Applejoy

by BronyNeumo

It's a (Apple)Joyful Life! (Chapters 4-8)

Chapter 4

It’s a (Apple)Joyful Life!

“Dear Princess Celestia,

I’m worried about Applejack. She hasn’t been herself lately. I think it’s because of the money problems we’ve been having lately, but whenever I try to talk to her about it, she just brushes it off as if it were nothing. But it isn’t nothing, Princess, I know there’s something wrong – something bothering her. She’s just being too stubborn to admit it. She’s been growing more and more distant and gloomy lately, but I don’t know what to do. I know we don’t normally write to ask favors, but please, help her. She needs help, even if she won’t admit it. She never thinks about herself, Princess, that’s why she’s in trouble. Please, help her. I love her, Princess, I really do.

Your loyal subject,

Rainbow Dash”

A regal, white, alicorn with a long, flowing, blue, green, and pink mane looked up from the parchment scroll which floated before her lazily in a cloud of magical essence. Sitting up on the plush cushion she had laid upon, Princess Celestia frowned. She swung her head left and right, her gaze sweeping around her royal bed chamber. Her view fell upon the ticking clock that graced her far wall. It was nearly time for sunset – she could be expecting her sister’s arrival any moment now.

As if on cue, the double doors to her bed chamber creaked and began to swing open. Princess Celestia stood and strode over to them, ready to great her younger counterpart. “Hello, Luna. I see it is that time of day again.”

“Yes, indeed it is, Dear Sister.” They smiled at one another before turning to stride from the room, opening the fancy double doors that led out onto a balcony overlooking the rest of Canterlot. High above the city streets they stood, side-by-side, a cold winter wind whipping through their already-billowing manes, and both turned their gazes to the evening sky. “Ready when you are.”

Celestia closed her eyes and concentrated, her long, white horn becoming enveloped in an aura of glimmering magic. Seeing her sister begin to focus her power, Princess Luna closed her eyes and did the same, the magical energies of both ponies reaching out far above them into to take full control of two heavenly bodies. From their perch above Equestria’s capitol, the princesses began their evening ritual to change day into night. Gradually, the sun, which had rested near the horizon, began to move – dipping closer and closer to the distant line which divided earth from sky. Simultaneously, the moon began to rise from its day-time hiding place, peeking from above the horizon line opposite the setting sun. The cloudy sky above Equestria became awash in a dazzling display of brilliant hues of color. Reds, oranges, and yellows slowly transitioned into the deep blues and purples which heralded the night’s arrival.

In the darkening space between each cloud, stars, previously hidden by the light of the day, began to wink into wakefulness, gracing the night sky with numerous pinpricks of white light as the last winking rays of the sun slipped out of sight. The moon, now fully visible above the horizon, began its nocturnal trek across the sky. Opening their eyes and stepping back to survey their work, Celestia and Luna gazed in silence across the land and sky that they controlled, seeing the shining lights of the city below and the twinkling of far-off Ponyville in the distance. Satisfied with their efforts, both turned and strode back through the double doors to re-enter the bed chamber.

“I trust you had a good sleep today, sister?”

“Why yes of course. I slept rather soundly this day.”

“That’s good to hear, Luna. Such rest is a luxury I may not be afforded this night.”

“Why ever not?”

“My attention has been brought to a problem with one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. It seems Applejack has fallen upon hard times. Her family is growing increasingly worried about her.”

“How serious is this problem? It is unusual for one of the bearers to be involved in a personal problem so great that you are involved so soon.”

“I do not believe that this is a new problem. From the letters I have received, it appears to be something that has been growing within her for a while. I fear the worst, so I believe it prudent to act as quickly as possible.”

“How many letters have you received?”

“Three, so far; one from her wife and the Element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash; one from her elder brother, Macintosh; and one from the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy. All were sent via dragon’s fire, so I deem them to be of the utmost importance, and all referenced concern over Applejack.”

“What specifically did they entail?”

“They cited a growing coldness, and an increased despondency on the part of Applejack. From the looks of it, it appears this condition has manifested itself over the last few weeks and has been growing steadily, accelerating over just the last few days. I have reason to believe that tonight is her crucial night. If nothing is done to help her now, it may be too late.”

“What do you plan to do?”

“I will sleep, but tonight, I shall dream. Usually, I prefer to go without the distraction, but tonight I shall make an exception. This situation may call for drastic action, Luna. I believe I shall be doing some ‘speaking’ tonight.”

Princess Luna’s eyes lit up at the mention of such an ancient and rarely-used tactic. “Are you sure, dear sister? Such a course of action is certainly not normal; does this situation warrant such communication?”

“I am certain it shall. If ever I saw a necessary time to call upon one of my former subjects, it is now.”

“Very well. I shall make sure that no one disturbs you in your endeavor.” Luna neared her sister, drawing her in for a tender hug before she turned to head towards the hall door, stepping out to leave Celestia to her work.

“Thank you, dear sister. Good night.”

“Good night.” The set of doors clicked shut behind the retreating form of the Princess of the Night, allowing the Princess of the Day leave to remove her golden shoes and crown. After completing her usual routine, Celestia climbed into her large, round, royal bed. Curling herself under a set of comfortable blankets, she allowed her body to relax, her mind began to concentrate as she went limp and her eyes closed. Focused on one specific goal, Celestia began to craft a dreamscape for her nocturnal undertakings, shaping and changing the very fabric of mental space and warping the reality of her dreams to suit her purposes. Satisfied that she had mentally prepared herself thoroughly, Princess Celestia relaxed her mind along with her body, finally slowing sleep to take her. But even as she sank deeper into the invisible folds of slumber, her horn began to glow with the magic necessary to complete her mission.

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Celestia’s hooves clicked against an unseen surface as she walked. She was surrounded by a billowing, inky blackness – an infinite dark expanse that seemed to shimmer as she strode through it. She stopped her movements, allowing herself to listen to the noises rushing from the black void to all sides of her. Voices, giggles, sobs, songs – sounds made by anypony and everypony; ponies alive and dead; ponies whose memories came here, flowed from the shimmering black emptiness that surrounded the princess.

Celestia smiled to herself. In her dreams, when she chose to have them, she often brought herself here – to the place of memories. Behind the illusion that was the billowing curtain of black; lay the memories of ponies past and present; memories whose whispered words could still be heard flowing from the black void. Coming here, watching, listening, allowed her to connect with the past as much as monitor the present. Experiencing her subjects’ memories allowed her to relate to those of the present and to remember those of the past. She came here to keep silent vigil, she came here to learn, and she came here to reminisce. It was rare, however, that she came here to speak.

Shaking away the assault of whispers, Celestia broke her lapse of concentration and closed her eyes, her horn glowing once again, and allowed her magic to see its way through the sea of memories where her eyes were useless. Pursing through the limitless expanse, her far-reaching magic finally found what it was looking for – a specific memory of one pony. Concentrating hard on the visage of this pony, Celestia whispered a name, her near-silent message travelling along the length of her magic to awaken the memory and bring it forth from beyond the dark void. “Sweet Apple.”

The Princess of the Sun opened her eyes to the approaching sound of clopping hooves. From out of the seemingly endless expanse of darkness, a shadowy figure began to emerge. The pony’s features gradually illuminated as she drew nearer to the princess, finally being immersed in full light as she drew from the shadowy void to bow at the princess’s hooves. “It is an honor, Princess.” The amber-coated mare, even if she was just a reflection of a pony long gone, still kneeled before her ruler, her shock of a red mane draping down over her face.

“Please rise, Sweet Apple. You no longer owe allegiance to me.”

“To what do Ah owe this visit, then?” The mare looked up from the black space below them to gaze at the princess, her soft, caring green eyes showing confusion as she drew to stand on her hooves.

Celestia smiled at the pony who stood a few heads shorter than she, “I have a specific assignment that I require your assistance with. A pony in Equestria needs our help.”

“No offense princess, but wouldn’t it be better to ask the help of another pony; a living pony?”

“In most instances, yes, it would be more prudent to seek a live messenger, but I find this situation calls for your unique position – whether you are alive or relegated to memory.” Celestia turned and began to walk away, leading Sweet Apple to follow in her hoofsteps, their hooves making further clicking sounds as they traversed the swirling blackness below them. Celestia craned her head to look at her companion once more, “Besides. Your daughter can be quite stubborn at times.”

Sweet Apple stopped in her tracks, stammering as this new information washed over her. “Mah… mah daughter?”

“Oh yes. It would seem Applejack has run into quite some difficulties as of lately, which is why I chose you to seek her out and talk with her, so that you may set her straight the way only a mother can.”

“Well… well thank ya kindly, princess, but… but how? Ah can’t just go back to Equestria can Ah? Ah mean… Ah’m… Ah’m…”

“Dead. Yes. And I am afraid that you cannot go back to Equestria. Even in your present form you are but a shadow of memory, and no amount of magic can change that. So, no, you shall not be able to reach out to her in physical form, but we will cross that bridge when we reach it. Right now, I need you to follow me.”

“Where are we going?” Sweet Apple hastened to catch up with the Princess of the Sun as she began to fall behind – not wanting to lose track of her guide as only she seemed to be able to navigate the endless shadowy space.

“If you are going to help her, you must know more about her life since you left. We should be able to view some of her memories if I can find them.” Celestia began turning her head, swinging her long, illuminated horn as if homing in on something. Suddenly, her head abruptly jerked to the side and she stared at the endless black expanse for several seconds before clearing her throat. “Ah. Here we are.”

“Where is here? Ah don’t see anythin’.”

“Patience. All will become clear soon enough.” Turning back to face the dark, shadowy wall before them, Princess Celestia’s horn began to glow. As it did so, the cloudy shadows seemed to begin to move. Lit and given depth by the light of the princess’s horn, he wisp wall of black clouds started to break apart and swirl around itself – individual shadows slowly drawn into a swirling dark vortex, spinning faster and faster as the energy imparted upon it by the princess’s magic grew. As they spun faster, the shadowy clouds began to drift apart, revealing light which shined through the gaps left by parting wisps of smoke. The growing light pushed at the edges of the receding blackness, and individual shining gaps merged and grew to form a round window – offering a view through the black curtain to the memory within.

Gradually, as the swirling of the black clouds around the window slowed to a halt, the bright white light too began to fade, dimming to reveal the full colors of a scene below them. The shapes and colors of a room opened up before them, details of fixtures and ponies gradually becoming apparent as they watched. Sweet Apple gasped as she recognized the room. “This… this is my house! What… what memory is this?”

“It is from a time not a few weeks after your departure. Watch closely. Something very important happens here.”

As they watched, movement began to stir in the living room scene. An elder green mare with a mane and tail white with age sat in a rocking chair, slowly moving back and forth in a rhythmic pattern, a sleeping baby foal, yellow with a short red mane and tail, dozed peacefully on her lap. Crackling flames occupied the fireplace, casting their warm, dim glow across the whole room. The old mare sat straight up, alert, watching the front door as if she expected something to happen.

Suddenly, the front door in the adjacent foyer swung open, letting in a gust of wind that fluttered scarves on the nearby hangers. Through the open portal to the outside stepped another pony. A tall brown stallion, blonde mane and tail whipping in the outside wind, picked his way over the threshold and swayed as he staggered awkwardly into the room, stumbling his way through the foyer and towards the inviting glow of the fireplace.

“And just where have you been? I assume you lost track of time again? That’s the fourth time this week.” The green mare sopped rocking back and forth and focused on the stallion, who froze as he heard her voice, swaying a bit before he finally steadied himself.

“You leave me alone, mare. My bushinesh is my bushinesh.” The stallion’s angry words slurred together as he spoke, most of his concentration remained fixed on keeping what little balance he had.

“Clearly. I see you’ve been out drinking again.”

“Whass it to you?”

“Nothing. Besides you being a danger to yourself and your own children.”

“I’ll do whatever I ruddy well like to myself. Thank-you-very-much. And what are you doing holding that thing? I told you I didn’t want to see it no more.”

“Oh this?” The elder mare glared at the inebriated stallion, indicating the sleeping foal in her lap, “This just happens to be yer youngest daughter. Or have ya drunken yerself past the point o’ remembering her?”

“I remember it, alright. I only wish I didn’t. That thing cosht me the love of my life. I want nothing to do with it.”

“‘The love of yer life’, ta hear you talk. She would never believe the way ya’ve been acting since she left. Why, treatin’ the very child she gave her life to give you in the way that ya do, she would be disgusted with ya.”

“Don’t you shay a word about her. I don’t hafta essplain myshelf to you. You’re jusht my mother-in-law. You can’t bossh me around.”

“She was my daughter, ya no-good, self-centered mule. You don’t deserve to keep her memory, the way you treat her children now.”

“Get outta my way, you old hag.” The stallion wobbled menacingly close to the old mare, swaying back and forth as he struggled to lurch forward. The elder calmy set the child down behind her on the rocker, stepping forward to face the stallion’s wrath. “I’ll teach you to order a shtallion around!”

The drunken pony never expected to take a cane to the face. Unbalanced by the blow, he crumbled to a heap on the living room floor, groaning as the green mare smirked over him. “Get out o’ mah house.”

“You… you… you have no right… to kick… to kick me outta my own home.” The stallion gasped, struggling to even regain his hooves.

“The hay Ah don’t. Ya may have married into this family but this is still mah farm and mah house. Now leave. Ah don’t want ya here endangerin’ me nor the kids anymore.”

“You know… you know what? Fine.” The stallion finally managed to clamber back into a somewhat standing position, swaying more as he took blind, drunken steps backwards towards the door. “I don’t need you. I don’t need anypony. Shure, I’ll leave. But don’t esspect me to come back!”

“Good riddance. Ya’re a bad influence on yer own children. And don’t come back until ya’ve straightened yerslef out.” The old mare saw him out the door, watching as he stumbled out across the dark yard and out of sight. She shut the door behind her. It was only when she turned back around and moved shakily back into the living room that she saw the filly in the doorway; the little orange filly with the straw-blonde mane and tail who had sat watching the entire exchange in silence. “Applejack, sweetie. What are you doing out of bed? It’s late.”

“Granny? Where… where’s… where’s Pa goin’?”

“He’s going to go get help, AJ. He needs help.”

“Why?”

“He’s been very sad ever since yer mother left, AJ. He needs ta leave ta get help and feel better.” The old mare smiled at her elder granddaughter, returning to the rocking chair to scoop the younger onto her back. “Come on, let’s get ya and yer sister up ta bed.”

“When’s he coming back, Granny?”

The old mare’s features feel, her wrinkles becoming more pronounced as she sighed and frowned to herself. She suddenly looked very much her age. “Ah don’t know, AJ. Ah just don’t know.”

Almost as suddenly as they had receded to reveal the scene, the swirling black wisps of smoke grew back to shroud the window into the memory once again. The vision of the living room faded to black, once again leaving Princess Celestia and Sweet Apple standing in silence in the darkness. It took a while for the amber earth pony, blinking away tears, to gain enough composure to address her companion. “P-princess? Ah… Ah had no idea. How… how could he… how could he have done this?”

“Grief can change ponies. Sometimes it changes them very drastically.”

“Has he ever… Ah mean, did he ever…”

“Come back? No. He never did.” Princess Celestia hung her head, allowing a long moment to pass in silence between them before carrying on. “Now. We have more to see.” Her horn began to glow again; wisps of the black shroud once again commenced their characteristic spinning as the withdrew to reveal another window; another memory. Bright light once again shone through the opening, only to dim down to reveal a new scene. Wind blew through the leafy upper branches of row upon row of fruit-laden apple trees. A barn and other farm buildings stood at the center of the grove, tall hillsides behind them. Underneath the leafy archway that served as the gate from the Apple Family Farm to the main road, three ponies stood, talking amongst themselves.

“Are ya sure ya want ta do this, Applejack?” the elderly green mare frowned slightly at her granddaughter as she spoke. “Ya don’t have ta leave if ya don’t want.”

“Ah’m sure, Granny Smith. Ah don’t wanna spend the rest o’ my life on this muddy ol’ apple farm. Besides, everythin’ here just reminds me o’ Ma and Pa, and don’t wanna stay here if all Ah can do is think of them. Ah’ll be better off in Manehatten.”

“Well, Ah suppose Ah can’t stop ya, then. Good luck, Sweetie. We’ll miss ya a whole lot.” Granny Smith stooped to lower her head to her elder granddaughter’s resting her chin against the filly’s forehead for a moment before drawing away, tears just barely brimming in her eyes.

“Bye, Granny Smith, bye Big Mac. Ah promise Ah’ll write when Ah get to the city! Maybe Ah’ll even see Pa again! He might be stayin’ with Aunt and Uncles Orange, too!” The little orange filly shared one last hug with her older brother before scooping up her knapsack and walking down the dirt road, away from her home. Behind her, an aging green mare and a young, red colt shared a glance and a tear as she receded into the distance.

The scene of the farm faded from view, only to be replaced by a new scene – that of a busy city street. Various ponies hurried to and fro and tall buildings of stone, brick, and metal towered above the streets. The orange filly with a blonde mane and tail, looking very small indeed among the taller ponies and even taller structures, walked along the sidewalk. Applejack dodged older ponies as she went, shunted out of the way by several cityfolk as she meandered across town. As she reached the outside of a brick building, the scene began to fade again – once again beginning to change even as she entered the lighted archway of the apartment.

Colors swirled and the scene revealed a posh dinner gathering. Around a central, yellow-clothed table, various well-dressed ponies sat, chatting lightly. Between her aunt and uncle, Applejack, with her mane drawn up high into a tight hairstyle, smiled as she sipped from the drink set in front of her.

“And how are you finding good old Manehatten?”

Applejack turned to address the speaker across the table, answering the question posed of her. “Oh it’s simply divine.”

“Very Well said my dear.” Her aunt leaned in to encourage her.

“Although, I must admit the city noise took some getting used to. Where I’m from, nights are so quiet; you seldom hear a peep until the roosters wake you.”

“A… what?”

“I say my dear, what in the world is a… rooster?” A chorus of laughter caught the filly off guard, laughter that continued to sound until even after the scene had changed, leaving Applejack, gulping nervously, to fade as the image of her face was replaced by that of a bedroom.

“Cock-a-doodle-doo.” Applejack sighed as she gazed out the open window at the new sunrise. “Ah wonder what Granny Smith and Big Macintosh are up to. Ah bet they’re applebuckin’ their way through the Red Delicious trees.” She folded her fore legs under her chin on the windowsill and sighed again, watching as rays of sunlight lit the city skyline for another day away from home. “Oh what Ah wouldn’t give fer just one bite.” Sweet Apple watched helplessly as a tear slid down her daughter’s face, her own eyes beginning to water as she knew she could do nothing to change the memory. Suddenly, the sound of an explosion jolted her to attention, and she watched as a rainbow arced its way across the sky of the memory world, finally crossing the horizon to illuminate a distant farm. The scene once again faded out as Applejack gasped in excitement, mirth sparling in her green eyes.

The tree-lined dirt road leading to the Apple Family farm once again appeared. The filly Applejack raced along its length, galloping happily until she met her family at the gate again, touching heads with her grandmother. For several moments, all were silent. The three ponies basked in the warmth of each other’s presence before a bright flash announced the arrival of three apples to grace Applejack’s flank. Happy to finally be together again, the family, crying tears of joy, slowly walked their way back up to the farmhouse. As they walked, they passed a sign; a sign that had read “Apple Family Farms”, but was now graced with the words “Sweet Apple Acres”.

Princess Celestia spoke as the scene faded once again. “She earned her cutie mark that day because she finally realized that family was the most important thing for her. She realized what it truly meant to be an apple farmer and went back to be with her family, instead of trying to be somepony she was not.” Celestia gestured to the memory window, where another scene had appeared. Applejack, aged slightly from the last vision, now rocked back and forth of the same rocking chair her grandmother had occupied.

Sweet Apple once again found tears in her eyes as she watched her daughter rock her younger daughter, still but a foal, and feed her from a bottle. As she listened, Sweet Apple could hear the crystal clear voice of her elder daughter singing. “Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now quiet now, it’s time to go to bed.”

“Princess… you don’t… you don’t know happy it makes me to be able to watch my children grow. But… why? Why are you showing me this? Certainly this must be more than the information I will need to help her.”

“Because you deserve it, Sweet Apple. Time came for you too soon, so I wish to at least allow you to experience your daughters’ childhood. And, as you will see, Applejack, over time, became the mother Applebloom never had. She was determined to show her sister the same love that you showed her.”

“Ah know. Ah’m so proud of her. But, Ah wonder, what could have gone wrong?”

“Patience. All will be revealed with time.” Both ponies turned back to face the window, watching as the swirling black shadows parted again to reveal more blinding light, and then a brand new scene. Sweet Apple watched, first in confusion, and then in fascination as her daughter and five mares she had never seen before made their way through a dark forest, overcoming various obstacles on a quest to reach some castle. As the memory unfolded before her eyes, she heard the princess speak up once again. “This event is one of the most important ones you will be seeing, but probably requires the most explanation.”

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Chapter 5

It’s a (Apple)Joyful Life!

“If I am to understand this correctly, these five ponies…”

“Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.”

“… and mah Applejack are now a group of best friends, who by using this powerful force…”

“The Elements of Harmony.”

“… have saved Equestria from evil at least twice now?”

“Yes. I do believe you understand that well enough now. The important point is that Equestria would not exist as it does today, had it not been for your daughter and her five friends. If it were even habitable, it would likely be chaotic and quite unpleasant. But thanks to your daughter and her friends, this is not the case. This is how I first came to know Applejack. Because my student, Twilight Sparkle, took her as a friend, I have come to know her well and care about her deeply. This is why. Now that she is so troubled, I have come to you for help. And now, my dear Sweet Apple, is when this little story gets very interesting indeed.”

She grinned as she spoke, her horn glowing and setting the swirls of black shadow spiraling again. Once more, the fog split apart to reveal streaks of brilliant light; streaks which faded into nothingness to reveal a forest landscape. It was dark, what little sunlight reached through the forest canopy served to illuminate only a small portion of the dense undergrowth. Shadows were cast all around, and only the sound of rustling leaves broke the perfect quiet of the scene. The rustling sound grew louder and louder, the leaves of the underbrush beginning to shake as an orange earth pony burst through them. Leaves and twigs tangled themselves in Applejack’s mane as she fought her way through the shrubs, seeking out the light of a clearing up ahead.

Bursting through the brush at the edge of the clearing, Applejack startled three small fillies who had been chatting excitedly. Applejack paused midstep as they looked up towards her. “What the hay are you fillies doin’?”

The three looked at each other and smiled deviously before turning tail and charging off into the dense underbrush. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER FOREST RACERS YAY!!!!" They took off in the opposite direction from Applejack. "Try and catch us, Applejack!" Applebloom shouted backwards.

“Oh, horseapples.” Applejack lowered her head and powered into the forest behind them.

As Sweet Apple watched her daughter push her way through the undergrowth, she heard Celestia’s voice once again cut into her thoughts. “Here is Applebloom, aged several years and playing a game with her friends. The orange pegasus filly is Scootaloo, the white unicorn in Sweetie Belle. Two important things happened on this day to Applejack, so watch carefully.”

The three fillies burst from the forest and gasped as they recognized the edge of a cliff fast approaching. Scootaloo grabbed onto Sweetie Belle’s tail with her mouth and flapped her wings to slow them both to a stop, just barely unable to reach Applebloom, who kept sliding. Applejack broke out of the trees and bounded across the clearing towards he edge and her sliding sister. Just as Applebloom’s rear legs fell over the edge, her fore hooves scrambling for purchase on the edge. Applejack grabbed her, digging her own hind legs into the ground in a desperate effort to stop before they both went over the edge.

Applejack slid to a halt, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo gripping her hind legs and holding her on solid ground while her front half dangled in space, holding onto Applebloom. Applebloom let out a terrifying scream that made Sweet Apple cringe – her eyes focused completely upon the scene before her. A flash of color zoomed into the picture form over the treetops, and a cyan pegasus pony with a rainbow mane slowed to position herself right underneath the dangling ponies. "Applejack!" Rainbow Dash cried, "Applejack, down here, look down here! I'll catch her. Trust me!"

"Applebloom, Ah'm going to let go now. Rainbow Dash is right below me, she's going to catch you. Ah need you to be a big pony and let Rainbow catch you." Applebloom had stopped screaming, but she was shaking now. She shook her head. "Rainbow Dash is the most loyal, trustworthy pony Ah know, she will catch yah. Ah promise. This is the only way to save yerself. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle can't pull us both back up."

"Hey!" Scootaloo interjected, but Applebloom slowly shook her head, the fear and terror prevalent in her eyes. Applejack counted down.

"5… 4… 3… 2… 1…" And she let go. The scream only lasted for a split second before Applebloom landed squarely on Rainbow's shoulders. Rainbow immediately lifted the frightened filly up to the top of the cliff and a set her gently down next to her friends.

"Help me Rainbow Dash, I can't hold on any longer!" Sweetie Belle suddenly cried out. Before Rainbow Dash could do anything, her grip slipped, and Applejack's right hind leg fell over the edge. Scootaloo couldn't hold on for more than a second longer without Sweetie Belle, and she too had to let go.

Rainbow Dash and Sweet Apple gasped simultaneously as Applejack fell. The pegasus darted down into the ravine after her even as Applejack disappeared into the foggy mist below, her last words echoing up against the walls of the canyon. “AH LOVE YOU!”

A few tense seconds passed before the beating of wings disturbed the fog, parting the wisps of gathered condensation to reveal Rainbow Dash, struggling with gritty determination to lift Applejack up and away from the chasm floor. The wind, funneled down the narrow confines of the gorge, whipped at her face, flapping strands of her multicolored mane and drawing tear after tear from her magenta eyes as she and Applejack flew back up towards the ground. “I… I love you, too.” She set Applejack down in the grass a ways form the edge, landing close by herself and nervously pawing the ground for several seconds while Applejack said nothing. “Listen, Applejack, I… uh…”

“No, Sugarcube, you don’t have ta say anything’.” Applejack rushed forward, throwing her fore legs around the pegasus and pressing her muzzle onto Rainbow Dash’s. Rainbow Dash looked shocked for a split second before pressing back to kiss Applejack in full. As the two lovers kissed, forgetting the world around them, the memory faded to black, leaving Sweet Apple to stare in stunned silence.

“She saved her sister’s life that day, and then she fell in love.”

“She fell in love with another mare?”

“Are you surprised?”

“No, actually. Ah can see how it makes sense.”

“You’re taking this better than I would have thought. How could you have known?”

“Even though she was young, Ah saw some signs. Ah never really thought to worry about it, Ah always assumed she would tell us when she was ready, when she was older. Ah never had the chance to know for sure, though. Not until now.”

“She found true happiness with Rainbow Dash. In fact, she was the one who helped your daughter get back on her hooves when she lost her grandmother.”

“Oh dear, Ah always knew Ma was gettin’ on in years. Ah’m glad though. Ah’m glad she was there for my children when Ah couldn’t be.”

“Your composure is remarkable.”

“Ah guess, in death, one gains a new perspective on life.” A now familiar flash of light directed her attention back to the window as another memory made its way into her view. A hospital room materialized before her very eyes. In the hospital bed occupying the center of the room, Applejack lay, looking thoroughly exhausted. Rainbow Dash stood by her side, gently caressing her, and a small bundle lay curled against her chest. Rainbow Dash and Applejack watched as the bundle rolled over, revealing a tiny pegasus filly with a light orange coat and blonde mane and tail streaked with every color of the rainbow. Rainbow Dash smiled as she gazed down at the foal. “Yes. Applejoy is a perfect name.”

“They were married a little over two years ago, they had their foal a few months later.”

“Do Ah even wanna know how?”

“Let’s just say it involves my little sister and some very powerful Alicorn magic. I believe it’s safe to say Rainbow Dash enjoyed her first and only night as a stallion.” Princess Celestia chuckled, noticing for the first time that the pony next to her had tears in her eyes.

“Ah… Ah… Ah have a granddaughter.”

“Three grandchildren, actually. Do you see Fluttershy, that yellow mare next to your son? Those two have married and had twins together since that time. Both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy now live on your family’s farm.”

As they spoke, the memory began to slip away again. The hospital scene faded to black as the happy, new parents shared an embrace. For a while, there was nothing; no new vision replaced the one that had come before. Sweet Apple was perplexed for a moment, and she looked up to the princess in confusion only to turn back as her ears picked up the faint sound of voices. She watched intently, expecting a new scene to appear, only to be surprised as she heard the voice of her daughter; reaching out to her from the depths of memory even though no image showed.

"Ah know! All the juices inside are frozen solid! They'll be frostbitten in a few hours' time and then they'll just rot right off the trees. These apples are worthless now! That's almost half the crop – gone!” There was a pause as an image finally swam into focus – one of Applejack, looking angry, positioned before a frost-covered apple tree. "Half… the… entire… orchard… wasted!" She cried, delivering a swift kick to the trunk behind her with each word, causing a shower of dead leaves and sparkling frost each time.

“It’s Ok, AJ. We’ll get through this, we’ll think of something.”

“No, Rainbow. This was it.” Applejack turned back towards her partner, shaking her head, “The renovations ta the farmhouse an’ Fluttershy’s hospital bills cost more than we thought they would. We were countin’ on profits from this harvest to pull us through, and now that’s gone. There’s nothin’ left. The farm’ll be bankrupt before winter is even out. We’ll have to sell it.”

“No! Come on AJ, there’s gotta be something we can do. Anything!”

“Oh, Ah don’t know. Maybe ya coulda tried ta keep it warmer just a little longer?”

“What are you saying?”

“Oh, nothin’. Ah just guess the Ponyville Weather Team was too busy this season ta notice that winter was comin’ a little sooner than expected.”

“WE DON’T CONTROL THE TEMPERATURE!”

“Really? Then what do you even do?”

Sweet Apple was taken aback by the argument she was now witnessing. Only half listening to the back and forth between the two ponies, she turned to look up towards Princess Celestia, ready to demand an explanation to assuage her growing confusion. “Princess, what happened? They seemed so happy before, what could have happened to them?”

“It happened just how Applejack stated. Winter came early and devastated their apple crop this year. They were already running low on money, and without the harvest they might not make it through winter without selling the farm to make ends meet. According to a letter I received from Rainbow Dash, Applejack has been growing distant and moody around her own family. I have also received other letters from her friends and family, and all point me towards one conclusion. Applejack is worried about the dwindling state of their finances and is now dreading the possibility of selling the farm. I believe she is blaming herself, and I fear that this remission she is experiencing from her loved ones is a sign of an even greater problem.”

“I have come here to speak with you tonight for a very important reason, and that reason is this: I believe that if she does not receive help, the stress and worry Applejack is now experiencing may drive her over the edge and she might not survive this night. I am trying to see to it that this does not happen, and that is why I have called upon you, Sweet Apple. You must meet with her and you must speak with her in order to save her. Do you understand what it is I ask of you?”

“NO!” Sweet Apple cried as she jumped back in alarm, “How am Ah supposed to do anythin’? Ah’m dead, remember? Ah can’t just go back down to Equestria, you even said not even your magic couldn’t do that. How can ah meet with her? How can Ah speak with her? Ah don’t even exist!

“And yet here we are, Sweet Apple. Here we are. We are speaking, are we not? You may not exist in Equestria any longer, Sweet Apple, but you will always live in the hearts and minds of the ponies who knew you as a memory. As a memory, Sweet Apple, you can never truly die. That is why I can converse with you right now, because living ponies carry your memory with them. Applejack carries your memory, and sometime soon, I suspect tonight, she will fall back upon her memories. She may not know what she is looking for, and she may not know why, but she will become lost in her own memories out of her own frustration and confusion. That is where you will find her. That is where you shall confront her. You must go forth into her mind to show her the way.”

“But what am I to do when I find her? How am I to speak with her; to convince her? How will I know what I should do to save her, if your fears are correct and she does need saving?”

“I have given you the necessary information to complete your task. I chose you for this task because you are her mother. You know your daughter well and you have good instincts. Use them. And above all, know that when you go to save her, you go with my blessing.” Celestia kneelt down in front of the projection of her former subject, bending her head down until her horn touched the crop of red mane on the amber pony’s head. As her horn started to glow, Sweet Apple felt as if she was being invigorated. Her mind electrified with the sensation of magic coursing through her, and even though she knew she was but a memory, she suddenly felt very real.

“With the power I have given you, you shall be able to control and define the contours of your daughter’s mind. Just as she has fallen back upon her memories, you will be able to bend them at your own will. This is the blessing I send you with.”

“Thank you, princess, I shall not fail you.”

“I am confident that you won’t. Now, it should now be just over an hour past sunset in Equestria. I believe your moment shall soon be upon you. Go forth, Sweet Apple.” Celestia watched as the mare nodded and began to trot off into the distance, her form slowly receding into the darkness. “One more thing - if you complete your mission tonight, you may have the chance to save the lives of two ponies, not only your daughter.” As she watched the earth pony finally slip from sight, Celestia let out a sigh of relief. Her work in this realm was complete, and while she had other business to attend to, it was finally time for some well-deserved sleep.

============================================================================================

Tongues of bright orange flame, hissing and crackling as they danced across the logs at the bottom of the hearth, radiated warmth out into the cozy farmhouse. The warm air spread throughout the home, bringing a cheery sense of comfort to ponies and other animals alike. The orange glow of the flames danced across the orange pelts of Applejack and her daughter as they lay before the hearth. Applejoy, stumbling around on her still-wobbly legs, giggled as she played with her mother. she her small snout into Applejack’s neck and body over and over again, each time shrieking with delight as a hoof reached out as if to grab her, only to intentionally miss. Enticed by her daughter’s playful pink eyes, Applejack removed her hat from her head and plopped it down on top of Applejoy, the oversized Stetson obscuring her face and eliciting more bursts of laughter from the foal.

Smiling warmly, Applejack reached out and grabbed her now blinded daughter, pulling the little pegasus up to her chest and holding her there, reveling in the sensation of tiny hooves clutching back. Radiating warmth from the cheery fireplace washed over mother as they hugged one another. The loving scene brought a smile to the lips of a cyan pegasus as she watched from her position on a couch across the room. Rainbow Dash turned to Fluttershy, who lay on her back on the couch adjacent to Rainbow Dash’s with both of her children on her lap. “It’s nice to see her so happy. She hardly ever smiles very much anymore.”

“Oh, Applejack? Yes, I’ve noticed as well. Poor dear. This winter’s really been hard on her, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah. She took that lost harvest really hard.” Rainbow Dash turned to look straight at Fluttershy, concern showing in her usually unreadable eyes. “I’m worried, Fluttershy. She just doesn’t seem herself recently. She seems distant, and she gets upset easily.”

“I’m worried about her too, Rainbow Dash. Sometimes, when she stays up late feeding Applejoy, I’ll see her awake, just walking back and forth; pacing the floor for a long time before going upstairs.”

“She really does that? Oh, Celestia. Maybe I should stay up with her those nights, just so I can fall asleep with her when she’s done. I hate to think she feels lonely or anything like that.”

“How could she feel lonely? The holidays are coming up. The Solstice Celebrations are tomorrow. This time of year is a time for family and happiness. Oh, I hope it cheers her up some.”

“I know, Fluttershy…” Rainbow Dahs paused to wipe a tear from her eye, an action which surprised the yellow pegasus, especially coming from such a usually headstrong pony. “I… I love her so much, Fluttershy. I can’t stand to see her like this.”

“I know how you feel, Rainbow Dash. I know how you… OOH!” Fluttershy jumped slightly as if something had startled her, her eyes immediately flicked back down to the foals on her lap. “Now, now, Sweet Blossom. Please try to be more gentle, OK?”

Rainbow Dash forgot her fears long enough to chuckle lightly at the display. “Behavioral troubles, Fluttershy?”

“Oh, no. They’re usually such sweeties. They can be just a teensy bit rough at times.”

“You’re a great mother, Fluttershy. You remind me of AJ, especially back when Little AJ was even younger.” Fluttershy leaned back to smile at her oldest friend, who smiled back as she reached a hoof out to brush a strand of pick hair from her sister-in-law’s face. “You have the same love in your eyes as she did.”

“Thank you, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow Dash grinned and trotted across the living room towards the fire and her family. She sidled up behind Applejack, who lay on her side facing the fire, and draped a hoof over her neck, pulling her in close to kiss the top of her head. “How’re my favorite ponies doing?” Rainbow lay down behind Applejack, resting her chin on her partner’s head and stroking Applejack’s exposed side with a hoof.

Applejack sighed, a low, pained sigh; a sigh which caused Rainbow Dash to frown. “Ah’m just fine, Rainbow.”

“You’re a terrible liar, AJ. What’s wrong?”

“Ah don’t know, Sugarcube. Ah’ve been thinkin’ about this season and that harvest. It’s the first year we haven’t been able to make our quota, and Ah feel terrible about it.”

“Don’t get so hung up on that, AJ. The past is the past. It’s the Holiday Season now. Tomorrow’s the day of the Solstice. Isn’t that exciting? It’ll be our first Solstice as one big family. We’ll all exchange gifts and we’ll have a wonderful day – just the eight of us. Then, at night, we’ll meet up with the girls and head into town for the Winter Moon Celebration!”

“Ah know. Ah just… Ah just can’t shake the feeling Ah’ve done somethin’ wrong.”

Rainbow Dash kissed her wife’s forehead again. “You’ve done nothing wrong, AJ. So we messed up one harvest. It’s not the end of the world.” Rainbow Dash rolled her lover over so that their faces met and they stared deep into each other’s eyes. “You’re an awesome pony, AJ, and I don’t like seeing you treat yourself like this.” She wrapped her hooves around her partner’s head, drawing her into her embrace and kissing her deeply. Applejack closed her eyes is accentuated bliss and ran a hoof through her lover’s mane, willing the sensation to continue forever.

Another rare smile crossed Applejack’s face when they pulled their muzzles apart. “You’re too good to me, Rainbow.”

“Well, somepony has to be.” Rainbow Dash gave another quick kiss on the cheek, “Celestia knows you deserve it. Just look how good a mother you are!” Rainbow Dash reached over Applejack to where their daughter sat. Applejoy had managed to prop herself up into a sitting position and was now trying unsuccessfully to see under the rim of the hat which hung off her head, completely dwarfing her. In one smooth motion, Rainbow Dash swept her into the air, eliciting another shriek of delight, before setting her down gently alongside her mother, where she collapsed and curled up gently in Applejack’s hooves. “You’ve done nothing wrong.” Rainbow leaned down to kiss them both.

Applejack’s response was cut off by a voice, which called from the kitchen suddenly at that moment. “Rainbow, could ya come ‘ere fer just a sec’?”

“Sounds like Macintosh. I wonder what he wants.”

“He’s been workin’ in the kitchen for a while on finances or somethin’. Ya know, fancy mathematics and all that.”

“I’ll go and see him.” Rainbow Dash pulled herself up onto her hooves, planting a kiss on her lover’s nose as she stood. “You two stay beautiful.” Rainbow Dash turned from the fire and began trotting away from her loved ones. Just barely audible over the crackling flames and other noises of the house, Rainbow Dash heard another restrained sigh from behind her. She cringed. ‘Oh, AJ. Why can’t you just be happy?’. Rainbow Dash arrived in the kitchen to see Big Macintosh standing by the table – pencil in mouth and head propped on a hoof. A thoughtful expression pursed the red stallion’s lips, and he looked as if he were trying vainly to comprehend something. “Hey, Mac. What’s up?”

“Hello, Rainbow Dash.” Big Macintosh set down his pencil and turned towards his companion, “Ah’m workin’ on th’ annual farm register. We gotta report all our income and make sure we have enough to last us ‘til next harvest season. But… well… somethin’ doesn’t add up.”

Rainbow Dash set her hooves on the table and propped herself up to get a better view of the parchment that lay in front of the stallion. She was confronted with a barrage of various numbers, letters, calculations, and scribbled-out blotches. Utterly confused, she bit her lip, not wanting to admit that she couldn’t’ understand the stallion’s poor pencoltship. Thankfully, the farm pony saved her the trouble.

“Ah’ve run a cost-projection scheme on th’ apples we have down in the cellar based on th’ average profit rates-per-apple we’ve received over th’ last few years. From the numbers Ah’m getting’ now, it looks like we won’t be able to make it ‘til next harvest with what crop we have left.”

“So we’re going to run out of bits sometime before next fall? Don’t we have anything saved for an emergency?”

“That all went into th’ construction, remember? Right now, we’re livin’ off yer savin’s that ya so kindly let us use. And even if we sold every apple in th’ cellar come spring, we still wouldn’t make enough bits to last until fall again.”

At the mention of her own fund, Rainbow Dash bit her lip and pawed at the floor nervously. “Yeah, Mac? About that… turns out I don’t have as much there as I had hoped.”

“Whadd’ya mean?”

“Well… when I started the account, back when Little AJ was just born, I began depositing a portion of my Weather Team salary every month. But a few weeks ago, when I promised to use the money to help the family this year, I misjudged how much I actually had.”

“How much do ya have, then?”

“Not enough. I thought we could make it through winter, but when I made my last withdrawal recently, I noticed I was running out fast…. I’m almost broke now.”

Bog Macintosh set his fore legs on the table and buried his head in his hooves. “How long?”

“If we’re careful, I’ll be able to hold us until just after the new year begins.”

Big Macintosh was silent for a long moment, then he picked his head up out of his hooves and sighed. “That’s only about half th’ winter. This ain’t good.”

“I’m so sorry, Mac. I… I… I thought I had more…”

“Have ya told AJ yet?”

“Well… no. She hasn’t been herself lately… she seems upset… I… I didn’t want to worry her too much.”

“Yeah, Ah noticed she’s been like that. Why didn’t ya tell me, though?”

“I didn’t even realize until a few days ago, and then I was just so worried that
I forgot to tell anyone.... I’m so sorry, Big Mac.”

“It ain’t yer fault. If ya didn’t have th’ bits, ya didn’t have th’ bits.”

“I should’ve told you sooner.”

“Probably wouldn’t’a helped none.” Big Macintosh hung his head in deep thought for a moment before picking himself up and frowning. “We’ll have to call a family meetin’.”

Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement and walked back into the living room to retrieve Applejack and Fluttershy. After a call up the stairs, Applebloom joined them. As the three mares and filly made their way into the kitchen, Big Macintosh turned soberly to face them – his face grim. Applejack’s green eyes swept the room, her gaze falling upon the well-used parchment on the table and the forlorn looks on her wife and brother’s faces. “What’s goin’ on, y’all?”

Big Macintosh looked from his sisters to his wife and back again. Looks of confusion and worry were painted on their faces. Sighing once again, he spoke slowly; steely determination bracing his wavering speech. “Ah’ve been doin’ the income reports. It looks like, from what we harvested this year, that we won’t make enough from sales to last us until next fall.” As he spoke, Fluttershy gasped and Applejack hung her head, shaking it back and forth as if she had known all along. “If we don’t do somethin’ drastic, we may run out of money before spring.”

“Applejack perked her head up in disbelief at this statement. “What? Before spring? But Ah thought… Ah thought…. Rainbow…”

“I overestimated the money I had saved.” Rainbow Dash spoke up, determined to accept her portion of the responsibility for what had become a family crisis. “I don’t have as much as I hoped. I went back to check the balance when I withdrew more bits a few days ago, and I saw that I don’t have enough to last us all until spring.”

“Why… why didn’t ya tell me sooner, Rainbow?”

Rainbow Dash walked over to Applejack and tried to lay a reassuring hoof over her back, only to have it shaken away. “I didn’t want to upset you. I’m worried about you, AJ. You don’t seem yourself lately.”

“Maybe it’s because we’re about t’ run outta money and Ah might lose the farm that’s been in mah family fer generations, Rainbow Dash!” Applejack stomped a hoof into the floor to try and ward off the bitter resignation of defeat. “Big Mac, how many bits do yer fancy mathematics say we’re gonna be short?”

“About 8,000 bits.” Big Macintish watched as his sister froze in shock and began to inhale unnaturally fast. “Calm down, little sis. Don’t be unreasonable.”

“Ah’m not bein; unreasonable, Mac! We could lose the whole farm now, don’t ya see that?”

“Ah never said we’d lose the farm. We just need ta think of a way around this.”

“THERE AIN’T NO WAY AROUND IT!” Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash startled at the sudden outburst, while Fluttershy backed away from the conflict and pressed herself against the wall, her mane blocking a good portion of her face. “We’ll either have ta sell the farm or come across a whole lotta bits real fast.”

“We’re not selling the farm, AJ.” Rainbow Dash stood in front of her, trying and failing to make her face appear both sympathetic and determined at the same time. “I promise you that.”

“Some good your promises are. You couldn’t even keep us goin’ for the whole winter.” Applejack glared at Rainbow Dash, whose face now bore an expression of genuine surprise.

“Easy, sis. Don’t blame Rainbow, eight ponies is a lot for anypony’s ta pay for. It’s not her fault she didn’t have enough.” Big Macintosh swept his gaze across all the assembled ponies. “We’re not going to sell this farm.” He stated simply.

“Well what do you suggest then, freezing to death?”

“AJ! Don’t talk like that, you’ll scare Applejoy.” Rainbow Dash glanced uneasily at the living room, where she could see her daughter stumbling towards the source of commotion out of curiosity. She tried again in vain to lay a comforting wing over her wife, but was again thrust away. Undeterred, she grabbed her and pulled her close, even as she felt Applejack’s hooves push away from the attempted embrace. As she pulled away reluctantly, Rainbow Dash was surprised to see tears in her wife’s eyes.

Applejack shook her head to clear her cloudy vision, and without another word stormed off towards the foyer and the front door. Rainbow Dash hastened to follow her as she made to pull her scarf down from the hook. “Ah’m headin’ out.”

“Where are you going?”

“We can’t sell the farm, so Ah only have one choice. Ah’m goin’ into town ta ask Mayor Mare for a loan.”

“What? AJ. It’s dark and cold out. Don’t do this tonight. We still have money until at least the new year, we can see the Mayor later.”

“Nothin’ doin’, Rainbow. Ah’m gonna go see her tonight and that’s final.” With the swipe of a hoof, Applejack thrust open the front door and strode out into the bitter cold.

“Come back inside, AJ. It’s too dangerous out there at this time of night. We can do this another time, together.” She craned her neck to get a view of her wife on the porch. “Please come back, AJ. Come be with me and our daughter. It’s Hearth’s Warming Eve; this is supposed to be a time for family and…” Rainbow dash was cut off by a blast of icy wind, blown upon her as the door was slammed shut from the outside. “… love.”

============================================================================================

Chapter 6

It’s a (Apple)Joyful Life!

The walk along the road into town was long and cold. Newly-fallen snow crunched beneath Applejack’s boot-clad hooves as she trotted along the path. Each breath she took condensed into heavy clouds of vapor as it rolled from her mouth. The white-clad branches of each barren tree passed by her on either side as she made her way down the long, winding, lonely path. She gazed skyward, sweeping her vision across the low, unbroken ceiling of cloud that shrouded the wintery world around her in darkness. The only light she could see came from the old lantern she grasped in her mouth. The snow lying on the path before her sparkled as the beams of light shifted from side to side in time with the gentle swaying of the hanging lantern.

A sudden breeze blew through the narrow confines of the tree-lined road. Applejack felt the freezing air lift at her mane and chill her skin as it rolled over her. She stopped, setting down her source of light to grasp at the scarf that had fallen to hang loosely across her shoulders. As she felt the rainbow-colored fabric pull tight against her face and neck, she experienced a wave of warmth. The sensation rolled over her and she was suddenly very glad for the warming properties afforded to her by the snug scarf. She thought of Rainbow Dash, and how considerate she had been in having the kind gift hoof-made just for her. But the idle thought of her wife brought pangs of pain with it. Her partner’s forlorn voice ran through her head as she stood, alone in the road.

“Please come back, AJ. Come be with me and our daughter.”

She remained still, her breath drifting away from her frozen figure in wispy clouds. The voice of Rainbow Dash continued to play in her head – sad, pained, and hurt. She heard her trying to defend herself. She heard her own voice – accusatory, angry, and upset. “Some good your promises are. You couldn’t even keep us goin’ for the whole winter.” The weight of her own failure as a loving wife came crashing down upon her mind, and Applejack hung her head in shame.

She wept. “Ah’m sorry, Rainbow!” Her tears fell to the powdery layer of snow below. “Ah’m sorry. Ah’m so sorry! It ain’t yer fault…” Applejack lifted her face skyward, again gazing at the layer of clouds that held her captive in their frozen world. “IT AIN’T YER FAULT, RAINBOW DASH!” She took several deep breaths, each one rattled by the sobs she struggled to hold back and each one ending in another wispy cloud. Her head dropped, her gaze falling upon the glowing lantern that rested before her where she had left it not moments before. “It’s mine.” Her voice was small, barely above a whisper, and it cracked with the realization of a painful truth.

With a heavy heart, Applejack stooped to pick the lantern back up in her jaw. With light once again swinging before her, she resumed her evening journey. And despite the warmth of her attire, Applejack suddenly felt very cold indeed.

===========================================================================================

The bitter air nipped at her exposed body as she neared the town. The bright lights of numerous festive decorations glowed in the distance as the shops and homes of Ponyville grew near. The perfect quiet of the country road was replaced by a rushing sound – a sound which grew in intensity as she drew closer and closer towards the town. The soft sound of rushing water reached its crescendo just as Applejack made her first cautious steps onto the icy tiled deck of the hoofbridge into town. Her hooves began to slide underneath her as she stepped out onto the slick, icy surface. She struggled to gain traction on the slippery ice, even the rubber soles off her boots were little help in securing balance. Carefully, she managed to pick her way across the frozen sheet.

The ice-choked river rushed on past beneath her. The water moved just fast enough to escape freezing over, yet the chunks of already-frozen ice continued to duck and swirl in the stream’s current. The small stone bridge shook and groaned every time a particularly large ice chunk bumped into it or scraped along its bottom, and Applejack startled and held on for dear life at every small tremor and vibration. Shakily and uneasily, Applejack finally managed to step and slide her way to the other side of the stone edifice, planting her hooves firmly on stable ground again with a sigh of relief.

The happily-decorated buildings of the small town loomed before her. Snow layered the scene, cached on every rooftop and blanketed on the ground, the crisp sheets of pure white created a wintery scene that sparkled in the glow of thousands of tiny candles and lights. Every house, shop, and tree, it seemed, was adorned with the festive glowing dots of light. Tall pine trees, spread about the town, were festooned with seasonal decorations and more lights. Their snow-covered branches creaked and released small showers of flakes with each gust of the breeze. Somewhere in the distance, bells chimed. Their hollow ringing sound carried through the crisp night air as if in a dream.

Lights could be seen glowing in several buildings, and the silhouettes of happy ponies fell across several panes, but nopony else joined Applejack on the streets of the quiet village. The snow in the barren streets had been packed down sufficiently by the day’s activities, and Applejack trudged easily down the town’s main street. Just ahead of her, her destination, Ponyville Town Hall, loomed high above her. The façade of the tall building was brightly lit, candles and lights flickering and glowing up and down the building’s walls. Garlands and pine boughs, accented by ribbons, hung from the rafters and the windows, adding to the holiday spirit that had been aroused for the upcoming Hearth’s Warming celebrations.

She shook herself, dusting latent snow off of her pelt, before she stepped over the threshold of the entryway into the Town Hall. A single tiny bell rang out her arrival as the door brushed past it overhead. Applejack stomped her boots on the provided rug and stood to look about the entry foyer. The reception desk sat abandoned, nopony could be seen. She swept her gaze across the rather large open space, searching for somepony. “Hello? Anypony here?”

“Applejack?” Mayor Mare entered the foyer from around a corner, confusion evident on her face. “I thought I heard that bell ring. What are you doing here? I was just about to close up for the night.”

“If it’s not too much trouble, Miss Mayor, Ah need ta ask you somethin’.”

“I have time. Step inside my office.” The Mayor led Applejack back around the corner and down a hallway. At the end, she produced a key and unlocked the latch of a large, polished wooden door. She pushed it open and led applejack through the entryway and into a modest, yet comfortably lush, office. A large polished wood desk sat at the far end of the room ahead of several high windows. Mayor Mare took a seat on a cushioned bench behind the desk, and motioned for Applejack to make herself comfortable on another bench. She waited politely until Applejack has lain herself down before continuing. “Now, what was it you wished to discuss with me?”

“Well, Miss Mayor, we’ve been havin’ some trouble down on the farm. Ah think ya know how we weren’t able to get the full harvest in this year, so we won’t have as much profit. The trouble is, we’re runnin’ out of money now, and if we don’t get some more soon, we’ll have to sell the farm or we won’t make it through the winter.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that, Applejack, but may I ask what it is you wish me to do about your situation?”

“Th’ farm has been in mah family fer generations, Miss Mayor. Ah can’t sell it. We won’t have anywhere to live or any way to work if we sold th’ farm. But without the funds to make it through the winter, and without the profit to last us until next harvest season, we won’t have a choice. We need a loan, Miss Mayor.”

“Well, I’m sure you know how tight funds are this time of the year. As it stands, the town can barely afford to finance itself. Granting loans to citizens is very risky, especially now that money has been so tight recently.”

“But Miss Mayor, ya’ve got to. Ya just have to. There’s no other way. Mah family could lose the family farm. We could lose our home. We need that loan.”

“You and I both know how little the town has to spare. How large of a sum do you require?”

“To make it through winter and run the farm until next year’s harvest, we’ll need… we’ll… need…” Applejack’s voice grew very quiet, as if she wished not to finish her statement.

“What? How much is it, Applejack?”

“8,000 bits.”

“8,000 bits?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Surely you must be joking.”

“No, ma’am. Ah ain’t. That’s how much my family needs to supplement the profit from what apples we did harvest this year and pay for next year’s harvest.”

“You’re asking me to invest 8,000 bits of the town’s money, money desperately needed for other things, in you farm when your next profit won’t be until fall of next year?”

“Ah know it sounds like a lot, but it’s to save the farm, Miss Mayor.”

“Applejack, I’m afraid I cannot agree to such a move.”

“But… but why not? Ah could lose my home, Miss Mayor.”

“I understand that, and I apologize, but such action is not financially feasible. This town has pressing matters at hand this season and indeed over the next year that require money. I cannot raid the coffers of this town to hand out loans to citizens, no matter how dire the situation. We simply do not have the funds to spare. Especially considering the fact that we would have to wait almost a year for Sweet Apple Acres to become profitable again. It is too risky to make a loan with such a prolonged return on investment when money is needed elsewhere.”

“But… Miss Mayor… there must… there must be some way! Anythin’! Ah can’t lose the farm, it’s all that mah family has had fer generations!”

“Well… I suppose there is one way…”

“Anythn’, Miss Mayor.”

“I could grant you a graduated loan of 8,000 bits, to be paid out over the course of the next year, if you give the town the rights to claim a maximum of 51 percent operating interest in Sweet Apple Acres.”

Applejack was stunned. She remained silent for several moments, her head hanging and tears beginning to form in her eyes, as the sodering reality of her dire situation began to sink its way in. “Ah… Ah… Ah can’t… Ah can’t let you do that. If Ah let the town take over a majority o’ the farm, then Ah’d just be sellin’ out. This is mah parents’ farm, mah grandparents’ farm, and my great grandparents’ farm. Ah can’t let mah family lose it.”

“I thought you would see it that way. In that case, I cannot help you, Applejack. Goodnight.”

“But… But it’s Hearth’s Warming Eve, Miss Mayor. Can’t you make an exception, in the spirit of the holidays? Please?”

“I’m sorry, Applejack. But I cannot let emotion get in the way of running this office effectively. The town has no money for you. Now goodnight.”

“Goodnight… Miss Mayor.” Applejack, dejected, slowly rose from her bench and led herself to the high wooden door. With one last fleeting look at The Mayor, perched upon her cushioned bench with her hooves on the table and a calm expression on her face, she closed the door and ran to the front entrance, her tears staining the carpet.

Snow swirled about her face as she ran from the Town Hall. Her hooves kicked up little explosions of white powder as they pounded off the blanketed ground. The wind howled as she ran, blowing the dancing, sparkling snowflakes every which way in a confusing visual cacophony of erratic movement. Her mane, tail, and scarf were blown into a frenzy by the whistling wind, it’s droning sound rang in her ears as the lights of windows and hanging decorations flashed past her. The silhouettes of merry-making ponies were still visible at this late evening hour; the joy they showed existing in sharp contrast to Applejack’s inner turmoil.

She galloped through the increasingly thickly falling snow, her vision reduced by the swirling patterns of white. She blundered forward, her lantern forgotten and her scarf clinging to her body, not caring where she went. By sheer muscle memory, she soon found herself at the bridge that would lead her home. Forgetting every semblance of safety, she charged out onto the icy, tiled span. Her hooves immediately flew outward from under her. For several seconds, she was afforded the perplexing sensation of weightlessness as balance and support left her body momentarily in midair. The rushing of the water below and the howling of the wind filled her ears as she finally felt herself falling.

She struck the frozen surface of the stone bridge deck with a cry. For several moments, she lay, the chill of the ice drawing itself into her body as she lay upon the cold surface. With a groan, she tried to stand, but the lack of traction afforded to her by her feet on the frozen surface made it difficult. She slipped and fell back down to the deck three more times before she resigned herself to lay still. Breathing heavily, she lay still, allowing her fast-beating heart to slow itself down. Tears still rolled down her face, collecting on the ice before her face. Lifting her face to the sky, she gazed up at the ceiling of clouds and whispered to the wind. “Ah failed. Ah failed. Ah’m gonna lose the farm. Ah’m gonna lose mah home. It’s all mah fault.”

The cold and sound of the wind and the rushing stream – engorged and whipped into frenzy by the growing storm – assaulted her senses as she lay, trapped by the elements and stewing in her own misery. In defeat, she allowed her mint to wander, running through idea after idea, trying to think of a way to save her home and family. Each idea, however, was worse than the lad, and Applejack found herself giving up. With her options and hope gone, she resigned herself to failure, closing her eyes and shaking her head back and forth to try and drive herself from the horrible nightmare her life had become. With her eyes closed, a memory, long since forgotten after several months, slowly crept its way to the forefront of her mind’s eye.

“I just… I just don’t see why you would do this.” Her wife’s voice filled her head, incredulity masking the worry that could be heard in her tone.

“Don’t worry about it, Rainbow. It’s just in case.” She heard herself respond.

“But I… I… I don’t wanna think about… about… something happening to you.”

“Nothin’s gonna happen to me, Dashie. I just want you and our daughter to have somethin’ in case it does.”

“But… life insurance? Isn’t that a little… a little drastic?”

“No it ain’t, Sugarcube. Just think of it like Ah’m protectin’ y’all. That’s all.”

“I don’t want you to ever leave me, AJ.”

“Oh, come here, ya big softie.” Applejack remembered this moment, reaching out and hugging her wife, holding the pegasus close to her body, so close she could feel her beating heart. “Everythin’s gonna be alright.”

“But 15,000 bits, AJ? You’re… you’re worth much more to me than that…”

“15,000 bits.”

“15,000 bits.”

“15,000 bits.”

In a moment of nearly crystal clear clarity, amidst the conflagration of weather and icy water, Applejack, still lying on her stomach on the frozen bridge, understood everything. Slowly, her tears gone from her eyes, she picked herself up from the bridge deck. She planted her hooves firmly and squarely on the slippery ice and gradually rising to her full height, inch by inch. Once on her hooves, she looked around her. The snow swirled with the blowing wind, and the ice-choked river rushed underneath the bridge, large frozen chunks bobbing and crashing into one another in the chaotic, storm-whipped current.

She made her way to the edge of the bridge that faced downstream. The drifting snow cut through her vision, but the rushing water and ice below were easy to see, and easier to hear. She set her forehooves on the bridge’s stone sidewall, gazing out at the turbulent stream. “Ah might lose the farm, and Ah might’a failed my family, but maybe Ah’m not worthless after all.” Her whispered words were lost to the wind. And in the stormy night, she closed her eyes, leaned out over the edge, propelled herself upward with her strong hind legs, and flew out over the stream and into the snow-filled sky, finally hitting the icy water with a splash.

The water was freezing. She gasped and sputtered as she swallowed it, her head only coming above the surface for a few seconds at a time as she was tumbled in various directions. For a long while, she was jostled around by the ice chunks that bobbed and swirled about her. Gradually, the commotion in the turbulent center of the river forced her to drift closer and closer towards the waters’ edge. Up ahead, a rather large chunk of ice had stuck fast in the shallow water, the current pouring around it and creating a deafening roar every time Applejack’s ears broke the surface. With her scarf and fur plastered to her soaking body, she slipped downstream, closer and closer towards the obstruction, her side scraping against the streambed as she was pushed into shallow water, closer and closer to the aground ice chunk, where a head on collision mercifully knocked her unconscious.

===========================================================================================

“I just don’t understand it, Fluttershy. Why would she run out like that?”

“She’s just scared, Rainbow Dash. She’ll come back. I know she will.”

“I’m scared too, Fluttershy. What if she doesn’t come back? What if something terrible happens?”

“Oh, Rainbow Dash. I’m sure everything will be just fine. Come here.”

Tentatively, Rainbow Dash walked over to the yellow pegasus, who lay on her back upon a couch. Fluttershy gestured to her friend, smiling for her and drawing her into a hug. “Th-thanks… Fluttershy.”

“You don’t have to be so worried. Applejack is a strong pony. She can take care of herself.”

“Yeah… I know… but… but I just can’t stand it. I want to see her. I want to be with her. I can’t stand having her out there alone and not knowing what she’s doing. I love her too much.”

Rainbow Dash lay down next to Fluttershy. Fluttershy looked down at her friend’s face and saw tears in her eyes. She reached out and grabbed her friend, pulling her into an embrace so that all six colors of her mane sprawled out over her yellow chest. Rainbow Dash stared at the ceiling, shaking her head back and forth and sobbing gently, as Fluttershy held her and began stroking her mane. “Everything’s going to be all right.”

“I just keep thinking about what she said to me when she left, the way she ran out the door. I just know she’s mad at me. I’m a terrible wife.”

“No you’re not, Rainbow Dash. Applejack is lucky to have a mare as devoted and caring as you.”

“Th… th-thanks Fluttershy. You’re a great friend.” Rainbow Dash smiled as she felt a hoof run through her mane, “Why do you have to be so perfect?”

Fluttershy just smiled.

============================================================================================

Applejack opened her eyes. She shook herself. Strangely, she didn’t feel pain, or wet, or even cold, for that matter. She gazed about herself. She couldn’t see anything. She shook her head again to see if there was something wrong with her eyes before opening them again. Nothing. The space around her was pitch black save for a single light. The light seemed to emanate from near herself, but she could see no visible source. She took a few tentative steps, noticing with confusion that the light seemed to follow her, as if she herself gave off the light, allowing her to see but a few feet into the nothingness ahead. “Where am Ah?” She called out to the darkness.

She never expected to hear a voice, a mare’s voice, respond. “There you are. Ah was wonderin’ when ya were goin’ ta show up.”, but that voice… it was so familiar… but… but it couldn’t be. It couldn’t possibly be! She stared straight ahead, unable to get her bearings, and continued to stare as a shadowy figure appeared, growing closer every with every step it took. As it drew further into the light, the figure’s feature became more pronounced. Applejack watched in awe as a mare appeared out of the gloom before her. A mare with an amber pelt, kind, soft green eyes, shock of red hair for her mane and tail, and three apple slices – sparkling as if coated with sugar – for a cutie mark. She was a mare Applejack had not seen for years, and had never expected to see again. “Surprised to see me?”

“MAMA!” Applejack rushed forward and threw her fore legs around her mother’s neck.

Sweet Apple smiled. “Oh, how I have missed you, my little AJ.”

“Mama… Ah’ve missed you so much too.” Applejack held onto her mother as if she were but a foal again, afraid to lose her a second time. “Why… how come… why can Ah see you? Mama? Am Ah… am Ah dead?”

Sweet Apple separated from her daughter and stood to look deep into her eyes, not answering for several moments. Finally, she shook her head and spoke. “Of course not. Why would you be dead?”

“Because… because Ah threw mahself into th’ river.” Applejack looked away, as if embarrassed. “Then… then where am Ah? How can Ah be with you if Ah’m not dead like… like… you…”

“I am but a figure of your memory, Applejack. But Ah think the better question is: Why would you jump off a bridge in the first place?”

“Because… because… because Ah’m a failure. Half the apples are dead and the farm is ruined because o’ me. The family’ll run out o’ money before winter is over, and we’ll have to sell the farm because Ah couldn’t even get a simple loan to save th’ farm.”

“Applejack. You are mah daughter. And no matter what happens, you are not a failure.”

“But Ah am! We’re about to lose the farm because of me. The farm our family has had fer generations and Ah’m the one ta lose it. We’ll lose our jobs, our home, we’re gonna lose everythin’ and it’s all because Ah couldn’t get all the apples bucked fer the first time in mah life!”

“But would killing yourself really solve anything?”

“Ah have life insurance. It’s the only way ta save the farm. Now, Macintosh can use the 15,000 bits he and Rainbow with get and he can pay fer th’ farm. It’s about all Ah’m worth, anyway.”

“AJ. Don’t say that.”

“But it’s true! Look what Ah’ve done with mah life. Big Macintosh, Rainbow Dash, Applebloom, Fluttershy, and the three foals. We’d all be homeless because o’ me. Ah lost the farm and Ah’d lose them everythin’, too. Ah don’t deserve to live, Ah’ve only hurt the ones Ah love.”

“But they love you; they would miss you terribly if you left.”

“So? Ah failed them anyway. They’ll all be better off without me, at least they can keep the farm.”

“Applejack, you’re mah daughter. Ah brought ya into this world, and even if Ah am a memory, ah’m not about ta watch ya take yerself out.”

“Well, maybe everypony would just be better off if ya hadn’t brought me into this world!”

“Come now, AJ. You can’t possibly mean that.”

“Well just look what Ah’ve managed ta do with mah life. My whole family is about to be broke and homeless thanks ta me. Rainbow Dash can’t even keep us all fed on her weather-pony salary. We’ll have to sell the farm that’s been in the family since before Ah was born just to get by. Mah own daughter will grow up without money to pay fer food and education thanks ta me. Ah’ve failed everypony in mah whole life. Ah wish Ah’d never been born!”

“Fine. Then there is only one way Ah can help you now.” Sweet Apple turned and began to walk away. Alarmed, Applejack attempted to chase after her, but no matter how fast she made her hooves go, she couldn’t catch up to the receding figure of her mother. Sweet Apple’s figure slipped away into the darkness as Applejack tried in vain to reach out to her.

“MAMA! MAMA!” She shouted into the blackness as her head began to swim. She dropped to her knees, resting her suddenly throbbing head on the floor as her vision left her. She continued to cry out even as all sensations left her.

========================================================================================

Chapter 7

It’s a (Apple)Joyful Life!

Hazily slipping back to consciousness, Applejack was vaguely aware of water flowing over her legs and body. Groaning, she flicked her eyes open, allowing them to adjust to the newfound darkness. She felt cold, extremely cold, and knew if she wasn’t able to do something soon, there would be no reason for doing anything. Her body acting on instinct alone, she picked herself up out of the water. Her hooves, having lost their boots in the conflagration, found secure purchase on the pebbles beneath her. She swayed slightly as she stood, her body beginning to shiver. A gust of wind picked up, blowing over her now-exposed body and heightening the chills brought to her skin through her damp pelt.

The current, still fast but now nearly harmless due to the decreased depth of water, ran over her hooves as she stood. Her vision centered herself, the dim shapes before her finally swimming back into focus, and she became dimly aware that the shoreline lay but a few feet away – a distance easily covering in the swift yet shallow water. Careful not to lose her balance, Applejack struggled towards shore, where she collapsed on the snowy embankment. Her wet fur clung to her body as she lay, gasping for breath, in the newly fallen snow. Unthinking, she became vaguely aware that she could hear nothing but a dull ringing sound. The sharp tone continued to manifest itself in her ears for several moments, before it began to warble and fade away, only to be replaced by the rushing of water behind her.

Groggily, she stood up again, gaining a weak balance on her hooves again in the deeply chilling snow. Turning around, she gulped to see the violent tossing of the ice-choked and wind-whipped stream behind her. Ice chunks jostled with one another as they rushed around a bend in the river. The water was slower and much shallower on the inside of the bend – where Applejack had been deposited. Faintly conscious that she was still freezing and wet, Applejack shook herself vigorously. The violent motion resulted in showers of latent snow and water droplets as they were shaken from her pelt, as well as the full restoration of all her groggy senses. Her mind finally snapped into full clarity, and Applejack, less damp but still freezing, swung her head around to take in her surroundings.

The snow had stopped falling. A pristine blanket of white covered the dark town but no flakes swirled through the air or blew on the intermittent gusts of wind. The ethereal darkness reigned supreme. She looked up to the sky to find the low ceiling of clouds still in place, unmoving. Shaking her head weakly, she gazed out at the town. It was hard to see for several seconds, until her eyes adjusted to the lack of light. Slowly, the black thatched roofs and spires of Ponyville began to stand out against the black sky behind. No festive lights adorned the trees or the facades of shops and houses. The bleak town looked grave in its lonely emptiness. As she stared, trying to pick out some source of light, she saw a lit doorway here, a sputtering streetlamp there. It was a far cry from the festive spread of lights that had previously graced the sleepy village.

Another gust of wind washed over her, sending further chills down her spine and reminding her of her desperate need for warmth. Her stiff joints creaking with the cold, she struggled to walk towards the town. Behind her, a rainbow-colored scarf lay on the snow, forgotten after having been shaken off.

As she sauntered forward, the dim outline of a familiar spire came into her vision. Recognizing Carousel Boutique, she willed her legs to move faster, breaking into a gallop as she neared the residence of her friend and hopefully, her sanctuary. Her eyes widened as she neared the entrance. Her legs locked in place, her hooves sliding over the fresh as she realized that the door, usually inviting and friendly, was crisscrossed with haphazardly nailed boards. She blinked, dumbfounded, at the boarded-up door for several seconds, before resolve hardened her gaze. Drawing upon some of her last bits of energy and strength, she reared back on her hind legs and kicked the door in. It gave way rather easily, stirring up dual clouds of snow and dust as it swung inward.

Applejack stepped into the decrepit boutique cautiously. Dust and cobwebs were everywhere, accentuating the dank, musty smell that hung about the rooms. It was clear nopony had been here for a long time. Applejack spied a mantel in the center of the back room. She felt herself drawn to it. The old hearth was cached with dust and a few pieces of rotting wood sat inside. Applejack did her best to brush them aside, coughing at the clouds of dust that rolled up to meet her.

Turning from the hearth, she rushed to the far wall, where a board, tacked with numerous newspaper clippings, hung above a dusty desk. The paper was crinkled and yellowed with age. Applejack stopped only momentarily to read the headlines before tearing them from the wall.

‘Up-and-Coming Fashion Designer Rarity Announces Plans to Move Business to Manehattan in Preparation for Launch of New ‘Nightmare Line’ of Fashion’

The clippings went into the empty grate, where they were soon joined by pieces of board ripped from the door and several windows. Growing colder by the minute, Applejack searched in desperation through various drawers and boxes before she found what she was looking for. Pulling a forgotten matchbook from a dusty drawer, she dashed over to the hearth and soon had built a roaring fire.

She lay before the flickering flames for a long time, letting the warmth soak into her body and bring her low core temperature up. She held her hooves before the fire, sighing in relief as she felt the last traces of the cold leave her body. In the light of the fire, the unkempt room was even more apparent. Cobwebs lay across discarded dress-pattern figures, figures which created eerie shadows as the flickering light cast itself about the room. “What happened to mah friend?” She asked the still air. “Why did she leave?”

“Because you never were her friend.” Applejack jumped, startled by the voice which seemed to be inside her own head. “Your wish came true, Applejack.”

“Mama? Is that you? What wish?”

“Welcome to Equestria, AJ. Equestria, as it is without you.” Her mother’s voice rang through her head.

“What… what do ya mean, ‘without me’?”

“You wished you had never been born. This is your wish come true. This is your world as it would be without you. You have never existed here.”

“But that’s not possible! You can’t just… you can’t just make that happen.”

“Really? Then explain your surroundings. See how everything has changed without you around. Have you really made everypony’s lives better?”

“Rarity… Rarity is in Manehattan, persuin’ her career. Isn’t that what she always wanted?”

“She is alone in a large city without her friends and with only her work to comfort her. Do you think that is what she would have wanted?”

“This is impossible! This can’t be real!” Applejack jumped up from her spot by the now-fading fire. Without thinking, she found herself charging from the unused shop, kicking up clouds of snow as she raced out into the cold night once more. Her hooves pounded against the powdery streets, and she looked around wildly, desperately searching for some sign of normality. What she saw stopped her in her tracks. She had reached the location of the Ponyville Library, or, at least, where the Library should have been. Before her stood a lonely, forsaken stump. Charred black by the ravaging effects of a long-ago fire. The soot-coated remains stood in stark contrast to the white snow that half buried them. A forlorn looking sign, standing before the ruins at an askew angle, told her all she needed to know.

‘This establishment was burned and its two occupants jailed for their high crimes of treason and sedition. Let this serve as a warning to all rebels: No mercy for those who defy our beloved Queen Nightmare Moon.’

“Queen Nightmare Moon?! What in the hay happened? We defeated Nightmare Moon!”

“How could you have? There was never a pony to bear the Element of Honesty. The bearers of the Elements of Harmony never came together when they needed to because they lacked a sixth member. Twilight Sparkle tried to resist when Nightmare Moon took power, but alone, she was defenseless and was captured.”

“This is impossible! This is just impossible!” Applejack stumbled backwards, away from the offending sign. She stared at the charred remains before her for several more seconds before she shut her eyes. She shook her head back and forth in vain to try and free herself from her nightmare, and then she took off running. She opened her eyes and ran without thinking where she was going. She ran from the town and she ran from the ruined library. She never looked over her shoulder. Soon enough, she found herself on a lonely path. The town fell behind her as she forged ahead, and gradually she slowed down, finally feeling like she had put enough distance between her and the town she no longer knew.

She looked around at the peaceful country lane. She recognized this place. In the distance she could see the faint glow of a light. Hope surging in her heart, she moved towards it. As she neared, she could make out the square of a lit window on a desolate cottage. Her eye’s brightened in recognition. ‘Fluttershy’s cottage! Looks like she’s home, too!’ Her mind became consumed by this one thought. Applejack found herself running again, towards the lit window of the cottage before her . Reaching it, she pressed her face to the glass, straining to se inside.

To her surprise, no animals could be seen inside. For several moments, Applejack stared at an empty living room. A couch sat alongside the far wall, a single flickering candle sat on a nearby table. Very little else sat about the room. A few old chairs and a couple tattered rugs. Applejack was beginning to doubt anyone was home when a shadow fell across the floor. Applejack watched, holding her breath, as the figure approached. She felt her hopes skyrocket as a yellow pegasus with a flowing pink mane came into view through the window. “Fluttershy!” Applejack’s call was lost to the wind, the mare made no indication she had noticed.

Slowly, forlornly, Fluttershy lay herself down on the couch and pulled a well-worn blanket up over her body. Applejack watched, dismayed, as Fluttershy began to cry. Tear after tear rolled from her eyes and down her cheek, dripping down onto the carpet. Finally, the mare inside curled up into herself, drawing into a tight ball, and closed her eyes, although she could still be seen shaking gently as she sobbed into the cushions.

“What… what’s wrong… what’s wrong with her?”

“When the eternal night came, Fluttershy became even more fearful of the world around her. She secluded herself away from the other ponies out of fear. Her few friends eventually left and she became even more isolated and alone. She has never worked up the courage to meet new ponies, and she lives in constant fear of the new Queen. Now, she no longer trusts anypony and leaves her house only when it is absolutely necessary.”

“No… NO!” Applejack shook her head, trying to clear her mother’s voice away. “That can’t be true, it just can’t be!” She ran around the house to the front door and knocked, pounding on the wood of the door in vain to try and will her friend to come out. From inside the cottage, Applejack could hear a muffled “Eeeeep!”, and suddenly, the only light flickered out, leaving Applejack to stand in perfect darkness once again. She waited for several moments, but the door never opened. Finally, she resigned herself to walk away slowly, her head hung low as she turned back towards town.

=======================================================================================

The winter wind whistled in the barren branches of the trees as Applejack walked beneath them. Snow crunched beneath her hooves each time she took a step. The darkness that surrounded her felt overpowering. She longed to see another pony, hoping against hope that she might be able to break free from this nightmare once and for all. But as the moments passed, she began to lose all hope of meeting anypony else. She looked back up to the sky, but no comfort could be found in its dark expanse. She sighed, dejected, and tried to ignore the cold as she continued walking.

“Applejack.”

Applejack whirled around at the sound of her own name being called. She searched behind her to find the source of the voice, and felt overjoyed as a figure made its way towards her out of the darkness. Her elation, however, fell as she came to recognize the amber mare approaching her. “Ah suppose ya’re alive in this world, then?”

Sweet Apple shook her head. “No. Ah am still but a figment of your own memory. But come. There’s something Ah must show you.”

Sighing in defeat, Applejack turned to follow her mother’s image off the main road and onto a path that led deeper into a grove of trees. As they emerged on the other side of the small grove, Applejack gasped. Before her, row upon row of gravestones stretched into the distance. She stood, unmoving, as a flood of unwelcome memories besieged her. She began walking suddenly, as if drawn by the force of her own conscience towards the site she had visited her many times. It’s location was known to her well, and she felt as if she was retracing her own footsteps as she made her way towards the Apple Family plot.

The two gravestones sat side-by-side. She knew them both well. After all, she had come here many times to see her mother and grandmother’s final resting places, but there was something different now; something that perplexed her. Adjacent to the headstones she knew so well, a third, smaller one stood up from its frozen bed. Casting her wariness aside, Applejack reached down to brush the snow that had drifted up against its face away.

‘Here lies Applebloom; beloved granddaughter and sister; taken from life far too soon.’

Applejack’s head swam. She fell to her knees, unwilling to comprehend the sight before her eyes. She took deep, halting breaths as tears began to roll down her face. Through her sobs, she cried to the empty sky. “WHY?!” she lifted a hoof into the air only to slam in back down to the ground. She shook her head, nearly burying herself as she lay in the snow, continuing to strike the frozen ground repeatedly with her hoof. Her tears dripped into the snow, becoming lost in the powder as she sobbed, still moaning her question to the uncaring world. “Why? Why? Why?”

“You were never there to save her when she went over that cliff.” Applejack jumped, having forgotten her companion, and whipped around to confront her. She saw Sweet Apple several rows behind her, looking straight at her and standing directly before another gravestone, one that didn’t look nearly as worn as the others. “Come here, Applejack.”

Without thinking, Applejack obeyed. She made her way through the rows of upright stones towards the image of her mother. Sweet Apple simply pointed at the grave before her as her daughter approached, speaking again only when the young orange mare finally stood abreast of her. “This is the newest grave here.” Applejack gazed down, turning her head to make out the single, simple word carved into the rock face.

‘Scootaloo.’

For several moments, Applejack could only stand, dumbfounded, staring at the chiseled name. The shock was all but too much; she was beyond tears. Finally, she turned back to the image of her mother, struggling to put words together to form a coherent question. “How… how… is this… mah fault?”

“In this world, she froze to death in the streets barely a week ago. In your world, you took her in when she was lost and cold.”

“But… but what about her… parents?”

“Applejack, look.” Sweet Apple lifted a hoof to point just behind the stone, indicating a pair that sat next to each other - two similar gravestones, standing behind that of the filly as if guarding it. “There they are.”

“Are they… are they…”

“Yes. They are dead in your world as well.”

“Ah had no idea.”

“She never told anypony when it happened. She lived on the streets for years. This winter, it just became too much for her.”

“Well. Ah…” Applejack stopped speaking abruptly, her ears cocked to the low sound of another noise. From somewhere in the distance, Applejack heard the faint crunch of hooves on snow. She looked up from the stone, squinting to see into the hazy distance. Out of the darkness, the shadowy figure of a tall pony could be seen approaching. Applejack watched in silence as the pony approached, walking haltingly down a row of gravestones several rows ahead of them. As the figure exited the mist, its features became clear to Applejack. She barely contained her surprise, biting her tongue to keep herself quiet. Ducking down behind the stone before her to remain unseen, she peeked around to watch him as he continued his slow walk.

The stallion’s head was hung, and Applejack could just barely make out tears, glistening just underneath his green eyes. His orange hair billowed in the breeze slightly, and in his mouth he carried a single wilted flower. The snow underneath him crunched with each hoofstep, his gait slow and haling. Each stride he took was short, as if the once powerful pony had simply given up. He stumbled a few times before he stopped, blinking tears from his eyes, just before the gravestone marked with Applebloom’s name.

Big Macintosh stooped to deposit his wilted flower before the stone, scraping snow away to clear a patch of ground. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, little sis.” Without another word, he began to walk, each defeated step carrying him farther and farther away.

Applejack stood, straining to watch her brother as the mist and darkness enveloped him once again. Silently, she began to follow him. Looking back over her shoulder for a fleeting instant, she found the image of her mother was nowhere to be seen. Turning back, she had to hurry to catch back up to her brother, but soon slowed to a walk as she found him again, still sauntering mournfully through the snow. She watched him, being careful not to follow at too close a distance, as he left the cemetery and began walking down the road to town. Wary of being seen, she remained just far enough behind him so that she didn’t lose sight of him in the dark, hoping against hope that he wouldn’t turn around and see her. For some reason she didn’t understand, she felt it best to remain unseen for now.

The largely unlit town stretched before them. Applejack glanced around at the storefronts that lined the street she and her brother moved down. There were no holiday decorations, and only a few doorways were even lit. Most doors and windows were shut, some of them even boarded up. In the dim light of the few flickering candles, Applejack could just make out the signs, some worn and beaten, which hung over street side doors. She was surprised to find that, instead of the shops and cafes she had always known, the unkempt structures of Ponyville now played host to bars, liquor stores, pawn shops, and other unbecoming establishments. Applejack shivered, and not entirely due to the cold.

Applejack returned her gaze to the street before her, startling to see that her brother was no longer in sight. She swung her head around, her eyes sweeping for any sign of him, and was just in time to see a door in one of the few lit entryways swing shut. She walked across the snow-filled street to the dilapidated structure, taking a fleeting glance at the sign before she pushed her way through the creaking door and into the dimly lit building.

The sign hung askew above the doorway, attached by only one bolt, and it swung freely from side to side in another gust of wind. ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ it read.

Applejack found herself in a dim hallway, lit only by the candle burning outside and a light shining through an open doorway at the end of the corridor. The sound of Applejack’s hoofsteps echoed off the corridor walls as she advanced upon the light. Closing in upon the open door, she could make out voices emanating from beyond it. She felt her adrenaline spike as one voice in particular, her brother’s accented drawl, suddenly stood out from the others. “Th’ usual, Caramel. And make it cloppy.”

Applejack stepped through the doorway and blinked as the full force of the light hit her. Her vision quickly adjusted, opening up to reveal a large, rectangular room. Wooden benches and tables, a few occupied by various dejected-looking ponies, lined three of the walls. The fourth wall, the one adjacent to the door she had just came in through, was occupied by a long bar. Applejack recognized the bar tender – Caramel had long been a friend of her brother – but she wondered what he was doing running such an establishment. Scanning the various ponies standing before the bar, Applejack spotted her brother, just as Caramel delivered a small glass filled with a murky brown liquid to him.

Applejack watched as Big Macintosh took the glass to his lips, downing the substance inside in a single gulp and shuddering only slightly as he slammed the vestibule back down to the wooden surface before him. “Macintosh? What in the hay are you doin’ here?”

Big Macintosh looked up and blinked a few times before swinging around to confront the speaker. Caramel stopped his task of wiping down a glass and turned to watch, as well. “An’ just who might ya be? Ah ain’t never seen ya before.”

“How can ya not know me, Mac? Ah’m yer sister!”

Big Macintosh squinted at the ornage mare for a few seconds before shaking his head sadly. “Nope. Ah’m ‘fraid ya’re mistakin’, mah only sister died three years ago. Now, Ah’d be mighty glad if ya’d be so kind as ta take yer leave.”

“But… but… Big Mac! Yah… yah got ta recognize me! Ya’re mah brother!”

“AH AIN’T YER BROTHER! Ya’re startin’ ta scare me. Ah’m not in th’ mood fer some stranger ta come messin’ wit’ me.”

“Ah’m not messin’ with ya, what Ah’m sayin’ is the honest truth.”

“Ya’re lyin’. Ah only know a few ponies, and you ain’t one o’ ‘em.”

“But Ah know everypony you know, Mac!”

“Like who, missy?”

“Like yer wife, Fluttershy!”

“Now what makes ya think Ah’m with that ol’ hermit? Ain’t nopony talked to her in months.”

“There has ta be someone, Rainbow Dash? Rarity? Pinkie Pie?”

“Ya mean Pinkamina? That menace has been locked up ever since th’ sun left. She just snapped when everypony stopped comin’ ta her silly parties.”

Applejack backed up to the door, shaking her head in disbelief. Having witnessed the whole exchange, Caramel leaned on his bar and glared straight at Applejack. “Now look, filly. I don’t know who you are or what you want, but if you keep botherin’ my friend, I might have to throw you out of my saloon. Now I suggest you beat it before you have to take a hoof to the kisser for good measure, see?”

Applejack stumbled as she backed her way through the door. Once out of the room ,she turned tail and fled down the hallway, tears streaming from her face. Behind her, she could just make out her brother’s slow drawl drifting through the smoky air. “Gimme another one. It’s been a long night.”

Applejack tripped over the threshold of the exterior door. Thrown out of balance, she sprawled forward, taking a full impact with the snow in the street. For several moments, she lay there, her front coated with snow, and just cried. Then, the voice of her mother broke through her mourning, piercing her thoughts and filling her mind. “Do ya believe me now, Applejack?”

“Ah… Ah… yes. Ah didn’t want ta believe, but if… if mah own brother doesn’t recognize me then Ah guess there’s nothin’ else ta hope for.” Applejack picked herself up, brushing the snow from her face, and sighed. “After seein’ what happens ta the others, Ah didn’t want ta ask this… but… but Ah gotta know. Mama? Where’s Rainbow Dash? What happens ta her?”

“Are… are you sure you want to see her, AJ?”

Applejack swallowed hard, preparing herself for the worst. “Y-yes.”

“She gets done with her shift late. She should be just leaving the practice fields on the other side of town now.”

“Practice fields? Ya mean she made the Wonderbolts?” Applejack started to trot, quickly breaking into a full gallop as she weaved her way through the streets.

“Not exactly.”

“What do ya mean?”

“Even after Nightmare Moon returned, Rainbow Dash remained loyal to the end to Celestia. When they finally captured her, they punished her the worst way they could think of.”

“P-punished her? H-how?”

“See for yourself.”

In the distance, Applejack spotted a lone figure walking slowly down the street towards her. The pony was covered in a purple and black costume that made her difficult to distinguish from the night sky. Her eyes were covered by a pair of goggles and her cyan wings drooped from the holes cut through the fabric for them, but there was no mistaking that mane and tail. “RAINBOW!”

Rainbow Dash jumped slightly at the sound of her name. She cringed as she spotted some unknown pony racing towards her. “Stay back…” Her weak, raspy voice drifted through the cold air.

“R-Rainbow? Sugarcube? Don’t ya know me?”

“I’ve never seen you in my life. Now… pl-please. Just… just get outta here. Get outta here before they catch us!”

“Whaddya mean, ‘before they catch us’? Who’s…” Applejack stopped as she neared close enough to see the pegasus up close. She looked tired, beaten, and her head and wings slumped as if she had no reason left to hold them up – nothing to live for. Applejack was just about to ask another concerned question when a flash of blinding light and searing sound cut through her train of thought.

Rainbow Dash’s scream ripped through the still night air and made Applejack cringe, stepping backward in horror. She hadn’t noticed the silvery collar around the pegasus’s neck before, but now each brilliant, blue, arcing bolt of electricity that coursed through the collar and into the pagasus’s throat drew her eyes to it, keeping her staring in fixed horror at the torture device strapped onto the pony she loved. After what seemed an eternity, the bolts from the shock collar subsided and Rainbow Dash collapsed to the ground in a heap, panting heavily and whimpering. Before Applejack could rush forward, she saw another pony, dressed in the same purple and black outfit, with the same stitched lightning bolts and the same winged skull on her flank, swoop out of the sky.

“Not having late-night discussions with plotters against our beloved Queen, are you, my captain?” The unknown Shadowbolt smirked at the cowed Rainbow Dash before turning to face Applejack, hatred flashing through her goggles from her eyes. “And just who might you be? Don’t you know that you’re out past curfew?”

“Ah… Ah… Ah was just leavin’…” Applejack found herself stammering, backing up in fear as the menacing pony approached her.

“Of course you were,” The unknown pony sneered before turned back to look up into the sky. “Guards! Arrest this pony and take her in for questioning!” At her words, two more dark ponies, both dressed in deep blue armor, swept down from the sky and hurtled towards Applejack. Without thinking, Applejack took off, galloping at top speed in the opposite direction.

She charged ahead, not knowing or caring where she was going, only concerned with outpacing the guards who followed her every move. The wind whistled through her mane and she continued to push herself, trying to gain as much speed as she could from her powerful legs. After weaving through Ponyville’s streets, she found herself galloping full tilt down the road she was most familiar with – the road home. Just ahead of her, the stone bridge over the rushing creek loomed ahead. In the murky night, Applejack could see the sheet of ice waiting for her on the bridge deck. She swallowed hard. She knew that if she stopped to avoid the ice, she would be captured, but if she slipped, she would be captured as well.

Applejack whipped her head around, searching desperately for a solution. Behind her, the ponies giving chase had begun to gain distance on their quarry, closing in on her little by little. Finally, settling her gaze just to the side of the bridge, Applejack made up her mind. Digging in for an extra burst of speed, she lowered her head and angled off the main road. The rushing sound of the water grew closer, and Applejack cried to the night. “Oh, Sweet Celestia. If this is a dream, take me out of it!”

Her powerful hind legs propelled her from the shoreline into the air. For the second time in her memory, Applejack soared out over the icy current, closing her eyes as she flew. The last sensation she felt was the sting of the freezing water as it hit her body.

===========================================================================================

Chapter 8

It’s a (Apple)Joyful Life!

Applejack blinked her eyes open to find them confronted with darkness again. Around her, nothing was visible except for her own body. She picked herself up onto her hooves, noting with some worry that there seemed to be nothing but more darkness beneath her. Taking a few steps, she realized that the aura of light was following her once again. And that she seemed to be walking on nothing. Her mind automatically registered that this seemed to be the same strange dark place she had been in earlier; that everything around her was probably a figment of her own imagination, but such complex thoughts ended abruptly with the intrusion of a familiar voice, echoing from somewhere behind her.

“Honey, Ah’m so proud of you.” Applejack whipped around and found herself face to face with the smiling image of her mother again. Sweet Apple grinned at the perplexed look on her daughter’s face before she embraced her. “You came back. You came back and Ah couldn’t be happier.”

“But… but Ah don’t understand. What was that?”

“That was what Equestria would have been without you. Ya see, Appejack? You really have a wonderful life. But Ah think ya realize that now.”

“Yeah… yeah Ah do… but… how? How could Ah see that? Was it… was it a dream?”

“Yes. It’s very much like a dream. Ah had to show you somehow, didn’t Ah?”

“But… but if this… if this is all just a dream… does that mean… does that mean, when Ah wake up, that Ah won’t see you again?”

“I’m afraid so, Applejack.” Applejack tightened her grip, holding onto her mother as if she were about to be pulled from her right then and there. Despite all the years she had had to cope, tears began rolling down her cheeks once more, tears that soaked Sweet Apple’s red mane. Holding her, feeling her in her embrace, hearing her voice, it all seemed so tantalizingly real to Applejack. She didn’t want to ever let go.

“Ah don’t want ta lose ya again, mama.” Applejack sobbed, gripping the mare before her as if the sheer force of her will alone could bring her back.

“You have to, Applejack. This is just a dream, remember? You have to go back to the real world and see your real family, now.”

“But… but it feels so real.”

“Dreams feel real while you sleep. You need to wake up now, AJ. Your daughter needs you. Your family needs you.”

Applejack sniffed, wiping her eyes with a hoof. “You… you know about Applejoy?”

Sweet Apple smiled. “Of course Ah do. And Ah can’t say how happy and proud Ah am. You’ve lived a wonderful life, AJ, and you’re a wonderful mare, and now you’re a mother too. Ah’m proud of who ya are and who ya’ve become. Never forget that. There are plenty of ponies who love you, even if Ah can only be with you in memory.”

Applejack pulled away to look at her mother’s face, noting with alarm that her vision was getting blurry. Sweet Apple’s face swam, the amber and red blending and mixing as Applejack’s sight slowly faded. Reaching forward again, Applejack tightened her grip for one last embrace, holding on for all she was worth as her other sensations faded. “Ah’ll always love ya, mama. Always.”

Sweet Apple’s reply was nearly lost on Applejack as her body and mind slipped gradually back into consciousness. Her mother’s parting words rang in her head as she finally slipped from the dream world. “Ah know, AJ. Ah love you too.”

========================================================================================

Hazily slipping back to consciousness, Applejack was vaguely aware of water flowing over her legs and body. Groaning, she flicked her eyes open, allowing them to adjust to the swirling sparkles of white that filled the dark space around her. The water flowing over her was cold, but Applejack could not feel it. Inside, she felt a strange warmth envelop her, spreading from her chest to the very tips of her hooves. She stood up easily, allowing the rushing water to swirl around her hooves as she sank lightly into the pebbles and gravel of the shallow streambed. Dripping, she began to walk from the water, setting her hooves upon the snowy bank alongside the river and climbing out of the water.

Snow swirled all around her, billowing in the breeze and beginning to stick to her soaking pelt. She shook herself, allowing flakes of snow and droplets of water to scatter themselves in a cascading shower from her body. In the process, Applejack saw a flash of color out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she laid her eyes upon a soggy piece of rainbow fabric, lying on the ground after having been shaken loose. Smiling, she stooped down to pick the scarf up in her mouth. Even though they were wet, the folds of the scarf still felt warm to her. She laid it back across her shoulders, feeling warmth spread through her despite the conditions. In a flash of understanding, Applejack was reminded of where she should really be.

The snow danced and swirled through her vision. She looked up, peering through the array of falling white flakes at the clouds above her. The low cloud ceiling, however, no longer seemed a suffocating prison, but a majestic backdrop to the billowing clouds of white that defined the wondrous winter landscape. She gazed up, and addressed the sky. “It’s Hearth’s Warming Eve.”

This truth broke through every other idea carried by her mind to become the only thought given focus. Suddenly, she reared up on her hind legs, kicking the air in front of her and shouting in euphoria. “IT’S HEARTH’S WARMING EVE!” She took off galloping, dashing through the blanket of newly fallen snow, kicking up clouds of white dust behind her as she left the river bank and charged into the town. All around her, the lights and decorations of Ponyville were aglow with the warmth of festive joy. No longer were the homes and shops dark and gloomy, but alive and full of light. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, Ponyville!”

She galloped down the empty streets, her scarf billowing behind her, swinging her head from side to side to gaze at the buildings as they flashed past. Up ahead, she caught a glimpse of the familiar spire of Carousel Boutique, lit up cheerily for the season, no boards in sight. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, Rarity!” Farther along the road, a towering tree came into view, snow-laden branches quivering in the breeze; The Ponyville Library. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, Twi!”

Applejack angled down the main street through town, heading right through town center on her way towards the bridge back home. Up ahead, the well-lit façade of town hall loomed before her. Mayor Mare, standing by the front door, was fumbling with her keys, still closing up for the night. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, Mayor Mare!” Applejack smiled in satisfaction as the Mayor jumped, slipping in the snow and falling onto her side. As the tan pony stood up to brush herself off, Applejack galloped past; the road home was now in sight.

As she galloped down the snow-covered road, the sound of rushing water gradually became audible again. Rounding a turn around the corner of a building, the bridge came into view again. Applejack smirked as she caught a glimpse of the glistening ice through the flurries of snow. She leaned her head down into the wind and galloped faster than ever, straining herself to ease every ounce of raw power from her well-toned legs as she could muster. She approached the bridge at an alarming rate – far too fast to be able to stop before she hit the icy surface. Just before her hooves reached the stone surface, she planted them hard in the compact snow at the foot of the bridge and launched herself into the air. She soared out over the bridge deck, clearing the majority of the ice patch, and let her hooves touch a dry spot of the deck before propelling herself upward again. She cleared the bridge deck in two bounds, landing on all fours on the other side and taking off down the road again.

The chilling wind whipped at her mane, tail, and scarf, allowing the moving air to dry them of whatever moisture remained. Her breath rolled from her in billowing clouds as she galloped, her heart beating even faster, for Applejack, it truly felt good to be alive.

The lights of the town gave away to the dim rolling fields and sparse copses of the land immediately outside Ponyville. The road curved and wound its way through the hills, leading Applejack ever onward. Soon, the orderly rows of empty apple tree upon empty apple tree came into view through the darkness and falling snow. Applejack slid to a stop as she approached the edge of her family’s orchard, her heart racing and her breathing hard, she smiled widely at the barren trees that stretched into the dark distance. “Happy Hearth’s Warming ya wonderful ol’ Apple Farm!”

From her years both living and working on the farm, Applejack knew every nook and cranny of the property. She put that knowledge to good use now, ducking and weaving her way through the rows of threes – her trees. She wound her way through the orchard, never stopping until her destination loomed before her. Lights were shining in the windows of the farmhouse, casting a faint glow out into the dark night and beckoning her home. “RAINBOW! RAINBOW!” She cried as she crossed the last bit of land between the edge of the trees and the house. She leapt up onto the porch, tears welling in her eyes, opening the door and bursting into the foyer in a single motion. “RAINBOW!”

“She isn’t here, AJ. She and Macintosh went out looking for you.” Fluttershy gazed at her from her place by the kitchen table, smiling gently as if she had been waiting for her. A steaming mug of warm apple cider sat before her.

“Fluttershy!” Applejack bounded into the kitchen and surprised the yellow pegasus with a tight embrace. “Happy Hearth’s warming, Fluttershy!”

“Happy Hearth’s Warming to you too… Oh dear, you’re so cold, Applejack! Here, have some cider. You need to get warmed up.” Fluttershy pushed the steaming mug up to Applejack face, smiling contentedly as the orange pony took a big sip, shuddering as the heated liquid splashed down her throat.

“Thanks, Fluttershy. Ah’m so happy ta see ya, ya wouldn’t even believe it.” Applejack leaned in to give her sister-in-law another hug, remembering all too well what she had witnessed become of her.

“Mommy?” Applejack released Fluttershy, whipping around in her excitement to see a light orange baby filly with a rainbow-streaked blonde mane and tail stumble into the kitchen.

“Applejoy!” Applejack crossed the kitchen to scoop her daughter up into her hooves. She held the giggling form of the pegasus foal tight up to her chest, kissing her little face over and over again. Tears began to roll down her face once more, and she collapsed onto her side with Applejoy held tight against her. “Ah love you, Sweetie. Ah’m never leavin’ you again.”

“Oh my, I’m so sorry, Applejack. She’s supposed to be asleep, she must have woken up without me knowing.”

“Don’t be silly, Sugarcube. It’s Hearth’s Warming Eve. She can stay up as late as she wants.” Applejack bent back down to kiss her daughter on the forehead once more, pushing her multi-colored mane out of the way with her nose and receiving yet another giggle form the overjoyed foal. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, Joy.”

“Ai wuvs oo, Mommy.”

“You’re the best thin’ that’s ever happened ta me, Applejoy.” Applejack snuggled up against her daughter again, savoring the feeling of her tiny warm body against her chest.

“You mean besides me, of course, right?” Applejack looked up in surprise at the voice, setting her daughter down on her hooves as she stood up to turn and face the direction it had come from. Standing before the still-open front door, with snowflakes sprinkled in her heaxachromatic mane and a sheepish grin on her face, was Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow!” Applejack wept for joy and trotted towards her wife, Applejoy stumbling after her with a smile on her little face.

“You’ll never believe it, AJ. Macintosh and I-” Rainbow Dash was cut off by a full-force tackle from the orange earth pony. Before she registered what was happening, she found herself sprawled on her back on the floor with Applejack’s muzzle pressed to her own. The feeling of lips pressed against her own got her over her shock quickly. Resigning herself to her fate, she reached her forehooves up over her wife’s back and pulled the earth pony down onto her, kissing her back in full.

The two remained locked in embrace, their tongues dancing to the tune of a lover’s private concert, for a longer time than either could ever hope to measure yet that neither wanted to end. Finally, Applejack pulled her mouth from her lover’s gazing deep into the sparkling magenta eyes she loved, and broke into a huge smile. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, Sugarcube. Ah love you. Ah love you so much.”

“I love you too, AJ.” The couple leaned in, their eyes closing, to share another kiss. Tears of joy rolled from beneath Applejack’s eyelids as she kissed the mare she loved. Droplets slid down onto Rainbow Dash’s cheeks. Rainbow Dash continued to lie on the ground, undeterred, feeling a warmth spreading throughout her body as she held the mare she loved.

“Momma. Mommy!” The two broke their kiss prematurely to turn and stare at their daughter, who sat on the floor next to their heads, smiling at them. Applejack picked herself up off of Rainbow Dash, leaning over her daughter and scooping her up and onto her back. Perched atop the now-warm orange fur of her mother, Applejoy leaned forward to reach her short fore legs around the mare’s neck, nuzzling herself against Applejack’s long tied-back lock of blonde hair. Rainbow Dash stood up, walking up to touch noses with her wife. Both of them then leaned forward so that their foreheads touched. A rainbow forelock blended with a blonde one as green eyes gazed deep into magenta ones, and vice-versa.

“Ah love ya, Sugarcube. Ah love y’all so much. Ah never wanna lose y’all again.”

“I love you, AJ. But what are you talking about?”

“Nothin’, Sugarcube. Nothin’.” She smiled and kissed the mare before her again, savoring the taste of Rainbow Dash’s lips on hers a third time. “So where’s Macintosh?”

“Oh! That’s right!” Rainow Dash grinned at her wife, turning back to the door to open it. “Hey, Mac. Get on in here! She’s waitin’ for you!” The sound of clopping hooves and a strange jingling sound approached, followed by Big Macintosh himself. On his back, a large basket rattled with the clinking of numerous unseen objects.

“Look, sis.” Big Macintosh made his way into the living room and set the basket down in the center of the rug. Applejack peered over the edge. Inside, a large pile of gold bits sparkled back at her. Applejack’s face lit up from a combination of pure joy and the reflection of the shining gold.

She jumped up to throw herself around her brother’s neck. “Big Mac! H.. h-how?”

“We started a collection going around town, AJ. There’s a lot of ponies who love you, well, us, and they were more than willin’ ta donate some bits.” Big Macintosh grinned as his sister pulled away. “Ah think Ah hear some more comin’, now.”

As if on cue, the front door opened again. Applejack watched as Twilight Sparkle, Spike riding on her back, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity, Sweetie Belle in tow, made their way into the house. Applejack looked at all her friends in surprise, turning from smiling face to smiling face. Pinkie Pie, energetic as always, bounced her way across the room. “Hiya, Applejack!” the pink pony greeted her friend before stopping before the basket. Producing a small sack seemingly out of nowhere, she tipped it upside down over the basket, dumping numerous more coins onto the pile, where they clinked into place. “I usually like to spend the bits I get from the Cakes on party supplies, but you need it more than me now!”

Applejack rushed forward to hug her pink friend. As she released the excited pony, Rarity made her way up behind them. She lifted a sizable, bulky pouch into the air with her magic and allowed a considerable amount of bits to fall into the basket. “I’ve made quite a few sales this holiday season, and how unbecoming would it be of me to betray my element? Especially when a friend is in need.” Applejack leaned forward to hug Rarity as well, almost missing Sweetie Belle flip two or three more coins into the basket.

“You can have my allowance, too, Applejack.” The little unicorn filly smiled brightly before rushing off to meet Applebloom, who had just made her way down the stairs. “Hey, AB. Where’s Scoot?”

“Ah dunno. She slept over here the other night but she left. Ah haven’t seen her.”

Applejack turned from watching her sister and Sweetie Belle to see Twilight standing expectantly next to her. “I have some for you too, AJ. Unfortunately, the library doesn’t make much of a profit, but I still have enough to help out friends.” Twilight emptied a smaller bag into the basket and received a hug from Applejack as well.

“Thanks Sugarcube. Thanks all of ya, y’all have no idea how much this means to me. Ah’m so glad to have friends like y’all.” Applejack smiled as she looked between the happy faces of all her friends and family as they gathered around her.

Hold on. It’s not over yet!” Spike clamored down off of Twilight’s back, brandishing a rolled scroll in his claw. Unraveling it, he cleared his throat and began to read. “Dear Applejack and family, Rainbow Dash wrote to me the other day detailing your monetary issues. In the spirit of the season, I have instructed the treasurers of the Royal Coffers to grant the Apple Family access to a maximum of 25,000 bits. Happy Hearth’s Warming to all, and I hope to see you all tomorrow at the Winter Moon Celebration. Princess Celestia.”

For several moments, Applejack could not speak. She stood, tears of joy in her eyes, in the middle of the Living Room. As she looked around the room, her eyes fell upon something that lay next to the fireplace. It was her hat, discarded there earlier when she had been laying with her daughter by the fire before. A slight pressure against her neck told her that she was still with Applejoy as she trotted, silently, over towards the Stetson. She picked it up, catching a glimpse of something unusual poking out of the rim. It was a small piece of parchment. Applejack saw loopy, cursive writing scrawled onto it and craned her head to read it. ‘Applejack- Happy Hearth’s Warming. Remember, nopony is a failure who has friends! -Mom’

Applejack looked up from the hat and the scrap of parchment to stare at her assembled friends and family. Finally, she managed to put words to thought. “Ah… Ah think this calls fer a family hug.” Applejack immediately found Rainbow Dash in front of her, smiling as they embraced. Soon enough, Big Macintosh, Applebloom, and even Fluttershy had joined in. Applejack looked up, craning her head to see Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Sweetie Belle and Spike still standing by the basket, smiling sheepishly. “Come ‘ere y’all, Ah meant the whole family!” The others grinned before trotting over to add themselves to the laughing pile of ponies.

In the center of the pile, her daughter clinging to her neck, Applejack managed to find Rainbow Dash and pin her down onto her back again. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, Sugarcube.”

“Happy Hearth’s Warming, AJ.” Surrounded by their family and the joy of the season, the two leaned in close to one another, eyes glistening, and shared another kiss.

Comments

I loved this! I went through about a million different emotions upon reading this chapter, ranging from to to to . This was awesome! At first I was afraid it was just gonna be a boring "Wonderful Life" episode, but it was actually good. Five stars to you!

[Dash Is Best Pony]

I love the title, puns are magic.

Other than that, this was simply amazing, Neumo. It doesn't matter how long it takes you to produce these chapters, for the length and quality it's well worth the wait.

This is really an incredible fic, you need to be proud of it. I usually really hate the slice of life stuff with debt and money problems, but I can't help but love this story. Keep on rockin', Brony!

[ThePhantomAssassin]

I'll be damed, you did it aging, another heart wreching tear jerker with a super happy ending, this is my favorite series, right next to the Romance Reports. I think I can speak for every one when u say you deserve a better rating. 4.6 doesn't do do you justice. When ever I read, or watch something with a live story, an with watch, that's usually some Anime or another, i wish for what I call a perfect ending, where you see into the future or something like that, and see the happy family, you've done just that and then some. Clannad, is the best animated proof of that concept. If you can't cry to this series and that one, you have no heart. Happy new years to you all, very well done Brony, well done. And on a side note: MOAR!!!!!!

[ThePhantomAssassin]

I'll be damed, you did it aging, another heart wreching tear jerker with a super happy ending, this is my favorite series, right next to the Romance Reports. I think I can speak for every one when I say you deserve a better rating. 4.6 doesn't do do you justice. When ever I read, or watch something with a love story, an with watch, that's usually some Anime or another, i wish for what I call a perfect ending, where you see into the future or something like that, and see the happy family, you've done just that and then some. Clannad, is the best animated proof of that concept. If you can't cry to this series and that one, you have no heart. Happy new years to you all, very well done Brony, well done. And on a side note: MOAR!!!!!!102190 sent from my I-Phone

[saruSAM]

Brought a tear to my eye . Though I hope she doesn't forget about Scoot

[Sith_Dreamer]

So is this the end? Or do you have more planned? Your fics were some of the first I read when I joined the fandom, and this was another amazing chapter. I couldn't wait to get home from work and finish reading it. There are few stories that keep me so hooked but yours can BronyNuemo. 5 stars, no doubt.
I really hope to see more stories set against Dash and AJ and Applejoy, or Big Mac and family. Hell I wouldn't mind seeing you expand upon the other ponies eventually having families. In short, keep writing, you do really great work, and I'll be sure to keep reading!

[BronyNeumo]

104354

No, this isn't the end. I plan to milk this series until everyone is annoyed with me!

[Discount Irish]

104594
Another great....chapters... Thats new....
Either way, love this story. I cried much in the... 25 hours it took me to read this? (what with life and stuff)
Please give moar of this story to us, and a Happy New Year to you!

[Scully]

104594 lol sounds good to me.

[Sith_Dreamer]

BronyNeumo
Lol, sounds like what I'm doing with my fics these days. But I can;t wait for more!

[ElijahBleu]

could read a hundred chapters
but please for the love of my sanity
dont forget about scootaloo
also
am i the only one who keeps hearing macintosh with a scottish accent

[MLPDavester]

So many manly tears shed in this story, what an amazing fic I must say my friend. Well Done

[Agent Brony]

oh god it so sad and happy at the same

[ajaysallthat]

This is a wonderful story, all my stars are belong to you!

keep it up!

[ezio dementay]

so sad and yet happy. make's me crie manly tears and makes others smile with there hearts.
i love this story and i respect the writer for everthing in this story.

[Lightning Shaker]

This chapter... if I could hug you I would.

[Big Mac.]

this chapter explains my one nagging question; how apple joy came to be.(as odd as it may be)
and i must say i agree with lightning shaker

[DanteRevolution]

And on this day I died inside. That was beautiful. Absolutely freaking beautiful dude. This was an amazing chapter. Feels, love, sadness... twas overwhelming.

[Dark_Knight]

Feeeelllllllssss

[TheSillyDuck]

Absolutely beautiful, if not very cliche. While I DID like the chapter, the entire thing was basically a ponyfication of It's a Wonderful Life. I could even picture Geor...er Applejack running away from the water and screaming Merry Ch....er Happy Hearthswarming to the town. Right down to the ol' Building n Loan/Sweet Apple Acres. This chapter showed a LOT of talented writing but I feel like with your skills it could easily have had more done to make it "yours" rather than just taking the idea from a 60 year old movie.