Today was the day Applebuck Season starts.
I know that Applejack could be as stubborn as a mule sometimes, but seeing what damages an exhausted earth pony can do to a town, I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. The problem was that Applejack won't accept help from anypony no matter what.
That’s when my brain hatched an idea. Instead of asking for help, I could buck some of the trees without her noticing. I knew she would still be tired, but she won’t be as tired as in the episode. Hopefully.
I quickly went to Sweet Apple Acres. I saw Applejack looking at some of the apple trees.
“Well, I better get kicking,” she said. “These apples aren't gonna shake themselves outta the trees.”
Speaking of shaking, the ground below my feet shook like an earthquake. I knew what it was. It was a cow stampede heading straight for Ponyville.
“Oh, no!” Applejack hurried to get Winona.
I ran to the barn. It was hard to run when the entire world was shaking, but I was able to make it without falling over. Soon, the shaking subsided.
“Are you alright, Big Mac?” I asked.
“Eeyup,” Big Mac replied. He was still bandaged around the waist. I wondered if that girdle had anything to do with it.
I told Big Macintosh what I was planning to do. I asked him for any advice on how to effectively buck the trees.
He told me, in his own words, that I had to hit a certain spot on each tree in order to knock the apples off. He showed me where, and I kicked that spot. A basket-full of apples fell, but there were still some on the tree. A second kick made the rest fall.
I thanked Big Mac for the advice and started working on bucking the trees. When I felt tired, I took a five minute break before bucking again.
I bucked at least five trees when I heard hoofbeats approaching. I hid behind one of the trees.
“Huh, well I’ll be dipped,” I heard Applejack say. “Some of the trees here look like they’ve been already bucked. I guess that stampede helped me a bit.” I heard her sigh. “Better get to work on the rest of them.”
I planned on bucking the trees on the other side of the orchard, but as I snuck away I stepped on a branch.
“Huh?! Who goes there?!” I heard Applejack yell.
“It’s me! It’s me!” I said as I came out from behind the trees.
“Oh, Spike. What are you doin’ here? Don’t tell me you’re eatin' my apples again.”
“I’m not. I was in the area, and I saw how big this orchard was. It looks like you’re here by yourself.”
“That’s because I am by myself. Big Macintosh hurt himself, Granny’s too over the hill to buck, and Applebloom is too weak.”
“And the others?”
“What others?”
“Those family members Twilight and I saw when we first came here. Where are they?”
“At their own farms. We had a family reunion that day.”
“So you’re bucking the whole orchard by yourself? Don’t you want some help?”
“Ah’ll be fine, just go send a letter to the Princess or something.”
No, you won’t be fine.
“Alright, then,” I said. “Good luck.” I knew what was going to happen the following week. Applejack would be so tired, she’ll launch Rainbow Dash into the sky, send a bunch of bunnies going crazy, and poison an entire town. I don’t care if Spike liked those muffins, I wouldn’t want to eat those even if I had a lead belly.
I can’t let any of that happen. I ran to the other side of the orchard and bucked the trees there. After I bucked about twenty trees, my legs started hurting. I sat on a stump and rubbed my feet.
Now I’m wishing that Big Mac didn’t get hurt.
I decided to stop for today. I knew that a week later, Applejack would start feeling fatigued. I don’t know how much sleep she had during the week, if she had any. But I still had a week left before things were to go bad, and I didn’t want to overdo it.
As I headed back to the library, I thought about what other episodes I could change. There were a couple I had in mind.
“Oh, there you are, Spike,” Twilight said as I entered the library. “Where have you been?”
“Just went for a walk,” I replied. “Sorry to worry you.”
“It’s alright. Did you see what Applejack did earlier today?”
“Yeah, she stopped that cattle stampede, right? Very heroic of her.”
“I agree. The girls are thinking about throwing a party for her next week.”
“That’s great. Let’s hope Rainbow Dash doesn’t get too jealous.”
“Very funny, Spike.”
I looked around the library and pulled out a few books. One of them was about Zebra culture. I decided to read that first. I was only a few pages in and already it had more information about Zebras than the show itself. I heard that the writers wanted to make an episode about zebra culture, but Hasbro wasn’t really keen on the idea.
Zebras mostly lived in a place called “Zebrica,” a name I didn’t know was canon. Like Zecora, they spoke in rhymes, made potions, and had a culture that was very unique to ponies. I even read about what they found taboo, just to avoid awkwardness if I say or do something that they might find offensive.
The next book I’ve read was about different creatures. I flipped through the pages until I saw a section about parasprites. Parasprites were known to eat a lot and reproduce asexually at an alarming rate. The book also mentions that there was no spell to get them to stop eating. Any spell casted on them would just have them eat something else. That would explain how Twilight got them to eat everything but the food by mistake.
“I didn’t think you’d be so interested in reading anything besides comic books, Spike,” Twilight said as she was reading a book herself.
“Twilight. Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“What are your thoughts on Zebras? Be honest.”
Twilight thought about it for a while. “That’s a random question, Spike. Why do you ask?”
“I was just reading about Zebrican culture, and I wanted to know what you think.”
“Well, I have read that book before. It’s very interesting to learn about different cultures, but it would be nice to talk with somepony who grew up around them.”
“Or...somezebra. Oh! I had another question. Have you ever seen a parasprite before?”
“A para-what?”
I showed her the book I was reading. “I’ve been reading how parasprites can eat and multiply. I’m just glad we don’t have any in Ponyville.”
Twilight read the section. “My goodness, so am I. I just hope if we do see one, we’ll get rid of it before it causes destruction.”
The next day, I woke up really early. I did my morning routine: ate cereal and milk, brushed my teeth, and cleaned my face. I wrote a note telling Twilight where I was, and then I headed out to Sweet Apple Acres.
When I got there, I already saw Applejack bucking apples. Bags started to form under her eyes.
I did my process again. I went to the other side of the orchard, and I bucked each tree until the apples fell. It was easier this time. Yesterday, I had to kick the trees two or three times, but today I only had to kick them once or twice.
As I was about to buck another tree when I heard somepony coming. I quickly hid in one of the baskets. I heard somepony yawning. It was definitely Applejack.
“Huh? Did I buck these trees already? I don’t remember doing so.” Applejack yawned again. “Maybe I should take a quick break.”
I sighed in relief as she left the orchard. I continued bucking the trees until my legs started getting sore again. I bucked way more trees than yesterday. I couldn’t tell if I was getting stronger, or since I knew where to hit the trees, the job was easier.
This continued on for the next few days. I bucked some trees, hid from Applejack, and bucked more trees until my legs got sore.
Applejack was still getting tired, but she took short breaks. I couldn’t help but giggle at the confused look on her face.
Oh, Applejack. What a silly pony.
On the final day, there were only five trees that needed bucking. I decided that I should just watch her buck the last five.
“Hah! Ah did it! I harvested the entire Sweet Apple Acres without anypony’s help!” Applejack triumphed as she finished bucking the last tree.
Big Mac walked up to her. “Well, I hate to say it, but you’ve proven me wrong. You bucked all the trees without a single pony helping ya.”
Man, it’s weird to hear Big Mac say anything other than “Yep” or “Nope.”
“I just hope I don’t have to do it all again. It was hard keeping track of what trees have and havent' been bucked. I’m gonna go have a rest.”
As Applejack left, Big Mac thanked me for helping Applejack out.
That night, the girls and I hung out for dinner.
“Hey gals, guess what? I was able to buck my entire orchard in less than a week!” Applejack raised her glass. “Ain’t that something?”
The girls were impressed.
“All by yourself?” I asked.
“Of course. I received help from nopony.”
“Right...nopony.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Think about it.”
Applejack scrunched her eyebrows. She stared at her glass. Then it clicked.
“No! It was you?!”
I nodded.
Applejack slammed her face on the table. “No wonder I kept seeing trees already bare! I thought I was losing my marbles faster than a squirrel eating sugar!”
“That would explain why you were going to the farm so often, Spike,” said Twilight.
“I’ve seen how big your orchard is, Applejack,” I said. “There’s no way you could buck all those apples on your own.”
“But I didn’t need any help!” Applejack barked.
“Applejack, Spike was worried about you,” Twilight said. “We know you’re one of the most dependable ponies out there, but sometimes even the most reliable ponies need help.”
“Did anypony else knew you were doing this, Spike?”
“Big Mac did. He had doubts for you as well,” I said. “That’s why he let me buck some of the trees.”
Applejack sighed. “Well...thank you for helping me anyway, Spike.”
“You’re welcome. And now, you won’t have to worry about falling asleep while helping out other ponies.”
In the end, Applejack was grateful to me for helping her. The following days went pretty well. Applejack was able to get Rainbow Dash into the air, bake delicious muffins, and hoard a bunch of bunnies without causing a stampede. I was glad I could prevent that disaster from happening.