//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: The Farmer and the Magician // by RoyalBardofCanterlot //------------------------------// Twilight loved the early morning hours when the world was young and still and the sun’s gentle beams colored the sky a rosy pink. It was, unfortunately, rare that she ever got to see those hours. Normally, she fell asleep late with her nose in a book and was awoken by Spike’s cooking at around nine. Today however she had woken up a few minutes before sunrise. She had been practicing magic the day before and been so exhausted that Spike had had to tuck her in at around ten. While certainly a role reversal Twilight was pleased by the caring concern of her dragon assistant/brother/surrogate son and would give him three extra bits for his allowance. She yawned and left the confines of her bed. Opening a window, she gazed out at the still-sleeping world. A few stars were in the sky, but the sky was even now growing light with the first hints of dawn. Twilight watched the sky as the stars faded and the moon set, making way for the golden light of the sun. Deciding to leave Spike in bed she made way for the kitchen and put on a pot of tea. Using her magic she got a book down from the shelf and sat down at the table. Just as she got caught up in The Decline and Fall of Unicornia, a book chronicling the last rulers of the ill-fated, pre-Equestrian Unicorn Empire which Princess Platinum had tried to rebuild in Equestria, the kettle whistled. Laying down the book she trotted to the kitchen and poured herself a cup. She sat back down, sipped the rich chamomile and returned to her book. Princess Rarity had just led an army to crush the Reekaite Heretics when she heard a knock on her door. That was more than unusual. Nopony ever visited her this early. She sat down the book and tea, then walked to the door. To her pleasant surprise it was Applejack that greeted her. “Good morning, Applejack. It’s a bit early.” Twilight commented as she yawned. Applejack laughed. “This is mid-morning if you work on a farm.” Twilight stifled another yawn. “Well, it’s nice to see you. Is this a social call or a crisis?” “Bit of both.” Applejack said as she walked into the library. “You remember I told you about my dad coming back?” “Yes.” It had been two days since Twilight had comforted Applejack back at the cairns. She trotted into the kitchen and poured Applejack a pot of tea which she gratefully accepted. “I’ve decided to pay him a visit. He’s been stayin’ at a hotel. He told me to visit him when I was ready. I think I’m ready.” “That’s great news.” Twilight said, laying a hoof on Applejack’s. “And I want you to come with me.” “Me? Why?” “Lots o’reasons. You got a good, solid head on your shoulders for one.” Twilight raised an eyebrow at that. “I mean when Celestia ain’t involved. Don’t know why you’re so scared of her. She seems nice and I know she’s sweet on you.” Twilight’s eyes widened and she blushed crimson. “What? What did she say?” “She doesn’t need to. You’re special to her.” “I’d like to think so.” Twilight said, sipping her tea. “I just wish I could know if she sees me as more than another student.” “I reckon she does. By the way, how strong is your magic? I mean raw force.” Twilight set her tea down. “I prefer using magic in subtle ways. I do not like losing control and the more raw force you put in the more you risk loss of control.” “I mean, how much could you carry or restrain?” “Up to six-hundred pounds by my last calculation. Why?” “Could you restrain a homicidal, one-hundred and forty-five pound Earth Pony mare on a rampage?” Twilight drank deeply from her drink and even more deeply considered the question. “How much do you weigh?” “About one-hundred and forty-five pounds.” “Is there a reason that you’re wondering if I could use my magic to restrain you?” “Last time me and my father spoke it ended with me tryin’ to punch him. He makes me lose control. It’s like he knows the exact wrong thing to say to me. I might lose it, Twi. That’s why I want you with me.” “Alright. For you, I’ll do it.” Twilight told her. “Thanks, Twi.” Applejack said, nuzzling her. “So, did you and your father always have a bad relationship?” Twilight asked. “No. If we had him leavin’ wouldn’t have hurt so much. The truth is…” She sighed and sipped the tea. Her stomach growled. “You got an orange ‘round here?” Twilight went and fetched two from the kitchen, one for Applejack and one for herself. She peeled both with her magic and then returned with the fruit. “I’d assume you would want an apple.” She said as she sat back down. “Sugarcube I love apples, but sometimes I want something different. Besides I'm half-Orange. Pa was an Orange 'fore he married into the Apples. ” She said as she bit into the sweet fruit. “As I was sayin’, me and Pa used to have a good relationship though we were never as close as me and Ma. He used to play with me, take me fishin.’ He spent an entire summer teachin’ me how to buck a tree. Don’t laugh, but I wasn’t very good at it at first. Then Mama died and he left. I didn’t have nopony left. Of course I had Big Mac and Granny, but it just wasn’t the same. Big Mac was never the same after he left. He used to talk more.” “Have you ever thought about why he left?” “It don’t matter why, but I do want to, maybe, try to repair our relationship.” Applejack answered her as she finished off the orange. “You don’t got nothin’ planned today do ya? I wouldn’t want to impose.” “No, nothing that I can’t do later.” “Good. I don’t want to put this off any longer.” “I understand. I’ll leave a note for Spike. He worries if I go anywhere without telling him." … The two friends walked side-by side through town. The town was just now waking up. Merchants were setting up their stalls. Ponies wandered through the streets on their way to work or to grab a quick breakfast. A certain white unicorn stood outside her dress shop and changed the sign on the door to open. She waved as Twilight and Applejack walked by. They waved back, then continued on their way. Twilight could see the tension in Applejack’s muscles, the tightness in her back and powerful hamstrings. She placed a hoof on Applejack’s back. “Are you going to be alright?” “That’s why I have you here.” “I’d rather not have to restrain you from killing your father. Maybe you can do some breathing exercises?” “Don’t know any.” “You could learn. Just breathe and focus.” Applejack closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. It didn’t make her feel better. “I can’t focus. Sorry, Sugarcube. Maybe you can show me some of that stuff later.” “I have several books on the subject.” Twilight prattled on about the various schools of meditation. Applejack tried to listen, but it coalesced into an ocean of white noise. All she could think about was what she would say to him. The hotel where her father lived came into view. She stopped. “Hey. You can do this, Applejack. I’m here for you.” Twilight assured her. Applejack nodded and they walked to the front desk. “Can I help you?” Asked the bored looking orange pegasus at the desk. “Yeah. Which room is Apple Runner staying in?” The clerk spent several seconds checking her records. “He’s in Room 307.” “Thank ye kindly.” They walked up the stairs leading to the room. Applejack counted the room numbers as they walked by. 303. 'I wonder if he’s even here?' 304. 'Do I really want to see him again?' '305.' 'Why am I even here? I oughta tell Twilight we’re goin’ back. We can go to Sugarcube Corner for breakfast. No, I can’t do that. He’s kin.' '306.' 'He stopped being kin when he turned his back on you.' Applejack stood before the door. All she had to do was lift her hoof and knock on it. It seemed simple enough. Twilight placed a hoof on her shoulder like she’d done before. As if she were trying to soothe a potentially dangerous animal. “Applejack, you don’t have to do this.” “Yeah. I do.” She lifted her hoof and knocked. A few seconds passed and they heard shuffling from inside the room. A groggy looking Earth Pony opened the door. “Applejack?’ He asked, immediately becoming alert. “Hi, Pa.” “Runny, who is it?” A female voice asked. “Nopony, go back to bed.” Runner chuckled nervously, closing the door as he hurriedly cantered out. Applejack glared at him. “Runny?” “I’m a grown stallion, Jackie.” “Jackie?” Twilight wondered. “Don’t call me that. I know it’s early, but I came here to say that I’m sorry I tried to hit you.” He shrugged. “No big deal. You’re hardly the first mare to try.” “And I would like to try to rebuild a relationship with you.” “That’s great.” He leaned forward to nuzzle her. She stepped back. “I really don’t think I’m ready for that.” He sighed. “I’m sorry. Do you have any idea how much I regretted leaving you?” “Ten years. It’s been ten, long years. What made you even come back?” “One of my best friends just had a foal. A daughter. Orange coat, just like you. I guess I got to thinking about things.” Applejack’s expression softened. “I reckon we’ve all done things we regret.” “By the way, who’s your cute friend here?” “Oh, I’m Twilight. She just wanted me to be here.” “Y’all had breakfast yet?” “Not a particularly big one.” Twilight said. “I know that old pancake place is still open. Why don’t we go there?” “That sounds nice.” Applejack responded. They left the hotel and walked out on the street. “So, what have you been up to, Pa?” She asked. “Oh, I’ve been travellin’ around Equestria. Never stayin’ anywhere for too long.” He answered as they strode through the market. “How about you?” “I went to Manehattan soon after…you know.” “Oh? What was that like?” “Didn’t too much care for city life. The farm’s where I’m meant to be.” “Tell ya the truth, I never cared much for farm life. I would have moved earlier. But then I met your ma. The rest, as they say, is history.” Applejack fell into a sullen silence till they reached the pancake shop. The three took a seat. A brown Earth Pony took their orders and returned a few minutes later with their pancakes. “So, you only stayed around on the farm cause of her?” Applejack finally asked. “Pretty much. My own pa and ma weren’t very supportive of us. I grew up in Phillydelphia, ya know. My family was rich businessponies. I met your ma when she came to our town on a delivery. My parents didn’t like us gettin’ together so we ran away. Then after she died…” He trailed off. “There wasn’t any reason for me to stay.” Applejack visibly twitched before she felt soft bands of magic shackle her hooves. “You asked me to.” Mouthed Twilight when Applejack glared at her. “What about me, Pa? What about Big Mac and Applebloom? Weren’t we reason enough to stay?” “My head was all messed up after her death. I wasn’t thinkin’ straight.” “I understand. I wasn’t either. But ten years is an awful long time.” She shook her head. “No. No, I’m tryin’ to move past that. Twi, would you please?” Her horn lit and the bands disappeared. “It is a long time and I owe you an explanation. You see, I went back home and my pa, well, he offered me a substantial amount of money to stay away from y’all.” Applejack’s voice got dangerously low. “Are you tellin’ me that the reason I haven’t seen hide nor hair of my own father for ten years, the reason Big Mac’s the way he is, the reason Applebloom grew up without a father is cause you were PAID to stay away from YOUR OWN DAMNED FAMILY-TWI, I SWEAR TO GODS, LET ME GO, I NEED TO KILL HIM!” Strands of mystic energy coursed along her body, holding her in place. “Applejack, that’s not the reason!” Runner said, defensively holding up his hooves. “Then what was? What was the reason you left us? Please tell me it wasn’t for money!” “It wasn’t. Not entirely.” “C’mon, Twi. I know I asked you to, but I changed my mind.” “Sorry. Friend’s don’t let friends commit murder.” “I did take the money. I sent half of it to Granny Smith.” “I see. That must have been the last bit of money you ever sent us.” “It was. I took the rest and started travelling around.” “Travelling around. While I was stuck on the farm, scrounging out a living for my siblings.” “I know what I did was wrong, Jackie.” “I TOLD you not to call me that. Twilight, I promise I won’t kill him. Element of Honesty's honor.” Twilight let the strands vanish, freeing Applejack. “When you were gallavantin’ around the world did you ever think about us?” “All the time.” He reached out a hoof and placed it to her cheek. She didn’t move away. “I never forgot about you.” “Yeah. Sure.” “I mean it.” “So, I guess you’re movin’ back to town?” “Well, no. I’m movin’ to Canterlot to open my own business.” “I see. At least talk to Big Mac and Applebloom.” “I will. Promise. And I’ll visit you.” “It isn’t right.” Applejack muttered. “Jackie? Something you got to say?” “I’m grown and Big Mac’s grown. But Applebloom’s still a filly. And she’s growin’ up. She could use a dad.” “I’m sure you and Big Mac-” “She’s your foal, Pa. Don’t fuck this one chance up. Be in her life. Be a stallion for once.” “She’s gotten along in her whole life without me.” “She obsesses over gettin’ her cutie mark, her identity, her sense of self. Why do you think that might be? I ain’t no scholar like my friend here, but why do you think she might have such an obsession with knowin’ who she is? Might have somethin’ to do with havin’ never known her father.” “She might be on to something, Sir. I’ve read that fatherless foals do tend to have identity problems. Many even go into ultra-nationalist political parties like Tribal Supremacy Movements or Haytlerism because it gives them a sense of identity.” Twilight said. “Ya don’t say? I got into Earth Pony Supremacy for a while. Mainly cause I was pissed at Rarity after she dumped me.” “You and Rarity used to date?” “We’re getting’ off topic. I don’t want Applebloom getting’ into any nonsense like I did. More than that she has a right to know her father.” “I’ll visit her. I do want to get to know her.” “Damned straight you’ll visit her. I will drag your ass over to visit her if I have to.” “You won’t have to. I do want to see here. I don’t know if Granny Smith will like it though.” “Let me deal with her.” Applejack said. “I will visit her, Jackie.” “I just wish you’d do more. That you’d move back with us. That maybe we could be a family again. That you’d actually be a father to Applebloom. Is that too much to ask?” He didn’t respond, suddenly finding an interest in his pancakes. “I guess it is, huh?” “I’ll think about it.” “Whatever. Let’s go, Twi.” She stood and cantered away. Twilight stood and followed her. She found Applejack slumped against the wall of the pancake house. Twilight sat next to her. “I’m pathetic, ain’t I Sugarcube? Why do I keep fallin’ apart like this?” “Because this kind of situation is bound to bring up negative feelings especially with how much you value family. Tell me, how do you feel about your father?” “I think he’s a cowardly, yeller-bellied traitor who turned his back on his kin and oughta be tarred-and-feathered and kicked outa town. And…” She covered her face. “I love him. Damn it. He’s my father. Of course I love him. I just wish he’d act like a father.” “Maybe he’ll come around.” “I hope so. Thanks for coming with me.” “What are friends for?” The two hoof-bumped.