A Trip to Remember

by Gallifrey

Overworked

Applejack put one heavy hoof in front of another. In the day’s dying light she set down her last basket of the day by the side of an apple tree. She looked around from her viewpoint on the top of a small hill, and she could see that almost all of the trees the Apple family owned had a basket at the bottom, ready for applebucking season to start. Looking up, she saw that the clouds had now mostly cleared over Ponyville; she was glad for the rain, it did the apples no end of good. She looked towards her home and decided to call it a day, plodding slowly back on the dirt road that led to the house, admiring the golden glow everything was given by the setting Sun on her way. Just short of the big wooden house she noticed something moving on the road. She got closer to it and sighed when she saw it was a fat, brown hen.

“Now how in t’hay did you get out?”

Applejack crept around the chicken, and then started cantering towards it in the direction of the hen hut. She corralled it back, and with a little enticement of grain, got it back into its hut, which she locked up for the night. Applejack then trudged back home.
She opened her front door to see Big Macintosh, Applebloom and Granny Smith sitting round the dining table, with a tall stack of pancakes in the centre.

“C’mon AJ, you were almost late fer supper,” said Big Macintosh in his slow and steady voice.

“Aw, I don’t want any supper tonight, I’m plum tuckered,” said Applejack, motioning to the stairway.

“Oh no you don’t little missy!” said Granny Smith firmly, causing Applejack to stop in her tracks, “You already skipped dinner, now set yer caboose down here and eat up.”

Applejack obliged and sat herself down next to Applebloom, taking off her hat and setting it on the back of her chair.

“Can’t believe you wanted to turn down mah pancakes AJ,” said Big Macintosh playfully, “you love my pancakes.”

“I do,” said Applejack, digging into one, “but ah’ve been so tired today I jus’ wanted to go bed.”

Big Macintosh nodded thoughtfully.

“We’ve all been there, perhaps you should get some time-out?”

“What, right before applebucking season?”

“Eyyyup, you’ll need to be in shape come applebucking season - you won’t be much use half-dead AJ. You should take a holiday or somethin’.”

“A holiday? With who?”

“Well there’s Miss Twilight, who nearly sent me flyin’ earlier by the way, on ‘er way to the train station by looks of it. But anyhow, there’s Miss Twilight, there’s also Miss Rainbow.”

Applejack was thinking of how nice it would be to go on a holiday with her two best friends. She noticed Big Macintosh looking at her shrewdly.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothin’ sis,” he said simply, “would just be nice for y’all to get a break ya know.”

Applejack looked at her brother for a second, then turned to her little sister.

“Applebloom, you need to take better care of the chickens, I saw one loose on my way back.”

“Aw ponyfeathers! Sorry Applejack, I was sure I rounded them all up though.”

“Did you count them?”

“Erm… nope.”

Applejack rolled her eyes as she stood up.

“I’m gonna hit the hay,” she said, yawning. “Night all.”

“G’night!” they all said in unison.

Applejack trudged up the stairs to the bathroom. She had been working all day and despite what most ponies would expect of her, she wasn’t about to go to bed without a wash. She came out of the bathroom a short time later with damp but clean hair and coat. She made her way down the corridor to her bedroom. Her door had a plaque on it that read “AJ” with her hoofprint from when she was a filly. Applejack opened it, drew her curtains shut, hung up her hat at the end of the bed, undoing the bobbles in her mane and tail as she went, and collapsed onto the bed, causing a few feathers to puff up from her blankets. She watched one float slowly down onto her. It reminded her of a certain cyan pegasus and she smiled. Her eyes became very heavy, and not wanting to resist any longer, Applejack drifted off to sleep.