Living in Equestria

Applejack was irritable during dinner that night. I'd never seen her in a mood like this before and I felt bad for the struggling farm pony. With all the excitement and events that have happened over the last few weeks, not to mention her own injuries, the farm was way behind on it's summer upkeep and she was facing something called The Summer Sun day festival without even starting the preparations. As soon as I had returned from Cloudsdale that afternoon she had put me to work with the brutal command of a dictator. The result was hours of hard labor in the field that had left me exhausted.

"I just dunno, Granny... we ain't never been this far behind before and I don't see us catchin' up in time fer the festival!" Applejack sat in front of her empty plate. We all were as a matter of fact. Even Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had been pressed into labor with us and we all had eaten ravenously. Rainbow Dash had managed to skip out on the whole thing, claiming important weather related things.

"Ooohh quit yer worryin' it'll all work out, deary" her shaky voice was encouraging.

"Well that's easy fer you ta say..." she grumbled.

"Sis... can't we get tha folks from Ponyville to help out again?

"Now you know how much I hate askin them folks fer help, Apple Bloom. It ain't right a simple farm should need so much from em... folks will start thinkin' we're doin a bad job if we keep needin' tha help!"

"Yyyeeuup!"

I was struck by a sudden need to contribute. "I dunno..." I heard myself say. "I think we should ask for help, AJ." Hearing Dash's affectionate name for her coming out of my mouth for the first time felt odd. Applejack looked at me with narrow eyes.

"What's this 'we' business? Last time I checked, I was the one responsible for this farm..."

I was taken aback by her retort. "Well... yeah.. but aren't we all here to help? I mean... this is my home too, isn't it?"

"...and mine!" Scootaloo pipped up next to me.

"Me too! Wait.. what are we talkin 'bout again?" Granny Smith put a hoof to her chin and thought.

"Eat yer applesauce, Granny." Applejack said out of the corner of her mouth. "Now ya'll don't know what yer talkin bout here! It's a big job tryin ta wrassle a bunch of townfolk round the fields! We don't need a whole mess a ponies just makin tha problem worse! Why... last time they were here we lost a whole field a carrots 'cause a some colt couldn't tell the difference between a weed and a crop!" her hoof waved in the air in frustration.

"Well what about Twilight n tha others? They wouldn't be so bad... would they?" Apple Bloom asked hopefully. "We ain't that far behind... a couple days o them helpin would get us caught up in no time!"

Applejack didn't say anything. It was clear by the look on her face that she knew Apple Bloom was right but wasn't willing to admit it quite yet.

"I dunno, Apple Bloom..." she said.

"'Cmon! We can make a fun time outta it! Why, I bet Pinkie Pie would make it a party!"

"Yeah! Could even have a camp out with everypony and tell scary stories!" Scootaloo added.

"You mean scarier than those shadow things that came tha last time we had a camp out?" Apple Bloom reminded her friend.

Scootaloo gave a shuddering thought at them. "Well.. not real scary stories..." she knocked her two front hooves together nervously.

Applejack gave a small smile and relented to the idea. "Alright... ya'll go round ta everypony tomorra mornin' and see if they can help out then. I guess it has been a while since we had em all over for a party" her smile grew, finally clearing away the stern and worried look she'd had all day.

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The rest of the night passed by uneventfully with once exception. Apple Bloom.

When we moved upstairs for the evening, all of us tired and ready for a long sleep after the day's work, Apple Bloom gave Scootaloo and I a sad look when she stopped at her room's door and watched us continue down the hall. I didn't see it, but I felt her seeking eyes on the back of my head and turned around.

"Apple Bloom? Whats wrong?" her face was long and mournful.

"I... I don't wanna sleep in mah room alone..." she said in a tiny voice. She looked positively miserable.

I looked down at Scootaloo who gave me a "what are ya gonna do" shrug. It told me everything I needed to know.

"Then don't" I smiled at her.

"Really?" her face lit up with happiness.

"Sure... I think we can make room for ya, right Scoots?"

"Mmmhm!" she nodded with a smile, her little orange wings buzzed.

Apple Bloom ran past us both and into our room, jumping up on the bed in a belly flop laughing. Her joy infected Scootaloo, causing her to run in and do the same and the two bounced around together on the bed briefly with the occasional giggle. I stood in the doorway watching them, thinking about how this was going to work with three of us in the bed but not really minding. Ponies were soft and cuddly.

We settled down together, Scootaloo on my right and Apple Bloom on my left. With both of them in my arms, I could feel the difference in their bodies clearly. Scootaloo was smaller and more bony, her frame tight and compact. Apple Bloom was much thicker and I could feel the firm muscle under her coat from the work she constantly did around the farm. She snuggled happily against me, mirroring Scootaloo's position of having a rear leg draped over one of mine and a front hoof on my chest. Scootaloo's head craned up and I met her, giving her a kiss goodnight. When I turned back, Apple Bloom was gazing up at me.

"You too..." I smiled at her. She pushed herself up, pressing her mouth against mine while sucking an excited breath through her nose.

A funny thing happened just before I drifted off to sleep. Both of their hooves on my chest slid together and I felt them connect... if they were human I would have sworn they were holding hands.

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"A party?!!"

"No, it's to help out around the farm"

"Yeah! A party!!"

"If you call doing chores a party..."

"I call everything a party!"

"Even chores?"

"Party!"

"Cleaning?"

"PARTY!!"

"So... everything?"

"Duh silly! Anytime you get a bunch of ponies together it's a party! Especially if you're inviting me!!"

Pinkie Pie was vibrating with eagerness at the idea and she was our first stop this morning on the list of ponies we needed to see. Scootaloo and I ventured into town early to recruit our friends into helping out at the farm for a couple days while Apple Bloom had stayed behind to help her sister get a list together of things that needed to get done.

The trip into town had been exhilarating all on it's own. I couldn't fly Scootaloo yet, but she had a better idea that turned out to be far more amazing than any flight of mine would have been. She had grabbed her scooter, strapping on her old and dented helmet before getting a long rope from nearby in the yard.

"Tie this around your waist!" she said with bright, eager eyes.

"What? Why?" I took the rope and looped it around my middle.

"'Cause... your gonna be my stunt buddy!" her eyes focused into two daring slits and then she looped the other end around one of her front hooves securely.

"Your what??"

"Pull me!" she hopped on her scooter and steadied herself, focusing on the dirt road ahead.

Moments later we were zooming down the road, me airborne just above the path's surface and Scootaloo behind me at the other end of the rope. I looked over my shoulder at her in worry at first, but when I saw how skillfully she used my momentum to fling herself up onto a long stretch of fence at the roads edge, landing deftly on the middle of her board and sliding along like a skateboarder from my world... I realized she knew exactly what she was doing and began to enjoy watching her.

We actually took the long way around. She was having so much fun, I didn't want to end it that quickly. Scootaloo was beaming from ear to ear as she flipped and swung around behind me, using whatever she could to pull off some kind of daring move and letting out an occasional "Wooohooo!" when she landed again. Trees whizzed by us in a blur, lit by the early morning sunlight that still had yet to warm the air around us as dust flew up from behind her wheels in a rooster tail.

As we neared Ponyville, we had to start dodging other ponies carefully. One older mare with a young foal in a stroller yelled at us in anger, causing us both to laugh. That was enough for me to break my concentration, however. Looking back at Scootaloo in our amusement, I failed to notice the sharp turn in the path ahead.

Too late I swerved and Scootaloo's momentum carried her into the grass at a break neck speed. She let go of the rope, her eyes wide with fear and abandoned the scooter to save her from running into the large tree directly ahead. She landed hard and rolled safely away from the impact as her scooter smacked hard against the tree's thick trunk. A crunching sound came from it and one wheel flew up in the air several feet before landing beside her nearby. I looped around and quickly flew to her, worried she was hurt.

"Scoot! You alright?!" I cried out landing in my own crumple next to her. She was laying on her side, her middle heaving out on huge, flexing breaths.

"Scoot?..." I said worried. She didn't say anything at first, but when she did... I breathed a sigh of relief.

"That... was.. TOTALLY COOOL!!!" she rolled over, a look of excitement painted her face with joy.

"You're not hurt?"

"Naw... I fall all the time like that.." she waved it off and got to her legs. "Mason! We totally have to do that again! I haven't done that in ages!"

"That was really cool! I had no idea you could do that!"

"Yeah, I've been doin stuff like that with my scooter for ev - My SCOOTER!" she saw it in a heap behind me and ran to it.

"Oh no! Mason! I've had it since I was a foal...." she moaned. "Rainbow Dash gave it to me..."

It was a total wreck. The front wheel was broken off and the T handle was bent beyond repair. Scootaloo knelt by it and began to cry a little at it's condition. I sat beside her and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"Sorry... I guess it's my fault. I should've been paying attention..."

"Ehh.. it's alright. I was getting to big for it anyways." she wiped away the few tears that had formed and smiled up at me. "It was totally the best way for it to go, though... Did you see the awesome barrel roll I did!!?" she was happy again, a few random twigs and grass stuck out from the vents in her helmet along with a few tufts of her purple mane. It looked small and tight on her head.

"What do you wanna do with the scooter?" I asked her. "We can't just leave it here."

She pondered this for a moment, casting her eyes around. "I know! Come on!" she picked up the wheel in her muzzle and I took the crumpled remainder from where it had almost imbedded itself in the tree. Into the trees she took me, away from the edge of the road near the Ponyville entrance. When she found a suitable spot in the deep, fragrant green of the thickening woods, she dropped the wheel and began to dig with her hooves. I watched her curiously as she made a deep, narrow furrow and then turned to me.

"Stick it in there so the handle is up." she solemnly indicated.

I shoved the back wheel and rear of the broken scooter into the tight space and it held it upright, it's broken front axle facing us and the T handle parallel to the ground behind. Scootaloo kicked the wheel into the makeshift grave and then packed the loose dirt around it all, creating a memorial.

She wasn't crying. Just going about the ritual with the sad air of saying goodby to something who's time had come. Finally she unstrapped her dented helmet and hung it on the broken metal prong where the front wheel had once been. The bright purple paint was scuffed and missing in several places and the white stripes down the center were dark with black and green stains. It had seen it's share of crashes alright, and had protected her little orange head each time.

"There..." she said with finality.

"Aww... Scoots..." I gave her a hug and she clamped onto me, her muzzle tight into the crook of my neck.

"I needed a new one anyways" she gave one sniffle...and that was it.

We walked in silence the rest of the way into Ponyville, leaving the relics of her youth behind in the green light of the shaded woods.