"Lalalalala...~" Pinkie hummed to her favorite tune she had always adored when she was a filly. As she served out the goodies, Mrs Cake and her husband was still dozing off, leaving the energetic Pinkie to do the work. Not that she hated it, of course, it was really fun to do the baking and all! The smell of freshly baked cookies filled the whole shop. Mrs Cake had promised Pinkie she could munch on a cake or two, and the mare sure wasn't going to give up the opportunity! She licked her rosy pink lips, or rather, her cheeks, thinking of the sweet treats she could have.
Riiiingg! The doorbell rang. A rather plump stallion with red fur and a tangerine mane came trotting into the shop, his facial expression deadpan. A grin crept on Pinkie's face. "Well, hello there, Big Macintosh! What do you want today? I can deliver it to the barn if y' want! Cookie?" She held up a plump, round chocolate chip cookie, and brought it towards the red stallion, her grin wider than ever.
"Pinkie, Ah knew my predictions were right about you having psychic mind-reading powers. The usual, please. Oh, and add an extra order of some freshly baked apple pies, would you? Granny Smith's been feeling a tad bit drowsier than usual, and she can't prepare her signature fried carrot cake for the household, and AJ and Ah got some hard work to do; Apple Buck season is just tomorrow!" Pinkie giggled at the stallion's words. It was really funny and sweet when Big Mac gets so concerned about his beloved family.
"Well, I can tell you're just super busy! So, let me get this straight : ten cookies for you, and three of our best apple pies for the rest? Oh oh oh! I can bake some of my famous cupcakes! They're super duper popular today! No comatose Applejack involved, I Pinkie-Promise! Squee!" the magenta mare suggested excitedly, not realizing she had used the word 'comatose' wrongly. Big Mac, being the sharp listener, raised an eyebrow, but did not utter a single sound. Not that he had the chance to, with the hyper mare already dashing off to the baking corner. In just a few minutes, the baker had whipped out batches of cookies, with some medium-sized apple pies' heavenly aroma floating around the bakery. The cupcakes were topped with aubergine icing, with some chocolate rice and some nuts for the toppings. Big Mac licked his chops, some drool hanging from his maw. Just wait and witness the faces of his dear ones' expressions when they find out what the brother of the household got them!
"Aurgh!" Applejack grunted. "This apple tree sure is as tough as heck! It's a job meant for mah brother. Where the hay is that stallion when Ah need him so badly?! He usually ain't that irresponsible!" She sat down under the apple tree she had been having difficulty with. She practically ripped her beloved cowpony hat off her sweaty blonde hair, making use of it as a fan to cool down. You can't really blame her, after all. The farmpony had failed at ten over attempts and bucking that one heck of an apple tree. Not even the strongest and toughest mare in Equestria could buck that. It took a real muscled stallion to buck a tree that tough. And the thickness of the bark was not helping. The poor mare huffed, practically hyperventilating from the effort. As if on cue, the absent stallion she had been looking for finally came galloping through the wooden front gates, several paper bags in his jaws.
"Hey, sis! Ah bought you some apple snacks," he told her. Or at least, he tried to. His words ended up incomprehensible, and anypony hearing it would probably hear it like this: "Hr, sis! M' but ym sme maple snucks." The stallion, having the best grammar and pronunciation for most of the time, blushed a pale shade of peach. He put down the bags he was biting on on the fresh green grass, and corrected himself. "I meant to say, 'Hey sis! Ah bought you some apple snacks.' It just...came out wrong." Big Macintosh returned to his deadpan self, and tapped on his snoring sister's shoulder. "Uh, sis? AJ? Wake up, sister." Then-
"YAAAAAAAGHH!!! What- Who?" Applejack sat up straight, after jumping a few hooves high into the air, surprised. "Oh, it's you, big brother. Don't scare me like that! Sheesh!" She glared at the latter and stood up in the blink of an eye. Big Mac, always wanting to do what he was about to do, laughed. "Wow, AJ! You were actually scared? Why are you looking wide-eyed at me like that? Stop it, it's creeping me out there! Bwahahaha! Scaredy-cat Applejack!" he sang, teasing his younger sister and skipped around the porch. Applejack, still wide-eyed, finally spoke.
"Wow, Bro. You were so out of character there. I applaud you." she smirked. Then she said firmly,"Big Mac, your attempts at making be feel humiliated are not working, you hear me clearly? If ya think Ah'd be so petty and get mad at over such a trivial thing, you must think me mad. I'm not like Rainbow or Twilight!" She pushed her head nearer to the stallion's, their noses colliding.
Big Mac,(amazingly) still in a deadpan mood, said with a calm composure,"Calm down, Sister. You knew I was kidding. Thought I never knew how you are like when you are furious? Heh." he chuckled lightly, trotting back to where he put down the bag of pastries. Suprisingly, they hadn't gone cold and gross yet. It was no surprise, though, for every resident of Ponyville knew Sugarcube Corner's pastries were of the finest qualities, resulting in regulars and good reviews. He hoofed over the bag with his family's fresh apple pies, grinning a little, and explained to his puzzled sister. "Ah bought some lunch for you and the rest. Eat them while they're hot, 'cause they're not gonna last a hundred years. Ah got ten macadamia nut cookies for myself, so don't worry." Realizing he forgotten something, Big Mac added,"Oh yeah, the apple pie bags has four of your friend's signature cupcakes, and remember to leave one for me."
Applejack, touched by his concern, told him,"Thank ya, Big Mac. Ah appreciate it. Now, Ah'm gonna have lunch with the rest, but before you go-" She blocked his way. "-buck that rough and tough apple tree over there, along with your chores." She pointed to the tree in question. "It took me, like, fifteen attempts, and Ah still failed to buck that tree. Be a stallion and help a damsel in distress?" She wore a deadpan expression, but her mouth was curved into a smile. After that, the farmpony trotted off into the barn, her voice overheard,"SOUP'S ON, EVERYPONY!" she hollered to the rest of the Apple family, and sprinted to the kitchen.
Big Mac smiled. Typical Applejack! he thought, and went off to do his chores.
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP....The endless beeping noises were getting on the farmpony's nerves. She slapped the snooze button, and got out of bed groggily. The mare stretched her hooves as high as she could, then rubbed her eyes vigorously, followed by three yawns in a row, a few seconds interval between each sound. "Wow," she gasped to herself. "Ah didn't realize how plum tuckered out Ah was...Working after midnight is not mah thing. But you can't be too hardworking, can ya? After all, Apple Buck season's just 'round the corner. In fact, it start today! How the hay can Ah forget it! Absent-minded AJ...." She knocked her head a little too hard, and it was all she could do to prevent yelping too loud.
Just then, pot banging was heard, and a shrill, shaky voice erupted from the kitchen downstairs. "APPLEJACK, DARLIN'! BREAKFAST IS READYYYY!"
"Comin', Granny! Just needa....Okay, Ah'm all set!" Applejack replied, adjusting her hat and making sure it was straight. Charging straight through the door(with swirly eyes and a red-shaded nose), the cowpony dashed down the stairs, but not before crying out,"YEEE-HAW!". She practically flew, and nopony could resist grinning at typical AJ.
Arriving at the kitchen, a fresh smell of carrot cake greeted her. In the center of the large, wide table, a tray of slices of Granny Smith's best carrot cake stood out like shiny gold on a rusty old wooden table. The slices were topped with creamy, snow white icing, and a few baby carrots were placed meticulously on each and every slice. It may seem simple, but it was about the quality and the flavor of the Apple Family's 'carnival food'.
As soon as the mare saw the rich, creamy slices, her eyes sparkled with delight and all traces of sleepiness vanished. In its place was happiness, and hunger.
"Mornin', sis! Granny's doin' well again and prepared her super duper delicious fried carrot cake! It's so good!" A familiar country-accented voice rang out.
"Applebloom! How's my sister doing? Done your homework? If not, Ah'll make sure you get it done by Sunday. Be grateful Ah'm givin' ya a nice, free Saturday today." Applejack grinned teasingly, indicating she was kidding and it was the opposite of what she just told her dismayed sister, who was familiar with that face already. Chuckling, Applejack took her place beside the table, and took a huge slice of carrot cake out of the tray. She wolfed it down in seconds, and started to reach out for another, when a large, plump apple-red hoof stopped her.
"Nuh-uh, Applejack. Don't be so selfish. Leave a few slices for me and Granny. I've been doing mah morning chores, and I'm supposed to be more famished than you." A soft but firm voice said. His sister snorted, and her giggle was a bit masculine.
"Bro, it wasn't mah fault you decided to start 'thout me first. You really should have waited for both of us to eat, don't you think?" she pointed out, reaching out for a mini-slice. "But Ah understand. The slice Ah just took will be the last one, okay? And you should know better than to doubt the Element of Honesty, a family member no less." She smirked at the end of her sentence. Big Mac shook his head sternly, but did not utter a single word, not least because it was true. Still frowning at his sister's nerves, the stallion took a neutral-sized slice of cake, making the same expression as he did to her since she spoken her part while slowly munching on his breakfast.
Applejack, always loving to tease her brother, giggle-snorted, while saying in between giggle-snorts,"Oh mah Celestia, you're eatin' as slow as a slug, brother! Even mah own grandma could consume her food speedier than you, and by grandma Ah meant Granny Smith." Big Mac, trying to think of it as a joke, gritted his teeth and began to gobble down his breakfast, resulting in choking and more laughs.
Applejack...Ah'll strangle you if it were not for my coughing, Big Mac thought as he began to wheeze and hack.
That night, Applejack tucked her sister into her snug and comfy bed, blowing the candle on Applebloom's small chest of drawers gently. "G'night, Applebloom. Rest well, tomorrow's your big day! Yer big sister has got a great darn gift for ya!" She gave her little sister a goodnight peck on the cheek, and went out of the room, letting the filly rest. Once out of her room, she sighed.
"Well, how did it go?" A deep, masculine voice asked. The farmer whipped her head around, a look of desperation plastered on her face.
"What am Ah gonna do, Big Mac? Ah haven't thought of a meaningful gift for Applebloom yet! What will she think of me tomorrow? That Ah'm not a responsible elder sister?!" She nearly shed a tear at the thought, but she didn't want her brother to think of her as a coward. The stallion wrapped a hoof around her back, patting her gently as he did so.
"There, there, AJ. Ah'm sure she'll understand. We Apples are not so petty like that, and Ah'm sure Applebloom won't turn away from that trait."
"The thing is, Ah already told her Ah'd get her a 'great' gift! W-what if that turns out to be a lie? Ah'm the Element of Honesty, and Ah'd feel so ashamed if Ah had to deviate what mah title signifies! Ah'm worried Applebloom will think that Ah don't love her, while the truth is the complete opposite! Ah can't let that happen." Big Mac let her words sink into him. After realizing what she had pointed out was true, the usually comforting stallion had ran out of words to console her. A few moments of silence.
After quite some time, Applejack stood up, determined. She had an idea. "Why don't Ah bake Applebloom an apple pie, made from our richest, reddest apples! Come to think of it, we hadn't had much apple pies since the li'l filly came into our family, right? She hasn't the chance to try out the Apples' finest delicacy. It's the best present yet, don't you think?" The mare's emerald green eyes shone with absolute delight.
"Eeyup. Go for it, sister. Ah'll prepare my own gift. Although, ya have to wake up extremely early tomorrow, the pie needs some time to prepare." Applejack started to open her mouth, when his hoof signaled for her to pause. "Don't worry, Ah'll take care of both of our chores. Ah'm stayin' up all night to make the birthday filly's gift, after all. Now, go to bed. Best to sleep early to wake up early, right?" Big Mac stood up, heading to his room, leaving his sister isolated in the dark corridor. The latter, not realizing how tired she was, trotted back sleepily into her own bedroom
Upon arriving at her bedroom, Applejack noticed that her nightlight had been switched off, saving her the trouble, for she was so sleepy she could have just fallen asleep lying on the bedroom floor. Clambering onto bed, the orange mare placed her cowpony hat onto her chest of drawers, and setting the alarm clock(she barely remembered), and began to snore as soon as her mane made contact with her soft pillow.
Riiiing! An alarm clock sounded, its shrill signal waking the snoozing mare up. She rubbed her eyes, still quite sleepy, and prepared to get back to her beauty slumber. She then remembered Applebloom and her well-deserved present, and she woke up completely. Only her dear sister was on her mind now, and she set to buck some of the best apples for her recipe.
Upon arriving at the Apples' apple orchard, the farmpony gasped, and lifted up a hoof in shock. Her eyes dilated, and she gawked, her eye twitching. All the apples were gone! Not a single patch of fruit left hanging from a single tree, and every apple she had last seen yesterday morning was gone. The 'apple' trees were bare, and all that was left were a few dried leaves hanging precariously on the branches, not even a single apple remained. Everything remained silent.