//------------------------------// // Hoof to the Head // Story: My Little Heartbreak: Meanwhile, Back at the Farm // by Jet_Black1980 //------------------------------// Chapter 20 Hoof to the Head. Applejack mulled over what just had happened in her head. The two of them had gotten off to a rocky start and had ironed things out along the way. “At least fer now,” Applejack thought. As they walked up the hill to a few lone young apple trees, the birds would stop singing. “Gosh dern it, she’s right. The critters are terrified of her. Ah bet them nine are the ones responsible for this! But really, what’s so terrible about her? Did she have relations with the nine all at once? Did she cheat on them? Ah don’t see her to be the vindictive type! Then again, A.J., you’ve only met her one time before all this, so ya got barely anything ta go on. All ya know is that she got Twilight up in a gnarl. An’ ah’m not sure what that was all about either. Maybe ah can get her ta open more up once ah got her working and distracted.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Knowing her, she’ll catch on pretty quick that ah’m tryin ta get ta know that part of her more than she’d like. Durn it. This is harder than it looks!” Heartbreak turned around and dropped her flank down on the ground. “Good grief, I am out of shape.” She pressed her right hoof, the hoof with the hole in it against her lips and blew through it. “Uhm, what’cha doing there, Heartbreak?” Applejack asked. “Sitting,” she replied. “Nah, I mean with yer hoof.” Applejack asked. Heartbreak slumped and sighed. “Twilight tell you about, ‘Creativi-tea day?’” Heartbreak asked. “Uuuhm, oh yeah! Ah don’t remember everything, but that’s when ya got all loopy off the tea she gave ya and ended up chasing some stallion across Ponyville!” she looked at Heartbreak. “Right?” Heartbreak’s face twisted. “Gee, glad to know the part of all that that stuck out in your mind was me chasing after, ‘some stallion.’ A lot more happened that day too, ya know.” “Weren’t there flying clocks and mention of weird hats?” Applejack replied, trying to remember what else Twilight had told her. “Yes, talking clocks and head munching hats.” She lifted up her right hoof. “And then there was this.” Applejack make a face when she realized that the light was shining clear through. “Is that-” Applejack pulled her own hoof back to herself in a slightly protective manner. The mere thought of doing that to yourself just was painful! “Yes, it’s a hole in my hoof. Right now it’s being a bit achy. But, that’s to be expected.” Heartbreak shook her hoof a bit. “Alright, all better.” “Why-” Applejack began. “Would I do such a thing?” Heartbreak asked. She took a deep breath as if she was trying to catch her breath. “Because I wanted to draw again. And in the state that I was in, a hole in my hoof - along with a mechanical pencil - was the best way that I could think of doing that.” “Ah bet yer feeling plumb sorry that ya did it now,” Applejack stated. “Only because Twilight thinks that by doing a, ‘honest day’s work,’ that I will learn something about being honest,” Heartbreak replied. “Hey now, there’s nothing wrong with doing an honest day’s work!” Applejack protested. “The sense of pride ya get knowing that ya accomplished sumthin’ using yer own four hooves-” Heartbreak groaned. Applejack frowned. “Ya got sumthin’ against hard work?” ============================================================== I really wish Applejack would just drop this and we’d get on with whatever lesson it is that I am meant to be learning here. “No, Applejack. I don’t have anything against it. I’m just not a, ‘country pony,’ like yourself. I’ll do hard work. But if I don’t have to, if I have no reason to, then I don’t. Why work harder when you can work smarter?” Applejack rolls her eyes as me. “Well now that yer here at the farm-” “Applejack, just because I don’t like doing hard work, doesn’t mean that I won’t do hard work. It just means that I’m not going to be very happy about it. What’s more, I’m pretty sure that my talents don’t lie in the realm of physical aptitude.” Applejack looks like she is about to start talking. I stop her before she can begin. “But, like you are about to say, ‘Now that you’re here on the farm,’ I going to have to work hard.” I frown and stare at the ground. My second wind is finally kicking in and I think I’ll be able to do this. Applejack stares at me. “Alright then, enough chatter little miss-know-it-all, let’s get to bucking apples.” Damn it, I’m pissing off Applejack. I really don’t want to do that. Particularly with the moment that we just shared down the orchard. “Right, assuming the position.” I turn around with my backside facing the apple tree. “Ah’ll right,” She pauses. I haunch waiting for further instruction, only to get a bit of silence. Turning my head, I look at her expectantly. “Well?” “Oh, ah’m sorry, see, ah figured that you being the know-it-all that yer are already knew the proper way ta buck apples.” Damn it, did I piss her off that much? “Knowing and doing are two different things, Applejack. Plus there is the fact that I would rather you show-slash-tell me how to do this properly so that I don’t split my hoof wide open and then have to take a happy little trip to the E.R.,” I reply. I really hope I didn’t come off really snide. “The, ‘E.R.?’” she asks me. “Emergency Room,” I reply as neutral as I can. If there is one thing that I know that really pisses off Applejack, it’s other ponies acting like they are smarter than her. And I get the idea that I am treading a very fine line here. I look up at her and make eye contact. “Because I really don’t know what I am doing here, Applejack.” I bite my lower lip. It shouldn’t be this hard to utter the next part, but it is. I guess this is part of my, ‘Applejack,’ showing. “I could really use some pointers here...” I should have said, ‘I could use your help,’ but I don’t want to back track. “Alright then.” She looks me over. “First off, normally we start buck’n with all four hooves, two hold’n ya up and two do the bucking. But ta do what yer ask’n, yer gona lift yer right hoof,” she paused and checked my hoof. “Eeeyup, yer right hoof, an’ then, putting all yer weight on yer left, coil up them there back legs of yers, and well...buck.” I am conflicted about this. This shouldn’t be a difficult task. I mean, fuck, I bucked Twilight’s bookshelf this morning! Then again, I wasn’t thinking about cracking my hoof. Right, just swallow your pride and follow the instructions given to you. I attempt to hop up a little putting all my weight on my front left hoof, recoil my back legs and then unleash. My reward is the rather satisfying sound of, ‘KRAWK!’ Alright! I kicked the tree! I bucked! I look at Applejack. “So, for the first, ‘buck,’ out of my first time bucking, how did I do?” I see a face that I am sure I don’t want to see. It’s her wide-eyed, scrunchy mouth, liar-Jack face. Did I fail that hard? I know I didn’t hear any apples fall but her standards can’t be that high right? “Applejack...” She looks back at me and points up at the tree I was meant to be bucking. “Ya did a mighty fine buck for your first time, but..” I turn and look behind me. A surprised horse whinny escapes my mouth. There’s Big Mac knocked to the ground with a hoof indentation on his face. “Ya might to try a little more to yer left...” ============================================================= Big Mac had just walked up the hill to see what Applejack was up to and if she needed help tackling the southwest hill. He found it odd that he hadn’t seen her all morning. What’s more, Winona was acting mighty peculiar. It wasn’t normal to see her by Applejack’s side most of the time when she was on the farm, and now she was looking up at a hill, her ears drooped and whimpering. There was the silhouette of Applejack along with some other pony that he couldn’t make out from the farmhouse. “It can’t be Crab Apple,” Big Mac thought to himself. The pony was too big. “Who could it be? Ah know ah saw a saddle bag in the guest room this morning, but ah don’t know any pony with a marshmallow decal.” As he approached the top of the hill he could hear Applejack having a conversation with what had to be a strange mare. He’d get his answers soon enough. “Why wouldn’t Applejack let me know if we were going ta have company other than craba-” Just then, Big Mac felt the sting of something solid and hard smacking against his face. Had he walked into a tree? He didn’t have any time to think about that as he fell to the ground and dizziness overtook him. There was a bit of conversation that he couldn’t make out, and then a rather loud shout. “OH FET! FET! FET! FET! I just kicked Big Mac in the face!” Shouted the strange mare. Big Mac opened his eyes and looked at the two of them, dizzily. “Is he going to be alright?” She asked. “Ah reckon that it’s guna take more than a buck from somepony like yerself to put him out ta pasture.” Applejack came close. “Big Mac, ya gona be alright?” Big Mac tried to shake his head of the dizziness. “Would you six kindly stop the orchard from spinn’n? Ah’d like ta get off now..” “Eeeyup, he’s gun’a be just fine,” Applejack said. The world came back into focus for Big Mac. There stood a rather upset and worried looking mare with sparkly blue eyes and a messy brown mane. “Are you sure he’s going to be alright?” “Sure as sugar.” Applejack went to her brother. “Big Mac, this here’s Heartbreak. She’s going to be assisting us with the apple harvest.” Heartbreak glared at Applejack. “H.B., please.” she requested, backing away from Big Mac. ============================================================== Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck. I just kicked Big Mac in the head. There are a lot of awkward horrible things wrong with this situation. One, I kicked Big Mac in the head. Two, Applejack introduced me wrong. At least I think she did it wrong. And finally, Applejack said that I bucked Big Mac. I am going to have to ask her never to utter those words ever again. Then again, maybe I shouldn’t make a big deal about it. If I make a big fuss about it, then she’s going to ask questions. And I don’t want her asking questions. Though there is one thing that is puzzling me. Next to, ‘Ponyville Confidential,’ this is the most that I have ever seen Big Mag speak. He bows his head at me. “A pleasure ta meet you, Miss Heartbreak.” Damn it. Two things at once that I hate. Gender specific pronouns and my name. “Please, just call me, ‘H.B.,’” I reply back. “Are you sure you’re ok?” “Eeeyu-” He wobbles a bit and almost falls over before catching himself. “Fet!” I jump forward in a clumsy attempt to catch him. I look over his face to make sure that he isn’t bleeding. “Are you sure you’re alright?” Applejack pushes me aside to assess the situation. “He’s quite alright there, Heartbreak.” She looks at his face. “Yup, no bleeding, no deep brusin.” She looks at me with a rather odd expression that I can’t place. “Eeeyup, ponies from these here parts are a lot tougher than ya think.” I don’t know that expression, but I know that I don’t like it.