4. The Narrow Path
Of the many things Applejack loved about her work, the very earliest light of dawn was amongst her favourites. When most ponies spoke of waking at dawn or the first light of day they usually meant the first visible appearance of the sun over the horizon but Applejack knew better. Celestia's sun was just the light-show finale to an event that began much, much earlier, with the very first pale light of the so-called false dawn, that transformed the sky from vivid, living black to a milky blue-white, speckled with none but the brightest stars.
The moon had long since set and the sky was brightening noticeably as Applejack made her way to the main gate. No shadows touched the dew-soaked ground; pale light fell from every angle and none, bright enough to see the world and nothing more.
A passing fieldworker nodded to Applejack and she returned the greeting with smile and a cheerful 'howdy!' without slowing.
As she rounded a final corner and the gate came into view Applejack paused. She had believed that Sable would consider 'dawn' to be the rising sun and had been prepared to wait the extra hour, yet here the dusky Unicorn was, waiting patiently by the gate, occasionally cropping sweet wildflowers from a tall patch by the road. Applejack forced herself forward and into Sable's line of sight; The unicorn's face lit up with a broad half-moon smile and she bounded to the gate.
"Applejack!"
"Boy howdy, y'all are earlier than I hoped," Applejack said in greeting. Sable's eyebrows rose further up her face that Applejack thought possible. She seemed perplexed.
"Am I here too soon? I can come back later."
"No sugarcube, y'all are right on time. I was... shoot, forget it. Come on."
Applejack kicked the gate open and led Sable back to the main yard here a dozen or so workers were gathering in a ragged group under the constant harangue of Granny Smith. She left Sable at the edge of the group and stepped up onto the deck beside her grandmother, surveying her herd of workers in the slowly rising light. Stallions predominated, as they always did in such laborious work, but there were plenty of young mares too, hopeful faces eager for any employment they could find. What they had found was Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack tilted her hat back and cleared her throat.
"Now ah'm sure y'all have heard by now that Flannel quit last week an' took off without any word why. Well I don't care why. Anypony that'll quit on his friends without even a word ain't worth carin' about." A quick glance around the crowd to see who reacted to that. Some down-turned mouths, but they didn't argue, and enough nodded agreement that she didn't have to worry about it. "Y'also probably know about the little tet ah tet between Ginger an' her pitchfork, which happened cause she was tryin' to rush to please me an' not payin' attention to herself. I want you to all remember, I ain't gonna be happy if all y'all break your legs tryin' to make me happy. I'd have a short harvest an' all my workers in one piece if I had mah druthers."
The little crowd regarded her silently. Her regulars had heard something like this from her before and she knew it probably bored some of them, but Applejack knew she'd never be able to stop telling some variation of it. If only she'd listened to herself that one year...
"Now some of y'all are new hires this year, some of y'all have kept comin' back every year fer years, an' I know it's not jus' because of Granny Smith's pretty face." That one drew a few laughs, even though she'd probably said exactly the same joke last year, and the year before that.
"Anythin' that ain't familiar, just ask fer help. All y'all have been here a few weeks so you know the deal with apple work by now... ceptin' you, Sable."
Applejack pointed at the unicorn, who had managed to sneak to the back of the crowd by this point. As one they turned to look at her; she quailed under the sudden attention.
"Now folks, this here is miss Sable Moonshine, a friend of mine who has kindly offered to help out for a little while because we're so short. I know we don't normally get unicorns on the farm an' I know the rep they have amongst some folks but that ain't a fair one, an' if I hear even a whiff of tribalist nonsense off've any one of y'all I'll buck your hiney clear over the Everfree, harvest or no."
She waited, knowing she'd get no protest from these ponies, though a tiny flicker of resentment passed across the face of one stallion at the front of the group. A solid worker, Applejack knew, who'd been coming to the farm for years. By now the crowd's attention was back on her and Sable had somehow been pulled into the body of the group. Good. Let her get used to being surrounded by 'stinky earth ponies', maybe it'd knock a little reality into her–
And what was that about tribalists, Applejack?
"Cause she's new, I'll be takin' Sable out to the Coxes. After that she'll be workin' with Me an' Spritzer over the west orchard. The rest of you, y'all know what I want, y'all know what you're doin'," she said, and they seemed to take that as a signal to disperse. Applejack raised her voice over the hubbub. "Make sure y'all git the heaviest trees first, I don't want another one down, an' see Mac if y'all still need a hint where you're meant to be! Sable!"
The unicorn turned at Applejack's final shout, blinking and nervy, trying to look small and insignificant but only managing to look lost. Applejack felt an unreasonable desire to put a comforting leg around her the way she used to do with Apple Bloom when she was upset, but it quickly passed.
"Y'all okay?"
"I am well, Applejack. I appear to have difficulty in close proximity to so many ponies."
A brief hot flush flashed across Applejack's shoulders. Maybe she should have asked before dumping her in with everypony like that.
"Don't like crowds huh? Well don't worry, we'll be out in the trees soon, y'all can relax then."
Applejack took Sable toward the orchards. The Coxes was one of the oldest orchards on the farm, tiny compared to the huge and productive red and golden delicious trees on the west and north. They didn't travel well, and they didn't produce much of a yield but, for all that they were a very popular fruit.
"Y'all ever bucked apples before?"
"It is not an occupation I have previously undertaken," Sable said, her voice studiously neutral. She looked around the orchard as they walked in, staring at the trees as Applejack had done yesterday, but it was obvious that she couldn't yet discern which were ready for harvest.
"Not that one sugarcube."
Applejack lead Sable away from a tree she had been examining and toward another, where several baskets had already been laid out the day before. Applejack spied a tall stack of baskets a little deeper into the orchard and smiled. Efficiency, preparation, that's where it was at.
"Now, your standard applebuck. Y'all need sturdy legs for this," she said, casting a critical eye over Sable's backside. Her chubby build hid a surprisingly athletic frame. When Applejack looked up she found Sable blushing furiously. "What's wrong with ya now?"
"It is not... I am not used to being appraised so," Sable replied. Her blush deepened and she turned away. "I understand that other ponies may sometimes look at our posterior, it is only natural, but never so openly! We do not do consider such things polite—at home."
"Well y'all ain't at your castle now, princess," Applejack replied. She turned slightly and held out her back leg. "Now take a look, see how I developed that there femoral bicep, I think is the fancy term? Ya got somethin' similar goin' on which makes me think y'all might work out more than I thought."
She lowered her leg, ignoring the fact that Sable had barely paid attention to it and positioned herself next to the tree.
"So. Applebuckin' looks simple but ya gotta know a few things. First, your tree has to be ready. You ain't used to that part so I've had somepony mark up the trees y'all gonna be buckin' this mornin'." Applejack pointed at a small wooden stack pressed into the earth beneath the nearest tree. "Stick to those an' you'll be fine. Now when you're at your tree ya gotta make sure you're under the lean. See how this one's all leanin' over to the side here?"
Sable nodded, though again she was staring off into some distant place. Applejack sighed and carried on.
"Every tree leans over just a bit. You git yoursel' under the lean so you can git more force against it. Then you gotta—Sable are y'all even listenin?"
Sable jumped as if stung and looked at Applejack with wide eyes. At least her blushing had stopped. "I am sorry. I must have lost my concentration."
"First day jitters," Applejack said, trying to put as much kindness into the words as she could. It wasn't too hard. Sable did really seem quite nice, just a bit flighty. "Where was I?"
"Leaning?"
"So you were listenin'!" Applejack glanced up at her tree and shuffled around it half a step. "When the tree leans t'wards you it works harder to fight back against your buck. Ya gotta make that tree do your work for ya."
"So it is not merely the application of brute force?"
"No it ain't, an' I'm tryin' to explain that it ain't! Behind the lean, I said, right?"
"Yes..." Sable's expression spoke of her doubt. She turned to examine the tree.
"Okay then. Y'also gotta find the sweet spot. Every tree has this little spot that'll shake it all up like a storm wind. Twilight said it's called a resonance node or somethin' but I ain't much on the fancy science stuff. This one—" Applejack raised her rear leg and tapped it against the tree. A single apple dropped from its branch and bounced, once again, from Sable's head. She glared at the wayward fruit. "Is right there. See how the bark is all mussed and such?"
"I believe I do!"
"You get a feel for 'em after a while."
Applejack reared up on her forelegs and let fly, striking the tree with a loud thock. A torrent of apples showered into the baskets around her, not a single one missing its target. Applejack nodded as she surveyed her first crop of the season.
"And there you go. Now your turn."
"Applejack, I am not sure if—"
"I said GIT!"
Sable squeaked and bounded to the spot Applejack had just vacated. She blinked and looked at the farmer, her eyes wide and blinking.
Applejack wouldn't admit she enjoyed tormenting newbies. It wasn't enjoyment. She took pride in passing on her knowledge to new hires and watching their skills improve under her careful ministrations. If it meant shouting at them occasionally, well... she didn't enjoy it. That would have been cruel and tyrannical. She smiled beatifically at Sable.
"Remember, Sable, I said no slackin'. Y'all work for me today, that means you do as I say until Luna's moon is peekin' at us, or you go home right now."
"My... um... yes. Of course."
"Now, I'm goin' easy on ya, cause you're a friend of Twilight," Applejack continued. She stepped around Sable and shuffled her over slightly to line her up with the tree. "And 'cause you ain't never done this before, and 'cause you offered so nicely, but I can't baby you through it all day. Okay, 'member what I said?"
"Behind the lean, find the sweet spot..." Sable reached out her rear leg and pressed it against the tree. Applejack saw the tree shiver fractionally and wondered if that was some specific reaction to a unicorn's touch. Probably just the wind, she thought, putting it from her mind.
"Okay. Brace your forelegs... Little wider. And kick."
The tree shook dramatically as Sable bucked at it with all her strength and for a moment Applejack was impressed. Just for a moment. Sable's expectant, cheery examination of the baskets was quickly replaced with a look of anguish. They both looked up at the apples still resting in their branches.
"I'll give ya this much, Sable, that's a mighty fine pair of legs you got."
Luna stared at Applejack, mouth working as she tried to come up with a suitable retort. The earth pony meant well, surely she did, but it was not exactly the help she required in dealing with this task. Applejack had made it look so easy! Just tense, buck...
THOCK
The tree shook again. A moment later single apple bounced off Luna's head.
"This is becoming a habit," she muttered darkly. Applejack laughed, probably taking it to be a joke. Luna grit her teeth and tried to smile.
"It'll come, y'all got the technique mostly right, I guess you're just learnin' your way into it." She leaned down close to Luna's face and lowered her voice. "Try aimin' a little lower. Now like I said, I gotta go help Mac. Breakfast break is at nine, I'll either see you then or at lunch."
Luna lifted her eyes to the heavens as Applejack departed. The sky was brighter but her sister's sun was still half an hour away from its rising, which meant she had perhaps three hours until this 'breakfast break' Applejack had promised. Perhaps once she had humiliated herself here she could take the opportunity to sneak out while Applejack was busy with her other charges.
No, we are not going to give up this easily, Luna. We are the princess, the embodiment of the moon and stars, beloved of our little ponies. We shall prevail.
The tree leaned over her like a taunting nightmare, laden with the bitter fruit of despair. She glared at it, willing the apples to fall of their own accord, but they stubbornly remained attached to their parent. Perhaps she could use her magic—but no, Applejack had informed her that magic did some unspecified thing to the apples when they were picked.
Luna leaned forward to examine an apple in the nearest basket, then peered up at the tree again. She recalled the apple she'd picked the previous day, the one Applejack had declared only good enough for mulch, and wondered. It had appeared to be a perfectly healthy fruit. A magical aura sprung up and gently plucked an apple from the tree to bring it before Luna's face. She sniffed at it and smelled a perfectly ordinary Orange Pippin, ripened to perfection. Its skin was a little russetted but otherwise unblemished. Luna took a bite.
She spat out the fruit and almost immediately felt a dry heave clutch at her throat and stomach. It was indescribably, disgustingly horrendous, burning her mouth like acid with a flavour that was reminiscent of... of...
Once, a very long time ago, Luna had been required to eat raw meat during the formal conclusion of a treaty with the Griffons. A mere morsel of flesh, torn from some animal they had slaughtered in their honour not an hour before. It had been a test, of her spirit, of the will for peace in Equestria. Luna had been sick for days afterwards and until today it had been the worst tasting meal of her life.
Luna tossed the apple away and tried to suppress her nausea, first by ignoring it, then eventually by resorting to an inhibitor spell, which seemed to do the trick. She stared up at the tree again and sighed.
"No magic," she said to the orchard at large. As if it would answer, as if it would explain. How could she not know what caused that? Perhaps Celestia would know – or Twilight, she would have a book somewhere on the subject, surely?
The sky was definitely brighter now, the sun surely well on its way to rising and her time, suddenly so precious, was slipping away. Luna glared at her tree, her nemesis beneath his bushy crown, then turned and delivered another kick.
THOCK
Occasionally, in the course of her duties, she dealt with a bureaucrat or functionary with the approximate density and flexibility of this tree, but they would usually at least respond to a kick in the face. What was the secret?
THOCK
Perhaps it was the angle of her hooves? Luna was sure she aiming right at the 'sweet spot' Applejack had indicated. Was it the presence of her magic, or perhaps the fact that she was the princess that prevented her success?
THOCK!
"We are becoming vexed," she growled. Did only earth ponies possess the necessary magic? But that didn't make sense. Luna embodied the magics of all three races.
THOCK
"We are the princess of the night, regent of the moon! We shepherd the very stars of the sky! We shall not admit defeat to a mere sapling!"
THOCK!
"Thrice-damned nest of the hesperides, thy torment shall be infinite and unending! We shall summon the very depths of tartarus upon thee!"
THOCK
"Thy bark peel, thy fruit rot on thy branches! Break thou, boughs of mortal wood and perish thee within the pits of flaming hades! We command thee, release thy burden!"
THOCK
As she bucked Luna placed her fore-hooves on the wet mush left over from her earlier apple experiment. She slipped, forelegs splaying just enough that her rear hooves struck the tree a little lower than she had aimed previously. The shower of apples that fell about Luna was so dense that she almost couldn't see through it and she instinctively ducked, crouching on the floor like a lost foal in a thunderstorm.
Only moments passed before she came to her senses and remembered there was nothing to fear from mere fruit. She struggled to her feet and looked about; every basket was full to brimming and the floor was littered with yet more apples, possibly more than should have been allowed to fall, but she didn't care.
"I did it..."
She glanced over her shoulder at the tree and smirked at the deep impression her hooves had left in the bark. Perhaps in future she should pay more attention to the precise location of these 'sweet spots'. Luna shook off the burning feeling in her legs and stepped away from the tree to better examine her handiwork. Heat roared in her chest, fire in her limbs and her eyes flashed with triumph. She had beaten the tormentor and forced it bear her brand!
"Huzzah! Success has been achieved!"
The moment was ruined somewhat by the sticky wet feeling spreading onto her scalp. A spittle of apple juice ran down the bridge of her snout. Luna squinted her eyes up and found an apple impaled on her horn. She shook her head to dislodge it and sighed at the injustice of the world.
But she'd done it, nothing could take that from her now. Luna trotted over to a nearby water trough and ducked her head beneath the tepid surface, sluicing water down her mane and face. She wiped her horn on her side and looked up at the rest of the orchard, heart beating firmly in her chest and the familiar heat of well-earned pride in her stomach.
She skipped breakfast. Though Luna enjoyed food and had often engaged great feasts in the distant past, as a functional immortal she didn't strictly need to eat anything and could easily go for days without, and today she was more than happy to go without. She had a mission: Applejack's Apples would be bucked from the heavens themselves and she, Luna, would be the one to do it!
The sun was climbing high to noon, cutting shadows short and blazing against the burdened backs of Applejack's fieldworkers. The orchards echoed to the steady thunk of applebucking, the sounds bouncing back and forth in odd rhythms that never quite merged yet never quite stood apart, punctuated by the occasional rumble of a heavy crop tumbling to the ground.
It was good, Applejack thought. Good enough anyway. She stepped to one side of the path to allow an apple-laden cart space to crawl past and gave the haulier and cheery greeting before walking on.
The first day of harvest was always deceptively bountiful as the easiest crops were tumbled. A less-experienced farmer might believe the worst of their days were behind them, their future a pile of crisp, firm fruitflesh and leisurely strolls between remaining trees. Applejack was a nothing if not experienced. She could see the signs already; most of the apples they were harvesting today would be sold immediately, mostly on the market in Ponyville, because they were on the very edge of ripe perfection. Too perfect was never a good thing, and that was the problem. There were too many that were too perfect.
It had dawned on Applejack, as she had walked the orchards that very morning and examined the crop, that many more of the trees were readying themselves for harvest together than she had planned for, which meant much of the early crop would either have to be sold short in bulk to a merchant for immediate transport or she'd have to lay out extra to have another clamp cellar enchanted. More cost, more money from an already tight budget, and it was clear they'd still lose a significant amount of the crop when that scheduled storm arrived. She'd have to sound out a few merchants and get a price for the storage.
In the normal scheme of things that would have been where her problems ended and began. Today had presented an additional and potential rather worrying issue that Applejack just couldn't put aside. The possibility of Sable's help had alleviated some of Applejack's worry about the shortage of workers, but in her turn the young unicorn had presented her own, extra set of problems.
"So you're sayin' she didn't show up for breakfast at all?"
"Aye, Jack."
Applejack pursed her lips and refused to speak for a moment. She dearly loved her Bittish cousin and she was an excellent apple bucker, but Apple Spritzer's habitual nickname always set her teeth on edge.
"She were on t'coxes? Them ain't so 'ard as all that. Tha's got work t'make th'bloody things stay in t'bloody tree at 'ome."
It also didn't help that her accent was... interesting. Applejack nodded and tried to see the truth of Spritzer's statement, but the nagging fear that she'd made a mistake letting an untrained unicorn mare – who might or might not be a noble – buck apples, even a relatively easy crop, was starting to wear at her mind.
"Spritzer, y'all know I couldn't say no to help. She seemed so—"
"Soft hearted idiot, tha needs ponies wi' proper legs for t'buckin and tha knows it! Honestly Jack, tha let a unicorn—"
"Remember what I said, Spritzer. Just 'cause y'all are family don't change none of that."
"Jack, tha couldn't buck me over t'Everfree if tha'ad a bloody steam engine strapped to tha legs." Apple Spritzer's grin faded under Applejack's frosty glare. She stared at the ground for a moment, ears twitching uncertainly. "Aye. Well, lets not test it."
The coxes seemed quiet when they reached them. Applejack stared at the orchard, uncertain of whether she wanted to enter and find... what? She wasn't even sure what she was worried about. Had Sable gone home, was she passed out, had she done something stupid like harvest everything with her magic? Celestia have mercy if she'd done that, because Applejack certainly wouldn't...
"Tha's reet nervy, Jack. She trouble?"
"She's a friend of Twilight," Applejack replied, unable to keep the doubt from her voice.
"T'scary one wi' t'books? Sounds trouble to me!"
Applejack ignored the comment and stepped forward to the orchard, dread hovering in her chest until she noticed the first round of baskets.
"Well would you look at that..."
"Eris, thy fruit I claim and thy defeat assure for none are so fair as I!"
THOCK
Spritzer and Applejack glanced at each other in mutually shared incomprehension as they made their way between the trees. Beneath every tree Applejack had marked lay a ring of baskets filled to overflowing, with many spilled on the grass at first but becoming neater as they moved deeper into the orchard. Sable's voice echoed through the trees in an aggressive sing-song as she worked.
"Thy hold upon thy hostages cease, blackguard!"
THOCK
"I am the scythe, I am the black of night, I tak—Applejack!?"
Sable stepped away from her tree, blushing through her dark coat and looking every way but at the two ponies now approaching her. "I did not expect you so soon!"
"Sable, it's past noon. Y'all missed breakfast."
"Oh. I suppose I was rather lost in the experience."
"The experience..."
Sable nodded, returning to her tree. She gave it an almighty buck and a shower of apples cascaded down around them. "The joy of simple labour, the feel of the impact—"
THOCK
"–of hooves against wood that yields but slightly yet relieves itself of its great burden at your command. The burning bright heat of physicality that enervates the soul and frees the mind! I feel connected, Applejack, a thing I have not felt for ce—for a very long time!"
"Burning... physicality," Applejack mumbled. She looked around while Sable danced happily around her latest conquest. There didn't seem to be any peculiar weeds growing in the orchard, or perhaps there were simple non left. Then again, the baskets were full, the trees were still alive and the moon hadn't dropped on her head. "Sounds like something Twilight would say. I guess ya did somethin' right, anyhow. Good work, Sable."
"Thank you Applejack, you are a great heart!"
"By 'eck Jack, she's reet fancy this one. I like er! Can we keep 'er?"
"Spritzer..."
"Aye?"
"Go get your lunch."
"Aye..."
"Now that," Applejack said once Spritzer was lost amongst the trees. "Was my beloved cousin Apple Spritzer. She's Bittish... an' I guess that explains just about everythin'. Y'all got any cousins, Sable?"
"I understand I have many, but I have not met them."
Applejack nodded and took a final look around the orchard. By her own exacting standards it was not quite perfect. There were apples that should have fallen still clinging to the trees and apples in the baskets that should have stayed up, but she wouldn't complain. The sorters might... still Sable had done a good job, good enough that, if she were any other pony, she'd be apprenticed and living in one of the worker cottages already.
"I'm impressed, Sable. I truly am. Y'all could try and be neater but I ain't complainin'."
Another blush touched Sable's cheeks and she turned away to fiddle with the handle of a nearby basket. Applejack found herself watching the unicorn's movements with different eyes; her tubby appearance was almost an illusion now she came to examine it closely. Puppy fat hiding a lithe athleticism that wouldn't look out of place on a pegasus and that might even give Rainbow Dash a run for her money. Applejack realised she was staring. She coughed loudly, turning to hide her face.
"So... y'all hungry? I usually call lunch around now."
"Oh I would be honoured to dine with your workers!"
Might not be so honoured afterwards, Applejack thought. She grinned as she considered how the others might react to this fancy-mouthed unicorn amongst them. They were as welcoming for sure as the rest of Ponyville, but Applejack knew their collective interests in the written word didn't extend farther than the back page of the Daily Nightlife. The conversations could be interesting.
"Applejack, may I inquire what we shall be served at this luncheon?"
"Well... you like apples, Sable?"
Lunch was usually a fairly peaceful affair at Sweet Apple Acres, in part due to the general nature of the workers Applejack allowed on her farm but mostly due to the reliable availability of high quality food. As long as you liked apples. If you didn't like apples you either made your own food or you starved.
That was the choice facing Apple Spritzer, unique amongst the very extended Apple clan for a single reason, one that would have caused multi-generational family feuds in less enlightened days.
She didn't like apples.
All right, that wasn't entirely true. She liked apples as long as they were in their natural state or lost in the frothy goodness of Sweet Apple Acres cider, which she considered to be a natural state anyway. Anything in between – baked, fried, boiled, mashed, stewed or grilled – left her cold and occasionally nauseous.
She stood before a table piled high with apple-based foods of every kind, far too many for her to even think about listing, and she doubted she could even name most of them. She knew they would be baked to perfection, prepared with the finest ingredients and all the love and care an Apple could provide. She just couldn't bring herself to eat them. Spritzer made her way down the table to a small bowl of plain ordinary apples and piled several onto her plate. As she backed away she bumped into the rear of a stallion whose name she could never remember, but who she recalled from her time at the farm as a hard worker and reasonably honest.
Spritzer excused herself and turned. The Stallion nodded, returning to his own conversation.
"I'm not saying I'm against them being here, but not here here. They only cause problems."
"I dunno," another stallion said, much deeper voice. Bright... something? And who only caused problems? Spritzer, no stranger to the expression of odd prejudices herself, danced carefully around the group and settled herself at the dining table right behind them. Not to listen in of course. That would be rude. "She looked keen enough."
"She didn't even look like she'd done a day of work in her entire life," the first stallion said. His voice seemed to have taken on a sharper edge. Oh that was right. Narrow. He'd never mentioned any other name except Narrow.
"The boss seems to think she's okay. Can't argue with—"
"And if the boss said it was okay to jump in Ghastly Gorge would you do it?"
"Well... no, but—"
"She's a unicorn, Brightshanks. They don't belong on a farm. Hell they don't belong in Ponyville, let em all go back to Canterlot and prance around in their silly castles having soirees and eatin' horsey do overs."
"Hors d'oeuvres," Spritzer said. The two stallions turned to her. She put down the apple she'd been nibbling at and turned to stare Narrow in the face. "It's fancy for tha's askin for't kick in th'gob if tha keeps it up."
"Well what do you care," Narrow growled. He turned full-face to Spritzer, head lowered and ears just twitching backward. "You ain't exactly friendly with em!"
"Aye, tis true, but I ain't one to 'old judgement agin' t'pony that'll put hoof to t'tree and work for a livin' neither. That Sable? She's born for buckin'. She were wasted sittin' on 'er arse in t'city."
"Like I care what some dandy Bit thinks about bucking apples."
"Jow thi fat yed tha numper! This dandy 'as been workin' apple trees longer than thi's been alive an' I know a good bucker when I see em even if they 'ave got t'horn. She's a nat'ral!"
"She's a unicorn. They call us mud ponies! Like we're some sort of slave! They can all—"
"When I want tha's opinion I'll pull t'chain!"
"Why don't you and her go roll in the hay like you so obviously want you pinhead worshipping c—"
"Now I know I did not just hear that."
Narrow froze at the sound of Applejack's voice, ears twitching flat against his head. Shoulders tensed, nostrils flaring, he very slowly turned to face his boss, glaring from beneath his brow the entire time. His tail twitched as his eyes came to rest on Sable and he let out a snort.
"Eyes on me, Narrow," Applejack growled.
"Boss..."
"Narrow, what did I say this mornin'? What did I ask y'all to do?"
"Boss, it's just... it's just kidding around, right?"
Applejack narrowed her eyes. "Really."
"Well... yeah, it's just a joke, yeah? Friendly jokes, we're all friends! Just farmyard humour!"
"I see. Anythin' else you think want to say, Narrow? Anythin' specific to somepony?"
The stallion glanced between Sable and Applejack, ears turning this way and that as he tried to think. "I... I..."
"Git off mah farm."
Narrow looked around the group for support, any sort of friendly face. His companion, Brightshanks, stared at the ground and refused to look him in the face. Finally he turned to Spritzer. She glared back at him.
"Tha should learn to keep tha gob shut," she said, turning back to her apples. She turned back a moment later, curious to the end of it.
With no options left Narrow had turned back to Applejack, crouching now, the huge stallion almost crawling in the dirt as he tried to make himself look contrite. Spritzer knew Applejack had a soft-spot for ponies who tried to make amends, but she'd also made a promise.
"Boss, please, I need this work."
"An' I need workers," Applejack replied. Narrow's eyes widened and he began to raise himself. "But you ain't gonna be one of 'em."
"But... but you can't just run me off—"
"Apple Bloom, git mah whip!"
"Boss!"
"Don't you boss me, you ungrateful sack of manure!" Applejack's ears folded back as she turned to look at the crowd. More than a few stepped back as her eyes fell on them; every face was a mask of shock. "I asked one thing, one tiny, single thing outta all you folk an' you, Narrow, you blew it! I don't care what you do inside your stupid fat head, Narrow, as long as I don't have to hear about it, as long as I don't have to see mah friends hurt by your idiot mouth! Now git your butt off mah farm or so help me I will skin you alive and use your hide as a tent!"
Applejack stomped up to the porch and watched, eyes shaded beneath her hat, as the defeated Narrow crawl away through the crowd. Every pony had their eyes fixed on her. They'd seen Applejack angry, they'd seen her clam up in silent disapproval when mistakes were made but none could ever remember anything like this. Spritzer certainly hadn't seen it coming. She watched Applejack scan the crowd, looking for something, then saw her gaze come to rest on Sable. The unicorn refused to look at anything but her hooves. She was embarrassed, ashamed. Why was she ashamed?
As for Applejack, there was a coldness in her eyes that Spritzer had only seen twice before. Once, when Applejack had put down a coyote that had managed to crush its back legs under a fallen tree. The second when Spritzer had lied to her cousin and been found out. She couldn't even remember what it was she'd said now, and she knew Applejack had forgotten it too, because that's what she did, as long as you apologised and made right. As long as you meant it.
Spritzer turned to the path Narrow had taken, back to the workers' cottages, probably to retrieve his belongings. She knew he didn't have much there; no itinerant had much to their name but they valued it like little else, except work. When she looked back she found Applejack giving her a cool look that Spritzer couldn't read. She bit into an apple and returned the stare until Applejack suddenly turned away and stalked into the shady interior of the farm house.
Some spell broke and the crowd began to mill around once more, retrieving lunch in a subdued but tense peace. All but Sable. Spritzer took her plate of apples and meandered over to the unicorn, alone in a corner of the yard and staring at nothing. She sat down next to Sable and continued to eat.
"Trouble at t'farm."
Sable's confusion overcame her melancholy. She looked at Spritzer as if she didn't know what sort of creature she was. "Excuse me?"
"Family motto," Spritzer said, with a what she hoped was a reassuring smile, "of the Apple-Longstarts of Flankashire, from which I so happily descend. Qui luctant pro zanias spiritus laxi evellere—"
"Who fight to clear the weeds of lax spirit," Sable translated. "It is not about trouble."
"Aye, aye, tha's a scholic an' no two ways," Spritzer said with a wink. "A bit o' pretension never did 'urt, but we all figured it really said 'trouble at t'farm' on account as that's all we ever 'ad. Y'see, weeds is trouble. Y'ave to pick t'weeds and toss 'em out to get t'best crop."
"I did not wish to see anypony lose their livelihood merely for not liking me."
"Tha's no right settin thiself over like tha's to blame for it, lass. Narrow made 'is own trouble on account of he's a tit."
Sable seated herself, eyes back on her forehooves. She took a deep breath and seemed about to speak, but instead looked up at the farmhouse door, eyes burning with anguish. Spritzer carefully nudged an apple toward the unicorn and was satisfied when Sable grasped it a moment later and began to eat.
"Tha's worked a farm afore?"
"I had an... an uncle, a long time ago, for whom I did some menial work. It was not like this."
"Every farm 'as its share o'peculiars, lass. Take young Jack there. You're seein' a side of 'er that tha friends down in t'town probably never get. Tha's got to be 'ard if tha's workin a farm as young as she is, but 'ard don't mean 'eartless. She see'd Narrow off this year, but if he 'as the clogs t'come back in t'next 'arvest an' he's contrite as all that, she'll put 'im up again and say nout about it. But he 'as to be proper contrite like, 'as to be sorry, an he has to be 'onest about it too. Jack, t'soft-hearted idiot'll forgive a demon of tartarus itself if it says sorry an' tries to make good. That's 'ow she is."
"She has a great heart."
"Great 'earts feel great pain when thi's 'urt, lass."
Sable stared at the floor, silent, and Spritzer chewed on another apple as she thought about the afternoon ahead. The rest of the work crew were already close to finishing their food; the prospect of a long bout of awkward silence as they ate and the realisation that they were now even shorter of help combined to be a very powerful motivator to return to the orchards. Add to that the thought of Applejack's sudden turn of mood and there was little reason to be near the farmhouse.
"I should not have come," Sable said. She stood, but didn't seem to know where she should go next and merely wandered back and forth for a while before sitting again, facing Spritzer. "I have made Applejack's problem worse by my presence."
"Aye. Well tha's in t'pit now. Well as to keep diggin'."
Sable frowned, but before she could question the wisdom of Spritzer's words the farmhouse door crashed open and Applejack stalked out, eyes fixed on some distant point, ignoring everything about her. She stopped as she reached the pair, frowning, and then suddenly bowed her head.
"I screwed up again," she said. "Another worker gone and what have I got to show for it but a bunch of cowed seasonals, a friend who looks like she's about to go jump off the clock tower an' a cousin who will insist on callin' me Jack while she eats mah entire crop."
"Now Jack, it's hardly t'entire crop—"
"Spritzer, finish your lunch and be quiet. I'm tryin' to make a point here!"
"Aye..."
Spritzer's eyes twinkled. Applejack set off again with a huff, tail flicking back and forth in time with her ears, leaving Sable and Spritzer in the corner. Without a word they both stood at the same time and cantered to catch up with 'boss'. After a short silence, Sable nosed close to Applejack's head.
"If you wish that I leave, I am willing—"
"Nope. I need that west orchard thinned by tonight. I haven't marked trees for ya but they're easier to spot." Applejack glanced over her shoulder at Spritzer, who nodded slightly, then turned her attention to Sable. "It ain't your fault."
"Thank you, Applejack."
"Great 'eart, she says." Spritzer smiled as Applejack shot a frown in her direction. "Aye, Jack?"
Curiosity rose and fell behind Applejacks eyes, but they were soon at the east orchard. Baskets were laid out around the heaviest trees already, those that hadn't already been bucked earlier in the day, and a cart stood close by awaiting its cargo. Here and there lay apples already shed from the trees, still fresh, but already adding a hint of cloying sweetness to the still air of the orchard.
Applejack turned to face the others with an uncharacteristic, fatalist grin. Let's get to work, it said. Let's pretend we're not going to lose half the harvest because of the actions of a selfish pony who couldn't apologise for breaking a promise. Let's just keep going.
Aye, trouble at t'farm, Spritzer thought, shaking her head. Never ends.
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I seem to remember a scene during "Applebuck Season" when Twilight used her magic to pick several trees' worth of apples, all at the same time. It's sort of chilling to discover in hindsight that in doing so, she had inadvertently made them flesh-flavored...
Also, I like Apple Spritzer. Just sayin'.
I think I need a dictionary for some of Spritzer's lines, but It's generally clear enough for me to read. It's like "Why the Little Frenchman Wears His Hand in a Sling" but southern and less annoying to read. I love it so far, keep it up and you've made a random guy from the internet who you don't know at all very happy.
Now THAT is a hilarious line. I am totally gonna end up calling someone a tit now accidentally.
Didn't she seal that away or something, though? Or was it just the wings she got rid of, and she still has pegasus magic?
*snerks* Narrow Minded, perhaps?
Random grammar notes:
"Lead" is the present-tense form of the word (or, alternatively, a noun referring to the metal). This should be "led Sable back" to match tense with the rest of the sentence.
Presumably "non" should be "none"? The context suggests it.
"Who's", like "it's", always expands to "who is", which doesn't make sense in this context. The correct word here is "whose".
"Workers" should be "workers' " to indicate the possessive.
All three instances of "Lets" should be "Let's" to indicate the possessive.
2103731
The apostrophe indicates contraction, not possession. "Let's" is a contraction of "let us."
Lol burning physicality. Still laugh every time I read that one.
Luna's behavior seems very strange.
She says she doesn't like crowds but I would think that as a princess she is used to being the center of the attention.
She says that she isn't used to being appraised but I would think that ponies do that in court with her all the time. She's quite a sight to behold after all.
I don't see why they can't use indirect magic at the farm. I mean maybe use magic to levitate knives to cut the apples, or maybe Luna could maintain the greenhouse with magic or something like that. I can't imagine that doing anything to the apples.
I find it interesting that that Stallion says that unicorns shouldn't even be in ponyville. Giving that their most prominent citizen is a unicorn (Twilight) and there are many other around. I don't understand how he ever came to that conclusion. Another thing I've always found awkward is that earth ponies seem to have it against unicorns but they seem to have no opinion on pegasi. They aren't earth ponies either.
I'm surprised that Luna is so soft. After all I would expect her to have become pretty hardened from all those centuries. That what Spritzer says bothers her like that is weird. After all Luna has WAY more life experience than Spritzer will ever have. She should know what softness and hardness do to ponies.
It's also strange that Luna stayed completely silent while Narrow was saying those things. I would think she would stand up and shout that he is wrong. Or at least say something that her life of seemingly endless comfort isn't quite as easy as that farmer thinks it is.
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Well, you have to figure a thousand years on the moon is enough time to unlearn a lot of social skills. Use them or lose them. Really, I can only assume Luna's sane at all due to either alicorn mental resilience, the elements of harmony, or both.
Still, being the center of attention didn't seem to bother her on Nightmare Night, being feared did, so there is an argument to be made that she seems shier than she should.
Anyway, I didn't think she was that bothered by Narrow's words, she was upset that he was fired over insulting her because she didn't want to cost anyone their jobs.
Kudos to you for recognizing that ponies would not be meat eaters or have positive bodily reactions to eating meat because they are herbivores and real horses are only driven to being omnivores out of desperation in the same way that people don't usually eat one another unless there's something wrong with them or they're a member of the Donner party. This fact goes over so many heads here.