Human Love

by REDPONY writer

Chapter One: The Harvest

It is a beautiful day at Sweet Apple Acres. The sun is high, and the apples are ripe for farming. And of course, the Apples are ready for Applebuck season.

“Anon! You ready? Applejack and Big Mac are already outside.”

“I just got up, Apple Bloom, I’ll be right out.” You reply.

“Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to wake ya,” Apple Bloom says a bit sad.

“Don’t worry, Celestia beat you to that,” you assure her.

“Oh!” Apple Bloom laughs, “see ya in a bit.”

You then head to your closet and get out of your pj’s and put on some overalls and a shirt for harvest day. You look in your mirror, you and your shirt and overalls look pretty good for today, but something is missing...

“Ah, yes, my hat!” You then get the hat Applejack gave you, “Heyyy country girl! Oh that’s just me,” you say as you think back to when AJ gave you that hat as a symbol of the Apple team. You, AJ, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom.

“Time to hit the trees.”

It’s been about a year since you came to Sweet Apple Acres. It was just a wish one night that came true. You’ve always wanted to help out on AJ’s farm and it was a dream come true to finally meet her and her family.

You set up some buckets by the trees you are working with. Normally, the Apple Family bucks the trees to get the apples down, but you just get to use your hands to pick the apples off the trees. Turns out that the apples you pick tend to be tastier than the bucked apples, so they became a premium product for their business. You are so proud to be such an important member of the team.

You get started on the first tree and pick about ten apples before putting them into a bucket. You continue this until you have 4 buckets with ten apples each.

“Anon!” Apple Bloom calls from behind you.

“Apple Bloom! You’re are just in time, I got four buckets ready.”

“Nice! ah’ma start takin’ em back.” She carefully takes one bucket back to the barn.

This is normal for you, as the Apple Family are very careful with the apples you pick.

You wipe the sweat of your forehead and finish up the tree you were working on, you finish that tree with 8 buckets total with 2 buckets of rejected apples, mostly from worms. Yuck.

Before you tackle the next tree you take a little break for a drink of water.

“Howdy, Anon!”

“Hey Big Mac.” you reply.

“Seems you’re taking things easy,” he grins.

“Hey!” You shout at him, “I’m just getting a drink.”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac chuckles.

You couldn’t stay mad at him, after all, he was the best company you could have at this time. After all, it’s not like one pony, or one human, can harvest an entire apple farm, so Big Mac starts bucking the trees around you.

He usually does this with you, you don’t really know why, but you like the company, Apple Bloom is usually carrying your buckets back to the barn with some empty buckets back to you, so you can harvest more, but Big Mac has more time to talk about stuff as he just bucks trees. Actually, you were planning on asking him why he always works close to you.

"Mac?” A short name you gave him a while ago.

“Eeyup?”

“What do we do with the rotten apples?” You change the subject of the question quickly because you are scared he might take the question the wrong way and leave.

“Oh, it’s simple. We use them as fertilizer for the next crop.” Answering your non-intentional question.

“Oh, that makes sense.” You remember how you used compost back home. Anyway, you start picking from the next tree and got 2 more buckets before Apple Bloom finished delivering the buckets from the first tree.

“Here are five more empty buckets, Anon!”

“Thanks, Bloom,” Another nickname you gave.

Grabbing the empty buckets, you stack them onto the rest of the empty buckets you’re gonna use.

“You know, you and my li’l sis make a great team.” Big Mac compliments.

“It’s just a simple system of produce, transport, and storage.” You explain while counting the steps on your fingers, remembering an inventor who did an almost same system back home.

“So who does what?” Big Mac questions.

You respond with “I produce the buckets, Apple Bloom transports the buckets and Granny Smith stores the apples.”

Big Mac thought it over. “I guess it works better than one pony doing all three. That’s smart.”

“Thanks, but I can’t take all of the credit! It’s just how humans have done things to improve life.”

“Yet you’re the only human workin’ on this farm, and I thank ya for it.”

You blush a little. “Thanks. But really, you had almost the exact same thing going when those Flim Flam Brothers came.”

“Eeyup,” He bucks a tree and fills his barrels with apples.

“Although I don’t think my apple picking can be as fast as applebucking,” You say, comparing techniques.

“It may be fast, but we wait till all the trees are bucked, then start moving them to the barn. Your picking is getting the apples to our barn faster.”

“That’s... true…” You reply, while inside a tree.

“What are you doing up there?”

“I’m just getting the last ones on top,” you reach for the highest apples. Suddenly you hear a loud crack. The branch below gave away and you fall from the tree.

“Gotcha!” Big Mac catches you. You are now on the grass, with Big Mac holding you in a position that shows that he leaped from a distance to catch you. His hooves holding your back and legs.

“Thanks, Mac,” You blush a little from the catch.

“Now Anon, I say you forget about them apples for now.”

You nod and get up from grass and proceed to place your apples in a bucket. That was amazing! You think to yourself. Who knows what kind of injury you might have suffered if he didn’t catch you. As you look back, Big Mac’s back to bucking the trees.

Later on, it’s about 3PM you’re guessing. Big Mac went to another section and you’re filling about your 50th bucket, but who's counting anyway?

Applebloom is about to take another bucket. “*Sigh* This is tiring work.”

You’re feeling like taking a break. After all, it was Apple Bloom that was taking the buckets back to the barn.

“I guess I can take a break for now,” Apple Bloom then drops to a position where her hoofs are stretched out of her sides and her belly is on the grass. You look at the scene with awe and pick up her up. “Here, have some of my water.” You give her your canteen, and sit down by a tree with her in your arms.

“Thanks Anon,” She then takes a long drink, “Ah!”

“So what’ve you and your friends been doing?” You ask her while scratching her mane.

“Oh, Scootaloo was hangin’ out with Rainbow Dash all weekend so I didn’t see her, an’ Sweetie Belle was with Rarity.“

“Oh, so, sister messin’ with sister?” You ask with a grin.

“Yeah, she loves to do that,” She pauses, “you know I can’t get enough of this.”

You proceed to tickle her. “So I’m your mane scratcher now, am I?

“Hah hah hah, Oh, ok, stop!”

You stop the tickling. “Since when do you hate my tickling?”

“I don’t.” She then buries her muzzle into your arm proceeds to tickle you.

“Ha ha ha ha, cut it out!” you tickle her back. This goes on for about a minute, ‘til you admit defeat.

“Looks like I win!” Apple Bloom cheers. You hug it out and continue your work.

The sun is setting and now you are about to fill your 120th bucket.

“Hey, Anon!

“Hey, AJ.” You greet Applejack as you fill the bucket, “120.”

“Hoooo weeee! Great job,” Applejack congratulates you.

“Thanks but I’m not done yet,” You start picking more apples.

“Is something wrong Anon?

She’s right. ever since Big Mac caught you, you couldn’t get it out of your mind, besides the tickling by Apple Bloom.

“Everything’s fine AJ, just got to get as much done as possible,” You assure her.

“Now, now, I’m only asking. You know I can tell when something’s up,” Again she’s right, every time you had a problem she would help you get through it.

Sighing you say: “I fell.”

“You fell? But you don’t look hurt.” Applejack doesn’t know much about the human body, but she certainly can recognize bruises.

“It’s ‘cause Mac caught me.”

“That’s my big brother for ya, always there to help,” she said, praising her brother.

“But that just it, I can’t stop thinking about it,” You explain.

Applejack thought about it for a moment. Then rethinks. Then she gives a small smile. “Maybe it just that you feel that you have to repay him?”

“Maybe, but.”

“Don’t worry about it. I can help if you need anything, “ she says, trying to comfort you.

“Ok AJ.”

“Now don’t stay too long out here, we’re almost ready for dinner. Granny Smith is makin’ your favorite!” Applejack turns to head for the house.

You imagine your favorite dinner, but it doesn’t help you with your thoughts of Big Mac. trying to put your thoughts aside, you continue picking apples.

Author's Note:

This is my first, second person story and I hope it is well written for you all.
and please leave constructive criticism below.

Edit: I'm trying to implement the country accents of the characters and I had my grammar sister look over this hopefully it's better.

please let me know if anything else is wrong on here.