//------------------------------// // Apples and Letters // Story: My Little Titan // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// 4. Apples and Letters Robin looked calmly out at the apple heavy branches of the trees on the farm. "Boy howdy!" he said, looking at them all. "I sure have my work cut out for me. That there is the biggest bumper crop of apples I ever laid eyes on." "Eeyup!" Big Macintosh said calmly next to him. His eyes then turned worried. "Too big for you to handle on your own." Robin turned to Big Mac with a smile. As strange as it was to be living somepony else's life - especially a mare's life - having actual living blood relations was something quite welcome. As such, he had actually spent quite a bit of time with Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith... probably more than Applejack would have normally. He had explained that by saying the danger he'd faced pursuing the Elements of Harmony to stop Nightmare Moon had made him more aware of how easily the things a pony takes for granted can be lost. At the time, Big Mac had replied, "Applejack, quit being so philosophical. That's my job." Back in the moment, Robin grinned. "Come on Big Brother. You need to rest! That injury ain't gonna heal itself. And don't worry, I haven't met an apple orchard yet I can't handle." He bumped his hoof against Big Mac's shoulder, careful to avoid the injury. "Besides, who said I was taking it on alone?" Big Mac blinked. "Well, I'm injured, Apple Bloom's too little to buck trees yet, Granny Smith's too old to do it anymore, and the rest of the family went back to their own farms. Who's left to help you?" "A couple of my friends have already volunteered to help out! They'll be swinging by tomorrow, and we should have the whole orchard taken care of well before the end of season!" Big Mac tilted his head. "Which of your friends could make the work go that fast?" "Well, Rainbow Dash is gonna be stopping by, for one. You know how fast she is." As Big Mac nodded, Robin couldn't suppress a grin. "Twilight will be helping out, too." Big Mac's head shot up. "Twilight will be... bucking trees?" His eyes started to glaze a bit as a foolish grin spread across his muzzle. His naturally red coloring made it hard to tell if he was blushing. 'I seriously hope he gets over that before long,' Robin thought silently. 'It could cause serious problems.' Shrugging his shoulders, he replied aloud, "She'll probably use her magic, actually. You know how good she is with that. Celestia's personal student and all that." "Oh," Big Mac said, his complexion returning to normal. He then grinned. "Well, it'll still be nice to have her- I mean, your friends over. With the size of the crop, you need all the help you can get if you're to get it all done." Robin smiled. "Maybe I'll ask the others if they want to help, too." At that moment, the ground began to shake. "What the?" He turned, seeing the rising dust cloud. "Oh no. Winona!" The small dog looked up at Robin, getting to her feet. Things had been somewhat tense between Robin and Winona since Robin had wound up in Applejack's body. Winona had actually been there when the switch happened, and knew Robin wasn't the real Applejack. She had accepted Robin somewhat, and obeyed his commands, but there was always something in her gaze. She knew this wasn't her real master, and wanted the real AJ back. Her gaze, to Robin's eyes, always seemed to convey the expectation that her cooperation entailed that eventual result, that the real Applejack would come back and that Robin would make that happen. Robin hoped he wouldn't have to disappoint her. With the determined hound at his side, Robin raced after the stampeding cows. While he tried to give verbal directions to turn before the stampede could reach the town, but the cows weren't listening. He quickly directed Winona to begin herding with a jerk of his head. Winona, for her part, had no problems adjusting from Applejack's preference for spoken commands to Robin's tendency to use body language. Being much more intelligent than the canines of Earth, it was easy for her to identify the connections between situation, word, and gesture. Besides that, even with the additional memories Robin had to draw from thanks to Raven's scrying spell, Winona knew more about this sort of thing than Robin did. When it was clear that they couldn't get the herd to turn this way, Robin leapt onto one of the cow's backs. At least this much was second nature to him...although an idle thought questioned how easily bipedal acrobatics SHOULD translate to quadrupedal movements. He filed it for consulting with Raven later as he pulled out the rope. Here he was glad of the practice he had put himself through, learning to grip with mouth, swing with neck, and aim with eyes without detriment to any. It had taken several days to master, even with the psychomotor skills ingrained in the body from Applejack's years of doing just that. Successfully lassoing the leader of the herd, Robin leapt to the ground and used all the force in his deceptively small body to pull her into a new course away from the town. With Winona's barking adding extra encouragement, they were able to turn the stampede just before reaching town and then pull it to a halt. Tossing the rope aside for the moment, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Now what in the hay was that all about?" he asked the herd. 'As if I couldn't guess,' he thought to himself. One of the cows spoke up. "Oh my, begging your pardon Applejack, but Mooriella here saw one of those nasty snakes." The entire herd flinched noticeably at the mention of a snake. "And it just gave us all the willies, don'cha know." Robin struggled to not roll his eyes. 'For all their language and capacity for rational thought, you'd think they would have learned to control their instincts about those things by now. They know the snakes in this area are all practically tame because of Fluttershy's work. ...Then again, maybe that's why ponies are the dominant herbivore.' Aloud, he replied, "I completely understand. Just next time, try and steer clear of Ponyville." He winced internally at the unintentional play on words. "We certainly will Applejack!" The spokescow said as the herd turned to leave. "So long, Winona!" she called over her shoulder. Winona barked happily in response, pleased at a job well done. Robin went into town to inform Mayor Mare that the crisis was averted, then turned to head back to the farm. He still had work to do, and the heavy load of chores actually agreed with him. He pushed himself harder everyday back in the tower in training. ----------- The next morning, Robin came out to the fields to prepare for the day's work to find Big Mac already out there. "Big Mac, yer supposed to be resting!" He blinked, noticing something about the red pony. "Did you style your mane? ... And is that your best suit?" Big Mac grinned sheepishly. "Eeyup." Robin blinked. "Why?" "Well, if'n I can't help with the work, I can at least make a good impression on your friends." Robin stared at Big Mac through half lidded eyes. "You realize Twilight already knows you tried to win a date with her through that bet and isn't happy about it, right?" "Gotta make it up somehow- I mean, I have no idea what you are talking about, sis." Big Mac made a show of looking to either side. He was nearly as bad a liar as Applejack. Robin sighed. "At least put the suit away. If yer bound and determined to make a foal of yourself, don't do it in your best clothes." Grinning, Big Mac headed inside. Robin sighed. "That brother of mine..." 'Not that he's really mine,' he thought quietly. As he felt himself sinking into the darker parts of his mind, he felt a wet nose to the back of his foreleg. Looking down, he saw Winona smiling up at him. "Thanks Winona," he said, scratching the dog between her ears with one hoof. The dog's happy bark seemed to convey that, while she wanted the real Applejack back, that didn't mean she had anything against Robin or any wish to see him sad. It was amazing how much could be said with a happy bark. Looking up, Robin saw figures approaching. "Rainbow! Twi! You made it!" He blinked as they approached. "... Twi? Where's your horn?" Raven smiled. "Well, I found a spell in one of the old spellbooks in a deeper part of the library that allows the temporary refocusing of a pony's magic, converting one kind into another. In this case, I turned my unicorn magic temporarily into Earth Pony magic." Robin blinked for a time. "Why?" "So I'd be strong enough to buck apples, of course." Robin still wasn't getting it. "And why not just use yer magic to get the apples from the trees?" "Because I already know how to do things the unicorn way. I wanted to feel what it was like to do things the Earth Pony way." She grinned. "Besides, this way I don't have to be in town while everyone's preparing a party to celebrate what you did with the stampede." Robin chuckled. "I see what you mean. I take it Pinkie Pie's planning a big blowout?" Inside, Robin sighed. He'd actually hoped that Starfire would be there, even if they had to stay in character. He was always happier when she was around. "Actually, she's already finished all the planning, but she's leaving it to other ponies to set it up," Cyborg said, flapping lazily. Raven smiled. "When I mentioned we were going to be helping out with the apple bucking, she said HER priority would be making sure you had the energy to enjoy the party when it was thrown. She decided to round up the others and bring them here if they had the time." Robin nodded, then glanced towards Cyborg. "So Rainbow, where's Scootaloo at?" Cyborg chuckled. "School. Where did you think she'd be in the morning on a weekday?" Robin smiled. "So how's taking her in been working for you?" Cyborg sighed. "It's been great as far as the two of us are concerned, but... well, the Mayor sent me a letter saying that unless I went through the paperwork and officially adopted her, foal services would have to be brought in to address Scoot's situation. She also sent me a copy of all the adoption paperwork, and I can't make heads or tails of it." Robin sighed. "Sorry to hear that." Raven glanced over. "Do you need some help?" "Thanks for the offer, Twilight, but what I think I really need is a lawyer." He sighed. "Let's talk about something happier, like a day full of manual labor." At that point, Big Mac stepped back outside. "Heya Rainbow, Twilight." He smiled, trying to make a good impression. "Her Big Mac!" Cyborg said happily, waving. Raven looked at Big Mac for a moment, then turned away, raising her nose with a 'Hmmph!' sound. Robin could see she was grinning, though. He wasn't sure what to make of it. At that point, three other ponies and one dragon approached, smiling happily. "Hey!" They all called out at varying volumes. Robin grinned. "Heya everypony!" He smiled as Star bounced up, quickly pulling ahead of Jinx' sedate trot and Melvin's gentle glide. Noticing Melvin, he walked up. "Fluttershy, you sure you wanna help out? Applebucking is really demanding work, ya know." Melvin smiled. "I'm sure I can manage something," she said quietly. Grabbing some baskets, she carefully set them around a nearby tree. "Excuse me," she said to the tree, "I know those apples must be getting heavy for your branches, so I was wondering if you would be so kind as to drop them into these baskets for me, please?" She smiled cutely at the tree. Robin sighed. "Shy, I don't think-" Thunk, thunk, thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk! The tree Melvin had so addressed had shed it's load of apples right into the waiting baskets. "Thank you ever so much," she said happily, shifting the baskets. "That's really nice of you." The tree's branches shifted in the wind. Robin watched it carefully. "Big Mac," he asked carefully, "does it seem to you that tree is... blushing?" "Eeyup!" Big Mac said readily. Robin turned to Big Mac and saw him grinning foolishly, blushing. "Big Mac, are you gonna get a crush on all of my friends?" Big Mac looked from Melvin politely harvesting apples; to Cyborg plucking apples from trees at high speeds; to Jinx carefully but rapidly divesting trees of apples one at a time with unicorn telekineses; to Star blurring like a pink pinball as she bounced from tree to tree; and finally to Twilight beginning to work up a sweat as she carefully bucked the trees one by one. He then turned to Robin with a huge grin on his face and said, "Eeyup!" Robin facehoofed. "Just go lay down, Big Mac. We've got work to do." Turning, he got to work on the trees. With all six of them working hard, the entire orchard was actually harvested by nightfall. "Well, that went fast," Robin said in surprise. Raven smiled. "Friends can do a lot when they work together. After all, a team is far more than the sum of its parts." She blinked. "I must be tired. I'm mixing my metaphors." "Either way, I think you have something for your Friendship report," Jinx piped up as Big Mac brought them all some apple juice and apple fritters. "You know," Star said suddenly, "why don't we all write to Celestia? I mean, she probably only has reams and reams of official correspondance to read through. Don't you think she'd love to have some extra personal correspondance to enjoy at day's end?" Raven smiled. "That's not a bad idea." She closed her eyes and her body shimmered. When the light faded, she was once more a unicorn. She then levitated several scrolls and quills out. "Why don't we write to her? I was actually going to write Princess Luna as well, to check up on her." "Good idea," Robin said happily. He then stared at the quill and scroll set in front of him. 'Here's hoping I can figure out how to hold a quill with a hoof,' he thought to himself. ---------------------- Celestia sighed as she set aside the latest finished pile of paperwork. "Well, that's that," she said to herself. "That should do it for..." She turned back towards her desk, then sighed. "...That stack," she almost whimpered. "Tia? Are you alright?" Looking up, Celestia smiled at her sister, who had not yet gathered enough magical energy to resume her royal glory and still appeared an adorable adolescent. "Luna!" she said happily. "I'm just fine. Paperwork is just a bore as usual." Smiling, Luna came up and nuzzled her. "Would you like some help?" Luna asked quietly. Celestia shook her head. "No, you should still rest. The Elements purging the Nightmare from you drained your magic to almost lethal levels. It will be months more before you've fully recovered, and you should take it easy." Luna nodded. "It's just... a bit frustrating, is all." She blinked as she saw something else on Celestia's desk. "What's this?" Celestia lifted the letter. "Oh, I sent Twilight Sparkle tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala last week. Her response on the matter was... quite pointed." Luna smiled. "May I... read it?" Luna did not yet have the energy to utilize the Royal Canterlot voice, and had never utilized the royal plural when speaking with her sister. Celestia chuckled. "How about I read it to you?" At Luna's eager nod, Celestia levitated the scroll. "My Dearest Teacher, While I greatly appreciate the invitation to the Grand Galloping Gala, I find your grasp of mathematics to be somewhat lacking." Luna snorted, putting a hoof to her muzzle. "You're kidding! She said that?" Celestia chuckled. "There's more." She cleared her throat. "As you well know, I have made five very good friends, all fine young ladies. As you might imagine, such an event as the Grand Galloping Gala will appeal to all of them. However, you only sent me two tickets, meaning I would have to leave four of them here in Ponyville, assuming I didn't take Spike. Rather than exclude any of my friends, I would rather not attend at all. As such, I am returning both tickets. Large gatherings such as the Gala have always made me nervous anyway, and I'd really rather not attend without my friends to be there to support me. Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle." Luna chuckled to herself. "I didn't think you'd ever find a student who would be so... forthright in speaking their mind to you, Tia!" Celestia sighed inwardly. "Neither did I," she replied aloud. 'I still don't,' the sorrowful thought echoed in her mind. Aloud, she continued, "Rather refreshing, isn't it?" Luna nodded eagerly. "Quite so, as compared to most ponies who would not neighsay if we showed up to a party wearing stripes and plaid." Celestia chuckled. "If not for the press, I might do that one of these occasions just to see the faces on some of my nobles!" As the two sisters shared a laugh, green swirls of smoke rapidly approached. "Oh, another letter from Twilight?" Celestia said eagerly. The smoke swirled solidified into 12 rolled scrolls of parchment, six wrapped in blue silk, one in violet silk, the other five unbound. Picking up the violet bound scroll, Celestia unrolled it. "It's Twilight's latest Friendship report." "May I hear it as well?" Luna asked eagerly. "Twilight considers me one of her friends, and I would like to know of these events." "Certainly, Luna." Celestia looked at the scroll and began to read. "My Dearest Teacher-" "She does not address you as Princess?" Luna asked in shock. "Ever?" "Not in her letters," Celestia said happily. "Isn't it wonderful?" She then turned back to the letter. "You may have noticed more letters than usual arriving via Spike's fire breath. This is because my friends and I have come to the conclusion that, since friendship is not something a single pony can experience, we should all report to you regarding what I learn about friendship. However, I will be the only one sending official Friendship Reports. The others will be more in the nature of personal correspondance, giving you their perspectives on any important events. Also, the scrolls wrapped in blue silk are letters to your sister, Princess Luna-" Luna suddenly squealed happily, grabbing the six blue-wrapped scrolls and hugging them to herself. Celestia smiled. "Had I known that letters would have brought you such joy, I would have told you of the others that arrived for you earlier." Luna's eyes widened. "Others? What others?" Celestia gestured into a rather large bin full of letters. "From the citizens of Equestria. Well wishes and prayers for a fast recovery for the most part-" Luna's happy squeal resounded through most of Canterlot as she put the six new scrolls into the bin. "So many! It must be from the entire populace! Oh such wonderous rapture to be so loved and welcomed by our subjects!" Seizing the bin, she rushed off to her room with them to read. Celestia sighed to herself. She hadn't had the heart to correct her on two serious misconceptions of hers. The first was that Equestria had increased in size and population by a factor of 50 in the 1000 years Luna had been gone, meaning that that bin of letters constituted less than 1% of Equestria's population. The second was that Celestia hadn't given Luna the mail before because that was less than 10% of the letters sent to her, the rest having been successfully filtered to remove the hate letters, demands to be subjected for testing by various universities, and... less honorable proposal from stallions - and mares - of questionable morality, not to mention the sheer number of magazine subscription offers, chain letters, and other junk mail. With a sigh, she turned back to the letter from Twilight... and paused. She noticed an odd magical aura around the letter. She drew in her magic to examine it, and another message rose from beneath in purple ink. "Your Highness, I'm glad you noticed the extra magic I attached to this letter. It won't be as noticeable in the future, so be sure to examine any future letter bound in violet silk thusly, as they will also contain a report from me in regard to my findings researching what happened to Twilight, Spike, and the others. I will enchant such messages so that they will only be visible to you, and only when viewed through your magic. "At the moment, I have isolated a magic trace from when my friends and I were transplanted into these bodies. However, I have been unable to determine its source. I have, however, determined that it is overlaying another magic that is currently beyond my ability to isolate. I have concluded from this that the spell that removed Twilight and the others from their bodies and the one that put us into them were seperate spells and cast by different individuals. While this brings us no closer to finding out what happened to them, it does indicate that we have an ally in this, and one who is a powerful mage. "I am sorry I have nothing more hopeful to report. I hope our other messages can bring you more comfort. Your friend, Raven." Celestia set the letter down, trying desperately to hold back her tears. While she appreciated everything Raven was doing to find out what happend to Twilight and the others, this letter had once more reminded her of the pain of losing her faithful student, a unicorn who - over the course of their interactions - had become as close to her as a daughter. Once more she was forced to wonder if she would ever see her again in her own skin. Celestia pushed these thoughts from her mind, regaining her composure. Picking up one of the other letters, she read. "Dear Princess Celestia, This week was the start of Applebucking Season here on Sweet Apple Acres. When Big Mac injured himself, he thought I would be in over my head. But my friends were all happy to help, and between the six of us, we finished harvesting the entire orchard in two days, despite it being the biggest bumper crop I've ever seen. When the six of us work together, we can do anything. Your faithful subject, Applejack. "P.S. Twilight looks funny as an Earth Pony." "What?" Celestia said out loud, trying to make sense of that last line. Glancing back at the first letter, she saw a mention of Starswirl's old spell that allowed a pony to reconfigure their magic. "Oh yes, that one. I remember." 'I sometimes use it to move amongst my subjects disguised as a unicorn,' she thought to herself. 'Or I would, if paperwork left me any time to do so.' She set the other letters aside to read another time, although one of them caught her eye as the scroll it was written on was very small. Picking it up, she unrolled it. The entire letter was a single line. "Dear Princess Celestia, Can I borrow a lawyer? Rainbow Dash." Celestia blinked several times. However, all she could find to say was, "What?"