what comes we will face the weather,
We’re apples to the core.”
One by one, the citizens of Ponyville linked arms, linked hooves, and joined together, earth ponies, unicorns, alicorns, and pegasi. It was as if they were all one pony, one heart, one soul, one mind. All crying, all singing, all frollicing in the memory of Applejack. One voice, one voice, broke off from the others, but stayed with them, as if it were alone, but together.
“There’s no place that I’d rather be,
Then travelin’ with my fammmmily,
Friends all around come to join and see,
As we sing out across the lannnnnnnd.”
Twilight opened her eyes, confused, to discover that the voice was Applebloom’s. It was rough, insignificant, yet achingly alluring. A minascule smile graced Twilight’s face; seeing the filly singing in honor of her sister, her beloved big sister. Even though deadly tears rolled down the little filly’s face, Twilight felt overjoyed. Overjoyed, yet heartbroken.
“We’re apples forever,
Apples together,
We’re family but so much mooo-re,
No matter what comes we will face the weather,
We’re apples to the core.”
Another voice, gravelly and overused, sang out, apart, but together. Saddenly old, but yet gorgeously new.
“We’re peas in a pod,
We’re thick as thieves,
Any cliche you can throw at me,
We’re here for each other,
Through thick and thin,
You’re always welcome with your apple kiiiiiiiinnnnnn.”
An inaudible chuckle escaped Twilight’s throat as she observed Granny Smith closing her verse, the last note hanging in the air as her voice connected again with the ponies around her. Twilight’s heart crumbled, yet soared, as the chorus repeated. She had started something truly magnificent.
“We’re apples forever,
Apples together,
We’re family but so much mooo-re,
No matter what comes we will face the weather,
We’re apples to the core.”
The inappropriate escalation that Twilight had felt suddenly exploded, a balloon popping after a tiring, yet amazing party. Pinkie is supposed to sing the next part, she thought, another tear escaping her clouded, crystalline eyes. As the townspeople began to sing the next verse, Twilight sighed. But she can’t. You can’t sing when you’re dead. It’s not scientifically...possible.
“You’re more fun than the colllloorr pink,
Or balloons flying over your favorite drink,
The love I feel here is swim not sink,
As we party across this lannnndddd.”
We’re apples forever,
Apples together,
We’re family but so much mooo-re,
No matter what comes we will face the weather,
We’re apples to the core.”
The song finished, the last note hanging in the air like a chew toy above a cat’s aggravated head. The voice, the voice that had held them all spellbound was broken, shattered like glass. It retreated, back into the depths of each and everypony’s hearts, erased from their minds.
“Applejack, I release you. Your time on earth is done.”
Twilight’s posture slumped as she folded in on herself. You were right about one thing, Applejack,she thought, as she inhaled and spread her wings.
We were connected by the Elements of Harmony.
But now….the only thing connecting us…are our memories.
A surge of majenta colored magic overtook her horn as she flapped her wings, raising into the night sky. A blast of white swirled around Twilight’s body as she wrenched open her eyes, which where now blank and glowing. An invisible paintbrush seemed to paint the cream-colored aura surrounding her with the colors of the rainbow, blending into one another.
Twilight gasped as a gianormous rainbow-colored wave splashed to the ground, releasing her and causing her to fall to the ground, splayed awkardly. She groaned, rising to her hooves and warily looking at the grave.
A rainbow sphere twisted and spun around it, creating a magic barrier as it was escalated into the air. Waves of different light crashed into one another as the grave exploded into thousands of purple gems, sparkling and shimmering as they levitated to the ground. The townspeople gasped as one landed in each of their hooves, whirlling and spinning as if dancing.
A surge of emerald light caused Twilight’s eyes to advert to the sky once again. There, kept secure by a blinding forcefield, was a breathtaking diamond in the shape of her cutiemark. On each of the six points of the star there was a familiar shape, shapes that Twilight felt she had known all of her life.
Her friend’s cutiemarks.
Twilight breathed heavily as it floated down towards her, the force field gradually dissapearing and evaporating into the stars above. She knew it was for her. She knew that it was meant to be hers, meant to be a shrine for her passed friends. It levitated to the front of her face, shining and scintillating in her widened eyes. She reached out a hoof, afraid to disturb its brilliance, and cautiously stroked the side.
It welcomed her touch.
Goodbye my friends, she sobbed as she wrapped the unbelievable gemstone in a warm embrace. I will miss you.
As the moon shone upon Sweet Apple Acres that unforgettable night, everypony knew that their beloved friends, the famous wielders of the Elements of Harmony, were listening. They all knew that they were close by.
They all knew that they would never truly leave.