Applejack wiped a bit of sweat off her forehead and picked up one last apple to add to the cart. It was a good feeling, running a farm. Sure it was hard work, and there was always more to do than could be done in a day, but nothing beat the satisfaction that came from looking at the literal fruit of her labors.
She got to the barn a few minutes later, pulling a cart full of apples that were destined to become sauce. She nudged open the door-
“Aaah! Don’t look!” A wave of purple magic slammed the door shut.
Oh, right. They’d turned the barn into a studio for Sketchy. “Sorry, Twi. Forgot y’all were in here.”
“Applejack?” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “Sorry. I thought it was your brother.”
“It’s fine.” Applejack cleared her throat. “So, uh, can I come in? I need to use the equipment in there.”
There was a long pause. “I, I guess?”
“Thanks.” Applejack hauled the cart of apples inside, where she found Twilight resting on the old bed they’d dragged in here. She was leaning on one side, her wings splayed out behind her, and a book in her hooves, like she’d been reading. Of course, she was also positioned to give Sketchy and Applejack a clear view of the royal assets. Twi seemed plenty aware of it too, considering the blush spreading across her face. Applejack felt a bit flushed herself as she looked away. “So, uh, how’s it going in here?”
“Fine,” Sketchy said without looking up from his work.
“Glad to hear it, I think.” Applejack unhooked the cart, grabbed a knife, and started coring the first apple. “Sorry to interrupt. The family kitchen ain’t big enough to handle a job like this.” She waved a hoof at the industrial-size sink, stove, and oven against the far wall.
“Understood,” Sketchy said.
Applejack glanced over at him, which also meant seeing Twilight’s rear. She looked away immediately. Not that she hadn’t seen all of her friend’s keisters plenty of times—Ponies didn’t wear clothes, after all—but as they said, context was everything.
The first cored and peeled apple went into a large pan, and Applejack grabbed the next. The motions were all familiar to her, comforting even. This would be a completely relaxed moment for her, except for the little details of her friend mooning her on the bed and her not-exactly coltfriend drawing a picture of it.
Life was weird sometimes.
“I’ve finished drawing your head,” Sketchy said after a while. “You can talk, if you want.”
“Are you sure?” Twilight asked.
“Yes.”
No pony said anything.
Applejack cleared her throat and looked over at Twilight, then looked away and went back to peeling and coring.
“So …” Twilight said, “how are … things?”
“Fine, I suppose.” Applejack did her best to shrug casually. “Sketchy’s got an appointment with each of the new models now that he has a place to draw them.” Another glance at the bed, and another quick glance away. “We, uh, we’re hoping to get enough pieces drawn and copied that he’ll be able to run a stand in the marketplace.”
“That’s … good.” Twilight’s voice dropped to barely above a whisper. “Have you done any pictures of Big Mac yet?”
Applejack nearly sliced her hoof open. “Twi, please don’t tell me you want to ogle my brother.”
Twilight’s voice somehow managed to sound like it was blushing. “You have to admit that he’s quite good looking.”
“No I don’t!” Applejack shuddered. “Imagine how you’d feel if I started talking about how sexy Shining Armor is.”
“Point taken,” Twilight said. “Wait, you think my brother is sexy?”
Applejack blushed. “I never said that.”
“You implied it,” Twilight said. “You threatened to start talking about how, ugh, sexy he is, indicating that his attractiveness has been constant and the only change is that you’d start bringing it up.”
“What, specifically, is sexy about him?” Sketchy asked.
“Nothing,” Applejack said quickly.
“Is there any way I could convince you to tell me?” Sketchy asked. “I only have the most basic idea of what makes a stallion attractive.”
Applejack held out for all of five seconds before sighing. “He’s married and has a kid.”
“Which has what to do with his sexiness?” Sketchy added a few lines to his drawing.
Applejack could feel her cheeks turning red. “I kinda have a thing for family ponies, okay? Nothing’s more attractive than a stallion who’s devoted to his wife and loves his daughter.”
“It sounds like you want to have an affair with my brother,” Twilight said, disgust caked onto her voice like mug on a pig.
“That’s not what I meant,” Applejack said. “I want a stallion who could love me and our future children the same way your brother loves Cadance and Flurry.”
Sketchy gave her one of those confused looks. “So you’d be aroused by a picture of Twilight’s brother posing with his wife and daughter?”
Applejack gagged. “There’s so much wrong with what you just said that I don’t even know where to start.”
“Agreed,” Twilight said.
“Would you mind explaining why?” Sketchy asked.
“How about we change the subject and never bring it up again?” Applejack countered.
“I don’t suppose I could pay you to explain it?”
She shook her head. “Nope.”
“Very well.” He added one more line to his drawing and then nodded. “Finished. Thank you for your help, Princess Twilight.”
“You can call me Twilight,” she said, getting up. “Ugh, it’s harder than I expected to hold one position for so long.” She came around to look at Sketchy’s drawing. “Um, Applejack, does my flank really look like that?”
Applejack steeled her nerves enough to take a good look at the picture. “I suppose so, why?”
“I didn’t realize how flabby it looks compared to yours.” Twilight blushed and tucked her tail between her legs. “I think I need to start a morning exercise routine.”
“Your rear’s fine,” Applejack said with a chuckle. “Tell her, Sketchy.”
“I don’t know enough about pony tastes to comment,” Sketchy said. “By the way, should I draw you next?”
Applejack glanced at the bed and flushed. “Well, uh, I’ve still got plenty of apples to peel and core.”
“I can take over,” Twilight said. “Unless you’d rather I didn’t.” She looked at Sketchy then back to Applejack. “I’d understand if you’d prefer a more private setting.”
There were a lot of implications there, and Applejack didn’t much care for any of them. “Nope, go ahead and stay.” She held out the peeling knife hilt first.
Twilight took it and started on a new apple.
“Where do you want me?” Applejack asked.
Sketchy looked around the room for a minute. “A bale of hay, maybe, with your hat off.”
Hay wasn’t exactly comfortable, it itched like mad after a while, but anything was better than the bed. Applejack tossed her hat out of the way and hopped onto the bale. “Now what?”
“Lie on your stomach,” Sketchy said, “propping yourself up on your elbows.” He waited while she did so. “Cross your forelegs. Your back legs too. Perfect. Now angle your tail up slightly. Yes, stay just like that.”
“What kind of face should I make?” Applejack asked.
Sketchy frowned. “What do you mean?”
“If I may,” Twilight said gently, “I think Applejack told you that I evaluated you for ASD, and you seemed to be on the spectrum.”
“Yes.”
“Well,” Twilight continued, “that makes it hard for most ponies to read facial expressions, but for most ponies, the face is the biggest indicator of mood.”
Sketchy blinked a few times. “Really?”
“Really.” Twilight waved at Applejack. “Her body posture might be sexual at the moment, but her face says she’s feeling neutral, even bored.”
“I’m not bored,” Applejack said. “Just waiting while you finish explaining things to him.” Though to be fair, Twilight’s explanations could be plenty boring sometimes.
“What type of face should she be making?” Sketchy asked.
“I’m not an expert,” Twilight said, “but I think it depends on what emotion you’re trying to convey. If she looked arrogant, for example, it would probably be read as a challenging look, like she’s waiting for the viewer to impress her.”
“What expression would suit Applejack best?” Sketchy asked.
“I’m not sure.” Twilight turned to Applejack. “What expression do you think would make for the best picture?”
Applejack shrugged. “As if I’d know, but I guess this is supposed to be sexy art, so maybe something attractive?” She did her best to give bedroom eyes. “Like this, maybe.”
Twilight laughed. “I don’t know what you were going for, but you look like Pinkie when somepony asks her to throw a party.”
Fine, so she didn’t have much practice at bedroom eyes. Applejack tried to look like she really wanted sex. “How about now?”
“You look hungry.”
Maybe like she was in love?
“Sleepy.”
In a cuddly mood?
“Aggressive.”
Applejack sighed. “Maybe I’m not cut out for this sort of thing.”
“You’ve only been trying for a minute.” Twilight tapped a hoof against her chin. “Imagine you’re tucking Apple Bloom into bed after a long day together.”
She didn’t need to imagine that, just remember one of the many times she’d done it. A smile worked its way across her face.
“Yes,” Twilight said, “hold onto that expression. It’s perfect.”
Applejack did her best.
“Now draw her like that,” Twilight said.
“Thank you,” Sketchy said as he got to work. “After this, would you please teach me the different expressions and what they mean?”
Twilight smiled. “I’d be glad to.”
Just then, Big Mac opened the barn door. “AJ, you-” His gaze fell on Applejack, and his face twisted up like he’d just seen an eldritch abomination from the blackness beyond space. Or his sister posing like a pinup model. Either or.
Applejack’s cheeks went bright red.
“Nope!” Big Mac declared, slamming the door shut.
“What was that about?” Sketchy asked.
Applejack shuddered. “Forget it and draw.” She also made a mental note to not look Big Mac in the eyes for a week.
9066910
They are now.
We need fanart of this!!!
You know, something I didn't mention while rereading, but notice now that I've read a few more stories on here: I appreciate that you write out AJ's dialogue as you would any other character, rather than replace "I", "I'd", "I've", etc, with "Ah", "Ah'd", and "Ah've", like so many others do. It makes reading her dialogue flow much more easily.
Draw not drew
I wonder if Sketchy is thinking seeing that expression: “huh...that’s nice.”
The thought occurs that this is the pony who's known for saying, "We don't normally wear clothes," back in season 1. She dismissed the context Rarity was worried about back then. Maybe you could use that somewhere?
Also, Maud in the previous chapter was hilarious. I had the idea that a double date with her, AJ, Stick Boi, and Sketchy could be fun to see, though I'm not sure AJ could keep up.
9066972
I guarantee that that or something close already exists.
These chapter titles are getting out of control. Entirely unasseptable.
9066972
Sorry mate, closest I could find,
img00.deviantart.net/4f30/i/2016/061/2/7/looking_for_feedback_by_baron_engel-d9tpwlx.jpg
9066788
For all that you say that, you've a very good grasp of how this works. There's a difference between good pinup art and regular old smut, and that difference is the artists ability to capture the personality of his subject. I'm glad that they discuss the matter of expression, a minor change alters the entire meaning. here's a great example, contrast this,
img00.deviantart.net/79a3/i/2016/200/3/7/so_would_you_like_to_do_something__by_baron_engel-daal364.jpg
with this.
img00.deviantart.net/bf57/i/2016/286/7/5/so_would_you_like_to_do_something_2_0_by_baron_engel-dakx6sq.jpg
finally, it might be a good idea for sketchy to compile a reference guide of facial expressions? Both for use in his work, and as a kind of cheat sheet.
img00.deviantart.net/5126/i/2017/310/c/a/applebloom_facial_studies_01_by_baron_engel-dbsy0xp.jpg
It's amazing how expressive ears can be on an equine. I'm almost jealous.
I don't envy Big Mac. That's the sort of image you can feel zipping past your eyes and burning itself onto the surface of your brain.
I don't know why is that so embarrassing, looking your sister doing those poses, my mom took an entire erotic photoshoot made by my aunt in front of me with lingerie and everything (she was going to send the photos to a friend she had) and I was like normal not caring one bit, my mom the same, didn't give a shit I was there doing my business (actually looking because it was kind of fun XD), I was mostly encouraging her with my aunt giving man advice and such, and I was 15 at the time, or perhaps is a difference in culture, here that is normal between family (giving shit about the body and stuff).
orig00.deviantart.net/90f2/f/2016/286/b/4/little_aj_by_hillbe-dakxnax.jpg
Now if Sketchy was a cartoonist
Spikey was so delightful when he waddled away in anger . . .
arggggggggg!
Don't worry buddy I've got you covered...
Dude you’re killing me with these titles!
9066973
Every professional writer or editor I've asked about it has said doing it this way is better for proper word flow, and you can use word choice to help the reader to understand that the character has an accent anyway, such as "ain't," and "gonna."
9067001
Thanks! I'll go fix that.
9067003
I think most people would think that on seeing Applejack like that.
9067065
It would be a nice reversal to have Maud, Mudbriar, and Sketchy all feeling comfortable and communicating easily, while Applejack feels like the odd one.
9067223
Thanks for making me laugh!
9067253
I'm constantly amazed at the artwork you're able to turn up, and a cheat sheet for Sketchy is a really good idea. I'll see if I can add that into some future chapter.
9067268
He'll never look at hay bales the same way.
9067306
The difference is probably culture, or so I would guess. Where are you from, if you don't mind my asking? I'm always interested to learn about other culturals and how they differ from my own.
9067394
That picture of AJ is adorable!
9067674
Rats, the judge told me to stop killing people.
9067715
In all honesty I’m loving this story, dude. Keep up the good work and don’t feel rushed!
9066973
9067699
well sure, 'tis a matter of accent. Anyone who's watched the show extensively can hear her voice in these lines, they don't need any help. The real trick is in proper word choice. Even ignoring accent, Applejack has a very different vocabulary from say, Rarity. The subtle differences in mannerisms is part of what gives this story it's verisimilitude.
9067710
Well thanks, but I can't take any credit for 'em. As I've said before, they're all the work of one Baron Engel. I found the guy on DeviantArt awhile back; don't remember the path I took to get there, but I know where I ended up. He's apparently a lucid dreamer, and he's been dreaming cohesive dream-time story arcs for decades now. So way back in 2011-2012 his subconscious started spinning up one in Equestria, and it's still going!
img00.deviantart.net/adb2/i/2012/214/a/d/starting_over__by_baron_engel-d59j6zz.jpg
Best thing is, this dude's a professional illustrator, (probably inspired by all the buggery he sees when he's asleep), so he keeps an illustrated dream journal and posts it. Here's the first post. just go to the bottom of his "MLP dreamscape" folder and work your way backwards. Now this dude has read his Lovecraft, and his subconscious is happy to use it. So stuff gets messed up in places, but they pull through.
orig00.deviantart.net/5820/f/2012/212/1/2/judgement__by_baron_engel-d59b312.jpg
Also, while he's a great guy and old-school respectful, his muse is a hedonistic minx. She's forever bugging him for pinups, so outside of his journal gallery things can get very NSFW. But tasteful, always tasteful. but it's not all pinups, (mostly, but not all) he's done character studies, building sketches, all kinds of stuff.
img00.deviantart.net/e45c/i/2015/075/6/c/sweet_apple_acres_by_baron_engel-d8m10ky.jpg
It's something I've never seen before, a believable, illustrated, first-hand depiction of life in Equestria. Adventure, comedy, romance, it's quite a story.
img00.deviantart.net/810e/i/2017/206/0/b/the_good__the_bad__the_weird_by_baron_engel-dbhm909.jpg
9067731
The story's actually finished already. I'm just uploading it a bit at a time so I can see how people react to each chapter before the next one comes up.
9067733
Ah 'verisimilitude' possibly my favorite concept in writing. Thanks for your words of praise, by the way. I really appreciate them.
9067756
Thanks for the suggestion! I'll go check him out as soon as I'm finished with my writing for the evening.
9067767
Have fun!
9067767
Oh! Before I forget! First, when I mentioned the Lovecraft stuff, I meant it. watch out for that, but trust that things will get better. Also, remember you said,
'tis a mirror with him, so the narration's a little, rough, grammatically, so don't be surprised by that. It is very much worth reading. Check out the comments too, he often elaborates on minor details in conversation.
9067778
I'm actually a big fan of Lovecraft-inspired stuff, but thanks for the warning. Rough grammar sometimes bugs me (I got my degree in English and a minor in Editing), but I can usually see past it to the story beneath. Anyway, thanks again for the suggestion, and I'll be sure to read the comments on his stuff!
9067704
True. But to get a reaction from sketch however small would be considerable
Karma is a bitch Big Mac. You aren't the only Apple with powerful sex appeal.
This is awesome! Looking forward to future chapters.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2018/5/17/1734713__safe_artist-colon-guinefurrie_applejack_applebutt_cowboy+hat_cutie+mark_female_freckles_grass_hat_laying+on+side_looking+at+you_looking+back_o.png
9067758
Smart!
Oh, you just HAVE to do this?
You HAVE to give me ammunition?
:D
heheheh...
internet searching time...
derpicdn.net/img/2013/9/27/436503/full.gif
or, a Twilight nope
derpicdn.net/img/2012/1/6/49/full.gif
There are fics for thatI mean wait whatOh, and that was totally Big Mac's fault
No surprise that AJ is most in tune with stroge.
My reaction to this chapter.
Sorry, Twi-twi, Sunbun's reaction would be beyond price. I could not deprive the multiverse of such bounty even for love.