"Fluttershy, what in land's sakes are you doing?"
Applejack had noticed in the last few days that Fluttershy had stopped helping her out on the farm. Ever since Fluttershy had moved in with Applejack, she'd insisted on doing her part on the farm, despite Applejack's insistence that it wasn't necessary. Her method of helping tended to involve following Applejack around and catching the falling apples in a barrel. It was a nice, simple little job that Applejack chose for her so she could feel helpful while not overworking herself. She had found it a little odd when Fluttershy simply stopped helping without a word, but figured she had her own reasons and didn't wish to make her feel like Applejack was disappointed with her, though she did miss the conversations they had while working.
Fluttershy was back out on the field today, but she didn't have a barrel with her. Rather, she was busy wrapping what looked like a big gauze bandage around the tree that Applejack had just finished bucking. Fluttershy did some strange things here and there, but this was not normal for her.
"Oh..." Fluttershy said upon being spotted. "Well...I figured that since trees are living things, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to kick them and hurt them all the time..."
Applejack tried so hard to stop herself from rolling her eyes, but it was a futile effort. She knew how much Fluttershy liked to look into her eyes and that she would surely be hurt by the reaction, but at this point, it was beyond her control. Sure enough, the pegasus's ears drooped upon seeing Applejack's reaction, and the farmer's ears soon followed.
"I'm sorry, honeycrisp," Applejack said softly. "But I just can't agree with you. I mean, yeah, they're alive, but look at how thick these trunks are. I shake 'em up, but I don't think this is causing any permanent damage or nothin'." She gave the tree she was near a buck for good measure, causing Fluttershy to eep and run over.
"Applejack!" Fluttershy exclaimed as she began to bandage the recently-bucked tree. "How could you?"
"C'mon, Shy, it's fine," Applejack said. "We've been doing it this way for years now! I think we'd know by now if it had a bad effect on the trees, don't you?"
"The trees can't speak for themselves, Applejack..." Fluttershy responded, her tone surprisingly stern. "Maybe your methods aren't hurting their production, but I'm sure it's hurting them. I've seen how hard you buck; it must be excruciating for the poor darlings." Fluttershy floated up to the leaves of the tree and gave one of the branches a hug.
"Fluttershy..." Applejack said, beginning to sound exasperated. "What else do you expect me to do? We gotta get these apples down."
"Have you tried asking the trees nicely if you could have their apples?" Fluttershy asked.
Applejack was momentarily speechless. She stared at her marefriend, waiting to see if this was some manner of joke. Fluttershy had been hanging out with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie recently. Could she have picked up some of their pranking ways? She carefully observed Fluttershy's expression, looking for a hint that she might be joking. It didn't take long to determine that she was completely serious.
"Asking the trees to drop their apples ain't gonna work, hon," Applejack told her. "It's a tree. It can't hear me."
"It's a living being," Fluttershy retorted. "And it's not right to hurt a living being." The pegasus crossed her forelegs for good measure, positioning herself between Applejack and the tree.
"This is ridiculous, hon!" Applejack said, her volume increasing just a bit. "This is the way we do things on the farm. I can't just change it and do something that won't work just cause you don't want me to do it the right way. Now, you're gonna have to move out of the way of this tree. I still gotta get some of these apples down."
Fluttershy held her position, her eyes narrowing. This surprised Applejack; it wasn't like Fluttershy to hold her ground so much in a back-and-forth like this. She usually stepped away from any sign of conflict, yet here she was, looking determined. It surprised Applejack, but it didn't change her stance. She'd been trying not to be so stubborn about things recently, but this was something that she had no intentions of changing her mind about.
"Fluttershy," Applejack said evenly. "I'm sorry, but I ain't budging. I'm bucking this tree, and you're gonna have to let me." She stepped to the side, but Fluttershy matched her movements. She stepped to the other side, but once again, Fluttershy was right there. The farmer could barely believe what was happening. Something must have gotten into Fluttershy to make her act like this. The two stared each other down, neither one willing to budge. Applejack was positive that she would win out; any minute now, Fluttershy would let her continue on. There was no way that she would lose a battle of stubbornness, especially when her work was on the line.
~~~~~~~~~~
The sun was beginning to set, and Big Macintosh was feeling a little worn out. He wasn't one to tire easily, but for some reason, it felt like he had done more work than usual today. Perhaps it was all in his head; the size of the farm had certainly not changed, and Applejack was out working just like she usually was.
Or maybe she wasn't, he thought as he saw his sister standing right by the second tree in her usual rotation. He took a few steps forward, observing curiously. Applejack seemed to be talking to the tree, a very perturbed look on her face.
"C'mon, tree," Applejack said, her tone dripping with annoyance. "Gimme your apples."
"What the hay are ya doing?" Big Macintosh said, stepping up next to his sister.
"Fluttershy don't want me to hurt the trees," Applejack replied. "She's gonna be mighty upset if I do more than just ask nicely."
Big Macintosh smirked and gave her a pat on the back. "Ya really care that much about her feelings, don't you?"
"Too much for my own good sometimes," Applejack responded. Big Macintosh laughed, then gave the tree a swift buck, sending its apples tumbling.
"She can yell at me for that one," he said, as he headed inside.
