Rustic Royalty

by Bakmah Genesis

A Somewhat Nornal Mare

The next morning came as it usually did for the middle child of the Apple Family: Wake up, roll over, curse the sun, and roll out of bed to tidy herself for the day ahead. She finished a shower
she decided to take that morning for the coming Princess, brushed out her mane and tail, and brushed her teeth to make her more presentable.

After donning her hat, she made her way down towards the kitchen, surprised to find the rest of the family down there already, possibly because they knew they had a special guest coming. Every member of the apple household appeared to have taken the extra time to prepare themselves. Mac's hair was washed and was missing the grimy sheen it usually held. Apple Bloom had even taken the time to do her mane up herself instead of waiting for Applejack to do it for her.

Breakfast that morning had little talk, each of them anxious for the arrival of their guest and how this next year was going to turn out. They weren’t used to the extra help around the farm let alone experienced, except for the other Element Bearers. And they were somewhat helpful... sometimes.

Once breakfast was had, the members of the Apple Household went onto their daily chores. Apple Bloom made her way upstairs so she could finish preparing herself for school, Big Mac went out to the barn to hitch up the wagon and take it out to the Eastern Fields, Granny Smith sat in her rocking chair as she waited until it was time to make lunch for the Apple siblings.

Applejack went and placed the dishes from the table into the kitchen sink to be washed later. Once that was done, she made her way out and down the path to do the same task she does every morning.

As she approached the gate, she could already see the wobbling figure of the town mail mare fly down the path. Derpy’s face was scrunched in concentration as she tried to get both of her wings to work appropriately. Applejack chuckled as she shook her head.

"Howdy, Derpy." greeted the farmer, watching the mailmare struggle to stay in the air. "You...okay there?"

"Yup!" exclaimed Derpy excitedly. The moment she did, her wings lost control and caused her to fall face first into the ground. Applejack winced at the sound of impact, looking to find the mare already picking herself up. "I'm okay!" declared the mare with a grin.

Applejack shook her head with a chuckle as she walked over to Derpy, the mare already head first in her mail bag. She came up with a hoof full of letters. Unsure of how to retrieve the mail in a way that wouldn't end up in awkward situations, Applejack curled her lips as she took the edge of the stack between her teeth, nodding as she left.

Once back in the confines of her home, the farmer spat the mail onto the kitchen table before sitting and beginning the task of sorting through the stack. Thankfully, the stack only consisted of the normal contents. Love letters from stallions she did not nor had the care to know, threats from rival apple suppliers, a note of business from Filthy Rich, and the lack of official scrolls.

After tossing ninety percent of the mail in the garbage, Applejack tossed the letter from Filthy Rich onto the solitary desk in the house that was used for business purposes. She let out a small sigh as she got up and made her way to the door to start her chores.

Upon opening the front door, Applejack was instantly met with a well pedicured indigo hoof that was smashed into her face, sprawling her on the floor. As the stars from her eyes slowly disappeared, the rather concerned face of Princess Luna filled her vision.

One of the few things that caught her attention was lack of royal attire. Instead of her normal crown and regalia, the Lunar Princess wore only a simple kerchief around her neck. Her mane was tied back in a ponytail and was less flowing as it was any other time she met the princess.

"Dear Applejack, are you alright? We... I was not expecting you to come out as I was preparing to knock." Luna cocked her head. "Is... something wrong?"

Applejack shook her head. "No, A-Ah'm fine." The farmer groaned as she lifted herself off the floor. "Ah must admit, Princess, ya knocked me pretty good."

"Yes, and we...I am sorry about that." Luna seemed to relax as she realized the mare was indeed alright. "Now, shall you show me to my quarters so we can continue on to the tour?" Applejack blinked before nodding, gesturing her to follow her up the stairs.

"We always have an extra room in case any family stayed over. Ya'll can have it during yer stay, but Ah warn ya, it isn't meant for, er, Alicorns." said Applejack as she stopped in front of door just across from her own. Opening it, she revealed a medium sized room with only a bed, wardrobe, and writing desk. The bed was only big enough to fit one average sized pony, Big Mac himself was barely small enough to fit in it.

Luna approached the bed with a skeptical eye. She huffed as she laid on it, her hind legs jutting a few feet past the foot of the bed, her shoulder blades close to the edges of either side of the bed. Jumping out, Luna shook her head before spotting the bed in Applejack's room through the open door. Trotting into the room, she sprawled out onto the bed, fitting perfectly with room to spare for the apple farmer to join her. To test the theory, Luna levitated Applejack onto the bed, much to the protest of the mare. The goddess rolled around the bed a bit, testing how much room she had without rolling on top of the farmer. She then faced the mare before pulling her into an embrace, holding her against her chest for a few moments before letting go.

"I shall take this bed!" exclaimed the princess as she hopped out of the bed. Applejack, whose face was still red from being held that close to the goddess, blinked.

"I-in mah bed? Princess, where am Ah supposed to sleep? You can't expect us to share the same bed all year."

"Why can't I?" asked Luna. "You are my host, and the host is supposed to make sure their guest is comfortable. Even if that means if they must share the same bed." The goddess laughed. "Also, I am no longer a princess, no need for the title any longer. Luna will be just fine." The mare lit her horn, two suitcases adorned with her lunar cutie mark entering the room. "Now, shall we begin our tour?"

A hint of red stayed in Applejack's cheeks as she continued the tour. After a quick tour of the inside of the house, Applejack led Luna out into the yard. Hot air greeted them as they left the confines of the house.

"We have a field in each compass direction, each is about four acres across and six acres deep." started Applejack. "We try to focus on one field at a time, Me and Big Mac can only do so much by ourselves."

"The two of manage all this property by yourselves?" asked Luna, looking around at the dense forest of trees that surrounded them.

"Eeyup. We've been doing this all our lives. After awhile, ya get used to knowing we're to buck the tree to get all the apples in one go." The farmer scratched behind her head. "Though I must admit ya'll came at a bad time, Princ- Luna. Tis Applebuck season, so I won't have much time to teach ya for about a week."

"Applebuck season?"

"Yeah, it's the time of the year we buck the apples when they are at their peak. Didn't ya'll know that?"

"Dear Applejack, when you are born being praised as a goddess and as royalty, you do not get the chance to study your subjects lives or anything to do with them on a nonbusiness term. In a government standpoint, 'Applebuck Season' never comes to our desk because it has little importance to sale besides just another step to preparing for it." Luna blinked, realizing she had slipped back into her royal air. "Excuse me, it is a habit grown from too much practice."

Applejack could only stare in silence. She had no words for the situation beside it being unfair for the princesses having been groomed from birth because of their race. It was less unfair for the ponies under their rule than themselves.

"It's, um, alright, Princess- er- Luna." The two stood there in awkward silence. It was finally broken as Luna let out a polite cough.

"So, Applejack, what must I do while you and your brother are...bucking apples?" asked Luna, sounding uncomfortable speaking casually. Applejack sighed as she realized it was going to be a long year.

"Apple Bloom has the day off. You can go down to the barn and help her milk the cows." Applejack began to walk away, stopping as Luna coughed.

"How does one milk a cow?"