Love Needs No Reason

by Evowizard25


About Trees

Walkin’ through my family’s orchard always puts a smile on my face, no matter what. The world could be endin’ and I’d still be smilin’, spendin’ my last moments with my family and apples. This was a land that was built by my family’s blood and sweat.

Mostly sweat.

Not today however. Ah couldn’t seem to work up a smile as ah trotted through the fields. The ease ah usually feel when under their branches was replaced by anxiety. Ah knew why that was.

Fear.

Ah feared for my family’s farm. More so than any other time and the reason was walkin’ beside me: Discord, the mismatched trouble maker. The last two times he had stepped on my farm it’d been with malicious intent. Now, he wanted to help.

Ah honestly didn’t know which was worse.

“Now, Discord,” ah started to say. “Ah don’t want any of your funny business while we work.”

“Why, Applejack,” Discord put a paw to his chest. A halo formed above his head. “I would never dream of disrupting your oh so important farm…stuff. I just want to spend time with you.”

Ah snorted. ‘Yeah, spend time with me. Ah bet you’re schemin’ to get under my tail and laugh it up afterwards.’ Of course, ah didn’t say that out loud. That’d be rude. “Well, you’ll need to pull your weight, if’n ya really want to get to know me.”

A small Discord poked his way out of my mane. “Of course I do, my dear Applejack. Why else would I bother visiting?”

“Ya know why?”

Discord pouted, slitherin’ like the snake he was onto my hat. “I’m hurt. I’m really hurt. I thought you were going to give me a chance.”

“Ah am,” ah said. ‘Course, ah was hopin’ this was just some faze and he was gonna leave me be soon. Ah’m not the type of pony to go out and party all the time, or prank ponies. Stuff ah knew the god of chaos loved to do, both night and day. Honestly, ah thought Discord would go for Pinkie Pie, or Rainbow Dash. They both seemed to click in ways….That is if Dash warmed up to him. ‘That girl has it out for his hide.’ “But ah’m gonna keep my eyes on ya.”

Discord flashed beside me. “Fair enough.”

Ah stopped and turned to him. “Since ya are new to the farmin’ life, it’s time we started with the basics.”

Discord summoned up a pen in one hand and a clipboard and paper in the other. “Proceed.”

Rollin’ my eyes, ah turned to one of my beloved trees. A smile found its way onto my face as ah stood in front of one tree. “Hello, Sasha.”

Yeah, ah name my trees. It’s kind of an earth pony thing, gettin’ attached to plants and such. Unicorns name their magic, pegasi name the stuff in the sky, while us earth ponies name the earth. Ah like to think we got the best of the three.

A part of me was waiting for Discord to make fun of me namin’ trees, but he kept quiet. Ah just heard the scribblin’ of pen on paper. ‘Maybe he’s gonna take this seriously.’ Ah let myself think. It was a fool’s hope, but ah can be a fool sometimes.

“Now most ponies think farmin’ is easy, but it aint. There’s a lot that goes into managin’ a place like this. Most would give up, but we aren’t most.”

“Of course not,” Discord spoke up. “Most ponies don’t have your juicy thighs.”

Ah blushed mighty fierce at hearin’ that. ‘My thighs aren’t juicy.’ Ah couldn’t help but take a look back at them. Yeah, they were taut and muscular but that’s it. Nothin’ special in my mind. Still, ah was flustered by him sayin’ that. “Ah…Ah…” Hearin’ Discord chuckle, made my face feel even hotter. Ah’m not sure how red ah was, but ah was sure redder than an apple. “Shut up.” Ah said to his face.

“I’m just making an observation, my dear Applejack,” Discord gave me a mirthful smile. His eyes shone with trouble. “I thought mares liked to be complimented.”

“Not while their workin’,” ah snorted. ‘If that’s how he’s gonna try and nail me, than he’s got another thin’ comin’ to him.’

Discord shrugged. “My mistake.”

‘You’re mistake, my flank.’ Ah really wanted to buck him. Ah really did, but that wasn’t proper. He wanted to learn farmin’ and that’s what ah was gonna do…Even if it killed me. ‘Probably will.’

Ah turned back to ‘Sasha’. “As ah was sayin’, not everyone can farm. It takes determination and sweat to keep a place like this alive. Not to mention keepin’ up with all the plants and animals. Ya need to be willin’ to get dirty.”

“Way ahead of you.”

Glancin’ back, ah saw Discord bathin’ in a portable shower. Of course, instead of water, it was mud that was pourin’ over him. The spirit was hummin’ a little country tune as he scrubbed a brush over himself.

“Discord,” ah glared at him.

Flashin’ away his stuff, he smirked. “What? Afraid to see me naked?”

“We’re always naked.”

Discord was silent for a moment. “Hot,” was all he said.

Rollin’ my eyes, ah tried my best to ignore the varmint and get back to teachin’. ‘If this is how Cheerilee feels, ah owe her several pints of cider. Celestia knows she deserves it.’

“We’ll start with the trees,” ah said. It was a simple choice. Applebuckin’ would surely give him some hassle and he’d be on his way.

“Here’s a thin’ most other races don’t understand about earth ponies. We aren’t just good at tendin’ the land ‘cause our fellow ponies are too lazy to do it. Nah, we do it because we’re at one with the land around us,” ah started to explain. “There’s a reason they call us earth ponies.”

“I thought it was because…” Discord started but quickly shut himself up. Ah’m glad that he did. Ah knew where that thought was headin’ and ah’d have kicked him off my farm for it. Yeah, harsh, but it ticks me off when ponies get it wrong. ‘Course, ah would normally just brush it off, but it’d be a good excuse to kick this lousy, good for nothin’, heart breaker off my farm.

“That’s not to say other ponies can’t do it,” ah continued. “My friends help me all the time. Hay, ah’ve worked beside griffins and the sorts over in Dodge Junction. They were a good lot. Hard workin’ too, but they were lackin’ somethin’ important: A connection to the land.”

Ah placed a hoof on the bark of the tree, keepin’ myself at ease. Closin’ my eyes, ah concentrated. Ah let go of my past, my present, my future, everythin’. Ah felt the tree pulse and breathe. Ah could feel the earth beneath me move and shift on its own accord. Ah was one with the land, like a proper earth pony ought to be.

“The land is alive. It’s our friend and neighbor. Ya got to respect it and it’ll respect ya. A pony ought to treat it like kin, not just a place to live.” Ah gave ‘Sasha’ a kind smile. She’d been up for several years and ah remembered playin’ in her shade when ah was a youngin’. “Trees are pretty much family to us Apples.”

“How very earthy of you, my dear Applejack,” Discord said beside me, breakin’ me out of my concentration. Lookin’ up at him, he was wearin’ a light green cloak, with vines wrapped all over it. “I always wondered why you earth ponies made such awe inspiring druids.”

“Why didn’t ya ask before?”

Discord groaned, lookin’ mighty peeved. “Because they were all sticks in the mud,” he then started speakin’ in a low-pitched voice. “Don’t turn the plants into cotton candy. Stop moving so I can slay you with my vines. Don’t turn my cloak into a rabid, vampiric, chocolate bunny.” He scoffed. “They were no fun at all. Pranking them was the only way I could amuse myself with the lot.” He chuckled darkly, playin’ his fingers against one another. It kind of reminded me of the first time ah met him. “Oh the ways I messed with them.”

Fear started to creep into my heart. “Discord,” ah said in a warnin’ tone. Ah didn’t like where his mind was wanderin’ off to.

Discord blinked, seemin’ to come out of some trance. “Sorry, just remembering the good old days.”

“Yeah, the same good old days that made me into a liar.”

Discord cringed. “Okay, okay, I won’t bring those days up again.”

“Good,” ah said. A question came to my mind. “Discord, what do ya think about when you look at a tree?”

“Paper salad.”

Grittin’ my teeth, ah tried not to look over and chew him out for that answer. “Besides that.”
Discord was silent for a few seconds. Ah cherished that moment of silence, knowin’ that ah might not get another one. “A place to think and get away from the world.”

Ah was honestly surprised by that answer. “Really?”

“Why do you think I have a thinking tree?”

Ah shrugged. Ah honestly didn’t know he had a thinking tree, but it didn’t surprise me none. Discord could have anythin’ and ah wouldn’t bat an…Okay, ah probably would bat quite a few eyes at what Discord had. Maybe even throw up and go insane.

Discord waved away his cloak, which turned into bubbles. “I like trees, okay,” Discord started twiddlin’ his fingers. He looked mighty anxious to me. “They make me feel safe.”

Ah couldn’t really think of anythin’ to say to that other than, “How?”

Discord sighed, plucked a blade of grass with his tail, and threw it into the air. The little blade grew into a hangin’, green mirror above his head. “As you can guess, my mom is a goddess of chaos and disorder.” A clear image of a beautiful, but strange alicorn mare appeared in the mirror. She was purple, with a long flowin’ white mane. Her cutie mark was two lines spiralin’ around one another. What really got me was the unsettlin’ red and yellow eyes. They looked just like her sons…Well, except they were both the same size and…Well, ya know how they say that the eyes are the gateways to your soul? Well, hers spoke of evils yet done.

“Err…” ah tried to say somethin’ nice about her, just to be polite. “She looks pretty.”

“Oh, she is,” Discord nodded. “She’s where I get my good looks from.” The spirit struck a showy pose and small stars sparkled off him.

Ah rolled my eyes. “Just get on with it. Ah want to get my chores done today, ya know.”

Discord huffed. “No patience at all. Anyways, she was a very protective sorts,” the image showed the mare coddlin’ a very young and annoyed Discord. Now, if ah was another mare, ah might have broken down in squeals of joy upon seein’ Discord so cute. Ah didn’t though. That’d have just given him some satisfaction.

‘He’s still so cute though.’

Discord continued. “Yeah, she let me do some chaos here and there, but I was stuck in our realm. She kept insisting it was too dangerous out in the real world.” An image showed Discord’s mother showin’ him a sign that had the earth, an equal sign, and the word danger, in that order.

‘Well, at least he had a lovin’ mother.’

“But I was a rascally kid,” Discord smirked. “If my mom could torment the lives of mortals, so could I.”

“Yeah,” ah spoke up. “Ya know ah’m a mortal, don’t ya?”

Discord rolled his eyes and head, while chucklin’ “ Of course I do, but I’m talking about past me, not present me.”

‘Right.’

“Anyways, I decided to sneak out into the mortal plane while my mom was busy pranking some of the other gods,” Discord shivered in fear, clutchin’ himself. “Needless to say, it didn’t work out so well.”

The image showed a young Discord up a tree. The yougin’ was cryin’ his eyes out. ‘Poor little guy.’ Ah honestly didn’t think I’d feel sorry for Discord, but I did. At least, past him. Below the tree, were some of them dino-whatsits ah’ve heard about. ‘Looks like them raptors ah saw in a movie once.’

“And that was just the wildlife,” Discord said in a panicky tone. The image shifted to young Discord again, playin’ teleportin’ catch in the tree. “I decided to stay in the trees for a while. My magic wasn’t as strong as it is now, so I didn’t want to chance it. Some of the beasts were better adept then me, a mere child of several thousand years.”

“Several thousand?” ‘How the hay do ya stay that young for that long?’

Discord nodded. “Immortals age slowly. Demi-gods and mortals are much quicker. Now, back to the story at hand. I stayed in the trees, waiting for dear old mom to come pick me up.” Discord face-clawed. “Little did I know, she couldn’t track me down. She was too busy with her own projects and the other gods wanted to play with her for once. So, they did everything in their power to keep me from her, just to get back at her for some stupid pranks.” Discord fumed.

Personally, ah think he was right to be angry. ‘Keepin’ a mom from her child, taint right.’

“So, I spent the next few hundred years,” Discord sighed. “Alone…with the trees....Gosh, this is depressing.”

“Yeah, this is depressin’,” ah said. Ah really didn’t want to hear more about his past…It was makin’ me feel sorry for him. ‘He’s doin’ it on purpose, tryin’ to make me like him. It won’t work…Even if he needs a hug….Oh gosh darn it!’ “Let’s get back to buckin’.”

Discord grabbed the mirror and held it to himself. “But I haven’t even gotten to the part where you ponies hunted me,” an angry crowd of ponies with pitchforks and torches showed on the mirror’s surface. “Mom was furious with you lot. When she got me back, she decided to punish you lot.” An image of the icy windigos popped up. Discord dismissed the mirror into a white, vapory smoke as he tapped his chin. “In hindsight, making the Windigos actually helped you become better mortals.”

‘So, it was Discord’s mom that made the Windigos?...Makes sense…Why does that scare me that I made sense of that?’ “Well, that certainly was a tale.”

“Eyup,” Discord frowned. “Don’t know why I told you it. I haven’t even told Fluttershy a smidgen of my past.” He smirked. “Maybe it’s because I adore you.”

Ah started to sweat. “Yeah…adore…Can we get back to work?” Ah had to get him focused for once. Work came first and romance came never.

“Fine,” Discord grumbled.

“Now, say hi to Sasha,” ah pointed to the tree. “She’s gonna be helpin’ ya out.”

Discord conjured a top hat on his head, to which he took it off as he bowed. “Good evening, lady Sasha. It is an honor to do business with you.”

 “Now that introductions are out of the way, buck her.”

“What?” Discord shot straight up into the air. He came down and hovered above me. “But I’ve just met her.”

“Doesn’t matter,” ah shot him a disapprovin’ glance. “Buck her.”

Discord crossed his arms. “I will not buck a tree I just met.”

“Discord,” ah said, tryin’ not to raise my voice in anger. “Buck this tree.”

“She has a name, you know.”

‘That’s it.’ “Discord,” ah was nearly shoutin’. “Buck the livin’ daylights out of this tree, or I’ll buck you.”

Discord gave me a lecherous grin. “Promise?”

Grittin’ my teeth, ah walked up to ‘Sasha’. “Fine, ah’ll buck her.” Turnin’ around, ah didn’t waste any time to prepare or anythin’ like ah was hopin’ too when ah wanted to teach him. Now, ah just needed somethin’ to take my stress away and buckin’ trees is a great stress reliever. Buckin’ with all my might, all ah hit was air. Fallin’ to the ground, ah looked back to see ‘Sasha’ gone. “What?”

Lookin’ to Discord, ah saw Sasha hoisted in the air, with Discord’s tail wrapped around it. The varmints tail had grown longer than before, so it could hold my beloved tree above his head. “I couldn’t just sit back while you harmed poor Sasha. She’s your friend.” He narrowed his eyes. “I thought you were better than this. What would dear Fluttershy say if she found out you were hurting her family?”

‘Hurtin’ her…’ No, ah stopped carin’. “Put her down.”

Discord ‘humphed’. “I don’t think so,” He flashed himself a red bandana and war make-up. “FREEDOM FOR TREES!”

‘That’s it.’ Now, ah was gonna teach this no good varmint a lesson in pain. “Discord, stand still will ya. It’d make me real happy if ya did so.”

Discord raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“’Cause ah’m gonna break ya, that’s why?” Ah hollered, rushin’ to head-butt him. Discord flashed out of the way and appeared a few feet away from me.

“Applejack,” Discord was sweatin’ in fear. “Let’s not get hasty. This isn’t something to get upset about.”

“Put Sasha down,” ah pointed to where she used to stay. If there was one thin’ I hated, its creatures messin’ with my trees.

Discord narrowed his eyes. “Never.”

Pawin’ the ground, ah snorted in anger. “Suit yourself.”
_______________________________________________________________________________
In another part of the farm, with Princess Cadance

“DISCORD, WHY?” I shouted. Quickly covering my mouth, I hoped to my aunts that Applejack hadn’t heard me. She’d probably kick me off her farm if she found me spying on her. I’d have to resort to some more clever and irritating ways to keep track of the pair. Thankfully, Applejack was too preoccupied with hurting Discord at the moment.

‘Discord, you idiot.’ I thought, glaring at the spirit.

I was currently sitting on a large hill, overlooking the place where Discord and Applejack were. A large spyglass was held in my hooves, so I could get a better look at them from afar. Yeah, I could have used a scrying spell, but I don’t know. This felt more fun.
Still, this didn’t deter any of the agitation I felt at the idiotic spirit. ‘It was going so well.’

Discord was bringing his A game. He was complimenting her, listening, and even sharing his backstory. That was a brilliant move on his part and I couldn’t help but clap my hooves in a job well done. What I couldn’t stand was him uprooting her tree and running off with it.

‘Discord, you aren’t supposed to mess with her on your first outing. You’re supposed to wait till you started dating, then you can mess with her as much as you want. AMATURE!’

I tried rubbing the painful headache I was feeling away, but it didn’t seem to want to leave. I started questioning, right then and there, if helping Discord had been the best option. ‘Love is love. Everyone deserves at least a chance at it.’

My thoughts were interrupted by someone coughing. Turning my head, I got a good look at Applejack’s big brother, Big Macintosh. ‘Wow, what a looker. I bet he’s a hit with the mares.’ Yeah, he was good looking…not as cute as Shining, but close enough.

“Umm,” I started, feeling a bit nervous at being caught. “Hello?”

“Hello,” Macintosh said back. I got the impression that he was a pony of few words.

There was silence for a few seconds. “Nice weather we’re having.”

“Eyup.”

The silence came back with a vengeance.

I sighed. “Look, I’m just trying to make sure Discord doesn’t do anything incredibly stupid and hurt your sister. He’s new at this, so he needs my help.”

“Hmm,” Macintosh played with the straw in his mouth, clearly thinking over my words. I could see his frustration with the spirit.

“If he gets out of line, I’ll reel him back in. You have my word as a princess.”

Macintosh studied me for a few seconds, before nodding and going on his way.

‘Get a load of that rump….,’ I shook my head to clear my thoughts. ‘No, bad Cadance, bad. Just for that, I’m going to have to snuggle Shining extra hard tonight.’ I returned to my observations of the unlikely pair.

‘This is going to be harder than I thought.’