The Color of Apples

by Jet Howitzer

I: Morning Glory

You sat at your desk once more, writing down your experiences, keeping the journal that your parents asked you to keep. They’ve been dead for years, but you continue to write the journal, in honor of their memory. Finishing the entry for the day, you looked up to the shelf above your desk. On it rested almost a dozen journals, each one two hundred and fifty pages long, and each one filled to capacity with entries. With a sigh you close the journal, and put it on the shelf, upside down, and you head to bed.

The memories of the day still bounce around your head, and you can’t help but smile a bit at their recollection. The day started like any other, a quick run through town for exercise, then off to work…

You came to a stop in front of your small home, only slightly winded from your run around the town. You had been doing this on a regular basis for months, now, and your stamina had increased rapidly. You started your post run stretches, and you relished the tension that was present in your limbs. Each tiny jolt of pain let you know that you were still improving your body, and that you didn’t need to add more weight yet.

At the thought, you pulled the training weights off your hooves, and with their removal you felt even lighter on your hooves than normal. With your exercise done you began the long walk to Sweet Apple Acres. The Apple family had been kind enough to give you a job on their farm when you came to town a few months ago, and you were eager to earn your pay. You weren’t as big as Big Mac was, but when it came to bucking trees endurance did pay off sometimes. Sure, Big Mac could knock apples off in a single go, but you could keep going much longer than he could.

The trip passed without thought, and soon you were walking down the path that led to the farmhouse, and you looked to the east to see Celestia’s sun peeking over the horizon. As you look away from the sun rise you see the door to the farm house open, and Big Mac walks out. He was always the first up, with Applejack not rising till about fifteen minutes later.

You approached Big Mac, and he gave you a small nod, his customary greeting. You returned it with a nod of your own, and the two of you just stood and watched the sun slowly make its presence known. You took the time to really enjoy the sunrise, since it was one of the few beauties you knew in your life. Certainly there were beautiful ponies in Ponyville, but their beauty was a fleeting thing. A few words could shatter their self-made sense of worth, and their physical beauty could be destroyed by an inner ugliness.

That was one thing that the sunrise never needed to fear. Its beauty was a constant in this ever changing world, and for that you made sure never to miss its rise. Truly it was a timeless beauty. A splash of warm colors across the horizon, bringing life-giving light to all pony-kind. Not only was it a physically beautiful thing, it was mentally refreshing as well. Each day it would rise, travel across the sky, and set in the west. It was a constant in every ponies life. Anything, and everything, would change with time. From the mountains, to the oceans, all of it would change in time. But Celestia’s sun was a constant.

Even in the bitter cold of winter the sun would faithfully rise, and shed its light upon the land, bringing happiness to the ponies, if not warmth. Then, after the long winter, spring would come, and once more the sun’s light would bring new life to the land. Summer would mark the celebration of the sun. It made sense that the celebration of the sun would take place during the season in which it is the most significant object. Fall would mark the waning period of the sun’s prominence. The days would shorten, and then finally winter would come again, completing the cycle.

Through it all the suns beauty was an unforgettable companion. But that beauty was fleeting, in your mind. Each morning you would come here to the farm to work, true. But there was another reason for your prompt arrival. You would never say anything, but you didn’t work at Sweet Apple Acres for the money alone. Since your arrival you had been asked to work at many different places, Sugarcube Corner, almost every stall in the marketplace, and even the Library. But you turned them all down, because none of them could pay you what you were paid at Sweet Apple Acres.

You heard the door open once again, and it took all your self control not to look yet. You heard the hoofsteps on the wooden porch, and they abruptly changed in tone, as they transferred from the wood of the porch to the earth you knew so well. You knew where the pony attached to those hooves was going, since that’s where they went every day. You knew exactly how many steps it took, having memorized it weeks ago. Each step just reminded you of the fact that you were alone, though.

You had tons of friends, thanks to a certain pink pony, but there was nopony for you to share your life with. Despite your joy at being on the farm, there was a sadness buried deeper still. When your parents died, all those years ago, you were depressed, but you always kept up a smile. Your façade was so well executed that nopony ever realized just how well you were faking it. Even the Element of Honesty couldn’t see through your ruse.

Just a few more hoofsteps, and she’ll stop and take the time to appreciate the sun, then we start working. The count was perfect, but a few extra steps were added this time. Soon you felt the presence of a pony by your side, and you knew that she was next to you. You couldn’t keep the smile from your lips, but it never made it to your eyes. The mare beside you adjusted her hat in a tiny fashion, and a smile graced her lips. You turned to look at her, breaking the routine you had established when you first started working here.

This was the first time you had ever looked away from the sunrise before being given your job for the day. Not that it was ever needed, since you already knew what the plan was for the day. The mare gave you a wider smile than the one already on her face, and she quickly laid out the jobs that you would each be undertaking. Big Mac would have to tend to the fields, which were in desperate need of plowing, meanwhile you and Applejack would tend to the Northwestern plot of apple trees.

Silently the three of you went about your tasks, Applejack heading to the orchard to make sure that all the trees were ready to be harvested, Big Mac heading to the barn, alongside you. You pushed open the large barn door and you allowed Big Mac to enter first. You followed him inside, and you took a moment to appreciate the barn. It was older than you were, by far, and it still stood. The stalls stood filled with various pieces of farm equipment, and you even spotted the barrels of cider that were aging.

Big Mac lifted up his plow, and parked it on top of the cart you were hitching yourself to. Big Mac opens up the barn doors all the way, and you begin pulling the cart out of the barn. Soon you arrive at the field where Big Mac will be working, and he pulls the plow off of the cart with little difficulty. You lend a hoof, where you can, and soon Big Mac is hooked up and ready to plow. He gives a small nod to you, and you begin pulling the cart along once more.

You continue your trip with the cart, and soon you are amongst the apple trees. Their neat and ordered rows make it easy to navigate the cart through, and you are free to lose yourself to your thoughts. Despite the smile you received from the farmpony, you knew it was a friendly smile, and nothing more. You wish that it was something more than a friendly smile, but you had long since given up on that hope. Or, at least, you told yourself that you had given up on that hope. Soon you spot the orange mare moving between the trees, setting up some buckets, and you maneuver through the trees to get to her.

You come to a stop just a short distance away, and soon you are unhitched from the cart, and you begin helping Applejack set up the buckets beneath the trees that are ready to be bucked of their apples. The setup takes some time, but soon you have set up all the buckets, and you limber up your back legs, ready to start bucking. You pick a tree at the end of a row to start with, and you line yourself up, and with a satisfying crack you buck the tree. A rhythmic thudding a moment later informs you of your success.

You hear the sound repeated a moment later, as Applejack mirrors your motion on the first tree in the row next to yours. You glance at the tree above you, and you see plenty of apples still nestled amongst the branches. You deliver another swift kick to the tree and another series of thuds signify your further success. You glance up at the tree, and are satisfied to see that the apples have all fallen from their lofty perches amongst the branches of the tree.

You slowly head to the next tree, but before you make it you hear another crack, followed by thuds, and you look over to see Applejack has already finished her second tree. She sees you watching, and a smile graces her face. Her smile widens further, and she dashes along to the next tree, and she bucks that one as well. The results are what you expected, and nearly all the apples fall from the tree on her first kick. She gives a laugh, and she shouts out to you.

“Ah bet Ah’ll beat you down the next five rows, slowpoke!” Her voice is colored with her accent, and you lose yourself in her voice before you realize that you’ve been challenged. That, and that you’re already losing the challenge. You feel a grin grow on your face, and for the first time in weeks it’s a genuine smile.

“Not if I have any say in this! Loser has to do two rows for every one the winner does!” You knew you had only a slim chance of winning, but that just made it all the more fun for you. You keep your solid pace up for the next two hours, bucking each tree twice to get all the apples down. The rhythm puts your mind at ease, and once more the world is as it should be. You’re working on the farm, and being paid at this very moment.

You were dead even with Applejack, and you got to watch her work. This was why you refused every other job offer. You loved to watch this mare work, her coat glistening in the sunlight, the light reflecting off her emerald colored eyes. You soon notice that you are ahead, and going to win the bet. You’re almost a dozen trees ahead, and with just one more to go you know that victory is assured. You approach your final tree, and you want to win, but something stops you.

Instead of bucking the tree, and claiming victory, you move to Applejack’s trees, and you buck them. You start at the last tree she’d have to do, and, just a couple minutes later, you and Applejack come face to face. She’s sweating quite a bit, and you give her a smile.

You trot over to your last tree, and with a single solid kick you knock all the apples down. Applejack returns your smile, and you give a small bow. “It seems that you’ve won our small wager. All your trees were finished before mine. I concede to your superior abilities.” As you rise from your bow you see Applejack coming over to you.

She looked like she wanted to say something to you about what you did, but instead she gives a small shake of her head, the smile staying in place. “If you’re done acting the fool, let’s go and load up the cart, and get some lunch.” Applejack turned around, and began collecting some of the baskets on her back, bringing them over to the cart.

The pay here wasn’t great, but the view was all you could ever ask for.

Comments

[Material Defender]

Another new story? You're on a roll here!

[Fireseeker]

Interesting...

[LordGremlin]

lookin' good. have a thumb, a fav and a stache.

[LordGremlin]

at least you don't write AJ as a retarded redneck with her speaking, like most stories.

[The sad mare]

546861 most stories shes not like that but her accent is

[IraqLobstah]

546861
Don't you think its unfair to judge a character
so poorly because the author writes their voice coherent to their accent?

[LordGremlin]

546969
i didn't say i thought she was one, that's just how other authors portray her
at least thats how i see it

[LordGremlin]

546969
and anyway, people have seen the show. they know how she sounds. there's really no need to write her like a hick

[IraqLobstah]

547003
How do you mean?

[Material Defender]

547003 But they're not writing her as a hick, they're just trying to translate her accent into text to maintain the flavor. It does wonders keeping her in character, unless you suddenly expect Applejack to have prim and proper speech comparable to that of Rarity's.

[SFC Ponycron]

I'm inclined to agree with DMDeck16. Writing her speech with her accent also adds a little bit of a writing challenge, what with trying to transfer how you hear it to how you write it down.

Nice, Howitzer. Keep it up.

[Zauber Junge]

new story?img.ponibooru.org/_images/4e0e53d7008dd5ee4e8604f1a118f841/35231%20-%20caption%20It%27s_beautiful%20rainbow_dash%20repetitive.jpg

[Jet Howitzer]

547482 MY GOD! It's you! I can't believe that you like one of my stories! I absolutely adore Truth or Dare, and to see you liking one of my works is amazing to me. This is amazing enough to me that you get your own reply, since I make it a habit to respond to every single comment I get. Anyway, thank you so much for taking the time to read what I've written, and even favorite it.

[Fattymagee1]

Damn i really like this, beautifully written. please update soon!

[SFC Ponycron]

548261

Well! Erm... I didn't think you held me in such high regard. I'm just a humble author that constantly battles with Writer's Block (think of Holmes and Moriarty having a lightsaber duel in a gladitorial arena. THAT constantly).

Thank you for giving me your own reply to my comment. Despite my agreement with DMDeck16, I already heard Applejack's accent in my mind while I was reading it. It's up to you whether or not to rewrite her dialogue, but for me, hearing it is just as good for this story.

[Alchemic]

Ok reading this despite the fact it's 6 am here, I've just returned from a party and I feel like death warmed up.

[Kujo Blaze]

Thank you so much for making an AJ ship!

[Jet Howitzer]

546833 Three hours of writing, and a sudden desire for something new to do. I was writing the newest chapter for Rising Sun, but I couldn't seem to get anything written that seemed good enough. Sure, I did get some down, but then I decided to do an experiment in description, and so this story was born. I am going to be using this as a basis for descriptive story telling, so I am not entirely sure just how things will go here.

546855 I can't quite tell if this is a good interesting, or a bad interesting.

546857 You're too kind.

546861 I find that her accent lends itself to being made into a retarded redneck, but it requires deliberately doing that. I tried to give her voice the accent, without making it too thick, since it can be easy to do that. I simply took one feature of her speaking, and turned that into her accent. I leave it up to the reader to put the rest of her accent in there. Although I may go back and get rid of even that, and leave it to the reader to put in her accent on their own.

546948>>546969>>546861 I'm trying to think of a way to get my input in here, responding to it all in turn, but I can't rightly think of a way to do so. Instead I'll just explain it the way I do it. When I write up any dialogue in my stories I say it in my head first, and then I write it. After I have it written I take into account the character in question, either adding to their line, or taking away. I try to change a bit of what Applejack says to reflect her accent, without making it come across as too thick. She's not a hick, and so I try to avoid throwing too many changes in, and so you get the dialogue that I have written.

547154 This is what I mean. She needs a measure of characterization in order for her to really be Applejack. She could be written in perfectly correct speaking prose, but where is the life going to come from? I write her as I do because it makes sense and it adds life to her character. Flat prose makes flat characters.

547482 You got your response...

548069 First, I love the picture. Second, No. It's not a new story, what made you think that? (Captain, the sarcasm meters are off the charts!)

548482 I'll do what I can, and the beautiful writing was intentional. Not because I normally write ugly stories, but because the focus for this story is the descriptive side of things. I want to practice how I talk about things that are scenery, rather than people/ponies, and the things they do. It was a challenge to do, and I'm happy with the results, and my decision to do this project.

548701 Perhaps you should get some rest, and read it later. It's not going anywhere...

548705 I aim to please, but that pleasure was reserved for myself. Still, I'm glad to see that you like it too.

[Jet Howitzer]

548549 Why wouldn't I hold you in high regard? You wrote a phenomenal story, and it's one of the few that I reread quite often. As for her accent? Well, I am debating whether or not to keep it. I can see both sides to the argument, but as I said in my grand response to every other comment, this is to help add character to her voice. When I write a dialogue, and both characters are speaking with proper grammar, and elegant word choice, it comes across as awkward. I know precious few people who are so mindful of how they speak, and so adding in accents, and mixing up word choice, adds depth to the characters. I have thought of not adding the accent, but most of the time my desire to see the characters properly represented, at least in my mind, wins out over the desire to see proper dialogue... If that makes sense. Anyway, I hope to hear more from you in the future, and don't worry about the writers block. I often have to deal with it, and more often than not I lose to the block, and then I write anyway. I just fight through it with good music, and a can of coke. Although the coke is optional.

[Fireseeker]

550642
Oh, sorry.
Good interesting

[Nitro836]

Do you know how tiresomely tiring it is to read text that hates double enter?

Come on, it's not that bad.

Otherwise, aces.

[Jet Howitzer]

551339 Most excellent. I will be sure to keep up this standard as I continue the tale.

551468 Double spaced for your reading convenience.

[Nitro836]

552767

Excellent, instantly less intimidating to read, probably for more than just me.

[Fireseeker]

552767
Very good, very good, what what
Also, I must so commend you for the aforementioned double spacing. It is most certainly less intimidating and quite spiffing.
...I haven't the faintest idea why I'm being so overly English...

[Jet Howitzer]

553272 Because being English is awesome. No further reason is needed, really.

553069 Yeah, probably. And it's not that I have a problem with doing it, it's simply that I don't think to do so. I'll take some time and do that with all my stories.

[Underdogg]

Really liking the setup for this story. Keep it up, man - it definitely exceeds any crap that I've written haha

-Dog

[Pon-3Dash80]

The sad mare
YOU HAS TIGREX ON YOUR PIC!!! You are now a part of the hunters. Just saying.
(I the monster hunter series.

[Lucario247]

The pay wasn't great but the view was amazing...

I'm such a naughty colt.

[Hyper-Insomniac]

QUESTION: is this second person?

[Hyper-Insomniac]

835492 lloloollool win /)

[Magical Trevor]

Curse my cowardice...

[Shao]

ooh nice 2nd pony view fic... you might want to put that in the description, though... it might get you more views... some people like 2nd pony fics a lot

[crazynrandom]

So far it is pretty sweet, I will continue reading this one. Onward!

[Flint Easthoof]

546993 I try to make her voice seem as genuinely southern as possible. Just sayin'.

[The Brony Writer]

The pay here wasn’t great, but the view was all you could ever ask for.
cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/18009491.jpg

[S19N3T]

[img]dis-gun-be-gud[/img]

[ThatCrazyPerson]

Wow. I'm a pussy in THIS fic.

[Racapinang]

A good start I see, eh?