Canterlot Mountain stretched up before Applejack like a tower, or a great, imposing wall. It was odd, she thought, that she had rarely seen it from this angle. Typically, she'd take the train directly to the castle, or was so far away it loomed less and just sort of sat on the horizon like a watchful parent at the park. Today, however, Harshwhinny and herself had gotten out at Waterbottom Station, in a little cluster of houses struggling to be called a town at the bottom of a tall, white waterfall that seemed to go on for miles. The spray broke up the light and sprinkled rainbow colours across the sky.
As the pair exited the station, Applejack caught sight of several trails leaving the town. Several seemed to head in the general direction of the castle, but took different directions. Canterlot Mountain sported forests, creeks and cliffs that tended to go unnoticed in the shadow of the castle itself. It turned out it was quite an attractive hiking destination.
"We're goin' hikin'?" Applejack asked.
"It would be more accurate to describe our trip as a month-long jog."
Applejack looked up the slope of the mountain again. There were points, she thought, that looked so steep they'd be concave. She swallowed.
"Looks rough," she said.
"Quite," Harshwhinny said, and trotted down one of the little streets. “You will want to pace yourself.”
Applejack trotted after her, her saddlebags bouncing around on her back. There wasn't much to look at in Waterbottom, so she found herself staring at Harshwhinny instead. She didn't look the part of an athlete with her little round earrings and tight purple jacket that wouldn't have looked out of place in Rarity's 'distinguished' section (which Applejack knew was code for ‘old-pony’). Still, she didn't look unfit. She had a quick gait and a certain poise that Applejack recognised from seeing Rainbow fly. It was controlled, and it took practise to achieve. It was almost balletic, Applejack thought.
They trotted up to the outskirts of the town, passing only a handful of other ponies. Harshwhinny stopped in front of a small cottage. It had a tiny front lawn that looked like it had been cut with hoof-clippers.
"Why're we stoppin'?" Applejack asked. She didn't want to look overly eager to the professionally minded pony, but she was anxious to get started.
"This is my house," Harshwhinny said, walking up the stone path to the front door. "I'm just picking up some equipment." She turned her key in the lock and walked inside. "You're allowed to come in, you know."
Applejack quickly trotted up behind her coach. The inside of the house was far from barren, but for some reason it felt so clinical. Like every picture of Harshwhinny had been carefully positioned to present the appearance of a typical cottage, without understanding what it was made cottages truly authentic. It was cluttered by design; there was nothing organic about it.
The awards, on the other hand, were plentiful and impressive. There had to be dozens of trophies. Hundreds. Applejack peered into one of the pictures of the older mare crossing a finish line.
Well, there wasn't any doubt any more: Harshwhinny had definitely been an athlete. She looked very different from the how she looked now. Her mane had been cut shorter, and she didn't have the same wrinkles around her eyes. Neither did she have her perpetual scowl. She almost looked happy, in fact.
The corner of Applejack's eye caught a picture of Harshwhinny standing next to a small host of ponies. Two of them she recognised.
Applejack felt like she was floating over to the picture, her hooves moving of their own accord. Harshwhinny noticed her examining the pictures.
"That one would have been the games ten years ago," she said as she removed her earrings and put them in a small box. "It went well, if I remember correctly."
Applejack stared at the picture. Harshwhinny was over by the left side of the frame, in-between a fully uniformed Wonderbolt and somepony's foal, holding up a hoof-ful of big gold medals. No silver, no bronze. Only gold. But off to the right, Applejack recognised a mare and a stallion, each with a great big smile. They were holding hooves, and in their teeth they held medals. The mare held a silver and bronze, whilst the stallion a silver.
Applejack swallowed, and turned away. She wanted to get to the games, now. More than ever.
"That's a lot of gold," she pointed out, deciding to not mention her parents in the picture and instead gesturing at Harshwhinny’s medals in the picture.
"Oh, yes. I donated, oh, most of them, but I kept a few in a box in the attic," Harshwhinny said, waving her hoof. "I couldn't find anywhere to hang them."
Applejack didn't reply. She was accustomed to winning medals from rodeos, but she still had a hard time wrapping her head around the concept of not having enough space to hang gold medals. She only had a small handful of those, after all. They were hard to get. Harshwhinny was a different beast entirely, she thought. Then again, so would Applejack if her special talent was literally winning.
Sometimes it's really hard to not be good at something, and sometimes you couldn't help but be good at beating other ponies. It made Applejack feel small, but she didn't believe that there was no way to surpass her teacher. Somepony beat her last games, after all.
"There we go," Harshwhinny said as she strode into the hallway, "I'm all set."
The typically prim and proper pony had removed her jacket, scarf, and earrings, and instead wore nothing but some hoof-bands. Her mane had been pulled back to take up less space, revealing more of her forehead. Somehow, she still managed to look like she'd belong in a business meeting. It was the scowl, Applejack thought. No amount of fancy dress could change Harshwhinny's 'I'm disgusted by your lack of professionalism' look.
"Then... we're good to go?"
"Yes. Let's go outside."
As they left, Harshwhinny carried a large rucksack full of strange shapes. Applejack also saw her bring out a strange looking saddle.
"All right," Harshwhinny said as she locked her house up and slid the key under the doormat. "You'll want me to take your saddlebags."
Applejack unstrapped her saddlebags. "Uh, why?" she asked.
"Because you'll be wearing this," Harshwhinny said, handing Applejack the strange saddle. It looked like it came with, of all things, stirrups. Four of them. "I'll carry our bags, but you are going to be carrying me."
Applejack nearly spluttered. "That's..."
"Rather heavy, I know," Harshwhinny said. "However, since I won't hang on like some sort of... koala, you'll also have to adjust your movements to keep me, and all our things, from falling off." She threw Applejack's saddlebags on top of her own rucksack. "It's balance training as well as simple exercise. Now, finish putting that on."
Applejack looked back up at the mountain. If it looked big before, it looked positively gargantuan now. "I have to take you all the way up like that?"
"Well, we'll stop to do other exercises on the way, of course," Harshwhinny said. "We have a lot to do."
Applejack sighed, and tightened the saddle-strap around her barrel. "Okay, then. Let's get this over with."
"Excellent," Harshwhinny said, and hopped on, balancing all four hooves on each saddle before standing up straight. The weight was crushing. Applejack was well accustomed to carrying heavy loads, but the thought of going uphill for hours like this made gravity feel even stronger. The pair looked for all the world like one pony standing on another, more tired and uncomfortable pony.
"All right. Let's start off at a walk, shall we?" Harshwhinny said. I'll direct, you move."
Applejack grunted, and began walking. Her joints felt like they were being bent. Thankfully, the saddle Harshwhinny used took most of the weight off her spine.
Harshwhinny began to wobble. "Remain steady, and keep your legs from twisting. Don't want me falling off or your joints getting damaged, do we?"
"No, ma'am," Applejack groaned, and tried to limit her twisting. "That'd be bad."
"Left," Harshwhinny said, and Applejack dutifully turned left.
They were heading uphill in no time. Before Harshwhinny even had to say anything, Applejack lowered the front half of her body to keep Harshwhinny from toppling backwards.
"Very good," Harshwhinny said. "Remember to breathe, and keep moving. Onwards, and mind uneven ground."
The setting sun beat down on Applejack as she pulled herself up the trail. Harshwhinny would alternate between making her walk, trot, and on one somewhat ill-fated occasion, canter. Now, however, Harshwhinny let Applejack walk, electing to let her have some measure of rest.
Applejack's muscles burned. She felt like somepony (probably Harshwhinny) had poured acid inside her legs and lungs. Still, she had fallen into a form of routine. Her mind dulled. Thoughts just got in the way and made movements harder.
"This is far enough," Harshwhinny said, just as the sun set completely over the horizon.
Applejack didn't notice, either Harshwhinny, or the sun.
"Applejack. You are allowed to stop," Harshwhinny said, giving Applejack a stern tap on the head.
Applejack came to a sudden halt. "Huh?"
"We shall stop for today," Harshwhinny said. "There's a small cabin nearby for hikers and ponies like us. We shall stay there for a while."
Applejack let Harshwhinny dismount. The absence of the older pony's weight was sweet release. Applejack felt like she was flying. The moment was short lived as Harshwhinny gave Applejack her saddlebags back. Applejack grunted.
"Water?" Applejack asked. She had meant to say 'what time is it', but something in her words had gotten muddled.
Harshwhinny handed her a flask of water. Applejack gulped it down.
"Not too much at once," Harshwhinny said. "Come on, you should walk off the effort."
Applejack didn't like the sound of any idea involving the word 'walk'. Still, she didn't argue. She was too tired. The pair walked down a small trail off the main path. The path was gravelly and uneven, and Applejack nearly tripped more than once. Harshwhinny had no issues, however, likely because she hadn’t been carrying a pony for several hours..
They entered a small clearing next to a shallow creek. Applejack and Harshwhinny both walked over a small bridge to the cabin Harshwhinny had mentioned, nestled in-between the pine trees. It was big enough to have several rooms. Harshwhinny pushed the door open. The insides were mostly bare, and served only to contain the bare necessities. Namely, a roof, fireplace, and enough walls to separate the cabin into rooms.
"Do stretches whilst I make food," Harshwhinny said, trotting to the fireplace. She caught sight of some bags littering the main room. "Looks like we're not alone tonight."
Applejack began stretching out her legs. Probably hikers, she thought. That was fine. She was too exhausted to care about some strangers sharing the cabin. The saddlebags slid off her back and fell to the floor in an ungainly heap.
Harshwhinny pulled numerous ingredients from her own bags, and lit the fire.
"How long are we stayin' here?" Applejack asked.
"Until you can canter with ease," Harshwhinny said, and instinctively nursed the bruise on her foreleg. "Until you can do that, you won't be ready for the next step in our training."
"The next step?" Applejack asked.
"Yes. We're not going to spend the entire month learning how to run," Harshwhinny said. She looked over at Applejack. "Stretch out your abdominal muscles. You'll have used them more than you think you have."
"I was gettin' to them," Applejack grumbled.
"You have problems shifting between trotting and cantering," Harshwhinny said. "You jump into it. That takes time and puts a strain on your muscles. You need to twist less and fall into the movements."
"I'm just doin' what feels natural..." Applejack grumbled.
"Well, Rainbow Dash can fall into the movements," Harshwhinny said. "It's how she can accelerate so quickly whilst on the ground and take off almost instantly."
Applejack's eyes narrowed, and the corners of her lips turned downwards in a vicious scowl. She knew Harshwhinny was playing her, but the funny thing was that it didn't matter. If Rainbow could do something Applejack was trying to do, Applejack was sure as haystacks going to do it better. It was a very Rainbow way of thinking, but Applejack didn't care. She was tired and in a bad mood.
"Here," Harshwhinny said. "Eat this."
Applejack didn't even notice what it was Harshwhinny handed her, although she could certainly taste it. Harshwhinny's many talents didn't seem to include cuisine.
"Anythin' else?" Applejack asked, after trying to forget the taste of Harshwhinny's mystery meal.
"You've got lots of stamina whilst walking and trotting, but I don't think you can sustain high speeds and intense effort for long periods of time. Also, you're heavier than you need to be."
Applejack felt thoroughly grumpy now.
"I ain't overweight."
"It's fine. We'll get you on a proper diet soon."
"I ain't overweight!"
"I imagine it's the apple pies. You do eat lots of those, I suppose?"
Applejack went quiet for a moment.
"Well, you gotta eat lots for farm work."
"No, you have to eat well. Drink this."
Applejack took the cup and downed it. She didn’t know what it tasted like, but it was certainly new. "Next?"
"Have a lemon."
"A lemon?"
"Lemons are good for you."
Applejack didn't like lemons.
"I don't like lemons."
"Eat the lemon."
Applejack grudgingly took the lemon from Harshwhinny. It turned out that when life gave you lemons, you ate them whole.
Applejack blinked. Sunlight reflected through the small glass window into the little wooden room she had slept in. The bed was simple, little more than an elevated hammock of sorts. She ached everywhere.
"Breakfast," Harshwhinny said, knocking on the door with a businesslike motion. "Come on. Get up."
Applejack rolled out of bed, feeling every single ache across her body scream at once. She sucked air in through her teeth.
"We'll work those out," Harshwhinny said. "But first, breakfast."
Applejack trotted into the main room, where Harshwhinny had put out two plates of various fruits and biscuits. Applejack found herself digging in before she even realised she was hungry. Somewhere in the rest of the cabin, she could hear other occupants start to make noise.
"Perhaps we should take this outside," Harshwhinny said, picking up her plastic plate in-between her teeth. Applejack followed suit.
The outside was chilly, despite them being on the sunny side of the mountain. The pair sat down on the grass. Applejack continued to wolf down her dinner.
"So, am I doin' the same thing as yesterday?" Applejack asked.
"Not quite," Harshwhinny said. "I'll be somewhat lighter from not carrying all our bags.
Applejack let out a small sigh of relief, catching Harshwhinny's hawk-like eye.
"Of course," she went on, "We will be finding some other way of making it more difficult for you," Harshwhinny said. "We're quite high up now, so expect even more difficult terrain and thinner air." Harshwhinny looked at the small stream that ran past the cabin. "And then," she went on, "You might want to expect getting your hooves wet."
Applejack looked at the stream, and felt her heart fall in her chest. At this altitude, the water would be pretty cold.
"Trot," Harshwhinny barked.
Applejack tried to kick her hooves up higher and get into the motions, but the water kept on getting in the way, rolling past her and pushing her body backwards down the shallow stream. The rocks and slippery moss underhoof kept threatening to trip her, and Harshwhinny, up.
"Balance. Don't jump into a trot. Stay relaxed."
Applejack grit her teeth together. Relaxing wasn't easy when the thought of how angry Harshwhinny would be if she fell into the water was permanently at the forefront of her mind. If Harshwhinny was tough on her now, how would she act if she got dunked headfirst into the icy water?
"Walk. Don't bounce when you slow down."
Applejack grunted. Her hooves slipped on some moss, and she nearly dove into the water. Harshwhinny wobbled, seemingly unconcerned she might fall. Applejack's face got splashed with water, but she righted her posture and kept her coach stable.
"Be aware of where you're putting your hooves," Harshwhinny warned. "Keep walking until you get to that rock."
Applejack kept moving. The water lapped against her sides, knocking her from side to side. It only came halfway up her legs, just barely licking the underside of her stomach, but it was enough to throw a serious wrench in her movements. At least she didn't want for hydration.
Once she passed the rock Harshwhinny had pointed out, she tried to trot. Don't jump, she told herself. It was hard, but she tried to sink her body as she moved into the trot, gaining the speed she needed by falling ever so slightly. It almost worked. She kicked up with her rear legs after her forelegs started trotting, and Harshwhinny bounced up.
"You're still jumping," Harshwhinny pointed out, wobbling.
"I know!" Applejack snapped, now trotting through the water. She missed the oppressive weight of Harshwhinny's bags. The additional weight had meant she didn't have to deal with the sheer uncomfortable nature of this training.
“You think this is hard?” Harshwhinny asked. “Once I mastered this, I performed dressage in a stream twice as deep. Have you ever done dressage?”
Applejack shook her head, and grunted.
Don't jump, she thought. Moving properly implied jumping out of the water! Keeping Harshwhinny on top of her meant she was ploughing through the water. It was exhausting. Her muscles would be burning if the water wasn't keeping them cool.
"You're thinking too much. Just move," Harshwhinny instructed.
Applejack almost bucked her off then and there. She closed her eyes. Just keep moving, she thought. The end would come eventually.
The end of the river came a full hour later. A small waterfall that blocked their path made up an insurmountable obstacle in their current state. It wouldn't be impossible to climb up, but not with Harshwhinny also on Applejack's back.
"Good. Get out of the water," Harshwhinny said.
Applejack toppled to the side. Harshwhinny went from quietly satisfied with Applejack's work to being painfully aware she was on a one-way trip to the icy water at the bottom of the waterfall. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened just enough to begin berating Applejack before she hit the water with a splash.
Applejack, now deprived of oxygen, spluttered and pulled herself out of the water, breathing heavily. She felt numb. The cold made the bottom of her hooves feel brittle and sore, and the effort had taken all her energy out of her.
Harshwhinny rose out of the slow-running water. She spat out a mouthful of stream, and narrowed her eyes at Applejack.
"S...sorry," Applejack panted. "Tired..."
Harshwhinny dragged her now soaked body out of the stream, and tried to daintily brush the water off of her. It didn't work.
"Stretches," Harshwinny grumbled.
Applejack tried to pull herself up enough to stretch her legs, but it was difficult. She began to shiver.
"I would have given you a towel I brought," Harshwhinny muttered, pulling out a soggy blue fabric, "But it seems to have gotten wet."
Applejack continued to shiver as she stretched her legs.
"Forget stretching," Harshwhinny said, and sunk a bowl into the stream. "You can stretch back at the cabin once you dry off. You'll catch your death of cold otherwise."
Applejack nodded, her teeth chattering. She got to her hooves. Harshwhinny balanced the now full bowl of water on her head.
"Canter back to the cabin as fast as you can. Don't let this fall off your head."
Applejack groaned.
"Do I have to?"
"Yes."
Applejack sighed, and began to canter. Water immediately splashed over her head, but she managed to keep the bowl on her head. She had plenty of practice of keeping things on her head, after all. Baskets of apples, and, of course, her favourite headgear. Who knew wearing hats would have helped her later in life?
She darted down the side of the stream as fast as she could without knocking the precariously balanced bowl off. The movement quickly warmed her up, although she still felt really uncomfortable. Like she was on the brink of cramping up.
Another splash. Turns were difficult. She often carried baskets of apples on her head, but never whilst cantering. She lowered her head to try and gain some additional control. It nearly worked.
It took two hours for Applejack to get all the way up the steam, but it was taking a fraction of the time to canter back down. Soon, the cabin appeared in front of her.
Applejack came to a stop. There was no more splashing from the bowl of water. She carefully removed it and looked at the contents.
There was no water left.
"Ponyfeathers," Applejack muttered. "Harshwhinny won't be happy."
She turned to go into the cabin and find a towel, but stopped. There was another pony in the door, a half-eaten energy bar hanging out of her mouth. Applejack was frozen to the spot, holding the bowl in her hoof.
Rainbow Dash swallowed the energy bar.
"Oh, hi there," she said. "How 'bout that, huh?"
Applejack put the bowl down as she stared at one of the last ponies she expected to see eating a snack-bar on a mountain. "RD? What're you doin'..."
"Training," Rainbow replied. "you?"
"Training," Applejack said. "I mean, what else'd I be doin' up here?"
"Hiking," Rainbow replied. "There are some other ponies in this cabin who are here for a hike..."
Applejack groaned. "I thought you were the hikers."
"Well, they were pretty unfriendly, and just went to their room real quick," Rainbow said.
"I was tired, not unfriendly. And you were real noisy this mornin’."
Rainbow nodded apprehensively. "Huh."
"Yeah."
There was a moment of silence. Rainbow then pulled something out from a bag.
"Energy bar?"
"Don't mind if I do," Applejack said. "Harshwhinny's been makin' me eat lemons."
"Oh, yeah," Rainbow muttered. "Spitfire made me do that, too. Rind and all."
"It's real chewy," Applejack grumbled. "And gets stuck between my teeth."
"Yeah they do. You think they’d be better if they got, like, soaked in honey or something?"
Harshwhinny appeared from behind some trees. She took one look at Rainbow and sighed.
"Oh, good," she muttered. "I imagine Spitfire brought you here."
Rainbow nodded. "Yeah."
"Of course she did," Harshwhinny said. "I don't suppose it's too much to ask for you to stay out of our way? At least whilst we're training."
Rainbow nodded. "Well, we're pretty busy too y'know."
Harshwhinny nodded. "I see." She turned to Applejack. "Do you still need a towel, or have you dried off?"
Applejack still felt a bit damp, but the run had gotten rid of most of the water. "I'm mostly dry," she said.
"Good. Stretch."
Applejack sighed, and got down on her hind legs. Rainbow snickered.
"Wow. Jump to it, AJ! Jeez, I’ve only seen you react to somepony that quick when they say ‘open bar’."
"Miss Dash, please be quiet."
Rainbow folded her forehooves, but didn't say anything. Harshwhinny trotted over to Applejack.
"How much water was in the bowl when you arrived?"
"Oh, you did the bowl thing too?" Rainbow asked.
Harshwhinny treated Rainbow to a withering glare. Rainbow closed her mouth and pawed the ground.
"None," Applejack answered.
"I expected as much." She picked the bowl up off the floor. "Next time there shall be more."
"I can't canter and keep it balanced at the same time," Applejack said.
"That's what practise it for," Harshwhinny said, and rummaged inside her bag. She pulled out a packet of food, and gave to Applejack. "Eat quickly once you've stretched, then we go again."
"Oh," came a new voice, "It's you."
Harshwhinny looked up. "Spitfire," she said.
"Whinny," Spitfire grunted. "I came for Rainbow."
"Here, ma'am!"
"Hello, Applejack," Spitfire said, waving. "Recruit, did you finish your flight around the mountain?"
"I did."
"And your time was..."
"One minute three seconds, ma'am."
"Well, that's not awful..."
"It was pretty quick, ma'am!" Rainbow replied, somewhat indignantly.
Spitfire sighed. "I suppose we don't need to work on speed, then," she said. “Good job.”
Applejack finished stretching her stomach, and began wolfing down the packet of food Harshwhinny had given her. She made sure to sit up straight to as to not get stomach cramps later. Harshwhinny, in the meantime, was drying herself off with a towel she had brought from inside the cabin.
"Have you finished?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"Good. Then let us get back to it."
Rainbow kept a quiet eye on Applejack as the two of them returned to the stream. When Harshwhinny stepped onto the strange saddle, balancing on top of Applejack, she scoffed.
"Oh, man," she said, "You look so stupid!"
Applejack grunted. "You shut up," she retorted. "This is real hard."
Spitfire raised an eyebrow. "Nothing to laugh about, recruit," she said. "After all, if your speed is up to scratch, that's what we're doing next."
Colour drained from Rainbow's face. Applejack snickered.
"That's what you get for laughin' at me," Applejack jeered.
"Trot," Harshwhinny instructed.
Both Rainbow and Applejack were propped up at the back of the cabin, each nursing their now sore legs, backs, sides, and in Rainbow's case, wings. Applejack had wrapped herself in a towel and nursed a bowl of hot food Harshwhinny had made for her. Rainbow had already finished hers.
Harshwhinny and Spitfire were on the opposite side of the room, talking. Applejack couldn't hear what they were saying. After spending hours listening to Harshwhinny bark orders, she didn't particularly want to.
"Hey," Rainbow muttered, nudging Applejack's side. "Pass me some salad."
Applejack wordlessly handed Rainbow a handful of leaves and dumped them in her bowl.
"Thanks."
"No problem." Applejack rested her head against the wall, and let the food slowly digest inside her. "How much do you hurt?"
"Well, I can feel my wings again."
"That's good."
"No it isn't. They really, really hurt."
"Should've stretched 'em."
"I did."
Rainbow fell silent. She began picking at her salad with uncharacteristic slowness.
"How long d'you think we'll have to keep this up?" Applejack asked.
Rainbow shrugged. "Dunno. Spitfire said she wanted me to keep practising until she thought I was ‘ready’. Whatever that means."
"Harshwhinny said the same thing," Applejack said. She nodded towards the pair of coaches. "Wonder why their training is so similar."
"They probably know each other," Rainbow speculated, although there was no enthusiasm or curiosity in her eyes. "Or this is actually a super-popular exercise resort… that I never heard about." Rainbow stroked her chin. “I mean, their training is super similar.”
Applejack shrugged, and got to her hooves.
"I'm goin' to bed," she said. "See you tomorrow, I guess."
Rainbow struggled to get to her own hooves and followed her friend. "Same."
As Applejack collapsed into her simplistic bed, she found herself thinking about how well she'd be able to endure a similar treatment the next day. At least now, though, she had somepony to complain about it to.
“We’ve not had much opportunity to talk, have we?” Harshwhinny asked.
Applejack grunted as she rubbed her eyes. “Well, you’ve been keepin’ me pretty busy…”
“That’s my job.”
Applejack nodded. “I know.” She flexed her muscles and rolled her neck. “It’s pretty tirin’, but I’m happy to keep it up…”
Harshwhinny sighed. “Well, I couldn’t help but notice you talking to your friend last night,” she said.
Applejack sighed.
“Was that a distraction?” she asked.
“Yes,” Harshwhinny said.
Applejack’s posture turned into a slump. Harshwhinny immediately shook her hoof.
“This is good.”
Applejack raised her eyebrow.
“It is?”
“When I was performing this training, I had a friend to keep me sane. It occurs to me that you might benefit from your friend being here, since I’m hardly very… talkative.” Harshwhinny held her hoof up. “So long as, of course, she doesn’t get in the way.”
Applejack smiled. She found herself unexpectedly happy to be allowed to spend her evenings with her friend.
“You got it.”
“Excellent,” Harshwhinny said. “Then let us begin stretches.”
Applejack rested her head against the side of the cabin, panting heavily. The bowl she had carried back lay next to her.
Her coach trotted down the path, her face showing no sign of being either impressed or disappointed.
“You’re movements are smoother in the stream,” she said. “I can tell you’re improving.”
Applejack didn’t reply. She was too busy trying to catch her breath.
"How much water is left?" Harshwhinny asked.
Applejack handed her coach the bowl. "Just a little."
Harshwhinny examined the contents of the water. She didn't smile, but she did have a somewhat satisfied look in her eyes.
"I told you there would be more," she said. "Now, stretch."
Evenings blended into one another, and all Applejack could remember of them was sitting in the same corner every night with a bowl of food next to her, saying the same old thing to Rainbow Dash.
She could barely manage to swallow the small meal Harshwhinny had given her. Her hoof strayed to a bottle of water next to her. She sighed when she felt it was empty.
"Here."
Applejack looked up at Rainbow, who looked to be drenched in sweat. She was holding out a half-empty bottle. Applejack took it gratefully.
How many days had it been? Wake up, stretch. Run up the creek, run back with a bowl of water. Stretch. Eat. Run. Stretch. Run. Sleep.
It felt endless.
"Thanks."
"Can I have some of that food?" Rainbow asked.
Applejack found she didn’t even mind Rainbow’s eating procedure any more. It seemed almost natural at this point. Just dive in and stuff your cheeks with grub. Watching Rainbow eat had become a highlight of Applejack’s evenings, in a sense. It reminded her of Ponyville.
“I’m going to bed, I think,” Applejack said.
Rainbow looked up.
“You sure you don’t want the food?”
“I’ll just have a big breakfast,” Applejack said in-between yawns. “G’night.”
“G’night.”
"Canter!"
Applejack stumbled. She felt Harshwhinny topple, but the older mare managed to jump off her back just before she fell into the water headfirst.
"Sorry!" Applejack said in-between heavy breaths.
Harshwhinny sighed. "You're still jumping," she admonished. "But you're getting better."
Applejack ground her teeth against one another in frustration. She was almost there, she could tell. She just needed a few more attempts. A few more tries.
She needed to make some significant progress. She was running out of things to talk to Rainbow about.
Day four eventually came, and Applejack got back to work. Harshwhinny was pushing her harder and harder now, but Applejack was almost able to keep up with her increasingly stringent demands.
The problem with cantering, she thought, was that there was a natural rocking motion associated with it. At least when she was trotting, it was up and down, not side to side. It made balancing Harshwhinny on her back very difficult.
If she could just stop twisting as much...
She lowered her head, trying to keep her barrel as immobile with respect to the rest of her body as she could. Only the legs, she thought, just move the legs...
She found herself falling forwards as her body failed to compensate for the differences in motion. She also found her front hoof slide through the water to catch her. She reared, keeping Harshwhinny from falling forwards.
"Good," Harshwhinny said, as Applejack continued to glide through the stream, water rolling across either side of her. Cantering was much tougher than trotting, as the increased speed also increased the reaction force of the water. Applejack began to struggle. "Back to trot. Don't tire yourself out."
Applejack gratefully slowed down. Cantering would have to come later, she thought.
"How much water is left?" Harshwhinny asked.
Applejack passed her the bowl. "I had to go slower, though."
"That's fine. Balance is key for this exercise, not speed," Harshwhinny said, examining the bowl. "Barely any spilled out today."
Applejack smiled, proud of herself. "Yup."
"Good. Stretch, and I'll go and get you food and water."
Every time Applejack fell into a canter, she found herself increasing her speed more than she expected. It always hit her like recoil, and she could barely catch herself in time. She grit her teeth.
"Good," Harshwhinny said. "Keep going."
Applejack grit her teeth, but kept going. Keeping Harshwhinny balanced was second nature by this point, but the effort of cantering upstream in water was not.
"Excellent," Harshwhinny said as they kept moving forwards at a strong pace. "Back to trot."
As the sun dipped over the horizon, Applejack stretched out her legs once again. She trotted alongside Rainbow Dash towards the cabin.
“Think we’re almost done?” she asked. “It’s been awhile since we’ve been here.”
Rainbow shrugged. “Spitfire hasn’t told me I’m ready yet, but here’s hoping.” She looked towards Applejack. “So, you wanna tell me why you wanted to compete in the Three now?”
Applejack bristled. She remembered she had only told her close family. Rainbow and Harshwhinny were both in the dark.
Well, Rainbow might as well be family. She was the closest thing to it up on this mountainside, after all.
“My parents competed in the Canterlot Three,” she said.
Rainbow looked at her for a moment, waiting.
“And?”
Of course Rainbow wouldn’t get it. Why would she?
Applejack ran her hoof through her mane. “Well, it’s important to me. I don’t remember doin’ much with my parents, so participatin’ in the same events as them is kinda…”
“The next best thing?”
Applejack frowned. “Sort of.” She narrowed her eyes. “You aren’t takin’ me seriously.”
“I’m taking you super seriously! I just wanted to get it is all.” Rainbow rolled her neck. “I’m not in this for that kind of thing. I’m in it for myself.”
Fatigue turned Applejack irritable. She snorted. “This is why I didn’t tell you.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Eh?”
“I go talkin’ ‘bout my parents and you just make fun,” Applejack grunted, storming ahead. “Typical.”
Rainbow’s brow creased. “Hey!” she exclaimed, and dashed ahead, sending a small plume of dirt and dust up from the ground as she moved. Momentary anger was replaced by even more temporary surprise. “Whoa…”
Applejack ducked out of the way, each of her muscles working faster and smoother than ever. Rainbow passed inches away.
“Sorry!” Rainbow exclaimed. “I’m a bit faster than usual!”
Applejack slid on her hooves. She had noticed something similar about her own movements.
“Yeah,” she said, examining her legs. They looked more or less the same. More angular and defined, perhaps.
Rainbow folded her wings. “Listen, I wasn’t ‘making fun’,” she said. “I mean, my parents didn’t have much in common with me, and still don’t. Everything I do I kinda do for myself, because my folk’s hoofsteps just… aren’t for me.” She flicked her mane out her eyes. “I just thought that since we were sharing our reasons…”
Applejack rubbed her forehead. “I guess I snapped,” she admitted. “I’m just… tired. If I can’t get through this trainin’, I won’t… I mean…” She groaned. “If I don’t do well, then I feel I won’t be doin’ them proud. But the longer I’m here, the more I feel I’m goin’ mad.”
Rainbow stared for a moment. Applejack sighed.
“This where you tell me somethin’ like ‘your parents are already proud’ or somethin’ like that?”
Rainbow shook her head. “Nah. This is where I say that you’re going to win, because you’re training with the awesomest athlete ever. And I’m not talking about miss ‘I have a thousand trophies’.”
The corner of Applejack’s mouth raised. “Oh yeah? How’d you figure that out?”
“Because, AJ, I got scientific observation. I’ve been hanging with Twi’ for a while, right, so I know all about that stuff.” She pointed at Applejack. “I scientifically observe that you always keep up with me, because I think you hate losing to me, because I’m so cool. And since I’m going to win…”
“Then I’m gonna win too,” Applejack finished with a grin. “Well, there’s no arguin’ with science, I guess.”
“There is not,” Rainbow said. “Besides, you saw that mad dash, right? We’re getting good.”
"It's getting easier," she admitted to Rainbow Dash. "I can keep cantering up for minutes at a time now when in that stream."
"Sweet," Rainbow replied. "I also feel like not completely dying," she said. Her smile turned into a frown. "Although I do kinda want to curl up in a ball and cry."
Applejack snickered. "That ain't like you," she said.
"Hey, I can cry if I want to," Rainbow said. "This stuff really hurts."
"I meant admittin' it." She continued trotting towards the cabin. “C’mon, let’s get some rest. Good talk?”
“Good talk.”
Applejack trotted out of her room. She wasn't excited, but neither was she completely broken inside. She had become accustomed to pain in her muscles and bones. Stretching after exercise had become second nature.
"Good news," Harshwhinny said. "We're moving on to stage two."
Applejack stopped. "What? No upstream runnin'?"
"No."
"No canterin' with a bowl on my head?"
"No."
“No lemons?”
“There will still be lemons. They’re healthy.”
"But we’re movin’ on to somethin' different?"
Harshwhinny nodded. "Exactly." She treated Applejack to a rare, genuine smile. "You did very well. I expected you to take a few days longer."
Applejack smiled. "Well then," she asked, "What's next?"
Harshwhinny began picking up her things from across the cabin. "Now we climb higher," she said. "But first, we have to clean this place up for the next occupants. That's how it works."
Cleaning, Applejack thought, wouldn't be all that hard. "All right, then," she said. "I'll grab my things."
“We’re going up?” Rainbow asked.
Spitfire nodded. “Yeah. I think Harsh’ is moving on, too. You and ‘Jack are progressing at about the same rate.”
“Awesome! Let’s go!”
“Ah-ah! Gotta clean this place up first.”
Rainbow looked around at her mess.
“But that’ll take forever!” she groaned.
“Well, you should be tidier, then, recruit.”
***