Too Early, Too Late

by Inkarus

Finality

A long and dark trail blazed with bursts of flame had brought Buffalo Paintbrush here to the gallery, bowing in front of Princess Celestia and her student. Images of the last two years surged through Buffalo's mind when his eyes settled on the unicorn prodigy; He did not know why. The thoughts he had worked so carefully to secure in his subconscious pushed rudely to the forefront of his mind. He was quite baffled that this mare would affect him so strongly. Before he could even speak, she snapped at him, sending him away. He obeyed almost unconsciously, turning and finding a nice warm corner of his gallery to sit in, staring down at his hooves, as memory swamped him, swallowing the world around him.

Running from Ponyville. Reaching Baltimare. Getting robbed. Losing his hat. Working at Diamond Dog Paradise. Meeting Cherry Bomb. Saving Cherry Bomb from Diamond Dog Paradise. Running, changing his name and dying his mane black. Escaping death. Watching a pony taking a nose-dive off a roof at a party. Hopped up on hoof dust. Homelessness. Beaten by roaming thugs. Nearly dead, dragged to a hospital by a good samareitan. Withdrawals. Horrible, horrible withdrawals. Getting a sketchbook again. Selling sketches. Buying art supplies. Discovered by an art critic. Arriving in Canterlot. Princess Celestia.

After a long and sleepless night, he dragged his hooves back again to the Royal Gallery, his colt-friend slowing carefully to match his pace, saying nothing, watching. Buffalo realized, after a couple of minutes, that he was 'shutting down,' as Cherry called it, and forced himself to relax a little, meeting the slender unicorn's eyes for the first time that morning. A tired smile did its best to reassure; It didn't, but Cherry smiled back anyway. By this time, their strides had increased and they reached the Gallery with time to spare.

As usual, Princess Celestia was there already, and her expression was as it always was; Caring, smiling, coy and canny at once. As if the Princess knew something they didn't; As if the day was supposed to start this way, and she knew exactly what was going to happen. Buffalo and Cherry just bowed, and took the center stage where they would present and answer questions about Buffalo's gallery. Little did Buffalo know, the questions he would answer today were of a much different nature.

Thunderclouds formed as the train entered the station, a few blocks from the Castle. Buffalo did his best to clear his troubled thoughts, easing back into the role of host, taught to him by Rarity so many years ago, only made more impressive and striking by time and painful experience.

Nopony ever believed that revolving doors could be flung open before that day. Applejack had been thinking more and more as she approached the Castle, and gotten angrier and angrier. When she burst into the gallery, she may as well have been Cerberus himself, spitting flame, with Twi, Spike and Rarity sheepishly following behind, giving a half apologetic waves to the ponies in the gallery, especially Princess Celestia. Their embarrassment was unheeded by the raging frame of orange cowpony, eyes like burning coal, staring directly at Buffalo Paintbrush.

And this was it. His stomach dropped. One foot backed up a step, merely out of reflex; It was the worst thing he could have done.

Applejack lost it.

"Prairie, yer gonna run away agin? Just like yah always have, ever since you was a colt and we took yer sorry flank in and fed ya, gave you a home. Now I guess out little Prairie Fire done outgrowed his family, decided we wasn't good enough and ya'd leave to go stay in Canterlot? And don't tell me none of that "Buffalo" junk either, I know my brother when I see him, even if he dyed his mane and threw mah hat away!"

Buffalo visibly flinched at this, but when Cherry opened his mouth to protest this snarling mare's treatment of his colt-friend, Prairie stopped him, putting a hoof up at him. Cherry understood, and reluctantly backed off, though he watched, concerned.
In the next few seconds, as Applejack could only stare, uninvolved ponies inched their way out of the gallery. Prairie, for once, took a deep breath, and held his head high as he stepped toward his sister. He wasn't running anymore, not these days.

"Okay. Do your worst. Tell me what you're here to say."

He looked deeply into her eyes, with the calm steadfastness that only a stallion who has been stepped on and smashed into the curb can muster. Time slowed down. Everypony's stomach was clenched so hard, they might as well have been fashion models themselves. Applejack's teeth were clenched hard enough to need a crowbar to split them. She stared back at this dark-maned stranger. The last six years of her life came to mind. Everything she'd wanted to do when she finally confronted him. Ten million things she needed to yell at him. A thousand curse words. A hundred kicks to the flank. Ten headbutts. But it was gone in an instant; she could only say one thing.

"I'm sorry."

Thunder struck. Twilight, Rarity and Cherry all gasped.

Prairie wasted no time whipping Applejack into a violent hug.

She shook in his hooves, crying without crying, but he only hugged her harder. "Don't you ever be sorry. Don't you ever think it was your fault. My life has always been in my hooves." He whispered it harshly in her ears, making sure she knew he wasn't taking no for an answer. The little colt who had been unable to comfort his sister, who was so scared, was gone, and the confident, strong stallion in his place was not going to let his sister hurt any more. He wanted to keep her safe.

But Applejack had held back since she was a filly, and could hold back and be strong no more. She cried openly, for the first time in so long. Tears, unmarked by neither pride or shame, rinsed her face; and wails that came from the bottom of her stomach tore out of her throat, filling the place. The hug was fierce; They would both have bruises for several days. Featherweight's sneaky camera caught sight of this hug, and the iconic photograph would ensure his fame for years. He went unnoticed, as most of the pony's eyes in the room were too misty to see him. Well, most anyway.

"That's it?" Spike remarked, visibly disgusted. "I thought she was gonna buck his block off! Why'd she go soft?"

Twilight grabbed Spike's mouth magically, shushing him, but Rarity smiled soberly.

"It's family, darling. There's no accounting for it. Love is a reflex; we cannot control it, master it, or command it."

Although the white unicorn had been whispering, Applejack sniffled out, "I reckon Rarity's right."

Although talking to them, she stared into her brother's warm eyes. She didn't need to expound. Before anypony could say anything else, Princess Celestia approached, eyes gleaming as usual. Suddenly, something sparked in Twilight's head, and she gasped.

"Princess! You knew who Buffalo was the whole time, didn't you?"

Celestia cocked her head to her student with a sly smile, and winked.

"Now what in Equestria would give you that idea?"

She turned from her gaping student back to the reunited brother and sister.

"Buffalo, perhaps you might like to give your sister a tour of your gallery? It seems that she has been waiting quite a long time to see your art."

It was true; Applejack had not ever seen one brushstroke of his artwork. He turned to her, a little doubtful.

"Do you really want to see it? I mean, it's got to be weird to-"

"Naw, Sugarcube, I wanna go see Big Mac's art show in Canterlot. Course ah do, Prair- er, Buffalo, er-"

"Prairie Fire is fine." He said, smiling a little at his sister's uncharacteristic shyness. She smiled back, but then ruffled his mane hard with her hoof.

"Mah little brother, the fancy pants, hoity toity ar-teest! Boy howdy, never thought I'd see the day an Apple had himself an "art gallery!"" Her eyes were drying, and she once again put on her "big sister" face. He just swiped at her hoof and smiled back, glad that for now, the tension had been lifted. They still had much that needed to be fixed, a lot of things to talk aout, but for now, everything melted back in to familiarity in the maddening way only a family can know.

Now, it was Cherry's turn to be introduced; And he let Prairie know it was his turn by sliding up next to him and clearing his throat rather LOUDLY.

Applejack looked at him with a raised eyebrow, comments clearly just below the surface. Seeing her expression made Prairie secretly smile in fond familiarity, but he let out a good-natured groan as he submitted to the cyan unicorn's quiet/loud demand.

"Ah yes, Applejack, this is my very special somepony, Cherry Bomb. Say hello to his royal fanny."

Cherry Bomb had simply preened- At least until that last part, startling Cherry and earning Prairie a smack on the shoulder from the ruffled colt and a good hearty laugh from Applejack. Rarity, however, looked like she had found her new best friend.

"Oh my, darling, you are simply exquisite! You look like a stallion Fleur de Lil!"

"Me? Why, I should be the one complimenting you, love; I'm in the presence of the legendary disappearing icon Rarity! You were supposed to be the next Jean Paul Goatier!"

"If I had been, you would have starred both my stallions AND mares fashion collections!"

Spike silently fumed, glaring at Cherry. As the two began trading increasingly dramatic compliments, Twilight took Applejack aside, confused.

"Applejack... I'm delighted that you've forgiven Prairie, but..." She struggled for the words, but Applejack just smiled and brought her hat down, narrowing the conversation to just them.

"Twilight, when I looked in that colt's eyes, I saw mahself as a little filly, just home from Manehatten. I didn't see that little foal that ran away, who looked down when he got yelled at, and cried when he got scared of the dark. Heck, maybe ah'm a darn fool and I really should go buck 'im in the teeth, but... I think my little brother became a stallion, and if this is the journey he had to take, then ain't mah business to hate 'im for it. Rarity was right; Cain't help but love yer family."

Twilight's eyes were saucers as he friend once again proved that there really was a sharp mind under that hick stetson hat.
Finally, Prairie cleared his throat and told everypony to follow him so that he could properly show them the gallery, and everypony conceded, the anticipation clear on their faces.

He brought them back to the doors, and then headed right, into a small section with small, square canvases. Whatever small joking and conversation had existed in the group prior, faded away almost immediately as they slowed their pace, faces upturned in awe.

"These aren't at all what you described his work was like in Ponyville, rarity," Twilight whispered absently to her friend, but a glance in the white unicorn's direction showed more than Rarity could have said.

"That's because they're not," A faint, whispered reply came and then they were all silent.

Indeed, the pieces were unlike the striking portraits and nature-based realism; In its place, there were stunning works of abstract expressionism. Textured canvases of paint that dripped and splashed in brilliant, expressive colors; With each new painting, a wave of a new, strong emotion would come over each of the ponies.

Prairie Fire walked slowly along behind them, a weary, shy smile creeping up every time he saw one of them gasp, saw their eyes widen, and saw Rarity thrust her hoof into her chest, utterly stricken. As they moved between a maze of white walls and architecture, gently led by Prairie, they came upon the main section of his gallery; His masterpieces. Everypony stopped, beyond speech. Prairie had been ahead of them, leading, but stopped and turned, his face stoic, reading their reactions.
These were a combined effort of his abstract abilities, and his portraiture. There were paintings of Applejack, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, Applebloom, on one wall, and on another, were Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and of course, Rarity in all her beauty. They were painted in perfect, realistic detail over a splash of abstract colors. Nopony was more shocked than Applejack.

She rushed over, reaching out to touch the single large painting in the middle of her wall, of all of them together at the table, that fateful morning. It was done in first pony perspective; Prairie's view, looking only over the table. Applebloom was on the left side, blissful,with Big Mac was feeding her. Granny Smith, on the right, was looking worriedly at Applejack. Applejack was the center of the picture, glaring straight at the viewer, domineering over the table.

The girls stared at her, her face a mask of emotions as she looked on. Prairie looked from her to them, and pointedly waited for them to look at their own portraits. They all glanced at each other, and then turned to "their" wall. Applejack slowly turned back to him, apprehensive.

"Okay," she stated hesitantly, and was about to finish with something else, but instead just looked at him, beyond words.

He nodded.

She nodded back.

Twilight, the only one without a portrait of herself to admire, approached Prairie, starting to tell him, " Prairie Fire, this is a really phenomenal-"

He held up a hoof to her, shushing her for the moment.

"Twilight Sparkle, right? You're the one who brought my sister and I back together. There's something you need to see."
He turned and walked away, and she, confused, followed him. The rest of the girls looked at each other and shrugged; They were pretty sure they were allowed to follow, so they did.

He came to a last, tiny room with one huge painting in the middle, covered by a tarp.

"Yesterday, after I saw you, I knew that you were the last detail needed to complete my masterpiece, so I painted all day and night to finish it. You're the first ponies ever to see it."

He yanked a huge black cord, and the curtains pulled away, revealing the most beautiful and startling painting the mane six had ever seen.

It was Celestia and the six; Celestia took up more than half of the canvas on top, staring imperiously down at them, wings spread beautifully over the busts of the six ponies, who were all looking up innocently, except for Twilight whose eyes were glowing white and in the center.

"This is amazing..." Twilight half whispered. They were all perfectly detailed, as if the last time he'd seen the main six was the day before he painted it, rather than years ago. "And you only saw me for a few minutes. How did you know how I react to powerful magic? How did you capture the girls so perfectly when you haven't see them for years? When-"

"During those two years, I was in some very hard times. When you're alone, anypony special to you will imprint their image on your mind clearly."

"And you had sketches of them..." Cherry Bomb mumbled under his breath, unimpressed by his coltfriend's overly romantic interpretation, but nopony heard him.

"Well it sure is cool!" Spike remarked, staring bug-eyed at the painting.

"The other really should come admire these, don't you think?" Rarity asked, a bit breathless. For once, even she couldn't try to put together a comment on the actual painting, being so overwhelmed as she was. Twilight and Spike agreed, and Prairie smiled his appreciation, and they made plans to have everypony come spend an afternoon at the gallery soon; Meanwhile, Applejack sat away from them, lost in thought. A white hoof landed on her shoulder, and she looked up at the Princess's benevolent face.

"So, my little pony. Have you learned anything today?"

Applejack pondered the thought for a moment. She was not one to give an answer without being sure it was the honest one, and soon, her face brightened.

"I s'pose I did!"

Celestia's smile only grew warmer. "If you'll dictate it, I will write your letter right now."

Excited and honored, Applejack jumped up and bowed to her princess. "It would be an honor to have you pen it! Let's see..."

"Dear Princess Celestia;
Sometimes, a family works in strange ways. Even when you swear you're never gonna ever talk to them again, you get together and it's like nothing ever changed. Suddenly, your little brother is just your little brother again, even if you two go history that would make the sweetest apples go sour. The point is, family is always your family, and if you can't forgive your family, well, who CAN you forgive?
Signed, your faithful subject, Applejack."

Suddenly, after the letter was dictated, some young colts had come into the gallery, and noticed Cherry Bomb's hoof slung around Prairie's shoulder.

"Eew, coltcuddlers!" One of them cried, and Applejack tore into action, racing toward them.

"Y'all better git before ah tear you a new flankhole! NOPONY insults an Apple if AH have anything to say about it!"
The girls laughed as the colts scrambled through the revolving door before Applejack had their heads on a platter.
Prairie Fire looked to his sister appreciatively. He would need to teach her a few things about political correctness, but the fact that after all this time, she was on his side, meant more than he could express.

Comments

[Inkarus]

It's been a great ride, everypony, and thank you to those who stuck with me the whole time! I've got a few ideas in the works, now it's just time to figure out which one to run with next!

And please, tell me what you think about the story as a whole, and the ending.

[Bronyhood of steel]

very good story

[Inkarus]

485511

Thanks.

[Bronyhood of steel]

485516
no prob amazing story

[BlueEricsson]

I loved this. Thank You

[Inkarus]

486179
You're quite welcome! Thanks for sticking with the story!

[Chill Mists(Chilly)]

I enjoyed reading this, well done.

[Inkarus]

488180

Thanks! I'm glad my first pony fic wasn't a total bust.

[Inkarus]

Eventually, I'll be writing a sequel to this, describing Cherry's life and how he met Prairie Fire. Before then, however, I have some concepts I'd like to explore. But this story still has more to be told!

Thanks for everything, ladies and gentlecolts.

[-Brutus]

Love how those colts shat and run out before Applejack would have her hoofs on them.

[MrRainyDays]

I was expecting this kind of ending, both him alive or dead ending there would be paintings of the apple family, Still i enjoyed the story :P

[Inkarus]

1023814

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[snivy123451]

Prairie Fire is the most amazing Blank flank ever!

[mark17]

This story deserves more credit than what it has been given. Having just discovered this fic about 8 months after its completion I have to say I'm disappointed that this masterpiece only has 10 thumbs. I wish to write like this, but I don't have much time to practise. One of my very favourite favourites. I urge you to listen to the song "Porcelain" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers while reading the final chapter. Although the lyrics are irrelevant, the song just seems to fit the exact mood of the scene. Thank you very much for a fantastic experience and I hope to read more of your work.

[Inkarus]

1888254

Heh, he's not actually a blank flank, I just couldn't figure out how to put a cutie mark on the picture. I never really talked about his cutie mark, though, did I? (Has forgotten.)

[Inkarus]

1889117

Thanks, but it's definitely not a masterpiece. I have much to learn!

[snivy123451]

1889605 Thats what confused me.. sorry, just thought I would put a stupid pun there. i feel bad now

[Aldon]

1889117

i freaking agree with him...you created a great character from childhood to maturity with many problems and changes in his life...also you narrated all of the mane six perfectly (in my opinion on how they act).

Great job, great story and many thumbs for you

[SpaceTimeBrony]

Simply wonderful, no words can describe how heart felt this was, heartfelt enough to keep me up the whole night, getting no sleep, with important tests tomorrow in two hours, but, worth it, simply amazing!

[Guy_Incognito]

Um, I'm real shit at writing reviews, but I really wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed this fic. A lot.

This is the first 'OC in Ponyville' story I've read in a really, really, really long time that I honestly enjoyed from the get go to the let go. I could rant and rave about all the cliche's you avoided and how you did everything 'right' when lots of other people do them 'wrong' but I'll bite my tongue when it comes to that kind of stuff. The characters (The non-OC ones) all felt very in character and I really liked the character of Prairie Fire. He didn't feel anywhere near as hopelessly despondent and suicidally depressed like a lot of OC characters tend to be, and he also wasn't Cocaine Happy or Fonzie Over Confident. He felt real.

My only complaint, and please don't take this as anything more than constructive criticism that you don't neccesarily have to agree with, is that you'd brought Cherry Bomb into the story either earlier, or spent more time on their relationship. I mean, it was nice to see them happy in the end but he kind of pops up out of nowhere with like a half a paragraph of "And then he met Cherry Bomb and he was happy" to describe it. Again, I'm not trying to sound like an asshole, I just thought since he ended up being Prairie Fire's 'Special Somepony' he could have used a little more attention and focus. (Well, that and I'm a sucker for Cute M/M couples.)

All in all, this is a really great story and I'm glad it's got such a big fan base (Lot's of OC stuff, and especially OC and M/M stuff gets sorta brushed over I find.) I'm not sure if it's like 'done' done, or if you're planning on a sequel but I'd happily read more adventures of Prairie Fire and Cherry Bomb.

[Inkarus]

1919123

Thanks! I have no idea where this sudden attention came from; Back when I was writing this, it had two followers and one that snuck up one me as the story finished. I have a lot of personal criticisms for the story but I'm glad that, for the most part, some people have enjoyed my story. And I'm really glad you guys think I wrote the cannon characters in-character; It's always tricky to write a character you didn't create.

And yeah, as for Cherry Bomb... I actually planned to write a sort-of sequel about Cherry's life, and write their whole love story though it in Cherry's POV, but I haven't been writing a lot of fanfiction recently. Still, if I do, I look forward to your support.

[Inkarus]

3246047

Hehe, yeaaaaah...

I didn't think that one through a lot, I'm not going to lie. I'm really way past this story now, though, so I probably won't rewrite it. I mean, honestly, that whole thing there is ridiculous and I don't even like the stereotyping I forced little AJ into for the sake of the story. Altogether this is more of my embarrassing past than anything, which is sad considering in the grand scheme of things it's not that long ago.

[PrinceCelestia]

3263563
This story deserves more admiration than anybody could give i wish i could forget it so i could read it with new appreciating eyes than before, thank you for making something so wonderful to read.