Apples Forever, Apples Together

[Applejack]

After th' 'Nightmare at the Opera' arc.

---

It's been a few days now since the Apples got back home. Apple Bloom's been by her sister's side for much of it, sometimes a help and other times it seems like she'd just be so unbearable in her helpfulness. It's hard to tell what mode she's in now, carrying a tray of food up to her sister's room. "Ah got more food!"

Applejack sticks her head out of the door, awake, refreshed, and once again behatted. "Ya got... Tarnation, Apple Bloom! We just HAD lunch! Ah'm fine, okay? Heck, Ah spent all mornin' helpin' Mac repair th' goldarned roof!" She emerges, shaking her head, but can't help but smile. Apples are TOUGH, but it's adorable how her little sister keeps trying to take care of her. And in fact *did*, for the first day.

"Ah'm sorry, Applejack. Ah jus' wanted t'make sure yer alrawt." Okay, Apple Bloom's in the overbearing mode. Maybe it's in waiting for some supplies she needs for the Crusader's repairs. Once she gets what she needs she'll finally be out of Applejack's mane. "Ah guess ah'm just clamorin' fer a distraction."

Applejack blinks. "A *distraction*? Sugarcube, ain't we had enough o' them? Ah'm plumb glad ta get back ta normal. 'Specially since stuff seemed ta fall apart a bit while y'all were lookin' fer me." She sees AB's expression... "Not that Ah ain't GRATEFUL!" AJ shudders. "If'n Ah never feel like that again in mah life it'll be too dang soon... Listen. Put that tray down an' come in here a minute, willya?" Applejack sits on her bed and pats next to herself at AB.

Apple Bloom puts the tray down and enters her sister's room. "Ah gotta tell y'all. Ah'm glad we gotcha back." Apple Bloom says. This is one of many things she keeps on saying these past couple of days. "Though on th'plus sawd ah got t'see how well th'Crusader could handle itself in a'mergency."

When Bloom comes close enough, Applejack wraps a hoof around her and tugs her close for a hug. "Ah'm mighty sorry Ah scared y'all. Really REALLY didn't mean ta do that. Wasn't mah choice, Ah swear." Squeeze. "An'... Ah'm mighty proud o' ya'll. Th' Crusader's one thing, but between yer stories an' Mac fillin' in th' details Ah been hearin' how Y'ALL handled yerself in an emergency. An' ya did great. Prob'ly better'n Ah'd have done when Ah was yer age." She peers at Apple Bloom's face for a moment and kind of looks wistful.

Apple Bloom hugs her sister back tight and squeezes her eyes shut. "Least ah could do. When th'disaster at th'opera happened. Ah jus' knew what ah haid t'do. Guess ah got th'heart fer adventure. Though fer now ah'm plannin' t'keep things simple. Ah was thinkin'a takin' some Sweet Apple Acres goodies t'the Crystal Empawr once ah finish with th'Crusader's repairs."

Applejack's face twists with indecision. "Ah dunno, that's... pretty dang far, ain't sure AH'm comfortable with y'all goin' off on yer own." She glances at the crystal necklace, sitting on her dresser. "Ah know, Ah know, ya did it before. That don't mean Ah'm OKAY with it. Ah mean, y'all nearly got killed by th' danged CHIMERA..." She rubs her face once with a hoof. "An' Ah don't know how Ah could live if'n that happened. The sky up there ain't SAFE! There's griffons an' rocs an' phoenixes an' who knows what! Not even all pegasi are good folk..."

Apple Bloom gives her sister a weird look. "How crowded y'all think th'skaw is?" Apple Bloom says incredulously. Then she rubs the back of her head. Well, it *is* far. But still... "Don't ferget how far ah got with th'cart. And that was on th'*ground.* Ah, don't matter. Crusader's grounded fer a couple weeks anyway. Y'all tore a nawce big hole innit."

Applejack looks sheepish for a moment, then concerned. "That's kinda th' POINT, Apple Bloom. Ah know what kinda things lurk up there on accounta Ah WAS one fer a while." She bites her lip for a moment. "Ah'm gonna tell ya somethin' Ah don't want most folks ta know, 'kay? It's a mite blurry, but Ah remember pieces o' what Nightmare Moon did. It wasn't me, but it kinda was, Ah was... in there, like a dream..." She takes a deep breath. "An' th' whole while Ah was losin' mahself, alls Ah could think was 'bout how it meant Ah was losin' alla y'all, an' what it'd do to ya." Her eyes glisten a little. "Ah was yer age when... stuff happened, an' Ah tried t'escape it all in Manehattan. So Ah KNOW fillies're tough, Ah KNOW you'd find a way ta muddle on, but Ah remember what it was LIKE, an' nothin', not turnin', not fightin' Celestia, NOTHIN' was as scary as th' ide o' puttin' ya through that."

Apple Bloom beams. "If'n that's true, then y'all kin remember that y'all weren't losin' nopony. 'Cause ah was there trawin' t'git y'all back. Ah wasn't about t'give up. Ah even told Flutersh-- Celestia... that if ah haid to ah'd fawt y'all both t'git y'all back. Ah meant every word. We're Apple, consarnit! Ain't nothin' keepin' us apart!"

Applejack starts, "Well, sooner or later, it..." then she catches a look at her sister's determined little face, and a grin spreads across her own. "Ya did, didn't ya? An' did one rip-snorter of a job, too. o/` We're Apples forever, Apples together / We're family but so much more... o/`"

"o~ No matter what comes, we will face the weather / We're Apples to the core... o~" Apple Bloom sings along, and then giggles.

Applejack grins and hugs her sister once more, then hops up off the bed and adjusts her hat. "Dang right, Apples ferever. C'mon, sugarcube. Ah reckon Mac could use our help. Together." And without warning, AJ flips Apple Bloom up onto her back and trots off, carrying her out to see what they can do for the family farm.

[Applejack]

The mornin' of that same day, a few hours earlier.

---

The clunking and muttering on the ladder is probably the first thing that gives Big Macintosh an inkling that one of his sisters is on her way up to the roof where he has been patching a hole, but it isn't obvious which one until Applejack's hat rises over the shingles like a dented brown moon. "Hay there! Phew, Ah gotta say Ah'm glad ta be outta there. Bloom's been sweet as zap-apple jelly takin' care o' me these last coupla days, but she's startin' ta drive me plumb loco!" She pauses to take in the damage and winces. "Also Ah reckoned Ah should at least TRY ta help fix alla this, seein' as Ah did it. Need a hoof?"

Big Mac is up on one of his own ladders, this one much bulkier and much sturdier than the others AJ tends to use, likely for obvious reason. Even now it creaks beneath Mac's weight. FOr the moment, he's nailing down the last few shingles on a freshly repaired roof. Each nail announcing its new place with a hefty *THUMP* of his hoof as he uses it to hammer the nails down. The hammering slows and his head lifts as the sound of AJ on the other side grows, and stops entirely when that hat appears, drawing a light chuckle from him. "H'lo AJ... y'feelin alright?" he asks, that brotherly concern in his voice, whic hreally says "Are you sure you're well enough to be up here working?" despite what he actually said. He grins a little at AJ's complaining and thumps in another nail *Thump* "Reckon the horse shoes on th' other foot?" he asks, somewhat rehtorically.

Applejack gives her brother a wry look. "Yeah yeah, Ah know, Ah know. Dangit, is it so wrong ta wanna take care o' yer little sister?" She barely has to glance at Mac's expression after THAT one and laughs a little. "YES, consarnit! Ah'm just fine! Ah *was* fine after gettin' a good night's sleep an' a bit o' Granny's cookin' in me, an' that was two days ago!" She sighs. "An' Ah'm plumb tired o' not bein' *useful*. Is that there th' last hole yer finishin'?"

Big Mac grins a little and nods slowly as he takes his time on the last shingle, at least for that side and takes a craftstallions time in lining it up and making sure it tucks with the rest just pefect before nailing it down as well. Straightening himself a bit, he sits back to look over his job, giving it a light nod of satisfaction and looks up to meet her expression, grinning a little "Y' aint useful if y' go and start workin' 'yerself too soon." he says, clearly on the side of it being better to take a bit more time to rest up proper, than to jump right back to things after a hard experience. "'aint just the body that needs healin' anyway." he adds, glancing down to where Apple Bloom's bedroom would be in the farmhouse, before looking back up to AJ and giving her a stern, if not loving look, knowing that what his sister went through likely did more harm than just on the physical side. HIs expression brightens a bit at the question about holes, and he straightens up, and arcs a hoof forward and out, as if pointing to the other side of the roof's peak, approximately right in front of Applejack, and kind of silently proving his point with a lift of his brow and a tip of his head.

Applejack frowns a little and follows Mac's hoof, then squeegrins. "Right. Aheh heh." She climbs up onto the roof proper and - seeing that Mac is done with it - carries the tar bucket back over to her side. "It's th' body MOSTLY, though, ain't it?" She situates herself on the ladder and gives the roof patch a few passes with the tar brush, then catches sight of Macintosh's expression and sets it back. AJ sighs and says, "Look... ya got a point. But th' scary thing was that fer them coupla weeks Ah wasn't ME. Ah ain't tryin' ta throw mahself inta th' work ta ferget. Ah'm trying ta work 'cause that's what Ah do. Ain't it?" A few more passes with the tar brush, to make sure the spot is all sealed up. She frowns, feeling a bit guilty about this in the first place. "Besides. Don't y'all need th' help? There's always work needs doin'."

Big Mac gives a little shake of his head as AJ spots the unfinished portion of room, chuckling, but still flashing her a glance of concern, though otherwise says nothing. "AH reckon its 'yer body thats gonna heal th' fastest, AJ." he says. He knows his sister is used to hard work and can put up with a lot of strain, but he also knows how her concience can run off with her under the right circumstances, which it had managed to do literally not more than a year or two ago. satisfied with the job on his side of the roof, he begins climing down the ladder - before AJ can respond to his words - letting his words sink in. WHether this is deliberate or coincidental is not entirely clear, but a few moments later the ladder is propped up on the side AJ came up on, and Mac is hefting a pack of new shingles up the ladder and onto the roof. "AJ, whether 'yer workin or not, we'll manage. Tha's what /we/ do." he says smiling, showing that whehter they need the help or not, it will be done. Perhaps not as easily if they had AJ's help, but her healing is priority.

Applejack hesitates, and when she speaks again it's quieter. And not just because now her brother isn't a whole roof away. "Ah know, Mac. Ah got faith in ya, an' we don't never give up. It's... Helpin' *helps*, ya know?" She half-turns (carefully!) and indicates the orchard with a hoof. "Mah bedroom's all well an' good, but ain't nothin' makes me feel as connected ta y'all an' th' Apple family traditions so much as workin' ta keep 'em alive, an'... an' that's what Ah need right now." She turns back to the roof and reaches for the tar brush again, but pauses and sighs. "Mac... it... it was horrible. It wasn't just madness or hate it was... betrayal. Alla that destruction, an' all she... all AH kept thinkin' was how much mah only family'd turned on me. Y'all don't know how much it meant that you an' Apple Bloom came out ta get me. That's what did it. In th' middle of all that anger, knowin' th' two o' y'all loved me enough ta risk yer lives hammered home what family's really about." AJ gives Mac a troubled smile. "So that's why Ah gotta get back into it. Gotta be PART o' this family again, an' not just hidin' in mah room. See what Ah mean?"

Big Mac pauses a moment and listens, his eyes casting downward for a few moments before looking up, meeting AJs gaze. He's quiet for a few long moments as he just holds, looking into his sisters eyes before speaking. "Ah know ah probably cant imagine what it was like... but ah know it cant of been easy..." he says, glancing down to the pack of shingles and tearing them open, for a moment distracting himself as he collects his thoughts and lets AJs words sink in. WHenn he looks back up to her he nods, smiling a little. "Ah think I can understand and respect that.... But ah expect 'yeh not to go over doin' it." he says, his tone more telling her this, than asking. Moments later, he smiles at the sincerety that comes out at AJ's appreciation that htey came for her, as well as the impact it had. "Y'all think we'd just let y' go? Didn't happen when y' were out pickin' cherries, aint gonna happen when 'yer posessed by a crazed alicorn. Reckon there 'aint much of a difference between th' two...." he pulls some shingles over and begins working on spots where AJ had finished tarring and lets out a little chuckle. "Y' have no idea what we had t' do to keep Granny Smith from comin' too." he adds, his smile growing broader.

Applejack laughs! "Nailed her hooves ta th' floor, prob'ly! Only Ah ain't rightly sure THAT'D have done more'n slowed her down a mite!" She looks over at her brother and grins broadly. "No, Macintosh. Ah didn't think you an AB'd let me go fer a second. Thought maybe ya SHOULD, 'cause it was dangerous, but yer stubborn ponies. Heh, runs in th' family." She starts laying out a line of shingles on the fresh tar. "If' it helps... Ah promise Ah won't push mahself too hard. But Ah can't just sit around, so let's just get this done, 'kay? Ah reckon AB's prob'ly tryin' ta find me ta feed me a third breakfast. She sure don't drop a notion easy once it's in her head, does she?"

Big Mac chuckles deeply and nods. "Jus' bout. That reminds me, got a few floorboards t' fix too..." he says, trying to keep a straight face. "If y' knew that, y' shoulda known there weren't no other choice." he says flatly as you begin laying out shingles, allowing him to focus on nailing them down with a steady *thump--thump--thump* along behind your work. "Ah leave it up t'yall ah guess, but ah wanted y' to know we 'aint expectin y' 100%... err 150%... dont think y've ever given anythin' as low as 100 in a long time." he chuckles, especially at the mention of AB. "Nah, she's workin on 'yer fourth dinner." he teases.

Applejack grins more and lays out the next line of shingles. "Don't you use yer fancy mathematics ta muddy th' issue!" But as Mac's massive hoof drives in the last nail in the first row, she places her own on top if it for a moment. "Mac... thanks." She gives her brother a heartfelt smile, then shuts up to focus her attention on the shingles. With no sound other than the nails being driven home, the two Apple siblings work side-by side. Just like they have for years, and like they will for years yet to come.

[Applejack]

Some time later - at Winter Wrap-Up, AJ an' AB had had a nasty argument 'bout Bloom's adventurin' an' th' Crusader. Applejack ordered her not ta be in the hangar alone. Apple Bloom pretty much ignored this.

---

There's more hammering coming from the hangar this afternoon. It's been a rather HOT afternoon, too, and Apple Bloom was sure to bring a barrel of water out to the hangar to refresh herself. She's maybe halfway through repairs to the Crusader, standing on a ladder, hammering on the hull. It's looking a lot less damages now that the broken boards are out.

With the sort of slow ominous creak that you expect to be followed by creepy pipe organ music, the hangar door slides open, revealing the silhouette of Applejack. She doesn't look happy. "Apple Bloom. Ah thought Ah told y'all not ta be out here alone no more. In fact Ah'm pretty goldarned certain of it!"

Apple Bloom pauses in her hammering. She look unbroken so far. Though she does look a bit sweaty. She frowns at her sister and climbs down and walks over to the barrel of water. "I'm *fawn.* Y'all jus' keep overreactin' t'everythin'." Apple Bloom fills her mug and drinks.

Applejack frowns harder and stalks in. "That ain't fer YOU ta say. Yer mah responsibility, not th' other way 'round! An' ya can't hardly say ain't been a lotta stuff goin' loco around here lately! Tarnation, we no sooner got rid o' Nightmare Moon than Ah'm hearin' some other monster thing's makin' a mess in th' market!" She pins your hoof down with one of hers when you got to put the mug back. "Apple Bloom! Consarnit, will ya LISTEN ta me? This ain't no stuff-fallin-from-th'-fridge kinda issue! Ah'm worried sick somethin' REAL bad is gonna happen top ya, an' ya just don't seem ta give a buck!"

"Oh, ah already know about th'Crimson Maiden." Apple Bloom says, waving her hoof, still frowning at her sister. She chooses NOT to reveal anything about what happened there. "O'course ah care!" Apple Bloom argues. "Ah ain't doin' nothing reckless, Applejack. But ah cain't jus' sit around doin' nothin' now! Ah'm gittin' older. An' yer still babyin' me!"

Applejack squints suspiciously. "An' how exactly do y'all know th' thing's name?... Yeah, yer gettin' older, but th' world's gettin' more dangerous! Ever since Twi came ta town it's like somethin's rollin' through Ponyville smashin' stuff every coupla weeks! That never used ta happen when Ah was yer age! It's DANGEROUS now. Somepony could get hurt. Or worse. That somepony could be YOU. Why don't ya believe me?"

"... Ah noticed." Apple Bloom made that same exact observation to Dusk when she was at the MRC. Then Applejack's comment about how she knew. "... U-uh..." Apple Bloom glances left and right, then turns to pick up a board and walk back to the Crusader. Some things are better left unexplained.

Applejack steps on the board. "Oh no, ya don't get outta that one so easy. HOW do ya know its name?"

Apple Bloom is no good at lying. Doesn't stop her from trying to get out of trouble, though, especially when Applejack is in overprotective overdrive. "... Ah read it... in a book ah found. And in no way encountered an ancient evil and trawed t'thwart it in a heroic stand of good vs. evil. Because that didn't happen." Apple Bloom shifty-eyes. "Kin y'all git off th'board now, ah need t'keep workin'."

Applejack leans in. "NO, consarn it! Stop tryin' ta brush me off! Ah'm yer big sister, an' yer s'posed ta LISTEN ta me, not keep tryin' ta brush me off like Ah don't even matter!"

"O'course y'all matter!" Apple Bloom blurts. "Yer mah big sister and ah love y'all. But don't ah git jus' a *litte* credit? Ah saved y'all TWACE from an ancient evil now!" Apple Bloom says this angrily. "Ah think this means ah kin handle hammerin a board int'somethin'! without somepony havin' t'fuss over me!"

Applejack steps off the board. "Uh. Yeah, ya got a bit of a point there." She glares at the Crusader for a moment. "But mah main point stands! Yer goin' runnin' off inta danger at th' first sign o' trouble! Ah rescued y'all from that Chimera, too - an' unlike th' stuff that was happenin' ta me, that wouldn'ta happened ta y'all if'n ya hadn't gone gallivantin' off without even knowin' what ya were doin'!"

Apple Bloom picks up the board and carries it up the ladder and then pauses. "... Yer rawt." That's not said with anything but the most sincere of tones. She places in the board and starts hammerin'. Th'trouble ain't mah adventurin', it's me leapin' 'fore ah look. Ah almost got a house landed on me, though in mah defense ah wasn't lookin' fer trouble at first. But she was trawin' t'git somepony else and ah could only think'a one thing."

Applejack pauses, curious. "An' what would that be?"

"That ah wasn't scared, and ah couldn't let nopony innocent git hurt, no way no how. Also how fun it woulda been t'stop'er." Apple Bloom finishes nailing in one side of the board. "... It *was* real fun gittin'er mad. Ancient evil always gets real dramatic when they're angry. Lotsa makin' speeches an'all. Though ah wasn't too careful." Apple Bloom climbs down to get more nails. "Ah'll be a lot more careful, Applejack, ah promise!"

Applejack digs the ground a bit. "See what Ah mean? Ya coulda been KILLED, Apple Bloom! An'... Ah've had mah fill o' close family funerals!" She puts a hoof on the board again, this time to hold it in place for nailing. "An' y'ARE 'somepony innocent'! Heh. Relatively speakin', anyhow." AJ falls silent for a moment, squinting shrewdly and watching Apple Bloom work.

Apple Bloom hammers in the iother side. "Yer rawt. Maybe ah should hold off on adventurin' until later. Help stop th'Crimson Maiden safer ways, lawk research an'... flawin' other ponies places. ... Consarnit." Apple Bloom says. She looks at the board. "... Y'all reckon that board looks a mawt crooked?"

Applejack steps back and peers. "Maybe a little. Here, gimme th' hammer, Ah'll pop them nails real quick-like. Ah'm glad ta hear that, but... it ain't gonna last, is it? Somethin's gonna happen, an' yer gonna go chargin' off again, with yer head fulla noble notions an' fun stories, ain't ya?" AJ pauses for a moment, and with the hammer in her teeth yanks the whole board off in a mighty pull! She drops the board and hammer. "So. Ah reckon... there's only one thing ta do. Ah need y'all ta make me a promise, Apple Bloom."

Apple Bloom climbs down and picks up the board. "Ah'm thinkin' yer rawt." Apple Bloom says. She will maybe resist the temptation for a little bit, then something'll happen and she'll jump into the action once more. Maybe that's part of being an Apple? Well, except Big Mac doesn't seem too adventurous. "What's th'promise?

Applejack takes a deep breath. "Promise me, from now on if'n ya can't keep from rushin off inta danger... come get me first. If'n Ah'm with ya at least maybe Ah can protect ya." She thinks for a moment about exactly what AB went up agains. "Maybe we can protect each other."

"Sounds lawk a good ahdea." Apple Bloom says, hauling the board and hammer back up to start installing it again. "Hope y'all don't git airsick."

Applejack chuckles and flexes her shoulders. "Ah didn't when Ah had wings! Reckon th' Crusader can't be much loopier'n that!" She takes the board and holds it in place for her sister. "Let's get this thing fixed up nice. An' maybe leter we should see if'n Twi knows anythin' 'bout this here... what did y'all say? 'Crimson Maiden'?"

"We're thinkin' Dawmond Dancer mawt also know somethin'. But Twalawt is a great start." Apple Bloom says, "Mostly we're trawin' t'figure wah Red's bein' possessed in particular." Though Apple Bloom supposes there doesn't necessarily *have* to be a connection. After all, when AJ was possessed twice what'd she have to do with either of them? "MAybe ah should take a break. It's hot out here."

Applejack nods. "Yup, an'... did y'all say Red? As in, Red Velvet?" AJ's eyes widen. "Oh lordy. Red Velvet! Ah was there! Ah mean, Nightmare Moon was there! Ah mean... Sweet mother of Equestria, this mighta been mah fault!" She squares her shoulders. "Yer right 'bout one thing. Ah gotta help. An' Ah'm fixin' ta start right now. AB, Ah'm gonna go find Twi. Even if'n she's in Canterlot. Y'all stay here an' get this thing flyin'. Ah got a notion we're gona need it!"

"Y'all got it!" Apple Bloom says enthusiastically and gets herself a little more water. "Ah'll have it ready bah sundown." Apple Bloom says while pouring more water. Looks like there's going to be adventure after all!

Applejack nods once to her sister, wheels around, and gallops off out the hangar door! Adventure? No. This is about duty. This is about fixing her mess, and doing what's right. And all of that is true... but it doesn't quite explain the determined little grin on her face. "... yippee kai-ay, Crimson Maiden!