Chronicles of a Cowpony's Hat

by TCSNxs

Chronicles of a Cowpony's Hat

“AJ, you were awesome,” the excitable Rainbow Dash’s wings were all but fluttering, “Especially during the barrel race! I mean, wow!”

“Shucks RD, it weren’t nothing special,” Applejack said. She was doing her best to be modest, though her heart was swelling a little.

“‘Nothing special’? You broke a freaking record,” the pegasus replied. She slugged her cider before continuing, “I mean, you didn’t win all the events, but what was your worst place? Fifth?”

“Fourth,” another earth pony spoke. His brown fur and tall muscular build made him pleasant to look at. A little blonde goatee matched his mane which was peaking out from under his black Minnetrotka, “and only by a fluke. Ma’am, mighty fine work today.”

Applejack blushed. During the Equestria Rodeo, this year in Yokelahoma, she won a fair number of Blue Ribbons, besting her performance last year by a fair margin. The humble farm pony was truly overwhelmed.

The brown earth pony spoke up a bit and offered a hoof, “Name’s Duster. Pleasure to meet ya.”

“Ah’m Applejack and this here is Rainbow Dash,” the pegasus was grinning. Both mares shook hooves with the stallion and continued enjoying their drinks. The bar was full of cowponies enjoying their drinks and conversation. The wooden planked floor was worn and stained in a few spots, but nopony seemed to notice.

“Applejack, Rainbow,” she offered a toast with his mug of lager, “Where y’all from?”

“Ponyville,” Rainbow spoke up with some pride.

The three continued to verse for a long while, swapping various stories. Applejack got a few more pats on her back from various ponies around the bar, and the barkeep even bought a round for the farm mare and her friend. Dash felt kind of out of place of it all, but the cider helped negate those feelings while Duster and Applejack both made it a point to keep the pegasus involved in their discourse.

A few ponies weren’t too involved with the atmosphere though. Decked with harsh brands all over their bodies and sporting various wild mane styles, they were laughing amongst themselves. Rainbow took notice of the group, but tried not to pay much attention.

“Hey hick, where’d you get that hat?” called out the largest of the group. He wore a long mustache and flowing, unkempt mane. The other ponies in his company broke into a clouded laughter. Applejack knew the comment was directed at her. She shook her head and nursed her cider.

“I’m talking to you,” he got up, and the rest of the group, seven ponies in total, started a slow trot to the bar, “Where’d you get that hat?”

Rainbow was glaring daggers at the group, but Duster and Applejack kept to themselves towards the bar. Knowing she would lose the numbers game, she turned back around and looked into her mug that seemed depressingly empty. The group of garishly burned ponies were around the trio when the biggest of the group, sporting a few skull brands on each of his forelegs, gave a dark laugh. The gang fanned out a bit around the trio, cutting off their escape routes.

“Hey hayseed, do you mind if I try on your hat? I’ve always wanted one,” His hoof started reaching for Applejack’s hat.

It never got close. Faster than the branded pony could blink, a brown hoof swatted away the attempt, just barely beating a Rainbow's hoof to it. Duster, Rainbow and Applejack were quick to their hooves, staring the large branded pony in the face.

“Ya won’t touch mah hat,” Applejack spoke with a deadly calm that unnerved even the audacious Rainbow.

The large branded earth pony took a few seconds to regain his composure, taking comfort in numbers, “How you going to stop me, filly.”

“I’ll show you how,” Rainbow was ready to fly tackle the branded pony, but a brown hoof held her back.

“Ah probably can’t. But all things equal, y’all should consider it best left alone,” Applejack spoke more in her normal tone.

The branded earth pony seemed unimpressed, “And why’s that?”

“See, this hat here,” Applejack removed her Stetson and held it in a forehoof, “was my Pa’s. He gave it to me before he passed on.”

“Now Applejack, ya need to look out for your sister and brother,” Gala Apple's normally strong voice seemed so weak. His condition had worsened in the past few weeks, but he wouldn’t show such weakness in front of his daughter. Regardless, it wouldn’t be long now.

“But Pa, where ya going?” the young Applejack was confused and scared while holding her father’s clammy hoof. A silent Macintosh was being held by Granny Smith as the young foal named Applebloom was left crying in her crib.

Gala paused for a second, “To visit your Ma." Trembling, he slipped his hoof from his daughter's embrace to the bedpost where a brown Stetson rested. He managed to set it atop his dauther's head, "Now, remember Ah love you...and Ah’ll always be proud of you....”

“Pa? Pa, wake up.”

The last vestiges of sunlight were breaking over the farm before settling over the tall trees of the Everfree. The pink clouds slowly gave way to a full moon that bathed the entirety of Sweet Apple Acres in its pale light.

“Pa!”

Applejack fought hard to keep her composure. Her eyes still rimmed with wetness still as she kept her eyes closed for a second. Rainbow wanted hug her longtime friend, but Duster kept his hoof on the pegasus’s shoulder. Both kept a eye on Applejack before she regained her composure, then watched for the gang.

The branded group held their ground, looking to a cue from their leader designate, but he had nothing to say. Applejack pressed on, adjusting her hat to expose the front.

“And this here cut,” Applejack was pointing to the curved front of her hat, “was taken out when I first met Rainbow.” She motioned to her excitable friend.

“Consarn it! Come on,” Applejack was pushing down on the post holer with great effort. Macintosh was busy ploughing the west end of the farm and Applebloom was playing with Granny Smith, “Just a little bit more!”

“LOOK OUT!”

Applejack looked up to see a cyan form streaking towards her, “Well, this won’t be good.”

The cyan pegasus crashed into Applejack and the digging tool, throwing both skyward. Applejack turned a full cartwheel and was separated from her prized Stetson. The post holer was doing a perfect pirouette in the air. Applejack landed near the splayed form of the pegasus with a loud thud. The hat hit the ground with the post holer landing blade down on the brim a split second later.

The farm pony looked over to the pegasus and grimaced. Her wings were limp and she appeared to be out cold. Applejack gently tapped her hoof to prone pegasus’ side a few times, fearing the worst.

The pegasus’ eyes shot open, causing a startled Applejack to jump back, “Ha! Hey! Woah! Stop, that tickles!” The pegasus doubled over in a fit of laughter, nearly convulsing in her giggling fit.

Applejack blew a sigh of relief and shook her head, “Ya alright partner?”

The pegasus regained her dignity a moment later, “Heh Yeah,” she slowly got to her hooves, “Sorry about crashing into you like that. See, I got going a little too fast and...”

“It’s alright, sugarcube,” the farmpony extended a hoof to the pegasus, “Name’s Applejack.”

“Rainbow Dash,” she stuck her own hoof out with a cheesy grin, “the awesomest pegasus to ever come out of Cloudsdale!”

“Ya don’t say,” Applejack chuckled at Rainbow’s bravado. She hoofed over to her hat and froze, “Oh hay.”

“What? Something wrong,” Dash was dusting herself off and checking her body for injury.

Applejack picked up her once perfectly circular Stetson and found a perfectly curved chunk taken out from the front of the brim. Her cheeks flushed red as she turned to the pegasus.

Dash took the cue, “Heynicetomeetyougottagobye!” She shot up from the ground a split second before the post holer became a plot holer.

Applejack turned a smirk to her long time friend, “Ah think it looks better now anyway.”

Rainbow gave something caught between a cough and a chuckle, “heh. Yeah, I think so to.”

A few cowponies were standing around the group, watching the verbal exchange as the branded ponies were still looking to the leader for some cue. The large earth pony nearly smiled besides himself, but he wouldn’t admit it.

“Now this scratch,” Applejack was pointing to a discolored mark on the otherwise uniform color of the worn leather, “came from my brother when we were doin’ our first harvest together.”

“Now come on, sis!” the large red stallion spoke encouragingly to his sister.

Applejack stuck her tongue out as she took aim just over her shoulder. She loosed a hard snap of her rear legs, back hooves colliding with the tree trunk with a resounding thud. Only a few apples fell into the waiting buckets.

Applejack dropped to her haunch, “Darn it!”

“Good try, sis. Remember though, it’s not all strength,” Mac spoke, trying to console his frustrated middle sister. Granny Smith was working on teaching Applebloom a few words to add to her limited vocabulary.

“Ya have to hit the tree right right around the strikin’ line of your shoulder,” Mac continued, drawing an imaginary line with his hoof parallel to the ground from his sister’s shoulder, “Ya hit it too low. Now, try again.”

Applejack rose and switched her weight to her forehooves. Taking measured aim, she loosed another strike. As her rear hooves collided with the tree, she felt the shockwave of her strike travel up the trunk and shake the branches.

The tree dropped all its fruit without much protest, save for a loose branch that fell with the apples. Mac looked up and quickly shoved his sister aside. The branch narrowly missed her head, though the resulting deep scratch to the hat that was noticeable.

Regardless, Applejack beamed at her big brother, “Ah did it!”

Mac smiled and rubbed a forehoof into her mane, “Ya sure did. Pa would be proud of ya.” The young Applejack smiled all the more.

Applejack smiled, her pride nearly tangible. Duster and Rainbow were also smiling a bit. Most of the bar was watching the exchange, everypony, save for the branded gang, were wearing their own cowpony hats of various colors and styles.

“Now partner,” Applejack spoke to the leader of the gang, “if your brands mean the same to you as this hat does to me, then we understand each other.”

“And if y’all still want to take it,” Duster’s voice was matter of fact as he spoke to the large branded stallion, “well then...” He looked past the stallion. The branded ponies heard a few necks cracking. They got the point.

“Your move, Brandy,” Dash was hovering, her forehooves crossed in front of her chest, “I suggest you think real hard about it.”

The large blonde maned stallion only took a second before motioning his head towards the door. The group trotted out without further fuss.

“Glad that’s over,” Applejack muttered as the bar went back about its business. Duster and Dash weren’t far behind her.

“AJ, you never told me all that before,” Dash was nursing her newly filled cider, relishing in the taste.

“Never needed to,” Applejack gave her friend a grin. “Ya never made such a fuss.”

“Save for the post holer?” Duster offered.

“Nah, not no more,” she put of a hoof to her longtime friend, “it just gave it character.”