Broken Stems

by TCC56

Mama I'm Coming Home

The sun shone gently down the day after Winter Wrap-Up, just as the weather schedule had said it would. Enough to warm cold bodies and sparkle in the eager eyes of ponies who were enjoying the first moments of spring.

And what a spring it was - Applejack hadn't seen the like since she was a filly. It was, admittedly, the first she'd enjoyed with her parents since then and that made it all the brighter.

Sitting in a rocking chair on the porch, she watched as the two Macintoshes quietly talked under a tree. She couldn't hear the words, but the way each would occasionally mime a buck told her they were disagreeing on harvesting techniques. The father was trying to provide sage wisdom, while the son was bringing his parent up to speed on more recent innovations.

The scent of cinnamon wafted out of the house behind her - Buttercup was teaching Sugar Belle her old Pear family recipes to add to the baker's already huge number of apple dishes. Having somepony in the family who'd grown up outside the feud was a blessing for the Apple mother - somepony she could teach her side of the family's ways without fruit-based prejudice.

Not there was as much of that anymore: Granny Smith and Grand Pear were both asleep on the far end of the porch, after all. Side by side on a hanging bench and under hoof-knit quilts.

...A small part of Applejack's mind reminded her she didn't know where Apple Bloom was. She dismissed it, because Applejack wanted to think about good things right now and whatever chaos the Crusaders were up to was future Applejack's problem.

Good things - and good friends, like the one coming up the road. Applejack could see Tempest coming a literal mile off. The dark mare was holding to a brisk pace, but the hills around the Acres gave long lines of sight towards town.

She drew close to the farmhouse and more things came into focus - Tempest was wearing yet another gift from Rarity. Rather than her plain black woolen frock, she was draped in one made of deep grey flannel. In true Rarity style, the grey was shot through by golden thread to create shaping highlights, leading the eyes along the flow of Tempest's bulky body to the neck. There sat two bright electric blue gemstones which had been cut to resemble one of the Storm King's lightning bolts that had been snapped in half. A small nod to Tempest's overcoming of that past, forged in lapis and gold.

Applejack was patient, waiting several long minutes for the liberator to close the distance. And, in time, Tempest stood at the base of the steps up the porch.

Both were silent for several more minutes in quiet contemplation - watching the new leaves blow in the warm breeze, listening to the birds as they flitted about to make their nests, and feeling the warm sun shine down.

In time, Applejack spoke first. "Had a good trip? You kinda disappeared after Pinkie's party to welcome my folks back."

"After a party that legendary? I had to recover." Tempest chuckled, and Applejack did so with her. But she answered truthfully afterwards. "I went down to Mount Aris with Twilight." She took a deep breath. "They put me in jail."

Applejack stopped rocking.

"I had to do my penance, Applejack." Tempest still frowned. "I served one day for every year that the hippogriffs were away from Mount Aris, and at the end Queen Novo ceremonially released me. I don't think I'll ever be welcome there, but I'm officially not a wanted criminal anymore."

The farmer nodded slowly and resumed rocking. "Good. You've more'n earned that, Tempest." A thin smile came to her lips. "Ah don't think Starlight worked half as much for her redemption as you did, an' she destroyed all of time."

Tempest chuckled darkly. "I don't have the benefit of being a brilliant self-taught magic prodigy."

A wider smirk crossed Applejack's lips. "You know, your horn is pretty powerful. Just like the pony it belongs to."

Something halfway between a snort and a laugh snuck out of Tempest. "No fair using a Princess' words against me."

They both smiled, lapsing to a long silence again.

Both sets of eyes watched as the two Macintoshes seemed to find an accord, mirroring each other as they both bucked a tree. No apples fell - only the first blossoms were showing on the branches - but the pair of farmers seemed satisfied with what they'd agreed to.

"Seems apple farming's like riding a bike," Tempest quipped.

Applejack laughed lowly - then frowned. "It ain't been easy," she admitted. "Equestria's changed a lot since they left it, after all. Happens at the strangest times, too. Things Ah've learned to take for granted's new to them - like Princess Luna or how many different creatures are around the School." She paused. "Sometimes Ah come into a room an' one of us is just... cryin'. Even Sugar Belle's feelin' it sometimes."

A slow moment passed. "And you?" Tempest didn't press, didn't judge - but she knew the answer.

"Sometimes Ah'm the one they find there like that," Applejack admitted with a half-dodge.

The former soldier chuckled. "I'd say I'm sorry - but I'm not."

Applejack rose up out of the rocking chair, stepping to the edge of the porch. "Tempest," she started, "Ah know Ah told you at the beginning that there was no way Ah could ever repay you for doin' this for our family. Well - Ah was wrong. Sayin' that was short-sellin'. There... there aren't words for it, Tempest. The whole town knows it, too. Ponyville's small, and you've given every pony here two amazing gifts." Reaching out, Applejack set a hoof on Tempest's shoulder. "This family - this town - will do anything for you. Ah know you've wrestled before 'bout your place in this world. And Ah want you to know that you will never, ever have to wonder that again."

Tempest was silent for a few long seconds - and then cracked a little grin. "You make it sound like I'm leaving. Or is that your way of saying that I should take a hike?"

The unexpected swerve made Applejack sputter - and flush with embarrassment when Tempest started laughing. "Ah mean-- well, Ah thought you would be leavin' again. You didn't stick around any other time, after all."

"I had a job and now it's done." Tempest's eyes pinched closed as she took a long, deep breath. "Just saying it feels weird - it's over. The Storm King is gone, the Citadel's under Queen Novo's control, every nation the King conquered is liberated and I'm..." She trailed off.

Applejack gave her a slight nudge. "You're what?"

"Free," Tempest half-whispered.

The farmer raised a silent eyebrow that begged for elaboration.

"I'm free," Tempest repeated. "I've spent so much of my life orbiting the Storm King - either working for him or trying to tear down what he created. And now it's all finished. I'm free of his legacy. I can... I can live without his shadow."

Gently, Applejack shook her head. "Afraid it don't work that way, Tempest. He's always gonna be a part of you - there's no avoidin' that. But Ah'd say you've moved past it, and you're right. It's time you got to build somethin' that's you alone."

Tempest reached up to the orange hoof on her shoulder, touching her own dark one to it. "Not alone."

A soft chuckle slipped out of Applejack. "Yeah, sorry. You're right - not alone." She paused for a moment. "So then - what're you gonna build?"

Silently, Tempest considered that. Her eyes roamed the farm around them - the grandparents sleeping on the bench; father and son amongst the trees laughing together; the barn that looked ready to fall apart at any moment because no Apple barn seemed to survive the year.

"Nothing, yet," she decided. "I think... I think I need the chance for my soul to take a breath."

Applejack smiled. "Ah hear ya there." Her eyes flicked back to the farmhouse behind her. "We got a spare room, y'know. Could use an extra hoof around since the growin' season's about to start."

Tempest shook her head. "I couldn't. You've got plenty of ponies to buck apples already."

"Grand Pear's been rebuildin' his grove, and he's too old to handle that whole thing on his own." Applejack changed her tack, flanking in on Tempest's verbal blindside. "Since he's come back that whole orchard's needed some tender care that he can't do by himself. Now we could spare a pony to help him - but Ah think he'd appreciate the chance to know the mare that gave him his daughter back."

There was hesitation. Tempest didn't say no. Applejack pounced on that chance. "You already get up at the crack of dawn. You're physically stronger than any unicorn Ah've ever seen. And--"

Tempest raised a hoof to silence the farmer. "Okay, okay," she laughed. "You talked me into it, Applejack. At least for the season. Ponyville seems to be a pretty nice place anyway."

Applejack grinned. "The best. An' gettin' better every day."

Author's Note:

Thank you all for hanging around through this tale, and I hope it's been enjoyable.

I think it came out fairly well overall - the middle sections suffered and there were some pacing issues when the central chapters got condensed, but the focal parts came out strongly. All in all? I'm mostly satisfied with it. 6.5 out of 10.

Oh, and another shout-out to Matthais Unidostres for the inspiration to write this piece - it wouldn't have happened without the seed of an idea his work planted.

Comments

[Melody Song]

That was so beautiful!! I am definitely going to read this again, you did a great job!

[JustFalcon]

This was a great story! I am definitely going to reread this a couple times now!

[Anonomis]

I haven't read it yet; but I like the song references as chapters

[Thought Prism]

I wish you'd shown us more of the heartwarming reunions between the rescued Apples and everypony else, but this was probably the more focused ending, since Tempest's arc was the core of the story.

[Matthais Unidostres]

Sorry it took so long to comment. Anyway, I really do like this little epilogue. It's a picture perfect example of showing and not telling how everything has pretty much healed up since Bright Mac and Pear Butter were rescued and brought back home. Also, you nailed Tempest' personality perfectly. Wanting to serve her penance under the Hippogriffs is exactly what she'd want to do. You really had her go through an excellent character arc and I loved it. This really was Tempest's story as much as it was Applejack's story.

This story gave us just enough information for us to piece all the backstory and other details together. That final battle was perfect with how everypony gave their all against odds they really COULD NOT win, and were rewarded for their heroism and self sacrifice with a fortunate and timely rescue. This is what keeps stuff like this from becoming deus ex machinas. It really felt earned.

Thank you for your shout outs, although you really do give me too much credit. Your story had so much more work, effort, and thought put into it, and you should be very proud of it. I would give it an 8 out 10, only because it was too short!

Please keep writing!

[Nitro Indigo]

I just realised why I couldn’t find anything to say about the last chapter: it felt underwhelming. The cavalry shows up to fight the Storm Army... and then we cut to the aftermath.

[Maran]

I agree that there were pacing issues in the middle chapters - I think they're rushed because the descriptions are sparse. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this fanfic overall. The premise drew me in, and the excellent characterization and plot made me want to keep reading. Tempest's redemption works well as a continuation from the ending of the movie.

The cavalry arriving just in time to save the day was surprising, but the explanation afterward made sense and didn't feel like it "tricked" the readers (and I love Rainbow's smugness about leaving the note for Spitfire). I also like the heartwarming moments such as Applejack reuniting with her mom and dad, Pear Butter reuniting with her dad, and AJ expressing her gratitude for Tempest's sacrifice.

[Haver]

Good Applejack