12th Candle
It all started on the day she was born, which was also the day she almost died.
Granny Smith, who had been present for the birth, recalled how shortly after being brought into the world, Applejack’s shrill cries were cut short as several of her bones were fractured.
Granny described it as somepony going ham on bubble wrap, but it was the most haunting and terrible sound she’d ever heard.
Miraculously, she somehow survived. The doctors kept her monitored and under careful observation, performing test after test to find out why this newborn’s bones would inexplicably break barely a minute after taking her first breath.
A week later, they discovered the cause.
A young Applejack dashed through the orchard – well, as much of a ‘dash’ as she was able to do – with an excited grin spread across her face. She could see the figure in the distance pulling a wagon along the road.
“Pa!”
Pappy turned his head. Even at this distance, she could see his face twist in dread. “AJ, what are ya doin’? Slow down!”
His harsh tone hit her like a bucket of cold water and she immediately obeyed, though her enthusiasm did not wane in the slightest – so what if it took her a little longer to get to him?
“Pappy, guess what I did today?” Applejack put one leg in front of the other just like she had been taught. Each step caused a flare of discomfort deep in her bones, but she ignored it. “Big brother, um, Big Mac… he-he found this thing in th’ orchard an’ he gave it ta me an’ I made it inta somethin’ real pretty. Ya gotta come see it.”
Pappy smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Tha’s great, sugarcube. Here – let’s get ya up on this here wagon, huh?”
It was always fun to get carried by Pappy. He didn’t do it much since it hurt his back if he did it for too long, so each time he did was a treat.
Safe on the wagon, Applejack sat next to the sacks of barley and apples and hummed to herself as Pappy pulled them along. “Apples to th’ core, we’re family an’ so much mooooore~”
Pappy chuckled. “No matter what comes we fill face th’ weather~”
“We’re apples to th’-” Giddy with excitement, Applejack thrust her foreleg skywards.
Crack
There was the noise. And with the noise, the familiar pain accompanied it, that pain that hovered on the horizon whenever she made any sort of movement as if to remind her of her condition.
It felt like it was near the socket.
Pappy stopped. “Applejack, what was that?”
Applejack could not help but let a whimper slip through her lips. She could have probably hid it if she were able to clench her teeth together, but that might have popped another one out and inflicted more pain.
“Hold on – I’ll get us home soon!”
The wagon picked up speed, and Applejack laid down and made sure to relax fully, just as she had been taught to do by her parents and all those doctors and unicorns.
She looked over at her shoulder, even though it did nothing to help the pain, and through the tears she could see her flesh bulging as her dislocated bone pushed against it.
It was then in that moment, when she should have been singing a merry tune with Pappy after he finally came back from work in town, that she truly started to hate her body.
Thaum-Apple Muscle Disorder, or TAMD for short. There was a proper medical term for it, but that was what everypony called it to save time.
She was the first pony in history to have this disorder, so they named it after her. Ma and Pa didn’t argue since they were too distraught over their daughter’s future, but Applejack wished they did – the Apple family name should be synonymous with strength, not weakness.
It was this perspective that caused Applejack to consciously ignore the details about her condition, but it was talked about around her so much and she had so many tests done on her that some of it was chiselled into the wrinkles in her brain.
Bluntly put, the condition was due to a magical imbalance causing her body to produce extremely dense muscle fibres almost as soon as she was out of the womb.
Barely a minute old, Applejack almost died from the weight of her muscles crushing her small bones. She should have died, but thanks to the doctors and possibly a higher power, she survived.
“They’re too tight.”
“I know, sugarcube, I know,” Ma smiled sympathetically. “But they’ll help you walk, so just bear them, okay?”
Applejack stared morosely at the bindings keeping her legs stiff and straight. They were wound so tight it felt like they were cutting into her flesh. “For how long?”
Ma’s smiled waned. “… Hey, why don’t we go bake something?”
Applejack’s face lit up. “Yeah!”
Her and Ma trotted into the kitchen. Indeed, Applejack felt the difference; her body wasn’t aching so much and her slow gait was due to unfamiliarity with the bindings. They hurt, but Ma said they wouldn’t cut off her blood flow.
“What do you think we should make, sugarcube?”
“Apple pie!” Applejack announced.
Ma snickered. “What a shocker. Go get the beaker for me, would ya?”
“Got it!”
They had two beakers they could use – one was in the lower cupboards, the other in the top. Applejack always got the lower one to avoid straining herself, but perhaps these new bindings would let her go without? The prospect excited her.
While Ma was busy with the stove, Applejack took a deep breath and rose on her hind legs, using the counter as a resthold for her front hooves. Immediately, the new position sent pain throughout her body: she could feel her over-developed muscles pressing down on her back, her ribs – she felt like a piece of wood in a vice grip.
It hurt, but she was so close that she could not bear the disappointment of having to reach for the bottom beaker or asking for help. She needed help so many times that she just wanted to do something on her own.
She could do this.
Applejack managed to get the cupboard open. The beaker was right there, just a little more.
She could do this.
Her right foreleg stretched. She could feel her muscles bulging; they would be trying to tear through her skin like tissue paper at this point, but the bindings kept them contained.
She could do this.
The beaker was so close. Applejack inhaled, set her mouth in a determined sneer, and reached that little bit more.
She could do this.
Her hoof touched the beaker-
And one of her baby teeth came loose from the pressure of her jaw muscles.
Applejack briefly went blind from the pain, but she managed to keep standing and avoid crying out. Her tooth jiggled around in her mouth amidst the wash of blood.
“Sugarcube, what on earth are ya doin’?!”
Ma’s shout of alarm set something off in Applejack. Before she could think, she swallowed the tooth and the blood and got back on all four hooves. She was practically shaking, but she managed to hide it and when she spoke, it was steady and strong.
“See, Ma? No problem.”
She turned with a closed-mouth smile. Faust, it hurt.
Ma didn’t seem to notice. She smiled, tears in her eyes, and that made all the pain worth it. “Oh, you’re such a strong pony, sugarcube.”
There was no way to treat her condition. She had to wait until her the rest of her body developed to the point where it was strong enough to resist the overwhelming force her muscles produced.
But it was a difficult time growing up, and not just for her.
Her parents, brother, and granny had to supervise at all times; any exertion her tiny body made ran the risk of dislocating or fracturing a bone, and the pain would cause her to thrash, which lead to more risks.
Doctors from all over Equestria came to see this medical anomaly for themselves; more than a few tried convincing her parents to give her up to a facility under the explanation that it would treat her better than they ever could. Ma and Pa stood their ground, tired and stressed and uncertain as they were.
Pa and Big Mac were really amazing to be able to buck down all those apples. She liked coming out with them and sitting on the side, even if it was just to watch. She needed to do it anyway, needed to know the proper form and technique when she got older and tougher.
Big Mac knocked down the apples from yet another tree, then looked over. “Say Applejack, why don’t ya’ll come over an’ give it a try?”
Applejack’s eyes widened. “Seriously? But my body…”
Big Mac grinned. “Well, don’t think ya should be buckin’ just yet, but I don’t think it can hurt to get a feel for it, right? Just come here an’ I’ll show ya how ta do it when ya get ‘round ta it.”
Ma and Pa’s warnings blared in her head, but Applejack was too excited to pay them heed. She carefully got up and walked over to stand by her brother.
“Ready!”
He nodded. “Alright, now put yer back legs like this.”
She copied him.
“Good?”
“Yep, I’m feelin’ right.”
“Now, ya wanna move yer keister, so it’s like this. Got it?”
“Like this?”
“Little more to th’ side. Perfect. Now, all ya gotta do is lean forward, put all yer weight on yer front legs, then kick out.”
Applejack watched him do it. She didn’t try it herself, much as she wanted to. “An’ tha’s all there is ta it?” Big Mac nodded. “Shoot – tha’ looks a lot easier than I thought.”
“Still gotta learn ‘bout th’ trees an’ how hard ya need ta kick dependin’ on th’ amount of apples, but yeah, it’s pretty simple.”
Applejack looked up at the tree’s branches. “Think ya missed one.”
He hummed in confusion, then chuckled. “See? Can always get better,” He assumed the ‘bucking’ position once more. “Ya seen how Pa does it? Every one, every time.”
Applejack nodded. “He’s amazin’.”
WHACK
Applejack took one step forward and held her hoof out. The apple landed in her grasp. “Mm-mm, this looks like good eati-”
And then her vision was obscured by a leathery, furry body.
Her first thought was ‘vampire bat’. They weren’t a huge problem like they were back in the day, Pa said, but a few stragglers lingered around like a bad smell. Some were daring enough to attack those that came to buck down their favourite food, though they carried no harmful diseases and were too weak to do much to a pony.
But even with this information in mind, Applejack’s self-preservation instincts flared and she ignored her brother’s advice to hold still to lift her foreleg and swing it with all her might.
CRACK
That was the sound of the bat shooting into the trunk of a tree and splitting apart in a burst of gore, and it was the sound of her foreleg breaking.
Applejack yelped as she found herself falling. Already dazed from the bat’s sudden assault and the pain, she put her other leg out to catch herself.
CRACK
And there went the other leg; she could see it bending to one side unnaturally.
The pain was excruciating; she barely heard what Big Mac was saying as she hyperventilated, her ribs creaking in protest as they, too, threatened to break.
“Fuck!” Applejack howled, tears sliding down her cheeks. “I’m sick of this!”
“Sis’…”
“I’m sick of bein’ looked after all th’ time, Big Mac! I wanna do somethin’ like you an’ Pa!”
“Just hold on – I’ll get help. Remember your breathing exercises.”
Applejack ignored him and sobbed as her frustrations spilled over. She’d pay for it later on with tender ribs, but it was so good to finally let it all out.
The doctors all called her a medical marvel.
Applejack felt caged by her own traitorous body and ashamed of it as well.
The Apple family took pride in their fortitude and work; they tended to the land better than any earth pony alive and they made the best food because of that. For her to be so helpless as to need supervision and assistance with most basic of tasks was an unbearable shame. She felt like a burden because of it.
On days when it all became too much, Applejack would lie in bed and intentionally flex her muscles. She would place immense pressure on her bones until the pain made her leak tears and she could feel her skeleton groaning in protest.
“Then get stronger if it hurts,” She murmured to herself darkly. “Stop bein’ so weak.”
It felt like she had another pony’s skeleton – a weaker pony’s, a pony that was no Apple. It was irrational and dangerous, and she knew this on some level, but it was the only she could vent her frustrations because there was no way in Tartarus she’d be even more of a burden to her family.
Because of her condition, she didn’t leave the farm until she was twelve. At that point in her life, her body was tough enough to permit walking for long periods of time so long as she took frequent rests.
Seeing new faces for the first time was incredible, and Applejack barely noticed the odd looks and whispers. The townsponies knew of the farm girl with the overdeveloped muscles and seemed a little disappointed that she didn’t look as freakish as they envisioned – she seemed to be just an average filly.
A few local kids caught her while her parents were distracted and dared her to crush a stone in her hooves. She refused and was subsequently made fun of:
Your condition isn’t real, they said, you just want to ditch school.
But that couldn’t be further from the truth: Applejack dreamed of being able to go to school with the other kids.
“Applejack, ya need ta stop this.”
“I’m old enough, Big Mac. My body can handle it now.”
“But not fer too long. Take a break.”
“There’s still more trees ta buck. I can’t just-”
“Ma and Pa wouldn’t want ya ta do this.”
“Well, they ain’t here now, are they?”
“…”
“Sorry. I’ll… Lemme just do one more tree an’ I’ll take a breather, okay?”
“Eeyup.”
Time, as it did with many things, made it better. Eventually, the rest of her body toughened enough to allow her to do strenuous activity, but she still had to take precautions. She had to take supplements – recently developed – that made her muscles lethargic and she had to go to a hypnotist to place a mental block that kept her from exerting herself.
For the first time in her life, she could function as a somewhat normal pony of society.
Ma and Pa would have been so proud of her.
Rainbow Dash had been grinning smugly when they were wrestling with their forelegs.
She didn’t know.
She didn’t know the strain Applejack had been under trying her hardest while simultaneously battling the mental blocks that kept her from trying her hardest.
That smug grin haunted her even after the Running of the Leaves.
That damn pegasus just didn’t know how lucky she was to be able to go all out whenever she wanted. She didn’t have to live with the fear that at any point her skin might split apart and her bones would splinter and her organs would be pulped.
“Say, Rainbow Dash – how ‘bout we try hoof-wrestling again?”
Applejack had a lapse in judgement.
“Sure, if you wanna lose again.”
No, she knew exactly what she was doing.
She and Rainbow Dash sat in front of a barrel and locked their hooves over it. Applejack’s blood felt like acid coursing through her veins as all she could focus on was that damn smirk on Rainbow Dash’s face.
“Ready?”
“Ready!”
She told herself that she would only go far enough to firmly cement the fact that she was the stronger one. She felt that, after everything she’d been through in her life, she earned that much at least.
And when Rainbow Dash tried to push her hoof down, Applejack broke through her mental barriers and pushed-
CRACK
There was that sound again.
There was that pain again.
But none of it really registered as Applejack stared, transfixed, at the jagged spire of bone jutting out from the split in Rainbow Dash’s leg.
Not even Rainbow Dash seemed to believe it because the last thing in her eyes before they went dull was confusion.
“That was… rather inspirational, actually.”
Pinkie’s head seemed to swirl around twice as she blinked at Rarity. “Huh? No, it wasn’t! It’s a horror! Didn’t you hear the parts about her body twisting and breaking, and isn’t it terrifying to imagine yourself in that position?”
“True,” Rarity nodded. “But I admire the way the main character kept on striving even with her terrible condition.”
“I have to agree with Rarity.” Twilight interjected.
As more agreements chimed in, Pinkie’s jaw fell. “N-no way… How could I have been so easily defeated?!”
“You know…” Starlight hummed. “The purpose of a horror story is to scare, obviously, but that doesn’t mean it can’t also have another purpose. Many horror stories branched off legends and superstitions, which were often used to warn communities of dangers.”
“Are you calling my tale educational?” Pinkie shuddered as she slinked off to blow out a candle. “Kick me while I’m down…”
Rarity shrugged as everypony snickered non-maliciously. “I am not saying I didn’t find it scary, dear. I am saying I did not just find it scary. Now, unless anypony objects, I believe it is my turn to tell a tale…”
Stats
Page generated in 0.034 seconds
Total duration
1,094 users online
1,765,731 hits today, 1,960,719 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Sooooooooooooooooooo........
Applejack is Midoriya then?
Did you mean society?
10502041
Thanks for pointing that out
I think they’re called Required Secondary Powers. Got to have them. Otherwise you wind up suffocating when you freeze time, or worse, are shredded by all the stationary air molecules tearing through your body when you move.