Chapter six: Lessons, the Earth Pony Way
“It’s time to wake up, sugarcube.”
I turned around, trying to shut the voice out for just a few more minutes. Even if the world was falling apart, I was far too comfortable to get out of the warm embrace of the bed.
“Breakfast is ready.”
I cracked open my eyes and squinted for a few moments before blinking against the harsh sun shining through the window. Applejack was standing at the end of my bed, smiling.
“I’m sure you don’t want to sleep in, and I need your help before you head to Twilight’s place. Now c’mon, sugarcube,” she said before turning around and trotting out of the room.
I pushed my muzzle back into the cushion, growling softly to myself. I hated early mornings, but sadly, this didn’t seem like one, and I had no excuse to stay in bed. Besides, I would be leaving Applejack hanging if I did, and that wasn’t really an option for me.
I got out of bed slowly to make my way down to the kitchen, or at least I tried. When I stood, drowsy as I was on my hooves, I hit the corner of the bed frame with the center of my muzzle. The resulting crack had more effect than coffee ever would.
“Ooww,” I whimpered, clutching my muzzle with one of my hooves. What a nice start to the day.
My second try was successful, and I stumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen to be greeted by a rather unusual sight. Rainbow was giving Applejack a peck onto the lips before rushing out of the room, supposedly to get to work. As Applejack caught sight of me, she blushed heavily.
I said nothing and just sat down across from her at the table, still idly cradling my muzzle after having it introduced to the fine carpentry work of Apples. I counted myself lucky that I hadn’t broken anything, and that there was no blood coming out of my nostrils. Though, that may have been an amusing way to break the two up from their morning rendezvous.
“Uh, how was your night, sugarcube?” she asked, a touch of awkwardness in her voice as she set a plate of apple waffles in front of me. Apples appeared to have an enjoyment for apple-based recipes, it seemed.
Oh Luna, that was definitely the WRONG question to ask.
So, of course I answered with the only thing that made sense at the time, “Fine, really!” I blurted out, trying to hide the blush that threatened to wash over my face.
She raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment on my hasty reaction. Shaking her head slightly, she lifted a fork with one of her hooves and pointed it at me, “Eat up, sugarcube. Big Mac’s in town today to get a few tools replaced, so I need help in the east orchard,” she said, the confused look getting replaced by a gentle smile before she dug into her own waffles.
I mumbled an acknowledgement to myself before I lifted my own utensil and began to pick at the food. After the first bite, I was quickly reminded of why waking up on the farm wasn’t a bad thing, and the rest of my plate soon followed. Though their primary ingredient may have been apples, I really wasn’t about to argue when the waffles were as good as they were.
By the time I had finished, the pain in my muzzle had dulled to a soft throbbing, and I couldn’t help but feel myself in an elevated mood. I stood and carried my plate over to the sink where Applejack was standing, already washing her own emptied plate. Setting the plate down on the counter for her, I wandered off into the front hall and trotted in place for a moment, limbering up and shaking the last of the sleep out of my brain.
I had never worked on a farm before, so I wasn’t sure what we’d be doing in the orchards. Picking apples seemed like the logical assumption, which shouldn’t be too much of a problem considering that I had the wings to just fly up and grab the apples. I was a bit concerned that Applejack would lag behind if she had to carry a ladder around with her to each tree, but I supposed that’s where I came in.
Applejack came around the corner a few moments later with a smile, “Y’all look like ya got ants tryin’ to make off with yer horseshoes, sugarcube! Guess you’re ready to get goin’?” she asked with a good-natured shove that nearly caught me off-guard.
Planting my hooves down quickly, I nodded, “I’m about as ready as I’ll ever be, let’s get this show on the road!” I exclaimed with a grin, gesturing for Applejack to lead the way.
My answer seemed to be the correct one, considering the grin that peeled onto her face before she made her way to the door and lead the way out into the growing light of a sunrise over the farm. It wasn’t quite morning, since the sun was still only halfway over the horizon, but it was high enough that we wouldn’t be working in darkness, and it wouldn’t be too hot.
To my surprise, instead of heading into the barn to grab a ladder or any similar equipment, Applejack gestured to a pile of empty wooden buckets. Looking over her shoulder, she nodded towards them, “Grab as many of those as you can and bring them with you to the east orchard,” she instructed before making her way over to the pile herself.
I nodded in response and quickly trotted over, sizing up the buckets and how best to pick up as many as I could. I hesitated for a moment before I used my mouth and wings to pull out one of the buckets. However, it seemed that the bucket I had grabbed was connected to a second one by some very strong rope, and the removal of one required the removal of another. And since the one it was connected to was underneath the pile, I recognized the rumbling sound far too late, and found myself buried by wooden buckets.
The avalanche of buckets lasted for a few moments, but soon enough it was over, and I found myself in a cave of wood and metal. The sound of laughing echoed through the broken darkness a few moments later as Applejack trotted over and lifted one of the buckets off of my head, “Havin’ a bit o’ trouble there, sugarcube?” she asked, looking like she’d break out into further laughter at any moment.
Shaking my head furiously to remove some of my mane from my face, I let out a puff of air, “Didn’t realize they’re connected,” I replied, looking up at Applejack once my sense of direction returned to me.
Applejack scoffed and shook her head before reaching into my little cavern and grabbing me around my barrel. With a little grunt, the farm mare yanked me out of my wooden prison and out onto my hooves, seemingly with no effort at all.
I stumbled for a moment, then turned my head to Applejack and gave a grateful smile, “Thanks,” I said with a little nod.
“Not a problem. Just try not to get buried again, I’d hate to have to take ya to the hospital and explain that to Twilight,” she said, brushing a few bits of splinters and leftover leaves off of my coat before trotting back over to the part of the pile she had been looking at earlier.
I would have more problems explaining you and Rainbow.
However, I quickly shook it off and joined her at the buckets again. She lifted two pairs and hung them over her back, “They’re connected so y’all can carry two full buckets on yer back at once.”
I looked at how she carried the buckets over her back and glanced at my wings. It would be nearly impossible to fly that way, but I guessed that I would just have to do it the earth pony way. I placed two pairs of them over my back like Applejack and followed her to the east orchard.
Every tree we passed by on our way there was empty. But that soon changed. As Applejack stopped, we stood in front of a group of heavily loaded appletrees, “Today, we’re applebuckin’, sugarcube,” Applejack called out, “Let’s get to work!”
“Uh, I can’t really fly with those buckets on my back, Applejack.”
“Well, y’all don’t buck trees flying,” she answered with a lighthearted laugh.
“I’ve never really bucked trees before,” I admitted sheepishly, which prompted her to give me a knowing smile.
“Don’t worry, sugarcube. It’s easy, and your hind legs seem strong enough,” she added with a scrutinous glance at my flank and the legs connected to it.
I couldn’t hold it, “Hey, save that look for your marefriend.”
“Come again?”
“Leave that look for Rainbow,” I said. She turned around in response to my comment, but I still caught sight of the furious blush that tore across her cheeks.
“Didn’t mean nothin’ by it,” she replied in a bashful mutter, setting the buckets on her back down at the base of the tree she was closest enough. She set the two pairs around the tree, then turned so her rear legs were facing the tree, and her front was opposite. Glancing back over at me, she gestured with a nod in the direction of the tree, “This is how you buck a tree,” she explained.
What happened next was fairly shocking, but I shouldn’t have expected anything less from Applejack. She kicked out with both her rear legs and struck the base of the tree with a reverberating thud. The vibration rocked up the tree and shook the treetops for a moment before a rain of apples fell squarely into the buckets below, effectively emptying the tree in less than a minute.
Once I had recovered my jaw muscles and closed my muzzle, I shook my head quickly and laughed, “How in the hay do you do that?!” I asked with disbelief, a grin pulling at my muzzle.
Bashfulness lost, Applejack grinned as she turned towards the filled buckets, “Practice. Now, y’all can get started with the trees in this row. If’n ya need help, just gimme a holler, and I’ll show ya how it’s done,” she said, slipping under one of the ropes between two buckets and lifting them up to take back to the barn.
I watched Applejack go before turning towards one of the filled trees. Letting out a sigh, I dropped the buckets off of my back and set them around the tree like Applejack had showed me, then stood with my back legs facing the tree. I took a deep breath, then bucked out and hit the base of the tree.
Pain flared through my legs as they connected with the tree, a stiff yelp escaping my muzzle as I recoiled in pain. Hopping around on my hooves to try and desperately avoid the stinging pain that plagued my rear hooves, I huffed for a few moments as I tried to recollect myself. After the pain died away, I looked up at the tree in hopes that I had managed to knock at least a few apples down.
Of course, there wasn’t a single apple on the ground. I sighed and shook my head, reassuming the position with my rear hooves pointed towards the tree. Taking a moment, I readjusted myself before trying again, this time aiming a little higher.
When my hooves connected with the bark, another sting of pain shot up my legs, but not quite as much as last time. A satisfyingly solid thunk reverberated from behind me, and the sounds of apples falling from the tree brought the grin racing back to my muzzle. I turned my head up to see the apples that had fallen, and after a moment of consideration, realized it would take a second hit to get the rest of the apples out of the tree.
The third strike was as successful as the second, and the tree was rendered empty afterwards. With four buckets full of apples down, and many more to go, I quickly slunk under one of the buckets and lifted it to bring it back to the barn.
It was going to be a very long morning.
***
The sun had long since cleared the horizon and was now in an early morning position, providing more heat than was absolutely necessary for such tiresome work. The row of trees we had started on had been cleared, and the row after that, as well as the row after that. If the constant burning in my legs was anything to go by, I’d say that we had been at it for a few hours.
My coat was drenched in sweat, my hooves covered in bits of wood and dirt, and I had more than a few dirt stains on my face where I had wiped my brow with a careless hoof. However, despite the lack of hygiene and the iron filling my muscles, I felt good. It had been a long time since I had exerted myself as much as I had that morning.
Applejack and I were on the way back to the barn with the last load of apples for that morning. We hadn’t had the chance to speak much during work, and most of the time it was the exchange of jokes or pleasantries that two comrades in work had a tendency of participating in. Which meant that when I spoke, I was breaking a long silence.
“Do you love her?” I asked, looking over at Applejack as we casually walked through the rows we had cleared, the last load weighing our backs down.
Applejack seemed taken off guard by the question, if the shocked look that she wore was anything to go by. However, that didn’t stop her from responding almost immediately, “Yes,” she replied with a confident nod.
I hummed in response, having expected as much. After a moment of thoughtful humming, I spoke again, “What’s that like?” I asked, glancing in her direction again.
The blank look that I saw in the brief glance coincided with the unimpressed tone of voice that responded, “You’ve never been in love, have you?”
My ears found their way to the top of my skull and I recoiled a bit, “Uhh… No,” I responded in defeat, slumping slightly in mid-stride.
Applejack sighed as she walked, “It ain’t somethin’ ya can just describe. It’s the feelin’ that ya get when yer around the pony, the way ya just wanna listen to ‘em and everythin’ they say makes ya smile. It’s just a feelin’ ya get, it’s hard t’put in words,” she replied, scratching the back of her head with an idle forehoof and not missing a step.
A small chuckle escaped my muzzle. The way Applejack described it sounded nice. I looked over at her after a moment, “And it’s not weird that you’re both mares?” I asked, genuinely curious as to whether or not they encountered problems because of it.
The scoff I got in response answered that question for me. She spoke after the little scoff, “Weird? Lemme tell ya, sugarcube. This here’s Equestria, the land o’ peace an’ equality. The few ponies that’d judge a fillyfooler or a coltcuddler are either in Canterlot or Stalliongrad,” she replied, as if it were the most self-explanatory thing in the world, “Besides, all couples being stallions an’ mares ain’t efficient, as Twilight would say.”
“Why?” I asked as that one dumb word shot into my mind.
“Twilight gave us the odds. Seventy-five percent of the ponies in Equestria are mares,” Applejack chuckled slightly.
“So, Twilight’s alright with that? Is she a fillyfooler, too?” I asked and immediately shut my muzzle with a wing, but the words couldn’t be pulled back.
Applejack gave me an inquisitive look, “Why would y’all be interested in that, sugarcube?”
I blushed heavily, trying to fix my error through stoic silence. Before I could answer, however, Applejack spoke up again, “I think I see. Well, she’s okay with it, but if she’s a fillyfooler, I don’t know. All I know is that she refused every invite for a date from a stallion. An’ there’s been plenty,” she replied with a sly little laugh.
I can imagine that.
A small chuckle escaped my muzzle, despite my desire to stay silent in fear of exposing more that Applejack could tease with. I wasn’t about to say anything more that might incriminate me for having feelings for my mentor. After all, that would just be inappropriate.
The rest of the walk was spent in silence, and we dropped the apples off in the barn along with the other loads. With the last job done for the day, I stepped back and let out a mighty sigh of contentment, looking at everything we had done. Turning towards Applejack, I reached a hoof forward, which she promptly hit with her own hoof in a friendly show. Despite the gentleness of the contact, I made a note of never again underestimating earth pony strength.
“Well, thanks for the help, sugarcube,” Applejack said, turning towards the exit, “Y’all should head on down to Twilight’s, now. I’m gonna finish up here,” she said, tipping her hat in my direction before trotting off to do some more chores somewhere on the farm.
I waved a wing at her, “Any time, Applejack!” I exclaimed before trotting out of the barn and taking off into the air, my wings aching to be spread and used after so long being grounded. The rush of the wind was refreshing after spending so long in the unforgiving heat and beating away at trees all morning.
The flight to Twilight’s castle was refreshing and enjoyable, despite how brief it was. I landed directly in front of the door in a rush and hastily knocked a few times, bouncing back and forth eagerly. Despite being so sore, I was eager to get to the next lessons with Twilight and to get some more time with her.
I continued to bounce on my hooves and didn’t notice that the door opened had opened in its typical lavender aura, an amused Twilight standing in the frame and watching me. It took me a few seconds before I noticed her and stopped dead in my tracks, blushing furiously.
“Somepony seems really happy today,” Twilight said with a steadily widening grin, “Mind telling me what caused it?”
“Uhh... nothing, really!” I exclaimed hastily, which caused Twilight to laugh and pull me into a lighthearted hug.
My blush intensified tenfold as I noticed that she hugged me with her wings. Twilight’s cheeks were boiling over in a blush, but I unfolded my own wings and returned the hug, much to her surprise.
We stayed like that for several moments before breaking apart, her cheeks seemed to be even more red than when we had first embraced. She quickly stammered out, “You… you were working at the farm, right? Maybe… you should take a shower before we start our lessons? You smell like sweat and dirt.”
I hadn’t thought about that, but I probably smelt even worse than she was letting on after an entire morning in the orchard, “Ohh, dear Luna, I’m so sorry about that! Is it really that bad? I’ll run back and take a shower right now!”
“No!” Twilight shouted in response before gasping and blushing some more, “I mean, not… well it is but… you can shower here if you want. Second floor, the door right next to my bedroom. Towels are in the small cupboards in the wall.”
With that, she quickly turned and left me standing, muzzle wide open as I caught sight of her flank leaving my sight.
Wow, why was she so nervous? Maybe I really do stink?
Shaking my head, I went in and closed the large door behind me, which proved difficult without magic, and made my way upstairs. The bathroom was easy to locate, since Twilight’s bedroom was indicated by huge, purple double doors with her cutie mark on them, and the bathroom was right besides it.
I meandered up to the bathroom and pushed it open with a gentle shove, peeking my head inside. Of course, the sight made my jaw drop. The room itself was about as big as the farmhouse portion of the barn on Applejack’s property. It was absolutely massive, with smooth crystal floors and walls, a tub that looked more like a swimming pool, a shower of hazy clear crystal, and a separate toilet section. An entire portion of the wall next to the door was taken up by a mirror, a counter, and several deep sinks. There was a door on the side wall that must have lead into Twilight’s bedroom.
Shaking my head after a moment of surprise, I scoffed and headed inside, closing the door behind myself. I only had to search for a few moments before I discovered the cupboards that Twilight had been talking about, and recovered one of the plump, fluffy white towels from within.
Balancing the towel on a wing, I carried it over to the cavernous shower and set the towel down next to the entrance before slipping into the shower. It looked like the entire ceiling portion of the shower was the shower head, meaning that the shower would give the feeling of rain without actually having to bring a raincloud indoors.
“The perks of being a princess…” I muttered to nopony in particular as I reached for the water controls, releasing the hot water from above and relishing in the feeling of the water racing down my back. It was better than staying covered in sweat and mud, that was for sure.
***
For all you cloplovers, the chapter continues here