//------------------------------// // Family Matters (Part 2) // Story: Sweet and Complete // by Blazewing //------------------------------// Meanwhile, while Rarity was informing her parents of the truth, Applejack was preparing to confess to Granny Smith and Big Macintosh. Granny had been away since yesterday, visiting Great-Uncle Crab Apple, who could be a real sourpuss, but was quite a softy deep down. Granny had gone off to deliver a pie baked especially for him, a surefire way to lift his mood. Applejack was only waiting for her to return, and then it would be time for the rest of her family to know what was going on. She knew Granny wouldn’t mind about her going out with a mare, after coming out to her, and she doubted Big Mac would care much. On the other hoof, it was Rarity herself who might be the problem. Despite spending much time with Applejack, the prim unicorn hadn’t graced Sweet Apple Acres itself with her presence very often, so Granny didn’t know her very well. Big Mac was on fairly friendly terms with her, however, as the two were fellow Ponytones. He, at least, might see the connection between her and his little sister. With Granny, however, that was another story. At best, the most the two had ever done together was sorting bad apples from the good when the Flim Flam Brothers were trying to take over the farm with their cider-making machine. Oh, sure, Rarity sometimes made special new clothes and bonnets for the aged mare, and she liked them just fine, but those had been delivered from the boutique by Applejack herself, so the two barely had any interaction. That was the only thing that gave the country mare worry… She looked at the picture of Rarity sitting on her bedside table. Seeing that charming face, with its gorgeous blue eyes, one closed in its playful wink, seemed to give her a new feeling of resolve. She took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. She couldn’t be a coward about this. Apples weren’t cowardly, nor did they keep secrets from their own family. She could do this… She heard the front door open, and Granny Smith calling from the living room. She was home. “Here goes,” she muttered. “Wish me luck, sugar.” She lightly kissed the photo-Rarity’s cheek, then left the bedroom. *** Trying her best to keep her face bright and cheery, Applejack descended the staircase to find Granny being welcomed back by the others. Apple Bloom was being hugged, while Big Mac was helping Granny with her suitcase. Winona was running around, barking joyously at Granny's return. “Everythin’ go all right while Ah was gone?” she asked. “Eeyup,” said Big Mac, setting the luggage down. “You bet!” said Apple Bloom. “Smooth as apple-butter, Granny,” said Applejack, making her presence known. “Ah knew it would,” said Granny, smiling, “with you three lookin’ after things. Makes an old lady proud to see her grandchildren so responsible.” All three Apple siblings grinned, Apple Bloom widest of all. It gave the filly enormous satisfaction to be considered as responsible as her older brother and sister. Applejack cleared her throat. “Granny? There’s somethin’ Ah need to talk to you about. Could we sit down, in the kitchen, maybe?” “Of course, dearie,” said Granny, looking slightly puzzled at her daughter’s attitude. “You know you can tell me anythin’.” Applejack felt a slight twinge in her gut. Yes, she could tell Granny anything, and yet she’d waited until two weeks later before revealing the news she was about to throw at her... The four Apples made their way into the kitchen and sat themselves around the table, Winona right beside Applejack, tail wagging. Granny and Big Mac both looked a little confused at the way Applejack was behaving. Apple Bloom, however, seemed to guess what this was all about, and had an eager smile on her face as she sat, waiting impatiently for the truth to come. Applejack took another deep breath. “Granny...Ah should have been more forward about this sooner. It just kinda, Ah don’t know, slipped mah mind when it happened, but-” Granny suddenly held up a hoof to stop her, and Applejack’s mouth shut. “Ah think Ah know what yer about to say, Applejack,” she said, a smile playing about her wrinkled muzzle. “You do?” asked Applejack, taken aback slightly. Granny chuckled. “You can’t hide anythin’ from your own granny, dear. Ah’ve seen the way you’ve been actin’ lately, hummin’ to yerself in the fields, playin’ with yer mane more than usual…Yer in love, aintcha?” Applejack hesitated. She hadn’t realized she’d been so indiscreet, and yet, she’d always had a nagging feeling Granny knew what her behavior over the last couple of weeks had been about. She’d seen much in her long life, after all. She nodded. “Ah knew it!” Granny crowed, thumping the table. “These old eyes never lie! Ah knew the love bug had bit ‘ya, honey!” Big Mac simply stared, dumbfounded. “You’ve got a special somepony, AJ?” he asked. There was something like...skepticism in his deep, mellow voice. It rose Applejack’s dander in her nervous state. “That’s right,” said Applejack, a hint of aggression in her voice. “Why, you think that’s funny?” “No,” said Big Mac, eyebrows raised. “Ah just never pegged you as the romantic type.” “Pegged me wrong, then, didn’t ya?” retorted Applejack. “Just cuz you’re takin’ yer sweet time with Cheerilee-” Big Mac’s cheeks flushed a deeper red than his own coat. Apple Bloom squealed with laughter, and Granny chortled. “What’s that supposed to mean!?” Big Mac snapped. “Now, now, Big Mac,” said Granny, patting his massive shoulder. “Applejack’s only teasin’, ain’t ya, dear?” “Yeah, of course,” said Applejack, though she was smirking slyly. Big Mac snorted, still looking flushed, but said nothing. He and Cheerilee were still on friendly terms, and the two of them often liked to go out walking together, but he didn’t like being teased about being in a relationship, especially when neither he nor Cheerilee confirmed that they were in one. His own family liked pushing his buttons about it, and though it often flustered him, he knew deep down that they were just having fun with him. “So, anyway,” said Granny, turning back to Applejack, “who’s the lucky mare?” Applejack looked at Big Mac at these words, wondering how he’d react, sure that he’d always thought that she was into stallions. To her surprise, however, Big Mac didn’t looked startled or perplexed at all. On the contrary, he simply smiled and nodded. “Ah thought so,” he said. “Thought so?” repeated Applejack, dumbfounded. “Ya mean, you knew?” “Ah reckoned,” said Big Mac. “Seein’ the way you kept throwin’ off that Trenderhoof fella, how you never went out lookin’ for any stallions as you got older, it got me thinkin’, is all.” Applejack blinked. “And...yer ok with that?” “‘Course,” said Big Mac, with a shrug. “Yer mah sister, AJ. Don’t matter to me who y’love, long as you really love ‘em.” Applejack smiled feeling her eyes go wet. She now felt a little guilty about ribbing Big Mac about Cheerilee. “Thanks, Big Mac. That means a lot to me. And...Ah didn’t mean-” “Forget it,” said Big Mac, waving a hefty hoof. “Ah reckon Ah deserved it.” The two siblings grinned at each other. “So?” Granny asked, eagerly. “Who is it?” Applejack swallowed. Now that the time had come to reveal her special somepony, her throat felt very dry. She cleared it, inhaled, and said that one, simple, beautiful name… “...Rarity.” There was a long, very deep silence. Applejack looked around at her family, a tense knot in her gut. Apple Bloom was bouncing up and down in her seat, delighted. Big Mac looked stunned, his mouth hanging open. Winona was looking from face to face around the table, seeming to recognize the tense atmosphere. Granny’s face, however, was unreadable. Applejack wasn’t sure what to make of it. Finally, the old mare spoke, in a slightly constrained voice that made her uneasy. “Rarity? Yer fashion-happy friend?” “That’s the one,” said Applejack, nodding, not liking the description placed upon her loved one like that. “The one who acts like she’d rather be livin’ in Canterlot or Manehattan?” asked Granny, shrewdly. Applejack frowned. She knew what her grandmother was insinuating. “Granny…” “Ah’m sorry, Applejack, but Ah see it like Ah see it,” said Granny, forestalling her. “Ah ain’t denyin’ she’s a nice girl. She did help me out when those Flim-Flam bamboozlers were tryin’ to run us out, but even so...Haven’t you said she was a ‘Canterlot pony’ at heart?” Applejack bit her lip. She did remember saying that before, hearing her say that, a long time ago. Apple Bloom and Big Mac were looking from their sister to their grandmother, apprehension on their faces. “She did say that once, but she never really meant it,” Applejack said, wondering grimly whether she sounded too defensive. “She loves Ponyville, and she’d never wanna leave. She told me so herself.” “‘Course she says that, dear, but she’s obsessed with those fussy dresses she’s always makin’. How do you know she’ll always give time for you?” ‘Obsessed’? That was a rather harsh word. Making dresses was Rarity’s mark-given destiny, just like working Sweet Apple Acres’ fields was for her, Applejack! “...There’s gonna be days when she’s busy, Granny,” Applejack conceded. “Ah know that, but it’s the same for me, while Ah’m workin’ the farm. We both know we can’t see each other every hour on the hour. If yer worried about her bein’ faithful to me-” “Applejack, Ah’m just not sure if you’ve thought this through,” Granny interrupted. “She’s got big-city dreams, Rarity, and Ah know what big city ponies are like. They don’t understand hard work the way we do. Ah saw that well enough when she was tryin’ to play farmhoof to impress that Trenderhoof fella. And besides-” “How can you say that?!” Applejack snapped, her temper rising. “Rarity works very hard, Granny! You think it’s easy for her, just cuz she’s a unicorn? She’s got orders comin’ in from all over Equestria, for dresses and outfits that can’t be finished in just a few seconds! She takes time! She takes effort! She cares about the quality of her work, like we do!” “Ah ain’t denyin’ that,” said Granny, now growing heated herself. “Ah never said she was a lazy good-for-nothin’! Ah’m only sayin’ Ah know what high-falutin’ ponies turn out to be, and Rarity-” Applejack stood up, placing her hooves on the table so that the dishes clattered. Granny shut her mouth, surprised, and Big Mac and Apple Bloom both shrank back. Winona's ears flattened, and she gave a little whimper as she cringed back in turn. An angry Applejack was not a pony to trifle with by any means, and the glare she was giving her grandmother at that very moment could have blasted a hole in stone. “Rarity ain’t high-falutin’, Granny! She’s got big-city dreams, but she ain’t a big-city pony! If ya ever bothered to get to know her like Ah have, you’d know she’s really a sweet, considerate, and trustworthy pony deep down!” Granny looked to be on the verge of speech again, but Applejack wasn’t finished. She plowed stubbornly on, a wavering light in her eyes. “Ah love her, Granny, and she loves me! Ah don’t know why yer so against the two of us bein’ together! Ah just wish you could be happy for us the way we are for each other...” Granny said nothing. She seemed robbed of speech. She just sat there, staring into Applejack’s earnest, stubborn, and resolute face, as if she had just seen a ghost. What she had just said had sparked a memory in her head, a memory of a similar conversation with a pony who had looked at her that same way, with those very same eyes… *** Granny didn’t say it often, but, in many ways, Applejack really was just like her mother, Granny’s daughter, Honeycrisp. There wasn’t a lot of physical resemblance, perhaps, except in the eyes. Both Applejack and Big Macintosh had green eyes, but the former alone had inherited the exact shade and shape of Honeycrisp’s eyes. On the other hoof, Applejack had definitely gotten her mother’s muscle. Honeycrisp hadn’t looked it, but she was immensely strong, able to outpull farmhoofs twice her size. Regardless, she was sweet, likeable, and honest to a fault. Meanwhile, Applejack’s coat and mane colors, stocky figure, and even her freckles, had come from her father, Glen Oaks. Glen’s ancestors had lived in the Macintosh Hills for generations, but before Glen was born, his parents had moved to Manehattan, where they had made it big. The newest Oaks was therefore born in the lap of luxury, given everything he’d ever wanted. However, it was Glen himself who made the decision to come down to Ponyville, justifying himself by saying he needed the country air. It was here, on Sweet Apple Acres, that he first laid eyes on Honeycrisp, while she was working the orchard, hauling that day’s crop. He struck up a conversation with her while she was taking a break, and despite his big-city upbringing, she was favorably impressed. Granny was not so easily swayed, however. Coming from a countryfied family, and having earned everything by working hard for it, she didn’t much trust ponies from the city born with silver spoons in their mouths. She felt they didn’t know what an ‘honest day’s work’ was, and wouldn’t recognize it even if it kicked them right in the flank. She also felt most city ponies were snobbish, rude, unpleasant, or outright dishonest, having to rush from through their day-to-day lives, brushing past other ponies to keep on their way, doing what it took to get their bits at the end of the day. Worst of all, she worried about her own kin being infected with that kind of mindset, about them suddenly feeling an urge to leave home and family behind for a life in the city, to become like that… When she found out that her Honeycrisp and this ‘city slicker’ were beginning to see more of each other, therefore, she felt as if her worst fears were coming true. She knew, deep down, that she should feel happy that her little girl had someone who was making her smile and laugh, but she also couldn’t suppress the fear that it was all part of some elaborate ruse to lead her astray and away from the protection of home. His careless handsomeness and smooth way of talking didn’t exactly assuage her fears on this front, either. She watched Honeycrisp and Glen Oaks like a hawk whenever she could, even when it was obvious Honey could see her doing it. Throughout all of it, however, she held her tongue, until one day, when it all came to a head… Honeycrisp approached Granny one day, all smiles, looking like she was about to cry from joy, and announced that she and Glen were going steady. In that one instant, Granny felt as if her world had ended. It was the beginning of the end as she knew it. It was one small step away from Honey leaving the farm for good with this smooth-talker...She couldn’t let this happen. “Honey,” she said, trying to keep as calm as possible, “are you sure you wanna do this?” Honeycrisp’s smile faded. “What do you mean, Ma? Of course Ah do! Ah’ve never felt this way about anypony before! Glen’s mah special somepony, and Ah’m his!” Granny shook her head slowly. It was just as she feared. “Ain’t you rushin’ into this, sugar? You barely know him.” “He’s been comin’ around the farm every day for nearly a month, Ma. We’ve been gettin’ to know each other the whole time.” “As far as you know.” She couldn’t help saying it. It just sort of slipped out. Honeycrisp caught the implication, however, and her eyes narrowed dangerously. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Granny sighed. She might as well be honest. “He’s a city pony, Honey. Don’t you know what they get up to up there? It’s all rush-rush, get out of the way, everypony for themselves. They’ve never had to work for what they’ve got the way we have. They don’t know what an honest day’s work really is. I oughta know. Ah’ve met mah share of ‘em, so Ah know what Ah’m sayin’. You can’t trust ‘em.” Granny had hoped Honeycrisp would understand where she was coming from with this, that she would realize how rashly she had rushed into this. What she hadn’t expected was to see her own daughter glaring at her with ice in her verdant eyes. “You don’t know what yer talkin’ about Ma!” she snapped. “If you ever bothered to get to know Glen the way Ah did, instead of skulkin’ around and givin’ him the stink-eye, you’d know what a wonderful, kindhearted gentleman he is! He told me himself he hates it in Manehattan! He never felt comfortable in that cozied-up life he was livin’! He was always fightin’ with his folks, sayin’ he wanted to live somewhere other than a crowded, smoggy city like Manehattan! He said he wanted somethin’ simple, somethin’ natural, so he came down to Ponyville to find what he’d been missin’...and he said he found it here, in me.” She stood there, staring hard at her mother, daring her to contradict her. Granny stared back, her mouth hanging open. She’d never imagined her daughter would feel so strongly about this... “Honey…” “Ah’m sorry, Ma,” said Honey, her tone softening slightly, “but Glen loves me, and Ah love him. Ah don’t care if he was a city boy. Ah’m happy with him, Ma. Ah just wish you would be too...” Granny said nothing for a moment or two. Then, she closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. Opening them again, she raised her hoof and touched Honey’s cheek softly. “Yer mah little girl, Honey. Ah don’t know how Ah’d live with mahself if anything bad happened to you.” “Ma…” “But I also want you to be happy. If Glen Oaks makes you happy, then Ah don’t want to stand in your way...If you think yer meant to be special someponies, then Ah reckon yer right.” She smiled, a tear sparkling in her eye. Honey’s lip trembled, her eyes growing wet as well. “Oh, Ma...thank you…” The rest of that discussion passed in a haze of tears and embraces, as a new understanding had been forged between mother and daughter… *** Granny never forgot the look in Honeycrisp’s eyes, the earnestness and determination in her voice, as she defended her love in Glen Oaks. It was exactly what was happening again, as her granddaughter stared her down, defending her love for Rarity. It was as if Honey had risen again inside her, and was staring her right in the face once more... The truth was, she was scared, scared of what a pony like Rarity in Applejack’s life might bring about. A pony with such ritzy aspirations might want to leave a humble little town like Ponyville behind and move on to Canterlot, to Manehattan...and Applejack would no doubt follow. Granny didn’t want that to happen. She’d already nearly lost her once, when she left home as a mere filly. The memories of that time still gave her nightmares, at the thought of what might have happened if she’d never decided to return home. Her grandchildren were all she had left of her own daughter. She didn’t want to lose any of them… And yet, these were the same fears that she had felt when Honeycrisp and Glen had fallen for each other, fears never made real. Glen had been true to Honey, honest in his decision to leave his old life behind and start anew in Ponyville. And after all, if Granny hadn’t given her blessing, Applejack might not even be standing there. None of her grandchildren would… “Granny?” Applejack asked, concern eclipsing her anger. “Are you alright?” Granny shut her eyes, as if looking any longer into that green gaze would cause her pain. As her grandchildren watched, perplexed, a tear rolled down her wizened green cheek. “G-Granny?” stammered Apple Bloom, taken aback. “Granny...?” asked Big Mac, tentatively. When Granny responded, her voice was very quiet and choked, and her eyes were full of tears as she gazed at Applejack, who now looked contrite at the apparent effect her words had produced. “Applejack...have Ah ever told you how much yer like yer mother?” Applejack stared, mouth slightly open. Almost instinctively, Big Mac put a foreleg around Apple Bloom, whose eyes had become overbright and watery. “Cuz you are,” said Granny, a sad smile on her face. “Sweetest mare in the world, but when she got mad, you’d better run for cover.” She chuckled, then said, “You reminded me so much of her just now, when you were stickin’ up for Rarity...She made the same argument for yer father, when they were going out.” Applejack’s eyes widened. “Ah...Ah didn’t know…” “Ah should have told you earlier,” said Granny, her voice sounding even more choked than before, “but by the time you were old enough...you’d already left home for Manehattan…” She shut her eyes, more tears rolling down her cheeks. Applejack gave a small gasp, and her eyes grew wet as well. Now she was beginning to understand… “...Ah was...so worried about you,” Granny said. “You, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom are all Ah have left of yer mother and father...Ah never wanted to lose any of you, and that day, the day you left...Ah felt like Ah was losin’ Honeycrisp all over again…” Tears were now running copiously down Applejack’s cheeks, her lip trembling. She should have realized sooner, she knew that now. She’d tried to put aside that moment as merely part of her quest to find her destiny, but she’d nearly forgotten how much grief she’d caused her grandmother and brother in leaving the farm at such a young age. How selfish and foolish she’d been… Apple Bloom was sniffling, and Big Mac was holding her close to his side, his eyes shut. “Ah was worried again…” Granny went on. “Worried that bein’ with a pony like Rarity would take you away from me again...That you’d leave me again…” “Oh, Granny…” whimpered Applejack. “Granny, Ah’m sorry...Ah should have realized…” “...But,” Granny continued, forestalling Applejack again, “Ah was bein’ an old fool...You were right, Applejack. Ah don’t know Rarity as well as you do...You know the real her, and Ah don’t know anythin’ about her...If she really does make you happy...then that’s all Ah want for you.” Applejack stared at her, half-blinded by tears. Granny was smiling up at her, with real love and affection in those old but twinkling eyes. She was giving her her blessing… At once, a veritable well of suppressed emotion, the tears she kept ‘on the inside’, burst forth, and she was crying like a little filly again, but not purely from sadness. Mixed into her tears were grief at the way she had spoken to Granny, and joy at her acceptance of her special somepony. “Oh...Granny!” she sobbed. “Come here, honey…” said Granny, soothingly, holding out her hooves to her. Applejack collapsed into her grandmother’s waiting forelegs, crying onto her shoulder, her body heaving with sobs. Granny, for her part, held her as though she were indeed a filly again, stroking her mane, rocking back and forth slightly. “It’s all right…” she cooed softy. “It’s all right…” Now Apple Bloom and Big Mac joined in, both wet-eyed but smiling widely, the former nestling between her sister and grandmother’s stomachs, the latter engulfing them all in one long-legged embrace. Winona, too, bounded in, barking and licking any faces she could reach. The Apples had always prided themselves on being a close-knit family, bonded by ties that would never sever no matter the distance. Today proved just that. They were Apples forever, Apples together. Apples to the core...