The moonlight glistened off the top of the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack was exhausted from several days of non-stop hard work. Her body was tattered and torn, her muscles ached and groaned, and her mind had suffered a mental beating after days of forcing herself to complete more chores around the farm. Her work was cut out for her as Granny Smith and Big Mac had taken Applebloom on an extended weekend school trip in which they volunteered to help supervise.
AJ had been alone on the farm all weekend, adamant she could keep the farm going by herself. It was harder than she had hoped for, but she was satisfied that the work had been done and up to the standard expected from her farm. However, that didn't stop the aches and pains from her fatigued body. It also didn't help that she'd had no company to distract her from thoughts that had surfaced throughout the lonely stint.
It had been many, many moons since the passing of AJ's parents, but she had never truly mourned their passing. There was always something; be it saving the world, bucking the trees, or taking care of Applebloom, there had always been something to keep her mind occupied. The past seventy-two hours or so had been a bit of a different story. This was the first time in years that the strong, dependable orange Earth pony had been given an opportunity to slow down.
She hobbled into her room. The window was cracked, allowing a cool and flowing breeze to drift through. It caressed her dirty mane and brushed along her worn-out flank. Applejack clambered onto her bed and let out an audible sigh as she laid herself facing the open window. The translucent white curtains had been sucked out of the window and flapped gently with the passing breeze. The night was almost silent bar the sounds of the whistling winds.
The night sky was as bright and alive as could be. The stars shone with Luna's burning passion, there were comets and galaxies which could all be seen as a beautiful array of colour against a wonderfully deep indigo background. The trees of the Everfree Forest had become a silhouette, creating a thick black border separating the colours of the skies and the numerous shades of green, gold and brown from the fields.
AJ looked up to the evening light show with memories of better times; remembering her filly days, where she and her father would look out into the night sky...
"Look up there!" he said, pointing a hoof up at the stars "So many stars. Out there, there's so many planets, worlds we've never discovered, and so many wonderful things that we couldn't possibly even dream of." he smiled, taking hold of AJ's hoof and pointing it in the direction he was looking "You see that?" he asked.
The filly-sized Applejack shook her head "No, daddy, what is it?"
Her father looked down her foreleg to make sure he was pointing it correctly. "Constellations, my dear. Over there you'll see three really bright stars close together. Can you spot them?"
AJ smiled and nodded, "Uh huh," she replied in wonder.
"That there is Orion's belt." he stated, before pointing his hoof marginally higher "Just above it, and just above the left side of it, you'll see two more really bright stars, and in the middle of those two, and just a little higher up still, you'll see a little cluster of stars together. Then, back down to his belt, if you go further down, and down to your right, you'll see two more bright stars. Connect them all together and you get the constellation of Orion!" he beamed.
"Who is Orion?" Applejack asked.
"He was a hunter in ancient mythology. They say he was a giant, and was gifted with supernatural powers. He often hunted with Artemis, who is known as the Goddess of the Hunt. Orion was killed by a scorpion after claiming he could hunt all the animals in the world! That scorpion became a constellation known as 'Scorpio'."
"Where's Scorpio?" Applejack asked.
Her father shook his head. "Luna changes the stars we see in the night sky depending on the time of year. Scorpio, at this time of year, will appear in the sky not long before Celestia raises the sun."
"Oh," she sighed, "but I wanted to see Scorpio."
Her father chuckled "Well then you'll have to go to bed early so you'll wake up early enough to see it!"
Applejack's face lit up "Really? So if I get up nice and early you'll bring me back out to see it?"
"Of course!" he smiled.
The little filly flung herself into her father's embrace, giggling in excitement. "I love you, daddy."
"Daddy loves you, too, hun." he smiled, kissing his little girl on the head as they hugged.
Applejack shed a quiet tear, remembering how excited she was to wake up the next day just so they could both look at the stars. "Ah remember that like it were yesterday." she painfully smiled. "We never did see it, though. Ah was too tuckered out and slept right through 'til mornin'!"
Her attention was taken by the sight of a small ornamental mockingbird on the cabinet in the corner of her room. It was originally her mother's and resided on the mantelpiece, but was passed on to Applejack after her passing and since kept as a memento. She reminisced back to the long, cold nights on the farm.
"Applejack! Big Mac!" her mother called. "It's time for bed!"
Applejack groaned, "But momma, Ah wanna stay up!"
"Now, now, little Miss, we've all got to be up early in the morning. We've got our biggest bake sale yet! Now come on, off to bed." she sternly dictated as Big Mac trotted on by up to his room. "See, yer big brother's going on up to bed no problem!"
Defeated, the little orange filly clopped slowly up the stairs to her room. Behind her were the hoof-steps of her mother. Applejack began climbing into her bed as her mother came in and slowly pushed the door closed behind her. She helped tuck the little pony into her bed and looked down at her precious little girl. "Momma, Ah've thought about it and Ah've decided that when Ah grow up, Ah wanna be big enough and strong enough to harvest all the apples in Sweet Apple Acres!"
"Ah'm sure you will, sugarcube." her mother chuckled, stroking the mane out of her daughter's face.
"Momma..." AJ sighed.
"What is it, precious?"
"Ah don't wanna sleep just yet. Ah'm not sleepy at all." the restless filly explained.
"Tell you what, then..." her mother said softly "hows about I sing y'all a little lullaby?"
AJ shook her head, "Ah mean, you can try, but Ah don't think a lullaby's gonna work."
Her mother tittered at her daughter's defiance, "Well you just lie down, close yer eyes, and we'll see, okay?" She grinned.
Applejack could still remember the song her mother used to sing her to sleep with, so she tried her hoof at reciting the lyrics:
"Hush, little filly, don't say a word,
Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird
And if that mockingbird won't sing,
Papa's gonna by you a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring turns brass,
Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass..."
She couldn't remember anything beyond that for reminiscing over how soft and beautiful her mother's singing was, and no matter how much she fought it, she always fell sound asleep by the end of the third verse.
Applejack gazed up at the night sky, her heart aching as she took in the memories of a time that seemed an eternity away. As she looked out, her eyes caught a glimpse of the tail of Scorpio. Her heart pounded and tears welled up in her eyes as she clenched the duvet in her hoof. Applejack hid her face in the bed covers as she sobbed, her cries muffled as tears streamed down her face.