//------------------------------// // Story 6 // Story: Another Day in Ponyville // by AnOrdinaryWriter //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle made her way along the dirt road, trotting merrily whilst taking in the beautiful spring atmosphere. Celestia’s sun shone down on the land, providing a relaxing temperature, topped off with the light warm breeze that comforted her as she walked. The unicorn inhaled deeply through her nose, and in entered the strong, rich smell of earth and greenery. Today was a beautiful day for being outside, and Twilight hadn’t felt this refreshed in a while. Apple tree after apple tree fell behind her as she advanced towards Sweet Apple Acers to enjoy some time with her dear friend, Applejack. She reached the top of the hill and was met with the familiar sight of the red family barn, the Apple’s home. Twilight looked around the apple orchard for the orange earth pony, scanning the vast landscape of apple trees. She found her mouth watering at the sight of all the red juicy apples, and jotted down in her head to remember to ask her for a couple of apples on her way back to the castle. As her eyes locked on from tree to tree, she noticed Applejack in the distance, apple bucking as she did day in and day out. She was part surprised to see not another Apple, but Rainbow Dash helping her out. Both mares had been hammering away at the apple trees together, forcing the stems of the apples off their branches and allowing them to fall into the buckets below them. Twilight didn’t know that Rainbow was almost as good as Applejack at apple bucking, and Twilight assumed that Applejack may have given her lessons sometime recently. On occasion, she saw Rainbow slam her hind legs into a tree and they wouldn’t all come out with one hit, which was expected since apple bucking wasn’t something she did her whole life as opposed to Applejack. Twilight summoned magic towards her horn, engulfing it in a white glow, and then set off the spell, submerging her in a blinding white light for only a moment before she landed by Applejack. Upon hearing the sudden noise beside her, Applejack yelped, and was thrown off balance after she had her hind legs up and aimed to buck another tree, causing her to completely miss her target. “Gee Manetti, it’s just you Twilight. You gave me a fright!” Applejack said, catching a breath. “Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” Twilight apologized. “Nah nah, it’s fine.” “Oh, hey Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said, getting down on all four hooves after preparing to buck another apple tree. Twilight returned the greeting. “What’s up?” Rainbow asked. “Just dropped by to see Applejack, but I see the both of you are here together, so how are you guys doing?” “Just dandy,” Applejack replied. “Rainbow here’s helping me with today’s chores. Said she didn’t have anything better ta do.” “Well why didn’t you just ask me to help,” she replied, and then once again summoned magic at her horn, this time a levitation spell, and all the apples in that section of the orchard were encased in a purple aura before they all snapped right off of their branches. Twilight hasn’t expected the displeased looks that were pasted onto Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s faces. “Twilight, no!” Rainbow said. “What? Why?” Twilight asked, not understanding why Rainbow and Applejack reacted the way they did, considering she thought she was helping out. She kept the apples suspended below the branches they originated from. “If we wanted ya to use magic, we woulda asked ya, but we wanted to get some exercise,” Applejack responded. “Oh, sorry,” Twilight said, and with a different spell, she reattached all the apples to their trees. Applejack and Rainbow put on satisfied smiles and both resumed where they had left off. If Applejack knew Twilight could reattach all the apples, she wouldn’t have been as angry. Taking notice of the few seconds of silence that followed, Applejack spoke up. “So, Twilight, how have things been for ya?” “Not bad,” Twilight replied. “Things have been a little quiet at the castle though. Starlight’s been in her world of books recently, I’ve been lost in pages as well and there hasn’t been much overall conversation.” Applejack drove her powerful hind legs into the bark of another tree and apples rained into the buckets below. “It definitely has been mighty quiet in Ponyville recently come to mention it, but remember that if you’re feeling lonely, your friends exist, and we’ll keep ya company whenever ya need.” Twilight grinned at Applejack’s remark. Making others feel better for Applejack was like asking her to find hay in a haystack. Sometimes Twilight thought that should have been her cutie mark. “Thanks Applejack,” Twilight said, although she felt like she had something else she needed to get off her chest. “I know this is a weird question, but have any of you noticed anything weird lately?” she asked. Rainbow Dash exhaled and wiped sweat from her brow. “What do you mean weird?” “I mean like…” How would she explain this? “Have you felt strange or seen anything odd?” “No,” Rainbow responded, confused by the question. “Actually, kinda,” Applejack said, proceeding in front of another tree and bucking it, causing another storm of apples. “Was ah the only one that felt like… really dizzy when Rainbow performed that rainboom during the wonderbolts show?” Applejack heard Rainbow chuckle to her right. “It’s obvious. Your brain couldn’t handle my awesomeness.” Applejack frowned, exhaling loudly through her nose while Rainbow stared with a silly smirk on her face. Twilight couldn’t help but let her lips curve into a smile. Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened as she seemed to realize something. “You know what; come to think of it I did feel dizzy-ish during that rainboom also. I’m not really sure why. That shouldn’t happen for a Pegasus unless they’re spinning.” “Huh…” Twilight mumbled under her breath. “Uh—I don’t really have much to do right now, do you think I can help out?” Applejack grinned towards Twilight. “That’d be great! Do ya know how to buck apple trees without injuring yourself?” “I can use magic for my own trees, can’t I?” “That’s true. Great then, thanks a bunch for the offer!” “Of course, what are friends for?” Applejack watched as Twilight walked over to an apple tree, igniting her horn for a split second—she assumed was to warm up her horn, although she didn’t know why that would be necessary—and used her magic to strip it of its apples and let them fall into the buckets set up around the bottom of the tree. Applejack was glad to have such amazing friends who would take time out of their day to help her with her chores. She stood on her forelegs and slammed her hind legs into the tree behind her. “Applejack, you already got that tree,” Rainbow Dash said. Applejack looked up and it was as she said. All that was on the tree were leaves; its apples were already in the baskets below. Odd, she thought. She didn’t remember bucking that tree at all…