Life, Death, and Ponies

by thunderclap

Apples and Stars Pt, II

You couldn’t fall asleep. You still couldn’t believe how much you had told Applejack. Now, it was only a matter of time before she told the others and the thought of their reactions terrified you in a way. You could already picture the looks on their faces, the weak, forced smiles and their eyes. The eyes would be the worst part. They would become deep pools of pity. You had seen that look countless times from many foster families and teachers. You hated that look. Just thinking about was enough to piss you off a little. You let out a deep sigh and got out of the bed.

You slipped your bag on and walked out of the Apple family as quietly as you could. You went out to the orchard toward the hill that Applejack had shown you. Once you were there, you lied down to look at the stars. Unfortunately, the thought of your friends’ reactions wouldn’t leave your mind. You mulled it over for a while, and eventually found something you could distract yourself with. You pulled out your violin and decided to practice playing without your magic. You took a few minutes to try and find a comfortable hold. Once the more traditional positions were ruled out you took on more unorthodox ones. In the end you found something that made you feel like an overdramatic street performer. Once that was taken care of you tried positioning your hoof on the strings. After that, you started with the most basic scales.

It took you a while to make anything that could be qualified as a note, but eventually you started to get the hang of playing the violin without fingers. Once you felt that you had mastered the scales you moved on to simple melodies. This went on for a few hours until your fore-hooves started to ache. You quickly put the violin away and leaned against a tree to look at the stars. Even after the last few months in Equestria you still were captivated by its night sky. You looked at all the unfamiliar constellations that you were slowly starting to learn about. You started to lazily trace the outline of some of them with your hoof when a familiar voice called out to you.

“Blackstar, are ya out here?”

“I’m over here Applejack.” You called out, and cast a light spell to illuminate your immediate area. “What are you doing out this late?”

“Ah’m the one that should be askin’ that.” Applejack replied with a roll of the eyes, taking a seat next to you.

“I just wanted to come out here and clear my head.”

“Is this about what we talked about earlier?”

“Yeah, a little bit. I can’t stop thinking about what the rest of our friends will think of me when they find out about my past.”

“That’s what’s got ya up this late?”

“I know it’s kind of stupid, but I just can’t stop picturing the look in their eyes. It just makes my skin crawl.”

“Yer talkin’ ‘bout pity aren’t ya? Ah know all ‘bout that.” She said with a sigh.

“I bet, you’d think it would get easier after a few years; nope pity is just as annoying even after a decade.”

“Oh great, that means Ah’m gonna be dealin’ with bitin’ mah tongue fer a long time, aren’t Ah?”

“Sorry to be the one to break the bad news, but somepony had to tell you.”

Applejack had a faint smirk on her face that lasted a fleeting moment before taking on a more serious edge. “Blackstar, Ah need t’be serious with ya fer a moment. How’d ya do it? How’d ya deal with losin’ yer parents on yer own?”

“I didn’t really. Before I became Celestia and Luna’s student I was just a stupid, angry, kid. I got tossed around so many homes that I can hardly even keep track of em’ all.”

“How did ya become their personal student anyway?”

“I failed to get into the school for gifted unicorns, so I decided to sneak into the Princesses’ castle through an opening in the garden. My thought was I could convince them to let me into the school. Instead, I got bit by a venomous snake and passed out. Luckily, a night guard found me before the venom spread too far. After I was treated I explained myself to the Princesses and you know the rest from there. As much as I hate pity it’s the only reason I was trained in magic.” You said glumly.

“So, what the Princesses did may have done may have come from pity or sympathy, but look what it’s done, yer just about as good with magic as Twilight. Ah think that speaks more about ya than anything else. Yer the hardest worker Ah’ve ever met. You should be proud of yerself.”

“You always give me way too much credit Applejack.”

“I give you so much credit because Ah’m yer friend. Y’know, friends are supposed t’support each other.” She replied with a smirk.

“You really don’t wear condescension well.” You stated with a smirk of your own.

“Ah wouldn’t have t’get condescendin’ with ya if ya didn’t keep makin’ me state the obvious.”

“Fair enough,” you conceded with a shrug. “Hey Applejack, would you mind if I asked what your parents were like?”

“Ah guess not. But ya gotta do the same.”

“That seems fair. I guess I’ll go first since I brought it up in the first place. My parents were actually Earth ponies.”

“Are you serious?” Applejack asked confused.

“Why would I lie about that?”

“Ah dunno, but Ah guess it’s not impossible. Ah mean look at the Cake twins.”

“Exactly, now, let me finish my story. I’ve mentioned it before but my mother was a violinist at a local theatre. She was the nicest mare I think I’ll ever know. She only had to smile and all of your problems would go away. I don’t remember what my Dad did too well. I just know it was business related. He always worked hard and with the way he acted around my mom, you’d swear they were still newlyweds.” You stated with a small smile. “But once my mom died,” you continued, your smile disappearing, “my dad changed drastically. He almost never smiled, and he turned to alcohol to try and drown his sorrows. That only made things worse. A part of me wanted to blame myself for his condition. I was constantly getting in trouble at school. I would pick fights with the bullies at school. Whenever I brought home news about a new punishment from school he would break down and sob. I wanted to hate him, wanted to chastise him for being so weak. Actually, a part of me still does.” You admitted grimly.

Applejack was trying and failing to fight back tears. She placed a hoof on your shoulder, hoping to comfort you in some small way. She managed to collect herself enough to ask, “Ya mentioned an accident killed yer Pa, what happened?”

“There was a fire.” You lied. “I managed to get out but my dad wasn’t so lucky. Since nopony knew about any relatives of mine I was sent to foster homes until I managed to make it to Canterlot and you know the rest from there.”

“Ah’m amazed Blackstar. Ah don’t think Ah could’ve turned out like you if Ah went through half o’ that. Ah dunno if it means anything, but you’ll always have a special place in the Apple Family.” She said wrapping you in a massive hug. You returned the gesture with a grin on your face.

“Actually Applejack, that means the world to me. I can never repay you and your family enough for everything you’ve done for me, and for putting up with all my crap.”

“You’ve done plenty fer us, just by bein’ you.” She stated warmly.

Eventually, the two of you ended the hug and fell into a comfortable silence for a short time. You turned to the mare sitting next to you with a dopey grin on your face and said, “Okay, I’ve told you about my parents so now it’s your turn.”

“Fine,” Applejack replied with a roll of the eyes. “Ah suppose fair’s fair n’all. Mah Pa was the Apple an’ mah Ma was an Orange named Orange Blossom.”

“So with you it really is like comparing apples and oranges.” That statement earned you a punch to the shoulder.

“Anyway, they met when Pa was going to a rodeo just outside of Manehattan. Apparently it was love at first sight. Mah Ma got a lot of weird looks from her family when she married Pa, but she never cared. She was like that. She always did whatever she wanted and didn’t care what anypony thought. Ma and Pa were amazin’ together. They always managed t’balance work, their personal lives, and raisin’ Big Mac and me. Ah’ve always strived t’be just like ‘em no matter what. And Granny always says that Ah look just like Ma.”

“She must’ve been beautiful.” You stated.

“Thank ya Blackstar. Ah gotta say, Ah feel better after havin’ this talk.”

“Me too, maybe we should do it more often. Oh and Applejack?” You said, inching closer to Applejack.

“What is it?” She asked, getting nervous with how close you were.

Just when your muzzles were dangerously close to touching did you act. You lifted your hoof up and snatched Applejack’s hat right off her head. You quickly put the hat on your head and teleported away. Applejack sprang to her feet and whipped her head around to try and find you.

“Blackstar, give me back mah hat!” Applejack called out.

“No way Applejack, if you want this hat back, you have to find me.”

“This isn’t funny!”

You chuckled appearing behind Applejack. “I have to disagree,” Applejack tried to tackle you, but you disappeared in another flash of light and Applejack caught nothing but empty air. “This is hilarious, to me at least.”

“This is unfair!” Applejack cried. “How am Ah supposed t’find ya when ya keep teleportin’?”

“How is it unfair when I’m the one making the rules?”

This continued for a few minutes. You would appear close to Applejack and she would come tantalizingly close to getting her precious hat back. After a while though, you stopped teleporting, and Applejack was getting desperate. She was having a hard time seeing, even with your light spell. She scanned the nearby treetops hoping to find any sign of you. “Now where did that snake in the grass go?” She muttered under her breath. Just then, you appeared in Applejack’s line of sight, suspending yourself from a tree limb with your rear hooves.

“I think I’d prefer to be called a bat in a tree in this case.” You said with a goofy grin on your face. Applejack let out a cute squeak in her surprise and immediately punched you in the gut. The blow was enough to knock the wind out of you, causing you to collapse onto the ground, and Applejack’s hat to fall off your head. She quickly scooped it up and returned it to its proper resting place.

“Ya nearly scared me half t’death there, Blackstar.” Applejack growled. You picked yourself off of the ground and shot her a pitiful look.

“Aren’t you even a little worried that I might be hurt?”

“Ah didn’t hit ya that hard. Keep it up and Ah can show ya what years of apple buckin’ can do fer a pony’s strength.”

“I can’t believe this. You’re turning into an abusive brute, Applejack!”

“If Ah’m such a brute then maybe ya can find another place t’work.”

“Hold on there, Applejack, let’s not do anything hasty now.”

“So, am Ah an abusive brute?” Applejack asked arching an eyebrow at you.

“Of course not, you’re the best pony ever! And I’m extremely lucky to have a friend like you!”

“That’s what Ah thought, now come on. We have a long day tomorrow and we’ll need plenty of rest.”

A yawn escaped your mouth and you nodded at her suggestion. The two of you walked side by side, the two of you laughing at your previous exchange. Occasionally you would look over to Applejack and felt a tightening in your chest. You didn’t know what make of it and forgot about it as soon as your head hit your pillow back in your room, and you drifted off to what you hoped would be a pleasant sleep.

Comments

[-Brutus]

Love the back and forth banter that Applejack and Blackstar had, so cute right there.

[Appledash13]

“I think I’d prefer to be called a bat in a tree in this case.”

I can't find any pictures of a baseball bat in a tree at the moment, but when I do, I will post it.

[thunderclap]

4354691 I think someone's trying to earn his Smart-ass merit badge.

[Appledash13]

4354954 not until I find the picture.