My Little Inktober Stories

by SparkleForever

When Things Go Bump

Author's Note:

Frustrations are a part of life and Applejack is no stranger to them. When she goes off on her own to let off some steam and perhaps even help alleviate part of the problem, strange things happen around her. Soon Applejack finds she is not quite as alone as she had thought.

Prompt Build

Note: This ended up a lot longer than I thought it would! Really, I'm shocked that I was able to write it as fast as I did. I hope you enjoy this normal-length one shot.

Fall is a beautiful time of year. The trees let go of their summer greenery in favor of donning an array of reds, oranges, and yellows. The fields, too, go along with the fall trends, allowing their healthy green plants to die off in exchange for abundant produce. There isn’t much of a point for anypony or anything to hold onto the past season, for the winter frost comes just the same and would spoil the summer greenery regardless.

On the Apple’s farm, the end of the fall harvest had come at last. It had been a particularly abundant year, one that the Apple family hadn’t seen in many years. It was thanks in part to the increasing maturity of the Apple siblings as they were able to tend to the trees and the fields with more attention and care than they had been able to in previous years. The rest was due to the favorable weather they had over the spring and summer months, with just the right balance of rain and sunshine.

The harvest should have been a happy time, complete with celebrations and social calls as friends and relatives would come and assist the small family with their ever-increasing crops. This year, however, things were not the same. No one from Ponyville visited, not even for a preview of this year’s batch of apple cider, and Applejack’s outreach to her friends resulted in apologies and IOUs. She thought for sure, though, that blood would be thicker than water. She called on her relatives who she was certain would have time to spare, but she was met yet again with excuses. They were understandable, but still... To say that she was upset would be an understatement.

Tensions were running high between the four family members, and it was particularly notable between her and Big Mac. The usually quiet brother was finding more and more things to say with each passing day and they were butting heads at every turn. Applejack had a growing sense of deja vu as she remembered the way things were during their younger years. She didn’t like it.

Their latest argument was over the food stores; too much produce and not enough room. She and Mac were supposed to be loading freshly bucked apples into the barn, but it was already filled from the cellar to the rafters. He sourly blamed her for not going to town frequently enough to sell off the excess and she spat back that there wasn’t any time, not with all the apple bucking, apple preserving, cider making, and pastry baking she had been doing. That aside, they were nowhere near winterizing the farm yet and the first frost was due any day now. She was doing all she could to keep the crops from going to waste.

Applejack decided to leave her house and the barn behind before she said anything she would regret. When Big Mac demanded to know where she was stalking off to, she hollered back that she would take care of their storage issue. As she passed by the house, she peered through the windows. Granny Smith and Apple Bloom were busy working in the kitchen, so Applejack decided not to mention anything to them before heading to the east fields. Mr. Big Mouth could tell them for her.

That was how Applejack found herself alone in a remote corner of the Apple property. She muttered as she worked, channeling her frustrations into efficiently erecting a new shed that would hopefully store all of their farm gear. She already had the walls and the roof framed in and now she was working on the siding. A long board was balanced on her sawhorses and she was prepping the nails she would use to hammer it in place on the building. Just as she was ready to tap the first nail, one of the sawhorses moved and the board fell, taking Applejack with it.

“What in tarnation?!” She got back onto all fours and muttered, “How the hay did that happen?”

Inspecting the sawhorses gave her no answers, and she saw nothing else out of place, so she shook her head and retrieved the fallen board. Soon enough she put the incident behind her and went back to ruminating. Just as she was nailing the board to the shed, something else happened. Her lawn bag filled to the brim tipped over, spilling the leaves she had just raked up back onto the ground.

“Ya have got ta be kidding me,” Applejack groaned, hitting her head on one of the support beams.

She stepped over to the leaves, intending to rake them back into the bag, but when she reached for the rake, it wasn’t there. Her eyes bulged and she whipped her head all around, searching for the missing yard tool.

“Okay, that does it! Who’s messing with me? Come out here so Ah can knock some sense into ya!” She stood still, waiting for an answer.

A moment later, Applejack’s patience was rewarded with a whimper. Out from behind a tree came none other than Winona, her farm dog.

“Winona!” Applejack exclaimed, shocked. “Was all of that stuff yer doin’?”

Winona’s tucked tail was answer enough.

“How come Ah didn’t see ya then?”

Winona pointed her nose toward the tall grass that surrounded them.

“Oh, guess that makes sense.” She felt silly for not thinking of the grass. “What are ya doin’ out here anyhow? And where’s mah rake?”

In response, Winona slinked into the grass and came back out with the rake in tow. Applejack was still incredulous as to how the farm dog had managed to take the rake without her noticing in the first place, or how she tipped over the leaf bag without making a sound, and especially how she managed to move the sawhorse. Then again, Applejack had been mighty preoccupied with her thoughts...

“So ya were just tryin’ ta get mah attention, but Ah reckon that ya felt bad about knocking me over so ya hid yerself a while until Ah calmed down. That right?”

Winona let out a bark and a whine in affirmation. A flash of white gained her attention and finally Applejack found the answer to her earlier question, what the dog was doing out here in the first place. There, tucked underneath her collar, was a folded up piece of paper. Applejack took the note and sat on her haunches, leaning back against the tree. She motioned to Winona and the two sat there together as she read it.

“Applejack,” she read aloud, “Ah’ve been thinking real hard about earlier and Ah’ve got somethin’ Ah need ta tell ya in person. When yer ready to come back home, Ah’ll be waitin’. Big Mac.”

Applejack was silent after that, thinking the note over. She was almost 100% certain that Big Mac wanted to make up with her, but the small chance that he was going to chew her out made her gut twist uncomfortably. She hugged Winona a little tighter and slowly stroked her head. The past few months had gotten out of hoof, and she didn’t want to ruin their relationship over one difficult harvest.

Now that she had time to sort through her emotions, she could see how foalish her actions had been throughout the entire season. She hated fighting with her family and she was mad at herself for letting her temper get the better of her. She needed a bit more time to herself, but when she was ready to go home, she would have to admit her fault and apologize to her brother, something that wouldn’t be easy for a stubborn pony like her. Applejack would do it, though, because her family was more important to her than her pride.

Afterall, blood is thicker than water.

Comments

[GrandAdmiral MitthRawN]

This art addition deserves a follow very good job!

[SparkleForever]

10541765
Thank you so much! :D It means a lot! <3

[GrandAdmiral MitthRawN]

10546507
Dont mention! This is amazing!

[23 KM To Nerdiness]

Stay awesome, friend!

[SparkleForever]

10750197
Thank you! I'll try!