Starry Skies over the Apple Orchard
Chapter 8
Luna woke to the smell of breakfast cooking. She breathed deeply, savoring the smell of the upcoming meal. “Aye, ‘tis a wonderful way to wake up,” she said as she got out of bed. She walked to the door and opened it, and then looked down to see Apple Bloom standing in the hallway with a raised hoof.
“Oh, hey Starry Skies! I was just comin’ to get you for breakfast,” she said as she lowered her hoof to the floor.
“Thank you, Apple Bloom. Shall we head down?” Luna smiled and took another deep breath. “Breakfast smells delicious!”
Luna followed Apple Bloom downstairs and into the kitchen. As she walked through the kitchen doorway, Luna saw that Applejack was setting the table and Granny Smith was stirring something in a pot on the stove. “Good morning,” said Luna as she walked into the kitchen. “Is there anything that I can do to help?”
“No, dearie, we’ve got everything covered,” said Granny Smith. “Just have a seat and we’ll get started soon.”
Luna and Apple Bloom headed over to the table. Luna sat down in the seat that she had used during the previous evening’s meal. Her ears perked up as she heard hoofsteps beyond the kitchen doorway. She turned her head to look and her eyes opened widely when she saw the figure in the doorway. Well, hello there! she thought to herself.
Standing in the doorway was Big Macintosh. His freshly combed mane seemed to flow down the back of his neck and reflected the sunlight from the window. He slowly walked into the kitchen, and with each step he took the tool belt he had slung over his back subtly shifted from the movement of his muscles. “Mornin’, everypony,” he said as he walked over to the table.
“Good morning,” said Luna as she watched Big Macintosh as he first put the tool belt over by the door and then walked over to the table to sit down beside her. “I shall help out with today’s repairs.” Luna tilted her head and smiled. “They will get done faster with two working on them.”
“Eeyup,” said Big Mac as he looked over at Luna. “Thanks.”
“Dagnabbit! Who put this wax pineapple here?”
*-*-*-*
Luna and Big Macintosh stood outside, looking at the door that needed to be repaired. The door frame was still good, and the door itself had very little damage. The hinges and screws, however, needed replacing. As Luna held the door in her telekinesis, she watched as Apple Bloom walked through the doorway and then ran towards a tree house at the edge of one of the fields. Luna smiled as she watched the filly running, wondering what Apple Bloom had planned for the day.
Luna felt the door move slightly and looked back to see that Big Macintosh was already working on removing the screws. He was using a screwdriver with a curved handle that resembled a question mark. The screwdriver had a mouthpiece on the curved end so that the pony using it could hold it in place without the use of magic, allowing it to be used by both ponies with and without magic. Big Macintosh held the mouthpiece in his mouth, and the middle part of the curve was held with a bent fetlock as he rotated the screwdriver. One by one he removed the screws and placed them onto a cloth on the ground. As he removed the last screw, both it and the door hinge were removed from the door.
Big Macintosh placed the screwdriver onto the cloth and then looked at Luna. “Thank you, this is a lot easier with you holding the door. If you’ll keep holding it just like that for a few more minutes, I’ll install the new hinges and screws.”
Big Macintosh watched as Luna smiled and nodded, and as he worked on replacing the door hinges he thought about Luna’s smile. It was a genuine smile, reaching up to her eyes, and she really looked cute when she smiled. Her mane caught the morning sunlight when she nodded, surrounding her face with a nearly magical glow.
Once he had replaced the last of the hinges, Big Macintosh lowered the screwdriver and looked over at Luna. “That should do it. Could you give it a test swing to make sure that everything is working?”
Luna gently moved the door back and forth a few times before fully closing the door. “Huzzah!” she said as she clopped her front hooves together. “The repair is a success! We make a good team...is there anything else that we could repair?”
Big Macintosh smiled at Luna’s enthusiasm. “Well, there are some other things that could use some work. Are you sure you want to work on your vacation?”
“Aye, ‘tis work,” said Luna, “but ‘tis a different kind of work than what my normal duties entail. If we finish what needs done, there will be more time for the both of us to enjoy.”
Hoofsteps approached from the kitchen, and as they grew nearer Big Macintosh and Luna looked over their shoulders to see Granny Smith eyeing the repairs to the door that were recently completed. “Hmm, nice work on the door.”
“Thank you,” said both Luna and Big Macintosh.
“Did I hear that you were interested in some more repair work?” Granny Smith said as she raised a front hoof and tapped her chin. She looked at Big Macintosh, and then sat down. “I seem to recall a few repairs you said were needed over at the barn.” Granny Smith smiled at the pair in front of her. “Now might be a pretty good time to take a look at ‘em.”
*-*-*-*
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo crouched behind a bush at the edge of the farm. “Ok, is everything ready?” asked Scootaloo.
“Yeah,” said Apple Bloom, “Operation Special Somepony version 2.65 is all set. We should start seeing something happening any minute now.”
As one, the three Cutie Mark Crusaders peeked through the leaves of the bush to watch Applejack as she made her rounds to check the trees. She checked the first two trees in the row, and as she walked toward the third tree, a tan earth pony stallion with a cutie mark of two quills crossed over a scroll walked in front of her.
“Oh, dearest Applejack,” he said as he struck a dramatic pose. “You are the Apple of my eye. You are the fritter of my heart. You are the...uh...dumpling...of my soul?”
Applejack closed her eyes and slowly shook her head back and forth. “I”m not sure why you are here, Plume Scribbles, but if you don’t have any business to discuss then you should hit the road.”
Scribbles smiled, and said “Gladly!” before he jumped up into the air and pounded the ground upon landing again.
Sighing in frustration, Applejack shook her head. “No, Scribbles. Beat it.”
“Ok,” said Scribbles as he tilted his head to the side and smiled. He lifted a front hoof and then used it to swiftly pound the ground twice.
Applejack raised a hoof and pointed towards the Sweet Apple Orchards entrance. “Go back to Ponyville!” She kept a close eye on Scribbles as he nodded and turned away. His smile disappeared as he walked away, heading through the gate and towards his home in Ponyville.
*-*-*-*
Luna walked beside Big Macintosh as they headed towards the barn to continue working on repairs. She breathed deeply, enjoying the morning air as it blew through the orchards. She could hear birds singing as they flew through the sky. The closer they walked to the old barn, the more Luna could see how much it needed repairs. The structure was still strong and sturdy, but various small parts needed to be fixed. The outside could use some paint, the loft window on the top floor hung at a strange angle that would most likely allow a draft, the latch that keeps the barn door closed was no longer present, and the roof could use a little work as preventive maintenance. “Hmm, thy matriarch,” Luna started to say before she quietly coughed into her hoof. “I mean, Granny Smith was correct that some repairs are needed. ‘Tis a good barn, though; all that is needed are some minor repairs.”
Big Macintosh turned his head away from Luna and spit something out of his mouth. He looked back at Luna and nodded. “Eeyup. If you’ll help me with the loft window like you did with the door earlier, we can finally get that fixed. It’s not an easy job for one pony, but with your help we can get it done in no time.”
“Excellent,” said Luna, “we shall work on the loft window first.” Ah, ‘tis mint that he was chewing, she thought to herself. Perhaps I shall chew a mint leaf myself. They are quite refreshing, and having breath that smells good is useful in some situations. Luna shook her head quickly and cleared her throat as she blinked rapidly a few times. For talking! Yes, ‘tis good for talking. Talking while standing close as we work. Yes, for talking.
“You ok?” asked Big Macintosh.
“Er, yes, we are fine,” Luna said with a sheepish grin. “We were just planning what we shall be doing when...dust caught us by surprise.”
*-*-*-*
Applejack continued the inspection of the trees, but stopped and turned her head when she heard hoofsteps approaching. She narrowed her eyes upon seeing a dark orange unicorn stallion approaching. He smiled as he approached, and held a bouquet of flowers in his telekinesis.
The unicorn took a deep breath and sat down across the row from Applejack.
“Oh glorious Apple in the morning light,
wouldst thou come with me to dinner tonight?
We could order…”
“Ok, stop right there,” Applejack said as lifted a hoof and pointed towards the road. “Out! Now!” She watched the unicorn walk through the gate and head back towards Ponyville. She turned around and continued inspecting the trees.
In the bush down the row, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle backed up a few steps and sat down, being careful to not make any noises in the bush.
“I thought for sure that last one would work. I spent ten minutes on that poem and Applejack didn’t even let that unicorn finish!” Sweetie Belle said.
“At least he remembered the words,” said Scootaloo as she used her front hoof to rub her forehead. “Scribbles only remembered the first line from the one I gave him.”
“Don’t worry, girls,” said Apple Bloom. “There’s bound to be one stallion that will be able to recite one of our poems. Well, hopefully, anyways…”
*-*-*-*
Big Macintosh leaned the ladder against the front of the barn. The top of the ladder was right next to the loft’s window, on the side where its hinges were connected to the barn. The ladder that Big Macintosh was using was designed by earth ponies and had deep steps so that one could plant a hoof on the step with plenty of room. He looked back at his tool belt and patted the pockets to make sure that he wasn’t forgetting anything. He looked over at Luna as he put his front hoof onto the first step of the ladder. “When I get up there, could you please hold the loft window like you did earlier? I’ll start removing the hinges when I see you have a good hold on it.”
Luna nodded, and watched as Big Macintosh climbed up the ladder. There wasn’t enough room on the ladder for two ponies to stand safely, and since her magic allowed her to hold the loft window from a distance, Luna remained on the ground.
*-*-*-*
As Rainbow Dash flew towards one of her favorite trees for napping, she looked down at Sweet Apple Acres and saw Applejack walking along a row of trees. She glided down and landed right beside Applejack. Applejack quickly looked at Rainbow Dash with a sour expression on her face before she realized who it was that landed beside her. “Whoah, AJ, having a bad morning or something?” Rainbow asked as Applejack gradually sighed and then smiled in greeting.
“I’m mighty sorry, Rainbow. But I gotta ask...did you schedule any strange weather for this mornin’?”
“Uh, no…not really,” answered Rainbow Dash. “Just a few clouds, but nothing unusual for this time of year. Why do you ask?”
“I was just wondering because it seems to be raining stupid on the farm today.” She walked over to the nearest tree. “It’s not applebuckin’ season yet, but I’m about ready to let loose on a few trees.” She reared up and gave a mighty applebuck to the tree. The tree shook quickly from the kick, but what fell to the ground was definitely not an apple.
Rainbow Dash promptly closed her eyes and raised her hoof to her forehead upon seeing the yellow-maned pony with a pale, semi-gray aquamarine coat. She took a calming breath and then opened her eyes to see the pegasus stand up and brush the dirt out of his yellow mane.
“Hey, there, Rainbow Dash! Let me tell you that that was quite a way to wake up from a siesta,” Zephyr Breeze said as he walked over to where Dash stood. “I’m not usually one to court more than one mare at a time, but I wouldn’t want to be rude and exclude anypony. Since you brought your good friend along, why, the three of us could make some kind of arrangement.” Zephyr Breeze made a failed attempt at a smarmy grin. “How about we go and have a talk about the birds...and the Breeze?”
In a display of uncommon coordination between the two, Rainbow Dash and Applejack both had an eye twitch at the same time. Applejack pushed her hat back. “Ok, that’s it...you better start runnin’, because you don’t want to know what will happen when I catch you.” Applejack started walking towards Zephyr Breeze.
Zephyr Breeze swiftly turned around and ran through the orchard. “Run! Retreat! Regroup! Regret! Stallions, away!” he yelled as he picked up speed. As he ran, other stallions joined him as they fled for their lives in a mad dash for safety.
Rainbow Dash watched as Applejack started chasing Zephyr Breeze away. Dash's eyebrow rose as she watched more and more hidden stallions join Zephyr Breeze, until there was a large group of stallions running through Sweet Apple Orchards, trying to escape from Applejack. She turned her head and started walking towards a bush at the side of the road when she heard an exasperated voice yelling, “Oh, come on! That isn’t even what we told him to say!”
*-*-*-*
Luna chewed on a couple mint leaves as she walked towards the ladder again. She noticed a mint plant at the corner of the barn a few minutes ago and decided that she did indeed want to chew some mint. As she walked, she heard a loud noise rapidly approaching. Oh, don’t tell me that Celestia sent guards, thought Luna. When she was halfway back to the ladder, her eyes grew wide as the group of terrified stallions ran around the corner of the barn. All of a sudden, a stallion came around the corner of the barn that was not looking where he was going, but rather where he was running from. He followed the other stallions as they ran, but did not realize that there was a ladder leaning against the barn directly in his path. The stallion ran into the ladder, knocking it out from underneath Big Macintosh as he ran quickly away from Applejack.
“NO!” yelled Luna when she saw the ladder knocked out from underneath Big Macintosh, causing him to fall and start spinning due to the angle that the ladder was hit. In a moment of panic, Luna did not think to release the limitation on her magic that she had placed upon herself as part of her disguise. She ran towards Big Macintosh as he fell and poured as much magic as she could into her telekinesis to slow Big Macintosh’s descent towards the ground. Big Macintosh was still falling, though, and in a bad way. In a moment he would hit the ground head first if Luna didn’t do something. She jumped towards Big Macintosh with outstretched hooves and pushed his shoulders when they collided. Big Macintosh made one final turn in the air as Luna kept pushing from her jump. Their backs collided softly in the last few moments of the fall.
Big Macintosh looked up at his hooves as they pointed up at the sky. He heard a muffled “OOF!” when they hit the ground. He blinked slowly and tried to think about what had just happened.
“Big Macintosh,” Luna said, “are you ok?”
“Eeyup,” he said. “I don’t know how, but somehow I’m just fine.”
“Oh, good,” said Luna with a relieved sigh. “Now then, would you mind getting off of me for a moment? I think I may have pulled a muscle.”
Big Macintosh quickly, yet carefully, rolled over to put his hooves onto the ground and stood up. He started to help Luna stand up, but she smiled and shook her head. “Thank you, but I’m ok. I just need to walk around and stretch it out.” Luna slowly stood up and then slowly stretched her back right leg, kicking it out behind her a few times before standing on it.
Big Macintosh took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Thank you, Starry; I owe you one. That fall could have turned out badly...if there is anything I can do for you, just let me know.”
“Let us head back to the house for a few minutes for some tea, and then we can return to finish the loft window. It looks secure, but ‘twould be best if we make sure that repairs for it are completed.”
Big Macintosh looked up at the loft window and nodded. He had finished replacing the first hinge before the ladder was knocked out from beneath his hooves, but they still had one more hinge to replace. At least that’s the last hinge that needs replaced today, thought Big Macintosh.
Luna and Big Macintosh started walking back towards the farmhouse, and Luna moved to walk a little closer to Big Macintosh. “You know, I have an idea of what you could do…if you wouldn’t mind,” she said with an almost shy expression on her face as she looked sideways over at Big Macintosh. “Do you remember when you carried me yesterday morning?”
Big Macintosh smiled and nodded. “Eeyup.”
“Wouldst thou...carry me...on a tour of the orchard later? We think that we would enjoy it very much.”