Ch 4: A Season for Everything
Chapter 4
A Season for Everything
“So, I made an itinerary for you today.” Twilight Sparkle greeted the dawn with a smile and a checklist. As for me, my body may have been moving, but that didn’t mean I was awake. My baggy eyes would have made a zombie appear bushy-tailed.
“Does it, by any chance, involve coffee?” I drawled, sipping a tumbler of orange juice.
“No, but I’ve included a list of various toiletries we’ll need to buy, and we need to see Rarity about finding you a change of clothes.”
“Yeah, I think these ones…” I glanced down at the soiled t-shirt I was wearing, “need to be condemned.” It was stained from working in the orchard yesterday. Getting rained on afterwards didn’t count as cleaning and even though Twilight Sparkle was being polite about the issue, I had a sneaking suspicion that I was starting to smell. Fortunately, no one was sporting a clothes pin on their nose yet, but I didn’t want to push my luck.
“Don’t forget, I need to find some shaving materials.”
“Why?”
“So I don’t look like a malnourished chia pet.” I rubbed my fingers against my bristly chin. “Even though males naturally grow beards on their jaw, or rather, because of it, there’s a world of culture and fashion tied into facial hair. Without proper tending, it can look like a bird’s nest glued to one’s neck.”
“But you don’t have one at all. Not when I met you, at least.”
“For young men, it’s socially acceptable to completely forego any attempt at facial style. Me, for instance, couldn’t grow a proper beard if I tried, so I just go with my natural dashing visage for now.” Also, it took me weeks to grow what a Greek man produces on accident by sneezing.
“Got it.” Twilight simply made an extra note on her list. “Let’s see… toothbrush, shopping for more dairy, Carousel Boutique, shaving materials…”
“But, Twilight.”
“Hm?”
“I still need to find out how I’m going to pay for this.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry. I’ll-”
“Thank you, but I’m not just talking about a couple errands. I need to find a job. Need to start paying for my own food, my own place, my own stuff. I just don’t know where to start.” I explained.
“I suppose that makes sense…” The unicorn frowned. It wasn’t a secret that she had hoped I would just agree to be her new guinea pig for an indefinite amount of time, but even she could see that that wasn’t financially viable. “Well, what are you good at?”
“Humans don’t have cutie marks.” I shrugged. “We’re as good at anything as much as we’re good at nothing. I, especially, represent more of the latter. Back home, I was a lifeguard, an ice cream mixer, a finish carpenter, a landscaper and a salesman for a sporting goods store. I will say, though, that when I tried to transition to be a cell phone salesman, I physically wasn’t aggressive enough to meet my sales quota, so I was fired. Oh, and I was a busser at a restaurant just before coming here. Those are all entry-level jobs you see. No special training or skills required. Does that give you any clues?”
“Not really. But what did you like doing?” She clarified.
“Hmm… Well, I like drawing and writing. Of course, the next thing my dad said when I told him that was, ‘that’s fine. What are you going to do for your primary job?’
“Perhaps we could put your physical attributes to use. You must have some advantages, being the only human in Ponyville.”
“What? Like dexterity?” I tapped my fingers on the table. “There’s nothing my hands can do that a unicorn’s magic doesn’t do faster and more precisely. Agility? Usain Bolt himself looks at horses with envy. And my ability to climb like a monkey is nothing special either. There’s nowhere I could go where a pegasus couldn’t follow.”
“Sounds like some-human woke up on the wrong side of the bed.” Twilight stepped forward in a supportive gesture.
“I woke up in Ponyville. There’s no such thing as a wrong side of the bed.” I countered. I tossed back my head and finished off my juice. “I’m just having a very sobering moment, that’s all.”
Twilight Sparkle thought for a moment, but before she could say anything, a polite knock on the library’s door distracted her. As she opened it, I peered over her shoulder to see Applejack standing on the doorstep.
“Mornin’ y’all.” The orange mare carried a basket in her mouth, giving her drawl more slur than normal.
“Morning, Applejack!” Twilight Sparkle smiled. “What brings you here?”
“I wanted to thank you an’ Mark for helping out in the orchard yesterday.” AJ set down the basket. “Ah never paid you or nothin’.”
“Aw, Applejack, you didn’t have to do anything.” I came up behind Twilight.
“Well, I brought y’all some snacks if’n that’s alright with you.” Applejack pushed the basket forward to reveal a stockpile of muffins within. Bran muffins, that was… that smelled strongly of cinnamon!
“These look amazing!” I exclaimed.
“Gorgeous!” Twilight agreed.
“Well, enjoy. I’d best be off.” Applejack tipped her hat and slowly turned away. Something about her manner, however, struck me as odd. She seemed just a little slower than normal, just a little quieter than her cheerful self, and her head hung just a little too low.
“Hey, Applejack!” I quickly called after her. She hesitated and looked over her shoulder. “Is everything all right?”
“Not exactly…” She scratched the dirt with her hoof. “Big Macintosh’s hurt himself ‘an now he can’t help harvest the bumper crop this season.”
“That’s-” today!? I almost blurted aloud. “-terrible!”
“What happened?” Twilight Sparkle asked. AJ stared somewhere down and to the left as she explained,
“He was movin’ away some debris from the town hall when an ol’ plank came slidin’ off a pile and knocked him upside the ribs. The doctors patched him up good, said that any smaller pony would’ve been crushed by somethin’ like that…” Her voice dropped off, “I’m just glad it wasn’t worse.”
“That’s gotta be pretty scary…” I stepped forward. “If there’s anything I can do to help? - In fact, how about we help you with the harvest? Yeah! we could get everypony to chip in!”
–was what I said, but what I meant was, ‘if this is the episode I think it is, then we can bypass a lot of pain and frustration, both for you and for everypony else, if we skip the drama and jump straight to the part where you get over your stubborn pride and let everypony help with applebucking season.’
“You didn’t get enough exercise yesterday, Mark?” Twilight lifted an eyebrow behind my back.
“That’s mighty kind of y’all,” Applejack smiled, “But I’ll be fine on my own today.”
–was what the orange mare said, but what I heard was, ‘Y’re too late, pard’ner! I’ve already promised mah brother I’d git this here job done ‘n I’mma do jus’ that!’
“Oh…”
–was what I said, but what I really meant was, ‘You fool! Can't you see I’m trying to save you!’
“Are you sure?” I pressed, but I knew it was a losing battle. “There’s no shame in having an extra hand, or hoof, to help with something that big.”
“You’re sounding just like Big Mac!” Applejack’s neck went stiff. (literally and figuratively.) “Don’t you worry ‘bout me. I know what I’m up against.” She gave a freckled smile and spun on her hoof to march back to the orchard. Twilight and I stood in the doorway, watching her go. Without looking at the unicorn, I said,
“I’m worrying.”
“Don’t. I’m sure she wouldn’t start something she couldn’t handle.” Twilight glanced sideways at me.
“Still worrying.”
“You don’t believe her?” The unicorn chided. She turned and vanished back into the library. “Come on, we need to find some of those ‘nail clippers’ you mentioned.” I remained where I was, watching Applejack make her way back to Sweet Apple Acres and the forest of fruit trees therein.
“Still worrying…” I whispered.
“Well, darling, it’s only fair to warn you that I’ve never had a human client before…” (Much) later that day, I found myself standing in the middle of the Carousel Boutique while Rarity paced around me like a cat circling a bird cage. All around me, the pink interior of the seamstress’ shop was neat and organized; scissors, pins and measuring tapes were all lined up on the shelves like squadrons of tiny planes just waiting for the unicorn’s command.
“I’m not surprised.” I shrugged. “Twilight Sparkle thinks I might be the only human in Equestria. Nopony expected you to be familiar with human proportions.”
For her part, Twilight was resting on a nearby couch, a cup and saucer of tea floating beside her. She continued to take notes of the scene, even as Rarity scrutinized my rags, but she seemed grateful to relax for a bit. It had been a long day of walking around Ponyville; the fruits of which sat in a shopping bag beside her on the floor.
“Oh, dear, that’s not what I meant at all!” Rarity exclaimed. Her horn lit up with a shimmering blue light and a tape measure lanced forward like an eel through the air. “The proportions are… unique… but not a problem. And the way the fabric hangs, intriguing, and so many possibilities for experimentation, but also not overly problematic. No, darling, I was referring to your fashion!”
“Huh?” A glowing aura gripped my arm and lifted it above my head while Rarity squinted at the markings on the measuring tape.
“You mentioned these were pajamas? Then even with what you’re wearing, I simply haven’t the foggiest as to what’s trending in your homeland. You wouldn’t want to appear mismatched or from the wrong year, now, would you?”
I glanced at Twilight helplessly. Financially, I was as broke as a scrambled egg and this fashionista was apologizing because she didn’t know what the latest issue of GQ was featuring. Rarity really was being too kind. The purple unicorn simply shrugged in reply.
“Beggars can’t be choosers. But I really appreciate you doing this, Rarity.” I wanted to sound as sincere as possible, since my gratitude was the only way I could pay her. It was also a subconscious effort to avoid being like her friends in ‘Suited for Success’. (How dare they (literally) look a gift-horse in the mouth!)
“Bend over.” She bit her lip. (Curse you, internet! Sometimes I really hate you!) I kept my face remarkably blank as I obeyed. “And don’t mention it, darling! Oh, this is as much fun for me as it must be for you!”
No comment.
“Mark said that he’s good at drawing.” Twilight Sparkle piped up. “Perhaps he could draw some fashion from his home?”
“And perhaps I’d be better off drawing a chimera or some other abomination to all things good and holy.” I guffawed. “As my sister constantly reminded me, I have a terrible fashion sense and even though I can draw humans pretty well, modern clothing wasn’t always my strong point.”
“Well, there’s no reason to be a drama queen about it.” Rarity’s sapphiric eyes sparkled as she summoned a piece of paper and a stick of charcoal. “Would you, please? Just go with what you know. What you’d be wearing right now if you weren’t covered in… what you’d be wearing right now.” She couldn’t hide a little grimace as she looked over my tired pants.
“All right, but usually when I’m drawing characters, they’re from some sort of fantasy story I’m writing. I have more experience drawing armor or cloaks. For example, I once drew a dragon/knight that turned out really well. He was like a guy covered in thorny armor, so you couldn’t tell if he was a knight trying to be a dragon or a dragon trying to be a knight… But that’s off-topic.” Though she tried to be subtle, it was impossible for Twilight to hide her eye-roll with eyes as big as hers.
“I see… Oh! Lots of vertical lines… A belt, interesting… Indeed, completely new angle for the pockets. This is simply exhilarating!” Rarity watched over my shoulder as I drew a couple skeletons and clad them in my less-than-ritzy everyday apparel. I explained the basics, but quickly found out that that was all I knew.
“…the rounded neck versus the v-neck… shirts shouldn’t be too long; only Link looks good in tunics… denim, denim e’ryday… I personally hate button-up shirts… My brother can pull off the skinny jean look, but that’s because he’s a stringbean…”
Rarity and I bounced back our questions and answers for a while, but eventually found something that, in theory, should be similar to my wardrobe back home. Still, I think the unicorn was more enthusiastic about it than I was.
“Polyester is a very broad term, but I think I have something that will work. It’s the seam between your legs that I’m most concerned about. And what should we do for your shoes?...” Rarity spoke as much to herself as to me. Twilight Sparkle and I were both sitting on the couch, by then, watching while the white unicorn fall further and further into her ‘zone’ (as it were). I sipped at a cup of herb tea while I put the finishing touches on a couple sketches of underwear.
“Sometimes,” I mused, “It’s good to step back and look at your life objectively. Sometimes you glance back and see that all your years of frustration led to your dreams after all. Times when all those broken pencils and crumpled sketches were only stepping stones to refine an artist’s greatest abilities… Then there’s moments like this when I’m drawing underwear.”
“It’s just for today.” Twilight assured. She looked up at me as a thought struck her. “Unless you have a future in fashion! I’m sure you and Rarity could make some groundbreaking new designs.”
“Doubtful. My idea of radical new fashion is wearing shorts as opposed to pants. Whereas Rarity…” I paused as images of monstrous headdresses, gem-encrusted skirts, and a certain purple hat coated in giant rocks flashed through my mind. “… She has her own sense of radical.”
“Well, you were right about drawing.” Twilight examined one of my works with an encouraging smile. “You’re pretty good for not using your mouth.”
“Uh… thanks?...” I set my tea back onto the table, but as I did, something seemed out of place. Something at the back of my mind bothered me. The surface of the liquid was rippling.
“Is everything all right?” Twilight asked, looking at the frown on my face.
“I think so. Just having a Jurassic Park moment. Do you hear thunder?”
Even as the ponies turned towards me and lifted their ears to listen, realization shot through me like a lightning bolt. I leapt over my cup of tea and shot for the front door. I threw it open just as Rainbow Dash shouted,
“Stampede!”
“What!?” Rarity and Twilight Sparkle were right on my heels. We burst out into the afternoon sunlight and squinted towards the steadily rising roar of a hundred hooves. A cloud of dust was rising behind a distant hill, finally unveiling an army of panicking cows. Their eyes were wide with fright as they barreled down the hillside, lowing and shoving each other, charging straight for the heart of Ponyville.
“Stampede!” The call was taken up by Bon Bon and Berryshine and soon all of Ponyville was filled with shouting ponies. The streets were evacuated and doors were locked. Everypony braced for the impending trampling.
Everypony except Pinkie Pie, of course.
“H-e-e-e-e-y! T-h-i-i-i-i-s… m-a-a-a-a-k-e-s… m-y… v-o-o-o-o-i-c-e… s-o-u-n-d… s-i-i-i-i-l-l-y!” The pink pony buzzed over the trembling ground like a hexbug.
“Pinkie Pie, are you crazy!? Run!” Twilight shouted over the growing din.
“Whatever shall we do?” Rarity cried.
“Twilight!” I pointed at the cows. “Can’t you create a barrier around the town?”
“Are you crazy?” She looked at me with wide eyes. “I’ve never done a spell that big before! It’s not sustainable! They’d punch through it like a train through tissue paper!”
“Sheesh, but you’ve got some growing to do!” I bit my lip and muttered.
“We’ve gotta stop ‘em!” Rainbow Dash bared her teeth and prepared to tackle the stampede head-on.
“Everypony calm down! There is no need to panic.” Despite her meek appearance, Mayor Mare’s voice had a way of cutting through the noise without shouting.
“But Mayor,” Rarity objected, “What can we do? There isn’t any time!” The sound of the cows mooing filled the air and threatened to drown out the unicorn’s despair.
“Any moment, now AJ.” I whispered. Aside from Pinkie Pie, I was the only one that wasn’t running around like a chicken with its head cut off. However, I’d never experienced an earthquake before, growing up in Oregon and all, and the feeling of the earth churning beneath me was more than a little unsettling. My bones were rattling as if I were standing on a giant subwoofer.
“Look!” Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof at the charging cows. Sure enough, a small dust-covered pony was running up alongside the living flood.
“Whoo!” I pumped my fist in the air. Rainbow Dash cheered as well and cautious ponies began peeking out of their windows to see what would happen.
The tiny shapes of Applejack and her dog, Winona, were almost lost in the churning dust around the stampede. They flew over the ground, closing in on the cows at the front of the herd. Winona barked excitedly, reining in the mavericks while Applejack readied her lasso. I could hear her shouting commands to her dog, but the pounding hooves muddled her voice.
“Ohh…” Rarity wrung her hooves nervously. All of Ponyville was frozen, mesmerized by the orange pony’s bravery against the ever-advancing danger. My feet felt glued in place.
“Come on, little doggies! Turn!” There was a shrill whistle. “Winona, put ‘em up!” Applejack cast her rope. It hung in the air for an instant before snaring the lead cow around the neck. Immediately, the line went taught and the little pony dug her hooves into the dust, pulling with all her weight against the massive bovine.
Nopony realized that they were holding their breath.
“This is the best rodeo show I’ve ever seen!” Pinkie Pie produced a bag of popcorn and buried her muzzle in it.
“I know, right?” I grabbed a few kernels without taking my eyes off the action. Twilight Sparkle just shook her head at us.
“Gotcha!” Slowly, the lead cow succumbed to the rope, veering away from its crash course with Ponyville. With Applejacks calls and Winona’s yipping, the other bovines followed. The entire stampede changed direction like a thunderstorm in the wind.
The little pony continued pulling on the rope until the entire herd slowed to a walk, then stopped altogether. The cows were still breathing hard, but at least the thunder had stopped. Only after they were ready to talk did Applejack loosen her rope.
All around, a cheer rose into the air. Doors were flung open and the ponies poured out onto the streets, hollering and waving at Applejack. The orange pony wasn’t paying attention, however, she was speaking with the lead cow, nodding her head and smiling encouragingly. Finally, the bovines lumbered back towards their fields and Ponyville was safe once again.
“Yee haw! Ride ‘em cowpony!” Pinkie Pie was already reenacting the valiant Applejack. Even Mayor Mare, breathed a sigh of relief. Moments ago, she almost became the governor of a brand new pile of rubble, but thanks to Applejack, she was still a mayor of a town. She smiled and said,
“Applejack was just… just…”
“Appletastic!” There were times when one of Pinkie’s non-words fit just right. This wasn’t one of those times, but it was cute all the same.
“Exactly! We must do something to thank Applejack for single-hoofedly saving the town!” I folded my arms and said nothing, but I was just dying to say something like,
“Oh? Like how you did something to thank the M6 for single-hoofedly saving the world?” I looked back up towards the cows and the hill in the distance. The sun was just starting to sink behind it and Applejack paused at the summit to rear up and wave at the townsponies. Even Zoro would have approved her little flair of style.
Applejack was strong, but even if she could carry the day, she still couldn’t carry the weight of an entire orchard on her shoulders. That’s what this whole episode was about, after all. The other ponies saw her haloed by the fading sun as if she were a victor. I only saw her returning to that blasted orchard that would inevitably beat her down until there was nothing left. Even if it had to happen, I wanted to be there for her. Ease the blow to her pride as much as I could. She was one of my first real friends, after all.
“I know what we can do!” Pinkie Pie grinned. “A party!”
“Exactly! A commemoration.” Mayor Mare agreed. “To show our appreciation.” Twilight Sparkle immediately offered her help, followed closely by Rainbow Dash and even Fluttershy. Rarity would obviously help with the decorations, but before she too was pulled into the conversation, I caught her attention.
“That was pretty exciting.” I breathed a sigh of relief.
“My, but it was!” The white unicorn smiled weakly. “I’m sorry that interrupted your order, Mark.”
“Seriously?” I grimaced. “I think an impending disaster is a perfectly acceptable reason to put a little job on hold. Though, I do have a request, if you’ve got a spare second.”
“Of course, darling!”
“Um…” I glanced back towards Sweet Apple Acres. “I think some sturdy work clothes should take priority over the casual attire. Pants and boots, at least. I’m probably going to find a new job in the next couple days and I want to be ready for anything.”
“Of course!” Rarity’s eyes sparkled. “Oh, dear, excuse me, it looks like the mayor wants to talk.” She excused herself and joined Pinkie’s party powwow. As for me, I looked back towards the setting sun. Applejack was out of sight, but I still muttered,
“Still worrying…”
Before I saw Applejack again, I had slept, made it through another day, slept again, made it through yet another day, slept (I like doing that), and was halfway through the third day. In all that time, nopony had seen hide or hair of the earth pony. I wasn’t even sure if she had slept at all.
Ponyville was all abuzz for the little ceremony they had arranged. A quick party cannon’s worth of streamers and a once-over by Rarity’s banners made the place look like they were ready for a second Summer Sun Celebration. The white unicorn even made an ornate covering to stretch over the stage, inspired by Applejack’s cutiemark.
“We all ready?” Twilight Sparkle asked. A quiet hum was filling the air as the townsponies began turning out to show their appreciation for the country mare.
“Just one last thing.” Rarity affixed her centerpiece on the town hall. “Now we’re ready!”
“This place looks pretty nice!” I nodded as I walked up beside Twilight.
“As it should. And as do you, Mark.” Rarity beamed at me. “Tell me, how do you like your new attire?”
I glanced down at myself. Rarity had outdone herself and then added a little of her own personal flair. The shirt I was wearing was light and perfectly fitted, skintight even, and even though the pants were trial-and-error (the plethora of adjustable belts attested to how unsure she was about them) they hung nicely and were easy to move in. The only thing I could complain about were the shoes, bulky and covered in straps, and obviously created by a creature that had never seen feet before.
All in all, I looked like I had walked straight out of Kingdom Hearts. Oddly enough, I was OK with that.
“Unique, but uniquely awesome.” I thanked her. “You really have an eye for this kind of thing. I would fit right in at Shibuya Tokyo.”
“Ohh! I’m so glad you like them! And I made you a little something extra just this morning!” The unicorn looked over to her saddle bags and revealed a pair of gloves. Well, more like fingerless gauntlets. “I wasn’t able to figure out the fingers, but I was hoping these will help you with whatever you decide to do here in Ponyville.”
“These are beautiful, thanks.” I slipped them on and flexed the new and stubborn fabric. “Now all I need is my keyblade and a couple nostalgic sidekicks.”
“Huh?” Twilight Sparkle tilted her head.
“You can be King Mickey.” I explained.
“Nevermind…” She shook her head and strode over to Rarity. “Is Applejack all set?”
“Actually, I haven’t seen her all week.” Rainbow dash alighted from a nearby tree.
“RD can be Donald...” I thought to myself.
“Not since the stampede!” Pinkie Pie bounced up, her flank still covered with streamers.
“… and she can be Goofy…” Seriously, I will be disappointed if this hasn’t already been done.
“But she’ll be here for sure.” Rainbow Dash affirmed. “Applejack is never late.” My tongue worked nervously behind my teeth as I glanced back at Sweet Apple Acres, but I held my peace.
Today was the day to confront Applejack about her stubbornness. By now, a part of her should be hoping for her friends to step forward and help. I just needed to exploit that to push this episode along. If all went well, RD wouldn’t smash into the Golden Oak Library’s balcony, the hospital wouldn’t be flooded with food-poisoned ponies and Fluttershy’s bunnies… well, they may yet eat everything in Ponyville, but not because they were chased there.
A crowd gathered in front of the town hall and Twilight Sparkle took the stand to say a few words. Of course, a ‘few words’ to her involved a giant pile of paper with more notes in them than an orchestra. Even without the guest of honor present, the speeches began and the various ponies were able to express their admiration for the humble earth pony and their plans with her in the future. Usually at the expense of Twilight Sparkle’s own speech, that is.
Most of the ponies that spoke about Applejack spoke of her with a quiet admiration. From her sincere honest nature to the way she carried a level head on her shoulders, the simple earth mare was the glue that held her friends together. That’s where my admiration for her came as well. I’ve heard at least one youtuber explain that she’s important to the show because she’s the one character whose job it is to provide a practical viewpoint in a world of magic talking horses. She’s the quiet foundation that the show can build upon while keeping a connection to their viewers.
Besides all that, though, I’m just a sucker for characters that display wisdom. I’ll freely admit, though, this episode wasn’t one of Applejack’s prouder moments.
“Anyone else?” Twilight looked around, just waiting for anypony to interrupt her. “No? Well then, as I was trying to say-” Mayor Mare caught her attention. With an exasperated grunt, the purple unicorn gave up the podium and violently released the spell holding her cards together.
“Ah-hem.” Mayor Mare gave a polite smile. “And so, with no further ado, it is my privilege to give the prize, Pony of Ponyville Award, to our beloved guest of honor. A pony of the utmost trustworthiness, reliability and integrity. Ponyville’s most capable and dependable friend, Applejack!”
A small curtain at the back of the stage was pulled away, but, surprise, surprise, the guest of honor was absent. The crowd almost began cheering, too, but immediately fell into awkward silence.
“It’s the Summer Sun Celebration all over again!” I cried. A couple ponies threw disapproving glances in my direction. I just shrugged, “Couldn’t resist…”
“Not cool, Mark.” Rainbow Dash smacked the back of my head.
“Ah… Ahem…” The mayor looked around desperately to break the withering silence.
“Awkward…” Spike muttered. A ripple went through the crowd, a gentle muttering that got closer and closer. It took me way too long to realize that the muttering was actually Applejack.
“I’m here. I’m here.” The country mare wobbled a little on her hooves. “Sorry I’m late… I was just… whoa… Did I get your tail?...”
Without moving the rest of my head, my eyes followed Applejack as she wound her way through the crowd up to the podium. Her eyes were unfocused and her steps were wavering. She wore a line of grease and dust like a bandana on her forehead and her dirty mane clung to the back of her neck. Applejack even had a couple bushels of apples still strapped to her back as if she had forgotten they were there. The crowd had been quiet before. Now they were stunned into complete silence.
“Miss Mayor.” Applejack’s head swayed like a tree in the wind. “Thank you kindly for this here… award thingy.” A yawn. “It’s so bright and shiny and… heh, heh, heh… I sure do look funny, heh. Woo-ooo.” The orange mare laughed at the way her reflection was warped over the award’s golden surface. Twilight Sparkle glanced at me with concern plastered on her face. I simply shook my head in astonishment.
Lack of coordination, unfocused eyes, slow reflexes, inability to form a decent sentence, and now a fixation on shiny things. Applejack had either spent the last three days kicking apple trees, or drinking the reserve cider. Had this girl slept at all since the last time we’d talked?
“Okay… Well, thank you, Applejack for saving us from that scary stampede, and always being there for everypony.” Twilight Sparkle tried to interrupt AJ and Pinkie Pie as they played with their immages on the trophy. The orange pony released another giant yawn.
“Yeah… I like helping the ponyfolks and…” yet another yawn, “and stuff…”
For a moment, Applejack froze completely. Her head bobbed with her shallow breaths and her eyes fell shut. It’s a good thing horses can sleep standing up; any human in her position would have face-planted harder than a domino.
“Oh, uh, yeah. Uh, thanks.” Applejack quickly came to and started exiting the stage. She dragged the Pony of Ponyville award with her mouth. Finally, I groaned to myself and stepped forward,
“Here. Let me get that for you.” I don’t even think she heard me.
“Mark? You look different. Haircut?” Her half-focused eyes looked up at me with as much surprise as they could muster. I glanced down at my new attire.
“You’re not technically wrong.” I gestured to my clean-shaven chin as I stooped and lifted the massive trophy.
“Aw, shucks, you don’t hafta do that.”
“No, it’s the least I could do for Ponyville’s P.o.P. Besides, I was heading to Sweet Apple Acres anyways. Twilight and I still needed to return your basket.”
“Oh…” Before the mare could come up with any objections, I started leading the way back to the orchard. I had the trophy wrapped firmly in one arm and the aforementioned basket in the other. As we left the crowd behind, I glanced back at Twilight Sparkle, still staring after us. I gave her a quick wink and kept walking.
Applejack and I continued for a while in silence. She plodded along at a steady pace, but her movements were functioning on autopilot and her hooves scuffed the road more than once. All around us, the terrain rose and fell like giant grassy waves, each hill covered in pregnant apple trees. It was obvious where Applejack had stopped her work to attend the ceremony; dozens of waiting bushels were sitting under the trees boughs. What the earth pony had harvested already was nothing short of astonishing, but the rows of trees that were already kicked bare were hopelessly outnumbered by the rest of the Sweet Apple Acres forest.
“I’m impressed.” I said, “For just working on your own, you’ve already moved a mountain of fruit.”
Applejack didn’t reply. She just kept putting one hoof in front of the other. (Or, as close to ‘in front’ as her stumbling pace could muster.) Just when I was about to change the subject, she came to,
“Huh? Did you say something?”
“I was just wondering how long you’ve been working alone. You look like you’ve been working hard.”
“Yeah…” She tried to form a thought. “But there’s plenty more needs doin’.”
“Exactly…” I grimaced. “But don’t forget to take care of yourself, too. When did you go to sleep last night?”
“Huh? Did you say something?”
“I asked what time you hit the hay last night.” Or whatever country term she would use.
“Ah... Ain’t no way I can afford to sleep now, Mark. Gotta keep goin’.”
“What?”
“If’n I slow down now, it’s only gonna be that much harder to pick up the pace again. Best to stay movin’.”
My knuckles turned white as I gripped the trophy.
“Don’t try talking fancy physics to me, girl. When Newton came up with that ‘objects-in-motion’ bit, I don’t think he was referring to you. You’re actually more efficient if you take the time to recharge.”
“Aww… that’s mighty sweet of ya, Mark. But you don’t need to worry ‘bout me. There’s not been an applebucking season yet ‘s gotten the better of me, ‘an this one’s gonna be no different.” She put on a brave face, but,
“There’s never been an applebucking season that you’ve tried to tackle solo, either.” I countered.
“I can do it. Just gonna take a mite longer is all.” She turned her eyes forward and nodded decidedly.
“Yeah, see, I don’t understand your train of thought. Why didn’t you hire more hooves to help pick up for Big Macintosh? Heck, you don’t even have to hire anypony, you have good friends who would love to help out. Isn’t that what friends are for? Times of trouble?”
Applejack had been floating in a fog as if everything I was saying was going in one ear and out the other, but as soon as I said ‘times of trouble’, she suddenly stiffened and her eyes focused dangerously.
“You sayin’ I can’t do this on my own?”
“Seriously, Applejack, I want you to think about this. Are you trying to complete this project on your own because you truly don’t need any help, or because you’ve decided that you don’t want it?” Trying to bring out that Element of Honesty.
“An’ if I said I can do what I say I’m gonna do, then why isn’t that good enough for ya?” The orange pony looked up at me suspiciously.
As I said before, I had a lot of respect and admiration for Applejack and I’m glad that if she needed any character development at all throughout the series, it would happen sooner than later, but that still didn’t change the fact that she was being a little pigheaded. It just didn’t seem to fit her character quite right and I wanted to find out why she was being so obstinate about this. Sure honor was a big thing to her, but pride? Really?
I was going to ask if there was something else about this whole thing that she wasn’t telling me about, but before I could speak, we were greeted by the sound of enthusiastic barking.
The red barn house of Sweet Apple Acres was as picturesque as a painting and as quaint as a dollhouse. Surrounded by its fields and white picket fence, it really didn’t look much different in reality than in the show. Winona was bounding down the dirt path from the front door like a jackrabbit, yipping excitedly.
“Well, who’s this pretty girl?” I knelt down and presented the back of my hand to properly introduce myself. However, Winona was the kind of overly trusting bundle of fur and tail wags that would roll over for a complete stranger if she thought she could coax out a belly rub. And that’s exactly what she did. She practically melted under my hand and began beating her leg like a piston as I scratched her tummy.
“Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres.” Applejack yawned. “This here’s my little deputy, Winona. I see you two’ve already hit it off.”
“Hm?” I sheepishly glanced up. “Well, I’ve got a puppy back home, so I like dogs."
“There’s my Granny Smith nappin’ on the front porch, an’ over there by the chicken coup’s my siblings, Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh. Don’t know what Big Mac’s doin’ out of bed, though.” Applejack put a little more power into her weary voice and shouted,
“Hey, Big Mac! Didn’t I tell ya to work on getting’ better?” The large red horse looked up in surprise.
“Eyeup!”
“He might be a mite stubborn as far as big brother’s go, but when they made him, they added a lot of inches and matched ‘im with a big heart. Even if they skimped on the talkin’ bits.”
“Stubborn?” I thought to myself. Perhaps thick skulls just run in the family.
“Hi Mr. Mark! Goll-y, Applejack, is that trophy yours?” A little filly with a bright red mane and a big pink bow ran up to us, her wide eyes fixed on the trophy.
“Hi, Apple Bloom. How did you know my name?” I asked.
“Mr. Mark? Well, everypony’s talking about you in school! Gee, you’re almost as big ‘s my brother! How fast can y’all run? Is it true you came out of the swamp? Do you eat paper?”
“Wanna race? Not at all. And I broke that habit a long time ago-”
“Somepony said you were a new kind of bug!”
I pointed at the filly and glanced back at Applejack.
“Has she been talking with Twilight?” But the orange mare wasn’t paying attention. Her eyes had hazed up again.
“…Huh?”
“Nothing. Let’s get your award inside.” I guided the sleepwalking AJ toward the barnlike house.
“Applejack said you came from the Everfree Forest, Mr. Mark. Did you live in a cave? Were you scared? Why don’t you walk on all fours? What did you do to your tail?...” Clearly, Apple Bloom was going to be the center of attention next time she was in school and she wanted as much gossip material as possible. Or she was legitimately curious. Either way, she popped off questions like corn in a hot pan as we came up to the front door.
“Why don’t you ask Applejack? She and I talked quite a bit after the whole ticket incident.”
“Yeah, but she’s been doin’ nothin’ but applebuckin’ since.” Apple Bloom pouted.
“Uh-huh…” I looked at Applejack out of the corner of my eye. “Doesn’t sound healthy.”
“Granny doesn’t think so either, so she’s been sleeping enough for the both of ‘em!” The little filly smiled. “Hey, Granny! Wake up! We gotta visitor!”
“Mwah? Whoosa?” The light green mare woke up from her nap with a jolt and a pop, like a model-T starting its engine. She lifted her baggy brows and squinted in the sunlight, but when she saw us coming towards her, her old face broke out in a kindly grin.
“Well, howdy, there! You must be that new gentleman, Marker, Applejack told us ‘bout.”
“No, Granny! It’s Mr. Mark!” Applebloom giggled.
“You can just call me Mark…” I explained.
“Well, youngin, I’m just gonna say thanks for remindin’ me that in all my years, there’s always something new to see. Pleased to make acquaintance with one of your kind.” Her nasal-y voice creaked like old door hinges as her weary eyes looked me up and down. “Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres.”
“Youngin?” I blinked in surprise. I might have been a young adult as far as humans were concerned, but I suddenly realized that humans can live two, even three times as long as a horse. Without any way to measure the passage of years in this world, I could technically be older than Granny Smith. That was an awkward thought.
“Pleased to meet you too, ma’am.” I just smiled and nodded.
“Hey, Mark, do you wanna stay for brunch?” Apple Bloom hopped up onto the deck. “Big Macintosh’s been makin’ his famous flapjacks all day. And yesterday. And the day ‘fore that.”
“That sounds pretty good. I would love to join you folks.”
“Aww, what nice manners.” Granny Smith grinned.
“Applejack, do you want to take a quick load off?” I glanced behind me.
“Zzz… Zzz…”
“I’ll take that as a yes, then?”
“Poor dear’s done tuckered herself out.” Granny Smith sighed. “She’s got a strong heart’s for sure.”
“But she’s got a strong neck to match. I don’t like seeing her like this.” I explained.
“Big Macintosh challenged her to harvest the entire orchard on her own!” Apple Bloom explained, sisterly admiration tainting her voice.
“That’s not how I heard the tale. She challenged herself. Isn't that right, Big Mac?” All this time, the giant red horse had been standing silently in the background like a ponified Kellam.
“Nnope!” He shook his head.
“To our little Applejack, this is more personal then you might think, Mark.” Granny Smith explained.
“What’s to understand?” I shrugged. “She’s on more of a pride trip than a group of lions on route 66. She’d still be lugging this trophy here if I hadn’t insisted I help her.”
“Mm? Whazzat?” Applejack’s eyes snapped open, but it took a couple long seconds before they aligned properly.
“Lunch, AJ?” I changed the topic. “Did you want to eat something?”
“Ah’m not all that hungry, but I’ll take some with me…” Her eyes fluttered closed again. When she woke up, the orange mare turned around and ambled back towards the orchard without a second thought for lunch. The rest of the Apple family and I exchanged silent glances.
“I’ll take her meal to her.” I stated, ducking into the farmhouse and plopping the P.o.P. trophy in a corner.
“You’re not stayin’?” Apple Bloom frowned.
“Applejack’s my friend, and I came to help her. So that’s what I’m going to do.”
“Whazzat?” Granny Smith followed us inside, her head tilted critically.
“I might not be nearly as strong as AJ, but even a little help is better than nothing.” Apple Bloom helped me stack a layer of cold flapjacks in a hankerchief along with a couple pieces of fruit and a couple bottles of juice.
“Applejack said she wanted your help?” The little filly asked.
“Not directly.” I admitted.
“Then you’d best tread as lightly as a mouse in a room full ‘o sleepin’ cats.” Granny Smith warned. “Applejack holds these kinda things near an’ dear to her heart, an’ I don’t wanna watch either of you overstep yourselves.”
“Yeah, and I don’t get why she does that.” It was the weirdest thing; every couple episodes of the show, AJ seemed to drop her steady and dependable side and become overprotective and obstinate. I wanted to nip that tendency as soon as possible.
I thanked the Apples for lunch and hurried after Applejack. She was returning to the empty bushels we had passed before. I came up beside her just as she was bringing the apples she had carried to Ponyville and back to a nearby wagon.
“Hey, Applejack!”
“Hm? Hi, Mark… Did you get a new haircut?” My face went completely blank.
“You’re not technically wrong.”
“Well, what can I do ya for? Hm? Somethin’ smells good.”
“I brought your lunch from the farmhouse. Remember?” I held up the loaded handkerchief. Seriously, in her current state, Applejack had about as much recall as Dory from Finding Nemo.
“Well, thanks for that, Mark. ‘Course you’ve got your own errands to run, I’m sure.” She knelt and slid the bushels of fruit to the ground.
“Actually, I thought I’d volunteer to help out your harvest today.” I knelt to pick up a bushel.
“Wha?”
“It’s really no problem.” As I began to heft the over-sized bucket to the edge of the wagon, Applejack’s eyes suddenly became extremely clear.
“Now hold on one gosh-darn minute!” I hesitated. “Is this because you think I can’t do this on my own?”
“To be perfectly honest with you, yes.” The mare leaned back in surprise.
“Gosh, Mark, now I know we ain’t known each other for long, but ‘round here, when an Apple says they’re gonna do something, you can bet your bottom bit that they’re gonna follow through sure as daylight.”
“I don’t doubt your word, Applejack, I just think you’re misplacing it. Promises are made for things you know you can keep, not things outside your control.” The bushel lowered a little bit.
“Outside my- You don’t think I can harvest this whole orchard, do you?”
“I think we already established that a couple lines ago.”
“Mark, you put down those apples right now. I’m gonna show you just what an Apple means when she puts her word on something!”
“I refuse to accept that.” I lifted my chin slightly.
“Huh?”
“I refuse to make a liar out of you.” (That’s Discord’s job.) “You’re better than to convince yourself of something you know isn’t true. You need help and you know it. So, as your friend, isn’t it my job to step up and support you?” That was the sharpest I dared to make my words. I didn’t want to go any further, but upon review, I probably jabbed too hard anyways.
“Aren’t not a friend supposed to trust each other?” She jabbed right back. (My grammar isn’t that bad, honest. She was just sleepy.)
I didn’t wake up that morning thinking that I’d be staring down Applejack over a bushel of apples, but that’s the uncomfortable position I found myself in. I quickly initiated a verbal retreat before this became serious or even damaging to our still-young friendship.
“Fine…” With a grimace, I lowered the apples to the ground.
“I’m sorry, Mark, but this is something I gotta do on my own…” The orange mare turned away and began kicking trees with her powerful, if sluggish, kicks. I watched her go from one tree to the next and to the next, each time getting a little slower. Finally, she stopped completely, asleep on her hooves.
My eyes narrowed as I looked back and forth between Applejack and the bushel of apples between my feet. Swiftly and quietly, I snatched up the basket and dumped its contents into the wagon.
“Of course you do.” I whispered. “That’s why I’m doing it with you.” Like a shadow, I retreated further into the orchard.
For the rest of the day, I did whatever I could to help Applejack without her knowing. Sometimes, my help would take the form of spilled apples what seemed to pick themselves up, other times, it was as simple as a canteen of water that never ran dry. However, even though my friend was too sleepy to realize what was going on, my efforts were minimal and didn’t make a very big impact that first day.
The most I was able to do was when Twilight Sparkle came to visit the orchard. Applejack was busy singing the same song she already sang to me. No, she didn’t want help. No, she didn’t need help. Yes, this was something she gotta do on her own. Etc.
I took the opportunity to move a couple extra bushels to the far end of the orchard and began a losing battle with a bunch of fruit trees. Applebucking wasn’t as easy as it looked. Especially when you didn’t have a lifetime of practice under your belt and especially if you weren’t a pony. In fact, without a ladder, a wagon, or any earthy pony know-how, I was very much up a creek without a paddle.
Still, via sheer stubbornness (and a couple calluses) I had almost ten trees worth of apples plucked, packed, and stored in a little mound not far from Applejacks’ own stockpile.
“What happened to you?” Twilight Sparkle asked when I finally returned to the library.
“I, uh, was helping on Sweet Apple Acres,” I awkwardly avoided eye contact as I pulled a strand of crusty hair off my forehead.
“Wait, you were helping with applebuck season?” The unicorn looked up from her book in surprise. I held up a finger as I poured myself a large cup of water.
“Not exactly. Applejack won’t let me help her harvest.”
“Well, then, what were you doing?”
“I could lie and tell you that I was mucking the chicken coup all day,” I plopped onto the floor. “but I just don’t have the heart.”
“So those are apple leaves I see in your hair.”
“Hm?” I combed my raggedy mane and pulled out a small dry leaf. “Nice catch, Holmes.”
“Mark, I’m not sure helping Applejack against her will is a good idea.” Twilight cautioned.
“You too?”
“It’s disrespectful. And it will hurt her feelings when she finds out.” I retreated behind my cup for a moment before replying,
“To be honest, I think it’s disrespectful not to help her. She’s burnt herself out so that she can’t even word right, let alone see what I’m trying to do for her. As for her feelings, yes, she’s going to eventually find out, but I’m not too worried about how she’ll react. After all, when this is done, she’s going to see that we were right all along and she was acting silly. Besides, I already owe her; I stole some apples for food the first day I came to Ponyville.”
“Well, I’m sure she’d appreciate your honesty, but what you’re doing is the opposite of helpful.”
“Tell that to Rainbow Dash when you see her tomorrow.” I lifted my cup in a shallow salute and finished the conversation.
The next day dawned bright and early and I tackled it with gusto. Despite the fact that my official ‘hobbies’ back home involved writing, drawing, and watching anime, I found yard work to be fun. Sure, it was sweaty, but I got happy when working out. Throughout the morning, I shook tree branches, picked up apples and hauled them to my secret stash.
It was right when I was about to call it quits for lunch when I heard a low rumbling. At first, I thought Applejack was passing by with her wagon and a chill shot through me. But I quickly remembered that she had just left to help Rainbow Dash with her stunt practice and wouldn’t be back for a while. Instead, the rumbling noise was the sound of Big Macintosh dragging along the little apple stall that Applejack used to sell her goods in town.
“Howdy, Big Mac!” I waved and smiled. “What brings you here?”
“Thought you could use some lunch.” The large pony drawled. He reached behind him and revealed a carrot sandwich and a couple bottles of apple juice.
“Aw, now that’s just awesome.” My eyes lit up at the sight of the food. When I looked in the stall, I saw another lunch bundled up, presumably for Applejack. “How did you find me out here?”
“You were whistlin’.”
“Oh, yeah. I tend to do that when I’m doing yard work.”
“What tune?”
“Entropy by AwkwardMarina. The Sim Gretina remix, mind you. I like the tempo better.” I’m just glad it wasn’t ‘Raise This Barn’.
“Whelp! Good luck…” Big Macintosh snatched Applejack’s lunch out of the little wagon and began walking back across the orchard.
“Hey, wait!” I called after him. “Don’t you need the cart?”
“You need it more ‘n me.” He replied.
“Oh. Wheels… What a concept!” I looked back and forth between the bushels I’d been toting and the handy little cart. “Thanks, Big Mac.”
“You’re workin’ pretty hard for a stranger.” The red horse observed.
“Well, I just couldn’t sit still while Applejack’s out here breaking her legs on trees.” I explained. “She was kind enough to call me friend, and doesn’t treat me like a stranger, so I want to live up to that however I can. You understand why I’m out here, right?”
A shrug.
“Because everypony else seems tentative about helping AJ. I mean, I’ll admit that it seems like a no-win scenario: try your best to aid a friend even if they don’t want help, or live with yourself knowing that you could have made life easier on them, but didn’t. I just think this is the lesser of two evils.”
A shrug.
“Maybe I should try and convince more ponies to join me. I was kind of hoping they’d see what I was doing and come on their own. But, nopony yet…”
Big Macintosh tilted his head instead of shrugging. (Whoa! Crazy party horse over here!)
“Anyways, good talk.”
“Eyeup!”
I watched the large pony stride away over the grass, feeling very conflicted inside. I felt helpless and angry. If I were an earth pony, I’d be able to make so much more of a difference. If I were a pegasus, even, I’d be able to help AJ more. And if I were a unicorn! This job would be over already! But I wasn’t. I was just a human, and a solitary one at that. I had spent the last couple days trying to work hard enough to feel like I was making a difference, but who was I kidding?
Applejack didn’t even want my help and I was really doing nothing to ease the struggles she was going through this episode. Even volunteering to help the Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy in AJ’s stead wouldn’t make a difference, it would only keep Applejack in the orchard with no escape.
I didn’t whistle after that. This conundrum was under my skin and I didn’t know how to deal with it. I felt bamboozled and stumped. However, my doubts were pushed aside when I saw AJ limping back from her day with Rainbow Dash. Apparently, she had strained a ligament from jumping off a certain ladder while helping a certain pegasus with a certain new trick.
I couldn’t do nothing.
If only I had done just that.
I worked closer than ever to Applejack the next day, hovering just outside her perception, looking for ways to keep her safe(er) and/or comfortable(er). She looked like a rag doll that had lost a caged match with a puppy. The orange pony was scratched, dirty, and every motion and kick threatened to twist her ankles. The micro-sleeps were keeping her alive, but were doing nothing for her brain. I watched her harvest apples from the same three trees. Twice.
Finally, she zombie-walked towards Ponyville to help Pinkie Pie run Sugarcube Corner. When the coast was clear, I crept forward and did whatever I could. I picked up stray apples, gathered dropped apples, cleaned half-harvested apple trees, and even replaced a broken bushel. Once again, Twilight Sparkle had been reluctant to join me without AJ’s consent, so it was just me and the little wagon out there.
I was feeling better, good actually. I was even whistling again while toting apple overflow from Applejack’s large apple bins back to her stockpile. Then, with a single word, the wind was knocked out of me as if a car had run me over,
“Mark?” Applejack asked from behind me.
I was petrified on the spot, frozen in the act of tossing a stray apple into the little wagon. As stiff as animatronics, I slowly turned to face the country pony. We stared at each other for a long second, my mind racing to find a way I could explain myself, justify myself, argue my point. But I couldn’t think of anything. On the bright side, however, I no longer had to worry about whether my ‘help’ was right or wrong. One look in those emerald eyes and I knew, I had made a terrible mistake.
“What are you doin’?” She demanded. It was a rhetorical question; my nonverbal communication couldn’t have been shouting louder even if I was in a life-or-death battle of charades.
“Applejack…”
“What are ya doin’ here?”
“While you were at Sugarcube Corner, I thought-”
“Thought what? That you’d sneak over here behind my back? That you’d pick up these apples even when I told ya not to!? What’s with you, Mark?”
“Me? What’s with you? No sane pony would kill themselves for the sake of a stupid challenge to harvest apples!”
“I told you not to help!” She snapped.
“Right now the hospital is filling up with food poisoned ponies because you thought ‘wheat germ’ was ‘earth worm’!” I argued. “Who does that?”
“This is important to me! And you completely disregarded that anyways!” As Applejack’s voise rose in volume, hot water began to accumulate in the corner of her eyes. “Who does that, huh? I thought you were a friend!” That cut pretty deeply. I retorted in kind,
“Of course I’m a friend! And friends help when you’re struggling! Why can’t you see that!? Wake up!”
“You lied to me! What kind of friend does that!? Does this make you my friend!?”
“I won’t let you kill yourself! I don’t care what I have to do to prove it to you! I’m not going to let you do this!”
“I made a promise!” She shouted, tears burning in her eyes. “You don’t get it! I don’t want your help! I never wanted your help! You can’t even help if you wanted to!”
“…What?” I blinked, stunned.
“Why are you even here? What did ya think you could do!? ‘Cause ya clearly can’t buck a tree! Can’t lift more ‘n one bushel at a time! Can’t even pull a full-size cart! What use are you!?”
“I…” Words failed me. I shut down.
“I… don’t want you here.” Applejack shivered like a leaf. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that emotional tendencies were just another symptom of sleep deprivation, but that didn’t matter to me right now. She had a point. A very sharp point.
“… Fine…” I stepped backwards before turning and plodding away.
I walked slowly, feeling cold and heavy inside. I didn’t even care where I was going. All I had wanted was to spare Applejack the drama that she was headed for. Ironic that I had hurt her so much more. You’ll remember that there weren’t any tears in the original episode, but now I had added that much more.
She had taken pride in her honor. I stomped on it.
She had made a promise. I undermined it.
She had put trust in me. I abused it.
I was just circling around Sweet Apple Acres farmhouse on my way to Ponyville when an old voice reached out from the porch and caught my attention,
“Now, what have we here? Looks like things didn’t go so well between you and our little Applejack.” Granny Smith called out from her rocking chair.
“Is it so obvious?” I sighed.
“These eyes might not be what they used to, but it ain’t hard to see a heavy heart.” The old pony winked.
“Yeah, Applejack found out I was trying to help her against her will.” I admitted.
“And you were surprised at her reaction?” Granny Smith lifted an eyebrow.
“You know, not really. I’m terrible, aren’t I?”
“Mmm…” The mare smiled like Yoda upon her rocking chair.
“You called it.” I held my hands open helplessly. “I shouldn’t have stuck my nose where it didn’t belong. Now I’ve got nothing to show for the past couple days but a sunburn, some sore muscles and a few choice words ringing between my ears.”
“The stove’s hot…” Granny Smith nodded knowingly.
“Pardon me?” I frowned.
“The stove’s hot, youngin.”
“I know what you said, but I don’t get it.”
“It’s what I used to tell Apple Bloom when she was just a tiny lil’ thing. She’d had the strangest fixation with the darned woodburnin’ stove. Maybe because it was warm. Maybe because of the pretty fire inside. Or maybe because little Applejack never let her get within a stone’s throw of it. Doesn’t matter…”
I listened politely, resting my arms limply on the porch railing, but I still couldn’t see how this was relevant. Hopefully, GS wasn’t having a senile moment on me.
“Anyway, what do you think happened the day Applejack wasn’t there?” The old mare got a faraway look in her eyes and she chuckled. “Nothing standing between Apple Bloom and the stove.”
“Wait, are you saying-”
“The first thing little Apple Bloom did was trot over to the simmerin’ stove and touch it.” Granny Smith cackled. “I warned her, I did, but nothin’ doin’. Oh, sure, she got burnt, left a little spot of hide stuck to the darn thing like a stamp! My, but she did cry. Poor Applejack, too. I’d never seen our little AJ look so scared ‘s when she heard her little sister wailin’ like the timberwolves.”
“I’ll bet she never made that mistake again.” I chuckled. Granny Smith’s story stopped abruptly and she fixed me with a quiet stare. I shifted awkwardly under her eyes. She just waited patiently until the moral sunk in.
“Oh…” I suddenly realized.
“She never made that mistake again.” The old mare nodded. “Even that mark on the stove remained long after her own burn healed to remind her. You’ll recall, youngin, I was there. I could ‘ve stopped little Apple Bloom from hurtin’ herself. So why didn’t I?”
“She had to learn that she stove was hot for herself.” My eyes drifted to the ground in thought. “There are some things that words alone can’t teach us.”
“Mmm hmm…”
“So, this orchard, is another stove. And Applejack….”
“Much as I hate to see my little darlin’ get burned, I love her enough to know when she needs a lesson…”
“I see…” My gaze suddenly shot back up to Granny Smith. “Hey! How come you let me interfere? If this whole fiasco was a part of your lesson for Applejack, how come you didn’t tell me not to try and help her?”
The old pony just gave that same knowing smile.
“Oh my gosh!” I stumbled back and threw my head back as if the idea had literally blown up in my face. “You’re saying I needed to learn that the stove was hot too!?”
“Y’re sweet for a youngin, but y’ve gotta bit of growin’ to do.” Granny Smith got out of her chair and strode across the deck with slow, deliberate strides.
“I’m not as young as you might think, ma’am.” I smiled.
“Y’re a youngin as long as you’re actin’ like one.” The old mare called over her shoulder. “But there’s hope for ya yet. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta give the flour a stern talkin’ to.”
I stood rooted where I was, the heaviness gone from my chest, but now my mind was buzzing with new ideas.
First and foremost was: I’ll never underestimate a grandma again. They’ll surprise you if you don’t watch out. She was still sharp as a whip. (Even if she was currently in the kitchen scolding the baking ingredients.)
Next was: I had been going about this whole episode the wrong way from the beginning. I was so focused on the tree that I had completely missed the forest it was a part of. I was so preoccupied with Applejack’s temporary discomfort and trials that I had missed what this would do for her and her friends in the future. For that matter, I had been acting that way about everything since arriving in Equestria. I wanted to interfere, but if I did, it might ruin the lessons that the ponies had to go through in order to become the champions of friendship I knew and loved. (Not to mention, I would inadvertently deny Twilight Sparkle a lot of writing material for her letters to the princess.)
And finally: what do I do now? Applejack was still on the verge of falling to pieces and things were a little rocky between the two of us at the moment. The answer was a lot more obvious now that I was looking at the ‘forest’. I was simply going to be there to catch her when she fell.
The Apple family was already helping AJ as best as they could, so I merely offered to aid them around the farmhouse. Over the next couple days, Applebloom and Big Macintosh taught me the daily routines of taking care of the chickens, pigs, sheep and cows. I also kept in touch with the rest of the M6, asking if they could keep their schedules open for the upcoming days. It seemed as if they all shared my sympathies for Applejack and were more than willing to help her if and when she finally asked for it. (Perhaps I should have spoken with them first before my blunder.)
And sure enough, two days later, the cutest plague of bunnies you could imagine swept through Ponyville. They poured over the ground like a little trotting tide of tumbleweeds. Sure, they were terrified out of their minds, and sure, they were eating everything in sight, (including an attempt at my shoe buckles) but in the grand scheme of things, this event was hilarious.
After the plague, Twilight Sparkle asked if I would go with her to Sweet Apple Acres. Of course, I agreed, but hung back once we were within sight of Applejack herself. Here was the big finale of the episode and I felt that it would be better without me.
The orange pony was at the top of a hill, kicking down the last apples from the last tree from the last row on the last hill of… the first half of the orchard. From where I stood, I could hear Applejack and Twilight Sparkle talking, but I couldn’t make out their words. I didn’t need to, though. Big Macintosh walked up to the conversation, still bruised, but looking a lot better now that he had taken his bandages off. As soon as Applejack saw the remaining hills of apple trees (technically a few seconds after she saw them. Her brain wasn’t exactly working at full speed) she collapsed in front of Twilight.
I heard every note as the country pony fell to pieces. The last layer of pride she had left was stripped away and all that remained was a scared and broken girl. She had let down the last pony she could trust, the one that would never disappoint her, herself. And it hurt. She was emotionally and physically drained and all she could do in that moment was cry. Fortunately, Twilight was right there to provide a shoulder.
“Perfect…” I smiled to myself before turning and running back towards Ponyville. Applebucking season wasn’t over yet and we were going to need a lot more hooves to help finish the harvest. We would make sure this episode still had a happy ending.
Over the next couple days, Applejack was restricted to the farmhouse while the rest of her close friends and I finished harvesting the orchard. Rainbow Dash could knock the apples out of an entire row of trees in a fractured second. Fluttershy and Rarity and Fluttershy’s animal friends helped collect them off the ground and put them in bushels which Pinkie Pie and I then loaded onto carts and towed to the apple storage. Twilight was kind of amazing, too…
“See? After I resonate a good sample apple, I can isolate the aura wavelength that distinguishes it from the rest of the tree. After that, it’s simply a levitation spell for that particular parameter and,” The purple unicorn’s horn radiated with light and a small grove of apple trees gave up their fruit. The tiny red globes fell upwards through the branches like a flock of birds.
“You don’t know how much I want to be a unicorn right now.” I said, trying to keep my cheeks from burning green with envy. “That’s too cool.” Twilight smiled humbly.
“Well, you were the one who pointed out I need to practice more large-scale spells like this.”
“Me?”
“Remember, with the stampede?” Twilight Sparkle explained. “I’ve been reading up on larger spell parameters ever since.”
“Oh…” I nodded, surprised. “I had no idea you'd remember me saying anything. I thought you were just reading for fun.”
“But magic is fun!”
“… I can only imagine…” I turned away before she saw the daydream-y look in my eyes.
At long last, the job was finished. Applejack was back to herself, albeit a little more humble, and the orchard was all packed up. She and I hadn’t spoken since our argument and to be honest, I didn’t know how I would go about apologizing to her. While the rest of the ponies were behind the farmhouse celebrating the completion of the harvest, I excused myself to have a quiet moment with my thoughts. (That, and Spike was daring me to eat one of those ungodly muffins.)
With a bottle of apple juice in hand, I wandered between the shady rows of trees. Evening was waxing and the first twinkling stars were beginning to shine through the cool night air. I casually swung myself onto a low branch and watched as the sky deepened into a painting of orange and purple.
“Cheers.” I lifted my drink in a quiet salute to the first couple stars. I absentmindedly picked at a branch while my legs dangled beneath me.
“Mark?” Applejack came up behind me.
“Hey, Applejack.”
“What’re you doing out here?” She asked.
“Admiring the writers…” I explained.
“Huh?”
“It’s not a secret…” I sighed, absently swirling my juice bottle, “It never was a secret. Just you and your siblings and your grandma on this big farm all by yourselves? They never hid the fact that you don’t have parents anymore, but what’s remarkable to me is that I never realized what that meant for you personally. I didn’t actually understand for the longest time. Even when the internet was calling you ‘batmare’ every other post, I never stopped to wonder how your loss shaped you as a character.”
“Well, it ain’t easy…” Applejack tilted back her hat and scratched her mane.
“But you make it look easy.” I smiled down at her. “You ‘keep calm and carry on’ so well that it seems out of character for you when something ruffles your composure. You’re always so confident, that nopony asks what you’re afraid of. What makes you work so hard.”
The orange pony glanced back at the farmhouse.
“It’s all about your family.” I took a sip of my juice. “You tried to tell me. Granny Smith tried to tell me. Big Mac, well, I’m sure he’d try to tell me if he was more loquacious. This applebucking season wasn’t about apples at all. It was about you trying to prove to yourself that you can take care of your family in times of trouble.”
“Well, when you put it like that,”
“I do put it like that! Even when you came to the library, it's obvious now that you were still reeling from the news that Big Macintosh hurt himself. What if that board had hit his head? What if it had broken his spine? What if it had done more damage than it did? Could you still take care of your parent’s farm? Granny Smith? Apple Bloom? Could you do it on your own?” I glanced down at the mare. “You wanted to. More than anything, you were terrified by the idea of failing them. So you just had to prove it to yourself.”
“I was being prideful and lying to myself if that’s what your getting at. An’ I’ll admit that now.” Applejack sighed. I held up a stern finger. (She didn’t actually understand the gesture, but that’s beside the point.)
“Being truthful to yourself is the hardest lesson anyone can ever learn. However, you understand that more than anypony else. That’s why… I believe you represent the Element of Honesty.”
“I came out here to apologize to y’all for what I put ya through.” She said penitently.
“No! I’m the one who should be apologizing!” I glared at a nearby twig and plucked it from the tree. “I ignored your wishes, lied to you, snuck around behind your back. I didn’t even make a big difference in the long run, but it was the thought that counted. And I think it counted against me quite a bit.” I flicked the twig away and looked down at the mare. “I should be the one apologizing. I’m sorry, Applejack.”
She stared thoughtfully at the little branch as it hit the grass. Finally, she looked up with a half-smile and said,
“Ya know, I found your apple stash behind the farmhouse the other day.”
“Ha! Pitiful compared to yours, I know.”
“There’s a reason we put them in the cellar. Keeps ‘em from continuing to ripen.”
“… Oh…”
“No harm done! Actually, you're stronger than you look. For just a couple days’ work, that was some fine harvestin’ you did.”
“You’re kidding.” I laughed to myself. She shook her head,
“Nope! Honest Apple!” Her freckles lifted in a warm smile. “An’ after today, you all have taught me that I don’t have to worry about failing my family any more. Even when I couldn’t see it at first, you were right. ‘Cept you used the term ‘friend’ instead of family, what you were sayin’ was what I needed to hear. Family watches out for each other, ‘an now I don’t hafta worry about being alone no more. ‘Cause y’all already are my family.”
My nose tickled as I looked down at Applejack and a little water started to squeeze out of the corner of my eye.
“Ugh! I need to get out of this tree. I think I got a little pollen in my eye.” I dropped out of the branch like a ripe apple. The country mare put her hoof on my shoulder.
“I get you, partner. Don’t know where all this darn pollen is comin’ from.” She smiled weakly. “An’ what you were sayin’ before was pretty insightful, too. You’re pretty perceptive for only meeting me last week.”
“Riiight… Has it only been a week?” I mused.
“I know what you mean. Feels like we’ve known each other longer, doesn’t it?”
You have no idea, Applejack.
“By the way, Mark, how’s that hunt for a job comin’ along?” We turned and started moseying back to the farmhouse.
“Wow. You sounded like my mother just then!” I laughed. Back home, I was ‘between jobs’ too. “To be honest, I’ve been so preoccupied with putting my nose in your business that I haven’t been looking.”
“Well, Sweet Apple Acres could still use ya, if’n you’re not sick an’ tired of apple trees yet.”
“Ha. Ha. Very funny.”
“I’m serious!” She defended. “You’re a hard worker and now that applebucking season is over, there’s plenty needs doin’ before the next season’s fruit comes in.”
“Oh yeah?” I chuckled. “Like what?” In reply, Applejack stooped down and picked up a twig. The same one I had plucked from the tree just a moment ago.
“Now, what pony do you know who can prune a tree without thinkin’?” She smiled slyly. I stared at the twig as if I’d never seen one before.
“Pruning? I’d never thought of it.”
“We’ve got a lot of good soil, and the trees love it, but the quality of apples goes down if the trees' own branches start to choke themselves out. However, with your help, I think the next crop of apples will be even healthier than this one.” She winked at me.
Work on Sweet Apple Acres? The opportunity sounded too good to be true! I was barely able to keep my smile in check as I said,
“You know what? That sounds like an awesome idea. Thank you, Applejack.”
“’An thank you, partner.” She nodded.
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I have to admit, your way of doing things as a BiE is pretty fresh and fun to read, and I've read a fair amount of 'em.
Regarding your dilemma, what if I throw the question right back at you, but with a bit of a twist? What episodes do you want to see using another perspective? For example, Green isn't your color but with the main character and narrative following Pinkie Pie instead of the Fabulous Duo. If you manage to narrow down your choices based on that prompt, you may have your next chapter already forming in your thoughts.
Besides, for season 1, none one the episodes are THAT vital. Heck, make your own conflict and pick a couple of main characters + the human to tackle it.
With that said, I'm pretty excited what you can come up. Looking forward to your next chapter!
Love this story keep up the good work
My suggestion is that you should focus on episodes that focus on all of the main six and don't take place outside of town, aside from "The Best Night Ever". So, no "Dragonshy", no "Sonic Rainboom" and probably nothing with the crusaders, unless you want to. Anything that affects the whole town, such as winter wrap up, should probably be included. I can't wait to read more!
6159875 Or "Look Before You Sleep", but instead taking the opportunity to join Spike during his time in Canterlot?
Thank you for your input. I miss having friends to talk about my stories with. (They're just not bronies.)
This is a truley exellent fic, great story and a really interesting Original character, so keep up the great work!
Whatever you do, keep up the good work!
All in all, I looked like I had walked straight out of Kingdom Hearts. Oddly enough, I was OK with that.
I knew it...I KNEW IT I LIKE THIS GUY!
Damn, you have me hooked!
What a troll
I still can't stop laughing
“Sorry I’m late… I was just… whoa… Did I get yout tail?...”
*your
Sumo
I'll have you know that the flour deserves that talking to!
It knows what it did.
Oh god, that actually made me start to tear up.
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