//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11 - PonyVille Diaries - Second of Many 
// Story: The Adventures Of Henry Hoof In Equestria 
// by destinedjagold 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 11 - PonyVille Diaries - Second of Many

----------
That There Zap Apples
----------

"Why hhellow there Mister Filthy!"
The old lime-green earth pony greeted a young-adult smiling brown earth pony walking towards her.
She just got out of the red barn to smell that good old sunrise air.
"What ken Ah do for ye today, Filthy?"

He flashed a weak smile.
"Granny Smith, I prefer to be called Rich, if it's no problem."

"Aw, shucks, Filthy. You are so modest."

Filthy Rich has no idea if she clearly heard what he said, but anyway...

"Ah reckon yah're here for the'e Zap Apple Jam?"
Asked the old earth pony with an old smile.

The brown earth pony smiled, nodding his head in agreement.
"You read me like a book, Granny Smith!"

The old pony blushed.
"Aw, stop it, Filthy. I ain't no young 'un no more to carry 'em books 'round."

The brown pony sighed.
The same every year, he smiled.
"Well, Granny Smith---"

A static electric spark sound echoed from the apple orchard of the Apple Family.
The two earth ponies turned their gazes on the farm, where electricity was flashing and sparking on the roots of every tree.

A sudden white flash, and the gray apples became electric red, and then rainbow rays started to beam from apple fruit to the other, and another, and another, until all apples got rainbow-colored patterns on them.

The gloomy cloud quickly returned to the Everfree Forest distance away.
What echoed next was the excited cheers of the young AppleJack, who was already pushing her brother to the nearest tree to start harvesting the apples.

The two earth ponies looked at each other.

"The usual, Granny Smith."
He blinked with a smile.
"The first one hundred bottles."

"Sure thing, Filthy!"
She sang.

"Please, Grann... Oh nevermind. Good day!"
He bowed down before he turned around to leave the farm.

Granny Smith waved a hoof at him.
"Such a nice youn' fellah."

---

It took the green alicorn a lot of hours and effort to bring the dark-blue unicorn with him to Sweet Apple Acres.

The alicorn wore a brown sidebag, black glasses and white hat.
He was busy jotting down some notes as they worked their way to the apple farm.

The unicorn wore nothing but frustration.

"I can't believe I'm spending my Saturday bucking apple trees..."
Midnight complained as they arrived.
He turned to the green alicorn, who was busy jotting a few notes on his notebook.
"Can't I go back to the library? I think I can hear my cardboard bed calling my name..."

Henry laughed a bit. That was a nice personification.
He might as well add that on his notes.
"Trust me, if that cardboard ever calls your name, I'll burn that thing to ashes..."

Midnight just replied with an annoyed stare.

Henry looked at him with a weak smile.
"Aw, come on... It'll only be for a few hours..."

"Four...precious...hours...!"
He hissed.

"Hey, you two!"
AppleJack called their attention.
"If y'all here ta help, then stop yer yappin' and start buckin'!"

"Every time I hear that word..."
Midnight grinned.

Henry lifted his notebook over the unicorn's head and gave him a pound before the unicorn could finish what he was about to say.
"Your dirty mind stopped yet?"

Midnight grunted, and mumbled a few impossible-to-decipher words as he grumpily went to the nearest apple tree to get it over with.

Henry watched him, a bit amused
He then returned his quill and notebook inside his sidebag and went to a tree to start bucking.

---

"Hi Aurora."
A white unicorn mare greeted the pegasus.

Aurora lay the basket of vegetables down on the ground for her to speak.
"Good morning Snow Flake!"
She smiled widely. She just finished buying all the ingredients her mother asked her to buy in the market.
"What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much...really..."
She blushed a bit, giving the pegasus a little hint.

Aurora smiled widely.
"Ohhh... You wanna ask where Daybreak is, huh?"
Her eyes sparkled.

Snow Flake blushed further, tearing her gaze away from the pegasus, and locks onto her basket of vegetables.
"Y-yes... That..."

"No need to be shy about it!"
She patted her shoulder.
"I think he's still asleep. He worked overtime yesterday. Damn lots of papers for him to fill!"
She looked worried for a moment, but immediately replaced it with a smile before Snow Flake faces her again.
"But I wouldn't worry. He's a tough pony."
She nodded.

Snow Flake smiled, and then frowned.
"Oh, I see. I better not disturb him then..."
She turned around, only to stop herself after seeing the flying Aurora in front of her.

"You know, I could give him a message. I'm not a mailpony, but at least I do a good job than Midnight!"

They both chuckled.

"Thanks."
Snow Flake smiled.
"Could you tell him that..."

---

"She wants us to go where again?"
Daybreak asked the pegasus.
His ears are still working properly, and he heard her clearly, but he needed to hear it again, just in case.

He woke up a few minutes just before Aurora got back in their parents' house.
He's still saving up to get himself his own house.
Now, he was sitting on the sofa.

Aurora puts the basket on the dining table.
She then faced her brother, who was looking at her with a shocked look on his face.
"For a moment, I thought you weren't as deaf as Midnight!"
She sighed.
"Anyway, she told me that if you are not busy today, she wants to invite you to go to Sweet Apple Acres. She didn't tell me why though."
She knows, but she'd rather hold that information from her brother.
The two unicorns have been getting along great.
Not knowing the reason will definitely give her tough brother something to be nervous about.

And he did felt nervous.
He got up on his hooves and wobbled his way towards the bathroom to take a shower.
Sunset, who was washing the dishes, saw the nervous look on the unicorn, and chuckled slightly.

"I think I'll go to Sweet Apple Acres as well."
Aurora told her mother after they heard the bathroom door's lock clicked.
"Snow Flake said that this Zap Apple Jam is one of the greatest things in Equestria!"
She hopped in excitement.

Sunset nodded in agreement.

Aurora then went to her room upstairs and leaned down under her bed, as she tried to reach her saddlebag.
She rose up after she got her hooves on it. Shaking it a bit, she heard a small rattling sound of coins against a glass jar.
She smiled. She needs some Bits if she wants to get herself a jar of that Zap Apple Jam.

She quickly flew down the stairs and was about to grab the doorknob when she heard her mother called her.
She turned to see her mother walking towards her, with a pouchbag on her mouth.

Sunset grabbed her daughter's hoof, and placed the pouchbag on them.
"Save your money, dear."
She smiled as she rubbed her daughter's head.

"Thanks mom."
Aurora smiled.

The bathroom door opened and came out a yellow unicorn, with a towel hanging over his neck.
He took a toasted bread on the dining table as he rubbed the towel around him to dry himself.

"Might as well eat something first."
Aurora chuckled.

Daybreak used his magic to hover a toasted bread towards his little pegasus sister.

---

"Why, hellow there Snowwy!"
Granny Smith waved a hoof at the approaching white unicorn mare.

Snow Flake smiled as she approached the old earth pony who just got out of the barn, wearing a white hat and carrying a basket.

"Good morning Granny Smith!"
Snow Flake greeted the old mare as she got to her.

She heard a few bucking and grunting sounds from the orchard, making the two mares turn their heads to the source.

Midnight was furiously sending a lot of force on his kicks on the apple trees as he mumbled something out of his angry and sweaty face.
After the zap apples fell down to the barrels, and some fell down on the ground, he grumpily walked towards the next nearby apple tree, turned around, lifted his hind hooves, and let out a powerful back kick.
But instead of the sound of the rustling leaves and the falling apples, the tree emitted an electrifying sound and sparked from leaves to the two hooves touching the tree's trunk.

Midnight was electrecuted by the tree for a few seconds before the electricity stopped, making him fall on the ground flat on his face.

Henry sighed as he stopped beside him.
"I told you to take it easy..."

Midnight angrily lifted his head so the alicorn can hear him clearly.
"And I told you I prefer to go back to the library to sleep!"
He angrily got back on his hooves.
The unicorn then angrily stared at the alicorn.
"This is your idea of a fun Saturday activity!?"

Henry blinked.
"But it is fun..."

"Fun? No sleep, no magic, just good ol' kicking some stupid electric trees is fun!?"

Henry smiled.
"Prefer to wear a bunny costume with Granny Smith?"

Midnight was shocked.
"Hell NO!"
He angrily faced the tree that electrecuted him, and pointed his hoof on the leaves.
"You shock me one more time, and I'll buck you so hard y---"

"It'll zap you again."
Henry chuckled, receiving an angry stare from the unicorn.

"This is the last time I'm going to somewhere you call 'fun'!"
Midnight said with a tired-angry voice as he turned his back on the tree, and kicked the trunk, sending a forceful wave to the top of the tree, rustling the leaves, and a few zap apples fell.

AppleJack and Big Macintosh shared a chuckle before they went back to bucking the Zap Apple trees.

Granny Smith and Snow Flake laughed a bit.
They then turned to each other.

"Well, 'ung one, I'd best be on my way! The Zap Apples won't jam 'emselves, now wou' dey?"
She was about to walk when she noticed few more visitors.
"Oh! Didn't expect to 'ave so many visitors today."

Snow Flake, curious, turned to where the old mare was facing.

Daybreak and Aurora were walking towards them with a smile on their faces.

Snow Flake smiled after seeing her unicorn.
She wanted to walk to meet them on the way, but the sudden nervous chills ran down to her hooves, locking her in place.

"Oh! Midnight's here!"
Aurora said. Finally, she found a good excuse to leave the two lovebirds alone.
She quickly flapped her wings and glided towards the unicorn and alicorn.

Daybreak nervously continued walking until he reached the two mares.
Still not gaining enough courage, he started with the old mare.
"G-good morning. Granny Smith, right?"

The old mare nodded.
"My, you're a strong 'ung pony. Bet you can buck 'em apple trees like my gran'son Macintosh."
She then shifted her head to face the white unicorn, who was nevously looking down on the ground.
If her eyes were still in perfect functionality, she would have noticed the unicorn's blushing cheeks.
"You 'ave a little som'ing on yer face there, kiddo."
Or, she could still notice, but she failed to identify them as blushes.

Curiosity got Daybreak, as he quickly looked at the white unicorn's face. Was something wrong with her?
Snow Flake gasped, immediately lifting her head.
The two unicorn's eyes locked at each other. Both faces were burning scarlet red on each of their cheeks.

The old mare shrugged.
"Best be on my way. Don't wanna go in between da two of yah."
And she walked away.

How to break the stare?
How to break this silence?
Should I smile? Should I tore my gaze away?
Should I say something?
How long have we been staring at each other like this?
Ow, my heart is pounding so hard right now...

"How long are you two planning on staring like that?"
They heard a voice from above them.

Finally, an excuse to tore their nervous gaze on each other.
Both looked up and saw a small puff of cloud hanging above them, and on one side was a cyan pegasus pony with rainbow mane, poking her head, looking annoyed and disgusted at them.

"Oh!"
A new voice from behind the yellow unicorn.

The three ponies looked at the source, only to find a wide-grinning Pinkie Pie and a nervous Fluttershy.

"Hello Daybreak! Hello Snow Flake! Hello Rainbow Dash!"
Pinkie Pie greeted them with a loud voice.
"Wat'cha all doing here?"

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, instantly sending herself airborne, and landed in front of the two fillies, making the yellow pegasus leap behind the happy pink earth pony.

"For the jam, of course!"
The cyan pegasus revealed her mission proudly in front of her two friends.

Hearing the jam, Fluttershy smiled as she slowly walked her way beside the pink pony.

"Oh? A jam!?"
The pink pony quickly turned her head around, trying to spot something.
"Is there gonna be a dance party here? When is it?"
She asked excitingly, to the cyan pegasus' annoyance.

"I meant the Zap Apple Jam, Pinkie..."

The pink pony's eyes grew wide in horror.
"The apples do the dancing!?"
And she smiled.
"Oh! That's great! We should make a---"

Rainbow Dash brought a hoof on the excited pink pony's mouth.
"Apples." She said.
"Turn. Jam. For. Bread. Get it?"

The pink pony nodded.
"Oh! That makes perfect sense!"
She said after Rainbow Dash removed her hoof, covered with the pony's saliva.

The cyan pegasus disgustingly rubbed her wet hoof on the ground, shivering a bit.
She then brought her attention on them again.
"Why are you two here, anyway?"

The pink pony rolled her eyes.
"Well, duh! For the jam, of course."

"Wait..."
Rainbow began.
"...you knew about the jam all along? And then...?"
She stopped herself and brought a hoof on her face.
Pinkie Pie was just being so random again.

Daybreak and Snow Flake were only staring blankly at the three fillies.

"Why, hello everypony!"
Greeted a newcomer.

The five of them turned their attention on the white unicorn filly with a blue expertly styled mane and tail, wearing black shades, bigger than her eyes, and an umbrella stuck on a blue saddle that was wrapped around her back.

"Hello Rarity."
Fluttershy greeted as Rainbow Dash flapped her wings to make herself airborne, and she crossed her forehooves, looking annoyed at the unicorn.
"What brings you here?"
Fluttershy continued with a friendly smile.

"Oh, Fluttershy. I just happen to remember that today is the last day of the Zap Apple Season."
She said as she rubbed her mane with her hoof.
"We don't usually eat those lower-class food and the like, but the Zap Apple Jam is too hard to resist!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as Fluttershy nodded in agreement.

"We should probably leave them alone..."
Daybreak whispered, leaning a bit close to Snow Flake.

Snow Flake simply nodded her head, and the two quietly worked their way towards the green alicorn and the dark-blue unicorn in the apple orchard.

As the two were walking away, AppleJack was heading to the opposite direction, bowed her head at them as they continued on their destinations.

"Howdy y'all!"
AppleJack greeted the four fillies.
"What brings you here to our farm?"

"For the Ja---"
Rainbow Dash lifted her hoof above, only to stop herself.
"I mean... For the Zap Apple Jam."
She carefully looked at Pinkie Pie, trying to see if it correctly registered on her head.
Nothing out of the usual happened, so it probably did reached inside her ears correctly.

The other fillies nodded in agreement.

"AppleJack, your family makes the best jams."
Rarity said with poise.
"Even a pony such as myself finds it difficult to resist!"

She could go on forever, Rainbow sighed.
The cyan pegasus flew back on her cloud, lowering it a bit.
She then took a few bits of cloud and stuck them on each of her ears.

"There is nothing to compare to its greatness!"
Rarity's eyes were twinkling now.
"The color, the taste, the moisture, how it fills your tongue with every perfect sweetness and bitterness, mixed perfectly that my own words could not reach it's greatness-perfection!"

"It's simply marvelous."
Fluttershy simply said.

"Yeah! And they make a great frosting to cakes and cupcakes!"
Pinkie Pie cheerfully added.
"Oh! And cookies and crackers and muffins, too!"

Noticing that Rarity was no longer the one talking, Rainbow Dash removed the small puffs of cloud she stuck on each of her ears.

AppleJack smiled at each of them.
"Aw, shucks. Thanks y'all."
She blushed a bit.

A sudden electric sound caught their attention.
They all turned to the orchard, only to witness the dark-blue unicorn getting electrecuted by a tree.
When it ended, the unicorn was still. Smoke was flying up from his charcoal coat.
He gave an angry glare at the alicorn, a few hooves in front of him.
"Don't...say a word."

Henry gave him an apologetic smile as the unicorn shook himself to remove the black dust around his coat.

"You really should take it easy."
Aurora said as she landed beside the angry unicorn.
"It's like, if you're angry, then the tree is also angry."

"Wanna be a tree?"
Midnight hissed.

The two siblings stared at each other angrily.

"Now now you two..."
Henry said, trying to stop them from arguing.
He walked in between them and pushed them with his hooves so the two angry ponies will be away from each other.

Midnight slapped the alicorn's hoof off of his chest and marched towards the earthy path leading to town.
"I'm outta here!"
He angrily shouted as he walked pass the angry Aurora.
His horn glowed, taking the keys from the alicorn's sidebag.
"I'm going back to the library, lock myself in, and go to sleep!"

"Yeah, go to sleep!"
Aurora spat.
"That's all your good at, anyway."

Midnight stopped and looked over his shoulder, staring angrily at his sister.
"I dare you say that again."

"Clean your ears, for Celestia's sake!"

Henry immediately ran in between them to stop the two from reaching each other.
Despite their young age, they're very strong, and the alicorn's having a difficult time pushing them away from each other.

"Ya know, I'm still angry at you for kicking me in the gut!"
Midnight shouted over the alicorn's head.

"You deserved that, you stupid lazy featherbrain!"
The pegasus shouted back near the alicorn's ear.

Midnight grinned.
"Featherbrain, huh? Funny, who has feathers here?"

Aurora felt even angrier.
"Take that back, you---you---!"

"Midnight..."
Daybreak said as he stopped a few hooves behind the struggling alicorn.
Midnight and Aurora turned their heads at the yellow unicorn, allowing the alicorn to rest a bit.
"...you're acting like a child."
He sighed.

"Yeah? Says you."
Midnight then turned to the pegasus.
"You called me lazy, huh?"

Aurora angrily faced him.
"Finally, did you just cleaned your ears?"

Henry began to push them away from each other again.

"You two, stop this..."
Daybreak calmly said, despite flashing a small hint of anger on his face.
"Midnight, be kind to our sister."

"Oh, I'll be kind when she starts being kind to me as well!"
Midnight shouted.

"I didn't even do anything today!"
Aurora shouted back.

Henry's ears were begging for mercy now.

The two continued to shout at each other.
Daybreak tried to calm them, and even Snow Flake joined him.
The five young fillies gathered themselves meters away from the two arguing ponies.
Big Macintosh then joined Daybreak and Snow Flake to calm the two ponies.

It went on for a few minutes before Henry had "Enough!"
He shouted, brown magic radiating on his horn, immediately lifting the two ponies in the air, and hitting their heads against each other, and then dropped them on the grassy ground in front of him, turning the two of them to face him.

The two ponies rubbed their aching heads with their hooves as the brown magic around them vanished.

Henry was now the one looking angry at them.
"You two are acting like small fillies fighting over a thrown hat!"

Rainbow Dash and Rarity looked at each other.
Rarity gave her an angry stare while Rainbow Dash gave a weak smile.
She flew beside AppleJack to hide from the unicorn's death glare.

"You two are supposed to be brother and sister! But you both are acting like you owe the other a huge amount of Bits, trying to kill the other!"

"Geez, Henry... This is how you get angry---ow!"
Midnight was cut off by his own hoof hitting his forehead.

Henry slightly used his puppetry skill on the unicorn.
"Trust me, you don't like me when I'm completely angry. You both are lucky I can still hold my own anger."
He coughed a bit, somehow, it calmed him down a little.
"Anyway, please respect each other."

"Yeah yeah..."
Midnight annoyingly said, putting his gaze on the grass around his hindhooves.
"You told me that for so many times now."

"Sorry, but I needed to repeat it to make sure it goes deeper into your head."
Henry then turned to Aurora, who was also looking down.
"As for you, I expected something different from you. Where did the cheerful Aurora I knew went off to?"

"Midnight killed her."
Aurora grimly said.

"Yeah right..."
Midnight annoyingly said.

Henry sighed.
He knew too well he can't bring these two at peace.
If the three of them will continue like this, he's almost certain that high blood pressure will be his cause of death in the near future.

"Yah know..."
AppleJack said, making the ponies land their gazes on the young filly, except for the two angry ponies, who were still looking on the ground.
"...Henry here's right. You two shouldn't be actin' this way. Why, my brother and I always work things out after our fight."

"Work things out huh?"
Midnight grinned, confusing the young filly.
He lifted his head.
"That's a good idea."
He grinned further, making the pegasus beside him look at him with anger and confusion.
He stood on his hooves and walked a few hooves away from his sister.
He then turned to face the confused alicorn.
"We should see which one of us can work this out."

"I don't follow..."
Henry, Daybreak and Aurora said in unison.

"Duh! It's obvious!"
He then grinned at his sister.
"We're gonna have a contest!"

"A what now?"
Henry and Big Macintosh asked in unison.

Midnight points his hoof at the pegasus.
"You..."
Midnight then points himself.
"...me..."
And he points his hoof at all the apple trees.
"...contest."

"What!? Nu-uh!"
Aurora turned away, closed her eyes and crossed her hooves.
"I'm not going to compete against a loser like you."

"Hey! Why not? You should go for it!"
Rainbow beamed.
She then looked at the other ponies, who were giving him strange looks.
"What?"

"Rainbow, please."
Rarity said, as if she was disgusted.
"A silly competition will not fix the issues between siblings."

"Oh, what do you know, anyway?"
Rainbow waved a hoof at her.

'Uh oh...'
Henry gulped. He can now see where this is going.

"You don't have any siblings."
Rainbow continued as she lifted and examined her awesome hoof.

"Neither do you..."
Rarity whispered, trying to hold her patience.

"Yeah, you're right. That's why a competition will be ~awesome!"
Rainbow said with excitement, and added a tune on the last word.

Rarity closed her eyes and removed her attention away from her.
"Hmf! Ruffians like yourselves never consider a peaceful conclusion of problems."
She aimed it at Rainbow Dash and Midnight.

"Pff... Rarity, you're just saying that 'cause you're a chicken."
The cyan pegasus filly said, waving a hoof in the air.

Rarity shot her with a glare.
"Is that a challenge!?"

Rainbow Dash looked at her with a grin.

"Then it's on!"
Midnight and Rarity shouted.

"We're not agreeing to this..."
Aurora, Henry, AppleJack and Daybreak sighed.

---

On a clearing in the apple orchard, the ponies were grouped together by pairs: a young adult and a filly.
The five pairs: AppleJack and Big Macintosh, Fluttershy and Daybreak, Pinkie Pie and Snow Flake, Rainbow Dash and Midnight, and Rarity and Aurora, were standing in line, facing the green alicorn with half-a-meter-tall hour glass.

The green alicorn sighed.
'Here we go again...'
He looked at them, all were looking from nervous, to uncertain, to doubtful, to confident.
"Uh, right... This will be a one-hour competition."
He announced.
"The pair who can buck the most Zap Apples will be declared the winner 'of course'..."
He then turned around to the twenty-five barrels behind him, which were also grouped by five, with indications of which group owns a group of barrels.
"Each pair has five barrels to fill. If however, a pair fills all five, and there's still time remaining, a barrel will be automatically added 'by me with my magic'..."
He turned to the players.
"By the way. No magic, and no wings."

Those who were offended complained.
Henry brought a hoof.
"Now now. Magic ruins the quality of the apples 'and I still have no idea why', and wings gives the pegasi an advantage, so..."
He used his magic, lifting a few ropes, and before the pegasi ponies could complain, their wings were tied on their back.

Rainbow Dash annoyingly tried to remove the ropes, but her small hooves couldn't reach them.
Fluttershy has no idea what to react to this situation.
Aurora was annoyed, but decided not to complain.

"Now then..."
Henry's horn glowed, and picked a single Zap Apple on a nearby tree.

Everyone stared at the fruit that was levitated in front of them.
The fruit suddenly turned brown, to their surprise (except for the Apple Family members).

"I think this is a perfect example as to why we shouldn't use our magic on these fruits."
Henry explained.

"Oh my... The poor poor thing..."
Rarity whispered as she brought a hoof on her mouth.

"Yer gonna pay for that, right?"
AppleJack asked innocently.

Henry nodded his head with a weak smile.
"Of course. And also..."
He looked at each one of them.
"A little bit of useful information... Don't use your magic on shaking the trees as well..."

The unicorns arched one of their eyebrows.

"Oh! Yah mean like what happened last year?"
AppleJack asked.

Henry weakly smiled, recollecting the event.
"Ye-yes... All the apples became brown on that tree when I did that..."

The unicorns were shocked a bit.

"A-anyway... Shall we begin?"
Henry asked, lifting the hourglass with his magic.

"Wait!"
Rainbow Dash yelled.
"Can you just remove these ropes? It's making me feel itchy and I really need to stretch my wings..."

"Oh, Rainbow!"
Rarity said.
"Such you make a weak lie just so you could use your wings on this competition?"

Both fillies glared at each other.

Fluttershy took a step forward, catching the alicorn's attention.
"A-actually... I would really appreciate if you, um, untie the ropes..."

Henry flashed a 'why?' look.

"Well, um, you see..."
She looked around.
"Uh, we pegasi aren't normally...you know...strong...unlike unicorns, and earth ponies..."

"Hm..."
Henry brought a hoof on his mouth, thinking about this consideration.

"I think it would still be fair if we could use our wings, um...if that's okay..."
Fluttershy added.

Only the quiet dance of the leaves with the wind was heard for a few moments.

"I wouldn't mind at all!"
Pinkie Pie suddenly exclaimed cheerfully, startling her partner Snow Flake.
"It's kinda like dessert! You see, earth ponies are like cakes, big and huge and deliciousy sweet! And then unicorns are like cupcakes! They're also like cakes but they're the size of a cup! And then the pegasi are like cookies! Oh, a chocolate-chip cookie! They're small, almost flat, but they're still quite delicious! They're all different kinds of dessert, but no matter what shapes or sizes they look, they're still desserts!"
And then a wide happy grin.

...

......

.........

............

...............

Henry simply used his magic to remove the ropes with a forced smile.
"Thank you for that, Pinkie..."
He said as he puts the ropes on the ground near him.

"You're welcome!"
The pink pony happily said.

Midnight shot the alicorn an ultimately confused look.
From his look, Henry could already read what was on his mind.
'You actually understood what she just said?'

And Midnight has read the alicorn's reply through his weak smile.
'I have no clue...'

Rainbow shook her head to remove the pink pony's weird statement.
She happily stretched her wings, flapping them a bit.

"Hmf!"
Rarity raised her head with eyes closed.
"I hope you're happy."

Rainbow retracted her wings and rolled her eyes.

"By the way..."
Henry said after a realization struck him.
"...why am I the judge? I've been looking forward to buck some Zap Apple trees today, but I only got myself four trees before this silly competition popped up."

"No complaining!"
Midnight and Aurora shouted in unison.
They glared at each other for a while, and then moved their heads on the opposite direction.

Henry sighed.
"Fine..."
The alicorn used his magic to lift the hourglass.
He then looked at each pair carefully.
"Ready!?"

The pairs turned around, facing different trees.

"Set!"

"One moment!"
Rarity cried, instantly using her magic to remove her umbrella-saddle, and putting it beside the green alicorn.
A few quick fix of her mane, and she then prepared herself to run.

Aurora arched an eyebrow on her filly partner, but whatever.

Henry flipped the hourglass up-side-down.
"Go!"

And the pairs ran and flew to their target.

Henry quickly puts the hourglass down on the ground, and used his magic to lift five barrels, moving each one near each pair.

AppleJack and Big Macintosh had a great start; bucking a tree together, making all the Zap Apples fall on the ground. They quickly picked each one and put them inside their barrel.
They smiled at each other. This will be an easy win, they thought.

Snow Flake and Pinkie Pie stared at their tree.
The white unicorn was not sure if she can buck a tree, but she has to try.
She looked at the yellow unicorn, who just gave a powerful back-kick on a tree, making some of the apples fall.
Daybreak flashed her a smile, making her blush and nod.
Okay, she can do this.

She turned her back on the tree, lifted her hind hooves, and kicked, and...nothing happened.
She tried again, this time, putting a lot of her energy on a kick, and still nothing happened.

"Hey!"
Pinkie Pie exclaimed, making the white unicorn wonder.
"At least you made a leaf fall off!"
She said with a happy smile.

Snow Flake blinked, and then a leaf fell right in front of her.
Her ears dropped from disappointment.

"Aw, don't feel bad..."
Pinkie Pie patted her hoof.
"I know just the thing!"

And out of nowhere, Snow Flake was surprised to see the pink pony's pink cannon, aimed closely at the tree.
She happily pulled the trigger, and a loud "BANG!", startling the other ponies in the area.

She smiled widely as all the Zap Apples on the tree fell on the ground.

"Hey! That's cheating!"
Rainbow and Midnight shouted in unison.

"Nope!"
Pinkie Pie happily said as she and Snow Flake began picking their apples and putting them on their barrel.
"Henry only said no magic, silly."
She smiled at Rainbow Dash so happily and cheerfully and innocently.

"But-uh!?"
Rainbow looked at the alicorn, who only shrugged.
"Grrrfine!"

She sent all her frustration on a powerful kick, making the tree shake, and Zap Apples started falling. She and Midnight hastily picked the apples.

Rarity angrily looked at each pair.
"Uh, just look at them, hurting these innocent trees."
She then faced the tree she and Aurora picked, and flashed it a lovely smile with sparkly eyes.
"But I'm not going to do that to you," she hugged the tree, to Aurora's confusion, "you sweet sweet little apple tree you..."

"Rarity, why are you talking and hugging a tree?"
Aurora asked, completely puzzled.

"Hush darling, I'm working here."
She waved a hoof at her, and continued to sweet-talk the tree.

Aurora was about to drag the filly out of the way so she could buck the tree, but then the apple fruits started to fall, to her surprise.

"See darling?"
Rarity said, softly brushing her mane.
"There's no reason to act like those ruffians."

Aurora could not answer.
Somehow, she felt her widely opened mouth was stuck.

"Oh, the poor poor tree..."
Fluttershy whispered as their barrel landed behind her and Daybreak.
"We're so sorry if we're going to hurt you, but your apples are really delicious, especially when they're turned into jam."

Daybreak quietly watched the filly in annoyance and confusion.
'Is she always like this?'

"There there... No need to be scared. Just one not-so-hurtful kick, and we're done."
She smiled at the roots of the tree.

Daybreak sighed.
'We are so not going to win at this pace...'
Yet somehow, a small smile flash on him.
'Not that I mind, anyway...'

Henry boringly watched the pairs around as he concentrated his magic on the barrels to follow them.

After another loud 'bang' from Pinkie Pie's cannon, the Zap Apples on the apple tree fell on the ground.
Snow Flake and Pinkie Pie quickly put the apples in their barrel, finally filling their first barrel.

Seeing the pink pony waving her hoof at the alicorn, Henry levitated the marked barrel and puts it on the ground a few hooves behind him.
He removed his magical grip on it, and focused it on an empty barrel nearby, levitating it towards the pair who first got a full barrel.

"Ahoy Henry-sir!"
Shouted the smiling AppleJack, waving a hoof at the alicorn.

Henry turned to her, and noticed their barrel was already full.
He levitated the barrel and puts it on the ground, a few hooves away from the other full barrel, and then hovered an empty barrel towards AppleJack and Big Macintosh.

He sighed once again as he slowly turned to the hourglass.
Seven minutes had just passed.

'This is going to be a loooooong day...'
He sighed yet again.
Instead of bucking the apple trees, he's sitting on the grass.

"Hey, Henry!"
Henry opened his eyes and saw Rainbow Dash flying above the ocean of leaves, pointing her hoof down on their full barrel.

He levitated the barrel, and hovered an empty one towards her and Midnight.

Another bang echoed in the apple orchard.
This time, it's not as loud as the first two, but it still made the Zap Apples fall off to the ground.

Rainbow Dash and Midnight shot an angry glare at the pink pony and her cannon for a short while before they began bucking their apple tree.

Fluttershy was rubbing both her ears.
She and Daybreak were the closest pair from the cannon.
Daybreak bucked the apple tree, making the Zap Apples fall on the ground.
One managed to land on FLuttershy's head.

"S-sorry..."
Daybreak immediately walked towards her and rubbed her head.

"It's-it's okay..."
Fluttershy managed to say, blushing a bit.

Snow Flake saw them, and blushed a bit.
Daybreak really is a caring pony.
A sudden pink smiling filly face appeared right in front of her, and immediately brought her hooves around the starled white unicorn's burning cheeks.

"No time for blushing! It's time for bucking!"
Pinkie Pie said excitingly.
How'd she reached the tall mare's eye-level was one of the things running in the white unicorn's mind.
"If we're gonna win this thing, then you best start moving!"

A weak smile and a few nods was enough for the pink pony to vanish from her sight, making way to see Daybreak chuckling a bit, and made her blush further.

"Yoo~hoo~"
Sang Rarity, slowly waving a hoof at the alicorn.

Henry levitated their full barrel, and hovered an empty one at them.

---

Granny Smith arrived in the farm, and noticed quite a number of ponies bucking their Zap Apple orchard.
A warm smile grew on her face as she enters the barn to start making the Zap Apple Jam that was already harvested.

"Haven't seen the farm so lively for quite some time."
She smiled as she brought her basket down on their dining table.
"Maybe we can pre'are a li'l ol' Apple fam'ly reunion."

A loud boom echoed inside the barn, but she didn't move an inch.
"Oh my, ah sto'm's ah comin'. Might as well get started den..."

---

"Pinkie!"
Rarity shouted.
"Keep that thing away! It's hurting my delicate ears!"
She whined.

Rainbow Dash, as difficult as it sound, has to agree on the whiny white unicorn.
She flew near the pink pony.
"Yeah, Pinky."
The cyan pegasus filly crossed her forehooves.
"If you can't keep this thing quiet, I'm gonna have to drag this thing to the junk shop!"

Pinkie Pie brought a hoof on her chin as she thought about it.
And then, few face brightened up as a light bulb of an idea was switched on above her head.
The light bulb faded into the air as she went inside the mouth of her cannon.

Everypony stopped for a moment and looked at whatever the pink filly was up to.

"What's she up to?"
AppleJack asked her brother, her face totally painted in confusion.

And so were the rest of the ponies.

"Aha!"
The pink pony's voice echoed out of the cannon.

She got herself out, her whole body now covered in black ash, and on her hoof was a...black...box...thing...
She shook herself to remove the ashes off of her, making Snow Flake and Rainbow Dash move away to avoid the slowly forming black cloud around the pony.
As the black cloud faded in the air, Pinkie Pie stood with a very wide smile, and on her hoof was a speaker box.

The ponies blinked.

"What the hay is that?"
Asked the confused cyan pegasus filly as she hovered near the pink pony.

"It's a soundbox! See?"
She extends it in front of the curious cyan pegasus.
With the pink pony's other hoof, she pressed a button behind the box, and what followed was a loud 'bang' sound.

Shocked, the cyan pegasus fell on the ground, her heart was racing, and her ears were aching.

The pink pony giggled, and hid the box inside her cottoncandy-like mane.
"With that out of the way, my cannon won't make a sound!"
She quickly grabbed her cannon and instantly aimed it at the startled Snow Flake.

"Wait!"
Both Snow Flake and Daybreak shouted.

The pink pony quickly pulled the rope-trigger.
The cannon let out a powerful force of air that knocked the white unicorn back.
But...no sound.

Daybreak quickly rushed to Snow Flake, and helped her get back on her hooves.
"You okay?"

"I'm...fine... I think?"

Their faces locked into each other, and a scarlet blush painted their cheeks as they quickly moved their heads away from each other.

The other ponies were still confused.
Rainbow Dash annoyingly got back on her hooves.

"So...lemme get this straight..."
AppleJack began.
"That there soundbox o'yours was the one makin' that loud boom sound?"

Pinkie Pie cheerfully nodded. She then looked around excitingly.
"Oh hey! Game's not over yet, right?"

Snapping back, the other pairs quickly went back on their trees.
Daybreak nervously smiled as he bowed before running back to Fluttershy.

---

Hooves kicking, cannon firing, trees shaking, apples falling, barrels filled, barrels floating...
As the minutes flew, so were the energy of the ponies, and even Henry.

Lifting heavy barrels full of apples was also tiring.
He turned back, and saw quite a number of barrels, full of shining Zap Apples.
He turned to the hourglass: fifteen minutes left.

He turned back to see the ponies bucking the apples.
Some of the pairs were already far, where the trees and the leaves obscure his vision of seeing them.
But as long as he could still sense the barrels, he knows where they are.

He turned back on the barrels once again.
So far, Pinkie Pie and Snow Flake were leading, followed roughly by AppleJack and Big Macintosh, and Rainbow Dash and Midnight.
Daybreak and Fluttershy are currently tied with Aurora and Rarity.

Now that he thought about it, why are they having this silly competition anyway?
There's no prize at the end, is there?
This all happened because of Midnight and Aurora, and somehow, Rarity and Rainbow Dash ignited it even further, dragging everyone with it.

He overheard Midnight's tired voice.
He levitated their barrel behind him, and then he hovered...wait...
He turned around, and saw that there were no more empty barrels available.

The original plan was to use twenty-five barrels, but as the competition progressed, he was forced to use the other empty barrels nearby, and now that there were no more available barrels to use, should the game be stopped?

His river of thought was stopped after a cyan pegasus filly flashed in front of him with an angry stare.
"What gives!?"
She yelled right in front of the starled alicorn.

"Er... No more barrels?"
Henry said awkwardly.

Rainbow Dash looked puzzled, hovered sideways, and saw no more empty barrels to fill.
She flew higher to spot a few more, but she spotted nothing.
She slowly landed in front on the alicorn.
"Er...oh..."
She scratched her nape, looking apologetic.

Henry flashed a small smile and gently patted her head.

Soon, other pairs called his attention.
He shouted back that the game is over, and suddenly, numerous voices sighed in relief, echoing out of the apple orchard.

The ponies dropped themselves on the ground, panting, except for Aurora and Rarity.
Aurora weakly laughed at the ponies who looked really exhausted, while Rarity was fixing her mane.

"Oh, what better way to finish a competition but to look as good as you began."
Rarity said to herself, making Aurora roll her eyes.

Aurora then lands her gaze on a dark-blue unicorn, slowly rising on his hooves.
She grinned.
"Ready to lose, bro?"

Midnight, panting, smiled.
"Hahah. As if...!"

---

The pairs were all gathered in line, awaiting for Henry to announce the winner.
Henry was busy counting the barrels, listing them on his notebook with his quill, both held on his magical grasp.

Daybreak and Fluttershy already knew they lost, but they shared a smile.
Aurora noticed the small amount of barrels she and Rarity had filled, and it made her lower her head in embarrassment. Rarity somehow didn't seem to mind. She was more focused on readjusting her saddle umbrella.
Snow Flake was looking uncertain, while Pinkie Pie was hopping in place, humming a random tune with closed eyes.
Midnight was trying to hold his laughter after noticing Aurora, while Rainbow Dash was standing proudly.
Big Macintosh was playfully rubbing his little sister's head, and AppleJack playfully tried to dodge her brother's hoof from rubbing her head.

Soon, Henry walked in front of the group of ponies.
He cleared his throat a bit before he began.

"First, let me just say that everyone did a fine job in bucking apples."

Midnight chuckled, only to stop after he saw the alicorn's glare.

"Anyway," Henry adjusted his glasses with his hoof as he looked at his notebook.
"Aurora and Rarity..."

Aurora blushed from embarrassment.
Rarity stood tall and proud.

"You both have filled the least of barrels..."
Henry slowly said with an apologetic smile.

"WHAAAAAT!?"
Rarity gasped, as if her life depended on it.
She looked terribly troubled, looking around, trying to look for a reasonable answer.
"But but but...!"

Midnight and Rainbow Dash laughed, who were beside them.

Rarity glared at the two, while Aurora kept her head low, ashamed.

"Now then..."
Henry said, a bit loud, making the laughing ponies to stop.
"Daybreak and Fluttershy, er...also filled the same amount of barrels as Rarity and Aurora."

Midnight was surprised; his brother filled the least barrels?
He looked at him, completely confused.

Daybreak replied with a simple smile as he shrugged.

Rainbow Dash simply sighed.
She knew too well that Fluttershy must have caused the pair's defeat.

"Third in place is Midnight and Rainbow Dash."

"What!?"
Midnight and Rainbow Dash shouted in unison.
They glanced at each other for a short while before they looked back at the alicorn.

Henry simply smiled.
"Numbers will be later. Now then..."

Both dropped themselves into a sitting position.

"Hey," Midnight started, giving the filly a soft punch on her shoulder.
"at least we're on third place."

Rainbow Dash looked at him with a weak smile.
"Y-yeah... I guess..."
She looked down on the ground again.
"I just...hate losing..."

"Aw com'on..."
Midnight patted her head.
"...it's not that bad. 'least we're not on last place."

Rainbow Dash looked at him again, seeing Midnight winking at her, and then pointed her head on Aurora and Rarity.
She smiled. Somehow, it made her feel better.

"Second place goes to Big Macintosh and AppleJack."

"Here that brother? We're in second!"
AppleJack cheered.

"And that means!?"
Pinkie Pie shouted, throwing her front hooves in the air, releasing confettis out of nowhere.
Confettis of random color flew in the area.
"We won!"
She exclaimed, grabbing her pair's hooves and circled around, making the white unicorn feel dizzy.

Henry simply let them be.
"Aurora and Rarity, and Daybreak and Fluttershy. Both pairs filled seven barrels."

Aurora now dropped herself on her belly, frowning.

Rarity was feeling furious a bit, but waved a hoof on the air to dismiss it.
"Still, it's a great effort, coming from us ladies."
She raised her head proudly.

Midnight and Rainbow Dash both rolled their eyes.

"Midnight and Rainbow Dash filled fourteen barrels."

"Not bad."
Midnight simply said, raising a hoof.

Rainbow Dash flew up and brought her own hoof to meet with the unicorn.
Both shared a chuckle.

"Big Macintosh and AppleJack filled eighteen barrels."

"Whooo-wee!"
AppleJack cheered.
"That's even more than twice the number of barrels we normally fill in one hour!"

Big Macintosh smiled as he nodded in agreement.
"Eeyup."

Daybreak was beginning to worry.
Pinkie Pie and Snow Flake were still going in circle.
He could already hear the white unicorn's beg to stop.

"And finally, Snow Flake and Pinkie Pie filled twenty-two barrels."

A loud gasp echoed from the pink pony, who immediately stopped, looking surprised at the alicorn.

Snow Flake found herself on Daybreak's back before she fell on the ground.
Both blushed a bit.

"T-thanks..."
Though her world was still spinning, she knew too well who owned those shades of yellow that caught her.

"N-no p-problem..."

Midnight and Rainbow Dash rolled their eyes yet again.

Pinkie Pie quickly ran in front of the green alicorn.
"So what did we win what did we win what did we win!?"
She excitingly asked.

"Uh..."
Henry gulped.
He then flashed a weak smile.
"Imaginary cupcakes?"

Pinkie Pie brought a hoof on her chin to think about it.
She then brought her hoof back on the ground, smiling and nodding.
"That'll do. So when do we get it?"

Henry blinked.

---

Inside the barn, everypony were enjoying a few Zap Apple Sandwiches.
To them, the sandwiches are the best reward they could have earned from a hard day's work.

Everypony were happily chatting with one another.

Midnight was enjoying a few small talks with Rainbow Dash before the cyan pegasus' attention was caught by Pinkie Pie who sat beside her.
The dark-blue unicorn was left without nopony to talk to, but that was okay.
He turned to the table in front of them, and tried to grab another sandwich with his hoof, only to grab an orange hoof.

Midnight and Aurora quickly retracted their hooves as they shot a glare at each other.
The pegasus was the first to break their glare, turning to the other direction.

Somehow, Midnight was annoyed by her action.
Not annoyed-to-get-angry, but annoyed-to-be-guilty.
She didn't really do anything for him to shout at her.
With a heavy sigh, he collected his courage.
"Hey, Aurora..."

Aurora didn't move.

Midnight sighed.
"Listen... I'm...sorry..."
The last word sounded like a whisper.

Aurora slightly turned, stopping after she can see him on the corner of her eye.
"What was that?"
She slowly asked.

The other ponies were staring at the two, but neither of them noticed.

Midnight sighed again.
"I said...I'm... I said I'm sorry...okay?"
He closed his eyes as he dropped his head.
"I'm sorry for getting angry at you earlier. I was just so...frustrated...and I flushed it all down at you. I'm sorry. I'm rea---"

Aurora quickly hugged her big brother, startling him.
"Because you were stupid!"
She cried, allowing her tears to roll down.
"...and I both hate you and love you for being...stupid..."

Midnight smiled, returning her hug.
"Sorry for...being...stupid?"

Aurora chuckled a bit.

The ponies around the table smiled warmly at them, even the rainbow-maned pegasus filly.
They then broke the hug, smiling at each other.

"Hey!"
Pinkie Pie shouted.
"You know what this calls for!? A pa---"

Her wide mouth was stuffed with two hooves: one cyan, and one yellow.

"No!"
Both Daybreak and Rainbow Dash shouted in unison, making the others laugh.

'Missing out on bucking Zap Apples turned into a good thing, after all.'
Henry thought as he took a bite on his sandwich.

Granny Smith then stood up from her seat.
"Now, who wants to sing ze alfabeth with me?"
She asked with a smile.

Pinkie Pie raised her hoof excitingly.
Fluttershy and AppleJack raised thier hooves as well.

Midnight and Aurora both looked at each other, and the unicorn flashed an evil grin.

"Oooh no."
Aurora warned, giving the unicorn a death glare.

Henry sighed.
'And here they go again...'