The Silver Pony Slippers

by Nocturn Dreamwrite

Chapter 4: Applejack

The Silver Pony Slippers
Chapter 4: Applejack

After they fell off Rainbow Dash’s hooves during her sonic rainboom, the silver pony slippers fell swiftly down toward the earth below. Actually, to be more specific, they fell in the direction of a rather large farm. The silver pony slippers finally came to rest on a haystack at this farm. The farm was none other than Sweet Apple Acers.

The barn door flew open as Applejack stepped out to do her usual chores. It wasn’t usual for her to start her chores this late. She usually began only a few minutes after dawn, but today she had decided to take over Apple Bloom’s chores as well as her own as a favor for her little sister. Apple Bloom had said that she had an “important” meeting with her friends, and had left the farm early, and in quite a hurry. So thus, Applejack was finally getting to her own chores at last. Her dog, Winona, had been waiting for her to come outside all morning. As soon as she did, she came rushing over barking cheerfully.

“Well hello Winona,” said Applejack “Wanna help me buck the apples today? Huh? Do ya?” All the while Winona became more and more excited, and she began jumping up and down while barking to so it. Harvesting apples was hard work, but Winona was more than happy to help, especially if she was helping Applejack.

“Well alright Winona,” said Applejack as Winona finally jumped high enough to lick her face. “Let’s go make sure the sheep aren’t eating up all the hay, and then well go to the orchard. O.K.?” Winona barked in agreement.

Applejack and Winona walked briskly over to the haystack field. Sometimes a sheep or two managed to get out of their pen at night, and they would nibble way to much hay that they should. Applejack walked casually through the haystacks looking for any signs of life, while Winona sniffed around using her nose to find any trace or scent of anyone else that might be in the field, or anything out of the ordinary. Neither one found any sheep, but as Winona walked by one of the haystacks at the end of the field, she suddenly sniffed something rather unusual. Winona looked up and saw something strange on top of the haystack. She then turned and barked to let Applejack know that she found something. Applejack hurried over.

“What is it girl,” asked Applejack. “Did you find something?”

Winona pointed up to the top of the haystack by straitening her body, and pointing with her nose at the object.

“Huh, I reckon you got something there,” agreed Applejack. “I’ll go get a ladder and see what it is.”

Applejack ran back to the barn, and hurried back to Winona with the ladder balanced on her head. She straitened the ladder against the haystack, steadied it, and then cautiously climbed up, not knowing what to expect. Winona watched her, concerned for her mistress’s safety.

Applejack reached the top of the latter and look over the edge of the haystack.

“What in the hay…?” Applejack began. “Well I’ll be…; you don’t see something like this every day do ya?” she asked herself.

On top of the haystack was a set of four silver pony slippers. Applejack picked up one of the slippers and turned it over with her hooves as she examined it.

“I would think that somepony must be playing a joke on me,” said Applejack. “But this seems different. Why would anypony just through a perfectly good pair of pony slippers in a haystack?” she asked thoughtfully. “These look like something Rarity would wear, but I don’t see her anywhere,” said Applejack as she looked around in every direction from the top of the ladder. “And she’s not one to play jokes.” “Besides she would never leave her fancy shoes in a haystack.”
Applejack thought about all her friends and everyone she knew. “The only ponies I know of that play tricks are Trixie, Rainbow Dash, and maybe my sister and her friends, but I haven’t seen Trixie for a while now, and this doesn’t seem like anything Apple Boom and her friends would do. And… come to think of it if this is a joke, it seems too simple of a joke for even Rainbow Dash unless…” Applejack quickly turned to look behind her, half expecting so see Rainbow Dash on top of another haystack laughing her tail off, but she wasn’t there.

Applejack looked again at the slipper she was holding in her hooves, and then at the other three. She scratched her head thoughtfully.

“Well, if this isn’t a joke, then I guess it’s just coincidence,” said Applejack finally. “Oh well, finders’ keepers.” She said as she took off her had and put the silver horse slippers inside so she could carry them back down the ladder.

Applejack carefully climbed down from the ladder and put her hat on the ground so Winona could see what she found. Winona sniffed at them and then looked up at Applejack questioningly.

“They’re pony slippers,” explained Applejack, “Ponies sometimes wear them on their hooves to look fancy. Don’t know where they came from, but I guess their mine now to decide what to do with.” She added as she brought down the ladder. She was about to balance it on her head, when Winona barked.

Applejack turned around to see Winona pick up one of the silver pony slippers in her mouth and place it in front of Applejack. Winona barked again. Applejack figured out what she wanted. Winona wanted her to try her slippers on.

“O.K. Winona,” said Applejack. “I told you about ‘em, so I might as well show ya.” Applejack slid her hoof into the slipper Winona had brought her. She then walked over to her hat, and tried the other three on. Applejack looked at her hooves. The silver pony slippers fit her hooves perfectly. Applejack hardly ever wore anything fancy, except on special occasions, but she couldn’t help but admire her new slippers.

“I guess they are kind-a prutty.” Applejack said to Winona. “For farmwork, I would have preferred goulashes, but I suppose these’ll do for now.” She added. Winona barked in approval.

“All right,” Said Applejack, “I recon I’ll keep ‘em, seeing as how they fit and all.” Applejack then put her hat back one and she carried the ladder on her head back to the Barn with Winona running right beside her.

Applejack and Winona soon reached the barn where the found Big Macintosh just leaving for the apple orchard.

“Hi-ya Big Mac,” Applejack greeted her brother as she put the ladder back in its place. “Ya like my new shoes?” she asked.

“Eyup” said Big Mac with a smile.

“See ya later out in the orchard?” asked Applejack.

“Eyup.” Said Big Mac again as he walked out of the barn with a load of several baskets on his back bound for the apple orchard.

Applejack put a few empty baskets in the family apple cart, then hitcher herself in front of it.

“Come on Winona,” Applejack called, “Time to go buck them apples.” Winona barked twice and followed Applejack and the cart out of the barn.

A little while later Applejack was happily bucking the apple trees, causing the apples to fall into the baskets she had already placed underneath to catch them. Winona ran around catching the strays, and bringing them back to the baskets. After an hour, Applejack and Winona decided to take a break.

“Whoo-wee”, said Applejack as she and Winona lay down in the grass. “I sure like bucking apples but as fun as I make it, even I gotta admit it’s hard work.” Winona turned toward her and tried to help by licking the sweat of Applejacks cheeks. Applejack couldn’t help but laugh.

“Thanks Winona. O.K. That’ll do. That tickles.” Said Applejack. Winona just smiled.

After a few minutes Applejack and Winona went back to work.

“You know Winona,” said Applejack, “It may sound crazy but, sometimes I wish I could buck all the apples down in the entire orchard with just one buck.”

Applejack laughed as she walked to the next three. She didn’t notice that her silver pony slippers were glowing. She turned around as usual, and gave the tree a good kick with her hind legs to knock the apples out. The apples fell, but to Applejack and Winona’s surprise the apples in all the nearby trees suddenly fell out too. Applejack jumped out of the way, and she and Winona backed a few paces as they watched every apple tree in the orchard dropped their apples. Applejack didn’t have baskets under all the trees so they just fell and rolled on the ground. Neither Applejack nor Winona could believe what they had just seen.

“Whoa Nelly!” said Applejack. “Great bushels of apples in the morning! Did I do that?” she asked Winona. Winona simply shook her head slowly up and down.

“Yes I suppose I did”, said Applejack, “but I’ve never done that before. I wonder what happen. How did I do that?”

As Applejack looked down at the ground while she was thinking, her gaze fell on her silver pony slippers.

“Hum.” She pondered. “I wonder...na.” said Applejack “It couldn’t be.”

“Well, Winona,” said Applejack “We’d better start picking up all these apples. I wish we had brought enough baskets to hold all of them though.”

Then suddenly, in a flash, several loads of baskets appeared in front of them, as if out of no where. Applejack jumped in her tracks.

“Whoa doubles” she yelled. “Where did…” She looked down at her silver pony slippers just in time to see them still glowing. Everything suddenly became clear to Applejack.

“Call me a cab with a capital C, but I think these slippers are magic.” Said Applejack. “Hum,” she thought to herself again. “I wonder if…”

Applejack stood in front of the baskets like a general addressing her troops. She looked down at her slippers then back at the baskets.

“I wish that all the apples from my trees were in these baskets.” said Applejack.

She then looked down at her slippers, and sure enough they were glowing again. Applejack then looked at the baskets, and in a flash, they were all filled with the apples from the apple trees. Not one apple was left on the ground.

“Ye-ha,” called Applejack felling very proud of her self. “What’d you know about that? She asked Winona. “Were going to have all the apples bucked, gathered, and harvested, all in one day! Ye-ha. How do ya like them apples?!” Winona joined in the quick celebration by barking excitedly.

Applejack filled the cart with all the filled baskets it could hold, and hitched herself to the front again to pull it back to the barn.

“We’ll be back for the rest after we unload these.” She told Winona as she began to pull. The cart was a lot heavier now, and Applejack had to pull very hard. With a bit of bit of a struggle got the cart rolling, and was on her way. She had to pull the cart across the road first. This wouldn’t have been so difficult if there hadn’t been a mud puddle right in the middle of the road that day. Applejack was so busy making sure the cart kept rolling that she didn’t see it until it was too late. She tried to stop, but the cart was so heavy that it pushed her right in, and then came to a stop itself in the middle of it. Applejack was all right, but she was now faced with a new problem: getting the cart out of the mud and rolling again at the same time.
“Oh horse feathers.” Said Applejack. She pulled her hardest, but she couldn’t move the cart out of the mud.

“Winona,” Applejack called, “could you help me by pushing from behind?” Winona barked, ready to do her part, and ran to the back of the cart.

“On Three,” called Applejack, “One, two three!” Applejack pulled her hardest, and Winona pushed her hardest. The cart moved.

“Again,” said Applejack, “One, two, three!” The cart moved again. Apple jack was now out of the mud, but the cart was still stuck.

“On more time, Winona.” Said Applejack, “One, two, three!” They pushed and pulled their hardest, and at last the cart came free of the mud and was rolling again.

“Thanks Winona.” Said Applejack, as Winona ran up to join her at the front. Winona smiled and barked twice.

Applejack pulled the cart the rest of the way with another incident, but neither she nor Winona noticed that Applejack had lost her silver pony slippers in the mud puddle. Applejack had been pulling so hard, and the mud had been so thick that it pulled her slippers right off.

Comments

[Ddraigtanto]

Hmmm, it's a pretty nice story so far. But I've noticed a few things which cause me some concern.

The first is grammar, namely the wrong use of 'their'. Their is possessive, "It was their time", for instance, but you've been using it in the wrong places "Their on the table" is wrong, doesn't make sense in English, as it suggests a somebody owns 'on the table'. "There on the table" works, as something is there, on the table, location; as is "They're on the table" which is saying that a group of people are presently on the table "They are on the table".

The other thing is plotwise. While I'm enjoying the story so far, it does seem a bit repetitive. Pony finds the shoes, they make some wishes, then lose them; I can tell right now this is almost certainly going to be repeated another 4 times until they go back to Luna somehow. I feel it's a wasted potential here, unless you plan to throw a curve ball at me. What if someone DOES try to make a malicious wish? Maybe there should be some kind of punishment for that? Or maybe there should be more consequences for the wishes being made. Indeed, maybe there should be some limitations to shoes which can infinitely provide wishes to their wearer.

I'm having a good time reading this so far, but if you ever did something else based off this, or if you wanted to rewrite this ever, I feel there could be some potential for drama or consequence here, which have otherwise gone neglected so far.