//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - Under the tree's shadow Part 2 // Story: Walking on Clouds // by Kapuchu //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle was just standing there, looking at Rainbow with a hopeful and slightly embarrassed look on her face. She rubbed one front leg with the other, nervousness evident in the way she stood and presented herself. While the dress itself looked beautiful, with the sun shining from behind her giving her an almost otherworldly glow as well as causing the dress to almost shimmer, it did little to make the unicorn any less nervous. If she had to guess she’d put her bits on her nervousness stemming from the wide eyed stare that her multichromatic friend gave her. Dash, It is not cool to stare! Stop staring at her! Come on! Stop staring at that feathering beautiful ma- ...what!? Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Rainbow looked back up at Twilight only to see that her still blushing friend was still what she’d consider beautiful. Yup, Twilight was definitely still in the ‘beautiful’ category. Not like it means anything. I know Derpy’s straight and she’s commented on other mares being beautiful as well. Stands to reason that I can appreciate beauty as well... right? “You seem startled, Dash.” Twilight chuckled and lit her horn, letting the dress blink out of existence, leaving her bare once again. Her features quickly took a dip down the pit of sadness. “Was it that bad? I personally thought it was really well made. I mean, Rarity made it and all, and she’s the best fashionista I’ve ever seen, and... I’m rambling, aren’t I?” Rainbow snorted and nodded, temporarily having stowed away a rather disconcerting question into the back of her mind. She could worry about that later, right now she was spending time with a friend. “So,” Twilight said, “you want to hear about what else happened today? Visiting Applejack and so on?” “So long as it isn’t boring, sure.” Twilight rolled her eyes before she continued her tale of epic proportions, starting by the very beginning when once upon a time -a few hours ago- a brave mare -a town librarian- trotted down a golden road towards an ancient and terrifying temple -dirt road towards Sweet Apple Acres-. The light tapping of hooves on a well-trodden dirt road floated lightly through the air as Twilight Sparkle made her way through the rows upon rows of apple trees that made up the Sweet Apple Acres’ apple orchard. Twilight had left Carousel Boutique only twenty minutes earlier after her dress had finally been finished and the unicorn herself had escaped the demonic claws of Ponyville’s only fashion designer. She looked between the apple trees, trying to spot a member of the Apple family. The weather was rather warm, little clouds for the sake of shade. Aside from that, the weather team had given the rural town a cloud-free day. A nice day, to say the least. A day that just begged you to be outside and either work or enjoy the weather. She inhaled deeply through her nose, letting the smell of summer and apples fill her with a sense of calm and serenity, as well as a giddy sort of energy. It made her want to try to just do something. To say that it was an alien feeling for her would be an understatement. Books took up so much time that she rarely ever had the chance to get out and experience nature in the same way that some of her other friends did. The only one of their little group that could be considered almost as much of a recluse as herself would be Rarity, seeing as she spent a lot of time working on her orders and whatnot in her boutique. It was a few minutes of nothing but her own hoof steps to accompany her until she met Big Macintosh. A large wagon filled with baskets of apples of different kinds were strapped to his back. His immense body pulled it along the road as if it was nothing but a small wheelbarrow. “Hi, Big Mac.” Twilight called, waving a hoof in greeting. “Howdy, Miss Twilight,” he replied in his ever emotionless tone. “What brings ya to Sweet Apple Acres?” “I’m looking for Applejack. Do you know where she is?” She cocked an eyebrow now that she was close enough to see just how many apples were in the wagon. “What’s all those apples for, by the way?” Big Mac craned his neck behind him look at the apples. His face was still empty of any expression when he turned back to Twilight. “The market stall,” he explained. “Lotsa ponies wanna buy apples today. Dunno why. As for AJ, she’s in the barn. Repairin’ the plow I reckon, ya should be able to find ‘er there.” Twilight gave the big stallion a smile and a nod. “Thanks, good luck with your sales!” With that she trotted past him, heading for the big red barn that was the primary location for storing the tools and such that the Apple family used to run the farm. Twilight’s hoof made small tapping noises as it impacted with the wooden surface of the barndoor. She pushed it open with her head and moved inside, letting the sunlight filter through the open door as well as the few windows lining the sides of the wooden structure. Applejack seemed to be just putting the finishing touches on the plow. The last nail was hammered into the side of it with a hard tap of Applejack’s right hoof, making sure that the harness wouldn’t just pop off of it when it was being used. The farm pony looked up and saw her friend, pleasant surprise written on her face. She had apparently not heard the knocking. “Howdy, Twilight,” she greeted with a kind smile and stood up. She extended a hoof in greeting which the other mare accepted, bumping the extended appendage. “Didn’t expect ta see ya here today. What gives?” “Nothing much, Applejack, just wanted to see a friend. Heard from Big Mac that you were working on fixing the plow.” Applejack nodded. “Yeah, just finished. ‘Bout to head out the orchard to buck some trees. Saw some ripe ones yesterday, but didn’t have time then.” She shrugged. “Sorry, Twi, but I don’t think I have the time to chat so much today. Hope it don’t bother you too much.” Twilight, slightly saddened by the news, lowered her head, ears splayed back and spoke with an almost defeated tone. “Sure...” “Beg pardon, Twi, but the farm takes priority.” Applejack smiled good naturedly at the unicorn and tipped her head, turning to leave. “Wait!” Twilight exclaimed. “Can’t I help?” “I don’t really know...” “I know I’m not strong enough to buck apples... I hope you wouldn’t mind if I used magic.” “I guess...” “Please~!” Puppy eyes- check, pout- check, almost on her knees begging- check. “Ya sure are givin’ Apple Bloom a run for her bits with that face, Twilight,” Applejack chuckled. The begging face of her friend was just too much for her. “Sure, Twi, ya can help me. Come on, let’s get going.” She opened the door to the outside again and immediately headed for the eastern orchard. The two walked side by side in companionable silence. They didn’t need to say anything and they both knew that. Twilight was used to silence as she spent so much time studying. Applejack, on the other hand, was a practical pony, preferring to only speak when it was necessary and only speak aloud what was necessary. She never spoke anything but the blunt truth, it was just the kind of pony she was. They eventually reached the first rows of trees where Twilight could see more red and ripe apples than she could count. Looking across the entire site of the orchard, her jaw dropped. She had seen parts of the orchard back with the Plim Plam brothers or something and the first applebuck season they had after she arrived, and walking along the dirt road didn’t quite give a clear image of the sheer size of their orchard. Now, as she was looking out at rolling hills of nothing but apple trees, she suddenly realised how much work it was on this farm. How do they deal with this much? They’re only four ponies, only two of which are capable of actually bucking! “We don’t do all of this ourselves, Twi,” Applejack explained with a chuckle, having noticed her friend’s expression. “We have a few farmhands hired ta take some of the load off of our backs. No way we’d be able ta do all o’ this ourselves. Now, let’s go.” She cocked her head towards the lines of trees and walked up to one of them, giving it a solid kick. Every apple on the tree’s branches fell down into several large buckets already placed under the trees. Twilight, having chosen a nearby tree of her own, lit her horn while silently contemplating how she would go about bucking the apples. I could always just levitate them off, but... She perked up as an idea came to mind. The light shining from her horn created a small glowing sphere of purple energy, it gave away a low chirping sound as if a number of small bird were chatting away inside the orb. Eyeing the tree, Twilight whipped her head towards it, sending the ball flying into the midst of the branches. Once in between the branches, it exploded, creating a low booming sound that caused the tree to tremor and lose all of its fruit to the baskets below. “Wha’ in the hay was that?” Applejack exclaimed, whirling around to see a smiling Twilight. “Sonic magic,” Twilight explained. “I created a small ball of energy that emitted a shockwave when ignited, so to speak. It’s similar to the principle of a subwoofer-” “A-what now?” “A subwoofer,” the unicorn continued undeterred, “is an object used the project or enhance sound. They’re those big black boxes that DJ’s use. Vinyl Scratch, was it? The unicorn that helped us with Rarity’s fashion show, she’s a DJ- or disc jockey- and she uses subwoofers to project her music.” For one reason or another, Twilight made a half hiccup throughout her sentence, as if she wasn’t quite telling the truth. “Aha... And what does that have ta do with your sonic magic?” “Subwoofers create sound using large amounts of a quick movements via a magnet inside. Sound is basically the air moving. My spell does something along those lines; It creates a shockwave that moves the air around it, causing that booming sound you heard.” “Fancy,” Applejack mumbled, looking over Twilight’s tree to see if there was any damage or if any apples had eluded her magic. “Though why not just levitate ‘em off of the trees like ya did with that Cider Contest?” At this Twilight smiled. “Because this is a new spell a friend of mine helped me develop. She came up with the basis for a spell that uses sound vibrations for various stuff. It could be demolishing or, in this case, applebucking. I wanted to try it out, see if it works as well as I had hoped.” “Well, would ya look at that, sounds mite interestin’ even if I don’t understand much magic.” The farm mare smiled at her friend and went over to another tree, giving that a kick as well. Not a single apple was left on the branches. Twilight had resumed her ‘applebucking’ as well, filling the air with small chirping sounds followed with a resonating boom. It wasn’t anything overly loud, it could be felt more than it could be heard, really. “So how’s it been going so far, what with Granny Smith’s hip and Apple Bloom’s school?” Twilight asked after a few minutes of silence save for the occasional sound of hooves impacting on bark and apples falling down. “Last time I heard, Granny’s hip wasn’t any better.” Applejack sighed. “Just ‘bout the same as always,” *thunk!* “Still don’t have the necessary money ta give ‘er a new one. Harvest’s doing fine, selling bushels upon bushels of apples, but too much of the farm and our tools and somesuch are getting worn down. We were lucky the plow could be fixed with a few nails and a new harness, otherwise we’d lose another two thousand bits on it. Two thousand Twi, for a plow!” She shook her head, sending another batch of apples to their bucket-y doom. “Starting ta think we may not save up enough before it’s too late.” Maybe... No, I can’t. It'll only cause ponies to demand m Taking a few moments, and a few trees, to compose herself, she spoke up again in a much lighter tone. “As fer Apple Bloom, she’s doing just dandy. Macintosh helping her with the fancy mathematics really payed off. That and Granny’s history lesson bumped up her grades a bit and then some more. Who’da thought that an age old scrap book could teach her everything ‘bout Ponyville’s history?” “I’m glad to hear that,” Twilight replied with a smile on her lips. While the entire thing with Granny Smith was sad indeed, she was always happy to hear that some of the ponies she considered friends were improving academically. “I’m sure Apple Bloom will grow up to become the brain of the family.” “Wha’ in the hay is that supposed to mean?” Applejack asked, turning to look at Twilight with a deep frown etched onto her face. “Ya sayin’ I’m stupid?” Twilight fell to her rump and used her forelegs to wave off the accusation. “N-N-No! Nothing like that at all! I just mean that-” She was interrupted by low chuckles. She refocused to look properly at the farmer and saw that she had a hoof by her mouth, trying to stifle her chuckles in vain. “Nice one, Applejack,” Twilight conceded as she stood up, chuckling a little herself. “S-Sorry, Twi. But that one was just too good to pass up on.” She went over to a tree nearer Twilight and bucked it. Again, all the apples on its branches fell down into the baskets underneath. “How’s it goin’ with Spike and the library an’ such?? Little fella still chasing Rarity like a dog chases a cat?” A nod from the unicorn confirmed the farmer’s assumption. “He’s still fawning over her. I swear I almost saw literal hearts in his eyes once or twice when he looked at her.” She giggled as another chirping, purple orb was fired from her horn, relieving yet another tree of its fruit. "I just hope he realises that it isn’t going to work. He’s a dragon and she’s a pony, not to mention that he’s hardly more than a child while Rarity is already grown up." Her eyes widened as a thought struck her hard enough that she was forced to sit down. "Applejack, he's a dragon. He will outlive not only Rarity, but all of us. He'll see us wither away and die, he'll see me die." She drew in a shuddering breath as silent tears threatened to spill over. "He's but a baby right now and will hardly be anything more than a teenager when we're all gone, I’m worried about him." Applejack sighed before replying, adjusting the position of a few baskets under a tree at the same time. “Poor fella. I agree with ya on that, he shouldn’t have to have his tiny heart crushed by bein’ let down. Don’t deserve it none. And you’re right to be worried about him. He may know how to take care o’ himself here, but he’s no pony, he ain’t a true dragon either, growing up ‘round ponies and such. I’m not sure how he’s going ta make it alone, just gotta hope Celestia will help him somehow.” Twilight just nodded, and for the next few moments they both worked in silence. Not the companionable silence, but the one that invited deep and somber thought. It was almost a sad sort of silence. A low, resonating boom sounded across the area they were in, and more apples fell down from the trees. Three trees to be exact. Twilight shot Applejack a small grin. “Sorry, just wanted to see if I could take more than one. You asked about the library, though? Not very much. There are precious few ponies in town willing to rent a book, and those that do only visit every once a month or so. I think the last one was Roseluck, she was looking to expand her business a little and wanted to do some research on other flowers she could work with.” A smile spread across her lips as she recalled a piece of the conversation the two had had when she visited. It would be a good way to dispel the depressive topic they had touched upon previously. “Did you know that she got together with Lily?” “Lily? The flower mare? Weren’t she, Roseluck an’ Daisy sisters?” “S-Sisters?” Twilight laughed. “No, no they aren’t sisters. Just three mares with interest and talents concerning flowers.” “Well, would ya look at that...” she chuckled, “Good fer them I suppose.” She cast a calculating glance at the trees around them.”Now, I’m sure we can finish in an hour or two with your help. So less talkin’ more buckin’, that okay with ya?” Twilight nodded. AJ gave the unicorn a challenging look, rearing up on her forelegs in preparation. She spends way too much time with Rainbow, Twilight thought while shaking her head, a slightly amused smile gracing her lips. The challenge in the farmer’s face was all too easy to see, even to Twilight. I might as well, we’ll be done quicker then. Twilight nodded and he horn sparked to life, sending another purple orb between the branches of a tree. The boom from when it echoed out came in tandem with the sound of hooves impacting on park. Both Twilight and Applejack worked as hard and as quickly as they could for the next two hours, making apples rain into the baskets underneath the trees. At first they had raced to see who could get the most trees done, but it had gradually gone back to just being one friend helping the other with their word, no competition needed. Idle chatter passed between them amidst the occasional boom from the sonic spell or the sound of hooves on bark. The two ponies worked alongside each other as the shadows grew in length and the sun soon reached its zenith. “Think that’s ‘bout it, Twilight.” Applejack took off her hat and wiped the sweat off of her brow. Her eyes trailed towards the sky as she placed the hat back on, noting how high the sun was on the sky. “‘Bout lunchtime, I recon. Say, Twi,” she looked over at Twilight who was putting a few stray apples that had hit the ground into the baskets, “Ya wanna grab some grub at the farm? I think ya deserve it after helping me out.” Twilight grinned, having put the last stray apples into the basket. “I’d like that, thanks... what about all those baskets, though?” She gestured to the baskets that were all around them, several under each and every tree in the vicinity. “Aren’t we supposed to bring them back too?” “Nah, we ain’t,” Applejack waved off. “Least not now, later maybe. Me an’ Big Mac will take care o’ that, though. I’m sure ye have other stuff ta do today.” A nod of her head was Twilight’s response, an appreciative smile accompanying it. “Now, come along, Sugarcube. We wouldn’t wanna make Granny Smith’s apple pie wait, now would we?” “No, we wouldn’t,” the unicorn said with a chuckle. She followed Applejack back to the farmhouse where they found Big Macintosh stepping up on the porch. He turned around to face them and opened the door for them. A small smile graced his otherwise stoic face. The three of them crossed the threshold and went inside. They were greeted with a table filled with a multitude of apple orientated dishes, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith placing the last few things on the table. Ten bits the mugs are made out of apple wood. Twilight thought, amused at the thought. “Well, hello there Twilight. Wasn’t aware ya’d be joinin’ us,” Granny Smith said in her squeaky tone as she brought in a large can of what looked to be apple juice. “Well, I’m sure we have enough grub fer one more belly ta fill.” “Heya, Miss Twilight! Whatcha doin’ here?” Apple Bloom asked, instantly rushing over to the only unicorn in the room. How she had managed to put the plate of apple fritters onto the table then dashed over to Twilight in just half a second was a mystery. She couldn’t quite help a little giggle at the youngest apple’s almost hyperactive behavior. She was still a filly afterall, so it was to be expected. “Not much, Apple Bloom. I just came over to spend a little time with your sister is all.” “Enough chatterin’. Let’s get some grub!” Granny Smith declared and sat down, immediately reaching for a piece of apple pie. “Eeyup!” Big Macintosh chimed in and did the same. The three remaining ponies each sat down and started to dig in as well, idle chatter and questions as to what the day had brought to each for the seated ponies passing between them.The food was delicious, as expected, and they were all soon done, leaning back in their chairs with a content smile on each of their faces. “So, I understand from Applejack that ya helped her with some o’ her work in the east field?” Twilight nodded at Granny Smith’s question. “I think a ‘thank ye’ is in order.” She gave a brief nod of her head in gratitude to which Twilight replied with a polite smile. Unbeknownst to the two mares sitting underneath the shadow of the tree, the sky was getting a little more clouded. Little by little, the few clouds that were present, slowly growing in numbers, were getting darker. “So that’s all you did? You helped AJ work and chatted with her for two hours? No pranks? No funny stuff like with Rarity?” “Hey! Rarity finding my ticklish spots is no laughing matter, Rainbow,” Twilight said with a slight pout, turning her head away. She was happy that she hadn’t explained precisely where her ticklish spots were. One could only fear what Ponyville’s resident daredevil would do with such information. “But yes, that was all we were really doing. It was a relatively new spell I used, so it was fun to try it out. Turned out to be a success!” She took a moment to rewind her train of thought, bringing her back to the question asked. “And yes, that was all we did. Worked together and chatted for roughly two hours, then had lunch.” Rainbow Dash groaned, placing a hoof on the bridge of her nose. “Right, so all you did was boring stuff. Next! What did you do then? It’s-” she looked at the shadows around them, noting which way they pointed, then compared it to where she knew the north was. “It’s around two right now, little less than that perhaps. You can’t have been looking for me for two hours, what did you do then?”