Half Hour Horses: Legacy Prompts

by HoofAndQuill

LP23: Doctor Applejack [Slice of Life]

Prompt: Doctor Applejack

"Now make sure you're lined up right. That looks alright. Lean forward, an' then kick out back with your hind legs."

Twilight Sparkle looked back toward the tree and felt just a bit silly as she wiggled her hindquarters a little to set herself in better position. "Thank you for teaching me how to buck apples, Applejack. I know you think it's dangerous, but I really want to see how do you your work."

Applejack sighed and then shook her head. "Don't you worry. If you listen to what I say and do it careful at first, you'll have it all figured out in no time."

"Right, so, I just kick back against the trunk?"

Applejack nodded, and placed a hoof on Twilight's back, pushing her front half a little lower. "Yep, just stay lined up right like that, and kick back. But start gentle, there ain't any need to buck hard as you can on the first try."

Princess Celestia had met all of Twilight's friends, of course. Though only a few times in the short while she had lived in Ponyville, so she hadn't exactly had time to sit down and tell stories of teaching Twilight Sparkle as a filly, and later as a young mare. So Applejack didn't know that 'moderation' was a concept that Twilight never really seemed to understand. Twilight Sparkle looked back to make sure she was lined up properly, and then turned around straight again, and stuck her tongue out a little in concentration. She made a little hop with her hind legs before leaning onto her forelegs to buck backward.

Applejack's eyes widened. "Hold on, you moved, don't-"

Twilight bucked as hard as she could back with her hind legs. One hoof struck square in the center of the apple tree's trunk, with a resounding crack that actually sounded quite nice. Her other hoof missed entirely, and shot out behind her to full extension, and then quite a bit further.

It took Twilight Sparkle a few seconds to realize who it was that was screaming. When she finally recognized that it was her, she didn't feel any better. Still, slowly the shock and panic faded, and she managed to bite back her yelling. She opened her eyes again, and found Applejack looking into her eyes. Applejack's mouth moved, but it took a moment for Twilight to listen. "... be alright, Sugar. Just calm down, and don't move your legs."

Twilight took a deep breath, and tried to let it out slowly. It almost worked. "My... my right hind leg hurts. I think I missed the tree, but.."

Applejack shook her head, and shuffled around a bit. Twilight didn't dare move a muscle. Applejack's hooves lightly pressed along her coat, and then even more lightly over her flank. Twilight yelped as Applejack's hoof brushed over the sore side of her hips. After Applejack pulled her hoof back, the sharp stabbing turned into more of a low, constant throb. Applejack sighed, and shook her head again. "Alright, I figured that's what it was. Y' threw your hip out a' joint. I told you not to kick so durn hard."

Twilight wiped her tears away with one foreleg, sniffling miserably. "I'm... I'm sorry, I..."

Applejack's expression softened immediately. "Nah, I'm sorry, Sugar. This ain't the time for I-told-you-so. But we need to get you to the hospital. No, don't try to stand."

Twilight nodded and stopped immediately this time. "You can't carry me like this either! Even just touching it..."

"I know, Sugar. I got an idea. Do you trust me, Twilight?"

She looked up into Applejack's eyes, and then nodded slowly. Applejack nodded back, and trotted over to another tree, reaching up and breaking off a small stick with her teeth. She passed it to Twilight, and moved back to the unicorn's side. "Now, bite down on that stick. You'll feel a whole heap better in just a second."

Scared, hurt, and embarrassed as she was, Twilight Sparkle was still not an unlearned pony. She knew full well that chewing on apple wood was not going to give any sort of help with pain. Still, she had said she trusted her friend, and she bit down on the stick, chewing the bitter and gross-tasting wood for only a second before Applejack responded.

Applejack pressed her hooves firmly and quickly. With a horrible grating feeling and then a sudden, gut-wrenching pop, Twilight's leg bone slipped back into joint with her hips. Twilight grunted out a loud, harsh noise of pain against the stick in her mouth, but that stick kept her teeth from grinding and muffled the noise. She whipped her head around to yell at Applejack in a panic, but before she could say anything, she realized that her hip didn't hurt nearly as much as before. "Applejack! What... that HURT!"

"But you had to get it back in place, or you'd never be able to move it right. Won't hurt as much, but you can't go walkin' on it for a few weeks at least. Come on, I'll pick you up and take you over to the hospital. Don't put any weight on that leg, use the other one, there you go."

Inside of a minute, Twilight found herself draped over Applejack's back in a very uncomfortable and embarrassing manner. Her muzzled was buried in Applejack's withers, but she still felt like she would be able to see everypony staring as they went through town. Every slow, careful step by Applejack still sent a jolt of pain through her leg, and Twilight soon found that she had to talk to get through this. "Applejack, how did... ow, how did you know all that stuff?"

"What, how to tell a hurt leg? Shoot, Twilight, I live an hour's trot from the hospital and my family does hard work every day. You don't get along too good out there if you don't know the basics." Applejack's gait changed a little, and Twilight's leg stopped shaking quite so much. "Listen, Sugar. I'm sorry about fussin' at you earlier. Being honest you had me scared half out of my wits. It ain't your fault you missed, and I shoulda been more careful about teaching you."

Twilight shook her head, even though it must have looked like she was nuzzling Applejack's mane to anypony around them. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have ignored you, and... well, we can't both apologize. We can just call it an accident. Those happen. Besides, now I'll have an excuse to sit around reading all day."

Applejack chuckled warmly, and the sound broke the somewhat morose mood that had fallen over the two. "Don't you run Spike too ragged helping out. Tell you what, to make up for lettin' you hurt yourself, I'll come by as often as I can. You can teach me somethin' about how you do your own work, too. Hopefully I won't go hurtin' my head that way."

Twilight Sparkle smiled, and hugged Applejack tightly around the barrel as she was carried through Ponyville. Somehow, the stares she knew they were getting didn't seem to bother her anymore.