Applejack at the Edge of the World

by MagicS

Apples, Strawberries, and Pears, Oh My! IV

“I really wish that meeting had gone better, for all our sakes,” Wild Strawberry said as she lied on her bed and stared up at the ceiling.

Applejack meanwhile was pacing about in the room, still in a bad mood and still with no clue how to proceed. “Consarnit—can’t ponies just get over themselves?”

“It aint that easy. Even I know that and I’m just a kid,” Wild Strawberry shrugged.

“True… I’ve been pigheaded enough as an adult to know,” Applejack rubbed her forehead. “But it’s their precious farms, their livelihoods, what they want to pass on to their kids that’s at stake! Do they hate each other more than they love their farms and fruit?”

“Ponies are silly I guess. You know Mr. Berries doesn’t even know how this feud started? I bet Ol’ Honeycrisp and Mother Pear Jam don’t even remember either,” Wild Strawberry said.

“Ugh. I aint the giving up type but maybe I should go talk to that Council of Lords or see if anypony else in Elysium’s View can help me out here?” Applejack wondered.

“I think that’d just make them all angrier if more outsiders get involved...”

Applejack sighed. “You’re right about that. Probably wouldn’t be smart to get even more on Mr. Berries bad side when he’s still letting me stay here.”

Wild Strawberry hopped off the bed. “What do you want to do now?”

“I really got no idea,” Applejack shook her head.

“Me neither. I just… maybe I should pack up and leave soon too. There are other places that probably don’t have strawberries at all, I can help grow some there and teach them to love my favorite fruit. If I can’t help out here then what’s the point? I wouldn’t be following my Cutie Mark at all,” Wild Strawberry said.

“Growing and spreading the love of strawberries around the world, huh?” Applejack wistfully looked out the window of the room, and to the plant growing under it. She smiled. “Well, even if you got stalled here I’d say it was still good you grew these on your own.”

“Why’s that?” Wild Strawberry raised an eyebrow at her.

“So I can do this,” Applejack said and walked over to the bush, taking the ripest strawberry off it. “I’ll be honest with you, sugarcube, I’ve never cared for strawberries. If you weren’t out here I probably wouldn’t eat any. But since you are—well I can do a lot more than just appreciate them.”

“But it’s just going to be bitter anyways...” Wild Strawberry frowned.

“Doesn’t matter. If it’s your strawberry then I want to eat it,” Applejack said and took a big bite out of the juicy fruit. As the experience, the texture, the flavor, hit her, Applejack nearly immediately froze up. She took another bite and then another one, eating the entire strawberry and swallowing it all down, even licking her lips when she was finished.

“Uh, Applejack? You got a little quiet there, is something wrong?” Wild Strawberry questioned.

“It’s delicious...”

“Huh?”

“It’s delicious. That was one of the most delicious fruits I’ve ever eaten besides the apples and apple food my Granny and parents have made for me...” Applejack said.

“Huh?” Wild Strawberry repeated, running over to her and the strawberry bush. “But that’s impossible, I was only growing them as a hobby, I used the same seeds, soil, and water as the rest of the farm’s been using for their strawberries! Mine shouldn’t be any different.” She pulled a fresh strawberry off the bush and ate it—her eyes popping wide open at the sweet flavor that assaulted her mouth. “Y-You’re right… it’s so sweet… it’s like a normal strawberry.”

She scratched her head in confusion, Applejack’s old hat nearly falling off. “But I don’t understand! Why are the strawberries I’ve grown normal? This doesn’t make any sense!”

“Course it does.”

Wild Strawberry looked up at Applejack—seeing the older mare staring off into space with a big smile stretched across her face.

“I said it earlier didn’t I? Wondered if they hate each other more than they loved their own farms and fruit… that’s why this has happened. It’s not about the soil. It’s not about the work going into their growth. It’s not about any special farming techniques. The reason all the fruit here has gone bitter is because Mr. Berries, Ol’ Honeycrisp, and Mother Pear Jam have forgotten the most important thing of all when it comes to raising crops. Something that if it’s missing will make your fruit bitter no matter what else you do.”

“Umm, what?” Wild Strawberry asked.

“Love, sugarcube.” Applejack smiled as she closed her eyes and thought back on all her precious memories at Sweet Apple Acres. Every tree she bucked, every harvest she took part in, seeing trees grow before her very eyes. Working out there with Big Mac and Apple Bloom. Granny Smith teaching her about Zap Apple Jam.

Being guided through the trees by her mother and father long ago…

“The bitterness that these families have for each other has seeped into everything. It’s corrupted all their plants. It’s not the soil, the water, the trees, the plants, the fertilizer, nothing! It’s so much deeper than that. That’s why your strawberry bush is okay—because you grew it all on your own, innocently, pouring love into it the whole time!” Applejack lifted up Wild Strawberry into a big hug. “We’ve got it, sugarcube! I know what’s wrong now and I know how to save everypony’s farm!”

Wild Strawberry grinned and eagerly returned the hug, laughing in joy. “So what do we do now?”

“There’s a couple of ponies we need to find first.”

---

“Sunshine, how are ya doing today?” Applejack asked her as she and Wild Strawberry walked up to the mare.

They were all out in the strawberry fields, Sunshine busy watering some with a flower-patterned watering can. Applejack and Strawberry had big smiles on their faces that honestly kind of perturbed the other mare. What did they have to be happy about at this point?

“I’m fine I suppose,” Sunshine said, tipping up the can to make sure she didn’t over water any of the plants. “Why do you ask?”

“Well…” Applejack rubbed the back of her neck.

“What do you think about the Pear twins?” Wild Strawberry cheekily asked.

“H-Huh?” Sunshine looked around as if to make sure nopony else was around. “Well… we’ve known each other since we were kids. Can’t say my father ever let us be friends but we corresponded with one another a lot. Not so much lately though.”

Applejack got a knowing smirk on her face. “You like one of em?”

“Fancy one of em?” Wild Strawberry wiggled her eyebrows.

“I-I… um… well… P-Pear Pie and I have always gotten along particularly well...” Sunshine blushed.

“I thought so,” Applejack nodded. She stepped up to Sunshine and put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “Now—you don’t have to say anything you don’t want, but would you like it if your farm got along better with theirs? And the Apples too?”

“Um…” Sunshine bit her lip. “I know how my father feels… and I don’t want to disappoint him… but at the same time things have gotten so bad here. It’s just… wrong.”

“Well the two of us would like to help. We want to fix things and maybe you’ll be able to get along a lot better with everypony else around here. And especially Pear Pie,” Applejack smiled.

Sunshine blushed and gulped hesitantly. “W-Well then...”

“We need you to help us first though. Do you think you can get us in contact with the Pear twins? Without their mother or any other pony knowing?” Applejack asked.

Sunshine thought for a second before nodding. “I think so. But why?”

“One thing at a time,” Wild Strawberry smirked.

---

Big Hoof was in the middle of pulling a plow, gouging up the dirt and getting it ready for planting when Applejack, Wild Strawberry, and his sister Sunshine came by. He was kind of surprised why his sister was out here but it’s not like any of their work was really especially important right now.

“Hey there, Big Hoof, getting a lot of work done today?” Applejack asked as she walked up to him. Wild Strawberry was right there with her while Sunshine was hesitantly following her steps.

“Mhm,” Big Hoof nodded, not slowing down.

“Must be tough pulling that plow, I know what that’s like,” Applejack said.

“Mhm,” Big Hoof grunted.

“Shoot, if I knew you were doing something so tough I would’ve brought a nice glass of water with me for you,” Applejack said.

“Mhm.”

“You really focused on your work there, huh? Guess you like strawberries as much as I like apples.”

“Mhm.”

“So how about that Maybelline?”

Big Hoof sputtered and nearly tripped, his head whipping over towards her. “W-W-What? Huh?”

He saw Applejack and Wild Strawberry both grinning up at him while Sunshine nervously chuckled.

“Could you maybe help us out a little bit, Big Hoof?” Applejack asked him. “If you do you’ll get to talk to Maybelline today. And tomorrow. And maybe a whole lot more.”

Big Hoof looked around at the three mares and raised an eyebrow. “What’s this about?”

“I’m glad you asked.”

---

Deep in the hills of the Pear family farm, an unlikely group of ponies met. It was just as confusing of a meeting in the first place for most of them. And scary too, as the children of the two heads of their farms were worried about what could happen if their parents ever actually found out about this. However, even with that, kindness and friendship was winning out for the moment as Pear Pie and Pear Cake had allowed this secret meeting at the request of Sunshine to take place. Surrounded by pear trees in a nearly hidden grove, there was an uncomfortable feeling hanging over most of the ponies. Except for Applejack and Wild Strawberry, who both smiled and radiated joy.

“I’m really glad you two met us out here,” Applejack said to the Pear twins.

“Anything for a friend...” Pear Pie said as his eyes wandered over to Sunshine.

“Exactly!” Applejack pointed to him. “Exactly that! Y’all know this is wrong and want to change things don’t you? And not just because your fruits have gone bitter, you want to be friends and start up a better relationship with the Apple and Strawberry families. Cause it’s just the right thing to do aint it? It’s the thing that would make everypony happy!”

“I don’t think it’s that easy,” Pear Cake said.

“But it is! It really is! And what’s more important right now is that you want to be friends with the other farms and fix all this, right?” Applejack asked.

The twins shared a look before both nodded to Applejack and spoke in unison. “That’s right.”

“So now how are we going to do that though? Why’d you want me to get in touch with them, Applejack?” Sunshine asked. Big Hoof stood beside her, silent but curious.

“Wild Strawberry?” Applejack raised an eyebrow at the filly.

“Right,” Wild Strawberry nodded and together both of them removed their hats.

The other ponies looked on in confusion as Applejack and Wild Strawberry both revealed a small bag of strawberries sitting on their heads. Ripe and freshly picked, the two removed their bags and held them out for the four other ponies to take. It was still... very confusing to them though.

“What’s all this?” Sunshine asked.

“Just eat one of em,” Applejack said. “All four of you.”

“They’re just going to be bitter like all of our pears,” Pear Pie said.

“Look, just take a bite,” Wild Strawberry said.

Sunshine shrugged and was the first to take a strawberry, with Big Hoof right behind her and the twins after him. Together they looked at and inspected the strawberries, wondering why they were being asked to eat them. Sunshine and Big Hoof weren’t looking forward to anymore bitter strawberries while the twins weren’t exactly keen on eating the other fruit at all. Bitter or not their mother wouldn’t be too happy if she found out. Still, since Sunshine was here and Applejack seemed like a nice pony, they’d at least indulge.

As Applejack and Wild Strawberry watched, the four other farmers plunked the strawberries into their mouths and bit into the fresh fruit. Just like Applejack they had an immediate reaction as the sweet and delicious fruit overwhelmed their tongues. It had been ages since any of them had tasted a fruit so nice. Sunshine and Big Hoof’s jaws dropped in shock while the Pear twins were left staring off into space as they swallowed the strawberries down.

“B-B-B-But how? Where did you find a fresh strawberry so sweet? Our entire farm is bitter,” Sunshine asked.

“I grew em,” Wild Strawberry proudly stated. “I had my own plant growing in my room, these strawberries you’re eating are the fruits of my labor!”

“But that still doesn’t make any sense...” Sunshine said.

Wild Strawberry chuckled and gently elbowed Applejack in the side. “Hehe, tell em, Applejack!”

“There’s something you’ve been missing now, and also, a poison really has seeped into your farms. But it’s not what you think,” Applejack smiled as she looked at the others. “And we’re lucky that this poison is easy to fix. And this ingredient you’re missing-” She looked at the Pear twins and then Sunshine. “You already know where to find it. But it might be a little tougher to convince your parents. I’ve got an idea for that, but I need some help. Pear Pie, Pear Cake? First of all, is there any tree here that’s not a normal pear tree for harvesting? One that’s special to you? The first one you planted or one you take care of personally?”

“Well... yes,” Pear Cake answered hesitantly. He looked a little unsure about speaking further but the sweet strawberry was still on his mind. “I don’t know if this is what you have in mind, but there’s the Pear Family Grove.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Pear Family Grove?”

---

“These trees aren’t for harvesting. One gets planted each time a new Pear is born,” Pear Pie explained as he took Applejack and the others through a small grove behind the Pear ranch.

“You’re supposed to water and care for them yourself,” Pear Cake added.

“When we were born, Mother decided to only put down one seed, so we could both share it. Said it would be a good way for us to stay close,” Pear Pie said.

“And she was right,” Pear Cake smiled and pointed up at a pear tree. “Look.”

Applejack looked up at a mighty big and healthy pear tree. It was in the middle of the grove and had dozens of just as delicious looking pears hanging from its branches. The bark, the leaves, everything about it was perfectly maintained. It was clear the Pear twins had put a lot of love into raising this tree. Which was exactly what Applejack was hoping for. A tree that was just theirs, untouched by the bitterness flowing through everything else. It wasn’t for harvesting or selling from, no wonder they hadn’t figured out that this one would be different.

At least she was hoping she’d be right and the pears from this tree wouldn’t be bitter.

“Could we try some of the pears growing from it? If that’s alright?” Applejack asked.

Pear Pie shrugged. “Generally I’d say no but considering the circumstances of the past few months and the generosity you’ve shown us...”

“I don’t see why you’d want to though. There’s no reason why these pears wouldn’t be bitter too,” Pear Cake said.

“Let’s just try them, please,” Applejack said.

The Pear twins did what pear farmers do best and the both of them gave a precise buck to the tree, dropping a pear for each pony in the grove, including themselves. When everypony had their pear they stood under the tree and got ready to eat. Big Hoof and Sunshine both looked at the fruit a little awkwardly, probably feeling the same short of shame Pear Pie and Pear Cake felt about the strawberries. The same kind of awkwardness Applejack might have felt long ago before she learned about her heritage. Ponies really were the same all over.

As soon as every pony bit into the pears, they were greeted with the sharp, aromatic, sweet, taste that the pears from this farm should always have. The crunchy flesh of the fruit was dripping with juice and Applejack closed her eyes to enjoy the flavor in an even purer way. She took a few more bits just to savor the sensation and the moment. Judging by the silence in the grove, the others were doing much the same thing.

“I don’t get it...” Pear Pie whispered and Applejack opened up her eyes.

She saw him and his brother staring at their pears, large bites taken out of them.

“Is this all that it was? Was that really the problem?” Pear Cake wondered.

“Simple, right?” Applejack said. “You understand how bad things have really gotten now, that your families have gotten on such bad terms that it’s destroying all of you. But we can fix it. Help me out here just a little more. We can fix how the fruits have gone bitter and fix how nasty your families treat one another.”

“What more do you need us to do?” Pear Pie asked, now far more invested. “Just because these pears are normal and taste so delicious, how is that actually going to fix things?”

“It’s just one part and I’ll tell you about the rest later. Right now it’s Big Hoof’s time to shine,” Applejack grinned over at the large stallion.

“Mhm,” Big Hoof nodded.

---

“This is my own apple tree, I planted it myself years ago and I’ve been saving it for a special occasion but I figured all the fruit on it would be bitter now anyways and... the special occasion I wanted to use it for seemed like it might never come,” Maybelline said as she glanced over the others and then stared at Big Hoof. A sad smile coming over her face. “I wanted to bake an apple pie for you one day. When our families were on better terms.”

“Mhm,” Big Hoof blushed and looked down, too embarrassed to meet her gaze.

“I’m the only one in the family allowed to touch this tree. Everypony else knows that,” Maybelline said and gave it a kick, dropping a single red apple from its branches and into her hooves. She looked at it with a blank expression on her face before walking over to Big Hoof and offering the apple up to him.

“Will you accept this apple?” She asked.

Big Hoof managed to meet her gaze and he shyly nodded. “Mm... mhm.”

He graciously took the apple from her hooves and brought it up to his mouth, taking a big bite out of it while Maybelline and the others watched. Big Hoof chewed a few times, quietly eating it and taking his time, not rushing the special occasion at all. To the others watching this all seemed far more intimate than the simple giving of a fruit to another pony.

After a moment he finished with his bite and swallowed it all down, silently gazing up and looking at the apple tree it came from.

“H-How was it?” Maybelline asked.

“Delicious. It was the best thing I’ve ever tasted in my life,” Big Hoof answered.

Tears started to gather at Maybelline’s eyes. “Oh, Big Hoof...”

“That’s my brother for you,” Sunshine smirked.

Maybelline wiped the tears away and looked at Applejack and Wild Strawberry. “So with what you and Big Hoof said... what does this mean? Will everything really be okay?”

“It will be. There’s just a little more work to do now,” Applejack nodded.

“What’s next? We’ve found pears, apples, and strawberries that are still healthy and taste sweet. So what do we do with them?” Pear Pie asked her.

“Now it’s time to finally convince your parents that what they’re doing is wrong,” Applejack said.

The others paled and looked around nervously, not exactly happy with that idea.

“Is um... is there anything else we can do?” Maybelline asked.

Applejack shook her head. “Nope. You gotta show them how their bitterness and grudges are ruining their farms. You gotta remind them about love, how important that is to raising your crops and making sure your fruit is the best it can be.”

“That’s right!” Wild Strawberry smirked.

“Yes but how exactly do we do that?” Sunshine asked. “They’re not going to like it if we tell them what we’ve all just done today...”

“I’ve got an idea for tomorrow but I’ll need your help again. Is there a place like that courtroom where you can bring all your parents—don’t let them know what’s going on first or that the other families will be there—a place that’s normal or kind of like neutral ground? I don’t want any of them to be suspicious,” Applejack said.

“I’m sure we can come up with a place like that,” the Pear twins shrugged.

“There’s probably a good spot in town,” Maybelline said.

“Okay,” Applejack nodded. “Then I just gotta ask you to trust me again, cause tomorrow we’re going to fix everything.”

Comments

[RoboRed]

It's all starting to come together, but I expect there's still going to be one or two remaining hurdles.

[Fanwriter]

Yay I was right!

But yep more hurdles for sure.

[redmar]

The elders really let their animosity poison their crops. It won't be easy to convince the family elders to let go of their grudge even when they learn what happened. Old habits die hard after all.