427 - Where The Heart Is
“There you are!”
Her girlfriend’s voice came out of nowhere just as Applejack kicked out with her back legs, startling her and causing her to relax her forelegs right as she made contact with the tree. The result was that, rather than transferring the force of her kick through the trunk and up the branches, she ended up knocking herself forward into a somersault. Rolling end over end, she finally came to a halt lying flat on her back, staring up at the snickering face of Rainbow Dash. “Dagnabbit, Rainbow…!”
But the pegasus wasn’t the least bit concerned by the fallen farmer’s ire. “Gotta admit,” she smirked, “that’s the first time I’ve ever seen a tree buck back!”
“You’re a regular laugh riot, sugarcube,” groused Applejack as she climbed back onto all fours. “But if you don’t mind, I gotta get back to buckin’ these apples pronto. At the rate I’m goin’, I’m not liable to have everythin’ done before nightfall, and every second wasted is that much later I’mma hafta be up finishin’ them, makin' it even harder to get up in time to start on tomorrow’s harvest.”
Rainbow frowned at the not-so-subtle dismissal. “Whaddaya mean ‘wasted’? I’ve been all over Ponyville looking for you!”
This time Applejack hit the tree dead-center, watching the apples fall into the buckets she’d laid out beneath the tree before turning to give Rainbow Dash a wry look. “And you didn’t think to check here first?”
“We’ve been back for almost three full days now!” countered Rainbow. “I thought you would have caught up on your chores and been in town letting everypony know about all of our awesome adventures on Everglow!”
“Figured you had the braggin’ covered, sugarcube,” replied Applejack, already moving to the next tree. “And these ain’t just chores I’m takin’ care of. Big Mac did a good job keepin’ things goin’, but that don’t mean there ain’t still a lotta work that needs to get done.” She paused to buck another tree. This time, when the apples fell into their baskets, Applejack didn’t pick them up right away. Instead, she fished out a small vial of a liquid from her saddlebag, working the cap off with her teeth and rearing up on her hind legs as she poured a drop out, slowly gesturing as she carefully chanted the proper words.
The drop of liquid disappeared before it hit the ground, consumed by the spell at the exact moment she finished casting. Instantly, a glowing disk three feet wide appeared behind her, hovering parallel to the ground at eye-level. Replacing the cap on the vial and stowing it, Applejack casually tossed the baskets of apples onto the glowing disk, letting it carry the load as she headed toward the next tree. “Do me a favor and don’t tell Big Mac that you saw me usin’ magic to help with the harvest. He still don’t care for it, thinks it’s a shortcut for an honest day’s work.”
Rainbow snorted, having heard about this particular point of friction between the Apple siblings before. “He’s still on about that? I thought you’d have set him straight by now. What have you been doing the whole time you’ve been back?”
“I told you: workin’.” Another tree was bucked, its apples falling free. “So what was so important that you were lookin’ all over Ponyville for me, anyhow?”
Rainbow sighed. “Spike just got a letter from Twilight. She and Cadance tried to change Luna back to normal, and it didn’t work.”
That bit of news was enough to make Applejack stop what she was doing, lowering her hind legs from where she’d been preparing to make another tree give up its bounty. “…well ain’t that a kick in the teeth,” she murmured, “‘specially after Twilight went and got a special curse-breakin’ spell and all.” Her ears folding back at the unpleasant news, she shook her head before giving Rainbow a concerned look. “How’s Luna doin’?”
Rainbow shrugged. “The way Twilight made it sound? Better than I was when I lost one of my wings. And that’s saying something since she can’t just go somewhere and pay someone for a potion that will make them grow back like I did.”
Although she rolled her eyes, Applejack couldn’t help but smile a little at that. “Maybe that’s ‘cuz she didn’t bring this on herself, not like a certain pegasus we all know.”
“Aw come on!” Leaping into the air, as if to remind herself that her wings were fine now, Rainbow hovered a few feet off the ground, giving Applejack an indignant look. “Spike and I were just trying to make a little extra money fighting in those underground matches, and we were awesome up until the end! How was I supposed to know that last guy was going to go completely berserk and tear my wing off?!”
“Maybe by realizin’ that an outfit that shady might not attract the most wholesome folk? Like you, for instance.” With a snicker of her own, Applejack added another basket of apples to the floating disk, carefully arranging them so that they would all fit. “So what’s Twilight plannin’ on doin’ now? Takin’ Luna on a trip to Everglow so she can try and get her straightened out?”
“You mean like we did with you after Severance messed with your brain?” asked Rainbow Dash, still snarky after Applejack’s ribbing. But she let it pass a moment later, shaking her head. “Nothing like that. At least, not yet. For now she wants everypony to get together in Canterlot so we can all try and figure out what to do.”
Nodding as she headed for another tree, it took a second for that to register, causing Applejack to freeze in mid-motion. “Wait, ‘everypony’? Includin’ you and me? Meetin’ in Canterlot?”
“Duh.” Not waiting for a follow-up, Rainbow Dash nodded her head toward the farmhouse then, rising up further into the air. “I’ll go find Big Mac and tell him he needs to finish up out here for you. That should give you enough time to put away that magic disk thingy and head to the station. Last one there’s a rotten apple!”
“Wait a second! Rainbow Dash, hold up!”
But the speedy pegasus was already flying away, leaving a rainbow contrail in the air behind her…for all of fifteen feet, before Applejack’s lasso sailed over her head and tightened around her middle. Instantly, Rainbow Dash emptied her lungs in a whoosh as her forward momentum was suddenly arrested, barely able to keep herself aloft. Irritated, she looked back down at where Applejack was holding the other end of the lasso in her mouth, tugging on it with all her might. “Hey! What’re you doing?!”
“Darn it, Rainbow, will you come back down here?!” yelled Applejack as best she could with her teeth clenched. “I can’t ask Big Mac for help!”
Frowning, Rainbow Dash made no move to land. “Fine, Apple Bloom then!”
“I can’t ask Apple Bloom to take care of this either!”
“Then just…I dunno, write a letter to Braeburn or something!”
“Consarnit all, I can’t ask nopony for help with this! I have to get it done by myself!”
“AJ, what are you talking about?!” Fuming, Rainbow Dash finally touched down, stalking over and getting right in Applejack’s face. “Princess Luna’s in trouble, and you’re suddenly too proud to ask for a favor so that we can go help her out?!” Huffing, she leaned in further, until her nose was pressed against Applejack’s. “You remember what happened the last time you couldn’t ask anypony for help? Because this is a lot worse than a bunny stampede or some ‘baked bads’! I know what Luna’s going through and she’s going to need all the support she can get!”
Applejack shrank back under the verbal assault, looking away guiltily. “Look, I understand what you’re sayin', and this ain’t just me bein’ stubborn again. I want to go and help Luna out more than anythin’, but there just ain’t nopony I can ask to do all this work for me while I’m gone.”
Rainbow stomped a hoof. “What is going on with you all of a sudden?! First you don’t even bother to tell anyone that you’re back – the only reason Rarity knew was because Apple Bloom told Sweetie Belle who told her, and Fluttershy didn’t know at all before I stopped at her cottage! – now you’re acting like you can’t rely on them for help, even when-”
“I HAVE been relyin’ on them for help!” yelled Applejack at last. “Don’cha get it, Rainbow? I have been relyin’ on them and a whole bunch’a other ponies for help! That’s why I can’t ask ‘em no more!”
Rainbow tilted her head, baffled. “What’re you talking about? We haven’t even been here!”
“That’s what I’m talkin’ about.” All the fight seemed to sink out of Applejack then, and she sat down with a sigh that seemed to come from her hooves. “I haven’t been here, so everypony needed to pitch in to help Big Mac and Granny Smith keep Sweet Apple Acres up and runnin'. And that was okay while I was just on Everglow for a little while helpin’ to get Twilight brought back to life and all. But then I ended up gettin’ stuck over there again with Apple Bloom and her friends, for a couple weeks that time.”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “So?”
Applejack gave her a flat look. “So imagine askin’ the ponies you’ve already asked for help to come back and do it again, for longer. For nothin’ in return. Big Mac didn’t even know where I’d gone or when I’d be back. I ain’t surprised he kept mum about it and tried to do everythin’ himself rather than risk lookin’ like he was takin' advantage of ‘em. Instead he just worked himself half to death while I was gone, tryin' to do all of my jobs and Apple Bloom’s on top of his own, since he didn’t want to make Granny Smith push herself.”
“Okay, but-”
But Applejack kept going before Rainbow could interrupt. “And then, after we all got home that last time, I did just like when I was a filly and decided that I had a bunch of great new ideas to run everythin’ smarter. All on account of that 'helpful' new magic item I’d gotten over there.”
Rainbow frowned. “Severance.”
“Eeyup,” nodded Applejack. “I know we’ve talked about this before, but…I was the one responsible for sendin' Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to Everglow, not to mention Pinkie. I had to go and look for ‘em. And Big Mac, he…he’s been doin’ the best he can, but it ain’t enough anymore. It’s gotten so bad that he actually hired some help the other day, a couple a strangers that were just passin’ through. I only know ‘cause Apple Bloom told me about it. He did it even though he knew we couldn’t afford it, because we couldn’t afford to let the harvest go unpicked even more. Now we’re in danger of losin’ the farm again, plus I wasted all that time for nothin’ since we couldn’t find Pinkie and the others, and Twilight’s tellin’ me to go gallivantin’ off to Canterlot?” She shook her head. “I can’t do it, Rainbow. I just can’t. My family needs me here.”
For a long moment Rainbow Dash didn’t say anything, before finally nodding. “Okay, I’ll take care of it, then.”
Applejack let out a relieved sigh. “Thanks for understandin’. Tell Twilight and Princess Luna that I’m mighty sorry I can’t make it. But if they want me to send ‘em letters or-”
“Um, Applejack? What are you talking about?”
Brought up short, Applejack blinked. “Whaddaya mean? I’m talkin’ about not bein’ able to go because I hafta help out here.”
Rainbow tilted her head. “Did you not hear what I said? I’ll take care of it. That means you can go to Canterlot no problem.”
“Wait…” Applejack’s eyes widened as she realized her misunderstanding. “Wait, now hold on just an apple-pickin’ minute, Rainbow! You don’t know the first thing about buckin’ trees!”
“Oh come on, how hard can it be? Just kick and collect.” To demonstrate, Rainbow flew at a nearby tree hoof-first, striking the center of its trunk…causing the leaves to fall, while the apples remained firmly on the branches. “…huh.”
“Listen, I appreciate the thought-”
But Rainbow Dash wasn’t ready to give up. “Okay, forget bucking! I can just pick them by hoof! Watch!” In a burst of speed, Rainbow took off before Applejack could utter a word of protest. In a rainbow-colored blur she circled a nearby tree, only to stop an instant later with a few dozen apples cradled in her forelegs. “Hah! How do you like these app-, whoops!” Her cocky rejoined was lost as the apples, far too many for her to easily carry, went tumbling to the ground now that the G-forces were no longer keeping them tucked securely in her forelegs.
Cocking an eyebrow, Applejack picked one up and examined it critically. “I like ‘em without bruises all over ‘em, sugarcube.” Sighing, she dumped the damaged product back on the ground. “Look, Dash, I know you wanna help-”
“Darn right I do! The same way I know you wanna help Luna!” Landing in front of her girlfriend, Rainbow Dash gave her a determined look. “Look, I’ll get better at the apple-picking. If only one of us can go to Canterlot, it should be you. Remember, Princess Celestia told Twilight that Lex has Severance now. Since you’ve actually used that thing before, and you’ve met that jerk more times than I have, you can be a lot more helpful. That’s why you should go and I’ll stay here.”
Applejack bit her lip. “I dunno, it still feels like I’m runnin’ out on my family again…”
Rainbow extended a wing, wrapping it around Applejack and pulling her close. “Take it from the Element of Loyalty: you’re not.”
Applejack wavered for a few more seconds, before closing her eyes and leaning against the other mare with a grateful smile. “Thanks Rainbow.”
The pegasus in question grinned, clearly pleased. “Aw, what are friends for? Especially when they’re also your totally awesome girlfriend.”
Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle. “Awesome indeed.” Leaning her head up, she closed her eyes as Dash reciprocated the gesture, and a moment later their lips touched.
The kiss ended a moment later, but neither mare moved, just leaning against each other. It was several seconds later when Applejack finally spoke again. “He predicted this, you know.”
Rainbow blinked. “Huh? Who? Big Mac?”
Applejack shook her head. “Lex.”
That was enough to make Rainbow’s eyes widen, giving Applejack an incredulous look. “He predicted you and me getting together?! He couldn’t even figure out that Sonata wanted him to ask her out on a date!”
“Not that,” snorted Applejack. “I meant with the farm and me bein’ gone so long.” She sighed. “It was that second time I went to Everglow, with the Crusaders. We’d just met up with him and Sonata in Viljatown, and I’d stepped out of the room to talk to Willow, that purrsian lady we’d met on our way there, and Lex started lecturin' Apple Bloom about how our farm was probably at risk without us there, and if he were in charge he’d’ve made sure we wouldn’t lose it if somethin' like this happened.”
“Seriously?” Rainbow Dash didn’t even try to keep her doubt in check. “We’re talking about Lex Legis here, right? The pony who looks like his goal in life is to be a bigger bad guy than King Sombra ever was?” When Applejack nodded, she couldn’t help but scoff. “Okay, I’ll bite: what was his big plan? Cursing the trees so that the apples would fall off all by themselves or something?”
Applejack shrugged. “I’m not sure. I mean, Apple Bloom tried to tell me, but she didn’t understand very much of it. Something about takin’ money from other ponies and givin’ it to us. But he said it wasn’t charity. More like some sort of investment, except he wouldn’t have wanted anything back.”
Rainbow gave a dismissive toss of her mane. “Sounds more like he was trying to pull one over on her to me.”
Applejack didn’t say anything for a moment, then slowly nodded. “You’re probably right.” Sighing, she slowly extricated herself from under Rainbow’s wing. “I’m gonna go get Big Mac. He should hear that I’m leavin' from me instead of just havin’ me disappear on him again.”
Rising a few feet into the air, Rainbow matched her pace. “I’ll go with you. But one thing first?”
Applejack paused in mid-step. “What’s that?”
Rainbow Dash pointed to the glowing disk carrying the baskets of apples, still trailing behind the earth mare. “You might want to get rid of that before you go talk to him.”
Applejack's face darkened a few shades in embarrassment, before suddenly turning pale. "Um, Rainbow, can I ask you for another favor?"
Although she was curious, Rainbow shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure, what?"
Applejack fidgeted a moment before answering. "Would you mind runnin' to Spike real fast and havin' him send Twilight a letter askin' if there's a way to turn this spell off early? It normally lasts a few hours, and I haven't figured out how to make it go away any quicker than that yet."
Rainbow was, of course, happy to help out...once she finally stopped laughing.
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missing a 'you' there
Nice seeing two more of the Mane 6 in the spotlight this chapter, as well as the reminder of the effects of Celestia's rule. Friends and family coming together to help each other out but their generosity can only last so long before things get...strained to say the least. At least Applejack saw this before things got out of hand and tried to do something about it. Ideally, she'd be able to pay everyone back by helping everyone that helped in return but again, she needs to care for her own first before she can do so.
9997517
I actually caught that right after the story was posted. It's been fixed now, along with a few other errors, and a slight touch-up to the ending.
But yeah, this chapter reminded us of how strong the bonds between the Mane Six are...and that there limits to what can be asked of all but the closest friends. Applejack has been on three back-to-back adventures on Everglow, and you can't really work a farm while on another plane of existence (unlike, apparently, being a teacher at a school). Hopefully she can still turn Sweet Apple Acres' fortunes around, but you can tell that she hasn't quite forgotten what Lex apparently told Apple Bloom about how he'd be able to save their farm...
9997525
That extra bit at the end made me chuckle. Guess AJ still has some learning to do before she tries anything too fancy.
AJ could be the much needed voice of reason, having experience with both Lex AND Severence. She has experience with the fact that that scythe has a mind of it's own. And we've come to this, AJ is the voice of reason...
Back to a lighter feeling, the story returned.
But they must not be hasty, for they might get burned
Happy holidays to all, and have a good day.
Now I must sleep; let the rhyme end its stay.
Forgot AJ used Severance before,but being the voice of itsHonest abilities can make Celestia hateLex even more for not being able tocontrol it?
9997584 Well, the show has treated Applejack as being the voice of reason several times, such as in Horse Play (season eight, episode seven) and The Summer Sun Setback (season nine, episode seventeen). But that aside, you're right about her being the most experienced with Severance, as well as having had several interactions with Lex. So she might have a lot to contribute.
9997639 Let's hope you're right!
9998231 We'll just have to see. Applejack certainly knows what Severance can do if it decides to ignore its wielder, but if she shares that, will it mean that Celestia will forgive what Lex has done to Luna?