Two hours, two whole hours since her friend Rainbow Dash had so kindly stuck her with the thing and ran off to Canterlot. Okay, so maybe saying that she went to Canterlot willingly wasn’t exactly true but it didn’t matter, not much anyway, she was the one stuck with whatever it was. She took a break from her bucking and glanced back at the creature that stood not too far behind her, she couldn’t understand how it could wear all that heavy, metal armour in the sweltering heat, which, might she say, was a bit of a surprise. The forecast had said modest but this was far beyond that, her body was on fire and it had only been an hour since she started.
“You just gonna keep on standing there aren’t yah” He stood to attention, weapon by his side as he held his head high towards the heavens.
“I’ve orders from the Empress to protect and watch over you Miss” She rolled her eyes at the mention of the word, still not quite believing what had happened, how could she? Rainbow Dash had become an alicorn, some big bulky creatures had shown up announcing Dash as their Empress and to top it all off, Celestia herself had come and whisked her off to Canterlot for lessons on how to be a princess. She smiled at the thought of Dash being a stuck up royal, attending fancy gatherings and what not. She shook her head, laughing quietly to herself; she needed to remain focussed if she was ever going to harvest enough to meet the day’s quota.
She turned around and looked over the many trees that still needed bucking and sighed at the sight, it was going to be a very long day, possibly even a night too. After repositioning herself next to a new tree she bucked it, resulting in all of its apples falling into the many buckets she had placed underneath. After a little bit of struggling she placed one of the buckets onto her back and carried it towards the half full cart that sat waiting nearby, these were the times when she really missed her brother’s help.
She would look over to the creature every so often, every time glancing for a moment at the High guard’s weapon, wary of why he would need it. It wasn’t as if nothing bad ever happened in Ponyville, between ancient monsters coming back to make night eternal and chaos lords, Ponyville got its fair share of bad but carrying a weapon around at all times was something only royal guards did, or the very paranoid.
“Do you require assistance Miss?” For the fourth time he asked and for the fourth time he got the same reply.
“No, I can handle it by myself thank ya very much” Unlike Dash, she wasn’t inclined to be so trusting of the creatures that had smashed up the library, especially after the way they acted towards Pinkie pie. Though, as she continued her work she started to think twice about his help, she had already learned her lesson for not asking for help the last time and she didn’t want a repeat of that, besides, if you got a walking pile a muscle, you may as well use it. She stopped moving the buckets to the cart, taking a quick breather before turning to face the High guard.
“Alright, if you’re so eager to help out, why don’t ya start by loadin up these buckets here onto the cart” She gestured to the full buckets that rested under a nearby tree and the High guard nodded. He raised his sword over his head, placing into the sheath attached to his back, a piece of equipment which she hadn’t noticed until now. He sprinted over to the tree, shaking the ground a little as he did so, he grabbed one of the buckets and lifted it onto his shoulder, it didn’t seem to be much of an effort, so much so that he grabbed another, and another until eventually he had four with two on each shoulder, supporting both stacks with his arms.
“Quite the strong one ain’t yah, bring em over here” She couldn’t deny how impressive the show of strength was as he walked towards her, seemingly unaffected by the load, at a swift pace he reached her quickly. She pointed a hoof to the cart and the high guard followed the instruction, placing all of the collected buckets into the old wooden cart.
“I’ll just be a minute taking this back to the barn, don’t go doing anything suspicious now” Just because he was helping out did not mean that she had trust him or that he could wonder around on his own, it would take a lot more than a bit of lifting to earn her trust. She hooked herself up to the cart with speed, showing her skill at the practice, and was about to set off until she suddenly found herself hanging from where she was attached, dangling in the air above the High guard’s head.
“What the heck do you think you’re doing? Put me down this instant!” She struggled, flailing her legs widely in the air hoping to somehow free herself with the momentum. A cold metal hand grazed her side causing her to shiver from it’s touch as it went to work on the straps that connected her to the cart. She yelped as they came lose, expecting to hit the ground hard she was pleased when she didn’t, though that pleasant feeling didn’t last long as now the creature held her in its grip. Slowly, she was lowered to the ground and once back on the soft soil she spun around to glare at the High guard.
“I apologise for my haste but I cannot allow you to continue” Confusion spread like wild fire in her mind, which was evident from the look she gave the high guard. It was very strange, he had been so complacent seconds ago and now he was the one taking command, she wouldn’t allow that to happen without some kind of explanation at the very least. Eventually, after two or three small gestures, he got her soundless question.
“Were you to continue your work you would surely pass out from the heat, or worse, as it is my duty to ensure your health I shall take your place while you relax inside” Her confusion vanished, replaced by disbelief at the high guard’s words which slowly turned to anger. While it did sound nice to not have to work in the outrageous heat, she had a number of problems with the offer, namely, it was her job.
“Hey, I know that you’re just trying do your job an ‘all following your, empress’s, wishes” Taking a moment to get over the fact she just referred to Dash as that, she continued.
“But this here is my job and I won’t have anypony or anything coming along to take it away from me, besides, how come you can do all this work while I can’t?” Internally she grinned knowing that nothing could work in the blistering for heat for too long without suffering some kind of heat related problem and wearing full metal armour wouldn’t help.
“My armour offers some protection from the heat, an advantage you do not have” Either he knew something she didn’t or the High guard was a very poor liar but she ignored the flawed logic and continued her argument.
“What about when you do start to feel the heat? That armour can’t protect you forever and trust me, there is still a heck of a lot a work to be done” Victorious, she gave him a cocky smile having effectively proved that he was no better off than her in the heat. However, the high guard only cocked his head to the side wondering why she was trying to stop him.
“Why does it matter? If boiling alive under the sun means you don’t get heat stroke then so be it” Naturally she was shocked that he would willingly hurt himself for a pony he had only just met, just because he had been ordered to do so.
“Now wait just a second...” He didn’t allow her to finish, he placed the cart to the side and kneeled down close to her.
“Miss, if keeping you safe from harm requires me to give my life then that is what I shall do, my life is not important, yours is” Her jaw felt like it was going to snap off, never had she heard such talk and she never would have expected from a three foot tall, walking pile of muscle. For some reason she couldn’t quite explain, she felt sorry for the High guard, he was only trying to help and what had she done? Brushed him off like a rotten apple. She sighed, perhaps she had been a little too hard on him. She clenched her jaw shut and relaxed it, unsure whether what she was about to suggest was wise.
“Hey, I think me and you had a bit of bad start so how ‘bout this, we do this together, share the work, then I won’t be in any danger and you can let me do my job” He hesitated, considering the proposal for a minute, he knew it wasn’t his place to make such decisions but, after reasoning that it was the only way he could help her, he nodded.
“Alright then, I’ll get to work bucking these trees and you can cart the apples back to the barn, sound good?” Another nod and he was gone before she knew it, running down the hill with the cart in tow at a speed she wouldn’t have expected from him. She went back to bucking the nearest tree with buckets under it, though her mind remained distracted from the work, busy thinking about everything that had changed and all of the things that were going to change.
Surprisingly, the high guard returned with an empty cart just after she finished on the same tree, his speed didn’t match his stature. Soon enough, another cart was loaded and the high guard carried it away, coming back just as fast as he did the last time. Due to the rate at which he was going he would stand idle between trips, waiting for enough buckets to be filled to make the sprint to the barn worthwhile. An idea came to her as he stood still and she gave the current tree a strong buck before stopping to talk to the High guard.
“Hey, how’d you like to try a go at bucking these here trees while you waiting” If she were going to try and get along with the overcommitted guard then the best place to start would be farming, it was she did best after all, that and being honest of course.
“Alright, all ya gotta do is give it a good hit and the apples should come loose pretty easy” There wasn’t much more to it than that other the setup but she decided that carting and harvesting would be enough for one day. Fist drawn back as far as he could he readied a devastating punch, causing Applejack to tense up and grit her teeth at the sight.
“Wait!” It was just in time, as if she had waited a second longer the High guard would have most likely made a large fist sized hole in the tree’s trunk.
“Just a good hit remember, don’t put too much power behind it or you’ll end up putting holes in my trees” Feeling slightly uneasy she allowed him to continue. In one swift movement the High guard punched the tree making it shudder and drop its juicy fruit. It was a fairly good hit save for the slight mark left on the bark from the impact.
“Yeah, that’s good, set up some buckets under those trees over there and have at ‘em” With the lesson over the High guard got to work, as did Applejack. Within five minutes of working together they had already fully loaded a cart, took it away and brought it back. She allowed a small smile to crawl onto her features as she glanced over to the High guard working away beside her; he was just like her brother.
After about an hour she took a break to cool down under a shady tree, the hot sun was still high above them frying anything that stayed out under its heat for too long. She didn’t normally take breaks but she rather do that than have to argue with High guard, if she could even call it that, no matter what they were talking about his voice never held a hint of anger or frustration or any tone that’s normal when arguing, he was an odd creature.
Like a filly she played with her hair, flicking it from side to side with quick breaths. The peace of the afternoon was a nice change to the chaos of the morning. She closed her eyes to enjoy the cool breeze that passed by her, looking over to the High guard when she opened them again. She tried to consider him as another pony, complacent and willing to do anything to protect others, it reminded her of somepony else, a pony she had not seen in some time. A bit of frustration slid its way into her mind, they seemed to know a lot about Ponyville yet she knew nothing about them, she didn’t even know his real name.
“I never got your name did I?” She moved over to him as he slowly swivelled around to stare at her without a single word. She raised an eyebrow at the silent High guard and stopped walking when she was as close as she was comfortable with.
“What’s the matter? I’m only asking for a name sugar cube” The mention of her favourite nickname didn’t bother the High guard, but it did shake her a little. While she was trying to be somewhat hospitable towards her guest she had no intention of making a friend out of him and now she was starting treat him like just that. She blamed it on the odd circumstances and hoped that was the only reason.
“It is unusual for others to know our names, even asking is uncommon” Somehow she felt sympathetic towards him, by what little he had told her the High guards seemed to be treated as a tool rather than anything else and she knew how that felt. Often she would have to work entire nights to keep up with the demand for food and it wasn’t common for anypony but her friends to even show the slightest hint of worry for her own well being.
“I’m asking, if you’re going to be stayin here for a while then it’d be best if I knew your proper name” Not giving somepony their name was one of the worst things she could think of and she wouldn’t be another pony who did it, it reminded her of all the times she’d be referred to solely as farmer or worker, it made out her like work was all she was good for and that felt terrible.
“Alexander” It caught her off guard, so much so that she mumbled nonsense when she tried to speak.
“What?” It was all she could manage to say in her mixed up state.
“My name is Alexander, Alex if it is more pleasing” It was, an unusual name, one that she had never heard before, though thinking about the owner it was rather fitting for a strange creature to have a strange name.
“Nice to meet you Alex, my name is Applejack” As a custom she held out her hoof and waited patiently for Alex to understand the alien gesture. He gripped her hoof as lightly as he could and shook it slowly, not really understanding the ritual, Applejack wriggled her hoof free soon after the hoofshake had gone on too long.
A rather awkward moment passed as the two stood in silence staring at each other, neither having much else to say. It dawned on her as she looked around, avoiding the High guard’s intimidating stare, that they had already harvested most of what they needed in the little amount of time they had been working together, so she decided that now would be a good time to take a real break, strange armoured creatures included.
“Well, I reckon we done almost the whole field, how ‘bout we break for a little while?” No wanting to disagree with his charge Alex nodded again and watched as she sat down against the closest tree. He followed her lead though with more of thud than a soft pat when he fell sat down against the tree.
For reasons unknown to her she found herself feeling calm, almost comfortable with Alex’s presence next to her. Internally she was debating whether or not start up a conversation, the awkward silence shared between two ponies just wasn't the same as the peaceful silence one found from the world, it was cold and unnatural. She supposed that maybe if she knew a little more about Alex, things wouldn’t be so awkward between them.
“So, where are, where are you from?” A good starting point if there ever was one, she always said that if you were going to understand a pony then you need to start from the beginning. Alex stared at her, knowing that he could never answer her question.
“I, cannot say, it’s one of the many things we aren’t allowed to divulge” Her smile weakened but remained; she would just have to try another topic.
“Oh, erm, how come this is the first time I’ve seen something like you?” If she had to guess, that was one question that anypony who saw them would have, and the next likeliest would be if they were dangerous or not and judging be the equipment the enjoyed carrying around, they were.
“We’re quite reclusive when it comes to our activities” This wasn’t getting her anywhere, she had expected it be tough to talk to him, especially about anything personal, but she hadn’t expected him to be so, secretive. She was starting release that being up front wasn’t going to work, if she were going to get to know him then she needed to start somewhere less personal.
“You think you could cut a tree down with that thing? I might have a few rotten ones if you don’t mind” There was no doubt the weapon was up to the job, what didn’t cross her mind however is if the one wielding it was. He pulled it out from its sheath and stared at it as it shimmered in the sunlight; looking at it like he had only just noticed he had it.
“What is it?” He was making her nervous with the way he stared at, mesmerised by its glimmer.
“I’ve never really used it before, other than in training that is” Disbelief struck her, though she was unsure why, wars or even small battles were unheard of, had been for centuries, it was unlikely for even Celestia’s guard to have seen battle. Reflecting on that thought brought another, not a single Ponyville resident had ever experienced anything but peace, herself included. Even Granny smith had only ever heard tales from her great grandfather.
“Big sis, wha...What’s going on?” So wrapped up in her own thoughts she failed to notice Applebloom approach, looking rather confused at the sight of her sister sitting next to what looked like a living suit of armour.
“Hey sis, you finish school already?” Her casual attitude to her was a little off putting with Alex sat right beside her, blade still unsheathed and sparkling with malicious intent. She worked up the courage to move closer to the pair sitting under the tree, keeping an eye on the weapon most of the way.
“Yeah, Miss Cheerilee went home early since she was feeling sick today” Alex watched her as she approached, cautious of the new arrival. Applebloom left some distance between them, wary of her sister’s new friend, and his intimidating weapon.
“I hope you ain’t caught nothin, don’t want you getting sick too” With the awkward memory of her trying to explain Alex to Granny smith now refreshed in her mind, she desperately tried to keep the subject away from him until she could at least think of something better than the story she told her, which was something along the lines of: Dash is an alicorn now, these are her guards and I got one too, even to her that sounded ridiculous and it was the truth.
Applebloom pawed at the dirt with a hoof trying to distract herself from the situation, normally she was the one bringing home strange creatures in numerous attempts to gain her cutie mark and Applejack always had something to say about it but now the roles were reversed she found her sister quiet. Applejack couldn’t find anything to say, thankfully though, she didn’t have to say anything.
“It is a pleasure to meet you Applebloom, daughter of Ambrosia and Arthur apple” Both snapped their focus onto the creature but remained in a stunned silence. Alex rose to his feet unaware of the impact of his words and walked over to Applebloom, extending a hand to greet her after replacing his weapon into its sheath.
“You, knew our parents?” Out of routine she placed a hoof in Alex’s massive hand to shake it, she had to quickly return to her side after nearly falling over without it, she could barely believe it. Applejack joined the two swiftly, very interested in what he had to say about her parents.
“In a way, we have records of all Ponyville residents and events dating back one-thousand, four-hundred and ninety-two years” At some point her mind wouldn’t be able to take all the strange things she was hearing not mention seeing, the sun was only past midway and already she had witnessed more than enough impossible things to satisfy her for a lifetime.
“We have detailed reports of your parent’s activities from their first meeting to your own conception, both of which may be of some interest to you” Applejack went stiff, hoping that Applebloom wasn’t about to have an early life lesson from a stranger.
“Ma what now?” Applejack blushed heavily and quickly placed herself in-between her sister and Alex, shooing him away with a couple nudges to his legs, she hadn’t gotten around to that conversation yet and she certainly didn’t want to have it now.
“I think it’d be best for you to go on inside Applebloom” Applebloom pouted in annoyance, she hated it when her sister told her what to do, she could make her own decisions.
“But Applejack I wanna hear the story” The stern, almost threatening glare from Applejack told her this would be one argument she was not going to win. Applejack pointed to the house down the hill with a strict hoof informing her of exactly where to go, she did not hesitate to walk away, grumbling as she went.
“Alright I’m goin, sheesh, I don’t know what all the fuss was about anyway” Mild mutters could be heard as she moved further and further away from them until they stopped reaching their ears. With Applebloom out of the equation she turned back to give another glare at Alex, though much like anything else he didn’t seem to understand the problem with what he was going to say.
She sighed and started to make her way to a new tree, knowing that trying to explain to Alex that talking about the activities of two ponies in the bedroom to a young fill was very inappropriate was likely a fruitless endeavour, she decided to spare herself the headache and return to work, there wasn’t much left to do anyway. Alex followed her again, placing fresh buckets under another tree.
Soon enough, her curiosity was eating her up inside, begging her to satisfy it ,and who would blame her? She had been presented with the opportunity to learn more about her parents, something she couldn’t resist. So, with one or two nervous glances, she breathed in to calm her nerves and tried to ask the nagging question.
“Were you speaking the truth when you said you had records or sumthin on my parents, cause I was just wonderin, you know if you do, then maybe...” The words eluded her, her anxious mood making it hard to find the right thing to say. She wanted to know but at the same time she didn’t, the fear of something awful being a part of her history was unwanted in her mind but never the less it was there.
“Ah forget it” She’d rather just finish work, go home, eat dinner and go to bed, besides she could always ask later if she really needed to.
But then as she continued to work with Alex barely glancing at her awkward mess of a question, she started to think. Even though it was highly likely that her parents ever did do anything, unsavoury, it would never change her opinion of them if they did, they were and always will be her parents and nothing could ever change that.
She smiled as the memories of their time spent together pushed out any doubts she had. The times they played together in the light of Celestia’s sun or calm nights spent under Luna’s moon were a few of the many she treasured. The work passed by quickly as she reminisced and soon they had collected more than enough for the day.
“We got what we need for today! Come on let’s get back to the house!” It may have been wiser to talk at a closer distance rather than stay by the full cart but Alex heard her and was already on his way over. With a flick of her head she gestured for Alex to go on without her for a moment as she cast a glance at two lonely rocks on a nearby hill and smiled.
She galloped down the hill after Alex who had already made it halfway. They walked quietly with Alex pulling the cart and Applejack walking by his side, breaking the tranquil silence every so often to ask if he needed any help, to which he would reply that it was no problem every time.
Arriving back at the barn they had made numerous trips to over the course of three hours Alex wondered inside, cart in toe and emerged again a moment later having stored it with the day’s harvest. Then came the silence once more as both stood in the open area that sat between the house and the barn, she knew what she should say but was hesitant. If he were another pony she could easily ask him inside for dinner as thanks for the help, however that was wishful thinking and she knew it wouldn’t be right for her to leave him outside.
“I guess I should invite yah in, wouldn’t be nice of me if I didn’t after you did all that work” He shook his head, shooting down the idea.
“There is no need Miss” Of course her conscience wouldn’t allow her to leave at that.
“Hey, it’s not just a thank you for the hard work, you’re a friend now yah hear and I don’t leave friends all by themselves in the cold while I dig into a hot meal.” Maybe friend was a strong word to be putting out there so early but while strange she had to admit that she enjoyed his company over none at all. Alex couldn’t understand it, couldn’t understand why she wanted him inside the house or why she was calling him a friend, whatever that was.
“Miss, if you do not mind me asking, why are you concerned about me?” To her that sounded like a rhetorical question, she could tell from the continued staring that it was actually sincere. He could find no reason for her to care about his well being, she was not a guard and it was not her duty.
“Like I said I consider you a friend, besides, what kind a pony would I be if I didn’t look out for my partner” As the word left her lips she was presented with the first hint of emotion from her new friend, even if was just him tensing up.
“Partner?” Sometimes she wished her element wasn’t honesty, there were a number of things that had slipped by her lips in the past year thanks to her honest nature but she did mean it, she thought of him that way, even if they had only been together for a couple hours they had worked as an efficient team, they were partners if only for a little while.
"Yeah sure why not, heh, I’ll say it, I think we did some good work today partner” She felt something inside, a mild burning sensation in her chest made her quickly check over herself. She could feel something else too, not physical but definitely there. An orange glow from Alex’s direction distracted her from her own worries.Alex looked down at the crystal imbedded into his gauntlet, its glow was increasing by the second until eventually it released the built up energy in a bright flash becoming dim again soon after, the sensation in her chest also disappeared. Alex stared at the crystal, its new orange colour somehow important to him.
“What erm...What was that?” A strange calmness forced its way into her mind without want for it. Tranquillity achieved she stood back blinking a couple of times, wondering what exactly had happened.
“I’m not quite sure, I believe it means something good” The fact that was enough for her worried her slightly, though the worry was removed as fast as it had previously. She shrugged, turned around and began to cross the distance from the barn to the house, stopping just at the front door to notice that Alex had followed her the entire way. He stood some distance behind her, staring off at something in distant tree line.
“You coming or what” His gaze lingered on the tree line for a minute longer until he directed his attention back to Applejack, sprinting over to her to make up for his pause.
“What were you lookin at?” She nudged open the door and entered the house with Alex following behind her.
“Thought I saw something familiar, it’s nothing, don’t worry” Right then, she wasn’t sure if she could worry at all, that function had apparently been removed.
Thankfully, the house was large enough for Alex to stand up without having to arch his back in an uncomfortable way, he did have to crouch down when moving between rooms though. She led him into the kitchen where Granny smith and Applebloom were preparing dinner, well, mainly Granny smith as all Applebloom appeared to be doing was stoking the oven’s fire. Granny eyed Alex as he entered but didn’t say anything.
Applejack joined her grandmother over by the boiling pot to have a smell of the delicious soup that was brewing; she loved her grandmother’s cooking hence why she preferred for her to make dinner rather than herself. Before she allowed the various aromas to push out any thoughts that weren’t related to food she remembered Alex. Another thing she had failed to ask was what he ate, something she would need to know if he was having dinner with them.
“Hey Alex, what do you eat? If you got a favourite I’ll see what I can do” What she really wanted to know is if he did or did not enjoy meat, cause that may be a problem for a lot ponies.
“Anything is fine” She rolled her eyes at yet another bland response and went to went help Granny slide ingredients into the large pot.
It wasn’t long before she found herself sitting at a table with a warm meal steaming in front of her. Her Granny and Applebloom sat next to her, eating their food while quietly chatting about the day’s events, not mentioning anything about their guest who remained silent as he sat on the make shift chair. Having failed to realise that a chair meant for ponies would likely break under the strain of a High guard’s weight she had foolishly let him sit down on the regular chair and he had effectively annihilated the poor piece of furniture leading them to create the makeshift stool that he currently sat upon.
It felt strangely natural to her like they didn’t actually have a giant bulking mass of armour and muscle sitting with them, staring at his food. As she took the odd scene in its entirety she smiled, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad after all. Alex didn’t notice her new smile though; he was too busy looking out the window at something standing on the nearby hill.