How I Met Yer Mother

by applejackofalltrades

3. Crates Short

The cart was heavy. Applejack had to admit it. Despite that, though, she pushed forward, every step a battle that nopony else would know thanks to the passive smile on her face.

It was easier every time, Applejack noted. She figured that it definitely wouldn't be much of a problem soon; she was building more and more muscle. And she was definitely appreciative of that fact. It would make everything a lot easier.

The air was comfortably chilly as she and the cart bounced through the dirt streets of Ponyville. Applejack whistled a happy tune as she approached her destination, finally crossing the bridge that marked it. Slowing to a stop in front of the quaint, little cottage, the sound of birds chirping lifted Applejack's spirits even more.

Her hoof rapped against the wooden door three times. The sounds of several animals flared up, instantly soothed by soft shushing and barely audible speech. After a moment, the door opened to reveal the buttery yellow pegasus.

"Oh, hello, Applejack," Fluttershy greeted warmly.

Applejack tipped her hat politely. "Good afternoon, Fluttershy. Hope you've been havin' a good day," she responded with a smile.

Fluttershy nodded, softly shutting the door behind her. "Oh, yes. Harry is such a delightful little cub, although he is getting quite big!"

Harry was a bear. Applejack had made sure to remember that after the time that Fluttershy had asked if she wanted to meet him. And he was only getting bigger? "Ah, that's… nice," Applejack offered awkwardly. "It is a nice day out, I reckon the animals like the fresh air."

"Yes, they do," the pegasus giggled. "Although, I think they'll like their freshly delivered food even more."

Applejack shifted on her hooves, turning to look at the cart she was attached to. "Oh, yeah, I got your stuff all here, like always." She slipped out of the yoke and went around to open the back of the cart. Dragging out the first large crate, she carefully lifted it up and down onto the floor with a grunt of effort. "I've got four more of these."

"So five?"

Applejack nodded.

"Oh, um… Alright," Fluttershy mumbled.

The earth pony sighed and took off her Stetson, looking at Fluttershy apologetically. "I know we usually bring ya eight, but somethin' came up and we weren't able to get 'em all done," she explained with a frown.

"That's okay," she whispered. "Don't worry."

"I'll, uh, bring 'em later this week," Applejack said confidently. "I swear! Just that there were some other things that distracted us. I'm real sorry."

Fluttershy waved a hoof. "It's okay, really. Are you and your family okay? If you need anything…"

"Naw, naw," Applejack interrupted, placing her hat back on her hat. "It's fine. Nothin' more hard work can't solve." She grunted as she dropped another box down carefully.

Fluttershy hummed in thought before looking at Applejack with a cocked head. "Well, why don't you hire some workers? Maybe that'd help."

The earth pony stopped dead in her tracks, lifting her head up to look at Fluttershy from the top of the cart where she had been pushing another box to the brim. "No," she said firmly, but not angrily. "Ain't the Apple way. We've always kept the business within the family."

Fluttershy stayed silent for a moment, before jolting a bit, catching Applejack's eye. "What about friends?" she asked. "I have a friend who moved here recently who's looking for some extra work. Maybe she could help? You and I are friends, and me and her are friends, so maybe you two could be friends, too."

It was a thought worth considering. Big Mac sometimes brought friends over and they spent the day working together. She thought it'd be silly, but they always seemed to enjoy it. Applejack raised a hoof to her chin and thought. The pros far outweighed the cons, and Fluttershy was only offering what she thought would be best...

"Well, I never turn down a hard worker," Applejack admitted. She smiled and nodded. "Sure, ya can send your friend down to Sweet Apple Acres whenever. Just make sure to tell'r to tell me she's your friend."

With a nod, Fluttershy smiled. "Okay! Oh, she'll be so happy. You two know each other, although she says she wants to be your friend," Fluttershy revealed. Her eyes widened as she put her hooves on her muzzle. "I wasn't supposed to tell you that," she whispered.

Somepony Applejack already knew? She knew a lot of ponies, seeing as she sold apples to nearly everypony in Ponyville and made sure to stay in their good graces. But… Fluttershy's friend? She raised an eyebrow, realizing who she meant. "Oh. You don't mean…"

"Hey, Fluttershy!" a raspy voice, whose owner was not in sight yet, called. "I came to pick up that thing you—"

Rainbow Dash appeared over the top of Fluttershy's cottage. The buttery yellow pegasus smiled meekly at Applejack. "It's… Rainbow…"

"I can see that," Applejack sighed. This was supposed to be a quick visit.

The spunky blue pegasus dropped out of the sky, landing gracefully on her hooves next to the grounded ponies. "Applejack! Nice to see you here," she greeted. Rose red eyes flicked to the cart behind them and the crates next to it. "Ah, here on business?"

"Eeyup," Applejack nodded. "Just givin' Fluttershy here her order."

Rainbow Dash trotted to the crates, inspecting them closely. "Of what?"

"Well, that ain't somethin' I can tell ya," Applejack pointed out. "Confidentiality, an' all."

"It's food for the animals," Fluttershy clarified softly.

Scrutinizing the packages even closer, Rainbow Dash circled the crates, moving her head up and down before finally coming to a stop and turning to face Applejack and Fluttershy. Her head cocked to the side to reveal a confused expression. "Uh, just five? Is that enough?" She craned her head to look through the window into Fluttershy's cottage. "I mean, I don't know enough about animals, but don't they eat a lot during this time of year? And you have a lot…"

Fluttershy backed into her mane, mumbling something about crates, which only served to confuse Rainbow Dash even more.

Before the smaller pegasus could say anything, Applejack raised her hoof. "Look, it was meant to be eight but we couldn't get it done this time on account of some…" she cringed slightly and looked away, "personal issues. But I already made a promise that I'll get the rest in soon as I can."

Fluttershy crept backwards, opening the door to her cottage with a hoof and quietly slipping inside. "I'll just… be in here…" she whispered before shutting the door.

Rainbow Dash didn't seem concerned by her friend's actions at all. In fact, she seemed kind of upset. "Wow, Applejack. I know you told me you were short on hooves the other day, but…" her gaze softened. "You could have said something. I know it's personal and we're not friends, but you're Fluttershy's friend which means she cares about you. And I care about her."

Applejack opened her mouth. She wanted to be mad at Rainbow Dash for insisting that Applejack should have said something, and she could feel that hot anger in her stomach but she wasn't mad at the pegasus.

Her mouth shut as she clenched her teeth and looked down. "Well, I didn't wanna feel like I–we needed help," she admitted. "But… maybe we do. Just for a bit."

Rainbow Dash nodded. It was strange to see the pegasus look so serious, though still with that confident smile on her face. Applejack had only seen her immature ways up until then, but she seemed almost… mature then. At least, as mature as a teenage filly could be.

Though, Applejack thought of herself to be quite mature for her age. She decided it didn't count if you were forced to grow up quicker than other foals.

"Well, then how about I help you with finishing her order?"

Rainbow Dash's words cut into Applejack's thoughts, leaving the earth pony blinking back into reality. She glanced at Rainbow Dash, who now hovered in the air. "Well, I've gotta help Big Mac with a delivery when I get home, so if ya wanna swing by tomorrow… I'd be more'n happy to have ya 'round." The words were hard to get out, if Applejack was being honest. Admitting to needing help had never been her strong suit, especially not to somepony she wasn't close to, but she'd be making a fool of herself if she believed that Rainbow Dash's help wouldn't be appreciated.

Rainbow Dash winked. "Right at the crack of dawn, right?" She grinned at Applejack. "That's what you said last time."

She remembered that? Applejack was quite surprised that she'd remember what was probably meant to be a light-hearted comment (though a true one) during their previous conversation. Chuckling, Applejack nodded. "You know it, sugarcube. Gotta wake up nice an' early to get any good work done on the farm."

"I'll be there," Rainbow Dash assured her. "You can count on it. I want to make sure Shy has enough to feed her pets," she declared with a look to the cottage. "Now, I gotta talk to her about a couch."

Deciding she didn't want to inquire more about that, Applejack nodded, then started pushing the crates to Fluttershy's front door where she usually left them. It didn't take long once they were on the ground. "Well, I reckon it's 'bout time I get on back. I'm supposed to watch my sister, anyhow."

"See you tomorrow," Rainbow Dash said with a smirk. "And be ready for the best helper you'll ever have."

Applejack rolled her eyes. "I'll be sure to prepare," she deadpanned as she slipped back into the yoke and backed away. "Don't be late or I'll kick your flank."

Rainbow Dash nodded resolutely before slipping into Fluttershy's home, not tearing her eyes off of Applejack until the door shut. Relieved of having her work done, Applejack turned around and began her journey back home.

Unburdened from the weight of the crates, she looked up at the clear sky, smelling the scent of autumn. She smiled as her trot turned to a canter, happily bouncing from hoof to hoof in rhythm to a tune she hummed.

Most of all, Applejack was surprised by her inability to wait until dawn. She swept a hoof through her blonde bangs, nodding her head in greeting as she passed the ponies out in the streets. The mental image of a prismatic maned pegasus helping her out sent a rush of happiness through Applejack, even if it meant losing a bit of pride.

I just might get a new friend out of it, too.

Author's Note:

New chapter! This is kind of turning more into a story than being an anthology but so be it, I'll keep the tag cause it'll only be this way for a bit.

Also I'm thinking of having interludes every so often that brings us back to present with the foals, maybe to add comments or some commentary? How about that? Maybe if anyone has a suggestion to something they wanna read, I can use those to have one of the kids ask for that story? (Btw, if you have a suggestion for a moment in their relationship I should write, leave it in a comment hehe. It's like a tumblr ask blog, now).

Hope you enjoyed this one!

Comments

[Sunset_Shimmer83]

May Celestia and Luna watch over bright Mac n pear butter

[FortressMaximus]

Wow. Not getting why all the downvotes for such a nice little story.

[applejackofalltrades]

10975687
I dunno. I feel like Appledash fics get targeted which is fine I guess

[Skippy Notes]

A cute moment for later on would probably be when Applejack and Rainbow Dash realized they want foals, and maybe for a sooner chapter the foals ask about their parents first adventure with all of their friends. I don't know, thought mabe itd be cute. Anyways this was an amazing story and I can't wait to see what you come up with next! Although don't rush anything, be sure to enjoy what you write😁

[applejackofalltrades]

11234601
Those are some good ideas! I’ll definitely have to do those sometime. Thanks for reminding me about this story, I really should add to it sometime soon :)

[luhcow]

Still waiting for a new chapter

[applejackofalltrades]

11282651
Its definitely on the to-do list! Quite a long list but i’ve been itching to write more appledash :)