Falling Backwards

The next day was certainly a change. I trotted beside Sun Blaze through the meadow and into town, his eyes half lidded and his ears down. Every step was punctuated with a small groan that grew steadily louder as the main road broke off onto the Apple's road. Snow sparkled in the ditches and across the fields and crunched beneath out hooves. Slush collected in the ruts in the road and chilled through my boots as I trudged through them. The day dragged on and the sun climbed higher into the sky, nearing noon by the time we reached the big apple gate. I lifted a dripping boot and pointed to the sign. "Sweet Apple Acres," I introduced the farm. Ahead of us, another half of a mile of ice coated dirt road stretched on. Sun Blaze groaned loudly and dropped to his rump.

"Farm work is not a winter job," he grumbled. I paused and trotted back to him.

"The farm isn't tended to until spring. You and Applejack will be reconstructing the barn." My wings wrapped around his shoulders and urged him back up. His eyes cast down to the floor and he scuffed a hoof. "It needs to be insulated for the winter."

"That should've been done in the spring." Despite his mumbling, he marched onward and I trotted to keep up.

"Big Mac hurt himself trying to buck the last of the trees." A gust of wind scattered snow flakes into the air. The sunlight up above, with its meager warmth, glinted off the flakes and set the snow ablaze. I took a deep breath and watched the snow sparkle from the trees. "They were waiting on him to heal before trying to tackle the barn but he hasn't yet. When they heard you were coming..." There was a pause. I waited for the stallion to say something but instead, he just marched along. Occasionally, his orange eyes flicked up to the lifeless trees around him. He head sunk lower and he continued to gripe.

The tiniest sigh escaped me. I trotted to catch up, leaping over the snow drifts that coated the road. A pothole hid behind one, slicked with ice. As I fell over it, it caught my hoof and pitched me forward. Slush and snow drove into my coat and my skin, sliding down under my sweater and chilling my warm back. Cold bit down hard and I skipped forward, squealing. Sun Blaze fell back, laughing hard as I tore off my sweater and shook it out. I sent him a frown.

"Not my fault, sweet heart." He chuckled, ears perking. "What a start to the afternoon." I snorted in response and slipped off a sodden boot, holding it up and watching it pour back into a puddle. Sun Blaze raised a brow, watching my clothes drip. "Why don't you just fly? Or did your mother not teach you." He rolled his eyes, "and she always yelled at me for-"

The boot hit the floor with a loud slap. It was immediately followed by the stomp of a hoof. "Enough," I snapped as loud as I could. The stallion's brow rose instantly, ears twitching back. Seconds ticked by and I found myself shying away again, my eyes falling to the ground. "I... I don't want to hear about Mom. Let's just not talk about her, okay?" I glanced up hopefully.

Sun Blaze stared ahead for a long moment. He got to his hooves and continued on his way with a slight shrug.

A heavy sigh erupted from within me and a smile curled across my face. I bounded forward and wiggled into my sweater. Not even five minutes passed by in silence before the barn opened up before our eyes. It sat snuggled into a hefty bank of snow that pushed up against the sides and thickened into three feet of slick, sharp ice. I put a hoof to my chin as we approached and my wings began to work. "I should go let her know we're coming." I soared ahead and alighted by the front door. Water dripped steadily from the gutters above and turned the snow to slush. I watched it stream until a familiar green face came into view.

"Fluttershy," Granny Smith opened the door with a wrinkly, toothy grin. "Why, what brings mah favorite yellow filly to an ol' mare's doorstep? Ah bet yer here for Applejack, ain't ya?"

"Good morning, Granny Smith. I brought a visitor with me, if that's okay." I beamed into her round little face as she stepped beside me to peer down the road. Sun Blaze made it to the door and gave a little smile.

"Well now, Fluttershy, ah can see why you'd have such a handsome guest, but ah didn't think he'd be so old." Color flushed to her cheeks as the red stallion passed by her with a polite smile. We entered the warm embrace of the furnaced house and shrugged off our coats. "How'd you do, mister. Ponies call me Granny Smith."

He offered a hoof, nodding once. "Sun Blaze." Granny took it with a girlish giggle. "This is a warm little house you have, ma'am."

"Well, it ain't the only warm thing in this house fer sure." She chortled as she walked through the living room into the kitchen. "Applejack! Ya have a guest back 'ere!" Her voice grated out, piercing the ears of any poor creature within range. I flinched and swiped at my ears, cringing.

"Nice ponies." Blaze snorted behind me.

"They are, just wait until you meet Applejack." Minutes ticked by as we sat waiting. Cool sunlight streamed in through the windows, dappled by the piling snow that threatened to overtake them. Soft candle light filled the dark corners, as did the fire from the stove. The boiling and popping of pots on the stove not only filled the silence but created a sweet aroma that drifted from the kitchen and attracted us bystanders so that by the time Applejack came through the back door, we were beside the archway that lead inside.

"Granny, why didn't ya tell me mah oats were burnin?" The orange pony scrambled to the stove and turned it off, snatching the pot and pouring its contents into a large bowl. Spiced apple bits lay plump and waiting on the counter beside her. With a not so careful hoof, she scooped them up and added them to the oats, stirring and mashing them with a hoof. A crunching sound soon arose and an orange face appeared in the archway. "Howdy Fluttershy." Her bright green eyes focused on Sun Blaze. "This must be that stallion y'all were tellin' me about. It's a pleasure to meet ya." She flung a bit of apple from her hoof and offered it to him. "I'm Appljack."

Sun Blaze greeted her with a smile and shook her hoof. "Nice grip," he spoke in his gravelly voice.

"Yers too." She glanced back at me, her smile dropping. "Look, Fluttershy, ah thought the insulation would be a problem but ah got it all done before the heavy snow. It's too much of a bother ta try an' get at it now." She looks back at Blaze. "D'ya like somethin' ta drink? Ah got cider and juice, maybe some coffee too."

"Got any beers?"

I stepped between them, ears falling back. "He'd like a coffee." Color flushed through my cheeks at their questioning stares. I bowed my head and let my hair fall back across my face.

"Aw, it's no big deal, sugarcube." A soft touch came to my foreleg. "Ah get plenty 'a beers. Always happy ta share one with a friend." Sun Blaze's face brightened and he started into the kitchen. Mh friend hung back and brushed my mane aside, smiling. "No need to be worried, ah know how to handle these masculine types." She laughed, "Get a little beer in their bellies, some good food and they'll be broken before lunch." She stood and trotted into the kitchen, with me in tow. Blaze stood at the counter, eyeing the granola-apple dish sitting there. "So, Fluttershy tells me yer a builder, eh?"

"Mostly drywall and things." He continued to stare down. "What's this?"

Drywall. My heart went cold. I had brought Sun Blaze here to get him a job, not another rancid bottle. Chills seeped through my hooves and spread across my body. What would I do with him now? Everything hinged on his getting a job with Applejack. Now what? My head began to spin as I ran through a list of ponies in my head.

The two of them were at the counter, both of them now admiring the dessert. "What is it?" Blaze's hoof nudged the bowl.

"Apple cobbler, of mah own design. Care ta try?" She scooped some into a little wooden bowl and passed it over. As I paced the kitchen, Blaze took a big bite and let out a little moan.

"This is fantastic. Best apples I've ever tasted. You ever think about selling this?"

"We got to thinkin' on it, but ah don't think I could whip up enough 'a these to quite make it."

"I could help."

I trotted about, my ears falling gradually. "Maybe Noteworthy could have a job or something. Nopony needs construction work done this season, though. What else could he do? Not Sugarcube Corner, no." I muttered to myself as I paced. My wings began to flap and carried me about the kitchen, my tail flinging about. "What if Twilight... No."

"You're hired!" The voice stopped me dead in my tracks. I paused mid-air, my eyes snapping down on Applejack.

"What?!"

She glanced up at me, raising a brow. "Uh, Fluttershy, we got a strict no flyin' policy in the kitchen."

I glanced down and suddenly found the ground beneath me. I hit with a gasp, the air leaping out of my lungs. In the next instant, I was up and by Applejack's side, eyes wide and ears perked. "What do you mean he's hired?" I looked quickly between the two of them.

"Ah mean, he's gonna be at mah door every morning with an apron and a ladle and he's gonna make some apple cobbler ta sell with mah cider business." She beamed at her new partner, offering a hoof. "Start tomorrow?"

"Sounds good."

Color rushed back to my face and I let out squeal of joy. "Oh, thank you Applejack, you won't regret it!" I scooped her up into a quick hug and danced across the kitchen. "I'm going to go get him an apron right now. Oh, and probably a spatula, too. And a cute little chef's hat, maybe." I skipped toward the door.

"Fluttershy!" Applejack's voice came through the door as it shut behind me. "Ah was only kiddin' about the apron!"

I leapt to the sky, looping across the clouds and brushing snow from the treetops as I soared toward town. "Yes!" I fell elegantly to the floor and skipped down the road. "Step one complete."