Applejack removed her trademark hat from her head and wiped a hand across her forehead. Her hair was wet with sweat and matted against her head, the only dry part was the ponytail tied with a red ribbon. People asked why she only used red ribbons for her hair, it’s not like it was her favorite color or anything. It was all based on some random trivia Fluttershy told her once, about how horses that worked on farms were marked with red ribbons so they wouldn’t be confused with breeding or racing horses. It made sense to her and, even though she knew she wouldn’t be forced to have any kids, it just felt right to wear the symbol of a worker.

A cool breeze blew by and felt amazing against her glistening skin. She was used to waking up early and doing hard work for long hours, but she still absolutely hated the heat. She looked on the bright side though, she was done with the mornings work and now she could relax in her nice air-conditioned house for a while. She plopped her hat back onto her head and grabbed the handle to the wheelbarrow full of apples that she had collected from the orchard. These were just going to be stored in the barn for now.

She pushed the barn door open and pushed the wheelbarrow inside. It was pretty much perfect for a short-term storage for the apples, since it was cool and dark. She looked around for a bit, hay was strewn all across the floor, and on the wall was a hose attached to a small faucet. She walked towards the hose and held it upwards and away from her face while slowly turning the faucet to release a steady stream of water. She ducked her head down, eyes closed, and drunk from the hose, the cool water felt amazing as it ran down her dry throat and cooled her body from the inside. She opened her eyes and the green orbs caught sight of a pair of dirty blankets that were haphazardly thrown into a corner. It looked like the animals had gotten hold of the articles, but she recognized them, and the sight made her heart drop suddenly. She shook her head and turned the faucet off. No time to feel sadness or pity, she needed to take her break and make an important phone call.

The sun beamed down on her once again as she exited the barn, and getting to the house was a challenge in itself, but she was rewarded as she pushed the door open and was greeted with the cold air that filled the place.

“Finished your morning chores?” Granny Smith said from her rocking chair as Applejack walked into the living room and plopped down onto the sofa.

“Yep, combed through the orchard and stored everything away. Applebloom fed the pigs and cows too, she back yet?” Aj asked as she removed her hat and placed it besides her. A chill ran down her spine as the cold air touched her wet, sweat-drenched head.

“For about an hour now. Takes a while to comb the orchard by yourself, maybe I should-” Granny Smith began, but she was silenced by her eldest granddaughter.

“Now you stop right there, you heard what the doctor said, no hard work for you!” applejack scolded.

“Applejack, sweetie, I’ve been working on this farm since it was created. Combing the orchard is hardly hard work for me.” the elder Apple said sarcastically. “Besides, you have no choice, we have a delivery that needs to be done and the field work needs to be finished.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “A delivery? For what? And for where?” she asked. She didn’t remember seeing anything about a delivery today.

“30 cases of cider to be delivered to Cloudsdale.” Granny Smith said simply, with a sly smile on her face.

Applejack sat up immediately. “Did you say Cloudsdale?” she asked, she needed to be sure she heard that right.

Granny Smith put a finger to her lips and took on a look of mock confusion. “Hmm, I’m not sure actually, my memory isn’t as good in this old age. Let me check my notes.” she said as she pulled out a notepad with writing on it. “Yep, Cloudsdale Town Hall, 30 cases of cider.” she repeated.

Applejack quickly stood up. “I need to make a call really quick!” she rapidly stated before making her way upstairs to her room and promptly closing the door behind her. She quickly pulled the cellphone off of it’s charger and began tapping the screen to redial the last number that she called. It rang a few times before she heard a voice respond.

“Hey babe, what’s up?” Rainbow Dash said when she answered the call.

Applejack wasted no time. “Me, you, Cloudsdale, tonight.”

Applejack didn't even wait for an answer as she ended the call and grabbed a change of clothes so she could take a shower and wash the sweat from her morning chores off. She already had it planned out. The drive to Cloudsdale would take a few hours at least, then she would drop her delivery off and head straight to Rainbows place. She'd spend some time with her and be back by early morning at the latest.

Aj nodded her head as if confirming her own plan just as a knock rang on her bedroom door. "C'mon in." She called out.

The door squeaked open and in came granny Smith, that sly smile still plastered across her old face. "Gonna wash up before leaving?" she asked her granddaughter.
"Yea, Ah don't wanna sit in the truck and smell nothing but dirt and sweat for the whole ride." Applejack said quickly. She hated lying but it wasn't all false, she really didn't want to smell that.

Granny Smith nodded her head in understanding. "Fine fine. You do that and I'll pack your clothes. You'll need about three days worth I'd say."

Applejack adopted a confused look upon her face. Did she have to make more than one delivery? If so, that would seriously mess up her plans. “Why?” she asked simply, unsure of which direction this conversation would be going.

“Well it’ll take some time to get to Cloudsdale, and I’m sure you’ll have at least one pit stop after you deliver the cider.” Granny said, she’s had that sly smile on her face for so long that it seemed to have been part of her at this point.

Applejack slowly began to see where her grandmother was going with this, but she still had some questions. “Yea, but Ah can be fast and be home by mornin’.”

Granny shook her head. “You know I don’t like you driving so late. You can wait.”

Applejack nodded her head. There was still one issue though. “Wouldn’t that leave an extra set of clothes still?”

Granny Smith placed her hands on her face, gently rubbing her eyes with her fingers. ‘I must have the densest grandchildren in history.’ she thought to herself before letting out a sigh. “Applejack, sweetie, I’m only gonna say this once and I don’t wanna hear no backtalk or arguin’ from you.” she said, getting a nod in response. “Ok, you’re gonna drive to Cloudsdale,” she accentuated her words by holding a pretend steering wheel “and then drop off the delivery. From there, I’m giving you a short vacation to do what you want with your girlfriend.” she ended her statement by miming the action of someone spanking someone else.

Applejack, always ready to sacrifice her wants for the betterment of the farm and her family, was ready to speak up until she saw the look in her grandmother's eyes that reminded her not to back talk or argue. A smile slowly grew on her face as she finally realized what her grandmother was doing for her. “Thanks granny.” she said as she quickly enveloped the old woman into a hug. She truly had the best family possible.

Rainbow Dash sat down on the edge of her bed, visibly exhausted. She had gotten the call earlier about Applejack coming over, and then a text soon after saying she’d be staying a few days. Dash didn’t think she could manage to clean a room that fast, but we all know that saying about getting laid. The big problem now was privacy. Her dad was super nosey when it came to stuff like this, and her sister was in the room right next to hers.

“Some music should solve that.” she said as she got up and looked through her music collection. She skipped past artists such as Montell Jordan, Ginuwine and Kelly Rowland, finally settling on the one artist she knew would get Applejack going. She held the old CD case up in the air and stared at it. “Johnny Cash, don’t fail me now.” she said as she placed it back down. There were still things she needed to prepare.

The drive to Cloudsdale was long and and uneventful. Add onto it the feeling of anticipation that Applejack felt the whole time, and it became the recipe for the most boring trip of her life. But that was all over now, she could see the tall buildings in the distance. Well, they were tall compared to what she was used to at least. She hadn’t felt this giddy since she was a kid, opening presents on her birthday. Nothing would take this feeling from her.

Well, almost nothing.

“I only ordered 25 cases of cider!” a middle aged man exclaimed as Applejack looked over the details of the delivery on her delivery form. Sure enough, 25 cases was the order on the form, but granny had told her 30 and she stocked that much. That much didn’t bother her though, as she chalked it up to old age and confusion. It was the man, who didn’t even give her the chance to review her order details before he blew his top, that was really pissing her off.

“Yes sir, Ah understand that. Ah never said the thirty cases were for you. Ah see you ordered 25 right here on my delivery form. If you would have given me the chance to talk, Ah could have told you that. We workers down at Sweet Apple Acres always ensure the best service for our customers. To ensure you would get your order exactly as you wanted it, we packed a few more cases in the event of any unexpected accidents such as lost or broken cargo.” she said as mechanically as she could to make it seem like it was a company policy. She hated lying, but she could make an exception in this case.

The man simply narrowed his eyes at her before giving a smile that sent disgusting shivers down her back. “Well why didn’t you just say so! C’mon, unload these cases into the back, we got a wedding tomorrow and need everything stored A.S.A.P.”

Aj just rolled her eyes and held out the delivery slip. “Ah can’t do anythin’ until you sign this.” she said. This man was really wasting her time. He sucked his teeth but took the slip anyway, scribbling his name at the bottom of the page and shoving it back into her hands.

“Ok, come on!” he barked out as he held the door open for her.

This was going to be a long night.

Author's Note

Enjoy the new chapter! There aren't many left!

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