After a week had passed, the hospital finally released Applejack and sent her home. As they placed her into a wheelchair, she tried to grip the wheels and move on her own, but found herself merely sliding her hooves up and down the slippery surfaces. Spike came to the rescue and slowly wheeled her home. She blushed in embarrassment as many of the town ponies stopped what they were doing and watch the strange scene. Under normal circumstances, Applejack would've tilted her stetson hat in front of her face, but since it was still being patched up by Rarity, all she could do was close her eyes.
When they arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, Apple Bloom stampeded out of the house and jumped into her sister's lap.
"Oh, sis! Yer back!"
"Course I am, Apple Bloom!" She caressed her sister's head with her hoof and nuzzled her mane. Big Macintosh was next. He wrapped his hooves around her and let out a satisfied grunt. Applejack ruffled his mane with her hoof playfully and noticed that Granny Smith was nowhere to be found.
"Big Mac, where's Granny?"
Big Mac shrugged his shoulders and looked over to Apple Bloom who did the same.
"She's probably in the barn." Apple Bloom said. Big Mac grunted once more and nodded his head.
"What's she doin' in there?"
"Don't know. She's been in there ever since ya were sent ta the hospital."
"Spike-"
"Of course! I'll take you over to the barn." The loyal dragon grabbed the handle's on Applejack's wheelchair and slowly took her over to the barn's open doors. Applejack peered inside, but couldn't see anything since there were no lights on, but she did hear something.
"Granny?"
"Oh! Applejack!" She heard Granny Smith sniffle and start to walk towards them. "It's good ta have ya home." In the light, Applejack saw what a mess Granny Smith was. Her mane and tail had been taken down from their buns and were in a tangled knot, her eyes had even more bags under them than usual, and her eyes were extremely blood shot.
"Granny..." Applejack sighed.
"Oh, don't ya worry 'bout me, youngin! I'm as healthy as a pickadilly pear!" She sniffed once more and wiped a tear away from her eye before Applejack could notice.
"Granny, what's wrong?" Although I DO already know that answer.
Granny Smith's lip quivered as she stared at her beloved grandchild. She looked over at Spike who was increasingly starting to feel awkward about his current predicament, but he remained where he was.
Then Granny Smith looked at Applejack's leg and almost broke down right then and there.
"I failed ya!" She screamed. Applejack jumped at the loud noise that had come from her Granny, but then instantly tried to get out of her wheelchair to comfort her.
"AJ, no!" Spike protested. He tried to get her back down in the seat, but Applejack shoved him out of the way and placed her front hooves onto the ground.
"Oh, Gran-" She started, but she fell to the ground in agony when she placed weight on her back leg. Spike attempted to help her, but she had already started to crawl over to the sobbing pony. "Oh, Granny, ya didn't fail me!" She embraced her Granny and started crying herself. "Ah failed you!"
"Ah shoulda been there fer ya! I shoulda done somethin'!" Granny Smith hollered.
"Ya couldn't have done anythin'! Nopony could have!"
She looked down at Applejack's leg and sobbed even harder.
"That shoulda been me!" Applejack followed Granny's pointing hoof and shuddered when she saw the leg again. Spike had come over and was trying to place a pillow under it to make sure that it would not get injured further.
"Now, don't talk that way, Granny!" She pulled Granny Smith away so that she would look at her. "You couldn't do nothin'! I couldn't do nothin'! Now let's drop it an' move on!"
Granny Smith sniffled and helped Applejack back to her wheelchair.
"Yer right, youngin. Yer right..." Applejack grabbed her hoof and smiled affectionately which Granny Smith soon returned. "Now let's getcha into bed." She tried to put her hooves on the handles, but Spike intervened.
"Allow me, Granny Smith!" He said with a smile as he started to wheel Applejack towards the house.
"What are you doin' here, Spike?" Granny Smith asked.
"I still owe Applejack a life debt, so from now on I'll be handling her job here at Sweet Apple Acres!" Applejack rolled her eyes at the dragon's enthusiasm, but soon found herself smiling at his optimism.
"You mean, you'll be buckin' apples with me?" Big Mac had overheard the conversation and had now walked over to the tiny dragon.
"That's right! I'll be doing ALL of Applejack's chores for as long as this will last!"
Big Mac gave Applejack and uncomfortable look, remembering the time when he made a huge mess in the kitchen. Applejack grinned and gave him a big wink which made his frown relax.
"Sides, it probably won't last TOO long. I'll be back ta normal in no time!"
"But Applejack, you shouldn't rush yourself! The doctor said to take it easy!"
"He also said that I'll never be able ta buck again! But I'll prove him wrong, won't I, Big Mac?"
"Yeeup!"
"Well... for now," Spike said as he wheeled Applejack into her room. "You get some rest." He placed his arm around Applejack's waist and helped her clamber onto the bed. "You've had a weary couple of days and you need some shut eye." She placed her head on the pillow and let out a huge yawn which made Spike grin. Big Mac and Granny Smith left the room and turned off the light when they left, but Spike remained.
He watched as her chest slowly rose and fell and her golden hair cascaded across the pillow with each breath. He gently stroked her mane for a good ten seconds before snapping out of his trance.
"Come on, Spike! You've got to get to work!" He merrily skipped out of the room and closed the door. "You've got to make Applejack proud!"
"Uh... Spike?"
"Yeah, Big Mac?"
"Dontcha think yer bitin' off more than you can chew?"
"What do you mean?"
Big Mac was staring up at the dragon in the tree as he slowly hand-picked each apple. He had tried kicking them down, but only received a huge pain in his foot and maybe one or two apples falling to the ground.
But now he was high up in the tree, his free arm full of so many apples that Big Mac could hardly see his face.
"Maybe you should come down now...?" Big Mac suggested.
"What did you say?" Spike leaned down towards the ground to try and hear him better, but lost his grip on the branch. "WHOA!"
"Nnnnope!" Big Mac hollered when he saw the dragon start to tumble from the tree. Spike's body slammed into almost all of the branches on the way down and he had already dropped most of the apples he had been holding.
When he finally hit the ground, the dragon hollered so loudly in pain that green fire erupted from his mouth.
"Uh-oh..." He muttered when he saw what he had done. All of the apples that he had just picked were now... roasted. Big Mac walked over to him and noticed the sad display. He sighed and shook his head in frustration as he tried to pick up one of the smoking apples.
"YEOUCH!" He shrieked when the apple singed his tongue.
"Oops! Don't worry, Big Mac, I'll go get water!" Spike ran off towards the rain catcher and dipped a large bucket into the water. He ran back over to Big Mac and saw that he was still caressing his tongue. "Help is here- WHOA!" Spike tripped over a log and released his hold on the bucket of water. He watched it go sailing through the sky... and right onto Big Mac's head. "Oh no!"
Big Mac growled in anger and tossed the bucket off of his head. Spike turned a bright shade of red and started to back away from the furious stallion.
"I'm sorry, Big Mac! Please don't hurt me!"
Big Mac growled once more and then sighed in exhaustion.
"Go home." He said.
"What?"
"Go home! Go back ta Twilight! We don't need ya!" Big Mac shook out his soaking wet mane and walked to the next apple tree, giving it a whole-hearted kick.
"But I need to pay my debt! It's part of my Dragon Code! Applejack needs me!"
"Then take care ah Applejack, but don't help ME!" He collected the newly fallen apples into a wicker basket and walked away from Spike in a huff. He watched the stallion go to the farthest tree away and then continue working.
Spike took one of the roasted apples into his hand and sniffed the burnt fruit.
"They don't smell TOO bad." He took a small bite. "They taste..." He let the flavor sink in. "DELICIOUS!" He popped the whole thing into his mouth and then another and another. "Roasted apples are the BEST!" He said through a full mouth. Then he had an idea.
Maybe Rarity will like them!
He grabbed a handful and started off towards the Carousel Boutique, not knowing that Applejack was watching as he slowly left the farm.