//------------------------------// // Working Filly Blues [Slice of Life] // Story: Half-Hour Horses // by HoofAndQuill //------------------------------// (The Prompt: Ponies working for minimum wage.) (Early prompt surprised me, so this is a bit of a rushed concept that maybe works and maybe doesn't, and isn't that well proofed. Here's hoping!) "I jus' don't think it's fair!" Apple Bloom pouted and stamped her hoof against the ground of Sweet Apple Acres. "Scootaloo gets paid doin' her job over at Sugarcube Corner!" Applejack wiped her brow with a pastern as she set another bushel of apples onto the back of Big Macintosh's cart, and tapped the wagon twice to let him know to start moving. "Scootaloo ain't working for her family, Sugarcube. Besides, you get an allowance. 10 bits a week." "Well... I think I should get paid for doin' chores. Scootaloo gets more 'n that every day." Applejack sighed, and then looked down at her little sister as she sat pouting on an old stump. Applejack looked out over the orchard, and then shrugged. "Alright, 'Bloom. Tell you what. I'll give you a week treatin' you like a hired farmhand. I'll pay y' normal wage an' you can buy your food an' all. After that you can decide if y' want to keep doin' it or not." Apple Bloom jumped up excitedly. "Really? Thanks, Applejack! I'll be th' best farmhand ever!" -- "Apple Bloom! Get up, it's past startin' time an' you're still in bed!" Apple Bloom held her head and rolled over, falling off the side of her bed and relying on the floor to wake her up. A few seconds later she pushed open her door to see her big sister Applejack out in the hall, with the fakest-looking angry face she'd ever seen. "What's th' matter, Applejack? It ain't even sunrise." "Come on now, Apple Bloom. You're a workin' pony now, and there ain't time for sleepin' in all day just because it's summer. It's time to get to work." -- Apple Bloom kicked back hard with her hooves, and felt the tree shake behind her. A few apples fell from the branches, and the rest of the vibration from the bucking seemed to reverberate though her hind legs. Apple Bloom grumbled and collected all the fallen apples into the baskets before giving the tree another kick. She sat down with aching hooves, and looked over to her brother and sister. The two experienced farmers kicked the trees without even flinching, and their apples seemed to almost magically fall right into the baskets without any effort. Tree after tree shook, with all the apples raining down easily. Apple Bloom was still just watching them work when Applejack turned to look at her, and set a decidedly less faked expression of annoyance. "What're you doin' sittin' around? We're payin' you to work, Apple Bloom, c'mon now!" Groaning, Apple Bloom stood back up and went back to kicking, each buck just setting her hindquarter shaking with another painful hit. -- Apple Bloom dragged herself into the house behind Applejack and Big Macintosh. She tried not to react to the smirk on her sister's face. The past three days had been the longest she'd ever had. She didn't have time for crusading or any time for much of anything but working and sleeping. She saddled up to the kitchen table with her family, but there wasn't a plate in front of her. Granny Smith coughed pointedly into her hoof, and then held out another one. Apple Bloom drooped forward, and then pulled a few bits from her saddlebag and passed them to Granny Smith. That bought her about half the food the rest of the family was eating for free, but hired workers didn't get free food at Sweet Apple Acres. Somehow, even Granny's Apple Caboodle Surprise didn't taste half as good when she had to pay for it by doing farm work all day. -- Applejack sat with Apple Bloom in the young filly's room, on Sunday morning. There wasn't need to work on Sunday, at least for Apple Bloom, and so they had a few minutes to go over their deal. Apple Bloom held a pencil in her lips as she worked out numbers on a sheet of paper. "So uh... that's forty hours workin', and you're paying me uh.... that-a-much, and I guess I spent this and that many on food..." Applejack chuckled and mussed the filly's hair. "An' you're rent's due. Nopony gets t' stay free if they ain't stayin' with family. So that's another fifty bits." Apple Bloom shot her older sister a look, but Applejack didn't seem too bothered by it. She marked down the new figures, and did a little math on the sheet. "So takin' out rent, an' food, an' docked wages for bruised apples, an' for unscheduled breaks, I guess I made..." She looked down at the sheet of paper. Yep, all the math was right. "Uh... eleven bits." Apple Bloom looked up at her big sister. "I don't still get my ten bit allowance... So I made just one more bit workin' than I would if I'd just done my chores regular?" Applejack chuckled and hugged Apple Bloom against her. "That's right. I'm bettin' if you asked Scootaloo how she was doin' at her job, she'd tell you she ain't happy workin' for change either. It ain't easy bein' a big pony, Apple Bloom." Apple Bloom thought about pulling away from the hug in indignation, but instead just felt herself hug her sister back. "Alright, Alright. I'll go back to bein' just a filly if I don't have t' work all that hard anymore." Applejack put her hoof to her chin. "Well, I don't know about all that. Seein' as how you can work that much after all, I don't think it'd be right lettin' you do less just so you can be lazy." Apple Bloom laughed and tackled her sister playfully, despite every muscle in her body being sore and tired. The two ponies fell to the floor laughing, and Applejack messed up her little sister's mane. Maybe she'd have to move out sometime, maybe she'd have to get a real job like Scootaloo or work doing something she didn't like, but for right now, just for the moment, Apple Bloom figured she could be happy enough just being a kid for a while longer. She'd never felt more lucky to just be a silly little filly.