//------------------------------// // Chapter Four // Story: Of Clouds, Seeds, and Apple Trees (Book 1) // by LotusTeaDragon //------------------------------// CHAPTER FOUR Ponyville Mayor Mare's Office 5:48 PM Applejack sighed as she sat in a folding chair in the corner of the Mayor's office. To her left and right were several other farmponies who, like her, had arrived at the Mayor's insistence, and were now in the process of zoning out as the Mayor's accountant went over charts talking about fancy budgets and other mathematics. Normally, Applejack would have been attentive and patient, after all this would affect not only her, but all of Sweet Apple Acres. Yet her mind had been drifting all day that day, and she wasn't certain as to why. She couldn't put her hoof on it, but a conversation she had earlier in the day had come back to her and gave her reason to wonder. Her memory took her on a trip back to that morning: A hard buck against a solid trunk, and a moment later, a rain of apple sized proportions began to fall into the waiting baskets. She had lost count on just how many trees had received the business end of her back hooves, but it had been non-stop from before dawn, and Applejack had long since began sweating furiously. Celestia's morning Sun was out in full force, and making the farmpony's task all the more difficult. It's not as if she was going to complain, because to AJ, work was work, and she was glad to be a part of it. A pony wasn't anypony if they weren't willing to work hard for what they had, and a little Sun wasn't going to stop her from getting that work accomplished. With a swiftness borne of years and experience, she had moved on to the next apple tree, and in one smooth motion, lined up her back hooves, focused her strength, and prepared to bring down the next bushel of apples, when her ears picked up what sounded like a soft whisper. Pricking her ears up, Applejack listened quietly and intently. The soft breeze made it a little difficult, but after another moment, she heard it again. The whispers were coming from the apple tree. Her apple tree. She edged closer to the tree, taking care not to step on a twig or anything that might alert the unknown voice or voices that she was there. Either Ah've been out here in the Sun too long, or somepony's been a sneakin' into mah orchard when ah'm not lookin', she thought. The whispers began again, and Applejack eased next to the trunk, and strained her ears to their limit, to hear whatever conspiracy was taking place above her. "...ooh, I love maple syrup." Applejack raised her eyebrows, but otherwise stayed silent as she continued listening in, pushing herself against the trunk of the tree as to remain invisible from whomever was above her. A moment later, the whispers continued. "...you're so cute... freckles... don't get up, Applejack." At the mention of her name, Applejack gasped, and frowned. "All right, you varmints!", she called out, "Whoever ya are, quit yer plottin' an' get yerselves outta mah apple tree!" After a few seconds without a response, Applejack figured the offenders were hoping she would just go away without callin' 'em out. Y'all got another thing comin', she grinned to herself, and with all of her considerable power, slammed her back hooves into the tree's massive trunk. A second later, a shower of apples fell into their waiting baskets... ...along with a startled cyan pegasus. "Rainbow!" Applejack yelled in a mix of surprise and frustration, "what are y'all doin' up in mah tree?! Is there anypony else up there with you?" For her part, Rainbow was now sitting on a basket of apples, dazed and gingerly rubbing the back of her head. She looked up at Applejack and gulped, trying to hide her nervousness with an uneasy smile. "Hey, AJ! I was just, uh, looking at the clouds and, uh, watching to see if any of them tried to sneak off or something. You know, can't trust the weather... heh heh", she laughed nervously. Applejack narrowed her eyes, "ah see, so you were nappin' in mah trees again! But that still don't explain why I heard voices. Somepony talkin' about syrup, and ah swear ah heard mah name in there somewhere. How d'ya explain that one?" she asked as she crossed her forelegs. "Ah..uh..did you say syrup? Uh..." Rainbow sputtered as her eyes darted from side to side, "I uh... was, uh, heh heh, yeah, ya caught me, I was taking a nap. Yeah." she laughed again, "I was, uh, dreaming about waffles, and uh, you know, I like syrup on my waffles." Applejack was quiet a moment. She knew Rainbow was lying, it didn't take her Element of Honesty to tell her that, and she knew she heard her name associated with syrup and freckles. For her part, Rainbow was standing now, rubbing the back of her neck with her foreleg, while kicking at the dirt with her other hoof , and glancing from side to side. Applejack sighed. There was no point to keeping the brash pony under the spotlight. Getting answers from her was like pulling turnips out of the ground with your teeth. "Alright, then, Rainbow", she said after a moment, "just don't let me catch ya like that, nappin' in mah trees. Ya could get hurt if ah don't see ya there!" Rainbow Dash sighed in relief that Applejack seemed to forget her dream ramblings, and then caught herself. "Thanks, AJ, yeah, I guess I should warn ya if I take a nap in one of your trees! Well, see ya later at the meeting!" And with that, Rainbow grabbed her cloud pillow and blanket, and was about to take off when Applejack quipped, "Ah like mah freckles, too." Rainbow stopped cold. Turned her head and looked at AJ for a moment, who gave her a smile and a wink, Her eyes wide, she turned back, and launched off into the sky, becoming a rainbow blur in the blink of an eye. At the time, Applejack had chuckled to herself as she returned to her work, not even giving the matter anymore thought. Now she was sitting in the Mayor's office, and the morning's events had been rolling over and over in her head, like a loopty hoop on a windy day. A moment later, she was stirred from her introspection by a yelp, one that was immediately followed by a loud crash, heard outside of the office in which they were gathered. The accountant droning on about statistical fiduciary whatsits stopped mid-sentence as every head, in expectation, turned toward the office door. After some muffled cursing, a cyan hoof appeared, pushing aside the door as the rest of it's owner ambled into the room, blush burning a rosy red on her furry blue cheeks. "Hiya, uh, everypony! Just had a little technical, uh, difficulty with my landing back there, heh" Dash laughed uneasily. She looked at the fuming Mayor, "Oh, uh, I'll totally pay for that flower holder thingy, Mayor", she said as she pointed a hoof in the direction of, presumably, the now broken decor in the adjoining room. The Mayor, arms crossed, fumed for a full ten seconds, holding Rainbow Dash under her glare, and then sighed loudly, and assumed a pleasant smile. "Oh, don't worry about it, Rainbow Dash, accidents happen. Let us just continue with the meeting", to which she added under her breath, "of which you are more than twenty minutes late." Rainbow Dash missed the last part of the Mayor's statement as she saw where Applejack was sitting, and grabbing a chair and straddled it, sat down next to her. "Heya AJ. Sorry about being late" she whispered. Applejack tipped her hat in Dash's direction in response. The Mayor, in the meantime, thanked the accountant and dismissed her from the room. Turning to the assembled ponies, she said, "Everypony, I apologize if the meeting has been dry and boring up to this point, but I had to let you see where we were, fiscally speaking. While I understand that hoof to earth is how you do your work, and it is an honest work, there are budgetary concerns we have to track, in order to maximize benefits for everypony." She cleared her throat and continued, "The reason I have called you here, specifically, is that the Chief Administrator of Cloudsdale Weather Factory herself has informed me that there will be a raincloud shortage this season. I realize many of you are in the middle of harvesting your current crop, Sweet Apple Acres, for example", the Mayor gestured toward Applejack, and then looked back toward the other ponies in the room, "but this lack of rain may last long enough to cause a disruption in next season's harvest. As we all know, every crop is important, from Apple family apples, to Carrot Top's carrots and cabbages. That is where you come in, Rainbow Dash." For her part, Dash was completely surprised at the sudden attention. She looked at the Mayor, then at the other ponies, and then looking back to Mayor Mare, pointed a hoof at her chest, confidently, and said, "whatever it is, Mayor, you can count on Equestria's Best Young Flier to get it done." The Mayor smiled, "I'm glad to hear you're ready to help in any way you can, Ms. Dash. I have formulated a plan, where we can ration the rain over the course of the season, thereby keeping the ground properly maintained, and the negative effect on next season's harvest should be minimal. What I'm hoping, is that you will be able to make this all come to fruition." Dash cocked a sly grin, "I can make it rain for whatever fruit you want, Mayor." Applejack covered her muzzle with her hoof, and stifled a laugh. The cyan pony missed her doing so. The Mayor, giving Dash an odd look, merely smiled and replied, "Thank you, Ms. Dash. I will hold you to that!" She picked up a folder, "and with that, this meeting is adjourned. Everypony will receive a letter from our office within the next few days outlining the water rationing program", she called over the din of the other ponies shuffling chairs, and exiting out of the room, talking amongst themselves. Applejack and Rainbow Dash walked out of the Mayor's office, and into the streets of Ponyville, talking about the water rationing plan. The Sun had dropped down to the horizon, turning the sky a golden hue infused with purples and deep blues. "Do ya think you'll lose any of next season's crop, AJ?" Rainbow Dash asked her friend, as the wind lightly whipped around her colorful mane. Applejack sighed. "Ah don't know, Rainbow. If the Mayor's fancy falutin' idea works, we all won't have ta worry none about it, but like mah ol' pappy used ta say, don' count yer apples afore they're bucked." Rainbow gazed at her friend as she spoke. She was her friend, her best friend. While RD and Fluttershy had a long history, it was a quiet and respectful one, though Rainbow Dash wasn't nearly as involved in Fluttershy's day to day affairs. Applejack, though, she was different. Rainbow found her exciting and amazing, a pony to compete with, to bring out the best in her, and hearing about her friend doubt her family and farm, it made her heart well up inside. "You know, AJ", Dash began as they rounded a corner, passing the library on the way out toward the Apple family farm, "I won't let anything happen to the farm. If I can keep... no," she corrected herself, "when I keep the farms in Ponyville all watered and stuff, I'll make sure your trees get it first. Gosh darn it, all of you have worked too hard to lose something that means so much to you!" She finished strongly, rubbing the back of her neck in the process. Applejack stopped and turned to her friend. Rainbow Dash had always been there for her. Sure, she was ornery, and lazy sometimes, but Applejack wasn't fooled. Underneath that brash personality was a pony with a heart of gold. She was a good apple, and she was about to say so, when she noticed, with some amusement, that Dash was blushing and rubbing the back of her neck, almost as if she was afraid of saying something that would get her in trouble. Still, at heart, Applejack appreciated hearing Dash's words, and knew that the pony meant every single bit of what she said. That was loyalty, that was Rainbow Dash. She smiled at Dash, whose blush deepened, and began to fidget nervously. "Rainbow", Applejack began, looking at the sunset as she spoke, "that is a sweet thing to say, darlin, and I know I can count on you to do your part. I've never doubted that." She turned her head back toward Dash, "You've always been mah good friend, and..." Before she could finish, however, Rainbow Dash leaned forward and kissed Applejack on the lips. ***