Chapter 4: Sisters
Chapter 4: Sisters
The orange cowmare stirred awake. She could feel cool dampness where her cheek made contact with the pillow, the remnants of crying herself to sleep. She rubbed at her eyes, feeling a little bit dizzy from having barely slept through the night. She rolled over and squinted as she looked out her window. The sun could barely be seen through the thick layer of clouds that enveloped the sky, but it was bright enough to blind the mare. Her eyes suddenly went wide. Oh shoot! The sun! I’m late! Applejack thought as she struggled to throw the sheets off of her body and work her way out of bed.
The tardy farmer dashed her way out of her room and down the small set of stairs, nearly tripping over her red-maned sister in the process. The earth pony hurried her way over to the barn, which was only a few feet away from her home, grabbing and quickly strapping on a saddlebucket. She galloped through the green sea of trees, spotting her older brother a little ways off in the distance. She made her way to the muscular, red stallion as quickly as she could, stopping for breath only once she had reached him.
“Sorry I’m late, Big Mac,” she said, gasping to catch her breath from the sudden sprint. The red earth pony turned away from his work to face her. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut short as the blond pony continued her thought. “Should I start here? Don’t worry, I’ll catch back up to you in a jiff,” she said rather quickly. She turned her back to the tree closest to her and put her weight on her front hooves. When she found balance, she thrust her back legs into the tree as hard as she could. However, it barely caused the tree to rattle. “Whoops, I guess I’m a little tired today,” the orange mare said with a nervous laugh.
Big Macintosh just stared at her, rather surprised by his sister’s sudden appearance and action. “Applejack, ya know ya don-“ he started in his slow drawl.
“Don’t worry about me, Big Mac. I just slipped,” Applejack interrupted. She brought her legs up and kicked back into the tree again, this time more effectively. The leaves and fruit hanging from the branches managed to shake free. The cowmare began dancing around the tree in an attempt to catch the falling fruit. However, she managed to cross her front legs and tripped, falling to the ground and landing face-first with a loud thump! Bright red apples fell to the ground around her as she looked up nervously at her brother.
“Uh... Oops,” she said as she gave her brother a nervous smile. The red cowpony looked at the sight around him and shook his head, tossing his strawberry blonde mane side to side.
“Applejack, ya don’t have ta worry about workin’ today,” he said in his usual slow drawl. The orange mare gave him a confused look as she stood up.
“Whaddaya mean? We got half the orchard to harvest still and we’re already gettin’ too far behind,” the orange mare argued.
“Ya had a might rough couple of days. Ya’rnt in the right mind ta do this right now. Ya don’t even got your hat with ya,” he explained. Applejack became aware that she wasn’t wearing her trademark cowpony hat, and felt her cheeks flush as she realized how big of a rush she was in the morning. “Go an’ get some rest,” the stallion said as he trotted forward and began picking apples up with his teeth, flinging them into the buckets strapped to his own back. The blond pony opened her mouth to argue but decided against it.
“I suppose you’re right,” she sighed. Her thoughts quickly ran through the events of the past two days. She turned away from the red stallion and started back towards the barn as tears began to well up in her eyes. Big Macintosh looked on as his sister trotted away. His face showed worry for his sister, but he knew she would figure it all out for herself. He shook the thoughts out of his head and went back to work.
Applejack freed the strap holding the saddlebuckets to her back. She looked down at the ground where fresh wet spots were forming from the tears falling from her cheek. She let out a sad, heavy sigh and slowly walked out of the barn, closing the door behind her. A chilled wind blew through her mane as she began a slow trot back to the house.
The little yellow filly watched from the window as her sister trudged her way home. Apple Bloom frowned. she had never seen her sister act like this before. Even after the loss of several major crops a few years ago, her sister was far peppier. She watched in silence as her sister entered the house and shuffled upstairs without so much as a word to her. Apple Bloom got down from the windowsill and followed her sister up the stairs.
Applejack sat down on her bed and sighed again. She let the tears freely fall out of her eyes and roll down her cheeks. At least he knew I wasn’t ready to handle work today, she thought to herself. She felt a small nudge on her back and turned to see her little red-maned sister sitting on the bed behind her, pushing with her head.
“Um... Applejack... Are you okay?” the little filly asked her sister when she noticed she had got the blond pony’s attention. She had a worried look in her large orange eyes. The cowmare forced a smile for her sister.
“I’ll be okay eventually,” the orange pony replied, “I just need something to take my mind off it for a while.”
Apple Bloom gave her sister a huge grin “Oh! I know! Let’s go into town. That should right cheer you up!” she said excitedly. Applejack nodded.
“Y’know, that’s not a bad idea,” she said, rubbing her sister on the head roughly, messing up her mane. She wiped the tears from her eyes and followed her sister out of her room. This time, she made sure to grab her hat.
~`~`~`~`~
An air of sadness had enveloped Ponyville. Once news had spread about the death of Rarity, the town seemed to have lost the excitement that usually buzzed about. The mood was as gray as the skies that day as Applejack and Apple Bloom entered the town square. A lot of the magic that seemed to keep the town in good spirits was gone, as if trapped in the sky by the clouds that seemed to wrap the town into a dome of depression. Apple Bloom’s ears dropped, regretting the idea of coming to town. Even though most of the street vendors were out, none of them seemed to be focused on making sales. All of them, in fact, seemed to be lost in thought or in a fit of depression. The two sisters walked through the town square together, staying relatively silent as they took in the upsetting scene.
“I guess Rarity seemed to be in touch with a lotta people,” the elder sister said to break the silence. She looked down at her sister and smiled. “No matter, we came here to have some fun and that’s exactly what we’re gonna do!” She said, hoping to cheer up the little yellow filly. Apple Bloom returned a sincere grin.
“How about some food? I’m starvin’!” the red-maned sister said as she began to run towards the first cafe she spotted.
“Woah there, how do you expect to pay for anything around here?” Applejack countered, stepping in front of her overly excited sister. The filly shrugged and looked down at the ground.
“Um... Well, you have a few bits with you, dontcha?” Apple Bloom asked. Her mouth spread into a sly attempt at an innocent smile as she widened her eyes in hopes of her sister saying yes. The orange earth pony put a hoof up to her head and rubbed her temple, groaning in frustration.
“Let’s just go to Twilight’s. She’ll probably have something good to eat since it’s right around lunchtime,” She said, turning in the direction of the library. Her sister followed suit, a little disappointed that she didn’t get her way.
The library was a beautiful landmark in the town. An ancient tree perfectly preserved, frozen in age through unicorn magic, hollowed out and filled with books dated through all sorts of time periods in Ponyville and Equestrian history. It gave the word “bookworm” a new meaning, as did the pony that inhabited and kept up the library. Applejack and Apple Bloom wiped their hooves and knocked on the front door. A few seconds later, they heard the pony inside as she clammered down the stairs in an uncharacteristically loud manner. The door flew open in their faces, leaving them with a stunned look on their faces.
“Spike?!” the purple unicorn yelled in their faces. Her eyes went wide and filled with disappointment as she realized that the two ponies standing, looking shocked, in front of her was not her dragon companion. Her mane was tangled, messy at her bangs and matted along her neck. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, evidence of extensive crying she had been doing that day. She stepped back as she let her head hang, allowing her guests to enter the library The two earth ponies gave each other a confirming look of confused worry before Applejack stepped forward into the library and put a hoof around Twilight’s neck.
“Twi, what in the hay is wrong?!” the cowmare asked her friend, giving her a sympathetic look. “Where’s Spike? Did something happen to him?”
“He-he’s gone! He left!” she yelled hysterically as she broke down into fits of sobbing, her legs giving way beneath her. The earth pony’s eyes went wide as she reflexively reacted and grabbed her friend around the chest, slowly helping her to the ground.
“Now, calm down, sugarcube. Where did he go? Is he okay?” Applejack asked again, a tinge of panic in her voice. She had never seen Twilight act like this before, not even when she had to break the horrible news about the loss of their friend. She looked at her sister, who still stood outside of the open door, her eyes wide with fear. Her focus went back to Twilight, whose sobbing was now muffled as she had her muzzle pressed against Applejack’s chest. The earth pony stayed silent, listening to and feeling the gasping breaths her unicorn friend was taking. The cowmare simply stroked her friend’s mane to show compassion, as she was too stunned to do anything else to comfort the hyterical librarian.
After a few moments, Twilight took a few deep breaths and allowed herself to calm down. She looked at the earth pony with heavily saddened eyes, taking a moment to form the words in her head before she spoke. “I woke up this morning with Spike, but he was still unwilling to talk and he still had nearly no energy. He was moving like a zombie around the house. I offered him the day off and decided to do his chores for him. He simply went back up into our room and shut the door, so I didn’t think twice of it. I went out to pick up some groceries so I could make him a meal and cheer him up, and when I returned, I found this note on the bookstand,” she explained.
She activated her horn, which glowed with a faint purple aura. Applejack looked behind her, noticing the same aura appear around a parchment of paper lying on the ground. It gently lifted off the ground and floated towards her, like a small wind had picked it up. Once it reached the two ponies, it hovered in front of the orange mare’s eyes. She noticed how short and concise it was as she began reading it line by line aloud.
Dear Twilight, my best friend,
The past two days have been horrible on both of us. I thank you for all of your support since we found out what happened. Unfortunately, it has been a little too much for me to handle. There’s too many painful memories for me to deal with right now, especially knowing that I can never see Rarity’s beautiful face agin. I’m very sorry to do this, but I am returning to Canterlot Castle until I can sort through my feelings. Ponyville is just too much for me right now.
I hope to see you again soon...
Your assistant and best friend,
Spike
The note floated down to the ground as Twilight’s magic weakened. A new fit of hysteria was beginning to overtake her. The orange mare pulled her friend into an embrace to comfort her, making hushing noises to try and calm her down. Even the yellow filly had begun to rub Twilight’s fur on her back.
“You’ll be okay sugarcube. He’ll be back before you know it. The little guy will miss you too much,” the cowmare said in a soothing voice. She felt Twilight nod and gave a little smile as she continued to stroke the librarian’s mane. After a short while, Twilight had managed to calm down. She decided she wanted a little bit of alone time to figure things out. Applejack respectfully agreed, and the two sisters departed the library. Apple Bloom had remained silent through the ordeal. As the door closed behind them, however, she gave a tug at her sister’s tail.
“Applejack... um... Would you mind if we went to Carousel Boutique?” the filly asked. The cowmare felt her stomach twist into knots at the mention of her friend’s old shop. She knew that Apple Bloom asked because she wanted to see her friend Sweetie Belle. Rarity’s family was staying at the Boutique for a few weeks to clean up and decide the fate of the store. After a moment, she nodded to her sister and they began the short walk through the town.
~`~`~`~`~
The sign hanging on the door still read “closed.” Applejack stared at it in a trance, wondering about how the day that it last read “open” had gone. The orange earth pony rarely visited the store, having no need for an expensive and fancy dress outside of the disastrous trip to the Grand Galloping Gala. Regret crawled into her mind as she grimaced. She wished she had decided to come around the store at least a few more times in the past, if only just to say hello to her friend. Now I’ll never get that chance... she thought to herself in guilt.
The cowmare knocked on the door a few times before removing her hat, revealing her blond mane. After a few moments, the door opened to reveal a white, mustached unicorn. His short, brown mane was slicked back loosely, a few strands falling wildly. He gave a blank stare to the two earth ponies from Sweet Apple Acres. “Can I help you?” he asked after a moment.
“Hello sir, I’m Rarity’s friend, Applejack, and this here is Sweetie Belle’s friend Apple Bloom. We just wanted to come and see how ya’ll were doin’,” the orange pony explained. The stallion nodded in response. Applejack could tell upon a second of inspection that the poor unicorn hadn’t slept all night. His eyes seemed to have lost their color, evidence that the shock of the whole incident had yet to wash itself out of his system.
“Well that is nice of you. Sweetie Belle is upstairs in... erm... Rarity’s room,” he replied, his voice cracking as he mentioned his late daughter’s name. He stepped out of the way so the two farming ponies could make their way inside. Apple Bloom trotted towards the staircase and proceeded upstairs to visit her friend. Applejack, however, stayed downstairs and began examining the room. She presumed it was preserved just the way Rarity had last left it, as she recognized the trademark organized chaos that her dressmaking friend was so well known for when she was working on several projects at once. She could hear the clock ticking loudly, wondering how it never drove the unicorn crazy when she worked.
“If you don’t mind me askin’, what do ya’ll plan on doing to the store?” Applejack said after a few moments of silence between the two. The stallion shrugged and looked at the ground. He gave a small sigh before answering.
“We’re not entirely sure yet. My wife has some skill in dressmaking, but it is nowhere near our daughter’s quality,” he explained, “We might sell the store. It all depends on how the next few weeks play out.”
The earth ponys eyes widened and filled with fear. “But... You just can’t do that,” she stammered. The stallion gave her a confused look as his head cocked sideway. She thought for a second, choosing her next words wisely. “This store is a big part of Ponyville. Rarity made a legacy from this store, and I think it should be kept well alive. If you need help, the Apple family is more than willin’ to lend you a hoof,” she pleaded.
The unicorn nodded in understanding. “It’s good to see how caring Rarity’s friends are,” he said with a small crack in his voice. Applejack could see a familiar shine in his eyes, indicating the tears that were about to flow freely from them. She couldn’t imagine the pain he was experiencing right now. The orange mare put a caring hoof on the stallion’s shoulder to comfort him, but was unable to form any words that could make him feel better. After a moment of the awkward silence, she decided to go upstairs and check up on the two fillies, giving Rarity’s father the privacy he needed to calm himself.
Applejack had never been in Rarity’s room. She pushed the door open and looked around. The high vaulted ceiling reached a peak at the midpoint, as if it truly was a carnival tent. The circular room was rather barren when compared to the rest of the store. There was simply a four-posted bed up against the wall near the door, with two dressers and a mirror sitting on the far side of the room. A closed door lead to what the cowmare assumed was a closet. On the bed laid the familiar yellow filly holding her white-furred friend in her hooves.
The unicorn with the cotton-candy colored mane had a depressed look on her face that Applejack thought no pony that young deserved to be wearing. Her mane was at a loss of its trademark curls; instead, flattened down with loose ends sticking out at random points. The orange earth pony had a grimace on her face as she approached the two fillies and propped her two front hooves on the bed, kneeling down on her back legs so she was at eye level of the two young ponies.
Apple Bloom looked at her sister in desperation. She had no clue how to cheer up her friend. Applejack gave her a calming look before locking eyes with Sweetie Belle. She gave the little unicorn a smile the best she could as she racked her brain for an idea of what to say.
“How are you holdin’ up?” she asked. She regretted the words immediately as the tears flowed from the unicorn’s large emerald eyes. Sweetie Belle buried her head back into the purple bed sheets that she lied on. The cowmare couldn’t stand to see the little filly in such a state. She felt her own heart breaking at the sight as she let a saddened expression overtake her face. She started patting the little white filly’s head as she tried to think of ways to cheer her up. A thought worked its way into her mind, her eyes widening as she considered it. She looked down at the upset filly and smiled
“I got an idea. How about you come along with me and Apple Bloom? We’re gonna pay somepony a visit,” she said. Sweetie Belle looked up, sniffling. She gave a slow nod as she agreed with the idea. The orange earth pony held out her hooves and helped the little unicorn off the bed and onto her feet. The group departed the room and headed down into the storefront. Applejack gave a quick explanation to the stallion before the three left the Boutique.
They walked back into the town square. Applejack took them on a small detour to a vendor selling flowers. She bought the three most beautiful crimson roses she could pick out before the group headed down towards the cemetery. The group was silent as they walked through the open iron gates and down along the dirt path. The cowmare led the two off the path down towards a headstone with freshly overturned dirt filling the ground in front of it. She gave a small sigh as she read her friend’s name engraved on the headstone. She looked back at the two fillies behind her, both sharing a similar look of deep depression. She stepped back and knelt down between them, wrapping her front hooves around each one.
“Figured she might appreciate her sister bein’ her first visitor,” the orange earth pony said as she looked into the unicorn’s light green eyes. The little white filly took in the thought before her eyes brightened up a bit. A small smile crossed her mouth, the first since the terrible shock she recieved when she went to visit her sister in the hospital. Her emerald eyes filled with grateful tears as she took a rose in her mouth from Applejack. She stepped forward and laid the rose across the dirt. She wiped at her eyes with a hoof before giving a deep sigh.
“Hi sis... um... I miss you...” she started, the first words she had spoken since the terrible incident. She had no clue what to say to her sister, so she simply let the words flow as they came to mind. “I still haven’t gotten my cutie mark, but that’s okay. Maybe I’ll get it soon. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom have tons of ideas, and I’m sure I’m good at one of them. I’ll be sure you’re the first pony I tell when I do,” she finished. It wasn’t a graceful conversation, but it was the best she could think of. The cotton candy-mared filly smiled and sniffled, knowing it was one of her favorite conversations with her sister. She turned back towards the two earth ponies as they also approached the headstone, laying down their roses and paying their respects.
After a few moments of silence, Applejack rubbed the top of the little unicorn’s head while Apple Bloom gave her fellow Cutie Mark Crusader a hug. She embraced the showings of comfort, wrapping her hooves around her friend as well. The group held each other for what seemed like hours before Applejack stepped back and looked into the darkening sky. “C’mon you two. We still got one more thing to do tonight,” she said. The two fillies gave each other a look of confusion before following the orange earth pony out of the cemetery.
~`~`~`~`~
The sun was well set once the group reached Sweet Apple Acres. The land was pitch black, a result of Luna’s moon being unable to penetrate the thick cloud cover. Applejack led the group into the barn, grabbing a saddlebucket and filling it with various materials before lighting a latern and leading the group into the apple grove. They walked to a spot where the trees were thick enough that neither the barn nor the town could be seen before Applejack stopped. She began to set up a tent while the two fillies ran around and played in the darkness.
After a few minutes, the cowmare had managed to get a fire roaring as well. The light cast scary shadows across the surrounding trees while the three ponies grouped together around the fire, simply spending the time to be mesmerized by the dance of the flames. Applejack, sitting between the fillies, wrapped her hooves around them and brought them in close.
“Y’know, Sweetie Belle, the Apple family here are extremely close with one another,” she began to say, choosing her words carefully. She looked into the eyes of the small unicorn, barely able to make out the tinge of green as the fire’s orange light flickered in them. “You remember back around the time of the Sisterhooves Social? When me and Apple Bloom were more than willin’ to let you run the races with us? Well, we still consider you a part of the Apple family, y’know,” she continued. Applejack noticed a small smile beginning to form on the unicorn’s face. “Basically, what I’m trying to say is, you still got sisters in us, Sweetie Belle. You’re welcome to the farm anytime, as a part of the family” she finished. She rubbed the top of the red-maned filly’s head. “Ain’t that right Apple Bloom?” she asked with a smile towards her sister.
“Darn right!” the yellow filly replied, beaming towards her friend. The unicorn was at a loss of words. She had a smile across her face and tears flowing from her eyes. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around Applejack.
“Thank you!” was all she said, but it was all she had to say. Applejack felt a sense of relief as she put her hooves around the little white filly hanging from her neck. The deep depression the filly was in earlier was long gone, and the orange earth pony was content that she was able to help make that happen.
As the night wore on, the three ponies got tired. They extinguished the fire and all crawled into the tent, making their way under the blankets that lie on the cold ground. The two fillies fell asleep first while Applejack simply lay in silence, looking up at the top of the tent. I hope we can take good care of your sister for ya she thought for Rarity, while images of the dressmaker crossed her thoughts. She felt tiredness wash over her as she rolled over and closed her eyes, finally succumbing to sleep. Subconciously, she lifted a hoof and put it around the shoulder of a dreaming Sweetie Belle who lay next to her, holding her close through the night.
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I personally feel like this has been my weakest chapter thus far in the story. I completely scrapped and rewrote it three times during the process. I guess it was just hard to express what I needed to in words for this chapter.
Either way, I hope you enjoy it and I apologize for the lower quality than you are used to seeing. I promise the quality will be back up to par, if not better, with Chapter 5!
Aww... so sad and happy and sad...
It's times like these I'm glad to have a head cold, so my roommate doesn't question the man-tears.
No, no, my eyes are just itching >_>
I thought this was a very good chapter with shi
loads off daww
Great read before I go to sleep.
I agree that its the weakest chapter so far. Mainly in the writing as it seems... off in some sections. Although the actual story you are telling in this chapter is a very neat and inspired idea. Eagerly awaiting the next chapter.
This is getting sad :<.And listening to the band Corvorum isn't helping!
It is a bit weak,but it still helped with the story,Chapter 2 felt seriously depressing and Chapter 3 was so touching and sad.
I don't understand how a fic can have both [Sad] and [Normal] tags, but whatever. Reading it anyways.
No need to apologize. I think this was chapter was well done. After the hard and emotional chapter 2, I think it was a good call to try and bring spirits back up.
123071
After a deep emotional low like that funeral (which took me several days to accept even in the context of a noncanon story), a shock-free chapter like this one was necessary and well-timed. The ending pulled liquid from my eyes' ducts, and I'm glad to have read it.
Brace Yourselves
Sad Ponies are Coming
123071 I respectfully disagree. While I think that all of your chapters were quite strong, I felt that the story grew in strength from the first chapter. It seemed like the story only really got going when Twi woke up on the morning that she found out Rarity'd died, and anything previous was a prologue. A strong one, though.
I look forward to more. Please keep up the good work.
123071
It still made me cry. A lot. As long as you can keep making people cry, it's a good story, oddly enough. A lot of people have lost loved ones, and grief, being the catharsis it is, is something very relieving to feel, even if it's not for someone you know personally, like our favorite fashonista.
This story has been really touching. It shows, so far, how 95% of people would react when their best friend passes away. Keep it up!
Weakest chapter? Are you kidding? This was beautiful
-Glassed
forget man tears everypony, I cried brony tears.
The way everypony in the story reacted to Rarity's passing reminds me of when I lost a friend two years ago. My entire school was mourning for two weeks straight, we even erected a monument at the football field for him and everyone else that has passed on while being a student at my school.
Keep up the good work.
I cried, great big brony tears.
I think this last chapter was simply superb. It shows the begining of the stuggles we all face after losing a loved one so close to us. The slow climb back to being happy, and making sure to keep our dearly departed fresh in our hearts and minds as we live o, never forgetting all gained from knowing them and being with them. This chapter really tugged at my heart strings as it reminded me of the times i lost loved one, and how in time healing took place as i began to cope and know i'd keep their memory living on in me. You are a wonderful writer and i loom forward to reading more. This evoked a great cry from me, one for the ponies due to your fantastic writing, and another from the rekindled memories ofmy own lost one. Thank you for what you have done 
and please keep up the wonderful work. I look forward to the next chapter.
Another tear jerker, but things are starting to look up. I really enjoyed this chapter, it was nicely placed after the emotional strains of the first chapters. These ponies may not be real, but it feels like we've known them all our lives. Keep up your amazing work
OH GOD
Amazing chapter.
123071 I felt it was pretty amazing, the grammar was lacking in some places. But other than that it was great. You wrot AJ well, which a lot of people fail to do.
WHEN IS THE NEXT CHAPTER!!! sorry, im trying to be more assertive.
one of the best stories i have read yet, it just makes me that more sad that it actully is lot like my life a few years ago...
Does she not know? Is that even possible? She's acting like she doesn't know what's got AJ so down.
This is what Spike needs to do right now, Twi. You know he'll be safe at Canterlot Castle; Tia will make sure he's well taken care of. And you know he'll miss you as much as you miss him; he'll be back before too long. Ponyville is just too much for him right now.
*cotton-candy-colored
*cotton-candy-maned
I'm going to be leaving this correction a lot, aren't I.
That was a really touching gesture for Applejack to do.
123071
Not every chapter can be an emotional wrecking ball. I feel like there needs to be time for a little breather. Even if this is considered a "weaker" chapter, I thought it was well done. I guess that has to do with the amount of work you put into it.