Half a Pair Short

by Posh

One

"AJ! I'm home!"

It startled Twilight how quickly and harshly Winona reacted to the sound of Apple Bloom's voice. She dashed from her place under the kitchen table, where she'd been dozing at Twilight and Applejack's feet, and shot toward the living room, a snarling, barking blur of fur and teeth.

Applejack's response was scarier. Her fingers gripped the rim of the kitchen table so tightly that Twilight worried she'd break it to pieces, and her expression soured into a smoldering grimace. Twilight wondered if the sisters were angry with one another, but when Apple Bloom bounded into the kitchen, Applejack greeted her warmly.

"Yer home early," said Applejack, looping her arm around Apple Bloom's waist. "Wasn't expectin' you 'til tonight."

"Sorry about that." Apple Bloom squeezed her sister before pulling away. "Woulda called, but my phone shit the bed."

"Hey – watch your mouth. Yer in the presence of royalty."

Giggling, Apple Bloom clapped her hands over her mouth, and winked at Twilight. For her part, Applejack's grimace had stretched back into a smile, but there was a tension in her gaze that Twilight didn't understand. And Winona was still barking.

Twilight masked her confusion with a grin.

"So," said Applejack. "What'd y'all get up to?"

"Shoppin'. Rarity'd have kittens if she saw the boutiques in Baltimare."

"Didn't know that was your thing."

"It... really ain't," said Apple Bloom. Twilight heard the front door close, though Winona's barking could still be heard from outside. "But I don't mind."

From the kitchen's doorway came a phlegmy sigh. "Dangit, A.B., that dog could'a taken a leg off'a me!"

Twilight turned toward the speaker: a stocky man in flannel and jeans carrying a pair of shopping bags, crowned with a rawhide hat. His rough stubble wasn't so much salt and pepper as it was salt and cayenne, a familiar shade of red that matched the ponytail dangling from the back of his hat.

Twilight looked toward the sisters. Apple Bloom's hands were laced behind her back, her lips pursed. Applejack was gripping the table again, gazing away from the door.

"Sorry, Pa," Apple Bloom said.

Applejack's fingers clenched harder. The wood creaked.

Twilight understood why Winona wouldn't stop barking.

Apple Bloom excused herself, muttering about taking the dog upstairs. She pecked Applejack's cheek and left, pausing long enough to half-heartedly hug the man in the doorway.

"Sorry for droppin' in like this," the man said sheepishly. "I would'a kept her the whole day, but we maxed out my card in Baltimare..."

Applejack snorted. Her lips moved subtly, forming inaudible words. The living room door opened and shut; Twilight heard claws scrabbling against the hardwood floors and hissed admonishments from Apple Bloom as she led the dog to her bedroom.

"Winona, no, Winona come. Good girl, Winona. Let 'im be."

Applejack never budged, nor spoke a word.

The man didn't speak either until Apple Bloom was shut in her room. When he did, it was with a lopsided smile. "Your granny around?"

"Nope."

A nervous edge crept into his voice. "Your brother?"

"Nope."

"Well. Sorry I missed 'em." His eyes found Twilight, and he set his bags down, sticking out a meaty hand in greeting. Twilight shook it, her dainty purple hand lost in the man's calloused grip.

"We ain't met, I think. I'm Bright McIntosh. Call me Mac."

"Twilight Sparkle." Twilight pulled her hand away and tucked it into her lap. "You must be Applejack's––"

"Somethin' else you needed?" Applejack interrupted sharply, without looking.

Her vehemence made Mac step back, though he remained smiling. "A word of greetin' might be nice. Was hopin' fer a howdy."

Applejack's nostrils flared as she set a venomous gaze upon Mac. "Howdy."

It was enough to curdle Mac's smile. "I, uh... got a long drive back to Baltimare. Tell your sister I'll be outside a minute longer, if she wants to see me off."

When Mac realized Applejack wasn't going to answer, he sighed, dipped his hat at Twilight, and left the room with his shoulders slumped.

Applejack waited until the front door shut to speak. "Sorry you had to see that, Twi. Didn't know he'd show up, or I wouldn'ta had you over.'"

"Don't apologize," Twilight said softly. "I'm sorry if I saw something I shouldn't have."

"Ain't no secret. Jus' something I try to keep away from my friends." Applejack glanced at the bags and scoffed. "'Maxed out his card.' Surprised he didn't ask for gas money."

Not knowing what to say, Twilight gripped her hands together.

Abruptly, Applejack spoke up again. "My Ma passed when I was a little girl. He walked out on us not long after, an' Granny reared us instead. A.B. was little when it happened, so she never knew anythin' else, an' when he came crawlin' back, she was willin' to give him a shot. But Mac an' I, we remember how it felt. An' as far as we're concerned, our parents are dead – our Ma an' Pa, both."

"I wish I could understand," said Twilight.

But Applejack stared through her, and shook her head. "Yer lucky you don't. An' I hope you never do." Her lips twitched, and she looked away.

Outside, a truck's engine sputtered and coughed as tires crunched on the gravel driveway.

Comments

[Arthurian_Legend]

Oh man, dad issues fug