Summer Days

by Alex The Lone Wolf

Day 16 - Bits

We had woken up extra early because of our potential job dealing with Zap Apple Jam. Unfortunately, I could tell you were still sore from yesterday. You were the one always looking out and taking care of me, so it felt kind of strange when it was the other way around. As much as I didn't want you to push yourself, you seemed determined to see things through.

You might have been able to fool the Apples into thinking that you had been in great condition at the time, but it didn't keep me from worrying over you. Either way, before we could start picking these Zap Apples they constantly talked about, we got to witness some great magic before our eyes.

There wasn't a unicorn or pegasus in sight, but storms brewed up all of a sudden. Immediately after, we were greeted with the type of strong winds that could easily overwhelm a foal. There was thunder and lightning, and, for some reason, it was only at the Apple farm that this storm took place. We didn't understand any of it, and I didn't think either of us ever would.

Finally, when the storm cleared, a rainbow suddenly shot out of one surging apples and literally zapped all the apples in the vicinity. When one apple would catch the rainbow, it would immediately spread to nearby ones, and it continued like a chain reaction. We continued observing this miraculous display of magic until it ultimately ended with a colorful aura hovering over the entire acre.

---

"It's time to get apickin'!" Applejack announced as she stood on her hindlegs and circled her hooves in the air.

"You better git straight at it too!" Granny Smith, the elderly pony Applejack had introduced to us, ordered. She was pretty much our boss today. "The more you pick, the more I'm willing to pay you youngsters! If you manage to pick every zap apple in sight before they disappear, I'd be mighty impressed!"

"Come on, now!" Applejack instructed us like a supervisor. "Don't dilly-dally now. Let's follow what Granny says and get right to it!" She turned towards the other pony she introduced to us; her big brother she liked to call Big Mac. "Big Mac and I will take this side. Why don't you two start over there?" She pointed towards a particular spot.

"Got it!" Athena returned confidently before guiding me towards said spot. "Come on, Alex!"

From what I could see, there were more buckets spread out than there were trees. We were supposed to snatch and pick as many apples as we could and put them in those buckets. Overall, it was pretty straightforward. I even wondered why they didn't just a hire unicorn to pick them all with their magic instead of us normal earth ponies. I supposed it was probably a traditional thing or something like that.

I was doing okay within the first hour of our labor, but things started to get annoying after a while. I'd feel a light amount of pain, but due to the constant physical labor, the soreness started to get worse and even more annoying. It wasn't bad, but it was definitely getting in the way of unleashing my full potential with my work.

Every now and then, I wanted to stop and curse our father, but doing so would obviously only make things worse. In fact, he'd be the one winning if I did that. I'd attempt to shake off any thoughts of him anytime they entered my mind as we worked, but that didn't stop Athena from making sure I was doing okay. Of course, I had to stretch the truth a bit and tell her I was feeling better than I was actually doing, but even then, she always seemed to be pretty good at telling when I was lying or not.

Nevertheless, I hadn't expected Applejack to pop in now and then and offer us some home-brewed sweet tea. It was nice to see that she didn't seem to care more about us getting the work done as soon as possible over our health.

Apparently, she hadn't noticed the bruises and bumps I had from yesterday when we first arrived at the farm in the morning. She had just started to ask about them now during our short break before we'd continue picking these zap apples.

"Hey, are you alright?" She directed at me with a concerned look on her face. "Looks like you got some scrapes. You didn't hurt yourself trying to pick them apples, did you?"

I quickly shook my head. I didn't want there being any chance of being sent home because of my condition. "No, I'm fine. They're from yesterday." I sucked up my pain and technically told the truth. "It's nothing."

"We've still got some hours left before we're done for today." She mentioned. "Looks like you two have been doing a mighty good job at picking these apples. We've almost got the entire place cleared out. However, I don't want you two pushin' yourselves too hard. If you're hurtin', you don't need to keep goin'."

Who knew when we'd be able to get another job opportunity like this? I wanted to take full advantage of it, and I didn't want to let some stupid pain get in the way of it. "Thanks, Applejack." I sincerely expressed. "But, I'm fine, really. I can keep going until the end of the day."

"Well, alright, then." Applejack didn't look entirely convinced, but she allowed it to pass. "But, just keep what I said in mind, alright?"

"Got it." I finished the last of my tea and turned towards Athena who had ended her break earlier than me to make up what I hadn't been able to do. "Here, let me help."

---

At the end of the day, we had filled up quite a load of buckets throughout the area. We definitely didn't pick as much as the other duo of siblings did across our work area, but we actually managed to clear out the majority of the area. However, I noticed that there had been a few zap apples still remaining on some trees, and it practically killed me when I saw them zap away like Applejack said they would.

Had I not been pushing enough through the pain I had been enduring the entire day, I was sure I would have been able to pick those last apples. In fact, I'm pretty sure we would have been able to pick the whole area clean.

"Nice work, you two." Applejack approached and congratulated us. Although, I could feel her subtly pay more attention to me. I guessed she was still concerned over how I was doing. "We were able to get a lot more done than usual."

Are you sure about that? It's what I wanted to say, but we weren't exactly friends. In a way, I didn't think it was exactly professional to bring up. I didn't want to rope our employer into my guilt-ridden feelings.

"So, all these apples that were picked…" Athena began inquiring. "You're going to turn them all into Zap Apple Jam?"

"Most of them, yeah." Applejack responded. "Some, we'll keep for ourselves and make some tasty apple treats. And, believe me, they are outta this world. Say, why don't you join us for dinner then? I'm sure the family would love to have you over. It's thanks for helping us out, anyway." In the middle of her offer, she suddenly paused and held a hoof up. "I reckon you're wonderin' about your pay. Not to fret. I promise you'll get what you worked for by the end of the week." Once she got that out of the way, she revealed a warm and inviting smile towards us. "You could join us for some Zap Apple dinner then."

Athena appeared to be genuinely looking forward to her invitation. She shared her reaction with me and nodded her head. "Sure! That sounds great!"

It beats having dinner at our house. I'm sure Athena was thinking the same thing.

"Great!" Applejack exclaimed cheerfully. "I'll catch yall then!"

After we took our leave from the farm, I felt my hooves being dragged across the ground as I forced myself to keep walking. I couldn't wait until we got back home, so I could jump in bed and just take it easy for the rest of the night.

"I told you I didn't want you to push yourself, Alex…" Athena, now with a lightly somber look, reminded me.

"I'm fine." I repeated to her. "Once we get home, I'll start feeling better."

"I'll run you a bath." Athena was quick to offer. "I'm sure a hot bath will soothe those sore muscles. I'm just worried that you won't have enough time to relax. Starlight might come pounding in to use the bathroom. We might have to wait until late at night or something…"

"That actually sounds pretty good right about now…" I already began imagining myself relaxing in tranquility inside the tub. I remembered one of the good things about being home alone all the time, and that was Athena and I being allowed to relax in the bath for as long as we wanted.

"I still have some of the money Mr. Orange gave us." Athena mentioned. "I can go look for some pain medication for you at the store or something."

I shook my head. "I wouldn't want you to waste it. I'll be fine with that hot bath you were talking about."

"You sure?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah."

This led Athena to revealing an unconvinced purse of her lips. "Hm."

---

At home, we found that the family seemed to be missing. Athena and I assumed that they possibly went to go out to eat somewhere. Nevertheless, we decided to take full advantage of the situation, seeing as it'd be quite a while before they returned home.
Athena readied the tub and helped me in. Once I was inside, I was able to finally sit down and released an immensely relieved gasp.

"I wish we had some of those bubble thingies." Athena mentioned as she lightly swished her hoof in the warm water. "I really love those."

"That's ironic." I couldn't help but respond. "Coming from the pony who doesn't like being in water?"

"Geez, you make it sound like I'm terrified of the smallest drop." She returned an unamused frown for a moment. "As long as I'm with you, it's not so scary. Not at all, actually, because I know you're with me." She slipped out a giggle. "And having bubbles with the water? It's a lot less scary. It's fun!"

"Alright then." I began to bring up an idea. "When we get our pay from Sweet Apple Acres, how about we spend some of it for those 'bubble thingies'?" I managed to playfully tease her.

"Really?"

I nodded. "If it makes you happy."

"As long as it isn't expensive or anything, then I'm totally down!"

The two of us continued to soak in the tub for a while in silence as we hung our forelegs over the side of the tub. In fact, all we could hear were the small drops from the faucet that constantly fell onto the surrounding body of water. I was pretty close to knocking out until I heard Athena speak all of a sudden.

"Hey… Do you think we'll be together forever?" She asked.

"What kind of question is that?" I couldn't help but respond with.

"It's just…" Athena looked towards the tiled floor with a slightly grim expression. "Everypony usually goes and does their own thing when they grow up. Even siblings like us. They leave home and live on their own, and eventually, they start their own families and stuff."

"That doesn't mean we have to do that." I answered. "You've been practically the only pony I've ever really known. The only pony I could really count and rely on. It's hard to imagine living someplace without you." I took a short moment to think to myself. "In fact, I want the two of us to get out of here as soon as possible and live together someplace else. Granted, it'll probably take a long while, but who knows? Maybe we can find jobs here in Ponyville and eventually find a place to stay. After all, this place is really laidback, and it's not so busy like Fillydelphia. I kind of like it."

"You really think we can do all that?" Athena asked me as she laid the side of her head against the tub wall.

"My heart wants to say yes." I responded. "But, as you and I already know, nothing ever goes exactly as planned in life. Either way, I want to say we can do it. All we need is time…"

I could hear Athena lightly chuckle. "Maybe there's a way to fast forward time until then…"

"Huh?" I turned towards her, due to her somewhat muttered statement.

"Nothing." She shook her head. "I really hope we can get out of here and be together, Alex. There's practically nothing I'd want more."

"Then, let's work hard on finding some money and saving the majority of it." I advised. "If we save enough money, and we manage to find a stable job that pays a decent number of bits, then we might just be able to leave scot-free. I guess it just depends on our luck."

"I really hope so." Athena turned back towards the tiled floor. "Until that day comes, I can't wait."

Sensing how much Athena longed for that day to come, I began to feel even more motivated to make that dream a reality. I was willing to continue searching for work that would allow us to save up money now. We were probably going to be in Ponyville for quite a while, so there was no point in not making every day count. Who knows? If luck was on our side, we might be able to leave home as soon as we graduate.

Either way, I was willing to go through anything for her sake.