Bumper Crop

As you finish tying up the latest bale, you lift an arm to your forehead, wiping off the sweat from your brow. With summer slowly rearing its head, you could feel the heat intensifying with each passing day. You groan internally at the thought.

“Spring went by way too fast,” you whisper to yourself. “Just hope it isn’t too brutal this summer.”

Lifting the bale of hay onto your shoulder, you begin to carry it to the barn. At least your break time is just about to start. Having been at work for several hours now, you rotate your arms around a few times in an attempt to expel some fatigue. Not to mention you’re as hungry as a wild Manticore. Thankfully, your boss isn’t a stickler about your breaks.

In fact, she’s pretty much the exact opposite. She has always allowed a break ever since you started working here. Not to mention oftentimes offering you to join her for lunch. When you began working at Sweet Apple Acres, you half expected them to work you into the ground. Something along the lines of “toughening up the greenhorn” or what have you.

While your new employer wasn’t exactly the gentlest girl around, she hasn’t been a slave-driver either. The mare is about as nice as you could ask for, treating you like an actual pony rather than just another hoof on the field.

“Y’all got that hay finished up, yet?”

Well, most of the time, that is.

“Uh...” you look to the remaining workload. Only about two more bales worth were left. “Almost!” you call out to answer. Ignoring the building soreness in your arms, you jog back over to begin bunching up hay for another bale.

As you begin to tie some string around the hay in your arms, you see somepony come up in the side of your vision. You give a quick glance to confirm your hunch and sure enough, standing there beside you is none other than your boss, Applejack. She wears a rolled up red plaid shirt with a yellow neckerchief and a pair of jeans over her orange fur, all with her trademark brown stetson atop her blonde hair. Her emerald green eyes shine with her usual confidence as she looks over your progress.

“Well, yer sure not doin’ too bad,” she says. “Not fer doin’ work yer not used to.”

It’s true. The list of physical work on Sweet Apple Acres is just about endless, but that’s not your specialty. You’re more inclined to work with the farm animals, such as cows, pigs, sheep, or what have you. However, there was little need for animal care today, but hard labor was as in demand as ever. You still like to help out wherever you can, though. Work is work and payment is payment.

“Well, have to keep my abilities varied, right?” you muse.

She shrugs. “I reckon.” She takes a quick glance at her watch before continuing. “Lemme help ya finish this up real quick, I got a lunch date with the girls today!” She then wraps her hands around the hay, granting you a little more room to work with your own hands.

“That’s today?” you ask as you work the knot in your fingers.

“Yup, every Friday.” she responds.

You shake your head. You could have sworn today was Thursday. You finish up the newest knot. “Huh, guess I lost track of the time...”

AJ releases her grip on the hay, allowing you to lift it onto your shoulder. She chuckles a bit before responding. “Perhaps ya’ve been a bit too out of touch with yer fellow ponyfolk!”

“No, I have not,” you say sharply as you carry the hay. “Just because I’ve been busy with other things doesn’t mean I’ve lost all contact with others. Besides, it’s your work that keeps me busy, remember?”

Applejack tips her hat a bit as she begins to compile the next bale. “Y’all know I’m just teasin’. I was actually gonna ask if you’d like to tag along with us today.”

Setting the bale down onto the pile, your ears perk up. “Really?”

She shrugs again. “Ya did more than your fair share today, I figure I could treat you to a little something in return. Whaddya say?”

You shrug. “If you’re offering,” you reply, “My papa always taught me to never turn down a free lunch.”

Applejack chuckles, now tying up her hay in only a fraction of the time it took you, and then plopping the final bale on the pile. “Well, that’s that. Let’s get movin’,” she says, brushing off her hands. “Sooner we eat, sooner we can get back ta’ work!”

You follow her out of the barn and down the road, swiping off a few stray pieces of hay that cling to your shirt. ‘Work, work, work. It’s all that’s on that mare’s mind,’ you think to yourself. Not that it isn’t an admirable quality, but sometimes she talks about things like hanging out with her friends just like she would as another chore on her list of daily duties. There are times you begin to wonder if she’s ever taken some time off to really relax and enjoy herself. It’d be terrible if she pushed herself too hard.

But then you look at that face, so high in spirit that your worry vanishes. She lives for her work and she’d go crazy if anything took her away from it. Every day, she walks up right, a smile on her face, with a nice brisk pace. A pace you now have to do a small jog to keep up with.

“So where are we meeting them again?” you ask.

“The usual place. It’s just a lil’ restaurant in the middle of town.” she answers plainly, tucking her hands into her pockets.

“The whole gang?”

“Yup. Although five bits says Rainbow’ll be late. Again.” You detect a small bit of annoyance in her voice near the end of her sentence.

“The self-proclaimed ‘fastest mare in Equestria’ has a knack for being late, huh?” you chuckle.

She lets out a small giggle as well. “It’s the darndest thing, isn’t it?”

The two of you share another small laugh at the expense of Rainbow’s reputation before falling into silence. It’s not uncomfortable though, as the two of you simply enjoy the atmosphere. Not a single cloud dots the sky and a cool breeze blows through the area, providing some relief from the growing heat.

Thankfully, the walk from the farm to town isn’t a long one. As you draw near, you begin seeing ponies trotting to and fro. A couple of ponies frantically skitter through the village, seemingly late for whatever. Booths litter the town square, selling various goods, namely veggies and fruits. With lunch coming into full swing, the number of ponies seems to increase with each passing moment.

After a few minutes of walking, dodging the occasional shopper here and there, you manage to pick out several familiar faces. Sitting at a table on the plaza of a small restaurant, you spot Applejack’s usual cadre of friends. You note, however, that Rainbow is missing. It seems Applejack hit the nail on the head with that one.

Though you usually only talk to them on the off chance you run into one of them in town or something, you still know them well enough through Applejack. The studious Twilight, the fashionista Rarity, and the ever-quiet Fluttershy.

And, of course, the unforgettable Pinkie Pie. Who happens to be waving wildly at the two of you from where she sits.

“Howdy, y’all,” Applejack says as she takes her seat. “Hope ya’ don’t mind me bringin’ one more fer lunch.” You give a small, awkward wave of your own as she says that.

“Not at all! The more the merrier, right?” Pinkie Pie says in her usual upbeat tone, causing a bounce in her swirly pink mane. The others offer their agreement as you sit down yourself, feeling a bit more welcome.

“So what’s going on?” you ask in an attempt to start off a conversation.

“Oh, nothing much,” Rarity says, running her white hand through the purple curls of her hair. “Twilight and I were just discussing a possible new dress for her.”

“What’s the occasion?” Applejack asks.

“Just going out of town for a bit. There’s a place called Trottingham that’s been the talk of some new health thing. I wanted to go down there and see if I could do a study and interview with those involved,” Twilight explains.

“And Trottingham is a much different place with a much different sense of fashion,” Rarity adds. “If Twilight wanted to blend in to mingle, she’d need something other than her old Ponyville clothes. And I’ve been reading quite a few magazines from the region and would love to try my hand at it. Something to really go with her flowing violet mane...” Rarity trails off, losing herself in the thought of another dress to make, replacing the simple blue t-shirt and jeans Twilight is wearing currently. “Hair is a big part of style over there, after all.”

“And these two don’t like my idea!” Pinkie suddenly exclaims grudgingly under her happy demeanor. “I mean, wouldn’t a dress made of book pages be perfect for Twilight?” she asks.

“Pinkie dear, I’ve told you before that paper isn’t really a material I have experience making dresses with...” Rarity says.

“And all the books that would have to be destroyed for it? I wouldn’t stand for it!” Twilight responds as well, giving a little pound of her purple fist against the table.

Pinkie gives a little ‘hmph!’ as she crosses her arms and looks away defiantly.

“Not to mention, the risk of just getting covered in paper cuts...” you chime in with a shrug.

Pinkie looks at you before putting a finger to her chin. “Ooooh. I didn’t think of that.”

While Pinkie rethinks her dress scheme, you notice Applejack rolling her eyes. She probably deals with the pink pony’s nonsense on a regular basis. She then turns her attention the Fluttershy, wearing a white dress skirt with a long sleeve green shirt despite the warm weather. Only a bit of her yellow face pokes out from behind her pink mane. “So what about you, ‘Shy? Anything exciting happen lately?”

The mare jumps a bit at the mention of her name, but quickly recovers. She glances quickly at you before looking at AJ. It was a look you’ve come to expect every now and again, one of doubt and mirth if only for a moment. As sweet a girl as Fluttershy is, you did steal her work of one of her best friends. Not that it was personal, it’s just your methods were better suited in a business sense than hers, even if she’s more qualified. You still need to call her from time to time for cases you can’t resolve.

“Oh, no, not really,” she says. “Other than one of my ferret friends getting a nasty splinter, I haven’t really had any excitement for a few days.”

“Is it alright? The ferret?” you ask. Fluttershy’s animals are the only sure-fire way to get her to talk that you know of, so you figure you might as well help keep the train rolling.

“Oh, yes, he’s just fine!” she replies with a smile. “It was just a little splinter, so he’ll be okay.”

“Maybe you should give him little booties to protect his feet!” Pinkie adds, having snapped out of her stupor over paper dresses.

“Umm...I-I doubt that he’d like that...” Fluttershy says. “He wouldn’t be able to use his claws if he had boots, I don’t think.”

“Aw, but he would look soooooo cute with booties!” The pink mare gasps the moment she finishes her sentence. “And maybe with a little raincoat! Ooo, and a hat! With a tiny umbrella, kinda like the ones you get in those tropical smoothies, and-”

A purple hand suddenly finds its way over Pinkie’s mouth. Following the arm, you find it to be attached to one Twilight. “I don’t think that the ferret would appreciate being the subject to playing dress up very much, Pinkie.” With how quickly Twilight reacted, you figure that it might be a natural motion when it comes to Pinkie.

After having the offending hand removed from her lips, you watch as Pinkie folds her arms with a bit of a pout gracing her face. Having two of her ideas shot down in the same day is probably not doing her mood any favors. Then again, she’ll probably end up forgetting within the next few minutes. You’re not sure.

“So how are things at Sweet Apple Acres?” Rarity asks.

“Things are goin’ rather smoothly, thanks fer askin’,” Applejack replies. She extends a thumb out in your direction. “This feller here’s been a great help to gettin’ everythin’ done.” You smile at her compliment.

“Well, that’s good to hear,” Twilight says. “Even though the season has been a bit... rough for you in terms of sales, hasn’t it?”

Applejack is silent for a moment before shifting her head to the side. “We’ve always managed, Twi. This year ain’t gonna be any different.”

Her answer makes you smile a bit. You had known about the farm’s less than average sales as of late, but Applejack always had a sort of infectious confidence. She knows what she’s doing and as long as she said everything would be okay, then it’s safe to assume it would be.

“Alright then,” Twilight says, AJ’s spreading confidence doing its job.

“Hey guys!” comes a somewhat scratchy voice from behind you. Swooping in, causing a gust of wind to blow over the table is the super fast, super daring, and super late Rainbow Dash. Everypony greets the stunt flier as her colorful mane and namesake settles down onto her shoulders. She looks around the table to see no more chairs available. She looks down to you and asks, “What are you doing in my seat, huh?”

Before you can answer, Applejack speaks up. “If you were on time, there might’ve been a seat for ya’. This guy got here before ya’ so he can sit where he darn well pleases.”

Dash rolls her eyes before reaching to a nearby empty table and taking a chair. She pulls it around and sits down in it backwards, resting her arms and then chin on the back of it.

"So, what’d I miss? Y’know, besides my seat.” she says as she casts a sideways glance to you. You look over to the side as one of your hands finds its way to the back of your neck.

“Not too much, darling.” replies Rarity. “We’ve just been catching up on our week so far, such as how Twilight is currently planning to go out of town soon.”

“Oh, cool! Where you going?” Rainbow inquires with a smile on her face.

“Over to Trottingham,” Twilight clarifies, taking a sip from her shake. “There’s a new experiment going on that I wanted to look into.”

“And I wanted to provide her a special something to wear.” Rarity interjects, frisking her mane with a free hand.

Rainbow giggles a bit before responding. “You always gotta have some kinda dress to make, huh Rarity?”

“What?” she asks innocently. “I just want to make sure that Twilight looks her best for the Trottingham crowd! Is that so wrong?”

“No, but it would be so much more right if the dress were paper!” Pinkie interrupts.

‘Is she seriously still holding onto that?’you think to yourself.

“Pinkie, we already went over this.” Twilight intervenes, ready to shoot Pinkie’s idea down again. You could tell from the look on her face that she might be reaching the end of her patience with Pinkie for the moment.

“Oh, but come on!” Pinkie pleads. “It would be just perfect! I mean, getting the paper wet could be really bad, but-”

“Uh, girls?” You look over to the source of the voice to find Applejack with her arm lifted, inconspicuously pointing to something.

Looking over, you see a couple of stallions whispering to each other and pointing towards your group. One of them elbows jokingly the other while they both chuckle. They both begin to look towards you, but turn away the moment they notice that everypony with you is looking in their direction. Even still, they smile and whisper to each other.

“What in tarnation them boys pointin’ at us fer?” Applejack asks.

Rarity giggles, catching the attention of everypony at the table. “Why Applejack, I do believe those gentlemen were, how you say...-”

“They were checking us out!” Dash exclaims, interrupting Rarity.

“Really?” asks Twilight, casting another glance at the two stallions, now leaving. Fluttershy’s cheeks begin to redden as she sinks down in her chair.

Applejack’s eyebrow raises in confusion. Rarity notices her curiosity. “It’s something that happens from time to time,” she explains. “Stallions see a pretty mare and maybe they just have to take a second look. Certainly not the first time I’ve turned a couple heads.” She looks down her own body. Taking a moment, you realize that her white suit fits her form extraordinarily well. “How about you?”

Before Applejack can manage a response to her inquiry, Pinkie pipes in. “Oooh! Boys look at me all the time!

“You don’t say, Pinkie...” Rainbow adds, casting a glance at the pink mare’s rather slim-fitting orange tank top. “But yeah, I get the same treatment! Out on the running track, guys just can’t help it sometimes. You get used to it, though. What about you, Twi?”

The mare in question jumps a bit at the sudden shift in attention as a small blush graces her cheeks. “W-Well...every now and then, in the library, I catch a stallion taking a glimpse...But I’m usually too wrapped up in my work to really pay them any mind.”

The group seems satisfied with her answer and the sets of eyes all turn to the quietest mare of the bunch. As the new center of focus, Fluttershy begins to blush violently, slowly sinking in her chair. It seems as if she’s trying to shrink into herself. “I-I, um...s-sometimes get a...yes...”

Her voice trails off into an inaudible range, but you get the gist of her answer. Casting a glance over to Rarity, you find her eyes settling on Applejack. Before she manages to ask her the same question as the others, she turns her attention to you suddenly, one of her hands gracing her chin.

“Oh, Dearie, this conversation isn’t uncomfortable for you or anything, is it?” she asks you innocently.

You shrug. “Not really. It’s not like I go around ogling any of you myself,” you say.

“What, are we not good enough for you?” Dash asks with a pout.

“No, that’s not what I-” you try to explain, but are interrupted when Dash suddenly stands up.

“Please. You wish you could have a mare with this sort of bod, don’t you?” she says. You watch as she trails a hand down the side of her tight white track shirt and off her black gym shorts adorned flank. “See? You’re checking this out alright.”

“Well, when ya’ basically say ‘look at my body’ ya’ can’t really fault ‘em fer lookin’ then, can you?” Applejack asks, annoyance very much present in her voice.

“But he did! After saying that he didn’t!” Dash argues.

“Rainbow, look at my hand, please,” Twilight suddenly says, her hand up and open.

Dash’s eyes immediately fix on it. “...What about it?” she asks.

“Case in point,” Twilight says. “When you tell somepony to look at something, they look at it.”

“Thanks Twilight,” you say, feeling a bit of the oncoming embarrassment being halted. She gives you a courteous nod.

With her point effectively trumped, Rainbow slumps back down into her chair with a pout. Pinkie giggles out loud at the mare’s expression. Even Fluttershy manages a silent chuckle. You figure that Twilight besting Rainbow in games of logic is a regularly occurring scenario.

“Anyhoo,” Rarity says, picking back up on her train of thought. She frisks her mane with her fingertips before continuing. “What about you, Applejack?”

"Beg pardon?” the country mare responds.

“We’ve all shared our experiences when it comes being ‘checked out.’” she continues, air-quoting with her fingers. “I’m curious; how much attention do you get from stallions?”

“Well I, uh...I don’t really know.” she trails off. Her eyes dart around a bit, her mind presumably lost in thought.

Twilight smiles. “Come on, Applejack. You can tell us!”

One of her hands finds its way to the back of her neck, rubbing it idly. “Uh…well, there ain’t too many stallions down on the farm normally, so…I don’t really know.”

“What about when you’re up in town, running your stand?” Rainbow asks, seemingly over the little scene earlier. “I bet you get a lot of looks!”

Applejack’s face seems to scrunch up a bit. “I’ve never really noticed anypony lookin’. I guess I jus' don’t right pay attention. I don’t know.” She spouts her words oddly fast.

“Oh, come on, Jackie!” Pinkie chimes in, adding emphasis on the petname. “I bet lotsa guys look at you when you’re in town! You’re super cute with your little freckles and your boots and ponytail and stuff! I’m sure you get tons of looks when you-”

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Applejack quickly stand up. As soon as you manage to focus your vision on the mare beside you, her hands slam down on the table, the silverware clattering at the sudden impact. “I DON’T KNOW!”

Everypony at table, you included, remains silent. A couple of ponies at nearby tables cast wayward glances in your direction. This is the first time you have ever heard Applejack shout. You’ve heard her speak with mild annoyance and even raise her voice at her younger sister on occasion, but never anything like that. It’s honestly a bit intimidating.

That look in her eyes isn’t exactly helping that feeling. She gives Pinkie a harsh glare, one you’ve never seen her use before. Everypony at the table stares at AJ with wide eyes, with the exception of Fluttershy. She’s sunken into her chair with her face half hidden behind her mane.

Applejack maintains the stare for a brief moment before her eyes begin to drift to the others at the table. The realization of her outburst seems to set in as her expression slowly softens to something that seems halfway between regret and apology. She slowly lifts her hands from the table as she speaks.

“I...I-I gotta get back the farm. W-Work, n’ stuff.”

The vagueness of her statement only adds to the confusion, but she doesn’t opt to explain any further. Pushing her chair back, she turns away from the table and begins to quickly scuttle away.

You reach a hand out to her on impulse, despite her already being far out of arm’s reach. As she swiftly makes distance between you and the group, you quickly decide that it would be best to follow. You turn to the other mares and make a gesture that’s somewhere between a wave and a confused shrug. They all nod in understanding, with Rarity adding in a wave of her hand, prompting you to go.

You walk quickly out of the restaurant and see AJ through the crowd of other ponies, already down the road back to the farm. It takes a bit of jogging but you start to catch up to her. However, what do you say after her performance? You’re still a little afraid after the way she yelled out of nowhere like that.

Do you ask about what provoked her? Why she shouted like that? Should you convince her to go back or just follow her all the way to the farm?

No more time to think, your fast pace has brought you right alongside Applejack. She looks over and sees you.

“Thought you’d be stayin’ at the restaurant,” she says.

“Not when the boss says there’s work to do,” you reply.

She gives a mix between a snort and a chuckle. “Well, I’ll be sure to feed ya’ when we get back. I won’t have ya’ workin’ hungry.”

You smile at her offer. She’s really one of the best ponies you could have hoped to work for. However, there are still those questions burning in the back of your mind. With a small breath, you decide to go for it.

“So about-”

“Don’t wanna talk ‘bout it.”

“Right…” you say, head drooping down toward the ground.

Well, that got you far. Still, you don’t intend to drop it without addressing to some degree. If something is ailing the country mare, you would like to at least try and sort it out, however far you might get. Knowing how stubborn AJ can be though, that might not be an impressive distance…

Perhaps take a step back for a moment. Why would AJ have had that freakout? The question seemed innocent enough. Heck, even Fluttershy managed a response. It seems a little backwards that AJ would be the one to get cold feet over the inquiry.

Perhaps Applejack really doesn’t know. Maybe she doesn’t pay too much mind to the stallions around, and has just never noticed. Then again, it does seem pretty far fetched that she would have never paid any attention to such a thing. In all her years of living in Ponyville, she’s never caught a guy taking a glance at her?

Maybe her outburst was, in a way, a modesty thing. Perhaps she does get attention in that way, but just doesn’t want to boast it. That’s not to say she doesn’t brag on certain things, but she’s no Rainbow when it comes to that. Such a topic would seem like something she wouldn’t boast about.

But would that really justify such an angry outburst? Applejack isn’t one to yell often, let alone when it’s directed at all of her best friends. Sure, you’ve seen her get frustrated with them on occasion, primarily with Pinkie and Rarity, but she’s never reacted like that. Considering the nature of the idle chit-chat that came before her outburst, you can at least conclude it wasn’t something about her friends that set her off.

And now you’ve come full circle. Still without an idea as to why she would snap like that.

Circumstances being what they are, you decide to take a shot in the dark.

“Applejack…?”

She doesn’t slow down, but she glances over, confirming that you have her attention.

“You know that you are an attractive mare, right?”

She sighs and shakes her head. The response only deepens your worry about the situation.

“It ain’t about anythin’ like that,” she says. “I do try t’ look nice, in my own way. An’ honestly, between you an’ me, I do see a couple stallions starin’ at me every now ‘n again.”

“So why the-...” you begin, but cut yourself short as you remember how she said earlier that she didn’t want to talk about the specifics.

She sees your concern and stops walking. “Look, sugarcube, I just ain’t comfortable with the idea of just…” She twirls her hand around, searching for the right phrase. “...showin’ off. Never have been, especially with my own body.”

You raise an eyebrow. Sensing your next question, she continues.

“It’s just what I been taught,” she says. “Granny Smith says them girls struttin’ ‘round town back in the ol’ days were downright disgraceful to their families. I wouldn’t want to do that to my family, ‘specially not Granny.” She crosses her arms as she keeps walking. “That’s why I ain’t comfortable with talkin’ ‘bout it. I know I get some looks, but… I don’t want to brag about it like I’m just some prissy showmare for everypony to stare at.”

“That’s fair,” you say with a thoughtful nod.

The faint crack of a smile forms on her lips. “Thanks. And sorry fer how I was actin’ back there,” she says.

Looking around, you see you’re already back at the farm. Applejack makes a quick jog up to her house and opens the door with loud creak. You’re going to have to oil that door for her one of these days.

“Now come on,” she says, waving a hand to invite you inside. “We still got lunch t’ get.”