A new beginning

by Da Bunnana King

Chapter Ten: Hard Days Work

A new beginning
By Da Bunnana King

Chapter Ten: Hard Days Work
===

It was hard to even walk straight. Not because I was still trying to get the hang of it but because of what Remi had called me.

‘Does she really see me as her father?’ I thought as I tried to compose myself, 'I mean, she doesn't have anypony else looking after her and I am the closest thing that she has to a father right now.'

But it occurred to me that it was a class full of colts and fillies, anypony in their could've been saying goodbye to their dad. It saddened me a bit but I quickly dismissed the thought as I knew it was her voice. It had to be her voice, I mean how many other fillies have an Australian accent?

Then it hit me like a sack of bricks, I had no idea how to be a father.

'It couldn't be that hard... could it?' I thought to myself as I quickly looked back at the school to slowly see it vanish off into the distance.

'I mean all have to do is look after her. That means I'll need to feed her, keep her clothed, have all she needs for school and maybe a little pocket money on the side. So I guess that means I'll have to get a better job than apple bucking... maybe the...' I began to think as I slapped myself out of my line of thought.

"No, I'm not going to ever join the military ever again. Its brought me nothing but good being in the army and look where its got me!" I shouted to myself as I attempted to calm myself down.

"... I don't want to be ripped away from my family again and I have to be there for Remi. She is my daughter now," I said to myself as I sighed and sat down on my flank.

"Life isn't going to get much easier is it?" I asked the long winding dirt road that laid ahead of me as if it would respond.

"I guess not," I said as I sighed once more. A gentle breeze began to blow behind me, gently tossing the hairs of my mane and tail but almost as if to tell me to carry on.

Letting out another sigh I picked myself up and carried on down the long and winding dirt road towards a forest of apple trees.
===

"Yeeehaaaaaw!" exclaimed an orange pony as I watched her kick all the apples off a tree with her hind legs.

"I guess this must be the place," I said underneath my breath as I slowly trotted past a white picket fence and underneath a sign that had a large red apple on it.

"Applejack!" yelled a massive red stallion who was carrying a bucket of apples on his back, "Somepony is coming up the front path! Go see what he wants!"

"Alright Big Mac but you got to finish up what's left of the southern field, ya hear!" yelled who I assumed must be Applejack as she quickly trotted over to me.

"Howdy," Applejack said as she stood in front of me, "What can I do for ya' today?"

"Ummm... Hi, you're friend Twilight Sparkle said you could have a job opening for another farm hand?" I asked as I was almost thought she was going to turn me down on the spot with the funny look she gave me.

"Hmmm," she hummed as she rubbed her chin with her forehoof and began to looked me over as if I were a show pony, "Well you ain't no Big Macintosh or Caramel but I suppose you couldhelp buck some trees and cart them back to the barn. I tell ya what, if ya' follow me, I can show you the ropes."

"Thank you so much," I said as I exhaled my breath I was holding onto to make my chest look bigger.

"You're welcome," she said as she began leading me down a long narrow dirt path to a small orchard of red shiny apples, "Name's Applejack by the way, mind if I can ask you yours?"

"Blue Rune," I said as I looked at the green trees we passed that held baskets underneath them filled up with apples.

"So Blue, how'd ya' meet Twilight?" she asked me in a friendly sort of manner.

"Well a friend of mine said that she could help me with my magic," I replied as we continued down the dirt track.

"Oh I see. She always did want a young stallion who was as interested in magic as she was," she said as I was confused as to what she had said.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Well you see, before you became her coltfriend she was going out with one of them newfoals who seemed to be quick on his hooves with magic and always quick with a joke. Though after he fell into a terrible crowd of ponies called Ponies for Earths Rebirths or something, they kinda broke up seeing as how the Princess frowns upon them," she said as we approached a shady grove of trees that held more apples than I had ever seen in my life.

"What?!" I exclaimed as I almost whinnied in fright.

"What, she didn't tell you about her and that Shadow Jester character?" she asked as if I had already knew about his.

"No! Why would she?! All she's doing is teaching me magic," I almost yelled back in fright.

"Oh..." she said as she turned the shade of red as the apples that surrounded us, "I thought you two were going out seeing as she's been much more happier these days."

I didn't know how to respond to what had been said about the stallion who had snuck me out of Australia and how he and Twilight were close.

"Umm... well," I stammered as I tried quickly to think of my next words, "Well, I guess I vague on how I came to knowTwilight, that and I guess it happens to everypony. I mean we are all ponies, right?" I said trying to comfort her.

"Yeah... I guess so, but we’re all ponies'? I ain't ever heard that phrase before, you from Manehatten or Canterlot?" she asked as the names almost made me chuckle.

“No, I’m actually from Australia,” I replied which almost seemed to make her stop in her tracks.

“Oh... I guess that makes sense...” she said as there was an awkward silence between the both of us.

“So... if you don’t mind, do you mind telling me why you ended up ponifying?” she awkwardly asked as I could feel the tension between us growing.

“Not at all. Well, I was going to ponify after I left the army because Australia was going down the drain and I didn’t like the fact that most of the land was ruled over the HLF and PER. Also my mum was ponified after... well after an accident we had with the HLF and there was nothing left holding me back,” I said as I did my best to dodge the real reason I ponified myself.

“Huh, so nothing to gain from stayin’ in a place that didn’t exactly like you. Well I guess that’s a good reason, well unless you were in big trouble with those nasty HLF ponies and ya’ did it to get out of trouble with ‘em,” she said as if she already knew the answer.

“Not really but we were on... shaky terms but I didn’t want to risk it,” I said as I rapidly though on how to change the topic.

“So... how do I get the apples off the tree?” I asked as we approached a grove that was full of empty buckets.

“Well thats easy,” she said as she trotted up to a tree and turned around, “Just kick ‘em as hard as you can and the apples just fall off.”

She then reared up on her forelegs and let out a mighty kick, shaking the apple tree violently. As the tree shook a near on torrent of apples fell from the branches landing in or around the buckets.

“Wow,” I said as she lowered herself back down and crossed one of her forehoof across the other.

“Thanks,” she said as she moved out of the way, “Now why don’t you give it a try?”

“Ummm, alright,” I hesitantly said as moved over to the tree, “So I just kick it?”

“Well its more like a buck but give it a nice strong kick with your legs. Go on give it a try,” Applejack said as I backed up towards the tree.

I looked back over my shoulders and saw the tree was right behind my hind legs. Taking a big breath in I slowly raised myself on my forelegs and began building up power within my legs and back.

“Here goes nothing,” I said underneath my breath and then let out all the built up energy I had within me.

If felt my hooves connect with the tree as well as all the force of that buck went into that tree. The tree reverberated with the force of my kick and as the tree shook I saw apples fall towards the ground. There were only a few apples but I say for a first time try it was an alright amount.

“Heheheh,” Applejack quietly laughed, “Not bad for a colt but you’ll get better.”

“Well I guess I’ve got a lot of trees to practice on,” I said as I reared up on my legs again.

“Yeah sure but if you use your legs more and not your back it would be a whole lot easier,” she said as I carefully balanced on my forehooves.

“Alright so like,” I began as I let another massive kick out using my legs instead of putting my back into it, “That?”

As my hooves hit the thick bark of the tree it shook more than the last and almost every apple I could see that was on the tree was now on the ground.

“Whooohie,” she hollered as she reared up in excitement, “Now we’re talking and between the both of us I think we can get this orchard harvested before nightfall.”

“Well...” I said as I pawed at the ground, “I have to pick up my daughter after school-.”

“Ah’ can understand,” she said as she began picking up the apples, “I should probably pick up Applebloom myself but between the new mouths to feed and this years harvest, I barely have the time.”

“Oh?” I asked as I helped pick up a few apples with my magic, “Is she your daughter or something?”

“No she’s mah sister,” Applejack said as she began bucking a tree near a bunch of buckets.

“Ahhh... wait does she happen to be a yellow filly with a big red bow?” I asked as I remembered the small group of fillies Remi ran off to play with this morning.

“Yes but how come?” she hesitantly answered.

“My daughter ran off with her and two of her friends. Seemed to become thick as thieves from the beginning,” I said as I finished picking up the apples with my magic.

“Well thats Applebloom,” she said while letting out a little chuckle at the end, “I could imagine she’s trying to get your daughter into her little club of hers.”

“Little club?” I asked as I moved over to another tree with buckets underneath it to begin bucking again.

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders,” she said as I began to buck the tree, “Its a little club of her, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They try all these talents to get their cutie marks.”

“Heh, cute,” I commented as I began picking up the apples that feel once I bucked the tree.
= = = = =

Source

Author's Note:

Author’s Note: I’m just going to stop it here and stuff. Its been a bit of a hassle to write it because I’m doing this in the tiny amounts of free time I have between my homework and assignments. Also here is a picture of Blue Rune apple bucking a tree... well up there because A/N doesn't like url or img for some reason... anyhow, later.

Comments

[terrycloth]

You're not fleeing from a dark past full of bad ponies who'll track you down and set fire to your workplace out of revenge, are you?

Noooooooooo.

[Da Bunnana King]

2293415
Bro don't worry. I got this.