A Day of Apples [AppleJack]

>The sun comes over the horizon, shining directly into your room
>A quick flutter of the eyelids allows the sun’s warm gaze to meet yours
>Unfortunately, in your half-awake state, your forgot to turn away
>A second later, the searing pain of staring into the fucking sun jolts your groggy mind, and you sit up, completely awake

>Apple curtains bless your room with a little bit of darkness as you struggle to hold off the sun for a moment longer
>You did not want to be up
>You did not want to be here
>Even though all you dreamed of was apples now, it was still better than working the apple fields all day
>You dress in your apple clothes, which haven’t been washed for like a week
>You had yet to ask how to wash clothes around here

>By the time you’re finished, two hooves slam your day
>”Anon! Y’all better be up by the time I come in! Yain’t gonna be oversleeping on my watch!
>Celestia Almighty…
“Yeah yeah, I’m up! Gimme a second!”
>Apple denies your request, and comes in immediately.
>”Come on Anon, we ain’t got all day here! Hustle your bustle!”
>When you got here, you’d make up stuff and tell them it was a serious part of your culture that if they said it, you’d feel much more at home
>Turns out that was less funny this early in the morning

>You hustle your bustle down the stairs
>Big Mac was already finishing up his breakfast
>He grunts a “why didn’t you get up sooner? You could have eaten more breakfast.”
>That, it was just “Morning.”
>You grunt back at him, and he nods, apparently receiving a satisfactory reply
>”Now, you’re gonna have to hustle with breakfast, Anon” said your appleboss
>You hustle with your breakfast, and before you know it, you’re out on the applefields

>”Today I got ya a special chore. We’re gonna be fixing the irrigation!” the applemare in front of you jovially informs you
“Yeah, I don’t have the first clue how that works!”
>”You don’t need ta! Just follow my instructions, and these apples’a have all the water they need!”
>Sounds about right
>Just follow orders, keep your head down, and you’ll avoid most problems
>She takes you out to the irrigation thing and tells you about the irrigation problem
>Apparently the irrigation gizmo came out of the irrigation contraption, and you gotta fit it back in
>”Big Mac had a heckuva time getting it in there the first time, I’ll tell ya”
>”But I figured those teensy little hands of yours outta do just fine!”

>After a good five minutes of faking having trouble with it, you finally just screw it in
>Hey, five minutes without working is five minutes you’ll take
>”Got it in there?”
>You grunt a yes in reply
>”Alrighty then, lemme turn the thing on”
>You sit back and watch as she climbs up the irrigation-related object, and turns a few knobs
> You could never understand how these horses did all the things they did
>You’d say it was magic, but no, that’s something else
>The water starts up, and starts spraying out of the irrigation thing
>”Well, I’ll be! Ya got it, Anon!”
>And she’s looking down at you, her frame covering he sun, setting up an incredible view of her
>She’s smiling
>A grin starts to crawl across your face

>Things were kind of shit for you
>Lost your home,
>your friends
>your family
>You’d never felt like you completely belonged back there
>and here?
>Fuck yourself for ever thinking he know what it meant to feel alone
>And now you got this back-breaking farm job
>But every once in a while, that apple horse’s bright personality got to you
>Like now, for instance

>You are now Applejack
>Anon’s smiling
>This is the first time you’ve seen him smile since,
>well, since he got here a month ago
>Not that smirk when he thought he was fooling somebody, but a real smile
>You knew he’d need help, and consarnit that’s just the kinda horse you were
>and nothing cures the heartache like some good old fashioned hard labor!
>You hop down the irrigation thing, and direct Anon to follow you
>He seems a little downcast
>Hmmm
>Maybe he could use an easier day today
>Most of the apple work was done anyway
>”Alright Anon, I know you must be itchin’ to get back to them apples-“
>a look of terror comes across his face
>”-but we gotta make sure we got this irrigation thing’s working across the farm.
> so we’re gonna be walking across the whole place, checking it out.”
>He tries to hide his sigh of relief
>Cute
> You giggle at him, and start towards the southern perimeter.
>This oughtta take off a couple hours
>And he certainly earned it this week
>Worked himself to the bone, barely complaining
>Well, not when he knew you were listening, but still
>If there’s one thing you respected, it was a stallion – er, somepony that could do a little hard labor

>You’re Anon again
>You’ve expertly hidden your sigh of relief, so as not to insult the only pony that would hire you, and followed her down to the southern perimeter
>And you just walk
>It’s calm outside
>The wind blows a bit, and you shiver
>”Y’all need a coat or something?”
 “Nah, I’ll be fine. Just a little brisk out here.”
>”Yeah, summer’s coming to an end. Apple season to.” She adds, a little dejectedly
“You’ve really got a passion for apple, AJ.”
>”Ya seen my cutie mark, Anon? s’kind of my thing.” She chuckles at you
>You were never entirely clear on that. Far as you could tell, it was some kind of tattoo or something that ponies got when they really like something
”I was never clear on that,” you ask, “what exactly is a cutie mark?”
>”Well, I think my little sister’d like to tell you, but it’s kind of a mark that just appears whenever you find your calling.”
“And it just shows up? Like…”
>magic. Of course it’s magic.
>”Magic. Yeah.”
>A thought crosses your mind
“What about if you don’t find your calling? Do you just never know?”
>”Well, I can’t say I know any of anyone that hasn’t found their’s in all my life, but I suppose so.”
>”Never thought about it much.”

>You grimace, and look away
>She notices you grimace and look away
>”What’s on your mind, hun?”
“I don’t know. Just thinking”
>You flash her a quick everythings-fine smile
“So when you get your cutie mark?”
>She looks a little suspicious, but after a little concerned sigh, she accepts the invitation to change the subject
>”Well, when I was little, I didn’t like apples so much.”
“Oh?”
>she chuckles
>”Yeah, I know it don’t seem true, but it was. I was sick of apples!
>”Every day, it was apples, apples, apples. And…
>uh,
>Something bad happened, and I just didn’t wanna be here no more
>Had some family in the city, thought I’d live there for a while. Find my purpose there, I guess.
>I didn’t, though. Just spent a lot of time with people that were just like Rarity, hold the generosity.
>One day I woke up, and this big ol’ rainbow was pointing the way home. Ran all the way back, and realized I never should have left.
>And there it was.”
>She taps her cutie mark with a hint of a smile


“Huh. Sounds like a pretty nice moment.”
>”It was.”
>She smiles to herself and closes her eyes, going back to that moment
>You gotta admit, this is pretty nice
>Applejack is definitely best pony
>Twilight just wanted to study you, Fluttershy was too scared to ever actually meet you
>Rarity was nice, but a little too high-class for you
>She made you feel like you were at the prom in jeans and a T-shirt
>Pinkie was a lot of fun to be around, but it got kind of exhausting after a while
>for you, not her
>And Rainbow Dash was only interested in sports to have any interest in you
>But that Applejack
>She took you in, gave you work, and for the most part, she knew when to give you your space
>The sun was close to the middle of the sky now
>Green apple trees surrounded you, softly rustling in the breeze
>It almost felt like you were in a forest
>Hell, you’d probably get lost if you didn’t have your apple navigator with you
>You didn’t know where you where, not that you really minded right now
>Right now, you were just enjoying some apple company

>The two of you keep walking, not saying a word
>You entered the part of the farm where the apples hadn’t yet been picked
>Apples seemed to erupt from the frees without any warning
>They shone like red stars in the sunlight, speckling the green sky the trees had made
>Beautiful
>You didn’t think you’d ever be the apple fan your cohort was, but you could understand it
>There was just something about the crisp air, the vaguely sweet smell
>The calmness, broken only by a few birds’ singing
>You smiled to yourself, letting loose a contented sigh
>You noticed Applejack looking at you, sharing your expression
>She nodded, seeming to understand

>Not much further left to go
>All those big sprinkler things seem to be working fine
>The magic was broken by Applejack’s incoming instructions
>”Well, that’s about it for that job. How’s about we get back to the house and grab some lunch?”
>”Y’all can get back to your section afterwards. I reckon’ you been missing it.”
>Nope

>You hide your grimace, and it looks like it works, given that she doesn’t comment
“Yeah, that sounds good to me”
>Please believe that I want to work here
>Gotta keep the boss happy, that’s what you learned at your previous job
>True, AJ wasn’t fatter than a whale, she didn’t wear way too much makeup, and she didn’t appear to live in perpetual agony that could only be assuaged by sharing
>But you weren’t about to take any chances
>You head back in, trying not to think about the upcoming workload
>You aren’t feeling as much dread this time around
>You chalk it up to the day being half over, and you start heading back
>It’s quiet
>It’s still nice

>It stops being quiet and nice when Applejack starts laying the smackdown on the triangle
>Fucking thing was probably heard in Canterlot
>”HEY BIG MAAAAAC! IT’S DINNER TIME!”
>Big Mac pops his head outside the door, grunts, and returns
>”Oh, uh…
>guess he was already in, I reckon.”
>She laughs, embarrassedly.
“That’s a good guess.”
>She shoots you a look
>”Now don’t y’all be making fun of me, now!”
>Both of y’all enter the living room and eat some apple food for lunch
>Afterward, you head out into your section and start collecting apples
>Feels like your arms are about to fall out when you hear the triangle calling you back
>Having your arms up in the air all day is no fun

>After another appledinner, you head up to the roof of the bar via their staircase
>The sun’s about to set, and you didn’t want to miss it
>Seeing the sun set over the emerald sea in front of you was the highlight of your stay here
>Already the light was fading to amber, giving the trees far away from you a burnished gold look
>The one’s up close still looked bright as ever, like the eyes of your apple boss
>The apples on them even mimicked the little speckles in her irises
>You only noticed those recently; you almost had to be looking for them to see
>The wind was still blowing, and even though the motion of the flowing trees made it look just like some incredible waving sea, it was cold as fuck
>A brutal war begins inside of you as you try to decide whether you ought to stay outside and keep watching the show, or go inside and take some cheaper seat
>When you start shivering, you figure that’s about enough
>You get up to go in, and a blanket pelts you in the face
>You fall on your back, your vision obscured by the giant pictures of apples on the apple quilt
>”Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry!”
>”I didn’t think you were getting up! I saw you shivering, so I thought I’d just toss you a blanket, and- oh, Celestia, I thought you were gonna fall off!”
>After removing your apple covering, you the edge of the roof closer than you wanna be, a a terror-stricken appleface
>You start to retroactively panic, but you’re more relieved than upset

>You give her a comforting grin
“It’s alright, Applejack.
At least you gave me something to cushion the ground with.”
>You hold up the blanket before wrapping it around you
>Boy that thing’s warm
>Applejack winces and trots over to you, looking relieved as well
>A thought strikes you
“Hey, how’d you know that I was up here?”
>She looks over at you
>”Sugercube, we saw you the first time you came up here.”
>”I swear, Big Mac thought you were gonna take off in flight or something.”
“You’re kidding.”
>”Big Mac’s got a bigger imagination than you’d think”
>You could see it
“Well, I wasn’t. I’d pretty grounded.”
>”Come on now. You know none of us ever met a human before.”
“Yeah, but we don’t have your magic, flight, and all that. We’re not particularly special.”
>Applejack huffs
>”You know I don’t believe that. Everything’s got something special to it. Just like everyone’s got something special to them.”

>You don’t see any point in arguing it, so you don’t
>These ponies don’t know much about your race, and you don’t intend to tell them
>Everybody here’s so damn happy, it seems like a damn cartoon to you
>So what would your world look like to them?
>Sure, it made Twilight sour that you kept your secrets, but Applejack didn’t seem to mind too much.
>And she was your host, not Twilight
>Your attentions are summoned by the dwindling light in front of you.
>The westward sky lights up in an incredible array of colors
>Bright magenta flushes the sky, orange and blue tones sweeping through it
>The few clouds in the sky take different lighting, leaving dim and bright white spots in the whole of it
>A deep crimson with a white boundary lines the southern horizon
>You don’t know if the Equestrian sunset is any different than Earth’s
>You can’t remember the last Earth sunset
>But this one was incredible
>And either way, you weren’t gonna miss this
>You turn to your fellow viewer, but stop short of asking her the question you intended to
>The sky’s lights were reflecting on her face, especially her eyes
>The were lit up, colors swarming there, going to and fro from the small motions she made
>Her yellow mane was similarly painted by the reds and the blues of the coming night, swaying in the bristling wind
>She turns to you, eyes wide
>You forgot your question.

>”Yes, Anon?”
“Uh…”
>Yeah, it’s gone
“Nothing. Forgot what I was gonna say.”
>She gives you that slightly suspicious look for nodding, and looking back to the sunset
>”Oh, Anon, I wanted to ask you,
>How do you feel about going to Ponyville tomorrow?”
“What do you mean?”
>”Ah got a couple things Ah gotta buy to keep the apples.
>We don’t always sell them all, so we gotta treat them with this potion Twilight makes for us.
>”We’re running low on them, and with the picking almost done, Ah reckon we oughtta get ready.”
>You weren’t really listening
>You heard an opportunity to keep out of some farm work, and by gum, you were gonna take it
“Sure, that sounds like fun.”
>”Ah was hoping you’d say yes.”
>hoping?
>Wait a minute, what did that mean? Was there some horrible chore tucked away in that request?
>Dear Celestia, what did she have in store for you?

>The sun’s out, finally having given way to the black swath of you new co-ruler
>The second that last maroon ray fled into the mountains, the stars lit up in constellations you didn’t recognize
>You never thought you’d miss Orion so much
>You sigh heavily, and pick yourself up
>Applejack follows you in, and the two of you set back towards the house
“You know, I could really go for one of you guys’ fur coats.”
>”Yeah, they’re definitely better than that bit of cloth you wrap yourself up in.”
“True.
But I can change this when I want. You’re stuck with orange,” you point out
>”You’re stuck with your color too. And I can wear clothes whenever I want to.”
>She’s got you there
>Still, you prefer how you look to orange
>You’d seen a couple episodes of Jersey Shore, so you knew it wasn’t a good look.
>The two of you go back and forth about the merits of fur and skin until you get back to the house
>She yawns, and bids you good night, brushing her tail up against you as she passes you
>Kind of hard for her not to hit everything with that tail, you figure
>You head on up to your room, and change into those swell applepajamas Rarity had made you
>After laying awake for a few minutes, images of appleeyes flush with a kaleidoscope of colors filling your head, you fall asleep as your exhaustion finally overwhelms you.