A dark, pre-dawn sky hung over the two ponies as Applejack led Trader deep into one of their many apple orchards. The young pegasus wasn't quite sure which one, as what little Applejack said to him as well as the paths they were taking to reach their destination was all one big blur. Though his morning fright had rattled his drowsiness for a time, it quickly returned to him, slowing both his mind and body.
Noticing that they were stopping, Trader gave his head a rattling shake, clearing his mind and sharpening his wits.
“Alright, Trader,” Applejack said, turning to him as she stood beside a tree, “we can start here.” Luscious apples clung to the branches, tantalizing all who were to see them. At the base of the tree, several wooden baskets sat, like hungry mouths waiting to devour anything that fell into it. It took Trader a few moments to realize that the other trees had the same treatment.
“So... we just kick 'em, right?” the stallion asked, using every ounce of his knowledge toward the subject in that single sentence.
“Basically,” the farmpony replied, rolling her eyes amusingly at his simplification toward what they were doing. “But, let me just show you how it's done, make sure you don't go hurtin' yourself.”
Taking a step back and gesturing for his teacher to continue, Trader watched as Applejack approached the tree and turned her back to it. Leaning forward, the mare lifted herself up to balance perfectly on her front legs, allowing her to raise her hind ones higher up. Bending the back limbs close toward her body, only a short grunt of exertion was uttered as she suddenly kicked out. The very bottom of her hooves struck the tree with a heavy thud, not damaging the bark in the slightest but causing the trunk to shake.
Like a rippling wave in a disturbed pond, the shuddering vibration traveled up the trunk and shook the branches. Only a few leaves were disturbed by the action, the weakest of them which fell from their limbs and floated to the ground. The real prize, the ruby red fruits, all released their hold on the branches, dropping straight down into the baskets.
“There,” Applejack said, admiring her work, proud to see not a single apple out of place.
“Impressive,” replied Trader, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he brought his forehooves together and lightly applauded her. Applejack snorted in a mild lapse of indignation, but her mood quickly lightened as she extended a hoof toward another nearby tree, gesturing for him to take his turn.
His expectations high for himself, the pegasus approached the tree and turned his back to it, following the same motions he had seen the mare preform moments ago. Double checking to make sure he was the proper distance from the tree, he leaned forward and balanced himself on his forelegs. There was a noticeable sway in his body as he failed to hold himself perfectly still, ignoring it however, he bent his back legs closer toward him.
Without waiting a moment longer, he kicked out, the edges of his hooves striking the tree. It was a weak blow. Rather than rattle the tree, his bucking kick instead pushed the pegasus forward, causing him to stumble, lose what little balance he had entirely, and forcing his face into the ground. Only a subtle, insignificant tremble was shown on the tree, looking more like it was laughing at him than anything else.
Moisture covered the stallion's face, his nose nearly burying into the soft ground that was covered in morning dew. The cold droplets were soon met with the warmth of blood, the feeling of embarrassment showing on his cheeks. It was especially worsened as he could clearly hear Applejack laughing, taking no effort in concealing it.
“You've gotta find the right amount of force to put into your buck,” Applejack explained, coming down from her fit of enjoyment. “Too much and you might damage the tree, or yourself. Too little....”
“And you get this...” the pegasus murmured, picking himself up from the mud and wet grass. Looking back at the tree, Trader's eyes fixed onto the trunk with a pure look of disdain. Ready to conquer the oversized splinter and claim its apples for his own, he returned to his position in front of it.
There was only a slight moment of hesitation as he could feel an expectant gaze upon him. It was Applejack, her sights locked intently onto him, ready to gauge his actions and bring corrections when needed. It made him sigh inwardly as he felt little need for something that seemed as simple as kicking a tree. Still, he couldn't ignore how much of a fool he had made himself look in front of her, feeling like it mattered to him for a reason he couldn't yet fathom.
Taking a deep breath to ready himself, Trader balanced his body on his forelimbs and bent his legs back. Determined to not fail this time around, he tightened the muscles in his legs and kicked out. Waiting to feel his hooves strike the tree, he was instead met with a sharp pain shooting through his legs.
Having struck to tree too hard, the force of his blow rattled the tree heavily. On reflex from the pain, he pushed off of the trunk and fell forward once again. This time however, rather than face-planting into the dirt, his entire body flipped forward, causing him to land on his back with an audible thud. The tree itself at least felt the blow this time around. Unfortunately, the heavy strike caused the limbs to shake more so than they should have. Rather than fall gracefully into the baskets set for them, the apples slipped too far, missing the baskets and scattering across the ground in all directions. One apple in particular managed to land right on top of the pegasus responsible, striking him on the nose before joining the others on the grass.
Groaning in pain, Trader brought his hooves to his nose. The bruised tip twitched in agitation at his touch, forcing more jolts of pain through his nerves. With his back to the ground, his eyes looked upward, into the canopy of treetops and their leafy colors. The image was broken as Applejack leaned over him, her expression as flat as a week old soda and just as painful to look at. “You hit it too hard, didn't you?” she asked rhetorically.
The pegasus didn't reply, only giving a huff of agitation as he rolled over and picked himself up. “One can't help but feel foolish, when you're bested by a tree,” he muttered.
“Nopony's a master bucker on their first try,” Applejack reassured. “Ah had trouble getting the hang of it too.”
Another huff left the stallion. “When you were a filly, no doubt,” he said. Though he didn't see it, his mare mentor smirked as she realized he had a point.
“Just try again,” the farmpony said, nodding toward another tree, the apples just waiting to be picked.
“Alright, I can do this,” Trader told himself, raising his confidence the best he could. Trotting over toward the tree, he went through the same motions he had done before. Balancing on his forelegs and bending his hindlegs, he kicked off and struck the tree with his hooves. His eyes shut tight, he waited for something to go wrong. To his surprise, there was only the sound of leaves rustling in the passing wind and a light thudding against a wooden surface.
Looking down at the base of the tree, a feeling of astonishment washed over the pegasus as he saw apples lying in the baskets. Though the tree still held onto several more, it still felt like an accomplishment to him.
“There ya go!” Applejack said happily. “You just need to find the right force to put into your kicks. It might take a while, but it'll become second nature to ya.”
With his confidence brimming, Trader turned away from the tree once again. As he bucked it a second time, he did his best to repeat the same actions exactly as he had done before. And just as it occurred with the first successful attempt on the tree, the remaining apples clinging to the branches lost their hold and fell into the baskets alongside the others.
An elated smile formed on the stallion's face as he successfully bucked his first apple tree. “I guess the third time really is the charm, huh?” he said with a laugh.
“Don't get on a high horse just yet,” Applejack warned, pointing a hoof toward the vast sea of trees that spanned out in front of them. “There's still plenty more trees for us to get done.”
“Well bring 'em on,” Trader said determinedly, being undeterred by the many trees that were against him.
Applejack couldn't help but laugh at his confidence, certain he would change his tune soon enough. “Let's just see how well you can keep up.”
In truth, Trader couldn't keep up in the slightest. The pegasus' movements were slow and hesitant, taking him some time to make sure he was positioned just the way he liked it. Even when he bucked the tree, it was rare that he would get all of the apples on the first tree. Most took at least two attempts to get them all, and a few others he repeated the same mistakes he did on the first two tries.
Applejack however, truly showed how long she had been an apple bucker. She was swift and strong, finishing off one tree and moving onto another before you could blink. Trader found himself eyeing her from afar, unable to help but feel impressed. Most times, he wanted to make sure he wasn't missing some sort of trick of the trade, though occasionally, he realized he simply enjoyed watching. The glances never lasted very long however, as the stallion was aware that this was as much a test as it was a day of hard work. Though he knew there wasn't a chance he could match Applejack, he was determined to prove his mettle to her and not disappoint the family who had taken such a chance with him.
It was with this drive that he kept going, bucking the apples to the best of his ability. Time was all but ignored by him as the sun crept over the horizon, tearing through the skies in its fiery colors. As it slowly shifted into a beautiful shade of blue for the morning sky, the pegasus heard his fellow bucker calling him over.
“Ah think that's enough apple buckin' for now,” Applejack said as the stallion approached. Her gaze looked out toward the trees they had passed, striped of their apples with full baskets underneath. “Doesn't look like you did that bad, especially considerin' it's your first time and all.”
“Oh, you're just saying that,” Trader huffed gruffly. He felt even more embarrassed as he stood next to the mare. There was no concealing his heavy breathing, out of breath from his work while his legs ached fiercely. His exhaustion was even more apparent as he could plainly see that Applejack didn't look tired in the slightest.
“It's true,” Applejack said with a firm nod. “Ah wouldn't lie to you.” Though the pegasus had his doubts on that fact, he couldn't say he didn't enjoy the sentiment. "Now, we just gotta get these apples back home. Like this.” The mare stepped toward one of the baskets and hoisted it onto her back.
As she gestured for her stallion friend to do the same, she trotted off toward the farm. Trader took a different basket and went after her. The trip took them several minutes to finally reach the barn, where Applejack sat the basket down on the floor to be set aside for later. It continued like this for some time, as they made a continuous path between the barn and the trees where they had done their work.
The baskets weren't much of a difficulty for Trader as they started the task, but eventually, the weight of the apples seemed to only increase. Not a sound of protest or a single complaint was uttered by him however, as he forced himself to follow Applejack's lead.
Just like with apple bucking, time itself was nonexistent to the workers as they focused solely on getting their job done. It became a surprise to the pegasus as they unloaded their latest baskets and realized they were done.
“There,” Applejack said, pausing momentarily as she caught her breath, a fact that almost relieved the exhausted stallion. “That's all the apples we've picked for today.”
“Thank goodness,” Trader breathed, arching his now aching back until they both heard a satisfying pop.
The farmpony smirked at the sight. “It's actually not too bad most of the time,” she said. “We usually have a cart to help take the apples back to the barn, but the wheels got broken the other day and Big Mac's been tryin' to fix it.”
“It's at least giving me a taste of what's to come,” the stallion replied. “Can't say I expected anything less than full physical labor. Besides, I needed a good workout.”
With a nod, Applejack turned her gaze skyward, staring off into the clouds. Curious, Trader did the same, expecting to see something flying through the air or any other sight that would garner such attention.
“It looks like we've just missed lunch,” Applejack responded, causing the pegasus to look at her strangely. “No harm in it though. How about we go get some grub in us now before we continue doin' everything else?”
“Oh, yeah, sure,” Trader replied, still somewhat surprised that she was able to tell what the time was just by looking at the sky. He didn't question it however as Applejack headed toward the home, beginning to feel just how hungry he was now that it was mentioned.
The two of them were left alone in the humble home as Apple Bloom was still in school, Big Macintosh was still off fixing the cart, and Granny Smith had business in Ponyville. They sat together at the dinner table, each having made delectable sandwiches of cucumber, tomato, lettuce and a little added carrot. It was a simple lunch as a self-given reward for their work, but both ponies felt their mouths watering at the sight.
As they sat to eat, Trader took their current privacy as a blessing, seeing it as a chance to talk without the distraction of work. “So, Applejack,” he said, striking his most polite conversational tone, “I've gotta know, what are you still doing here at the farm?”
A strange look from the mare was her response. Her mouth was full from the bite she had taken from her sandwich, but Trader could tell he would have received the same look had she been fully capable of speech.
“I don't mean anything by it,” the pegasus quickly added. “It's just, when we were foals, I remember it was always your dream to go out and see the world. You wanted to leave Ponyville and travel Equestria, follow in the hoofsteps of your parents. It was all you ever talked about. I never expected for you to still be here.”
There was a long pause as Applejack finished her latest bite and sat her sandwich down. She remained quiet for several moments, her eyes looking distant as she thought on what she would say. “You're right,” she said, “Ah did want to go out and travel, to see bigger and better places. Or at least... that's what Ah thought Ah wanted.”
There a subtle shake of her head as she continued, only occasionally looking over toward the stallion as she talked, spending the rest of the time looking away distantly. “Not too long after you moved away, Ah set off to live with Aunt and Uncle Orange off in Manehattan. It was actually you leavin' that got me to work up the courage. But... Ah don't know, Ah guess Ah realized Ah really didn't belong there, feelin' homesick and missin' everypony back home. When Ah went back to the farm, it became clear to me that it was where I belonged.” She looked back to the pegasus with a large smile. “Though Ah never did get around to travelin' like Ah talked about, Ah can't say Ah'm not happy workin' the farm.”
“Where are your parents now?” Trader asked. He had only ever seen them twice since he knew Applejack. It was a rare sight to see them in Ponyville, as they always traveled across Equestria. Most of the time, they were busy visiting the many farms that their large family held, helping them with the work or to set everything up.
But Applejack never answered him. Upon hearing the question, her smile shrank into a thick frown. She never met the stallion's gaze as her head lowered and she stared at the table with an unbreakable gaze. It hit the pegasus hard as he recognized the look on her face all too well, having held it himself before.
“Oh my... I-I'm sorry,” Trader murmured, quickly understanding. “When did...?”
“Couple years ago,” Applejack replied, her voice turning soft, becoming difficult to hear. “It wasn't too long after Apple Bloom was born.”
A small gasp escaped the stallion. “So she never...” he trailed off. “That's awful...”
Heaving a weary sigh, Applejack shrugged weakly. “Ah think she's come to understand. She doesn't ever seem bothered by it either. Though, Ah guess it's just because she never really knew them.”
“Hm,” the pegasus murmured, matching Applejack's gaze onto the table. “I guess that's something we have in common, Applejack.”
The farmpony turned to him, a look of shock evident on her face. “Oh, Trader, Ah'm sorry, I never figured-”
“No, no,” Trader interrupted, “it's nothing to worry yourself over. It was several years ago, I've been over it for a while now.”
“So...” the orange-coated mare began, “what happened to you anyway? After Ponyville, Ah mean.”
Like with Applejack, Trader didn't say anything right away. He took some time to think about the question,as well as think about the answer he would give. “There isn't really much,” he eventually said. “We moved to Los Pegasus where mom realized her dream and managed to open up a store there. We never left and I spent the rest of my foalhood there. I ended up leaving on my own a little earlier than most ponies usually would. Mom always expected me to stay and join the 'family business' but I wanted to see if I could make it on my own first.”
Trader paused again as he lightly tapped his hoof on the table, silently counting to himself. Then he smiled as he said, “Ironically enough,” he continued, “I became quite the traveler since then. Cloudsdale was my first choice in getting away from my parents, it being the only place I knew they couldn't follow me. Stayed there for some time and I was happy enough. But then... I returned home when I received the news... Stayed in Los Pegasus for a couple months to make sure everything was in order, but I left as when many problems arose. After that, I traveled around a bit, living in Trottingham, Fillydelphia, Sesaddle, then eventually I settled in Manehattan only to wind up back here.”
Applejack chuckled lightly as she eyed the stallion. “Well, at least one of us managed to travel Equestria.”
“It's been an experience, I can say that,” Trader remarked. “Though, I always wanted to find a bit of permanence wherever I went. It just seemed my luck was against me in that regard, always having to move.”
“You're back in Ponyville now,” the farmpony said. “Maybe this is where you were meant to be.”
The stallion nodded his head as he smiled. “The company has proven to be enjoyable. And catching up with an old friend is a plus in my book, even if I end up working for her.”
“Speakin' of work,” Applejack replied, looking up at the clock that hung on the wall, “we should back to it. We're burnin' daylight with all of this reminiscin'.”
“Aye, Captain!” Trader teased, adding a salute to mare. Applejack merely rolled her eyes in response before they took several quick bites of their sandwiches and finished up their late lunch.
They spent the rest of the day taking care of the many animals that the Apples took care of on their farm. They took pales of slop to the pigs kept in the barn. Trader was nearly trampled by the pink creatures as Applejack failed to warn him how overzealous they got during feeding time. They brought fresh water and hay for the cows and sheep, all of whom greeted the pegasus with warm welcomes. Several hours were spent in the chicken coops, cleaning feathers and strewn straw while collecting the eggs that were left for them.
The tasks were uneventful for both ponies. There was little need for a lecture on the ins and outs of animal care from Applejack. Everything became self-explanatory as Trader followed the mare about the farm and followed suit with whatever she did. Their speed was still slowed however, as Applejack made certain that Trader was aware of what they were doing.
By the time they were finished with the chickens, the sky was beginning to lose its color. Blackness would soon envelop the world and the moon and stars would take the place of the sun. It was almost a relief for the pegasus as Applejack declared their work for the day was finished. They returned to the house together as the mare congratulated her friend on a job well done.
Trader's lessons weren't over yet however, as he soon learned of one detail about the Apple family household.
With the sweaty labor they preformed, a bath was essential to help finish off the day. Sadly, with only one washroom in the house, it turned into a race to see who could secure their bath first. Since Applejack was busy looking after their newest worker, they were both the last ones back in the house, and the last ones to get the chance to clean themselves.
Now, Trader was forced to wait outside the washroom as Applejack took her turn. Waiting for his, he realized he would certainly have the coldest water to clean himself. Though, at this point, it didn't seem like such a bad thing. His body was still warm and coated in sweat from his day of labor in the sun. It wasn't something he was typically used to, having gained employment in large cities rather than country work. His legs still ached from his time apple bucking. They throbbed painfully, feeling as though they each had their own small hearts repeatedly beating, sending small amounts of pain through his limbs.
The stallion's ears perked up as he heard the door to the washroom open. Applejack stepped out, a delighted smile on her face and a small towel on her back. “Nothin' like gettin' clean to help you relax after a hard days work,” she said, turning her gaze toward her friend. “You can have your turn now.” Trader nodded his head as they crossed paths, the pegasus heading for the washroom while Applejack headed for her room to finish drying off.
Trader found his gaze wandering as Applejack came by. Something about her caught his eyes, forcing him to watch her as she walked pleasantly away.
The red ties in her mane and tail were gone, allowing her blonde, damp hair to hang freely. The stallion was surprised, unable to remember a time he had ever seen her without her ponytails. He could see her mane still glistening from the water that hadn't fully dried. The small droplets of moisture continued on her coat, making her body twinkle like stars in an orange sky. Even the apples of her cutie mark seemed to sparkle on her flank.
Finding his gaze lingering, Trader was startled as he turned back around and ran straight into the doorsill.
A loud grunt of pain left the pegasus as he brought his hooves to his nose, a small, lingering sense of deja vu coming to his mind. The pain of the impact was heightened terribly so, his nose still sore from his time apple bucking.
Things became even worse for the stallion as he heard a soft giggle behind him. “Not lookin' where you're goin', Trader?” Applejack asked, her tone one of pure amusement.
Trader didn't face her, his body stiffening as his cheeks burned like fire. “I-I'm fine!” he said quickly, his voice rising more so than he wished it to. “It's nothing! I-I'm just going to get cleaned up now!” Bolting into the room, he slammed the door shut, silently scolding himself.