When I got back home I found the farm to be a bit more crowded than usual. The herd of cattle, I'd spooked had gathered outside the farmhouse.
"Oh, It was just terrifying Applejack," a brown-spotted Holstein wailed dramatically. "That ball of fire just came out of nowhere. I thought for sure we were all going to be roast beef."
The other members of the muttered amongst themselves. Amongst the gossip, I could make out the words phoenix, dragon, meteor, and omen. I instantly knew they were talking about me.
"There there Daisy Jo," Applejack said reassuringly patting her on the back. "It's alright, just calm down and take a deep breath."
Daisy Jo inhaled slowly and exhaled. "Thank Celestia you and Winona showed up when you did."
"Aw shucks, it ain't no trouble at all, right girl?" Applejack said looking down at Winona who replied with a single bark and went back to panting happily. "Exactly."
"But what if it comes back?" A brown cow spoke up.
Applejack raised a forehoof in dismissal. " Ah'm sure whatever it was is long gone by now." But the brown cow wasn't convinced.
"How can you be sure of that?" She asked insistently. "How do you know it won't come back?"
"Umm...well," Applejack froze unsure of what to say at that moment. Sweat began to run down her forehead, and not the kind that came from a hard day's work.
"I heard ponies talking about seeing it at the Summer Sun Celebration." A guernsey called out, sending the herd further into gossip.
"Now now settle down everypony err Ah mean cow," Applejack said trying to regain control of the situation. "Let's not be too hasty." But I could see the herd was one step away from becoming an angry mob. I had to step in but do so in a way that didn't arouse suspicion.
"It must be a sign of bad things to come!" A jersey declared.
How do you do know it's not a sign of something good?" I asked aloud. The entire herd turned to face me. "I saw it at the celebration myself. It appeared after Nightmare Moon had been defeated. That doesn't sound like a sign of bad things to me."
"And who are you?" One of the cows asked.
"Is that you Apple Comet?" Daisy Jo asked poking her head up from behind the herd.
"Yes, it's me, Ms. Jo," I replied.
"It's good to see you, come on up let me get a better look at you."
As I worked my way around the outside of the herd, I could feel their eyes staring at me, I could hear them whispering and murmuring amongst themselves. Some of them were optimistic, others were still uncertain.
Daisy Jo smiled as I stepped over to her and Applejack. "My look at how big you're getting. I trust you've been drinking your milk every day?" She said with a slight chuckle. "Ladies this is Apple Comet, He's quite the young astronomer.
"Well uh, thank you, Ms. Jo," I told her as I scratched the back of my mane. "I just thought I'd say what was on my mind is all."
Applejack took off her hat and sighed with relief as she wiped the sweat off her brow. "Alright everyone," She said. "We've all had a little too much excitement today. Let's all get moseying along and try to put this ordeal behind us."
The herd wasn't entirely convinced but thankfully most of them decided it was probably for the best. When the last cow had left the orchard, Applejack turned to me and said, "Inside now!"
I spent the next several minutes explaining to my sister everything that happened. While Applejack was still somewhat disappointed with how everything had turned out, she did acknowledge that I was just trying to use my powers to help And she was grateful to hear that I had taken Rainbow Dash to the hospital. However, I still ended up being sent to my room until Granny Smith and Apple Bloom got back from the market.
As I sat and watched Applejack as she worked the orchard by herself, I noticed she seemed more fatigued than usual. I knew she had been pushing herself harder than usual to account for Mac's absence. But she hadn't stopped once in the last several hours, even missing lunch to keep working. That was not normal for Applejack. Normally whenever lunchtime came around, Applejack would be the first one in. Part of me wondered if she was punishing herself out of a sense of guilt for Mac's injury.
I decided I couldn't just sit here and watch her do this to herself. I stood up and went downstairs to the kitchen.
A half-dozen sandwiches and a canteen of water later, I found her standing under one of the many apple trees. Her head was resting against its trunk as she snored softly. It was even worse than I thought. Applejack was working herself to the point of exhaustion.
"APPLEJACK!" Her eyes shot open as her neck bolted up.
"Huh, wha?" She looked around frantically trying to find who'd woken her up. Then she saw me standing there with a lunch pail and canteen. "Apple Comet? What are you doing out here? You're supposed to be in your room till Granny comes home." Her eyelids were sunken low with bags under them.
"I brought you something to eat," I said as I set the lunch pail down in front of her. "You missed lunch more than an hour ago. I also thought you might be thirsty."
She looked down at the lunch pail and canteen in front of her. A goofy smile spread across her face. "Well shucks, that's real sweet of you to care about your big sister like that Sugarcube. You can go back inside now."
"Uh actually Applejack, there's something I've been wanting to say. I've been watching you from my room and I couldn't help but notice you working yourself to the brink of total exhaustion."
Applejack looked at me, trying her best to give her impression of Granny Smith's stinkeye. "Well, of course, Ah have," She said. "Working hard is all part of living on a farm."
"Yeah, but you can't do it all by yourself." I protested.
Applejack looked confused at me. "Why would Ah glue items to a shelf? So they don't fall off of course."
"That's not what I said!"
"You're looking for bread? Have you checked the breadbox?"
My patience was beginning to run out. "Applejack, listen to me, you are in over your head with this harvest. If you don't stop and rest or at least ask for some help I'll..."
"You'll what?" She said squinting her pupils at me.
"I'll finish the rest of the harvest by myself and leave nothing for you."
"You wouldn't dare," Applejack whispered venomously.
"Oh, wouldn't I?" I retorted. "We both know I could do it in a snap if I wanted to. One instant I'm here...
In a flash, I ran to the barn and back, returning with a dozen apple baskets on my back.
...The next done."
"Apple Comet, listen to me. You will put those baskets back in the barn, and go back inside until Granny Smith and Apple Bloom get home."
"Are you going to stop me if I say no?" Applejack's eyes widened as she realized she was essentially powerless to refuse my help.
"G-Granny Smith will hear about this." She stammered trying to assert her authority.
"I'm sure she will, and I'm also sure she'll understand when she sees you in the state you're in. Last chance Applejack, either you go in the kitchen and call up your friends for help, or sit back and watch as I do in minutes what would take you the next few days."
"Y-You can't do this to me! Ah, 'm your big sister." She said before turning and galloping headfirst into the same tree she'd been resting against earlier.
"And I love you very much," I said standing over her. Her lips whimpering Applejack finally accepted defeat.
"Alright Ah admit it! You were right Lil brother, Ah was in way over my head. I just felt so guilty about Mac hurting himself over that ridiculous bet that I guess started looking at it as my punishment."
"You don't need to punish yourself like this," We both looked behind to see Big Macintosh standing there.
"Mac!" Applejack exclaimed rolling onto her side as he walked towards her. "How long have you been here?"
"Long enough," He said. "Applejack this isn't the way to make what happened to me right. All you'll end up doing is putting yourself in the hospital as well."
Applejack sighed as she knelt her head down, her eyes closing in acceptance. "Ah'm sorry Mac, Ah don't know what Ah was thinking. Ah, let my guilt and my stubbornness get the better of me."
Big Macintosh smiled and let out a hearty laugh. "Apology accepted," He said.
True to her word Applejack called up Twilight and her friends who were happy to come help with the harvest. Working together we were able to get the entire orchard harvested by the end of the week.
Applejack learned a hard lesson about not being afraid to ask for help. While I learned a lesson about using my powers responsibly. Although sooner or later I knew I would have to use them again.