//------------------------------// // Chapter Eight: In Which a Plan is Hatched // Story: A Blank Canvas // by Bardsworth Brony //------------------------------// Two weeks into applebucking season all of the trees were nearly bare. Applejack mentioned at dinner that night that just one more week at the current rate and they would be finished. As elated as Sketch found himself feeling at the prospect, a worried thought began to nag at him. Later, as he was helping Applejack dry the dishes, the orange pony picked up on it. "Somethin' the matter, sugar cube?" she asked, glancing over at Sketch. "You've been awful quiet." "I was just wondering…" he said, pausing and looking up. "You hired me to help with the applebucking and sorting the apples once they were all bucked. But, beyond that…" "Yer wonderin' if I plan on keepin' you around, is that it?" Sketch nodded. "Ah've been thinkin' about that, too. Once autumn is over and winter hits, we live off of the money we make from our apple harvestin'. Ah'm not sure ah could afford to keep payin' you, and you'd be one more mouth to feed." "I understand," Sketch said as he finished drying a dish. And he did understand; he would be sad to leave, but the family at Sweet Apple Acres had been more than generous in taking him in. If he was only going to be a burden there was no point in his staying. "But ah think it all boils down to one important question," Applejack continued, and Sketch looked up, eyebrow raised. "Do you want to stay?" A part of him urged him to lie, to say "no" so that he could leave and let the family get on with their normal lives. He had enough money saved up to keep him afloat for a little while. He could survive. But once again he thought about the lesson he had learned long ago about honesty, and he couldn't bear to lie to someone that he respected and admired and… "I do," he answered finally. "I'm not sure I could bear to leave you… any of you at this point. But I'll understand if you insist that I leave." There was a pause and he asked in a quiet voice, "Applejack… do you want me stay?" The smile in her eyes was all the answer he needed. *** "It's all yers, sugar cube," Applejack said. "Are you sure?" Sketch asked, watching the pony nod in response. He looked at the rest of the family, all of whom nodded as well. "Give it what fer, young'n!" Granny Smith said with an eagerness that defied her age. Sketch readied himself and let loose with a hard kick into the final tree full of apples. Most of them fell, but there were still a few dangling from the branches. Regardless, the family cheered, and Sketch finished up the job with a grin. "Applebuckin' season is officially over!" Applejack said. "Now to get these here apples ready for market." "A pony's work is never done, huh?" Sketch said to Big McIntosh as they collected the apples from the ground. "Eeyup." *** Sketch found himself having the same problem with Fluttershy's portrait that he had experienced with Twilight Sparkle's. He did everything he could think of to make it look perfect, but in the end he just wasn't satisfied. However, as in Twilight's case, Fluttershy loved it. "It's so detailed!" she said in her whispering voice. "And you made Angel look so cute!" The little white rabbit gave her a look that said, "I make myself look cute." "I'm glad you like it," Sketch said with a smile, deferring once again to his policy of keeping his opinions to himself. If only he could figure out exactly what he was doing wrong… "It'll look beautiful over the fireplace," the yellow pony murmured, looking over at the spot. "Do you want some help hanging it?" Sketch offered. "Oh no, you go and enjoy the rest of your day off. Thank you so much for this!" "I'm glad I could do it." Sketch left the cottage and walked up the road, the afternoon autumn sunlight bathing him in warmth in the midst of the cool air. His wagon felt so light now after building up his muscles from applebucking. He wondered just how fast he'd be able to gallop. As if drawn to him by thoughts of speed, a blue blur soared overhead, then circled back around and landed next to him. "Hey, Sketch!" "Hey, Rainbow Dash!" "Applejack finally let you off the farm, huh?" "Yeah. We're taking rotating days off this week. I was just at Fluttershy's painting her portrait." "You should do one of me! That'd be the coolest portrait ever." "I have no doubt. Only I just had the one canvas with me. But," he said, rubbing his chin with a hoof, "I have my sketchbook with me and I haven't done any sketching in a long time. I could do some action shots of you while you do some tricks. That way I can finally make true on my promise to you as well." "Now that's an idea I like!" Rainbow Dash said, spreading her wings in anticipation. They found an open area with a tree for Sketch to sit under, and without further hesitation Rainbow Dash started performing for him. He had to sketch quickly due to her sheer speed, quicker than he was used to, but it was a good exercise for him. He didn't even look at the sketches as he did him, just sketched and moved onto the next page as Rainbow Dash did loop-de-loops, barrel rolls, and last minute swoops as she headed for the ground. The pegasus was so entrancing that Sketch wouldn't have been able to look away even if he had wanted to, so his eyes followed the pony at the head of the rainbow trail, and he continued to sketch and flip the pages of his sketchbook. After about a half-hour or so, Rainbow Dash landed next to Sketch, breathing hard. "So what do you think? Pretty impressive, huh?" "It was all right I guess," he said, and when Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes he grinned. "It was amazing." The pegasus beamed. "Can I look at your sketches?" "Oh, sure, go ahead." Sketch flipped to the beginning and passed the book to her. "Wow, these are pretty good," she said, slowly flipping through the pages. "Of course, you had a great subject." "Of course." "You could probably sell these." Sketch just smiled and shrugged. After a while Rainbow Dash's expression became confused. "What's wrong?" Sketch asked. "Uh, the last bunch of sketches aren't of me." "Huh?" "These are of Applejack," she said and held up the sketchbook for Sketch to see. She was right – on the page was a sketch of Applejack leaning against a tree and smiling. "I, uh… whoops," was all he could say, and blushed. What had happened? "Well, no big deal or anything. The stuff with me was better anyway." She handed the book back to Sketch. "Thanks for finally coming to watch me." The two said their goodbyes and Rainbow Dash flew off. Sketch stayed in place, flipping through the sketchbook. His movement sketches of Rainbow Dash were pretty good. And then, suddenly, there were sketches of Applejack. The only thing he could think of was that since he had been so distracted with Rainbow Dash's air show, his subconscious had taken over. That sort of thing had never happened before, though. He flipped back to the sketches of Rainbow Dash and something she said lodged itself in his mind. His confusion melted away as a plan began to formulate. He smiled as the pieces came together, and he realized who he needed to ask for help. *** "Sketch!" Sketch turned and saw Twilight Sparkle approaching from the opposite side of the street. "Oh, hey Twilight!" "I didn't know you had the day off." "I was planning on coming to see you, I swear," he raised a hoof and made a cross over his heart. "I needed to find Pinkie Pie, first." "Pinkie Pie?" Twilight furrowed her brow. "What for?" "If you've got time, come along and you'll see." The two made their way to Sugarcube Corner and found Mrs. Cake at the counter. "Good afternoon, you two," she said, smiling. "How are you?" "Doing very well, Mrs. Cake, thank you," Twilight said, and Sketch nodded in agreement. "And you?" "The same, thank you. Now, what can I do for you? Some cupcakes perhaps?" "Actually," Sketch said, "We were wondering if Pinkie Pie was available." "Oh! Yes, I don't believe she's doing any damage at the moment." She moved to the doorway of the kitchen and called, "Pinkie Pie, visitors!" In a flash Pinkie Pie appeared, leaning over the counter. "Hey guys! What's up? Something fun?" "I hope so," Sketch said. "I wanted to talk to you about something." "Sure!" The pink pony somersaulted over the counter, fell to the ground, and straightened back up. "I love talking! What do you want to talk about?" "Well, I had this idea-" "I like it already!" "-of doing a gallery showing of my artwork-" "Ooo! Fancy shmancy!" "-and I was wondering if you'd like to plan it." "Sure!" She paused, her eyebrows furrowing. "Wait, huh?" "I was about to say the same thing," Twilight added, giving Sketch an incredulous glance. "Hear me out on this," Sketch continued. "I've been to a few gallery showings, and they're very boring and very hoity-toity. That's not me at all. What I want is a Pinkie Pie planned event. You throw the best parties in Equestria, and now I want to see you put together the best gallery showing in Equestria." The wheels were turning in Pinkie Pie's head, a mixture of emotions running across her features. Finally, she beamed and said, "I'll do it!" "Great! Stop by the farm when you get a chance and we'll talk over the details, and I'll give you the money for your budget." "This is going to be great!" Pinkie Pie cried, jumping up and down. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She squeezed Sketch and then said, "I gotta get back to work now. Cakes don't bake themselves! Although that would be really neat if they could. A self-baking cake! But then I'd be out of a job, so maybe that's not such a good idea." She continued talking as she bounced over the counter and back into the kitchen. "Are you sure about this?" Twilight asked with a doubtful expression. "If there's one thing I've learned to do since arriving here," Sketch replied, "It's to trust in my friends."