If You Want It Done Right...
Carter trotted along the streets of Ponyville, silently taking in his surroundings. All around him, ponies moved about the streets, either shopping or simply enjoying their morning. Beside him, Twilight too observed the busy streets with a smile. Turning to Carter, she said, “You know, I’m glad that the meeting with the Mayor worked out. When we got the letter…” She trailed off, and Carter found himself nodding in agreement at her implied worries.
The two had received a letter from the Mayor earlier that morning, requesting for them to meet with the Mayor at her office, yet the purpose of said meeting was vague. Naturally, Twilight had begun worrying about the implications of the letter’s contents, while Carter simply resigned himself to another bureaucratic headache. Both Carter and Twilight were pleasantly surprised when they reached the Mayor’s office, only to be welcomed warmly by Mayor Mare herself.
Apparently the party had done a good job of making a good first impression with the Mayor, as she went on to formally swear in Noble as Ponyville’s defense force, with Carter acting as the Team’s representative. Twilight, as Celestia’s personal student, would act as a representative of the crown to authorize most of the procedures.
The following hour was a whirlwind of paperwork and signatures. Twilight seemed excited by filling out the veritable mountain of forms, and the Mayor was experienced enough to patiently finish the job. Carter, however, was nearly bored to tears by the tedious procedure, and it was only his strict professionalism that kept him from nodding off after the first few dozen forms.
Eventually though, the paperwork was complete and the pair was free to head back towards the Library. Twilight happily turned to him and said, “But all things considered, I suppose my worrying was all for nothing.”
“You thought the both of us were going to be arrested.” Carter deadpanned. Twilight blushed, her ears pinning as she looked away shyly. She opened her mouth to defend herself, when the ground began to tremor, causing the pair to stumble slightly as the quaking grew worse with each passing second. As the vibrations grew stronger, a rapid thundering sound became audible. Turning his head towards the source of the noise, Carter was able to make out what appeared to be a large cloud of dust heading toward the town.
A loud cry of “STAMPEDE!” drew Carter’s attention to the air, where Rainbow was currently hovering, her features a mask of worry. Beside her, Jun tensed, ready for action, before looking down to meet Carter’s gaze. Carter nodded in confirmation, and Jun took only a second to return the gesture before slapping a hoof to his shoulder pauldron, his armor appearing in a burst of light a second later. Following his example, Carter did the same, while two flashes in his peripherals signaled Kat and Emile donning their armor as well.
Within seconds, both Kat and Emile had pushed their way through the panicking crowd and reached the Commander, while Jun flew down to hover in place above them. Observing the approaching dust cloud, Jun remarked, “There’s a herd of cows heading straight for town. We need to move fast!”
While Carter considered possible ways to stop or at least redirect the stampede, Pinkie meanwhile seemed to be enjoying the steadily increasing quakes, sending her vibrating across the ground. “H-H-H-Hey!” She said, her voice quavering. “Thi-i-is ma-a-akes my-y-y v-voi-oice s-s-sou-ound si-i-il-l-l-ly!”
Her expression a mask of tension, Twilight shouted, “Pinkie Pie, are you crazy? Run!”
Having emerged from her office shortly after the tremors started, Mayor Mare attempted to calm the panicked ponies. “Everypony calm down. There is no need to panic!” She said loudly, but evenly.
Rarity trotted up to the Mayor. “But Mayor, what ever shall we do?” She asked, dramatically laying a hoof across her forehead.
Ignoring the panic and worry of the others, the Spartans rushed forward, quickly reaching the edge of the town and preparing to stand against the approaching stampede. “I don’t suppose we have a plan here?” Emile said, giving Carter a sideways glance.
Carter looked from him to the approaching herd, before answering, “Uh, not really, no.”
Emile sighed. “Fuckin’ great. Where did these cows even come from?”
Adjusting the zoom in his visor, Jun reported, “It looks like they came from the farm outside of town.”
Kat perked up in realization. “That must be where Applejack lives.”
Emile frowned. “If that’s where they came from, then where the Hell is Jorge?”
As if in answer, Rainbow shouted, “Look there!” as she pointed towards the approaching herd. Following her gesture, the Spartans were able to make out three forms amidst the crowd. The first two were notably smaller than the surrounding cows, and Carter was quickly able to identify one of them as Applejack, while the other appeared to be a dog, barking excitedly as it ran alongside the mare. The third figure, a head taller than the charging cows, was clearly the already fully armored form of Jorge.
“Yee-haw!” Applejack hollered, as the citizens of Ponyville cheered in response, shouting encouragement. “Move aside, Winona! Jorge, Get in front of ‘em an’ try to slow ‘em down!” Winona barked and Jorge nodded in confirmation, each of them moving to the left and front of the herd respectively.
Once at the front, Jorge attempted to slow his pace, hoping that the cows behind him would do the same. Sadly, this proved ineffective, as the cows simply rushed past him as he slowed. Thinking quickly, Jorge began to press forward, quickly surpassing the lead cow. Pushing himself harder, Jorge began putting distance between himself and the herd. Looking back toward Applejack, he shouted, “Applejack! Try and get them to turn away from Ponyville! I have an idea!”
Applejack watched in confusion Jorge as the Spartan bolted ahead, but quickly recovered, returning her attention to the task at hoof. “Head ‘em up, Winona!” Applejack shouted, moving closer to the herd and pinning them between herself and the dog.
Meanwhile, both the ponies and Noble were watching expectantly, none more so than Pinkie Pie, who had somehow gotten a hold of a bag of popcorn. “This is the best rodeo show I’ve ever seen!” She said excitedly, burying her muzzle in the bag and munching messily. Twilight took one look of this display before rolling her eyes.
Applejack threw her weight into the nearest cow, shouting, “Come on, little doggies, turn!” The cow gave her a panicked glance, but otherwise ignored her. Grunting in frustration, Applejack sucked in a breath before releasing a piercing whistle, grabbing Winona’s attention, before commanding, “Winona; put ‘em up!”
The collie barked, hopping onto one of the cows’ backs, before leaping forward to the front of the herd. Applejack too jumped onto one cow’s back, before drawing her lasso. Giving the lasso a few quick twirls to get it up to speed, she then launched it forward, sending it flying towards the lead cow before wrapping around its neck. Leaping back down to the ground next to the roped cow, Applejack tugged hard on the rope, attempting to drag the lead cow away from the town.
While Applejack roped the lead cow, Jorge had arrived at the town limits, and quickly turned to face the oncoming stampede. Raising his hooves into the air, Jorge slammed them down, while simultaneously activating his Armor Lock. Immediately, Jorge was wrapped in crackling blue energy.
The sudden burst of light and sound sent each of the cows’ eyes wide open, as they scrambled in panic to escape the sudden threat. Taking advantage of the situation, Applejack tugged hard on the rope, and slowly drew the lead cow away from the town, as the panicking herd moved to follow.
As the herd was safely redirected away from the town, Applejack proceeded to dig her hooves into the dirt, quickly pulling the lead cow into a stop, as the rest of the herd followed its example and came to a halt.
Tossing the rope aside, Applejack breathed a loud sigh of relief, before turning to stare sharply at the crowd of bovines before her. “Now what was that all about?” She said sternly.
The lead cow mooed loudly, before clearing its throat. “Oh my,” it said in a thick Midwestern accent. “beggin’ your pardon, Applejack, but Mooriella here saw one of those nasty snakes!” Immediately the herd burst into nervous chatter, and the lead cow continued, “And it just gave us all the willies, don’t ya know!”
Applejack smiled and nodded in response. “Ah completely understand. Just next time, try and steer clear a’Ponyville.”
“We certainly will, Applejack.” The lead cow responded. “So long, Winona!” She added, to which the dog barked affirmatively in response.
Applejack, Winona, and Jorge then trotted up a nearby hill, stopping at the peak to regard the cheering crowd below them. Grinning, Carter retracted his armor and approached the trio, resting a hoof on Jorge’s withers as he said, “Great work Applejack. You too Jorge.”
Applejack blushed, raising a hoof to lower the brim of her hat to cover her face. “Aw, shucks Carter, it was nothin’.”
Jorge slapped a hoof to his chest piece, retracting his armor as well before responding, “I didn’t really do much, Commander.” Jorge took a moment to look pointedly at Applejack as he added, “I was just trying to help, after all.”
To Carter’s surprise, Applejack’s expression immediately darkened into a frown, as she growled back, “Yeah…” Turning away from the Commander, she began to trot away, saying, “Ah gotta get back ta th’farm. Ah’ll see ya, Carter. C’mon Winona.” She turned away from the Spartans, before trotting off back towards Sweet Apple Acres, as the collie followed close behind. Carter sent Jorge a questioning glance, to find Jorge staring after her with a sad expression. Heaving a sigh, Jorge followed after her, and Carter was left alone on the hill.
While this discussion was taking place, the crowd continued to cheer, oblivious to the conversation between the mare and the two Spartans. Pinkie Pie pranced forward, shouting excitedly, “Yee-haw! Ride ‘em, cowpony!”
Mayor Mare trotted up to Rarity and Twilight, saying, “Applejack was just… just…”
“Apple-tastic!” Pinkie Pie interjected, appearing above the group, before dropping to the ground before them with a thud.
Mayor Mare smiled warmly. “Exactly!” She said. “We simply must do something to thank Applejack and Jorge for saving the town.”
Pinkie perked up from her place on the ground. “I know!”
Several Days Later
“A PARTY!”
Emile turned to regard Pinkie curiously. “Uh, yeah. We’re setting up Applejack’s party. Why’d you just say that?”
Pinkie smiled innocently. “Because it was a scene transition, silly!”
Emile stared blankly at Pinkie. “…What?”
Meanwhile, Twilight and Carter approached Rarity, who was busy tying a large ribbon against a tree. Beside her, Kat had a string of flags held within her magic, and was currently attaching them to one of the supports of Town Hall. “We all ready?” Twilight asked, as she and Spike, from his position on her back looked to Rarity expectantly.
Rarity nodded. “Just one last thing!” She said, lifting a large, apple-themed banner in her magic, before hanging it on the top level of Town Hall. “Now we’re ready.”
Twilight took in the sight with a smile, before turning back to Rarity. “Is Applejack all set?”
Rainbow Dash flew over, followed by Jun. “Actually,” she explained, “I haven’t seen her all week.”
“Not since the stampede.” Pinkie Pie added, trotting over.
“But she’ll be here for sure.” Rainbow Dash finished assuredly. “Applejack is never late!”
All of Ponyville waited excitedly as they milled about in front of Town Hall, dozens of conversations merging into a loud chorus of muttering. Carter observed the crowd from his place to the side of the Town Hall, searching for any signs of Applejack and Jorge. After Applejack’s rather abrupt departure after the stampede, Carter had come to the conclusion that something had to have happened to have caused the tension between her and Jorge. His suspicions were only deepened when he found Jorge manning Sweet Apple Acres’ stall in Town Square a few days later, completely alone. When Carter had questioned him about the matter, Jorge’s response had been evasive, at best.
“It’s nothing you need to worry about, Commander.” Jorge explained, looking away to haggle with a customer. The customer regarded Jorge’s impressive stature sheepishly, before quickly agreeing that in this instance, bartering probably wasn’t worth it, and quickly paying before moving on to the next stall. Turning back to Carter, Jorge continued, “Applejack and I have just come to a bit of a… disagreement. It’s nothing to be concerned about; we’ll patch things up soon. I just need to give her some time to cool off.”
Carter frowned. “Jorge, Applejack hasn’t been seen since the stampede. I remember she seemed a bit angry with you then. Now I find you here, away from her, when it’s supposed to be your job to keep an eye on her. What could have gone wrong?”
Jorge sighed, turning away from Carter. “I just… I’ll take care of it alright? Just trust me Commander, I know what I’m doing. It’s a temporary issue, and I’ll deal with it.”
Carter looked uncertain. “Jorge…”
“Just. Trust me.” Jorge said, tone darkening noticeably.
Carter returned Jorge’s stern gaze for a moment, then finally relented. “Alright. I trust you, Jorge. Don’t disappoint me.”
Jorge gave a solemn nod. “Understood.”
And so, Carter had done as Jorge said, ignoring the problem and trusting the Spartan to handle it. When the date of the party had arrived several days later, without any sighting of either of them apart from Jorge’s appearances working the stall, Carter had had enough. After the ceremony, Carter would find Jorge and Applejack and refuse to let them leave until they told him what was going on between them. He was going to learn what the issue was, one way or another. Until they arrived however, he could only wait. So, Carter resignedly turned his attention away from the crowd and took in the sight of Town Hall.
The front steps of Town Hall had been converted into a makeshift stage, its steps clear of ponies and allowing those upon them to address the crowd. A large golden trophy took up a position near the middle of the stage, next to a small podium. It was this podium that Twilight Sparkle was now approaching, having been selected to be the one to ‘award’ Applejack the trophy. As Twilight finally settled behind the podium, the crowd’s chatting settled down into a dull whisper. Igniting her horn, Twilight floated a large stack of notecards before her, taking a moment to shuffle them into a more orderly state, before lifting the first one to read.
“Welcome everypony!” Twilight orated. “Today we are here to honor, a pony we can always count on to help in matters great and small!” Shifting over to the next card, she continued, “A pony whose contributions to-“
She was suddenly cut off as Rainbow Dash barged in, scattering the notecards in her excitement. “Did you see Applejack’s slick moves out there?” She said with a grin. “What an athlete! This week, she’s gonna help me with my new flying trick, and I know it’s gonna be so awesome!” She finished, scrunching her face into an expression that left a small grin on Carter’s face, before she was shoved away by Twilight.
“Exactly.” Twilight said pointedly. “And-“
“This week, I get to run Sugarcube Corner for the first time!” Pinkie said excitedly, popping up in front of Twilight form behind the podium.
Twisting around the excited mare, Twilight asked confusedly, “What does that have to do with Applejack?”
Pinkie appeared contemplative for a moment, before perking up. “Oh! Applejack, one of the best bakers ever, is gonna help me. Applejack makes everything great, so free samples for everypony!” She finished grandly, as the crowd answered with cheers and stomping hooves. Pinkie seemed to absorb the praise, gesturing eminently. Carter watched bemusedly as Emile stomped onto the stage, his expression clearly displaying his annoyance, as he ushered Pinkie away from the podium, answering Twilight’s disgruntled look with a shrug.
Composing herself, Twilight put on a false smile as she continued, “Well then, if I could just make a point without being inter-“
“Twilight?” Fluttershy said softly.
“-rupted.” Twilight finished with a grunt.
Fluttershy gently moved behind the podium, while Twilight reluctantly made room for her. “Twilight, I’m so sorry, but I just wanted to mention that Applejack is also helping me this week with the official bunny census, where we count up all the new baby bunnies that were born this season. She’s gonna help gather them using her wonderful herding skills.” Fluttershy ended her explanation with a smile, which faded as Twilight shot her a glare.
“Anyone else? Anyone?” Twilight asked, facing the crowd with a cross expression. Hearing no response, she gave a smug grin as she continued, “Well then, as I was trying to say…” She trailed off as she spotted Mayor Mare standing beside the podium, an expectant smile on her face. Tossing her notecards in the air with a grunt of exasperation, Twilight trotted off the stage, muttering, “Never mind!”
Trotting up to the podium, Mayor Mare smiled and cleared her throat softly as she began a speech of her own. “And so, without further ado, it is my privilege to give the ‘Prize Pony of Ponyville’ Award to out beloved guest of honor, a pony of the utmost trustworthiness, reliability, and integrity. Ponyville’s most capable and dependable friend, Applejack!”
As the crowd erupted into cheers, Mayor Mare gestured grandly over to a section of the stage that had been covered by a set of curtains, which promptly drew back to reveal…
…Nothing, simply a blank stage. The applause rapidly died down, until Spike was the only one left cheering. “Way to go Applejack, that was awesome! I mean… heh…” He trailed off, as he realized that everypony was staring at him. Giving a small awkward laugh, he observed the blank stage where Applejack was supposed to be and muttered, “Awk-ward.”
Carter frowned uncertainly at Applejack’s empty spot on the stage, until a sudden, if slightly garbled cry of “I’m here!” drew his attention back towards the crowd. From his place upon the Town Hall’s steps, he was able to make out the form of Applejack, laden down with two basketfuls of apples, stumbling through the crowd, murmuring jumbled apologies as she tripped over and into ponies. Behind her, Jorge strode through the crowd, smiling sheepishly at the crowd as they parted before him. Finally, Applejack arrived at the stage, taking her place at the podium and facing the crowd, as Jorge moved to stand beside her. It was from this perspective that Carter was able to make out the deep lines that marked Applejack’s face, as well as the large purple bags beneath her eyes. Looking to Jorge, Carter noticed much the same, although the Spartan seemed to be doing his best to hide it.
Carter furrowed his brow as he saw the state that these two were in. From the look of it, neither of them had gotten any sleep in at least a few days. Applejack’s exhaustion certainly became clear as she began to speak. “Miss Mayor, thank you kindly for this here… award thingy.” She said, striding over to the trophy with a bemused expression. “It’s so bright and shiny and, heh heh, I sure do look funny.” Applejack giggled, then began to lean closer and away from the trophy, admiring her warped reflection and making “woo, woo, woo” noises. After a moment, Pinkie joined her, copying both her movements and the noises she was making. Carter took in this image with a confused expression, casting a look over to Jorge, who grinned sheepishly to the crowd, as if in apology.
Twilight however, seemed to take this in moderate stride, simply raising a brow as she said, “Oookay. Well, thank you again Applejack and Jorge for saving us from the stampede, and Applejack, for always being there for everypony.”
Applejack finally seemed to take her attention away from the trophy as she yawned widely before responding, “Yeah, I like helping the ponyfolks and-“ She yawned again. “-and stuff.” For a moment, she seemed to nod off where she stood, before a quick nudge from Jorge caused her to jerk awake. “Oh yeah, uh, thanks.” Then, grabbing one handle of the trophy in her teeth, Applejack began dragging it off the stage and down the street, to the sound of screeching metal as the trophy’s base ground against the cobblestones of the street. Jorge followed her, trotting up to her with a worried expression, but a sharp glare from Applejack caused him to shrink back, a resigned expression on his face.
Carter watched them leave, a determined expression on his face. If he needed any more proof that something was going wrong down at Sweet Apple Acres, then he had it now. He was going to make Jorge tell him exactly what the issue was, one way or another. Glancing over to where Twilight, as the mare was stepping off the stage to watch Applejack depart with a worried expression, he began walking over to inform her of his decision.
As he approached, he heard Twilight address her friends, asking, “Was it just me, or did Applejack seem a little…”
“Tired?” Suggested Rainbow Dash.
“Dizzy?” Proposed Fluttershy.
“Messy?” All eyes turned to Rarity, who sniffed, “Well, did you see her mane?”
“High?” Everypony’s gaze turned from Rarity to Emile, who observed the Elements’ scandalized expressions and added, “What? C’mon, she looked like Jun that one time he OD’d on Combat Stims.”
Jun embarrassedly clapped a hoof to his face. “Oh, you had to bring that up again.” He groaned.
Emile ignored him as he continued, “I mean, she was playin’ with her damn reflection, who in their right mind does that?”
“Woo! Woo!” The group’s gaze turned to Pinkie, watching as she continued to make faces in the trophy, oblivious to the conversation taking place.
Emile looked from Pinkie to the others’ dubious expressions, and snapped, “I said in their right mind!”
Carter chuckled at the scene before striding over to Twilight, who appeared to be deep in thought. Getting her attention, he said, “I’m going over to sweet Apple Acres; I intend to find out exactly what is going on that’s left Applejack like… that. You’re free to join me if you want.”
Twilight didn’t hesitate to accept the offer. “I think that is an excellent idea.” She said with a nod. “Let’s go, I want to find out what exactly is going on here.” Carter nodded in return, and together the two trotted away, heading away from Town Hall, and towards Sweet Apple Acres.
When Carter and Twilight arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, they were met with a strange sight. Applejack was languidly moving from tree to tree, giving each a solid buck to send its apples into baskets below before moving on to the next. After bucking one tree, she began panting heavily, appearing to nod off for a moment before shaking herself awake. She cocked her legs back and bucked again, missing her mark, a tree that she had previously bucked, entirely. “What on Earth is that pony doing?” Twilight asked, observing her friend’s actions with concern.
Carter however, was more focused on Jorge. While Applejack was struggling to get her bearings after having bucked, not a tree, but a basket of apples she had just collected, Jorge remained off to the side, regarding her with a sad, solemn expression. From a glance, Carter could tell that Jorge wasn’t much better. The Spartan sagged slightly where he stood, with the beginning of bags forming beneath his eyes. Upon seeing the Commander, however, he quickly snapped to attention, looking to Applejack and back to Carter before stepping forward. “Sir, I can explain-“
“Explain what?” Carter snapped. Gesturing to Applejack, as Twilight trotted over to talk to the now snoring mare, he continued, “Jorge, Applejack looks exhausted. Why aren’t you helping her? Is this what she’s been doing while you’ve been manning the stall all week?”
Jorge huffed, before answering gruffly, “It’s not like that. I want to help, I really do! She’s just too stubborn to let me!”
Carter raised a skeptical brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Jorge looked away. “It’s a long story, alright? I-“
Carter cut him off by sitting back onto his haunches. “I’ve got time.” He said simply. “Shoot.”
Jorge gave Carter a withering look, before sitting down as well. Sighing, he began, “It all started just after we left the party…”
1 week ago
“Ah can’t wait fer you ta meet the family, Jorge.” Applejack said, as she and the Spartan trotted down the dirt road leading into Sweet Apple Acres. “Though, we oughta get one thing straight b’fore we get ta the farm.”
Jorge regarded Applejack with interest. “What did you have in mind?” asked.
Applejack was jovial but firm in her response. “We here at Sweet Apple Acres are known for our hospitality, but iffn’ yer gonna be stayin’ with us on a permanent basis, yer gonna be expected to earn yer keep, if ya know what Ah mean.”
Jorge chuckled briefly at her words. “You want me to work on the farm for you?” He asked. When Applejack gave a hesitant nod, he grinned. “Good. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” As an afterthought, he added, “I’ve always wanted to live on a farm.”
Applejack sighed happily at his response. “Whew, that’s a load off. Ah knew you were a stallion who knew the value of a hard day’s work. Ta be honest, you’ve come at jus’ the right time.”
Jorge looked to Applejack in curiosity. “Oh? What do you mean by that?” He asked.
Applejack nodded towards the many apple trees that surrounded them on all sides, as they made their way through the grove. “Y’see, Applebuck Season is comin’ up, and we could use an extra hoof to help out around here.”
Jorge’s curious expression didn’t change. “Applebuck Season?” He repeated confusedly.
Applejack answered with a smile and nod. “Yep, that’s what we here at Sweet Apple Acres call harvest time. It’s when we buck allo’ the apples from the trees. It’s mighty hard work, usually takes a couple weeks to finish.” She beamed at Jorge as she continued, “But with you helping, Ah bet we’ll finish in record time. Y’got the body of a workin’ stallion; we’ll make an applebucker outta you yet!”
Jorge returned Applejack’s smile sincerely. “I’m happy to help. When can we get started?”
Applejack chuckled at his enthusiasm. “Applebuck Season don’t start ‘til tomorrow, but Ah figured that Ah could show ya the ropes ta applebuckin’ today, before Big Mac and Ah will be too busy ta teach you.”
Jorge nodded, although he cocked one eyebrow perplexedly. “Who is Big Mac?” He asked.
“Oh he’s jus’ mah brother, Big Macintosh.” Applejack answered. “’Course, everypony jus’ calls him Big Mac.”
Jorge took a moment to eye Applejack, measuring himself up to her, before chuckling heartily. “I suppose I can just call him Macintosh, eh?”
Now laughing too, Applejack responded, “Yeah, Ah suppose so. Anyways, we can probably find him in the Western Orchards right about now. We’re goin’ over there anyways, so it’ll be a good chance to introduce ya. But first, let me introduce ya ta Granny Smith.” She finished, gesturing to the nearby farmhouse. Jorge followed her gesture, and was greeted to the sight of an elderly mare in a rocking chair upon the porch. Her coat was colored khaki, and sported many wrinkles. This, and her snow white mane, styled in a tight bun, displayed her age. From her seated position Jorge was barely able to make out the image of a pie (presumably apple) upon her flank.
As the two approached, the mare turned her amber-colored eyes upon him, her wrinkles tightening slightly as her eyes widened in surprise. “Well lookie here!” She exclaimed, grinning as she noticed Applejack by his side. “You must be that feller from Canterlot that Applejack was talkin’ about! Ah gotta say, Ah didn’ expect ya ta be such a big one! Oh, but where are mah manners, Ah’m Granny Smith, and welcome ta Sweet Apple Acres! Ah understand that yer gonna be stayin’ fer a while!”
Jorge nodded in affirmation. “That’s right.” He said, walking up to the mare and smiling. “My name is Jorge. It is a pleasure to meet you, and let me take this moment to thank you for your hospitality.” Jorge nodded gratefully at the mare, who grinned widely.
“Friendly and well-mannered? Ah think that we’re gonna get along just fine. A big, strong stallion like yerself will be right useful around here too!” She said, before gesturing to Applejack. “It’s about time this one and Big Macintosh got some help with Applebuckin’.” She then turned her attention to Applejack and added, “Have ya introduced him ta Big Mac yet?”
Applejack shook her head. “Not yet. We were just about to go find him. Is he still in th’Western Orchard?”
Granny Smith nodded in confirmation. “Yessir, he’s still inspectin’ those Golden Delicious. Ah swear, ever since that fruit bat infestation last year he’s been worried about the darned things comin’ back.”
Applejack nodded. “Thanks, Granny Smith. Ah’m gonna take Jorge there and see if we can get him started on becomin’ an Applebucker. We’ll be back in time fer supper.”
Granny Smith gave them a cheery farewell, and with that the two began marching into the Orchard, heading west.
Minutes later, they arrived in a small clearing. It was about the size of a baseball diamond, and free of any trees, save for one large tree in the middle. The tree in the center was taller and wider than any others in the orchard, but also bare of any leaves, leaving only a twisted husk behind. Jorge could quite easily tell that the tree was dead, and mentally noted how harshly it clashed with the vibrant surroundings of the rest of the orchard.
A loud thwack drew his attention to the right, where at the edge of the clearing Jorge could see what could only be the form of Big Macintosh.
True to his name, the stallion was large, only a head shorter than Jorge, at most, and roughly the size of Carter, Emile, or Jun. His coat was a crimson red while his mane was an almost ginger orange, and on his flank Jorge could see that his Cutie Mark was that of an apple sliced in half. From his mouth dangled a small sprig of wheat, and around his neck was a large yoke one might put on a plow horse. The accessory somewhat reminded Jorge of his own chestplate, the only visible piece of his armor at the moment. The thwack Jorge had heard was unmistakably the sound of him having bucked a nearby apple tree, rattling its frame and sending a shower of apples raining down into some baskets arranged beneath it. Having finished his observations, Jorge followed Applejack as she trotted towards her big brother.
“Howdy Big Macintosh!” Applejack greeted, smiling as she drew level with the stallion turned his gaze to see his sister’s approach, before his eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly as he took in the sight of Jorge. Jorge watched bemusedly as the wheat sprig fell from his mouth to float gently down to the ground, as the stallion appeared frozen at the sight before him.
Applejack, seeing her normally stoic brother’s reaction and hoping to avoid any awkwardness, politely gestured a hoof toward Jorge and said, “Big Mac, this here’s the pony Ah was tellin’ you about. His name’s Jorge. Jorge, this’s Big Mac.”
Grinning as the stallion glanced at Applejack then back to him, Jorge extended a hoof and said, “It’s good to meet you, Macintosh. Your family’s farm seems lovely. I’m sure we’ll get along quite well.”
Big Mac finally seemed to compose himself, clamping his jaw shut and accepting Jorge’s hoof, before shaking it firmly. “Eeyup.” He said, deceptively calm.
Struggling to hold back a giggle, Applejack said, “Glad to see you two will be getting’ along. Big Mac, Ah’m gonna be showin’ Jorge here how ta applebuck so he can help with our harvest tomorrow. We’ll be startin’ out with ol’ Alderman over there.” She gestured over to the large dead tree in the center of the clearing.
Big Mac looked to the tree before turning his gaze to Jorge, scrutinizing the Spartan carefully before nodding. “Eeyup. Good to meet ya, Jorge.” He responded, before walking towards the next tree to continue his work.
Applejack motioned Jorge to follow her as she turned and trotted towards the center of the clearing. As Jorge drew level with the dead tree, he looked to Applejack and said, “Doesn’t talk much, does he?”
Applejack gave a small laugh. “Big Mac? Yeah, he’s more of the strong, silent type.” She answered. “O’Course, ya must be used ta that after dealin’ with Six.”
Jorge chuckled as well, before saying, “Yeah, I suppose so.” Looking to the tree, he continued, “So what are we doing here, exactly?”
“Well, if Ah’m gonna teach ya how ta applebuck, Ah’m gonna need ta see what you can do.” Gesturing to the tree, she continued, “Alderman here’s gonna help us.”
Jorge raised a brow. “But… it’s a dead tree.” He said skeptically. “How will it teach me how to buck apples out of trees?”
Applejack grinned knowingly. “Well, Ah’m gonna need ta see what yer baseline is. Gotta get an idea on how much yer gonna need ta control yer strength, ya know?”
Jorge nodded in understanding. “I get it. So what do you need me to do?”
Applejack pointed to Alderman and said, “Jus’ walk up ta Alderman and give him the strongest buck ya got.”
Jorge frowned uncertainly. “Uh, as hard as I can?”
“As hard as ya can.”
Jorge shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”
Applejack scoffed. “Aw, relax Jorge, tha tree’s dead! We’ve been meanin’ ta take him outta this clearing and put in some new Golden Delicious saplings.”
Jorge looked ready to argue, but instead simply sighed, walking over to the tree and facing away from it. However, instead of bucking the tree, he gave Applejack one last imploring look, saying, “I’m just saying, this might not go so-“
“Oh fer tha love of..” Applejack cut him off, striding forward and raising a hoof. “GIDDY UP, JORGE!” She shouted, slapping him hard across the flank.
The reaction was instantaneous. Jorge reared up, releasing a loud whinny, before dropping back onto his forehooves and instinctively bucking the tree with all his strength. Naturally, the dead tree was no match for Jorge’s unrestrained strength, and as his hooves made contact, the entire tree buckled inward. Then, with a massive CRACK, the top half of the tree separated from its base, flying away from the two and leaving a jagged stump behind. The two watched in horror as the tree sailed past the edge of the clearing, and towards Big Macintosh. The stallion looked up from his work at the sound of the tree breaking, only to find the tree hurtling towards him. A moment later, and he was buried beneath hundreds of pounds of wood.
“BIG MAC!” Applejack cried, sprinting towards her brother. Jorge, after processing what exactly had happened, quickly buried whatever embarrassment and shame he may have felt from his reaction and put on a mask of professionalism. Powering over to the tree’s broken form, he glanced at Applejack, and saw that she had found Big Mac. Unfortunately, Macintosh had been pinned beneath the trunk of the tree and now lay there, groaning in pain.
Thinking quickly, Jorge barked, “Applejack!” The mare turned her fearful gaze towards him, and he continued, “I’m
going to lift this off of him. I need you to get ready to pull him out, understand?” Applejack nodded fervently, and Jorge turned towards the tree.
Jorge dug his hooves into the dirt beneath the tree. Then, with a heave, he lifted the trunk off the ground. Applejack dragged her brother free of the tree’s trunk, and the moment he was clear, Jorge allowed the tree to fall to the ground with a thud.
Stepping away from the tree, Jorge approached Applejack as she tended to her brother. “Big Mac, are you alright?” Applejack asked him, as tears formed in her eyes.
“Nope.” Big Macintosh groaned weakly in response.
Kneeling next to the two, Jorge inspected Big Mac’s wounds. Though covered in scratches and the beginning of bruises, Big Mac’s midsection seemed thankfully intact. Jorge gingerly ran a hoof along his side, causing Macintosh to wince in pain. “I don’t feel any broken ribs.” Jorge reported. Looking to Big Mac’s face, he asked, “Can you move your legs?”
Big Mac tenderly flexed his legs, wincing as pain lit up his brain. Thankfully though, he was able to flex them back and forth. “E…Eeyup.” He grunted.
Jorge nodded determinedly. Turning to Applejack, he said, “It looks like he hasn’t broken anything, but he might have sprained his back. We should get him inside.” Applejack nodded, and wordlessly helped as Jorge lifted the stallion onto his back, before the two began running towards the farmhouse.
“So, we went inside, got Big Macintosh patched up, and that was that. Thankfully, I was right when I said it was a sprain; he should be back to normal in another week or so. As for Applejack, I think it’ll take longer than that to get her to trust me again.” Jorge finished, heaving a sigh as he concluded his story.
Carter frowned, mentally reviewing the story in the hopes of finding a solution to the problem. Finding none, he turned to Jorge and said, “I don’t quite understand. From the sound of it, her brother getting hurt was an accident, and at worst it was as much her fault as yours. She seems smart, why would she blame it all on you?”
Jorge shook his head. “I don’t think she is.” He muttered sadly. “She may not show it, but she blames herself for it as much as she blames me. She just doesn’t want to admit it to anyone, least of all herself.”
Before Carter could respond, their attention was drawn to Applejack, as she marched away from Twilight grunting, “Well Ah’m gonna prove ta you that I can do it! Now if you’ll excuse me, Ah’ve got apples ta buck.”
Watching Applejack depart, Jorge sighed again and said, “She’s punishing herself by doing all this work alone, Commander. It won’t be easy, but I think I might be able to talk her down, let her open up a bit. I just need some time, enough to work past this without others forcing it.”
Carter quirked a brow. “Are you telling me to leave this for you to solve? That you want this to be between you and her?”
Jorge nodded. “It’s the only way to get her to trust me, Commander.”
Carter thought hard for a moment, clearly uncertain, but finally relented. “Alright.” He said resignedly. “But if this doesn’t work, you need to let me help you. Sometimes a person needs more than one voice to be the voice of reason.”
Jorge nodded firmly. “I understand, Commander. I’ll fix this, I promise.”
Carter stood to his hooves. “Don’t make promises you know you can’t keep, Jorge. I trust you, but just remember: if you need me, you know where to find me.” With that, Carter walked away to join Twilight. Jorge watched him depart, before moving to follow Applejack.
Rainbow Dash stood perched atop a fencepost, tapping a hoof impatiently. “Ugh, where is she?” Rainbow groaned, her eyes scanning the square for signs of Applejack. From his place leaning against the fence beside her, Jun rolled his eyes.
“If she’s smart, she’s at home sleeping.” He said, “You remember how she looked at the award ceremony, right?”
Rainbow waved a hoof. “Ah, she wasn’t too bad. You should have seen me when I was studying for my flight school finals. I was-“ She stopped suddenly as Applejack screeched to a halt before them, Jorge arriving soon after. “There you are.” She said testily.
Applejack yawned and said, “Ah’m a mite sorry Rainbow. Ah was busy applebuckin’ and Ah guess Ah, Ah closed my eyes for one minute and when I woke up, I was late.”
Jun raised a brow. “I’m surprised Jorge didn’t wake you up.” He said, looking at the Spartan pointedly.
Jorge huffed. “I would have, if she hadn’t sent me to the other side of the farm to get a tool she didn’t need.”
“Ah did need it!” Applejack insisted. “Ah just… can’t remember what Ah needed it for.”
“Big surprise.” Jun muttered to Jorge, sending the two into silent chuckles.
Applejack turned to glare at the two before turning her gaze to Rainbow. “Now, what’s this new trick’a yours?”
Grinning, Rainbow said, “See this contraption?” She gestured with a hoof towards a large wooden see-saw, with a tall tower erected above the raised end.
“Uh, yeah.” Applejack answered uncertainly.
“Well, I’m gonna stand on one end,“ Rainbow began explaining. “then, you’re gonna jump down from that platform, launching me into the air faster than I could take off on my own. Once I’m in the air, I’m gonna do some amaaazing flips and spins that are sure to impress the Wonderbolts!”
Applejack frowned as she heard the plan, clearly unsure about the whole idea. “Isn’t that a mite dangerous?”
Rainbow Dash smirked. “Not for a pony who can fly.” She said, before clambering onto the other end of the see-saw. Applejack meanwhile, began drunkenly clambering up the scaffold.
Jorge watched the scene with a building sense of trepidation. Leaning over to Jun, he muttered, “Why aren’t you helping her with this?” He asked.
Jun snorted derisively. “Because I think it’s a really bad idea. She wants to injure herself with these dangerous stunts, that’s her choice, but I’m not gonna help her.” Jorge listened to the explanation with a raised brow. That makes some sense, I suppose. We’re their bodyguards, not their masters. Unless they’re actually risking their lives, we don’t have the right to order them what to do. A loud grunt drew Jorge’s attention to Applejack, as the Earth Pony landed heavily on her stomach, as she missed the raised end of the see-saw entirely. Then again…
Trotting over, Rainbow began, “Uh, maybe I wasn’t clear. You’re supposed to land on the other end.”
Peeling her face from the ground with an audible pop, Applejack muttered dizzily, “Got it!”
Over the course of the next few minutes, Applejack slammed into the ground multiple times. On her rear, on her back, on her head…
“You know, I’d find this hilarious, if it weren’t so sad.” Jun said. Jorge nodded in response.
“Maybe I should be doing this. Applejack… isn’t in the best state right now.” Jorge suggested, earning a laugh from Jun in response.
“No offense Jorge, but if you were doing this, you’d break either the catapult, or Rainbow’s legs.” Jun quipped.
Jorge glared at Jun. “Are you calling me fat?”
Jun raised his hooves defensively. “No, no. Just… heavy.”
Jorge quirked a brow suspiciously, then shrugged. “I guess that’s fair.” With that, the two returned their gaze to the two mares, as it seemed Rainbow’s patience had reached its end.
“Applejack, what the hay is going on?” Rainbow snapped peevishly. “I mean, I thought I was working with Ponyville’s best athlete!”
Applejack met Rainbow’s gaze with a cross-eyed one of her own. “You are!” She insisted, sighing. When she opened her eyes, they’d returned to normal. “I’m okay. Really. Ah, Ah have an idea.” Applejack turned and, with a grunt, pushed her end of the see-saw down, lifting Rainbow into the air, but clearly offering little in the way of thrust. “Ta da!” She said, frowning when Rainbow only gave a hard glare in response. “Oh. Maybe not.”
Giving Rainbow a reassuring smile, Applejack said, “Okay, one more try. Ah’m sure ta get it this time!” With that, she hopped off the see-saw, sending Rainbow crashing to the ground. The heavy and unexpected impact stunned the Pegasus, who groaned as stars and colors swirled in her vision.
Atop the scaffold, Applejack squinted as she fought to bring the world into focus. Finally settling her aim on her side of the see-saw, she said, “Here Ah go!” Applejack then took a few steps back, before launching herself from the scaffold.
“Wait!” Jorge, Jun, and Rainbow all shouted, hoping to keep the mare from jumping. In an effort to catch Applejack before she landed on the see-saw, Jun dove forward to catch the mare. Unfortunately, for all his speed, he wasn’t quick enough. Applejack landed, dead center, on the platform, driving it into the ground and catapulting Rainbow into the air, and straight into Jun.
The two collided in midair, sending both of them rocketing off through the sky, in one voice screaming “APPLEJACK!” all the while.
Jorge stared dumbly at the two as they disappeared from sight. Applejack however, called, “You’re welcome!” After them, smiling.
Twilight Sparkle lay on the balcony outside her bedroom, contentedly reading the book propped up by several others before her. To her left, leaning with his back against the railing, Carter stood, with his forehooves crossed before him. His expression was pensive, and his gaze was fixed upon the floor. Suddenly though, he perked up, his ears twitching slightly. Twilight looked up from her book, asking, “What’s wrong Carter?”
Carter didn’t respond, instead falling to four hooves and turning to stare out over the balcony. Immediately, his eyes widened, and he turned back to Twilight, leaping over to her shouting, “Incoming!” He then summoned a small shield around him and Twilight. A moment later, two blurs of color smashed into it, bouncing off the repellent shield and flying into Twilight’s room.
Dispelling the shield, Carter stepped away from Twilight, allowing her to get to her hooves. “What was that?” She asked, stepping towards her bedroom.
Carter followed her, answering, “I think it was…” He trailed off as the two entered Twilight’s bedroom, taking in the sight before them. “Jun and Rainbow Dash.” He finished dumbly.
Rainbow and Jun had torn through Twilight’s room, but in a stroke of luck, had missed any solid surfaces and instead landed directly on Twilight’s bed. Unluckily, their position upon landing was, in a word, awkward. Jun had landed on his back upon the bed, with Rainbow falling atop him, straddling his waist. What was worse, they had landed in such a way that their lips had been mashed together upon impact. As Twilight and Carter looked on in shock, both their eyes snapped open. Their mouths separated, and a small string of saliva connected their lips as they pulled away from each other.
Immediately both their faces lit up in mirrored blushes that were visible even through their fur. “Uh… Did I miss something?” Jun whispered. In response, he received a swift buck to the gut, as Rainbow leapt back, using his abdomen as a springboard to launch herself across the room and as far away from Jun as possible. Seeing Twilight and Carter looking on in shock, Rainbow grinned weakly, reaching a hoof back to scratch the back of her neck. “Uh, hey guys!” She said, faux-jovially. “What’s up?”
Hoping to skirt past the awkward moment, Twilight responded, “Um, well, just a moment ago, you two. What exactly prompted you two to come crashing into my bedroom?”
From the bed, Jun wheezed, “It wasn’t exactly much of a choice.”
Carter raised a brow at Jun. “What do you mean?”
Rainbow huffed. “He means I would be busy doing some of my most impressive tricks yet if it weren’t for-“
“Wait.” Twilight interrupted, raising a hoof. “Let me guess. Applejack?”
“Applejack” Rainbow and Jun answered simultaneously.
Twilight and Carter both frowned in response, Carter’s brow furrowing as Twilight hummed thoughtfully. Finally, Twilight turned to Cater and said, “I think we should pay Applejack another visit.”
“I agree.” Carter answered brusquely. The two proceeded past Rainbow and Jun, down the stairs and out the Library, heading towards Sweet Apple Acres.
The two Pegasi watched them depart, before Rainbow turned to Jun, a blush still adorning both their faces. “So… never mention this again?” Jun proposed.
“Right.” Rainbow answered. Nodding, Jun watched as Rainbow zipped out of the room, flying out the balcony door and returning to the sky.
Touching a hoof to his lips, Jun sighed. Not exactly how I saw my first kiss. He thought. But to be honest… not bad. Chuckling to himself, Jun stood from the bed and followed Rainbow, a small smile on his face.
Applejack delivered another harsh buck to the tree behind her, the familiar thwack followed by a series of thumps signaling that she had thankfully hit her mark. Turning, she bent down to grab one of the apples in her mouth by the stem. Lifting it up, she felt a flash of pain as her head impacted a branch above her, sending her brain spinning and ears ringing. Jorge, who had been idly observing the display with a growing sense of frustration, stepped forward, frowning in concern, but stopped as his attention was drawn to Twilight and Carter as they approached the stunned mare.
While Applejack stumbled back from the hit, Twilight and Carter drew closer to her from behind. “Applejack, can we talk?” Twilight asked concernedly.
Unfortunately, the ringing in her ears prevented Applejack from making out her friend’s words. “Can bees squawk?” She yelled back, scratching her head confusedly. “Ah don’t think so.”
Drawing closer, Twilight said, “No. Can we talk.”
“Twenty stalks?” Applejack answered. “Beans of celery?”
“No! I need to talk to you!” Twilight said, raising her voice and pointing at Applejack.
“Ya need ta walk to the zoo? Well who’s stoppin’ you?” Applejack hollered.
“No, I-“ Twilight’s response was cut off as Carter held her back with a hoof.
“Let me handle this.” Carter said. Then, slapping his earpiece with a hoof, he donned his armor. A soft click was heard, before Carter said, in a booming, amplified voice, “Applejack, we need to talk to you.”
Twilight covered her ears from the noise, but Applejack, now understanding Carter perfectly, simply smiled. “Oh? Well why didn’t you say so? What’chu wanna talk about?”
“Twilight and I ran into Rainbow Dash and Jun today.” Carter explained. “Or more specifically, they ran into us.”
“Oh? Well that’s nice.” Applejack answered, smiling innocently.
“Not really,” Carter answered sardonically. “given that we met when the two of them crashed into the Library. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
Applejack sagged visibly, turning away from the two. “Oh, yeah. Ah wasn’t feeling quite myself this morning.”
“Yes, because you’re working too hard and you need help!” Twilight said, stepping forward.
“What? Kelp?” Applejack asked bewilderedly. “Ah don’t need kelp. Ah don’t even like seaweed.”
“HELP! YOU NEED HELP!” Carter, Twilight, and even Jorge all shouted in exasperation.
Applejack, shaken by the volume, quickly recovered with a glare. “Nothin’ doin’ you three. Ah’m gonna prove ta all of you, and ta everypony, that Ah can do this on my own.” She turned away, only to walk straight into the same branch again. Stumbling away, she added, “Now if you’ll excuse me, Ah need ta go help Pinkie Pie.”
Twilight watched Applejack depart with a sigh, as Carter retracted his armor. “Well, look on the bright side.” Carter offered, drawing up to her. “What harm could she do in a bakery?”
“Now Pinkie Pie,” Mrs. Cake said, looking to the pink mare with concern. “Are you sure you’re up for baking the muffins and running the store this afternoon?”
“Yes-siree-bob, Mrs. Cake!” Pinkie answered excitedly. “Plus, I’ve got Ponyville’s prized pony to help me out. Why, she’s the best baker ever! Right Applejack?” She finished, turning to Applejack expectantly.
Applejack, fighting back the dizziness that caused her to sway on the spot, shook her head rapidly in an attempt to clear it. Seeing this display, Mr. Cake frowned uncertainly. “No? You’re not the best baker ever?”
“What?! Oh, no!” Applejack began loudly, before continuing in a softer tone, “Ah mean, don’t you fret, Ah can bake anything from fritters ta pies in the blink of an eye!”
“Oh, alright.” Turning to Emile, who had been watching the conversation with Jorge, her expression fell as she offered weakly, “Are you sure you don’t mind going out to get that shipment of four instead of staying here, Emile?”
Emile chuckled in response. “Hey, whatever keeps me out of the kitchen is fine by me. Trust me, unless you want your cakes to taste like MREs, I won’t be much use as a chef.”
The Cakes nodded, relieved, at the response. “Alright, see you later girls!” Mrs. Cake said, as she and her husband exited the store.
Applejack watched them leave, before returning to shaking herself roughly in a losing battle to stay awake. She was halted in her efforts when Pinkie Pie grabbed her by the cheeks, saying, “Stop with the shankin’, it’s time to get bakin’!”
Jorge watched Pinkie Pie drag Applejack over to the kitchen, he felt Emile tap him on the shoulder. “C’mon Big Man, I could use your help with this.” Emile explained, holding up the order form the Cakes had left him.
Frowning, Jorge gestured to the kitchen and asked, “What about them? You know Applejack hasn’t been herself lately, what if-“
“Ah, don’t worry about it.” Emile said, waving a hoof. “So she botches a couple recipes, what’s the worst that could happen?”
Remembering Carter saying much the same thing, Jorge pondered for a moment, before he finally relented. “I suppose you’re right. If she messes up, I suppose they can just throw them out.”
Emile smiled. “Exactly, now come on, we’ve got work to do.” With that, Emile turned and strode out of the shop. Jorge cast one last look out towards the kitchen door, before moving to follow.
As Jorge followed Emile through the busy streets of Ponyville, he noticed the crowd seemed to part for the two of them, as everypony shied away from their intimidating forms. Jorge frowned, slightly put-out at their anxiety with regards to them.
Emile seemed to have no such worries. “So Big Man,” He began, looking over his shoulder at Jorge. “How’s life down on the farm? If I remember right, you always wanted to be a farmer.” Emile grinned at Jorge, sending an instinctive surge of annoyance into Jorge’s conscious.
“It’s been… exciting, to say the least.” Jorge answered. The last thing he needed was Emile finding out about Big Macintosh getting injured. The kukri-wielding psycho would never let him live it down.
Thankfully, Emile seemed content with the answer, and offered no further questions. Jorge watched as Emile simply stared ahead, and sensed another of the Spartan’s famous awkward silences coming on. This always happened when it was just the two of them. Occasionally, when the two were alone, Emile would clam up, refusing to acknowledge him until he started the conversation anew. It happened seemingly at random and, for whatever reason, the others never experienced this with the Spartan, leading Jorge to wonder if it was because of him that Emile would fall silent. Maybe he doesn’t trust anyone but Model-IIIs. Jorge pondered. He sure as Hell doesn’t trust civilians; maybe me being a SPARTAN-II is reason enough to be wary of me. Hoping to fill the silent void in their conversation, Jorge asked, “How about you and Pinkie Pie? It’s hard to imagine you dealing with her for more than a minute.”
Emile shrugged noncommittally. “She’s a complete pain in the ass.” He answered truthfully. “Way too friendly. She’s gonna get herself killed, the way she keeps trying to make nice with everyone she meets.”
“You can’t fault her for wanting to make friends.” Jorge said. “Not everyone is a sociopath like you, Emile.”
Emile grunted. “And not everyone’s as naïve as the two of you.” He responded. Jorge chuckled at the sarcasm in his tone. Cheeky bastard. Jorge thought with a grin.
Emile grinned as well, which softened as he added, “She’s alright though, I guess. Kinda hard to get too angry at her, even if I’m sure she’s gonna drive me insane soon enough. How about you and the cowgirl?”
Glad to have the conversation back on track, but less satisfied with where said track was leading, Jorge answered with a sigh, “I’m a bit worried about Applejack. She’s been working too hard, exhausting herself.”
Emile nodded in response. “I noticed. Why don’t you help her? Might lighten the workload.”
“She won’t let me.” Jorge said, before adding quickly, “She’s refusing to let anyone help. She’s too proud and stubborn, something you’re familiar with, I’m sure.”
Emile scoffed. “Oh, I’m familiar, Mr. “Tell ‘em to make it count”.” He sneered, shooting a glance back at Jorge’s stunned expression.
“So… Six told you?” Jorge asked quietly.
“Yeah.” Emile grumbled. “Told us the whole story while we were in the shelter under New Alexandria.” Emile was silent for a moment, before adding, “You know, for the record, you would have been just as much use as Six when the Covvies came.”
Jorge frowned deeply. “Are you saying I should have made her do it? Let her sacrifice herself in my place?”
Emile didn’t answer. Instead, he turned his head forward and muttered, “We’re here.” Jorge followed his gaze, and saw that they had reached a large windmill.
Walking inside, the two were met with the sight of a large grinding wheel, slowly turning with the blade of the windmill. Beside the grinding wheel pit, a stallion sat shoveling the flour into large sacks. He was an Earth Pony, with an off white coat. Of course, whether that was his natural coloring or a result of the flour that caked the room like a layer of dust, Jorge was uncertain. His Cutie Mark was a sprig of wheat, and his eyes were a golden brown. At the sound of the door closing, he looked back, making a short double-take at the two Spartans. “Erm… can I help you?” He asked in a quavering voice.
“Are you Whole Grain?” Emile asked. At the stallion’s shaky nod, he continued, “I’m here for the Cakes’ order.” Emile walked forward and handed over the order form, along with a sack of bits the Cakes had given him. Whole Grain accepted them and inspected the form closely, before nodding.
“It’s, um, right over there.” Whole Grain muttered, pointing a hoof towards six sacks of flour piled in the corner. “I… I wasn’t aware the Cakes were hiring.” He added quietly.
Emile said nothing, only walking over to the sacks and grabbing the end of one in his teeth, before throwing it onto his back, before moving to the next one. Jorge looked to Whole Grain and gave the frightened stallion a quick thanks, before moving to assist Emile. Within moments, the two were laden down with three fifty-pound sacks of flour each, and departed the windmill, leaving a perturbed Whole Grain behind.
As Jorge and Emile headed back towards Sugarcube Corner, now carrying the heavy sacks of flour, but feeling far from encumbered by them. Looking to Emile, Jorge said, “You know, you could stand to be a bit nicer.”
Emile huffed. “Why? We got what we needed. You can think what you want, but you don’t need everybody to like you to get the job done.”
Jorge sighed in frustration. “You’re a piece of work, you know that?”
Emile muttered something, too quiet for even Jorge to hear. Jorge was about to question him about it, when a large cheer caught their attention. Curious, the two quickened their pace until they drew close to Sugarcube Corner, where a loud crowd had formed. Making their way through the crowd, which as expected parted to allow them to pass, they found at its front to be a small stand, manned by Pinkie Pie and Applejack.
Seeing Emile and Jorge approaching, Pinkie immediately brightened. “Hey Emilio! Hey Jorgie!”
“Jorgie?” Jorge muttered, looking to Emile, who simply rolled his eyes in response.
“How’s business, kid?” Emile asked Pinkie, who beamed.
“It’s going great! We just opened up shop! Wanna free sample?” She asked, holding out two muffins for them to take. Emile accepted it with a nod, but Jorge hesitated. “What’s wrong?” Pinkie asked, her grin never faltering.
Eyeing Applejack, who was currently resting her head against the surface of the counter, Jorge asked, “Uh, Pinkie, have you actually tried these yet?”
Pinkie shook her head. “Nope! But I had Applejack helping me, so I know that they’re gonna be great!”
“Relax, Big Man.” Emile said reassuringly. “They look fine.”
Jorge continued to eye the offered pastry warily, before finally pushing it away. “Sorry, Pinkie. I’m not hungry.”
Pinkie shrugged. “Okie dokie, more for me!” With that, she and Emile lifted the muffins to their mouths, and each took a large bite.
“We came as soon as we heard.” Twilight said, as she, Spike, Carter, and Nurse Redheart approached the large tent erected near Sugarcube Corner. Stepping inside, Carter was immediately bombarded with the various sights, sounds and smells of dozens of sick ponies, all laid out on cots and each of them literally green with sickness.
“Oh thank you, to both of you.” Nurse Redheart said, nodding to Twilight and Carter respectively. “We need all the help we can get.” Behind her, several ponies groaned, and the sound of vomiting could be heard from more than one of the cots.
“Oh no!” Twilight said. “What happened?” In response, a loud groan drew their attention to a cot in the far corner of the room, and its unfortunate occupant.
“Dear God…” Carter breathed, stepping towards the cot. “Emile, is that you?”
The question was certainly a valid one, as the figure on the cot was almost indistinguishable from the Warrant Officer. Emile’s steel-gray coat had paled considerably, leaving him the color of ash. His normally spiked mane lay limp and tangled, and his crimson irises were matched by the bloodshot whites surrounding them. All around his cot, half a dozen buckets full of liquids Carter didn’t want to identify surrounded him. Emile slowly turned his shaky gaze towards Carter. “C-Commander?” He breathed. “I… I hurt, Commander.” Emile’s eyes then bulged, and he reached for the closest bucket to his bed before heaving into it loudly.
Carter turned to Redheart. “What the Hell happened to him?” He questioned disbelievingly.
Redheart looked from Carter to Emile with a sympathetic gaze. “His case was by far the worst. We believe his rapid metabolism resulted in him feeling more… adverse, effects than the others.”
“Oh God, it’s worse than when I ate those spoiled rations!” Emile moaned, before burying his muzzle in the bucket again.
Redheart winced, before continuing, “It was a mishap with some of the baked goods.” She explained, as Spike lifted up one of the offending pastries and sniffed it curiously.
“No, not baked goods.” All eyes turned to Pinkie, as the green-faced mare lay in a cot nearby. “Baked bads!” She finished, her cheeks bulging as she fought the urge to hurl.
Carter and Twilight turned to each other, identical frowns adorning their faces as they realized the culprit. “Applejack.” They growled.
Their attention was then drawn to Spike, who held out one of the newly dubbed baked bads towards the two. “Want one?” He said, his voice muffled through the one already in his mouth.
Jorge gazed upon the sight before him, fighting the urge to sigh. Applejack, suspended upside down by the cart she was currently hooked up to, and snoring lightly, was something that on any other occasion, would have brought a smile to his face. Now though, it only filled him with irritation. So, finally allowing his anger to take over, he turned and delivered one solid buck to the cart, righting it and sending Applejack face first into the dirt with a yelp.
Pushing herself to her hooves, Applejack fought to extricate from the harness of the cart while simultaneously shooting a smoldering glare at Jorge. “What in the hay was that for?” She growled furiously.
“We need to talk.” Jorge said. It was a simple statement of fact, not a question, and Applejack felt whatever response she had die in her throat at the authority in his tone. “You’ve become a problem. You’re working too hard, and pushing yourself into exhaustion. But hey, you’re proud. You think you can do it all on your own, and more power to you for it, but that’s not what my issue is.”
Applejack’s expression shifted from annoyed to curious. “What d’ya mean?”
Jorge frowned. “I mean what happened with your brother.” Applejack’s features tightened again, but Jorge held up a hoof to silence her as he continued, “We both know that what happened was an accident, and yet you’ve been treating me like I purposefully tried to hurt him. I’ve spoken to him, and while he didn’t say much, he did accept my apology the second I offered it. If he can find in himself to forgive me, then why can’t you?”
Applejack looked away from Jorge, scowling at the ground. “It’s not like that. Ah don’t hate ya, Jorge. Ah just…” She sighed, meeting his gaze for a moment before looking away again. “It’s complicated.”
Jorge didn’t relent, stepping closer, forcing her to look up at him, lest she direct her words towards his hooves. “Uncomplicate it for me.” He said.
Applejack finally met his gaze, and her pained expression caught him by surprise. “Ah just… Me an’ Big Mac, we’re real proud’a what we got here, y’know? Me and him, we’ve worked so hard, to make this farm as good as we could. An’ we did it all without them.” Jorge wondered who exactly this ‘them’ was, but seeing the mistiness that had overtaken Applejack’s eyes, he wisely remained silent as she continued, “But Ah can still remember. When Big Mac got hurt, you were jus’ like him. When things went wrong, he didn’t panic. He just started barkin’ orders, tryin’ to fix it. Jus’ like you did. Ah… Ah’d been worried that you were gonna be like him, like some sorta replacement. Ah ignored it, thinkin’ that you would be different. But you were just like him, you…” She swallowed heavily, and Jorge reached a hoof out to rest upon her shoulder in a comforting gesture. She shifted her gaze towards him, and then wiped her eyes with a hoof roughly, turning away from him. “But that ain’t fair.” She said resolutely. “Ya don’t mean any harm, Ah know that. Ah just… need some time ta get used to ya, Ah guess.” Turning back to Jorge, she smiled softly. “But yer a good sort, Jorge. Ah trust ya not ta do anything to hurt me or mine. Ah’m sorry.”
Jorge gave a relieved smile at this admission, before answering, “Apology accepted. I promise Applejack, I’ll prove to you your trust isn’t misplaced. It’s my job to keep you and your family safe, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Applejack returned his grin. “Good. Glad ta know we’ve reached an agreement.”
Jorge nodded. “So you’ll let me help you?” He asked hopefully.
“Nope.” Applejack answered with a grin.
Jorge’s mouth dropped open, his jaw working wordlessly for a moment before he finally answered, “Wh-What? But… you just said-“
“Ah said Ah trust ya, Jorge.” Applejack said, silencing him with a hoof. “But this ain’t about trust. Ah said Ah could do this on my own and Ah intend ta do it. Ah don’t need help from you, or anypony else.” As Applejack explained her reasoning, a stunned Jorge could see her expression growing fierce. “Ah can do this all on my own, the next pony ta tell me Ah can’t is gonna get an earful!”
“Applejack!” Twilight shouted, approaching the two with Carter. “We need to talk.”
Applejack turned to face Twilight with a groan of frustration. “Ah know what yer gonna say, Twilight, and the answer is still no! Ah was just tellin’ Jorge, and now Ah’ll tell you again, Ah don’t need help!” Applejack said, stalking away towards a nearby tree. “Ah’ll prove that this apple can handle these apples!” She said, bucking the tree repeatedly. “Come on,” buck “apples!” buck “Fall off!” buck
Twilight watched this display with obvious skepticism. “Applejack, I think you’re beating a dead… tree.” She finished, looking up at the blackened and barren branches above Applejack’s head.
Applejack flushed in embarrassment, before turning and walking away. “Ah knew that.” She said with a huff.
Carter leaned over to Jorge, muttering, “Y’know, that does raise the question: Does the expression ‘beating a dead horse’ still exist here?” The larger stallion could only shrug in response.
Twilight meanwhile followed Applejack, explaining, “Actually Applejack, I had something else to talk to you about. Carter and I just came back from Ponyville Urgent Care and-“
Applejack interrupted her with a sigh. “Y’know, Ah’m a little busy ta get lectured right now, Twilight.”
Twilight frowned. “But if you’ll just let me help-“
Applejack groaned. “No, no, NO! How many times do Ah gotta say it? Ah don’t need no help from nopony!” She shouted, stalking away. Jorge gave Twilight one last apologetic look, before moving to follow.
Twilight groaned in frustration. “That pony is stubborn as a mule!” A loud braying to her right drew her attention to the mule standing next to her. “No offense.” She added kindly.
“None taken.” The mule replied.
Carter observed the scene in confusion. “Wait, ‘beating a dead horse’ doesn’t exist here, but that expression still does?”
Twilight turned to Carter, looking scandalized. “What? What are you talking about? What an awful thing to say!”
Carter raised a brow, preparing to argue, but simply sighed. “Never mind, it’s not worth the headache. What are we going to do about Applejack?”
Twilight shrugged helplessly. “There’s not much we can do, unless she allows us to help her.”
Carter frowned. “But she’s affecting more than just herself. Do we just let her ruin something else before we act?”
Twilight frowned, but nodded. “I suppose. But hey, how much more trouble could she possibly get in?”
Carter shook his head, muttering, “I’m afraid to find out.”
Jorge followed Applejack, Fluttershy, and Six as the four of them walked towards where Fluttershy had gathered the rabbits for the census. Winona followed next to Applejack, panting excitedly.
“Oh Applejack, thank you so much for offering your herding skills for the annual rabbit round up.” Fluttershy said gratefully, smiling at her friend.
Applejack only huffed in response, her exhaustion making itself clear in her sour demeanor. “Why are we doin’ this?” She asked gruffly.
Fluttershy seemed to ignore Applejack’s harsh tone, as she eagerly explained, “Well, lots of new baby bunnies have been born, so it’s my job to get a count of all the new families.”
Applejack’s frown didn’t lessen, despite the kindness in her friend’s tone. “Fine.” She grunted. “Can we just get on with it?”
Again, Fluttershy seemed oblivious to Applejack’s attitude, as she smiled and answered, “Certainly. But remember, these are bunnies we’re dealing with, not cows. They’re a timid bunch, and need to be treated gently.”
“Speaking of which.” Six added, eyeing Winona dubiously. “I don’t think a sheepherding dog is best suited for this. It would be better if we-”
“Ah do not need any direction on corrallin’ critters.” Applejack growled, rounding on the Lieutenant. “Right Winona?” She added, looking to her canine companion, who barked excitedly in response.
Fluttershy, apparently satisfied with the answer, nodded and gently called out to the meadow, “Okay, little bunnies! I need you all to gather here in the middle.“
“That’s right!” Applejack cut in, barking, “Let’s go, bunnies; in the center. Hop to it!” The rabbits, naturally perturbed by Applejack’s harsh tone, the bunnies scattered, bolting away from the frightening mare. Applejack grunted in frustration. “Swell, jus’ swell!” Chasing after the fleeing bunnies, she called, “Put ‘em up, Winona!”
The dog barked again in response, and began moving around the herd of rabbits, while Jorge, Six, and Fluttershy looked on in horror. “Applejack! Winona! Stop!” Fluttershy cried. “You’re scaring them!”
Applejack huffed as she continued to chase the terrified bunnies. “We know what we’re doin’.” She said. Turning her attention back to the chase, she shouted, “Get along, little bunnies!”
Within moments the bunnies had been herded into a small circle, while a scowling Applejack and a growling Winona approached them slowly.
Jorge stepped forward, frowning. “Applejack, Fluttershy is right. If you keep this up, they’ll…”
Applejack, who had been stalking closer to the rabbits, looked back to glare at Jorge, only to be bowled over as the desperate rabbits seized the moment of distraction to rush past her, bolting away from the meadow and heading towards Ponyville.
“…panic. Dammit, c’mon!” Jorge said, gesturing for Six to follow him as he bolted after the swarm of rabbits. Six took a moment to shoot Applejack a weary look beneath her helmet, before moving to follow Jorge.
Fluttershy, looking from the retreating forms of Jorge and Six to Applejack and Winona, before flying after the Spartans as well, hoping to calm the frantic bunnies.
Applejack watched the others depart with a frown, sagging in disappointment at her failure. Sighing, she looked down as Winona approached, whining softly at her master’s dismay. Applejack said nothing, simply turning and heading back towards Sweet Apple Acres.
Twilight and Carter walked towards Ponyville Square, deep in conversation. “I just don’t understand how you can be so tolerant about this.” Carter said, exasperated. “So far, Applejack has nearly paralyzed Rainbow and Jun, and poisoned half the town. Where I come from, that would have a person on trial for negligent assault. Or mayhem, if you count the baked bads incident.”
Twilight shrugged uncertainly. “Well, I guess Ponyville is more forgiving. Besides, no one was… permanently hurt, after all. Even Emile recovered well enough.”
“After getting his stomach pumped.” Carter deadpanned.
“Eh heh-heh.” Twilight chuckled innocently. “Well, look at it this way. Soon enough, she’ll be too tired to resist when we insist on helping her.”
Carter raised a brow. “So, your plan is to wait until her exhaustion outweighs her pride? That’s it?”
Twilight huffed in frustration. “Well, she obviously isn’t going to listen to us, and I don’t want to hurt our friendship by forcing her into anything. We just have to wait until she’s ready to accept our help.”
Carter rolled his eyes. “Do you think the town will be able to survive that?”
Twilight waved a hoof. “Oh, come on. She wasn’t that, uh…” She trailed off as she beheld the three mares lying despondently upon the road before them.
“The horror, the horror!” One said.
“It was awful!” Said another.
“A disaster.” Finished the third. “A horrible, horrible disaster!”
Twilight looked up from the trio to take in the empty, yet intact street before her, before turning to Carter and muttering, “I don’t get it.”
In a second, the three mares were on their hooves, the first zipping over to several rows of dirt, with only the torn remains of flowers remaining. “Our gardens, destroyed!” She exclaimed.
“Every last flower, devoured!” Said a second, inspecting the shredded husks left in her various flower pots.
The third, still curled up on the ground, tearfully continued, “By… by… Them!”
Carter and Twilight followed the hysterical mare’s gesture, their mouths dropping open in shock at the spectacle before them.
All throughout the streets dozens of rabbits hopped about, attacking nearby plant life and reducing it to naked stumps within moments. Among them, the forms of Six and Jorge could be seen running around, fruitlessly attempting to capture the rampaging rodents. Fluttershy as well trotted about, hoping to placate the animals, and failing miserably.
Carter and Twilight surveyed the scene, before allowing their identical frowns to meet. “Applejack.” They growled in unison, before turning and heading towards Sweet Apple Acres. Friendship or no, it was time for them to confront the overworked mare, pride be damned.
Applejack stood atop a small hill, bucking the solitary tree on its peak. Her form sagged heavily, and her eyes remained firmly shut, for any attempt to open them had failed within a few seconds of beginning. So instead, she simply kept her eyes closed, launching feeble kicks into the tree behind her, all the while muttering weakly, “Just a… few… more… Must, finish… harvestin’…”
Her efforts were stalled however, as three figures marched towards her. Leading the charge were Carter and Twilight, their faces set in identical stern expressions, while behind them trailed Big Mac. The stallion’s wounds were on their way to healing nicely, and Big Mac followed the two at a comfortable pace, his own face locked in its usual stoic appearance.
Twilight stepped up to Applejack, and began her lecture. “Alright, Applejack. Your Applebucking hasn’t just caused you problems, it’s over-propelled Pegasi, practically poisoned plenty of ponies, and terrorized bushels of brand new bouncing baby bunnies. I-“ She was cut off as Carter held a hoof over her mouth, fixing her with a weary gaze.
“Please, just stop… alliterating.” He said, exasperated, before turning to Applejack with a firm gaze. “Applejack, when I became the protector of Ponyville I took on a duty to protect it from anything that threatens the town as a whole. So long as you are exhausting yourself like this, you officially fit that description. So let me be clear that I’m not just referring to the Applebucking when I say: YOU NEED HELP!” He ended with a shout, his voice rising as the last three words were transformed into an authoritative command.
Applejack however, responded with one last buck to the tree behind her, draining it of its apples and causing them to collapse into the baskets buckled to her sides. Applejack watched the apples fall, before turning to Carter and Twilight with a smug grin. “HA!” She laughed. “No Ah don’t. Look, Ah did it. Ah harvested the entire of Sweet Apple Acres without your help. How’d ya like them apples?”
“Um,” Big Mac began, his tone remaining neutral as he gestured to the other half of the Orchard behind her. “How do you like them apples?”
Applejack stood, slack jawed, at the sight before her, before she began mumbling incoherently, before collapsing to the ground in a dead faint.
Rushing to her side, Twilight began nudging her awake. “Applejack?” She prompted. “Applejack!”
Slowly, Applejack’s eyes drifted open. “Huh?” She asked blearily.
Twilight sighed in relief. “Oh, good. You’re okay.” Her expression softened as she continued, “Now Applejack, I completely respect the Apple Family ways. You’re always there to help any pony in need. So maybe you can put a little of your stubborn pride aside and allow your friends to help you.
Applejack looked away during Twilight’s speech, taking in the vast amounts of trees yet to be bucked. As Twilight finished her lecture, Applejack closed her eyes and resignedly responded, “Okay, Twilight.”
“I am not taking ‘no’ for an answer-what?” Twilight said, stopping as she finally registered her friend’s response.
Applejack raised her front hooves into a beseeching gesture as she continued, “Yes, Twilight. Yes, please. I could really use your help.” She turned her gaze to Carter as she added, “I could use help from everypony.”
Carter and Twilight smiled to each other, before simultaneously sighing in relief.
Dear Princess Celestia,
My friend Applejack is the best friend a pony could ever have, and she’s always there to help anypony. The only trouble is, when she needs help, she finds it hard to accept it, so while friendship is about giving ourselves to friends, it’s also about accepting what our friends have to offer.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
Applejack smiled to the assembled ponies as she pushed a cart laden with apple juice towards each of them. Kat floated each one over to their respective recipients, and popped the tops for good measure. Applejack nodded gratefully at her, not only for the bottles, but for all the service she had provided, along with Noble and the rest of her friends. She thought back to the immense loads of apples that she and Twilight had lifted from the trees at once and chuckled to herself. Magic may not produce the same apple as good old honest hard work, but it certainly had its uses in harvesting.
Her gaze trailed over to Jorge, and the Spartan met her gaze, lifting his apple juice and giving her a wink. When he had finally heard that Applejack was allowing the others to help her, the tension in his form seemed to visible melt off of him all at once, and he took to the work with gusto, darting from tree to tree and clearing them with single, almost effortless bucks. Within minutes, he had cleared dozens of trees, and Applejack once again cursed herself for ever doubting him in the first place.
Smiling joyously, she looked to each of her friends and began, “Everypony, Ah can’t thank you enough for this help. Ah was acting a bit stubborn.”
“A bit?” Twilight and Carter chimed incredulously, before looking to each other and sharing a laugh.
Applejack chuckled as well. “Okay.” she admitted. “A mite stubborn, and Ah’m awfully sorry.”
Jun, from his seat next Rainbow, cocked his head curiously. “Mite actually sounds like less than a bit.” He said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
Applejack rolled her eyes. “The point is," She began, “that while the town may’ve given me the Prized Pony Award, the real award is havin’ all a y’all as mah friends.”
The group gave their own encouraging smiles in return, each taking a sip of their drinks until Rainbow gave a satisfied aah! “Phew!” She said. “That applebucking sure made me hungry.”
Having waltzed over, Spike perked up at the mention of food. “And I’ve got the perfect treat!” He said, before withdrawing several half-eaten baked bads. The assembled ponies and Spartans all gave simultaneous groans of disgust.
“Eeew…” Pinkie said, reeling back. “Spike, I threw those all away! Where’d you get them?” She asked confusedly.
“From the trash!” Spike elaborated, causing another chorus of ‘EW!’s to erupt from the table. Spike held one out to Jun and Jorge, offering, “You guys sure you don’t want one?”
The Spartans shared a dubious look, before simultaneously responding, “I’m fine, thanks.”
Spike shrugged. “Suit yourself. How about you Emile?” He said, holding one out to the Warrant Officer.
Emile, who had until this point remained perfectly still and silent as soon as the Baked Bads had been introduced, looked to the pastry with an obvious expression of horror. Then, with a howl of terror, the Spartan turned and bolted, sprinting away from the group and shouting obscenities all the while.
A pregnant pause filled the air as the group digested this development. “On second thought, I’ll take one.” Jun said, looking to Spike with a malicious grin.
“Yeah, me too.” Jorge added, his eyes following Emile’s retreating form, as the table erupted into laughter.
PROGRESS REPORT:
TO: PRINCESS CELESTIA
FROM: COMMANDER CARTER A-259
SUBJECT: FIRST REPORT
DEAR PRINCESS CELESTIA,
MY FIRST WEEK IN PONYVILLE HAS YIELDED ME WITH VALUABLE INTEL.
EVERY PONY IN THIS TOWN IS CRAZY.
NEVERTHELESS, I AM HAPPY TO SERVE HERE, AND TWILIGHT AND I SEEM TO HAVE HIT IT OFF. THE OTHERS TOO, SEEM HAPPY WITH THEIR ASSIGNMENTS, AND EVEN JORGE, DESPITE INITIAL SETBACKS, HAS CREATED A COMFORTABLE RELATIONSHIP WITH APPLEJACK. I AWAIT YOUR CALL TO ACTION AND UNTIL THEN, WILL CONTINUE TO SEND YOU WEEKLY REPORTS ALONGSIDE YOUR STUDENT, AS PER YOUR ORDERS.
YOURS SINCERELY,
COMMANDER CARTER
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Very good, but you might want altering the dialogue of some of the ponies a bit, just to truly make it your own.
Was it the thing about a dead horse...
I think you did really well. You did stick close to canon, but that makes since considering the spartans have only been there a week or so and everypony hasn't really gotten to know them. What you really need is to have in-between chapters that cover time skipped by the show where each Noble gets to know their pony a little better so that the episodes can vary from canon more without seeming unreasonable or out of character.
Also, this:
REMINDS ME OF
[youtube=2h7gpwXJhKs]
Two things:
1) You got some weird formatting issues.
2) Don't just copy-paste the episode and add little bits to show Noble is there. It feels cheap, like you're not putting any effort into this.
2730212
1. Can you be more specific? Because I spent an hour making sure that fimfiction.net didn't f*** up the transfer. When I look at it, it looks fine.
2. I appreciate your feedback, and understand what you're saying. But let me tell you, it is a Hell of a lot easier to paraphrase the dialogue from what I remember than it is to stay close to the canon dialogue and actually look it up. So saying it's "lazy" is pretty inaccurate. Just sayin'. Anyway, I still appreciate your feedback, and I'll take it into account with the next chapter taking place during an episode.
2730227
1) Quite a few lines end
up like this for no discernible reason. Quote disconcerting when it happens in
the middle of dialogue.
2) I knew you were paraphrasing, I just didn't exactly appreciate a recap of one of the episodes we can be sure everyone has seen.
2730208
This seems like a great idea, and I was considering doing something similar to that, where I have episodes that wouldn't really need Noble's involvement, and them have them participate in their own adventures during them. I planned on doing this during CMC episodes and the like. Rest assured, the Civil War missions will be almost entirely original, perhaps save some bits at the beginning. I'll take your suggestion into account, and I hope you won't mind if I use your awesome idea.
Me when update
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/550/836/dca.gif
2730236
Actually, I am also writing this for my dad to read. He is not a brony, but does like the story. I was doing my best to make sure that he could understand what the hell was going on, though I admit I could have summarized it better. I know it's strange to think it, but I'm not writing this story just for bronies.
Also, sorry about the messed up paragraphs, I'll fix them.
2730274
If you look at the average landscape of Reach, it is never comprised of the forests for which Earth may be known. Furthermore, I'm assuming that the Everfree has stuff like pine trees, which most likely don't grow on alien, colonized worlds.
2730286
Yeah I'll be posting the fanficiton version eventually. I'll be honest, fimfiction sorta has priority.
IT LIVES! good job by the way the little
space issue is annoying but I'm sure you'll get that sorted out when you get the chance. oh and violence next chapter! gory griffon bodies shall rain from the sky! Shattered griffon corpses shall stay where they lie! burnt husks of bodies shall fertilize the earth!
dear god what the fuck is wrong with me?
Good chapter. There are a few errors here and there, like a I instead of it, or small things that can be fixed later. I doesn't affect how the story reads, it just looks wierd. Other than that, again, great chapter and I hope to see more in the near future.
2730450 great I just made one of those mistakes!!!!
IT'S ALIVE!!!
Dang, I've got to say, this was a pretty good chapter.
For one thing, it gave an explanation for Big Mac's injury, something that was never addressed in canon.
For another, the Nobles were able to somehow make parts of it funnier!
*pulls out a baked bad and holds it out where Emile can see it*
So next chapter, we see the Nobles start their secret mission that the Mane 6 don't know Princess Celestia gave them on top of their duty to protect Ponyville and the Element Bearers! I've got to say, this chapter on its own...*sunglasses*...was a Noble effort...
dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Rainbow_dealwithit.png dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Cloudchaser_dealwithit.png dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Vinyl_Scratch.png dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Lyra_dealwithit.png
...and I can't wait to see what future chapters are like!
Here, have some badges!
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fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/282/7/5/rainbow_dash_approved_by_ambris-d4bdn33.png
[img][img]http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/345/0/9/fluttershy_approved_by_ambris-d4ivleb.png[/img]
fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/345/9/d/applejack_approved_by_ambris-d4ivlan.png
fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/277/e/a/pinkie_pie_approved_by_ambris-d4brtm4.png
fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/282/4/e/rarity_approved_by_ambris-d4cdq6y.png
Quite a nice chapter. I liked it. Absolutely lol'd with Jun and Rainbow's awkward crash.
Loved the interactions between characters (specially Jorge with Jun, and Carter with Twilight.)
Also, the first report.
Jeez, Carter, you took so much time to notice THIS? You dissapoint me, commander.
Cage bless the length, made the chapter 20% cooler.
I may have cried alittle seeing this updated.
And I love how it turned out.
i4.photobucket.com/albums/y116/iamjooish/wnJjiydvYk_can-i-get-a-hell-yeah.jpg?t=1271092478
2730305 By the way, is this story off hiatus now?
Because if it is, you might want to change the tag that shows its status. It still says On Hiatus.
I like this story but you shouldn't be afraid to change the plot of episodes if the involvement of noble would have a greater impact else it looks like they are just there on the sidelines and do nothing except talking a bit and observing, or you could find ways to separate their action from the main story and focus on events that they deal with that could have been directly caused by the happenings in the episodes.
A bit of fridge horror just kicked in. Looking down range at the Cutie Mark Chronicles... I imagine Noble Team being very evasive when it comes to theirs... But imagine the mind scarring that would come if the CMCs did hear them...
That Lucas Simms
2731529
You sir, spotted the reference! Would you like a cookie?
Pros:
Coming up with your own reason for Big Mac's injury (most people blame the bet from the previous episode ("He'll hafta run down Stirrup Street in one a Granny's girdles!")).
Interactions between Noble team and everypony else (including Other Noble members).
Cons:
Sticks a little too close to the show. Seriously, feel free to mix it up a bit more.
Undecided:
The shipping has started. This can go one of three ways: It falls by the wayside and is never spoken of again, it becomes a vehicle for genuine character development, or it turns into a crack ship and overshadows the characters involved instead of complementing them.
Over all verdict: A pretty good chapter filled with setting up for the future, but it could certainly have been better if not for some clunky scenes cut-&-pasted straight from the show.
2731666
Thank you Howitzer, your review was certainly the most descriptive, and most helpful, yet. I'm definitely taking your concerns, as well as those of others into account. You're right though, I should definitely work more to make the story my own. I'm confident I can keep the Mane 6 in character without parroting their lines. Thanks for the help!
2730245
It's not even my idea really, I got the idea from Alaia Skyhawk (author on fanfiction.net) who has written many novel length stories about the Merlin series and a few others with great characterization despite the changes she makes.
2731849
Glad to be of help, and your story is all the thanks I need. Keep making it more and better, and I'll help out in any way I can!
ALL HAIL TWILGITH! HAIL. HAIL. HAAIILLL!
So far, even though I'm usually adamant about reading fics with humans turning into ponies, this is pretty good. I like the story so far, definitely more slice-of-life than the other Halo crossovers I have read. Truthfully, the ONLY thing wrong I have found so far, is your description of Granny Smith. She be green, not khaki. And although khaki is sometimes used to describe a green hue, it's used wrong, as it was meant to describe the type of material normally used in making the green, misnamed clothing. Pants usually. Actually, the original MEANING of the word khaki is "dirt/soil colored" from India.
Other than that, you've been amazingly spot on sticking to Halo canon, and although you might think you stuck too close to the original script of the show, I think it's blending quite nicely. Was pretty damned surprised at the whole Dash and Jun ending up like they did on Twi's bed. Seems to be a running thing in Halo fics to ship ponies and humans. (or in this case, humans turned ponies) And although if this DOES have some romantic subplots to it, just gotta say, it's not going to lower my opinion of this story, but it sure as Hell won't raise it either.
God yes and the ships they have began!!! also are we going to see each noble team member fall in love with the pony there protecting? because I can more see Kat with Carter then Rarity but I would still love to see a filly fooler romance with fluttershy and Six also what are u going to do with the gala because i would love to see the mane six plus Kat have to force Six out of her helmet only to find out she is super beautiful, also This may be kind of bad and sorry if it is but I would love to see an in heat chapter. just the way Carter Jun and Emile would process what going on would be hilarious.
2732148
But seriously, I am glad you're excited about it. I do understand that some people are gonna have a problem with this, and I realize I'm gonna have to be very, very careful to have any sort of romance and still have the Spartans remain in character. As for the heat episode, I'm sorry to say that it's never gonna happen. Why? Well, I don't really like the whole "heat" idea. I don't hate it, and sometimes it can be pretty amusing to read, but I have no desire to put it in here. I don't mean to disappoint, and who knows, maybe someday the planets will align and I will be struck with the urge to write a chapter about it. Anyway, I'm glad you liked this chapter. Peace!
Woah, relax man! No need to be gattin' all crazy over the shipping!
Just so you know
Every spartan 2s & 3s designation starts with S
So Carter is S-259. Not A-259
The S means spartan
And when answering a hail he goes eather Noble 1 or Sierra 259
Noble 1 cuz he is the units co or Sierra 259 cuz thats who he is
Even masterchief. Has s in his designation
John S-117
Or John, spartan #117
My own tactical report would have to say you may be sticking to much with the canon. However even in universe Applejack was quite stubborn... I doubt Spartans could have stopped her without killing her... So it may have been necessitated by the particular episode.
However there will be episodes that Noble's presence will throw the plot straight out the window (unless they're deployed to the griffons in those episodes, though if some stay behind they can still impact those episodes). Dragonshy, Bridle Gossip, The Stare Master, A Dog and Pony Show, Over a Barrel, A Bird in the Hoof (10 bits says if Six is still in Ponyville while Fluttershy is "aiding" Philomena, there will be SITCOM!) Cutie Mark Chronicles (I believe someone already mentioned the nightmares the CMC would experience upon asking, might make for a good non canon bonus chapter as I expect they'll probably be with the griffons in that episode in your story), Owls well that Ends Well, and the Best Night Ever, (oh I expect their to be some changes with their presence mind you, but not to the overall plot the Mane 6 encountered (though I could quite obviously be wrong)).
However it was still quite good and while I would normally say Noble is adapting to fast, they probably know how to just roll with it, plus the comic situations they now find themselves dealing with are actually quite humorous, (best being Emile's reaction to the baked bads). Perhaps Its just this light hearted fate for Noble Team after playing Halo Reach alongside them, knowing just how it was going to end... and instead seeing this, makes the story seem a bit more uplifting than one would expect.
2732424
You would be right, if Carter was a Spartan II, however he is a Spartan III and they have the letter of which "batch" of Spartan III's they came from (A being first B being second, and with Halo 4 and the latest novels there was a third class that gets a C).
This is confirmed on Halo Nation, the Halo wiki.
The more you know.
Yes it updated! Thanks for updating it man. It's good to see this fic alive again. Once again you have came up with an awesome chapter. some of the copy-pasted parts are abit clunky but Noble's development was considerable in this chapter. Can't wait for the Civil War parts!
Oh Granny Smith, stop playing Video Games!
2732424
Spartan IIIs are designated by their company, then serial number. The S only applies formally to Spartan IIs. Thats why Jorge (who is a S-II) is S-052 but the others (who are S-IIIs) for example, Kat, is B-320.
Yes I know in Reach, Holland addresses the Commander as Sierra 259,but that could be an informal designation, or an oversight by Bungie.
This was rather entertaining ... although i was hoping for less of a recap and more of an original outside perspective if you were going to be redoing the series episodes. The way you went about setting this up beforehand sounded like you were going for your own original plotline. I am curious to see how you'll fit Noble Team into a real event like Discord's return or the Changeling invasion.
2732468
Theres a halo wiki?
Info ftw
2731529 yes please
NOBLE GUARDIANS LIVES!!!!
i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj580/charlieg1999/SPARTANS/tumblr_m9zj24S9bZ1qcakl4o1_r1_500.gif
Also have a Spartan Luna for a grat chapter!
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I personally like the intermixing with the original episodes.
2731642 I haven't spotted the reference. Then again I havent played Fo3 in months now. Can give me a short heads-up pls?
IT LIVES! IT LIVES!!!
You have no idea how long I've been waiting for an update for this, and I gotta say I am very stoked with the direction in which you are taking this.
If you ask me, I don't really agree with what everybody is saying about you following the original episodes too closely. Some might see it as copy-pasting, but I see it as a nice way to show how things in the original timeline can be changed by Noble's introduction to Equestria. It's nice for a little bit of familiarity to know where things are going, while looking forward to the twists Noble's presence will bring, and IMO it's a nice little revisit back to the old episodes of season 1, heh. Personally, I quite liked it.
The shipteases are an... interesting touch. I'm not exactly going crazy over them, but I wouldn't condemn them straight out either, heh. I'm just intrigued to see which direction this will go in. Oh, and I think I should mention that I just LOVE how in-sync Twilight and Carter are xD. Hell, pretty much each Noble member just matches their respective charge almost perfectly.
2734571
Glad you liked it! The reference, by the way, was when Granny Smith said, "friendly and well-mannered!" It is what Lucas Simms says to a Lone Wanderer if they don't act like a douche nozzle when meeting him.
2735221 Ah yes. Thanks.
2730247 AMILLIA POND, GRAB YOUR COAT!!!
2730207 Dead Horse, or White Legs?
im am ashamed to make a account on this site for i do not like MLP i hate it so much.
but you sir have did such a good job on this story that i had to respond with this is some GREAT story telling im a vary BIG fan of halo and reach was one of my favorite halo games.
i just want to say that im looking forward to the next chapter and cant wait.
keep this up if you made some one like me who hates MLP and makes a account to tell you to continue this great story. you have my respect as some who can write.
2738212 Someone who hates MLP likes an MLP fic that has the main human characters turned into ponies?
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(No offense, but of all the stories I'd imagine ones with ponification would be the least liked from an anti-brony.)
2738359
i understand what you mean but i dont like MLP i like this story and yes i like the fic even if all the human charters turn to ponies i was mad at first but against my bitter judgment i read the fic and like it found it was a good story too it even if i dont like MLP its still a nice story to read.
and sorry if it made any brony mad about my opinion on not liking MLP and make a account on hear i just want to tell some good writers to continue that is all.
2738789 Still seems odd, but who am I to judge.
2738815
sorry if it dont make scene i dont really understand as well why i did this.
good story tho