The Day I Became A Millionaire

by Ribe_FireRain

Applejack's View

''AJ!'' I called to the orange mare who was in the middle of harvesting apples from another tree. She glanced over at me and I could have sworn I heard her let out a low growl at my presence.

THWACK!

Apple after apple, the red delectable fruits fell free from their branches, landing neatly in the baskets arranged below the trunk of the tree. I winced at the hoof marks that her strong buck left behind in the bark.

Applejack tipped her hat back on her head into its usual position and wiped away a droplet of sweat from her brow, her eyes now focusing on me and for the first time and up close, I could see what I knew to be anger behind her eyes, making her natural green colour burn like flames.

''What do ya want, Matt?'' She asked bluntly, clearly not in the mood for conversation. Her anger was emphasized even more so when she didn't bother stopping her apple bucking to face me.

''I wanna talk to you. I think you know about what.'' I said and she grunted as she delivered yet another powerful buck to the tree. I could have sworn I felt the ground shake. ''Also to see how you're holding up.'' She chuckled at that.

''Oh, really? Ah thought you'd rather be with mah sister.'' She deadpanned, now facing me with a stone-cold glare. ''And don't think Ah don't know about the two of ya in the west orchard.'' She frowned at me and snorted. My heart slowed at that.

''You saw that, huh?'' I asked and she nodded.

''The whole thing.'' She stated simply. ''Ah'm only gonna say this once, and Ah mean only once - Matt, Ah don't want ya doin' that kinda dangerous stuff with mah sister! Ah've seen what happens when you crash, an' you nearly died! What if ya'll crashed with AB in that car? Huh? Ya couldda killed her!'' She said, stepping closer to me, prodding my arm with her hoof with some force.

She had me there. Yes, driving is dangerous when you're around hundreds of thousands of trees, and I did crash twice and nearly died in the process. At the time, I guess I never really took in any consideration for AB's safety, never mind my own. I knew how much she meant to Applejack and the rest of her family, but I wouldn't let it happen if it wasn't going to be safe!

''It's not just about Apple Bloom, is it? I'm not blind, Applejack. Something else is on your mind, and you can't hide it from me. All I want to do is help, so does Granny Smith.'' She huffed at that.

''Well, tell her not ta worry none about me. As for my troubles, they have no concern to you, so why do ya think Ah would tell ya?'' She said, planting her rump down onto the floor. I knelt down in front of her and gently placed my hand to her shoulder.

''Because I care about you.'' I said with a gentle smile. As I said those words, I could feel her tense muscles ease up and the angered look behind her eyes softened ever so slightly. ''You and your family looked out for me when Apple Bloom found me and the least I can do is return the favor. What kind of person would I be if I at least didn't offer that much?''

Applejack finally gave in and sighed, her lips transforming into a small smile. ''You're a sweet guy, Matt, Ah'll give ya that. But like Ah said before, ya don't owe us nothin'. We wasn't brought up that way. What kind of ponies would we be if that was the way we did things? The Apple Family don't hold debts in turn for deeds.'' She said.

''So, do you want to tell me what's been going on? You know, as in why you're out here and going crazy on the apple trees?'' I said, motioning towards the indentations now visible in the bark from her hooves. She winced and bit her lower lip.

''A-A-Ah...It's b-because Ah'm upset. About Apple Bloom.'' She hung her head down, averting her eyes away from mine and keeping them on the ground.

''Howcome? What's gotten you so torn up about her?'' Applejack didn't respond for a moment or two and when she eventually looked up and looked me back in the eyes, I saw them glisten with tears, slowly leaking from the corners of her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. ''Ap-Applejack?''

She didn't say anything. All she did was put her hooves around me and hugged me close and tight. I was surprised to say the least, both at the sudden change in her attitude and seeing her cry. I didn't think a mare as strong as Applejack was even capable of crying. None the less, I placed my own arms around her and rubbed her back, attempting to comfort her and get her to calm down.

We spent around a full two minutes or so in that position and by then, her crying had reduced itself into quiet sniffling. She wiped off her eyes and I held her close to me with my arm around her shoulders.

''Feel better?''

''Y-Yeah, very. Thank ya.'' She sniffled once more, smiling gratefully to me. ''Sugarcube, Ah'm sorry that ya had to see me like this. Ah'm even more sorry that Ah yelled at ya.''

''Don't worry about it, AJ. So, you mind telling me what's going on?''

''Matt, by now, you know how much my little sister means to me. Ah'm upset 'cause we used to do everthin' when she was a filly, an' now look at her - all grown up and pretty and smart. Now that she's all grown up and such, Ah figured she'd move on with her life an' possibly move out of the farm to get her own place. All Ah wanted was ta spend more time with her, but Ah missed most of that when she finally earned her cutie mark and Ah was always stuck here, doing chores and working the orchards.'' She sniffled again and I could hear her heart beating.

I never knew how strongly it effected her until now. If I had a sister that I never got to spend time with because I was either working all the time or busy doing other stuff, I would be mad too. I couldn't blame Applejack for feeling the way she does, nor will I ever.

''Hey, don't be like that, Applejack,'' I pulled her into a hug, massaging her back. ''she's still around and she absolutely adores you. You've still got all the time in the world to get things back on track and hang out. Besides, I doubt she ever would move out of her home. All of her family is here and no matter what, you will always have each other. And hey, I'm sorry that I scared the two of you with my crazy driving in the west orchard. If it makes you feel any better, I promise that I won't do anything like that again.''

Her smile was warm and her eyes were glassy, now. She pulled me into a hug and I gladly accepted the embrace, holding her securely. ''Oh, Matt, Ah can't thank ya enough for telling me that. Ya'll are an amazing friend to me and my family. As far as I'm concerned, ya can consider yourself an Apple. Blood or not, you're welcome anytime.''

''I'm glad to have you as a friend, too. I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for your family.'' I said, picking myself from the ground and back onto my feet, offering AJ my hand to help her up. Placing her hoof in my hand, I pulled her up and she nodded to me once in thanks.

''Ya'll don't need to thank us for helping ya that day when AB found ya. To us, you're family an' family look out for each other, no matter what.''

Author's Note:

I think that should do it for this story, but I'm not going to put it down as complete. I'm going to keep this as a story on hiatus because if I want to add more to it, I can do and although I may not get around to it ever, I may rewrite the whole thing, make it more compelling and emotional.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

5501865 Don't you hate it when your comments don't get a response?

[Starlight Nova]

Why is this on hiatus?

[Ribe_FireRain]

7075898 Didn't you see the box at the bottom of the chapter? All details are there. Originally, I didn't plan for this to be a long story to begin with (at the minimum of around maybe 20,000 to 25,000 words instead of over 50,000) and I did kinda go a little overboard with this. Although I can't guarantee anything, I was thinking about going through the whole story and narrowing it down before any of the deeper romance stuff to give a better emotional and more compelling experience to the reader.

[Rainbow Kirby]

I think that should do it for this story, but I'm not going to put it down as complete. I'm going to keep this as a story on hiatus because if I want to add more to it, I can do and although I may not get around to it ever, I may rewrite the whole thing, make it more compelling and emotional.

It's marked complete now, does that mean you ARE done with it?

[Adikthone]

But why you done with it

[Theagames10]

I kind of wish there was more, this to me felt like it could be a longer story that wasn't complete yet.

[SnowLeon]

10426317
Same. But I think that at this point, the story has already missed that opportunity. A good way would have been if Matt returned to the human world after his second car crash in Ponyville, that would have been interesting as he reunites with his family (even if his family don't become formal characters) and wonders if everything previous was some kind of dream or something. There it could try to explain what transported him to Equestria in the first place, and obviously how that happens again and he meets AB again, assuring him that he is alive and all. Even if it just boils down to something like "one of the princesses did it by mistake while experimenting with magic", it would be better than leaving that mystery unsolved, considering that the story does emphasize what that event might have been.
But since that line didn't occur, I think that at this point the story would only be extended with romantic and comfy situations. Unless there is some creative way to create more tension and mystery. It's a pity that the author left the community