I had no idea what to say, what I even could say.
Not only due to the guilt, but seeing one of your favorite cartoon characters begin to angrily stomp towards you really takes your tongue away. “R-Rainbow didn’t d-do this!” A factual statement, at the very least.
Applejack just snorted and continued her death march towards me.
It appeared facts mattered little here.
“Weather don’t just blow in with a mind of its own!” Applejack ground out through clenched teeth.
It was then I pondered, why was taking away weather’s autonomy a magical act? But I couldn’t dwell, angry Apple approaching aggressively. I shook my head, “Everfree weather does.” I said, my voice sounding weak.
That fun little fact didn’t seem to deter the angry farmer much, Applejack did glance to the side, her face shifting slightly, but only just before her angry eyes locked onto me again. “Well, if it were an Everfree storm, then surely the ‘fastest pony in Ponyville’ coulda gotten here and warned me to brace my farm!”
I glanced behind me, only to see Rainbow still kinda out of it. Seriously, how freaking hard did Applejack hit her with the barn door?!
With a quick swallow I turned back to the mad farmer. I wasn’t too sure if Applejack would actually hurt Rainbow any, but she’d do some seriously dumb things staked on pride and family in the future as things stood, and I still didn’t know when I was. Midway through the series, even just after Nightmare Moon, sure, it might just be a friendship problem, but what if I was sometime before? An angry Applejack before forging a close bond to Rainbow could spell quite a bit of pain.
I knew what I had to do. “Rainbow couldn’t tell you about the storm because she was too busy saving my life!” I yelled, voice cracking, whether from the still lingering guilts tied to the situation before me, I as the catalyst, harbinger of broken apple trees, or fear. Perhaps it was simply just a feeling of being overwhelmed by my already existent dislike of social situations.
Applejack finally stalled, face awash in shock at my shout. My lungs ached slightly, as I allowed myself to relax ever so slightly in the face of peace. Hopefully. “What? What happened?” She said, worry entering her voice, replacing her anger as she quickly took her hat from her head.
Shit, I wasn’t prepared for a show and tell, uh, “I-I don’t remember how. I woke up in the Everfree, got-got chased by Timberwolves, bi-it out a Timberwolf’s throat,” That got Applejack’s attention, honestly the look of shock would have been hilarious if my brain wasn’t in overdrive, and, you know, not the greatest memory of staring into death’s eyes from the knife’s edge, “- I finally got out of the forest, but passed out. Uh, Rainbow probably picked me up not too long after that, ‘cause…” I glanced around the apple farm, “I couldn’t have made it if the storm did… this.”
Applejack’s expression fell into a look of sympathy that tore a lash of guilt through me, “Oh, oh darlin’ I am so sorry.” With a grunt she rammed her hat back onto her head as she began to approach me again, far friendlier this time, “Gosh I am a stupid pony sometimes. Just look at ya!” I tried to interrupt her, because she was not a stupid pony, but she spoke on regardless, “How can I be ticked over my farm when somepony I’ve never seen before is wrapped in still bleedin’ bandages, vouching for Dash like this?”
I was going to try and placate her, try to stem the flood of her guilt over her more reasonable emotions, I mean a stab at your livelihood is not easy to be calm about, but her comment on my bandages drew me up short on responses. Glancing quickly to my bandaged flank, indeed a spot of crimson had formed, once more showing I was not careful and probably opened the wound at some point. Careless. “Huh.”
Applejack scoffed, “’Huh’, she says. Well, can’t believe how narrow sighted I was being. I feel I should thank ya for snappin’ me out of it.”
With a shake of my head I tried, once again, to help her not feel guilty, I was literally the reason it all happened. Stupid passing out. “Th-there’s no reason to apologize. Your anger was perfectly justified.” I said, lightly noting the slight sound of movement behind me.
And by the look on Applejack’s face I said the wrong thing. “Perfectly justified?! Ain’t no way being mad about somepony’s life being saved is justified! Now, don’t get me wrong, I am a bit ticked over my farm still, but, well dang it if I can’t be mad at Dash even if I wanted to be. But, enough about me, what’s your name?”
Completely swept up in the chaos, I answered without thinking. “Neon.” It just slipped out. Sure, it might be a tad odd to default to an internet handle rather than the name given to you on a certificate, but over time I had come to see my self made name as a bit… more. I wouldn’t have legally changed my name or anything back on Earth, but, let’s just say I never instinctively flinched upon hearing someone call out ‘Neon’.
“Ugh, oh hey! Cool that you remember your name at least!” Oh, yeah, I was meant to have amnesia. Welp, not the worst situation. And of course NOW Rainbow decides to come back to the land of the living. But, I couldn’t be too annoyed at Rainbow when her demeanor shifted as she turned from me to Applejack. “Oh, uh, hi Applejack.”
The flickering embers of Applejack’s fury were still dying, so there was the faintest hint of an edge to her reply, “Hello Rainbow.” The silence that followed hurt my ears, or at least it would look like it as my attention was sharply drawn to feeling my new ears laying back and flat against my will.
Eventually Rainbow took a deep breath and let it out, “Listen, I’m sorry AJ, the storm came outta nowhere, then it just kept getting bigger and faster, and my routing sucked, but when I was heading to the farm, I saw her pass out in front of the Everfree and I kinda panicked and-”
And Applejack’s embers of anger seemed to snuff out rather quickly, as she cut off Rainbow’s rambling apology, “Oh, stow it, Dash, you ain’t got a thing to apologize for.”
Rainbow seemed to flip flop between ecstatic Applejack wasn’t angry with her, and somewhat shocked, “Bu-but your farm!”
Applejack heaved a sigh, and shrugged her shoulders, “Honestly, now that I’m thinkin’ more clearly, I doubt your warning woulda made a lick of difference.” A smile, though small, found its way onto her muzzle, “And, well, I’d say your routing was pretty perfect, all things considering.”
Now the shock had completely taken over Rainbow’s face, and mine as well, as I found myself speaking next, “But… if Rainbow prioritized your farm, wouldn’t you have been able to at least mitigate some of the damage to the farm?”
Rainbow snapped a wing out, pointing in my direction, which slightly startled me, “What she said!”
Applejack’s smile, maybe didn’t widen, but it strengthened somewhat, “’Cause, if ya came here first, you woulda missed this here Neon’s time of need. I might be down apples, maybe even a few trees what can’t be saved, but what’s a few apple trees if it means a pony was saved?”
Rainbow and I blinked, surprised by the turn things had taken, “That went better than expected.” I said.
“Tell me about it. And hey, you remember anything else along with your name at all?” Rainbow asked me, causing me to tense.
I shook my head, “N-no, don’t think so.”
Applejack quirked an eyebrow, “Wait, remembering? So, you can’t remember near anything? How’d that happen?”
The moment she became curious I had to use all of my willpower to not immediately break out in shakes and sweat of nervousness, a mantra playing in my head over and over ‘please don’t be a lie detector, please don’t be a lie detector.’
Luckily, Rainbow took over for me, “We don’t know.” She said, before rubbing the back of her neck, “Well, I didn’t really dig that deep. She was in rough shape and couldn’t remember much,” She puffed out her chest and smiled, “And I promised to help her get back on her hooves and find out who she is. Ya know, beyond just having a name.”
Applejack hummed and tipped her hat to me, “Well, best wishes to ya, hope you can remember more sooner than later, but I really should get back to fixing up my farm. Celestia knows it needs it.”
It was there that I made a split second decision, based mostly on my still lingering guilt, “I’m willing to help if you want it.”
I could feel Dash do a double take in my direction, “Oh! U-uh, same! I’m down to help, too.”
As predicted, Applejack immediately flinched and started waving us off, “Nah, nah, ya girls don’t need to do that. Me and Big Mac can handle this just fine. Besides, don’t you need to do weather management stuff, Rainbow?”
Dash rolled her eyes, “Sure, you can, but you can also accept it. And I got the day off after last night, something about hazard something or other. Which works for me, I wouldn’t wanna do heavy flying after yesterday anyway. Can’t go wrecking my wings, can I?” I got the feeling Dash mostly wanted to help so she could feel like she helped AJ after everything. So, we were in similar boats.
“Really letting us help would go faster, as it would, alone, skip the argument phase of us going back and forth, and instead we’d jump right into doing the act.” I said, ever so slightly monotone.
Applejack started and stopped saying something a few times before just hanging her head and sighing, “Ugh, fine.” She then jabbed a hoof at me, “But no heavy liftin’ for you missy! Got it?” I nodded, just happy she wasn’t being stubborn. Something to dissect later. With another muffled sigh she said, “Well, I guess a few extra hooves cleaning up the farm would help, then me an’ Big Mac can deal with the big stuff a bit later. Come along you two, iffen you wanna help, you’re doing it right!”
With that, Applejack began trotting off while Rainbow hung her own head and grumbled, “I wanna be mad, but I really can’t.”
We then set to work, and in all honesty, it was pretty basic. So basic, there was hardly any heavy lifting. It was mostly picking up limbs, logs and fallen apples. Apparently Applejack and Big Mac had already been collecting apples from the ground to see if they could be saved. From my apple uneducated perspective, I would suggest tons of apple sauce. But what did I know? Considering my amnesiac backstory, I wasn’t going to suggest too much.
But, yeah. I did a lot of gathering. Gathering sticks and medium size limbs into bins, putting apples into baskets which were carried off by Dash or Applejack when they grew full. I also had a minor existential crisis when I realized I was picking apples up with my hooves. Really, the only thing that stopped me from stopping and freaking out was the anxiety laden thought of being noticed. Or falling behind and leaving Dash to deal with everything when I was the one to volunteer us.
As we were cleaning up the farm, and making decent time, as the sun was still out and things didn’t look quite like a warzone anymore, I had to deal with another social situation. Big Mac came back.
I tried to be sociable, I mean I was on his property, even if it was a bit awkward making conversation with someone who was damn near picking up and replanting a tree single handedly.
“Hi.” I said lamely. He simply waved back, you know, while holding the weight of a leaning tree with the other, “We kinda forced Applejack to let us help clean things up.”
He nodded as he expertly grounded the tree, “Eeyup.”
I briefly pondered what his life’s total word count was, “Well, if you need more hooves, feel free to ask. Though, Applejack told me no heavy lifting, but I’ll help where I can.”
With but another simple nod and, “Eeyup.” Our conversation came to an end. I think I was going to get along just fine with Big Mac, if we ever interact on a semi regular basis.
A few hours later, I assumed at least, the sun was finally setting, me, Applejack and Rainbow Dash stood in front of the barn. Applejack looked much more majestic compared to Dash and I, sweaty, dirty. I could have sworn my fur was matted. I was tired as hell, but, oddly accomplished.
“Well, would ya look at that.” Applejack said with a smile.
Rainbow was still breathing a little more than usual when she spoke, “Yeah, I thought it would never get done.”
I, meanwhile, felt like my lungs were giving out, and I hadn’t even done the hardest bits, “I’m, hah, dying.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes and batted me with her wing, light but noticeable, “Oh, shut up, it was your idea.”
“And a good idea at that. It probably would have taken me an’ Big Mac a few days to clean things up, let alone begin rightin’ some trees already.” She turned to us and gave us a positively warm smile, “Thank ya, sincerely.”
“Thanks, hah, for letting us, hah, help.” I lightly snarked.
Applejack gave a laugh, “Ha! No kiddin’. But, I won’t keep ya’ll any longer. Remind me to pay ya’ll back for this sometime.”
Rainbow chuckled and waved her wing in dismissal, “Ah, no big deal. See ya later AJ.”
Rainbow began trotting away and I followed with a sigh, “Nice, hah, meeting you Applejack.”
“Stay safe ya’ll!”
I let out a sigh of relief, the tension of work leaving my shoulders, “I feel like I ran through the forest again.”
With a groan, Rainbow mildly agreed, “After all that, I’m gonna have to get you new bandages, and the day ran out, so, not wrong. But, thanks Neon.”
I quirked an eyebrow and glanced at her, “For what?”
She snorted a stifled laugh at my words, “Come on. You threw yourself in front of me to talk to Applejack, and got her to let us help. I mean, I woulda wanted to help anyway, but, I might not have, you know, found the words.”
With a tilt of my head, I kinda got it, but kinda didn’t, “I just did what felt right?”
She gently nudged me with her shoulder, a smile prominent on her face, “Most ponies would have run screaming if they saw AJ that mad. I know she wouldn’t actually hurt me… I think. But you just jumped right in there, talked her down. I would have fumbled my words and made a mess of things.”
I was going to respond before narrowing my eyes, “Were-were you not actually stunned?”
She winced a little and averted her gaze, “Welllll. Maybe.”
My first instinct was to be angry, but the combination of her looking actually a little scared and downright adorable melted through those thoughts easily. So, I instead chuckled and returned the shoulder bump, “Guess you owe me then.”
A slightly indignant look overcame her, “Well, I saved your life and gave you Featherflakes.”
I smiled a bit smugly and turned my nose up a little, “Well, that’s expected, like you said, unlike most ponies I jumped in front of an angry apple farmer and found your words for you. Obviously that makes you my eternal servant.”
Laughter belted out of her, unable to keep up her indignation, “You wish. I won’t be your servant, buuuuut, I might let you to be a friend.”
“Oh, ho ho, ‘might,’ she says. After I saved her multicolored tail.” I snarked with a smile.
She rebuked me with a smug smile, quite effectively, I might add, “Ponies wish they could save my tail, it isn’t something that happens often.”
I leaned my head back, enjoying our banter, “Maybe you should let it happen more often.”
“Ha, why would I do that?”
Glancing back to her, my smile softened, “Well, look at me. My fabulous tail being saved lead me to meeting you.”
It looked like she actually mulled it over before shrugging, “Nah.”
Tilting my head back in her direction, I asked, “Why not?”
She met my gaze, smile still firmly in place, “’Cause you’d just take up all the tail saving opportunities.”
I let out a playful scoff, “Well, of course! It’d have to be me. Someone else would get it wrong.”
That got another bout of laughter from Rainbow, strengthening my smile. “Well, we’re back at my house.”
And indeed she was right. Granted it was a flying house so for the oblivious it’s not that hard to miss. Which brought a thought to my head, “Uh, Rainbow?”
“Yeah?” She answered, nonchalantly.
“How do I get back up there?” I asked, placing my bandaged wing in full view.
She honestly looked a bit stumped, “Uhhhh… oh. I think I’ll need grab a few clouds, kinda hop you up slowly.”
Another thought came to my head, “Actually, how did you get me up there last time anyway?”
“Adrenaline.”
You know what? Fair enough.