//------------------------------//
// Applejack and the Beanstalk 
// Story: Once Upon a Pinkie... 
// by Teyeson Bee 
//------------------------------//

	...In a faraway village, there lived a simple earth pony farmer by the name of Applejack. Though she didn't have much, she still remained positive in what she DID have. Unfortunately, that positive attitude was starting to shrink as food and money began to run alarmingly low. Applejack's only means of making money was selling apples, but even that business had started to slow. The only other means of money resided in Applejack's athletic but lazy roommate, Rainbow Dash, who was staying with AJ after a certain calamity involving her house. Apparently, Rainbow wasn't thinking and made her last house out of straw. Then there was something about a wolf with a big mouth, some huffing and puffing, and well, the rest is history.

"Rainbow!" Applejack said to her one day after catching her laying under a tree while she was supposed to be doing her chores. "Now is not the time to lay around! It's high time that we thought of somethin' to do 'bout our money problem! Unless you wanna starve this winter!"

Rainbow yawned as she looked up at the stern earth pony. "Have you considered putting on a show?" she asked unenthusiastically. "I mean, after the fiasco with the candlestick, you would have ponies lining up to see that again!"

"Oh hardy har har!" Applejack laughed sarcastically. It seemed that nopony could accidentally set their tail on fire from jumping over a candlestick nowadays without having somepony else remind them of it. Applejack STILL had pains just thinking about it. So much for "Applejack be nimble, Applejack be quick."

"Well alright," Rainbow said as she sat up. "How about we try selling some things? That could earn us a good bit of bits!"

Applejack scratched her chin thoughtfully. "An interesting idea. It could help us a lot. Ok then, you can sell your collection of Daring Do books and-"

"WHAT?" Rainbow shouted, jumping up. "No way Applejack! They're collectables! Do you know what I had to do to get the final book? It was a present from Humpty Dumpty!"

"Was this before or after you accidentally knocked him off the wall?" Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.

"THAT WAS NEVER PROVEN!" Rainbow protested. "Besides, if we should sell anything, it should be that old cow of yours." Milky White, the cow, had been with Applejack for years. Though the cow hadn't given any milk in a mighty long time, Applejack still cared deeply for her, seeing how Milky White was her mother's. Just the mention of the idea made Applejack gasp in horror.

"SELL Milky White?" Applejack asked in shock as she hugged her cow's neck. "Why she's practically family! Ah couldn't do a thing like that!"

"Why not?" Rainbow asked. "She hasn't given any milk in years, and we NEED that money! You want to eat don't you? Either you sell the cow, or I'll eat it myself!"

"We don' even eat meat!" Applejack retorted.

"Well with how hungry I am, THERE'S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING!" Rainbow scolded. "C'mon Applejack! We could just give the cow to the next village over. There's a farmer over there that collects cows. I bet he would give you a good price! Please?"

Rainbow dropped to her knees and started to beg. Applejack looked from the pleading pegasus to her beloved cow as she thought. On one hoof, they really DID need the money. On the other hoof, Milky White was the last reminder of her mother. On the other hoof, winter was around the corner, and they needed food. Applejack felt as if she was stuck between a rock and...well...Rainbow Dash as she contemplated her decision. She glanced over at Milky White again, who just gave a low "moo." Rainbow was right in saying that the farmer at the other village did collect cows, and AJ happened to know that he cared for each cow accordingly. Maybe that would be the best choice.

So, with a deep sigh, AJ finally nodded. "Ok Rainbow. I'll sell her."

"Great!" Rainbow said with a smile. She then flew into the house and came out a few seconds later with a long leash. Quickly, she fastened it to Milky and handed the other end to Applejack. "No time to waste! You might wanna head out now. The sooner we get that money, the sooner we can eat!"

Applejack looked from the leash to Milky White, her lip trembling a bit. "Uh...Rainbow? C-could you take her instead? I...I don't think I could <sniff> take letting her go."

"Oh alright," Rainbow sighed as she rolled her eyes. "I'll be back soon." And with that, Rainbow Dash headed off to the next village with Milky White trailing close behind her. 

The road to the next village was a pretty straight one, but Rainbow still had to cross through a section of the woods that split the two villages. She didn't have to cross through the dark parts of the forest thankfully, but it still put Rainbow on edge. The forest was said to hold dangerous creatures and if you didn't pay attention to your surroundings, you could easily get lost. As she arrived at the forest though, Rainbow ventured forward, not focusing on the scary-looking trees or the eerie silence. Milky stopped as she gave a cautious "moo," before moving onward as Rainbow pulled her leash. As she hit the halfway point of the forest, Rainbow's hopes of not getting scared were shot by the tapping on the back of her shoulder. Following a loud yelp and jumping five feet in the air, Rainbow turned around to find the culprit. As soon as she saw who it was, Rainbow just rolled her eyes and sighed. The creature standing behind her was NOT a monster, but a tall, familiar creature with the head of a pony and the body of a whole bunch of things.

"Why hello there dear Rainbow Dash!" he said with a sly grin.

"Discord," Rainbow sighed. Discord was known throughout the land as a magical, but sneaky troublemaker, who just loved pulling pranks on others. His pranks were harmless, but they just annoyed the hay out of everypony. "Don't do that," Rainbow continued, "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"My apologies," Discord said as he bowed respectfully, "but I couldn't help but notice that you were walking through the woods with that wonderful-looking cow. Where are you going with her?"

"To the next village," Rainbow responded. "I'm selling her to get some money for me and Applejack."

"Well, if you don't mind," Discord responded as he surveyed the cow, "I could take her off your hooves."

Rainbow eyed him curiously. She didn't know what somepony like Discord would want with a cow. But then again, if she didn't have to go through the hassle of getting through the forest, she could've been willing to take it. "Yeah? What's the catch?"

"No catch at all," Discord replied seemingly innocent. "I just thought that we could trade. You give me the cow, and I can give you..." He then snapped his fingers, and in a small flash of light, something small popped into his hand, "...these." He outstretched his open hand toward Rainbow, who looked forward to see what it was. In his hand, slightly shimmering in the faint sunlight, were five little beans. Rainbow was NOT amused.

"Beans?" Rainbow asked, unimpressed. "Thanks, but no thanks Discord. I don't think five beans are gonna keep two ponies satisfied for long." As she took the cow and started to trot away, in another flash of light, Discord appeared in front of her again.

"Oh no Rainbow Dash!" he said with a smile. "These aren't just any ordinary beans. They're MAGIC beans!"

Rainbow raised an unconvinced eyebrow. "Magic? What do you think this is? A fairy tale?"

"Why don't you ask the pony reading this story?" Discord murmured.

"What?"

"Nevermind. My point is that these beans ARE magical. I made them myself. You, like any other pony, should know of the power that I hold." Rainbow eyed the beans for a second. She was aware of the power Discord had, but that didn't mean that he didn't like to trick others. 

"And how, exactly, do these things work anyway?"

Discord smiled even more. "Simple. All you have to do is plant them, and within seconds, you won't have to worry about running out of food ever again. You have my word!" Rainbow started to think. It could well be just another prank, but what if they really were magic? Discord may have been a pain, but he never caused any pony harm before. And if she and Applejack wouldn't have to worry about food anymore, that would help a lot. She then looked from Milky White to Discord, still holding the beans in front of her. Was it a risk that was willing to be taken?

"Oh alright Discord," Rainbow finally said. "You got yourself a deal."

"Oh wonderful!" Discord cheered. He then handed the beans to her, who in turn, handed the leash to Discord.

"You will take care of her right?" Rainbow asked as she turned to leave. "AJ would kill me if she found out something terrible happened to her."

"I'll treat her like my own sister!" Discord replied as he turned to Milky. "I hope you like Twister! Ta-ta Rainbow Dash! Pleasure doing business with you!" And with a snap of the fingers and a blinding light, Discord was gone. Rainbow eyed the beans as she tucked them away in her saddlebag. As she headed back home, she was only hoping that Applejack was going to take it well that their cow was traded for five, possibly magic, beans.




"YOU DID WHAT!?!" She didn't take it well. "You sold my most precious cow for...BEANS? ARE YOU INSANE?!"

"But AJ," Rainbow said calmly as Applejack's face glowed with rage, "they're magic beans!"

"Oh MAGIC beans! That makes it ALL better!" AJ said with heavy sarcasm. "I guess that makes THAT a magic door. And THAT a magic window, and THIS is a MAGIC ANGRY FARMER! I can't BELIEVE how you've been conned so easily!"

"You never know AJ!" Rainbow retorted. "They COULD be magic. You know about Discord's power. He said all we had to do was plant them, and we'd never run out of food again! Look, I didn't fully believe it either, but maybe there's a chance-"

"Nope! NOPE!" Applejack snapped as she snatched the beans from Rainbow. "I'm not listenin' anymore! Ah trusted you with the job that YOU suggested, and what do you do? Fall fer another one of Discord's pranks! Ya know where these things belong?" And in one swift motion, the beans were flying out the window, thrown by the angry earth pony. Rainbow rushed to the window and peered out, only to see nothing but the dirt below. She closed the shutters and turned back to Applejack with an angry expression on her face. "Don't give me that look!" Applejack replied. "This is all YOUR fault!

"I was just trying to help Applejack!" Rainbow scolded, "and now we have no beans!"

"Oh boohoo!" Applejack scoffed. "Get it through to yer head Rainbow Dash! They weren't magic. You were just conned by Discord. Unless something happens in the next five seconds that proves me wrong, I don't wanna hear abou-" 

Applejack was suddenly interrupted by the ground. It had begun to violently shake. The two ponies' expressions quickly changed from angry to horrified. As the ground rumbled and rattled, the two hugged each other tight as they braced for whatever was coming. Suddenly, the rumbling was followed by a loud CRASH! Rainbow quickly ducked out of sight, expecting something to fall, but to her and AJ's surprise, nothing came. After the crash, the rumbling stopped, and besides a few cupboards flung out and shattered plates, the two ponies were fine.

"What. In the name. Of Ol' King Cole. Was THAT?" Rainbow asked as she slowly got up from the ground.

"Ah don' know," AJ said, looking around the room. "Felt like an earthquake, but what was that crashing noise?" Applejack went over to the window to see how much damage was done outside. She opened the shutters, expecting to see the sunny field, but instead, was faced with something that dropped her jaw. Something big, green, and leafy. To get a better view, AJ ran outside as fast as she could. "Uh...Rainbow?" she called with a quivering voice. "D-did we always have a giant vine growing next to the house?"

"What?" Rainbow asked as she walked towards the door. "No. Why would you even ask thaaaaAAAAAAAH!" As soon as Rainbow stepped outside, she knew why. Her jaw dropped right away as she and AJ stared at the giant green vine that had sprung up from the dirt and had literally stretched to the sky. The vine was so long, it went right through the clouds above. Rainbow and AJ just stood there, taking it all in that there was a giant vine next to their house. The two didn't say a word. Finally, after what seemed like five minutes, Rainbow was the one to break the silence as she turned to Applejack with a big smile on her face.

"A GIANT BEANSTALK!" she shouted, pointing at Applejack and starting to gloat dance. "I TOLD you they were magic! I was right! Oh yeah! I was right! Who was right? Me! I was right! Woo!"

"Alright alright!" Applejack sighed as she rolled her eyes. "They were magic. But what are we supposed to do with this thing?"

"Well, Discord said that we would never run out of food again," Rainbow said as she walked up next to it. As she stared closely, she noticed that there were green beans growing on the beanstalk. She ripped a pod off the plant and showed it to Applejack.

"Well ah hope you don' mind livin' off of green beans," Applejack sighed. 

"I'll get a bucket," Rainbow said bluntly as she started back in the cottage. Applejack, however, continued to eye the stalk. As she surveyed the size, she started thinking. How far did the thing go? What if it led to something? Suddenly, curiosity quickly took over, and Applejack trotted over with a smile.

When Rainbow had come back out with a bucket, the first thing she noticed was Applejack. She wasn't on the ground anymore, but climbing up the beanstalk. "What in the hay are you doing?" she asked as she dropped the bucket.

"What's it look like ah'm doin'?" Applejack answered as she grabbed a vine and pulled up further. "Ah'm climbing this thing. It's here, so might as well see where it goes." 

"It goes to the clouds!" Rainbow called, "Earth ponies can't walk on clouds!"

"Then how 'bout y'all come with me? I mean, you were the one who got the means of having this thing."

"I don't know..."

"What's the matter Rainbow? Chicken?"

"Hey!" By this point, Rainbow had flown up to Applejack's level, who was about two stories up. "I'm no chicken. I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"If you say so RD!" Applejack said. "Let's go!" 

It didn't take too much longer for Applejack to make it up the beanstalk. She was a very athletic pony, so climbing was no problem for her. It took about 20 minutes to reach the top. When they had gotten above the clouds, Rainbow scooped Applejack up and carried her on her back. Applejack looked down as she saw that their house looked like nothing more than a speck. As the two looked around at the endless sea of blue sky and puffy white clouds, they took in the beautiful scenery. Rainbow had been in the clouds before, being a pegasus and all, but this was a new experience for Applejack. All she could see was blue and white and a sidewalk that led to a building. Wait. Applejack rubbed her eyes to see if she was dreaming, but there it was. A sidewalk, in the sky, that led to a giant house, in the sky. "Rainbow! Look!"

Rainbow turned and her jaw dropped again at the sight. The building must've been the size of five barns, with red siding, a red and white striped roof, and a brick chimney with smoke coming out. The two could barely believe their eyes. "Now who in the right mind would own a house up here?" AJ thought aloud. She looked at Rainbow for an answer, but soon noticed that she wasn't paying attention. Her eyes were drawn to the house, she took in a deep breath of air as her mouth started to water. "What's wrong?"

"This isn't a normal house!" Rainbow said. "It's a giant BAKERY! And where there's a giant bakery..."

"...there's giant baked goods!" Applejack finished as she caught on. She was just as hungry as Rainbow, and the smell coming from the chimney was so tempting. It smelled like chocolate that was baking in the oven. Applejack jumped off Rainbow's back and landed on the sidewalk as the two sped towards the doors of the giant bakery. When they got to the entrance, they noticed that the door was slightly opened. Some more good luck. The two hungry ponies stepped inside and got a good look at the interior. The walls were a bright pink with yellow floors, and the whole place smelled of a combination of peppermint and chocolate. But that wasn't what caught their attention the most. Right in front of them was a giant table, and on that table was a spread of giant goodies! Cakes, cookies, cupcakes, muffins, and a whole bunch more, just waiting for the picking. Applejack and Rainbow looked at each other with big smiles as they knew they were both thinking the same thing. 

In one swift movement, Rainbow and Applejack practically soared up the table and onto the surface. They eyed the giant treats with hungry eyes as their mouths were almost flooding at that point. "Applejack," Rainbow said with a quivering voice, almost as if she was on the verge of crying, "if this is a dream, do NOT wake me up!" And with that, Rainbow dived right into the cherry pie next to her as if it were a swimming pool. She came back up covered with red juice, but she didn't mind. She began to greedily eat the crust around her as she sighed on how good it was. Applejack just watched her as she shook her head and smiled, but then a thought came to her.

"I wonder," she said as she scratched her hat. "What pony in the right mind would bake GIANT pies? Then again, what pony COULD bake giant pies?"

"Who cares?" Rainbow said as she stepped out of the pie and shook the juice off. "All that matters is that our hunger problems are over."

Suddenly, the whole room shook as a low BOOM was heard. Applejack and Rainbow's ears perked up as their smiles quickly faded and their eyes went wide.

"Please tell me that was your stomach," Rainbow said quietly.

"I'm not THAT hungry Rainbow," Applejack replied. Just then, another boom and shake occurred. They continued to sound as they got louder and louder, almost as if something was getting closer and closer. The two ponies quickly jumped off the table and ran for cover. The two ducked behind the door hinge just as a giant figure came marching into the room. The two, once very hungry, but now terribly frightened, ponies' eyes grew to the size of plates as they stared at the figure that had entered the room. It was...a pony. A GIANT PONY! Bigger than 100 ponies. It's coat was a shining pink, it's mane was curly and out of control, it's eyes were huge, and its giant cutie mark was three giant balloons. The two watched as the giant stomped into the room from a back room, possibly the kitchen, with another pie in its mouth. It seemed to have been humming a tune as it pranced. The giant set the pie down on the table and was about to go back in, until she stopped. The giant was indeed a she. She stopped and looked around curiously, as if she knew she had two intruders. She then took a deep sniff through her nose and in a booming high-pitched voice, she shouted,

"FEE FI FINKLE FONY! I smell the blood of an English pony! <sniff sniff> Ooo! And apple spice too!"

As the giant began to look around the room, Rainbow turned to Applejack. "Does THAT answer your question?" she whispered.

"Very much so," Applejack quietly replied. "We gotta get outta here, or else that thing's gonna have us for dinner!"

"Agreed," Rainbow nodded. 

Just then, they heard the giant say, "Must've been smelling things again. Oh Pinkie, you and your snout. Well, back to work. Lots to do!" And with that, she trotted back into the kitchen.

"Now's our chance!" Applejack whispered. She and Rainbow quickly made their way to the door. As soon as they made it outside, they were about to head for the stalk, when they heard the giant from inside.

"Silly me. I always forget to water my flowers."

"HIDE!" Rainbow snapped as the two ducked behind one of the flower pots just as the giant trotted outside. She was carrying a giant watering can that looked like it could flood the entire town. The giant began to tip the can as giant drops of water came raining down. As she did this, Applejack signaled Rainbow, motioning her to move as the giant was distracted. Rainbow nodded as the two began to sneak out from behind and book it as the giant's back was turned. Suddenly, just as they were about out of the line of sight, the giant stopped as she lifted her head slowly, only to be followed by a loud AHH-CHOOO!

"Gesundheit," Rainbow called out.

"Thanks little voice," the giant happily replied. "Wait a minute!" She turned around to see the two tiny ponies standing on her sidewalk.

"Of all the times ya picked to be polite, you choose NOW?" Applejack scolded. But there was no time for arguing, for the giant had stopped what she was doing and was headed right towards them. Screaming for their lives, AJ and Rainbow ran towards the stalk as fast as they could, with the giant following closely behind.

"Stop! Come back here!" the giant called. When they reached the beanstalk, Rainbow just grabbed AJ and started to fly all the way back down. The giant had arrived at the stalk and had started to climb down, all the while yelling, "Wait a minute! Come back!" Within minutes, the two ponies had made their way back onto solid ground. Applejack didn't waste any time in grabbing the axe leaning on the side of the house and started to hack at the stalk. Rainbow flew to the barn and grabbed the chainsaw and started from the opposite side. The two looked up to see the giant's hooves poking out of the clouds. Bullets of sweat were beating off of them as they hacked and sawed their way through the stalk. Little by little, the stalk was cut away some more, until finally, it was enough.

"TIMBER!" Applejack shouted as the beanstalk began to lean. The threads keeping the stalk connected broke as it leaned and with one final swing of the axe, the stalk fell to the ground, with the giant clinging for dear life on it. The two watched as the giant fell. Down and down and down, until it landed with an earth trembling CRASH! When the smoke cleared, Applejack and Rainbow looked out to see the stalk completely taken down, and a giant pony implant sunk into the ground. The two stood there for a second before they broke out in cheers and hooting and hollering.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Rainbow cheered. "Talk about an adventure!"

"Ya got that right!" Applejack replied. "Ah don' thing Ah'll ever experience something like THAT again!"

"We just climbed a giant beanstalk!" Rainbow laughed. "I dived into a giant pie! And we just KILLED a pony-eating GIANT!"

"Really? Where is it?"

"It's right over there...you didn't say that did you?" Applejack shook her head, her expression changed to that of horror. The two looked down as they noticed that a giant shadow was casting over them. Slowly, the two turned around to see, to their horror, a dirt-covered giant pink pony, looking down on them with a smile. All composure was lost as the two screamed and hugged each other tight, cowering beneath the giant.

"We're so sorry we intruded!" Applejack cried. "We won' do it again!"

"I didn't even want to come!" Rainbow quivered. "She MADE me!" Applejack quickly shot her a look that said, "Thanks a lot," before going back to cowering. "Please don't eat us!"

"Eat you?" the giant said. "I'm not going to eat you!"

"Please! I don't taste like apples! Don' let mah name fool-" Applejack stopped as she looked at the giant with confusion. "Wait what?"

"I don't eat ponies silly-billy!" the giant giggled. "Just sweets!"

"Wait a minute! Time-out!" said Rainbow as she let got of Applejack. "If you weren't going to eat us, then why were you chasing us?"

"I wanted to invite you to my party!" the giant smiled. AJ and Rainbow's mouths opened in disbelief. "I never get any visitors at my bakery. I guess that's what I get for putting it in the sky. I love interacting with others, so when I saw you guys, I just had to invite you in."

"So...you weren't going to eat us, but invite us to a party..." Rainbow said. The giant nodded as the two ponies looked at each other with embarrassed smiles. Had they had THEIR facts wrong. Here they thought that giants were ruthless and liked to gobble ponies up, but here was a giant that just wanted a friend. And here they tried to kill her. Maybe they shouldn't have jumped to conclusions and not judged a book by its giant cover.

"Well ah feel right embarrassed and ashamed of myself," Applejack said to the giant with a smile. "I'm sorry we tried to...you know...kill you like that."

"Oh that's ok!" the giant replied. "I get that a lot! So, do you guys still want to come to my party?"

"You bet we do!" Rainbow shouted as she flew up to the giant's eye view extended her hoof. "And by the way, the name's Rainbow Dash."

"And ah'm Applejack!" AJ said as she tipped her hat.

The giant smiled and shook Rainbow's hoof, very lightly, "I'm Pinkie Pie!"

And with that, their friendship was born. With the help of a little elbow grease, and a lot of duct tape, the three friends repaired the beanstalk and they made their way back up to the bakery. The party was a blast as the two, once living through poverty, had more than enough to eat. Applejack and Rainbow learned an important lesson that day; Never judge a book by its cover. The cover may seem giant and scary, but the pages might just be kind and helping. You never know. From that day on, AJ and Rainbow were able to visit Pinkie anytime they wanted. Happiness had returned to their lives again and everypony lived happily ever after!

THE END!





"That was so cool Pinkie!" Pound said as he sat at the foot of his bed. "Tell us another one!

"I don't know..." Pinkie thought. "You two should really get to bed."

"Please Pinkie?" Pumpkin pleaded with her big eyes. "We'll go straight to bed after! Pinkie Promise!" 

How could Pinkie resist those big pleading eyes? "Oh alright!" she said, "but just one more for tonight!" Pound and Pumpkin smiled as they got comfortable as Pinkie started the next story.

"Once Upon a Time..."