"...And that is the basis of all human religions." I finished.
"Interesting," Twilight said," Humans must be really diverse if you all have different faiths and beliefs."
"That we are." I responded, "Christianity, Judaism and Islam all technically worship the same God, but they all have different customs; such as what happens after death, or is to be done with the body."
"That makes me want to ask." Twilight said, "What religion do you follow James?"
"None."
"None?"
"Not all humans follow a God, and people like this are known as Atheists. They believe that it is impossible for a deity to exist, and that there is not enough evidence to prove otherwise. There are some atheists, like Richard Dawkins, who speak out against religion as well."
"But what about magic and the Princesses here on this world?" Twilight asked, "Doesn't that prove to atheists otherwise?"
"I can accept that in this dimension, deities can exist." I answered, "Celestia and Luna can be considered gods as they can raise the sun and moon respectively. However, there is still no evidence that any deity exists in my dimension, so none of that really proves God's existence."
"I suppose you're right." Twilight said with a sigh.
Suddenly, the ground began to shudder violently. Looking over into the distance , I could clearly see a large cloud of dust that seemed to be getting closer and closer to the town.
"STAMPEDE!" I heard Rainbow Dash suddenly yell. She was right, soon enough, I saw that the cloud of dust was being made by a herd large of cows rushing towards the town. They definitely had no intention of stopping.
With that, the entire town entered panic mode. Some of the townsfolk rushed inside their homes, shut their windows, locked their doors, and even brought in their doormats. Others who were still outside were running around, screaming.
"He-e-e-e-y!" Pinkie Pie laughed, her voice vibrating as her whole body shuddered up and down, "Thi-i-is ma-a-akes my-y-y vo-o-oice so-o-o-und si-i-illy!"
"Pinkie Pie," Twilight cried out to her, "are you crazy?! Run!"
"Of course she is!" I shouted, as the two of us also began to run for safety.
"Everypony, calm down!" the mayor declared above all the screaming, "There's no need to panic!". No need to panic?! Who is she, Kar'shan's defence minister?!
"But Mayor," Rarity said dramatically, walking over to the grey maned mare "whatever shall we do?!"
"Look there!" Rainbow shouted, pointing towards the stampede.
"YEEHAW!" a southern voice suddenly cried out. Looking over, I couldn't believe what I saw. There was Applejack, running through the herd of cows, accompanied by a dog. Upon seeing her, the ponies began to cheer.
AJ was able to keep all of the cows running in one straight line. While Rarity was forced to look away, Pinkie of all people was watching with anticipation, holding a bag of popcorn in her hooves.
"This is the best rodeo show I've ever seen!" she said before diving her head into the popcorn.
Really? This was what she was doing? She was actually watching this with a bag of popcorn?! What the hell is wrong with her?! Does she ever take anything seriously?! The fact that she isn't, and she thinks that this is a fun thing to watch, it disgusts me! She disgusts me! Hell, even Twilight gave an odd look when she saw what Pinkie was doing.
As the stampede drew closer to the town, AJ leaped on top of one of the cows, while her dog leaped in front of the one leading the heard. The orange farm pony grabbed a lasso from out of nowhere (Seriously. One second it wasn't there, the next it was!), and hurled it around the leader's neck. Leaping off the cow she was on, she landed next to the lead cow and tugged on the rope in her mouth. Just as the herd was about to cross the bridge into town, it turned to the right and continued running alongside the stream.
"YEEHAW!" I heard AJ yell as the girls around me cheered once more. My jaw fell open in a mixture of shock and amazement as AJ continued pulling the rope until the herd stopped completely. Three words: That. Was. Awesome!
AJ began to converse with the cows, before the heard began walking away from town. She trotted up to the hill where everypony could see her, and the crowd cheered for the town's hero once again.
"YEEHAW!" Pinkie suddenly cried out, "Ride 'em cowpony!".
"Applejack was just... just..." the mayor was at a loss for words.
"Apple-tastic!" Pinkie exclaimed, popping up out of nowhere as she usually did.
"Exactly!" the mayor agreed, "We must do something to thank Applejack for single-hoofidly saving the town!"
"I know!" Pinkie declared, "A PARTY!"
Following the stampede incident, we had all come to the agreement that Applejack should receive a ceremonial party in her honour for her actions. The townsfolk had decorated the area surrounding Ponyville's town hall. There were balloons, ribbons, and all many other decorations as far as I could see. Seemed like a bit much for a ceremony if you ask me personally.
Me and Twilight, who had Spike sitting on her back as usual; walked over to Rarity, who was busy tying a red ribbon around a tree. "We all ready?" Twilight asked.
"Just one last thing." Rarity answered, before using her magic to place a large yellow banner decorated with apples on the town hall. "Now we're ready." she declared.
"Is Applejack all set?" Twilight questioned.
"Actually, I haven't seen her all week." Rainbow responded, as she hovered over to us and landed on the ground.
"Not since the stampede." Pinkie added, trotting up to us as well.
"But she'll be hear for sure." Rainbow said in reassurance, "Applejack is never late!"
By now, everypony in town was gathered in front of the town hall. Twilight stood behind a podium, taking a large stack of papers and sorted them with her magic. "Welcome everypony!" she declared, "Today we are here to honor a pony we can always count on to help in matters great and small. A pony whose contributions to..."
"Did you see Applejack's slick moves out there?" Rainbow suddenly interrupted, flying forward and taking Twilight's place behind the podium, "What an athlete! This week she's gonna help me with my new flying trick, and I know it's gonna be so awesome!"
"Exactly!" Twilight cut in, pushing Rainbow Dash aside, "And..."
" This week, I get to run Sugarcube Corner for the first time!" Pinkie announced, pooping up in front of Twilight.
"What does that have to do with Applejack?" Twilight questioned.
"Oh." Pinkie realized afer a short pause, "Applejack, one of the best bakers ever, is gonna help me. Applejack makes everything great, so free samples for everypony!" she announced, causing the crowd to cheer.
"Oh-kay, that's great." Twilight continued, pushing Pinkie away from the podium, "Now if I could just make a point without being inter-"
"Twilight?" Fluttershy cut in.
"-rupted." Twilight finished, before giving Fluttershy some space next to her nehinf the podium.
"Twilight, I'm so sorry," Fluttershy said, "but I just wanted to mention that Applejack is also helping me this week with the official bunny census, where we count up all the new baby bunnies that were born this season. She's gonna help gather them using her wonderful herding skills."
"Anyone else?" Twilight asked the crowd as Fluttershy slipped away, "Anyone? No?". The crowd remained silent. "Well then, as I was trying to say..." Twilight began, only to see the mayor standing next to her. "Urgh!" she groaned, tossing the papers away and trotting down, "Never mind!"
The mayor walked up the podium, where she cleared her throat. "And so, with no further ado," she said, "it is my privilege to give the prize, Pony of Ponyville Award, to our beloved guest of honor, a pony of the utmost trustworthiness, reliability, and integrity. Ponyville's most capable and dependable friend: Applejack!"
The curtains beside her opened, and the crowd of ponies cheered, only to stop after realizing there was nopony there.
"Cool! Way to go Applejack, that was awesome!" Spike cheered, only to notice the pairs of eyes centered around him, causing him to blush in embarrassment.
The mayor cleared her throat again. The crowd was silent
"Awkward." Spike murmured.
"Ah'm here!" A southern accented voice called out from the crowd. I looked over in its direction, and could just see a stack of apples and a brown Stetson hat move through the crowd. "Ah'm here." the voice said again, before giving off an audible yawn. "Sorry ah'm late..." it continued as the hat and the apples continued through the crowd, "... whoa... ah was just... whoa... Did ah get yer tail?"
Out of the crowd, there staggered a tired looking Applejack, carrying two baskets full of apples.
"Miss Mayor," she said, walking up the podium, "Thank ya kindly for this here... award thingy." . She yawned, before turning her attention over to the trophy, "It's so bright and shiny and," she chuckled," I sure do look funny.". She began leaning her head back and forth, staring at her reflection ion the polished trophy. It wasn't long before Pinkie joined her.
I stared at AJ and Pinkie as they continued messing around. Something definitely wasn't right here.
"Okay." Twilight cut in, "Well, thank you Applejack for saving us from that scary stampede, and always being there for everypony."
"Yeah." AJ murmured, "I like helping the ponyfolks and," she interrupted herself ith a yawn, "and stuff.". Suddenly, she began snoring, "Oh, uh, yeah." she said quickly, snapping herslef awake, "Uh, thanks."
With those words, she took the trophy by the mouth and dragged it away.
"Was it just me," Twilight asked, "or did Applejack seem a little..."
"Tired?" Rainbow finished.
"Dizzy?" Fluttershy added.
"Messy" Rarity offered, earning a few odd looks from me and the girls, "Well, did you see her mane?" she justified.
"She seemed fine to me!" Pinkie Pie cut in, "Woo! Woo!"
I managed to hear Twilight give of a faint "Hmm.", and I knew she thought the same as I did.
Something was definitely up.
I watched the scene that played out in front of me and Twilight. Applejack was bucking apples out of two trees. Nothing out of the ordinary there, except for the fact that she was obviously tired and fatigued. After bucking a third tree, she closed her eyes for a second, the immediately shook her head and opened them. Then, in a tired daze, she ended up kicking a barrel of apples by mistake.
"What on earth is that pony doing?" Twilight asked to no one in particular.
"That's what we came to find out." I answered.
"Whoops" I heard AJ murmur, having realized what she had just kicked. She then closed her eyes and began to snore.
"Hey, Applejack!" Twilight called out. AJ didn't hear her.
"AJ?" I tried calling as well, but also fell on death ears.
"Applejack!" Twilight called again, once gain failing to be heard. With that, her horn began to glow, and in a flash of light she had vanished. There was a white flash in front of AJ, and when it settled, Twilight was standing in front of her.
"AppleJACK!" she shouted, startling the orange farm pony awake. I quickly trotted over to joining them.
"Oh, howdy Twilight." AJ said, "Howdy, James." she added, turning to me.
"What is all this." Twilight asked.
"It's Applebuck Season" AJ answered as she walked over to buck another tree.
"Apple-what Season?" Twilight questioned, teleporting in front of AJ again.
"It's what the Apple family calls harvestin' time." AJ explained, "We gather all the apples from the trees so we can sell em'."
"But why are you doing it all alone?"
"'Cause Big Macintosh hurt himself."
"What about all those relatives me and James have met when we first came to Ponyville? Can't they help?". Actually, that was a great question! Where were they all now? I thought the farm was quiet when me and Twilight helped harvest all of the golden delicious apples.
"They were just here for the Apple family reunion." AJ sighed, " They actually live all over Equestria and are busy harvestin' their own orchards. So, uh, ah'm on my own.". As she walked towards another tree, Twilight once again teleported in front of her.
"Which means, ah should really get back to work.". Twilight stayed where she was. "Ahem..." AJ cleared her throat, "hint hint? Get back to work?"
"Fine." Twilight said simply, moving aside.
"Could you step aside, Twilight?" AJ murmured, her body beginning to spread left and right.
"I just did." Twilight responded, "Applejack, you don't look so good."
"Eh, don't any of you three worry none," AJ said after shaking her head, "ah'm just fine and dandy.". She tried to buck another tree, but was too far to even touch it, causing her to stagger forward. Twilight once again teleported in front of AJ.
"Do you.. want some help?" she asked.
"Help?" AJ repeated indignantly, "No way, no how!"
"But there's no you can handle all of this on your own!" I said.
"Is that a challenge?" AJ demanded in a threatening voice, shoving her face right into mine. I was quite taken aback by this, unsure what to say.
"Uhh... no?" I answered nervously.
"Well, ah'm gonna prove to both of you that ah can do it!" the orange earth pony declared, "Now if you'll excuse me, ah've got apples to buck!". With that she trotted off to continue her work. I didn't like the sound of this. Not one bit of it. I just hope it doesn't come back to bite us all in the ass...
I sat on the library's balcony with Twilight, reading one of the library's many books to pass the time. I'd already given Twilight a lesson on human history, so I guessed now was a good time to learn about pony history. The book I was currently reading detailed events before the founding of Equestria, and before the unification of the three tribes. That struck me as odd. Didn't Celestia say that they united to drive this world's humans out of the land? Maybe the alliance was only temporary and they went back to being separate again immediately after?
As I would have guessed, there wasn't any mentioning of humanity's invasion. Celestia had told me that that subject had long been forgotten, but that was besides the point. Just being in a place like Ponyville for a few days makes you think that the ponies were always good friends. You'd never think that all three sub species would ever hold each other with contempt. Then again, history is full of surprises isn't it?
Suddenly, there was a loud crash that sounded like it was right in front of us. Shooting my head up from the book, I saw none other than Rainbow Dash lying on the balcony.
"Can I help you?" Twilight asked.
"I think somepony else needs your help." was Rainbow's response.
"Applejack?" Twilight guessed.
"Yep."
There was AJ, standing right behind us, though she was facing the opposite direction. As she lowered her head to pick up and apple on the ground, she banged her head on a lower branch. She stood up, her head seeming to vibrate.
"Applejack," Twilight asked, "can we talk?"
AJ fiddled with her ear, as if she was having trouble hearing. "CAN BEES SQUAWK?" she called, "AH DON'T THINK SO!"
"No," Twilight responded, "can we talk?"
"TWENTY STALKS?" AJ called again, "BEAN OR CELERY?"
"No!" Twilight shouted back, "We need to talk to you!"
"YA NEED TA WALK TO THA ZOO? WELL WHO'S STOPPING YOU?"
"We need to talk to you!"
"OH! WELL WHY DIDN'T YA SAY SO? WHAT YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT?"
"Rainbow Dash dropped in to see us today!"
"THAT'S QUITE NEIGHBOURLY OF HER!"
"Yes, except that she crashed onto our balcony after you launched her into the air!"
"Oh, yeah," AJ responded, "ah wasn't feelin' mahself this morning."
"Maybe that's because you're working too hard and you need help!" I cut in, feeling that I needed to make myself heard as well.
"What?" AJ seemed taken aback, "Kelp? I don't need kelp. I don't even like seaweed."
"I said: YOU NEED HELP!" I yelled at her face.
"Nothin' doin' James!" AJ declared stubbornly as she began moving forward, "Ah'm gonna prove to you, an' Twilight, an' t'everypony, that ah can do this on mah own!". Immediately having finished speaking, she banged her head against the low branch again. "Now if you'll excuse me," she continued, as began staggering away, "ah, gotta help Pinkie Pie!".
Wow. That girl really doesn't like the word 'help' much does she? Whatever's going to happen with her and Pinkie, it's not going to end well for anyone, I know that... Oh, and remember when I said that I hoped this wouldn't come back to bite us?
Well so much for wishful thinking...
Something was telling me that I should be looking at what was happening with AJ and Pinkie, and after seeing AJ as tired as she was, I doubt it was going to be anything good.
Walking into Sugarcube Corner, it wasn't difficult to notice the crowd of ponies gathered in front of the counter.
"Free muffin sample spectacular!" I heard Pinkie's voice announce as I made my way through the crowd. On the counter there were two trays filled with freshly baked muffins. They smelled delicious.
With their mouths watering, the crowd went and grabbed a muffin each. Suddenly, I found myself reaching for one as well. Surely one wouldn't hurt right?
"Yeah!" I heard AJ yell out, causing me to stop reaching towards the counter. There she was, with heavy bags under her eyes. "Muffin spectacles!" she continued, "Get 'em while they're hot!"
On second thought, I'm not really hungry for muffins right now...
"What's the matter, Jamesey?" Pinkie asked, in that usual annoyingly upbeat voice of hers, "Don't you want to try one of these muffins Applejack and I baked?"
"No thanks." I answered simply, "Not feeling very hungry at the moment."
"Okie-Dokie-Lokie!" she said, still smiling, "I'll just make sure to save some for you later!"
"No!" I shouted out, which wasn't really my plan to begin with. Several of the ponies looked up to face me. Even Pinkie seemed a little shaken by my outburst, though AJ didn't seem to notice. "No," I repeated much more calmly, "that won't be necassary.". With those words, I turned and began to walk towards the door leading back outside.
"Oh, and Pinkie?" I added, turning my head back to face her, "Don't you dare call me 'Jamesey'. Ever." I snarled at her through gritted teeth.
Unsurprisingly, Pinkie didn't seem to notice the hostility in the request. "Okie-Dokie-Lokie!" she declared before grabbing one of the muffins.
As I walked out back into town, I had two things on my mind. #1: Pinkie. That girl was so annoying, naive and childish that it knocked me sick. Unless she realizes how dark the world really is, then she will never get through life. Ignorance may be bliss, but the world has never rewarded the naive. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those guys who sees the world as a horrible place where there is no good and the only person you can trust is yourself. I'm the sort of guy who knows that there are dark parts of life, but there are equal amounts of good. Friends, true friends; not the people you copy and hang out with just because you think they're cool, are the people who can lead you in the direction of the good parts; though when it comes to friends, I'd consider Pinkie anything but one of mine.
#2: AJ. I think my instincts have helped me in the long run. Not really sure what was in those muffins, but I don't want to find out. I could only feel sorry for the ignorant crowd who took one of them, for I knew that no good was going to come out if this.
And believe me, I knew.
"We came as soon as we heard!" Twilight said to the nurse.
"Oh thank you, Twilight." The nurse responded, turning our attention to the patients, "We need all the help we can get."
All of the ponies on the beds were the ones I saw in the crowd at Sugercube Corner earlier. Their faces were green, the rest of their bodies were pale. One of them I noticed was vomiting into a bucket.
"Oh no!" Twilight exclaimed, "What happened?". At that moment, I noticed notced one of the muffins lying on the ground, having been bitten out of. Spike picked it up in his claw, and suddenly a worm stuck out from inside. I shuddered in disgust. I could have eaten one of those!
"It was a mishap with some of the baked goods." the nurse explained.
"No," I heard Pinkie groan. She lay in one of the hospital beds, her face a sickly green. "not baked goods, baked bads.", she managed out, before looking as though she was about to vomit. As the scene played out in front of me, I felt my mouth form into a faint smile, and a felt something inside. There's probably one word I can use to describe that feeling: enjoyment.
"Applejack!" Twilight said, realizing who was responsible for the situation.
"Mmm. Want one?" Spike suddenly asked her, holding out one of the muffins.
AJ trotted backwards, with a wagon full of apples, towards a barrel nestled between two hillocks. As she stopped at the edge, the wagon tilted backwards, landing on its back and leaving her hanging upside down.
"Applejack," Twilight said, "we need to talk."
"Why? Huh?" AJ murmured, startled awake, "Oh, it's you two." she yawned, "Ah know what yer gonna say, but the answer is still no."
"Not to upset your applecart," Twilight answered, "but you need help."
"Hardy har." AJ muttered tiredly, flailing her arms helplessly,
"Come on AJ," I urged her, "let us help you."
"Help? No thanks." she declared, and with those words, the orange farm pony began to try freeing herself from the wagon. "A little more... " she grunted, "Little... There.". Having freed herself and pulled the wagon out with her, she walked over to another tree, which had no leaved or apples to be bucked from.
"Ah'll prove that this Apple can handle these apple!" AJ announced, beginning to kick the tree, "Come on apples," she grunted "fall off!"
"AJ," Twilight said, "I think you're beating a dead... tree."
"Ah knew that." AJ responded quickly, before trotting away to find another tree.
"Actually Applejack, I had something else to talk to you about." Twilight said as me and her began to follow after her, "We just came back from Ponyville Urgent Care and..."
"Ya know," AJ interrupted, "Ah'm a little busy to get lectured right now, Twilight!"
"But if you'd just let me and James help..."
"No, no, NO! How many times do ah gotta say it? Ah don't need no help from nopony!". And with those words, AJ trotted off. Neither me or Twilight bothered following her.
"Ugh." Twilight groaned, "That pony is stubborn as mule. No offence." she added to a mule that stood next to me.
"None taken." he replied.
What the hell? Where did he come from?
"Come on James." Twilight said, "She's not going to listen to us. Let's head back to the library."
I looked one last time at AJ, who was now bucking another tree as tiredly as ever. The I sighed sadly.
"All right." I said, "Let's go."
Back at the library, Twilight was engrossed in reading a book, probably trying to take her mind of what was going on with AJ. As for me, I could only pace up and down, unable to get my concerns out of my head. AJ was tearing herself apart, and other ponies were paying for it. I wanted to do something about, but there's little you can do if your help is not welcome.
"Uh, James?" I suddenly heard Twilight's voice inquire, thankfully allowing me to snap out of my thoughts.
"Yeah?" I responded, turning to face her.
"I want to know something else about humans," she said, "but... is this a bad time?"
A bad time? This was perfect timing! Answering questions: the best way to take your mind off things.
"I've always got time for you Twilight." I replied, "Ask away."
"Well..." Twilight began, "This isn't really a question about humans then it is about..."
"About what?" I asked.
"...You."
"Me?" I was taken aback by this. She wanted to know more about me? "Why would you want to know about me?"
"James," Twilight answered, "you're my friend. I should know more about you, but I barely know anything except that you're a human and you're from a planet called Earth."
Good point. I hadn't really told her a thing about my own life back home. Doesn't she deserve it? I mean, she's my friend after all.
"Alright then." I responded with a small smile, "Where do I start? Well, my father is an engineer and my mother is a secretary. My brother Adam is away at university, and Dad is away on business."
"What's your family like?" Twilight inquired.
"Mum and Dad are great people. I mean, they love and care for me, and that's what parents are supposed to do right?" Then my face fell, " Adam?" I continued, "Well... I think that the best way to describe him is to say that he's an ass."
"What do you mean?"
"He's obnoxious, lazy, disrespectful, self centred, and the only things he ever does are work out at the gym and drink protein shakes. He never cleans up after himself, and he just annoys the shit out of all of us!"
"So basically, you don't like him?"
"No. I don't. Call me cruel, but I'm glad he's away."
"Surely you don't really mean that."
"I don't know if I am myself." I said sombrely, "On one hand, I'm glad to not have him around; but on the other, I miss him a lot."
"There, you see?" Twilight said , causing me to look up and face her.
"See what?" I asked.
"You miss him. Just that shows that you actually care for him. And I'm sure that he misses you as well and that deep down, he cares for you too. I mean, he's your brother isn't he?"
"Yeah..." I responded, the small smile from before forming again, "you're right. Brothers: you can't live with or without them can you?"
"No you can't." Twilight answered with a chuckle.
"You know what?" I said, walking towards the door, "How about we just go out for walk, just for the hell of it?"
"Why not?" Twilight answered, as she began to follow me. She opened the door with her magic, and began to step outside.
"Twilight." I called out.
"Hmm?"
"Thanks. For what you said about Adam. I already knew it, but hearing it from you means a whole lot more."
"Think nothing of it James." she said with a smile, "It's the least I could do for a friend. Especially for a friend like you."
My face suddenly felt hot, and Twilight started to giggle. Wait... was I blushing?
As Twilight stepped through the door, I followed her outside.
As Twilight and I trotted around town, Twilight began humming to herself, only to stop and gasp in shock when she saw three mares lying on the ground. One was beige and had very dark pink mane with a much lighter streak of pink running through it, one was pink and had a blonde mane, and the third was pinkish purple with a light green mane.
"The horror! The horror!" cried the one with the pink hair.
"It was awful!" the blond one declared.
"A disaster! A horrible, horrible disaster!" the one with the green mane added. However, looking around, nothing appeared to be wrong. There was no sign of damage or anything.
"I don't get it." Twilight muttered, looking confused. The three mare got up and rushed in different directions.
"Our gardens! Destroyed!"
"Every last flower devoured!"
"By... by... THEM!" the one with the green mane cried out, pointing to a large herd of rabbits. Fluttershy was there, talking to the bunnies but seeming to have little success in getting their attention.
"Oh my." she said, "Oh... Please stop, little bunnies. Oh no! Please, let's go home. Oh my goodness."
"Alright." Twilight declared, "Enough is enough."
"Must... keep... buckin'... just... a few... more. Must finish harvestin'..." AJ gasped out as she bucked her hind legs tiredly against an apple tree.
"Alright Applejack." Twilight said sternly, "Your applebucking hasn't just caused you problems, it's over-propelled Pegasus', practically poisoned plenty of ponies, and terrorized bushels of brand new bouncing baby bunnies. I don't care what you say, you. Need. Help."
AJ gave the tree one last buck, causing the rest of the apples to fall into the baskets strapped on her saddle.
"Ha!" she smiled, "No ah don't. Look, ah did it. Ah harvested the entire Sweet Apple Acres without your help. How d'ya like them apples?"
Looking around, it seemed as though she was right. All of the apple trees I saw had been bucked bare of their fruits.
"Um, how do you like them apples?" a new voice suddenly said. Turning to its source, I saw none other than Big Macintosh. The middle section of his body was covered in a white bandage, obviously due to the injury AJ had mentioned. He drew all of our attention towards a set of other apple trees, with delicious looking apples just waiting to be bucked.
AJ stared in shock, began to mutter incoherently, and finally collapsed to the ground unconscious.
"AJ!" I shouted out in concern, running over to her side. Twilight followed me, and began calling our friend's name.
"Applejack? Applejack!"
AJ's eyes fluttered open. "Huh?" she mumbled.
"Oh, good," Twilight said in relief, "you're okay. Now Applejack, I completely respect the Apple family ways. You're always there to help any pony in need, so maybe you can put a little of your stubborn pride aside and allow your friends to help you."
"OK, Twilight."
"I am not taking 'no' for an answer--what?". Twilight was taken aback by the farm pony's sudden acceptance.
"Yes, Twilight." AJ responded, putting her hooves together in a begging fashion, "Yes, please. Ah could really use your help."
Twilight could only give off a small chuckle and a sigh of relief.
"Dear Princess Celestia,
My friend Applejack is the best friend a pony could ever have, and she's always there to help any pony. The only trouble is, when she needs help, she finds it hard to accept it, so while friendship is about giving of ourselves to friends, it's also about accepting what our friends have to offer.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle"
Me, Twilight and the other girls were more than happy to help AJ with the rest of her apple harvesting. Twilight made it much quicker by using her magic to levitate apples from the trees and placing them in the barrels.
"How about y'all take a little break?" AJ called out, pushing a trolley holding seven bottles, " Ah got some fine apple juice waitin' for ya!"
As we walked over, AJ gave a content sigh, "Guys, ah can't thank you enough for this help. Ah was acting a bit stubborn."
"A bit?" Twilight asked, a clear sign of amusement in her voice.
"Okay. A mite stubborn," AJ admitted, "and ah'm awful sorry. Now, ah know the town gave me the Prized Pony award, but the real award is having you six as my friends."
"And having you as a friend AJ is an award in itself." I said, before taking a drink of the refreshing juice from the bottle.
"Phew!" Rainbow exclaimed, "That applebucking sure made me hungry!"
"And I've got the perfect treat!" Spike decalred, holding up a tray of half eaten muffins.
"Eeew... Spike, I threw those all away. Where'd you get them?" Pinkie asked.
"From the trash."
"EW!" the girls exclaimed in disgust, as they all began to walk away.
"Just a little nibble?" Spike beckoned, "Come on!". The girls continued to grumble as they walked off. "What about you James?" he asked, holding one out to me.
"No thanks." I said quickly. After seeing what happened to the ponies in intensive care, my mind was made up about those muffins.
"Oh well," Spike said, "that means more for me!"
Good for him.