Applejack of My Eye

~~AppleJack~~

It was another bright, warm, lazy day in Ponyville. The sun beat down on the quiet little town, flooding every space it could with warmth and light. A cool breeze drifted through the heat every so often, stifling the humidity and redifining the day from hot to comfortable. Not a cloud was present in the sky; the solid, pacid blue showed forth like a giant blanket covering Equestria. Yet another lazy, late summer day had rolled around. August was suprisingly proving one of the most enjoyable months of the year so far. Colts and fillies were out and about, playing their everyday games, not a care in the world, unaware that their activities and relaxive days would be replaced by schoolwork and learning in just a few weeks. Adult ponies enjoyed the weather and lazy days while they could, for they knew soon things would get busy for them once September promptly arrived. For most of Ponyville, the day was just a two dozen more hours to do whatever you wanted.

For most. Unlike many of the Ponyville residents, the diligent work on Sweet Apple Acres had hardly slowed. The apples were ripening to their fullest, which meant as many as possible had to be bucked before the pleasant weather ended and they would begin to rot. But that wasn't the only preparation that needed doing. Everypony on the farm had something productive to do this time of year. Big Macintosh plowed the fields for the fall crops to be seeded. Apple Fritter tended to the barnyard animals, feeding them and caring for them almost as much as if she were Fluttershy. But for AppleJack and her younger sister AppleBloom, they recieved was the most important task of all - bucking the apples.

The orange mare slammed her hind legs into the trunk of the nearest tree. The apples it contained shook loose from their stems and fell, only to all be caught precisively in a bucket balanced on top of Apple Bloom's scarlet-maned head. The filly then proceeded to toss the bucket towards a pile of it's twins, all filled to the brim with fresh apples. It landed promptly in an empty space, right where Apple Bloom had aimed for.

"That's thirty-seven buckets!" she cried, her adorable farm-girl accent standing out through her words. "Is that a record, Sis?" She glanced back at the naked trees of the orchard and the volley of buckets their apples were sittiing in. "I've never seen so many bucked apples in all my life!"

"The trees sure did thrive this year," AppleJack replied. "I reckon we'll have a huge surplus, if these trees are tellin' any truth about the rest of the orchard." She marched over to the next tree.

Apple Bloom grabbed another bucket. "It's all so exitin'! And I just can't wait till the Ponyville County fair!"

"Can't wait to set up for it?" AppleJack asked as her sister whizzed around, catching the newly bucked apples. "Remember, we're the ones puttin' the whole thing up this year!"

The Ponyville County Fair was arguably the most popular event of the whole summer. Every mid-August, the Construction Committee turned the town square into a traditional fairground, complete with numerous food vendors, a Ferris Wheel, a carousel for the colts and fillies, even a dunk tank - not to mention hundreds of other fun booths and activities. It was quite the event; even Princess Celestia herself often came to speak a few words to the residents and enjoy the festivities herself. The fair normally lasted three or four days, after which the tedious clean-up job would begin.

But due to a lack of funding this year, the Construction Committee had not found enough in their budget to set up the fair this year, especially since they had spent quite a few bits on building the new Ponyville Wonderbolts stadium. They had been forced to cancel the fair, arousing outrage and disappointment among everypony in the town.

But, not wanting this important Ponyville tradition to be missed this year, the Apple Family quickly jumped in and offered to set up the fair themselves. The Mayor accepted their gracious offer, announcing that the long-anticipated event was back on! The problem? Organizing a whole fair took a lot of hard work, and with the surplus of apples this season, AppleJack wasn't sure they could fit it into their schedule. But Granny Smith assured her that with a little confidence (and a lot of sweat) they could pull it off.

"Set up for it?! Fiddlesticks, I forgot about that part." Apple Bloom snatched another bucket from the pile of empty ones. "I just wanna play at it! Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and I were gonna go for carnival cutie marks!"

"Hey, don't forget - Babs Seed is comin' down for the fair too! Just like she does every year!"

Apple Bloom's eyes widened in exitement. "I completely forgot! Babs is comin'! I just can't wait to hang out with her and ask her all about Manehattan!" The yellow filly was now bouncing up and down as if she was Pinkie Pie at the Grand Galloping Gala. "It's gonna be soooooo much fun!" The bucket fell off her head unceremoniously.

"She ain't the only one visitin'. Remember my cousin Braeburn? You met him when you were just a little filly." AppleJack trotted over to the next tree. "He's gonna help us with the set-up!"

After hearing of their overwhelming project, Braeburn had insisted on coming from Applooza helping out the busy-as-ever farm family. They gratefully accepted his offer, as they would need another stallion to help Big Mac with the heavy lifting. And besides, who wouldn't want to see an old family friend? AppleJack was especially anxious to ask him how her favorite apple tree, Bloomberg, was doing after his transplant a while ago to the Applooza orchard. Plus, Braeburn was a fun stallion to hang out with, and she always enjoyed his rare visits.

Meanwhile, Apple Bloom picked up the bucket and struggled to remember the cousin of which AppleJack spoke. "Nope," she said after a minute. "Can't remember nothin' 'bout him!"

AppleJack smiled, slamming her back hooves into the trunk of another healthy tree. Her sister caught all the apples, and tossed the bucket into the pile. "Alrighty," the orange mare said, brushing the dust off her hooves. "I reckon that's good for now. Besides, now we gotta carry all thirty-eight all the way back to the farmhouse."

Apple Bloom grinned slyly. "'Kay, you take thirty-eight and I'll take zero!"

"Nice try, sis. How 'bout you take all of 'em?" AppleJack lunged at her sister, aiming to playfully tackle her.

"Hey!" she scurried away, laughing as AppleJack landed in the dirt. She quickly scrambled to her hooves, brushing the orchard dirt off herself. "You're gonna get it now!"

"Yeah right! Betcha can't find me!" Apple Bloom called as she disappeared behind a tree.

"Aw, this game?" AppleJack smirked. "I'm gonna fiiind yooouuu!" She pretended to not know where her sister was, checking behind trees that were on the opposite side from where the filly was really hiding. "Boo!" she yelled as she leapt behind each one. Unsuccessful she crept slowly to the next one. "Boo!" Soft giggles emulated from behind her.

Eventually, AppleJack gravitated toward her sister's true hiding place. As she got closer and closer, the filly panicked and AppleJack heard her scurry deeper into the orchard, away from the seeking mare.

"Alright, Apple Bloom!" she called out. "Seriously, we gotta haul these apples down to the farmhouse!" Silence met her words. "Come on out!" she repeated. Still, no answer. The filly was still playing the game. AppleJack could picture her in her mind, huddling in the shade of an apple trees branches, pressed against the trunk, giggling as quietly as she could.

"I'm gonna leave you here!" AppleJack threatened playfully, picking up a bucket of apples in each hoof. She was about to start walking away when she suddenly heard an ear-piercing scream.

"Apple Bloom?!" She shouted, dropping the buckets, the perfectly good apples spilling all over the ground. "Are you okay? Where are you?" the panicked orange mare dashed through the trees to her sister's supposed hiding place.

But the filly wasn't there. She must have moved further in when AppleJack wasn't looking! "Apple Bloom! Where the hell are you?"

"AppleJack! I'm over here!" the voice came from her right. It was loud, her sister wasn't far away. She ran toward the source of the shout.

There she was! Apple Bloom was cowering behind a large, unbucked apple tree. Her older sister clutched the filly to her chest in a quick hug. Then she held her out at an arm's length. "What was that all about? Are you hurt? Damn, you scared me half to death!" She wasn't sure whether to be angry at the young yellow filly or not.

"I'm fine." Apple Bloom was breathing heavily and was as white as a ghost. "But..." She trailed off, pointing past the tree into the space between the rows of twin trees. AppleJack's breath caught in her throat as she followed her sister's pointing hoof. A white pegasus was sprawled on the ground in the middle of the orchard. He wasn't moving. And he was covered in blood.