Applejack winced as she added one more piece of brushwood to the pile on her back. It was only a fraction of what she could normally carry, but already her body was beginning to protest painfully. She let out a frustrated sigh, and stomped a forehoof. If there was one thing Applejack couldn't stand, it was being unable to work. There were certain kinds of pain that she could simply power through, but she knew better than to mess with a spinal injury. Already, she was slightly limited in what she could do with her injured back. If she hurt it any further she might not be able to perform tasks necessary to survival.
That thought didn't do much to alleviate her frustration, however. She managed to place one more small stick onto the pile of wood she was carrying before a twinge of pain told her she should drop off that small load. She sighed dejectedly, and dragged her hooves as she made her way back to the cave. She had been at it for hours, but her stash of wood was not even close to what she knew she would need. As she made her way back to the cave, she stole a glance at the sun. It seemed to have passed the midway point, and was now beginning the long descent into the west. This only came as a minor surprise. Applejack had realized not long ago that morning was coming to a close, but the fact that it was already afternoon made her decide that she would have to make do with whatever wood she'd gathered so far. After all, there were other things she wanted to get done. She unceremoniously tossed the latest batch onto the semi-neat stack of wood sitting just inside the cave, and stepped back to examine her supply.
It was a decent sized pile, to be sure, but she was going to need a lit fire all night every night. She was still rattled by the noise that had awoken her in the jungle on her first night. Whatever was out there, she only hoped that fire would stop it. She couldn't suppress a shudder at the memory. Not so much from the shriek, but more from the feeling that had accompanied it.
Applejack shook her head vigorously to clear her thoughts. While the motion succeeded in that regard, it also served to remind her of what she'd been doing that morning. She groaned and scrunched her eyes shut, clutching the sides of her head in her forehooves as her brain felt like it was trying to explode. After the headache subsided, Applejack realized she was lying on her belly on the cave floor. She pushed back to her hooves, adjusting her hat from where it had fallen over her eyes.
She quickly made a mental note not to do that again until her head was feeling better. In any case, she realized that she shouldn't have been wasting time sitting around in the cave anyway. There was more work to be done. As much as she wanted to move on to exploring the beach, she had one last task in front of her. Even though she fully intended to create a better shelter for herself, Applejack knew that she would be in the cave a while longer. To that end, she would need a fire pit. There were various rocks scattered around the base of the mountain. So finding the materials wouldn't be a problem, at least. Applejack sighed as she remembered that she could only carry a small amount at a time. Well, the quicker she got started the quicker she'd be done.
With that thought in mind, Applejack trotted out of the cave and down the slope to the jungle floor. Building the fire pit in the cave seemed like a pretty bad idea. It wasn't exactly spacious, and the smoke would quickly become unbearable anyway. With her fire outside she'd have to watch out for rain, but that was a minor concern. As long as she stored the wood pile safely in the cave she'd be fine.
She paused in her musing to lift a loose rock from the ground and place it on her back. It was about hoof-sized, so she figured she could get a few more before bringing the load back. As an earth pony, Applejack had become amazingly good at balancing things on her back. As a result, the slowly growing pile of rocks on her back was never even close to falling over.
As she worked, her previous train of thought returned to her. Thoughts of the cave brought an idea to mind. Once she had a decent fire going, she should be able to make some sort of torch. Whit that, she could finally find out what lay within the mysterious depths of her cave-home. There was definitely something off about that cave. It was far too deep, and far too straight to not lead anywhere. At the very least, if it ended up leading into some sort of wider cavern, she could maybe set up her more permanent living quarters down there. At the thought of having a secret lair like that, she couldn't help but remember the Batmare comic books a certain librarian had attempted to get her into, though she would no doubt insist that Applejack refer to them as 'graphic novels.' It wasn't that she had a problem with the series, it was interesting enough to be sure, but there were so many side-stories and supplementary reading that Applejack simply didn't have the time to read it all. At least that's what she told her friends.
In reality, she frowned as she remembered, things had really gone downhill after the death and eventual return of Supermare. That was a dark time indeed.
At that point, Applejack realized that she had gathered plenty of rocks to build a small fire pit. She headed up towards the cave, and looked around for a level area outside. A decent spot presented itself just a few feet out of the entrance to her temporary dwelling. Despite the slope that led down to the jungle, there was enough flat space at the top for her purposes. She set to work, and in short order had a neat ring of rocks set up a few feet directly in front of the entrance. From there, the light would shine into her cave at night, giving her at least a modicum of comfort.
Applejack was starting to work up a bit of a sweat after hauling wood and rocks all morning, but she only relished in the feeling of hard work. It certainly beat moping around all day and, aside from that, her options were fairly limited. She went to the wood pile in the cave, and retrieved several good-sized sticks from it. After placing the wood in the fire pit for later use, she decided to check the time. It was getting well into the afternoon now, meaning that it had actually taken her a couple hours to gather the rocks for the fire pit. Celestia's sun continued its descent, but was still high enough to be visible through the forest canopy.
Plenty of time, Applejack thought with a smirk, for a trip to the beach.
Loving it! Always happy to see an update, this is a very neat story :)
Yay, an update!
Wonderful chapter. That last line caught me way off guard, though.
Should be "err night."
Update! Yea!
Not bad. And by not bad, I mean very well done.
Applejack needs to stop hurting herself.
Inb4 Applejack goes insain and starts believing that she is the Batmare, burdened with the duty to defend her island from criminals and the forces of evil.
And Inb4 Applejack starves to death because she only picked a single coconut and now lacks the strength to climb the tree again
Also inb4 AJ goes to the beach and finds the waterlogged bodys of every pony she knows and loves, surrounded by the debris of a wrecked airship
Or Inb4 she goes to the beach and finds absolutely nothing
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Don't tempt me!
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About the coconut thing, she just skipped lunch is all. Don't worry, I won't let her die. Or at least not that easily...
Subject: Applejack
Suffix Title Obtained: "The Cave Dweller"
Preview: "Applejack, the Cave Dweller"
Great chapter, can't wait for more, Zap!
-Mis
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Thanks!
Now I have to write more, just to get more titles for Applejack.
So, a big JoCo fan then?
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Oh yes!
I actually meant to name the last chapter "Sucker Punch" from the same album. Accidentally published with the placeholder title instead...
Oh well, I'll use it eventually.
Pretty cruise-y chapter. I thought it was interesting that Applejack was only frustrated at the fact that her carrying capacity was limited by her injuries rather than being frustrated at herself for getting injured. While I would probably still be slapping my past self - figuratively, I would hope - Applejack is focusing on the task at hand and maintaining that positive, practical attitude that you've already established. A+ for consistent characterisation there.
In other news:
“In reality, she frowned as she remembered, things had really gone downhill after the death and eventual return of Supermare.”
The interjection: "she frowned as she remembered," disrupts the flow of the sentence, making it harder to parse. It's grammatically correct, but the rhythm of your prose is thrown a little loose by it. Maybe play around with the sentence a bit? Eh, just a personal qualm.
“At that point,”
This is a phrase that bothers me to no end. It implies that there is a point where the characters action is changing, but if that previous action or the point are not clear, then it just becomes a piece of literary debris. In this case, we know that Applejack was collecting rocks. Fine. But at what point does she realise that she has collected enough? Is it when she is reminiscing about the decline of the Batmare comics? Is it just afterwards? It's not very clear, and the phrase could be replaced by one that marks the time of the change much better:
"Finishing that thought, Applejack realized that she had gathered plenty of rocks to build a small fire pit." (A variation of 'at that point' but more specific)
"From there, the light would shine into her cave at night, giving her at least a modicum of comfort.”
No problem here, but you could probably insert the fact that the cave walls would reflect/contain the heat of the fire, making the night more warm/comfortable than the previous ones. It's not necessary, but a little survival-oriented knowledge would help build upon the idea that Applejack actual has a decent knowledge about camping/survival stuff.
Twas a pretty good chapter, although I was sad to see that it was so short! Nonetheless, it sets up for several potentially interesting events, so I am more than happy. Keep up the good work!
oh oh i want to try one of those
Subject: Applejack
Suffix Title Obtained: "The Cave Mare"
Preview: "Applejack, the Cave Mare Rises"
i just wanted to have a shot at them, and since i just watched the final batman movie a little while ago and applejack being a fan of Batmare so... yeah ill stop at this
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Thanks for the advice.
Yeah, sorry about the length. I was super busy this last week, but I wanted to release something. Hopefully the next one will be longer.
Still has a 100% Approval rating after 10 chapters.
It is well deserved.
Keep 'em comin' Zaps!
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No problem and fair enough. It was short, but it was good stuff, and as long as you keep on keeping on and producing good work like this, I'm happy.
Oh, Applejack. You're gonna work yourself to death one day. We'll still love you though!
Also... I noticed that you put in the description that Applejack is awake. Is there any significance to that?
grace,
-Psyco Josho
I may try my hand at this "title" thing.
Subject: Applejack
Suffix Title Obtained: "The Secret Comic Nerd"
Preview: "Applejack, the Secret Comic Nerd"
Not really doing it for me. Oh well. Great chapter, though.
We interrupt our story to bring you a look into the mind of the author!
Something about the delivery of this particular line really cracks me up for some reason.
*With