Post War-Chapter 2: Applejack
By Foxgear
A warm summer breeze, thousands of apple trees swaying in the background, her hat tucked safety away while she rested under the shade of the old red delicious tree. Yeah it was peaceful; at least that’s how it would look to onlookers. To her, Applejack, eldest daughter of the Apple family, she could only see the fire from the time the orchard had been set ablaze by hellhounds. Nearly half of the orchard had been lost that day.
Applejack’s fist tightened as she remembered that day. The dammed beasts, six of them, came running in from the south, their every step lighting the ground ablaze. Winona her brave little companion for years was the first to take noticed of the intruders. She still remembered her bark as the little dog ran out to face the flaming beasts and she remembered her whine as the beasts smacked her aside in a bloody mess.
She had stood on the porch in shock as the beast approached, until Mac came running out of the barn with the big water hose and dosed one of the beasts. The hound shook and shivered with the extinguishing of its flames, but its brethren were working quickly to reignite him.
Applejack wouldn’t let that happen.
Screaming in rage and fists ablaze with earth magic she leap from the porch and drove her fist through the wet hellhound, it shattered into a million shards of obsidian and she felt satisfaction in the kill. Mac sprayed more water, rain drops fell from above as he pointed the hose upwards to widen his area of attack. The monsters backed away giving her some much needed space.
“Came and get it you varmints!” She taunted them, one took the bait. “Mac concreted blast!”
The rain drops turned into a stream hitting the approaching beast, extinguishing its flame like the one before. The hound gave out a whimper as she rounded up a kick and sent him flying to pieces. Quickly Mac adjusted the angle of the hose giving her a protective barrier, but she had a feeling they weren’t going to fall for the same trick twice.
“Applejack! Mac! What’s going on?” Applebloom shouted from the porch. The two of the four remaining hounds turned towards her, the other two towards Mac. They were going to split up!
“Applebloom get inside!” Applejack yelled as the two hounds took off. She looked between her brother and sister unsure who to help first, until Mac yelled at her to go help Applebloom. She did just that getting only a few backwards glances of Mac fighting off the two hellhounds with his hose before she entered the house. The hounds were already inside.
“Applebloom! Granny!” She called out following the flaming trail of destruction. The trail let into the living room, were Granny lay on the floor covered in burns.
“No,no,no,no,” She whispered mournfully, already knowing, but hoping that her eyes were deceiving her. She checked Granny’s pulse and… found none. From upstairs she could hear Applebloom’s screams. Fist’s tight Applejack filled a bucket of water and raced up stairs, where the two hellhounds were digging their way through Applebloom’s door. She tossed the bucket and changed in before the water even touched the beasts.
The closest hellhound took the blunt of the water, his fire gone, leaving him defenseless. Applejack’s blazing orange fist shattered his body in an instant. The second hound was not so easy, it had only gotten half extinguished and his flame had already returned. The beast glowed and pounced on her, slamming her through the wall into the upstairs bathroom. Applejack landed in the tub with the hellhound on top of her, slashing away with its massive claws, it was taking all of her strength to keep it away as she held it back by its neck.
“Applebloom help me! Turn on the shower!” She screamed for her sister as the beast’s claws slashed into her stomach cutting it open and then searing it shut with the heat of its flames. The pain was intense. The constant opening and closing of the wounds was pushing her to the limits. Applejack could feel her strength fading as her arms slowly lowered the beast closer, letting its claws sink further and further into her body.
“Apple…bloom…” She croaked one final time as the heat of the fire ate up the oxygen in the room. Her vision began to fade when she heard two steps of footsteps, one set soft and the other loud and thunderous. Applebloom appeared in her side view turning on the water and Mac appeared behind the hellhound wielding an axe. Cool water rained down from the shower head and Mac swung his axe shattering the beast to pieces all over Applejack as she finally passed out.
Applejack reeled herself back to the present, trying to shake away the lingering smell of sulfur and burning flesh from that day. However the X shaped scar on her stomach was her constant reminder of what happened that day. It was also the constant reminder of what she could never truly be… a mother. The beasts took away her gift to give life. The doctors said her insides were a mess; it was miracle that they were able to keep her alive. Saving her womb was out of the question.
She held her hand against the scar. She could adopt, she knew that but yet… there was feeling of being less that lingered in her mind.
“Auntie Jackie! Auntie Jackie! There you are!” A cute bubbly voice cried out from down the hill from where she sat. A turf of bluish hair bobbed over the tall grass till finally little Appleale was right in front of her. Appleale, Big Mac’s and Fleetfoot’s first born. Many were still surprised to this day that Mac managed to snag a Wonderbolt for a wife.
She just wished he could have had more time with her. Only two years into her marriage, after successfully having Appleale almost right at the end of the war, Fleetfoot died from an internal injury in her leg. It had started out as bruise, she had even gone to the doctor for it, but no matter what treatment they proscribed the bruise didn’t heal. Then one day Mac returned home to find Fleetfoot dead at the kitchen table. The injury had slowed the blood flow in her body and her heart… her heart just couldn’t pump the blood.
Not long after Cheerilee stepped in to help Mac and the two were thinking about getting married. Mostly for Appleale’s sake as she’s came to know Cheerilee as her mother, having been too young to remember Fleetfoot.
“What you doing up here AA? It’s your birthday party down there; shouldn’t you be with your friends?” Applejack questioned the giggling girl as she lifted her as high as her arms would allow. Appleale loved the sky; everyone was convinced she was going to develop pegasus magic when she grows up. “You shouldn’t leave your friends like that you know.”
“I know Auntie Jackie, but I want you there to! You seem so sad and we have cake! Your supposed to give someone cake when their sad right?”
Applejack smiled, “Yeah, it’s the nice thing to do. You all head back and I’ll come down soon ok?”
“Ok!” Appleale cheered running back down the hill, smiling and waving as she went. “Bye Auntie Jackie! Come down soon ok?”
“I will!” Applejack waved back. Once Appleale was out of side Applejack leaned back against the tree and covered her face with her hat. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks as she began to hiccup from trying to hold back her tears that won out in the end. She curled up in a ball at the base of the tree, hating herself.
Appleale loved her, adored her to death and she did too, but… every time she saw the young child it was just another reminder of what she’s lost. She knew, no she knows that not right, to place such blame on child that knew nothing about the pain she causes with just her presence, but… it still hurt.
It hurt a lot…