Thwack!
Apples fell to the basket. There were somehow more of them this time. More of them falling.
Applejack exhaled. Her fetlocks ached and her lungs burned.
But she withstood it.
Sniffling, the mare brushed a forelimb across her face.
There were less tears to dry.
She would remember this.
Shoving the half-full basket to an adjacent tree, she swung her legs and struck it once more.
Th-Thud!
The rest of the basket filled.
A hot wind blew over Applejack's tussled mane in the afternoon light.
She sliced through the gale like a razor sharp knife.
She shoved the basket towards the wagon with one hoof then proceeded to the next line of trees.
Her eyes were dry. Bloodshot. She felt an incurable itch across her brow. It had been days without a bath. Applejack didn't know where the mud began and her blood ended.
She didn't care.
A curious thought chanced through her skull. She turned and looked at the heart of the ranch, no longer afraid of what she might see.
To her surprise, there were two more full wagons than she had expected.
Applejack made a mental note before slamming another tree, sensing a jolt beyond the numbness.
Whack!
Applejack rolled into Ponyville's market district.
She was pulling two wagons chock-full of apples. The rear cart had been hastily attached to the front one. It was enough to survive the journey.
Two clerks standing outside Barnyarn Bargains couldn't help but stare, muzzles agape.
She looked emotionlessly at them. Strolling to a stop, the teenager unhitched herself from the wagon and gestured at it.
"Y'all know the drill," she droned.
The two clerks dumbly nodded.
Applejack's nostrils flared. "I'll come back for the wagons when the harvest is done."
With that, she turned and trotted back towards Sweet Apple Acres before anypony could say anything.
Her joints felt like giving out at any time. She wouldn't let them. There was so little time left. If Applejack ran, she knew that her fetlocks would howl in pain.
So she sprinted as swiftly as she could.
Wham!
Applejack kicked another tree.
It hurt.
Everything hurt.
She collected the apples and dashed to the next tree in a burst of energy. Her blood boiled. Her eyes darted towards every glinting shape on her endless hunt for fruit.
Pain and stiffness encompassed her. She was unstoppable.
"Rnnngh!" She spun and kicked the tree.
It only took one buck for all the fruit to fall. She was no longer surprised by this.
Wiping her brow, she glanced towards the wagons resting uphill. It would be a long trek and she needed to save time. She glanced at her filling baskets in quiet contemplation.
Applejack marched uphill...
With three baskets...
Stacked up on top of one another...
Atop of her...
She huffed and puffed. She pushed through the pain. She saw the bright sun cresting over the hilltop and verdant trees.
She didn't smile.
And yet—for the first time in as long as she remembered—she knew that there would be a time for it.
But that time wasn't now.
"Hrnnngh!"
She tossed the baskets neatly into the back of the wagon, hitched herself to the cart, and dragged it effortlessly to the remaining orchards.