//------------------------------// // Farmer's Hands // Story: A New Dimension, A New Threat // by ZeroChill //------------------------------// Applejack, Custard and Jasmine reached beyond the southeastern corner of the city, where the concrete and steel changed into verdant grass and moist dirt. A foul stench hit Jasmine’s nose. Her eyes watered and she covered her face with her right upper limb. “Applejack, may I ask what is that dreadful scent out here? It almost smells like manure.” She asked. “That’s because it is manure. Didn’t you know this when you and Custard agreed to help me with my cousin’s request?” Applejack responded. “I have but that scent is overbearing. I will have to unleash an extra dosage of chamomile and lemongrass to counteract the horrible stench in the air.” “You can relax, Jasmine. The smell is just nature’s way of saying ‘I love you’ to all the plants of the world.” Custard said, hugging himself with a smile on his face. “Geez, Custard. I love this scent as much as the next Apple Family farmer, but you really take it to a whole new level.” Applejack noted. “I grew used to the smell of the manure after the other Pokémon shoved me within it for a long time.” “Sounds like you were bullied there.” “He was. His species line is generally a prime bully target by other Pokémon for a plethora of reasons. His appreciation for the smell of manure is a… coping mechanism he developed after the other Pokémon in Opelucid City used to push him into imported Miltank manure.” Jasmine explained. “I felt terrible for him, but he still forgives the Pokémon that bullied him.” A light-hearted chuckle emerged from Applejack. She patted Custard on his back. “Turning the other cheek when you get struck, don’t ya? I respect your loving spirit, but you gotta learn a thing or two about inflicting tough love on others.” Custard’s eyes widened and a nervous frown appeared on his face. He shook his upper limbs. “Oh, I can never inflict tough love. I honestly hate the concept of being tough on others.” “Like how you were tough on that mechanical dragon chimera when we first came here? Or when you scared a member of the Van’Goth into submission?” Jasmine noted with her eyes slanted with a sly glint. “Those were a different case. They are unrepentant sinners that deserve to be locked within the confines of the Reverse World.” “Ummm… yeah. Moving onto a different topic, we’re at the farm now.” Applejack said with a nervous shift in tone. Custard and Jasmine looked towards their front, where a giant meadow sprawled before their eyes. Oxen littered their eyes farther than the eye can see. Applejack pointed her hoof towards the barn that could fit ten living complexes and a small house nearby it. Behind the aged glass peeped a white-coated earth pony mare with a brown mane tied into braids and green eyes. She smiled and waved, running out from the door and approaching the trio. “Applejack! I’m so glad you took my request!” The mare stated, embracing Applejack with her right front legs. Applejack smiled and wrapped her right front hooves around her. “It’s nice to see you too, White Apple.” Custard and Jasmine looked upon White Apple’s flank, where a cutie mark an apple at the intersection of two crossing milk bottles was present. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends, Applejack?” White Apple asked. Applejack released her hug and turned towards Jasmine and Custard. “I want you all to meet my fifth cousin twice removed from the Land Down Under, White Apple!” “That is a lot of distance in blood relation…” Jasmine noted. “And you still consider her your cousin?” “That’s right. We’re still Apples and no amount of distance in our blood can change that. You must be some of ‘em Pogeymanz Applejack was telling me about.” White Apple noted. “Pokémon, but it is close enough to pass.” Custard corrected. White Apple walked underneath Custard’s shade and stroked his neck with her right front hoof. Feeling the nice and warm strokes of White Apple’s hoof, Custard cooed and rubbed his head along her hoof. “You sure are friendly. I take it that you must be Custard?” “You are correct with that assumption.” “So that must make this quiet, yet sophisticated gal here Jasmine then?” White Apple asked. “Absolutely. You raise quite the farm here, White Apple. Have you ever thought about investing in some air fresheners?” Jasmine asked. Applejack’s teeth clenched and she scowled towards Jasmine’s direction. A burst of laughter erupted from White Apple’s mouth and she flipped her right front hoof. “That’s a wonderful joke, Jasmine. Now come inside and let me tell you and Custard all about my dairy farm!” Applejack, Jasmine and Custard sat around a dusty wooden table. Three white coasters were planted on the table in front of them. White Apple spun three glasses of milk from her tray, which twirled and landed onto the coasters. Jasmine’s eyes widened and her arms jumped up in surprise. Custard smiled and clapped his upper limbs together. “That was amazing! When did you learn how to do that?” Custard asked with a tone peppy with excitement. “You learn when you’re an heir to one of Equus’s largest dairy farms. Now let me regale you with a tale of this farm’s importance.” White Apple began explaining. “You see all ‘dem bulls and cows out there? They’re the only remaining ones in this world left. Milk is always in high demand, so these bovines are essential to the city for their milk supply.” “That seems a bit risky to leave all of the milk production of the world to one farm. What would happen if an epidemic struck all of your bovines and you are left without them?” Jasmine asked. “I see where you’re coming from, Jasmine. That is always a big concern for me. If all of these bovines were to suddenly die, then the effects would be disastrous to Neo Canterlot. But worry not; I treat each and every single one of these bovines as honorary Apple Family Apples. I’ll make sure that nothing bad happens to them!” Custard grasped the glass of milk in front of him and brought it to his lips. The liquid seeped into his mouth. He felt the refreshing chill and the starch sweetness lingered on his tongue. He let out a pleased sigh and lidded his eyes halfway. “This milk is delicious! I haven’t had such fine-quality milk ever since Lith had me try Moomoo Milk. What is your secret?” He asked. “An Apple never tells the secrets of her craft to outsiders. But, I can say that’s love you taste right now.” White Apple said with a sly smirk. “Enough idle conversation. I am interested in hearing what the details of our service to you are.” Jasmine requested. “Nothing much. I need some extra hooves with milking the cows today and cleaning their stalls. All of my other farm hands took the day off, so I’m a bit understaffed at the moment. But the four of us will be able to do all of this work in one day, no?” “When two Apples and Pokémon come together, everything can be achieved. Now let’s go do what we came here to do!” Applejack declared, rearing her front legs with an excited flurry of kicks. Custard and White Apple walked into a silver depot that contained numerous amounts of stalls. Many cows stood within these stalls, chewing at bales of vegetation and had tubes firmly grasping their udders. Custard eyed the milk flowing from the many tubes into a machine. “I’ve never seen what a modernized milking process looked like. I wonder if this is how they milk Miltanks back from my world.” “Yep. This fancy technology makes it easier to milk the cows, but some of my heifers don’t really like feeling the suction process on their udders. For them, I assign gentle-hearted workers to squeeze on the udders themselves.” White Apple explained. “That’s where you come in!” “Me?” Custard asked, pointing to himself. White Apple and Custard walked into the stall of a brown-coated cow whose udder was not connected to a milking mechanism. By her side was a wooden stool. “That’s right. Big Bertha might look like a tough and intimidating cow, but she’s actually soft and gentle.” White Apple explained. “She absolutely despises the milking machine that would be put on her, so she’s one of those cows that we manually milk.” She sat on the stool and reached her right front hooves onto Big Bertha’s udders. She began pulling on them, releasing shots of milk onto the bucket underneath. “So I have to pull on the udders like so?” Custard asked. “Exactly. I warmed her up for you, so you should be able to do well with her.” White Apple stood away from the stool and she held her left front hoof towards it. Custard sat on the stool and looked down upon his upper limbs. He reached them down towards Big Bertha’s udders and squeezed them. Big Bertha’s mouth and eyes widened from the slimy limbs that grasped her udders. Her muscles became stunned in surprise. “Uhh… she seems frozen. Did I do something wrong?” Custard asked with a hint of anxiety in his voice. White Apple examined Custard’s limbs that wrapped around Big Bertha’s udders and examined the coating of slime dripping from them. She cocked her head and lifted her right front hoof back. “Uhhhh… you might want to keep your goo there in check, Custard. You’re making Big Bertha feel uncomfortable.” She warned. “Do you have gloves I could use?” Custard asked with a nervous grin. Jasmine hovered into a stall, wearing a yellow gas mask, and black gloves and boots made of rubber. In her two upper limbs are a brush and a clear bottle filled with a green cleaning solution inside. She stared at the bales of hay that stunk of feces. “Filth… my one greatest enemy. Prepare to meet the cleaning power of Jasmine the Aromatisse!” She bellowed out. She lowered herself down to the ground and kicked away the hay. Underneath it were small bricks of brown fecal matter that can peel away the layers of the eye with its stench. She redoubled her will and grabbed a scoop near the entrance of the stall. She scooped up the feces and dropped them into a bucket. She sprayed the ground that they were on with the green liquid, where a floral scent emerged from the green bubbles building up in the sprayed area. She scrubbed the ground with the brush in her limb. The paint on the ground peeled away, revealing a shimmering silver underneath. She scrubbed the floor until the entire rectangle became spotless with silver. “Okay… now to dispose of these-“ Jasmine looked to the walls of the stall, which were red with a coat of dirt on it. Her right eye twitched. She peered into the pockets of her uniform, pulling out three yellow spheres with fuses on them. A Thunderbolt shot out of her body and danced upon the tips of the fuses, setting them on fire. She tossed them towards the back of the stall and ran out. “Fire in the hole!” The bombs exploded with scrubbing suds flying throughout the area. She smiled and floated towards the stall she was cleaning, where the dirt and some paint came off the walls. She whistled a dainty tune, scrubbing off the remainder of the soap. A pleasant aroma emanated from her body and covered the stall, bathing it in a floral and fruity scent. “And done. This is good work if I say so myself.” Jasmine said with a pleased tone. Applejack stomped her way towards the stall, covered in bubbles and staring at Jasmine with scowling eyes directed towards Jasmine. “Jasmine, perhaps you should prepare the feed for the oxen. Maybe that wouldn’t trigger your fancy cleaning disorder you have.” “Too much?” Custard squeezed on the udders with the tips of his upper limbs and feet adorned with rubber gloves. He held his tongue out and narrowed his eyes with each pull of the udders. Milk squeezed out of them, filling the silver bucket below. The black-coated cow in front of him looked to her right and cried out a happy sound. “I’m glad that you are happy, Heidi. It was a pleasure working with you as well.” Custard responded. White Apple walked towards the stall that Heidi and Custard are in and whistled with an energetic tone. “That’s a nice bucket of milk you got there. Heidi’s difficult around newbies because her udders require some TLC to get even a small amount of milk. You’re a natural at this!” She complimented. “Understanding a cow is like understanding another Pokémon I feel. Once the two of us were in sync, then the rest became easy.” Custard responded. “I’ll say. Every cow you’ve milked seems to be much happier! I bet that these buckets are filled with especially tasty milk.” White Apple picked up the handle of the bucket with her mouth and walked towards the mouth of the stall. She looked back towards Custard with eyes of sunshine and waved her right front hoof. “I’ll be right behind you, White Apple.” Custard said. Custard followed White Apple beyond a set of doors where a large machine with a funnel rested. White Apple poured the contents of the bucket into the machine, where a faint whir resonated from within. “Haven’t heard a sound like that since I was back home at Kijaro’s Rock. Ah those were the days.” Custard looked onto White Apple’s face and saw that her peppy smile broke into a small frown and her eyes fell. “You don’t look so well, White Apple. Is it too much if I asked?” White Apple let out a sigh and faced towards Custard’s direction. She forced a smile through her muscles. “Custard, be honest with me; how do you feel about milk?” “Milk?” Custard asked with his tone rising in surprise. “I suppose I didn’t give much thought to milk because of the fact that I don’t have much of a skeletal structure. But, I can see how important milk is and I love your philosophy on how we should treat our bovines as feeling members of our family for more than just getting the finest milk.” White Apple walked towards a corner and tossed herself down into it. She pat on the floor to her right. “Sit here, Custard. We have gotta talk over a bottle of fresh milk.” Custard walked towards the spot designated by White Apple’s hoof and planted himself into the floor. White Apple dragged her right front hoof towards a crate filled with glass bottles of milk. She grabbed the nearest bottle and brought it between her and Custard. She tore off the metal cover of the bottle with her bare hooves. “Ummm… thank you?” Custard said with eyes slanted in curiosity. He took the bottle and wrapped his mouth around the hole, drinking the cool and refreshing liquid. White Apple ripped off the cover of her bottle and brought it to her mouth. She closed her eyes and began chugging the liquid down. The mare pulled the half-empty bottle away from her and she sighed with her eyes half-lidded in euphoria. “Custard, do you have a girlfriend of your own?” She asked. “Yep. I have my snugglynosed Gnasher.” Custard asked. “Can you tell me what it feels like to be in a romantic love?” “It’s a wonderful feeling. Seeing the target of your loving affections makes your heart melt and makes you feel giddy with glee and happy. You would just want to do anything and everything with your loved one!” White Apple downed the rest of the milk in her bottle and tossed it into a blue bin with a disregarding motion of her hoof. “Do you ever see yourself having children of your own one day?” She asked. “I would love to do so with Gnasher, but we aren’t of the same breeding group. Our best chance at having children would be to adopt. Is there a reason why you are asking these questions, White Apple?” Custard responded with skepticism towards the end of his words. “There’s a tradition that we Apples of the Apple Family have; when we become of age, we’re supposed to look for a significant other ourselves so that we can continue the line of the Apple Family. But… that’s kind of impossible for me.” White Apple said. “Impossible? Why? You are a young mare who is beautiful and full of energy. Any stallion would want to be with you.” “…I’m unable to have children of my own.” Custard’s eyes widened at the statement and he frowned. “What do you mean by that?” “What I’m saying is that no stallions can plant any seeds in me that can germinate into apples for me to continue my branch of the family. It’s all dead tissue in there because of some condition that renders me unable to have a fertile field of my own. The rest of my immediate family all died shortly after the war began, leaving me to be the sole heir to the farm and the last of the Milk Apple subline.” White Apple stated with a depressed tone. “That is something to be depressed about.” Custard noted. “You don’t even know the half of it. When my time eventually comes to kick the bucket, I’ll have no successors to give my farm to. My work hands aren’t as serious about milk as I am, and the rest of the living Apples can’t be trusted to keep this a pure dairy farm. I’m afraid that my bovines will not be happy in the new hooves that will be forced upon them and Neo Canterlot’s milk production will suffer.” “But why tell me all this? I’m just a volunteer to do community service for my organization. I shouldn’t be the one to hear your personal information.” “Custard; I have a sharp eye for how others treat my bovines. You may not be able to see it, but you carry a true passion for milk that I have not seen since my ma. My cows sing praises of you even if you just met them and you even got that much milk out of Heidi on your first try!” White Apple stated. “So you want me to be your successor? But, I’m not even sure that I would be able to take your place when that time comes. I would probably end up being too old to milk a cow, and I won’t be able to even create new generations to continue the line.” Custard responded. “True… but you are the closest I know of anyone who shares a passion for milk like I do.” “Why don’t you try adoption? I’m sure that there are many children that will show promise as a dairy farmer.” Custard suggested. White Apple swiveled her head towards Custard’s direction and frowned. “I could, but then I’d be doing it for the wrong reasons. A child would feel that the only reason I adopted them would not be because I would love them, but because I am desperate for a successor. Desperation never makes a good parent since a child would feel like that they would have to try for my affections and love. The child would be even more miserable than when they lost their parents.” “I see where you are coming from there. I will need some time to decide, White Apple. Once I have sorted out everything with Gnasher, I’ll give you my response.” Lowering his head towards the ground, Custard responded. White Apple smirked and launched her right front hoof at a soft speed towards Custard’s left shoulder. “Take all the time you need, Custard. Just even acknowledging it makes me happier than a kangaroo that found herself a tasty fruit.” Jasmine and Applejack sat underneath the shade of a large tree. Large apples that were covered in a pink and yellow skin hung from the branches above. Jasmine looked at the fruits in above her and gazed at them with longing desire. “You want a white apple up there?” Applejack asked with a smirk. “I would love one very much.” Jasmine responded. Applejack stood up from her spot and bucked the tree with her hind legs. The branches of the tree shook and a lone white apple fell down into Jasmine’s lap. She looked at the fruit with widened eyes and grabbed it. “There you go.” “Thank you very much, Applejack. I’m very impressed by the accuracy of your bucking there.” “It’s nothing. Just a skill passed down from generation to generation in the Apple Family.” Applejack proclaimed with a proud tone. “Why does your fifth cousin twice removed even keep an apple tree here? I thought she was a strict dairy farmer.” “An Apple Family farm is allowed some leeway with what an Apple can produce. Besides, white apples remind my cousin of the good ol’ days back when half of the Forgotten Wastes used to be Zebrallia.” Applejack explained. Applejack laid her body back towards the shade of the tree and tilted her Stetson, blocking the sun away from her eyes. Jasmine took a bite out of the apple and tasted its sweet and exotic juices. Her eyes widened and she looked at the apple with a condescending glare. She tossed the apple towards Applejack’s direction. “Bah! Too sweet.” She complained. Applejack took the apple and bit into the uneaten flesh. She smiled and relished at the flavors dancing in her mouth. A pleased hum emanated from her voice. “She definitely has some good apples here. It’s a shame that she wouldn’t capitalize on it.” “Well, she is a dairy farmer. That’s a very important calling in life for her.” Jasmine pointed out. Applejack turned the apple to its side and glanced towards Jasmine. “You know, White Apple’s been having issues of late when it comes to who would succeed her. I would offer me or Applebloom to succeed, but we’d probably turn the dairy farm into an apple orchard filled with these trees.” “Why would she have troubles with succession? It should be as simple as just giving the farm to someone you trust, right?” Jasmine questioned. “Well that’s the thing; she don’t have anyone who she can trust her farm to. She can’t have foals of her own and there isn’t anyone who her bovines would feel one-hundred percent peachy around but her. It’s a very sad turn of events for a proud Apple such as her.” Applejack stated. Looking up into the azure sky, Jasmine’s eyes picked up on a group of specks in the air flying towards the dome above. With the distance closing between her and the specks, she was able to make out mechas flying towards the dome. Her eyes widened with anticipation. “Applejack! We have company!” She called out, pointing towards the sky. “What in tarnation?!” Applejack shouted. “We have to warn my cousin and H.O.R.S.E.!” “Thank you again for the milk, White Apple. I really do taste the happiness in your cows!” Walking down the corridor of the barn with White Apple, Custard exclaimed. “I’m glad you’re able to see life how I can see it, Custard. Even if you are just considering the offer, I’m a happy farmer since it gives me one less thing to worry about.” White Apple stated. Jasmine and Applejack sprinted around the corner where Custard and White Apple were. Their faces lit up with panic. “Applejack! Jasmine! You two look like you’re in a hurry.” White Apple said. “White Apple! You got to bring your bovines back into the barn! The Van’Goth are coming at this very farm!” Applejack warned. White Apple’s jaw dropped to the ground. Her hooves fumbled upon themselves. “I gotta hurry and bring’em all inside!” She shouted. Flying towards the edge of the barrier, a sinister smile appeared on Goethia’s face. The hand on her mecha retreated back inside and a drill replaced it. She punched the dome of the city with her drill, which spun to the point where fiery sparks can be seen from the edge of the city. The drill pierced through the barrier, creating a circle-shaped hole. “Excellent. This new technology works very well, Wilhelm.” She said. “It’s the latest in the technology developed through my research of the aliens that call themselves Pokémon. Have fun with the new additions on your mecha, because I had a lot of fun testing them out on lesser beings.” Wilhelm stated through a holographic image in front of Goethia. White Apple fanned her right front hoof into the main gate of the barn with her teeth clenched in anxiety. All of the bovines retreated back inside of the barn. Applejack, Custard and Jasmine gazed towards the sky, where Goethia’s mecha dropped onto the ground. “It seems that H.O.R.S.E. operatives are already here. I guess I can kill some time by killing you three.” Applejack looked into the hole at the dome, where a storm of smaller mechas flew in. Her heart sunk into her chest. Goethia laughed with the air of a sinister noblewoman around her. Her cackling clamored throughout the area. “This is bad…” Custard said. “Bad? This is literally one of the worst possible outcomes to happen!” Jasmine shouted. Goethia looked onto the trio with a sinister and condescending smile on her face. “All of you shall perish before my beautiful mechas!”