Something was amiss at Sweet Apple Acres.
It wasn’t as if the orchard on the western outskirts of Ponyville wasn’t always filled with the sound of leaves rustling and hooves clopping against the hard, unforgiving bark of the apple trees. Today, however, was different. Today, the shaking of the apple trees and the stomping of hooves did not come from the typical applebucking that the Apple family was so well known for.
No, instead, these sounds came from the stallion Big Macintosh, who was charging through Sweet Apple Acres so fast it was clear his life didn’t depend on it; someone else’s did. Sweat coursed through his bright red coat and slicked his dirty blonde mane against his forehead. Fatigue was showing in Big Mac’s eyes and movements; he had not slept last night, and the exhaustion left his eyes baggy and blackened and his breathing strained and full of more effort than usual.
Despite this, pure and simple rage drove the stallion’s hooves forward. Big Mac was determined to seek revenge on the stallion that had left the countless red marks of tightly held ropes and the shallow, not yet scabbed over cuts that adorned some parts of his body. Running through Sweet Apple Acres had given him plenty of time to think. And what he thought about was simply this:
How could he do this?
Big Mac’s troubled mind flashed back to what had only been a few days ago, when he had been gathered along with his little sisters Applebloom and Applejack by their Granny Smith in the dining room.
“What’s this all about, Granny Smith? I was on a hot sreak buckin’ them apple trees!” Applejack said, rather irritated, despite her usual patience with other ponies.
“Pipe down, young’n, ahma gettin’ to it.” Granny Smith retorted, laying back in her rocking chair.
“Tell us then!” Applebloom said, the bright yellow filly just as impatient as her big sister.
Granny Smith took a moment to clear her throat, and then looked around at her grandchildren. “Yer Uncle Jacknife is stoppin’ by Ponyville fer a few days, and ah though y’all’d like t’ know.”
Applejack and Applebloom were confused, but Big Mac appeared to be unexpectedly excited at these events, which was rather out of character for the usually reserved stallion.
“Uncle Jacknife!?” Big Mac said in his deep, gruff voice. “He ain’t been around these parts since Applejack was born.”
“I know, I know, it has been quite a while, sonny.” Granny Smith said.
“Wait wait wait, who is Jacknife and why have I never heard of him until now?” Applejack asked, a little irked that she had been left out of the loop.
Granny Smith adjusted her glasses and turned to look Applejack directly in the eyes.
“Well, this ain’t an easy story to tell, Applejack. You better be ready to hear quite a bit. Many years ago, back when you were very first born, there was a great civil war among the three pony tribes, just like there was so many more years ago, like y’all talked about in that fancy-schmancy theater show’a yers. Now, what with yer maw and paw bein’ simple Earth Ponies, they ended up bein’ assigned to the frontlines. I couldn’t go, what with mah already bein’ so old. It was a hard, bloody war, and many ponies were injured, yer paw included. Was fightin’ a pegasus who just picked him up and dropped him right outta the sky. Broke his hooves in all the wrong places.
“That… That’s awful…” Applejack said, her eyes filling with tears.
“’Twas around the same time yer mother died, AJ…” Granny Smith said, her head bowing towards the floor sadly.
The Apples sat in silence for a while, all (except Applebloom) remembering what little they could of Applejack’s mother. Eventually, Granny Smith heaved a heavy sigh and continued.
“In the hospital yer paw ended up in, he was operated on by one of the best unicorn doctors there, Jackknife. Good ol’ Jackknife was always better and straighter with a scalpel than any other pony I’ve yet to meet. His cutie mark was even a scalpel and a needle and thread. Given the delicacy of the procedure, yer paw came to be pretty close friends with Jackknife. By the time everything was back in place, yer paw considered Uncle Jackknife the brother he’d never had.
“Whatever happened to Paw?” Applejack asked, already slightly sure of the answer.
Granny Smith looked at Applejack, and then to Big Mac, and then to Applebloom. She heaved a heavy sigh.
“Well, after that, yer paw went back… He was in a different regiment, and that was where he met Applebloom’s mother. She ended up pregnant with little Applebloom, and was discharged. Our armies needed soldiers too badly to let yer paw go, and so he let her go, promising her he’d be back soon to help take care of Applebloom…
“And he… he didn’t make it?” Applejack asked, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks, along with her sisters and her brother’s.
“’Fraid not, Applejack…” Granny Smith said, a tear slipping down her cheek, as well.
“What about my momma?” Applebloom said, her eyes already stinging with saline and the fur on her face mussed and flattened by streaks of tears.
“Well… She… She didn’t make it when she gave birth to ya…” Granny Smith said slowly.
Applebloom looked to her older brother and sister, now sobbing.
“Y’ALL KNEW ABOUT THIS AND Y’ALL NEVER TOLD ME?” she demanded of her startled brother and sister. Before they could breathe a word, she was outside of the room, running up the stairs, slamming the door, and finally locking it; her heavy sobs still shaking the foundations of the house and the hearts of her family.
Applejack turned to Granny Smith, her eyes red and fur mussed in the same fashion as everyone elses.
“What happened after that? What about the war, Granny?” Applejack nearly demanded, not knowing this was why she had lost her mother and father, a fact she had never come to terms with as a filly nor as a full-grown mare.
“Eventually, after realizing none could best the other, the three tribes agreed to peace. But not before there was more bloodshed. The pegasi were always known fer their brute, warrior-like tactics. As such, yer friends Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash also lost their parents, and later on, Scootaloo as well. Even yer friend Pinkie Pie… Her family was killed in an unfortunate case of civilian crossfire. That’s why she lives with the Cakes now.”
Applejack was shocked. She had no idea that such a horrible reality was why she had never met her three friend’s parents.
“But what about Twi and Rarity? Their parents are still around.”
“Unicorns are almost never on the frontlines, dearie; much better at healing and the like. A lot more of them survived and moved away from Ponyville.” Granny Smith said almost plainly.
There was nothing left to say, so the Apples simply sat in silence for a long time, thinking about their relatives and war and poor little Applebloom, crying herself hoarse upstairs. None of the them got much sleep that night, Granny Smith included.
The next day, it was a sunny afternoon, around 1:00. Applejack and Big Mac were sitting at the kitchen table, expecting Uncle Jackknife, and glanced out the window every few minutes, waiting to see a silhouetted figure walking towards the farm. However, what they eventually saw approaching the barn was not one silhouette, but two. All they could do is sit in surprise as the figures came closer.
this looks good, cant wait for the update
690458
Thanks for reading! I'm planning on getting updates out there as much as possible, but the horrible procrastination... ;-;
Very interesting topic and premise, no errors as far as I can see.
Let's see where you take this. dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Bonbon_grin.png
690476
*gasp* Two readers this quickly?
Thanks for reading! I'll try not to disappoint.
690483
I'm counting on you, young grasshopper. dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/eenope.png
i3.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/002/796/447px-Manlytears3.jpg
I will not disappoint you, Sensei
Teen -tag is enough if it's mild gore and sex mentions. I see you've tagged it correctly nevertheless.
You should've saved the get-together from the readers. You basically explained everything what happens in this fic in your descriptions. I, for one, prefer surprises in the text. But, everyone runs with their own styles, I guess.
690564
I don't really get what you mean. All I did was give a basic description about what the setup was. It doesn't go into detail about what anyone says or does, it's just letting you know the background of the story. The gathering is necessary for establishing a plot device and introducing an important character. I wanted to have a real, solid reason as to why this character knew the Apple family, not just come up with some silly, obvious reason. It becomes important later on as well. Either way, thank you for you feedback and thank you for reading!
Cheerilee and Big Mac just get together at the end.
This is what I meant
690599
Ohhhhh.
Well, yes, but I figured that that much was obvious, since I said it was a CheeriMac shipfic at its heart, because that's what the idea started out as. I only added that because I wanted to make it clear that this includes more themes than just Cheerilee and Big Macintosh getting together, although it does happen. But it's the journey that makes it fun, not the destination, right? ...Right?
690620
Yeah I guess. It's just that these things are usually left for the reader to find out. You just told the ending here, it's like someone would make an awesome game and you'd be playing dat game. Then comes your friend and says what happens in the game and in it's ending
690631
WAIT. I think I see the issue now.
I said "Cheerilee and Big Mac just get together at the end"
What I should have said was "Cheerilee and Big Mac just happen to get together at the end."
The ending isn't just a simple "And then they bucked" and a "The End", if that's what you felt like it meant.
At least, I hope that's what you felt like it meant xD
No no not at all. You dirty minded you
What I meant is that a description should tell something, but not the basic plot lines of the story. It's like a back cover of the book. It gives ya a basic hint of what has happened and/or what's going to happen, but doesn't tell anything that will happen inside the story.
I find it funny that 22 people have at least glanced at the text on their screens, but only two have given it a rating. dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/sillyfilly_Applejack.png
Come on, people! Moral support is needed for this awesome author!
690670
Ahh, now I see your point. That is a very good point, I will definitely keep it in mind when I write descriptions in the future. Sorry for the "spoiler"
690689
That right there is all the moral support I need. I feel all fuzzy in my internal organs
690772
Yay for internal organs!
I like the start here, and look forward to the rest, but there was one thing that didn't make sense to me. You said there was a civil war between the three pony tribes, but then that unicorns are almost never on the frontline. Who are on the unicorn's frontline, then?
690881 Thanks for reading! As for your question, the way I figured is the unicorns fought from a more artillery-type standpoint, with some on the frontlines, and a few being neutral or free for hire medics and other things like that. The same applies to Earth ponies and pegasi, since there are always those who are willing to make a buck who don't care about politics. Thank you for pointing that out, though, I think I may edit the story to compensate for that.
I'm a tad confused. Applebloom has a different mother? Or was she just mad no one told her how her mother died? I mean I imagine she knew that her mother was dead, so she must be mad about being a half-sister? I tried reading it again, but it's still ambiguous and worst of all ITS BOTHERING ME
693056
Yes, Applebloom has a different mother than Applejack and Big Macintosh, but they all have the same father, whom is Granny Smith's son. I can see how it can be confusing. Sorry about that Regardless, thanks for reading!
693056
Oh shit, I forgot to mention that it's implied that Applebloom was never told that her mother was dead, just that she wasn't around along with their father, which is what made her so upset.
I can't wait for the next part! Its sooo great!