Same Apples, New Tricks

by Bookish Delight

Breaking Tradition

Starlight Glimmer could hardly believe her eyes.

She had heard from Twilight that Sweet Apple Acres was, "pretty big. Actually, bigger than big. It's hard to put into words, really. You'll just have to go see for yourself."

Starlight hadn't believed her.

Now she had just learned something new about herself: that seeing too much of one thing in one place actually scared her a little.

"So. Many. Apples," Starlight breathed, doing her best not to cower in the midst of all the trees around her.

"Yep, yep, yep," Applejack said, walking up behind her. "Apples far as the eye can can see." She pointed to various tree clusters around them. "That there's the Honeycrisp orchard, over there's one there's Gala, right next to 'em are Grand Galloping Gala, and the ones right round where we're standing are good ol' Red Delicious." She paused. "We're workin' on Fuji next, but talks with Neighpon are goin' a mite slow."

She walked over to a tree, nuzzling it while wearing a faraway smile. "Ain't they lovely, though? Sometimes I just lay down out here, look up, see 'em all, and I know I made the right choice." She walked back to Starlight. "But relaxin's for later. Thanks for volunteerin' to help out with the harvest, Starlight."

"You're welcome, Applejack. Anything to help out in any way I can." Starlight took a deep breath. "Goodness knows I need to."

Applejack blinked. "'Goodness'? That somepony I know?"

Starlight shifted from hoof to hoof, looking back and forth. Had she said something wrong? Something offensive? Was there really a pony named Goodness in this town? "Um... I, uh..."

Applejack winked. "That there was a joke, hon. Tryin' to get you to relax, 'cause, look, I'm just glad you're here." Applejack cocked her head to one side. "That bein' said, uh... have you harvested apples before? Twilight said you helpin' out would be a good way for us to get to know each other, but that's only if we survive the activity, y'know?"

Starlight nodded. "Back in my old town, I, um... sometimes helped pick tree branches for Sugar Belle to make her muffins with. Does that count?"

Applejack nodded. "Oh, alright, then. What fruit did you pick?"

Starlight shook her head. "There was never any fruit on them."

"Huh?" Applejack put her hoof to her chin. "Wait, that don't make no sense. Unless..." Applejack's eyes widened. "...you mean, those muffins Sugar Belle made us were..." Applejack looked mildly ill, and shuddered. "Sometimes Pinkie's the strongest out of any of us." She shook her head. "Anyway! Way we do things round here is with a round of good ol' apple buckin'. It's simple and quick, but you still need to have what it takes." Applejack primed her hind legs in front of one of the trees. "You just give the tree a good ol' whack in the right place with your back legs. Like so!"

With practiced strength, Applejack let loose her hooves at the base of the tree. Every single apple hanging on the branches shook loose and fell to the ground. "Whoo-whee! You can even make a game out of it sometimes. I'm the queen of perfect scores, though."

Starlight looked up at the apple tree in front of her, steeled herself, and turned her back to it. She kicked out as hard as she could. No dice.

"Just keep tryin'!" she heard Applejack say from some distance away. She then heard another impact of hooves against a tree, and more apples fall to the ground. "Didn't no one ever buck an orchard perfectly on the tenth try, let alone the first!"

Starlight frowned.

She glanced back at her high legs, which all of a sudden felt woefully inept. After a few seconds of thought, she murmured a spell she'd learned years ago.

Her horn glowed. Her hind legs followed suit. When she was done chanting, not only could she see the power, but she could feel it. No tree would stand in her way now.

Applejack walked back over just then. "Any luck, sugar—"

With a massive crack, Starlight's hind legs split the apple tree at the trunk. A few of the apples shook loose, but neither Starlight or Applejack paid them any mind—they were too busy staring, dumbstruck, at the falling column of heavy wood.

"Timber!" Applejack shouted, and that snapped Starlight awake and into action. Her horn glowed once more, and she teleported to Applejack. She grabbed onto Applejack with both forelegs, then blinked a safe distance away from the tree.

The last sound they heard was it falling onto the orchard's grounds with a massive thud.

---

"Applejack!" Starlight said between huffs. "I'm... I'm so sorry! Are you... are you alright?"

"It's... it's fine, sugarcube," Applejack replied through her own heavy breaths.. "N-nice save, though. You got a good head on ya." She looked over at the tree, which was now jagged and splintered at its base. "Good muscles an' reflexes, too. Those'll help ya out something fierce in this line of work."

"I... I guess?" Starlight said as the two stood back up. "I'm not sure what could have gone wrong, though. Usually I have better control over that strength spell—"

"'Strength spell'?" Applejack grimaced. "Well, now, I think I can piece together exactly what went wrong, missy. Kindly do me a favor, and never do that again?"

"I-I'm really sorry." Starlight gazed at the ground. "Based on my studies of earth pony culture, and that one story Twilight told me about Winter Wrap-Up traditions, I really should have known better. I promise to never—"

"Oh, for... it ain't about tradition or nothin'!" Applejack blurted.

Starlight clamped up, now absolutely petrified. She turned her back to Applejack, fully ready to go back to Twilight's castle and call today's friendship introduction a bust.

Applejack sighed. "Land sakes, you magic-types. Even Twi always got the wrong idea about that, and now she's pushin' it on you."

Slowly, Starlight turned back around. "Wh-... what do you mean?"

Applejack walked next to Starlight, put one foreleg around her, and gestured towards the fallen tree with the her other.

"You see that tree there? That tree is where easy answers lead. All the time, without question. But ponies look for easy answers all the time, 'cause they're not sure they're up to the task ahead of them if they do things on the up and up.

"Here at Sweet Apple Acres, though? We've made a career out of doin' everything on the up and up, no matter how hard the job looks, no matter if people say different. Because it's knowing that you have it in you. Even if you're set up for somethin' else, y'all can still learn new things."

Starlight didn't reply.

Applejack continued. "I may be set up as a farmhoof. My cutie mark may even say my life is apples, apples, apples. And truth be told, I won't argue with neither. I feel right at home here.

"But I've also fought supervillains. I've been an ambassador. I'm a chef, I'm a businessmare, and I'm a sister who does more than her fair share of motherin'. And who knows what else I'll be goin' on down the line?"

Starlight shook her head. "Applejack, everything you're saying sounds nice, really it does. But—"

"But nothin', missy." Applejack stamped a hoof. "I heard your story from Twilight. When your friend got his cutie mark, and probably when you did too... it sounded like you thought it was the end. And you know what? I don't really blame ya'.

Starlight blinked. "Wait... wait, you.. you don't?"

"Well, the whole messin' with time and people's brains don't sit right with me, sure." Applejack turned Starlight to face her. "But my little sister, Apple Bloom? Spent years chasin' her own cutie mark. Pulling all sorts of crazy, risky, life-threatenin' stunts. Figured when she got it, everything about her life would be fine and solved and whatnot. Well, she just got her mark not too long ago... meanin' only now does she get what I've been trying to tell her all these years."

Applejack smiled into Starlight's eyes.

"It's never the end, sugarcube. It's a new beginning. Just like the one you're startin' on now. Who knows what else you'll achieve? I ain't got that answer, but I do know y'all can harvest these apples, Starlight. And I know you can do it right. And then I know you can go on to do more."

Starlight walked over to another tree, sizing it up.

Applejack believes in me.

She concentrated.

"I see that horn glowin', Starlight!"

Well, sort of.

"Trust me!" The glow of Starlight's magic moved from her horn to over her eyes, tinting her view with a light blue hue. She looked up and down the tree, looking for just the right spot...

There! A line running down from the branches!

She trotted around the tree, and with a bracing yell, she bucked with both legs. Apples rained down by the dozens. Once Starlight was done dodging them, she looked up. She beamed with pride as she saw the tree was still intact.

Applejack walked up to her. "Hey, that's not bad at all for your first time! And you'll only get better." She walked to the tree, held a hoof to where Starlight had bucked, and tapped a few times. "Right in the weak spot. That's how I started out. Smart approach, even with magic."

Starlight breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

"No problem. Now we just have to do it to two hundred more of these."

Starlight's jaw dropped. "Two... hundred?"

"Relax," Applejack said. "We don't break our new folk, we just break 'em in. I'll do one hundred seventy five. You just do twenty five and we'll call it square."

Starlight looked over the orchard, then turned to Applejack with a challenging smile. "Fifty."

Applejack smiled back. "You'll go far here, girl."

---

When Starlight awoke, it was on the softest bed she'd ever felt.

She took a breath, and was treated to the sweetest aroma she'd ever smelled.

She'd expected neither of these things. Her mind raced, trying to figure out where she was.

Then she tried to move, and as soon as she felt the pain in her legs, she remembered.

Fifty trees.

What had she been thinking? Between the mental strain of magically finding weak points in trees, and the physical strain of bucking each tree multiple times to get all of their apples—to say nothing of helping Applejack haul everything back to her farm afterwards—it was no wonder she ended up completely exhausted.

Fortunately, Applejack had seen all of it coming, and had a guest room ready, as well as a shower. After the latter, Starlight had crawled into bed.

Now it was nighttime, and she was already high on the heady smell of apples, sugar and cinnamon. It energized her enough to ignore her soreness. She got out of bed, straightened her mane and face, and went downstairs.

As she descended, she could see Applejack in the room below. "Ah, there you are," Applejack said. "You're just in time!"

"Huh? Just in time for what?" Starlight reached the bottom of the steps. She took a closer look at the room, and her eyes widened. All manner of dishes and desserts adorned a huge dining room table. From the strong scent—and abundance of the colors red and beige—a good amount of them looked to be apple-based. Cakes, pies, muffins, hay-and-apple sandwiches... Starlight clamped her mouth shut to avoid visibly drooling.

Still, she pledged to be courteous. "Do you want me to help set up?" she asked.

Applejack shook her head. "Absolutely not! You're a guest."

Starlight chuckled. "I hope I'm not the only guest. I mean, there's a total feast here!"

Applejack laughed. "Hon, all this here is maybe one tree. The rest go towards a bunch of other products that we sell, to say nothing of just apples on their own. Sweet Apple Acres's nearly an empire at this point!" She winked. "So we can afford to throw a feast for a single new friend."

Starlight did a double-take. "Wait. This is because of—"

Applejack's smile was lopsided. "Figured I'd beat Pinkie to it for once. Now quit gawkin' hon, and give 'em a try. Whatever you don't eat, well, Twi's got an icebox at the castle, right?"

Starlight nodded, then grabbed levitated a spoon from the table. she does. she does the cobbler. the cupcakes. the apple bran muffins. The cider. the...

Realizing where this was going, she quickly fixed a glass of water and grabbed several nuts from a nearby bowl. No sense in going into sugar shock after Applejack had gone through all of this trouble.

Applejack nodded approvingly as she watched Starlight stuff her face with dessert and nuts.

"I had to," Starlight replied. "This... Applejack, this is the best stuff."

A tint of pink flashed on Applejack's cheeks as she smiled lopsidedly. "The best, huh?"

Starlight flushed, wondering why she was so bad at communicating these days. "W-well, I-I mean—"

Applejack laughed. "Seriously, y'all're wound up more than a music box! Don't worry, I appreciate the compliment. Besides, ain't like there's anything wrong with quality, or even lack of it, long as you know you put all o' yourself in it." She pointed to a pastry on one side of the table. "Like, see, my cake recipe ain't so great. I mean it's all right, but loses its taste after not too long. But y'all should see Apple Bloom's apple icing. Came up with the recipe all by herself! Makes me jealous as all get out."

"I'll have to try it sometime. But everything right here and now is absolutely wonderful." She looked up at the orange pony, her voice shifting to earnest tones. "Thank you, Applejack."

This time Applejack really did blush. "Shucks, sugarcube. T'ain't nothing, seriously."

Starlight shook her head. "It is something, though. A lot of things." Her expression went somber as she gazed at the feast on the table. "Back when I ran the old town, I was holding so many ponies back from... from finding themselves. And not because I wanted to be the most special, either—but because I didn't think I was special."

She held up an apple bran muffin, took a bite, and lay back in gastric jubilance. "I knew a few pony chefs who probably could have made something like this if I hadn't spent so much time convincing them that trying to was a bad thing." She looked at the ground as Applejack walked over to her. "I have so much time to make up for. For me, and for them. And not only will it not be easy... I have no idea where to start."

"I think you're starting at the right place already. The Starlight Glimmer I met back in that old town never woulda said somethin' like that, or did anything I saw her do today."

Starlight didn't see the embrace coming, but she didn't stop it either.

"I think you'll be just fine," Applejack finished.

Starlight hugged back. "Thanks, Applejack. I'll do my best to prove you right."

"Don't do it for me, girl. Do it for you."

Starlight nodded, warmth filling her body.

"Now come on," Applejack said. "I'll call the rest of the family in. Let's all pig out already."

And they all did just that.

Comments

[Alchemystudent]

It's bookish writing Applejack, one of the best ways and doing what she does best, writing sweet stories about characters bonding. I love it.

[superfun]

This was a nice story.

[The Bricklayer]

Now this is Bookish at her best, right here. Writing sweet character driven stories.

[Alex Warlorn]

Personally I think Starlight's problem is she jumped from one extreme to the other. Now she's 'GO INDIVIDUALITY!' and we don't like admitting in this culture that can go too far too.

[Mooncalf]

Yep. Cutie marks aren't supposed to be straitjackets. Ponies, like all people, can be a lot of things.

Also, much appreciated that Applejack had an actual reason for objecting to Starlight's method instead of falling back on the tired 'it's tradition'. As Terry Pratchett once noted, 'tradition' is what you get when you've forgotten the actual reasons. however, her lofty speech about "we'll do anything and everything to get the job done" kind of ended up being a contradiction, since 'anything and everything' would, by definition, include using magic to get the job done. I would have rather liked to see her argue the more relevant point that the particular choice of magic (essentially, overwhelming brute force) was the bad move, rather than claiming what boils down to "solving things with magic is the cheap and easy way out". Especially since she's a-okay with Starlight using a more sensible spell later.

That's basically the issue I have here. Applejack doesn't come across as as consistent as I'd like.

[Bookish Delight]

8194997

Good call, thanks.

I changed a couple of words on AJ's lofty speech (and a little bit afterwards) to hopefully clarify things.

Loftiness stays, however.

[EchoWing]

This story. All my love. Nothing else to say.

[Bluecatcinema]

Wow, this was really well-written. Great job!

[Olden Bronie]

What a great story, Bookish! I really liked Applejack's encouraging explanation to Starlight and how she made her see how much and how far she could go just by being herself and working hard. Great work!

[Olden Bronie]

8194997
Nice comment, Moon. It seems that AJ has learned some things, as well!

[Majin Syeekoh]

Well, that was a pleasant story to read. Got me some good vibes out of it.

[Ri2]

8194997 Yeah, and why couldn't Starlight just use telekinesis? Wouldn't that save both of them leg strain?
Although to be fair, Applejack has a long history of being 'worst pony' with 'worst episodes...'

[SuperPinkBrony12]

A great start to what I hope is a series, considering you've already thrown up a sequel for me to check out,

[TundraStanza]

Cool.

[FanOfMostEverything]

This promises to be a fantastic series. I look forward to seeing what each of Twilight's friends has to teach Starlight.

[Curtis LeMay]

good ol' Red Delicious

Red Delicious

good

I can only imagine the hell you must live in for Red Delicious to be considered anything other than an economical way to comply with nutrition requirements.

Good story.

[PromKing2010]

This was such a cute story! Great job!

[PhycoKrusk]

8200305
I happen to like Red Delicious: It's no-nonsense, knows exactly what it is, and doesn't try to trick you into thinking it's something else.

[Nali]

Downright adorable, and some of the best AJ I've seen in a good long while to boot.

[Gojira007]

I don’t think it’s unfair to say Applejack is a character a lot of writers struggle with.  It’s an understandable problem, mind; the show itself hasn’t always provided the strongest example to follow, after all, and in contrast to her peers, Applejack’s hooks as a character can sometimes be difficult to fully grasp because they’re either not as immediately recognizable, or else difficult to build a compelling story out of.  Plus, hey, on a personal level?  Yeah, I can be pretty exacting about how I like my Applejack.  All of which is to say, it’s been an increased Rarityrarity for me to find Applejack stories that I can walk away from wholly satisfied, both here and elsewhere, for what feels like a solid two years at this point*.  Which, really, makes it all the more wonderful that you not only do that here, but in such a way as to make it look super-duper easy.
Admittedly, part of that is because, as is the norm, you've chosen a really great foil for her by which to create a dynamic that exhibits her best traits.  Which is admittedly an unfair description of Starlight in this story given that, really, she's the actual main character here.  Especially now that I've recognized the bigger picture this story fits into, in fact, it stands out all the more to me that this is, in fact, your first Starlight story where she's actually in Equestria, spending the majority of her time interacting with characters from the original show and, shock of all shocks, you nail every last element of her character down to a tee as well here as you did in "The Taste of Friendship".  Indeed, one of my favorite, understated little elements of this story is how your handle on Starlight and her dynamic with AJ not only makes for a perfectly-pleasant read (I really love how gun-shy Starlight is in a lot of ways; she's never timid, but she also has a strong sensitivity on the way in which her every word or action will be interpreted/judged, and it reflects in the guarded but ultimately humorous, and often self-effacing, tone she takes), but it also reflects an under-explored aspect of her character: her relationship with the rest of the Mane Six.  Given the larger meta-story this particular 'fic is a part of, I imagine that's pretty deliberate on your part, indeed something like the main point here.  And yet, it also highlights how unique that particular dynamic is; strictly speaking, Starlight is friends with Twilight, and that means she's on friendly terms with the other characters, but not necessarily as close.**  But you do a fantastic job of drawing on what we have seen in the show, in particular the mixture of respect, fear, and genuine good nature with which Starlight has approached basically everything post-"The Cutie Re-Mark", and, as you always do, expanded on it very nicely.  I especially love the moment Starlight fails to catch AJ's joke early on; it's such a perfect encapsulation of what a new friendship looks like, when we're still getting a feel for the ins and outs of the other person's particulars and personality, learning that special language each individual has unto themselves.  Moreover, though, it, and indeed the whole rest of the story, establishes the sincerity of affection between both ponies, the atmosphere of understanding and acceptance that underlines the whole story even when the strength spell stirs up some conflict.  Even when she isn't quite connecting, Starlight wants this to work, and you can't not feel for that desire.  
But I won't lie.  As much as I enjoy your Starlight, I enjoy your Applejack even more.  Part of that, of course, is simple personal bias; even all these years later, AJ is still my personal Best Pony, and it always does my heart good to see someone recognize in her all the things that drew me to her in the first place in such well-defined, beautifully expressed terms.  Part of that is as simple as letting her be the smartest pony in the room, so to speak, a scenario the show itself rarely ever uses***, but which here establishes an important aspect of the story's structure: Starlight's here to learn, and AJ is here to teach, a fact which plays out on multiple levels as things unfold, and thus allows the audience to understand the exact shape of the story early on.  Part of it is how much I appreciate your particular handle on her voice; whether it's the "goodness" joke (again, such a perfect little moment) or the particulars of her countryisms this time around ("We don't break our new folk, we break 'em in" is a particular favorite) or the underlying sense of home and belonging which is constantly present in just about everything she says even when it isn't the direct subject (though when it is, it's even more potent; the awe she shares with Starlight when they first look over the orchard is wonderfully observed), your Applejack here resonates with me on an almost-molecular level, a "yes!  THIS is why I love this character!" level that I really don't get to have all that often, but which even setting aside my own personal feelings is also just flat-out compelling and enjoyable to read.  And there's so many layers to it, too!  Again, separate from anything overt she does or says, there is this really intriguing other level to Applejack here, a constantly-present but only-sometimes-seen sense of who she is, where she belongs, and, most crucially, how she came to understand both those things.  It's not only great in its own right as characterization, but it contrasts perfectly with the uncertainty and confusion Starlight is always struggling with.  The source of Applejack's wisdom, in other words, isn't simple certainty; rather, it is an understanding, and one that she has had to work for over the course of her life.  I especially love how she uses Apple Bloom as an example, not only of missing the point of Cutie Marks but also of learning and earning talents you might not expect toward the end, too.  It all adds up, in other words, to something I brought up way, waaaaaaaaay back in my comment on your "Somepony To Look Out For Me" blog: it is a story that very much takes stock of the complexities of Applejack's own internal life, and respects and expresses it very powerfully.
We have, in other words, two really well-characterized ponies at the heart of this story, and, as per the norm, you utilize those two strongly-realized characters to get to a profound, and fascinatingly multi-faceted, point.  Because the moral here is a bit more complicated than just "don't take the easy way out"; the fact that it explicitly addresses the show's own use of "tradition" as a plot-point by specifying that it isn't simply a matter of doing things the old way, but doing things the right way, draws very keen attention to that fact.  As does the fact that, in the end, Starlight doesn't succeed by doing things the exact same way Applejack does; indeed, even in success, she's completely unable to match the level of output Applejack can achieve.  But, by applying her own skills in a manner that fits the task at hand, rather than use them to try and find the fastest, simplest way to do it, she's able to make her own unique way of achieving her goal.  Perhaps more to the point, however, that element about how we choose to apply ourselves to the tasks at hand, how we learn to match ourselves to what we need to do instead of try to cheat our way out, is part of a larger, and even more interesting, observation, one that feels very specific to Starlight and Applejack in particular even as it's broadly applicable to the show's entire world.  Namely, that we only stop changing when we tell ourselves we can't change anymore, and that "the end" is not a set point but something we can keep defining for ourselves, over and over again, as we keep going through our lives.  That's an idea I love not just on its own terms, but also because of how it applies specifically to Applejack, Starlight, and the relationship between them.  Again, it's that compare-contrast of a pony who has a profound understanding of what her goal and identity are but only because she's had so many, many challenges to conquer along the way to earn that understanding, and another pony who wants to do good but is so scared of making another, terrible mistake that her faith in herself to make good has been fundamentally shaken.  Both, each in their own way, have had their lives directly affected by their ability to live up to the standards they set for themselves, in other words, and so the story's lessons hit all the harder because we can recognize how it is the particular mixture of their differing experiences on that front that lead them to where they end up here.
I can quibble, I suppose; the ending is abrupt, but that's pretty clearly deliberate, and endearingly so.  There are also times where the word choice can sometimes feel a touch repetitive (the phrase "I think" starts off a few too many bits of dialogue here).  But neither problem is ever especially distracting, nor are there any real serious complaints I can find other than that anyway.  Which means "Breaking Tradition" in fact keeps tradition by being a great Bookish story, and one that fulfills the wonderful, unique potential of both its central players in wonderful fashion.  And yes, it's earned its place as one of my personal favorite AJ stories ever, which is about the highest praise I can think to give it.
"Don't do it for me, girl.  Do it for you."  Seriously.  So great.

 

*  though for the record I still haven’t caught up on Season 7, so maybe that’ll help? X3
** which, to my mind, is actually one of the best-realized and most multi-faceted details about her character in relation to the rest of the cast, given how she's started making her own group of friends entirely distinct from the Mane Six, but that's a whole other spiel. XD;
*** and a big part of why "Applejack's Day Off" quickly became a personal favorite of mine, among other things.  

[Bookish Delight]

8224948
Thanks so much for the detailed review as usual!

I'm happy I could provide you with a such an enjoyable AJ experience with this. Especially since I have no idea if I'll ever be able to do so again. ^^; This was supposed to be an early 2016 fic, but I haven't felt her in my muse since then. This season certainly hasn't done her any favors lol.

Never say never, naturally, but... either way, this is the AJ I too like to see as well as write, so yay.

[Gojira007]

8252874
You are, as ever, very welcome; it took me a bit of time to find the necessary space to write it out, but I won't lie, I found this a particularly satisfying review to write. ^_^

Especially since I have no idea if I'll ever be able to do so again. ^^;

It's quite alright. Like the man said:

Of course also like Thanos I too will likely take over half-a-decade to actually make good on this, but. Y'know. XD;

This season certainly hasn't done her any favors lol.

And again, I turn to a Disney-owned mouthpiece to express my reaction. Iago, if you please?

Thank you, Iago. l3

[Loganberry]

Full review here, but in brief: one of those character-driven, dialogue-heavy stories that pleases me, as someone who likes such things. Hence the like!

[RoyalBardofCanterlot]

Huh, this is like the P3 series but with Starlight. That's cool. Really enjoying it.

[Bookish Delight]

9073079
Hey, you caught it :D

[Ice Star]

Nothing but short, sweet goodness.