The Great Divide of Equestria

‘Pinkie, you must do it!’

‘What! Rainbow, are you out of your mind?’

‘What do you mean, we’re the remaining elements, Equestria has fallen, so we must do it!’

‘But what about Fluttersh-’

‘Forget about her, I loved her, but now she’s gone, just like the rest of them!’

Rainbow Dash started crying, teardrops fell onto Pinkies hooves. Canterlot was crumbling beneath their feet. Pinkie had to make her choice, before it was too late.

~~~

Pinkie woke up crying, this was the 3rd time this week she had had that nightmare. She couldn’t scream, as she knew that if she did, the Cakes, the couple who’ve allowed her to stay at their home, would wake up and kick her out. Instead she walked to the bathroom.

Pinkie looked into the mirror, she looked a mess. Her hair was straight and flat, which she didn’t like whatsoever. The bags under her hair were prominent as well, her eyes themselves
being very bloodshot. Pinkie stared quietly into her reflection for a solid 5 or 10 minutes. She needed a drink, so she trotted quietly into the kitchen.

There were a large assortment of cakes and pastries, ready to be sold to hungry customers in a few hours when Sugar Cube Corner opens. Pinkie made herself a glass of milk, which she chugged down. Her hair frizzed and shot up into a mess like it usually is, she was happy once more.

Pinkie laughed at her milk moustache, and then wiped her mouth with her hoof. Sitting at one of the tables, she began to recollect her thoughts about the dream. What did it mean?
She started whispering to herself. ‘Wait; are Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy in a relationship? That can’t be true. I know they’re close and all, but not THAT close.’

‘Also, what was up with all of that destruction and stuff, somepony mustn’t be happy at all, they must’ve gotten so angry that they destroyed EVERYTHING. Maybe one of my cupcakes can solve this! Actually, nah, last time I gave Rainbow one of my cupcakes it didn’t go down too well.’

Pinkie got up and moved silently back to bed. As she did, however, she saw the sun creep over the horizon. The day was about to begin. She remembered that she had to plan a party, a pretty big one, too.

It was Twilight’s birthday in just under a month. All the princesses would be there. All of her friends as well, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. She needed to impress everypony there. It had to be as big as the Canterlot wedding, if not bigger!

She ordered streamers, balloons, candy, and asked Mr and Mrs Cake to create a giant birthday cake for the party. Everything was falling perfectly into place. It made Pinkie explode with excitement just at the thought of it!

She just needed a few things from her friends. Zap Apple Jam from Applejack, the drapes she ordered from Rarity, conformation of an air performance from Rainbow Dash, and lastly the animal choir from Fluttershy.

‘Hmmm, I might as well go and collect this stuff now so then I don’t forget about it.’ Pinkie agreed with herself.

So she grabbed her bag and started the walk to Sweet Apple Acres.

~~~

It was a relatively mild day in Ponyville, the perfect weather for some good old fashioned applebucking. Applejack was trotting at a relatively moderate pace, the wind flowing through her mane. She carted an empty wagon behind her. Apple Bloom scampered behind her, feeling rather motivated to buck some of the ripe fruit with her big sister.

It was the time that the zap apples had arrived in Sweet Apple Acres once more, so the Apple family were retrieving the apples quickly to turn it into jam. Applejack had been asked by Granny Smith to buck the east side of the orchard, whilst Big Macintosh the west side.

It had been a relatively successful morning, having bucked almost all the trees on the east side in roughly 5 hours. The girls were both were tired, but knew that there were only a couple hundred trees left to buck.

‘C’mon, sugar cube, not too far now.’ Applejack hollered to Apple Bloom, who was dragging behind.

‘Sorry Applejack, I was just getting tired.’ Apple Bloom runs up to her, panting in the process.

‘At this rate, you won’t have enough energy to help me buck the apples.’ Applejack teased.

At long last, the two of them were on top of a large hill on the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres. Apple Bloom was stunned to see all of Ponyville from this height. She stared in awe and saw everything, princess Twilight’s castle, sugar cube corner, the town hall. It was an incredible experience to the filly.

Applejack caught her attention and told her to wait and catch the Apples that were to fall from the trees. Apple Bloom did as she was told to, and in just about an hour, all the trees were cleared except for two.

‘Hey sis, how’s about you try and buck one of these trees here.’ Applejack offered.

‘REALLY,’ Apple Bloom gave a delighted squeal whilst dancing around in circles. ‘I would love too, who knows, I could get my cutie mark in apple bucking!’

‘I’ll show you how it’s done.’ Applejack went step by step on how to buck an apple tree. From where to hit the tree, to what distance to hit it at, to even where to place the baskets for the fruit to fall right into place. Finally, she told Apple Bloom the technique when it came to kicking the tree itself.

‘Ya just gotta kick it like this, so then you don’t strain yourself.’ Applejack tucked her legs up into her body and shot out like a spring, all the apples fell into the surrounding baskets. Apple Bloom was impressed and was willing to give it a shot. Even if she failed she knew that they had at least TWICE the amount of zap apples they had last year, so a single tree wouldn’t ruin too much.

Apple Bloom kicked the tree, and surely enough, the fruit fell. One, however, conveniently landed on her head. She winced in pain. Applejack comforted her sister, giving a little chuckle all the while. ‘You did well, partner.’

Applejack got up to see Pinkie Pie, who she was startled by.

‘Woah, Pinkie, y’all startled me.’ Applejack muttered.

‘Oh, sorry Applejack, can I just ask you something?’

‘Sure, what is it?’ Applejack started heaving the cart, filled to the brim with zap apples.

‘Could I make a special order of zap apple jam for the super-secret-amazing-twilight-party?’ Pinkie was so quiet, that Applejack could barely hear her.

‘Of course,’ Applejack confirmed ‘how many jars ya needin?’

‘Uh, I would say about 50.’

’50?! Why in Celestia's name would you need that much?’

‘It’s the filling for her giant birthday cake; it would definitely add a little more spice to the flavour.’

‘Alrighty then.’ Applejack agreed.

Pinkie, Applejack and Apple Bloom walked back to the barnhouse. Granny Smith said that the order would take about a week. Pinkie accepted and paid the amount of bits due. She galloped off in glee.

‘Okee dokee lokee. Next stop, Fluttershy’s.’ Pinkie told herself as she walked up to the front of Fluttershy’s cottage.