The day until the bake sale drew closer. Applejack had been toiling away in front of her stove for hours upon hours. The pie tins that needed washing piled in the sink and the amount of apple peels that had been discarded filled the trash bin. The entire room smelled of a confectionery delight mixed with cinnamon and apples. Applejacks usual smooth skin spotted with freckles was now caked with flour to the point of blending her entire skin into a pale white. Goops of dough had clung to hair and on her hands sticky caramel bound her fingers together.
Applejack quickly washed her hands in the sink filled with cooking utensils and dishes. She then dried her hands with a paper towel. She took a look at her apron to see the previously white cloth was now spotted with hues of color. Soon she heard a loud *ding* she took a look at the stove to see the next batch of cupcakes had finished baking.
Applejack opened the door on the stove to take large whiff of the finished goods. She had been smelling apple treats all morning long pretty soon she’ll get sick of apples she thought to herself….
Applejack let out a small chuckle of course she could never get sick of apples. However after the 144th apple treat those apples seemed less appetizing.
She let out a small sigh as her work seemed so endless. She quickly grabbed a hold of the tray with her right hand. She was tired and rushed, however as soon as she touched the tray she quickly realized her painful mistake.
With a large clatter the tray along with the cupcakes fell on to the floor of the messy kitchen.
Applejack let out a large yelp of pain. She had failed to put on the oven mits as her mind could no longer keep up with the large amount of work put upon it. She tightly clenched the burn with her left hand as the searing pain enveloped her hand. Applejack quickly looked around for first aid, seeing the sink she quickly ran to the faucet.
She began to run water on the burn. Even with the cooling water the pain was agonizing. Applejack did her best to keep from yelling aloud in pain. Moments passed by while Applejack kept a tight clench on her hand. Soon the burning pain began to subside. Applejack let go of her hand to take a better look at her burn.
It was only a first degree burn yet the pain told her something else. A large red line went across her palm, an imprint of how she had attempted to carry the tray. After drying her hand she wrapped a bandage around the red area to cover the tender skin. She then picked up the dropped tray and picked up the soiled cupcakes discarding them. She looked at the amount of treats she had amassed.
“What kind of bake sale is Rainbow Dash thinking?” Applejack said to no one in particular.
Rainbow Dash had asked Applejack at the last moment to provide for a bake sale.
“Please. Please. Please Applejack I need you to bake some of your apple treats for my soccer game.” Rainbow Dash asked begging on her knees her hands clasped above her head. This was a surprise as the two stood in the middle of the school hall.
“Why in the heck do you need baked treats for your soccer game, and why do you need so much? You could feed an entire stand with this much food.” Asked Applejack as she looked at a list. On the list Rainbow Dash had given her was a name of multiple apple treats along with an absurd number next to each one.
“It’s cause I’m not playing in this game. I’m actually the host of it. That’s why I need awesome food to go along with my awesome game!” Rainbow Dash announced back on her feet proud of her position and title.
“Riiight.” Applejack could honestly do with a little less awesome.
“And when is the game?” Applejack asked going over the list again.
“umm. next w….” Rainbow Dash mumbled.
“Speak up sugar cube I can hardly hear you.” Applejack said.
“It’s a. Next week.” Rainbow Dash finished with a blush. She held her hand behind her head as she quickly looked away.
“Next week!” Applejack burst out.
“How in the hay do you think I can prepare enough ingredients for this many treats by next week!” Applejack argued.
The next conversation was a back and forth game of begging and arguing. It would be very difficult to gather enough apples, flour, and sugar for next week. However Rainbow Dash was not letting up in the slightest. She really wanted these treats for her game. It was rare to see Rainbow Dash trying so hard to achieve a single goal. She assumed this must have been very important to her friend.
Applejack let out a sigh.
“Well if I get my family to help I guess its possible.” Applejack finished.
“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” Rainbow Dash yelled.
“But you owe me-” Applejacks statement was cut off as she was embraced and hugged rather tightly by Rainbow Dash.
“Of course! Whatever it takes!” Rainbow Dash let go and took off down the school hall.
“This is going to be the best game ever!” Rainbow Dash announced as she ran.
Applejack couldn't help but feel happy for Rainbow Dash. Even if she did know a whole lot of work was ahead of her seeing her friend so happy at that moment felt worth it. The week following Applejack got her entire family to help out. Granny Smith and Herself retrieved the recipes along with the goods they needed to purchase from stores. Big Mac along with Applebloom went out to help pick apples. Carts after carts of ingredients were stuffed into storage waiting to be used at the end of the week. Apples were piled high in the kitchen as each had to be washed and inspected for unwanted critters inside. Some of the apples had to be prepared for dishes that took over night to make.
After a week of toil and work Applejack was happy to see her family working hard. They too liked Rainbow Dash whether or not they agreed with the absurd order.
The morning of the game Applejack and Applebloom where to make the last of the treats. Big Mac had planned a date with a certain teacher and was given the day off for all his hard work. Granny Smith was aloud rest due to her old age. Although when told to take the tomorrow off she argued that she could bake hundreds of treats without batting an eye back in her day. The siblings laughed before heading to sleep for the game the next day.
The next morning Applejack went to wake up Applebloom to get an early head start on the treats. However when Applejack noticed it took a considerable amount of effort to wake her up she knew something was wrong.
*cough cough* “Applejack is that you?” Applebloom asked. Her glazed eyes and sweating forehead only confirmed Applejacks suspicion. She quickly went downstairs to grab a thermometer and placed it in Appleblooms mouth.
“Lets go bake those…..” Appleblooms sentence trailed off as she fell back asleep. Removing the thermometer Applejack read her temperature to be around 100 degrees. It was without a doubt that Applebloom had caught a cold.
Applejack looked at her small sister resting in bed. She grabbed extra blankets and covered her sleeping sister. She made a mental note to make some hot soup for her later. After closing the blinds to her room she gave her a small kiss on her forehead before whispering.
“We’ll bake treats another time.” She said in a smile.
Applebloom rolled in bed, groaning as she did. Applejack thought it best to leave her to rest. She would tell Granny Smith that Applebloom was sick and ask to watch over her when she took off with the treats.
This was were she was. With a burned hand and a mountain of treats loaded in a cart. The location of the soccer field wasn't far, but with a cart full of treats that distance may seem longer than she thought.