Applejack's entire life is on Sweet Apple Acres. All her time and energy is devoted into making sure her farm is in the best shape it can be in. Every hour she can spend making her farm and her work better isn't time wasted to her.
Life isn't all about working, though, and Applejack knows this. She can make time for friends, family, fun, and life later though. She's got plenty of time and it'll all happen eventually, right?
Edited by seventeen | Art Source | Support the author | Ko-fi
Chapters (1)
A Holy story with best pony?
Things that are sure to happen:
Heart to melt.
Tears to shed.
A happy ending? I hope.
Let’s dig in...
Why do you do this to us? This is so beautiful, so wonderfully melancholy, that I had to wipe tears out of my eyes.
I won't lie. Tears were shed at this because it REALLY hit home in some places. Excellent job
... And now I regret my entire life.
Yay for anti-depressants!
I wonder what would happen if AJ, or anypony, would downright refuse the call of the Cutie Map. Would his/her cutie mark keep flashing indefinitely? What would happen if he/she never showed up to Twilight's castle?
I think a lot of times, writers don't respect that Applejack too must have an inner life, emotions we don't immediately see all the time...and when they do, it's always centered around the loss of her parents. So right out the gate, I respect this fic for genuinely seeking to tackle an aspect of AJ's character that is at once understandable and relateable (who hasn't struggled to balance work with the rest of their life?), and one that does not directly tie to her grief over her parents. And then the way it lets that concept unfold proves remarkably effective as well; the sadness, the frustration, the growing sense of regret...you seed the story well with each of these elements, and escalate them just right as the years unfold. And THEN you pull the curtain back at just the right moment, playing the Just A Dream card in such a way that the usual sense of being cheated doesn't fall over the rest of the narrative; the impact is still felt by Applejack, and thus by us. I do admit, I wish you could've lingered over that element a bit more; giving us a little more detail on how Applejack responds to her dream, I think, would've served the story well. Nevertheless, this story definitely clicked for me in a BIG way, and successfully tackles Applejack as a character in a fashion that feels like it truly understands her character in a way I simply do not see often enough.
8937272
Author did a great job. Would love a short follow up of how that dream changed her, if it did.
Can't say anything you didn't.
Good story. Concise and poignant.
I'm glad in the end it all turned out to be a dream. I feel like AJ managed to find a good balance between work and friendship and family in the show, but I bet there were more than a few times when she was tempted to throw off fun for more work. And it always breaks my hear to see any of the Mane 6 like that, they all deserve the very best.
8937086
If you're still alive you haven't wasted it yet.
8937659
This was really good and very emotional. Heck, this seems like something Princess Luna would've done.
This story didn't just hurt, it caused some grade A agony...
8939436
...?
I hella cried so you've definitely still got it bud
So true and right... sad to know it could happen.
8937995
Nope! I disagree! I’ve wasted 90 percent of my life and it will hurt 75 percent of the rest of it that I have.
8941010
I'd prefer you keep your politics off my story if you don't mind.
this was an awesome story, excellent work and do keep it up, putting you on follow list
8941304
I asked you nicely to refrain from doing something, I didn't call you bad for it. I wrote a story about not wasting time avoiding the things that are most important to you, not solely about work. This isn't your personal blog post to bitch about your job or capitalism, nor do I want you trying to use my story as your mouthpiece to spread your views. If this is how you wish to act in the face of a simple request to respect that boundary, you won't be missed.
Childishly downvoting all my stories isn't helping your case, either.
8941304
If you're going to pull some childish bullshit like throwing a tantrum and downvoting all my stories, at least own up to it or rectify it instead of lying about it to save face.
You downvoted my comment, my story, then every story you saw in the author box within five minutes of replying. I know it was you. You're not fooling anyone.
I think this is one story where the reader can immediately connect with Applejack on the spot. (evident by the comments) I'm not much different. Some scenes were just too damn hard to read. Never has a story made me think three times over my past decisions in an intense session of reading, and afterwards.
Gojira007 I feel nails it better than I could about this story. I do think the same in regards to focusing a bit more on Applejack and her reaction at the end. But what we got was pretty satisfying none the less. I also quickly wanna say that Applejack's refusal to Fluttershy's wedding was slightly..hard to swallow. I get that was the part of the story. Her pushing it off, and leaving it at a "maybe". But that seems almost too big of an event to ignore. Regardless it was still believable how you wrote the scene!
Poignant and melancholy and all-round excellent. Good work.
That hurt.
Dang. I normally struggle reading long-ish stories from start to end in one sitting, but I just sank into this one, and AJ was painfully relatable here. It makes you think about what we might be missing, and not paying enough attention to the best things in life: family, friends, even our own happiness.
The show has taught me that (or if not taught, helped remind me), and I'm lucky to have family who supports my siblings and I to go on adventures and live our lives instead of getting pulled into work and the day to day routines.
Time flies. So much faster than you think.
Life can be gone so quickly, sometimes you need to just live
Managing the farm doesn't seem easy, but throwing away your life doing a job because the job requires it, is never worth it. Same could be said about thinking that you will have all the time in the world, only just not on that day.
It is pretty sad that this is a reality that some had gone through. I can only hope that people got the second chance like Applejack had