"Now these ain't like cherry trees," Big Macintosh drawled slowly as he approached the tree setting out baskets all around it. He placed each one carefully looking from root to treetop and everywhere else before placing the next.
Pinkie skipped after him, even a few steps were cheerful and bouncy, the stack of baskets that swayed on her back rising up to a hight of five ponies jumped in small waves with her skips somehow never falling. When Big Macintosh place one Pinkie Pie merely gave a little shake and another, only one other, tumbled from the top and landed upright on the red stallion's outstretched and upturned hoof.
"Because we have to buck them?" Pinkie squeaked happily staring up eagerly at Big Macintosh
"Eyup," He nodded, smiling, "That's the best way. Shaking them won't work none."
"And the baskets they have to placed differently right?" Pinkie gave another shake and another basket fell into Big Macintosh's hooves. "How do you know where to put them?"
"Eyup," Big Macintosh smiled again, "That's a very good question, ya see we follow the movement of the tree's shadow..."
Big Macintosh podded on with his explanation, he spoke in a slow simple way taking the time to explain even minute things in detail. Big Macintosh wasn't quick to speak, but once he got going there was little that could stop him or get him the end any more swiftly. Someponies would grow short thinking he was speaking to them like foals, but Pinkie loved the deep rumble of his voice. It made her think of the beach and the lapping waves of the ocean. Pinkie sighed, once more a disappointed that her own excited chatter usually dominated their conversations, but she smiled, he was such a good listener.
Y'all wanna try?" Big Macintosh asked, at last, having placed the last basket around the base of one of the apple trees.
"Oooh can I really, really!" Pinkie bounced excitedly sending waves through her tower of baskets.
"Eyup," He said with a playfully exaggerated pop on the 'P' nodding and sitting down to watch her.
Pinkie gave a gleeful cheer and bounced to one tree looking it up and down as Big Macintosh had, rubbing a hoof on her chin and giving a 'Hmm.' Abandoning the first she bounced to another and repeated her actions giving this one a longer 'Hmm.' Then examined a third tree with an even longer, 'Hmm.'
Big Macintosh's chuckle bubbled up behind and she looked back to see him smiled and watching her as he chewed a spring of wheat, she smiled back and gave him a nod. Reaching back Pinkie somehow managed to lift the entire stack of baskets onto her nose. She wobbled back and forth as they swayed dangerously close to tipping over. After a few turns, Big Macintosh gave a confused tilt of his head and though he still smiled a glint of worry pricked at his eyes.
At last, Pinkie gave a toss of her head sending them up into the air. The stack came apart and descended in a chaotic rain. Big Macintosh jumped to his hooves worriedly, but not a single basket fell upon Pinkie. With a hoof, she nudged a few this way and that, but most landed unaided, bouncing and tumbling until they came to rest standing under the trees. Each of the trees she had examined now had several baskets arranged into a crude, but recognizable, smiley face under them.
"How's that," Pinkie bounced back over to Big Macintosh who's face was frozen with shock. "Did I do it right?"
Big Macintosh gave a shake of his, before moving to examine the basket arrangements. He stopped rubbing his chin and give a long 'Hmm,' Before shaking his head, "Nope."
"Aww, shoot," Pinkie moaned kicking the ground with her hoof.
Big Macintosh chuckled again, "Why don't you try buckin'?"
The new opportunity seemed to dash her failure and Pinkie jumped up eager to prove herself. She moved to the tree Big Macintosh had set up the baskets under and, with what she was sure was a perfect imitation of how Applejack did it, turned and bucked the tree. The back sent her flying forward like a rubber ball thrown against the tree. She screamed, but a red leg reached out and caught her before she could face plant into the ground.
Big Macintosh set her back onto her hooves and she wobbled a few steps before asking in a dizzy voice, "Did I do it right?"
Big Macintosh watched as the few apples dislodged from their branches fell with a thud into the baskets below, "Nope."
"Aww Mackie!" Pinkie began to wail, twin waterfalls springing from her eyes as she buried her face into Big Macintosh's shoulder. "I can't do anything right."
"Come on now Pinkamena, let's try that again, huh?" Big Macintosh gave her a gentle pat across her shoulders careful to keep his face out the torrents of water. Pinkie Pie sniffed as the tears stopped abruptly and she pulled back giving him a nod. "All right then go stand back under the tree."
They paced back to the tree Pinkie solemnly moving under it, her head hung, ears flat, and her eyes closed as she stood and turned her back to it. She sighed waiting for instruction when suddenly she felt a something press into her chest. Her eyes shot open and she gasped, Big Macintosh was pressing up against her. Her head shot up and he took the opportunity to slide his face up to her's and press in closer his lower chest against her upper chest. Suddenly, Pinkie could distinctly feel her heart begin to thump wildly in her chest, it was banging so hard against her chest she was sure Big Macintosh could feel it and she backed up a step in a futile attempt to hide it. He stepped with her, "There y'all were a little too far away."
His words didn't register to Pinkie and she was about to take another step back when she felt his hoof slowly running up along the inside of her foreleg. She shivered as Big Macintosh spoke, "And your stance isn't wide enough." She was like putty in his hooves now as he nudged her legs into the proper position.
"There, now y'all are perfect." He breathed into her ear. His hot breath washing away everything, Pinkie didn't remember what she was doing and didn't care so long as Big Macintosh was there with her, guiding her.
After a few moments or an eternity passed he spoke to her again, a low long whisper into her ear. "Buck Pinkamena."
She did, the crack of her hooves against the tree trunk reverberated through her and into him, the force sending crashing back to Equestria like a meteor crashing down to the planet.
Big Macintosh watched the apples fall to their baskets with pride, broken only by a sound that caused his ears to twitch. He looked back to see the apples falling into the rest of the baskets Pinkie had placed under the other trees and nowhere else.
"Well I'll be, y'all did it right after all Pinkamena," Big Macintosh smiled and looked back just in time to catch Pinkie Pie who slumped forward lifelessly her face red as his fur and eyes a spiral of hearts.