It's a beautiful winter day on the Apple Farm as the family enjoys Christmas together, none of them realizing it'll be their last Christmas together.
It's a beautiful winter day on the Apple Farm as the family enjoys Christmas together, none of them realizing it'll be their last Christmas together. Big Mack helps his father make the cider while Applejack helps her mother can the apples and pears while Granny walks an infant Apple Bloom. Not even she knows that her son and daughter in law are going to die soon.
It's a beautiful winter day on the farm as the Apples get ready for Christmas. They can't wait to get the holiday started. "Come here, son!" yells Bright Mack. Big Mack nods and goes over to help his father with the cider.
"Come here my little sugar cube," says Pear Butter to Applejack, "come help me can these fruits." AJ nods and goes over and helps her mother with the cans.
"Mom," says Applejack, "what's your favorite part of Christmas?"
"Why, spending it with all of you," responds Pear Butter with a smile and a giggle as she gives AJ a sweet, little hug. She then gets back to canning the apples and pears that are in front of her.
Meanwhile, over in her corner, Granny Smith rocks an infant Apple Bloom who soon yawns in her arms. Pear Butter just smiles. "She's so innocent and carefree, so small," sighs Pear Butter. She then closes the last can and grabs Applejack and swings her up onto her back and go over and sit by Granny. Bright Mack and Big Mack then come over and join them with cups of cider for everypony. They then begin to drink their cider together and share stories around the yule log.
"Once upon a time," says Granny Smith, "my family came to these lands and founded Ponyville. Back then, I was just a young Lady Smith. My family built this farm from the ground up. I still remember our first Christmas on this farm. I remember it so well. It was two years after the barn was completed that I gave birth to you, my Bright Mack. Then several months after that, Christmas arrived and we celebrated it in the barn with all the extended family. You got into the apple fritters while I was talking with your father and your aunt and uncle. When I turned around, you had caramel all over your face. I couldn't help but laugh. I then picked you up and slid you onto my back. I then taught you how to say Jingle Bells but you would always say "Jingly winglys" and it was the cutest thing ever. We all sung carols together in the barn. We shared cider together. It was the most memorable Christmas of all for me."
"That's cool, Granny!" says Applejack. "Please tell us more stories."
Granny nods and begins to tell her and her brother even more stories before they finally go out for a carriage ride around Ponyville to see all the lights. As they go by the lights, the children laugh and smile. As for Apple Bloom, she just continues to sleep in Granny's arms. Granny just smiles as she watches her children and grandchildren enjoy themselves. She then gazes around and enjoys the lights for herself. "This is truly what Christmas is about," sighs Granny, "it's about spending time with family, the ponies you love the most."
A few hours later, the family returns from site seeing and returns to the barn and decorates the tree together. They put on the ornaments from Big Mack and Applejack's first Christmases, the ornament Pear and Bright Mack got for their wedding anniversary last year, as well as several other ornaments. Granny even hangs up an ornament from her childhood, an ornament she carved when Ponyville was first founded. After several hours, the tree is fully decorated as the rest of the family soon approaches the barn and enters inside. There are Babs Seed's parents holding a baby Babs Seed. There are Annie and Franklin. Then there's also the rest of their relatives. They then all gather around the tree in a circle and begin to sing together. They sing family songs, classics, and even country Christmas tunes together, but all with smiles on their faces.
After an hour of singing around the tree, the family all sits down together and enjoys a nice Christmas Eve supper together. They all then take turns sharing stories as is their tradition. Annie and Franklin even share the announcement of their engagement which they are soon congratulated for. Once dinner comes to an end, everypony turns into their bed for the night, all except Bright Mack and Pear Butter who go out and sit in the orchard for several hours before finally going to bed.
Once in bed, Buttercup falls fast asleep while Bright Mack continues to lie awake for several more hours. "Such a beautiful Christmas Eve, I can't believe tomorrow is finally Christmas," he sighs. "And I have the perfect gift for my love. I just hope she likes it." After a few minutes, he finally falls asleep, his arm falling over Pear Butter. Tomorrow, he'll give her the gift of her dreams. He can't wait!
The next morning, everypony wakes up to the smell of apple caramel pancakes and come running down to the kitchen. "Mm! Pancakes!" cheer Applejack and Big Mack.
"Calm down, you'll get your plates of pancakes when everypony else wakes up," responds Pear Butter with a smile.
A few minutes later, everypony else comes down and they all enjoy pancakes together around the table. As they sit there, they all just enjoy their pancakes as they listen to the fire crackle in the stove behind them. An hour later, they all finish up breakfast and go and sit around the tree in the barn and then they begin to open presents going youngest to oldest. The first ponies to open their presents are baby Babs and baby Apple Bloom. They then happily play with the boxes the dolls were in while it moves on to AJ. She then opens her present and finds that it's the cowgirl hat she had always wanted. "Mom, dad," says Applejack with a cheery smile, "you remembered!"
"We're glad you like it," respond her parents as they embrace her in a hug.
The next pony, Apple Crumble, then opens her present. It then moves on to her big sister, Apple Cobbler. This then continues on for hours until everypony opens their gifts. Once all the gifts are open, the family then goes back inside and gathers around the fire and drink hot chocolate together while Apple Bloom and Babs happily play with their dolls on the floor, giggling and smiling all the while. A few minutes later, there's a knock on the door and Granny goes over and opens it and to her shock, she sees Pear Butter's big sister, Candied Pear, standing in the door. "Hello, sister," says Pear Butter as she comes to the door, "what are you doing here?"
"I came to see my nieces and nephew," she responds with a smile.
"Then come on in," says Pear Butter. She then leads her sister inside and brings her a cup of cocoa. "How is father?" she then asks.
"He's doing well," responds Candied Pear, "and he does miss you, even though he doesn't want to admit it. He's a stubborn one."
"Don't I know it," responds Pear Butter with a giggle. She then hands a small box to her sister. "I bought you this." Candied Pear then opens it and a smile appears on her face.
"It's the pear blossom necklace I wanted, thank you," responds Candied Pear as she embraces Pear Butter in a hug.
"Don't mention it," responds Buttercup with a blush.
The two sisters then walk over and begin to share Christmas tales with the rest of their family and Candied Pear also enjoys some nice time playing with her nieces and nephew as she giggles and smiles. Buttercup, watching from the sidelines, can't help but smile. She's glad her sister was able to come. She just wishes her papa would move on and enjoy a holiday with her for once.
A few weeks later, Bright Mack and Pear Butter are on a stroll through the woods when they stumble across an entrapped Timberwolf. Buttercup, taking pity on the animal, frees it against her husband's warning. The wolf then turns around and gets her right in the neck, killing her. It then turns around and does the same to Bright Mack. A few hours later, Granny goes out in search of her son and her daughter in law and soon stumbles across their dead bodies. She then takes them back to where the tree was planted and buried them there under the rock that her son had engraved their names into. She then sits there and cries for hours on end before returning to the house and breaking the news to the children.
"Applejack, Big Mack," says Granny in tears, "your mother and father are dead. They were killed by Timberwolves. I'm, I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Granny," respond Applejack and Big Mack as they come over and share a good cry with her. Little Apple Bloom, however, who is asleep in her crib upstairs has no idea that her parents are dead and won't for a very long time.
It's Christmas time, several years later, when Apple Bloom walks in and sees Applejack and Big Mack decorating the tree. "I've been looking through the family Christmas photo album, sis, and I saw a picture of us, all of us, you, me, brother, mom, dad, granny, enjoying Christmas together. Please tell me about it."
"That picture was from the last Christmas we had together before mom and dad died," responds AJ with a frown appearing on her face, "you were just a little bitty filly then."
"So, we all did share a Christmas together once?" responds Apple Bloom.
"Yes, but not one you'd remember," responds Applejack. "You and Babs both wouldn't remember. You were both newborns at the time."
"Can you tell me more?" asks Apple Bloom.
"Sure," nods AJ as she climbs down the ladder, grabs Apple Bloom, pulls Big Mack over by the ear, and sits everypony down on the couch. "It was Christmas several years ago. Mom and dad had just had you and we were all celebrating Christmas together, every Apple and two pears. Your aunt Candied Pear was there as well. We all had a blast together that Christmas from decorating the tree and singing songs. You and Babs had a blast just playing in the empty boxes." Applejack just giggles. She then hands an ornament to Apple Bloom. "This was the ornament from your first Christmas."
"Wow, it's so beautiful Applejack," responds Apple Bloom, "I just wish I could remember Maw and Paw."
"I know, sugar cube," responds Applejack. She embraces her little sister in a hug then continues the story. A few hours later, the story comes to an end and Applejack helps Apple Bloom hang her ornament on the tree. She and Big Mack then finish hanging up the rest of the ornaments. Applejack then goes into the closet and pulls down an old box and opens it, pulls out a few things and blows the dust off of them and shows them to Apple Bloom. "This is Maw's old pressed buttercup flower necklace that dad gave her for Christmas," says Applejack as she puts it into Apple Bloom's hoof. She then pulls out another item from the box and blows the dust off of it. "And this is a gold-crested yoke that mom gave dad for Christmas." She places it down in front of Apple Bloom for her to look at.
"Wow! These are cool!" says Apple Bloom as she looks at the items before handing them back to Applejack, who puts them back in the box and puts them back in the closet. She then looks at Apple Bloom who has begun to cry. She then goes over and embraces her sister in a hug as Apple Bloom mutters. "I just miss them so much," she cries, "I never even knew them. Not well at least."
"Shhh," says Applejack. "They loved you. They loved all of us. That's what matters most. Their memories live on in us, in their stories, in these mementos, they live on in you."
"Thanks, Applejack," says Apple Bloom in a sniffle. "At least, I now know that they'd be proud of me. To me, that means the world."
The three siblings then turn around and look out the barn window and see snow falling. They then embrace each other in a hug as they wipe the tears from their eyes. "You can hear their voices in the snow if you listen carefully," whispers AJ to her siblings. She then hugs them close to her. "I'm so glad I get to share this Christmas with you and I'm also glad to know that no matter what, mom and dad live on in our memories and in us."
