The sun rose up over the horizon. Birds fluttered lazily around the clouds, chirping as they did so. It was morning. Applejack got up slowly, and stretched her long orange legs. It was early, but she had a couple of chores to do, since the rest of the family were still out of town at the Appleloosa State Fair. She forced herself out of bed, set her hat upon her head, and tied up her hair in her usual tufty ended style, before heading out the door. Despite all the work she had to do, she still took a minute to glance around Sweet Apple Acres. Nopony was around. It was almost silent; asides from the occasional noise from the animals that lived on the ranch.
She wandered over to the barn, just breaking the semi silence with her hoof steps. Carefully, she open the barn door, and walked over to the big piles of hay bales. She grabbed one with her mouth, and slung it over her back. It was heavier than she had expected. She headed over to furthest paddock. The cows wanted feeding, as well as the sheep, the pigs, and her own pet, Winona. As she was walking, she considered how much time she would have left after her chores were done. After the events of yesterday, she hadn't have any time left to take Winona for a walk, and she didn't think asking Fluttershy if she could do it for her was very fair. Winona got pretty hyper if she didn't get her exercise, so a good walk was definitely in order.
Applejack had fed almost all the animals now. It was just her and Winona left with empty stomachs. She went back into the house to get breakfast for the both of them. Winona sprinted towards her, almost knocking the farm pony flying. Her hat nearly fell to the floor, but Winona leapt over Applejack and grabbed it. The dog bolted back into the kitchen with the hat. Applejack laughed to herself, and followed after the collie. Winona had left the hat on the kitchen floor and exchanged it for her bowl. She dropped the bowl in front of Applejack, and hovered around the pony’s hooves as she sorted out the dog’s meal. Winona’s claws scraped against the cupboards as she tried to get her bowl. Applejack rolled her eyes and gave Winona her breakfast. The dog wolfed down the food, throwing pieces of kibble around her bowl. The mare laughed to herself, picked up her hat and set it back on her head. She grabbed an apple from the counter and took a bite. It was as good as ever. Juicy and crisp.
There was a list of chores on the table. Applejack browsed over it. She could check feeding the animals off, now she had to look through the orchards for vampire fruit bats and apple cores, take Granny Smith’s shawl over to Rarity’s to see if she could repair it and then water the saplings in the west orchard. Granny had told her she’d left her shawl on the rocking chair. She made her way to the door. “I’ll be back later Winona.” she called, closing the door behind her.
Applejack picked up a bucket from outside the door. She galloped up to the orchard, and trotted through the trees, scouring them for the vampire fruit bats. There were a few cores laying around from yesterday, so she picked them up and dropped them in the bucket. The bats had luckily remained in their share of the orchard. She trotted over to the bats patch of the orchard, to check the trees. The trees needed to have a good amount of apples on them, or the bats would return to the rest of the orchard. She reached their patch of orchard and wandered through it. The fruit bats glared menacingly at Applejack. Their staring red eyes sent a chill down her spine. She ignored them, and instead focused on counting up apples. There seemed to be enough. She made a mental note to bring a few buckets of apples up to the bats.
It was now about three o'clock. It was earlier than Applejack had thought it would be. She trotted back to the house to get Granny Smith’s shawl. She got back to the house pretty quickly, and made her way to the sitting room. Winona trotted round, barking at Applejack’s heels. Applejack grabbed Granny’s shawl. There was a large tear down the centre, almost splitting the shawl in half. Applejack stared at it for a moment. How that pony had managed to tear her shawl that badly was beyond her. The mare walked over to the door. Winona followed after her.
“No Winona, you can’t come with me.” The dog whined, and Applejack sighed.
“I’m going to Rarity’s, Winona. I promise, I’ll take you out when I get back.”
Winona slunk off fairly happily, and Applejack left quietly.
Applejack trotted down the path, left the farm and headed towards town. The sky was getting a bit cloudy. Perhaps some rain was on the way. It took her about half an hour to get to Carousel Boutique. Applejack walked inside. It was quiet, which wasn't very unusual. Ponyville wasn't really the place for fashion, but Rarity had kept her store going anyway. Applejack had always admired her determination. At that moment, Rarity walked out from one of the back rooms, levitating a few garments. She looked up, and spotted Applejack, standing in front of the door.
“Oh, hello Applejack.” Rarity greeted her friend.
“Howdy Rarity. I came to ask a favour...”
“Of course!” The unicorn placed the garments down on a nearby counter.
“Granny Smith tore her shawl a bit. She asked if I could get it fixed. I’d do it myself, but I don’t want to ruin it. She’s had this since she was a young’un after all.”
Applejack passed the shawl to Rarity. She lifted it with her horn, and stared at it for a minute.
“This might take a while. If you come back tomorrow, I can have it done by then.” Rarity smiled.
“Thanks Rarity - I owe you one.” Applejack replied.
“It’s fine.”
Applejack left her friend’s shop and headed down the road. There were even more clouds than before. She trotted down the street, to avoid the rain. Whenever the pegasi brought in this many clouds, it meant a pretty big storm was coming; And Applejack didn't want to be caught in it. A few rumbles of thunder sounded in the distance. She picked up her pace.
The rain started to spit at her as she got towards the farm. The thunder was a lot closer now. She ran up the path. Winona was scratching at the doors and barking. The dog had never liked storms. Applejack entered the house again. The collie suddenly bolted towards Applejack, barking the whole way - the mare closed the door quickly. She walked through to the kitchen to track down some treats for Winona. If anything would keep that dog calm, it was food. Applejack scoured through the cupboards, until she found the little box. Winona noticed them; and she calmed down almost instantly. Applejack took the box through to the sitting room. Winona followed, and they both sat down. Winona huddled up to the pony, and Applejack gave her one of the treats. Winona snaffled it up quickly. Her tail started to wag slowly. Applejack stroked Winona, getting right behind her ears, just where she liked it. Her tail wagged even faster; almost slapping Applejack. The pony just laughed to herself. There was no chance of a walk now, Applejack realized. She picked up a nearby ball, and the dog left her side, eager to play. The mare rolled the ball away, and Winona tore after it. The collie bounded back with the ball, and placed it at Applejack’s hooves.
“Sorry I broke my promise Winona.” Applejack said quietly, giving the dog another treat before rolling the ball again.
But Winona didn't care.
