//------------------------------//
// A Day on the Farm Pt. 2 
// Story: Might Give Ya Some Perspective 
// by Caineachu 
//------------------------------//

Discord gives a loud sigh, clearly not pleased with the direction this competition has taken, because it looks like he'll lose at this rate. Applejack glances back at him as she stops under an apple tree. "Don't fret none. If'n buckin' isn't your thing, you can jus' pick 'em right off the tree. It'll be slower, but easier."

He sighs, crossing his arms. "How much slower?"

"Oh, it won't be that much slower." She smirks back at him. "We'll be done in no time."

He briefly muses on the idea of making Applejack lighter so she floats away. It wouldn't involve breaking anything, so it might be within the rules. But instead, he merely huffs, folding his arms. "Time, time, time. Does everything you do take forever?"

"If ya don't stop yer whining, it might." She trots up to one of the trees, which already has baskets under it, her brother having set them up already. "'Sides, all this manual labor might help you git some muscle on them bones of yers." She lifts her hind legs, striking the tree with a loud thud. All the apples fall from thee branches, landing in the baskets.

"And ruin my perfectly sleek physique? It would be an absolute crime. I've already got all the muscle I need right here." He taps the side of his head.

She looks at him and raises an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. Is that why ya almost floated off ta Cloudsdale with my plow a few minutes ago? Because the muscle in your noggin thought cheatin' would work so well?"

He grins. "I'm not pulling that awful scrap of metal you call a plow anymore, am I?"

"Heh, I guess that's a fair point." Applejack walks over to the next tree, bucking it like she did the first one. While most of the apples fall, some are left on the branches. she nods up to them, silently telling him to get them. "Maybe I'll make ya fix it when I win this silly bet."

Discord follows the hint, reaching up into the tree to pull them down. "My, my, such presumption. It'll be a pity to make a liar out of you. Again." He tosses the apples into the basket with a smirk.

"Dang, that was a low blow, even for you." She smiles a bit as she moves to the next tree, repeating her bucking and leaving a few more for him again.

"I really must be reformed. That was hardly the lowest I could manage, on a good day." He picks the apples, though he's not really as careful about it as he should be. He's in a bit of a hurry to get this done.

"Oh yeah, yer such a Colt Scout now." She notices him in a bit of a rush, but doesn't say anything as she continues to buck the apple trees. She's got a nice pace going.

"Believe me, Applejack. You've not seen me at peek form. Compared to that? I'm practically a goody two-hooves." He tosses a few more apples down to her.

"Well, I guess you ain't wrong." She catches them, putting them in the baskets. "I mean, up until pretty recently, you were jus' a big stone bird perch. I didn't even think I'd ever be talkin' to ya in the first place."

"Oh ha, ha. I'll have you know Sombra's little boot camp up North was /nothing/ compared to--" He probably should have been paying attention, because when he carelessly tugs the next apple free, the branch snaps. He realizes his mistake and tries to just kind of. Put the branch back. At the snap, she turns around and looks up at him.

"...You just broke the branch right off."

"I think you must be working too hard. Heat exhaustion, awful thing. Really messes up the mind. Because clearly the branch is just fine." He sticks it in with a bundle of branches so it stays put.

She puts a hoof up to her head, looking as if she suddenly has a headache. it's a wonder where that could've come from. "Uh-huh. That must be it."

The draconequus pats the tree. "Mmyep. That's precisely what it is. Say! Why don't you go inside and lie down, and let me take care of the rest of your chores? Clearly I'm doing just fine with apple picking. Shouldn't be too much work."

Applejack goes to the next tree, bucking all the apples out of it with one whack. She barely wants to leave even apples for him to pick now, lest he rips the whole damn tree out of the ground or some other ridiculousness. "No, I'm sure it'll go away in a spell, don't you worry yer pretty little head."

He shrugs. "Suit yourself." He trots over to the next tree and starts to pick more apples by hand, occasionally taking a bite of one and tossing them into the basket. Applejack moves past him to buck the next tree in the row, the apples tumbling down into the baskets.

They make their way down the row, actually making good progress, and nothing starts to float away this time. "Y'know, Discord, I'm actually a might surprised you're stickin' with it fer this long."

He scoffs in mock offense. "You wound me! Such lack of confidence."

"Couldja really blame me for it? You ain't exactly been the most reliable..." She waves her hoof around as she tries to find the word. "Er. Whatever ya are."

"Draconequus. Spirit of chaos. The most handsome face in Equestria. Really, there's plenty to choose from."

"Right, right, how silly of me ta forget all them." She sits on her rump under the next tree, taking her hat off to fan herself off a bit. The heat's picked up, and her bucking all day hasn't cooled her down any. Discord slips over and winds around the tree she sits under, conjuring a large, garish feather fan and fanning her with it.

"My, my. You're working far too hard."

Applejack puts her hat back on, looking up at him. She really doesn't want to admit that she could use a break, so she waves a hoof at him. "Don't be silly, 'm fit as a fiddle."

He quirks a brow. "Really now? Very well then, hop to it! No time to waste."

The farmhorse huffs a little, not really at him, more like to try to push aside how sore she is. "Right, 'm up, let's git to it." She moves to the next tree, bucking the trunk. Around 2/3 of the apples fall into the baskets, and she has to buck it again to get the rest.

Discord grins, seeing an opportunity to win the bet at hand. He pops over to the next tree, curling up in the branches and picking an apple. He wills the apples to stick to the branches, so they'll be harder to knock down. "Come now, Applejack, pick up the pace a bit!"

She nods, moving to the next one and bucking it. Barely any of the apples fall this time, and she holds back a curse as she bucks it again, getting about a third to fall. "Consarnit!" With a growl, she puts everything she has into her next kick, and she manages to overdo it. The entire tree shakes hard enough that almost threatens to uproot itself, and all the apples besides a handful fall into the baskets. Her hind legs burn fiercely, but with her frustration making adrenaline course through her, it barely registers.

Meanwhile, the corners of Discord's mouth twitch up in a rather smug smirk, slipping from the tree and heading to the next one, pulling the same trick. He's got this one in the bag.

Applejack moves to the next tree, her expression one of intense anger, and she intends to keep bucking until she literally can't anymore. She lashes her hind legs out at the trunk, a few apples tumbling down. "This blasted-" Her frustration gets a tight hold on her, and she kicks furiously in a tired flurry. One of the strikes doesn't land how it's supposed to, and pain shoots through her hind leg. She yelps and falls to the ground.

In a flash, the draconequus is at her side, putting on a concerned face. "Oh dear! Whatever is the matter, Applejack?"

She tries to stand up, clenching her teeth as her hind leg protests her attempts. "Hurt my stupid hoof tryin' ta buck."

"Oh, how dreadful! You really mustn't strain yourself so much."

"I don't understand why those apples wouldn't fall." Although, now that she's thinking about it, years of experience with applebucking tells her that apples should've NEVER been that hard to buck. She looks up at Discord in suspicion. "Ya wouldn't have any kind of an inklin' of an answer, would ya?"

He shrugs. "Haven't the foggiest clue. Apples are your expertise, not mine."

"Yeah, an' in my experience, apples have never been that hard ta buck, even when I was a young 'un." She tries to fiercely turn her body to face him, but her limp takes some of the fierceness away. Luckily, the look she has on her face is still plenty fierce. "Ya couldn't have just gone fer the rest of the day without tryin' ta pull something, could ya? Now look! I won't be able to work for at least a few days now! We could be backed up fer the next month from this!"

"Wha--?? You think this was MY fault?" He feigns innocence, sounding hurt. "Why, Applejack, here I thought we'd built up some kind of repoire!" He folds his arms, turning his head as if greatly offended.

Applejack growls at him before she speaks. "Discord, I know apples like the back of my hoof, my flank even says so! I know this was at least partly yer fault." She stops standing, sitting down on her rump again, some of her fury leaving her. "Consarnit, I was even startin' ta have a good time just workin' and shootin' the breeze with ya out here. I usually have ta do all this alone." However, not all of said fury is gone. "But then ya had to go and focus on tryin' to win that blasted bet, an' get me hurt in the process! Don't you even feel the least bit guilty about it?" Soon after asking that outloud, she almost snorts at her own question. "Silly me, I forgot, ya only care about YERSELF!"

"You act as if that's a bad thing. Everypony is out for number one, no matter how nicely they dress it up in things like "friendship" or what have you. At least I have the decency to be forward about it. You know. Hypothetically speaking, in the off-chance this is my fault."

The orange mare is about to yell at him more, but his words give her a bit of pause. "...Do you really think that's how things work?"

"I don't think so, my dear. I know so. I've been around for a very, very long time. I've seen what ponies are like when their back is against the wall. When it comes right down to it, all that really matters is looking out for yourself. You're all you've got, when it comes down to it."

Most of the anger has left Applejack's face at this point. "Discord, I know for a fact that the ponies I know would drop dang near everything ta help a friend in need. Heck, I've been on both ends of it before." She glances down at her hurt leg, wincing as she shifts it into a more comfortable position. "You've been around a while, sure, but things have changed in the last few thousand years."

For once, he actually looks rather serious. "Not as much as you'd think." And just like that, the moment is done, and he's got that old familiar smile on his face. "Speaking of our little bargain. Where precisely DOES this put us, hm?"

The farmhorse blinks at that serious look on his face, and is about to question is until he asks about the bet. "Ya mean the bet that left my plow in shambles and me basically out of buckin' fer a week? The bet that I should've never made with ya in the first place?"

"That's the one! I'd say this one's looking like a win for me."

She actually just snorts at his words. "Suagrcube, I reckon this day is a tie at the most."

"I told you I'd be able to keep pace with you, and I have."

She gives him a look. "Yeah, by usin' magic ta gain the upper hand or downright sabotage somethin' or other. Pretty sure there was an agreement ta not do that."

He simply shrugs. "Not my fault you decided to change the rules after the bet was made. That's more cheating than anything else in my book."

"I did no such thing." She leans back against the tree they're under, folding her forehooves across her chest. This, combined with the irritated look she has on her face, makes her look like she's pouting.

The Spirit of Chaos winds about the tree she leans against and gets right up in her face, nose inches away from hers. "Ohh, don't be so glum, chum. Today wasn't a total loss."

She looks at him, curiosity and confusion obvious in her expression. "And why is that?"

"Well, for starters, I have come to determine you are NOT completely and totally boring. So congratulations on that. And of course, you got to spend quality one-on-one time with yours truly." He grins, his paw moving up to his chest. "Time spent with me is never time wasted."

Applejack stares at him before she snorts a bit, lightly pushing his face away. "Yeah, I guess ya ain't so bad yerself, even though yer a dirty cheater."

"Oh, Applejack, you're making me blush!" He turns entirely red, adopting a bashful expression, eliciting an eye roll from her, even as she grins.

"Yeah, yeah, ain't I jus' a big dang romantic or whatever." He slowly tries to get back up, but her hind leg buckles from the pain, and she winces as she sits back down. "Hey, couldja help me git to the farmhouse?"

"I would be delighted to!" He picks her up bridal-style and, in the interest of being contrary as usual, starts at a rather casual walk back to the farmhouse. She definitely didn't expect to be carried back like this, and she just huffs and crosses her forelegs again as they walk along through the orchard.

"So then." He looks down at her. "What WILL you do with yourself while that leg of yours heals, hmm?"

"Probably sit around the whole time. Read, maybe. Somethin' like that." She sighs. "So excited fer it, if'n ya can't already tell."

"I had a hunch. It doesn't have to be all bad, you know. Perhaps it could give you a bit of perspective. Can't spend all your time working." He grins. "You should spend time with me, instead! We could have some real fun."

The orange apple mare shifts a bit in his hold, trying not to think about how close she's being held to him. "I ain't sure yer kind of fun is the same as mine."

"Of course not. Because my fun is actually fun. It will take some adjustment, dear Applejack, but you shall come to embrace my ways."

She mulls it over in her head before she answers. As much as the thought of hanging out with Discord didn't exactly tickle her fancy, lazing around and reading was even worse. "Ya know what, sure, why not?"

"Now, there's no need to--wait." He blinks. "...you mean it?"

"Yeah, sure." She shrugs in his arms. "It's either that or sittin' around on my rump the whole time."

"You have made an excellent choice! Oh we'll have the grandest time. Perhaps I might even show you my place. You'll like my thinking tree. Given you spend most of your time around trees."

She cocks her brow at him. "Ya have yer own thinkin' tree?"

"Of course I do." He answers as if the thought of not having one is ludicrous. "Where do you think I get all my most fiendishly clever ideas from? Certainly not any rock or cave would do. The elevation helps me think more clearly."

"Oh yeah, silly me." She shifts in his hold again. "Well shoot, why do we hafta wait 'til tomorrow? Let's go have some fun right now." To be honest, she just really, really doesn't want to be forced to sit around.

"The heat must have really gotten to you. Very well then." He stops walking at this point, looking down at her. "Tell me one place you've always wanted to go, but were never able because you're obsessed with work."

"Hmm..." She taps her chin with a hoof, thinking about it. Honestly, she never felt the desire to really go anywhere else, and she realizes now how boring that is. She struggles to think of an answer. "Shoot, I dunno. I guess jus' someplace far away from here, or far away from most places. Somewhere nice an' quiet where no pony needs me ta do anything."

"Done." He snaps, and they disappear in a white flash.