The soft soil of Sweet Apple Acres felt right under Applejack’s hooves. Familiar, like a favorite blanket or a family member’s hug. The greens and reds of the apple fields stretched out before her, and she drank in their scent on her way up the path. Hom reached out to embrace her, and she let the path draw her into a run with a “Yee-haw!” to announce her return.
Granny Smith stood smiling at the doorstep, just as she had every day she welcomed Applejack home from school. Less patient was Applebloom, her pink bow bouncing atop her mane as she waved. Wynona yipped and raced in tight circles, his tail moving twice as fast.
Applejack was halfway there when the ground trembled. So strong and sudden that she lost her footing and lay sprawled. All the warmth had left the land. She looked back at the apple trees and found them wilted and leafless. A gust carried the few remaining leafs away.
“Applejack!” Her little sister screamed as yellow talons rose around their home and lifted it into the sky. It dug up years of tradition, of family history. It all came raining down in patches of dirt.
Penelope Preda towered over Applejack, big as Canterlot Mountain. She grinned and held the Apple family home overhead. Her talons flexed, breaking the barn’s siding. “Mine now!”
She crushed it.
“Nooo!” Applejack bolted upright. Sheets fluttered off her and she looked up at an unfamiliar ceiling. The cherry patterns along the walls were her first hint. She was in a cold sweat, and sleep was as far off as Cloudsdale. Applejack steadied herself with a few breaths and slid out of bed. Just a dream. She repeated again and again. This time tomorrow, she’d be back home and keeping her kin safe.
It was a guilty thought, abandoning Ms. Jubilee like that. But the mare had made up her mind and Applejack couldn’t say she was against the idea of getting back to her home.
What about Ms. Jubilee’s home? said that voice within that sounded so much like her momma.
Applejack couldn’t bring herself to think about that. I can be there for her. If she’s calling it done, that’s all I can do.
Her family always spoke the truth, but that didn’t make it easier. Applejack remembered the first night she’d ever slept on the Ranch. After that long train ride from Canterlot to Dodge Junction; sore from the Equestrian Rodeo and bearing a saddlebag full of ribbons of every color except blue. Cherry Jubilee had fixed her a warm meal and given her a warm bed, no questions asked. Hadn’t even pressed that Applejack needed to get up early for her first day.
“You’ve had a busy week. Best get some rest first.”
She’d never told anypony, not even her family, but Applejack had cried that first night. Far from home, disappointed and ashamed and frightened. The world hadn’t seemed so frightening the next morning, when Ms. Jubilee presented her with a stack of pancakes with cherry syrup. Had tasted like a home-cooked meal should. Applejack sometimes wondered where she might’ve ended up if she hadn’t met Ms. Jubilee. Hadn’t come to a place that was so much like her own home. Lucky me. Real lucky. I want to do the same for her.
Applejack paused in front of the mirror to give her mane a hasty brush and putting on her Stetson before pacing down the hallway. She passed Clutterstep’s room along the way. He’d been stubborn about Applejack getting some sleep and that he’d be fine. She believed that as far as she could buck a mountain, but she’d been plum tired and Ms. Jubilee’s announcement had sapped the rest of her strength.
The dream came up again. She could hear Applebloom and Granny Smith screaming. She needed to get home.
Ms. Jubilee sat at the kitchen card table, tea cup between her hooves and staring out at Celestia’s new dawn. Applejack sat down next to her and shared the sight. It was something few ponies took the time to appreciate, but to an earth pony it was life itself. “How long have you been up?”
“All night.” said Ms. Jubilee. She poured a cup for Applejack. “My time on this ranch is down to hours. Figured I shouldn’t waste ‘em on sleeping.” She took a long sip and refilled her cup.
Applejack rubbed her foreleg. “Listen, Ms. Jubilee, if’n y’all need a place to stay for a spell-”
“I’ve got kin up in Vanhoover. They won’t mind the company. But thank you kindly, dearie.” She set the teacup down, turned it this way and that. “Thank you for everything. I would have lost hope if’n it weren’t for you and them stallions. But now I know that I can still count on ponies to do the right thing.”
Applejack took as swig and wished for some of whatever was in Ms. Jubilee’s flask. “Fighting for your home is the right thing to do.”
“I know.” said Ms. Jubilee, almost whispering. “You know how I started this ranch, all them years ago? Back then, I’d never even heard of Dodge Junction. I was a farm pony living along the Unicorn Range. Worked on my family’s farm, helping them grow pears.”
“Pears?” said Applejack.
Cherry Jubilee winked at her. “I was the oddball of the family. Momma always did make a fuss over the fact I had a cherry cutie mark.” Applejack thought of her Uncle Orange. Still a part of the family, but as different as the Sisters’ night and day.
Ms. Jubilee continued, “I fell in love with a stallion working the farm as a hired hoof. Oh, he was a right charmer. Had a silver tongue and a flank you could bounce bits off.” She giggled, a blush creeping over. “He would whisper such sweet nothings. My daddy saw how I was getting drawn in, said the stallion was no good for me. Got into a right spat with both my parents and before I knew it, I was off and away with my silver-tongued stallion to elope.”
Applejack realized she had leaned in and wasn’t blinking. To hay with it. “What happened?”
Ms. Jubilee sipped at her tea and sighed, “I was all set to be wed to him one fine morning. Stood there at the altar. No witnesses, just me and the reverend. I didn’t think I needed anything more. Was wrong, of course. I needed a groom.”
Applejack gasped. “He did not.”
“He did. Don’t know if the pressure was just too much or if he found another mare that stirred him up, but I never saw him again. I hadn’t a clue on where to go or what to do. Couldn’t go back to my family. Right foalish of me, getting taken in by sweet words. Just too proud to admit I’d done wrong. So I bought a train ticket to wherever, and I came to Dodge. Decided to do the only thing I knew how and bought a plot of land and a sack of seeds. Spent the next years of my life spreading out that orchard as far as my eyes could wander.”
“And your family?” said Applejack. “Did you ever settle things with them?”
Ms. Jubilee smiled and poured Applejack a fresh cup. “I did. But only after I’d had time to think about where I’d been. That’s the magic of this town. It’s there for ponies who’ve got nowhere to go. Gives you a chance to wipe the slate clean and start over, if’n you got the courage.” Ms. Jubilee sighed and set the kettle aside. “I guess that’s what I’ve missed the most lately. All the courage has bled on out. I hardly recognize Dodge Junction anymore.”
Applejack sat quiet, sipping her drink and thinking about all the ponies she’d seen in the town. “What about Lucky Roll, Ms. Jubilee?”
“Lucky.” she said the name wistfully. “He was a lot like me. Came from Las Pegasus after losing his last bit in a bad game. Hadn’t a clue on where to start again. I offered him a chance to work the ranch, and darned if I didn’t go falling for another stallion all over again.” She inhaled as if tasting something sweet. “Oh, he had such joy in his heart. Life was a gamble and it thrilled him. Then he played a game against one of them Varmin—Rawley, the lead one—and lost. Not long after, he became sheriff even though he hadn’t asked for it. Starting looking the other way when Preda’s gang made trouble, and all the joy left him. I don’t recognize him no more neither.”
Applejack bit her lip. All her legs wound up tight like she wanted to kick all the fear and misery out of this town, but she had no idea how to start. Fighting against monsters like Nightmare Moon and the Discord had spoiled her. Those were targets, something that gave she focus. Penelope Preda couldn’t bring eternal night or turn the weather, but she’d spread a kind of darkness that Applejack couldn’t kick. Made her so mad, home suddenly felt further away. “We can still save this ranch.” she said. “It’ll be close, but we can still go for it.”
“Thank you again, Applejack. But I started this ranch to make life. I loved to watch the saplings I planted grow into trees that’d give their fruit to Equestria and feed all them families with their colts and fillies. I felt like I was serving something greater.” Ms. Jubilee shuddered. “But if you or Clutterstep had died from that branch... My dream ain’t worth a pony’s life. And that’s final.”
Applejack couldn’t think of a thing to say. Twilight always encouraged her friends to speak from the heart. “You’ve always been a good friend to me. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you.”
“Oh, pish-posh!” Cherry Jubilee drew Applejack into a warm hug. “You’ve done wonders. Don’t you doubt it.”
The kitchen doorway opened and Big Macintosh wandered in.
“What in the hey happened to you?”
Her brother had scratches all over his coat and it looked like something had tried to nosh his ear. He wore a grim expression and didn’t say a word as he went the refrigerator and drew a bottle of milk.
Applejack scowled up at him. “Are you gonna tell me what you’ve been up to?”
Big Macintosh seemed to give it due thought. “Nnope.”
“Why you!”
“Apples!” Ms. Jubilee stood. “Please, I don’t want to start this day on a fight. If’n Big Macintosh doesn’t want to talk, let’s not force him.” The big red pony nodded his thanks, but Applejack swore he was gonna get ten earfuls on the train ride back.
Ms. Jubilee checked the sun. “Train station opens fairly early. Best to get a-moving. Why don’t you both say your farewells to Clutterstep?”
Applejack glanced towards his room. “You sure we should wake him?”
“He’d be so upset if you left without getting in a goodbye. Even if he don’t have much of a gift for gab, he’ll be glad.”
The Apple siblings crept down the hall and knocked on Clutterstep door. “Clutter? We’re coming in.” She opened the door slowly, not wanting to make a fuss. Except it was too quiet in the room. Applejack was sure Clutterstep would at least snore or make some kind of racket. Be funny if the most accident-prone pony in Equestria was a quiet sleeper.
Or invisible.
His bed was empty. The covers were thrown back and his pillow hadn’t been touched in hours. The water glass Applejack had brought stood empty as the room. Applejack’s blood pressure went straight up to Princess Luna’s moon. “That irresponsible, reckless, stupid klutz!” She whirled on her brother. “Did you see him on your way back?”
“Nnope.” Big Macintosh went to the back door and the western fields, but Applejack dodged past him and galloped in the orchards. Ms. Jubilee was close behind them, calling to know what was wrong. Applejack paid her no mind and dashed through the rows of cherry trees until she heard the clatter of buckets.
Clutterstep’s head was still bandaged and his step even woozier than normal. He set a bucket under a ripe cherry tree and went to the trunk. He didn’t see her until he lined up for the buck. “Oh, morning! You got any of that coffee from yesterday? I kinda need to burn out some nerves.” He winced and pressed a hoof to his head.
Applejack exploded, “Y’all are supposed to be in bed, resting!”
Clutterstep winced harder. “I’m also not supposed to listen to really loud noises, but here we are.” He lined up his hind legs. “Center of the grain, right?”
“A little to your left.” Applejack caught herself. “Don’t go changing the subject!”
“I’m not. The subject is and always has been getting this harvest ready.”
Ms. Jubilee and Big Macintosh caught up to them. “Clutter! I told you, you’re fired!”
Clutterstep laughed and looked like he regretted it. “Technically, you never hired me. And I still owe you for all those meals and the bed, so I’ll just have at it.” He tried to line up, but staggered. Big Macintosh darted in and caught him before he could fall.
“That does it!” said Ms. Jubilee. “Clutterstep, if you won’t have the sense to lie in bed then I want you off my property this instant!”
Clutterstep righted himself with Big Macintosh’s help and looked at Cherry Jubilee head-on. “Are you going to call the sheriff on me?”
“What? No!”
“Then I guess you’re just going to have to put up with me. Because this isn’t just your dream on the line. Crud, it’s not even about this ranch! You do what you gotta, but until Penelope Preda lights this grove on fire I’m going to keep harvesting.” He ended the speech with a kick. It was better than his work the previous day, but the cherries still fell out the wrong side. “Ugh.”
Ms. Jubilee looked at the Apples. “Will you please talk some sense into this pony?”
Big Macintosh looked at the fallen cherries, then at Clutterstep. “Nnope.” He went to a pile of buckets, grabbed the biggest one, and went to the next tree. His kick was spot-on.
Ms. Jubilee turned to Applejack, who’d been dreading this. Never been pulled so far between what she wanted and what she needed before. The wind whispered in her ear, and she could hear the trees calling, Whatever. Bring on the blue-thing!
“Applejack, you have a home waiting for you.”
The blonde pony nodded, “And when I get home, I wanna be able to look my little sister in the eye and tell her that I did the right thing.” She went the bucket pile and picked the first one she saw. Took it to the next-nearest tree. She centered on the grain, pretended it was Penelope Preda’s face, and kicked.
The next few hours were a blur of bucking, harvesting, and repeating. Applejack couldn’t recall the last time she’d tackled a harvest like that. Was like fighting the Changeling army again, kicking for all she was worth for the sake of her homeland. Clutterstep had the right of it, this was about more than just a ranch. And every time Applejack started to feel weary or that she couldn’t kick another tree, she’d glance over and see Clutterstep and Big Macintosh and even Ms. Jubilee giving it their all. She kept going .
There were still setbacks. Clutterstep’s unsteady hooves weren’t helped by a wobbling head. He’d trip or miss a target, but he waved off anypony’s attempt to get him to stop. Wasn’t until Ms. Jubilee ordered the whole lot of them to take a lunch break that Applejack got a chance to chat with him.
“Y’know, I just can’t figure you out.” She sat down next to him in the shade of a bright pink cherry tree. Ms. Jubilee had brought them lettuce sandwiches and glasses of cherry-soda.
Clutterstep shrugged as he took a bite. “I’m not that deep. I just don’t like letting bullies win.”
“I think there’s a might bit more than that.” She gave him a light push on the shoulder. “C’mon, now. I’ve known you for two and half days and still don’t know a thing about you.”
“Not much to say. Truth is, I’m not cut out to be a farmer. Near as I can tell, I’m not cut out for much of anything. Not even a very good earth pony.” He sighed and pawed at the dirt. Looked like a cat during a milk drought.
“That ain’t true!” said Applejack. “Fact is, you’ve got a special talent; and the proof’s right there.” She pointed at his heart-shield cutie mark.
“Oh, that.” Clutterstep took a sip from of soda. “I’m not sure what it means. How about that? A pony who doesn’t know his own destiny.”
Applejack frowned at the banded heart (Or was it a shield? Still couldn’t tell). “How’d you come to get that mark?”
“Oh... uh...” Clutterstep fidgeted. “Um, Igtmftbumgrl.”
Applejack canted her head. “Beg yer pardon?”
Clutterstep muttered, “Gtkssdbmgrl.”
“Little louder.”
He snapped “I got kissed by a girl, okay?”
“Go on, dearie!” Ms. Jubilee’s eyes sparkled. She hadn’t been there two seconds ago. Now she was all set to tangle her mane with Clutterstep’s. Applejack couldn’t deny she was crowding his personal space as well.
Clutterstep tried not to make eye contact with either of them. “Aw, crud. Big M, want to help me out here?”
Applejack’s brother sat at the base of another tree with a soda in hoof and a grin on his snout. “Nnope.”
“Betrayal! Okay, okay!” He waved Applejack and Ms. Jubilee back. “There’s not much to tell. I was having a bad day as a foal (as opposed to the bad days as an adult) and was feeling pretty low. Going to meet some new foalster parents, but I knew they wouldn’t want a klutz around their home.” He sighed. “They never did.
“Anyway, I happened to be passing this unicorn filly who’d ended up teleporting her action figure into a tree.”
“Action figure?” said Ms. Jubilee. “Don’t you mean a doll?”
“Action figure.” Clutterstep insisted. Boys. “But she was getting all weepy about it, so I volunteered to get it for her. It ended up the same as usual. Falling, screaming, getting a good talking-down from an adult.” Clutterstep leaned against the cherry tree and studied its branches. “To be honest, I got the worst talking down from the most incredible mare. Worst moment in my life, and all I could do was give back the d—action figure I’d managed to snag.”
Applejack smirked, “And she thanked you with a kiss?”
Clutterstep’s glare would have been terrifying if he weren’t blushing. “On the cheek, yes. And it was just a quick peck. We were just foals.” He settled then, his gaze growing distant. “I can’t really describe it, but as bad as I was feeling, the thought that I’d done something right was just… liquid gold. It was exactly what I needed.” He glanced back at his cutie mark. “This thing showed up not long after, but I can’t really tell if it’s because of how I felt or the fact I’d survived another near-fatal fall.
“Another?” said Applejack.
“I have had many. In fact, that whole near-fatal label’s kinda misleading. False advertising, that’s what.”
Applejack and Ms. Jubilee traded smiles. “Well dearie, for what it’s worth, we both think you’re a good pony.”
“Eeyup!” Big Macintosh joined the group.
“Oh, sure. Now you want to join the conversation.” Clutterstep and Big Macintosh shared a smirk.
Applejack offered a hoof to help him up. “By the by, what ever happened to that filly that gave you that ‘little kiss’?”
Clutterstep shrugged, a tad bashful. “She got involved in her studies. I didn’t really see her again.”
“Oh, how tragic!” Ms. Jubilee swooned. “Young love, cut short. Why, makes me feel like a filly myself just thinking about it.” She leaned against Big Macintosh, who tried to gain some space without being impolite.
“Moving on!” Clutterstep pointed. “We’ve only got one more field to go, right?” He was right. In spite of everything, they’d managed to harvest everything except the eastern field. The largest and ripest of all.
“If we give it our all, we might still make that deadline.” Applejack felt winded, but she’d never been surer of a harvest. “Let’s get to it... y’all...” She trailed off at the sight of Sheriff Lucky Roll and a posse of five ponies coming up the pathway. Two of the ponies were hitched to a wagon and pulling it with some effort.
After Applejack pointed them out, Clutterstep said, “Oh my crud! She really did call the sheriff on me!”
“I did not!” Cherry Jubilee stood and went to meet them. Something about all this left a nasty chill through Applejack. She followed Ms. Jubilee, and Clutterstep and Big Macintosh fell in behind.
The posse and their wagon rolled to a stop in front of the farmhouse, where Ms. Jubilee stood waiting.
“Sheriff.” She addressed Lucky Roll as if the other ponies weren’t even there. “I must say, you’re becoming a permanent fixture around these parts. Just what has gone wrong now?”
“Ms. Jubilee.” Lucky Roll wasn’t meeting her eyes. “I’m powerful sorry to do this, but I have a warrant out for your arrest.”