//------------------------------// // On Quick Hooves // Story: Ranch Hands // by Ezrienel //------------------------------// 2. On Quick Hooves "I don't know what her deal is," I spat, pacing around the living room in a bit of a huff. It wasn't what I was accustomed to doing, nah, I didn't usually get so wound up. But this girl, she must have had something real rotten against me. "It ain't like I did her wrong or somethin', I barely know her for Pete's sake." "Ah, Applejack don't be so hard on her, you just said you don't know much about her. Ain't it possible something's been troublin' the poor girl and she's just all bent outta shape about it, same as you?" Granny Smith tried to tell me, and I suppose it made sense enough. But that really was a lousy reason best I could see. "That ain't no excuse for her rudeness, Granny," I said in a groan, trying to cool off about it. "I don't know, maybe I'm overreactin' or somethin'." I stopped pacing about for a second to take a good look at myself, and it came around right easy for me to understand. I put my hand to my forehead and forfeited my pride. "Ah, shucks, I am ain't it? Al'right, al'right, I'll apologize or somethin' next I see of her. But if she don't take it or keeps up that act, I ain't gonna stand for it, y'hear?" "What? Sorry baby girl I musta drifted off, what were ya sayin'?" She squinted to look at me and babbled something awful. At first I thought it was cute, but now it was getting pretty troubling. Granny never did slow down too much, but all that hard work and dedication seemed to be taking its toll whether she liked it or not. "Nothin' Granny." I shook it off and gave her a smile. "Thanks. I'll go check on dinner, they'll be comin' in soon." "Who will?" she asked as she rocked back on her rocker and didn't bother looking right at me. I just sort of kept up my smile and took off, I wasn't about to explain it all again. I came into the kitchen and checked each and every pot of stew, stirring them to the bottom to make sure Granny hadn't left them on too long and burnt the pots. I took the liberty of sneaking a taste myself, I did love the way Granny cooked when she had people over. And heavens, I was not disappointed. I took over the rest of the kitchen myself, baking the bread and rolling in the barrels of cider for the guests. The last thing to do was finish setting the table, which I would have left for my little sister if I wasn't so preoccupied cooking I forgot to call her down to help out. I gathered enough dishes and silverware to set the table for the vast amount of guests we had, and it was barely enough let me tell you. I set it all out as usual, Big Mac at one end and me at the other. Granny was probably too tired to stay up for dinner, she wasn't much for the big crowds now anyway. I turned all the stove tops off at last, removing my oven mitts and approaching the bell we had on the window in the kitchen. I reached up and yanked the chain, sending this echoing ringing sound all across the farm. "Soups on, everybody, get on down to the ranch house if yer hungry!" I called out before closing the window up before any mosquitoes found their way in. I wasn't about to give a second call, so instead I moved some on the pots off the stove and over to the service area. I heard the screen door pull open, and I already knew it was; Big Mac was always the first one in to eat. I swerved my body half out into the dinning room and called out, "I hope you're hungry." But to my surprise, it was not my big brother. It was that same rainbow-haired girl, with that usual scowl. I could tell she was not too keen on being alone in a room with me much either, as we just stood opposite each other and stared for a few seconds. I didn't let it get to me, of course. "Pull up a chair, honey." I turned back into the kitchen to finish peeling some apples when I heard the rest of them coming in. The boys were loud enough to be heard from across the farm surely, and as they came in I just shook my head a bit and rolled my eyes. The folks that visited my farm come and go sure as the seasons, all looking and thinking they're something special, all too fickle as the last. They think that since they're men they can just step into some leather boots and carry on around the farm better than any girl like me, but they had another thing coming. Farming and manual labour wasn't just something that came along with any equipment, I knew that for darn sure. I cut up the apples into slices and put in the pies before I decided to poke my head out. The table was getting full all right, and I could tell Big Mac was having quite the time talking sports and such with the guys, but seeing me there he stood up immediately. He came on over and I sighed to myself, sometimes he was just too sweet and loyal. "Hey sis, you need any help in here?" he asked he as he leaned against the door frame, taking in the smell just as I did when I first walked in. "Ah, no way no how Mac, get on out there already, I'm just about to serve it up. Those boys look hungry, better get yourself a big helping before it's all gone," I told him with a grin, pushing him out of the kitchen despite his continuing protests. Seeing as how most everyone was here already, I decided it would be best to start bringing the food out already. First I took out the bread of course, along with the tossed salad which I was not surprised went all but untouched. I grabbed a couple of baskets and placed them around the table, happy to see that my little sister Apple Bloom had saved me my usual seat at the head of the table closest to the kitchen. Unfortunately, she had let that Rainbow Dash girl sit right up next to it. I could have sworn she must have known those things and done them on purpose. I just smiled at her though, playing friendly as usual. I went back into the kitchen to get the stew, taking one relaxing breath before returning. I faked a smile as I came back out and started with the end of the table closest to the kitchen, where I always began. I fished Apple Bloom a nice big ladle full of mostly vegetables, knowing she'd have to eat them in front of all these people instead of causing a tantrum. She obviously knew my tactics, as she glared at me while I poured it into her bowl. I skipped myself at the head of course, I wasn't sitting down any time soon so I could wait. Next in the line though was just who I didn't quite want to serve. I tried to keep on as if nothing was wrong leaning around her with a meaty spoon full and slowly pouring it as if not to splash. I felt her annoyed gaze on me, her half-lidded eyes glaring at me from her seat like I was the devil himself. I just smiled easily at her, letting her know that her vicious hostility would just wash right off of me. I must have spent a bit too long pouring her portion, because next I knew all eyes were on me and from what I could tell, our close vicinity was heating the air between us. I laughed it off subtly and went on to the next guest, Rainbow's friend Twilight. She was very polite about it, picking up her bowl and bringing it over as to make it easier for me to fill. I flashed her that same old smile and kept along, letting the stew wane as stomachs were filled. It ain't like I didn't know how people looked at me, the hot weather made it impossible for me to keep my shirt done all the way up, despite my will to do so. And I could tell when I bent down to distribute rations that they were lingering, and I hated every second of it. I mean, it was like these guys thought being on vacation made them exempt from punishment. I mostly just dropped the food into their bowls, not that they gave much of a darn any who. The whole time though, the stare that made me most uncomfortable was that of the girl Rainbow Dash, who just sort of watched. I couldn't help but return the gaze once in a while, but every time she looked like she was bored or waiting for something. And every time that I would get kinda peeved about it and look elsewhere, something would have me turning back. Anyway, I finished serving the whole group and since they already had their cider and all, I pulled up a chair for myself. The stew smelled great, still hot and steaming and everything. I blew on it a few times, inspecting the spoon full to be sure it was the perfect scoop of everything I wanted all at once, before I brought it close to my lips. It never made it there, which is as much as I should have expected. I jolted a bit as I felt the sharp pain in my leg, causing me to drop the spoonful back into the bowl. I passed a shocked expression on the the girl sitting next to me, already having a predisposition that she was the offender. To my surprise, she didn't even own up to it, just sat there moving the stew around in her bowl like she was none the wiser. I almost growled at her, but decided to take the high road and scoop another spoonful again, bringing it even closer to my mouth. But once again, the table jerked suddenly, followed shortly after by another swift kick to my shin. I glared at the Rainbow haired girl beside me, who now was giving me a mimic of my own expression. I dropped my spoon that time, giving her little grumpy fit its fair due of attention. I drew my own foot back a step, ready to unleash just what kind of retaliation was necessary. However, I was stopped not by another menacing attack, but by a small, girlish giggle that came from the opposite side of me. I turned and looked at the young girl, only to see her holding her mouth as if she just might burst. I had seen that guilty expression before, and smirked at her knowingly. "Ah shoot Apple Bloom, you're messing with us, ain't cha?" I said with a grin as she tried to hide it, but inevitably gave herself up with another fit of giggles. "Get over here, you're gonna pay for that one." "Sis, lemme go!" she cried out as I grabbed her and messed her hair up noticeably, giving no heed to her weak little squirms. I looked up at the girl I had once called my foe and smiled gently, finding her casual smirk something of an admission of innocence. She just shrugged the same, going on to swallow a scoop of her own stew. "No harm no foul, don't cha think?" I spoke to her, and she seemed to agree. Sharing a mutual laugh, the two of us went back to our dinners, but not without a challenging stare or two along the way. It was all in good fun of course, the mood had indeed been lightened. After dinner I gathered up all the dishes and put them in the sink as usual, after the display Apple Bloom had put on she'd be the one doing them. Not that I was angry with her, but I myself didn't want to be doing to dishes, I'll tell you that much. The guests all filed out at once, going back to their rooms to unpack and get some shut eye I imagine. I stood by the kitchen doorway and watched them all leave, knocking the door open roughly and going into the darkening sky. I didn't have any time to linger on trying for an apology with the Rainbow haired girl, she left too quickly and I had my own chores. I cleaned up the table and made sure everything was all locked up before I would let myself got to bed, I had a busy day scheduled for tomorrow. I mean, I had to actually go about dealing with our guests in person, a daunting task far as I could tell. Girl so worked as myself, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I had plenty to get ready for the next day, I was well aware of that every second as I lay in bed asleep. Finally the rooster came around calling and I was up at the crack of dawn, checking on the animals first as usual. Big Mac was already up bright and early too, he was usually up before anyone except maybe Granny, who was awake most often just for the heck of it. She still did her part around the farm, but she wasn't quite as quick or spry as she once was, so Big Mac and I did anything she asked of us. Today was the day that we were to take some of the group riding down by the creek. Usually Big Mac does the rides, but since we had such a large amount of guests for once I had to step in to offer a hand in controlling them. Didn't bother me much, most of the time they'd get tired or bored in the first ten minutes any who. "All right, saddles are on. Wanna bring em in, Mac?" I asked my brother as I finished tying the last saddle on nice and tight. I could tell not everyone was present, which was entirely expected. The rest of them were probably either still asleep in their rooms or playing cards in the community hall. It was something of an annoyance really, I mean folks come all the way out here and pay good money for an experience, but spend the whole time in their rooms. Guess they were all just afraid of looking like fools. I was surprised to see one somewhat friendly face there, her multi-coloured hair something of a spotlight on her head. From what I could tell, she was being dragged along by that Twilight girl. At least she was there, I guess, willing or not. The horses were still kept in their pens for the time being, we didn't want them all out at once and getting spooked or something around all these strangers. I cleared my throat a bit and stepped out in front of the lot of them, my hard leather boots crunching the loose straw about. "Good mornin', I trust y'all slept well," It might have been a question, but no one went to answer. "My brother and I are gonna take you out for a ride, so step up one by one and we'll get cha set up with a horse. Those of you who tried it out yesterday please move up first." I let Big Mac set most of them up, as a girl and all I thought it might be a bit awkward for me to help the guys onto their horses. It could be a bit emasculating for the most of them, so instead I took Twilight over to my most timid horse and set them up together. I knew they'd be a good match, Twilight seemed to be good at leading, and her horse was one of the most obedient we had. She was also an older horse, much less likely to cause to girl trouble or get startled by anything. I put her in a helmet just in case though, I think we both felt safer that way. Once I taught her how to guide her horse around a bit I turned back to take a gander at the rest of them. Big Mac sure was good at teaching new fellows and taking control if anything went wrong, that's why this was usually his duty. But even from here I could see Rainbow Dash sulking a bit off to the side, acting too cool for any of this. "Hey, Rainbow, was it?" I called her over, and she reluctantly came over to me with that same arrogant attitude still in hand. "Somethin' tells me you're not too keen on this whole riding thing, are ya?" "What gave me away?" She sort of smirked about it, but I was not about to let her off the hook quite so easily. I took her by the elbow and led her to the front of the pens, to the horse I thought might suit her the best. "This here's Blaze," I told her as I brought them together, watching the way they sized each other up. "He's one of our fastest rides, built like a truck and a bit of a wild card." I smiled as I saw her eyes settle on him, flickering a bit with anticipation. "But I think you can handle him, don't you?" "How bad could it be?" She shrugged and passively agreed to it, letting me open the gate and guide him out before she decided to get too near. "Just go up to him slowly, leave your hands at your sides like you intend him no harm, and don't stare in his eye or nothin'." She did as I told her and came up to the side of him. "Here." I took her hand and guided it to Blaze, placing it on his side and letting her slowly extend her fingers comfortably under mine. I moved her hand slowly against his coat, letting the two of them meet and feel each others' rhythms. Rainbow still didn't make to move at all, and I had an irking feeling she was looking at me instead of Blaze, maybe for more guidance or something. I had to give her a bit of a push. "He won't bite or nothing, try climbing up. Put your foot here in the stirrups, that's right, now hoist yourself up and swing over in one smooth motion." I put my hands on my hips as I watched Rainbow feeling the leather of the saddle. "My, my, looks to me like Blaze here is takin' mighty kindly to ya." "How could he not?" She grinned as she felt his coat again, going nice and easy with it. I quickly told her a little about his cues, what he liked and didn't like and a few instructions about movement and control, but she really didn't seem to listen. I let her take him out and into the riding area before checking on Twilight again. By then most of Big Mac's trainees were getting the hang of it, and so I went and found my own horse. I always rode her, no one quite responded to me better and she was brave as could be. I pressed my hand against her orange fur and let her know I was getting up before swinging up without an issue. I grabbed her reins and let her out to the others as my brother finished up with the boys and made certain the rest of the pens were all locked up. His horse was so deeply coloured he might have even looked red in a good light, one of the strongest horses we had and the very one we had to pull the plough. I rode up in front of them all and did a quick inspection to be sure no one was holding on wrong or sitting uneasily. "Al'right, I'll ride up front and Mac will stay at the rear. If you want to turn tail at any time, do so in a group so we don't have to hang back waitin' for y'all. Got it?" I ordered, and they all just sort of nodded at me speechlessly. I could already feel that most of them wouldn't make it out of the riding area, they were too nervous or disinterested or what have you. I was right of course, the most of them didn't take nothing seriously enough to follow through, and once a good lot of them quit the rest were following easily. Big Mac already took a load of them back while we moseyed along the farm trail, and had returned for another straggling bunch. I stuck mostly beside Twilight, making sure she was doing all right. I knew she was nervous, but that didn't stop her at all. Rainbow didn't need much or any supervision, she was a fast learner and her and Blaze seemed to have been a perfect match. We had been out there for quite some time, and looking back I saw that most everyone was baking in the sun and willing to turn back. "Anyone else want to go back to the farm, yet?" I called out, and I could see it in their faces for sure. Before any of them got much of a chance to respond, Rainbow Dash said something from right beside me. "I'm no quitter, this is nothing," she said lazily as she leaned back in the saddle, yawning like she was bored. I did like her tenacity, sure, but dragging the rest of the group along wasn't mighty kind of us. Hearing her proclamation, no one else opened their mouths about it. I suppose a little friendly competition within their group was healthy and all, but I would have felt bad if I was keeping Twilight out just because she wanted to support her friend. "This is gonna be a long day, ain't it?" I sighed those words as I looked back at my rainbow-skulled company. I was trying to give her a hint, but she had another way around it. "Then why not make it a bit more interesting?" I heard her speak and it made my heart race, whatever it was had me excited to know. I raised my eyebrow in question and waited for her to go on. "How about a race, just for kicks. What do you say?" "Race?" I thought about it, leaving all the others in the dust might give them a chance to cool off or ask Big Mac to take them back without looking weak in front of the only female member of their team. It might just work. "I say you're on, sugar cube. First one to reach the far fence sound all right?" "Better grab those reins if you want to have a chance!" She galloped past me in an instant, and I instinctively adjusted the cowboy hat on my head into a more secure position, pulling the riding strap down under my chin. I gestured to Big Mac to take care of things again, while I showed this city girl just how we do things on the farm. I took off after her, knowing well how to adjust myself on the saddle to decrease wind resistance. Blaze was not the horse I'd like to chase after in a race, but I knew my riding skills would make up for the lack of speed. The adrenaline sure was exhilarating, I hadn't felt such warm winds through my hair in what must have been months or years, working on the farm left little time for play. I felt myself gaining on her, her rainbow hair blowing about the same way mine did, though it was shorter by some amount and not confined in a pony tail like mine was prone to be. I rose upright a bit in the stirrups, feeling like I was charging this fast on my very own two feet for a moment. The far fence was not far now, just past the tree line a bit and a while before the creek. She was pretty good for a newbie, that was for certain, but knowing my way better around the terrain and with horses it was not much of a challenge to catch up neck and neck with her. She must have heard me there, because she looked over at me and grinned, just as enthralled by the competition as I was. I took the lead then, tipping my hat at her like I was otherwise unconcerned with her attempt to out ride me. She seemed to get rather riled by that, and made another attempt to catch up to me. Though her horse was quick and agile, mine was none too slow herself. The fence came by quickly and I had reached it first, slowing down as Rainbow Dash caught up to me with something of a huff. Without admitting much of a defeat, she went on to argue. "Bet in a foot race I'd whoop you, Applejack." She tilted her head at me as if that was a matter of fact. "I wouldn't doubt that," I agreed with her to pass the subject along, though she knew nothing of my own athletic career. "Want to try your luck once more? There's a creek almost a mile up, if you can find it you'll see me waitin' for your sorry rear to catch up." "Not likely." She must have really had a thing about competition, I barely even finished spouting the rules and she was all for it. I didn't know what she thought she had to prove, but I was no push-over neither. It was on.