Half-Hour Horses

by HoofAndQuill

Not Yet [Drama, Sad?]

(The prompt: Applejack’s parents are alive.)

(Time limit hit somewhere in the latter third of this. I was typing and didn't notice it pass, but I only went past a few minutes. Whoops.)

Applejack woke with a start, and sat bolt upright in bed. Her heart was pounding and she was out of breath, but everything in her mind was fuzzy and dull. She looked around her room, dark and with curtains drawn against what sounded like a summer shower outside. Must have been one heck of a dream. She couldn't even remember anything, but she felt like she'd been running a hundred miles.

Aside from the pattering of rain on her windows, her room was dead silent. Applejack took a few minutes to calm down, and then turned and slid her legs over the side of the bed. Something about the house felt wrong. It was probably just her dream getting to her, whatever her dream had been. Applejack took a moment to listen to the house. That's when it struck her. Big Macintosh, for all she loved her brother, snored like a storm. Granny Smith never quite knew how to sleep quiet either. But the house sounded silent as a cemetery at night, and that just wasn't right.

Applejack walked slowly and carefully out into the hallway, and looked back and forth. No lights were on upstairs. She nudged open Big Macintosh's door, and looked inside, only to find the room just as it should be. Everything in there was right where it ought to be, except for the lack of big, snoring stallion. After another few moments of checking, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom's room shared similar problems.

That's when she heard the quiet humming, even over the drumming of rain on the windows. Sounded like the summer shower was turning into a bit of a storm outside. But that humming downstairs didn't sound much like any family members she knew of, even if it was somepony visiting from out of town. Applejack crept down the stairs slowly, placing her steps to make sure she didn't make any noise.

As she move down the stairs, she could tell that she wasn't hearing things. Somepony was humming pleasantly downstairs, and a sort of protective fire lit in Applejack's heart. How dare somepony come breaking in to her home? She abandoned her creeping and began to gallop down the stairs, making a loud clatter and knocking the door at the bottom of the stairwell open with a bang.

The humming quieted, and a familiar mare and stallion turned to look at her as she bowled her way into the family room. Applejack's world stopped. It couldn't be them, but it was. The room was just right, even the picture of the two ponies that always hung on the wall was still hanging there, plain as day. Applejack stood still as death, staring at the mare that was slowly walking toward her. Her mother looked a bit sad for only a moment before she opened her mouth, and spoke in a voice Applejack hadn't heard in far too long. "Applejack? What a surprise to see you awake, dear."

It was perfect. Her mother had always had that slight Manehattan accent, barely suppressed under an attempt to sound like she was from Ponyville proper. Her coat was the right color, a sort of deep purple, with that reddish mane. The stallion lounging by the fire looked exactly right too, a sort of washed out indigo with a greenish mane and tail. "Ma? Pa? But how... I thought y'all uh... y'know, in that storm a few years back."

Her father spoke from over by the fire. "Now don't you go worryin' about anythin' like that. There's nothin' to do about it. You prob'ly had another nightmare."

The word echoed for her. Applejack pressed her hoof to her temple, and then shook her head. "Nightmare... Yeah, somethin' like that. I was fightin'... who was it?"

A pair of forelegs hooked around Applejack's withers, and she couldn't help but press into the hug her mother gave her. Like she'd thought before, it was perfect. She felt at peace here, like it she was finally home again. It was so peaceful and still, warm and quiet in the farmhouse, against the storm that battered against the windows. Her mother spoke quietly. "Now dear, you know that there's no reason to worry. Sit down on the couch, and tell me all about your dream. It'll make you feel better."

Applejack allowed herself to be lead to the couch. A part of her wanted to figure out exactly what was going on, but a part of her felt more and more certain that she already knew. "Um, Ma? Where's Apple Bloom? An' Big Mac, an' Granny Smith?"

Her father turned to look into the fire, stoking it idly with an iron poker. "They'll be along, little Jack. Can't rush that kinda thing. Last I heard, yer brother's over at that Cheerilee mare's house, an' your sister's out chasin' her cutie mark. They'll come on home when they're ready. I'm expectin' your granny'll wake up soon enough."

Applejack sighed heavily, and closed her eyes. It was starting to sound like she was right. "Ma, my dream, I uh. I think I was fightin' some important kinda fight, with my friends. I thought we were winnin', but I uh, I'm startin' to think I mighta lost."

Her mother nuzzled against her mane, and gave her a warm hug. Applejack pressed back into that hug, even as she felt a cold weight grow inside her. It felt right, staying here with her parents. It felt warm, and comfortable, and she'd missed them. But there was something missing, and she felt uneasy in a way she just couldn't quite nail down.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sound. She only just barely caught it, somepony's voice on the wind outside. Her parents didn't react at all. Applejack didn't pull back from the hug, but she perked her ears. A second passed, and she heard it again.

It was Twilight. There was no mistaking it.

Applejack pulled away from the hug, and looked to her mother. "Ma, d'you hear that? Sounded like Twilight."

Her mother cocked her head to the side. "Twilight, dear? The librarian? It's pouring rain outside, you'll have to wait until the storm stops to go and read."

As if to emphasize the point, the wind and rain made a clamor outside, clattering loudly against the windowpanes. Applejack could hear the squeaking of the old windmill outside, as the storm spun the vanes far too fast for the mechanics. But even through all that, she could hear shouting. If Twilight was outside, she wouldn't be safe. It wasn't any kind of night to be out in the weather.

Applejack stood up, and her parents both leaped to their hooves as well. Her father spoke quietly, but sternly. "Come on now, 'jack. Don't want t' go out in this kinda squall. You'll catch yer death if y' don't watch out."

She reached up to her mane, and found her hat up there. She didn't even remember putting it on. She set it square against her head. She could hear them plainer now, even above the howling winds and hail. Not just Twilight, she could hear Pinkie, Dash, Rarity, all her friends. "Pa, I can't let 'em stay out there alone. Even if it's dangerous, I have t' go an' help 'em."

Her father knit his brow, and spoke a bit more sternly. "Y' don't know what it's like out there, Applejack. Y' step out that door an' you might never find your way-"

Applejack's mother set her hoof against her husband's side, and the stallion looked at her. He sighed, and shook his head. The mare turned toward Applejack, and took a step forward, giving her another hug, a little tighter than before. "Applejack dear, you know that we both love you. If you think you need to go and help your friends, we won't stop you. We'll see you again, when you get back."

Applejack hugged back, tighter than she needed to, but couldn't find the words to respond. She pulled back after a long moment, and looked into her mother's eyes, and then her father's. She opened her mouth, and then closed it again, and pulled the brim of her hat down to hide her eyes. She hesitated only one more second, before opening the door and stepping out into the raging wind and lashing rain.
--

"-pplejack! Wake up! Come on, Applejack, you have to wake up!"

Applejack woke with a start, and coughed violently. She struggled to standing before she could open her eyes. Her legs felt weak, and her entire body tingled and prickled like she'd slept on every limb wrong at once. She opened her eyes, and was met with the teary, relieved faces of all of her closest friends. A half-beat passed, and she was tackled and bowled over by Pinkie Pie, who clung to her desperately, laughing and sobbing in relief at the same time.

She patted Pinkie's back, and looked over to the rest of her friends. Her heart thudded in her chest, she felt battered and bruised, and she knew that the fight must be over, and they must have won, even if just barely. "Don't worry, y'all, I'm still here. You ain't losing me that easy."

Her friends crowded around her, hugging her close even as Pinkie completely refused to let her go. She wasn't quite sure if she remembered everything quite right, but there'd be time enough for that later. She closed her eyes as she returned her friends' hugs, and made a promise to herself, and to any ponies that could still hear her in that farmhouse. She'd be back someday, but not until she was good and ready. Then she opened her eyes again, and joined her friends in relieved laughter and triumph.