There was something about working on Sweet Apple Acres that made ponies, or really any types of being, want to complain. It was normal for one to whine and moan when doing hard work in any field, but Applejack swore on her hat that anytime she asked for a few extra hooves to help in getting apples bucked and carried back to the farm, she knew the chance of hearing a groan or two had gone up by ninety percent.
The current source of today’s groaning and whining was coming from Ember, the current Dragon Lord of the Dragon Lands. Her full title was Princess Ember, but Applejack had been told by the blue dragon on multiple occasions that she didn’t want to hear the full title and just to be referred to by her first name. Applejack was more than happy to oblige such a request, calling someone by their full title could be a mouthful at times.
“You know, I don’t even think it’s the weight of these things that’s the hard part for me,” Ember remarked, making her way back to the farmhouse with Applejack, carrying two large crates full of apples in her arms. “It’s just how many there are. We’ve been at this for how many hours now, and we’ve still got so many more to deal with!” she complained.
Applejack just chuckled. “And here I thought the Dragon Lord herself would be more up for this sorta thing. I bet you could carry 100 of those at once and even break a sweat. A little back and forth ain’t gonna kill ya.”
Ember just rolled her eyes as they kept walking. “I’m never gonna get you ponies. Doing this sort of thing willingly day in and day out, you gotta be insane.”
“Heh heh, yeah, guess kinda have to think to buck a tree to get its apples. But then again, us Earth Ponies don’t got any fancy wings or horns to get ‘em otherwise. Gotta find the best solutions sometimes,” Applejack explained, before looking to the apples Ember was carrying. “Pardon if this sounds rude, but why the sudden interest in apples all of a sudden? I don’t know much about dragon culture but I do know your diets consist of gems and rubies.”
Ember stopped in place to put the apples down and awkwardly scratch at the back of her head. “Well, it’s a bit embarrassing to say but… a lot of the dragons in the Dragon Lands could use more healthy foods in our circulation. Seeing a lot of the guys getting winded too easily and more sick. Thought I’d bring in some of the food that seems to keep you ponies up and going. Twilight Glimmer or whoever that one was said that fruit’d be the easiest to add without causing any damage to our organs or whatever.” She then picked an apple from one of the crates and bit into it, loudly crunching and chewing on the thing. “Guess I get why you ponies eat these. Not as hard as a diamond but still got a nice texture to it. These are the ones they’ll probably take in without much fuss.”
“You get a lot of push back when you try to make big decisions like that?”
“Oh man, all the time. You can’t go and make a single new rule without like… five hundred voices all screaming out at you on how they think the rule is stupid and how they could take you on no problem!” Ember then smirked. “Of course, it always is a problem when they try it. But it can get just a bit tiring.”
“I hear ya there,” Applejack replied as the two resumed their walk back. “I love my siblings, but let me tell you, they will let me know when they don’t like an idea I got. Applebloom acted like the idea of having a salad for dinner would be the death of her. Girl can eat pies, cakes, and sweets full of fake flavors and sugars no problem, but some leafy greens with apple slices? That’s a mountain too high!”
“You ever get her to try it?”
“She did and now it’s one of her favorite meals ever!” Applejack exclaimed before the two burst out into laughter. Applejack liked Ember. Maybe it was this brashness that she had that was similar to the kind Rainbow Dash had, but there was something different to her. Like Ember just naturally was this kind of cool and tough that Rainbow Dash hoped everypony else saw her as. “Sometimes the best option really is to just get em to bite the bullet and do it. Most times, they’ll end up loving it. Kinda like what we’re doing right now.”
“Sorry, but I still hate all the back and forth, and that’s not gonna change.”
“Well, if you wanted to speed things up, you know you always could just use them wings of yours and fly back and forth. It wouldn’t offend me one bit. Getting the work done is what’s important, no matter what way you do it,” Applejack explained, flashing the dragon an honest and reassuring smile.
Ember seemed to think on it, looking up at the sky for a bit before down at Applejack. “... Nah. I think I’ll do it the pony way, just this once.”
“Yeah? And why’s that?”
Ember simply shrugged. “It wouldn’t be as fun, I guess. Now that I’ve got someone to talk to, flying back and forth over and over would somehow make things even more boring, even if it was fast. That and I wouldn’t wanna make you feel all bad or anything, passing you over and over when you weren’t even on your next crate yet.” The two had another laugh, both of them not seeming to notice that they or the other were blushing in the moment. They continued their walk back, carrying their crates of apples and talking.
There was something about working on Sweet Apple Acres that seemed to make ponies, or really any type of being, want to complain. But sometimes, Applejack didn’t mind when they did. That sometimes just made the work even more fun for her.