Studying Earth Magic

by Richer19

Chapter 4

Applejack watched as Twilight was hard at work on her third row. Once again the she had to admire Twilight's determination to help out with Applebuck season without the use of her magic or wings. What also surprised her was how fit she was considering her life style didn't involve a lot of manual labor. Still she couldn't help the small nub of annoyance at how slow she was going. She wasn't done with her side of the south field but she was close and decided to go and check to see how Twilight was doing.

She watched as the mare manages to buck the last tree clear of apples and then proceeds to lift each basket and place them on the cart. Applejack was a little surprised that Twilight was attempting to place all the baskets into a cart at once and figured that she should at least offer some advice.

Making her way towards her, she calls out "You know that you don't have to carry all them baskets at once Twi." Twilight lets out a surprised gasp and turns around before saying "Sweet Celestia Applejack don't scare me like that."

Applejack gives an apologetic expression before saying "Sorry about that Twi. I was just checking to see how things were going."

Twilight, managing to get over being scared, replies "Well things are going alright though I do have to admit that pulling the wagon full of apples is more challenging then I had originally predicted."

Applejack nods her head before saying "You know you don't have to bring all the baskets in one trip. Best to start small and work your way up you know."

Twilight smiles and says "Thanks for the words of advice AJ but I can handle it just fine. Besides, I'm already slow with my applebucking and I need to make up the time somewhere."

Applejack just shook her head and replied "Be that as it may Twi I would have hoped that there is more to applebucking season than just the harvest. After all some of these here apples are going to be sold or used in one of our many dishes." It was at this point that one of the barrels feel off the cart and Applejack was just able to save most of the contents. A few apples fell off and hit the ground, leaving some rather unhealthy looking bruises that wouldn't look appealing to a customer. Twilight apologized for the basket but AJ just waved it of saying that it was just something that she and many other farmers had to understand. No matter how careful you are, a few of your harvest will get damaged during the actual harvesting. The trick was that you make sure those loss of product didn't cost too much in terms of your profit but one would only know that when it was too late to change anything about it.

Twilight was once again stunned by the humble wisdom that Applejack seem to have. It wasn't often that the farm pony would be the one doing so as she was more often headstrong and would tend to follow tradition more than practicality. Once again Twilight was forced to change her view on one of her friends and it was an experience that she always enjoyed having. Even after all the crazy things they have done, there were still things that she didn't know about her friends. Little habits or small parts of their diverse personality that just seem to appear when one was to look hard enough.

"Thank you for those wise words Applejack. I don't often say this but there are times where I think you are the pillar that we can rely on." Twilight responded before the two found themselves in front of the barn once again. They notice that even with Twilight's slow work; there was still plenty of apples that Granny and Applebloom were sorting out.

However despite all the work that was done, the sun was starting to set and even experience farm ponies like AJ were starting to feel winded. Twilight wasn't faring much better and while she did help AJ in harvesting the south field, it still took more time then usual. Twilight knew that she was to blame for her lack of experience in actual labor despite the rest of the family saying otherwise and trying to make her feel better by pointing out their own mistakes. Dinner was peaceful but lacking in conversation as everypony was both tired from the demanded of AppleBucking Season and mentally preparing themselves for the next day. Twilight, at first thought she was going to be staying in Big Mac's room but Applejack insisted that she could bunk with her in her own room. Her bed was big enough for the two of them to share and it wasn't like they hadn't had a sleepover before.

While Twilight was making her way up to AJ's room, the Apples were given a chance to reflect on their help and the progress of the first day. It was a moment that in the past was met with hopefulness but now each of the three ponies sense the hesitant air in that kitchen with none of them wanting to say what they were all thinking. Applejack naturally was the first to break the tension by asking "So how did we do?"

Granny looked up from her carrot cake slice before saying "Well...it's not as bad as it could have been but it's not as good either. The East and West fields have met their quota and while the South has been harvested well..." She trailed off not really wanting to say what was on her mind.

Applejack nodded her head and said "I know Granny. Usually we would have cleared the South field and got a good amount of baskets in place at the North. Still with Twilight not being use to working on a farm, it is slowing us down as well as causing some of our apples to get damaged when she tried to make up the lost time." The moment that sentence was finished leaving her mouth, she felt her mouth was filled with bile. Applejack was Twilight's friend, she knew deep down she was happy that the alicorn would take time away from her busy life to come and help her with the harvest and do so in an earth pony manner. If it came down to it she would defend Twilight with everything she had. Yet there was another side of her that was seeing the loss of product, product that would be sold or turned into goods to be sold as well. The bits to be use to keep up with bills, taxes, and the general upkeep that a large farm needed to have. Any apple that was wasted may not seem like a lot but enough of them could put a real strain on their budget. It only made things worse difficult because Applebloom was going to be in starting school in the coming weeks and she would need the money to rent out the textbooks that are required.

"Still Twilight did managed to get through the whole day without dropping from exhaustion." Applebloom stated which caused AJ to break herself out of her internal conflict.

Nodding to her younger sister in agreement, AJ responded by saying "But the South field is our smallest field we have Applebloom as well as where all of our younger trees are growing. Tomorrow Twilight is going to have to work harder than she did today and going up against our healthiest and strongest trees we have here. Also..." she pauses for a moment, hesitating what she was about to say but knowing that it had to be said "Leg Breaker is ready to be harvested." There was a sudden intake of air as Applebloom and Granny Smith realized what that meant. Leg Beaker usually was a late bloomer and harvesting him would symbolize the end of AppleBucking Season. Of course due to that lateness, his apples were considered the freshest and richest taste and a single apple from that tree was used in every barrel of Apple Cider to give it that rich addictive quality that it has. It would need to be harvested and quickly to preserve that unique taste but...well there was a reason why he was called Leg Breaker.

Meanwhile, in Applejack's room, Twilight had just finished taking a shower. In keeping with her vow, she has opted to not use any magic during the process. Unlike applebucking or farm work, taking a shower without magic was something she had practice before hoof and as such had only caused a bit of a mess due to the fact that she had to get use to the dimensions of AJ's shower. Now clean and dry, she gets a scroll and quill out. Looking around, she spies a nearby desk and places the parchment and ink on it. Taking the quill in her mouth, she starts to practice writing with her mouth for a bit before taking a new scroll out and writing on it. The sound of quill scrapping parchment filled the room as Twilight recorded her observations and report for the day with only the light of Luna's moon serving as her source. She was unaware of AJ coming into the room and her ears only flicked a bit when the shower came on and again when it was shut off. By the time that she was done with her report, AJ exited from the shower looking fresh and clean. The two friends wanted to talk but the exhaustion from the day managed to catch up with them and they both silently agree to talk in the morning. Each taking up half the bed, they said a quick goodnight before entering the realm of dreams to see what visions await them.

Author's Note:

Honestly I have no excuse for the massive hiatus I have. Hopefully you all still enjoy the chapter.

Comments

[furryflamer]

whoa i love this story,glad that your back buddy

[pahnazd]

Chapter enjoyed
Quite the sad is the conflict of someone new learning how to do stuff a new way, but at the same time form the outside the slowness of the progress is affecting everything else.
Quite the conundrum. Well, I bet if AJ develops a bit of pressure, she could get Twi to do everything in a jiffy

[khatre]

Twilight is nearly as new with farm work as she is with earth pony magic. Another day or two and she should be bucking trees like an old pro.

[ponytrash]

Never mind the hiatus. I'm still reading. On fin fix I've grown used to re-reading the previous chapter to remember what's going on for the new one.

[Malandy]

Oh... hey... she's getting better!

I sorta want Pinkie to help out... but not likely... Ah well...

Typos...:

"experience" -> "experienced"

"use to working on a farm" -> "used to working on a farm"

"AppleBucking" -> Applebucking"?