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// 1- Farm Work, and Other Boring Stuff 
// Story: The Kind and Modest Trixie 
// by Arctic Inferno 
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It was still a glorious day in Ponyville despite it being late afternoon, and a warm breeze had accompanied the sunlight since a particular event in town that involved a unicorn mare sprinting through town centre and caused every local nearby to watch as the gravel flew up into the air and landed in interesting shapes behind her. Despite the ruckus caused in doing this, however, the mare in question had located the orange mare she had been running for and was now following her around the farm, being as irritable as possible in order to get her to give in and do as she wanted. The unicorn certainly hadn't expected the earth pony to be so persistent, though.

Coincidentally, on the other side of town a group of three small fillies were trying to go parasailing on a scooter, but that has nothing to do with this story.

"Come on, Applejack!" Trixie positively whined, following the orange mare to yet another apple tree surrounded with a number of empty baskets. "You've got to help me here!"
Applejack was about to buck the tree before sighing impatiently and looking at the blue unicorn. "Look, Trixie, I appreciate your intentions but I can't help you right now." She reared up her hind legs and struck the tree's trunk hard, causing the apples that were once nestled into its leaves to fall and pile up into the baskets. Trixie watched this display of extreme skill and likely would have commented on it if she wasn't so caught up in her own whining. 
"Why not?!" Trixie groaned. Applejack motioned to the courtyard with a quick wave of the hoof and then turned, making her way to one of the countless other trees.
"Well, for starters, I've got a load of Apples to buck this week," The orange mare said simply as she examined the one she had chosen, a professional at work. "And also I can't just teach you these things. Ponies have gotta learn this stuff for their selves." 

Trixie huffed and slumped to a sitting position on the ground, shuffling her rear on the grass to get comfortable as she sulked. Her companion was now skilfully pummelling a few of the trees in the immediate vicinity and carrying the filled buckets to a wagon not too far away. Trixie watched this for a while and then sighed irritably.
"You do this all day?" Applejack turned and looked at her, hesitating for a brief moment before responding.
"Pretty much," She said in all honesty with a quick, affirmative nod of the head.
"But..." Trixie looked at the empty trees surrounding her. "But it's so... boring." Applejack chuckled a little and moved to another tree nearby, setting up a few more empty basket in a circle around the trunk.
"Sometimes, Trixie," She said as she moved to a position by the tree, "We gotta do boring stuff. It's just part a' life." Trixie looked at her, a little bit confused. Applejack bucked the tree and moved the filled baskets to the cart before walking up to the unicorn and sitting down alongside her. 

An apple tree swayed in the wind in the silence that ensued, causing a single apple to fall from its branches and into an empty basket. Trixie turned to see the mare smiling at the scene as she worked out exactly what to say in her mind.

"Think about it," Applejack said to her sincerely, "After that first little event with the Ursa you had to go get a job on a farm, right?"
"Yeah," Trixie grumbled, "A rock one no less..."
"But while you were there, did you ever do little things that cheered you up? Stopped you from getting too bored?" The blue unicorn thought in silence for a long while before responding.
"Well..." She said, almost embarrassed, "I sometimes used to pretend the little hammer they gave me was a little magic staff I was smashing rocks with..."
"And that made you feel better, right? Stopped you from losing your mind?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
Applejack smiled and stood back up, having made her point. "I do little things like that all the time, you know. So maybe next time you decide somethin' is boring, give it a little thought before telling the ponies doing it so." Trixie looked at Applejack for the longest time, during which the orange mare had begun to continue with her work, before standing up straight.
"You see, already you've taught me a lesson!" She said, continuing with her pestering, "We could do this a little longer and I could be all modest, like you." 

Applejack moaned and turned back to the unicorn. "I said no, Trixie! I've got more important things to be doing! I need all these trees bucked by the end of the week!"
"W-Well, I could help you!" Trixie said, starting to get a little desperate. She ran on over to a nearby tree set up with the barrels and kicked it as hard as she could. It shook slightly and then, after a moment of silence, a single apple fell from its branches, bounced a little and rolled away. Applejack rolled her eyes.
"It's fine, sugarcube, I can do this by myself." 
Trixie huffed again and watched the other mare get ready to buck a tree before reluctantly speaking up once more, "Applejack... please."

Applejack stopped and lowered her hind legs back onto the ground, looking at Trixie for a long time before sighing and nodding. "Alright. Seein' as you asked so nicely." Trixie perked up.
"Really? Oh! Then let's begin already!" 
Applejack cocked an eyebrow, making Trixie looked somewhat confused. "And what?"
"Hmm?"
"What do ya say when you ask something from somepony and they give it to ya?"
"Oh, uh... Thank you, Applejack." 

The orange mare's expression softened and she smiled. Trixie smiled back and watched the orange mare put the last baskets of apples onto the cart and nudge it with a gentle tap of the hoof. It rolled down a shallow hill and came to a stop just outside the barn house, where her older brother raised a hoof in thanks and hoisted the thing's saddle onto his back, pulling it inside. Applejack turned to Trixie and motioned for the unicorn to follow her.
"Alright, then. Let's get started."