//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - A tiny little fix // Story: A 'Not So Simple' Simple Life // by Wolfie 03 //------------------------------// Early July, 1004 A.D. (After Discord) The sight of a pale gray-white unicorn gave Applejack pause; while Rarity seemed in high spirits that didn't mean all was well. The fashion mare trotted directly over to the apple stand and Applejack prepared to start putting things away; it seemed like she was the go-to pony for Rarity's needs. (Which is what Ah wanted right? Tah be the one who helps her... Not that it matters, Ah just want tah make sure it's done right....) Applejack quickly shook her mind free of the thoughts and smiled at the unicorn. “Howdy sugarcube; what can Ah do for ya today?” It had been two weeks since Rarity's disastrous attempt at helping and Applejack had made a complete recovery; something the unicorn noted with a pleased smile. “Good morning, darling. I was wondering if you could stop by when you have a free afternoon to help me put up the loveliest picture I found.” Applejack couldn't hold back her smirk as she mentally congratulated herself for guessing so well. “Sure thin'; just let me pack this away and -” “Oh no no no, darling!” Rarity cut the farmer off along with a dainty hoof wave to stop her before continuing with Applejack staring back in curiosity. “When you have a free day! You needn't put everything away and lose a day of sale on my account! It's nothing urgent, you can stop by in a few days.” Rarity tried to be nonchalant, unwilling to put the orange mare through more trouble; what she didn't realize was that by doing so made the hard working mare more uneasy than before. Applejack adjusted her stetson as she looked back, stalling in order to try and figure out what was going on. “Okay... Ah'll be over tomorrow mornin', would that work fer ya sugarcube?” Applejack drawled slowly, wondering if she should be concerned for Rarity's health. The gray-white mare merely beamed in return as she flipped her mane back and started to head home. “Wonderful darling! I shall see you in the morning; good day dear.” Applejack could only watch in wonder as Rarity practically skipped home (not that she really did, since it would be unlady like). (Now to show Applejack a proper thank you! It shall be a marvelous breakfast!) The next morning found the farmer bringing all the tools the Apple Family had to help Rarity; a pony never knew if something else pops up that would need a different kind of tool. Applejack was lost in her thoughts about the unicorn's health and other aspects of her (which she tried to steer clear from and failed) when she noticed three dark cloaked figures walking along the trees following the dirt path. (Now what in tarnation are those three doin' now?) “Apple Bloom! What are y'all doin' with black cloaks on in the middle of summer?” The figures paused and shared glances before looking to the older mare. “How'd ya know it was us?” Applejack deadpanned the trio. “Well shoot, Ah knew it was y'all 'cause we don't got another three fillies who travel together around these parts.” Applejack smirked at the trio who shared despairing glances. “Oh.” At the short response, Applejack tried get more out of them. “Ain't y'all hot in them things? It's summer still, why are y'all wearing cloaks anyways?” The trio remained silent, causing the older sister to become even more worried about their plans. Ever since they were allowed to go camping and have sleepovers by themselves, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had gotten more secretive and disappeared for long periods of time; something the older farmer noticed with slight dread. “Appplllee Blooooom?!” “Sneaking!” All eyes shot to the young unicorn as she squeaked out a response. “We're trying to earn our sneaking cutie marks on our way to town.” Applejack was stunned; while they did tell her what they were doing (right now at least) 'sneaking' meant that they could potentially do more things in a secretive manner later on. The older farmer was going to put a stop to it fast. “Alright, but if Ah hear about somepony being scared, teased or what have ya by some ponies in black capes...” Applejack warned with a stern look and hoof point to make sure they understood. The trio droned their agreement and barely held back eye rolls which the older sister could practically feel; but there wasn't so much more Applejack could do unless she followed them around; which she was tempted to do but she promised Rarity she would help her today. After one last warning look, the orange mare continued on her way to town, followed by the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “So Applejack, what'cha doin' with the tools? Something wrong with 'em?” The older mare didn't look at the fillies as she thought about how to word her answer; the unicorn's actions the other day still weighed on her mind. “Rarity needs a helpin' hoof around the Boutique an' she don't got any tools; Ah've offered tah help for a short while.” Applejack flinched an ear towards them and answered without looking back; she could feel a blush on her face and wasn't sure of the reason why, helping a friend was a perfectly fine thing to do. At the news Sweetie Belle perked up and began to describe in detail what had gone wrong in the two weeks Applejack hadn't seen the fashionista. “Oh! There's that picture she's wanted to put up, the downstairs window isn't closing all the way, the bathroom light blinks...” As Applejack listened to the ever growing list, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. (Of all the... Rarity, if ya were havin' so much trouble, why didn't ya come find me before? Good thin' Ah brought all the tools, and took the whole day off...) After some internal grumbling about fancy mares that didn't ask for help (ignoring her own past works), Applejack paid close attention to Sweetie Belle's list of things to fix; she wanted to be prepared and get it all done at once, even if Rarity didn't say anything about it for whatever reason. Once the four ponies reached town, the CMC made an excuse to slip away leaving the orange farmer to go the last few paces on her own. She wasn’t knocking for long before the unicorn opened the door with a smile. “Applejack! Thank you for coming! Right this way!” Applejack took a quick look around and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary; which was normal considering how one would want their store front to look the best for customers. “Right here darling, if you would be so kind as to hang this picture up?” Applejack snapped out of her dazed check of the room to find a picture of the six of them together at a picnic levitating in a light blue hue. The farmer looked to where Rarity pointed and found the hall way's empty location near the stairs and kitchen doorway. With a quick tap of the hammer and a moment to be sure it was straight, the farmer turned to the fashionista in curiosity. “There ya go; anything else Ah can help ya with?” Rarity smiled at the hanging photo before turning to the other mare. “Yes, if you would follow me?” Rarity led the farmer into the kitchen where a meal awaited them to Applejack's great confusion. “What's all this?” “Why, I wanted to thank you for all your help and decided the best way to start your day was with a nice breakfast. Or, have you already eaten?” Applejack looked at the heaping piles of pancakes, waffles, hay strips and oatmeal; she could feel the drool start to gather in her mouth. “Ah, Ah did but that was much earlier an' Ah did mah mornin' chores before comin' over. Ah think Ah could spare ah moment...” Rarity relaxed with a smile as she and Applejack settled down to eat; the farmer had a large appetite and while she ate well the cowpony made sure to use as much manners as she could lest she get a lecture and give the food time to grow cold. Once a good portion of the meal was eaten, Applejack took a moment to think of the best way to word her question; she didn't want to have taken the whole day off just so Rarity could have her hang up one single picture while more was needed to do. “Rarity, was there anythin' else ya needed for me tah do?” Rarity flashed a smile to the other mare and waved a dismissive hoof. “No, nothing that can't wait.” Applejack raised a disbelieving brow and revealed her insiders information. “Really? No window that won't shut, light on the blink, crooked furniture, oven not heating right; nothing?” The gray-white mare flinched at the very accurate question and brushed imaginary dirt from the table as she tried to feign innocence. “Oh? And, ah, where might you have heard about such things?” Applejack deadpanned the drama queen as she flatly stated her source. “Sweetie Belle was telling me about it as Ah was comin' over.” Rarity glanced off to the side as she muttered in annoyance, “Sweetie Belle~!” “Sugarcube, do ya need more help? Ah have the whole day off, it ain't no trouble tah help more...” The unicorn sighed as she gave in and nodded agreement to the help. (I had wanted her to come by more often but I suppose I shall just have to think of some other way to show my appreciation, aside from making meals after each repair...) Rarity went and showed the ten other things that needed a touch up, which only cemented Applejack's determination to spend the rest of the day going over everything from top to bottom. She spent the rest of the day repairing every little thing at the Boutique so that it would be another year or two before anything would need to be fixed. Rarity felt the loss of change to spend more time with the farmer but she had one last ploy to try. As they finished a large supper (as a reward for helping even further), Rarity tried to pose her question in a nonchalant manner. “Applejack, I really do feel like I should do something in return for all the help...” “Shucks Rarity, it's nothin'; Ah'm happy tah help.” “Nonsense Applejack, I insist.” “Well, alrighty then. What did ya have in mind?” “I was thinking I could try and help at the farm once more...?” At Applejack's slight flinch, Rarity rushed onwards. “But under your supervision and teaching; perhaps with something more suited to my capabilities?” Applejack shifted in place and tried to reason with the mare. “Ya really want tah help on the farm? You'll probably get dirty... Ain't there something else ya can do tah show yer thanks?” While the fashion mare did shudder slightly at the mention of dirt, she perked up slightly at the mention of alternate options. “Well, I could take you to an all expense paid trip to the spa; it would do wonders for your health and looks!” Applejack hadn't thought it was possible, but Rarity may have found the one thing worse than her working on the farm. “Ah don't know Rarity...” The farmer tried to stall for time as the fashion mare continued to describe the various aspects of going to the spa. (Maybe if Ah get most of the hard work out of the way first, Rarity could just do a few simple chores... She don't have tah do all this just to show her thanks... it's a nice idea an' all, but helpin' others is what Ah like tah do, especially helping Rarity... Others too of course, Ah just want tah make sure she don't have anythin' tah worry about.) Applejack jerked her mind from why it was so important to help the unicorn only to find Rarity had trailed off and stared back in curiosity. “Is everything alright Applejack?” The orange mare flashed a reassuring smile as she adjusted her hat. “Sure am, Sugarcube... Look, uh, give me ah couple of weeks tah get everythin' ready and ya can help at the farm.” Rarity smiled back and was about to head back to work when she thought of something. “Applejack... You're not going to try and get most of the work done before I can help are you?” At the flinch and shifting of green eyes, Rarity's brow dropped in ire. “Applejaaack!” The farmer flinched again at the almost whiny tones as the fashionista continued with a stomp of her hooves. “I'm helping to make it easier for you, not harder! I'll help at the farm in a week; do not try and do all the work yourself! I will prove that I can do a good job with proper guidance.” With a final 'hmph' at the audacity of the mare before her, Rarity walked away from Applejack to show her the door since she finished fixing everything. “Thank you for helping so much darling; I shall see you later.” Applejack tipped her hat in farewell as she sheepishly grinned back. “Right... Ah'll see ya later sugarcube.” Rarity watched for a moment longer before returning to work; if she was to spend a day working on the farm, she would need to catch up and be ahead of schedule. The rest of the week was a blur for the two mares as they prepared for the day of helping; while Rarity made sure she had the proper supplies for a glorious bath once the work was done as well as catch up on her workload, Applejack tried to leave as many simple things to do as possible for the day of. It was in the midst of finishing several dresses at once that Sweetie Belle found her sister and came up in a hesitant manner. The young filly waited a few minutes before realizing that Rarity wouldn't notice her unless she said something. “Rarity...?” “Hmmm...?” Rarity didn't look up from the dress she was stitching together as Sweetie Belle stepped a little closer. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders want to go on a survival camping...” “That's nice...” Rarity continued to pay her sister little mind as she looked over her work; Sweetie noticed this lack of attention and rushed the rest of her question statement. “Iaskedmomanddadandtheysaidyessowe'regoingcampingatsweetappleacresokthanksbye!” Rarity's only response was a half-hearted wave to the young unicorn who quickly left the Boutique to hang out with her friends; the entire encounter faded from Rarity's mind as she had a stroke of ideas that helped speed up the dressmaking process. The day they had agreed to found the gray-white mare outside the farmhouse bright and early; Applejack gave a quick look over the unicorn and barely held back an eye roll at the sight of a large sun hat with accompanying scarf. “Mornin' Rarity; we're gonnah start with feedin' the animals, then we'll clean up the barn, then Ah'll show ya how tah properly water the crops.” With each item on the list Rarity became more weary and couldn't meet Applejack's eyes as her ears flipped back in guilt. “Oh sugarcube, these are normal daily chores we have tah do; at least this way you’'ll know how tah do 'em right...” Rarity nodded mutely as she followed the orange earth pony for the rest of the morning. Under Applejack's patient tutelage, the fashionista was able to complete every chore with only minimal complaints of the mess and dirt. It was after the first complaint that Applejack offered the unicorn the chance to go home which she denied vigorously and didn't complain loud enough to make Applejack force her home. By the time they took a brake for lunch, Rarity was starving but she made sure to eat with proper manners at all times; even if her stomach wanted the meal as soon as possible. “Well, ya did good today Rarity. Ya don't have tah keep helpin'...” Applejack trailed off as she saw the determined glint in blue eyes as Rarity crossed her hooves and stuck her nose into the air. “I said I would help and so I shall...! Though could we take just the tiniest little break?” Applejack sighed as she smirked at the rapid change of face; Rarity had gone from haunty to pleading with a flutter of her lashes. “Alright, alright...Ah think the Crusaders are at their Clubhouse; we could go check on them...” Rarity perked right back up at the suggestion and smiled back in gratitude. “That sounds lovely; let us go surprise them at once!” Applejack led the way with a smirk that lasted all the way to the silent tree house where it started to fade as the farm mare grew concerned; a pony could hear the trio of fillies for miles, the silence before them was a bad omen. Rarity didn't notice the worried look on Applejack's face and trotted ahead of the other mare while calling out for her sister. “Oh Sweeeetie Bellleee! Sweetie Belle?” Applejack flinched and walked up the ramp in dread behind the fashionista who threw open the door while calling one last time. “Sweetie Belle?!” After a quick scan of the empty room, Rarity turned to face Applejack who couldn't meet her eyes as she stared at the ground in shame. “Ah'll, Ah'll find them Rarity; Ah promise.” Rarity could only look at her in shock. “Where would they be? She's suppose to be only in the clubhouse, where would she be?” Rarity's eyes shrank to pin points as she looked about the room over and over again; Applejack tried to think of anything that would help and remembered what Apple Bloom had asked a few days ago. “Rarity..." "What if something dreadful happened?" "Rarity." "And they can't get help and they are stuck somewhere starving!" "Rarity!” Applejack put a comforting hoof on a gray-white shoulder and once the fahionista looked towards the earth pony, Applejack flashed her a reassuring smile. “Sugarcube, don't ya remember? The Crusaders said they were tryin' tah earn survival Cutie Marks... They said they were gonnah ask fer permission before they left.” Applejack frowned at the blank look on the unicorn's face. “They did ask right?” Rarity tapped her chin with a hoof as she thought of what happened in the past week. “I was rather busy getting caught up to help today... I think Sweetie Belle may have said something about our parents saying it was ok to go...” Applejack smiled in relief at both the sight of the unicorn calming down and the news that Sweetie Belle did have permission. “Well there ya go! They're probably out in the fields tryin' tah avoid comin' home tah prove they can be on their own.” Applejack deadpanned the mare as she saw Rarity pull a face as she contemplated surviving in the wild without basic comforts. “What's wrong now?” “I just cannot imagine, er, 'surviving' without the bare necessities.” Applejack rolled her eyes while Rarity gave her mane a flip, putting the matter from her mind. “Riiight... Look, why don't ya go and take the afternoon off? Ya helped me and then went and got yerself all tensed up with worry; go relax.” Applejack gave Rarity a gentle nudge with her hoof as the unicorn turned pensive. “It would be nice to sit in the sauna... And you'll be ok?” the farmer waved off the concern as the two mares exited the clubhouse. “We'll be just fine Rarity; don't ya worry none.” Applejack waved farewell as the unicorn took the most direct path back to town. After glancing worriedly to the clubhouse, the farmer returned to her chores. (Please don't be doin' somethin' dangerous girls... Ya better show up soon...) After cleaning herself of the dirt of hard work and relaxing completely, Rarity trotted along the familiar path to her parents' home. While it had been four years since she left their house, the path was still familiar, especially as she had been taking care of her little sister every so often. As the unicorn entered the two storied building, she smiled at the sight where a hole once was before being repaired as she went further inside. “Mother? Father?” The gray-white unicorn paused in the hallway, trying to find her parents who responded from the kitchen. “Well hey there honey! We're over here!” Following the sound of her dad's voice, Rarity found herself in the middle of 'supper' made by her mom; Sweetie Belle had inherited her cooking abilities as evident by the black and crumbling mess on the table. “Well hey there Rarity, what can we do ya for today?” Magnum, Rarity's father, waved from his spot by the table as the young mare stepped forward. “Hello Father, Mother. I was just checking with you about Sweetie Belle's crusading?” “Oh ya, she went and asked us to do survival camping.” Rarity's mother, Pearl, replied as she settled down to the meal. “I see, and when did she leave for her , uhm, 'camping'?” Rarity kept a small hope that it was only recently that the young filly left and that there was no cause for alarm; these hopes were dashed with Magnum's reply. “I think it was about a week ago...” Pearl nodded along while Rarity flinched and shifted on her hooves. “I see.. Have you heard from her at all since then?” “Nope; she's a right little trooper, being all on her own.” Magnum waved a hoof to his oldest daughter while frowned slightly at Rarity's worried stance. “I'm sure they're fine; we'll probably hear from them in a few days. Did ya want to join us for supper? I can start up the frying pan!” Rarity balked at the suggestion and bright smile accompanying it. “No no, I shouldn't; I've already eaten. Thank you though; I'll be on my way. Goodbye Mother, Father.” Rarity dipped her head in farewell and made a hasty retreat as her parents' own farewells ran out behind her. “We'll see you later deary!” “Have a good one honey!” Two days later and Rarity couldn't wait any longer; the unicorn ran along dirt paths to find Applejack who was just exiting the farm house after having lunch. At the sound of galloping Applejack whipped her head around and noticed the cloud of dust heading her way; she only had enough time to take a few steps away from the house when Rarity pulled up panting, giving the earth pony a shock. Rarity was not her usual prim self, her mane was wild from her run, dust coated her hooves and she was sweating slightly. “Have they come back?!” Applejack couldn't help but flinch at the flat out demand and shook her head no. “Not that Ah've heard, but we can go take ah another look see and then start searching the fields for 'em.” Applejack tried to remain impassive and exclude a calming aura for the obviously frazzled mare; Rarity smiled gratefully back as she followed the orange mare to the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse. Upon finding it still empty, Applejack soothed the unicorn before she could start to panic. “Now sugarcube, I'm positive we'll find them. Ah'll get Big Mac and we'll start searching the fields; they gottah be somewhere around here.” The farm mare watched as the fashionista swayed on her hooves as she tried to nod agreement and started for the door, almost falling over as a wave of exhaustion swept across her frame. “Whoa there sugarcube; when did ya fall asleep last night?” Applejack helped support the gray-white mare as she asked her question; Rarity gave her head a slight shake and tried to appear nonchalant. “Well I couldn't rest very well knowing that our little sisters may well be fighting for their lives or shivering in the cold or trapped somewhere starving to death with manes all a mess!” Applejack deadpanned the mare at the last statement before shaking her head with a sigh. “Rarity, Ah promise ya Ah'll find our sisters and bring them tah see ya first thing when Ah do find them. Why don't ya go home and please try tah sleep? A plum tuckered out mare isn't gonnah help anypony with anythin'.” The orange farmer nudged the unicorn with her nose only to find desperate eyes staring back. “Really? Are you sure? What if something dreadful happened?!” Before Rarity could get much further into her hysterics, Applejack held up a hoof to stem the ranting (not that she actually touched the other mare, Celestia forbid she get her dirty muddy hooves near the fashionista). “Ah Pinkie Promise tah find our sisters and brin' them tah see ya; even if Ah have tah stay up all night to find them.” After watching the farmer make the motions for the solemn Pinkie Promise, Rarity relaxed and allowed herself to be pushed further along the path. “Thank you Applejack; I wouldn't know what I'd do without you.” Rarity started to make her slow way home to a comforting bath with Applejack following to make sure she got out of the orchard alright before starting her search. “It ain't no trouble at all sugarcube... Hopefully Ah'll be seeing ya shortly with ah trio of fillies who could use a bath and home cooked meal.” Rarity wanly smiled at this and continued the rest of the way on her own, leaving Applejack at the fence to the property. The farmer then went in search of her brother who was working the south field at the time and got him to help in another search of the orchard; she had actually searched every inch of their land in the two days since they discovered that the girls weren't back yet and hadn't found a trace of them. She didn't want to upset the unicorn even more and decided to just try and do one last search before doing anything drastic. The two siblings spent the rest of the day searching the fields, hills and even some of the Everfree Forest for the Crusaders; they soon came to the conclusion that they just weren't there. Since Big Mac had to return to work, Applejack took it upon herself to wait for the girls to come back. She had tried waiting for them before but when it got past 11pm, she would just return home and hope to catch them in the morning; this time she planned to stay in the clubhouse the whole night if she needed to, Rarity was counting on her and there was no way Applejack was going to let her down. The farm mare did not expect waiting until nearly midnight for the girls to come back to their clubhouse. They trudged inside slowly, exhaustion visible from a mile away; they were treading lightly as though their hooves were sore. Applejack heard them coming up the ramp and grew ever more impatient at their slow pace; she began to tap her hoof as she kept waiting. Once the trio stepped inside Applejack didn't wait for them to try and make excuses. “Where have y'all been?! Ah've been lookin' all over them fields an' never saw head or tail of ya. An' why have y'all been gettin' back so gosh darn late? We ain't seen y'all in over a week an' a half, what kind of 'surviving' are y'all doin'?!” Applejack glared at the fillies before her for disappearing all the time and scaring their relatives with fears of hungry Timberwolves and lost fillies. “An' Rarity has been worrin' too, she had gone visited yer parents Sweetie Belle, an' when she heard that nopony heard from YA that she came a runnin' tah me an' Ah had tah be the one tah tell her that AH hadn't seen none y'all fer days. How well did ya think that went? What do y'all have tah say fer yerselves?” Applejack continued to glare at the young ponies, trying to get across all the trouble they caused this time by disappearing without telling anyone where they were going. “We're sorry,” all three intoned as one while they scuffed their hooves along the floor. “We didn't mean tah make y'all worried like that Sis', honest. We just plum forgot 'cause we were tryin' real hard this time around.” Apple Bloom peeked at her sister who now looked a little skeptical about what they had been doing; sure they may have done things on their own before, but not seeing anyone for over a week was a whole different barrel of apples. “We just lost track of how long we had been doing that; we are really super sorry. I'll go and visit mom, dad and Rarity first thing tomorrow, promise.” An eyebrow rose at this statement, as the glare lessened once Applejack saw that the girls were indeed sorry for the worry they caused others. “Yeah, we'll make sure to check in with you guys and we won't lose track like that again, promise.” Scootaloo felt the need to seal the deal and the three nodded in agreement with the promise made. After another stern look to be sure that she was getting the truth, the orange mare nodded and gave each filly a hug before saying goodnight; she had to visit Rarity to say that she did indeed find them and the farmer was rather tired by this time. “Alright y'all, sleep well an' Ah'll be seeing at least one of ya at the breakfast table tomorrow right?” A single brow rose with this question only to be lowered with a smile as Apple Bloom rapidly nodded. “Good night Applejack!” “Night Applejack!” “Good night Sis'! See ya tomorrow!” Applejack quickly left the clubhouse and knew she had an explanation to give a certain gray-white unicorn. She traveled quickly, knowing that it was late and worried that Rarity would still be up stressing out about her sister's whereabouts; Applejack held out the slim hope that the unicorn had actually gone to bed but this hope was dashed when she saw the lights on at the Boutique. Even though Applejack knocked softly, the door opened within moments showing the still frazzled mare in her white robe. “Applejack! It's rather late, what brings you here? Did you find the girls?! Where were they?!” Rarity reached out with a hoof to the farmer who gave her a small smile in return. “Yeah, Ah found them; sorry it took so long tah find them. Sweetie Belle is gonnah come by in the mornin' tah say sorry for makin' ya worry about her...” Applejack said quietly, the exhaustion was catching up with her and she was slowly slumping down. “Thanks ever so much for finding them Applejack! Please get proper rest, you are asleep on your hooves! I know I shall, a mare needs her beauty sleep.” Rarity flipped her mane which didn't have its usual bounce that just laid there afterwards. Applejack smiled wearily at the sight of the mare being back in her usual spirits and nodded. “Sure thin' sugarcube; ya let me know if ya need any help alright?” Rarity smiled at the other mare and gave her a hug which gave Applejack a shock since she was dirty from searching the various fields and had dried sweat coating her fur; normally Applejack wouldn't be allowed within a foot of the prissy mare. “Of course darling; thanks again Applejack. Have a nice night dear.” Applejack briefly returned the hug before setting out for home, keeping up a steady pace to try and make it back before midnight.