Night Apples

by RangerBeef

Chapter 3

Princess Luna flipped through several books, looking to gather all the information she could on usiku trees. Unfortunately, like the trees themselves, good information on them was also extremely rare. She cried out and threw her hooves up in frustration and exhaustion. It was nearly noon. She was well past her bed time.

Princess Celestia heard the commotion as she passed the library and stopped to check on the source. "Hello? Is anyone in here?"

Princess Luna moved through the stacks of books and into view of Celestia. "It's just me, sister," she sighed. "I'm looking for information but it's proving to be a fruitless endeavor."

"Perhaps I can help. What are you looking for?"

"Information on these." Luna set down an old book in front of Celestia and opened it to the appropriate page. On the page was a well drawn picture of a full grown usiku tree and below it was labeled as such.

"Usiku trees? Those haven't been around for nearly 800 years. No one could get the fruit to grow properly. Why are you looking for information on them?"

"Well, I'm looking for a specific piece of information. Wasn't there a side effect of the fruit that resulted in a poisonous death?"

Celestia thought for a moment. "Yes, I do recall instances of that happening but it was a rare occurrence. Why are you so worried about this, sister? You should be resting before the night."

"Because there is a stallion in Ponyville that is growing usiku trees."

"Really? Who is that?"

"Macintosh of the Apple family. I trust in his ability to raise a nonpoisonous fruit but I wanted to know more about them."

"Oh, well, if Big Macintosh thinks he can grow them properly I have to agree. That stallion does know apples."

"I am simply wary of what may be an ulterior motive."

"From Big Macintosh?" Celestia chuckled softly. "You needn't worry, sister. Of all the ponies in Ponyville, I believe the Apple family to be some of the most kind hearted among them."

Luna began to protest but she sighed in weary resignation. Celestia was probably right. She had always been a good judge of character, and she had actually been around to meet the ponies in her kingdom. She bid Celestia good day and retired to her room. She would visit the farm in the evening to check on Macintosh and his trees.

-----

Big Mac cleared away a few branches from his secret garden. The weather ponies had given them a doozy of a storm the day before and some of the trees on the farm had been damaged. Though he was surprised to find debris this far out.

He finished his work quietly and quickly. Staying up later than normal had made his normal day work a bit more difficult and Applejack was beginning to notice. As he closed the gate of the fence he had built behind him he looked up at the night sky.

It had been nearly a week since Princess Luna told him to keep an eye on the trees. He had attempted to learn more about them but Twilight had not had any books pertaining to these kinds of trees. At this point, he was beginning to wonder if Luna had simply been pulling his leg and they weren't so rare.

Still, he looked up at the night sky and began a ritual that had been making him feel better about the strange trees, already nearly as tall as him, in his garden.

"Well, Princess Luna, nothing unusual to report tonight. The trees still don't have any fruit buds but that's not surprising with how young they are. They're starting to glow at the trunk now, which is pretty but I think I'll need to find a way to hide it so no one sees it from a distance and comes to investigate."

"Very good, Macintosh. That was an excellent report. How did you know I was here?" Luna's voice rose from Big Mac's left.

He stood stark still trying to calm his beating heart. She had scared the willies out of him and all his hair stood on end. "Uh.. Just intuition, I guess, Princess."

She emerged from the bushes and approached him. "Well, you have keen senses, that is certain. Tell me, is it normal for new trees to be this large?"

Big Mac scratched his head slowly. "Not that I've ever seen, Princess. Most trees take years to reach their full size. These seem to be growing much faster."

"Fascinating."

They stood in silence for a moment, both staring at the faintly glowing trees, back lit by the moon, neither realizing how romantic of a setting it was.

"Princess Luna?"

"Yes, Macintosh?"

He cringed at the name. "Did you learn anything else about the trees or their fruit?"

Luna shook her head. "No. They are very old trees that haven't been grown in centuries. My research was fruitless."

Big Mac chuckled. "Fruitless. That's a good one, Princess." Luna looked at him quizzically and he stopped laughing. "Sorry."

"I'm afraid I must be off for the evening, Macintosh. I have business to attend to in the castle."

"Don't mind me, Princess. I'm only here to grow some trees." He smiled more to himself than at her but she smiled back. "Oh, and, Princess?"

"Yes?"

"If you want to come back every evening I usually have a report. I've been writing them down because these trees are so strange but sometimes it's ...." His voice trailed off.

"What was that?"

"Sometimes it's nice to have company." He repeated, sheepishly, as he realized he was asking a princess to come keep him company.

"Very well. I would like to learn more about these trees so perhaps we could learn together."

He smiled again. This time at her.

"Good night, Macintosh."

"Good night, Princess."

As Princess Luna reached her peak in the sky she looked back down to see Mac's shadowy figure moving back toward the farmhouse. She turned her attention back toward the castle but her mind lingered on their conversation.

"Oh! Fruitless!" She chuckled to herself as she flew off into the night.

Comments

[Bookmaster]

1550837 lol same here I need an app for fim fic too.

[WildStallion]

This seems interesting insta fav

[chaos2012]

1547984 all I wrote is on my iPhone. Computer is messed up, so this is all that I have. luckily I got a friend editing for me.

Good story by the way. Keep it up

[CrimsonEyedPrince]

Please keep writing this. I am Loving This fic.

[HadezPKMN]

Oh Luna, a little late on the joke the sweetheart.