//------------------------------//
// Apple Planting 
// Story: Apple Planting 
// by joolzanfire 
//------------------------------//

     It was a beautiful spring morning in Sweet Apple Acres. On every blade of grass was a drop of morning dew, glistening in the gentle light of the sunrise. The freshly ploughed ground was ready for planting. A slight hint of a breeze rustled through the orchard, making the leaves chatter excitedly. The conditions were perfect.
In the barn, a light flickered on. Hooves trotted down the stairs, and the huge wooden doors creaked open. The orange mare opening them winced. She must remember to buy some more oil.
As the mare stepped into the daylight, it was obvious that she wasn't just going for a walk. She was walking backwards, and using her mouth, was dragging a large, tattered sack along the ground. The writing on it was just about legible: Apple Seeds. She was struggling to pull it, so it must have been quite heavy.
The mare kept on dragging the sack, slowly but surely, over the numerous bumps and dips in the orchard. Despite the cool morning air, there were beads of sweat appearing on her pale orange coat. However, she continued determinedly, until she reached the huge furrows ploughed deep into the earth. She let go of the sack, and it slumped to the floor.
Using her hoof, the mare started digging at the ground. Since the earth had been so carefully ploughed just the day before, it took almost no effort to displace the dirt. It didn’t take long for a large hollow to appear in the ground. The mare smiled.
She took something out of the sack and placed it into the hole. At first, it didn't quite fit into the soft earth, so she pressed down on it with a hoof. Little by little, it sank down into the soft ground, but then there was an audible crack and the mare recoiled, withdrawing her hoof quickly. It did the job, though; now she could cover it up again easily.
The mare picked up the sack for a second time, and hauled it slightly further, to another undisturbed patch of soil. Again, she hoofed at the ground, digging a larger hole after her previous mistake. Another item tumbled out of the sack, and fell into the hole she had made. Now it fit perfectly. The mare replaced the soil over the object once again.
Again and again, the mare tirelessly kept on digging and burying, digging and burying, until the sack was light enough for the mare to carry it in her mouth while trotting forwards, instead of slowly dragging it behind her. It was much easier for the mare to do her job now.
But just before she could finish, a voice rang through the air, shattering the peaceful morning atmosphere. A little filly skidded out of the barn, looking about her frantically. When she spotted the mare, she broke into a huge smile, and headed straight for her.
“There ya are! Ah’ve been lookin’ for ya everywhere!” the filly panted, once she’d caught up with the mare. “Phew. Ah’m tired out. Runnin’s hard, big sis!”
The mare smiled at the innocent little filly, but it was a hollow smile, a meaningless smile. Her eyes were cold and harsh, yet the filly didn’t pick up on the steely glare the mare was giving her. The filly smiled back at her. Then she noticed the sack.
“Ooh! What’s that, sis?” beamed the filly, bouncing all around the sack. Then she noticed the writing, and slowly read it out. The mare rolled her eyes. “App… le… seeds. Sis, are ya plantin’ the new apple trees?”
The mare nodded. All the while, she was staring at the yellow filly, expectantly waiting for her to leave her in peace. She didn’t.
“Can ah help?” the filly asked. For a fleeting moment, the mare looked panicked, and she shook her head violently. The filly’s ears drooped, and gave the mare the cutest eyes she possibly could. It didn’t work. The filly frowned.
“Why? Ah thought ya would like me ta help ya! Ah’m jus’ tryin’ ta throw in ma two bits!” she complained. “Please, big sis! Please! Pleeeeeeese! Pleeeeeeeeeeeee-”
The mare firmly placed a hoof on the tiny filly’s mouth. The filly looked at her hopefully, but the mare still wouldn’t relent. The filly turned around, hanging her head low. Then she gave the mare one last glance, and with a voice so quiet it was almost a whisper, asked, “Please? Just one?”
For a long moment, the two locked eyes with each other. Then the mare looked away, and breathed in deeply, before sighing exasperatedly. Eventually, she nodded.
The filly gasped. She grinned excitedly, and opened up the sack as if she was opening the jaws of some animal. The orange mare held her breath. The filly stuck her head within and looked over the contents.
Inside lay countless numbers of shiny, brown apple seeds. From every apple the family had eaten, the pips had been taken out and placed in a small jar. Every time the jar filled up, it was poured into a large sack. For the whole year, this process had happened countless times, until the sack was filled to the brim with apple seeds.
The seeds moved about ever so slightly within the bag, and whispered to each other as they did so, as if they were telling each other precious secrets that only the seeds could understand. Every single seed inside the sack looked almost exactly the same. Every single seed had the potential to become a tall apple tree one day.
The filly’s hoof hovered over the seeds. Her brow was deeply furrowed, and she licked her lips. She could only choose one seed, so she had to choose a seed like no other. A special seed that shone just a little bit brighter than the others, and whispered just a little bit louder than the others, like it was beckoning to her, calling her to choose it.
Then the filly found it. Without the slightest amount of hesitation, she took it in her hoof and looked at it intently. She breathed on it gently, and polished it with her other hoof. This was the one.
The mare watched intently as the filly dug a small hole in the ground. Then she cautiously placed the seed down in its bed, taking care not to damage it, and gave it one last, longing look as she pulled the blanket of earth back over her sleeping seed. The filly beamed, looking at the mare.
“There we go, that wasn’t too bad! It was jus’ one li’l seed!” grinned the filly, and hugged the mare affectionately. Absent-mindedly, the mare rubbed the filly’s head with one hoof. Then the filly let go, and her face grew sincere. “Thanks, sis. Ah’m sorry fer disturbin’ ya. Ah’d better leave ya ta do ya job,” the filly apologised, and trotted back towards the barn.
Before the mare could get back to work, though, the filly stopped dead in her tracks and turned around to face the mare one final time. “Sis, have ya seen Scootaloo an’ Sweetie Belle? Ah can’t find them anywhere,” she called. The orange mare didn’t answer. Shrugging, the filly trotted away, muttering, “Where the hay are they? We’re wasting time while we could be lookin’ fer our cutie marks!”
Once the filly was gone for good, the mare sighed. She could finally finish her job. Paying no attention to the seeds, the mare reached deeper inside the sack, where there were two final large objects. She dug two last holes in the ground, and delicately placed the objects into them. She then covered them up again with a smile. A genuine smile. A secretive smile.
The mare gazed over the fields, relieved and happy. Finally, her job was done. Now she could get onto her other job. She had apple seeds to plant.