Not a Monster 3: Realizations and Revelations

by Dreamscape

The Ethics of Hard Work

The last couple of days that week, along with the beginning of the next seemed to drag by as sluggishly as possible, that is, besides one day spent at the animal shelter again and another taking a run with Rainbow. Other than that, I was completely and utterly bored. Not even my usual habits of surfing the web and gaming kept my distracted long enough to have fun. At least for once I was actually willing to do my homework. I managed to get every last paper and assignment in on time, some even early. That is why when offered, or rather asked to help out Applejack on her farm the weekend after, I gladly accepted. I soon questioned my motives, wondering why exactly I had agreed to the nightmare of hard labor which I was sure it would be.

Although it was fairly early in the morning when we arrived at the farm (it would have been earlier, but she took pity on me and my sleeping habits), the miasma of cow manure and plenty of other nausea inducing smells that I couldn’t exactly identify already lingered in the air. I heard that to some farm folk, probably Applejack herself even, the smell was pleasing and even comforting. I could hardly believe it to be true. I was disgusted, nearly to the point of turning around and heading back home. I was confused as well. From what I had heard, the Apple family farm consisted mainly of Apple orchards along with a few fields of other fruit and vegetables. I’m not sure if I’m correct, but aren’t farms the ones with fruit or vegetables and ranches the ones with animals? The place was named Sweet Apple Acres after all. It didn’t smell very sweet.

I was suddenly worried as a thought struck me. I wondered if I would have to deal with any animals. I enjoyed animals as I had told Fluttershy, but the thought of dealing with their waste was extremely off-putting. Luckily for me, Applejack didn’t have any farm work, or what I would consider farm work planned at all. Instead we were going to make repairs on the barn which had worn slightly over the winter. The barn, although a bit faded, was a stereotypical red with white lining and accents. Compared to the odd, murky slop beneath my feet, still much too saturated from melted snow and rain, its colors where quite cheerful and happy. Even the apple trees around us were still bare besides the buds on their branches. I’m sure they were beautiful when in bloom, but of course, I was too early to witness that.

Applejack’s brother, Big Mac as they called him, along with her younger sister, Apple Bloom had already set up the scaffolding needed to reach the higher parts of the barn walls. This all seemed to have been done under the careful, scrutinizing watch of their grandmother who still continued to complain and command them. I recognized her as well, she was a lunch lady at CHS.

“Alrighty, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom are gonna be repaintin’ while me and you do the repairs. Don’t worry too much,” she said, most likely noticing a bit of discontent in my expression, “they’re all pretty dang minor. Big Mac, he’s gonna do the heavy liftin, bringing us boards, nails, all that.” I froze, unsure of exactly how to respond or react. The sudden realization that I had never necessarily done any repairing in my life overshadowed all other thoughts. “So… sound like a plan there, sugarcube?” she asked slowly, resting her hands upon her hips and raising an eyebrow.

“Uh, well, yeah sure, whatever works,” I muttered out, realizing that I would have absolutely no clue what I was doing.

“Is there a problem or something? Spit it out, boy.”

“Well, no, not really, just, I… haven’t really ever done anything like this before.”

“No? Sombody’s been livin a sheltered life,” she responded with a laugh. “It’s okay, why don’t ya just follow my lead.”

“Yeah, sure,” I said with a sigh of relief. At least that would make the process go by a bit more easily.

“Anyways, come on, gotta make hay while the sun shines, and it’s a shinin!”

“Alright,” I responded in a somewhat more cheerful manner, energy rushing through my body in some form of excited preparation. Due to the precise build of the scaffolding, although getting somewhat old and splintered, I knew it was structurally sound. The ladders and platforms were sturdy, and I could tell the same process had been done safely many times before.

Reaching out from the protection of the trees as we climbed higher, a breeze could be felt. It was only slight due to the hills surrounding us in the distance, but it stirred the air enough to at least take away some of the stench below. It wasn’t much of improvement, but the air sure seemed much fresher to me. The scaffolding creaked and shuddered slightly as Big Mac climbed up after us, a stack of wooden planks in one arm and the other free to climb the ladders. He was certainly one big guy, not only in stature but structure and muscle mass as well. I’d certainly not want him mad at me for any reason. Although for the most part, he seemed like quite the gentle giant.

Once the boards were set down, Applejack pulled a hammer out from the tool belt she had strapped around her waist and awaited Big Mac to return with a bucket of nails along with a saw. She demonstrated a few times, showing me what to do, whether it be sawing a board into precise measurements or nailing it in parallel to the rest. Then I would try my hardest to repeat her steps and do the next bit myself. Even with such simple concepts, I had a hard time completing the steps correctly since I had never done them before. Eventually, Applejack resorted to using me as her personal assistant, more or less. I would move a board in the direction she told me to and hold it down while she sawed it. Then I would hold it in place along with a handful of nails as she went about securing it to the barn’s wall. Along with that, I was innately skilled at the destruction aspect of the repair. I did most of the removing of old boards and rusting nails.

Although I wasn’t working as hard as her, I could tell she at least appreciated the added pair of hands. Along with that, I was sure the task was going by quicker than it normally would with just her on the job. Even though for the most part, my exertion was fairly average, my body was becoming more and more overheated by the minute. My mouth was growing dry and arid, while my body was growing moist and suffocated with sweat.

“Whew-wee, it’s a pretty hot one today, huh?” Applejack commented with a sigh after nailing in another board. “How’re ya holdin’ up?” Before I was able to say a word, she looked up from her work. I’m sure my face was glowing red, and I know for a fact she could easily see the sweat dripping down it. “Alrighty, let’s take a break, just a quickie though.”

With heat radiating off of the side of the barn, we moved closer to the edge of the scaffolding where the breeze could reach us better. Either I had grown used to the smell below or it had lessened significantly since I last noticed it. I sucked in a breath of air as the breeze tickled my nostrils before turning my attention to Applejack. She rested her elbows upon the makeshift railing at the platform’s edge. With what seemed to be a very content sigh, she grabbed the top of her well-worn cowboy hat and pulled it away from her head. A darkened circle lay atop her blond hair where the hat had been, damp with sweat. She wiped the glistening perspiration from her brow and then pulled at her buttoned shirt for increased airflow. Although sweating, she barely even looked fatigued, her face wasn’t even the slightest bit flushed, and her emerald eyes seemed as energetic and concentrated as when we started. She turned to me with a look of concern on her face, startling me from my thoughts. I opened my mouth to ask what the concern entailed, but before I could she turned away.

“Hey, Apple Bloom!” she yelled looking down to the ground.

“What, sis?” I heard in response.

“Can ya go get a glass a lemonade and bring it up here for me?”

“Just one…?”

“Yup!”

“Uh, could I get one too?” I asked as she turned back.

“Oh, hah!” she chuckled. “It is for ya, sugarcube. It looks like ya need it.”

“Yeah, I do,” I said with relief.

“You deserve it, ah think.”

“Oh?”

“Yup, you’ve been working up a storm with me. You’re doin great.”

“I haven’t been working as much as you have?” I muttered out questioningly.

“Well, ah’m used to it. For somebody who doesn’t do this stuff on a near daily basis, ah think you’re doin just fine.” She smiled appreciatively and gave me a thankful nod before turning back to the breeze. It wasn’t long before Apple Bloom handed me a glass of iced lemonade, its surface sweating slightly in the heat.

“Thanks,” I said as she quickly climbed back down and returned to painting.

“So, whad’ya think so far?” Applejack asked softly.

“Oh, um, about?” I muttered, taken aback by the sudden question.

“About good ol’ honest work. Sounds like ya never done a day of it in your life.”

“Yeah, I guess your right… I don’t know, I guess it feels alright. It’s uh, exhausting but it’s nice to get things done.”

“Yup, seein’ the progress is always the best part, especially when ya get to the final product.”

“I bet, is that what keeps you going?”

“Sometimes, and cause I know I’m helping out my family. Anyways, talkin’ is good and all but how about you finish up that drink. We can talk more later.” I gazed down at my drink, the ice already melting. I shrugged and began gulping it down, the perfect combination of sweet and sour. I couldn’t help but admire the young woman standing beside me as I paused from drinking on occasion to catch my breath. It was as if it was déjà vu from my first day of soccer practice.

She seemed even more beautiful in her natural stride, just as Rainbow Dash had. In a way the two were quite similar, both strong, athletic and independent… well, Rainbow wasn’t all that independent. Although she acted the like, she survived off what all the other students thought of her. Applejack on the other hand, she was much less interested in the opinion of others and material concepts. Although she did get high headed on occasion, she was more down to earth than her friend. Instead of appreciating hard work for how it affected her body, or how fast and strong it made her, Applejack simply was proud of how honest the labor she did was. She cared little for her appearance and instead for her actions. She was friendly and kind for the most part, and always willing to help, no matter how bad the situation. It was certainly something to appreciate. Even though Applejack put on no make-up at all and her grooming consisted only of the basics such as brushing her hair, she was still beautiful in her own way. Her face glistened slightly with sweat, smoothing out both the contours and texture of her skin. Her freckles seemed to add even another dimension to the beauty, their natural tone emphasizing the pleasing shape of her cheek bones.

“Hey there, pal, enjoying yourself?” she asked with a laugh, turning her gaze to me. I turned my eyes down to my near finished lemonade, my face growing even redder than it already was. I was sure she was speaking of my staring. “Now ah know you’re tired and like lazin’ around and what not, but we gotta finish this up.” I sighed in relief, realizing she was only referring to how slowly I was finishing my drink.

“Yeah, sure,” I muttered before gulping down the last of the liquid and setting the glass aside. For the rest of our repair job, I was lost in my mind, simply following Applejacks orders subconsciously as I thought about her, her family, and the life they lived. I had never dreamed of living a life like theirs, or even thought about it for that matter. It seemed like something I wouldn’t enjoy or appreciate at all. In a way though, in those moments of thought, I imagined life being different. I imagined living like the Apple family did, perhaps even living with them. It sounded like a good idea at first, but I was sure I could never survive long with the lack of what I considered a normal life. The plus side was that their farm wasn’t too far out of town, so I would still have its commodities. For the most part though, I just had a craving to be around Applejack, admiring the way she worked and helping her out when I could.

I was beginning to notice a pattern, a pattern of my own stupidity. After spending personal time with the girls, I was slowly falling for each of them. I was unsure whether or not each of the girls were just that lovable, which could easily be the case, or that I was that desperate for finding a new relationship. If it was desperation, it was a dangerous road to go down. My attitude towards it was much too reckless, and I would certainly end up getting myself hurt, especially with girls like them. They were all out of my league, and I knew it.

I barely even realized the time, or the multiple changes in location before that, once we finished up the last of the repairs for the day. In a daze, I followed Applejack’s lead as I made my way back down to the ground below. Although still more or less a swap of thick mud, its surface had hardened slightly. With light swift steps, I could make my across it without causing any more harm to my already mud caked shoes. Applejack didn’t seem to mind, she was most likely used to it. She stomped away, splattering mud upon her boots and toned, bare legs.

“Well, ya did good today. We didn’t quite get everything finished, but ah figured it’d end up being a two day job.” I gulped, even though I would have loved to spend another day with Applejack, I wasn’t sure if I could handle any more physical exhaustion. My body already trembled and ached with strain and weakness. “Don’t worry, sugarcube, since it’ll only be a few more hours tomorrow, ah think we can handle it without ya.”

“Oh, alright.”

“Yup, that’s right, you shortened the whole job up quite a bit. Ah’ll end up havin’ some free time thanks to you.”

“Heh, no problem,” I muttered happily.

“Ah’ll make a farm boy outta you in no time.”

“I don’t know about that,” I said with a laugh. “Rainbow already seems to have plans for me, but I guess between the two of you, I’ll end up getting pretty fit, huh?”

“Hmpf, ah guess ya will. Ah think you’d make a better farmhand than a athlete though.”

“You think?”

“Yup,” she said with a nod, extending her hand. I nodded back and grasped it. Her hands were slightly calloused and rough from the physical labor she did on what she herself said was nearly a daily basis. Her grip was strong as well. My hand was clenched tightly in her own. I felt a bit trapped, as if she had done it on purpose. She let go and gave me a smile. “Ah guess ah’ll see ya in school next week… unless ya changed your mind on comin’ back tomorrow?”

I had to say no, I needed a break. I was already exhausted enough from my one day of training with Rainbow and then a day of labor. I was sure I wouldn’t even be able to get out of bed. Yet, I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, although something like that surely wasn’t going to affect a tough girl like her all that much. If it was Fluttershy on the other hand, things would be much different. “Well, I do have some homework to do. I really don’t want to get behind again.” I wasn’t lying either. It was true after all. Although, I wasn’t quite sure I literally needed a full day to finish it.

“No problem, see ya,” Applejack said, giving her hat a polite tilt in my direction. That was that. The only girl I hadn’t yet spent time with one on one was Rarity if I included my many evenings spent with Pinkie and Sunset. With a little encouragement on my end, mostly out of eagerness to complete the little series of outings, Rarity agreed to go on an adventure to the mall with me.

Comments

[MLai]

Hmm, I see he's coming to some realizations which he couldn't verbalize in the past:

(1) He's being desperate if he's falling for every single one of them after spending an afternoon with them.
(2) The Mane 6 is basically a group of 5 clique leaders/mascots together forming a super-clique, like the NATO of CHS. So yeah, they're really out of your league. But the doors they could open for you.... hooooo...

Rarity's up next? I need to go listen to Life Is A Runway.
...
LOL yeah, definitely outta your league there, Protag.