> The Truth
>  by Jet Cannon
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> 1
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	The Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse had seen more exciting days. Over the course of its use by the three young, blank-flanked fillies who called it “Headquarters” (or whatever had been decided the previous day in classes), it had been host to performance rehearsals, model building, sleepovers, the occasional party, band practices…whatever the CMC had decided to try in their on-going quest of self-discovery.

Today, however, saw little happening. At present, only two of the three Crusaders were actually inside: Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. The pink-and-purple-maned, white-bodied Unicorn was sitting at their desk, absent-mindedly flicking through the pages of the latest issue of the Foal Free Press. The red-maned, yellow-bodied Earth pony was sleepily staring out of the window at the fine drizzle descending from the sky, keeping an eye out for the arrival of their fellow Crusader.

“Scootaloo’s late. Again.” Apple Bloom announced with a yawn. She accepted that her friend was hardly what could be called a “morning pony”, but sometimes the amount of time she took to arrive at weekends seemed a bit ridiculous.

“Maybe the rain’s weighing down her wings?” suggested Sweetie Belle. This was not, as Apple Bloom realised, a suggestion that she was finding it difficult to fly through the weather (there were a number of reasons behind Scootaloo’s being called “The Chicken”), but rather that her scooter’s main method of propulsion may not be available, forcing her to push it along with her hoof instead.

“Maybe.” Apple Bloom continued staring out of the window, resting her chin on the sill as the drizzle seemed to get slightly heavier.

Before too long an orange-and-magenta-coloured blur appeared in the near distance, and after a minute or two of damp wing-fluttering the third and final Crusader was present.

“Ugh! I hate it when it drizzles like this,” complained the young Pegasus as she pulled off her safety gear and gave herself a shake, managing to drench the other two in the process. Ignoring their cries of protest, Scootaloo perked up suddenly, and began talking excitedly.

“Oh yeah, I just remembered! I’ve thought of something that could help us figure out how to get our cutie marks!”

“What is it?” her friends both asked, also excitedly, all memories of the soaking forgotten now that they were finally getting down to business.

“We must, surely, be kinda like our families, right?” Scootaloo began as they all sat down in a small circle. “So I was thinking that maybe we should think about what our families all do, and use them as ideas of what to try for next?”

“That’s a great idea, Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle said, before face-hoofing the next second. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“’Cos you’re not me!” Scootaloo grinned cheekily. Her friend was not impressed.

“Well seeing as you’re so great, how about you go first then, huh?”

“Oh, right…yeah, um…” The small Pegasus smiled sheepishly. “To be honest mine aren’t the greatest examples. My dad works in a bank, which is boring, and my mom’s a hairdresser, which we’ve already tried so…” The three gave a collective shudder as they remembered the outcome of that particular escapade.

“Anyway, what about you Sweetie Belle? What do your family do?”

“Well, you both know Rarity and what she does, of course. And how much she appreciates our help with that.”

“Yeah, not at all,” Apple Bloom said, glumly.

“Yeah. But she got into dressmaking from my mom, who runs a clothes repair shop. In fact, before she and dad moved to Canterlot, that’s what the Carousel Boutique used to be!”

“Really?”

“Yep. Then mom sold it to Rarity, and she made it into the Carousel Boutique.”

“What about your dad?” asked Scootaloo.

“Dad plays golf.” Another bad memory, another collective shudder.

“Oh well, it was worth a shot,” Scootaloo rallied. “Apple Bloom, your whole family does apple stuff, doesn’t it?” The small Earth pony perked up and nodded.

“Yup! Big Macintosh and Applejack work the farm and orchard every day! An’ Granny Smith helps out with some things, but most of what she does is makin’ the cider an’ zap apple jam nowadays.”

“What about your parents? What do they do?” asked Scootaloo.

“Yeah, how come we never see them on the farm?” No sooner had Sweetie Belle finished talking than she regretted her question. Apple Bloom looked infinitely sad for a moment, and although she quickly recovered her composure, some of the pain remained in her eyes.

“Well, mah parents ain’t around no more, they died in an accident when ah was just a baby.” Shocked silence filled the clubhouse for several painful seconds, and both her friends had their front hooves in front of their mouths. After what seemed an eternity to them all, Scootaloo finally managed to whisper:

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry Apple Bloom…” Sweetie Belle was quick to apologise as well.

“Yeah, me too! I had no idea!” But Apple Bloom just shook her head resignedly.

“Nah, it’s ok. Ah mean, Ah never really knew them, and Ah don’t remember them, and the only reason Ah know what they look like is ‘cos Ah’ve seen pictures. It would have been nice to have them still, and Applejack always said how they were the greatest Mom and Dad a filly could ask for, but even so Ah’ve always had Applejack, and Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith. They were always there to look after me, and to be honest I’ve actually been really lucky to have them.” Apple Bloom smiled at her two friends and drew them both into a close hug, neither noticing a single tear running down the Earth pony’s face before being wiped away.
> 2
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	The rest of the day passed without further incident. Deciding that filial inspiration was not the way to go, and without good enough weather to try much else, the CMC ended up staying in their clubhouse for most of the day and playing board games, charades, “I Spy” and so on until it was time for them all to go home.

Apple Bloom bade her friends goodnight and set off along the path to her family’s farmhouse. As she walked through the light drizzle, she began to think back to their conversation about families. She smiled as she heard Applejack’s voice in her head, talking about their parents:

“They were the greatest parents a filly could hope for, AB. Anytime me or yer brother was sad or worried or hurt, they’d be there in a jiffy and make everything better right away! And every time they looked atcha they’d have this look in their eyes, real special like, as though you were the most important pony in the whole world. Only a parent can really do that for ya!”

The young filly had never really thought about it before, but in that instant she realised something: picturing her brother and sister clearly in her mind, she saw on their faces this same, special look, reserved only for her, and she felt her eyes sting as they began to tear up.

“They might not be mah parents really; but, really, they have been!”

In the few seconds it took her to decide whether what she just said actually made sense, she didn’t notice the increasingly dark rainclouds gathering overhead. The Pegasus ponies had been forced to schedule a deluge to make up for recent timetabling failures, and Apple Bloom had forgotten all about it. Well, she certainly remembered once the fat raindrops began falling thick and fast all around her! With a cry of “Oh no!” she began to gallop down the path as fast as her small legs could carry her.

Inside the large wooden farmhouse, Applejack was putting away the last of the pots and pans from that night’s dinner. Apple Bloom had, as she often did on weekends, brought Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo home for dinner, which had meant there was more cleaning up to be done, and Applejack had only managed to get round to it now that her other chores were finished, but she didn’t really mind. Although she wouldn’t have admitted it to the young filly, Applejack was perfectly prepared to do mostly anything to make Apple Bloom happy, and by the sounds of things she and her friends had otherwise been having a pretty boring day, what with the weather.

With the final pot placed back in its cupboard, Applejack, sans hat, found herself looking at the family photographs they had stuck on a board on the back wall. There were scenes from every period of her life here: she and Big Macintosh playing together as foals, laughing their heads off at everything and nothing; the two of them again, snuggled side-by-side under a blanket and looking at the sunset together when they thought nopony was watching; and finally a shot from only a few months ago, with the two of them standing proudly behind Apple Bloom at her last birthday, just as she blew out the candles. Applejack smiled a sad little smile, touching the faces of Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom with her hoof, before she closed her eyes for a moment as she, too, wiped a single tear from her face.

Applejack thought about her life. In her (still quite short) years she had been through an awful lot. She had lost a great deal, and gained (if she was honest with herself, which wasn’t difficult) a great deal more, one way or another. She had a wonderful family, and the best of friends. She had helped save the whole of Equestria from a number of huge disasters, and had been personally responsible for saving Ponyville from a number of more minor incidents over the years, for which she was universally loved. All in all, she had a good life. A very good life. A very, very…

And yet.

And yet she still wished, wished with all her being, that some things had happened differently. She wished that certain things had happened sooner, that others had waited a few years, and one thing in particular she wished had never happened. She regretted every day she had not shared with her parents, every happy moment, but especially that they had missed Apple Bloom growing up. They had hardly even met her before “The Accident”. They had hardly even met their own grand−

A gust of cold wind and the sound of the torrential rain outside quickly brought Applejack back to the present, and she turned around to see a dripping wet Apple Bloom closing the outside door behind her.

“Apple Bloom! Sugar cube, you’re all wet!”

“Ah n-n-n-noticed….” she replied, shivering from head to tail.

“Stay there, honey, Ah’ll getcha a nice warm towel!” Applejack ran upstairs, and within seconds returned with a towel bigger than Apple Bloom herself.

“Whoa!” cried Apple Bloom as she was promptly scooped up by the older Apple, who sat on a chair and began towelling off her younger relation.

“Applejack!” Apple Bloom giggled, kicking her legs in the air. “Stop it, that tickles!”

“But you look just like a baby, all wrapped up like that!” laughed Applejack in reply. “An’ you always loved bein’ tickled when you were a baby! Coochie-coo!” The two Apples enjoyed the moment they spent together, and when Apple Bloom was finally granted mercy the two hugged tenderly. When she was again set down on her hooves, the youngest member of the Apple clan slowly walked to the door to the rest of the house, turning round once she reached it.

“Applejack,” she said quietly, “thanks for being my Mom all these years, big sis.” She smiled and went upstairs.

For a moment, Applejack was happy, happier than she had ever been before, and a beautiful smile spread across her beautiful face. But in an instant it was gone, replaced as quickly as it came with an unbearable, soul-crushing sadness. The normally strong and emotionally stable pony quickly found her vision become blurry with tears as she began to tremble uncontrollably. Just before she started wailing, she forced herself out of her chair and quickly ran out of the house, seeking solace with the one pony who could truly understand her feelings.
> 3
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	Big Macintosh had been in the barn before the worst of the rain had hit, and he was silently glad that he had managed to finish ploughing the north field early that evening. That said, it didn’t look as though his work would make much of a difference for tomorrow’s tasks, as the loose earth quickly turned into thick, useless mud. He hated seeing a day’s work simply washed away like that, especially as it would make him start tomorrow's tasks all the later whilst he re-ploughed the field.

“Ah well,” he said to himself, “ain’t no use in gettin’ annoyed ‘bout it. Yah just have to deal with that sorta thing workin’ on a farm.” He remembered then that Apple Bloom had gone out to “crusade” with her friends, and hoped they’d had the good sense to not try anything too crazy out in the rain. Had she even got home yet? He shuddered to think of her out in this downpour, which was showing all the signs of turning into a storm, and a very nasty one at that.

Turning around to finish cleaning and storing his equipment, his ears suddenly pricked up as he heard a voice calling through the rain:

“Mac! Mac! MAC!” He turned round again to see Applejack pounding across the yard towards him.

“Eeyup? Wha−” Before he could even finish speaking the mare had tripped over a length of rope he had laid out over the ground, and he was forced to catch her in his forelegs. Applejack could run a rodeo better than anypony he knew; if she had been tripped by a little bit of rope then something was very wrong with her indeed.

“Applejack?! What’s wrong?”

“Mac, Mac, Mac…” She buried her face in his chest and cried for a minute or two, and he patiently held her up and waited until she had calmed down enough to explain.

“Ah…ah was just lookin’ at some o’them old pictures on the wall,” she managed to say through gasps of tears, “and then Apple Bloom comes in from the rain all soaked like, and Ah wrapped her up in a towel, and it was like she was a little foal all over again…” Applejack finally looked up at Big Macintosh, her eyes red and two channels of tears running down her face.

“And then, as she leaves the room, she turns round and says to me: ‘Applejack, thanks for being my Mom all these years, big sis.’”

“Oh Applejack…” Big Macintosh softly nuzzled her cheek in an attempt to comfort her, but she just shook her head and continued:

“Ah can’t stand it anymore. Ah can’t go on living this…this lie anymore…” She buried her face in his chest again as he thought for a moment.

He knew this whole thing must have been hard for her. Telling lies was not something Applejack liked to do, even when it was deemed to be for the greater good, and she was resultantly awful at it for most of the time. This secret, as he had tried to call it for her benefit, had to be one of the biggest lies it was possible to tell a pony. But difficult though it had been, they had somehow managed to keep it up all these years, even Applejack. Being the Element of Honesty must have taken its toll on her, however, and by now it was probably almost painful to keep pretending. She needed his help and she needed it fast.

An idea came to him, an idea he had, in fact, been thinking about for a little while. He considered his other options. They didn’t exist. So be it.

“Well,” he said after a pause, “maybe it’s time to tell her.” The younger Apple sniffed and looked up again.

“Yah think so? I mean, it’s been so long… what do yah think she’ll say? She’ll hate us for sure…”

“We’re just gonna have to cross that bridge when we get there. An’ if she’s mad at us, we’re just gonna have to give her time to come round.”

“Ah guess… Ah guess you’re right.”

A little later that night, Apple Bloom was sitting on her bed, once more staring idly out of the window at the rain as she thought about the day’s events. So her mind was effectively at a blank, as far as she was concerned. Well, that was not quite true, she admitted. She had made a very important realisation about what her brother and sister had done for her, and what they truly meant to her. She may have been no closer to getting her cutie mark, but for once she didn’t actually mind.

She was brought from her thoughts by the sound of her sister’s voice, calling from downstairs:

“Apple Bloom? Could you come down to the kitchen for a moment, sugar cube?”

“Ok, Ah’m comin’.” Applejack’s voice sounded a little… strained, as if she might have been crying. Apple Bloom started to worry. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had seen or heard Applejack cry, what could have brought this on? Was it her fault? Did she say something earlier which upset her sister? With a sense of growing trepidation she went downstairs and entered the kitchen.

Big Macintosh, Applejack, and Granny Smith were all seated around the table. Applejack’s eyes were red, so she had been crying, but now she looked very serious, and so did the others.

“Why’s everypony look so serious?”

“Sit down, Apple Bloom; we’ve got something important we need to talk to you about.” She followed her sister’s instruction hesitantly.

“Have Ah done somethin’ wrong?”

“No!” Applejack answered rather louder than was necessary, and she took a deep breath before continuing.

“No, you haven’t done anything wrong, sugar. It’s us who’ve done that. Your brother and Ah… Big Macintosh and Ah haven’t told you the truth about your parents, about who your parents are…” Apple Bloom stared at Applejack, her worry forming itself into a tight knot in the pit of her stomach.

“What are you saying?”

And so, between them, the three older Apples told her The Truth. Their words reverberated through Apple Bloom’s skull like heavy hail on a tin roof, each syllable as painful to her as if she was being bucked in the head by a stallion bigger than Macintosh. She started shaking her head slowly from side to side, then she screwed her eyes tight shut and covered her ears, before finally cutting Applejack off mid-sentence as she slammed her hoof down on the table and screamed:

“NO!” Applejack took this rather badly, and she began to blubber slightly as she desperately tried to calm the little filly down.

“Apple Bloom, please! It’s been agony for us not to tell you!” Big Macintosh nodded sadly and made to add something else, but Apple Bloom cut him off, yelling:

“Ah don’t believe it! Ah won't believe it!” before turning tail and running from the kitchen. They heard her mount the stairs at a gallop, and a few seconds later they heard her bedroom door slamming shut.

“Ah knew it…” Applejack couldn’t hold back her tears anymore, and as she hung her head she half-whispered:

“She hates us.” Even Big Macintosh, often seen as the most stoic pony which Ponyville had yet spawned, had to admit that Apple Bloom’s rejection hurt. It hurt a great deal, in fact, and before he knew what was happening his own eyes had begun to water.

Seeing her grandchildren so affected tugged at Granny Smith’s heartstrings, and the old mare leaned forward and gently covered one of their hooves with one of her own.

“Now that’s just stinkin’ thinkin’,” she began, her voice as gentle as her raspy vocal chords would allow.

“Apple Bloom knows, deep down, that you two are the best an’ only ponies who could’ve raised her as well as ye did. The only ponies who love her as much as parents should. The only ponies who will be there for her whenever she needs ’em, an’ no matter what she needs ‘em for.” They both looked at their grandmother, still tearfully, but small smiles of gratitude began to play across their faces.

“Ah tell ye what,” Granny Smith said as she slowly lowered herself from her chair, her bad hip buckling slightly before behaving itself once more, “Ah reckons you two young’uns could probably do with some time alone to talk ‘bout things. Ah’ll go talk to Apple Bloom.” And so she left the two of them, Big Mac holding Applejack’s hoof comfortingly (or it may have been the other way around, Granny Smith couldn’t quite tell) and began climbing the stairs.

Her hind legs were not what they had once been; and although she was kept relatively fit, for a pony of her age, by what farm work she did, it took her a whole two minutes to reach the top of their farmhouse’s tall wooden staircase. Applejack had, on a few occasions now, suggested the installation of a stair lift, but Granny Smith could be just as stubborn as any of her younger relations.

“If ye ain’t gonna use it, yer gonna lose it!” had been her line, and she stuck to it still, although she did need to catch her breath a little at the top.

Apple Bloom’s room was at the north end of the upper landing, furthest from the staircase, and the short walk gave Granny Smith time to think about what to say to the young filly.

“She’s probably upset at me, too,” she thought, “but Ah’m not quite at the centre of this like Applejack an’ Big Macintosh. Ah might be able to get through to her more.” The door now in front of her, Granny Smith tapped lightly with a hoof.

“Apple Bloom, honey? It’s me. Can Ah come in?” She waited for a response, but was greeted with silence. Although this could simply have been her ears playing up, again.

“Apple Bloom? Ah’m comin’ in, alright?” she said, beginning to twist the door knob. Such an action would surely have caused loud protestations if a negative had been given before, but Apple Bloom remained silent, and so Granny Smith opened the door all the way.

It took the elderly mare a moment to figure out what was wrong with the scene in front of her. She blinked a few times, scrabbling to put on her glasses with her front hooves as she looked wildly around the room, but no, there was no mistake. The filly’s bed was empty, her window was open and a makeshift rope of bed sheets tied to the bedpost had been lowered to the ground below.

Apple Bloom was gone.
> 4
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	Few ponies lacked the sense to go outside on that awful night. From a window alcove in the town’s library, Twilight Sparkle duly noted a blonde-maned, grey-bodied Pegasus mare flying around in an even more haphazard fashion than was considered “normal” for her, and prayed that young Dinky’s mother would remain safe.

“I’m sure your weekly order of muffins from Sugarcube Corner could probably wait until tomorrow, Ditzy, or whatever has you out at this time of night,” she sighed quietly.

“Is Derpy out in that?” Spike asked incredulously from the floor below, looking up as he dusted some shelves.

“Unfortunately Ditzy Doo is out in the rain, yes,” Twilight reminded him with a slight scowl, before relenting with another sigh.

“She’ll probably be ok, though. I mean, one time I saw her get hit by lightning more times in a minute than is scientifically probable over the average pony’s lifetime! And she just got up, shook her head, giggled, and carried on as if nothing had happened!”

“Some ponies are just weird,” Spike muttered to himself, getting back to his dusting.

“Now Spike,” Twilight began, about to give a lecture on how Ditzy was, despite appearances, a very nice mare once you got to know her, but a loud knocking on the front door stopped her.

“Somepony else is crazy enough to be outside in that rain?” Spike exclaimed as Twilight shut her book and trotted down the stairs to open the door.

“Well, I’m sure whoever they are has a very good reason to be doing so.” She wasn’t wrong.

As soon as the door was open, in bounded Applejack, her normally tied back mane loose and half plastered across her face by the rain, drenched to the skin and with a wild terror in her eyes that sent a shiver through Twilight before the Unicorn even heard the reason for her friend’s visit. Applejack stood just inside the door for a moment, catching her breath as Twilight gaped.

“Applejack! My gosh, you’re soaked through! And you don’t have your hat?! What’s going on?”

“Never mind mah darn hat! It’s Apple Bloom, Twilight! She’s ran away, and we don’t know where she’s gone!” Applejack grabbed Twilight’s front hoof in both of her own as she pleaded with her friend, despair creeping its way into her voice:

“Please, Twilight! You have to help us find her!”

“Oh! O-of course I will! But what happened, why did she run away? Do you know where she’s gone?”

“No, Ah don’t know where she’s gone! If Ah knew that, I wouldn’t be here!” the orange Earth pony snapped in frustration, but the anger in her eyes quickly faded and she lifted a hoof to her forehead as she looked at the floor.

“Ah’m sorry Twilight, Ah’m just so darn scared that somethin’s gonna happen to her…”

The adrenaline from her gallop to the library had begun to wear off, and Applejack had begun to shake violently. It was hard to tell if it was nerves, or cold, or both, but Twilight knew that her friend wouldn’t be able to stay on her hooves for much longer if she didn’t help. After a moment’s hesitation, and deciding to risk protests of time-wasting, Twilight walked up to Applejack and gently wrapped her forelegs around her friend’s neck. Applejack was gratefully pulled into Twilight’s hug, and she quietly cried into her friend’s shoulder for a short while, before she sniffed and stood up straight again. The worry had not left her eyes, but something of the strong Earth pony’s familiar determination had returned.

“Thanks Twilight, Ah needed that.”

“Don’t mention it.” The Unicorn gave her friend a small smile, before she began darting around the library building, grabbing things here-and-there and giving instructions to Spike.

“Ok, Spike, whilst I get ready I want you to write out a few quick notes to the other girls. Tell them to meet us in the town square as soon as they can!”

“Should I tell them what’s going on?” he asked, grabbing a quill and parchment and hastily scrawling out a basic message. Twilight paused to consider for a second, then shook her head and continued rooting around for equipment.

“No, maybe not. If Rarity accidentally lets slip to Sweetie Belle, or if Rainbow Dash is around Scootaloo, then they’ll probably want to come too, and that would only complicate things. Do say it’s urgent, though.” Soon afterwards Twilight stood ready, saddlebags filled with all manner of outdoor survival equipment from a compass to sturdy climbing rope.

“Um, Twi, not meanin’ to sound ungrateful or anythin’, and Ah’m sure some o’that there stuff might come in handy, somehow…” Applejack said uncertainly, eyeing an ice-pick sticking out from under a flap, “but why do you have all that stuff anyways?”

“I was reading a book about outdoor survival, and it recommended putting together a basic kit with the essentials so that you could be ready in an instant for all manner of situations!” Twilight explained happily, before looking in the direction of her bathroom and extending a magical aura. Applejack could only stare in bemusement.

“That’s the last one!” Spike announced, his final note disappearing into magical green flames as he spoke.

“Ok Applejack, who else is out looking for Apple Bloom?”

“It’s just me’n Big Macintosh. Granny Smith stayed behind in case Apple Bloom came back, and she wouldn’t have really been much help out here Ah guess.”

“Probably best to send Macintosh a note as well, Spike. That way we can all meet up and organise ourselves.”

“On it!”

“Now can we go, Twilight? Ah’ve been here longer’n Ah meant to be as it is!”

“Hold on, AJ, we need to get you dried up a bit first!”

“Wha−? Hold on a minute!” Applejack’s protests were muffled into silence as Twilight quickly levitated a large towel from the bathroom and began to dry her off unceremoniously.

“If you go back out there like that you’re going to collapse from the cold!” Her work done, Twilight presented the disgruntled Earth pony a rain coat, she herself slipping into a cagoule. Applejack grudgingly accepted the covering, and the two ran into the night.

Spike looked out into the darkness as the two mares quickly disappeared from view, and shivered. As if on cue a flash of lightning lit the sky, followed a second later by an explosion of thunder from overhead. Wondering how he came to be clinging to a table leg, the baby dragon quickly let go and went to close the door.

“I sure hope they’re gonna be alright.” His plea was answered only by the sound of the rain, beating ever more furiously into the ground. He shivered again, and hurriedly closed the door.
> 5
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	“… and that’s the plan, ok?”

“Right!” The group of friends, six mares and one large stallion, all got ready to split into groups of two (or three) and begin their search of Ponyville.

After Twilight and Applejack had reached the town square it hadn’t taken long for Big Macintosh to join them, a thoroughly soaked letter clutched in his mouth. He had refused any assistance Twilight had offered to combat the rain, insisting that he was fine as he was, and to be honest Twilight believed him. Even in Luna’s shaded moonlight steam could easily be seen rising from the farmer’s mighty frame, and he showed no signs of succumbing to the cold quite yet.

Pinkie Pie had been the first to arrive after Macintosh, dressed in a bright pink overcoat (what other colour would it have been?) and bouncing through every puddle she came across. Even her playful demeanour was dampened somewhat upon being told what was happening, but she quickly rallied herself with the idea of a “We Found Apple Bloom Again!” party, and went back to bouncing in puddles whilst they waited for the others.

Rarity arrived soon after with Fluttershy; they had been on one of their spa trips earlier in the day and Rarity had invited Fluttershy to stay for a while until the rain abated somewhat. Unfortunately, even now the rain only seemed to be getting heavier, and the alabaster Unicorn was, perhaps unsurprisingly, rather aggrieved at the prospect of ruining her new hooficure. Although she was rather more understanding after hearing of Apple Bloom’s plight.

“Goodness gracious, how awful! The poor little thing must be frozen out here in this rain!”

“Yeah, Ah know,” Applejack agreed unhappily.

“And to think of how scared she must be!”

“Yeah, Ah know,” Applejack agreed again, even more unhappily.

“Who knows what might happen to her? It’s ever so easy to get hurt in the dark! She might trip over something, slip up in a puddle, bang her head against a−”

“Rarity!” Applejack cried. “Could you do me a favour’n keep that stuff t’yerself just now?!”

“Oh, sorry darling.”

“Look out below!” Before any of them could react, an indistinguishable blur crashed into the ground between them, showering everypony in muddy water.

“Ehehe, sorry guys. Even for a pony as awesome as me, this rain’s pretty tough to fly through!” Rainbow Dash had arrived.

Twilight had quickly formed a plan of breaking into small groups and searching several different areas at once.

“We’ll cover more ground this way, so there’s more chance of finding Apple Bloom more quickly. She probably won’t have gone very far, I don’t see how she could have in this weather…” The rain was unrelenting. It had, for now at least, decided to stop getting any heavier, but it still hadn’t lessened.

“Couldn’t you do something about that, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy had asked.

“’fraid not. For one thing this storm’s scheduled in to make up for lost time earlier in the month, things have been getting too dry in some areas.” The Apples nodded at this; some of their outer fields hadn’t been rained on for some time now, and had been beginning to show it.

“Also it’s not my shift, so I don’t have the authority to do anything about it, and to be honest even I would struggle to make headway with all of those storm clouds by myself. I’d be twenty percent more soaked and exhausted than I am already in 10 seconds flat! And I wouldn’t even have anything to show for it!”

“Then we’re just going to have to fight through the weather!” Twilight stood in the centre of the small group. “Time to group up, everypony! If your group finds Apple Bloom, bring her back to the library so Spike can get notes to the rest of us. Be careful, try not to slip up… and that’s the plan, ok?”

“Right!” they all answered, preparing to leave.

“Look out below!” For the second time that night a cry sounded out above them, but this time all the ponies managed to jump back before another stricken Pegasus crashed to earth in front of them.

“Der-uh, Ditzy?! Are you ok?” Rainbow Dash offered a hoof to the cross-eyed mare and helped her stand up.

“Oh, thanks Rainbow Dash! Yeah, I’m fine. Nice weather, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, whatever you say. Listen Ditzy, have you seen Apple Bloom around anywhere? She’s ran away from home and we’re trying to find her.”

“Apple Bloom?” Ditzy looked to Applejack. “Your Apple Bloom?” Applejack nodded.

“Little yellow filly with red mane and tail?”

“…yes.” Applejack looked slightly confused. How could Ditzy not be sure what Apple Bloom looked like? She’d seen her enough times.

“About Dinky’s age?”

“Yes.”

“No cutie mark yet?”

“Yes.”

“Big pink bow tied up in her mane?”

“Yes.” Ditzy thought for a moment, then shook her head.

“Nope, haven’t seen her.”

“Gah!” This from everypony else.

“Wait! Wait, no! I have seen her!”

“You have?!”

“Yeah, she ran into the Everfree Forest a little while ago. It looked like she was heading towards Zecora’s place.” The Pegasus raised a hoof to her chin. “Hmm, probably not that safe to be heading through the Everfree on a night like this,” she said thoughtfully.

“Anyway, I’ve gotta get home and put Dinky to bed. Bye everypony!” she called happily as she took off again, soon disappearing into the surrounding gloom, although not without almost crashing once more.

The group looked at each other fearfully.

“T-the Everfree F-f-forest?” Applejack had a deep-seated fear of that dismal place, and although she had been forced to brave its boundaries on several occasions, and was more-or-less confident on the path leading to Zecora’s house, the mere mentioning of the Everfree was often enough to fill the Earth pony with dread. Tonight especially.

“That path’s hard ‘nuff to follow in the daylight! And who knows what kinda nasty critters are roamin’ about at this hour?” Applejack was visibly shaking again, only this time there was no doubt as to the cause.

With a mighty whinny which caused the rest to jump, Big Macintosh reared up, span around and galloped off in the direction of Zecora’s house.

“Come on,” Twilight said, trying to sound strong for her friend’s benefit.

“We have to try and catch up with Big Macintosh before he gets too far ahead. Your brother can run a lot faster than I thought he could!” However, before Applejack could be convinced to move even a single hoof, they saw Big Macintosh coming back to them. Stopping beside Applejack, he quickly drew her into a tight hug.

“Don’t worry, Applejack, ain’t nothin’ gonna get between me and Apple Bloom! Ah’ll get her back!” And then he did something completely unexpected. He looked Applejack in the eyes, smiled at her, and kissed her. Properly kissed her. On the mouth.

“Guess you’ve got some ‘splaining to do now, ‘sis’,” he said with a wink, before turning around once more and running off again.

“Macintosh…” Applejack said quietly, cheeks redder than his coat, a hoof held out after him as he disappeared. She turned to her friends after a moment to gauge their reactions. Their faces were a perfect range of emotions from shock to revulsion and everything in between. Rainbow Dash’s wings were flared out.

Well, now that they had told Apple Bloom, it had to come out sooner or later.

“He… he ain’t mah brother.”

“You what now?” asked Rainbow Dash in surprise, her wings visibly reduced in extension.

“He ain’t mah brother, and Apple Bloom ain’t our little sister.” Nopony could even guess at what Applejack was talking about, so they all waited as she gathered herself together and began to explain:

“Me’n’Mac are only step-brother and sister. And Apple Bloom… we never told her until tonight, but…” She stopped, swallowed hard, and looked down at the sodden earth beneath her before admitting, in a very small voice:

“She’s our daughter."
> 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Nopony knew quite what to say at first. As the seconds dragged out, Applejack continued to stare at the ground, hunched over, the confession seemingly draining her of energy.

Disgusting.

Disgraceful.

The shame of it all!

How could she even dare to call herself the Element of Honesty, when she had been hiding a lie so huge from everypony, even her own daughter for Celestia’s sake, for the entirety of the young filly’s life?

These and more swirled around Applejack’s tortured mind, threatening to make her keel over with shame. A shame which hadn’t even been present until mere moments ago. The enormity of it all, what this revelation would mean to her friends… she had never even considered it. Now she wished, wished with all her heart, that the ground would just swallow her up and make it all go away.

Her friends’ silence was the truly terrifying part. If they at least yelled at her, called her “Whore!” or “Slut!”, or deserted her there and then, at least she would know how they felt. But nopony spoke a word, neither to chide nor to cheer. Until eventually, merely seconds later although it had felt like hours, Fluttershy spoke up.

“Applejack, does that mean that, eight years ago, that time when you were really sick and couldn’t see anypony for months and months, that you were…?” She didn’t finish, but even Ditzy could have guessed the next word. Pregnant. Without lifting her gaze from the ground, Applejack nodded. Her friend’s voice hadn’t sounded angry, but that was probably only because she was still too shocked for any emotion to form yet.

There was a flurry of movement as the five surged towards her. She flinched, half expecting blows, but was surprised at the sudden, gentle contact of her friends all hugging her at once.

“We don’t know the circumstances…” Twilight Sparkle spoke thickly, fighting the urge to cry as Applejack looked up, and saw that the others were similarly distressed.

“And we don’t know why you kept it a secret…” added Rainbow Dash, her usual cool demeanour gone, replaced with a quivering lip and teary eyes.

“But I’m sure you had good reasons, Applejack,” Fluttershy said, as soothingly as she could manage.

“For just now, darling, we still have to find her.” Rarity did her best to wipe tears from her eyes with a magically levitated handkerchief, despite the rain.

“So come on, AJ, let’s go get your daughter back!” Pinkie Pie finished, with the special enthusiasm that only she could bring to bear no matter the circumstances, and even when she looked on the verge of crying herself a new river through Ponyville. Applejack cried for the third time that night, this time with happy tears in her eyes, to know that her best friends in the whole world were ready to do everything they could to help her. As they always had been, and always would be.

“Thank you, everypony. I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”

They all gave her a final squeeze, before they all stood up, and made for the Everfree Forest as fast as their legs could carry them.

Several minutes ahead of the mares, a young father galloped along the path into the Everfree Forest. Big Macintosh’s hooves pounded into the wet ground, sending muddy water splashing in all directions and crushing small plants beneath him. Unseen small creatures scurried out of his way, shadowy birds flew out of nearby trees, and even some trees themselves seemed none too keen to get in the large Earth pony’s path. He had no idea how far ahead Apple Bloom could have gone, or even precisely where this Zecora’s hut was, but he had a rough idea from his sisters’ descriptions. From AJ and Apple Bloom’s descriptions, he reminded himself. That lie could no longer continue, whatever the outcome of tonight.

Whatever the outcome? No, there would be only one outcome tonight: he would bring Apple Bloom home, safe and sound, and he didn’t care what sort of beasts he might have to fight off for that to happen, because by Celestia he was going to make it happen!

“Hold on baby, daddy’s comin’!” he said to himself as he continued to crash through the undergrowth.

Apple Bloom was at that time unsure of what to do. Zecora’s calming words and ethereal wisdom on all matters, plus the possibility of some brew or other to soothe her nerves, had seemed like the one distant light to Apple Bloom in the metaphorical darkness she had felt surrounded by. But she had set off into the Everfree someway off from the path that she would normally take to visit the forest’s resident kindly zebra, and although she thought she knew roughly where she was, she also knew that one step in the wrong direction could send her straight into the forest’s unexplored depths. How she would manage to find her way back then…she didn’t know. Did she even want to go back?

The young filly still didn’t know what to think about Applejack and Big Macintosh. About what they had told her. It couldn’t be true, it just couldn’t! It went against everything she had ever known or believed. They were her brother and sister, not her parents! Her parents, their parents, had died in “The Accident” years ago. Those ponies she had never even known were dead and gone and were right now up in Heaven, and were probably wondering why their other children would play such a cruel trick on their youngest daughter.

But no, Apple Bloom knew that Applejack and Big Macintosh would never really do such a thing. But then that would mean that they were telling the truth. But that couldn’t be, because… because…

Apple Bloom dropped to the ground, splashing into a large puddle without even caring, and began crying the tears she couldn’t manage earlier. She covered her dirty face with dirtier hooves as her salty tears mixed with the rainwater. All of her anger from earlier had finally been washed away, only to be replaced by an even worse feeling of confusion and fear. What would this mean for the future? What would her friends think? But more importantly than that, what did she herself truly think about it? She had flown into a rage earlier, yes, but that had been at the shock of it all, the pain of her world crashing down around her just for it to be forcibly replaced by something unknown and alien. Unknown, alien, but at the same time… what? She didn’t know, she couldn’t decide what it was, and her mental state was lending no assistance in deciding where her feelings lay.

She felt so tired from it all, and lying there, despite the rain and the cold, felt so peaceful compared to what she experienced over the last few hours that she actually found herself drifting off to sleep, and she embraced it wholeheartedly. Until she managed to swallow some of the puddle water, that is. She quickly jumped up, coughing and retching, trying to get the taste off her tongue by brushing it with her hoof, whilst only managing to worsen her plight by accident.

After she had no more saliva to spit out, Apple Bloom looked around and tried to get her bearings. She failed. Her hooves had apparently ignored the “one step in the wrong direction” warning her brain had given earlier, and she was completely lost. Trying to stem her swiftly rising panic, and desperately looking for something recognisable, she scanned the area around her. She had somehow walked to the centre of a fairly large clearing, roughly oblong in shape, with an oddly shaped rock set in the ground a short distance from where Apple Bloom was standing. It could have been some ancient remnant of a ruined building, or whatever strange forces present in the Everfree Forest may have hollowed out a piece of stone over time, but whatever it was had a hole in it which looked just large enough for her to squeeze into. Wanting out of the rain, and having nowhere better to go, she headed for it.

Quite why she chose to look to her right at that very moment escaped her, but it was fortunate that she did, if rather terrifying. For standing just at the edge of the clearing, eyeing her with easily recognisable hunger, was a Timberwolf. She had never seen one of the creatures herself, but Granny Smith’s descriptions were startlingly accurate. Some parts of its body looked almost as if they had been roughly carved into shape, whilst others appeared to be made of jaggedly-shaped branches, and indeed some of these seemed to rise from its hackles like spines. Claws like huge thorns sprouted from its paws, sharp teeth jutted unevenly from its muzzle, and those gleaming eyes in its head were evil beyond anything the poor filly had yet witnessed. What Granny Smith’s stories had not prepared her for was the size of the beast: fully five times Apple Bloom’s height at the shoulder, and as wide as Big Macintosh was long.

She stood frozen to the spot, unable to bat an eyelid even as it looked to the shadows behind it, sending strange growling noises back into the trees. Soon it was joined by another, then another, and more appeared until seven Timberwolves stood faced against Apple Bloom, still frozen in mid-stride and a good twenty feet from the opening in the rock and whatever safety it may provide. The first Timberwolf considered her for a moment, and then it reared back its mighty head and let loose a chilling howl towards the moon, all but concealed behind the thick storm clouds still swirling overhead.

This finally broke Apple Bloom’s petrification, and she screamed.

She screamed for help from the one pony she knew that could save her.

The one pony she knew that could knock down fully-grown trees with the buck from a single leg.

The one pony who happened to be much closer to her than either had dared to hope.

“DADDY!"

Big Macintosh heard, and raced towards the clearing faster than he had thought possible of himself, vowing doom upon whatever threatened his foal.

Ah'm comin', Apple Bloom. Hold on.
> 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The opening in the stone was only just big enough to let Apple Bloom squeeze in, and in her haste she managed to cut her side on a jagged edge. But considering that she almost lost one of her hind legs to a Timberwolf’s jaws immediately afterwards, only pulling it out of the way just in time, she didn’t care too much about the warm trickle of blood as it dripped slowly onto the ground beside her. She screamed again as a clawed wooden paw was stuck into the hole after her, just missing her face as it thrashed around wildly in front of her. After a short while it was again retracted, amidst noises which could have indicated some sort of argument amongst the wolves, presumably trying to decide how to extricate their prey.

A smaller Timberwolf had crouched down and was busily licking away at the blood left behind on the rocky entrance with a tongue made of sticky vines. Apple Bloom backed away as far as she could as this smaller wolf then tried sticking its head and shoulders into the hole, snapping at her with its jaws. Screaming and shouting a variety of phrases the young filly would never have dared use in company, Apple Bloom turned around and tried bucking it with her hind legs to keep it back, and even managed to land a few good hits on its snout before it had had enough and withdrew, somewhat disgruntled.

The growling and snarling around the hole gradually quietened as the wolves seemed to withdraw, apparently having given up. Apple Bloom lay still for a short time, before deciding to check if it was safe to leave. Unfortunately Timberwolves are very cunning creatures, and as she neared the hole she started screaming once more as the smaller wolf lunged for her again. She turned to retreat, but the wolf caught her by the tail and began dragging her out, hooves digging into the ground beneath her to no avail. She kicked out at the wolf again and again, but her tail was too long to allow contact with her captor, and the wolf’s nose remained unmolested. She braced herself against the rocky edges of the hole with as much strength as she could muster, straining her legs to their limit as the beast tugged all the more fiercely. In her fear the filly finally lost control of her bladder, which actually surprised the wolf just enough for it to loosen its grip on her tail, and she scurried back inside as far as she could.

The wolf began to howl in frustration, but its howls were soon cut off as a dull thud sounded outside Apple Bloom’s place of refuge. She couldn’t see what was going on, but she could hear the wolves crying out in pain, their wooden bodies cracking and snapping like twigs as whatever wild beast had taken exception to them continued its assault. She trembled to think about what sort of creature could fight off a pack of Timberwolves, and hoped it didn’t know she was there as well. A final pained yelp sounded from one of the stricken canine creatures, and then all was silent save her breathing and her heart, which felt as though it was trying to pound itself into oblivion against her ribcage.

Twigs cracked outside. She hadn’t heard the creature approach, but it was now standing far too close by for comfort, and she could hear its ragged, heavy breathing all too clearly. But wait… it actually sounded familiar, now that she listened. It sounded like…

“App… Apple Bloom?” Big Macintosh managed through gulps of air.

“Big… Daddy? Is… is that you?”

“It’s ok, Apple Bloom, daddy’s here now.” She shot out of the hole faster than she had fled inside and into the waiting embrace of the big Earth pony, who held her tightly as she sobbed into his chest and did her best to apologise for running away and hurting him and Applejack. However, she could manage little more than indiscernible squeaks for a good few minutes, and Big Macintosh was more than prepared to just sit still for the time being, content in the knowledge that Apple Bloom was indeed safe.

Upon finally catching her breath and looking at her father properly, Apple Bloom soon discovered another reason for his wanting to sit still. He was dirty, bloodied, bruised, and, if his still ragged breaths were any proof, nearly exhausted after his fight with the Timberwolves. Big Mac was a mighty pony, but even a pony such as him did not simply do battle with several vicious, latently magical creatures about twice his height without feeling the effects afterwards. It had taken his all, which had fortunately been just enough, but if he had to do it all again then he wasn’t quite sure he could manage.

“Now why in the name o’Celestia did Ah have t’go n’think that?” he quietly reprimanded himself, looking around the clearing wearily as a worrying scene began to play out around them. Twigs and branches were rolling across the ground and forming into piles around the larger pieces of wolf-corpse, and slowly but surely the creatures began to rebuild themselves. Pieces deemed too damaged were discarded as replacements were yanked by unseen forces from nearby trees before taking their place in a wolf’s body.

They had perhaps a minute before the wolves were repaired. 

“Hold on!” Big Macintosh quickly lifted Apple Bloom onto his shoulders and bounded out of the clearing, his filly clinging to him as tightly as she could, and he hoped he fled in the direction he had come from before. The wolves growled and began to give chase, Macintosh all too aware of their heavy paws crashing down behind him. Frantic seconds passed without too much incident, Big Macintosh ducking under branches and dodging around nasty-looking plants whilst the Timberwolves simply went straight through, the occasional yelp in pain the only indication of them being at all hindered. Apple Bloom clung on for grim life, too scared to scream, sometimes looking back only to wish she hadn’t, as the wolves seemed closer every time she did. The truth was they were.

Despite the cold of the forest and the still-driving rain, Macintosh was sweating harder than after a whole day spent uprooting dead apple trees. He honestly didn’t know how much further he would be able to run before he collapsed from exhaustion, but it would be soon, and when that happened…

“Apple Bloom!” he called over his shoulder. “Ah can’t go much further! Ah’m completely plum-tuckered, an’ Ah can’t run no more! So when Ah tell you to, Ah want you to jump down n’run! Don’t look back, don’t stop, just go! Ah’ll hold ‘em off fer as long as Ah can!”

“What?! No! Daddy, Ah… Ah just got you! Ah can’t just−”

“You can n’you have to! Ah promised mahself Ah’d save you, Apple Bloom, an’ Ah’m gonna keep that promise even if it kills me!” With that he tapped into what little energy he had left and pulled ahead just enough to give Apple Bloom time to climb down.

“Now go! Tell yer mother Ah’m sorry, n’that Ah love her. An’ Ah love you too, Apple Bloom.”

“Daddy…” She looked up at him with tearful eyes, and he risked sweeping her into another hug, kissing the top of her head and letting his tears flow freely for a few seconds, before placing her back down and pushing her gently towards the faintly seen lights of Ponyville. Apple Bloom ran then, and she didn’t look back, she didn’t stop, she just kept running as fresh tears gushed from her eyes. For all of five minutes she had finally had a father, and now he was probably already wolf fodder because he had saved her for the second time that night.

“Ah wouldn’t have needed savin’ if Ah hadn’t ran off in the first place! It’s mah fault! It’s all mah fault!” she wailed to no-one in particular. Her wailing was suddenly cut off as she ran face-first into the base of a large tree and was knocked backwards onto her seat. Recognition suddenly sprouted in her mind as she recognised the gnarled old tree as the house she had sought earlier. Daring to hope, she ignored the pain in her nose and quickly rapped on the door, praying that Zecora had not left to gather ingredients during the night.

Meanwhile, Big Mac had finally been surrounded by the Timberwolves in another nearby clearing. The wolves had learned to be cautious around the big pony and were slowly circling around him; fortunately they didn’t seem to care about the loss of Apple Bloom, their attention solely on him as they licked their wooden lips and salivated. Tired though he was, now that he knew Apple Bloom had got away Macintosh felt strangely calm. New energy pulsed through his body. His breathing calmed and slowed. The world around him faded, until he was alone in the clearing with the wolves, circling closer and closer with each passing second. His clarity and strength were probably just a passing illusion, but for the moment he didn’t care.

“What’s wrong? ‘Fraid Ah’ll smash y’all up again?” As one they snarled, and the adrenaline flared once more within him. He was staring certain death straight in all seven of its faces, but he had never felt more alive in all his life. He couldn’t kill these beasts, not on his own, but he would hurt them again.

His nostrils flared, he scraped the ground in front of him as if to charge. The largest of the wolves answered his challenge, stopping short and baring its teeth as it raised its hackles. The two charged at each other, but before they got close the unfortunate wolf was blasted back by a beam of purple energy.

“Big Macintosh! Are you alright?” Twilight Sparkle had arrived, and the librarian quickly placed herself between Mac and the other wolves, doing a very good job of being surprisingly intimidating. Before he could answer he was jumped upon by Applejack, who wrapped her hooves around him whilst their other friends showed up, and joined Twilight in squaring up against the Timberwolves. Fluttershy looked particularly terrifying.

“Oh Mac, thank goodness yer safe! Are ya hurt? Where’s Apple Bloom?” Macintosh hugged Applejack back weakly, his fire finally burning out.

“Ah’ll be fine. But Ah told AB to run when Ah thought them wolves were gonna catch us. Ah don’t know where she is.” Applejack’s fear multiplied exponentially at the news, but she didn’t have time to worry.

“Um, Twilight, I don’t think The Stare is working on them.” Fluttershy’s analysis seemed accurate, which was both strange and very worrying. Dragons, cockatrices and others had all cowered before The Stare, why didn’t it affect the Timberwolves? Indeed, instead of being afraid they only seemed to be getting angrier at the small ponies gathered in front of them.

“Everypony get ready! Big Mac’s too tired to run, we have to hold them off until we can figure out a way to stop them!” Twilight’s words bolstered her friends’ resolves, but they all quailed as the wolves howled again.

The ground shook as the beasts charged once more. This was going to end here and now, and both wolves and ponies unknowingly agreed on the likely outcome. It wasn’t favourable for the ponies.
> 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It is commonly believed that, as well as the various different animals living in the Everfree, the forest is host to a variety of spirits and other such supernatural entities. Whilst most are assumed to be just as evil as everything else in the forest, there are ponies who claim to have been assisted by unseen benefactors when in dire need. If this truly is the case, and if such a spirit happened to specialise in providing lucky breaks to the needy, then it was clearly watching over the group of friends that night. When the Timberwolves had only a few more feet to run, Twilight and Rarity hastily erecting as powerful a shield spell as they could manage at such short notice, a loud clattering and clanging rang out behind the ponies.

Everypony whipped around in fright, but fear turned to joy as they saw Zecora and Apple Bloom galloping towards them all, strange implements held in their mouths which they shook around with great vigour. This caused the bells and paddles affixed to their ends to all ring out and strike against each other, making a horrible racket that disagreed thoroughly with the Timberwolves, and whimpering they quickly turned tail and ran back into the forest in fear. Silence enveloped the friends for a short while as everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. Dropping her noise-stick, Apple Bloom trotted over to her parents, who quickly grabbed her (and each other) into a tight embrace before having themselves a good cry. No words were necessary; their relief was tangible in the air around them.

The others maintained a respectful distance, giving the family some much-delayed and much-needed time together. Twilight walked over to Zecora and hugged the zebra gratefully.

“Thanks Zecora, you came just in time.”

“Do not worry, my friend! It is what I am here for in the end.” Zecora smiled back at Twilight before frowning and looking back at the Apples.

“But what has happened this night, I wonder? Is this family free from some great weight they were under?”

“It’s a long story,” Twilight nodded. “We don’t even know the whole thing ourselves yet.”

“Hmm. Whatever the tale, we must get ourselves in from this rain,” Zecora said, bending down to pick up Apple Bloom’s noise-stick and stowing it in a saddlebag with her own.

“Much longer out here and we shall all catch a fever of the brain.” In her haste to aid her friends Zecora had forgotten to take protection against the weather, and she was just as wet now as Apple Bloom, her characteristic Mohawk hanging limp across her face.

“Agreed. What are those things you used to scare away the Timberwolves anyway?”

“A simple tool used to make noise and cause alarm. Against Timberwolves they are essential, to save one from harm.”

The Apples were gently coaxed to their feet and the group set off for Sweet Apple Acres to tell Granny Smith the good news. Apple Bloom was placed on Applejack’s back beneath her cagoule and quickly fell asleep. Big Macintosh was just about prevented from falling asleep as he was propped up between four of the mares, Zecora and Pinkie on one side with Rarity and Fluttershy on the other, and they made slow progress through the puddles whilst Twilight conjured a barrier above them all against the rain.

“Hey Fluttershy? How come those big nasty wolves weren’t scared of your Stare?” asked Pinkie, who was somehow bouncing along as normal despite the stallion leaning on her shoulder.

“I don’t know, Pinkie. I’ve never had that happen before, not even with even more dangerous creatures. Do you know, Zecora?” But the zebra simply shook her head. Then she realised that not everypony could see her, and said:

“I am not sure myself, so give an answer I can’t. Perhaps because they are not so much animal as plant?”

As much as Applejack relished the distraction of the conversation, the damp weight on her back kept reminding her of just how close she had come to losing her daughter, and so soon after finally telling her the truth. It didn’t bear thinking about, so she shook her head and tried not to. Instead, her thoughts moved to her home and the story she would have to tell her friends. And so a new dread settled in her stomach, infinitely less than before but still unpleasant, as she thought about having to tell her story for the second time in one night. Or rather, the first time that morning, as it was certainly well past midnight by then.

She knew her friends wouldn’t judge her for her actions or those of Big Mac, they had made that more than clear earlier, but she still hated thinking about the events of eight years ago. They should have been happy memories, even with the less-than-perfect way her pregnancy had come about in the first place, but her parents’ deaths had tainted everything. Life could be, and often was, cruel like that, ripping away its benefits before they could be properly appreciated.

But it was not always thus, tonight had been proof of that. So much had almost been lost, but now everything was going to be alright. With that in mind, safe in the knowledge that she would have her family and friends with her to support her all the way, Applejack cleared her mind of doubt and gathered her resolve. Her story would hurt, but she wouldn’t let that stop her. Besides, Macintosh and Granny Smith could help her tell it again. Well, perhaps just Granny Smith: Big Mac looked just about ready to keel over at any moment. Fortunately they were soon back at the farm, where they were greeted with surprising alacrity by Granny Smith, who clearly hadn’t had a wink of sleep all night with her worry.

Applejack soon reappraised her idea of having help with her story from anypony at all. Big Macintosh was helped upstairs to his room, where he was cleaned up and bandaged where necessary, as was Apple Bloom, before the two of them climbed into his bed and promptly lost consciousness, with Macintosh lying on his back and Apple Bloom held in his hooves on his chest. Granny Smith soon retired to her own room as well, leaving Applejack to attend to her friends who were gathered in the sitting room. Zecora had graciously accepted the offer of staying the night at the Apples’ home and had sat herself in a corner, where she was meditating. Twilight meanwhile had just teleported back from the library after telling Spike everything was ok, and Pinkie emerged from the cellar after apparently returning to Sugarcube Corner to leave an explanatory note. Nopony questioned how this was even possible, it was Pinkie.

“So… Applejack…” Twilight said before yawning and causing everypony else to do the same. They all looked at the grandfather clock standing against the wall: almost a quarter to two in the morning.

They were none of them sure when precisely they had all set out, but for all except Zecora it had certainly been several hours since, and by now their bodies had begun to lament the lack of sleep. Despite her lesser physical exertions that night, the zebra had herself been very busy all day beforehand, and hoped to soon return to the pleasant dreams of her homeland from which Apple Bloom had awoken her. Rarity could feel the beginnings of a migraine forming behind her eyeballs whilst she tried to maintain a ladylike composure. Twilight and Applejack had fallen against each other when they looked at the clock and were still shoulder to shoulder in a lethargic haze. Rainbow Dash was slumped in a chair, barely maintaining lucidity as her eyelids drooped. Fluttershy’s head bobbed up and down as she fought off sleep as best she could, whilst Pinkie had given up trying and was now snoring in a hastily erected hammock. Twilight and Applejack looked at each other, bleary eyed and wilting from their earlier exertions.

“…inth mrrning?” Twilight asked.

“…uh huh…” yawned Applejack in agreement, and the two gave up the fight at last and lay down where they sat, the others also succumbing just as the clock quietly ticked over to 1:45am proper.

Applejack was sorry her story had to wait: putting things off was not in her nature, she much preferred getting a job done there and then. But, she admitted, neither herself nor her friends were in any fit state for story time yet. Better to wait until the morning (or rather, later in the morning) before starting. She would have her family’s help then, and any doubts anypony held could be seen to more easily, as well as trying to figure out a way of letting the town know without causing too much fuss. More than anything right then, Applejack just wanted to be able to get on with her life. No more lies, no more hiding, just getting on with things like how she should have been for all this time.

Sleep took the orange Earth pony mare within seconds of closing her heavy eyelids, and as her focus left the room around her it shifted back through the years, flying back to happier times. Back to when everything made far more sense. Back to when she first met him.
> 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Nineteen years previously…


Applejack awoke in her little apple wood-framed bed, much as she did every morning, and yawned contentedly as she snuggled under her covers, pulling the deliciously warm blanket over her head to keep out the sunlight. And then she remembered what was special about that morning.

“Yeehaw!” the young filly cried as she leaped from her bed, snuggly covers forgotten as her little hooves clattered excitedly to her father’s room.

“Daddy! Daddy! Wake up! Wake up!” she cried, bouncing on the end of her father’s bed as the poor stallion groggily opened his eyes to look upon his tormentor, and then at the small clock on his bedside table. Redstreak pushed a few strands of his dark blonde mane away from his face and groaned sleepily, before adding in a yawn for good measure.

“Applejack, sweetheart, ain’t ya heard of a ‘lie in’?”

“But Daddy, it’s mah birthday! It’s mah birthday! Ah’m five now! Ah’m five!” she protested, no less energetically than before, and her adorable green eyes bored straight into her father’s soul, leaving him in no fit state to protest against his lack of sleep. Especially not with such a valid reason exciting her. Redstreak slowly smiled as he yawned once more, and then he sat up on his bed and opened his forelegs invitingly.

“Well then, Ah suppose Ah’d better give ya a big ol’ birthday hug, hadn’t Ah?” Applejack needed no further encouragement, bouncing forward enthusiastically and throwing herself against her father’s huge red chest, clinging on tightly as his promised hug enveloped her.

“Happy birthday, AJ. Ah love you very much.”

“Ah love you too, Daddy.”

The two stayed like that for around a minute or two, and Applejack was so caught up in the contact that she even forgot about the presents that would be waiting for her downstairs. Soon enough the steady rhythm of Redstreak’s heartbeat beneath her ear lulled the filly into a snooze, her early start catching up with her and cancelling out any youthful exuberance she may have been feeling before.

For about one minute further.

“Daddy! Presents!” she cried out, suddenly completely awake again and startling Redstreak.

“Yeah, yeah, alright…” he chuckled upon regaining control of his breathing, and he carefully lowered his daughter down as her hooves flailed wildly beneath her, trying to gallop towards the stairs before she was even on the floor.

Applejack was down the wooden stairs faster than was likely safe, but their small farmhouse had the benefit of semi-landings every few steps, specifically built as such by the previous owner with the intention of preventing lengthy falls by little foals. And so Applejack reached the bottom with minimal incident, and began hopping up and down even more excitedly than before outside the sitting room door.

Her presents were mere feet away, and she could hardly wait for her father to descend the stairs behind her, but it was necessary that he be in attendance from the beginning. It was, after all, how things were done: Redstreak had to open the door, Redstreak had to go in first to check that no fairies or the like had come in to steal anything away, Redstreak then had to allow Applejack entry and set her down beside the little pile of presents, and finally Redstreak had to help his daughter with any wrapping that was too challenging even for her eager hooves and teeth. And take photographs, of course.

“Lookit the camera, sugar cube!” She happily complied, showing off a new doll with the glee that only a small child can, and Redstreak grinned as he clicked away, making sure to capture a suitable pose with each little present.

Redstreak was always somewhat worried when it came to important times in his daughter’s life; times like birthdays and Hearth’s Warming, when many of the other little colts and fillies her age would be getting all manner of shiny new toys and nice clothes. Whilst she would, at best, only be getting fairly inexpensive gifts, most of these being simple and homemade. He knew that it would be folly to splash his bits on frivolous trinkets when his small orchard was struggling like it was, but he knew the way classrooms could be and the ways poorer foals could be picked on for the fact, having been a victim of such attacks himself in his day.

But any doubts he had would always be assuaged by the pure, innocent joy on Applejack’s face on seeing any form of gift, no matter how humble. It was as much the sharing of the moment with her father that made the filly happy as the actual presents did themselves.

Applejack loved her Daddy very much. He was the best Daddy in the whole world. He was big and strong and kind and he smelled of apples and apples were the best fruit in the world so that meant he smelled the best as well−

“Applejack, sweetie?” Her train of thought was interrupted by Redstreak’s voice as he started to clear away some of the hastily ripped-off wrapping paper, and she peered out from beneath the tip of Redstreak’s Stetson (which she was wearing because she was the birthday girl. That was today’s reason, anyway).

“Ah was thinkin’, as it ain’t a school day or nothin’, we could maybe go’n visit yer Granny Smith today. How’s that sound?” This did indeed sound like a good idea. She loved her Granny very much as well, and the old mare made the tastiest apple pies ever! Oh! And maybe she might let Applejack run around the orchard some! She was sure to be able to buck some apples from the trees this time!

It wasn’t long before they were on their way, although their departure was initially somewhat slowed by Applejack bouncing excitedly around her father’s hooves as he tried to prepare for the outing. Their small cart trundled along behind Redstreak, with Applejack perched on top of it for the duration of the trip. He kept her amused during the hour’s journey with all manner of silly stories and jokes, and in what felt like no time at all they had arrived at the expansive Sweet Apple Acres, home to generations of the Apple family for almost a century. One mare in particular had lived there for most of her extensive life.

“Hello Redstreak! Hello, l’il Applejack! Happy birthday, dearie!” Granny Smith stood just inside the farmhouse door, shielding her eyes from the bright midday sunshine for a moment before going out to meet them both. She lifted Applejack from the cart and spun around with her several times, much to the filly’s squealing delight.

“Now listen, sugar cube, me’n yer daddy’r just gonna go put by this here cart. Why dontcha go’n play around the trees just now? There should be a surprise close by if you look careful enough!” The filly needed no further encouragement, and bounded off towards the nearest clump of apple trees.

It didn’t take long for her to find something strange there, and the discovery certainly was very surprising. She crashed into a young colt who was unexpectedly standing behind a tree. Face first into his side. His bright red side. Ouch.
> 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Both foals fell over with a cry, Applejack backwards onto her rump and the colt rather more heavily onto his side. Neither found the experience particularly enjoyable, although they both reacted rather differently to finding themselves no longer upright.

“Hey!” cried the colt in a rather high voice as he clambered to his hooves again. Applejack clutched her sore muzzle with her hooves, eyes tearing up slightly as the older colt stomped over to her.

“Why dontcha watch where yer goin’, huh?” he continued angrily as he stood over Applejack, glaring down at her. Little Macintosh, recently turned eight though large enough to be two years older, did not take kindly to apparent clumsiness from anypony. Despite his young age he was normally very calm and collected, but tended to lose his temper with others if they didn't display similar behaviour.

Applejack bore the full force of his youthful wrath with all the self-control one might expect of a five-year-old, and began to cry. It wasn’t her fault! She didn’t know that he would be there! But now he was yelling at her even though it was her birthday, and her nose really hurt… she wanted her daddy…

“H-hey, don’t cry…” Little Macintosh hadn’t really expected the filly to burst into tears like that, and he instantly regretted his harsh words when she did.

“Ah’m sorry, Ah didn’t mean to make ya cry or nothin’…” He half extended a hoof to Applejack then stopped, unsure of whether he should really be the one to comfort her after being the one to make her sad in the first place. Macintosh looked around in a slight panic, but no inspiration was offered from the surrounding apple trees, which remained as silent as ever. He looked back at Applejack, who was still crying although not as hard, and swallowed once before reaching out fully and lightly touching her shoulder. Applejack flinched back slightly at the contact and looked up at him.

Her shining eyes met his own, and both noticed they had the same green colour. In an instant something passed between the two, something that neither could understand nor describe with their youthful inexperience of worldly ways. Unable to comprehend the feeling the two just kept staring at each other, possibly for a few minutes, until a female voice called out from the orchard nearby and broke their reverie.

“Macintosh? Little Macintosh? Where are you, honey?” A beautiful mare trotted into view and looked about her for her foal. Her dark pink coat glistened in the sunlight as testament to a long morning’s work in the orchard, and her blonde-streaked green mane and tail swished around in the breeze. A red apple set on a chequered picnic blanket adorned her flank, and as she walked the blanket seemed to flutter beneath the apple.

“Aha! There you are! Ah’ve been lookin’ all over for ya, sweetie, where’d ya run off to in such a hurry?” She lightly trotted up behind Macintosh and nuzzled his head gently before noticing Applejack, who was still sitting on the ground and holding her muzzle.

“Oh my! Are you ok, sweetie? What happened, Macintosh?”

“She ran into me, Mama! Knocked us both over!”

“Oh dear, you’re not hurt are you?” she asked quickly, checking his side where he rubbed it in the worried way that a mother will do in such circumstances.

“Nah, Ah’m ok. Ah think she’s more hurt’n Ah am.” The colt looked away and kicked at the ground in embarrassment before admitting: “Ah kinda shouted at her, though…”

“Macintosh! What have Ah told you about controllin’ yer temper?” His mother quickly switched from checking him to Applejack, gently moving aside the filly’s hooves to examine her nose whilst she remonstrated with her son.

“M’sorry, Mama…” He did indeed look very sorry, but…

“Apologisin’ to me ain’t no good, young man. Ah hope you’ve said sorry to this little filly here too?” He gulped and nodded, and Applejack lightly nodded as well.

“Alright then.” The colt’s mother focused her attention on the filly for the time being, wondering who this little foal could belong to, and what she was doing in Mrs Smith’s orchard in the first place. Nopony else who worked here had any foals that she knew of; perhaps she came from nearby Ponyville? The ready availability of juicy apples had been more than exploited by mischievous young foals over the years, but this filly did look rather young for that.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?”

“Ap…Applejack…” she answered with a slight sniffle.

“Applejack, huh? My, now that’s a lovely name!” The mare smiled sweetly and Applejack smiled a little in response.

“My name’s Pink Pearl, it’s very nice to meet you!” Pink Pearl took Applejack’s hoof lightly in her own and shook it, prompting a giggle from the filly.

“And how are you, Applejack? Did you hurt yourself when you ran into Macintosh?”

“Uh huh…” she answered quietly, looking away in embarrassment.

“On the nose?”

“Uh huh…”

“Anywhere else?”

“N-no…”

“Ok then, Applejack,” Pearl said, keeping up what limited momentum their conversation had, “how’d ya get here?” With any luck this would give a greater-than-one-word answer, and so it proved.

“Mah Daddy brought me here t’see Granny Smith ‘cos it’s mah birthday, n’she said there would be a surprise nearby so Ah ran here but then Ah ran into… Macintosh?” His name was spoken as a question and accompanied by a look in his direction. Macintosh smiled and nodded, clearly trying extra hard to be friendly in light of his earlier telling off.

Wait a minute. Granny Smith? Was Applejack Mrs Smith’s granddaughter? Now that Pearl stopped to think, the filly’s name did ring a bell. In conversation with her employer, the older green mare often mentioned her son and his daughter. In fact, Pearl had been regularly teased by Mrs Smith trying to set her up with Redstreak (at least that’s what she thought his name was), who from her descriptions certainly did sound like quite a slice of stallion. Fortunately/unfortunately, a meeting between the two had proved impossible before now, so Pearl had only been able to speculate just how much mother’s bias had been applied to Redstreak’s virtues.

Now seemed like the perfect opportunity to see how accurate her speculations were…

Hold on, no! That could wait, now she had to make sure Applejack was brought to her family!

“O-ok then, Applejack…” Pearl began again, confusing both foals with her sudden flustered state, “Ah think it’d be a good idea to getcha back t’yer daddy. How’s that sound?” The effect was immediate, as Applejack brightened up considerably. Go back to Daddy? This did indeed sound like an excellent idea!

“Ok!” See?

The orange filly sprang to her hooves in an instant and started galloping towards the farmhouse as fast as her tiny legs could carry her.

“Race ya there!” Macintosh’s ears perked up instantly at the issue of a challenge, and he too was off like a little scarlet bullet. Pink Pearl was left standing in their proverbial dust, smiling at the sound of foalish laughter as she assumed a more sedate pace behind them and marvelling at how well foals could get along after such a little amount of time. As she passed the last apple tree before Sweet Apple Acres’ large farmhouse, Pearl thought about something Applejack had said.

Her grandmother had told her a surprise was in the orchard. Had she meant Little Macintosh? The surprise was a new friend? That seemed a little too sweet to be the whole story. More likely the crafty old mare meant for their foals to meet as a way of getting Pearl and Redstreak to meet as well. The notion made Pearl laugh good naturedly, before she swallowed and realised she felt quite nervous all of a sudden. A lack of romantic male company since she lost Macintosh’s father had made her both desire and dread the prospect of more in equal amounts. She wasn’t quite sure she was ready, but neither was she certain it would definitely be a bad idea.

And then Applejack’s father trotted outside, with Mrs Smith following behind, and as he scooped up his giggling daughter Pink Pearl made a realisation, followed by a decision. Firstly, she realised that Mrs Smith’s descriptions of her son had been, if anything, rather modest. Redstreak (Pearl was sure now that was his name) had to be one of the largest stallions she had ever laid eyes upon, and was certainly the most well-built. His handsome red coat was a similar shade to her Little Macintosh’s, his short-cut mane a little darker than Applejack’s. And secondly, she decided that this stallion would be hers.

In a similar experience to that which had occurred between the two foals mere moments before she had come across them, although aided by the maturity of adulthood, Pink Pearl felt something stir within her at the sight of Redstreak. It was only a little feeling, and had she not been paying attention she might have missed it, but it was unmistakable and definitely there. A sense of connection, of belonging, something deeper than what she felt towards anypony else even after years of acquaintance. It was small now, but it could and should be nurtured into more. She was not one for rash decisions, but certain things require no consideration before action is taken.

Pink Pearl breathed in deeply to calm herself, and, being very careful to simply put one hoof in front of the other, she slowly walked towards her future.
> 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Redstreak and Pink Pearl had taken to each other very quickly, and however fast it may have been considered did not stop them tying the knot in a mere seven months. Their children became very close, Applejack took to Pink Pearl like a new mother, and Redstreak was more than willing to fill the spot of father for Little Macintosh. Around two years passed, and many little things happened during this time, each one important to the family in their own way. Simply put, it was a perfect, happy time for them all.

And Granny Smith was still insufferably smug about the whole thing.

“Ah told ya so! Ah told ya! Didn’t Ah tell ya both?” she called from her rocking chair.

“Yes, Ma, you did.” Redstreak sighed at his mother’s continued tenacity on the subject and continued slicing apples in the kitchen, whilst Pink Pearl just laughed a little and lightly nuzzled the side of his face as she rolled some pastry. They were visiting Granny Smith for her birthday this time, and whilst the adults were busy in the kitchen preparing dinner, their foals were outside playing in the orchard. Somewhere.

“Where’ve the young’uns gotten themselves to, anyways? Ah swear, Ah ain’t seen hide nor hair of those two since all o’y’all got here! Ain’t a grandmother s’pposed ta see her grandfoals on her birthday?” Had Granny Smith been able to see through several layers of farmhouse, she would have noticed Applejack busily hiding behind some barrels and giggling to herself quietly as her father’s large hat plopped down over her face again.

There was no way Little Macintosh was going to find her here, no siree! It was just too perfect: she couldn’t be seen from beside the house, the barrels were bigger than her, they were arranged just right−

“Found ya!” The hat was whipped from her head and she looked up in shock to see Macintosh, Stetson now on his head, grinning down at her from over the top of a barrel, which he had half-climbed so that his back legs were dangling down the other side.

“But… but how?” Applejack tried to jump and swipe for the hat with a hoof, but her brother deftly dodged back and dropped to his hooves, maintaining his possession of the hat and forcing her to leave the hiding spot.

“Y’all were gigglin’ to yerself, Ah could hear ya! And the barrels were all shifted from where they were before, so it was pretty obvious.” Before she could protest at her hiding place’s flawlessness, however, he took the hat off and plonked it on her head once more, and then he cantered off into the apple trees, leaving behind a somewhat stunned Applejack.

“…Little Macintosh, why you…” She giggled and watched him disappear.

In actual fact, he was on the verge of outgrowing the moniker of “Little”. He may have only been eleven years old, but he was very nearly as tall as Granny Smith. Soon he’d just have to be “Macintosh”, maybe even “Big Macintosh” if he kept growing.

“Hey Sis, come look!” Applejack followed the sound of her brother’s voice to one of the apple trees and found him posed with his rear legs reared up to it. Before she could ask what he was doing, he kicked back and his hooves connected with the tree’s base with a solid-sounding thud, then another, and another, before a good portion of the apples finally fell from the branches and into the buckets waiting below. Applejack gasped in wonder as the colt stood up straight and thrust his chest out, looking very pleased with himself.

“Wow, Macintosh! Y’all can applebuck now!”

“Aw, t’aint nothin’,” he claimed, now slightly embarrassed for putting on such a show, but Applejack shook her head resolutely and put her hoof down to support her point:

“It is too! Lookit!” Macintosh watched as the filly positioned herself in front of another, slightly smaller apple tree and gave it the hardest buck she could. Nothing happened. Several more equally zealous bucks later amounted to one tired Applejack and a few fallen loose leaves, but no apples in the collection buckets.

“Ya see! Ah can’t even buck one lousy apple!” she said between gasps of breath, before she sat down heavily and looked at the surrounding orchard forlornly.

“Ah just dunno, Mac, Ah ain’t sure Ah’m cut out fer this…” Redstreak’s hat again fell down over her eyes, but not before Macintosh caught a glimpse of tears forming at their corners.

“Hey now, don’t say that.” Macintosh trotted over to her and lifted the hat up again, before he pulled Applejack into a tight hug.

“Y’all’ve just gotta wait till yer bigger is all, then yer sure to buck those apples down no problem!” He loosened his hold and smiled at her, and she smiled a little at his comforting words, but it never reached her eyes. There was something else on her mind, Macintosh could tell.

“What’s wrong?” The orange filly considered for a moment, screwing her face up as she did so, before she looked back at him and asked a question.

“Promise to keep a secret?”

“O’course.”

“Well, ya see…” She swallowed, then continued. “All the other colts and fillies in mah class at school have got their cutie marks by now. Ah’m the only one that doesn’t.” Applejack looked around the orchard again, and sighed.

“Ah don’t mind waitin’ for it, and Ah love apples and all, but Ah dunno if they’re what Ah’m good at, y’know? Wouldn’t Ah have got mine by now if they were? Ah… Ah was kinda thinkin’ about tryin’ sumthin’ else…”

“…huh.” Macintosh didn’t know what else to say. He had his cutie mark already, and had had it for a year or so before he met Applejack. His mother’s work had got him interested in the orchard in the first place, and he couldn’t think of anything else that he really wanted to do.

He didn’t think about the future all that much, but whenever he did, he pictured Applejack and himself working on an orchard with their parents, either back home or here at Sweet Apple Acres. What if Applejack didn’t want to be a part of that? What would he do then? The young colt started to worry, but then his common sense reminded him about something: just because his sister wasn’t necessarily going to do the same thing as him, it didn’t mean he would be completely unable to see her again. And anyway, it wasn’t as if Applejack, if she did leave home, was going to leave anytime soon, right?

“Applejack! Little Macintosh!” Redstreak’s voice called out from the direction of the farmhouse.

“A letter’s arrived for yer Granny! It’s from yer Aunt an’ Uncle Orange in Manehatten! Do you wanna hear what it says?”
> 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	And so the idea had come to Applejack to stay with the Oranges for a while, leaving Macintosh behind. Aunt and Uncle Orange were more than happy to accommodate the young filly, and though Redstreak took some convincing he eventually agreed to the idea, although he wasn’t happy about sending his “l’il AJ” away to the big city of Manehatten. However, he wanted his daughter to have the best chances she could in life, and if that meant letting her stay with some far away relations for a while then so be it.

Macintosh was less than thrilled. Applejack was his best friend, and he didn’t want to lose her at all, even if only for a while. And none of them had definitively decided how long she would be away for. Despite his begging and pleading his sister would not be turned, and it wasn’t long before their stubborn sides came to the fore, almost resulting in a falling out between the two before Granny Smith stepped in and sorted everything out just in time.

It was decided that Applejack should leave from Sweet Apple Acres rather than their own orchard as it was marginally closer. Though Redstreak and Pink Pearl had to stay behind and tend the apple trees, Macintosh wanted to accompany her on the short trip to their grandmother’s home and see her off. They walked in silence for quite some time, Applejack happy she was finally going places, Macintosh somewhat happy that she was happy but little more besides. He wanted to say something, anything, to make her change her mind, but nothing valid presented itself, nothing that was anything more than cheap and petty and likely to just cause an argument again. And so he kept quiet, trying to content himself with the fact that he was, at least, sharing in her last short while of being “home”.

Why did it matter so much to him? Why was it so important to spend so much time with Applejack? He was practically the only colt in his year at school and he didn’t get on wonderfully well with the fillies there, why was Applejack different? Yes she was his sister now so that counted for something, but was that the sum and substance of his feelings? He was filled to the brim with emotions his youthful mind did not understand, questions his lack of life experience could not help him answer, and he hated it.

The one thing he was clear about was that the prospect of Applejack leaving left him feeling empty, and that didn’t really help his mood.

“Hey big brother?” Oh, Applejack had asked him a question. He shook his head to clear it and looked at the filly.

“Yeah, sis?”

“What’s wrong? Y’all ain’t looked happy this whole walk, and we’re nearly at Granny’s orchard.”

“Well, Ah’m not feelin’ happy.”

“How come?” Applejack stopped and motioned for him to do the same, and drew him over to her as she ran a little hoof across his forehead.

“Y’all ain’t feelin’ sick or nothin’ are ya?”

“Nah, it ain’t that.” He brushed her hoof away with a blush and began walking once more, the much smaller filly having to canter a little to catch him up again.

“Well then, what’s wrong?” Realisation dawned on her face and she harrumphed a little.

“Y’all ain’t still mad at me goin’ to Manehatten are ya?”

“Ah ain’t mad at nothin’,” he said, quickening his pace to a trot.

“But that’s what’s makin’ ya unhappy, ain’t it?” She was struggling to keep level with the colt, but for now her faster trot kept her just ahead of him.

“Maybe.” Applejack rolled her eyes.

“Mac, Ah thought we talked about this! Ah ain’t gonna be gone forever! Ah’m just gonna stay with Aunt’n’Uncle Orange until Ah can figger out what mah cutie mark’s gonna be!”

“An’ how long is that gonna take?” he asked in a loud voice, increasing his speed again so that he pulled ahead of Applejack.

“A few days? A week? Months? What am Ah gonna do whilst yer gone? Yer the only friend Ah’ve got round here, AJ! There ain’t no other colts mah age at school! Ah’m gonna be alone, ain’t gonna be no pony fer me to play with when Ma’n’Pa’n’Granny Smith are all workin’ the apple trees!” Macintosh knew it sounded selfish, and that he shouldn’t be taking it out on Applejack, but he didn’t know what else to do.

“Ah’m *gasp* Ah’m not a colt! And Ah’m *gasp* Ah’m not yer age, either!” Applejack was galloping full pelt, trying and just starting to fail to not fall behind his canter.

“Yeah, but you’re… you’re…” Macintosh didn’t know how to finish, so he screwed his eyes shut and galloped on ahead, leaving Applejack behind.

“Macintosh! *gasp* Mac, wait!” Applejack called to her brother but he wouldn’t listen. Soon he ran around a bend in the road, and she couldn’t see him for the trees.

“C’mon, Mac! Wait *gasp* Wait up! Wai-aaaah!” A root was jutting out from the bushes to her right, and she tripped over it whilst still galloping at full speed. Applejack felt the world spin head-over-hooves as she was thrown through the air a short distance, impacting against the ground with the shin of her right foreleg before the rest of her body crashed to earth as well.

“Ow…” She sniffed miserably as pain began emanating from a cut on her foreleg, as well as the other small scratches and scrapes elsewhere. A few tears started to spill onto the dirt path as she tenderly sat up, putting as little weight on her injured leg as she could. Normally Daddy would be on hoof now, scooping her off the ground oh-so-gently and bringing her back inside, where he and Mommy would clean her up and stick a colourful plaster on her wound. They would then finish the healing procedure by kissing it better, and everything would be ok again.

But there was no Mommy or Daddy to kiss it better, they were both back at home, and not even Mac was nearby to help. She hugged her leg close to her body and started to cry.

“A-Applejack? Are you ok?” He had come back! Mac stood a little away from her, hoofing at the ground awkwardly. Much as Applejack was happy to see him again, her leg still hurt too much for a display of positive emotions, instead choosing to whimper and show him her cut.

“Oh mah! H-hold on, Ah’ve got a box o’plasters in mah saddlebag, somewhere…” He stuck his muzzle into the right bag, then the left, before going back to the right and finally producing the little medical kit his mother insisted he take with them.

“Hold still, this might sting a little.” He took her hoof gently and cleaned the cut with a wipe, then he picked out a plaster and stuck it in place with his mouth.

“K-kiss it better?” Applejack asked as he began to pull away, and the colt blushed a deeper crimson.

“But Ma or Pa usually does that…”

“Well they ain’t here! An’ it ain’t ok until it’s kissed better! C’mon, Mac, pleeeeeease?” She sniffed again, looking at him with watery eyes. He knew she would probably cry again if he didn’t, so he swallowed and leant down once more and pressed his lips briefly against the part beside the plaster, standing straight up again as soon as he could manage with an even brighter blush than before.

Applejack smiled brightly at him and he turned away, motioning her to climb onto his back so that he could carry her for the rest of the way. He had to bend down a little and give her a hoof up, but she was soon perched on his back and they were on their way again. The filly leaned forward and kissed the back of his neck once, causing him to start though he kept his hoofing.

“Thanks fer everythin’ big brother. Ah love ya!” Somehow, even though he was now loaded down with his sister and the things she was carrying as well, a weight seemed to lift from Little Mac’s spirit with her kiss, and he practically skipped for the rest of the journey.
> 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	A week and a half passed slowly by. Macintosh, the “Little” moniker now abandoned for good, had been recently taught to plough a field to help his adoptive father, and was now staying at Sweet Apple Acres for a few days to help his grandmother; and although it was difficult, tiring work, it allowed his mind to wander from the fields and away, over to the city of Manehatten. Over to where Applejack still was. He sighed, remembering the journey to Granny Smith’s farm as he reached the end of a furrow and turned the plough around.

She had kissed the back of his neck, and told him that she loved him: an innocent display of familial affection and nothing more. But it had made his heart soar, and he didn’t quite understand why. She had kissed him before, and he her, and of course their parents gave them both plenty of hugs and kisses all the time, but although they all felt nice they were nothing to the electricity he had felt that day as he carried her on his back.

Again, he found himself asking: why? What was different? As far as he could tell, nothing. She hadn’t kissed him any differently from how she had previously, and it certainly wasn’t anything like those special, passionate kisses he occasionally saw his parents give each other when they thought they were unobserved (yuck, by the way). This, in turn, got him to thinking again about why exactly he hadn’t wanted Applejack to go in the first place. It wasn’t, he now knew, simply because he would be lonely without her. There was more to his feelings than that, he was certain.

What still eluded him, however, was just what this “more” amounted to.

Another furrow came to an end, and once more he turned the plough. The earth was soft beneath his hooves, perfect conditions for ploughing without being just too moist to turn everything into thick mud. There were another dozen or so to do before this field was finished, and then he could rest up for lunch. Some of Granny Smith’s apple pie might help to lift his spirits, if only for a little while.

Applejack.

Applejack, Applejack, Applejack.

A thought came to the colt as he pulled the plough along behind him. It was a strange thought, one that he had never considered before, and indeed he didn’t in general think about its subject in any other context than when thinking about his parents: what if he had a crush on Applejack? Could he… love her? As more than a sister? He shook his head quickly to clear it of such thoughts. Certainly they were not really brother and sister, but they were so like siblings now that it would be strange for them to be anything more. And besides, what would their parents think of that? What would Applejack think? He was still only young and had only now begun thinking of such things, but she was younger still, not even eight years old. Beyond the (very) occasional playing of Princess, Applejack likely never thought about “’fairs o’the heart”, as Granny Smith called them.

The other fillies and colts his age would likely find the whole idea strange as well. The opposite gender was still a strange and nary associated with phenomenon to a foal, cooties and the like being all too real fears. Macintosh himself had no fear of such imaginary poxes, but the opinions of one’s peers at such a young age are very powerful things, and he didn’t want to seem “weird”.  His accent drew enough attention as it was, although with his size he didn’t get too much trouble.

One more furrow, one more turn. The colt shook his head once more. How could he even be sure that he was crushing on Applejack? He didn’t remember ever experiencing this feeling before, so he couldn’t tell if it was what he thought it was. It was all too confusing for the young pony, and he had to stop pulling the plough and hold his head to try and make it stop hurting.

“Macintosh!” He looked up at Granny Smith’s call, and saw the old mare hobbling as quickly as she was able to the farm’s decorative gateposts.

“Come quick! Y’all are in for a surprise!”

He unhitched himself from the plough and started trotting to his grandmother, before he heard a noise which stopped him where he stood. A laugh. A familiar filly’s laugh. A shiver started from his spine, shook out his tail, wobbled his legs and made the hairs of his mane stand on end. His cheeks began to burn as he looked across the field to the path beyond, and sure enough, there was Applejack, his sister (he told himself). The sunlight glistened off her coat as she galloped her tiny legs onwards, her emerald eyes seemed to sparkle like never before, and her mouth was formed into the prettiest smile he could ever remember seeing. The young colt’s heart fluttered in his chest at the sight of her, but he forced down his blush and galloped at full pelt to the gate, arriving just after Granny Smith.

Both older Apples pulled the giggling filly into a big hug, and as they did so a flash of magic caused three small red apples to appear on her flanks.
“Mah cutie mark! Mah cutie mark!” Applejack broke the hug and squealed in delight as she danced around in a little circle, hopping from her front legs to her back legs and ultimately ending up sprawled up on the ground, but she never stopped laughing once.

Eventually Granny Smith needed to go back inside to finish tending to a pie, so she left the foals alone and hobbled back to the farmhouse. Macintosh and Applejack hugged again, the colt bringing the filly close against his chest with both forelegs as she said something about being homesick and seeing a rainbow, but he honestly wasn’t paying much attention. She was back! Praise Celestia, she was back! He felt a few hot tears dripping onto his forelegs from his muzzle, but fortunately none fell on Applejack.

“Macintosh, yer huggin’ awful tight!” She giggled, and he pulled away with a badly concealed blush.

“Phew! Ah can breathe again!” Another giggle, echoed hollowly by Macintosh, before she was dancing around him again and telling him more about her experiences.

He tried listening, he really did, but instead he found himself thinking. For starters, about the feelings he held for Applejack. Considering how seeing her again had made him feel just then convinced him, as far as a colt could be certain of anything, that he was, in fact crushing on her. There could be no other explanation. But as for his feelings being reciprocated… Applejack was joyously happy to see him, she danced around him and hugged him and all the rest. But she was, above all, simply happy to back home. He was a part of home, so she was happy to see him again. But nothing she did, or said, gave any indication of her feeling anything more than filial love, and he cursed himself for being stupid enough to entertain the idea at all.

He was only ten, and she was only seven.

It was strange enough for one of them to like the other without the other returning the first’s feelings.

Applejack eventually went inside to get cleaned up from her journey, and Macintosh got back to his ploughing. When he came back inside later, neither Applejack nor Granny Smith could understand what made him seem so dejected. He headed straight for the room he had been staying in, refusing all offers of food and company for the rest of the day, and more hot tears stained the pillow he buried his face in as he mentally railed against the world for being unfair. It took until several hours after sundown had passed, but emotional exhaustion finally took hold of him and he slid into an uneasy sleep, replaying Applejack’s kiss over and over again.
> 14
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	A fifteen-year-old Applejack sat, somewhat uncomfortably, outside one of the fancier cafés in Ponyville town centre, a white-coated and purple-maned unicorn filly of around the same age sitting across the small table from her. The chairs upon which they both sat were not unpleasant, nor was the sun too hot or shining in her eyes, but she wasn’t all that fond of some of the disapproving glances she was getting from the snootier ponies present. Applejack didn’t know whether she was somehow forgetting an aspect of proper table etiquette, or if perhaps they took offense at her being there at all, but she felt extremely out of place regardless.

Her companion apparently took the latter meaning to be the case.

“Don’t mind them, Applejack darling,” Rarity said rather loudly, “I’m afraid that, despite claiming to be cultured and sophisticated, many “high class” ponies are simply snobs who believe they are better than everypony else for never once having to raise a hoof to fend for themselves.” She glared rather pointedly at several tables, and their occupants haughtily turned away.

“I am so sorry, dear,” the budding fashionista continued, her attention returning to her friend and her volume dropping to conversational levels once more.

“I wanted to treat you as it was your birthday at the weekend and I was away, but perhaps I should have chosen somewhere else instead?”

“Nah, Rares, it’s fine, honest. Besides, once the wildlife goes back to its own business, this place is actually pretty nice.”

The two shared a giggle just as a waiter brought them the drinks and cakes they had ordered. Once he had left, Rarity took a dainty bite from one of her profiteroles, being careful not to smudge cream all over her muzzle, before leaning towards Applejack conspiratorially, a mischievous grin on her face. She wanted to talk teenage filly stuff, and not even the fact that it was Applejack’s special occasion was going to stop her.

Now, Rarity realised all too well that, for most teenage filly stuff, Applejack was hardly the greatest of conversationalists. She had little interest in fashions, did not listen to the popular colt bands, had only a small amount of makeup that she applied to herself on rare occasions, et cetera, et cetera. There was one topic of conversation, however, that did not require keeping up with the times in order to remain interesting.

“Soooooo, Applejack: Bechdel’s Law be damned, have you been having much success with the colts recently?” Applejack silently thanked Celestia that she had just swallowed, else Rarity would likely have been splattered with half-chewed Eve’s Pudding.

“Wha-? “Bechdel’s Law”? “Success with the colts”? Rarity, you know Ah ain’t got time fer any o’that nonsense! Things are a might busy up on the farm right now, ya know.” She was referring to Sweet Apple Acres, as her father’s own venture had fallen through a few years ago due to lack of demand. Fortunately his mother’s establishment was going stronger than ever, and he and his family had since moved in with Granny Smith.

“Oh pish posh, darling! You mean to tell me you haven’t been sneaking looks at any of the, ah, rugged assistance your family employs? I’m sure a few of them have probably been doing the same to you, the younger ones anyway! You know, a little birdy told me that that new boy your father employed – Caramel was it? – is rather interested in you!” Rarity’s words had the instantaneous desired effect, and Applejack turned beet red and started spluttering denials before her brain could quite catch up with her tongue.

“C-Caramel?! What?! B-But Ah… No! No, we’re just friends is all!”

“Oh dear, is that all? Poor Caramel will be so upset…” Rarity giggled evilly into her straw, causing some bubbles to form in her drink, and she quickly let go of it.

“All the same, are you that surprised that you have admirers? Even if you won’t let me style your mane very often, or make you all manner of simply wonderful dresses, you are hardly unattractive simply by yourself. Those cute little freckles…”

“They are not…”

“That beautiful blonde mane and tail…”

“Cut it out.”

“And, if you don’t mind me using vulgarisms, but seriously: dat plot…”

“Are ya interested, Rarity?! Is that what yer getting’ at here?!” Rarity almost lost control of her laughter as Applejack, her face an even deeper red than earlier, very nearly caused a scene by standing her rear legs on her chair and placing her fore hooves on the table between them, glaring down at the white unicorn with a look that could frighten off a cockatrice.

“Please, Applejack, calm down, I−” A swift hoof was brought to her muzzle to control another burst of the giggles, before she trusted herself at speech again and continued.

“Applejack, I was merely teasing, please sit down. And no, I am not “interested”, as you put it. My barn doors do not swing that way, unfortunately for you,” she winked, and Applejack huffed as she sat down again.

“Ah’m not disappointed, neither do mine.”

“Although,” Rarity began again, not quite done teasing her friend, “I wouldn’t say no to a bite of another Apple…”

“Rarity…” Applejack let that serve as a warning. It was promptly ignored.

“How is Big Macintosh these days?”

“Fine.”

“Just “fine”?”

“Fine as he can be,” Applejack said as a small smile splayed across her lips, a chance at revenge (of a sort) entering her mind.

“Y’know, considerin’ that he’s probably out in the fields right now, sweat pourin’ outta him faster than rain, stinkin’ to high heaven o’that and the farm, hooves muddy, and all kindsa other nasty.” She was rewarded with the expected balking at such uncleanliness, before, of all things, a blush graced Rarity’s face.

Applejack stared, open mouthed, as the implications hit her head on.

“…y’know, Rares, for a “lady”, you’ve sure got some dirty thoughts runnin’ through that head o’yours…”

“Well, excuse me, Applejack, but I’m afraid your brother is the hottest piece of beefcake in Ponyville! Other colts are nice, certainly, but they don’t compare to Big Mac. And, in all probability, his, well, Big Mac.” Lifted eyebrow, meaningful smirk, slight shudder from Applejack.

“Thanks, Rarity, didn’t need that image in mah head…” Years from now, as she and her friends all sat around a table and listened to Applejack’s tale, Rarity wondered just how she was so shameless as a teenager, before cringing especially hard at what she said next:

“And for an older stallion, your father’s not bad either.”

Without going into too much detail, Applejack caused a scene at the café.





Despite their obvious differences, Applejack and Rarity were already firm friends by this point, and although it took some whining from Rarity the two eventually made up, hugging and promising the other to meet up again in the near future. Applejack headed back to Sweet Apple Acres, her mind straying back to their (fortunately short) conversation about Big Macintosh.

Rarity was one of the majority of ponies who did not know that Mac was not actually Applejack’s blood relative. It was not a secret, by any means, but the Apples simply didn’t feel the need to share the fact. It wasn’t as if it made any difference to them, why should it matter to others?

She could, if she forced herself to be objective and not be put off by the very fact that he was her brother, see what fillies like Rarity might see in Big Mac. He was, she conceded with another slight shudder at the terminology, definitely “beefcake”. Tall, very tall in fact, strong, handsome, more intelligent than one might think at first glance, and with an underlying calm and kind nature that could instantly put you at ease. When he wasn’t in one of his quiet, contemplative, wouldn’t-notice-a-barn-falling-over-next-to-him type of introspective moods. Which, unfortunately, seemed to be the status quo for the moment. Every now and again he would open up a bit, and it was like having the old Macintosh back, only bigger, but then the gloom would inexplicably settle again and everything would go back to “normal”.

Their parents had, of course, been very worried about him, and had used what money they could spare to bring him to several doctors over the years. Nothing conclusive ever came of these sessions, however; all they could glean was that he seemed depressed by something, but that ultimately he didn’t seem to be in any real danger, and he was unwilling to co-operate so there was really nothing to be done anyway.

The large eighteen-year-old was never cold towards his family, always showing them the respect and love they wished for, but never doing much else with himself. Yes, there was little variety in a life of bucking apple trees, but he didn’t seem to take pleasure in the hard work anymore, simply going through the motions like a machine and repeating them day after day.

It worried Applejack greatly. She wanted the old Macintosh back. The events of their first meeting were a little hazy to her, but she still remembered the connection she had felt to her soon-to-be big brother as they had stared into each other’s eyes, and still felt it whenever she looked at him. A deep, indescribable sense of family, she told herself. After all, what else could it reasonably be?

She sighed, shaking her head free of the thoughts as she had before, and looking around noticed her old tree house that her father had built for her. It was showing its age a bit, and was in need of some TLC, but other than that was most likely still in good shape. On a whim she made for it, her hoofsteps muffled by the slightly overgrown grass. When she got close enough she began to hear an odd noise emanating from the tree house, a sort of snuffling and whining, as though a wounded creature had made its way up the ramp and curled up inside. She was no Fluttershy, the shy young Pegasus about a year her junior who had recently moved to Ponyville and cared for animals, but she knew a thing or two about handling animals in distress from her farm work. Determining to help whatever it was, she carefully made her way up the ramp as well, being careful not to startle the creature with loud steps.

As soon as her eyes lifted above the floor level, she blinked and ducked back down quickly, sure that she had not just seen what she thought she had seen. Slowly raising her head again proved her to be mistaken: it was precisely what she thought she had seen. There, lying spread-eagled on the floor of her tree house, was Big Macintosh. And he was crying.

“Oh Applejack…” he moaned almost painfully, and she froze as she thought she was discovered. But he never lifted his head from the floor before him, and his eyes seemed closed most of the time anyway so she soon realised that he hadn’t seen her. She wanted to ask him what had made him so upset, tell him that she would be there for him, but she knew he would probably freeze up and refuse to talk about it, as he had whenever he showed a hint of negative emotion. And so, uneasy about listening in but wanting answers she wouldn’t get otherwise, Applejack settled down as quietly as she could and let him moan to himself. What he had to say made her eyes go wide…
> 15
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The moon had begun to rise in the sky, the mysterious “Mare in the Moon” seemingly glaring down at the world as ever. Applejack paid it no heed, instead focusing on Big Macintosh’s mutterings.

“AJ, AJ, AJ…” To begin with, most of what he said was of this ilk, single word sentences and sentences of one word repeated several times. He started calming down after a few minutes, and began to string more words together, lamenting his sorrows to the (he thought) otherwise abandoned tree house.

“Ah feel so stupid…” he began, heaving a great sigh which Applejack could feel reverberating through the wooden planks beneath her.

“An’ now Ah’m talkin’ to mahself about it, again, an’ that don’t help me feel much smarter.” He sighed again, much more quietly, a sigh of resignation before taking the plunge. Applejack got the impression that he had done this several times before, as she peeked again to see the very deliberate stare he was giving a particular piece of wall, and the way he sat to attention as he talked. Practiced, experienced in his actions, but no happier for it.

“Ah guess it was before y’all went off to Manehatten. The idea you were goin’ away just seemed like the end o’the world to me, even if you weren’t gonna be gone forever. We argued on the way here, an’ then Ah ran off when Ah couldn’t get mah thoughts straight. ‘Course, y’all ran after me but ya tripped an’ cut yer leg, which Ah had to kiss better. Ah was all butterflies when Ah did that, but then when ya kissed mah neck Ah just felt…good. Right. Like everythin’ was a-ok.” The floorboards creaked as he changed position, followed by a soft thump which Applejack guessed was Macintosh dropping to his side. His voice was muffled (presumably he was facing away from her now) but she could still hear him.

“Took me a couple a’weeks to figure out mah feelin’s, an’ when Ah did Ah didn’t even know if Ah was right. Ah’d never felt anythin’ like it before.” He choked out a short, bitter laugh.

“An’ not minutes later, you show up again. Ah swear to Celestia, Ah’d never seen anythin’ so… radiant before. Wouldn’t have said that at the time, or anythin’ come to think of it, but that’s how Ah’d describe it now. Mah insides just felt like they were meltin’ from lookin’ atcha again. But o’course…” He sighed again, and even without words Applejack could feel the pain radiating from the young stallion.

“Y’all just weren’t thinkin’ like that. S’far as you were concerned Ah was still just yer big brother, and why wouldn’t Ah have been? Ah was only ten, had only just started thinkin’ o’these things. Y’all were only seven. Dunno what Ah was thinkin’…”

Macintosh slipped into silence once more. Applejack couldn’t hear a peep from him, and began wondering if he might have gone to sleep. She considered what she had heard so far, and it made her head reel. Macintosh had liked her? Loved her? And not just as brother to sister? The very thought brought an unbidden blush to the filly’s face, and she took the time Mac was silent to try and compose herself and think clearly. Thinking back she could remember the events he talked about, but she had indeed been too young to see them as Mac had, and being the practical pony she was she quickly absolved herself of any unfounded blame. Blaming herself would not help her to help Macintosh.

But how could she help? She didn't know how far his feelings still extended towards her, but he was presumably a long way from being over her if he felt he needed to hide in an old tree house by himself in order to express himself.

Further contemplation was cut short when he started up again, making Applejack start slightly but fortunately without giving herself away.

“Ah expected it to just go away. Just go away! But mah feelin’s never changed none; if anythin’ as Ah saw ya growin’ up an’ becomin’ the fine filly y’all are now they just got stronger. Ah told mahself “Yer her brother, she’s yer sister, she don’t look atcha like that, why do you?” But there’d always be that little voice in the back o’mah head, sayin’ “Nope, yer not, she ain’t, so what, because ya just can’t help yourself.” And it’s right, Ah can’t. Ah simply can’t!” He actually got up after this and stomped over to the doorway, glaring into the sky at nothing in particular. Applejack’s heart skipped a beat as he hung his head then, certain again that he would see her, but his eyes had closed and he turned back inside before they had opened once more.

“Yer beautiful, yer strong, yer kind, y’all are always smilin’, ya genuinely enjoy workin’ the orchard and ya ain’t afraid to get yer hooves dirty if it means getting’ the job done. And you still make time to see yer friends, even that Rarity filly. How in the heck you two hit it off Ah have no idea…” He actually chuckled with some genuine amusement here.

“Betcha’d even make time for me, too, if Ah actually let you in…” And the humour was gone once again. “But Ah can’t. Ah don’t know how. It’s been all these years an’ Ah don’t know what to do. Or what you’d do if Ah told ya. Probably think Ah was some kinda pervert foal-fiddler. Ah mean, Ah’m eighteen now, yer still only fifteen, an’ just at that. Three years is a big difference when yer our age, everypony’d look at us funny if they knew… Ah dunno. Ah just dunno anymore.”

He sat once more, and then prostrated himself as he faced away from the door, his muscled legs tucked under his body and his head tucked against his side. Soon enough Applejack heard his breathing become slow and steady, and she peeked again to see the stallion asleep. Her face was still rather hot from Macintosh’s revelations, and she struggled against her instinct to just run away and try to forget the whole thing. She knew, however, that if she did that then she would never forgive herself for passing up an opportunity to help her broth− to help Macintosh.

A thought crossed her mind then, a thought which, had it come earlier than tonight, she would have instantly dismissed as not only strange but plain weird. But it was not earlier. She had heard what Macintosh had to say, and maybe something weird was the answer right now. Slowly standing and stretching out, Applejack entered the tree house herself and walked to Macintosh. Then she did something she had not done in several years, since they were both still foals. Carefully straddling the young stallion so as not to wake him until the last second, she climbed upon his great back and lay there with her legs dangling down on either side in a four-limbed hug, waiting for Macintosh to wake.

Slowly but surely his eyes blink-blinked open, and he looked about him blearily before realising what had woken him. He stared dumbfounded at the red-faced orange filly with the blonde mane, his mouth working for several seconds before words could come out.

“A-AJ? What… ya heard?” She nodded.

“…all of it?” Another nod.

“A-Ah don’t, Ah mean, it ain’t−” He was silenced by a gentle hoof to the lips.

“Now hush up an’ don’t get yerself in a tizzy. You’ve been mighty stupid, keepin’ all o’that bottled up fer so long. Land sakes, Mac, it’s a wonder y’all ain’t crazy! Ah mean, what’s the worst Ah mighta done, huh?” He held her gaze for a second, but quickly turned away, rather shamefaced.

“Ah was scared…”

“Now that’s just stupid, too! Yer Big Macintosh, the biggest, most stallionly stallion around these parts, ‘cept maybe Daddy.” A small snort, good. “Y’all don’t need to be scared of anything! Especially not me, or what Ah may or may not think of you for what you think.” He looked back at her, a glimmer of hope shining in his eyes.

“Ah’ve gotta be honest with ya, Ah don’t think about you like you think about me.” She could almost feel his heart breaking into tiny pieces as he continued to stare back at her, and she quickly raised a hoof.

“Ah ain’t finished yet! Now Ah’ll admit, Ah ain’t never given romance and the like much thought, that’s more Rarity’s department.” Her blush deepened, and she took a calming breath as she contemplated how to word what she wanted to say.

“But, knowin’ y’all like Ah do, Ah can see what there might be to like about ya. From a… relationship point of view.” He was blushing too by now, the glimmer of hope replaced tenfold.

“So although it might take a while fer me to stop thinkin’ of ya like mah big brother, and Ah might not be able to at all, but fer your sake Ah wouldn’t mind tryin’ fer… somethin’ more. How’s that sound?” Interestingly enough, his response was to strike his hoof against his head, twice in rapid succession, before looking back at her with a big, stupid grin.

“Ah really ain’t dreamin’, am Ah?” Applejack could only laugh.
> 16
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Pink Pearl and Redstreak were delighted by the rapid shift in Big Macintosh’s demeanour. Pearl in particular waxed lyrical to her small contingent of friends about how she had her “darlin’ baby colt” back once more, often accompanied by a sizeable outpouring of emotion (much to a future Rarity’s approval). It could not be said that Mac was especially grateful for such mollycoddling, but there were less pleasant things to be smothered with than his mother’s hugs and kisses. Working on a farm, he had experienced being smothered in several of them.

Redstreak did not go without heaping attention upon the colt either, and the two spent many hours engaged in “stallionly stuff”, like hoofball and hoof-wrestling, that Mac had previously been uninterested in. Even Granny Smith seemed to pick up on all the youthful energy floating around, and almost seemed to bounce everywhere with a vigour belying her age (much to a future Pinkie Pie’s approval, and everypony else’s confusion).

As for Applejack, she was bowled over by Macintosh’s changes. Every minute that he could spend around her, from helping with her chores to simply enjoying her company, he did so. He took things carefully: doing enough to be noticed, but never going over the top and becoming clingy or weird. Now that he finally had a chance with Applejack, he wasn’t going to ruin it by rushing anything.

With his sweet and romantic side now revealed, Applejack quickly found herself falling for the handsome red colt. Her mind told her not to rush things: that she couldn’t let the novelty of having a relationship get to her head, that she had lived most of her life with him being her brother and that she really, really needed to think this through more thoroughly, but… She surprised herself with how easy it was to think of Big Macintosh as a coltfriend. He was just so… nice.

Of course, now that he had come out of his shell, certain unexpected problems presented themselves. Unexpected, filly-shaped problems. Of all the crazy places Applejack’s brain had taken her through the years, she had never thought of considering her friend Rarity as competition, of all things. And yet Rarity, along with a lot of Ponyville’s other resident teenage fillies, inexplicably became regular visitors to Sweet Apple Acres. Neither Applejack nor Macintosh was best pleased by this new development, although for different reasons: he for having to fend off the unwanted attention from several (admittedly rather attractive) young mares; and she for having to watch this without bucking each one in the face with both hind legs.

Redstreak was rather amused by all the kerfuffle, and of course Pearl gushed about Macintosh growing into a fine young stallion who had the fillies falling at his hooves. Neither showed any support whatsoever for Macintosh and Applejack being together, however, although in reality this was hardly surprising: neither actually knew.

The young couple had decided at the offset to keep their relationship a secret for a number of reasons. For one thing, whilst age differences of three years were not strange in older couples, when one party was only fifteen (and therefore still legally a child) things could get complicated quickly. For another, everypony outside their family believed them blood-relatives, and their family members considered them as such. Whilst they were fairly certain that their parents would not object to such a pairing (eventually, after a good deal of surprise and, in all probability, stunned silence), trying to inform an entire town so as to avoid misunderstanding would be quite a headache, and one they were unwilling to deal with yet. After all, it only took a single pony mishearing half of a story to set gossipers’ lips wagging, and there were enough nasty, untrue stories about the Apples being inbred as it was thank you very much indeed.

So it was that Macintosh’s nineteenth birthday duly rolled around, and then the month of Applejack’s sixteenth, and neither Redstreak nor Pink Pearl were any the wiser. Every now and again Granny Smith would say some small thing which made Applejack fear the jig was up; after all, the old mare could be surprisingly canny when the mood took her. But then she would simply go back to her usual dithering, and Applejack was left relieved if slightly shaken.

A calming activity was required to still her nerves, and she had questionably decided that practicing with a lasso would do the trick, with Macintosh for her teacher. It was a surprisingly useful skill to have on a farm like theirs, but difficult to master, and so the eager filly had taken to the challenge like moths to a flame. Enthusiasm could only get one so far, however.

“Shoot, missed again!” The loop of rope had flopped down harmlessly in front of the apple which Applejack was supposed to be practicing on, landing at least a foot short.

“Y’all gotta focus more on spinnin’ the loop up to speed first,” Mac explained, demonstrating the action on a nearby fencepost.

“If ya don’t have the speed in it, it ain’t gonna get there. But ya can’t spin it too fast, otherwise it’s harder to control an’ it probably might overshoot.” The grim determination set upon Applejack’s face as she made to spin the lasso again was all the indication Mac needed to see that his fillyfriend was taking this far more seriously than was likely wise. He put a calming hoof on her shoulder, smiling slightly at her cute frown.

“AJ, yer supposed to be doin’ this to relax yerself, remember?” He shot a look around to make sure they were definitely alone, before leaning in with a smirk.

“Ah think this’ll work better.” The unexpected kiss which followed did wonders for the filly’s stress levels, and she gladly leaned in to deepen it. They pulled apart a few seconds later, panting slightly but both feeling far better for the intimacy.

“Thanks, sugar cube, Ah reckon Ah needed that.” AJ finally smiled again, bringing a hoof up to his cheek as he did the same with her. They stood for a few seconds and simply smiled at each other, before leaning in again and nuzzling gently, giggling as they did so.

“Alright, here’s what we’re gonna do,” Mac said as he pulled back again. “Ah’m gonna go get something bigger ta practice on than that apple. Meantime, you just practice spinnin’ that rope properly, a’ight?” Applejack nodded her consent, and she set to spinning the lasso once more as Mac trotted off to find a barrel or a box.

When he returned, a sizeable wooden barrel balanced on his back, he stopped just short of Applejack and stared at the sight before him, a small smile tugging at his lips. Through Celestia-knows-what sort of an accident, she had managed to tangle herself up with her practice rope, and sat before him now with an embarrassed smile, a tinge of red making itself known on her cheeks.

“…Ah don’t even know what to say.”

“Heh, uh… little help please?” she asked, feebly waving her hooves a little to show how little she could move. Mac sighed dramatically, earning a laugh from Applejack, which unintentionally gave her coltfriend a very evil idea.

“Say, Applejack?” he said conversationally, ever-so-casually sidling up to her before slipping behind her.

“Y’all ain’t… ticklish, are ya?”

“Huh? Whut ya – No.”

“Eeyup!”

“Don’t you d-aaaaaaah!” But she was as helpless to fend off his hooves as he was merciless in applying them, and Applejack was soon reduced to peals of laughter whilst Macintosh exploited every weak spot the ropes gave him access to. The final straw came as he placed his lips on her side and blew a huge raspberry. Applejack spasmed with a huge guffaw and toppled the pair of them over, so that they were lying sideways on the ground.

“Ah’m gonna… get you back… so much later…” the filly promised between gasps of air, sighing in relief as Mac finally pulled away the ropes, but Mac only chuckled and nuzzled the back of her neck.

“In fact…” Now that she was no longer under tickle attack and distracted, AJ’s mind had already picked out a rather delicious revenge scheme.

“Why wait?” she announced, and before he could do anything, Mac had been rolled onto his back and pinned, Applejack standing over him with her legs on his either side. Of course, he was far larger than her, and her legs were only just long enough to stop their barrels from touching, so…

“Um, AJ? Yer, uh, yer awful close…” His face had again gone even more crimson, and an almost comical bead of sweat ran from his forehead.

“Why, Big Macintosh,” she began, in as sultry a voice as she could muster, “y’all wouldn’t happen to be uncomfortable, would ya?” She remembered a little trick that Rarity had shown her, and she batted her naturally wonderful eyelashes at him whilst smiling seductively. It worked stupendously, and Macintosh gulped from beneath her as he nodded.

“Anythin’ Ah can do to help?” He squeaked adorably when he felt her tail trailing his inner thigh, and he vehemently shook his head.

“Nope! Nope, nope nope nope! C’mon, AJ, cut it out!” But she had already started climbing off of him, laughing almost as hard as when she was being tickled.

“Oh Mac, yer face! Ah’m tellin’ ya, yer face!” He stood and huffed, but he soon saw the funny side himself and joined her in a chuckle or two, albeit whilst still feeling rather flustered. A change of subject (and probably a cool shower) were both required in the immediate future, so he chose the former as a means of passing time until the latter.

“So AJ: big day in a few weeks.” They both gathered in the ropes they had been using, and Macintosh headed for the farmhouse.

“Uh huh.” She fell in beside him as they walked back, brushing her side affectionately against his.

“Got any idea whatcha might want yet?” Subtlety, thy name is Big Macintosh.

“Well, not much really.” She shrugged. “Ah ain’t fussy. Whatever ponies choose to get is fine with me, if anything.”

“Aw come on, yer gonna be sixteen fer Celestia’s sake! Even you’ve gotta have some ideas?” ‘Cos if ya don’t, Ah’ve got no idea what to getcha that ain’t generic and boring…

He sighed internally, not noticing the filly beside him take a look over her shoulder, her gaze lingering on his flanks for rather longer than may have been considered appropriate before returning to the path in front of her. She smirked a little.

“Well, maybe a few…”

“Yeah?” he asked hopefully as they reached the house, and he held the door open for her. Words were not forthcoming. Instead, as Applejack walked past him slowly, her long and surprisingly dextrous tail ran along his flank, over his shoulder, and onto his throat, before flicking up and brushing beneath his chin, leaving him speechless once more as her swaying hips rounded a corner, and she disappeared.

“A-Applejack?” he squeaked again. “Ah told y’all to quit messin’ around! Y’all are messin’, right? AJ? AJ!”
> 17
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Two weeks and three days later…


Applejack awoke slowly, neither willing nor able to rise as quickly as she normally did of a morning. She was perfectly happy where she was, as she was, and the world would be granted her wakeful thoughts only when she was ready to give them. A yawn stretched her mouth open for a good five seconds, and when she was finished she snuggled back against whatever big, warm thing was behind her. Her eyelids drooped again as some events from the previous day began fluttering through her mind.

Her parents had made sure to organise a “good ol’Apple family birthday bash” to mark the momentous occasion of her sixteenth, with plenty of friends, family, and of course apple treats, to help her celebrate. Although, despite being held in Sweet Apple Acres’ barn, it turned out that a new filly in town had been largely responsible for the grander-than-usual merrymaking; Applejack had a funny feeling that this “Pinkie Pie” was likely to become a regular fixture in all their lives. Joining her newfound pink friend were several other fillies from Ponyville, including Rarity and Fluttershy, as well as close family like her cousin Braeburn, and together with Mac they all had a great time together.

Eventually, after several hours of singing, dancing, party games and other celebratory nonsense, everypony had begun to leave as it was getting late, and soon enough she and Macintosh were left alone. They had climbed up into the barn loft, where Mac had laid out some camping roll and blankets, under the pretence of watching the stars before calling it a night. The two had snuggled up to one another and had indeed watched the stars for a good while, simply enjoying the embrace of the pony they loved. Then, once passion took hold, the two young lovers kissed a great deal. And then, finally, they had… oh my.

A blush tinged Applejack’s cheeks as the main event, in her opinion, of last night forced its way to the front of her mind once more. Despite everything, she had almost believed that it would never really happen. After she had stopped her teasing and started talking seriously about it, Mac had been more willing to give the prospect some serious consideration, although his apprehension still shone strongly. In all honesty he just hadn’t thought about it beforehand, her age acting as a very large, very firm barrier to such thoughts in his head. That and he was gentlecoltly almost to the point of being old-fashioned.

And so there had been much quiet to-ing and fro-ing, neither wishing to upset the other, whilst their opinions often shifted and changed whenever presented with a conflicting one. Eventually, a sensible compromise had been reached: neither would expect anything of the other that night, they would simply lie together and see how the mood took them. Both Applejack and Big Macintosh were perfectly happy just cuddling, so if nothing further happened then that was absolutely fine with them.

Of course, when things took a turn for the more physical, Applejack wasn’t complaining. She had worried about Mac still being uncomfortable, but it was he who had started things last night, slowly running a hoof down her side until he came to her cutie mark. From there, things had… escalated, and, an adequate amount of time later, the two lovers collapsed to the floor, spent but satisfied. They had nuzzled for a while longer, sharing a tired, sloppy kiss every now and again, before finally Applejack had fallen asleep, snuggled back against Mac’s chest.

Then that meant that the big, warm thing behind her now was Macintosh! Applejack rolled over and nuzzled into his chest, and even though he was still fast asleep, a big foreleg raised up and draped itself over her shoulder, hugging the filly closer to him. An action she didn't mind one bit, as it got her even closer to her big, strong stallion. And what a stallion he was, too! “Big” Mac was right, and she didn’t just mean his height! In fact, just thinking about Big Mac’s “Big Mac” was enough to send shivers down her spine, and she began to drool as she imagined all the fun she could have once he got up again, in both ways!

Whoa, nelly! Where did all that come from? Applejack shook her head violently, effectually dispelling her dirty thoughts, but also whipping around some of the drool by accident.

Should Ah be more worried about havin’ those thoughts in the first place, or about havin’ them in such a cheesy-soundin’ way? she wondered, idly wiping her mouth with the back of a hoof.

Her mind now slightly clearer, though still hazy, she was suddenly aware of an almost uncomfortable warmth spread throughout her haunches. It was an icy fear, however, that swiftly settled in Applejack’s stomach, as she recognised the sensations all too well, and the lustful thoughts that sped through her mind upon glancing at Mac again quickly eliminated any hope of mistake.

"Mac!" she hissed, pulling away and dancing around as if she needed the toilet. But the young stallion was still out for the count, peacefully slumbering away without a care in the world. Unfortunately for him, that simply would not do.

"Mac, wake up!" She thumped him, lightly, in the shoulder, and that finally seemed to do the trick.

"Ugh..." He sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily before turning to look at his fillyfriend.

"Well good mornin' to you too, AJ," he said just a little grumpily.

"What gives, anyhow? Y'all ain't that desperate for some more, are ya? 'Cos Ah'd prefer a little more tenderness-"

"Land sakes, Mac, don't tempt me right now!" Applejack's eyes were wild, and she looked at Macintosh with a base hunger he had come to recognise over the years, although never before had it been directed towards him. His own eyes widened at the implications.

"Y-you mean yer...?" She nodded, trying her best to not look at him, whilst his brain struggled to wrap itself around what had happened.

"But... y'all ain't meant to be in heat fer another week at least!" Panic began to well up in Mac's chest the more he thought about it: if Applejack had cycled into heat early, and seeing as they hadn't used any protection the night before...

"W-what are we gonna do, Mac?" Dread had by now largely overpowered the other feelings coursing through Applejack’s body, and she had to stop and sit down to keep from feeling dizzy. The feeling only worsened, though, and Mac had to rush to get a bucket before she expelled the contents of her stomach.

He really had to be the strong stallion now, he thought to himself as he supported her. Much as he too was worried about the possible consequences of last night’s shenanigans, he could see that Applejack was working herself into a state as her thoughts ran away with her. Applejack simply wasn’t the type of pony to panic about anything, but by now she had even begun to hyperventilate. She needed him to calm her down, and he had to do it right away.

Once she was done, he passed her a nearby water bottle so that she could rinse her mouth. And then, heat be damned, he pulled her in for a firm hug, stroking her mane with a hoof as she shook against him. He swallowed, trying to think of something reassuring to say, racking his brain for some kind of tangible comfort.

“Listen, AJ,” he began once she was steadier. She looked up with red eyes, tears welling up in their corners.

“Ah… Ah don’t know what’s gonna happen fer sure. Ah mean, there ain’t no guarantee that y’all will get pregnant, it just ain’t as clean cut as all that. But if you do…” She looked away again, only to have his hoof gently cup her cheek and guide her gaze back to his.

“But if you do,” he began again, his voice shaking and with tears threatening to escape his own eyes.

“Ah swear to you, on mah life and mah soul, Ah will look after you, alright? Y’all ain’t gonna go through anything by yerself.” Applejack nodded against his chest, and the two sat still for a time, until she broke the silence.

“Ah know you’ll stay by me, Mac. Thanks for everything. Ah love ya.” The two kissed, a little more hungrily than was really called for, before a blushing Applejack pulled away and excused herself. Now it was her turn to take a cold shower...
> 18
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Back and forth...back and forth…back and forth…back and forth…back and forth…

“Big Mac!” He froze mid-stride; his eyes widened and locked onto the bathroom door, praying for the best but fearing the worst.

“…eeyup?” he asked, with a gulp.

“Quit yer pacin’ back and forth, it’s makin’ it hard to concentrate!” Macintosh exhaled very loudly, having no other way of effectively releasing some of the pent-up tension and emotions whirling through his body.

“Ah’m sorry, Ah just, Ah just… ya know?” he feebly replied after catching his breath. The wait was doing nothing for his nerves, and he kept straining his ears this way and that for an indication of their family returning from Ponyville. Every creak of the floorboards beneath him had made the huge young stallion jump like a little filly, and his stomach felt on the verge of emptying itself into whatever container happened to be nearest.

Though Applejack did indeed “know”, she did not respond, for she was not feeling very much better on her side of the bathroom door. She sat on the floor, a few small plastic instruments lying on their boxes in front of her. Using the home test kits had been very fiddly with only her hooves, but she didn’t feel able to ask for Macintosh’s help with them: yes, they had been intimate before, but there were certain things a mare just had to do for herself. Now all she needed to do was wait.

Actually going and getting the kits alone had seemed rather daunting, so Big Mac had come along to provide moral support, though he had not gone inside the pharmacy in an attempt to avoid suspicion. Every second that Applejack spent inside had made her feel like a criminal on the run, with eyes surely on the lookout for her in all directions. She had made a show out of browsing practically the entire shop as she waited for other customers to leave, before quickly swiping a few small boxes from their shelves and almost galloping to the checkout. The attendant mare had eyed her strangely, and her eyebrows rose as she examined Applejack’s choices, but she had thankfully maintained her silence, and even hoofed a few relevant leaflets into her bag with a sympathetic smile.

It had been a small matter to get the kits back home and safely hidden in her room, and today had presented the perfect opportunity to use them: Redstreak and Pink Pearl had decided to treat Granny Smith to lunch in one of Ponyville’s cafes, an offer they had of course extended to their foals as well, but Big Mac had quickly thought up some excuse or other for the two of them to stay behind. Applejack hadn’t heard it at the time, and besides which she didn’t care for the moment: the kits were ready, a couple even beeping to announce the fact. Mac had heard as well, and he stopped moving entirely as he stared again at the door, waiting with bated breath for their fears to either be confirmed or dispelled.

There was quiet for the longest time, the muffled sounds of life from outside the only noise. Eventually Mac couldn’t stand it any longer, and again he loudly exhaled, then caught his breath, and then asked the million bit question:

“Applejack, what do they say?” His voice sank through the silence like a spoon through syrup, the brief noise being swallowed up almost as soon as it left his mouth. Presently, however, there was the sound of hooves on the bathroom floor, and the door opened to reveal Applejack again. One look and he had his answer.

“Oh Celestia, Applejack…” The only thing preventing Mac from passing out there and then was Applejack doing so first, and he had to catch her before she hit the floor.

It was then, with his pregnant fillyfriend in a dead swoon in his forelegs, that the young Macintosh came to a horrifying realisation: the two of them were entirely out of their depths. He knew, much to his chagrin, that they couldn’t possibly deal with this on their own. And that meant facing a prospect even more terrifying than a nineteen-year-old learning he was going to be a father: telling his parents. Mere seconds passed before Mac joined Applejack in blissful unconsciousness.





"Delicious, Pearl, as always! Ah'm gonna go finish up out there, shouldn't take too much longer." The head stallion of the Apple family household pushed back his chair with a satisfied smile and a full belly, and he sidled round the table to nuzzle his wife affectionately.

“Alright, honey. Just be careful, it’s gettin’ awful dark out there,” she replied, nuzzling Redstreak back.

"A-actually, Daddy," Applejack began, knowing full well she wouldn't have the courage to say this later, "could y'all hold on a minute?” Her parents and grandmother exchanged a knowing look: for much of dinner that evening the two Apples junior had only distractedly picked at their food, when they weren’t stealing nervous glances at each other. The three Apples senior were more subtle in their silent communication, and all three could tell from the moment they got back that afternoon that something was up. Furthermore, having not been struck blind for the past year, they all thought they knew what Big Mac and Applejack were about to say. Unfortunately, they only had half of it.

Redstreak seated himself again, his gentlest “Daddy” smile on his face, and Pink Pearl pulled her chair up next to his as she and Granny Smith both did their level best to appear kind and motherly. The whole display was almost too much to bear for Applejack; all their smiling faces, all the love and support she knew they were ready to give… but they didn’t know the full story yet, and that was the worrying part. Just how loving and supportive would they be when the whole truth was known?

Big Macintosh could tell Applejack was struggling, and he got out of his seat to sit next to her. He held one of her hooves in both of his, and gave a little squeeze.

It’s ok, Ah’m here, take yer time.

She swallowed.

Deep breath in, deep breath out. Alright, here goes nothin’…

“Mama, Daddy, Granny Smith, we... Macintosh and Ah, we're together.”

"Gee, now ain't that a surprise?" Redstreak chortled, his wife and mother both joining in.

"Well gosh, sugarcubes, don't look so surprised!" said a grinning Pearl to their shocked faces. "We're yer family, and the both of y'all're terrible at keepin' secrets! O'course we realised by now!"

"But...but..." Neither Applejack nor Macintosh could think of anything to say to that, so instead, Applejack swallowed and tried to ride what momentum her voice still had left.

"T-that ain't all, though..."

"Land sakes, darlin', why ya lookin' so glum?" Redstreak's good mood still held, and he decided to try improving theirs with an embarrassing joke.

“Ah mean heck, it ain’t like y’all are pregnant or nothin’, right?”

Silence.

Neither youth said or did anything other than stare.

“Heh,” Redstreak began again, a sinking feeling settling in his stomach, “AJ? Mac? That was yer cue to laugh an’ say “No, Daddy, that ain’t it at all.”” Macintosh remained silent and still, but Applejack’s bottom lip began to tremble.

“You... you don't mean?” Pink Pearl had gone pale, her eyes as wide as saucers. Granny Smith seemed liable to faint at any moment, and she held onto the table for support. Redstreak just looked at the young pair, his face stuck somewhere between disbelief and anger.

“Tell me. Fer the love o'Celestia, tell me you're not sayin' what Ah think you're sayin'!”

Utter misery didn't come close to explaining how Applejack felt at that moment, with the unbelieving stares of her elders upon her, hurt and disappointment clear on their faces. She began to cry, falling forward to the table, and then all eyes switched to Big Mac as he tried to comfort her. He jumped when his father jabbed a hoof towards him, and prepared himself for a screaming rant.

“You. How did this happen?” The calmness in Redstreak’s voice was actually more terrifying than shouting would have been, and Macintosh struggled to string a coherent sentence together as he trembled in fear.

“W-well… it was af-after AJ’s sixteenth party, and um, uh… we’d been talkin’ about it f-fer a while, an’ we… we went into the b-barn l-loft and, um… and we…”

“Alright, Macintosh, Ah think we can figger out the rest.” Their father scowled at the pair, before noticing his mother finally fainting in her chair from the corner of his eye.

“Pearl,” he said, standing and gently lifting Granny Smith from her chair, “Ah think Mama needs a lie down. Could you take her upstairs, please? Me an’ these two’re gonna have a little chat.” Pink Pearl didn’t quite seem to hear her husband at first, but then she helped to rouse the elder mare and half-support, half-carry her from the kitchen. Her gaze as she left lingered on Macintosh the most, although he couldn’t bring himself to look back at her.

Redstreak motioned towards the adjacent living room, his eyes on his daughter.

“Applejack, in there please.” She stayed where she was, crying quietly into her forelegs.

“Young lady!” Applejack snapped up straight and looked where he was pointing, then slowly got to her hooves and slunk away, sniffling as she went. Macintosh made to follow, but a look from Redstreak told him very clearly: Stay there. You’re next. Macintosh was several inches taller now than his adopted father, and his frame nearly rivalled Redstreak’s for pure muscle, but Macintosh couldn’t remember feeling smaller as the older stallion passed him by, shutting the door behind him.
> 19
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Applejack stood in the middle of the room, shifting uneasily on her hooves as she waited for her father to come in. Should she stay where she was? Could she sit down? What was he going to say? What would he do? Thoughts like this buzzed around her head non-stop for the few seconds she was alone, reaching a high peak when Redstreak came in and closed the door behind him.

They both stood still for an indeterminate length of time, likely only seconds, and simply looked at each other. Redstreak scowled whilst Applejack shivered, and then she jumped when he jabbed a hoof towards her, too.

"You're sure?"

Nod.

"How?"

"H-home test kits."

"They all come up positive?"

Nod.

"Make sure ya used 'em right?"

Nod.

"Why didja have sex in heat?"

"...wasn't just sex-"

"Why didja make love with Macintosh when y'all were in heat?"

"Ah wasn't! Not at first..."

"An' what the heck's that supposed to mean?"

"It came on the next mornin'! Ah was a week early this year."

"So ya were. Still cuttin' it fine, dontcha think?"

"Ah-Ah didn't think-!"

"Naw, that much is plain to see!" The stallion was fuming, his voice trembled as he spoke, and Applejack cowered in fear as he stood and shook so much that she could practically feel the floorboards wobble.

"Get over here, Applejack."

"Daddy-"

"Get over here."

"Daddy, please!"

"Now." His right forehoof thudded into the floor, the muscles in his leg bulging. Somehow he seemed huge now, huge and terrifying, and Applejack couldn't see her Daddy anymore, just a fuming monster that looked like him.

Is he...is he gonna...?

She gulped. She couldn't even think "hit"; that word and her Daddy didn't belong in the same sentence together. The very idea froze her to the ground with how wrong it seemed.

But his command could not just be disobeyed, and fear or no fear, she had to move. One hoof, then another, slowly she walked towards him, lead in her belly and at the end of each leg, until finally she sat down before him, like a criminal awaiting judgement.

His hooves flailed into the air above her, and then came swinging down as if in slow motion. Applejack flinched back, knowing all too well there was no escape... but did she need an escape? All of a sudden he wasn't scary anymore, and his hooves had only flown into the air as an outlet of exasperation. And they weren't now flying towards her in slow motion, they were actually just sagging slowly. And now he was hugging her! And then she cried again, partly in relief, mostly for shame of ever thinking her father would hit her.

"Heavens above, AJ. What've ya gone an' done to yerself?" She could tell from his voice that he was crying too, and as he hugged her close she felt a few teardrops fall on her head. She said nothing, but he didn't really expect her to.

Several minutes passed like that before Redstreak spoke again, and when he did, his voice was still choked with emotion.

"Make no mistake, AJ: Ah'm still furious right now. It may not be everypony's way, an' ultimately it's yer own decision how y'all live, but Ah've told the pair o'y'all time an' again about waitin' till yer older before doin' that. Best thing in mah opinion is to wait until yer married, cuts out a whole lotta potential problems. Like, fer example, gettin' pregnant when yer still only sixteen, fer Celestia's sake!" Now that they had both dried their tears somewhat, and Applejack at least was feeling calmer, it was time for the rant to begin.

"'Cos by the time ya get married, yer hopefully old enough - or at least mature enough - to not make mistakes, early estrus or not!" There was no denying that, despite having talked about it beforehand, Mac and Applejack hadn't precisely practiced "safe sex", whatever one’s opinion on contraception.

"An’ here’s some more stuff ya didn't consider: what this'll make ponies think about the both of ya. An' worse: what they'll think o'yer foal."

"Our foal? H-how come?"

"Think about it AJ: besides us, how many ponies hereabouts know y'all and Mac ain't really brother an' sister?" Much as she tried, Applejack could not name a single pony.

"Exactly. Nopony knows. An' they'll think the pair o'ya was bein' incestuous."

"But we weren't! We ain't!" she spluttered.

"Ah know that, Applejack. Ah know, you know, Mac knows, yer Mama an' yer Granny know, an' that's it."

"But we can tell 'em all the truth!"

"Some ponies'll get the message, sure, but ya won't manage to tell everypony at once. An' by then ponies'll have started the rumours about ya. An' by then, there will always be this stigma attached to ya both: "there goes Applejack and Macintosh, didja hear how he rutted his sister and she liked it? Them inbred hicks've even got a foal now, ain't that just disgustin'?""

"No!" Applejack could already imagine some of the less pleasant ponies in town saying things just like that, albeit more snootily.

“That little foal’s life is gonna be Hell, Applejack. Hell. They’re gonna be called a freak, a bastard, they’ll be stigmatised like you an’ Mac, nopony’ll want to be their friend in school, adults’ll look at it in pity or disgust–”

“But why?! Why would anypony act like that? T-to an innocent little foal?!” Applejack felt sick, scared, and endlessly stupid for the life she had unwittingly bestowed upon her barely-even-there-yet child.

“It’s herd mentality; y’all know how Ah’ve said: “A pony’s smart, but ponies are stupid”?” She nodded. “Like that. A pony can be kind, but ponies can be cruel as sin. On their own, pony to pony, ‘most anypony would probably come round to seein’ things like how they are. But after they’ve already heard other ponies’ stories an’ formed opinions based on what they’ve heard? Forget it.

“It won’t even matter to some ponies that y’all ain’t related by blood, either. S’far as they’re concerned, just bein’ raised as brother an’ sister is as good as the real thing. Ah’d have been tempted to agree with ‘em at first, frankly put.”

“But not now?” Applejack asked, meekly raising her eyes to meet his again. Her father chuckled and smiled a little.

“Ah guess y’all were a little distracted with whatcha had to say after yer first, ah, confession…” His smile faltered but stayed put for now. “But Ah’m pretty sure that was the message we were puttin’ out.”

“…thanks, Daddy.” She too dared to smile a little now, a sight which could always make Redstreak feel better, even if only a little. He sighed, pulling her close once again.

“Listen, AJ: no matter what kind o’mess either of ya get into, Ah will always love ya, an’ so will yer Mother an’ yer Granny. We’ll figure somethin’ out, together, like we always have done. Now,” he said, glancing at the clock and at the ever-darkening sky outside the window, “Ah think it might be best if y’all go to bed an’ get some rest. You’ll be feelin’ pretty drained right about now, am Ah right?” It may have been as much the power of suggestion as anything else, but Applejack did suddenly feel very tired, and loosed a loud yawn into Redstreak’s chest.

He nuzzled her head and gave a final squeeze, then lifted her to her hooves and sent her towards the door.

“Send in Macintosh, would ya? Gonna be havin’ some words with him, too.” Something about the way he said it made Applejack pause before she left, and she turned around uneasily.

“Yer not gonna… give him into trouble, are ya?”

“If he’s lucky Ah may only knock his teeth in.” His grim smile told her that this was just about as likely to happen as the moon suddenly turning pink, but Macintosh was clearly in deeper than she was, for some reason. She left, passing on the message to her coltfriend with a sleepy hug as she went by, and watched as he went in before climbing the stairs to her room.





“So what’d ya say to him?” The adults, a pale Pink Pearl, a reticent Redstreak, and a greener-than-usual Granny Smith, were once more seated uneasily around the kitchen table. Redstreak had just finished telling the others of his talk with Applejack, and took a second or two before answering his wife’s question.

“Mostly what Ah told her, ‘cept Ah added a little about him bein’ the older, not to mention bigger, of the pair and that he should’ve had more sense and restraint. Got him to go into more detail about them bein’ together an’ stuff, how things… came to be. Didn’t have the heart to really go hard on him or nothin’, colt’s just as unhappy as his sister. As his fillyfriend, Ah suppose Ah should say.”

"So… now what?”

"Ah have no idea.”

Nopony said anything for several minutes, each thinking to themselves about what had happened, and of any way they could fix it.

"Ah remember stories about this sorta thing," Granny Smith sighed eventually, shaking her head. "Horror stories, each o'them. Silly young fillies swooped up by some heartless stud's philanderin', ijit colts who always thought with the wrong head..." The old mare could be surprisingly blunt about her words when angry or upset, and now was no exception.

"Ruined their damn lives, each an' every one of 'em! Too young to be parents, too much responsibility, no chance of usin' their youth like they oughta, all the nasty whisperin' an' pointin' when folks thought they weren't lookin'." She sighed again, looking very old as she leaned back in her chair and groaned from the effort.

"Things are different, now, sure, but that just means they got different problems 'stead of the old ones. Bastard foals got treated hard enough back when Ah was a filly. 'Magine how an "inbred" bastard foal's gonna get treated..."

"Are we absolutely sure this foal would be treated wrong?” Pearl exclaimed, causing the other two to jump. “Ah may not have lived here as long as the both of y’all, but Ponyville's the nicest darn place Ah've ever been! Sure, there's a few annoyin' ones, but the ponies here are the friendliest bunch o'folks Ah know!"

"But yer forgettin', child," Granny Smith said with a sad smile. "Ponies hereabouts might be nice, but that don't stop 'em gossipin' an' spreadin' lies if they don't know any better. A few choice words by some jealous varmint, an' the whole town'll be in uproar fer years. Not everypony'll get the whole story, n'matter how hard we try an' tell 'em."

"An' all the while, that little foal'll be gettin' the worst of it..." Pearl finished, now seeing the way of things herself.

"Eeyup." Redstreak's simple affirmation was glum, resigned, sounding just as defeated as they all felt.

There had to be something they could do, some way they could protect their children whilst also protecting the newest addition to the Apple family. To think that, instead of signalling a happy time for them all, as any new foal should, this poor child only seemed to herald hardship and heartache, trials which they would not be able to shield it from during its all-important formative years. The funny thing was that Pink Pearl had often wondered about having another foal herself, and giving Macintosh and Applejack a little brother or sister, but instead...

And then an idea came to her.

"What if," she began, hardly believing what she was about to suggest, "what if it weren't Mac and AJ havin' the foal?" Mother and son both looked at her, neither yet understanding.

"What if, rather than those two havin' a foal, it was..." Pearl reached out a hoof and placed it on Redstreak's. "The two of us instead?”
> 20
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	And just like that, the lie was born. Redstreak was shocked; Granny Smith fainted again; when it was suggested the next day, Applejack locked herself in her room to cry again; and Macintosh nigh on swore the house down in anger. But none of them could think of anything better, and so the plan began to formulate.

Over the next few weeks, Pink Pearl would begin dropping hints whenever she was with her friends that she and Redstreak had been trying for a foal. Talking about such things was hardly strange amongst mares her age, and she had often said that she would like another foal, so it wouldn't be a surprise to anypony. They would wait a while before actually "confirming" her pregnancy, perhaps a month or so, and then they would announce it in conversation. There would be all the happy friends and relatives to deal with after that, probably a small gathering for a few loved ones (and, of course, an increasingly common Pinkie Pie party for the whole town), before things began to settle down again and life went more-or-less back to normal.

Pearl would have to put on some weight as the months went by, although not too much, otherwise she would have difficulty working it off convincingly quickly following the foal's birth. Also to be considered was the fact that it wouldn't be easy to gain mass in the right places, whilst keeping it off in others. True, some mares just ballooned in all directions when pregnant, but for a normally busy and active mare like Pink Pearl that couldn't be the case. It would be easier if she was simply not seen after a while, to avoid difficult questions.

Applejack's weight gain would have to be hidden somehow or otherwise explained away. She probably wouldn't have to worry for at least four months, maybe five, but after six was when most fully grown mares started showing the signs, and considering she was not yet fully grown the signs would likely manifest early. After that, Applejack too would have to keep out of sight for six, maybe seven months, as she hid the unmistakable bump of a mother-to-be.

This aspect of their plan would likely be the hardest thing to accomplish: a pony did not simply “disappear” for such a period of time for no reason, and nor could they then reappear and expect no questions to be asked. A suitably believable excuse would therefore be needed, and luckily enough one soon presented itself: the Pony Pox. It was all over the newspapers one morning and all over Ponyville the next. Its sufferers were covered in itchy spots from head to hoof, as well as experiencing a range of other symptoms: from those of the common cold (if they were lucky), to more like the flu (if they were not). Severe cases could leave a pony bedridden for months, but ultimately did no real harm, even to those already weak or otherwise vulnerable. And perhaps “best of all”, there was no genuine cure other than to rest and wait for it to go away. In other words: it was perfect, even if Pink Pearl or Applejack actually caught it! And so “catch it” they did, first Applejack, then Pearl a few days later.

There followed several long, lonely, but thankfully uneventful months for the two housebound Apples, though they weighed heaviest on the youngest. Applejack often had no choice except to be alone in her room, and not just because she was hiding there, but because it was the easiest place for her to be. Heaving around a bellyful of baby pony is no mean feat for mares of any age, and having a bed (not to mention the toilet) nearby at short notice was a lifesaver for the young mare.

It also didn't help that she couldn't exercise much around the house, or during the brief times she went outside for her vitamin D. That, added to her extra weight and drastic hormonal mood shifts, made for an unfit, easily tired, and very easily upset Applejack. She cried at nothing, would then cry at being stupid enough to cry in the first place, would get angry at anypony trying to calm her down, would cry again in sorrow for acting like "such a mean-hearted bitch!", would possibly continue crying at her unaccountable bad language, and may only then calm down for a while, often becoming particularly amorous around Big Macintosh at this time. Much to her annoyance, she was consistently denied: Macintosh had been strictly warned off by both his parents, and it was more than his life was worth to disobey that order. It wasn’t easy for him to do, though: his fillyfriend seemed oddly attractive lately, and he couldn’t quite explain why…

Applejack was kept up to date with Ponyville happenings by her friend Rarity's regular letters. Although she wasn't allowed in to see "the invalid", as was her joke, Rarity made a point to keep in contact nonetheless, for which Applejack was grateful (even if the Unicorn did occasionally fill whole pages with the latest gossip and fashion news). There was one good thing that the gossip told her, however: that nopony suspected anything at all regarding her or her mother’s “illness”, and that Rarity was just as clueless as the rest. It was hard for Applejack to maintain such a huge lie to her friend, even over paper; and she desperately wanted somepony else to confide in, somepony relatively sensible like Rarity, who, despite their differences, she could probably confide in without worry. But it could not be: the fewer who knew, the less chance there was for some disaster or other.





Eventually, the hour arrived. It was early in the evening, now several weeks before Applejack was due to turn seventeen. She was stuck upstairs, being literally unable to safely descend without a great deal of help, and was returning (slowly) from the bathroom to her bedroom.

And that was when the contractions started.

Applejack collapsed to the floor with a groan, clenching her teeth and screwing her eyes shut whilst she waited for the pain to pass. But this was not like other times, and soon enough the pain from before was simply replaced with more, a sure sign that she was finally going into labour.

"Help!" she cried, staggering back to her hooves and limping back to her bed. When she got there it was all she could do to raise her forelegs up, there was no strength in her hindlegs to climb the rest of the way.

"Help!" she cried again, more desperately this time, as nopony had apparently heard her first call.

"Mama! Daddy! Nnngh!" Another wave hit, the worst yet, and her back legs gave out as she fell to a seated position. "Oof! Big Macintosh! Somepony help me!" There was a rapid clattering of hooves on the old wooden steps, and at last Big Macintosh appeared, sticking his head round the doorway with a concerned frown on his face.

"AJ? What's wrong?"

"Ah'm havin' yer foal, ya great galoot, now get over here an' help me!" she all-but-screamed. To his credit Macintosh acted quickly, firmly but gently lifting Applejack up and onto the bed with his forelegs, before laying her down on her back and doing everything he could to make her comfortable.

"O-ok, now, what now?" he said to himself, absentmindedly stroking Applejack's forehead with one hoof whilst laying the other over her belly.

"Towels! Need towels! A-and water! Damp cloths an' such!" he announced as he leapt up again, running off to the linen cupboard and back, then to the bathroom for the water, a whole bucketful, which he brought back in his teeth and set down beside her.

“Alright, AJ, just… just keep calm, o-ok?” His own attempts at keeping calm were not working very well, and his mind was reeling at the thought of having to help Applejack deliver the foal all by himself.

Fortunately for him their parents and grandmother showed up at this point, and Mac’s mother actually began to shoo him from the room to give her and Redstreak enough space.

"Don't y'all worry, sonny," Granny Smith said with a kind smile, placing her hoof over Mac's as she led him away. "Applejack ain't in any danger, an' neither's yer foal. Yer maw an' paw'll see 'em right, you wait'n see!" He reluctantly left, and Pearl closed the door behind him before sitting beside Applejack, holding one of her hooves and wiping her brow with a damp cloth. Redstreak positioned himself towards the foot of the bed, ready to help with the birth. Now all they needed to do was wait.

"It ain't fair!" Applejack cried suddenly.

"What? What's not fair, honey?" Pearl asked gently, keeping Applejack's hoof held tightly in her own. Her daughter's eyes had clouded with tears once more, but it soon became clear that she wasn't crying from the physical ordeal.

"Mac an Ah..." she gasped. “We've come so far, an' it's been so hard... a-and we're almost there, now, but... but as soon as Ah... as soon as we get our little foal... we're gonna have to give 'em up again..." Pearl felt her heart break at the sight of Applejack's despair, and leant in to hug her close.

"No, AJ, y'all ain't givin' them up, not at all!"

"But after tonight, they won't be my foal no more, an' Ah won't be able to be their mama!"

"Nothin's gonna change that, darlin'," Redstreak said, coming round to Applejack's other side and hugging her too. "It don't matter what other ponies think, or what the foal thinks, 'cos we'll know, an' eventually they'll all know too."

"But how long is that gonna be?!" Neither parent had an answer, and they told her so.

"But whatever the case, the foal is still gonna need y'all to be its mother fer a while," Redstreak said, trying to find something positive to say.

“That’s right!” Pearl agreed. “The little dear’s gonna need their mother’s milk for months to come yet!” She sighed, smiling sadly as she stroked Applejack’s brow.

“Ah know it ain’t perfect, hon, but it’s the best we can do right now.” Applejack said nothing for a short while; but eventually she swallowed down the lump in her throat, and tried to put on a brave face.

“Ah guess… Ah guess Ah should make the most of what Ah get, huh?”

“That’s the spirit, girl,” her father smiled reassuringly.

“And just like with Macintosh, we’ll be with you both the whole way.” Pearl leaned in and kissed Applejack’s forehead. “We’ll get through this together, just wait an’ see.”
> 21
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Macintosh spent his time downstairs restlessly, hardly staying still for two seconds before shifting around again. It was hard to distract himself with anything whilst Applejack was crying out in pain from her ordeal upstairs. It was perfectly natural, he kept reminding himself, for it to be painful, it didn’t mean that anything was “wrong”. It still stuck in his craw that he could do nothing to help, but if all he was going to do upstairs was get in the way then he supposed, grudgingly, that he was best off downstairs. He looked over to his adoptive grandmother, noting with a mixture of amusement and disbelief that she had managed to doze off in her rocking chair.

One advantage o’gettin’ old, Ah guess…

Applejack cried out one last time, then everything went quiet. A deathly hush fell over the house, and for Macintosh the seconds ticked by slowly as he waited. All his pent up fears bubbled to the surface in those endless seconds: What if somethin' went wrong? Is AJ ok? Is the foal alright? Why's nopony doin' anything?! But then quiet hoofsteps came down the stairs, and Redstreak entered the room, teary-eyed but smiling broadly.

“Well, son? Aintcha gonna go meet yer daughter?”

Daughter.

Ah've got a daughter.

Oh my Celestia Ah'm a daddy an' Ah've got a daughter.

He rose shakily to his hooves, a huge young stallion turned to living jelly, and slowly walked past his father and to the stairs.

He needed to stop and catch his breath before he even started the ascent. His world spun around him, his heart beat so loudly in his chest that he thought it would tear itself free, his guts seemed to writhe around like snakes, and his lungs apparently refused to operate on their own.

Is this what dyin' feels like? he wondered, gulping down air so quickly that he swallowed some and burped it straight back up again. Mac shook his head from side to side, trying to clear whatever fug had descended upon him.

Mah body's rebellin' against me, Ah ain't got the strength left to do anythin' but stand here... what gives?

Redstreak and Granny Smith stepped out behind him, and his father's voice somehow filtered in through the haze:

"What's waitin' for ya up there ain't too big right now, Mac. But at the same time it's absolutely enormous an' yer life will never be the same again because of it, because of her. Things ain't gonna be easy for y'all, they never are, an' you two will have it even more difficult than most, but Ah promise you one thing: it'll all be worth it, just to see her laugh an' smile an' run about an' play with her friends an' grow up into a beautiful filly right before your eyes, an' you'll be able to say: "Ah did that. She's mine. There're others like her, but she's mine an' Ah wouldn't have her any other way." All you gotta do is take that first step, Mac, an' it can all be yours."

One step.

One step, an' mah whole life is gonna change.

Ah've come this far, only to stop an' hesitate now?

Ah didn't ask for this, nopony did.

But now that it's here Ah'm gonna see it right.

See her right, an' Applejack too!

One way or another Ah'll make sure that both mah fillies are happy, no matter what Ah have to do to make ‘em happy!

He raised a forehoof, set it down firmly on the bottom stair, and began to climb.

Frankly, the foal was an utter mess when Mac first saw her. The bright red tufts of hair which made up her little mane and tail were matted and plastered to her puny body; her yellow coat was still all sticky from the birth; and, if he was honest, then she smelled rather odd. And her mother was little better. Yet, as he held his sleeping daughter in his forelegs, sitting beside an exhausted but smiling Applejack, who lay conked out on her bed, Macintosh couldn’t hold back the tears of pure, unadulterated joy which came streaming down his face. Somehow, all his troubles melted away, and it just seemed as though everything was going to be alright. As long as they were all together, everything would work out for the best, eventually.

“We’ll call her “Apple Bloom”,” Mac announced, “’cos she’s our new beginnin’, an’ there’s no doubt in mah mind that she’s gonna grow up to be somethin’ absolutely wonderful!” Applejack was quiet for a moment as she sleepily mulled this over, before answering with a single, heartfelt:

“Eeyup.”





Around a week passed in near-blissful happiness as the young foal was celebrated by the whole town; from small messages of well-wishing to young Miss Pie’s own elaborate soiree, more-or-less everypony joined together in happiness at Apple Bloom’s birth. This was noted with no undue relief and delight by the Apple family, some of whom even began to wonder if their precautions in hiding Apple Bloom’s true heritage were in reality justified.

It was around then that everything suddenly went wrong.

Redstreak went to work in the barn one morning; he had been repairing some of the beams in the loft’s floor as they had been hit with woodworm, and was hoping to have them finished by the end of that day. Pink Pearl also went to work in the barn that morning; she had been forced to keep from the harder work as part of her pretend pregnancy, and after all those months of “slacking off” wasn’t quite back up to scratch, so she had decided to do some maintenance on a few farm tools.

The others were still in the kitchen finishing off breakfast, baby Apple Bloom currently snoozing in her cot after a mostly-sleepless night (for both her and her unfortunate parents). Macintosh finished up and went outside to breath in some of the cool morning air, Applejack and Granny Smith joining him before he headed for the fields. Applejack nuzzled him and snuggled in at his side, confident that nopony from town would be up and about the farm for several hours yet. He returned the nuzzle, and the three stood and enjoyed the early morning tranquillity.

The peaceful silence was broken by a sudden cry, and they all looked to the barn as two crashes swiftly followed, and then they stood dumbly in the silence left behind. Somehow they knew, they all just knew, that something terrible had happened. It was in the air, that feeling of dread, the kind of dread that makes you feel sick even on the brightest, happiest of summer days.

"...Daddy?"

"...Mama?"

"R-Redstreak? Pink Pearl?" All three called; none received a reply. From inside the farmhouse, they could hear little Apple Bloom start to cry.

"Go inside, y'all." Mac's mouth was dry as he spoke the command, and he shook with nausea as he began to trot to the barn.

"B-but-" Applejack began, meaning to follow him.

"Now, dammit!" For the life of them, neither Applejack nor Granny Smith could remember the last time he had shouted like that, and both mares swiftly went back inside the house.

From there, with Apple Bloom now held in her great grandmother's hooves, the two saw him pull open the barn door and look inside. Macintosh stood still for seconds, jaw clenched against the bile rising in his throat, before forcing himself inside to confirm what he could already see. He emerged a minute later, a trembling wreck, and sat down heavily after closing the door behind him.

He burst into tears a second before he doubled over to empty his stomach, unable to properly comprehend what he had just seen but just as unable to deny the horrific images floating in front of his eyes. His father, a crumpled heap on the floor, lying beneath the new hole in the rotted wood above... His mother, her head beneath the heavy beam her husband had dropped as he fell...

Inside the farmhouse, Applejack and Granny Smith watched his display with tears of their own, and the two hugged each other and Apple Bloom close as they sank to the floor. The poor little filly couldn't possibly understand what was upsetting her family members, but their upset only increased her own, and she bawled all the louder despite the normally comforting hug.


Time passed slowly.


When asked later, nopony would be able to say just how long it was before Apple Bloom finally quieted, and whether she did so by herself or if her mother managed to gather her wits together after a while, and sooth her baby’s anxiety. Nor could anypony tell when precisely Macintosh stood at last, and began the slow walk into Ponyville to get “help”. Whatever the case, and whatever “help” arrived, it was too late to truly do its job.

And no Apple there present had ever felt more helpless in their entire lives.
> 22
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“...an’ that’s more or less it.”

Everypony sat around the large kitchen table, all looking to Applejack as her family's heart-breaking story neared its end. Nary a dry eye was to be seen in the room, from the three contributing Apples, the youngest Apple, the other Elements of Harmony, or the zebra medicine mare. It had taken several hours, three pots of strong coffee, many emotional time-outs, and more than a few big group hugs, but they were finally almost there, and Applejack wasted no time in filling in what happened over the intervening years.

"After that, we just had to... move on, Ah guess. Didn't have time to sit an' grieve: we had a farm to run, an' more importantly, a little filly to raise happy." She smiled down at Apple Bloom, who was sat in her lap, and hugged her again, which the little filly was happy to reciprocate.

“Ah think we managed that, just about.” The emphatic nods from her daughter were all the confirmation she required, so on she went.

"We had to put on a brave face fer Apple Bloom, but by an' by it got easier. We all got... not over it, exactly; more accustomed to it, not havin' Mama an' Daddy around anymore. An' even then, it was a hard heart that couldn't be made happy seein' this darlin' l'il filly tearin' about the place!"

"Applejack! Uh, Ah mean, Moooom!" Everypony giggled as Apple Bloom blushed, all happy for the little piece of light relief, short though it was.

"But o'course me an' Mac… well, we had to stop. Ah think that, after losin’ our parents, that was the hardest change fer the both of us: we couldn't give each other the kind of love an' support that we both wanted or needed, 'cos then we'd have had to explain why Apple Bloom's big brother an' sister were doin' things that brothers an' sisters shouldn't do." Macintosh nodded his agreement with a sad frown, but didn’t add anything further.

“It affected us both differently, an’ how we tried to deal with it was different, but nopony really got used to it, any of it. Ah was just burstin’ to tell her the truth, Ah couldn’t stand livin’ like that, an’ then last night was the straw that broke the camel’s back. After that, well, y’all know the rest.”

The room grew quiet as Applejack finished, and they all sat with their thoughts for a while, mulling everything over. They hadn't insulted Apple Bloom's intelligence by trying to soften any of the sad parts, and so, with the exception of certain more “adult” details, she too had heard the whole thing. With this fuller version of events, she couldn't help feeling guilty at her reaction to her parents' first attempt to explain everything; but now didn't seem the right time to say anything about it, and so she sat in Applejack’s lap and was content to be held for the moment.

Applejack's friends also stayed quiet, not wishing to fill the air with clichéd platitudes instead of something more meaningful. After a short while, though, Rarity sighed, and smiled a sad little smile as she said:

“I do wish you might have said something to me at least, darling. I admit I probably would have lost my head somewhat at first, but I would never have dreamed to speak a word of any secret so personal to one of my friends.” Applejack smiled bashfully back, showing that she understood Rarity meant no reproach.

“Ah know that, Rarity, but y’all gotta understand Ah was kinda seein’ the worst case scenario instead o’somethin’ more realistic.”

“I certainly know what that feels like,” Twilight nodded grimly. “It’s easy in a bad situation to see only the worst that may come, rather than taking the time to think about how other ponies, especially those close to you, would actually react.”

“Hey!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. “That sounds like somethin’ y’all might put in one o’them letters to Princess Celestia!” Everypony giggled again, the mood finally lightening somewhat with the young filly’s words.

“You know what, Apple Bloom, I just might!” said Twilight. “In fact, I’ll probably be writing to her about this whole thing, if you all don’t mind. It might be helpful to have her influence in play just to make sure everything goes over smoothly whenever you decide to make the news public. And whenever you do, just remember that we’re all here for you; we won’t let anypony treat you wrongly because of all this.” Her friends all voiced their agreement, and everypony gathered up for another big group hug to seal the deal.

After that, everypony started to leave again. They all had their own things to be getting on with, and the farm needed seeing to as usual, so for now any potential celebrations for finding Apple Bloom again would have to wait. Pinkie Pie initially protested, but was finally placated with the promise of the entire barn as the future party’s venue. All of Applejack’s other friends left with some kind words and promises to see them all soon. This finally left the Apples alone again, and they took the moment’s peace to just sit and enjoy each other’s company before the normal hustle and bustle of farm life inevitably returned.

“Mom? Daddy?” Apple Bloom had been transferred from Applejack’s lap to Big Macintosh’s during the course of the evening, and he smiled down to her kindly.

“What is it, sugarlump?”

“When are we gonna tell ponies everything? What can Ah tell Sweetie Belle an’ Scootaloo?” The two looked at each other, then at Granny Smith, who smiled encouragingly, before simultaneously reaching a decision.

"Tomorrow," Mac announced. "We'll tell 'em all tomorrow."

"Ah'll go an' see Twi after we're done here tonight, talk things over some," said Applejack. "She might be surprised at the short notice, but Ah'm sure she won't mind."

"Eeyup."

And so, with that decided, the day's behind-schedule chores needed seeing to. Granny Smith was left in charge of keeping Apple Bloom entertained whilst Applejack and Macintosh got to work on the applebucking, each selecting an adjacent tree and letting fly with their back hooves.

The time passed neither slowly nor quickly for them both, it simply passed. From the corner of her eye, Applejack watched her... her what, now, anyway? His technique was as impressive as ever, his form and figure were likely the best he had ever achieved, and the tireless vigour with which he worked reminded the mare of his steadfast nature, the rock he had become for them all. She shuddered to think how they would have got by without him.

Macintosh also watched the mare he had alternately called his sister, then his lover, then by necessity his sister once more. He may have been the larger, stronger pony, but she held an inner strength that let her put up with all kinds of hardship and never once falter, always seeming to be the one to keep on pushing and encouraging those around her to never give up.

They thought back to Macintosh’s impulsive kiss the night before, then caught the other looking back at them, and each quickly turned away with a blush.

This is stupid, both thought, actin' like a buncha school foals all of a sudden!

"Mac-"

"AJ-" They stopped, silly grins on both their faces.

"After you, Mac."

"Nnnope. Ladies first, Ah insist."

"This ain't the time for chivalry, Big Macintosh Apple, and y'all know better'n to call me a lady."

"Mama always told me to act like a gentleman, so here Ah am, doin' that. ‘Sides, Ah may know better, but that won't stop me seein' y'all like that anyway.” Applejack blushed again, turning away for a second to consider what to say.

“Mac…” she began again, now looking him determinedly in the eyes. “Can this work again? Ah mean it’s been years since we did anythin’ “coupley” together!”

"Well, Ah had always hoped we might be able to start up again..."

"So did Ah! Ah just... Ah was never sure how we'd do that, y'know? An' then last night y'all go an' kiss me in front of mah friends out of the blue! Just go straight ahead and skip right past any ideas Ah’d had for buildin’ things up again, why dontcha! Rattled mah brains up right good, that did." She wasn't quite sure how to feel about that, whether to be angry or upset, or to start dancing and whooping in delight.

Mac, for his part, just shrugged bashfully.

"Ah figured y'all could probably do with a boost about then. Sure as sugar know Ah did." He grinned at her and she grinned back, before slugging his shoulder lightly.

"Ah guess mah boost juice done helped ya pretty good, huh? Chargin' into a pack o'timberwolves like that, an' beatin' 'em up to boot!"

"Eeyup! Regular super-chargers, yer lips!" They both wildly guffawed for some time, holding onto each other for support, finally helping to release some of the tension they still held inside. Just like that, they had brought back some of the easy silliness from their youth, back from when things were far simpler and the future had always seemed to promise good things.

It took a while, but eventually the two calmed down enough to talk without bursting into giggles at every word. Applejack smiled widely, Macintosh smiled back, and the two hugged tightly, feeling as close to content as they had done in years.

"Alright, Mac, Ah think Ah might be a bit more comfortable about this whole thing takin' off again. Whatta ya say we try again, like before?" He grinned that familiar, easy grin that she had forgotten just how much she loved, and hit her with a curveball.

"Nnnope."

"Buh-wha?!" She had not been expecting that. His smile faded and he suddenly looked serious.

"Ah don't want things to be like they were, Applejack. Ah want things to be like they should, an' that means Ah've gotta do some things that Ah should've done a long time ago, but was never brave enough to do. Now, though, Ah reckon Ah can manage it." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, clearing his throat a few times as he breathed out again, and Applejack waited uneasily for him to explain.

“Ah didn't plan to do this, so Ah don't have any of the accoutrements y'all might expect fer this sorta thing, but here goes: Applejack,” he said, opening his eyes again, and staring into her own. “Ever since Ah was a colt, Ah’ve loved you more than anything else in Equestria. Things ain’t worked out like how Ah’d hoped they would, but now that things are goin’ back on track, Ah want to try an’ make it all right an’ proper. Yer the mother of my foal an’ Ah want us all to be together like we should, from now until… until we go join Mama an’ Pa again. Look, what Ah’m tryin’ to say is…”

Applejack saw, but could not for the life of her believe, as he sat on the ground before her and took one of her hooves, holding it in both his own. She too sank to the ground and brought her other hoof to her mouth, and she found tears begin to leak from the corners of her eyes as he finally formed those words every filly secretly wants to hear.

“Will you marry me?” Her breath caught in her throat and the world froze in that perfect moment. Just before the torrent of emotion building inside her came spilling forth, her mind allowed her a moment of crystal clarity in which to respond:

“O-of course Ah will, ya b-big lug!” After which… suffice it to say that not much applebucking got done that day, but on that day at Sweet Apple Acres, nopony minded.
> 23
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


A few months later...


Little stirred on the farm that morning, save for a few final snowflakes as they joined their fellows in blanketing the landscape in white. This was one of those rare special occasions when an early start was not necessary: Hearth’s Warming. For the Apple family, that meant that the apple trees had long since been bucked of their fruit, and their produce sold or stored for later use. Like for everypony else, it also meant that they would spend the day with their friends and loved ones, eat and drink far too much, and generally have a wonderful time. But for now everything was quiet and peaceful, and would remain so for another while.

The new Mrs Apple stirred from her sleep with a murmur, her eyes remaining closed against the faint morning sunlight, and snuggled her face into the warm expanse of her husband's chest, not quite ready to greet the day yet.

"Mornin', darlin'," Mac whispered, a big foreleg draping across her shoulder. Applejack cracked an eye up at him, before closing it again and snuggling even closer, hugging him as tightly as her still waking body could manage.

"...long you been awake?" she whispered back.

"Not long," he said, smiling. "Just wanted to see ya again soon as." She giggled, kissing his chest softly whilst he stroked her back, and only squirming slightly when his hoof dropped just a little too low to be polite.

“Would’a thought you’d have had enough after last night, stud,” she teased, cracking her eyes again to smirk up at his big, stupid, handsome face. He in turn smirked back down at her cute little freckles and beautiful green eyes before replying, only half-jokingly:

“Ah could never get enough of you, Applejack.”

“Awww…” she cooed, drawing herself up his form to plant a kiss on his welcoming lips, which he quickly returned, and the two soon lost themselves for another short while.

Time passed. For the new couple it flew by in a haze of passionate ecstasy, but for their unfortunate daughter it positively crawled past, having been roped into helping her great-grandmother make everypony their festive morning hot drinks. Poor Apple Bloom was positively bouncing on her little hooves before the kettle even began to whistle, struggling to comprehend what in all Equestria could be keeping her parents shut inside their room on Hearth’s Warming morning of all times, regardless of what happened the day before! When questioned, Granny Smith had simply smiled knowingly and said, cryptically as anything, that they were “just enjoyin’ each other’s company fer a bit”, and that they would be down soon enough.

““Enjoyin’ each other’s company”? It sounds more like they’re wrestlin’ with a timberwolf up there!” Granny Smith had simply laughed at the filly’s innocent wonderings, and managed to grab her attention by telling her to focus on the hot kettle instead of her absent mother and father.

“Soon enough” rolled around eventually, and a freshly showered Applejack, wrapped in the towelling robe Rarity had made as a wedding present, descended the stairs with a happy glow about her that soon dissolved any annoyance Apple Bloom felt at having to wait to open her presents.

“Happy Hearth’s Warming, sweetheart,” Applejack said, smiling warmly as Apple Bloom rushed over to hug, kiss and be hugged and kissed, before she hoisted her filly onto her back and trotted into the living room, taking a sip of her offered cocoa just as Mac’s hooves sounded on the stairs. Apple Bloom giggled when he pushed his wet mane into her face for an overly sloppy kiss and a slightly more sensible nuzzle, before puzzling over why his mane was wet in the first place.

“How come yer mane’s all wet too? Did y’all share a shower or somethin’?” The two adults looked back at her mid-nuzzle, then shared a grin and a blush as Applejack said:

“Yep, we sure did! We decided it would save on the hot water, y’know, seein’ as we’re in the middle o’winter. Besides, we’re married now and married ponies ain’t embarrassed about sharin’ a shower every now and again.” Something about the way Applejack looked at Big Macintosh as she explained reminded Apple Bloom about the way he and Miss Cheerilee had looked at each other when they had drank that love poison, and instantly felt the need to gag, even if she didn’t fully understand why. Granny Smith just rolled her eyes and swatted the newlyweds with a handy tea towel, finally ushering them all to their seats around the tree and beginning their Hearth’s Warming Day in earnest.

They spent most of the rest of their morning opening presents and cards from each other, their extended family, and all their friends there in Ponyville, of which there had never been more. They had of course been nervous about announcing their important news to the townsponies, but with the solid support and friendship of Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rainbow (not to mention Spike, who was particularly helpful with Apple Bloom’s peers) everything went swimmingly. Mayor Mare had been instrumental in helping to ensure that as much pertinent information was as widely available as possible, and soon the Apples were being bombarded with a town-wide outpouring of sympathy and support.

Some were less supportive, but they were few in number and had never been the Apples’ friends anyway, and were promptly ignored by everypony. Beyond them, a few gossip magazines had printed spuriously informed “EXCLUSIVE SCOOPS” on the “ELEMENT OF HONESTY’S SECRET SHAME” as they tried to cash in on a potentially juicy scandal, but surprisingly enough they all retracted the articles and issued formal apologies soon afterwards (stories told of a huge red stallion showing up at one publisher’s offices and glaring at the pony in charge until the smaller stallion collapsed in a blubbering heap).

By the time the wedding had rolled around it was as if Ponyville had always known and accepted that it would happen. Almost the entire town flocked to the large ceremony/party extraordinaire held in front of Sweet Apple Acres’ barn (organised by, who else, Pinkie Pie), and the young couple spent a joyous afternoon and evening being fawned over by all their well-wishers before retiring, eventually, to their newly fitted out marital bedroom for a well-earned night’s rest… eventually.

The next morning, with happy memories of the night before still vivid in all their minds, the Apples sat in their living room and relaxed, at last, as they finally enjoyed the quiet and peace of Hearth’s Warming together. Applejack had been unsure about fixing the date of their wedding for Hearth’s Warming Eve, but Pinkie had finally brought her around.

“What could be better than spending Hearth’s Warming together as a family, a real family, like how it always should have been?!” she had said, rather passionately, and Applejack couldn’t help but agree as she sat curled up on the sofa beside Macintosh, a comforter over their laps as they watched Apple Bloom play with her presents.

Applejack sighed happily and nuzzled her husband, before reaching out for another unopened card from the little pile beside her. She blinked as she picked it up, surprised at just how heavy it was, and the fact that it was specifically addressed to her. Opening it revealed two items: a card from Nurse Redheart for the whole family, and a smaller, sealed envelope with a folded note attached to it, again with Applejack’s name written across it. She glanced around to see if anypony was watching, her heart in her throat as she read the short note.

Oh my gosh, she didn’t! How did she manage it before the holidays ended? Ah’m gonna have to remember to save her a whole jar of the zap apple jam next season…

With slightly trembling hooves she picked up the envelope, tore it open carefully, and read the test results printed inside.

“It’s funny.” Apple Bloom’s unexpected statement surprised her mother, and the mare hurried to hide the paper in her hooves from sight, stuffing it down the side of the couch as the filly turned to face them. Apple Bloom remained oblivious, although Applejack noticed Big Mac peering at her curiously.

“What is it, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, hoping to throw him off for a few moments by adjusting her position slightly and beckoning to allow Apple Bloom to snuggle in between them. When she was tucked in as well, Apple Bloom considered a moment longer, and then spoke again.

“If ya think about it, this whole thing Ah mean, I kinda lost a brother an’ a sister.” She frowned, turning her head to the left and right to look at both of them very seriously.

“An’ Ah gotta admit Ah ain’t too happy about that, ‘cos y’all were the best brother an’ sister anypony could’ve asked for.” She stopped frowning, though, and a slight blush appeared on her cheeks as she continued: “But Ah’m glad yer really my parents, though. That’s probably the best thing that could have happened to me, even if Ah didn’t take it so well to begin with…” She blushed more deeply, but wasn’t allowed to wallow in shame for any longer than a second as both Applejack and Macintosh leaned in and nuzzled her, each planting a soft kiss on her cheeks as Granny Smith looked on from her rocking chair, a serene smile on her lips.

As Applejack sat up a thought came to her, and she realised what a perfect opportunity she had just been presented with. So, before anypony said anything else, she said this:

“Well, AB, ya might not be without a brother an’ sister fer long.”

“Huh? Whatcha mean?” Apple Bloom tilted her head in confusion, but Macintosh and Granny Smith both opened their eyes wide and sat up straighter as a positively beaming Applejack pulled the results sheet from where she had stuffed it.

“Everypony, Ah’ve got some wonderful news…”