It was early in the morning in Ponyville as Applejack and her older brother Big Mac were at work on Sweet Apple acres. Each tree in the orchard had dozens of fresh, red, green, and pink apples waiting to be picked. Applebucking season was upon them. Despite the large size of the orchard, both Applejack and Big Mac felt very calm over the large task ahead of them. The two of them were currently bucking trees, filling baskets with apples, and then filling wooden carts with them to be taken back up to Ponyville and then sold. Applejack had just finished filling one of the carts, wiping sweat from her forehead.
“Whew, what a day”, she said to herself. She looked around, taking in the large amount of apple trees they still had to pick. “This has gotta be the largest bumper crop of apples I’ve ever seen.
“Eeeyup”, said Big Mac as he lifted another basket full of apples onto the cart. “We got our work cut out for us.” He too looked around, he seemed more skeptical than his sister over how big of a task this would be. Applejack noticed as she gave her older brother a playful bump.
“Nothing too much that we can’t handle”, she said trying to lift her brother’s spirits. “Now then, can you take this load back to the farm? I assume you can handle this, right?” Big Mac nodded with a confident smile. “I’ll take that as a yes. Don’t forget to bring back the next one.”
Big Mac nodded as he got around to the front of the cart and started to pull. He was a tall stallion, possibly even the tallest one in Ponyville. He was a red pony with a bright orange mane and tail and white hoofs with his cutie mark depicting a perfectly ripe green apple. While he didn’t wear a hat like his sister, Big Mac did wear a brown scarf around his neck. With his large stature, the wooden cart wasn’t as much of a hassle for him as it would’ve been for other ponies due to its large size and it being at full capacity with apples. Nevertheless, it wasn’t weightless as Big Mac tried to pull the cart up a small hill.
Though he didn’t struggle a lot, the sounds from the cart signaled that it was having a much harder time. The cart was old and years of use along with rain, snow, and summer heat hadn’t been kind to it. When he reached the top and started walking downhill, a squeaking sound could be heard from the cart. Big Mac chose to ignore thinking that the axle was simply in need of some oil, but that didn’t stop the squeaking from growing louder and louder. And then, it all happened at once.
The squeaking quickly culminated into cracking. Big Mac barely had time to react as the entire left wheel broke off, causing it to roll down the hill. With the only thing keeping the two-wheeled cart stable now gone, it instantly fell on its side and started to slide forward, picking Big Mac along with it as he yelped in surprise. He and the cart slid down the hill as the apples and baskets practically flew in the air before landing on the ground. They continued their descent until the cart hit a rock, causing it to land on its front which sent Big Mac tumbling out of it. Big Mac sat there in a daze over what had just happened. He was so dumbstruck that he didn’t notice when the cart started to lean forward until it crashed down onto one of his legs.
This resulted in a painful sounding crack which was enough to make Big Mac cry out in pain. Luckily for him, his cry didn’t go unheard since he hadn’t traveled that far from the orchard. Applejack had just filled two more baskets when she heard her brother’s yell of pain.
“Big Mac!”, she called out only to be received with no reply. Instinctively, she immediately ran after her brother, fearing something very bad had happened.
Rodan and Anguirus were currently waiting in line at a store to pay for the items they wished to buy. It had been a few days since they first moved into Ponyville and those few days had been fairly routine. Their days were usually filled with training, walking around town to find either restaurants or stores, and occasionally running into familiar faces. They felt they were adjusting to their new lives fairly well. Despite his sunglasses, impatience was written on Rodan’s face as he repeatedly tapped the floor with his hoof while Anguirus was the complete opposite as they waited for the ponies in front of them to finish checking out. After what felt like a minute to Anguirus but a whole day to Rodan, they finally reached the front of the line.
“Whew, finally, thought I was standing in front of a bunch of mannequins for a second”, commented Rodan as he placed their items in front of the pony that would check them out.
“You do know there’s a reason as to why Gojira decided to not come with us for shopping”, said Anguirus.
“Yeah, cause he wanted to stay behind and train some more”, answered Rodan.
“No, it’s because he knew you’d act like this and didn’t want to deal with the sense of embarrassment that I’m dealing with right now”, said Anguirus as he gestured to some of the ponies which were giving them glances.
“So what, not my fault they can’t resist my good looks”, joked Rodan. Anguirus gave Rodan a blunt expression.
“What good looks?”, he asked. Rodan gave his brother a glare through his shades, but before he could retort the cashier, a yellow mare wearing an apron, at the counter spoke up.
“Alright, that’ll be sixteen bits”, she said. Rodan reached into his satchel and after a few seconds pulled out the exact amount. He gave them to the mare who seemed pleased. “Have a nice day you two.”
“Thanks sweetheart”, replied Rodan as he and Anguirus walked away leaving a fairly flustered mare behind.
“Your lucky Lisa isn’t around”, said Anguirus. “I’m pretty sure she would’ve had your wings if you did that in front of her.”
“When I flirt with other mares, it’s just for fun. It’s only when I do it to Lisa is when it’s genuine”, said Rodan as they walked through the streets of Ponyville. He looked into his satchel with a bit of a frown. “I hate to say this, but it looks like these bits are starting to run dry.”
“I know, we're gonna have to start finding jobs soon”, replied Anguirus. “How has the job hunt been going, by the way?”
“Not great, there just aren’t that many ponies who are hiring. I’m pretty sure Gojira hasn’t been having much luck either”, answered Rodan. “It especially doesn’t help when everyone is immediately intimidated by you just because you’re taller than them.” Anguirus was at first confused by this, but he quickly understood why. The stares he received in the store should’ve been a giveaway.
“Then what are we going to do? Are we gonna have to start hunting in the forest for food?”, he asked in a sarcastic way. Rodan lightly chuckled.
“No, me and Gojira will keep trying and if worse comes to worse, we’ll probably ask Caesar for more bits. Though, I don’t think Gojira would consider that option”, said Rodan.
“But, what do we do if we still can’t find any jobs? You know we can’t ask for bits from Caesar forever”, said Anguirus.
Rodan tried thinking of an answer, but his mind was mostly blank. He and Gojira had been job hunting for a few days now. They had tried simple grocery stores, to floral shops, to pawn shops, only for them to come out empty hoofed. There were still some jobs that they hadn’t tried asking for yet, but the number of them was slowly starting to drop. It wasn’t too concerning, but Rodan knew if they didn’t find some way to earn bits soon, they wouldn’t be staying in Ponyville for very much longer.
“Well, I don’t really-”, Rodan was cut off when someone spoke before him.
“Evening you two”, said a familiar voice. The two brothers turned to see Rarity walking with Rainbow Dash who didn’t seem completely thrilled to see them.
“Oh, hey, Rarity was it?”, asked Anguirus. He then turned toward Rainbow Dash. “And you’re Rainbow Dash, right?”
“The one and only”, Rainbow Dash replied with a confident pose.
“How have you both been?”, asked Rarity.
“We’ve been doing well, currently in the middle of some grocery shopping”, Rodan answered. “How about you two?”
“Well we’re both doing great. In fact, we’re doing some shopping of our very own”, said Rarity as she gestured to the many, many bags that she and Rainbow Dash were carrying. Each seemed to be filled with clothes, sewing materials, buttons, and other accessories. Though Rarity seemed happy, the same couldn’t be said for Rainbow Dash.
“I know you’re big on fashion or whatever, but do you have to buy out Equestria’s entire stock of cloth?”, asked Rainbow Dash as her wings seemed ready to fall off from the number of bags she was holding.
“Just gathering the essentials, darling”, replied Rarity. “And besides, they were on sale!”
“Oh yeah, how could I forget the ‘buy 50 pieces of clothing and get the 51st for free’ deal”, said Rainbow Dash with sarcasm.
“Believe me, darling, the second you see what I’ll do with all of this, you’ll be begging to go shopping with me again”, said Rarity. Rainbow Dash merely rolled her eyes.
“Well then, it seems you both have been busy”, said Anguirus.
“You got that right”, said Rainbow Dash. “By the way, I remember there being three of you. Where’s the other one?”
“Well, umm…”, said Anguirus. He couldn’t find the words. He couldn’t say that Gojira was at their house training, that’d surely raise some suspicion. He was about to say something, but Rodan beat him to it.
“Gojira’s a bit of a heavy sleeper so me and Anguirus left early to grab some stuff for lunch. For all we know, he’s probably still asleep”, Rodan answered even though truth be told Gojira was probably the lightest sleeper out of the three. Rarity seemed to believe it, though Rainbow Dash seemed more skeptical.
“Reminds me of a certain somepony”, said Rarity as she glanced at Rainbow Dash.
“Hey, you woke me up right after my daily flight around Ponyville. Not my fault my sleeping schedule clashed with yours”, replied Rainbow Dash.
“Wait, you fly around Ponyville everyday?”, asked Rodan.
“You bet, if I’m gonna become a wondercolt, then I’ve gotta work for it”, said Rainbow Dash. “I know, it's really impressive.” She expected Rodan to look amazed, but instead she received a mere laugh which caught her a bit off guard.
“No, no. I’m asking as in, is that it?”, said Rodan. Both Rarity and especially Rainbow Dash looked confused.
“What do you mean that’s it? It’s not like you could do any better”, asked Rainbow Dash. This again sparked a laugh from Rodan.
‘Rodan, calm yourself.’
“You think flying around Ponyville is impressive, try flying around the entirety of the Everfree forest for every single day”, said Rodan. “That will give you wings of steel.” Rainbow Dash had always thought her flying routine was impressive, until she heard Rodan’s. However, she didn’t want him to know that.
“Oh please, nopony could handle something like that without their wings falling off”, she replied. Rodan once again couldn’t help but snicker.
“You’d be surprised”, he said to himself.
“Uhh, so…anything interesting happening here in Ponyville”, asked Anguirus, wanting to change the subject.
“Oh dear, that reminds me”, said Rarity with a look of realization. “Did you two hear about what happened to Big Mac?” Both Anguirus and Rodan looked very confused.
“Uhh…who?”, asked Rodan.
“Big Mac is Applejack’s older brother”, said Rarity. “Apparently he broke his leg so now Applejack has got to buck the entire orchard at Sweet Apple Acres by herself.”
“The entire orchard?”, asked Anguirus. He looked in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, all he saw were trees with many of them having apples on them. “Doesn’t that seem a bit much for one pony to handle?”
“I would think so, but when it comes to applebucking, there’s nopony better for the job other than Applejack”, replied Rarity.
While Rainbow Dash agreed with what Rarity said, Anguirus wasn’t as sure as she was. He hadn’t known Applejack for very long, but he still felt as though she was way in over her head. He could imagine that a farm as large as the one he saw when he and his brothers first arrived at Ponyville would take many ponies a few days to fully harvest, let alone only one. But, then again, he hadn’t talked with Applejack and the times when he did she seemed to show tons of passion towards her farm. So maybe she could handle a task that big, but he was still unsure over it.
“I don’t know, has anypony checked in on her?”, he asked.
“Umm, as far as I’m aware of no”, said Rainbow Dash.
“She’ll be fine, Anguirus”, said Rodan. “Besides, we should probably be heading home before Gojira wakes up.” He gestured for the two of them to start walking. “It was nice seeing you two, see ya la-”, Rodan's sentence was cut short when his ear twitched, causing him to look in the direction the noise was coming from. “Hey, do you guys hear that?”, he asked.
“Hear what, exactly”, asked Rainbow Dash. Though she didn’t hear it, she felt it as a low rumbling could be felt causing many ponies to bounce in place. In an attempt to see what was causing the ruckus, Rainbow Dash quickly flew into the air to see where it was coming from. To say the very least, it wasn’t what she expected.
Rarity spoke up to her. “Rainbow Dash, what do you see-”.
“Stampede!”, exclaimed Rainbow Dash.
Indeed she was right as near the bridge of Ponyville, several cows were charging almost in some kind of panic. Their speed resulted in a large dust cloud that was thick enough to practically blind each one of them as they raced toward Ponyville in a relentless charge. When they started to come into view, Rodan, Anguirus, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash quickly moved toward cover, not without the struggle of having to move all of the bags and clothes that Rarity had bought. They weren’t the only ones rushing. Almost every single pony in Ponyville were in a mass panic as those who were close to their house or some kind of building quickly ran inside while those who weren’t had to avoid the path that the cattle were taking. Everyone was terrified, or at least almost everyone. In the middle of all the chaos was a certain pink pony, constantly jittering from the vibrations caused by the stampede.
“HeY, tHiS mAkEs My VoIcE sOuNd SiLlY”, said Pinkie Pie as she seemed to be the only pony to actually be enjoying what was happening.
Throughout the panic, Mayor Mare tried her hardest to calm the crowd, only for her words to go completely unheard. Anguirus, Rarity, and Rodan stayed under the roof of a nearby building while Rainbow Dash and other pegasus took to the air to avoid the inevitable danger.
“What ever shall we do?”, asked Rarity with dread in her voice.
Rodan looked toward Rarity and his younger brother and then back toward the approaching herd of runaway cattle. He wanted to jump in and do or at least say something, but he didn’t want to risk revealing the kaiju spirits. Perhaps he could lead the stampede away, destroy the bridge so they couldn’t cross, his options were very limited and risky. Luckily for him he didn’t have to worry for much longer. He looked back toward the herd and could’ve sworn he saw not something but someone. With his enhanced vision, he managed to easily see who was running alongside the cattle. It seemed almost too coincidental that the mare he saw was the same mare they were just talking about.
“No way”, he said to himself.
“Look!”, exclaimed Rainbow Dash.
Everyone who heard Rainbow Dash looked in the direction of the oncoming stampede. The orange color, yellow mane, and farmer’s hat instantly gave away the identity of the mare in question. Applejack galloped through the cattle with a white and brown dog. Once everyone saw her, a unanimous sense of relief and hope was felt throughout the ponies of Ponyville as they cheered for Applejack.
“Yeehaw!”, exclaimed Applejack as she turned toward the dog that was running alongside her. “Move to the other side, Winona.”
Winona barked to let her master know she understood. Applejack moved toward the right side of the herd while Winona moved to the left. Applejack pushed the cattle into a straight line with Winona barking at the cows on her side to do the same. Everyone watched in anticipation as the herd grew closer and closer. Every pony was tense, except for Pinkie (of course) who watched the spectacle with a bag of popcorn that appeared from seemingly nowhere.
With the herd of cows under control, the main goal was to now redirect them from Ponyville. Winona jumped across several cows until she reached the front of the stampede. Applejack quickly followed suit as she jumped on to a cow herself. Luckily, before the stampede, she had grabbed a rope which she used to lasso the cow at the front of the herd as the rope latched around its neck. Applejack then jumped off the cow and with all her might she pulled the rope, causing the cow to slowly change direction away from Ponyville. With mere feet left, the stampede turned away from the bridge to Ponyville just in time.
Applejack tugged hard against the rope, leaving small trenches of dirt from her hooves as she managed to bring the stampede to a stop. Each pony in Ponyville had a moment of amazement after what they witnessed before a large uproar of applause could be heard for their savior. Pinkie even held an orange flag with an apple on it. Applejack and her trusty dog Winona stood tall and proud atop one of the hills before the bridge as several ponies ran toward her. This included Rarity and Rainbow Dash who left most of the bags behind.
With most of the ponies gone, Rodan looked at his younger brother. “See, Anguirus, if she can handle a whole stampede, then she can handle some apple trees”, said Rodan. “Now come on, I’m sure Gojira’s training has left him famished.”
Rodan started to walk away with Anguirus following shortly after. He looked back at Applejack who looked so happy and proud. Perhaps she could handle herself, after all she did say her family owned Sweet Apple Acres, maybe she could handle the work on her own. He could only wish her luck.
Gojira sat perfectly still in the center of an open part of the forest. He was breathing heavily as the sun stared down at him. The blue glow that was present on his mane and tail during his fight with Nightmare Moon was slowly spreading across his body. The amount of energy he felt was great but manageable, however he could tell that it was slowly increasing. During this, Alpha watched over him while analyzing his tactics.
‘Stay focused, don’t strain yourself, and keep a level head. And when you’ve built enough energy, release it all across your body instead of just through your mouth.’
Gojira clenched his teeth as he tried his hardest to not open his jaw. He tried to spread the energy along his body, however it primarily stayed in his chest. A small flicker could be seen from his hooves as some scales started to form. Sweat began to form on Gojira’s temple as the energy reached a maximum. And before long, he couldn’t keep it in. His jaw was forced open and a short blast of energy was shot out of it, hitting a nearby tree with enough power to cause it to collapse. Gojira managed to cut the output off, but he had to kneel due to the heavy amount of built up energy completely draining him of oxygen. He slammed his hoof on the ground in frustration.
“Damnit!”, he yelled.
‘Calm yourself, this isn’t the first time it’s happened. You need to work more on controlling your energy first before learning how to use my pulse. It’ll just take time.’
Gojira let out a sigh as he caught his breath. “I know, it’s just that the sun’s solar rays keep throwing me off”, he said.
‘The sun’s rays should help replenish your energy. If you don’t treat it as such, you can and will become easily overwhelmed with the amount of energy you’ll be forced to take in.’
“Yeah, got that”, said Gojira as he stood back up. “Let’s just try it again.”
‘I wouldn’t advise that. You’ve exhausted yourself enough as it is. If you try to use the pulse again in your current state, you could pass out. We’ll try again tomorrow or until you’ve fully recharged.’
“I’m fine, I can handle another attempt”, replied Gojira as he got back into position. His mane and tail started to spark blue along with his eyes which briefly turned blue for a second. However, only after a few seconds, he was forced to cut off his energy as he felt a slight discomfort in his head.
‘Listen to me, Gojira, you mustn’t rush this process. It took you several years just to figure out how to handle your physical capabilities. The pulse will take time, but it shall come to you. You just have to be patient and continue to push yourself, but never overwork yourself.’
Gojira groaned. He wanted to continue, but even he had to admit that his last attempt had worn him out more than he realized. “Alright fine, that’ll be enough for today”, he said as he started to walk back toward the house. He glanced back at the tree he knocked down. “Shouldn’t we move that?”
‘Anguirus and Fierce will take care of it when they and Phoenix return. His energy can be used on quickening plant growth, unlike you who relies on it for other purposes.’
Gojira slowly walked through the forest, he had gone further out to ensure no one would see the bright blue color he emitted. As he walked, he could feel the heat of the sun against his back. This warmth helped him feel energized as his mane and tail flashed bright blue for a couple of seconds. He could see what Alpha was talking about when he mentioned how the sun was more of a replenisher. Though for him, he more so preferred to be a night owl rather than an early bird. The night sky was always more appealing to him rather than the brisk morning. He wasn’t obsessed with the night, unlike a certain somepony, but the sight of the luminescent moon with millions of stars scattered around it was so beautiful to him. His thoughts were interrupted when he soon arrived at the back door to the house. Before he entered, the sound of the front door opening could be heard.
“Speak of the devils, themselves”, said Gojira as he lightly snickered. He opened the back door and entered the kitchen. He was met with his two brothers talking amongst themselves until they noticed their older brother.
“Morning, Sleepy Beauty”, said Rodan. “How was your nap?”
“Nap?”, asked Gojira.
“It’s an excuse we made when we met Rarity and Rainbow Dash. They were wondering how you were doing”, answered Anguirus. “And by the looks of things, you seem to have been busy.”
“You better believe it”, said Gojira as he walked over to the sink and poured himself a glass of water. “How was grocery shopping?”
“Fairly well, we got most of the stuff we needed. Though we couldn’t afford everything”, said Rodan, showing Gojira the bag. Gojira looked through the bag, taking in how few items there were.
“It’s not a whole lot, but it should do for this week”, said Gojira. “How many bits are left?” Rodan was hesitant to answer so instead he showed him his satchel containing the bits. Once Gojira looked inside, he had his answer. “Guess that explains why you didn’t buy any eggs.”
“Yeah, we’re definitely going to have to go job hunting again today and possibly tomorrow…and maybe the next day”, said Rodan. Gojira had heard something like that many times before. He was upset, but managed to hide it from his brothers.
“Yep, I guess we should start getting ready to head out”, said Gojira as he started taking the groceries and putting them in either the fridge or pantry. “By the way, what was with all the commotion? Thought an earthquake was happening from all the tremors I was feeling.”
“There weren't any tremors, just a crap ton of cattle”, said Rodan. Gojira looked as though he had expected something different.
“Cattle?”, asked Gojira.
“Yeah, it was insane. There were like twenty cows or more charging toward Ponyville, everypony was panicking and freaking out. And then, out of nowhere, Applejack gallops in and manages to control an entire stampede with just her dog, a rope, and her own two hooves”, replied Anguirus with a ton of enthusiasm. In fact, possibly too much enthusiasm according to the faces his brothers were giving him. “I-I mean…y-you know it…it was pretty-…pretty cool.”
“I guess it was”, said Gojira trying to hold back his laughter.
“I gotta say, that mare is impressive”, said Rodan. “She handles not only a whole herd of cattle, but even her whole farm by herself. I don’t think I expected anypony here to have that kinda stamina. Apart from yours truly.” Though Rodan hinted at himself, Gojira lightly snickered.
“Thanks for the compliment, Rodey”, said Gojira. Rodan slightly stuttered as he gave his older brother a glare.
“I wasn’t talking about-… never mind”, he replied. Both Gojira and Anguirus couldn’t help but chuckle, it was too easy to tease the middle colt.
“Anyways, is that true? She’s going to handle her whole farm by herself”, asked Gojira.
“Not the whole farm, I’d imagine, but definitely the orchard at the very least”, replied Rodan.
“I’ll be damned, that’s pretty impressive”, said Gojira.
“It is, but doesn’t that kinda seem like a lot for just one mare to handle?”, asked Anguirus. “I mean, have you seen the size of that orchard?”
Rodan let out a sigh. “Aang, she’ll be fine, why are you so worried about it”, he said.
“I don’t know, it just seems like a lot of work for one mare. Hay, it’s a lot of work for a whole group of ponies. I’m not saying she can’t do it, but still”, said Anguirus. He then turned toward his oldest brother. “Don’t you think so, Gojira?”
“Well…I mean, if she knows what she’s doing then I assume she could be fine. It is her family’s farm after all ”, said Gojira.
“That’s what I’m saying”, said Rodan. “Look, Aang, if she’s sophisticated enough to handle a charging stampede, then what makes you think apple trees of all things will be too much for her to handle?”
“It just seems like too much, that’s all”, replied Anguirus.
“Alright, alright, there’s no need to get heated over this”, said Gojira as he got between his brothers. “Anguirus, though I appreciate your concerns, this is a situation we aren’t a part of. Especially since we have bigger issues that we should be focusing on, such as learning our spirits and finding some kind of source of income.” He put his hoof on his younger brother’s shoulder. “If Applejack is as capable as you both say she is, then surely she’ll be able to handle her own farm.”
Anguirus thought about it and let out a sigh. Perhaps his brothers were right, perhaps he was making this situation seem worse than it was. Maybe Applejack could handle herself on her farm, for all he knew she was probably used to working by herself. However, there was still that thought of doubt that still roamed in his mind. But from what everyone had told him, maybe he wasn’t giving Applejack enough credit, he had just seen her handle an entire stampede. He still felt unsure, but decided to stay open minded for now.
“Okay, sorry, guess I didn’t think about it like that”, he said.
“It’s fine, bro. It was nice of you to express your thoughts”, said Gojira. He then turned toward Rodan. “Head to the bathroom to freshen up, we’ll be doing some more job searching shortly after.” Rodan rolled his eyes.
“You know, this job searching is starting to feel more like a job in of itself”, he said as he then walked to the bathroom. Gojira hated to admit it, but he was starting to feel the same way.
“Anguirus, while we’re gone, you be sure to continue your training. You can use the knocked down tree to help learn your strength”, said Gojira.
“Sure thing, Goji-…wait, what tree?”, asked Anguirus.
“Don’t worry, you can’t miss it”, Gojira replied. After a while, Rodan walked out of the bathroom.
“Alright, I’m ready”, he said.
“Then let’s go”, said Gojira as he gestured toward the door. “We’ll probably be back at around dinner time.”
“Don’t be surprised if we come back early and empty hoofed”, said Rodan as he and Gojira left the house, leaving Anguirus by himself. Although he knew he should, training wasn’t something that Anguirus was thinking about.
‘You’re still worried about Applejack.’
“I know, I know”, said Anguirus. “I feel like I shouldn’t be, but I can’t help it. Everypony seems so laid back about it, but why ain’t I?” His symbol flashed as Fierce appeared from his mane covered in light brown mist.
‘It could be because you’re so used to the enhancements that we give you that you might’ve forgotten what normal ponies can do. So you may think that certain jobs are harder for regular ponies than they really are.’
“I guess”, said Anguirus. The more he thought about it, the more unsure he became. He let out a sigh. “It seems weird, but I can’t stop thinking about it. It feels like I should do something, but I don’t know what.” Fierce floated in front of Anguirus, taking in his vessel’s tone of voice. He could tell that something was on Anguirus’ mind, something more that wasn’t just him worrying over Applejack. In a small form or another, Fierce felt the same way.
‘You wish you could do more.’ Anguirus didn’t say anything, but his body spoke volumes as he slightly nodded. ‘I can see that you aren’t in the right mood to be training, so how about I make a proposition. If we were to visit Sweet Apple Acres and see if our assistance is at all needed, would that help clear your mind which would allow us to start training.’
Anguirus heard what Fierce said and at first he didn’t believe it. “What?”, exclaimed Anguirus. “But, you’re usually strict about training, and what would Gojira and Rodan think when they see that we’re gone?”
‘Consider this a part of your training. Learning how to keep your powers under control without the aid of your siblings. This should also help put you in a healthy enough state so we can start real training when we return.’
“But, why? You’d usually be apprehensive about me going somewhere without Gojira or Rodan. Why are you cool with it now?”, asked Anguirus.
‘I’m not just your spirit, I’m also your protector and my job is to not only keep you safe, but to also make sure that you’re happy. And since I can tell that this is starting to bother you, a course of action needs to be taken. So we’ll head to Sweet Apple Acres and see if everything is fine then we’ll come back here and start your actual training. Is that fine with you?’
Anguirus thought about it, the more he did the move convinced he became. If Fierce was okay with him traveling to Sweet Apple Acres by himself, then surely he was. “Well, then what are we still standing here for?”, he said. “Let’s get going.” Anguirus’ symbol flashed as Fierce disappeared from sight.
‘Just remember, we’re only staying there if our help is needed. If not, we’ll come back here, understand?’
“Yep, got it”, said Anguirus as he walked out the door, closing it behind him.
Sweet Apple Acres
It took roughly ten minutes or so, but eventually Anguirus made it to the farm area of Ponyville. Sweet Apple Acres was home to several fields containing different crops, animal pens, a chicken coop, a stone well, several stacks of hay, and a large red barn in the center. To the right of the barn was the orchard which was packed with freshly grown apple trees ready to be bucked. To the left was an orange farmhouse with parts of the walls and roof in the shape of wooden barrels. Anguirus looked around, he saw no sign of Applejack or anyone for that matter, only the occasional clucking from the chickens. He took the large scale of the farm.
“It’s much bigger than I thought it was”, he said as he walked through the gate. “Hello! Anypony here!” He was given no response.
‘Check the farmhouse first, somepony must be in there.’
Anguirus nodded as he walked down a dirt path which led to the house that stood left from the barn. As he approached it, he managed to get a better view of the orchard. It was just as big as the whole farm itself. This established his thought he had earlier about how much work this was for one mare to handle. Nevertheless, he walked up to the front door of the farmhouse and rang the doorbell. After a few seconds, the door slowly opened. Up until this point, aside from Applejack, Anguirus hadn’t met any other member of the Apple family, so he didn’t know what to expect. However, he didn’t expect to be met with a light green, elderly mare with a white mane and tail, an orange scarf with an apple pattern, and a cutie mark depicting an apple pie on her back leg.
“Well, howdy there”, she said with a high pitched, western accent.
“Umm, hello”, said Anguirus, a bit taken aback by the age of this mare. “My name is Anguirus Zawa and I was wondering if a pony named Applejack was here?”
“Applejack? Why, she just left to deliver some of our fresh apples to Ponyville”, said the mare as she pointed down the path Anguirus just came from. “In fact, ya just missed her.”
“Damn”, said Anguirus to himself.
“Why do you ask, if I may ask myself?”, asked the mare.
“Well, you see ma’am, I was wondering if she at all needed any help since I heard that she would be working by herself on your farm and it seems like a lot of work”, answered Anguirus.
“Oh, don’t you be worrying about that. My granddaughter has been working on this farm ever since she was a wee little filly”, said the mare. “If there’s a pony I could trust to never let our family down, it’d be her.” From the tone of the mare and the words she said, Anguirus started to have second thoughts.
“Oh, well if you’re so sure-”, Anguirus was cut off when the mare started to talk again.
“But, I’m never one to not accept another pair of hooves”, she said as she extended her hoof. “The name’s Granny Smith and if you got a knack for hard work, than you’re more than welcome to work here on Sweet Apple Acres.” Anguirus took Granny Smith’s hoof and shook it.
“Thank you, Miss-…”, her words registered in his mind. “Wait, I’m not trying to-”, he ended up being cut off when Granny Smith looked back inside the house.
“Applebloom! Can you come down here please”, she called out to the upstairs part of the house.
“Coming, Granny”, said what sounded like a young, filly’s voice.
“Umm, I’m sorry ma’am, but I think there’s been some kind of misunderstan-”, Anguirus was once again cut off when the young filly walked up to the door. She was a light yellow filly with a bright red mane and tail. She wore a bright pink which was almost as big as her own head.
“This here is my youngest granddaughter, Applebloom”, said Granny Smith. “Say hi, Applebloom.”
“Howdy, mister”, said the young filly as she had to crane her neck back to look up at Anguirus. “Whoa, I don’t think I’ve seen a pony quite like you before, are you new?” Anguirus merely waved at her.
“Umm, yeah, I just moved here with my brothers a few days ago”, he said as he looked back at Granny Smith. “But, I’m sure there's been a mistake. I’m not looking for a job, I was asking if your granddaughter, Applejack, was in need of any assistance.”
“Well, since Applejack is currently at Ponyville, Big Mac is in no way ready to start work, and little Applebloom here is too young to work by herself, I’d say we are in need of your help”, said Granny Smith with a smile. She then looked down at Applebloom. “Applebloom, can you please take him down to the orchard and show him what to do?”
“Right on it, Granny”, said Applebloom as she walked out the door. “Come on, mister.” Anguirus looked at her and then back at Granny Smith, this whole conversation wasn’t going as he planned.
“Umm, okay”, he said as he walked alongside Applebloom. “This isn’t what I expected to happen”, he whispered to himself.
‘Neither did I, however we could benefit from this.’
“How”, asked Anguirus.
‘As you know, your brothers have been working hard to find a job. And it may seem as though you have found one before them.’
Anguirus quickly understood what Fierce was hinting at. “But I don’t know anything about farming. I didn’t even know Applebucking Season was a thing”, he whispered.
‘That doesn’t mean you can’t learn how to. Besides, that’s what the teacher is for.’ Anguirus was at first confused when Fierce mentioned a teacher, until he realized that by teacher he meant the only other pony near him.
“You’re kidding”, said Anguiru with a deadpan expression.
‘No, no, I’m no kidder, that’s more of Rodan’s job.’
“She’s a filly, how much could she know?”, asked Anguirus.
‘She knows more than either of us. Just follow whatever she says and try to adapt to it or find easier methods. If that doesn’t work then go back up to the farmhouse and ask for assistance. And above all else, don’t use your powers. That should go without saying at this point.’
“I know that, duh”, said Anguirus. He was about to say something else, but ended up being cut off by a young voice.
“Excuse me, mister, but you sure do like to talk to yourself a lot”, said Applebloom. Anguirus stood still for a few seconds, he hadn’t realized that he had been talking out loud.
“Uhh, yeah…errm, sorry, it’s a bad habit”, he said, trying to play it off. Applebloom gave him a sideways glance as she started to walk again towards the orchard.
‘Thought you knew.’
Anguirus mentally groaned. He and Applebloom walked past the gate and entered the orchard. All that either of them could see was nothing but apple trees, many of which having been picked clean of their apples. Anguirus could assume that it was Applejack who had done most of the work which had him fairly impressed. He couldn’t think of any other mare tackling a task that large. However, though Applejack had made good progress, she was only close to halfway through picking the whole orchard of trees. If this was a few days worth of work, according to Granny Smith, then he didn’t even want to imagine how long it would take until the whole orchard had been bucked. After a while, Anguirus and Applebloom walked to a tree which seemed to be where Applejack had stopped courtesy of the wooden cart and baskets placed around the stump of the tree.
“So, applebucking is simple. All you need to do is go up to a tree, like this one, and buck it ‘til all the apples fall down and land in these here baskets”, said Applebloom as she looked back up at Anguirus.
“Easy enough”, he said.
Anguirus walked up to the tree, it was the average height and width of all the other trees in the field. One important thing to mention, Anguirus had never seen how applebucking is done. The only thing he knew was that you had to hit a tree hard enough to knock down the apples. But when he heard the word “buck”, he assumed that meant something different than kicking the tree. So when he got into position, he faced the tree head on.
Applebloom watched in confusion as Anguirus rushed forward, causing several scales to form on his head, and slammed his head against the trunk of the tree. A loud bang could be heard as several apples, branches, and leaves fell from the tree. Anguirus hit the tree so hard that several cracks could be seen in the base of the trunk. Anguirus walked backward, pieces of bark falling from his head as the scales immediately disappeared back into his head.
“So, how was that?”, asked Anguirus.
Before Applebloom could say anything, the sound of splitting wood caused both of them to look back at the tree. It was starting to lean. More cracks started to form around the trunk, causing the tree to lean more. Eventually, the shift in weight became too much for the trunk to handle. The last remaining pieces of bark broke away, leaving nothing to keep the tree from meeting the ground. With a loud crash, the tree collapsed on the ground, causing whatever apples left to break from their branches and scatter across the grass. Both Anguirus and Applebloom watched with shocked expressions at the tree which now layed dead. Anguirus especially looked at it in disbelief. He slowly turned to face Applebloom.
“I-I…am, s-so sorry…I…”, he tried thinking of some kind of excuse, but nothing came to his mind. That was until he looked at Applebloom. She didn’t seem scared or frightened, but instead amazed.
“Whoa…that, was…incredible!”, exclaimed Applebloom. Her tone of voice caught Anguirus off guard. “I mean…wow. I don’t think even Big Mac could do something like that. How’d you do that? Where’d you come from? What did you say your name was again?” Her questions came at Anguirus all at once.
“Uhh…my name is Anguirus Zawa and…”, he looked back at the downed tree, “guess I don’t know my own strength”, he said, trying to play it off as a joke.
“How’d you do that?”, Applebloom asked, getting closer to Anguirus.
“I…don’t know, it just kinda happened. Me and my brothers do work out a lot, so I guess that paid off”, said Anguirus. “Sorry about the tree.”
“Don’t worry about it, that tree was on the smaller size anyways. Though, I don’t think AJ would appreciate you knocking down our orchard”, said Applebloom. “Come on, I’ll show you what to actually do.” She walked over to another tree and signaled for Anguirus to follow her.
‘That was too close. Your physical strength is greater than you think. So though you may feel like you’re using enough force, I’d advise you to hold back.’
Anguirus mentally nodded, he had come to Sweet Apple Acres to help and in the process nearly revealed the secret of the kaiju spirits. Once Applebloom showed him actually how applebucking is done, realizing that it made more sense to kick the trees, Anguirus managed himself much better. Taking the advice Fierce gave him, Anguirus held back on several of his kicks, making sure to avoid a similar incident. He eventually found a rhythm which included him putting baskets under the tree before kicking said tree, allowing the apples to fall in the baskets; apart from the first couple of times when they completely missed. All the while Applebloom watched him looking very intrigued, still thinking about what had happened earlier.
“So, didn’t you say that you just moved to Ponyville?”, she asked.
“Yeah, around a week ago”, said Anguirus. “Me and my brothers have been constantly moving from town to town. We’re hoping Ponyville will be our last.”
“What do you think of Ponyville?”, asked Applebloom.
“I like it, though we couldn’t have chosen a worse day to come than the Summer Sun celebration. Who could’ve guessed that their special guest would’ve been a corrupted alicorn”, said Anguirus. Applebloom lightly chuckled.
“Well I promise you that it don’t get much better than here in Ponyville”, she said.
“I could’ve guessed”, said Anguirus as he kicked another tree. The apples fell into the baskets with only a couple missing by just a few inches.
“I’d say you’re starting to get the hang of this”, said Applebloom. “You sure you haven’t done this before?”
“Positive, didn’t you see my first attempt”, said Anguirus causing Applebloom to laugh. Anguirus picked up one of the baskets and carried it over to the wooden cart. As he did so, Applebloom noticed something, she had never seen a cutie mark like the one on Anguirus.
“Hey, what kind of cutie mark is that?”, she asked. Anguirus turned to face her, looking down at the mark on his hind leg.
“Oh that, that’s not a cutie mark…”, the sound of glass shattering could be heard only by Anguirus as his words replayed in his mind.
‘Oh crap’, he thought to himself. Applebloom looked puzzled.
“Really? Then what is it?”, she asked. Anguirus kept his composure and tried to quickly think of something. Luckily for him, he had help.
‘A tattoo, it’s a tattoo.’
“It-It’s a tattoo”, said Anguirus.
“But, where’s your cutie mark?”, asked Applebloom.
“I guess I never got one”, answered Anguirus. Applebloom looked appalled by his response.
“What! But, how? I thought all ponies got a cutie mark when they were little”, she said.
“I must’ve been one of those rare occasions. None of my brothers got one either. Our mother probably thought that there was something wrong with us because she would take us to the hospital almost everyday”, said Anguirus. Though, truth be told, the reason why was more so because he and his brothers were always rough housing each other. But he thought best to leave that part out.
“Doesn’t that bother you though? I mean, aren’t cutie marks supposed to make you feel…special?”, asked Applebloom. Anguirus grabbed another basket as he walked over to another tree.
“I can see why somepony would be upset over that fact, but I’m not one of those ponies. And in my eyes, that makes me special enough”, said Anguirus as he placed the baskets down. Applebloom thought about what Anguirus said, causing her to look at where a cutie mark of her own would be.
“So, it is possible for a pony to not have a cutie mark”, she said with traces of disappointment in her voice. Anguirus noticed this, perhaps he could have worded it better.
“Well, who knows. Just because I didn’t get one doesn’t mean you won’t”, said Anguirus as he bent down to Applebloom’s level. “Besides, some ponies have to wait until they’re thirty for them to gain a cutie mark. It’s a process that takes time and can’t be rushed. So I say, keep doing what you do and some day what you do will be what makes you special.”
Applebloom thought about Anguirus’ words which brought a smile to her face. “I don’t think I’ve thought about that. Thanks…what’s your name again?”, she asked.
“Anguirus, but if that’s too hard, you can call me Aang”, said Anguirus.
“Ok, ya’know, I’m happy that you decided to work here at Sweet Apple Acres”, said Applebloom.
“Oh, no, I’m not actually gonna-”
“What in tarnation!”
Anguirus was cut off by the voice of another pony, one that sounded very familiar. Both he and Applebloom turned toward the entrance of the gate and were met with the surprised, but also tired, eyes of Applejack who had come across the downed tree courtesy of Anguirus. She looked up from the tree and saw the stallion and filly who looked back at her.
“Anguirus? Applebloom? What in the Sam Hill happened over here?”, asked Applejack, referring to the tree.
“Oh, that”, said Anguirus. “Well, you see, there was a bit of an…incident.”
“As in…”, said Applejack.
“You should’ve seen it, AJ. Aang charged at that trunk full force with his head and with a single bash he managed to knock the whole thing over”, exclaimed Applebloom with excitement in her voice.
“O-k, but what are you doing here?”, asked Applejack while looking at Anguirus.
“Umm, I thought you would need help with your workload so I decided to come down here and help. But you weren’t here and your grandma kinda sent me to work”, answered Anguirus.
“Yeah, and now he’s gonna work with us”, said Applebloom. “Isn’t that right, Aang?” Anguirus looked at the happy eyes of Applebloom and the tired, confused look on Applejack.
“Uhh, well…not exactly”, answered Anguirus. Applebloom looked a bit disappointed at his words.
“But, I thought that’s what you came here for”, said Applebloom.
“It is, or at least not in this way”, said Anguirus. Applejack listened to the two, her head hurt too much to think about it.
“Alright, alright”, she said, catching the attention of both Anguirus and Applebloom. Applejack bent down toward her little sister. “Why don’t you head back up to the farmhouse and see what Granny plans on cooking for dinner tonight.” The thought of her grandmother’s cooking put a smile on Applebloom’s face.
“Sure thing, AJ”, she said as she headed for the exit to the orchard. Not before turning back to give a quick wave. “Bye, Aang, it was nice meeting you.” Anguirus waved back as Applebloom left the orchard, leaving her sister and new friend behind. Applejack turned to face Anguirus, her drowzee eyes could barely focus.
“So explain to me again why you’re here”, she said.
“Well, as I said, I just wanted to see if you needed any help once I heard that you would be handling your entire farm by yourself”, said Anguirus as he took in the state that Applejack was in. The bags under her eyes and the somewhat messy hair was one thing, but the smell coming from her hat was another.
Applejack placed a hoof against her temple in an attempt to calm her head down. “Look, Anguirus, I appreciate the help, but I can handle this perfectly by myself”, she said as she then started to walk over to the tree that Anguirus had set baskets down.
“Are you sure, because, and I mean this with no disrespect, you both look and smell like you could use some kind of help”, said Anguirus.
“None taken, and I’ll be fine. I’m just a little winded from helping some friends up in Ponyville, is all. I’ll be back at my full strength before Granny finishes cooling her pie”, said Applejack, though she couldn’t help but yawn in between her sentences.
“I’m not so sure, I mean, that sounds like a lot of work, doesn’t it?”, said Anguirus. “And not to mention what happened earlier today with the stampede, that had to of depleted some energy.”
“I said I’m fine, Anguirus”, said Applejack, a bit firmly, as she positioned herself to kick the tree.
“Still, is there anything I could help you with? Maybe get you a glass of water or maybe help with the farm or-”, Anguirus was cut off by the sound of Applejack kicking the tree, causing the apples to fall perfectly into each basket.
“I can handle this on my own! I can prove to you, hay, to everypony that I don’t need help!”, exclaimed Applejack as she got into Anguirus’ face, forcing him to take a few steps back. She didn’t wait for any kind of response from Anguirus as she immediately began to pick up the baskets and take them to the wooden cart.
“O…Ok then. I guess I’ll be on my way then”, said Anguirus as he started to walk toward the entrance of the orchard. “I’ll see you around in Ponyville, once you’re done that is.” Applejack barely batted an eye as she continued to buck away at the many apple trees.
Seeing as there was now no point to stick around, Anguirus made his way toward the exit of the orchard and Sweet Apple Acres as a result. Unbeknownst to him, Applejack did turn around to see the stallion off. Her expression, which was once that of frustration, had now gathered hints of regret. This didn’t last as she immediately sent herself back to work, after all, the trees weren’t going to buck themselves. Anguirus walked down the path back to Ponyville, alone with merely his thoughts.
‘Don’t take it too hard, you did the right thing by offering your support. She was the one to make the decision to accept it, and she decided to not take it which is not your fault.’
“I know, but you could tell that she needed it. It makes no sense to me, why didn’t she ask for any help?”, asked Anguirus.
‘Perhaps it could be pride or maybe she has some kind of goal in mind. We can only guess as only she knows.’
Anguirus looked back at the farm, he could see that many apple trees still had their apples. “Something tells me she doesn’t”, said Anguirus.
“Please, I saw your help wanted ad in the paper, I really need this job”, said Rodan. He was standing in front of a counter of a store where an old, blue stallion was standing. He gave Rodan a stoic look.
“Sorry, sir, but that position has already been fulfilled by somepony else”, he said.
“What? You’re telling me that some other pony got here before I did?”, asked Rodan.
“Indeed, in fact she’s standing right over there”, said the stallion pointing to a mare. The yellow color scheme and the apron reminded Rodan of a certain mare he met earlier. “Beautiful isn’t she, considering the fact that she’s my daughter.” Rodan looked at the mare the stallion had pointed at and then back at him, he felt as though he didn’t need to be told where this was going.
“I mean…you’re not wrong”, he said, a bit feebly. The old stallion gave him a sideways glance.
“If you couldn’t tell, we don’t have a position open for you. So, unfortunately, the answer is no. Which is a shame, since I’m sure she would’ve liked you”, said the stallion. Rodan merely laughed the comment off.
“Heh, yeah, I’m sure she…yeah”, he said before walking out of the store, feeling a bit thankful he didn’t get the job.
Meanwhile, Gojira was walking out of a flower shop with a mare in tow. She, of course, was much shorter than Gojira and it was obvious that she knew with her uneasy expression. She had a light magenta skin color as well as a light green mane and tail. Her cutie mark depicted two daisies which were reminiscent of her name as Gojira turned to face her.
“Ms.Daisy, I must ask you to please rethink your decision”, he said.
“I’m sorry, sir, but you don’t really qualify for this kind of work”, said Daisy.
“I know, but can you please just give me a chance. I have two younger siblings to take care of and I’m running dry on bits”, said Gojira.
“Look, there’s no better way to say this, but it’s not going to happen. We just aren’t looking for ponies quite like you. We want to attract customers and honestly you would probably do the opposite”, said Daisy, trying to be nice. “We want ponies that others can look at and feel comfortable with and you don’t fill those criteria. No offense, but you don’t look like the kind of pony that I would trust with some flowers. In fact, I thought you were part of some kind of gang when I first saw you.” Gojira took in Daisy’s words with his neutral expression. Truth be told, he agreed that he wasn’t qualified for a job like this, which was why he had saved it for last.
He breathed in and let out a sigh. “Well, thank you for the…opportunity. I’ll be sure to recommend your business to friends”, said Gojira as he walked away. Daisy watched as the tall stallion walked away, feeling half bad but also half relieved.
Gojira walked through Ponyville until he reached a large water fountain. He leaned up against the edge of the fountain as he pulled out a piece of paper and pencil from his satchel. The paper had several names of different stores in Ponyville and each one of them had a slash through them. The only ones that didn’t were two near the bottom of the paper-which didn’t last long as Gojira immediately crossed one of them out. He took a good long look at the list, feeling disappointed and concerned. After a while, he heard the sound of wings flapping causing him to look up and be met by Rodan.
“Have any luck?”, asked Gojira.
“What do you think?”, replied Rodan. Gojira didn’t need to be told twice as he crossed out the last remaining name on the list. “Are there any that we missed?”
“What do you think?”, said Gojira. Rodan let out a sigh as he took a seat next to his older brother.
“Sooo…what do we do now?”, asked Rodan.
“Though I don’t want to, we may have to ask Caesar to lend us some more bits”, said Gojira. “That should buy us some time to come up with something.” Rodan looked back at the list, there were around twenty names with twenty of them crossed out. He looked up and noticed a couple of glances their way, only for them to immediately look away once he noticed them.
“I don’t get it”, he said. “I keep being told that everypony in Ponyville is so accepting and kind. And yet, no matter where we go, we’re always being judged.” Gojira nodded with his conversation with Daisy replaying in his mind.
“I know how you feel, it is quite hypocritical. However, I do understand where they’re coming from”, said Gojira. “Remember, we are abnormally tall ponies. It will take time for others to become used to seeing us, so it may be a while before we can try again at finding a job.”
“How long do you think that’ll take?”, asked Rodan. Gojira didn’t say anything, his neutral expression did all the talking. Rodan looked down at his hooves, he and Gojira were dumbfounded on what to do. “Seems that our spirits won’t be what causes us to leave early.”
‘Wouldn’t have been our faults.’
Gojira looked over at the nervous expression on his brother’s face. The uncertainty of what other option to take was plastered all over his younger brother, despite the shades trying to hide it. Gojira remembered what he was told on the very first day they came to Ponyville, before he took his very first step into the town. He took a breath before standing up and walking in front of Rodan, he put on a small comforting smile.
“Hey, don’t worry, we’ll be fine. If we could handle Nightmare Moon, then we can handle some job surfing”, said Gojira as he reached a hoof out to his little brother. “Why don’t we go grab a bite from somewhere to help clear our minds? Didn’t you say something about some kind of bakery, how about we check that place out?” Rodan looked at the hoof stretched out to him, a small smile formed on his face. He grabbed his brother’s hoof and was hoisted back on to his own hooves.
“Alright, come on, I’ll lead the way”, said Rodan as he gestured for Gojira to follow him. The two walked through the streets until what they hoped was the site of Sugarcube Corner. “Trust me, Goji. Their pastries are incredible. And you just gotta try the coffee, it’s to die…for?”
Instead, they came across something that was the opposite of a welcoming and appetizing bakery. A blue tent with a large red cross was set up outside the entrance of Sugarcube Corner. There were roughly twenty ponies inside the tent with the majority of them looking as green as a frog. Some were either lying in beds, others were lying on the floor unable to stand, some were hunched over on the side of their beds with their heads lodged into wooden buckets vomiting the entirety of their stomachs. The few that weren’t incredibly sick were nurses and doctors that were rushing around trying to get to every pony that they could. Gojira and Rodan watched the scene in front of them, Gojira then turned toward Rodan with a neutral expression.
“Didn’t think you meant it”, said Gojira. Before Rodan could speak, the sound of a familiar voice got to his brother first.
“Hey Gojira.” Both Gojira and Rodan turned around and were met with the smiling face of Spike and the worried face of Twilight.
“Oh, hello Spike, hello Twilight”, said Gojira. Just then, a nurse pony walked out from the tent and noticed Twilight.
“Twilight!”, she called out. Twilight heard her voice and rushed over with Spike, Gojira, and Rodan following.
“Hey, Spectacles. We came as soon as we could”, said Twilight.
“Thank you, Twilight. We need all the help we can get”, said Spectacles as she looked back at the many ponies who were either clutching their stomachs in agony or rushing around trying to help each one of them.
“What do you think caused this?”, asked Rodan. Just then, Spike noticed something on the ground and picked it up. It looked to be a brown muffin with a bite taken out of it.
“It was a mishap with the baked goods”, said Spectacles.
“No, not baked goods”, said Pinkie Pie who, despite her name, was no less green than the other ponies in the tent. “Baked bad”, she said right before she bent over on the side of the bed to let loose some unwanted liquids in a nearby bucket.
“Baked goods?”, said Gojira to himself. He then looked over and saw Spike holding up what he assumed to be one of the baked goods. “Uhh, Spike, can I see that please?”
“Oh, sure”, said Spike as he handed Gojira the muffin. Gojira looked it over, sniffed it, and-though he didn’t want to-took a bite out of it. Twilight and Rodan watched with wide eyes while Spike noticed a small plate with the same muffins on them. Gojira chewed it until a certain crunch caused him to stop.
“Oh, that makes more sense”, he said.
“What do you mean?”, asked Rodan. Suddenly, Gojira spat the chewed up bite of presumably muffin on the ground.
“It’s vile. No wonder why so many ponies got sick”, said Gojira. He looked back at the muffin he was holding, what looked like some kind of worm was starting to crawl out of it. He then turned toward Rodan. “I thought you said that Sugarcube Corner made good pastries.”
“They do, or at least that’s what Lisa told…oh crap”, said Rodan, realizing who he had completely forgotten about. “Lisa! Is Lisa here?” He rushed over to Spectacles who took him over to see her. The state he saw her in was sorry to say the least.
“R-Rr-Rodey”, Lisa weakly said. Even through his sunglasses, Rodan was incredibly worried.
“It’s okay, Lisa. I’m here”, he said quietly. Meanwhile, Spike had found some more of the “baked goods” and brought them over to Gojira and Twilight.
“Want one?”, he asked while taking a bite of another. The site of it caused Twilight to back up.
“At least someone likes them”, said Gojira.
“Applejack”, said Twilight to herself. She said it quietly, but that didn’t stop Gojira from hearing it.
“What?”, he asked.
“I think Applejack is the cause of this. I told her she was overworking herself, but she just didn’t listen to me”, said Twilight.
“Okay, but how could she cause all of this?”, asked Gojira, referring to the sick ponies.
“Applejack was helping Pinkie with baking”, Twilight turned toward Pinkie, “isn’t that right, Pinkie Pie?”, she asked. Pinkie lifted her head from the bucket.
“Yep”, she said before a gagging sound caused her to put her head back in the bucket.
“This isn’t the first time Applejack's drowsiness caused her to mess up. She was helping Rainbow Dash earlier with her flying training, who ended up on my balcony, and she caused another stampede with bunnies”, said Twilight. Gojira looked confused.
“Where were we when that happened?”, he asked.
“The point is that enough is enough”, said Twilight.
“Perhaps we should pay Applejack a visit, offer her a hoof, and not take no for an answer”, he said.
“Too late, already tried”, said a voice. Gojira and Twilight turned to see where it came from. Gojira was shocked to see Angurius walking up to them.
“Anguirus? What are you doing here?”, asked Gojira.
“I just got back from Sweet Apple Acres”, answered Anguirus. “I wanted to help Applejack out, but she simply brushed my assistance off to the side.” He looked down feeling a bit disappointed in himself. “I just wanted to help.”
“It’s fine, Angurius”, said Twilight. “I already tried to talk with her, she just won’t listen.” Gojira looked at Twilight, then at Anguirus, and then at the many ponies who were so sick they could barely even stand. What especially put him over the edge was the worried expression in Rodan as he looked over Lisa’s green face. He took a deep breath before turning toward the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.
“Come on, let’s go”, he said, signaling for Angurius and Twilight to follow him.
“To where?”, asked Anguirus.
“We’re going to talk with Applejack and say that enough is enough”, answered Gojira.
“But me and Twilight already tried, she won’t listen”, said Anguirus. That didn’t stop Gojira.
“Well, third times the charm. If somepony has to get through to her that she needs to take a break, then I’m your stallion”, said Gojira as he walked toward Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight and Anguirus looked at each other before walking after him.
Sweet Apple Acres
Applejack felt exhausted. Her eyes were half open, her rear legs were aching, and her back was practically dead from the number of baskets and carts she had to carry. Nevertheless, she was still at it, kicking away at tree after tree, catching apple after apple. This didn’t even take into account the number of ponies that she had helped and the more she had promised to. She had been stretched thin to the point where something had to break, but she refused it to be her. She continued to kick away at a tree, despite each kick being weaker than the last and it taking more kicks to knock even a couple of apples off the tree.
“Must…keep…bucking. Just…a few…more-…must keep…harvesting”, said Applejack, phasing in and out of sentences. She was so focused on bucking that she didn’t even notice the three ponies approaching her.
“Applejack!”, exclaimed Gojira. Gojira’s voice was enough to cause Applejack to jostle awake.
“Huh, hey, who? What?”, she stuttered. She then saw the three ponies in front of her. “Oh, hey fellers”, she said as she continued to kick away at the tree.
“Applejack, you’re applebucking has been causing several problems around Ponyville”, said Twilight. “You’ve overpropelled pegasus, terrorized a batch of newly borned baby bunnies, and practically poisoned a large number of ponies. We don’t care what you say, you need help.”
“Indeed, I mean look at you. You look like you can barely even stand”, said Gojira. “Whether you accept some kind of assistance, or we’ll be forced to-” he was cut off when Applejack kicked the tree causing apples to fall and land in the baskets. The site formed a smile on Applejack's face.
“Heh, no I don’t. Look I did it”, said Applejack as she looked toward the orchard. Gojira, Anguirus, and Twilight did the same and they were surprised. For as far as they could see, almost each tree had been bucked clean of its apples. Applejack wore a triumphant look on her face. “I harvested the entire field of Sweet Apple Acres without any of your help! How do you like them apples?” It was impressive, at first. Until Anguirus looked away from the field of trees and noticed something else.
“Umm, Applejack”, said Anguirus wearily.
“Yes?”, said Applejack. Both Gojira and Twilight looked at what Anguirus was looking at, their surprised faces were replaced with ones of empathy.
“What about them apples?”, asked Anguirus.
“What abo-”, Applejack stopped talking and slowly began to turn around to where the three were facing.
The site nearly brought her to tears. She had finished harvesting, at least an entire half of the orchard while the other half remained almost completely untouched. Applejack stared at it for a while, taking in her mistake and letting out short, incomprehensible mumbling. She’d been working for several days on just one piece of her farm. Something had finally broken. The three looked at each other with worried expressions.
“Umm, Applejack, are you…ok?”, asked Anguirus.
Applejack didn’t say anything, apart from the constant stream of mumbling. She then started to sway as she felt incredibly dizzy. She tried to regain her balance by stepping forward, but instead lost her balance and started to tip. She probably would’ve fallen over, if it hadn’t been for both Anguirus and Gojira to catch her and lay her down on the ground against the tree. She didn’t pass out, but was incredibly dazed and confused as when her vision fully healed, she saw Twilight, Gojira, and Anguirus looking concerned.
“Applejack?”, said Twilight.
“Huh”, replied Applejack, Twilight’s voice sounded more like an echo to her.
“Oh good, you’re awake”, replied Twilight, feeling very relieved.
“Wh-What happened”, asked Applejack.
“You passed out once you saw all those apple trees and nearly hit your head on the ground”, said Anguirus.
“Oh…I did”, said Applejack, looking and sounding disappointed in herself.
“Yes, you did. Which wouldn’t have happened if you had simply asked for some form of assistance”, said Gojira. “For now, just lie here and rest.”
“No, no, I’m fine”, said Applejack as she tried to stand up. “I still…have…harvesting…to-”, her legs started to wobble and she eventually lost her strength. Luckily for her, Anguirus caught her and laid her back against the tree.
“Applejack, please listen to them”, said Anguirus looking directly into Applejack’s eyes.
“Thanks, Aang”, said Applejack. “But, I promise you all, I can still-”, she couldn’t get her words out of her mouth until Gojira stomped his hoof against the ground.
“Enough, Applejack! I don’t wish to sound hypocritical, but this stubbornness needs to stop”, said Gojira. “Have you even taken a look at yourself? You have bags under your eyes, your mane is a mess, and you can’t even stand up.” Gojira walked up to Applejack. “You need help, else Celestia knows what could possibly happen if you don’t.”
Applejack looked at Gojira with wide eyes from his voice. “Uhh, what Gojira means to say is, you can’t keep going like this”, said Twilight as she walked up and knelt down in front of Applejack. “I want you to know that I completely respect the Apple family's ways. You’re always there to anypony in need, so maybe you can put a little of your stubborn pride aside and allow your friends to help you.” Applejack looked toward the orchard, the trees came off as intimidating to her more than anything else. Her hooves ached and her head pounded from just the thought of bucking another tree or lifting another basket. With a heavy heart and a cracked pride, she let out a sigh.
“Ok, Twilight, you’re right”, she softly said.
“And this time we won’t take no for an-…wait, what”, said Gojira.
“Yes, fellers. Yes, please, I could really use your help”, said Applejack as she put her hooves together in a begging position. Twilight gave her friend a warm smile.
“Of course, Applejack”, she said. Applejack then turned toward Anguirus.
“And Aang, I’m sorry for getting upset with you. I should’ve realized that you were only doing what’s best for me”, said Applejack. “Can you forgive me?”
“Of course, I mean, am I still allowed to work here?”, asked Anguirus. A smile formed on Applejack's face as she nodded. “Then that says it, let’s get to work.” Angurius walked up to one of the carts and pulled some baskets off of it.
“Wait, hold on, did you say work? As in, a job?”, asked Gojira.
“Well kinda, I never said that I wasn’t looking for one. Oh, also, when they say applebucking, they really want you to kick the tree”, said Anguirus. Gojira looked even more confused. “I learned that the hard way.”
One Day Later
‘Dear Princess Celestia, my friend Applejack is the best friend a pony could ever have and she’s always there to help anypony. The only trouble is, when she needs help, she finds it hard to accept it. So while friendship is about giving ourself to friends, it’s also about accepting what our friends have to offer. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.’
Twilight finished writing as she looked up from her letter. The mane six, the three brothers, and Spike were hard at work bucking trees, catching apples, pulling carts, and moving baskets. Rainbow Dash and Rodan were flying in the air picking apples from the harder to reach places of the tree, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie moved baskets to each of the carts, and Anguirus and Gojira primarily focused on bucking each tree to knock down every last apple. While it took Applejack a whole week to finish harvesting half of the orchard, they all had nearly managed to complete the other half in a single day. Twilight looked at their progress with a smile. She walked up to Gojira and Anguirus who stood in front of a large batch of trees.
“Talk about an exercise. My hooves are gonna have blisters by the time we’re done with this”, said Gojira as he kicked another tree, knocking the apples down from it.
‘You’ve been shot with magic and thrown through walls, you can handle some worn out hooves.’
“If you want, I can help you two”, said Twilight.
“No need, me and Aang can handle this”, said Gojira.
“Gojira, don’t start that up again. We already saw what happened to Applejack”, said Twilight.
“Alright, fine, take your best crack at it”, said Gojira as he lifted the baskets he filled and walked out of the way.
Twilight walked forward and looked at each of the trees. She took a deep breath as her horn began to flicker and glow a bright purple. Suddenly, each of the apples on each of the trees started to also glow purple. Gojira and Anguirus watched in amazement as the apples then began to float in the air, detaching from their branches as the flew into the sky. They then started to float down into several baskets, landing perfectly and neatly into every single one of them. Not a single apple missed its target. With that, the purple glow dissipated from both the apples and Twilight’s horn. Twilight looked at the two brothers with a look of completion on her face. While Anguirus was impressed, Gojira wore a neutral expression.
“Really”, he said. Twilight couldn’t help but giggle. Just then, Applejack walked up, pushing a table cart that had a tray of glass bottles on it.
“How about y’all take a little break?”, she said. “I got some fine apple juice waiting for ya.” The sound of a refreshing drink caught everyone’s attention as they walked up. Gojira and Rodan were about to do the same, until they realized that someone had stayed behind. They looked back and saw Aang still at work.
“Hey, Aang, come on it’s break time”, said Rodan. Anguirus stopped what he was doing and looked up.
“You guys go on ahead, there’s only a few more trees left until we’re done”, said Anguirus before he immediately got back to work. Rodan was about to say something when Gojira put a hoof on his shoulder.
“Ok bro, just don’t wear yourself out”, said Gojira as he and Rodan walked toward the rest.
“Isn’t it kind of ironic that Anguirus found a job before either of us did?”, asked Rodan. Gojira merely shrugged.
“Kinda, however we both should also be thankful. Now we actually have a source of income”, said Gojira.
‘But this also means that Anguirus will now have to train harder as he will now have to interact with other ponies more often. If what he says is correct about him knocking down a tree with little effort, then he may not have his powers controlled quite yet.’
Rodan took a mental sigh, there simply was no pleasing them. Both he and Gojira walked up to the table and took a sip out of a bottle of apple juice. They watched as Anguirus continued to work hard in the orchard. They both had to agree, their younger brother was starting to grow up.
“Whew, that applebucking sure made me hungry”, said Rainbow Dash. Just then, Spike walked up holding a tray with some familiar looking baked goods.
“And I’ve got the perfect treat”, said Spike. One look at them was enough to make even Pinkie Pie gross out.
“Eww”, she said in a high pitched voice. “Spike, I threw those away. Where’d you get them?”
“From the trash”, said Spike, acting unaware to what he was saying. The mane six unanimously reacted in disgust. The only ones that didn’t were Gojira and Rodan who Spike turned to. “Just a little nibble?”
If it wasn’t for his child-like innocence, Gojira wouldn’t have done what he did. “Sure thing, Spike”, he said before grabbing one of the muffins and taking a small bite.
“Uhh, didn’t the last one you had cause you to spit it out?”, asked Rodan. Gojira reluctantly swallowed the barely edible pastry.
“Well, you know what they say, the more you eat something the more used to it you become”, said Gojira.
He never took another bite.