The sun began to rise over one of the many hills of Sweet Apple Acres, marking the beginning of another day in the land of Equestria. Fresh, ripe apples gleamed in the Monday morning sunlight as they hung from the branches of the hundreds of trees on the farm. The large, red farmhouse, home to the Apple family, stood out amongst the miles of vegetation. Beams of light penetrated the windows on one side of the farmhouse, one of them shining into the bedroom of the farm’s youngest resident, Apple Bloom. The little yellow filly slept soundly in her bed, until a beam of light hit her closed eyes. The heat and intensity coming from the beam caused her to stir a little, until she opened her eyes. She yawned loudly, rubbed her eyes, and then looked over to her window. Birds were chirping cheerfully and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It looked like it was going to be another great day for the young pony.
Apple Bloom hopped out of her bed and stretched a little, grunting slightly as she relieved the tension that had built up overnight. While doing so, she caught a glimpse of her blank flank. She paused for a few seconds, being reminded that she had not yet found her true destiny. She was quick to brush off the grief, as she knew she’d get it eventually and that it wouldn’t matter what cutie mark she got, a lesson she and her friends had recently learned from Princess Luna.
The young filly trotted out of her room and into the hallway, the delightful smell of pancakes coming from downstairs. Her mouth watered slightly as she made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen, seeing her older sister bringing a large stack of fresh pancakes over to the table. Neither Big Mac nor Granny Smith had woken up yet. It was just Apple Bloom and her sister. “Mornin’, Applejack,” the yellow filly spoke.
Applejack smiled as she noticed her sister walking into the kitchen. “Mornin’, Apple Bloom,” she said warmly. She gave her sister a hug, and then a kiss on the cheek. “How’d ya’ sleep?” the orange mare asked.
“I slept pretty good,” Apple Bloom replied before taking a seat in one of the chairs, eager to chow down on one of her favorite breakfast items, “How ‘bout you?”
“Pretty good, thanks,” Applejack said back while taking a seat herself, “Anythin’ big happenin’ at school today?”
“Not that I can think of. I’m meetin’ with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle after school, though.” Apple Bloom then took a few bites of her pancakes.
“What’chy’all gon’ be doin’?”
Apple Bloom swallowed. “Not sure yet. Since we don’t really go around cutie mark crusadin’ anymore, we just go around town and see what’s excitin’.”
“Well, I hope you girls have a good time!” The two sisters continued conversing as they ate away at their breakfast. After they were finished, Applejack took the dirty dishes to the sink as Apple Bloom want back upstairs. She brushed her teeth, fixed a few bits of her mane, and then put everything she needed for the day into her saddlebags before heading back downstairs. Applejack was still in the kitchen when Apple Bloom said, “Bye, Applejack!”
“See ya’ later, sis!” the orange pony replied. Apple Bloom then went out the door and began the long trek to Ponyville Elementary. She held her head high and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air, exhaling and sighing at the same time. The air was crisp and smelled of freshly cut grass, as some other pony had gotten up early to mow their lawn.
“Golly, this day is gorgeous!” Apple Bloom thought to herself, “What more could I ask for? This is gon’ be one of the greatest days ever!” Her thoughts were shattered as she trotted onto the school grounds to find everypony in a circle, ooohing and aaahing at something she couldn’t see.
Scootaloo was in the huddle. She turned her head and saw Apple Bloom approaching. “Hey, Apple Bloom!” she said to her friend, “Come see this!” she said as she beckoned her over with a hoof.
“What’s goin’ on?” she asked. She then caught a glimpse of what everypony was looking at. Her eyes widened as her question was answered. “Sweetie Belle?!?” she exclaimed. Her unicorn friend had gotten her cutie mark. It was a musical staff with two eighth notes, and there was a red heart behind all of it.
“Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, excited that her friend had arrived, “Look!”
“Yeah! I see it!” Apple Bloom was happy for her friend, but she wasn’t smiling. She wanted to be the first one of the 3 to get her cutie mark, but that was no longer possible. She hadn’t counted her cousin, Babs Seed, to the group because she had started a separate branch of the secret society. Slight amounts of sadness and jealousy came over the yellow filly as everypony else stared at her friend. Apple Bloom then broke away from the huddle and trotted towards the entrance to the schoolhouse.
Scootaloo noticed her friend heading inside and ran over to check on her. The yellow pony’s face sported a somewhat annoyed expression. “Apple Bloom?” Scootaloo asked, “Are you okay?”
Apple Bloom sighed. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
The orange pegasus wasn’t convinced that Apple Bloom was telling her everything. “Are you upset that Sweetie Belle has her cutie mark and you don’t?”
“Well, yeah. Aren’t you?”
“No way! I’m really happy for her!”
“Great. Guess I’m the only one who’s not amused.”
“Apple Bloom, why are you acting like this?”
“I’m just so sick and tired of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon callin’ me a blank flank! I know I haven’t really complained about that recently, but now I feel that they’re gonna be doin’ that a whole lot more ‘cause one of us isn’t one anymore.”
“Come on, Apple Bloom. You’re not gonna let THIS get you down, are you?”
“I’ll try not to, but I’m not sure how long it’ll be before I’m myself again.” Apple Bloom then trotted forward and into the schoolhouse, Scootaloo following her shortly afterwards. She knew that the next few days would be rough on her friend, and she knew she’d do anything to keep her friend optimistic.
…
Apple Bloom walked through the front door of the farmhouse. Applejack was coming down the stairs as she entered. She had just finished harvesting apples from a multitude of trees, and she had just taken a shower. “Howdy, sis!” the orange mare said, “Weren’t you supposed to be meetin’ with your friends?”
“I didn’t feel like it,” Apple Bloom responded, “Today didn’t really go as planned.”
“What happened?”
“Well, I got to school today only to find out that Sweetie Belle got her cutie mark.”
“She did? Hoo-wee! We oughta go over to Rarity’s and congratulate her!”
“You can. I’m goin’ up to my room.”
“Whoa, there. Hold on. Why wouldn’t ya’ wanna be with her right now? She’s your friend!”
“I don’t wanna talk about it, Applejack. Now, just let me go to my room for a while,” she said before heading upstairs and toward her room. Applejack remained silent in slight shock. She hadn’t seen her sister this upset for quite some time. She knew that Apple Bloom really wanted her cutie mark, but now she figured her sister wanted it more than ever. Still, she still had some work to do outside. She decided to let her sister be alone and check on her shortly.
Meanwhile, Apple Bloom went into her room. She slammed the door shut and threw her saddlebags into the corner without any care. She then ran over to her bed, jumped into it, buried her head in her pillow, and began to cry. Sweetie Belle getting her cutie mark had made her more upset than anypony had realized. She so desperately wanted her own, but seeing one of her closest friends get hers before her was something she didn’t count on. She had been holding in her tears all day long. Now, they were soaking her pillow and causing her eyes to become red and puffy. She lay there sobbing for a good twenty minutes before the door to her room opened. It was Applejack. “Apple Bloom, can we talk?”
Apple Bloom ceased crying and lifted her head to face her sister. Her cheeks were covered in tears and her eyes were red. “Sure…” she said softly.
Applejack slowly trotted over to her sister’s bed and climbed in next to her. She lay on her left side facing Apple Bloom, and then she wrapped her left foreleg around her neck, pulling her close. “I’m so sorry you’re feelin’ this way, sugar cube,” she said in a soothing tone.
Apple Bloom sniffled a few times before responding. “Thanks, but you don’t have to apologize. You didn’t do nuthin’ wrong. I just wish I could’ve gotten my cutie mark before Sweetie Belle.”
“Why?”
“I just wanna be like everypony else. I feel like I have nothing to be proud of.”
“Apple Bloom, you’ve got plenty of things to be proud of!” she said as she wrapped her other foreleg around her sister’s back, “You have a family that loves you no matter what, and you have wonderful friends who like you for who you are! What more could ya’ ask for? I mean, besides the obvious…” Her last sentence was spoken in a lower tone after she realized she hadn’t thought before she spoke.
Apple Bloom couldn’t help but giggle slightly. Feeling the warmth and comfort from Applejack had calmed her down somewhat. “Ya’ know, sis,” she began, sounding a bit happier than before, “You’re right. I shouldn’t let all of that get the best of me. I should just be happy that Sweetie Belle got her cutie mark.”
“So whaddaya say we head on over to the Carousel Boutique and congratulate her?”
“Maybe in a little while,” Apple Bloom said as she snuggled up closer to her sister. Applejack gave her a kiss on the forehead.
…
Apple Bloom walked through the outskirts of Ponyville on her way to school. It had been four days since Sweetie Belle had gotten her cutie mark, and her cutsieañera was only two days ago. The yellow filly had a wonderful time, but she still had the slightest bit of anger and jealousy, which, fortunately, she did an acceptable job of keeping under control. She wasn’t going to let her friend getting her cutie mark before her bring her down.
A couple of other things had happened at the celebration. For one, Apple Bloom, as the official founder of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, made a decree that all Cutie Mark Crusaders were considered members for life. She had no intention of kicking anypony out of the secret society. Also, Scootaloo had told her that she had recently thought about training to be a stuntpony. She did a multitude of tricks on her scooter, but she had recently learned how to do similar stunts without it. Apple Bloom wished her good luck, thinking it would be a while before her friend learned everything about her new interest.
Apple Bloom walked onto the school grounds. The sky was overcast, and there was rain in the forecast according to Applejack, who had heard it from Rainbow Dash. A few hours later, the rain had stopped, and Miss Cheerilee dismissed her students for recess. The skies had cleared, but the ground was still wet and a few puddles were scattered around the play area. The Cutie Mark Crusaders soon began a game of 4-square with Pipsqueak. Sweetie Belle was the first to serve the ball. She hit it over to Pip, who hit it to Apple Bloom, who hit it to Scootaloo, who missed it. The orange filly soon ran after it.
Meanwhile, Snips and Snails were tossing a Frisbee back and forth to each other. Snails threw it in Snips’ direction, but he threw it too high and Snips ran after it. It was headed towards a puddle. As he got closer, he failed to notice that he and Scootaloo were on a collision course. Scootaloo herself was also unaware of their unintentional convergence. Once they spotted each other, it was too late. Snips ran into Scootaloo’s side and, despite being smaller than the pegasus, tumbled over her, sending her into the 2-foot wide puddle. He himself caught the edge of it, and his lower back was slightly soaked. He was lucky that his horn had somehow not impaled the filly. Scootaloo had been knocked into the puddle on her left side, and the sudden momentum caused her to roll onto her right side.
Snails, Pip, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle all came rushing over to the two ponies, worried that they had been hurt. “Dude, you alright?” Snails asked his fellow unicorn colt.
“Yeah,” Snails said nonchalantly, embarrassed about the whole situation.
Sweetie Belle was the first to speak to the orange pegasus. “Scootaloo! Are you okay?”
Scootaloo grunted. “I think so,” she said.
“Uh-oh,” Apple Bloom said, seeing something red on Scootaloo’s flank, “I think you bruised yourself, Scootaloo.”
The orange filly looked at her flank. “Oh, that’s not…” she paused as her eyes widened, “I mean, oh yeah! I should probably get some ice on that, hahaha!”
Apple Bloom became suspicious. Surely it wasn’t a bruise. What was it? She reached over to her friend’s flank and rubbed it, noticing her hoof was being covered in what seemed to be a mixture of make-up and dirty water. At the same time, an image was uncovered. It was the tops of two red, brick buildings with the silhouette of a pony jumping from one to the other. Everypony gasped. “WHAT?!?” Apple Bloom exclaimed in disbelief. Scootaloo smiled guiltily at her yellow friend.
“Hey, everypony!” Snails shouted to everypony else on the playground, “Come over here! Scootaloo got her cutie mark!” The rest of the student body, plus Miss Cheerilee, came rushing over to the scene. Scootaloo then stood up and rubbed the water off of her, not wanting to shake herself dry with everypony standing around her.
“Well, well, well…” said Diamond Tiara, “Welcome to the other side, Scootaloo!”
“More like, the side that actually matters!” Silver Spoon added before the two of them laughed.
“Wh-wh-when did you get this?” Apple Bloom asked her friend, still stunned from the sudden realization.
“I found it on me this morning,” Scootaloo began, “I figured I’d make you upset if you saw it, so I covered it up with make-up. I didn’t wanna see you break down again.”
Apple Bloom was on the verge of tears. She began to stutter. “Oh…w-well…th-that’s…m-mighty…kind of ya’…Scootaloo. I’m…r-really…happy…f-for…”
“Apple Bloom?” Sweetie Belle asked. At that moment, the yellow filly lost it. She ran off crying. She dropped onto her belly behind the schoolhouse, burying her face in her forelegs. She couldn’t believe it. Now Scootaloo had her cutie mark and she still didn’t. Soon after she had hidden behind the building, her fellow crusaders for life found her.
“Apple Bloom, I’m so sorry,” Scootaloo said, almost sounding desperate. She had tried her best to keep her friend from bursting into tears, but her efforts proved unsuccessful.
Apple Bloom continued to sob as she said, “You don’t have to apologize, Scootaloo. You got your cutie mark and that’s that. The only thing you should be sorry about is having a worthless filly like me for a friend!”
“Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle shouted, “Don’t ever say that! You’re an amazing filly and an amazing friend! The three of us probably wouldn’t be friends right now if it weren’t for you!” All Apple Bloom could do was just keep crying.
The other two fillies went silent for a short while. Scootaloo was the first to speak. “Boy, you really want your cutie mark, don’t you, Apple Bloom?”
“Yeah,” Apple Bloom replied, “And seein’ you two with yours already just hurts. Can this day get any worse?”
“Apple Bloom, there you are!” Miss Cheerilee said after popping her head around the corner of the building, “You’re leaving early today, apparently.”
The yellow filly was puzzled. She hadn’t remembered any appointments today. “Why?” she asked. As she did, Applejack appeared from around the corner, a forlorn look on her face.
“Apple Bloom,” she began in a very distressed tone, “You need to come to the hospital with me. There’s been an accident.”
…
The loudest noise in the room was the heart rate monitor. In the bed lay Granny Smith, eyes closed, badly injured and not expected to recover, or even survive, according to the doctor. Apple Bloom, Applejack, and Big Macintosh were all at her bedside. “So,” Apple Bloom began, “She just fell down the stairs?”
“One of the floorboards at the top of the staircase gave way under one of her hooves and that caused her to lose her balance and fall down the stairs,” Applejack explained, “Right, Big Mac?”
“Eeyup,” he responded in a very low and sad tone. He was rarely sad about anything. He hadn’t been this sad since Applejack left for Manehattan shortly after the death of their parents.
Apple Bloom carefully climbed onto the bed, wanting to have one last conversation with her grandmother. “Granny,” she began, on the verge of crying once again, “Please don’t leave. I haven’t gotten my cutie mark yet…”
Granny Smith had just enough strength to lift her right foreleg to touch her youngest granddaughter on the head. “You’ll get it someday, Apple Bloom,” she said slowly, “And when you do, I’ll be right there with ya’. Trust me.”
Though relieved, Apple Bloom couldn’t help but shed her first tear. Applejack then turned to her grandmother, placing her hoof in hers. “Granny, say hi to mom and pop for us will ya’?” Granny Smith smiled and slowly gave Applejack a nod. She then had a look in her eyes that was undeniably her life flashing before her.
Apple Bloom noticed this and quickly spoke to her grandmother one last time. “Ya’ promise you’ll be there?”
Granny Smith inhaled and said, “I promise.” She exhaled and closed her eyes, and it was the last time she would ever do either of those things. The heart rate monitor had a flat line. There were no words. Apple Bloom lay down on the bed, quietly sobbing into her front legs. Big Mac lowered his head and began shedding tears of his own. Applejack took her hat off and held it over her upper chest. She closed her eyes. Though she normally cried on the inside, this would not be one of those days.
…
The next day, which was Saturday, Apple Bloom felt she needed a break from all the sadness taking place on the farm. She was already sad as it was even before the accident. Her two best friends had gotten their cutie marks before her, and now she had unexpectedly lost her grandmother. She couldn’t remember a time where she had felt this horrible. It felt like the world around her was changing too quickly. She wanted to feel like she did a month ago, before any of this happened.
The yellow filly walked through downtown Ponyville, receiving multiple comments of sympathy from many residents. Word had spread quickly of the death of Granny Smith. She was well known throughout town, and there wouldn’t be many dry eyes in the days to come.
Apple Bloom arrived at the front door of Pipsqueak’s house. Given that he was her only remaining equine friend who was her age and didn’t have a cutie mark, she felt comfortable with talking to him for a while. She knocked on his door. About 10 seconds later, Pipsqueak opened the door to his house. He was wearing a green bathrobe. He was a bit surprised to see the filly at his doorstep. “Hello, Apple Bloom,” he greeted her.
“Hey, Pip,” Apple Bloom replied. She was smiling, but her tone suggested she was still crushed on the inside.
“I’m so sorry about your grandmother,” he said sympathetically.
“Thanks,” she replied, receiving a hug from her classmate.
“I’m guessing you weren’t expecting that, given the pain you seemed to be in over Scootaloo getting her cutie mark.”
“You’re right. That’s actually why I came over here. You’re my only friend left at school who doesn’t have his or her cutie mark, so I felt it’d be nice if we could spend some time together today.”
“Oh, ummm…”
“Oh, do you have plans?”
“No, it’s just, well…(sigh).” Pip then took off his bathrobe and turned sideways. Apple Bloom froze. Pip’s flank had a picture of an old treasure map and a pair of binoculars. One of her eyes started to twitch. Was this really happening? Even after all the pain she was going through, was this just adding salt to the wound? She wanted to believe she was dreaming, but her common sense told her she wasn’t. That was it. She had hit her low. Tears began to well up in the filly’s eyes. “Apple Bloom?” Pip asked. At that moment, Apple Bloom darted away from Pip and toward the south end of town, toward the Everfree Forest. She was out of sight within 5 seconds. She was silent, but Pip knew she wasn’t silent on the inside. Concerned, he exited his house, closed the door, and ran in the other direction, toward Sweet Apple Acres.
…
Apple Bloom slowly trotted through the Everfree Forest. She had no idea where she was going, but she could care less. She was in too much pain, and she wanted it gone. She passed by Zecora’s hut, but didn’t bother stopping. She didn’t want her help. She didn’t even need her help. She could take care of things on her own.
Meanwhile, Pip had made it to Sweet Apple Acres. He hated to tell Applejack what had happened, given the events of yesterday. Nevertheless, he was concerned for his friend. He knocked on the door. Applejack answered. “Hey there, Pip,” she said softly and sadly.
“Applejack, I don’t know what’s gotten over Apple Bloom, but she just ran off into the Everfree Forest! She ran too quickly for me to follow her! I know your family’s in a state of grief as it is, but I figured the best thing to do would be to come tell you what’s happening.”
Applejack’s face suddenly turned to a frightened look. “Dear Celestia, Apple Bloom!” she exclaimed, “Thanks, Pip! I gotta go find her!” She then ran past the young colt and in the direction of the forest.
After walking for what seemed like forever, the yellow filly reached the other side of the forest. In front of her was a cliff. She stood by the trees for a few minutes, and then slowly made her way to the edge. She lay on her belly, and then dangled her front legs over the edge. She decided to wait until it was time.
Applejack knew she was well behind her sister at this point. She had stopped to look at a few certain places outside the entrance to the forest, just in case Apple Bloom was at one of those places instead. She was obviously unsuccessful, and now she was inside the forest, frantically searching for her sister. “Apple Bloom!” she called out desperately, “Where are you?!?” She was following her sister’s hoofprint trail, and it seemed to stretch on to no end.
Apple Bloom lay there on the edge of the cliff. She was reminiscing of the recent events that had made her so forlorn. First Sweetie Belle, then Scootaloo, then Granny Smith, and now Pip. Not having her cutie mark made her feel so worthless, and the death of her grandmother was just too much for her to handle on top of all that. She stared at the ground below. It was a 1,200-foot drop. She knew it would take care of business when the time came. Suddenly, she heard a small noise. One of the rocks under the edge started to give way. More rocks could be heard crumbling underneath the filly. She then felt the ground start to slowly drop out from under her. At that precise moment, her life flashed before her eyes, and, suddenly, the actual thought of dying scared her immensely. She tried to get up, but it was too late. In a last-ditch effort to not go over the edge, she reached out to her left side and grabbed hold of another section of the edge. She swung over to it as the ground she had once lay on fell down the 1,200-foot cliff and to the ground below. Apple Bloom tried to pull herself up onto the edge, but she hadn’t the strength. It was then that she started to panic. “HELP!” she screamed, “SOMEPONY, HELP!”
Applejack was trotting quickly along her sister’s hoofprint trail. She then heard a faint scream. “Apple Bloom!” she said to herself. She then darted along the trail as fast as her legs would take her. She heard the same scream again, and she pushed herself to run faster.
Applejack soon reached the end of the trail, and she could barely see a pair of yellow hooves holding on to the edge of the cliff. “HELP!” Apple Bloom screamed. She felt the edge starting to go again.
“APPLE BLOOM!” Applejack screamed. She darted toward the edge of the cliff. She could hear the ground begin to crumble under her sister’s grip.
“Applejack?!?” the filly asked.
“I’m comin’ for ya’, sis!” the orange mare shouted. She then leaped in the air and held her front legs out in front of her, hoping to catch her sister’s hooves in hers. The soil and rocks that Apple Bloom held on to were about to give. Applejack closed her eyes.
She landed on her belly, her legs still stretched out in front of her. She opened her eyes. Her hooves were empty. She could hear a loud scream coming from over the edge. Applejack looked. That was it. It was all over. She was too late. There was nothing she could do but lay there and watch her sister plunge to her death. She couldn’t watch. She backed up and turned sideways, closing her eyes again as she buried her face in her front hooves. Then, as quickly as the screaming had started, it stopped. Applejack couldn’t believe it. Only a day after losing her grandmother, she had lost her younger sister to an accidental suicide, yet she was unaware that it was originally meant to be intentional. Now, crying on the inside was the last thing on her mind. She sobbed loudly, tears flowing like rapids down her cheeks. She then mustered the courage to look over the cliff and look at her sister’s shattered body. She slowly made her way to the edge and looked over it. Her eyes went wide. She couldn’t see anything. She could clearly see the ground below, but there was no large red spot that had bones, skin, and fur strewn all over it. She instantly became puzzled. Then, out of the corner of her ear, she could hear wings flapping. “Hey, Applejack!” It was Rainbow Dash.
The orange mare turned her head and saw her cyan friend flying toward her, but she wasn’t alone. Upon closer inspection, Applejack could see that the pegasus was carrying something. In Rainbow’s hooves was a very, VERY badly shaken Apple Bloom, shaken, but alive. Applejack’s eyes went as wide as they had ever gone, and all her grief was instantly swept away. “APPLE BLOOM!” she exclaimed. She darted towards Rainbow Dash, and the pegasus relinquished her grip on the yellow filly at the exact moment when Applejack took her in her own hooves. The two sisters landed sitting up. Applejack held Apple Bloom tightly in her front legs, sobbing happily into her mane. Apple Bloom was crying too, into her sister’s chest. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but shed a tear of her own. She didn’t know the entirety of the situation, but she knew she had prevented her friend from losing another family member. Applejack lifted her head slightly and began to speak. “Apple Bloom, are you serious?!? Why in Equestria would you do something like this?!?” All Apple Bloom could do was continue crying. Aside from the relief of just having her life saved, she knew she would have quite the lecture from her sister later on. She didn’t want to have to worry about that right now. She was just happy to be alive. She soon opened her eyes and looked up at her sister. She didn’t say a word. She then went back to crying into her sister’s chest. Applejack’s anger was slowly dying down, and as it did, she became curious about one unusual thing. “Hey, Rainbow,” she began, “Why were you out here in the first place?”
“Well, whenever I’m sad about something, sometimes it helps if I fly certain places, and given that Granny Smith just died, I kinda needed this,” Rainbow answered, “Guess I was just in the right place at the right time.”
“Ya’ sure were,” Applejack replied, still crying a bit, “Thank you, Rainbow. I’m eternally grateful to ya’.”
“You’re welcome, AJ,” she replied. She then flew around the two sisters and landed facing Applejack, pressing herself gently against Apple Bloom’s back as she wrapped her forelegs around the two of them and closed her eyes.
…
“Okay, Apple Bloom, you mind tellin’ me what’s gotten over ya’?” Applejack asked her sister. Apple Bloom was laying on Applejack’s back. The orange mare and her cyan friend were both walking along the forest trail and back towards Ponyville.
It took a while for Apple Bloom to gather the strength to speak, given the trauma she had just gone through. “I’m sorry, Applejack…” she said silently.
“I know you are, sugar cube. I just want to know what could’ve possibly made ya’ wanna go over the edge of that cliff. Pip Squeak said ya’ weren’t lookin’ too well when he last saw ya’.”
“Well, it all had to do with my friends all gettin’ their cutie marks. First Sweetie Belle, then Scootaloo, then Pip. I kept gettin’ reminded that I was still a blank flank. I knew I’d keep gettin’ teased about it and the whole thing made me feel so worthless.” Applejack wanted to instinctively comment on her sister’s self-remark, but she wanted to hear what she had to say. “On top of that, Granny Smith’s gone. Everything just seemed to happen all at once. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I just wanted all the pain to be gone. I felt that as long as I didn’t have a cutie mark, I’d have nothing to live for.”
Applejack felt horrible after hearing what her sister said. “So, you were really considerin’ takin’ your own life?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Right now, do ya’ think that would’ve been the right thing to?”
“No. I’m never gonna do anythin’ like that ever again.”
“I don’t wanna see you falling right in front of me ever again, Apple Bloom,” Rainbow Dash spoke, “I haven’t been that scared since Lightning Dust caused my friends’ balloon to fall out of the sky at the Wonderbolts Academy!”
“Sorry, Rainbow,” Apple Bloom replied.
“So,” Applejack continued, “What can you and I do to help ya’ feel better and not think about somethin’ like this ever again?”
“I think you already know what the answer is, sis.”
“Well, let’s think about that for a little bit. Out of everything you’ve done, what do you think you can do the best?”
“Well, Granny Smith’s been teachin’ me how to cook all kinds of things lately, and I really enjoy it. She’s taught me nearly every Apple Family recipe!” The filly paused for a second as a thought flew into her head. “Applejack! I think I have an idea!”
“Really?”
“Well, it’ll be a lot of work, but I think I can do it!”
…
The service ran longer than expected. Every resident of Ponyville came to honor Granny Smith. Nearly the entire population of Appleoosa was there as well. Most of them were family, others just knew her very well. Even Princess Celestia was in attendance, given that Granny Smith and her family came to her before settling in, and eventually founding, Ponyville. She and numerous other ponies gave lengthy eulogies, and there was barely a dry eye in the congregation. Afterwards, Granny Smith’s casket was buried in a cemetery on the northwest side of town, and then everypony went back to the farm for the reception. While ponies talked and shared condolences amongst themselves, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Babs Seed were having a conversation at a table near the buffet. “How are you feeling right now, Apple Bloom?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“I’m feelin’ a whole lotta things,” Apple Bloom responded, “This alone is pretty saddening, but what happened to me on the other side of the forest is still hauntin’ me, and it’s probably gonna keep doin’ that for a while.”
“I can’t believe you’d even consider suicide!” Scootaloo said, “That’s way over the top!”
“Well, too much happened at once, okay?” Apple Bloom continued, pointing a hoof at both her unicorn and pegasus friends, “You two got your cutie marks pretty much at the same time, and it really did a number on me. Then this happened,” she said, raising a hoof to reference the ongoing funeral, “And then Pip got HIS cutie mark. I feel like I just lost control of my emotions. Now I’ve got somethin’ else to worry about. Now that Granny Smith’s gone, I’m gonna have to do so much more work around the farm!”
“Maybe I could convince mah sistah to let me move out here with ya’, cous’!” Babs began, “Then you could have anotha’ pair’a hooves to help wit’ everything!”
“Yeah…I don’t think that’ll be necessary, Babs,” Apple Bloom continued, “But thanks, anyway.”
All of a sudden, Rarity, who was noticeably overdressed for the occasion, came up to the four fillies. “Apple Bloom, darling,” she began, “I believe you’re wanted over at the dessert table.” She pointed to a multitude of ponies enjoying the many apple-related dessert items that were available. Without a word, Apple Bloom began trotting over to the dessert table, her three friends following her.
As they arrived, they could see Pinkie Pie shove an entire apple pie into her mouth, gulping the whole thing down instantly. “These pies are delicious!” she exclaimed.
“Pinkie Pie, settle down,” Rainbow Dash said sternly.
“I can’t help it!” the pink party pony continued, “It’s all so good!” Pinkie Pie had always been quite the mystery to everypony, and the fact that she was getting so excited over food at such a somber occasion would be a mystery that nopony would be solving anytime soon.
“Everything’s so wonderful!” Fluttershy added, delighted with the refreshments.
“You really made all this yourself?” Twilight asked the yellow filly while enjoying an apple turnover.
“I sure did!” Apple Bloom replied. She had prepared every dessert item that was at the funeral reception, and there wasn’t a single pony who was dissatisfied. “Granny Smith taught me everything! I really enjoy cookin’!”
“Well, I think you’ll make a wonderful dessert chef someday, Apple Bloom,” Twilight continued.
“I’d like to second that, if I may,” Princess Celestia jumped in unexpectedly. The group of friends turned and bowed before their princess. “Apple Bloom,” the white alicorn continued, “I am quite amazed at the multitude of culinary creations you have prepared! Thank you for everything!”
“Don’t thank me, princess,” Apple Bloom continued, “Thank Granny Smith! I wouldn’t be doin’ any of this if she hadn’t taught me!”
“Well, you have taken after your grandmother quite well, my little filly. I hope you consider this as something you would like to do for many years to come!”
Apple Bloom looked around at the ponies that were surrounding her. They all seemed happy with her work, and she herself was satisfied, too. “You know what, princess, this might just be what I wanna do from now on! I wanna keep making everypony in Ponyville happy with Granny Smith’s famous desserts!” At that moment, Apple Bloom felt something unfamiliar. She couldn’t tell if it was a surge of magic or electricity. It felt like it was centered around her lower half. She lifted the bottom of her small, black dress to reveal a picture of an apple pie, but instead of lattice work, there was a bright, red apple in the middle of it. There it was. It had happened. After all the hardships she had gone through, Apple Bloom had finally gotten her cutie mark. She stared at it for several seconds, not being able to comprehend what had just happened. Everypony around her started cheering, and a few seconds later, Apple Bloom started jumping up and down. “I did it!” she exclaimed, “I actually did it! Finally!” Babs and her other fellow crusaders for life hugged her, elated that she had achieved her lifelong dream thus far.
Princess Celestia then took a glass of cider in her magic, along with a fork, and started clinking the glass. “Attention, everypony!” she said loudly, “I’d like to propose a toast to Miss Apple Bloom right here! She has just received her cutie mark! Here!” she exclaimed as she raised her glass.
Everypony else followed suit. “Here!” they all said, followed by excessive cheering. This was certainly one way to turn a lament-laden event into something more positive. Apple Bloom felt like she was on the top of the world as everypony cheered for her. She was so glad that Rainbow Dash had caught her on the other side of the Everfree Forest. Otherwise, she would have never been able to feel this wonderful.
…
It had been two weeks since the funeral, and Apple Bloom felt like there was something she had to do. At about 2 o’clock, while the sun was shining brightly in a cloudless sky, Apple Bloom trotted to the cemetery where her grandmother was buried. She was carrying something in her mouth the whole way there. Once she entered the cemetery and eventually stood in front of Granny Smith’s tombstone, she placed what was in her mouth on the ground, pushing it close to the recently engraved piece of rock. It was an apple pie, but it looked exactly like her new cutie mark, except there was no big, red apple in the center, just an apple-shaped hole in the top layer of crust. The yellow filly then faced the tombstone directly and said, “Granny, this is for you. You taught me everything I needed to know to eventually get my cutie mark. Thank you.” Still smiling, Apple Bloom closed her eyes and lowered her head, standing there for a little while.
Meanwhile, on the other side, in the spirit world, Granny Smith, forever free from the injuries she had sustained, faced her granddaughter and wrapped her right foreleg around her neck, hugging her. Though Apple Bloom couldn’t see it, she sensed somepony was there with her, and she knew it couldn’t be anypony other than Granny Smith. It was then that she knew for sure that Granny Smith was there for the biggest moment of her life thus far, receiving her cutie mark.
THE END