The Stetson

It was early in the morning and the sun was just rising in the distance, illuminating the vast orchard that belonged to the Apple family. Each ruby, red apple was easily visible from a distance and shone in the light with a simple brilliance. This brilliance made the orange mare smile, for this is all she knew.

Applejack got out of bed, ready to start the day. However, she did wake up later than she used to. Her age was slowing her down, not allowing her to work at the same pace as before. Each morning she would scowl at her own reflection, unable to recognize the mare staring back into her emerald eyes.

Nonetheless, she left her house to do her one and only chore; bucking apples. Though her age had been adding resistance to her life, her muscles still kept up with the times. Her muscles toned every inch of her body, making her look as fit as any young stallion while still maintaining her original beauty of a mare. As she bucked the trees, the apples all fell into the baskets below, making her smile at the “fruits” of her labor. After hours of working, she decided that her work was finished and started her lone walk through the orchard.

She always loved walking through the familiar fields. Seeing all the falling leaves, apples and hills always brought memories to her mind and brought nostalgia to her heart. Her friends and family took up most of her recollections and their faces always seemed to be everywhere she went. A smile crept onto her face as she reminisced.

Through her daze, a ragged brown object caught her eye just below a tree. As she walked toward it, her eyes grew wide in shock and surprise. It was her old Stetson hat, weathered with scuffs, bends and tears. Tears were brought to her eyes as she remembered how much she cared for it, while it lay torn on the ground.

She soon picked up the hat and held it between her hooves. As she held her family heirloom, her tears ran down the rim and dripped to the dirt floor. Anger soon took over her emotions as she squeezed the hat in her grip. Who did this? What was it doing out here?

As she stood, fuming at what had become of her hat, tiny hoof steps came from a distance, unaware of the hostile atmosphere. Applejack heard them coming and whirled around to yell at the stranger but was stopped at the sight of the young colt she saw before her.

“Hey Ma,” said Zap, his rainbow mane ruffled and unkempt.

Applejacks expression softened and she knelt down to be the same height as her son. She wiped her tears away and smiled to the young colt, filling him with warmth and comfort.

“Ah shucks, did ya’ll come all the way out here to see me?” said Applejack, acting flattered.
The young colt looked to the ground and a tear started to escape him. Applejack saw this and immediately sought out to comfort him.

“What’s wrong Sugarcube?”

“Ah miss Mama Dash,” said Zap.

Rainbow Dash had been gone on tour with the Wonderbolts for about six months. She had been accepted as part of the team when she performed a Sonic Rainboom going up instead of plummeting down at Shining Armor and Cadence’s wedding. Because of her long absence, her family had to live on their own, only getting letters from their loving mother/wife.

Nothing could be done about how often Rainbow Dash can see her family but they accepted it and let her live her dream.

They even saw her perform once. She simply shined in the white clouds and outshone even some of the Wonderbolts captains. Afterwards, everypony shouted her name and all she could do was beam her confident smile with a hint of blush that she would never admit was present.

Though RD had made it big, she yearned for her family. After Applejack had become her world and Zap became her priority, she could think of nothing else she wanted to do than to spend time with them. The letters she wrote to them made it clear of that.

“Ah do too Sugarcube. But you know what? Ya still got me!” The young colt looked up to see one of his mothers beaming at him, filling him with the same warmth as before. As he stared into his mother’s emerald eyes, something caught their attention, shaking the trees and the very ground they stood on.

Applejack whirled around just in time to see a mid-air shockwave of multicolored rings, reflecting light and color onto the plain ground, making it shine brilliantly in the sunlight. Zap’s eyes widened at the familiar sight and immediately set out to find the source of the spectacle, sure to be pleased when he found it.

He didn’t get far however, because as soon as he turned around to do so, a cyan blur wrapped her hooves around both him and his mother, making them fall to the dirt. Once the dust settled, Zap and Applejack opened their eyes only to see magenta ones staring back at them. Zap’s mouth opened up into a wide grin that made Rainbow Dash tear a little and bring him into a tighter hug.

“Hiya Squirt,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Ah missed ya so much Mama Dash!” said Zap, practically bawling his eyes out.

“I missed ya too little man! How about you go to the house? I got a present for ya!”

“YAY,” said the little colt, sprinting his little legs as fast as they could go toward the house, leaving Rainbow Dash and Applejack alone.

“Whater you doin’ here so early? I thought you were suppose ta be on tour!”

“I was but Spitfire hurt her wing when I did another sonic rainboom. When she hit the turbulence in my wake, she slammed into the barrier and crushed the bones in her right wing. She was the coordinator of our routine. None of our shows are the same ya know.”

“Gosh Ah hope she’s ok.”

“She’ll be fine. Besides I get to spend way more time with you two while she recovers.”

“Yeah, that sounds mighty fine Rainbow,” said Applejack, nuzzling her snout against Dash’s neck.

Dash looked down and closed her eyes, resting her chin against Applejacks head. As she opened her eyes, she saw the torn hat on the ground and took a step towards it. At the shift of movement, Applejack looked up to see Dash walking towards the hat.

“Hey AJ? What happened to your hat? I thought it was hanging in the hallway near our bedroom.”

“Ah have no idea. With you gone, Ah had other things to worry about. I never noticed it was gone.”

“Do ya think it was Zap?” RD was curious as to what happened to the thing that made Applejack Applejack.

“Rainbow, Ah don’t care about the hat!”

“But it-“

“Dash. Ah don’t need a hat to keep me happy. You are here and that’s all that matters.”

Dash’s curiosity evaporated and she softened her appearance. Her tension left her body and she quickly relaxed.

“If ya say so,” said Rainbow Dash.

“So what did ya get Zap as a surprise?”

“Well, in actuality, Spitfire doesn’t have any money to her name. She has no place to stay. So guess who was waiting at the house for Zap.”

Both mares laughed at the sudden sound of a colt screaming in utmost joy.

“Well I guess he found her.”

“C’mon let’s go. We need to be there before he falls head over heels for her like Spike for Rarity.”

Both mares walked toward the house, completely forgetting the broken Stetson in the dirt. But the memories were no longer in the hat at all, but in their minds and hearts.