Far From The Tree
“Today you’re learnin’ how to buck like a real Apple! Pay close attention, sugarcube.”
The ‘sugarcube’ addressed was a very bored, very beautiful little filly. Her light caramel-colored coat practically glimmered in the sunlight, blemished only by three white freckles adorning her cheeks on each side. Her styled, strawberry-blonde mane and tail folded into luscious curls free from split ends. A curl of her mane looped in front of each ear, joining the rest that cascaded in thick spirals down her neck. She stifled a yawn with her hoof, disinterested in whatever it was her mentor had to say.
“Golden Delicious! Pay attention!” Applejack barked.
Golden Delicious gave her a bitter look as her vermillion eyes strayed upward.
“Yes, Mama,” she drawled, her voice thick like honey and laced with a strong southern accent.
Applejack struck a back leg out in demonstration, meeting the bark of one of her beloved apple trees. The resulting collision shook the entire tree, relinquishing its precious fruit in submission. She smiled and looked down at her disgruntled child.
“All right, Goldy, you try it,” she said, forcing herself to wear a smile larger than what should have been natural.
Golden Delicious turned her cheek and closed her eyes, refusing to meet her mother eye to eye. Applejack let out an exasperated groan and stomped on the ground in frustration.
“Dog gone-it, Golden Delicious! This ain’t about that fancy Photo Whatsit business, is it?”
Golden Delicious cracked an eye open.
“Photo Finish, Mama, wanted to give me the golden opportunity to be her cover model for all them fashion magazines. Ah could’ve been a star if Ah didn’t need no permission from you or Daddy.”
“Ah told you, sugarcube, Ah’m sorry,” Applejack solemnly said. She placed a comforting hoof on her daughter’s shoulder. “But your daddy and me didn’t think you were quite ready for that kind of responsibility. Ah know you’ll get the chance again when you’re a little bigger and even prettier.”
“Flattery won’t work on me, Mama,” she growled, shrugging her mother’s hoof off. She turned a hoof up, examining it thoroughly. “Besides, Ah already know all that. Ah just don’t wanna ruin my hooficure. Can’t let Miss Aloe and Lotus’ hard work go to waste, and if anypony knows hard work, it’s you Mama.”
“Why Ah, you can’t just compare, Ah mean,” Applejack fumbled with her words. Taking a breath, she collected herself. “You can always get another hooficure, sugarcube. But you gotta learn from a young age the value of a hard day’s work.”
“Ah do know the value, Mama,” Golden Delicious huffed. “Ain’t nothin’ but a drop in the bucket of our profits. Why don’t we just hire somepony to do all that hard work for us?”
“Golden Delicious!” Applejack bellowed. “That ain’t the attitude Ah wanna hear from my own kin! This farm has been run by the Apple family generation to generation, and we only accept help from our friends or during the Winter Wrap Up preparations!”
“But Mama,” she cooed, a cocky smile crawling across her face. “If ya’ll didn’t accept help during them preparations, then you and Daddy would’ve never seen each other in… that kinda way. He even stuck around the farm just to spend more time with you. If you ask me, ain’t nothin’ but good things that can happen from hirin’ some help.”
“Yeah, uh, well Ah married him lickity split and brought him into the Apple family, and there ain’t nopony left here to get married,” Applejack smirked, happy to find a loophole in her daughter’s surprisingly solid logic. “Tradition still holds.”
Golden Delicious’ expression dropped; her eyes narrowed in annoyance.
“Fine, if family’s gotta help on the farm then why don’t ya’ll have Gizmo workin’ ‘round here? Ain’t fair to ask such a pretty thing such as myself to help you and Uncle Macintosh when that colt gets to tinker around on his silly little projects.”
Applejack broke into a cold sweat.
“A-ah, well that is, he can’t! He’s a unicorn and, uh, he ain’t got natural muscles like us earth ponies do. Simple as that!” She forced a grin, her poker face failing as Golden Delicious’ eyes bore into hers.
“Pardon the language, Mama,” She snipped, agitation laced in her tone, “But that’s a load of horseapples and ya’ll know it! He can buck like any other Apple, and Ah know you ain’t lettin’ him round here ‘cuz you’re just scared he’ll blow up the barn again! All we gotta do is take away those silly toys of his. Ain’t fair to force me alone into it!”
Golden Delicious finished her rant with a kick of her leg, puncturing a deep hole into the bark of the tree. Apples showered onto the two earth ponies, filling the baskets laid out and littering the ground as they overflowed. Applejack gawked at her flustered daughter, who was more preoccupied eyeing over her back hoof.
“Now look at what you made me do Mama,” she whined, holding up the flawless hoof. “Ah got all worked up and now there’s a scratch on my hoof!”
Applejack leaned forward to inspect her daughter’s ‘injury’. She got up close and squinted, straining to find any imperfection on the keratin. Her eyes detected the slightest nick on the very bottom of the hoof. Applejack’s eyes wandered over to the tree, which had been less fortunate in the violent outcome. Bark splintered jaggedly away from the hole Golden Delicious had left, causing the farmer to swallow the lump in her throat.
“Woah nelly,” she gasped quietly. Looking back at her impatient daughter, she planted a kiss on the hoof and stroked her cheek. “Now now, sugarcube. Ain’t nothin’ but a tiny tiny scratch. Nopony will ever notice it. Ah gotta say, Ah am proud of them leg muscles you got, but Ah’m gonna have to ask you to tone the kicks down a might. That tree’s gonna die now, and Ah can’t afford to replace every single one.”
Golden Delicious smiled confidently, examining the hoof thoroughly.
“You know, Mama, Ah think Ah could afford to scratch up my perfect little hooves a couple times; nuthin’ the spa can’t fix. Kickin’ that hard really lets off some steam, and for whatever reason Ah’m feeling a might stressed out right now.”
Applejack released an audible sigh, apparently accepting defeat.
“All right, Golden Delicious. You win. You don’t have to applebuck today, on one condition.”
“And what would that be, Mama?”
“That would be providin’ you find somethin’ more productive to do with your time within the next five minutes,” she said, giving a small smile. “And the spa don’t count.”
Golden Delicious looked at her mother in bitter silence. Applejack looked back in smug confidence. The tension broke as an earsplitting screech drew the attention from both ponies. They looked up, seeing streak of rainbow shoot overhead into the orchard. The scratchy wailing became drowned out by a louder crashing noise filled with the sound of crushed foliage.
“That… that couldn’t have been Rainbow Dash,” Applejack drawled out loud.
Realization struck her, enticing a wide smile on her muzzle. “Well butter my biscuit, I plum forgot Rainbow Blitz was gettin’ foalsat by Fluttershy today. Woowee, it sure looks like she’s got her hooves full if she let that colt ricochet through the sky like that!”
“Mmmm, he sure was flyin’ awful fast,” Golden Delicious purred, fluttering her eyelashes remarkably fast. She adopted a dreamy gaze, zoning out into the distance where he had crashed. “Ah bet he tastes like zap apple jam on a honey bun.”
“Yeah, Ah... wait, what?!” Applejack croaked.
“Ah said that honeybun looks like zap apple jam,” Golden Delicious smirked, her tone overflowing with confidence. She trotted past her worried mother, tutting as she shook her head. “Really, Mama. You must learn to pay attention. That’s gotta be the tenth time you’ve misunderstood me this week. Ah think a hearin’ aid is in order.”
“Ah ain’t that old,” Applejack huffed. “Looks like he crashed in the south field. Ah think we better go check up on him to make sure he ain’t too banged up, dontcha think so-“
She paused, realizing she was talking to thin air.
“… Golden Delicious?”
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Hahaha, Golden Delicious is Rarity in disguise, roflmao!
I think GD likes Blitz
And who is the father of her
Wow, Rarity's charm with Applejack's strength. Could be a interesting combination. And who is the father? Caramel?
i still want to know how the one got ahold of a sonic screwdriver!!!
-then again, now that i saw a larger image, i am starting to doubt that that is what it is
1626726>>1626749
Her father will be revealed, though I don't think I'll directly say his name or give him an appearance (it will be heavily, HEAVILY implied from something Applejack has canonically said). Who knows, I may have him show up at the very end.
Excellent pick for Golden Delicious's voice. Christine Cavanaugh was always one of my favorite voice actresses.
I almost cried when I heard she'd retired.
It seems to me that the kids are acting a little older for there age.
Also a few act a bit more out of the standard deviation of how children will act similar there parents.
Good fic it just seems slightly off to me.
also did you drop the hint that Apple Bloom is married with the remark that
What... I just ... Golden... wait .... (sigh)
Good chapter if short. Looking forward to more... yadda yadda yadda. It might help if you give the ages of the youngsters, I mean Golden has an awefully dirty and cruel mind to be Blitz's age, and honestly, I'd think that AJ would have more control over her kid. Can't wait to see more Dash and Soarin stuff. (Soarin is Best Pony)
so, Twilight is married to Big Mac? interesting
1626897>>1626927
I wouldn't necessarily say Golden Delicious is acting way out of age or that she's 'dirty', she's just has a crush and is trying to imitate what she sees as a role model in love (her parents obviously).
They do act a little older than their ages for varying reasons: they're imitating what they see in their parents (Blitz trying a stunt his Mom can do, Capricorn using a drug to make his life easier, Golden Delicious over-fantasizing about romance), and there's always the fact that they're not human and they're cartoons. Of course there would be inconsistencies compared to human development.
They do in some regards act like their parents, but remember that they are children and are going to do what they have to to get what they want accomplished.
1626778 I'd bet good money on it being Caramel.
AJ got earth pony Rarity for a daughter. Some sort of cosmic being is really getting a kick out of that little joke.
I guess the apple...
Fell far from the tree!
This is good, but 'hearin' aide' doesn't need the 'e' in it. Otherwise I am loving this story!!!
WHO ARE THE FATHERS??? it's driving me crazy
1626996 WOOT! Another TwiMac shipping FTW! I'm liking these characterizations of the kids so far. At the moment I like Rainbow Blitz the most, Golden Delicious makes me laugh given her contrast to Applejack, and while Capricorn is an interesting character I still call him a little shit for drugging his poor sweet mother.
But I get that kids misbehave and I still found it funny. So keep going! DEEP BREATH 
applejack has a rarity for a daughter....so is apple bloom married too
it's funny that applejack has no control on her daughter...she seems like the type to be the most strict kind of parent but then I'm guessing thats the title of the chapter is suspose to mean
Golden delicious should be golden delicious II.. since there's already a golden delicious
I just realized that the maroon pony has a sonic screwdriver... wonder who gave him that... his DAD perhaps?
OMG HAHAHAHAHA!!! I love Golden Delicious
So, I assume Big Macintosh's immense-even-for-an-earth-pony strength was a recessive gene in AJ?
Rather than 'might stressed', the term would be 'mite stressed.
Gee, this is...well, I'm seeing second generation Appledash here...Goldenblitz? I honestly don't know anymore.
Wonderful chapter, keep up the good work.
The sequels are usually found lacking, but after what i've seen so far you did not disappoint. The amount D'Awwws and comedy in story is staggering and i'm loving it.
Also... i wonder how Stonershy will react once she's awake and without any tranqs in her system.
1643357
I'll actually be working on that scene next. Right now I'm tidying up the one I plan to publish tomorrow morning. I should probably get a prereader, lol.
1629945
Golden Delicious II would imply that she's the child of Golden Delicious.
On the other hand, have you never heard of children being named after relatives? My sister shares the same name as my great-grandmother. (Almost. My great-grandmother was Sarah-Jean, while by sister is Sarah middle name Jean.)
1627314 I'm thinking the same, can't think of any other pony at the moment!!
And Golden Delicious being the opposite of AJ is bloody brilliant!!!
Wow that sucks for Applejack. I having a daughter that a complete opposite of her.
Umm, how old are all these kids again?
Looks like Applejack STILL needs to get her business sense out of the eighteenth century....
Oh my good funnyiest chapter ever
i bet twilight would be like