Thirty Minute Pony Stories

Dawn broke through the window as Applejack carried a bowl of oatmeal over to the dining table for Apple Bloom. Bloom looked up at her and said, “Hey, big sis. What were Ma and Pa like?”

Applejack blinked. She slowly put the bowl down, then worked her jaw a few times. “What brought this on?”

“Yesterday Miss Cheerilee was talkin’ about all different sorts of families.”

Applejack sat. “Well… Ah don’t rightly know, Apple Bloom,” she finally said. “You’ll have to ask Big Mac or Granny. Ah was quite a young filly myself. Ah don’t remember them at all.”

It was a lie. But it was easier than the truth.

Applejack approached the bed cautiously. Pa smiled down at her and motioned her forward, so she clambered up the side of the bed. Ma was there, looking pale and ill, but she was smiling widely. In her hooves she cradled a tiny bundle of blankets.

“What’s that?” Applejack said.

Ma stretched out her muzzle and touched Applejack’s face gently. “Say hello to your new baby sister.”

“Um. Hello.”

“Good girl. Now, you have to promise me something, Applejack. Something very important.”

“Uh-huh?” She looked up at Ma, putting on her most serious all-grown-up expression.

“You have to promise to be a good, honest, hard-working big sister fer little Apple Bloom. You think you can do that fer me?”

——

The tree shuddered from the mighty blow of hooves. Twigs trembled and snapped, releasing their bright red cargo into the baskets below.

Applejack let her hind hooves drop back to the soil. “Well?” she said, glaring at the blue pegasus. “Aren’t you gunna help?”

“Oh, yeah. Sure.” Rainbow Dash dropped to earth and gave a half-hearted buck at a nearby tree. A few apples fell. “Hey, AJ. I bet you’ve never seen flying like this.” She crouched, about to launch herself skyward.

Applejack shook her head, trying to shake off her amused grin. “Yeah, yeah. Quit showin’ off.”

Applejack was galloping. She weaved in between trees. “Yeeeeeooooow! Whoosh! Whoosh!” There was deep, belly-shaking laughter from the direction of the barn. She skidded to a stop and turned to glare at the sound. “What’s funny?” she said petulantly.

“Nothin’s funny, my little apple,” Pa said as he trotted toward her. “Ah’m just happy. What is it you’re doin’?”

“Ah’m practicin’! Ah’m gunna be a weatherpony!”

He laughed again and ruffled her mane. She squealed in dismay beneath his hoof. “Just yesterday ya’ll was gunna be a doctor. Well, you chase your dreams, Applejack, wherever you end up findin’ ‘em.”

——

The earth itself seemed to shake with the force of the storm. The windows shuddered against the wind, and rain thundered against the roof. But it was the lightning that had Applejack curled up tight beneath the covers.

There was nothing wrong with that. Lots of ponies didn’t like storms. She knew Rarity didn’t, for instance. Anyway, Applejack was a grown mare. She could handle it.

She shivered and curled up tighter.

It was a simple memory, but those were the hardest.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared. Little Applejack whimpered. But the warm body next to her shifted, and she felt a soft nose nuzzling her. She was safe here. She would always be safe here.

——

Applejack trudged up the hill. It was a hard trek, especially through the soaked earth which squelched and slipped beneath her hooves. But her pace was steady. A little bit of mud never stopped this pony. Especially not on a day as important as this.

It was one of the smallest trees at Sweet Apple Acres. It hadn’t been growing for generations, like the rest. But it would, in time. Anypony could tell this was a special tree. It stood alone, atop a hill, and it was heavy with apples.

There was a big, uncut rock next to the tree. Carved into it were the simple words: ‘In Loving Memory’.

Applejack placed her flowers among the roots of the tree and knelt down.

She stayed there for what felt like an hour. Just thinking. Then she said, “You two must have been great ponies. Ah just wish Ah could remember more about ya’ll.”

It was a lie. But it was easier than the truth.

—-

BSB Comments:

I really enjoyed how each memory tied in with a simple scene from Applejack’s everyday life, and the beginning and ending with a lie that was easier than the truth was powerful. The little snippets of little Applejack with her parents were lovely and very sad when juxtaposed with ow much she misses them. I really enjoyed this. Well done!