//------------------------------//
// Packing and Apples. 
// Story: Leading the charge. 
// by Watercolor the Pegasus 
//------------------------------//

Applejack lay, sprawled out on the couch, staring into space. She had no need to focus on anything at the moment. So, she simply thought. She thought over the events of the last few days. Or, more specifically, the events of earlier that day. This was the second time the group had been attacked by Crystal Soldiers. This time, however, they sent four Pegasi to attack Rainbow specifically. Perhaps this was because Rainbow specifically was the one who took out all of their last Soldiers. Applejack recalled how after Rainbow hurt her wing attacking the Soldiers, (again) Fluttershy bandaged her "scratch", which activated another Element. The Element of Kindness. Now, the only pony that was left to find, was their timelines Twilight Sparkle. And the only Element left to activate, was the Element of Magic. 

Applejack sighed tensely, as she recalled that the group had decided to leave Appleoosa today instead of tomorrow, because they all had agreed that it was risky to stay in one place too long. 

Applejack winced as a thump rang out from upstairs, accompanied by a rather interesting exclamation of pain. Applejack rolled her eyes. She was already done packing, but the others seemed to be taking forever. 

Applejack pushed herself off the couch and headed for the backdoor. She yelled up the stairs, "Ah'm gonna be outside while y'all pack if ya need me!" before heading out the backdoor. 

She took a deep breath, relishing in the smell of freshly grown apples. She frowned at the scent. It smelled good, no doubt, but whenever she smelled it, it always gave her a sense of emptiness. She shook her head, clearing the thought from her head, as she heard a thump ring out from the orchard. She moved towards the sound, and came into a spot in the orchard where her cousin Braeburn was harvesting apples. "Howdy Braeburn." He looked up towards Applejack and smiled. "Hey cuz. Whatcha doing out here?" Applejack walked closer to Braeburn, looking around at the freshly grown apples.  "Oh, just getting some fresh air." Braeburn nodded slowly, before bucking at the apple tree again, knocking down more apples. "Say, ya wanna help me harvest some apples? Ah could use the help." Applejack cringed slightly, looking once again at the tall apple tree. "Ah don't know. Ya know that's not really my thing." Braeburn chuckled. "Come on, cuz. Just give it a chance." Applejack sighed, knowing for a fact her cousin would not let up. She slowly walked over to one of the apple trees, and stared up its not yet harvested fruit. She turned, and very reluctantly, delivered the softest, most wimpiest buck ever. The leaves simply rustled. Barely that. Braeburn just stared at her. "Come on cuz. Ya gotta do more than that." Applejack stared once again at the apples. She sighed tensely. Why, oh why, did she decide to go outside? She turned again, and delivered a slightly stronger knock to the tree. Applejack watched silently as a small set of apples fell from the branches.

Something clicked.

Next thing Applejack knew, she was knocking down apples left and right, knocking every apple down in one hit. She liked it. It felt good. She smelled the apples. She felt the bark against her hooves. She felt the shock go through her legs, and it all felt good. 

"APPLEJACK!!" 

She stopped, jerking her heads towards Braeburn. He stood panting, finally caught up with her. "Ya can stop now. You got all the apples." Applejack looked around the orchard. Sure enough, the trees were bare of their fruit, but the glorious smell of apples still lingered. Applejack chuckled nervously. "Sorry 'bout that Braeburn. Guess Ah got a little carried away." "Don't worry 'bout it." He said with a small yet strained laugh' likely due to his exhaustion. "Yer all good. Thanks for the help cuz. Ah certainly do appreciate it."

truth

Applejack shook her head for a moment. "What was that ya said Braeburn?" "Ah said, Ah certainly do appreciate it." Applejack shook her head again. "No. Ah mean what did ya say after that?" He looked at her curiously. "Ah didn't say anything else."

truth

Applejack blinked at him. She knew she heard something. "Ah coulda sworn ya said 'truth'." He chuckled humorously. "Yeah. Ah totally said truth."

lie

Applejack looked at him blankly. "Ya did?" He stared at her with a monotone expression. "No. Ah was being sarcastic."

truth

Applejack shook her head again. Surely she was hearing things. "Ah, uh....Ah'm gonna go inside now Braeburn. Ah, uh....think Ah worked myself a bit too hard back there." Braeburn chuckled again. "Ah'm sure ya did. Ah still got more chores to do, so Ah'll met ya inside later." Applejack nodded quickly, before bolting towards the barn. She heard her cousin calling something behind her, but it was inaudible. She didn't turn back to hear it. 

As soon as she came to the barn, she bursted through the back door to see the other four mares sitting in the den. "Where were you all that time, darling?" Rarity said. "We've been waiting for you for, like, ages." Rainbow said, reclining against the couch. "Ah was in the orchard. Pinkie?" Applejack turned the bright pink Earth Pony, who simply stared in response. "Ya remember how you've been getting weird stuff in yer head and all now?" Pinkie scoffed. "Yeah. Of course I remember. That kinda thing is hard to forget. Why?" Applejack glanced back outside for a fleeting moment. "Ah think yer not the only one."