My Old Apple Acre Home

by Sith_Dreamer

My Old Apple Acre Home Part 4

“Eeyup,” was all Big Macintosh could manage to get in between the protests of his little sister.

The night before Applejack had just received the letter from Twilight, and she’d waited until morning to confront Big Macintosh about its contents. With her sleep cycle thrown off by the time she’d recently spent with Rainbow Dash, Applejack had had plenty of time to think about what she wanted to say to him. Not much of it had actually made it out of her mouth though, as she mostly kept repeating the same concerns she had over and over, never giving Big Macintosh room to explain.

“Did ya think about anypony else’s feelings?” Applejack nearly screamed at him.

She’d been fairly confident when she started, but after a solid half-hour of attacking Big Macintosh, she could feel everything starting to slip. Her mind kept going between the time she’d been spent with Rainbow Dash and what she’d read the night before on the piece of parchment.

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Dear Applejack,

It may be hard for me to say this, and I know it’ll be even harder for you to accept, but very soon I’m moving the Apple Family out of Ponyville. The mess from the fire is cleaned up, but it’ll just take too long to get a crop going again. I’ve got plans on how to make things better though. Granny Smith is getting on up in her years, and I’ve decided that she needs more than this in her last years alive. That’s why I’ve arranged for the Oranges to take her in at their home in Manehatten. They’ve already said they’d do the best they can to give her the good life before….well, I trust them well enough.

I know you’ve been preoccupied lately, and I want you to be happy, so I regret not having discussed it with you. However, I’ve decided I’m taking Applebloom with me, and we’ll be heading out to Appleoosa. Braeburn has a perfect plot of land that was part of his father’s farm he’s willing to share with us. It has everything we used to have, and we’ll still have friends to help us out over there. I know Applebloom isn’t fond of leaving her friends, but she seems to think it may be for the best too.

I know this won’t be easy, but I want you with me. The Apple family just isn’t the same without you, and after everything that’s happened to us, it would hurt a lot to see you leave us. Think it over, would you?

With Love,

Big Macintosh
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When Applejack had first read the note, she knew that Big Macintosh had had some help. Twilight seemed just as shocked when she read the note, so Applejack figured she hadn’t had anything to do with it. Whoever had written it had captured Big Mac’s sincerity, but had likely added a word here or there and didn’t even try to write it in the way Big Macintosh usually spoke. Not that any of that was important. She’d snuggled with Dash for a few moments, kissed her goodnight, and went inside. Twilight had remained a few minutes longer to ask Dash a question, but came in not long afterwards..

Applejack could tell that having Rainbow Dash leave had caused her some hurt, but she needed the time to herself, and she had to unfortunately assume that with Dash around, she’d have a more biased opinion of the matter, rather than thinking over a well thought out decision.Regardless, Applejack had met Big Macintosh in Fluttershy’s garden, and tore into him immediately.

“Do ya think Granny Smith really wants to leave?” she asked him sternly, “Do ya think Applebloom really wants to go farm in Appleoosa?”

Finally Big Macintosh cut in, “Can ya really blame me? Ah haven’t seen ya in days Applejack! Ah’m sure I could guess where ya’ve been, but the point is, it ain’t helpin’ none of us.”

Applejack couldn’t believe she had heard what sounded like such an insensitive thing from her big brother.

“Tell me Applejack, how many bits have ya’ll got now?” he asked

“Um, ah’ve got about forty bits,” she told him confidently.

“And ah’ve got about two hundred bits,” he told her, “But ah had more. We still gotta eat, and I a’int gonna let us take anymore from Ms. Fluttershy than we are already are havin’ ta. Not ta mention the things Applebloom keeps getting’ into at Rarity’s.”

“The ponies ‘round Ponyville know us, Macintosh! Ya’ll know they never overcharge us!”

“But it ain’t gonna last sweetie,” he said sternly, “And ya need to take off whatever’s been blindin’ your eyes and take a look into the real world for a second.”

“The real world? Ah live in the real world, Macintosh! I haven’t found anything more real than what ah’ve got right now! Ah know what’s real!”

“All ah’m hearing is yer silly filly romance getting’ into yer head. No matter how much ya love somepony, foolin’ with them everyday all day ain’t makin’ us any richer.” Macintosh didn’t really mean to sound so harsh, but the words still managed to cut deep.

`Applejack couldn’t reply. She could not believe the things she wa shearing out of her brother’s mouth. And she realized that she really couldn’t say anything else.

“Ah got things ta take care of here still, we’re leavin’ in two weeks. If ya’ll gonna come, let me know. I’m sorry it’s got ta be like this, but it’s what’s best fer the Apple family.”

Big Macintosh turned away from Applejack, not giving her any indication that it had been one of the hardest things he’d ever had to say in his life. He knew what she was doing now, but he didn’t want to see her tears dripping down her into her orange fur. He didn’t want to see that hurt expression again. He’d seen it in the past, when she was still a filly, and seeing it never got any easier. Big AMcintosh nudged open the Fluttershy’s door, and gave it a small kick to close it, leaving Applejack standing in the garden, alone.
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Rainbow Dash was alone, somewhere dark. She couldn’t see anything around her. Suddenly, 6 lights shone down around her. Inside each circle of light was a different colored Pegasus pony; red, orange, yellow, blue, green, and purple. They each had different expressions on their faces: the red one looked angry; the blue, sad; the green pony looked scared. The yellow one looked happy, while the orange one looked confident, and finally the purple one looked simply calm. Even for a pony that admitted she didn’t understand a lot of things like Rainbow Dash, she easily understood that each pony was a color of her mane, and each one represented a certain personality trait.

“I’ve seen this thing in the comic books Twilight keeps in her library a hundred times,” Dash said confidently. “It’s not going to scare me!”

As she spoke the words, the orange pony mouthed her words exactly. It managed to unsettle Dash, but only briefly.

“Do you like them?” a voice came from the dark, a very familiar voice.

“Wha-who are you?” Dash tried to remain calm, her eyes darting past the other ponies, searching the blackness for a sign of somepony else.

This time, the green Pegasus began the sentence, but was finished again by the orange pony.

“Aren’t the wonderful? And the best part is, I can always tell through them just how you’re really feeling. You’re so easy to read though Rainbow Dash,” the voice continued, “I don’t think I really need them.”

“Come out, show me if you really have the guts!” Rainbow Dash yelled into the darkness, the red pony mouthing her words this time.

Without warning, Rainbow Dash was suddenly face to face with herself, only it wasn’t exactly herself. The pony was black, completely, with brown eyes. Her mane was only two colors: the center being a charcoal grey, with a red stripe running down each side.

“So nice to see you like this, Rainbow Dash,” the black pony said, her voice not decidedly feminine, but not the voice of a colt either.

“”Y-y-y-You…you can’t be real,” Rainbow stammered, trying to collect her thoughts. The green pony mouthed the words.

“Ah, but you believe I am. That is why you listen to me. That is why you argue with me,” the black pony replied. “I hate that feeling of being watched, don’t you?”

The black pony swished her mane, and the colored ponies faded away. The lights flickered out, leaving a single beam that illuminated Dash and what she began to think of as her inner demon.

“Much better,” the demon said, “Now…it's time we had a talk. Do you think I like hurting you Rainbow Dash? Do you think I like seeing those salty tears stain that beautiful coat of your night after night? Do you think I like watching you tear yourself apart over the problems you caused?”

Dash was confused. She was sure she hadn’t had many times that everything had gotten to her. She remembered the recent night when she had left Applejack in her house. She remembered the horrible dreams she’d had…but had there been more? Was she blocking out other things, only remembering what she absolutely had to? Rainbow Dash suddenly realized her mind could possibly be her worst enemy.

“I don’t care what you think,” Dash tried to keep her cool. “Why should I? I’ve told you, or I’ve told myself, a hundred times all I need are my friends. Especially Applejack! No matter what, they will understand me!”

“Suit yourself, you stupid little filly,” the demon told her, “But I’ll always be there, waiting. And when it all comes crashing down on you, I’ll have no reason to stay, but I'll laugh the whole way out. And you’ll be left, knowing I was right all along.”

And with that, the black Pegasus disappeared into the darkness, shattering the beam of light, and casting Rainbow Dash into an eternal darkness.

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Rainbow Dash bolted up from her bed. Once again it had been a dream, a horrible dream she that had once again felt so real. She half expected to hear the voice of her inner demon to creep into her mind to hurt her more, but after a few moments she felt relieved that she heard nothing. She climbed out of her cloud bed and stretched her wings. Despite how unsettled she felt, she could feel that something was missing. She knew it was Applejack.

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By the time Dash had flown down to Ponyville, the argument between Applejack and Big Macintosh had already taken place. High in the sky, she scanned the surroundings, trying to think of where she might have gone. It wasn’t long before she saw the orange pony trotting slowly home, with a look of extreme sadness on her face. Rainbow hovered for a few moments, suddenly wondering if Applejack even wanted to see anypony right now. She watched her all the way back to the library, then Dash descended slowly. When she was on the ground, she walked nervously up to the door. She got ready to knock, but since Twilight allowed anypony into the library, Dash decided to just come on in. Twilight noticed her as she slipped in.

“Rainbow Dash! You look well rested now,” she said cheerfully, “Did you have a good night?”

“Yeah, sure,” she told her quickly, “Did Applejack come back yet?”

“I think she slipped in a minute ago, but I was face first into a great book on just how many uses carrots have,” she told Dash, levitating a yellow book with a big carrot on the cover towards her.

“That’s uh, great Twilight,” she tried to sound interested, “But I think I really need to go talk to Applejack.”

Twilight nodded, and Dash headed to the back. She nudged open Applejack’s door, and found a scene that seemed very similar to her. She pushed the door closed with her hoof, and cautiously walked around the side of the bed. Applejack briefly looked up at her.

“Oh, hey sugarcube,” she smiled weakly.

Not a good sign, Dash thought to herself.

Dash climbed up onto the bed and dropped down beside Applejack. Rainbow opened her right wing and wrapped it around Applejack, pulling her close. Applejack could feel the heat of Rainbow Dash’s body against her coat. It made her feel…calmer.

“Tell me what happened,” Dash looked concerned as she spoke.

“Ah will,” she told her, her eyes shut tightly as tears began to leak down her cheeks. “Just hold me, fer a while, will ya Rainbow?”

Rainbow smiled and wrapped her fore-hoof around Applejack’s neck.

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Adding to Rainbow’s almost déjà vu-like feeling of how things were playing out around her, the two sat in silence for over an hour. Every so often Applejack would cry just a little and try to pull herself back together. Finally, she decided she felt like talking.

“Why is it, when ah’m feelin’ my happiest, soemthin’ always has to try and come in between me an that?” Applejack asked Dash through a few stray tears.

Dash felt them drip onto the back of her mane, but she didn’t mind. She sat and thought about the question for a moment.

“I don’t think anything is trying to hurt you AJ. Its just the world. No matter how great it can be, it can always be bad. I’ve had my fair share of problems in life. Don’t get me started on flight school.”
Applejack chuckled a little, “Alright sugarcube, enough tears from me. I know this ain’t helpin’ you none.”

With that, Applejack wiped away the last of her tears and began her story, starting with what the letter had said. She told everything, from her night alone, to the argument with Big Macintosh. Rainbow Dash held on to every word, taking in every emotion and trying to as supportive as she could. When it was all finished, Rainbow could only stare in disbelief.

“Big Macintosh really said all those things?” Rainbow asked her.

“Yeah…and ya know, Ah don’t exactly blame ‘em. It hurts somethin’ awful, but between me bein’ depressed and bein’ in love, ah haven’t done much to help out the family.” She sighed and looked down at the floor.

“Are…are you saying you don’t want to be in love,” Dash suddenly had a horrible feeling inside herself.

“O’course not,” she quickly looked back up to Dash, “All Ah’m saying is that maybe ah should’ve realized that the family was probably in just as bad a state as me, and while you were there fer me, I wasn’t there for anypony else.”

Dash tried to give a small smile, but thinking that Applejack might have been wishing they’d spent less time together still made her heart hurt incredibly bad.

“Oh,” Dash said sounding somewhat distant, “that makes sense.”

Applejack put her hooves to Dash’s face, and looked into her wide eyes.

“Nothing can ever make me want you less,” she put her face closer.

Dash’s heart fluttered, suddenly feeling much better, and yet, something inside of her suddenly made her feel even worse. She had an idea of what that something was, but she tried to ignore it. Without anymore words, Dash put her lips to Applejack’s, and embraced her in the most passionate kiss she had ever given anyone.

After a few moments, Rainbow pulled away and just stared into Applejack’s glowing face. She couldn’t imagine a more beautiful pony, and nor anypony else she’d rather spend the rest of her life with. Then suddenly, Rainbow Dash got an idea.

Comments

[raegelshnoff]

GIVE ME PART 5 RIGHT NOW!!!!

[Pleasedeletethisacount]

^ WHAT THAT PERSON SAID

[PleaseRemoveMe]

^ what that person said!

[Milksweet]

^ I guess what that person said too.

[DragynSpire]

^ What they said

MUFFINS!

...What? I could hardly say "What they said!" again. That's no fun.

Anyway. This is very, very good. Well done, and keep up the good work! The only real critique I have is that you sometimes rush through the "background" paragraphs--anything that doesn't directly involve Applejack and Dash. Fleshing those parts out would increase the quality even more. Still, it's a solid fic with what I can only assume is an original premise, being relatively new to the fandom. (It works in my book!) Eagerly awaiting Part Five, and Dash, calm down. XD People only overreact to things like that in bad sitcoms.

WHAT THAT PERSON SAID

[Sith_Dreamer]

15000 I know what you mean about the background paragraphs, and I'll try to work it out in the following ones. I actually realized this a little while back, but I have plans to write another fic once this one is done, that will fill in some of the story of what characters other characters were doing during the course of this story, like Applebloom and even Granny Smith.

Thanks everyone for all the great reviews so far!

[Fox-Sama]

Sorry I did this 2 times, but the one on chapter 3 was meant for chapter 4

You know. I find it hard to believe that Mac would do that, He would roll up his sleeves and work harder then he ever had before.

I still like this story a lot. and want to see more of it. you are doing a good job.$smiley

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what that person said!

[They]

I was face first into a great book on just how many uses carrots have

...

[Salad king]

Its getting good, im really enjoying this, its building up to so many possible outcomes, good and bad. Especially this line...

"Nothing can ever make me want you less"