Apple Bloom and the Golden Apples

by Animegx43

The First Golden Apple

It's funny. Even after hearing about timberwolves, death, and Pando Everfree, Apple Bloom still wanted to know about the golden apples. I gotta applaud her for her persistence.
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Even after a long day of being told to not search for the golden apples, up until she had to go to bed, Apple Bloom had thought of them. Other nights, she would've dreamed about the amazing taste of the magical apples, but that night, she didn't get much sleep, as the mystery of the golden fruits and the Orphan trees simply made her go nuts to the point of not being able to fall asleep.

Now that's not all that important. What's important was when her sister, Applejack, tucked her into bed that night, something she always did for her little sister.

"Applejack, how would you feel if I were to bring home a big golden apple for us all?" Apple Bloom asked.

"After hearing that they are found in the Everfree Forest? I'd be mad at you!" Applejack answered. Then, with a smile: "Although... I'd be the first one to take a bite out of it."

"You know, you're not exactly discouraging me from finding them."

"I'm not sure if I want to."

Although they probably should've been talking about it a bit more seriously, Applejack and Apple Bloom had a good laugh. While Applejack didn't like the idea of her sister doing anything dangerous, even she couldn't resist the call of the golden apples. Of course, she still took being a responsible big sister as a top priority.

"But in all due seriousness, I think you should stay away from the Everfree Forest for a’while. If those apples are in there like you said, I'm sure the timberwolves or other nasty creatures will get to you first. I don't care how tasty they are, no apples are worth your life."

"But Applejack, it's not just about tasty food anymore," Apple Bloom said. "It's now about solving a mystery of our family!"

"A mystery about our family? What do you mean?"

"Well, I read a book that said the Apple Family Slaughter was caused by the golden apples being taken by us, and that the timberwolves didn't like it. If that's the case, then how does Granny Smith get them without any trouble?"

Applejack didn't know much about the Apple Family Slaughter, and she had always been afraid to know more about it. She never considered the possibility of Apple Bloom learning about it, as she was now left with nothing else to say to her.

However, it did remind her of something that she thought would relate to the laughter. Applejack wanted to wait until her sister was older, but since the golden apples was already part of the topic, she figured she'd may as well.

"I think I have a story for you, sugarcube. Be right back."

As quickly as she had left, Applejack returned to Apple Bloom's room with a photo album. She then jumped onto Apple Bloom's bed, sat down next to her, and opened the album, quickly finding the photos that she wanted to share.

"Hey, that's us!" Apple Bloom said excitedly.

"Yup. There's Big Macintosh when he was closer to my age, me when I was how old you are now, and you when ...well ... back when you were cute."

"Wow, I can't believe how much we- HEY! What's that suppose mean?"

Another little joke Applejack had wanted to make to tease her sister. It's good for sisters to talk like that once in a while.

"Hey, wait. Who're those two other ponies in the picture with us?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I guess you were too young to remember. Those two with you, me and Big Mac are our parents," Applejack answered.

"Ma and Pa? I always thought I was adopted or something... What happened?"

That was when Applejack had to get to the hard part.

"Well Apple Bloom, Ma and Pa died years ago. They never even got to see me get my cutie mark before they went."

"Oh, wow. How did they die?"

"That's the million bit question, sugarcube. We have no idea. Granny Smith was the one who told me and Big Mac that they died. If not for her, we would still have no idea where they were. But I have a theory now."

"And what's that?"

"Apple Bloom, let me tell you of the first time we ate a golden apple."

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This is a story that I'm familiar with, too. The first golden apple I ever had was when I was around Applejack's age, but that's a completely different story that you know already.

Alright, back to the point. Like Applejack said, it all happened when Apple Bloom was still a foal, back when the farm was taken cared by Baldwin Apple and Ginger Gold, my son and daughter-in-law respectively. I still miss those two and I know Applejack did too. Apple Bloom was so young that she didn't even remembered what they looked like, but then again, I myself can barely remember the mailmare's face nowadays.

It happened when they were younger, like I said. Applejack was playing with a ball, until she lost it. The little bugger had bounced all the way into the Everfree Forest. She wanted to go get it, but knew that she couldn't go into the dark forest by herself. So, she got Big Macintosh to go in with her. Since he was suppose to watch over little Apple Bloom at the time, he decided to bring her along as well. I could talk about how much trouble he got in for that, but I won't waste your time. Applejack wasn't too sure where exactly her ball had went, and before they knew it, the three were lost in the forest.

After a while, and they had no idea as to where they had gone. Morale started to shrink and as they walked, so did their stomachs. Big Mac and Applejack decides to take a rest and see if there was anything in the forest to eat. That's when they looked up to the sky and saw something beautiful. Up in very high trees, they saw the most interesting apple they had ever seen. The golden apple.

Big Macintosh intended on giving the apple to her sisters, but after it dropped onto the ground, he and Applejack realized just how huge the apple truly was. There was enough for all three to eat, and then some. I didn't get to see the look on their faces when they first took their first bite, but I certainly had seen many filly and colts taking their own first bite. The only words I can think of to compare to the first experience are words I highly doubt little foals should know about, and since I have no idea who's reading this, I'm not taking that chance.

Between the three of them, especially Apple Bloom the foal, they ate that apple down to the very core. During the time they ate the apple, they forgot that they were even lost!

Fortunately, they found their way back home, but not before bringing back a few more apples for the family. Big Mac and Applejack still got into a load of trouble, but for bringing back the apple, their parents went easy on them.

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"That was an interesting story Applejack, but what does it have to do with our parents?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I was getting to that, sugarcube. The very next day after we brought home the golden apples, them timberwolves came and attacked the farm. Ma and Pa fought them off day after day, but they were ultimately taken away from us while me and Big Mac were at school. I've always wondered if..." At that point, Applejack started to tear up as she remembered her last few days with her parents. "I've always wondered if things could've changed if we were all there. We were never there when they were taken from us."

Applejack had unintentionally brought back some bad memories, which made her realize it probably wasn't such a good idea to have shared them with Apple Bloom. Lucky for her, though, her little sister was right there to cheer her up with a hug, giving her a remind that she still had the rest of her loving family.

"Since we lost them so shortly after finding the golden apples, not to mention what you told me earlier, there may very well be some curse to them or something."

"But then how does Granny Smith get them without getting attacked?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Well... Ah, I've got it! In every case where the timberwolves attacked, a bunch of the apples were taken, right? Granny Smith only seems to bring one to us at a time!"

"So as long as we only bring home one golden apple at a time, we-"

"Oh, no no no, Apple Bloom! I don't care how many apples Granny Smith brings home, I am not letting you go in the Everfree Forest to find those things. In fact, I don't want you going in there for any reason at all. Even if it's to visit Zecora."

"Oh, come on!"

"I said no! Boy, you sounded a little like Sweetie Belle just now." Applejack said. "Alright, sleep tight, sis."

After giving Apple Bloom one last hug and making sure she was all wrapped up in her bed, Applejack turned off the lights and left to let her little sister to fall asleep, but since Apple Bloom had the new story imprinted in her brain, not to mention everything else she had been learning, she didn't feel like sleeping. She quickly noticed that Applejack left the photo album in her room, so she decided to take another look through to see the pictures of her and her family, back when her parents were still alive.

She had a much closer look at what her mother and father had looked like. After thinking back to the story she had heard, she realized that what she had been looking for all day was likely the very thing that cost her parents. While even her older sister discouraged her from trying to find the Orphan trees and their golden apples, she felt that she had to learn more.
"There's a mystery here, and I've got to solve it," Apple Bloom said to herself. "Who knows, maybe I'll even get a cutie mark for it!"

Author's Note:

Yay, finally got this chapter done.

I haven't read many Apple Family stories, but I have the feeling that me bringing up Applejack and Apple Bloom's parents is a bit cliche.

Oh well, I'm using it anyway. Enjoy.