Applejack and what else

by owocowy

Chapter 3: Hit the town

She woke up the next day with the sun, as always. When she came down to the kitchen, she met her family preparing for a breakfast.

“Why the long face, sis?” Applebloom inquired her sister. Truth to be told, Applejack wasn’t in spirits. Again.

“Ah just don’t know what ah’ll do today. Ya ‘now, everything’s fine and dandy with the farm. Although Ah guess Ah could help with the jam-makin’...”

“Now hold on there, young’in” Granny Smith interrupted her. “That’s mah part of the job! Ya will have ye’r jams to make in yer life!”

“You can go to the town with me. We’re goin’ to need more jars and sugar.” Big Macintosh spoke up.

“Sure, anythin’ to keep my hooves movin’.”

After the breakfast Applejack stayed to clean the dishes. Other ponies dispersed, save from Big Macintosh.

“You wanna talk about somethin’, sis?”

“Nah, ah’m fine.” Big Macintosh said nothing, and the silence was drilling. Eventually, it broke Applejack.

“Actually, ah wan’ to talk. Ah’m jobless and no use to anypony.” Her brother was still silent, letting her to speak. “Ah mean, takin’ care of the orchards was all ah have ever been doin’. Now it’s fine and dandy, and ah don’t know what to do with mah free time. Ah feel... kind of unnecessary” tears had started to form in her eyes. Big Macintosh put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. “Ye’r right, ah’m being self-pity now...”

“I didn’t say that.” Her brother replied. “There are times when everypony need to pity himself. Just a bit, to see the problem. And find a solution.”

“What d’ya mean? There’s no solution. The summer trees won’t give fruit for another three months or so.”

“A hobby.”

“Hobby?”

“Eyup.”

“Phh.” She freed herself from under his hoof. “Ah have no hobby! Ah’m only good with apples.”

“Not what you’re good at, but what you like doin’.”

That made Applejack wonder. She liked working, that’s what she has always been doing. Or maybe she was just used to it? The point is, she couldn’t recall any other activities that would gave her true pleasure in her free time.

“Maybe you’re right... Ah’m gonna think it over. Thanks” she said to her brother and he nodded.

“We’ll go the town, ok?”

“Yup. Ah’ll get mah hat.” She smiled. Oh, that’s what she needed. A good pony to talk to. Big Macintosh wasn’t much older than her, but he always knew what to say.

She went back to her room, thinking about his point. He’s right, ah need a hobby of some kind. But what? At the corridor, she found Applebloom heading the other direction, her Crusader cape on. Heh, probably ah will become The Hobby Crusader soon. She smiled on the thought. The truth was, she needed something to do. This required trying a lot of things to find the proper one. And, if she couldn’t come up with anything, she could as well use Applebloom’s List Of Cutie-Mark Activities.

She entered her room and scanned it for anything that would give her a hint of what she would like to do. Bed, two windows, a drawer, shelf with a few books and her hat, nightstand and a small mirror. She sighed, a bit scared of herself. She then realized that her private life was just as empty as her room. Furnished, but empty. The work consumed her entirely, concentrating on her job she never allowed herself to wander off to leisure activities. She grabbed her hat and went downstairs.

---

Soarin was wandering around the streets of Ponyville. Although he wasn’t wearing his remarkable uniform, a few mares recognized him and he had to hide in the crowd to avoid attention. His stomach growled noisily, as he looked at the shops around him. There, at the end of the valley was an invitingly looking building, signboarded as the SugarCube Corner. He licked his lips as he thought about what he could find inside... He trotted over, when something caught his eye. A big, red-coated stallion was loading packs of jars on a cart. But there was something on that cart... something that reminded him...

“No, it can’t be!” he said out loud, to nopony in particular. He came closer, and now he was certain. On the side of the cart was exactly the same sign that he remembered from the Grand Galloping Gala. The best cake... Ever! I found them! He thought, as he approached the red stallion.

“Excuse me, but is this your cart?” he asked. The pony stopped the loading for a moment to gave him a plain stare. Then he returned to packing the cart.

“Right, that was obvious. So...” Soarin glanced at the side of the cart again, reading the lettering under the sign. “You’re from Sweet Apple Acres?”

“Eyup” the stallion answered this time, sparing him the glance.

“Do you... maybe... sell pastry on different events?”

“Eyup. Sometimes.” Was the answer. Longer one this time, I’m going somewhere Soarin thought to himself.

“And maybe... there is a shop or a stand of yours around?”

“Nope.” Crud.

“I want to buy some pastry of yours. Who I can turn to?”

“That would be Applejack.” The stallion pointed his hoof in direction of a blonde mare, who was apparently discussing something with the sugar selling pony. He thanked the stallion and came over to her. He didn’t want to interrupt her business, but she noticed him and was the first to spoke.

“Ya needin’ somethin’, partner?”

When she faced him, he remembered her as well. She was the pony who sold the delicious cake to him. Oh boy, he haven’t had such tasty apple pie in over a year!

“Um... I want to buy an apple pie.” He decided not to mince words.

“An apple pie? Where d’ya get that idea? Sorry, but ah got no apple pies on me right now” she smiled politely at him.

“I know, but it’s important. I’ve heard you’re the one who was selling apple pastry on the Grand Galloping Gala, right?”

“Right, partner, but why is it important? As ah said, ah have no pies right now.”

“You see, I’ve tried one of your pies back at the Gala, and boy it was delicious! I just need to feel that taste again!” he pleaded.

“Wait, you’re the pony who bought it back then? Ah remember you, you were my only customer! And you’re one of them Wonderbolts, ain’t ya?”

“Wonderbolts? Soarin?” one of the passing ponies picked up their conversation. “Oh my gosh, it’s you! Hey girls, it’s Soarin!” she cried to a close group of talking mares. Moment later, Soarin was beset by a wall of fans. Seeing that, Applejack trotted over to Big Macintosh’s cart and placed the bag of sugar there.

“What’s the commotion?” Her brother asked.

“A famous pony.”

Big Macintosh picked up the cart and headed back to the farm, Applejack by his side.

When Soarin finally managed to fly over and escape the crowd, he saw Applejack at the road out of the town, and quickly joined her side.

“I mean it! Just one cake!” he pleaded. The orange mare stopped. Big Macintosh gave them a glance and decided to carry on, leaving them behind.

“If ya want a cake, go to the bakery in town.” She snapped at him.

“Whoa, what’s with the attitude?” He was startled by her sudden change of voice.

“What’s with you? Came here to make some commotion, didn’t ya?”

“What? No... I can pay a lot for the pie if that’s what you want.”

“Ah don’t want yer money. You stars ‘re always gettin’ what you want, anyway.”

“I don’t get it... You’ve got something to famous ponies?”

“Ah’m not the one boasting around and showing off just because.”

“But I wasn’t... Look, if you don’t want to do it for a famous Wonderbolt, then do it for me, personally. The name’s Soarin, by the way.”

“Yeah, ah’ve heard” She eyed him suspiciously. Maybe he wasn’t one of them boasting, head in clouds and always looking down on everypony fancy stars she disregarded. “Fine... Ah will bake you one pie.”

“Really? Great! I mean, thank you.” He smiled at her. She didn’t returned it.

“An why you want mah cake in particular, again?” She asked, picking up the route to the Acres.

“Well, it was like ambrosia. When I tried it, nothing else tasted as good. Not that I couldn’t live without it, but when I saw the sign on your cart today I knew I can’t let this chance go.”

“Ah’m flattered. If you’re sincere, of course.” There, she gave him a small smile! Finally, she dropped her angry behaviour.

They walked up to the farm with a polite conversation about Ponyville. Once there, she left him at the bench in front of her kitchen.

“Ya’ll wait here, while ah’ll do the job. Forty minutes max.”

Soarin agreed, and waited. He watched her preparing the pie through the window. After about half an hour, someone called him. He turned to the yard and saw two of his team mates landing and coming over to him. Both had their costumes on.

“Hey Soarin, where have you been? We were looking for you for the last hour!” Fleetfoot said.

“Now let’s go! Spitfire was literally spitting fire with anger!” Rapidfire grabbed his hoof and pulled him upright.

“B-But...” Soarin tried to protest, looking back at the kitchen’s window.

“No time for sentiments! We should be half-way to Hoofington right now, so we have a great chance of being late.”

“Yeah. That was supposed to be a lunch break, not holidays.” Fleetfoot giggled, and took into air. Soarin followed suit.

“Say Soarin, what took you so long here?” Rapidfire inquired. The barn-house was going more distant.

“I just wanted a pie...” Soarin said, looking behind him. An orange figure could be seen in front of the doors.

“So you delay a performance for a pie? You lickerish bustard!” Both his friends laughed heartedly.

---

Applejack took the steaming pie from the oven. She had to admit, it smelled really nice.

“Yer order is ready!” She called, but was met with no response. She looked at the window, and seeing nopony behind it went outside. There, in the sky she could see Soarin with two other pegasi wearing the Wonderbolts suit. She could see him looking back at her, and then heard them laugh.

Laugh. At her?

She narrowed her eyes. She expected something like this. Stupid stars’ game. First, famous ponies use their position to fool others into something, and then laugh out their efforts.

At first, she wanted to throw the pie on the ground, but she managed herself and went back to the kitchen.