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// Part 3 - In The Old Days 
// Story: Applejack's Day Off 
// by 1Bit 
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Diary Entry 32

Dear Diary,
It looks to be a great applebucking season this year! Mah Pa's been out all day makin' sure the fruit is nice and ripe on all the trees. Since we settled down here, we've had a few nasty spots every now and then, but ah'm sure we're going to get plenty of apples this time round! Still...it bothers me that mah Pa thinks ah'm too young to be helping this time round even though ah'm a big filly! T'aint fair, that's what it is! Ah already have my cutie mark so ah'm sure ah can buck apples like the rest of 'em. Maybe if ah SHOW him what ah can do, he'll change his mind! Just you wait Diary, ah'm going to get out onto the orchards this season if it kills me!

Diary Entry 33

Dear Diary,
Well...things didn't exactly go as planned. Everything was going well at first, waitin' until the dead of night before jumpin' out of the window and makin' a break for the orchard. There I was, bushels and bushels of juicy ripe apples ahead of me, perfect for buckin'! Ah got to work straight away, fillin' up as many buckets as ah could. It was all goin' fine until, about an hour in, a truly horrid smell reached me. Why, ah almost choked from one whiff! Instinctively, ah checked the apples straight away but there was nothin' wrong with them. Ah had to sit there for a while, tryin' to think of what the cause was before I finally set out to investigate.

Ah followed the smell across the star-lit orchard, passin' by rows and rows of apple trees, before ah finally came face to face with the terrifyin' Everfree Forest! Ah couldn't help but feel a chill run down mah spine as ah stood and stared through the thick bushes and trees. Imagine the shock on mah face as ah realised the bushes and tress were staring back at me! Many a pair of green eyes watched me, glowing spookily in the darkness. Ah wanted to run but found mahself frozen to the spot. Mah legs shakin' with fear as the eyes came closer and closer, the smell becomin' more and more distinct.

Ah was only knocked out of mah trance when ah heard some loud clanging echoing behind me. Ah turned to see mah Pa, faintly lit up by the lights of the house shoutin' somethin' to me. Not that ah could hear from that distance, but ah was now much more aware of the situation and began to run back to the house as ah heard low growls behind me. Ah've never run so fast in mah life! My hooves carried me through the orchard, everythin' a blur in mah vision. Ah turned mah head round, only to be confronted with the horrifyin' face of a Timberwolf! Even in the darkness, ah saw his hungry eyes and the rows upon rows of savage teeth!

Ah was almost back to the farmhouse, when ah suddenly heard mah Ma scream. A second later, ah felt those same savage teeth dig into my hindleg. Ah cried out in pain as ah fell down to the ground, screamin' and shoutin'. Ah thought it was the end of me, but suddenly two hooves bucked the wolf right in the face and the beast made a swift retreat into the forest. Ah'm still recoverin' from the bite. Don't think ah'll be going anywhere for a couple of days. Mah parents are so mad. Ah wish ah'd never tried to sneak out in the first place. This has got to be the worst day ever!