The sound of thwacking echoed through the apple orchard, followed by apples falling into a bucket.
Applejack wiped the sweat off of her forehead and moved on to the next tree.
A storm was coming, and she needed to pick the apples fast, or they'd blow right off their stems. At least, Rainbow Dash said they were planning for extremely strong winds.
She had already noticed the sky darken with deep grey thunderclouds, and she could hear rumbling in the distance.
Big Macintosh parked himself beside AJ.
"Ah think we best be goin' inside now, the storm's comin'." He suggested.
"Are ya kiddin' me?" Applejack replied. "Ah still got a heck lot of apples to pick!" Big Mac looked back to the cart nearby.
"Ah reckon we have just about enough apples to last us, and ah doubt the apples are actually goin' ta fall out of the trees." He said. Applejack snorted.
"Ah'm stayin' out a bit longer, but ah'll come in before the storm hits." She said.
"Alright." Big Mac said as she turned his back and walked towards the farmhouse.
Minutes passed as she bucked the few remaining trees in that part of the orchard.
Lighting shot down from the clouds and hit an apple tree, splitting it down the middle. A loud crack of thunder followed, making Applejack's heart skip a beat.
She hooked herself up to the cart and walked to the barn.
Right before she got inside the barn, a gust of wind whipped her hat right off her head.
The top of her head became increasingly cold as she noticed her missing brown hat.
She looked up to see it twirling away to Ponyville. She was about to run after it, but Applebloom opened the farmhouse door.
"Sis!" She called. "Big Mac wants ya to come inside! He doesn't want you out here!" She shouted through the wind.
Applejack took one more glance at Ponyville, and walked inside her house.
"Where's yer hat?" Her sister asked.
"It blew off mah head while ah was walkin' inside." She said. "A reckon I'll get it in the mornin'."
"What if ya can't find it?" Applebloom asked.
"A will, it blew towards Ponyville." She replied.
"Dinner's ready!" Granny Smith called from the kitchen.
They all sat down at the table and ate their dinner.
Afterwords, Applejack went to bed.
Despite the rumbling and cracking from outside, her eyes drooped, and she fell into a deep sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~
Applejack's slowly eyes opened. She at up as he yawned and stretched.
She sleepily reached for her hat on her bedside table, but her hoof hit wood instead of the hat's scratchy material.
Her eyes fully opened as she remembered her hat wasn't there because it blew off her head.
She hopped off her bed and cantered down the stairs and out the door.
"Don't ya want breakfast?" Granny called as she rushed out the door.
"Nah Granny," she replied. "Not right now."
She inhaled the misty air as she ran towards the small town. Her hooves squished against the wet gravel road.
She glanced around as she ran, searching for her beloved hat.
She slowed to a trot and looked more carefully. She turned her head in every direction. When she looked at the town, she noticed something brown sitting in the middle of the road.
"Aha!" She said to herself. "There ya are!" She cantered over to it. She was about to pick in up and place it on her head when a grey hoof touched it and picked it up first.
Applejack looked up to see Derpy, Ponyville's best mail mare (believe it or not).
She didn't seem to take notice that Applejack was there. She blinked, her pupils switching places, as she picked the hat up.
She giggled as she placed it on her head.
"This is mah hat." Applejack grumbled as she snatched the it off her head and placed it on her own.
Derpy cluelessly tapped her head a few time and realized it was gone.
Her smile faded into a frown. She looked up at Applejack as her eyes became glassy.
Her eyes welled up with tears as her head sunk into in her hooves and folded her ears back.
Applejack's glare faded and she frowned as she heard gentle sobs from the wall-eyed mare.
She took her hat off her head and looked at it. Her ears folded back.
This hat was all she had from her parents. The only gift she was able to keep forever.
She sighed and placed it on Derpy's head. Her ears perked straight up as she lifted her head out of her hooves.
"Here." She said. "You can keep it."
Her smile grew as her wings flared out. She wiped her wet cheeks.
"I-I-I-" She stammered.
Her forearms sprung out as her back legs launched her into the air. She wrapped her arms around Applejack's neck and giggled. Her new hat slid down on her head, being it was a little to big.
"Thank you, Applejack!" She beamed.
"Awe, yer welcome." She frowned. "But whatever ya do, do not loose it. It means the world ta me."
Derpy nodded quickly and pushed her hat back up on her head.
"Considering gettin' mah hat was the only reason ah went ta town, a reckon ah should best be goin'" Applejack said.
"Ok! Bye bye!" She said.
Applejack waved once more and trotted off towards home.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Where's yer hat?" Applebloom asked. "Did ya find it?"
"Yeah," Applejack said. "But somepony else deserved it much more than me."
Author's Note
Hello!
I've been waiting to do this story for a really long time and I absolutely love Derpy! Just something a little random so I could post something on my story thingy.
Sorry if you thought my Applejack writing wasn't good. Oh well.
Have a fandiddlytastic day!
~Stormy Dawn
