“Hehe, likin’ this fresh cool air, eh birdy?”

The elderly matriarch stood between the swaying trees, her small great-grandson tucked in her thick arms. Boy howdy, were they sure tired...tired, ol’ arms with ol’, creakin' bones. She hasn’t felt this way in...well, never. But she kept on holding him up like she had all the strength in the world as she gazed into his light green eyes and pink little cheeks and fuzzy pear coat.

Granny Smith has held many other grandchildren before him but Honeydew Raindrop was special in a way she couldn’t describe. Her little birdy...her little dandelion...so small and fussy, he was. Like her own son was decades ago. The tiny colt was the only one who shared her colors and it resonated with her more than she ever could have imagined. It made her heart thump, it aching anytime she’d look at him.

In his future she knew he would be expected to live up to her legacy, and that made her a bit sad. They shared many similarities but one difference stood out the most - he was a pegasus. The only pegasus her granddaughter Applejack had. He was no earth pony; with his delicate bones, tiny wings and soft down. Granny Smith only hoped he would find his feet on the ground where his ancestors have tread for generations, but that he also could find a home in the great beyond among the clouds.

---

Honeydew Raindrop only met Granny Apple Smith a few, precious times in his short life - and that was when he was a newborn baby. He is compared to her a lot; for various reasons. Growing up he was always expected to be just like her, whether unconsciously or not.

“Granny would never say that!”

“Granny never would have acted the way ya’ll actin’ right now.”

“Granny Smith would be ashamed, Honey.”

The preteen came to loathe hearing her name around the house and would stir up a big kerfuffle anytime she was mentioned, especially in reference to him.

Granny fell very ill after he was born. Her death nearly killed Applejack. The mare being in a weakened state after giving birth to Honeydew Raindrop only exacerbated things. Her wife Fluttershy was by her side the whole time and tried to help as much as she could around the house with their four other children while worrying so much she lost feathers. The family did recover but not without scars. Applejack was always a strong mare and bounced back pretty quickly but her grandmother’s death lingered in her mind like a dark cloud. As Honey grew he kind of...filled the role of black sheep. Not only was his attitude and personality proving hard to tolerate, the colt didn’t get along with most of his siblings nor his ma Applejack once he became a preteen. Honey had big shoes to fill and he didn’t like that. Despite what his family said about his granny being the perfect Apple™ in reality she was a very wild, temperamental mare in her hayday. She was a lot like him even as an older pony. Mouthy, brash, stubborn.

Applejack's grandmother knew her son had a great future but only if he took strides to get it. Even before he really got to know her the old bat was rooting for him.

Maybe he will find out the truth one day and learn to embrace her.

From the wonderful @PokemonTrainerMax (please go check em' out!) in which this picture was inspired by our backs and forths ^{^}

“Yeah, I can definitely see why it'd be a lot harder for Applejack and Honey to see eye-to-eye in your verse. Since AJ has more children, her attention is divided and, like you said, favoritism tends to happen and she focuses more on those who fit what she thinks an Apple should be, like Johnny. Also, Honey being a pegasus rather than an earth-pony might make it harder for her to connect to him (my AJ has a similar issue connecting to her unicorn niece, Honeycrisp, Sugar Belle and Big Mac's daughter). Also, having so many children means Honey is stuck right in the middle and acting out, so it all compounds together.”

Applejack isn’t a bad mom per say but she has a lot to learn, too. She loves Honey but he sort of fell by the wayside. Doesn’t help that he has siblings who overshadow him and a little brother who takes up tons of the family’s time. He’s a great student but is a menace towards his teachers and that’s all AJ sees sometimes.

Granny Smith had more years on her since earth ponies are the longest living pony species, and would have lived to see her grandchildren’s children grow up. If she saw Honey was best friends with a griffon she’d probably burst a vein! She had to fight off griffons with her bare hooves once upon a time gosh darnit.....