Chapters "Extra, extra! Read all about it!"
It was to this chorus that the ponies of Equestria danced every morning. Newspapers traded hooves on the street, at coffee shops, train stations, and at work. In households, the paper would be divvied up and scattered among the members of the family. But the news, ah, the news was discussed around breakfast tables, in living rooms, and at work.
One word was on everypony's lips: Wheatland .
Wheatland. A name few ponies knew, but everypony had dealt with in some tiny, insignificant way at some point. Wheatland. The family-run farm near Fillydelphia. The largest producer of flour in the entire nation. Wheatland. The producer of no less than seventy percent of Fillydelphia's wheat.
What was Wheatland? It was security . It was being able to go to a bakery every day and never worry about them having run out of bread. It was knowing that come what may, there'd always be a bag of flour on the shelf with a big, bold W printed across it, burned into the very fabric of the sack.
There were other names that meant the same thing, of course. There was Orange Farms, from nearby Manehattan. No company exported as much to Griffonstone, and few companies rivalled its international standing. There was Sweet Apple Acres, the most productive string of apple farms there was, owned across dozens of families. There was Pear Productions, too. Although they never could overtake the Apple Acres in popularity, they still had quality standards above and beyond the norm.
These were the farming companies that had earned their stripes, delivering the best produce in titanic quantities. They were the gold standard of farms. And Wheatland, well, Wheatland was the best of them all.
And never, ever , did anypony expect it to burn to the ground.
Rainbow flicked through the pages of useless trivia. She skipped past the news, the advertisements and the obituaries. A couple dozen pages outright slid out of her hooves and she didn't make a move to stop them. Instead, she brushed them aside, where they fell in a disorganized pile on her desk.
After a brief moment of searching, she got to the section she wanted to read. Sports .
She checked her clock. It displayed eight-fifteen AM. She'd have a good half-hour at least before she'd start having to give out her assignments to the weatherponies. That left her plenty of time to see who won yesterday's Skyball match.
Her rickety office chair leaned and bent under her weight as she kicked her hind hooves up onto her desk. She knocked over a few piles of paper stacked across a series of in-trays. All rubbish. Requests for a cloud here and there. Sometimes a spot of rain for somepony's flower patch. All of them would be done and dusted within five minutes. Easy. Pointless. Weather was a predictable job when you could control it, make it bend over backwards to accommodate your every wish.
She groaned. Work was dull as ditchwater. But at least winter was on its way. Winter was always fun. Snowclouds were way more awesome than rainclouds, and snowball fights were always great!
Too bad Tank would have to head underground again. That'd be uncool.
A knock came from her door. Rainbow's ears flicked to face the noise: she had learned to recognize her co-worker's knocks. Thunderlane's was heavy, and he put far too much effort into each movement. Cloudchaser only knocked twice, but made sure you heard them.
This knock... Well, it was familiar, but it didn't belong to anypony she worked with. Not unless she was greatly mistaken, of course.
"I'm busy. Work starts at nine!" she grunted as loud as she could. "Come back then!"
With that, she dived back into the sports section. Her face fell. "Aw, Las Pegasus lost ?"
The door rattled again, louder this time. Rainbow raised her eyebrow. From beyond the door came a loud, irritated voice.
"Rainbow, it's me. Quit bein' lazy! I need to talk to ya!" came the unmistakable, inimitable voice of Rainbow's more direct friend.
All of a sudden, Rainbow was on her hooves.
"Well, why didn't you say it was you?" she shouted, opening the door with a flick of her hoof. She brushed her mane back as Applejack strode into the room, her coat untidy and unbrushed. "What brings you to the weather office? Forget to order a raincloud or something?"
Applejack spun around to face her friend. Every muscle was tense. Her eyes, while ringed with dark, grey shadows, were alive with energy. "Worse. Did ya read this mornin's news?"
Rainbow looked over at her desk, glancing at the mess that used to be a brand new newspaper. "Yeah. Las Pegasus lost three-nil."
Applejack tapped her hoof on the ground. "I mean 'bout Wheatland !"
"Wheatland?" Rainbow asked, narrowing her eyes. "Doesn't ring a bell. Does he play for Manehattan?"
Applejack huffed. "Seriously? They're one of the biggest farmin' corporations in Equestria," Applejack said. "The biggest, in fact."
Rainbow defended herself from Applejack's aggressive voice by holding up her hooves. "'Kay, right. Big farming company. What's got you so worked up about them?" she asked, backing away from her friend to give her a little space. "You're all over the place. And it's morning . It's way too early for loud talk. Just... Don't talk too quick, 'kay?"
"Wheatland burned," Applejack declared. "Some wildfire got out of control, and their crops, all of it, it's gone ."
Rainbow scratched her head. "That sucks. I guess they lost a lot of money then?"
Applejack shook her head. "Wheatland has enough cash to fix themselves up three times over. That ain't the problem." She eyed Rainbow. "Did you seriously not read the paper?"
"I did ! I read the sports section," Rainbow retorted, tapping the disfigured remains of her morning paper. "I'm a busy pony, AJ. I don't want to waste time reading stuff that'll get me depressed anyway. There's never any good news in the news."
Applejack nodded. "Darn right. Rainbow, Wheatland provides over two thirds of Fillydelphia's food. Other cities have got a bunch of li'l farms to keep 'em going. Fillydelphia just has Wheatland." She leaned in for emphasis. "Now they don't ."
Rainbow frowned. "So, what? They don't have any food left?"
Applejack shook her head. "Nope. Stores'll have to outsource. That costs money." She sighed. "Money some ponies don't have."
"So, it's a disaster all around?" Rainbow leaned against her desk. "M'kay, that sucks. I don't see why you're here, though. You could have just waited to tell me the news."
"Because," Applejack began, leaning in as her voice dropped to a whisper, "I might have an idea. And believe it or not... I need your help."
"Rares!" Applejack shouted as she stormed into the Carousel Boutique, the floorboards shaking with every step. "I need stallions ! As many as you can get me!" The door rattled as it slammed behind her.
"You're used to bein' in control of the weather. That's what you fellas do, right?"
"Yeah. Sure. What are you getting at?"
Rarity looked up from her sewing, startled by the noise and Applejack's sudden demands. "Stallions? What makes you think I can give you stallions ?"
Applejack stopped a few feet away from Rarity. What little signs of fatigue she had moments ago had faded away. Now, there was only her mission. There was only determination. Resolution. And no small amount of excitement.
"How easy is it to change a whole season? Like, turn Winter into Spring in one day?"
"Hard. But doable. If you're really, really good."
"'Cause every time you need some heavy liftin' done, stallions turn up," Applejack replied with a satisfied smirk. "As far as the eye can see. And believe it or not, I need me some stallions right about now," she said. Rarity raised her eyebrow. "Mares too, if they're tough. And I'm happy to compensate 'em for their trouble."
Rarity put down her spectacles. "I confess, my methods have somewhat less success on mares, compensation or otherwise notwithstanding. But what could you possibly need them for?"
"Are you really, really good?"
"I'm the best, AJ."
"Then, what if you were to go through all four seasons? All in a row. How long would that take?"
Applejack smirked. Rarity gave her a look. It was a look that indicated she knew trouble was coming, and whatever it was, Applejack was going to be splat bang in the middle of it.
"One month. That's the best time anypony set, and it was practically with an army of weatherponies. They called it the 'One-Month Year'."
"What about a week?"
"I'm gonna' save Fillydelphia, Rares," Applejack said. "All of it. I'm gonna make 'em a whole harvest and deliver it before their food runs out."
"...A week. For real?"
"For real, Rainbow."
Rarity widened her eyes. "But... Didn't you just finish your harvest? You've already sent your apples out to market! You're done ! It'll take you months before another harvest is scheduled by the Ponyville Weather Board!"
"I'm not waitin' for Ponyville's weather. I'm makin' my own," Applejack replied. Rarity held her head in her hooves.
"...I'll need more ponies."
"I'll get more ponies."
"Let me guess... You went to Rainbow Dash?" Rarity shook her head. "You know the mare has no restraint. She'd agree to anything!"
"She did agree. And now I'm comin' to you." Applejack leaned in, her expression softening. "Listen, Rares. Ponies are in trouble. I can do this . I can do it, if only you help me."
"You're crazy, y'know that?"
"Which is crazier? The fool, or the pegasus that knows it's crazy and is still goin' along with it anyhow?"
Rarity swallowed. "I'll... I'll make some calls."
Applejack beamed.
"Rarity... You're a guldarn' hero."
Rainbow scratched her chin. Applejack held her breath for a moment.
"Well, you know I never let my best friend down," Rainbow told her as plans and schemes danced around like lights inside her eyes. "But more than that... I reckon this'll be pretty fun."
Applejack grimaced. Every five minutes of thinking on her part led to conjuring up some new problem for her to face. Winter Wrap up in a day with only a fraction of the horsepower, for example. Getting Fillydelphia to lend her enough storage for a whole harvest's worth of crops. Getting enough feed for the trees. Oh, that was a big one. Sweet Apple Acre trees were some of the best around, but even they had their limits. Growing a whole new harvest so soon after the last one would mean they had to draw twice as much nutrients from the ground... Nutrients Applejack had to somehow provide.
Applejack darted into the post office, snatching paper and pen straight off the shelves. Under the post office clerk's watchful eye, she wrote two letters, both in clear, concise writing. Both found their way into envelopes, and stamped within the minute.
"Special delivery. How fast can y'all get these to Fillydelphia and Appleoosa?" she asked.
The clerk didn't bat an eye. "Special delivery? The one to Fillydelphia will get there come lunchtime. The one to Appleoosa will only arrive in the evening."
Applejack swallowed. "What'll I have to pay to get the letter to Appleoosa there by lunch?" she asked.
The clerk's eyebrow raised. "Ten bits for an extra -special delivery. That'll get you what you want."
"Then I want that."
Three more stamps were slammed onto the envelope. Applejack let herself indulge in a self-satisfied smile. The clerk gave her a look.
"There. All done. They'll both be at their destinations come one o'clock."
Applejack nodded, and was out the door without even saying goodbye. She had no time. There was a very specific deadline she had to meet, and this time, she needed Fluttershy.
Big Macintosh scanned the scene before him with a look of concerned surprise. It was rare indeed for ponies to gather in similar numbers at the farm outside of the reunion and cider season. He couldn't help but be both impressed and worried.
Applejack pushed through the small crowd of stallions (and the odd mare), adjusting her hat in a businesslike manner. Fluttershy was there too, accompanying Applejack. Chatter surrounded Applejack, washing over her. Questions about why they were there went unanswered until halfway through the crowd, she grunted "I'll tell ya. Give me a second."
Rarity gave the crowd an anxious look. Some weren't the most patient of ponies. Fluttershy managed to creep through the mob and reach Rarity, giving her a confused look.
Applejack clambered onto a crate, elevating herself above the crowd. All eyes turned towards her. She cupped her mouth with one hoof, and bellowed.
"All right! You're all here!"
Silence spread through the ranks. Applejack didn't smile. This was where the work began.
"As y'all might have heard, Fillydelphia is in a heck of a lot of trouble. They ain't got enough food to survive without buyin' it in bits an' pieces, and that'll just plain bankrupt 'em."
The crowd nodded, their body language indicating appreciation. Fluttershy tilted her head.
Applejack nodded to herself: the stakes were clear to everypony present. "That's where we come in. We're gonna' accelerate the weather. Not in Ponyville: just here. Just on my farm. We're gonna' run through the seasons and squeeze out one more harvest. One harvest, that I'll be sendin' to Fillydelphia. We sell 'em our apples normal price. They won't get poor buyin' Sweet Apple apples." She gave them a look. "Thing is... We've only got one week before their food runs out. Longer, and they'll buy. They'll buy as much as they can, or start goin' hungry."
A murmur spread through the crowd.
"...One week?"
Applejack nodded. "One week. That's why we ain't wastin' time, and why we're in such a hurry. Now, I've got it on reputable information that the weather can go through all those cycles in time. And I know my trees can handle it, with the proper care and horsepower. That's where y'all come in."
"Wait a minute..." one of the stallions shouted, "How is this possible? On who's authority can this be done?"
Applejack squared her jaw. A cool, brisk breeze brushed through her mane, eliciting a shiver from everypony present.
"My family has been growin' apples for decades. And my weather expert is in the Wonderbolts," she replied, omitting to mention Rainbow was only a reserve. Despite this omission, it seemed to satisfy the crowd. "I'll answer any other questions you have in due time, but first, we've got a mighty important task to do." She paused, capturing their attention once again. "There are a bunch of animals that make Sweet Apple Acres their home, and they're about to get real cold, real quick."
At that, Fluttershy became far more agitated, her eyes widening as realization began to dawn. "Oh, dear..." she muttered.
Applejack nodded. "Yup. We need to get all these animals out of the orchard. You might have noticed a bit of a chill in the air right 'bout now?" The crowd looked among each other, and began nodding. "That's Ponyville's worth in weatherponies drainin' the place of heat. We ain't got much time."
Fluttershy swallowed.
"How long do we have?" she asked. "How long until Winter comes?"
Applejack almost felt sorry for having to say what came next. "I put Rainbow in charge of bringin' the snow," she said in a sombre tone of voice. Fluttershy blanched. "I told her we needed it by nightfall so the trees have plenty of time to go cold." She took a deep breath. "I'd expect her by late evening."
Silence washed over the crowd. Fluttershy stood, her wings drooping by her sides. A few of the stallions more sensitive to nature also began shaking their heads in disbelief. Squaring her jaw, Fluttershy span towards the crowd, fire in her eyes.
"Everypony! Split into groups of three and line up! We need to get any amphibians near Ponyville lake and move the mammals to the Everfree!" she shouted as loudly as her little voice could manage. "We can do this if we organize !"
Applejack watched as the mob of stallions scurried around in circles, pairing up and forming groups. They were quickly whipped into action by Fluttershy's stern instructions. She looked over towards Rarity.
"Rares? Can you fetch Twilight for me? I have a feelin' we'll need her for Wrap Up tomorrow."
Thunderlane and his crew flashed across the sky, leaving only a blur and broken clouds in his wake. The wind that followed him and his weatherponies brushed against the outskirts of the orchard, rustling what little leaves were left behind from autumn.
Usually, whenever the temperature had to be decreased, this was done over a longer, extended period of time. The winds created by hundreds of pegasi lazily flying in pre-determined patterns sucked the heat from the countryside and dumped it elsewhere. Clouds would then keep the landscape insulated, turning an entire region into a massive refrigerator.
Thunderlane only had a few hours before Rainbow brought the clouds with the handful of pegasi she had taken with her. Thankfully, the area he was tasked with cooling down was a fraction of the size of Ponyville, but the speed ... His wings were already beginning to ache.
A few colourful blurs flashed across his vision. Thunderlane grit his teeth. So, the ponies inside the gigantic micro-climate were already beginning to evacuate the birds. It was a start, he thought.
"Faster, guys! We need to get the orchard down to near-freezing temperatures before the boss-pony gets here!" he shouted, adjusting his goggles as he did so.
Fluttershy was scurrying left and right, ushering startled badgers, squirrels, and marsupials of all sorts West. All around her, dozens of stallions did their best to keep up, scooping up as many of the critters as they could in baskets. A lot of the animals required constant attention to keep them calm.
"It's all right! You'll be back home in a few days, I promise," Fluttershy assured them.
A particularly grumpy pair of rats folded their paws at her.
"It's either that, or you'll have to grow your Winter coats faster than usual."
That, at least, got them moving. Even the furriest of animals could feel the sudden chill, the unmistakable cold that heralded Winter. Many of the forward thinking workponies were already wearing scarves. Fluttershy watched the army of animals form orderly lines, packing up nuts and other foodstuffs for their quick and unscheduled hibernation.
"I hope this is worth it," she muttered. It didn't take long for her to remember the stakes at hand. Her brow lowered. "It is."
Ponyville throbbed with agitation. They could feel the sudden shift in wind, and noticed the distinct lack of some of their populace. Then word spread of Applejack's crazy plan.
Featherweight pounced on the opportunity like a panther. His juvenile mind wrapped around the concept of the local farm attempting the impossible for Fillydelphia. He smiled in the depths of his printing room. Dozens of other fillies and colts surrounded him.
"My brother's out there! He's not said hello once today!" Rumble grumbled.
"I thought you couldn't change seasons that quickly. I thought it took weeks of preparation," said another.
"Yeah, well, they won't succeed . Mom says it just isn't possible."
"They've got to!" Dinky exclaimed. "Otherwise, Fillydelphia's in trouble!"
Featherweight simply sat at his chair, tapping his hoof. Oh, the possibilities . Where the other ponies argued, the editor of the school newspaper pondered.
"Well, I know what I'm doing," he declared, demanding everypony's attention at once. "I'm going to make headlines ."
Thunderlane wiped cold sweat off his brow. Two of his fliers had landed for a rest. He hadn't. He was the one who'd get shouted at by the boss-pony if he did.
He looked down at the column of animals leaving the orchard. Almost there , he thought.
A shadow passed over him. Surprised by the change in light, he stopped, hovering in place, and looked straight up.
"Out of time," he muttered.
"How many are left?" Fluttershy asked over the din.
"I finished my batch!"
"Family of foxes coming through!"
Fluttershy stepped aside, letting the yawning mammals past her. The mother gave her a wicked glare. Fluttershy returned with her most apologetic smile.
"Is that all of them?"
Fluttershy's attention was drawn by Applejack storming towards her. "Flutters!" she bellowed. "We're out of time! Thunderlane says Rainbow's almost here!"
Fluttershy's eyes darted around wildly. "Everypony? Are there any animals left here?"
"Just a bear who growls at anypony who comes too close," Caramel said. "But I don't think he'll care much about the cold anyways."
Fluttershy turned towards Applejack. "You have a bear ?" The farmpony shrugged.
"I don't tend to mind animals who don't eat apples livin' in my orchard," she explained, then turned to face her workers. "In that case... take cover, everypony ! This is Rainbow Dash we're dealin' with! She will not go easy on us."
As stallions and mares alike tightened their scarves and flattened themselves against tree trunks. Applejack gave Fluttershy an appreciative pat on the back. "Good job," she said. "I knew the animals would listen to you."
"Oh, thank you. But it was a team effort," she said, the compliment erasing the oncoming danger from her mind.
"Incoming !"
Applejack looked up.
The dark grey clouds rumbling towards here looked more like a tidal wave to her. An army. Legions of cumuli flanked cumulonimbus tall as siege towers. Weatherponies flew ahead the main force, officers organizing the clouds into formation.
And the general, the admiral, commander of all she surveyed, rode the tallest cloud, wings spread wide as she observed the orchard.
Applejack blanched. She felt like she was about to be swallowed whole by the incoming onslaught. "That's a lot of snow," she said.
Ponies everywhere tensed, bracing themselves for the cold.
Rainbow held her hoof up. "Steady!" she ordered, screaming above the rumbling clouds, the deafening wind. "Wait until we're in position!"
Applejack closed her eyes.
"Hit 'em !"
Dozens of weatherponies at once slammed their weight into the snowclouds, letting loose their payload like an cloud of arrows. Snowflakes like ninja stars hit the leafless trees, caking them in white within seconds. Wind blasted the ponies below, stealing their breath and leaving them choking on the cold. Rainbow had brought winter many times before. She had done it in an orderly fashion. She had accidentally dumped a whole cumulonimbus on top of Ponyville whilst trying to prevent it. But this was the first time in her life she was attempting to hit them as fast as physically possible.
Nopony could ever fault her enthusiasm.
Applejack dove behind a sturdy-looking tree, already caked in snow. Her hat was threatening to depart from her head due to the strong winds, and frost had already started crawling up the tree trunks. Her eyes couldn't even see they were watering so much from the cold. She gasped. "Eesh! That's brisk!"
From above, the clouds Rainbow had brought settled over the Acres like a dome. Rainbow blanketed the farmland with a quilt of grey clouds, sealing its climate off from the rest of the world. The cold was trapped inside, unable to get out.
Sweet Apple Acres was now its own micro-climate. Winter had arrived.
The setting sun was invisible behind the clouds. Applejack waded through the knee-high snow towards Rainbow, landing daintily in the midst of the white landscape. Her feathers bristled in the cold, and she admired her handiwork. "Y'know, there are only maybe three pegasus ponies in Equestria who can whip up a snowstorm like this in a single day," she said. "Good thing you're best buddies with one of them, right?"
Applejack swallowed. "It'll be tough clearin' this tomorrow."
Rainbow frowned. "Maybe. I'm hoping that the warmth from outside will melt a bit of it before too long. Even a cloud blanket like this can only do so much to insulate it, y'know?" She kicked the snow. "Still, it won't be a cakewalk." She looked at the band of stallions Rarity had managed to muster. "This all you could get?"
Applejack bit her lip. "I asked Rarity for stallions. I'm amazed they were even willin' to come."
"Oh, you asked Rarity ?" Rainbow asked, understanding dawning. "Heck, I'm surprised there aren't more , then."
"Applejack!" came a shout from the distance. Applejack gave Rainbow a knowing smile.
"Anyways... I think my solution has just arrived," she said, turning to face the source of the voice.
Rainbow followed suit.
At least a dozen Earth ponies trudged through the snow, brushing wayward flakes off their coats with their Stetson hats. Rainbow widened her eyes.
"Well," she said, but couldn't think of anything to say.
"I have to tell ya, cuz, you weren't kiddin' when you said you were serious 'bout makin' winter in a day," said the pony in front. He pulled his jacket tighter around him, and blew some snow out of his mane. "I'm guessin' you ain't playin' around."
Applejack grinned. "Nice t'see y'all could make it, Braeburn. How're the Appleoosa Apples doin'?"
Braeburn gestured at the ponies behind him. "Rounded up what Apples would come, and a few of our farmhooves. What'd ya say to twenty-eight more workers?"
Applejack patted her cousin on the back, knocking even more snow off his mane. "I'd say that's half what we need," she said. "But we'll make it work."
Braeburn kicked his forehooves into the air. "You betcha!" To the Appleoosa ponies, he gave a loud whoop of excitement. "Y'hear that? We're makin' food for Filly!"
Applejack put her hoof on Rainbow's side, breathing in. "Well, RD, do ya think we can do it?"
Rainbow glanced at her friend's hoof, and flashed her most cocksure grin. "What? Break all the records for weather manipulation and make enough food for an entire city all in the same week?" She nudged Applejack in the side. "Easy. I could do this in my sleep."
Applejack leaned into Rainbow's side, an amused smile playing her lips. "I thought you'd say that." She sighed. "Today was the easy part. Tomorrow we'll have to clear all this up." Her expression darkened. "And then ... We harvest."
Applejack collapsed onto her couch, kicking her hooves into the air. A brisk breeze followed her into the house, and she angled herself closer to the fire. Night poured in through the windows.
"Ya really put yer hoof in it this time," came Granny's strained voice.
Applejack rubbed her eyes. All her hard work that day had caught up with her all in one go. "It's for a good cause, granny," she replied. "'Sides, I took my precautions this time. I ain't doin' this harvest all by my lonesome."
Granny harrumphed, and rustled the fire up with a poker. "It's a start. The weather weren't meant to be messed with like that." Granny jabbed the poker in Applejack's direction. "It'll blow up in yer face, mark m'words!"
Applejack smiled to herself. "That's why I went to Rainbow first," she said. "She hates it when things blow up in her face." Applejack sat up. "Y'know I heard some fancy scientist say that Rainboom of hers ain't physically possible? I reckon Rainbow simply don't care. She either gets what she wants, or she spins out of control completely. That's what makes her kinda special." Applejack removed her hat and scarf, then shrugged. "So laws o' nature or no, I'd set my chances at around fifty-fifty."
Author's Note
Chapter one, everybody! What challenges will the team face?
This idea actually stemmed from a writers group thread where I was countering people trying to claim the timeline was off because of the placement of certain seasons. I replied that they could control the weather, so seasons weren't really as accurate as they should be. Then one of 'em retorted that if they did a few days summer, autumn, and winter, the plants would all die.
Somewhere from that idea, I came up with this.
Next chapter will be out tomorrow. In fact, all the chapters are in their final editing phase and will be released every day until the full story is published, so be sure to check in soon if you enjoyed this first chapter! If you liked the story, don't forget to upvote! Feel free to comment (I always read all comments, even if I don't always reply), and have a good one.
Winter to Spring: Day 2 and 3
Winter Wrap Up in a day. Well, that's doable , Twilight Sparkle thought to herself as she reviewed her plans. We did that before. But... and this is a big but... last time I had all of Ponyville to work with . She cupped her head in her hooves. About twenty stallions, a dozen weatherponies, and nearly thirty farmers from Appleoosa. That's a lot. It's not enough, though.
She had to clear the snow. That was the most important task. But there was also the clouds to deal with too, and the ground had to be churned up a bit so they could fertilize it later on. Twilight tapped her desk. Could that wait until summer? No. No, because summer was when the plants grew. It had to be fertilized by then. There wasn't time to...
She heard a knock on her door. Twilight craned her neck to face Spike, standing in the doorway with a bowl of cereal.
"Breakfast," he said. Twilight smiled.
"Excellent. Thank you, Spike," she said, taking the bowl from him and digging in. "What time is it?"
Spike rubbed his eyes. "Four in the morning," he said. "Y'know, last time you were up this early for Winter Wrap Up, you had to wait for hours until everypony got ready."
Twilight nodded.
"I know, Spike. But they're counting on me to have a plan of action ready by dawn." She gave Spike an apologetic look, her eyes softening. "We'll need as much sunlight as we can get."
Spike sighed. "Well... that's all right then."
Twilight pored over her notes once more. "I've arranged the orchard into a grid, see? Splitting the ponies up, we can work on several parts of the orchard in parallel," she explained. "It's just that... the orchard is so big . We could clear it in a day if we had twice as many ponies, but with what we've got... We'll have to work well into tomorrow." She tapped her hind hoof against the leg of her desk. "But tomorrow we need to work on churning the ground up."
"So it's not possible?" Spike asked.
"...Maybe," Twilight confessed. "But I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. It just takes a bit of creative thinking."
Spike raised his eyebrow. "Oh? Like what?"
Twilight pointed to two little markers she had placed on a map of the orchard. Spike clambered onto the desk to get a better view. One of them was orange, whilst the other was blue.
"Applejack and Rainbow Dash, for starters. With proper direction, I can double their productivity," she said, nudging their markers. Spike sat down heavily on the edge of the table, a suspicious eyebrow raised.
"And that'll be enough?" he asked. "They're just two ponies."
"No. There's always my third marker," Twilight said, and gestured towards the edges of the map.
Spike frowned. He backed away, and his eyes dropped to the corners of the large sheet of paper. His eyes widened.
"That's not a marker," he said. "You've just drawn on the map."
Twilight nodded.
Spike breathed in sharply. Twilight had drawn in felt tip pen a ring that encompassed the entire farmland, from the orchard entrance to the border of the forest. It was huge.
It was drawn in bright, fluorescent pink.
"There's always my ace in the hole," Twilight said. "Spike, I'm going to need you to pop by Sugarcube Corner."
"Okay!" Applejack shouted, her hooves crunching the snow beneath her as she strode in front of the ranks of ponies before her. "You've all been divided into squads of two. One shovel, one wheelbarrow. We'll have to get rid of the snow by dumping it out of the orchard, 'cause the sun won't have time to melt all of it even by tomorrow... And we need the ground clear by then." She held up a printed sheet of paper. "Twilight Sparkle has printed out maps of the orchard, set up in a grid. Read 'em. You'll need 'em."
"How are we supposed to do all this in one day?" Braeburn asked, slapping the paper with his hoof. "I ain't one to complain, but this... How're we supposed to..."
Applejack swallowed.
"We're not trustin' the grid or the schedule," she said. "We're trusting Twilight Sparkle . If anypony can organize a Winter Wrap Up in these conditions, she can." She wiped her brow with her hoof, clearing the sweat from her forehead. How am I sweating if it's so cold ? "Twilight assured me she had a plan. She just needs a minute to get it to work. And don't forget the weatherponies!"
Braeburn nodded. "Right. Rainbow Dash'll still be in the skies, right?"
"Yup. Rainbow's the fastest pony in Equestria. As soon as she gets those clouds cleared... and she will , she'll be down here helpin' us."
The light on the horizon began to light up. The dome of clouds above them was a strange sight... It let in the sunlight when it was low in the sky, but would block anything and everything from above. The mountains were still visible on the horizon, and from behind them, the light of dawn approached. Applejack turned on her heels.
"All right, everypony! Get your shovels ready!"
Every single Earth pony and unicorn readied their grip on their respective tools. Many of them gave each other looks of confidence, reassurance, excitement, and worry. The atmosphere was thick with anticipation. It was dripping with expectation.
The sun rose over the horizon.
"Go !" Applejack bellowed, and stuck her shovel into the snow. "Winter Wrap Up starts now !"
"Okay! That's our cue!" Rainbow screamed, slamming her hoof into the cloud she stood upon, smashing it to pieces. "Team Thunderlane! Clear the West sector! Team Cloudchaser! Take North!" As the ponies rushed into their teams, she turned away, facing away from the sun. "I'll take care of the East."
Wings buzzed like a swarm of hornets, and all at once, dozens of clouds began to crumble into tiny fragments. What little snow they had left showered the orchard below. Not enough snow to make a difference, Rainbow thought. Just enough to irritate Applejack.
Rainbow leapt into the air, her wings beating against the wind, forcing as much lift as she could from her little muscles. She shot up, up, straight up like an arrow, high into the sky. She slowed, paused, hung in place. Usually, at times like these, she'd allow herself a smile. Not this time. Today, this was just business.
She tipped back, facing the ground again. She began to pick up speed, slowly at first, as gravity remembered its job. The ground sucked at her, pulling her in.
Then she beat her wings once more. Like a cannon-ball, she was fired from the sky, spat back towards the clouds she had come from. Below, her weatherponies were already hard at work clearing their sectors.
Rainbow sank into the clouds, sending ripples of force through the clouds... And then shot straight back out the other side, tearing through the blanket of white.
The hole she left behind was enormous. Thunderlane stopped in his tracks, his hoof hovering in the air, halfway ready to keep pummelling his cloud. His jaw was dropped in amazement.
Rainbow gave him a look.
"Quit gawking and get back to work!" she shouted.
It was several hours before Ponyville woke up. By then, Applejack's ponies were already hitting their stride. Eyes and ears turned towards Sweet Apple Acres, and the strange noises that could be heard even from this far away.
Every cloud burst was like mortar-fire. Every bellow, a battle-cry.
At nine o'clock sharp, Dinky Hooves stepped outside the schoolyard, her little school newspaper in hoof. Even though she barely reached the ponies waists, she captured the attention of anypony and everypony who passed her by.
She bounced up and down, waving her newspapers with enthusiasm. Featherweight was counting on her, and she wasn't about to let him down.
Rumble had been gathering intelligence all night long from his brother. Applebloom had illuminated them about the rest. And the article Featherweight had written...
The aspiring journalist had said that it was the best he had ever put to paper. Dinky didn't doubt it.
"Sweet Apple Acres to come to Fillydelphia's rescue!" she shouted. "Only at the school newspaper! Read all about it here!"
Eyes were drawn towards the little filly. Their attention was in her grip. Although selling papers wasn't her ambition, Dinky allowed herself a smug moment of self-satisfaction.
The first paper traded hooves. One bit went into Dinky's saddlebag.
"The One-Week Year begins! An entire harvest to be sent to Fillydelphia! Read all about it in your local school newspaper!"
More papers passed from pony to pony. More bits went into Dinky's bags. One bit, two bits, three, four...
Dinky was quivering with excitement. This was a new personal record.
She wondered how the others were doing. All around town, a small army of fillies and colts were hard at work selling their papers.
"Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up..." Applejack chanted, tossing yet another shovelful of snow into her designated wheelbarrow. She was well ahead of everypony else. Big Mac, the pony in charge of her wheelbarrow, could barely keep up. Applejack was so engrossed, she had stopped singing the full song. Instead, she just chanted the chorus. Over, and over, and over...
Mountains of snow were still in front of her, and the sun kept on dipping lower in the sky. Twilight's plan was only half as effective as it needed to be...
"Hey, Applejack!"
As if by magic, Twilight materialized before her, a broad smile on her face. Applejack paused mid swing.
"Twilight! You turned up!"
"Yup. I just needed to run some errands," she said. "I see the grid scheme is working perfectly."
Applejack spun her shovel around, digging up another massive chunk of snow. "Sure 'bout that?" she asked. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful... but I ain't finished clearin' a fraction of my orchard yet."
Twilight looked up at the sky. Yes, Rainbow's section was cleared... all was going according to plan.
"Well, Rainbow Dash is well ahead of her schedule," Twilight remarked. "She's practically burning through her parts of the grid. I was going to assign her even more sections to compensate for how unbelievably fast she is."
Applejack's shovel froze mid-swing. From beneath her hat, Applejack gave Twilight a suspicious look. "That ain't possible. She's been busy clearin' clouds all mornin'." Applejack frowned. "She ain't ahead of me , is she?"
"Almost ," Twilight replied. "She's been catching up all morning."
Applejack grit her teeth.
"Well, I never ..." she growled. Furiously, she slid her shovel back into the snow, soliciting a startled jump from Big Macintosh. "Big Mac! Move that wheelbarrow faster! I don't care how fast that featherbrain is in the air, she ain't beatin' me down here!"
Twilight smirked as Applejack tore through the snow, twice as fast as before. Perfect. Now all I have to do is give Rainbow a similar treatment.
As she trotted away from the zealous Earth pony, she flicked her mane out of her eyes in a self-congratulatory manner. Their little rivalry can finally be put to some use.
"Well, duh she's dug up more snow than me," Rainbow snapped. "I've been busy in the air all morning!"
"Oh, I wasn't trying to make you feel bad," Twilight said, holding her hooves up to ward against her friend. "I'm just saying Applejack has been digging up more snow than you'd think was equinely possible!" She leaned inwards conspiratorially. "In fact, she might just set the world record."
Rainbow blanched.
"World... record?"
"Yes," Twilight said, and held up a chart she had hastily scribbled beforehand. "I checked how much snow she was moving on average over time... and I'm pretty sure it's unprecedented."
Rainbow's grip on her shovel tightened.
"Forget Applejack! I'm not letting her take the record just 'cause I was too busy busting clouds!" She jabbed her hoof at Twilight. "Tell AJ I'll move through twice as much snow as she will. And I'll look way cooler doing it!"
Twilight smiled. "I'm sure she'll be happy to hear that! Getting the job done is all that matters, after all!"
"Like hay it is!" Rainbow snorted, rising to Twilight's bait. "And be sure to tell her in a way that makes it sound like I'm way better than her. Like, emphathise 'twice' and the 'and' parts. She'll know what I mean."
Twilight nodded, feigning hesitation. "Um, certainly."
Rainbow grunted, and turned to Flitter, the weatherpony she had requisitioned (with characteristic bluntness) to serve as her wheelbarrow-pony. "Flitter! Get me another shovel! I'm gonna' use two at a time !"
Twilight was already gone. She had done all she needed to do.
Now she was just counting on one last pony...
Lunchtime had come and gone, and Featherweight was blissful. This was the best paper he had printed. The best paper he had sold. It was the greatest feeling he had ever felt, and he wanted more .
"Guys? Can we get more ponies at the farm after school is over?" he asked his friends. "I'm thinking we can get more out of this story. Every problem they have, every challenge they have to go through... ponies are eating it up!" He waved his stick-thin hooves in the air. "Better yet, we're getting publicity out for a great cause! This is everything a school newspaper should be!"
Dinky and Peach both nodded their heads. "I agree," Dinky said. "My mom was talking all evening about how working with Rainbow was the hardest she'd ever worked, and how much she loved it." She beamed. "She's so happy she's making a difference!"
Peach bounced up and down. "We can too! We can get help for them! We can put out an article about supporting the orchard!"
"Excuse me?" came a voice.
Featherweight nodded to Peach. "I agree. There's so much potential... so much we can do..."
Yes , he thought. This is journalism .
"Excuse me ," the voice repeated, this time with a familiar, haughty edge. Featherweight finally looked over to the former editor of the school newspaper. He widened his eyes.
"Diamond Tiara? What do you want?"
Diamond held out the paper. "I want to talk to you about the 'one-week year'."
Applejack leaned on her shovel, panting. It was too much. Each muscle ached. Even though the air was still brisk, sweat poured off of her coat like she was standing in the rain. Big Mac looked a little worse for wear as well.
She panted, dropping her flanks into the freshly cleared ground. She felt unable to stand.
A flash of purple light brought her to her senses. Applejack stood up as straight as she could manage.
"Excellent work!" Twilight exclaimed. "You know, we might just be able to make it."
Applejack shook her head. "Well... I hate to say this, but I hope Rainbow's still got some juice in her," she said. "I can't... I need a rest."
Twilight nodded. "Oh, she's exhausted as well." She pulled out her map of the orchard, complete with grid. Applejack couldn't help but notice many of the boxes had been crossed off. The ones that were successfully emptied, Applejack assumed. Unfortunately, it looked like they had only gotten through half the required amount.
"She's beat too?" Applejack asked, despair tinting her voice. She collapsed into the soaking wet soil. "I don't... Then we can't..."
"I just need you to fill in the areas on the map you've cleared," Twilight said. "Then we can move on."
Applejack groaned. "Twi', it's hopeless. We're runnin' out of ponies with the energy to get this done!" She held her head in her hooves. "If this were some big open field, we could get the ploughs out... but we can't. If we had more ponies, we could go on... but we don't. If we..."
Twilight picked Applejack up from the ground. "That's quite enough of that. Now, here." She shoved the map into Applejack's chest. "Fill it in. Trust me."
Applejack took a deep breath, and filled in her sections of the grid with a pen. "There," she said, crossing out the last box. "I cleared all those bits."
"Goodness," Twilight said. "That's just a little bit more than Rainbow managed to clear. I suppose that's only natural... you did have a head start."
Applejack shrugged. "What good'll it do? We've still got a whole third left! And it's almost evening." She looked up at the sky. "We're runnin' out of daylight."
Twilight smiled. "Tell all the ponies to evacuate the orchard. And I mean everypony . If you thought the snowstorm was bad, just wait 'till you see what's coming next."
Rainbow, still panting, hovered above the orchard, gesticulating wildly. "Everypony! Get out of the orchard. We've got reinforcements incoming!" Orderly lines were formed, and slowly but surely, the orchard became quiet and still. Rainbow wiped her brow. "Anypony left in the forest is going to get hurt. Move it, ponies!"
Applejack trotted up to her, looking at least as tired as Rainbow felt.
"You gettin' everypony out?"
"Yeah! Fluttershy's doing a head-count on top of the hill." Rainbow landed next to Applejack with a thump . "Apparently, Twilight's got some crazy scheme to get this all done on time."
Applejack ran her hoof through her mane. "She better. I don't know what to do any more," she said. She tapped the ground, which squelched with little to no resistance. "Darn, look at this. If it ain't dry by tomorrow, we might have a problem."
"Rainbow! Applejack! Get out of there!" Twilight screamed from on top the hill. "Pinkie's coming !"
Both ponies went white as sheets as they considered what, exactly, Twilight's scheme involved.
"Pinkie?"
"Here ?!"
The hill overlooking the orchard was covered in ponies. Each of them looked more tired than the next. But something... somethings ... were moving. Rainbow and Applejack both darted up the hill, their muscles straining and their bones feeling like they were made of lead.
Four large, metal tubes began to rise over the hill. They glinted in the setting sunlight, flashing bright and nearly blinding both ponies.
Party cannons .
"Hello~o~o~ everypony!" Pinkie screamed at the top of her lungs. "The Pies have arrived!"
As Applejack drew nearer, she recognized the ponies pushing the cannons. Limestone, Maud, and Marble. Each came with a cannon of their own. Each cannon varied in size. Maud's was the smallest, but its longer, thinner barrel told Applejack all she needed to know about it. It packed some serious fire-power. Marble and Limestone's were nothing to sniff at either.
"What the...? Why're they here?" Applejack asked, catching up to them. Limestone gave her an aggressive growl.
"Way to say hello," she grunted.
Pinkie exploded between the pair. "Did'ja know that my family has a rock farm? Did'ja? Did'ja ?"
Applejack nodded. "Y-yes. We went there together?"
Pinkie displayed a predatory grin. "Did'ja know that salt is a mineral? And that we grow it?"
Applejack widened her eyes. "...Salt?"
Salt melts snow...
"Twilie!" Pinkie sang. "Present us your targets!"
Twilight handed the map over to Pinkie. "Fire at any square that isn't crossed off." As Pinkie looked at the map, Twilight bit her lip. "Do you have enough ammunition?"
Pinkie handed the map over to her sisters. "Whaddya think, girls? Did we pack enough salt?" To Twilight's relief, all three sisters nodded. "Looks like we've just got enough!" Pinkie exclaimed. "You guys sure got through a lot!" To her sisters, she added, "See? Oh, this'll be so fun ! Usually, I just use this old thing for confetti and streamers !"
Each cannon was tipped back, aiming at the sky. Applejack took a few steps back as entire sacks of salt were loaded into their gargantuan barrels. Heck, you could fit an entire pony in Marble's cannon alone.
"Take aim! Let's blast that snow straight into next season!" Limestone shouted.
"I've already taken aim," Maud pointed out, matter-of-factly.
Pinkie leapt onto her cannon, fuse in hoof. "In that case... bombs away !"
Rainbow widened her eyes as all four ponies lowered their fuses. Applejack realized the danger, and leapt onto her friend, slamming her down onto the ground, much to Rainbow's surprise. "Get down!"
The shockwave as four powerful cannons all fired at once blew Applejack's hat clean off. Salt bags flew into the air, dispersing grains of rough salt into the sky, only to fall down as gravity sucked them back. Each grain whistled as it fell, and everypony but the Pies covered their ears. Applejack couldn't help but close her eyes, still lying atop Rainbow Dash, who was so stunned she couldn't move.
Just one of those cannons was enough to shock an unprepared pony. All four firing at once had them definitively spooked.
"Reloading," Maud declared.
"Whee! Betcha' I can hit more targets than you can, girls!" Pinkie exclaimed, firing away at will. "Boom !"
The smell of powdered salt and burnt powder was thick in the air. Applejack pulled Rainbow away from the terrifying machines, coughing and covering her mouth. How come they don't seem to even mind?
Twilight had known this had been coming, but even her eyes were wide with fright. To think, if those had been fired at a pony with anything other than confetti...
"Rainbow! Snap out of it! It's just loud noises!" Applejack shouted over the din.
"Bang! Bang!" Pinkie shouted. "Gee, this is fun! Best Winter Wrap Up ever !"
"It's so loud!" Rainbow screamed, clutching her eyes and face. "My ears hurt!"
Applejack gripped her friend by the shoulders. "So do mine!"
Communication wasn't a problem for the Pie sisters. They knew where they were firing, so they fired. Not once did they hit the same spot twice, or get in each others way. In fact, they didn't aim so much as know where the salt was going to land, without any estimation or guesswork required. Limestone’s furious growling and yelling was scary. Maud's expressionless professionalism was worse.
After what seemed like forever, the smoke cleared. Pinkie blew the barrel of her cannon, still sporting a broad, innocent smile.
Applejack looked over at the orchard. Nearly all the snow was gone. History. A thing of the past.
She chuckled. She broke into laughter.
She had done it.
"Everypony! We cleared the snow !"
Pinkie did a twirl, wrapping her hooves around Twilight's waist and spinning her around. "Celebration time!" she screamed.
'Celebration time' didn't last long. Any remaining salt had to be washed away to avoid upsetting the trees. Of course, the weatherponies were in charge of getting them the necessary rain-clouds for the job. The Earth ponies, in the meantime, were sat around the edge of the orchard, observing their handiwork.
"The soil is all wet," Braeburn commented, poking his hoof into the mud. "It might be hard to churn it up around the trees if it doesn't dry out some."
Applejack nodded. "It'll have had all night. Not to mention, hard ain't impossible." She gave Braeburn a determined look. "If it gives us trouble, we'll work harder." Rain formed little miniature rivers in the soil, washing the salt away but unfortunately soaking the ground even further. Applejack turned to Twilight. "You sure the salt won't hurt the trees?"
"It was only a thin scattering. Enough to melt the snow, but not enough to do them harm," Twilight replied. "The rainclouds are just for safety."
Applejack nodded. I'm close. I bet nopony's ever come this far before . She looked up at the sky, and at the rainbow trail darting from raincloud to raincloud. I've got some great help .
Twilight gestured towards the sky. "She's working almost as hard as you are," she commented. Applejack chuckled.
"It wouldn't have made a difference without you. Your lil' scheme really got us out of a tough spot, y'know?"
Twilight nodded, stifling a yawn. "Thanks. It was... a fun challenge." She turned to leave. "Now, excuse me, but I've been awake all night, and all day. I really need some sleep."
"Sure thing," Applejack replied. "You did real good today. I promise we can handle tomorrow on our own."
"I'm sure you will. I am going to go to sleep for twenty-four hours straight."
Applejack leaned against a nearby tree, her hooves sinking into the mud beneath her feet. She suppressed a frown. It looked like the speed they were changing the seasons at was having some unexpected side-effects. Hopefully there wouldn't be too many. Granny's warning rung in her ears.
She looked back up at the sky, and snorted. For all Rainbow's wonderful qualities, she had some strange quirks.
"Scared of loud noises," she muttered to herself with a smile. "Who'd have thought?"
As the last of the rainclouds emptied itself of water, Rainbow allowed herself a moment to relax, and take in the orchard. She could still hear the tell-tale whoops and chatter of the Appleoosan ponies hard at work preparing for tomorrow. Rainbow sat down on her raincloud, letting out a long, agonizing sigh of fatigue.
Must be nice, being able to rely on family like that , she thought. It's amazing how Applejack can conjure up a small army of ponies just by snapping her hooves. She got as many ponies as Rarity did, without using extra-long eyelashes.
Rainbow pulled her wing around for examination. The feathers were a bit ruffled around the edges, she noticed. Nothing a half-hour's preening wouldn't fix.
"Hey!" Applejack shouted from below. "RD! You got a minute?"
Rainbow leaned over the edge of her cloud.
"Sure. What's wrong?"
Applejack laughed, her voice carrying across the chilly evening air. "Nothin's wrong! Just thought ya'll would like to indulge in a lil' tradition. Get on down 'ere." Rainbow grunted away the aching, and glided down to earth. Applejack moved her weight awkwardly, shifting her hips as she bit the inside of her cheek. "You look a bit worse for wear," she said, referring to the increasingly dark circles around Rainbow's eyes.
"Likewise," Rainbow replied. "Now, what's this about a tradition?"
Applejack beckoned Rainbow to follow her. "Come with me. There's a nice snowy patch left just outside the orchard."
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Snow? What do you need snow for? Didn't we spend all day trying to get rid of it?"
The pair went just beyond the orchard, outside of the Pie's firing zone. There were still a few patches of snow, as well as large mounds where the ponies had dumped it. Waiting for them was a small table, two small logs, and two steaming mugs of cider.
Applejack sat down. "Figured you could use somethin' to calm your nerves after Pinkie's family passed through," she said. "And every winter, I like to enjoy some warm, spicy cider out in the snow." She slid a mug towards Rainbow Dash. "And winter is just about over, even if it did only last a day."
"Yeah," Rainbow said, sitting down on the log opposite Applejack. "I'll take any excuse to drink some cider." She gave the mug a sniff, her nostrils flaring as her lips curled downwards. "This smells weird. Not like the cider you usually make."
"It's winter cider," Applejack said. "It's... try it."
Rainbow licked the surface of the drink, tempting the hot cider with her tongue. Like a snake, she licked her lips with a smacking sound. Applejack's eye was drawn to a single drop of cider languishing on her lower lip.
Immediately she snapped her gaze back to Rainbow's eyes, surprised at herself for noticing such an insignificant detail.
Rainbow's pupils dilated to the size of coconuts.
"Holy Cloudsdale! What did you do to this?"
Applejack shook herself out of her stupor. "Ain't tellin'. Family secret."
Rainbow took a gigantic swig of her drink, causing Applejack to wave her hooves around wildly. "Hey! You're supposed to savour it!"
"But it's too good! No time to savour!" she exclaimed between gulps.
Applejack shook her head, taking a sip of her own drink. "Your choice, I guess." She looked out at the orchard, her gaze languishing on the recently cleared branches and twigs. Only a few hours ago, it had been in the middle of winter. Now... it was somewhere in between. "Gee whiz, it's been a heck of a day."
Applejack felt a hoof gently knock her foreleg. Rainbow put her drink down for a second, and when Applejack turned to face her, their eyes locked.
"I never thought farming could be this exciting," Rainbow admitted. "It's like..." She pointed out at the orchard, a faraway look in her eyes. "I want to join the Wonderbolts, right?" Applejack nodded. Rainbow licked her lips, searching for the words she wanted. "Well, it's kind of more than that... What I really want is to be better. No, that's not right. I want to be the best ." She closed her eyes. "I want to fly faster, turn sharper, feel the wind under my wings better than any other pegasus alive. 'Cause that's how things work: if you don't try to be the best, you'll just end up being the worst . Even if I never get there... I'll have tried . And to try, I've got to want it ."
Applejack nodded. "I think I get what ya'll mean."
"Yeah. And this... this is exactly that." She grinned. "It's like how I imagined being a Wonderbolt. We're pushing back against boundaries nopony set us. We're being the best." She took another long sip of her cider, and wiped her mouth. "Even if it somehow doesn't work... even if everything goes wrong... We'll have kicked butt."
Silence fell on their little late-night discussion. Something about the cider, the moon overhead, and the fatigue... especially the fatigue... made time stand still. Like Rainbow Dash was all there was for just a second.
For the strangest of reasons, Rainbow's quick speech even made sense. Yet another sign of tiredness, she assumed.
Rainbow snorted, and peered into her mug, breaking the silence.
"Gee, what'd you put in this? I'm blabbering on like there's no tomorrow."
"I told ya'," Applejack replied. "Family secret."
Rainbow grunted. "Well, if I'm gonna' spill my guts all over the snow... what's doing the impossible feel like to you?"
"Like an obligation," Applejack retorted, almost out of sheer instinct. She hesitated, running her hoof through her mane. "Well, no. Not obligation ." She sighed. "I have family in Fillydelphia, see?"
Rainbow's eyes widened. "For real?"
"For real," Applejack said. "And I figure... if our positions were reversed... I'd want 'em to do the same for me." She shrugged. "That's how we Apples work. Family sticks together."
Rainbow's eyes were cast downwards. "There you guys go again with your 'family' shtick," she said. "Some of us... Uh..." Rainbow's eyes flickered left to right, before she interrupted herself by taking a swig of cider once again. "Nevermind."
Applejack smiled. "I heard 'bout Fillydelphia, and I knew... I just knew ... that I had to do somethin', else I'd never hear the end of it from my folks. And I figured, why stop at just my family? Why not all of Filly? But, well... I couldn't do it alone." She smiled at Rainbow. "I'm real glad you're with us, and not loungin' around your office waitin' for the next raincloud shipment."
"I couldn't pass a challenge like this up, now, could I?" Rainbow said. On a more serious tone, she continued. "I promise we'll get it done. And I'm good on my word."
She spat on her hoof, and extended it towards Applejack. The farmpony followed suit, and in the darkness of night, their hooves met.
"Ain't no goin' back now," Applejack warned. "Deal's been made."
"Yup," Rainbow said. "And I won't forget it."
Dawn came quickly. Sleep felt more like a flu-jab than anything particularly restful.
Rainbow's alarm rang, drawing her from her rest, pulling her back down to the earth of conciousness. Rainbow blinked, wiping away tears of fatigue as she shifted her weight in her bed.
"...mmph," she groaned. "...cider..."
The alarm kept ringing regardless. Rainbow rolled out of bed, each muscle feeling like it was on fire. The aches and pains from the day before had arrived in full force, and every step made her wince.
It'll be worse tomorrow, I reckon .
Rainbow stepped into her shower, the water running down her mane, each droplet finding their way into her eyes. Dirt and sweat was washed from her tired little body. Rainbow quickly ran herself down with soap, saving as much time as she could. On a different day, she might take her time. Not today.
Today, she had an appointment to keep.
The sun was already rising above the horizon when Rainbow arrived on the scene. Applejack was surveying her small army of workers with a critical eye from on top the hill (which the ponies had affectionately dubbed Salt Hill after yesterday's display). Rainbow yawned as she closed the gap between them.
"Morning, AJ," she said. Applejack didn't look away from her orchard.
"You're late," she replied. "The weatherponies are waiting for your instructions."
Rainbow held her hooves up, warding against Applejack's accusatory voice. "Okay! Okay. Sorry. Not all of us are used to getting up at crazy early times," she said. Looking at the farmers below, she frowned. "How are they doing?"
Applejack frowned. "The earth is real wet. It's real hard to dig up, and some of the heavier ponies swear they're sinkin'." She ran her hoof through her mane. "It's slippery, uncomfortable, and the ground is sort of just... stickin' together. Some of the orchard is more marsh than farmland, and we need to wait until afternoon 'til it becomes workable. If it becomes workable."
The ponies did, in fact, look like they were struggling. Big Macintosh and Braeburn were fine, but many of the smaller ponies... Caramel, and one or two of the thinner stallions... were already looking worse for wear.
"Will you be able to get it done?" Rainbow asked.
"Not at this rate," Applejack said. "The earth needs to be churned up so's we can fertilize it properly. If we don't, the trees won't get enough food for growin' fast enough." She sighed. "My trees are good, but they can't just go through one harvest and then immediately pop out another without some help."
Rainbow nodded. "I'll get the pegasi to dump some heat into the orchard," she said. "That'll help it dry out..."
Applejack rubbed her eyes. For the first time, Rainbow noticed she looked as tired as she was. "It won't help too much. It'll just get real humid. We need the ground to dry out."
"It's better than nothing, though, right?" Rainbow countered. Applejack nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah, o'course." She looked over at Rainbow. "Get to it!"
Rainbow gave a professional looking salute. "You got it, AJ!"
With that, she disappeared, leaving naught but a dust-cloud in her wake.
Filthy hunkered down into his chair, the cacophony from the orchard rattling his windows. Every time a pegasus bust a cloud, or dragged a powerful gust of wind out of the microclimate to redistribute the heat, there was always some kind of noise. It wasn't even pleasant noise, like a calm breeze or the gentle patter of rain. This was frantic , angry, unrelenting noise.
At least it would be over and done within a week. Or earlier, depending on their level of success. Filthy looked down at his charts. Too bad it was such a risky move, else he might have tried getting a fix on Fillydelphia's market himself. He still might, if Wheatland didn't recover fast enough. Profit was in the air, and if he could get some food to their markets before the less savoury businessponies did, he might be able to snatch a win-win scenario from this disaster...
He heard a knock at the door. He raised his eyes from his papers. "Yes?"
The tiara came first, then the pony. Diamond had, as she usually did, a confident look in her eye. A look her mother had done wonders cultivating. Filthy grumbled at the uncomfortable reminder of his family life. Eventually the pair would have to be able to stand in the same room. Eventually.
"Hello, daddy," Diamond said, jumping up onto a chair opposite him. She slapped that morning's school newspaper on the desk. "I have a business proposal for you."
"C'mon! Pick up the pace! There's a warm wind coming from the Everfree! Thunderlane, grab a pal and send it here," Rainbow ordered, each beat of her wings adjusting the wind and pressure inside the orchard. The rest of the ponies were already panting.
"There's nopony left!" Thunderlane shouted. "They're all either on pressure control, or exhausted."
Rainbow looked at the crowd of ponies, checking each and every one for signs of energy. None looked up to the task.
She grit her teeth. "Fine! I'll do it myself!" she screamed. "I can do it all on my own!"
With that, she shot off towards the horizon. Thunderlane threw his hoof towards her.
"You can't! It takes two ponies to pull in that much wind!"
Rainbow was already out of earshot. The Everfree forest pulled up into view within seconds.
It was odd, Rainbow thought. They'd be stealing the weather from one microclimate to give it to another. The Everfree was not known for giving up its resources willingly, though. Rainbow would have to be careful.
"I've got kin in Fillydelphia."
A quick shake of the head was all it took to dispel the wayward voices in her head. I'm so tired , Rainbow thought. When this is over, I'm going to sleep for a week. She angled her wings towards the wind, slicing through the air like a hot knife through butter. Maybe I'll hibernate, just like Tank. Heck, we could do it together.
Several of her primaries fluttered at once, and she immediately lost a few feet of altitude. Quiet , she thought. I have to focus. Wind is like a river. Just without the banks, bed, or water, I guess. It's got flow. I just need to angle myself... Figure out the direction and speed...
That was it. Rainbow nodded to herself, her exploration of the wind currents complete. Feeling the wind was like feeling the slope of a hill: it was under your feet, tangible and solid to touch. However, that was where the similarities ended.
Any other pegasus would need to be in a team of two , she thought. But I know better.
Pegasi could fly alongside one another, their wings dragging the wind along with them like water in the wake of a boat, shepherding the currents. The stream of wind was too chaotic for a single pony... that is, if they didn't know the trick .
If you were fast and skilled enough, you could make your very own wind tunnel. If you were fast enough.
If .
Rainbow began to gain speed, and with avian grace, turned on her side, banking to her right, and swerving upwards... then down again. Her barrel roll was perfect, keeping to the principles of aerodynamics like a fish kept to water. The wind was dragged along with her, pulled into the vacuum she made with her wings and body.
Her continuing loops were beginning to strain her body. The blood flowed from her head, and soon, spots of colour began to flash across her vision, warning lights urging her to slow down. Repeating the trick took quite the toll on her.
Just a little farther, that was all she needed.
Applejack's counting on me.
"This earth isn't budging until we drain the water!" Braeburn shouted. "We could dig a trench, maybe dump it out’a the Acres?"
Applejack rubbed the bridge of her muzzle with her hoof, pinning her eyes closed. Not enough time , she thought. We need this place to dry out as soon as possible, otherwise we'll be stranded up horse creek without a saddle.
She felt the warm air wash over her, breath from the skies brushing through her mane. Braeburn looked up.
"That'll be the weatherponies, eh?"
Still not enough. It needs to be drier. Dry, not just warm.
"AJ!" came Rainbow's voice, a stammer making her sound like she was on the verge of collapsing. Applejack looked to find her friend, who had just landed next to a tree. She was shaking her head and swaying back and forth. "I... I think I need a minute."
Applejack rushed over, dropping her shovel. "What'd you do?"
"...Got wind," she said. "From the forest. On my own." She looked straight into Applejack's eyes. "Do you have any idea how hard that is?"
"Nope," Applejack replied, examining Rainbow's somewhat wobbly figure.
"I think I might hurl," Rainbow admitted, clutching her stomach.
"Sis'!"
Applejack spun on her heels, yet another unwanted distraction tearing her away from important matters. "What is it, Applebloom?" she shouted, spotting the little yellow speck from between the trees.
"AJ! It's Filthy Rich. He says he wants to see you!"
Applejack narrowed her eyes. It wouldn't do to insult a business partner, but now wasn't the time.
"Tell him I'm busy."
Applebloom shook her head. "He's brought twenty workers!"
Applejack had taken her hat off when she reached the well-dressed businesspony by the orchard's gates. They were all marvelling at the sudden shift in temperature and weather. Outside the Acres, Ponyville was enjoying a partially cloudy midday. Inside, the skies above were completely cloudless, save for a rather unpleasant fog brought about by the wetness in the ground.
"Mister Rich," she stammered. "What's the meanin' of this?"
The stallion adjusted his tie. "Well, miss Applejack, It seems I've come here with something of a business proposition."
Applejack couldn't help but feel suspicion rise within her. "Explain."
"Well, it's quite simple," Filthy said. "I would like to contribute to your little 'Fillydelphia venture'." He gestured towards twenty large, tough, and better yet, fresh-faced stallions. "My company has a fair few workponies, and I'd be happy to lend them to you for the duration of your week."
"And the catch is?" Applejack asked.
"I get to say that I had a hoof in the rescue efforts for Fillydelphia," he said with a smile. "You know ponies are slapping stickers on their fruit and vegetables? They say they 'support small businesses' or that some of the money went to a charity? This is exactly like that, although so much better ." He extended his hoof towards the horizon. "I'm not prone to being dramatic, miss Jack, but this is an opportunity not to be missed. The publicity, the positive press... why, it'll do me no end of good."
"Really?"
"Did you know that it's not just the school newspaper talking about your farm, now?" Filthy asked. "Word is spreading, and whether you succeed or fail, you will be famous. I firmly intend to be a part of it."
Applejack tapped her chin. "It seems like a mighty fine idea. I could use the help," she said. Filthy shook his head.
"Oh, I'm afraid I can't take credit for the idea," he said. "It was actually my daughter who thought the mutually beneficial arrangement might suit us." He smiled. "She's evolving into a keen businesspony."
With a sense of ethics, no less , Applejack thought. "She sure sounds like she did good this time," she said. "Give 'er my thanks."
"I will," Filthy said, and turned to his workers. "Well, that's that! For the time being, Applejack is your temporary employer! You'll return and work for me at the warehouses by... what'll it be?" Filthy eyed Applejack.
"I'll have run out of time in four days time anyhow," she said. "So you might as well get 'em back after then anyways."
Filthy nodded. "Very well. Four days! In four days, I want to see you back at your usual posts."
One of the larger stallions nodded. "Got it, boss."
"Excellent." Filthy adjusted his tie for the final time. "In that case, I'll take my leave. Pleasure doing business with you."
Even with the additional workers, work was still progressing at a lethargic pace. The water turned the earth into thick, muddy bogs, and more than a few ponies ended up losing a horseshoe or two in the thick brown mess.
Rainbow rubbed her chin, observing the depressing scene. "Do you think Pinkie happens to store a big flame-thrower or something, like with her cannon?"
Applejack swallowed. "Even if she did, do ya'll really want to see what it'll do to the trees?"
A brief moment of hesitation passed. "No."
"Then we've got to press on," Applejack said. "Filthy's workers might get us through half. If we're careful, we can do the rest tomorrow when it's drier, and fertilize the other half."
"Will that work?"
Applejack swallowed. "No. I'm just... tryin' to be positive."
Applejack then left Rainbow alone, the negative statement lingering between them. Rainbow looked up at the sky.
A giant flamethrower , she thought. Her eyes fell upon the sun, hovering overhead. I know where I can get one of those.
Rainbow nearly bashed Twilight's window in as her hooves clattered on the crystalline surface of the castle. "Twilight! I need to borrow Spike!"
There was no answer. Rainbow grit her teeth, and zoomed around to the other side of the castle. C'mon, c'mon... please be awake, please be awake...
The young princess was probably still asleep after yesterday. She wasn't used to staying awake that long, after all, and it wasn't much of a bet that Spike would be up and about either. Rainbow pounded the glass even harder than before.
"Wake up!" she screamed. "AJ needs you!"
The crystal castle was far too tough, too indomitable to force through. Rainbow had crashed through trees and crashed through rocks, but she wasn't about to smash herself against the windows of a magical castle like a bug on a fly-swat.
Nothing but silence followed. Rainbow groaned loudly, and clutched her head. Dammit !
She eyed the faint outline of Canterlot Castle, hovering on the horizon like a unicorn horn jutting from the outcrop of the mountain. Rainbow grit her teeth.
Here we go , she thought to herself, and with a powerful beat of her wings, soared off towards the faraway castle. There goes my afternoon...
Applejack groaned as the head of her shovel broke off into the mud. "This isn't gonna' work," she grunted.
Braeburn put his hoof on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, cuz'. This might be it."
Applejack kicked her broken tool away. "But we've come so far. I don't want this to be it."
She hit her foreleg against one of her trees, the heat of the sun belting across her back. We did such a good job, too ...
She felt Braeburn tap her shoulder.
"Uh... cuz'?"
Applejack turned, and followed her cousin's gaze. Up. Straight up.
Straight up at the sun.
With a heavy thump , Rainbow landed on a patch of dry-ish ground next to Applejack.
"Hey... AJ..." she panted. "I brought... reinforcements."
High above the farm, Princess Celestia's horn flashed.
Golden light flickered across the ground, kicking up a cloud of steam from every patch of mud, every piece of marsh. Applejack felt the sweat evaporate from her coat, and she blinked as the intensity of the light increased.
Rainbow struggled to her feet.
"You got Princess Celestia?" Applejack asked, her jaw dropped.
"Yeah," Rainbow replied, blinking away tears of fatigue. "I had to fly all the way there. Twilight was asleep." She slumped against Applejack's side. "Now you can... still help your family, though."
"Applejack! The ground's getting dry!"
Applejack raised her hoof in the air. "Then get back to diggin'!" she ordered. "We've got a second chance! We get this done by today, or not at all!"
This is where Filthy's workers make the difference, Applejack thought.
A shadow fell over her. Princess Celestia gave her a small smile.
"Your friend flew all the way in just under an hour. That was some impressive long-distance flying."
Applejack glanced at Rainbow, half-asleep. "She's a real good friend," she said, propping Rainbow against a tree temporarily.
Celestia looked at the rows of trees, concern and doubt falling across her expression. "Are you certain they'll be able to grow a whole new harvest?" she asked. "I've been in talks with Griffonstone to have them send us more food to relieve Fillydelphia. And believe it or not, once word spread of your actions, I've been meeting resistance amongst my ponies." She looked at Applejack. "They aren't keen to spend so much money when a national hero is trying to save their city at a fraction of the cost."
Applejack widened her eyes. "Y'mean..."
"Whatever your chances of success are, you have made it very difficult for me to help Fillydelphia on my own terms," Celestia said. "So tell me. What are your chances?"
Applejack swallowed.
"The trees here... they're special. I've lived with 'em my whole life, and trust me, your highness... they're as magical as you or I." She held her hoof out, and brushed one of the larger, thicker trees. It's trunk was coarse, but tough and healthy. "There's as much magic in them as a pegasi walkin' on clouds. There's as much power in them as there is in unicorns, who can change the world with a flick of the horn," she went on. "And I know how to tap into it."
Falling from the topmost branches was a little appleblossom flower. It fluttered in the wind, and landed upon Applejack's hoof. She smiled.
"So, you see, your highness... I ain't worried about the crops. 'Cause right now, I don't have to worry 'bout ponies bein' able to dig up ground, or clear an entire orchard's worth of snow. It's all on my trees now, and I trust 'em with my life."
All around them, the apple trees sprouted dozens, hundreds, thousands of flowers. The ponies working the fields gave whoops and hollers of excitement.
Celestia smiled.
"Then I shan't worry either," she said. "Do feel free to send a letter next time you want my help."
Applejack nodded. "I shall."
She looked down at Rainbow's sleeping body, and gave her a little shake. "Do ya'll see it?" she asked, her voice little more than a whisper. "You made Spring come early."
Author's Note
Chapter two, everybody. This is probably one of the longest chapters I've written, outside of my first story ever (which was 16K words all in one chapter, because I didn't really know any better). Do you like how the tale is proceeding so far? Close to 15K words and only three days have passed.
As an aside, I've gone ahead and added the 'Adventure' tag onto this story, particularly for the later chapters. I wasn't intending on using it when I first wrote the story, but now that I've finished it, I think it probably deserves it. The next chapter will be up tomorrow, same time as this one.
Feel free to comment and upvote, and have a good one.
Spring to Summer: Days 4 and 5
Feeling. It returned to Rainbow Dash's nerves slowly and ponderously. It wasn't unlike a hangover gradually dawning on her after far too many mugs of beer. She stirred, twitching her hind legs first, stretching them out, testing them. To her surprise, they didn't hurt as much as she had expected.
In fact, after aching like all of Tartarus had partied along her muscles the day before, they felt remarkably comfortable. Her stomach, though...
She brushed her hoof against her abdomen. She felt the knotted muscles and got a sense for how much she had messed her own body up by flying several leagues in the span of an hour. And that was after two days of gruelling work. Her body was begging her to remain still. Screaming at her to let her rest for a few more hours. Or days .
Rainbow had never been a good listener.
As she blinked the sleep away, she became aware of where she was. It wasn't her home, that was for sure. Nothing was made of clouds, for starters. Instead, wood seemed to be the primary material of construction. Designs in the shape of hearts adorned almost every surface, and the floor was varnished, giving off a dazzling sheen.
The blanket that smothered Rainbow was a comfortable, homely yellow with pretty green designs around the edges. The bed itself was thick and heavy, and once again, made of wood. Rainbow couldn't tell which. Pine, perhaps?
It was the cupboards and chests of drawers that provided the most clues regarding her surroundings. Each of them sported a veritable forest of pictures and mementos. Among them, Rainbow spotted Applebloom (who was present the most in the photos), Granny Smith, and Big Macintosh. But they weren't alone. Dozens of ponies, each a shade of grass green or earthen brown, made appearances across the army of two-dimensional ponies.
There was no logical answer other than her being in Applejack's house. Who else would have that many pictures of the Apple family? Perhaps this was Applejack's room, even.
Rainbow slid between the sheets, escaping the warm and comfortable bed. Her hooves knocked against the wooden floorboards with a racket, heralding her arrival. Rainbow heard movement somewhere else in the house. Whoever was around was now aware she was awake.
Rainbow made her way through the corridors and down the stairs. She couldn't remember the last time she had visited Applejack's house, but she hadn't ventured far from the kitchen. She kept second-guessing her decisions. She always wondered if perhaps she had gotten lost in the massive farmhouse.
Early morning sunlight poured through the windows and thick, colourful curtains. The house seemed larger from inside, Rainbow noticed. And it didn't look all that tiny from outside, either.
There must be a reason why she was in Applejack's house. Rainbow wished she knew what it was.
She could just about hear the sounds of ponies working outside. So at the very least, their plan was still ongoing. That was a start. Maybe Applejack was out there?
"Oh! You're up."
Rainbow flinched and flared her wings, coming face to face with Applebloom. She forced herself to relax, but something about waking up in another pony's house made her feel uncomfortable.
"Morning, Applebloom," Rainbow greeted. "So, uh..."
"We got breakfast on the table for ya'!" Applebloom exclaimed. "Applejack insisted ya'll get a good meal before headin' out. She's got a whole list of things she wanted ya' to take care of."
Applebloom disappeared around one of the many corners before Rainbow even got a chance to blink. "Wait!" Rainbow shouted. "What am I... doing here?"
Memory flooded back to her. I passed out, didn't I?
She ran her hoof through her mane. What kind of reason could Applejack have had to keep her here, of all places? Perhaps her house was too far away. Perhaps she didn't have the horsepower available to carry her back.
There was also the matter of her living on a cloud. But they could have found a pegasus, right?
Rainbow trotted into the kitchen, glad to finally be someplace halfway familiar. Applebloom was digging through a whole pile of pancakes with gusto. Big Mac, Applejack, and Granny Smith were nowhere to be seen.
Rainbow sat down opposite the young filly. "So, where's AJ?"
Applebloom swallowed a hoofful of pancake. "After you fell unconscious... That'd have been the whole 'flyin' to Canterlot' thing, I reckon... Anyways, she got a letter from Filly." Applebloom shovelled more food into her mouth. Rainbow was reminded of many lunches spent with Applejack. The older farmpony also had the unruly habit of shovelling as much food as she could into her mouth. "Something went wrong with the warehouses she was trying to get for the harvest, so she's gone to talk to some ponies."
Rainbow's ears pricked up. "She's gone to Fillydelphia?!"
"Yup," Applebloom replied. "Spent all her spare change on a super fast carriage, too..." she muttered under her breath.
"But... who'd she leave in charge?" Rainbow asked.
"Braeburn," Applebloom said. "Applejack said he had most experience dealing with big farms."
She didn't pick me , Rainbow thought inwardly, before remembering, Wait a sec. I don't know anything about farming. Why would I even want to be left in charge?
Rainbow decided it didn't matter. She was supposed to be Applejack's second in command, not some pony Rainbow didn't even know all that well.
"But what if something goes wrong?" she countered. "Won't she need to be here to take care of it?"
"Somethin' has gone wrong, and she's left to take care of it."
"But..." Rainbow began, desperately searching for another argument. "But I don't want to work for Braeburn . I want to work for AJ."
Applebloom nodded. "Applejack said you'd say that. She left a note over by the counter." She gestured over to a small scrap of paper. Rainbow narrowed her eyes, and trotted over to it.
Rainbow,
I'm leaving Braeburn in charge of the farmponies. He doesn't know anything about weather, though, so I'm counting on you to make sure nothing goes wrong on that front. Braeburn will need an awful lot of help, and you're the only pony who knows just how big of a challenge our one-week year is.
PS: Thanks for bringing Celestia. You really saved our bacon. I hope Granny made you a nice breakfast!
Applejack
Rainbow bit her lip. I'm counting on you , she repeated in her head. Rainbow smiled. She liked the sound of that.
"Granny made ya'll pancakes!" Applebloom exclaimed. "Want some? AJ'll have a fit if you don't eat 'em."
The smell from the breakfast table was intoxicating. Rainbow licked her lips, but before she sat down, she planted her forehooves firmly in front of her. "'Kay, but first I gotta' do a thing."
Applebloom tilted her head as Rainbow lowered her head and chest towards the ground, arching her back inwards. "What... are you doing?"
"Stretches," Rainbow grunted. "Every morning. Gotta' stretch."
Applebloom frowned. "Applejack never stretches."
"Well, that's probably why she's only the second best athlete in Ponyville."
First the back, then legs, then wings. I'll skip some of the longer ones today: got to get to work quickly.
When she was done, Rainbow darted to the table and wolfed down pancakes like there was no tomorrow. "I have to say, it's real cool having food made for you in the morning," she commented in-between mouthfuls.
"Well, that's just what it's like, livin' in a house with family," Applebloom replied. "We all help each other out when our orchard gets turned into some fancy micro-climate."
Rainbow slowed down, Applebloom's words lingering in her mind.
Must be nice , she thought, before shaking her head and resuming her breakfast.
The carriage wheels flew over the small holes in the road. The sheer speed the vehicle was able to bring to bear ignored little things like rocks and potholes. Applejack was lying down in the back, a school newspaper lying over her head as she desperately tried to catch up on some sleep.
Princess Celestia helps One-Week Year effort
, she read in between blinking. She yawned. That Rainbow Dash sure is something.
At the very least, she had made sure Rainbow would be taken care of. The poor filly had been completely knocked out by her impromptu long-distance flight. A good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast would have her on her hooves in no time.
Applejack turned on her side. She wished she could get some sleep. The frantic rattling of the carriage made it hard to fall asleep properly.
Not to mention, the worry that nagged at the back of her mind was like a root jutting into her back. Why couldn't Honey Apple secure them a warehouse or two? What had gone wrong?
Applejack was jolted from her almost-sleep as the carriage began to slow down. She sat up, slapping her hat onto her head as she looked out the window.
Fillydelphia.
She leaned out the carriage window. She was reminded of Manehattan's cityscape, but with just enough differences to give her pause. It wasn't the same. It had the same shape, she thought, but something about the streets was different.
There were grand concrete buildings and streets bustling with ponies, stands, and carriages. The sky was cloudy overhead, kicked up by hundreds of pegasi flying at once. It didn't have the same organized pattern Ponyville's clouds did. Nor did it have the comforting rainbow streak darting from cloud to cloud...
Applejack rubbed her eyes.
I've been thinking an awful lot about Rainbow lately , she thought to herself. Makes sense. I've not worked with her this closely before.
She really was something. All of her friends were. Twilight and Pinkie had given them Winter Wrap Up, Fluttershy had gotten all the animals out in time. Rarity had started them out with an unlikely band of ponies. But Rainbow... Rainbow had given her a snowstorm. Rainbow had slaved away on the ground. She had stolen wind from the Everfree, and had delivered them a scorching sun when they were out of options. She was like a little rainbow-maned guardian angel.
"Drop me off at the stairs," Applejack instructed. "I'll meet her there."
The carriage pulled up at a set of stairs leading up to a grand, extravagant building. Applejack jumped out, putting her thoughts of Rainbow Dash aside for later.
She looked left and right. Honey Apple would have to be here somewhere...
"Cousin?"
Applejack heard the voice before she saw the pony, leaping down the steps towards her. "Honey?" she asked. The young mare trotting up to her gave her an uncertain grin.
"It's me!" she said. "Remember? From last reunion?"
Applejack nodded. "I remember," she said, wrapping her foreleg around her cousin's neck in a friendly hug. "How've you been keepin'?"
"Well! Except there's all this worry about winter coming without us having any food," she said. Applejack paused a second before remembering that here, in Fillydelphia, they were still in autumn. Winter hadn't come for them yet. She shook her head in disbelief.
"That's what I'm here about. You wrote sayin' you couldn't get us a warehouse?"
Honey nodded. "All the ones I could find are taken!" she said. "Although... I might just not be very good at... warehouse stuff," she admitted.
Applejack smiled. "Well, don't worry. That's what I'm here for."
"So, what's up in your neck of the orchard?"
Rainbow landed gracefully next to Braeburn, much to the stallion's surprise. He about-turned, adjusting his hat as he did so.
"You're finally up!" he exclaimed, beaming. "Well, things are doin' mighty fine 'round here. Me and Big Mac are throwin' more fertilizer on these trees than you'd need to turn Manehattan green!"
Rainbow looked around. The farmponies were busy with wheelbarrows and big, wide shovels, tossing dark brown muck around the trunks of the trees. None of them looked tired. Yet.
"No problems? Like, any ?"
Braeburn shook his head. "None on my end. Then again, I haven't seen the weatherponies in a while," he admitted. "P'raps they've gotten themselves into some mischief."
"Thunderlane would have known to come get me if there was any real trouble," Rainbow replied. Braeburn shrugged in response.
"That may be, but he might've not wanted to disturb your rest," he said. "You were in real bad shape yesterday. Slept like a log."
Rainbow frowned. "He better not have," she said. "Although... I do feel a lot better," she added. "Like I can feel my hooves again."
Braeburn reared in excitement, treating her to one of his happy 'yee-haws'. Rainbow wasn't certain that it was necessary, but at least he was enthusiastic.
"Nothin' like a day's rest to get ready for work again!" he said. "I can't believe Applejack got herself into this much of a pickle. You'd think she'd have learned to reign in her ambitious thinkin' over the years."
"Yeah, but I like her ambitious thinking," Rainbow countered. A thought occurred to her. "Speaking of... Applejack just, what? Sent you a letter, and along you came?"
Braeburn nodded. "Pretty much," he said. "She'd have done the same for us, after all. Family's family."
Not for everypony , Rainbow thought. "I see. Uh, thanks. Dunno' what answer I was expecting."
"Don't sweat it," Braeburn told her. "Now, I've got to get back to work. If the trees ain't fertilized soon, the apples won't have time to grow," he said, and gestured at one of the trees. "Ya'll can see 'em already. My cuz' got herself a fine orchard, that's for sure."
Rainbow looked. For sure, the trees were beginning to get covered in a legion of tiny, round, bright green apples.
Incredible , Rainbow thought.
"I'm awfully sorry," the manager declared. "These warehouses were booked months in advance by a Manehattan businesspony. For gyrocopter parts, I think."
Applejack frowned. "Well, unless ya'll can eat gyrocopter parts, I need some warehouses to store my darn apples," she said. "I don't care where they are or how nice an' pretty they look. I'll pay good money to get 'em, too. But I need 'em." She gave the manager a hard look. "Heck, you need 'em. It's in your best interests to help me out. If I got nowhere to put my apples, your city ain't gettin' much food for a while."
The stallion sighed.
"I don't know what to tell you. You could try on the other side of town, by Cattle Market. They might have some for you."
Applejack sighed, and ran her hoof across her face. "For real? We bust our flanks tryin' to get you a harvest on time, and you can't even help me give you your darn food ?"
"Perhaps," came a voice from not far away, "I can be of assistance."
Applejack looked behind her, and quickly found the source of the voice. The manager tipped his head as a sign of respect.
The stallion who had spoken was short, older. He had a greying mane and a great big handlebar moustache that made him look more like a foal's bicycle than a pony. Everything else about him was unassuming. He might as well be everypony. He had the kind of face that did things in the background, but never grabbed your attention.
"Depends," Applejack replied. "Can you get me warehouses? Or somplace to store my food?"
The stallion nodded. "As a matter of fact, I can." He held out his hoof. "Pleased to meet you. My name is Wheatland."
"How's stuff up here?" Rainbow asked Thunderlane.
The stallion stretched his wings before he answered. Dark bags had begun to form under his eyes. Darker than usual, that is.
"It's all fine in the orchard, boss-pony," he said. "But Ponyville's weather is starting to get... weird."
Rainbow frowned.
"Weird how?"
"Weird as in, there's no wind coming from the Everfree, right? But ponies on the South side are reporting strange winds that shouldn't be there," Thunderlane said. "I sent Cloudchaser to investigate, and she came back saying the pressure was off. Later, we had to cool down the area around Town Hall."
"What happened to Town Hall?"
"It was... weirdly hot," Thunderlane said. "Like I said, it's strange."
Rainbow stroked her chin, serious. "It's probably our fault. The rapid changes in weather in the orchard is making stuff act up around town," she said. "Like a butterfly effect. Except we're more like a dragon than a teeny tiny bug." Rainbow snorted. "Butterflies can't really do anything, when you get right down to it."
"What should we do?" Thunderlane asked.
"Keep an eye on it for now," Rainbow said. "We definitely can't have Ponyville put in danger because of us. But we need Summer to come as fast as it can," she said. "You said parts of Ponyville were getting hot? Move the heat from there into the orchard. We'll try and hit two birds with one stone."
Thunderlane nodded.
"You got it."
Applejack was now sat across a large crate from Wheatland, not far from the warehouse they had met. Honey Apple was there too, hanging around a few yards away. By the look on her face, she wasn't comfortable talking with bigshot businessponies.
"How'd you know I was near the warehouses?" Applejack asked.
"I was told you had filed a request to rent some of the space there," Wheatland answered. "It seemed like the logical place to go. Besides, I don't get much opportunity to make dramatic entrances." He put his hooves together. "I won't lie to you, miss Applejack. I am in dire straits."
His old eyes looked empty. How many sleepless nights had he spent since the fire took his farm away?
"I can tell. That's why I wanted to... do all this," Applejack said. "To help Fillydelphia."
Wheatland nodded. "I thought as much. In fact, even if you were only in this for profit, I wouldn't blame you. Heck, I'd still help you." He sighed. "I'm desperate, see. Food is all I'm good at providing, and I didn't." He pointed at his cutie mark, three wheat-sheaves arranged in a circle. "What I reckon that mark of mine means is that I'm supposed to be dependable. The circle of wheat means the circle of life: a circle I keep turning. Plants feed ponies, ponies feed plants, and then start all over again. The cycle keeps going, or stops ." He looked into Applejack's eyes. "I consider myself a good judge of character. You know what being dependable means, don't you?"
Applejack nodded. "Yup. I have a family to provide for," she said.
Wheatland smiled. "Funny. So do I, except for me, I consider all Equestria as my family." He handed Applejack a small pile of documents. "These are documents securing you the use of my warehouses. Turns out they're empty for now, so feel free to use them to your heart's content. At least until your rescue mission is over. I'm not about to let Fillydelphia go hungry when I could do something as simple as lend you some storage space." He leaned back. "I'll do whatever I can to help."
Applejack swallowed, taking the papers in hoof with a smile on her face.
"This'll make a big difference."
Wheatland nodded. "I hope it will. I wish I could provide more, but I'm somewhat short-handed right now. However, what capital assets I can offer are yours."
Applejack got to her hooves. "That's wonderful," she said. "I have to admit, I didn't expect I'd be gettin' help from one of my biggest competitors."
"Our job, as farmers, is to provide for the people," Wheatland said. "As businessponies , it's to turn a profit. We are both, but today, I am here as a farmer." He struggled to his hooves, his older, more fragile frame buckling under his own weight. "Could you tell me something, though?" Applejack nodded. "What makes you certain you can pull this off? I've not seen you waver once this whole time, and like I said, I'm a good judge of character."
Applejack shrugged. "Well, I wouldn't say certain , but my trees ain't never let me down, and my best pal has a mean stubborn streak to her. As long as she's got her bone-headed pride to her, she'll keep workin'... And that is somethin' she's got in no small amount."
Rainbow spent all day ferrying heat from odd parts of Ponyville into the Acres. Tomorrow, she knew, it would be summer. Summer, when the apples would be almost ready for harvest. Would Applejack be ready for them? Harvests were usually done comfortably within a week, Rainbow remembered. But then again, they had a small army with them this time.
Rainbow smiled.
They had come a long way from just a rag-tag band of weatherponies and stallions rounded up by Rarity. Now they were farmers, hired workponies, and endorsed by Princess Celestia. They were trigger-happy cannon-ponies and rock farmers. They were innovators of weather science, and hopefully, they'd be heroes .
She caught a look from Braeburn and Big Macintosh, and soared down to meet them. "What's up?" she asked.
"We've finished fertilizing! It's all done," Braeburn said. Big Macintosh wiped his brow with a satisfied look on his face.
"Yup."
Rainbow bounced on her hooves. "Then all we need to do tomorrow is... what? Wait?"
"Get things ready for the harvest," Braeburn said. "Get baskets under the trees, get sacks, barrels, ready the carts, get some ponies to drag 'em out to Fillydelphia..."
Rainbow held her hooves up, cutting him off. "Okay, okay. So maybe not just wait. But it'll be quieter, though, right?"
Big Mac's flicked his mane out of his eyes as he nodded.
"Wow," Rainbow muttered, breathing in a sigh of surprise. "So the hard part's over."
"Not for us , Braeburn corrected. "Harvest'll be a pain."
"Applejack knows what to do, though," Rainbow countered. "And she'll be back soon." I hope.
The journey back involved a lot more sleeping than the journey there. Applejack could barely keep her eyes open as she stepped back into her carriage and slumped into her seat. She sank into the semi-comfortable seat-padding, her flanks and lower spine digging into the sides. The sun had already began to set outside: she had spent all day in Fillydelphia.
She spotted some strange cloud formations over in the direction of Ponyville. She was too far away for her to get a good look at them, though. Applejack let herself rest her head on the empty seat next to her and tried to get halfway comfortable.
Applejack remembered how exhausted Rainbow had looked yesterday. Applejack felt about as tired as the young mare had looked then, even if that might be an exaggeration. Applejack yawned. Hopefully Rainbow was doing better now. Even more hopefully, Applejack would feel better soon too.
Outside the orchard, the cold autumn air began to bite at Applejack's back and shoulders. Always the shoulders, she noticed. It'd be tough sleeping like this, with her head bouncing with every turn of the wheels.
She pictured herself a nice, warm blanket, like the one she had back home. A couple of pillows. A mattress.
Oh, what Applejack would give for a mattress.
As the minutes wore on, the blanket and mattress began to almost feel real. Slowly, the uncomfortable grimace on Applejack's face turned relaxed as her mind began to shut down.
Somewhere along the line, the blanket in her mind turned into feathers, brushing up her coat. Applejack wasn't sure why.
"Miss? You've arrived."
Strange images of blue feathers and fur fell apart inside Applejack's head. As the mental image splintered, she slid off the carriage seats onto the hard, uncomfortable wooden floor of the vehicle. Magenta (or was it purple?) eyes shattered away, leaving Applejack cold, unhappy, and above all, confused.
"R-rain... Wait. Is this the orchard?"
The air was already warmer, Applejack could tell. The carriage must be near the edge of the Acres. She got to her hooves and clambered outside. Her driver held out a hoof to help her, but she ignored it.
This was definitely the orchard, but it was so different compared to when she had left, her breath was stolen away from her. There were flowers everywhere, for starters. In the trees, on the ground, and growing along the paths. Apples almost as big as her hooves were growing among green leaves, and looked a day away from being ripe to pick. Which was perfect, because that was when she'd have to pick them.
Lanterns were strewn across the fields, illuminating the whole place with soft orange light.
"Gee..." she muttered. "Looks like things have been goin' perfectly."
A wayward mental image of rainbow coloured hair flashed across her mind. She held her head, as if warding off a migraine.
"You all right, miss?"
"I'm fine," she assured her driver. "How long was I out?"
"Since you stepped in your carriage, miss. You look like you could use a nap."
Applejack snorted. "I feel like I could use a nap."
"Applejack!"
A cannonball of energy hit the farmpony, knocking her off her hooves as Rainbow collided with her. Tired and surprised, she gaped. "Wha—"
"You're back!" Rainbow exclaimed. "I was hoping you'd be back before I called it a day. The weatherponies were dumping heat into the orchard all day, and kept the weather in Ponyville from imploding," she babbled, unloading all her pent up thoughts onto Applejack at once. "I was trying to talk to Braeburn about it, but he doesn't understand weather."
Applejack got back to her hooves, swaying slightly. "To be fair, I don't understand it either."
"Well, yeah , but at least you don't have this blank look on your face whenever I talk about regulating pressure and redirecting wind-flows," Rainbow replied, rolling her eyes. "Point is, we did awesome today, and you missed it ."
"Nothing went wrong?"
"Nope. It was practically boring ."
"And Braeburn got the fertilizer down?"
"On time, too."
Applejack smiled. "Great. You did a great job." She rubbed her eyes. For a minute, she thought the feeling of feathers against her coat was real. But it couldn't have been: Rainbow had been here, at the Acres, the whole time. "I'm real tired. I'm going to hit the hay."
"Did you get the warehouse thingies?" Rainbow asked. Applejack nodded.
"Yup. I'll tell ya' all about it on my way back to the farm." She began walking. "C'mon."
Rainbow fell into her room, sinking into her bed not unlike an anvil sank in a lake.
Her eyes turned to her own room. It was very different from the one she had woken up in that morning. It wasn't made of homely wood or filled with warm, natural colours. Everything was cold, smooth, and hard.
The perfect pegasus home.
Her drawers were startlingly organized and bereft of ornaments. For a second, Rainbow pictured a forest of photographs not unlike the one Applejack had. It flourished like a field across her furniture, a pleasant reminder of the ponies in her life, her past, and her future.
She blinked, and remembered once again that it wasn't there. She let out a caged sigh. For some reason, the perfect pegasus home didn't feel so perfect any more.
From her bedroom doorway, she heard the faint sound of tortoise feet on icy cloud floor. She eyed Tank from under her messy, out-of-control mane.
"Evening, Tank," she muttered through her quilt. "Did you get the leaves I left you this morning?" Tank only smacked his wrinkled lips in response. Rainbow smiled. "Good boy."
She rolled onto her back, her feathers sliding against the covers. Tank clambered up onto the edge of the bed before being snatched up by Rainbow, quick as a flash.
Some ponies had a hard time cuddling animals that were mostly hard shell. Rainbow, on the other hand, was a very determined young pony.
"Have you been getting lonely without me?" she asked. "I'm afraid I've been gone a bit more than usual these past days, huh?" She stroked Tank's shell. "I'm afraid I'm feeling a bit lonely myself."
Tank retreated into his shell, preparing for sleep. Rainbow chewed the inside of her cheek before continuing.
"I guess being around AJ's family has been getting to me. I've kinda always been on my own, y'know?" she said. "Well, there was Fluttershy, I suppose, but do you have any idea how hard it is to talk to somepony who never talks back?" She eyed Tank, who made no reply. A moment passed. "I thought you'd say that," Rainbow replied. "I guess I just never noticed how weird I felt before today."
She sank into her pillow, and threw her quilt over her body, mindful not to cover Tank as well: he'd overheat far too easily.
"It's really nice to help AJ and her family, though. I didn't think I'd get a kick out of that," she confessed. "Don't tell anypony I said that, though. They'd think it's uncool."
Tank, being a tortoise, did not say anything.
"Attaboy."
She rolled onto her side, letting her mind wander and her overworked muscles de-tense.
"I kinda wish," she muttered to herself before she drifted asleep, "That I'd have pancakes made for me in the morning."
Something about Sweet Apple pancakes in the morning sounded really, really nice.
Day five. Applejack looked out at the orchard as light slowly drifted across it. This was the day they'd begin preparing for the harvest. That was their job today.
Applejack breathed in the morning air. No surprises today. No muddy ground, no snowstorms. Heck, she could hear the animals had returned to the orchard, back in their little homes. She had Filthy's workers, her own family from Appleoosa, and whatever rag-tag band of ponies were left from Rarity's desperate recruiting. She had Wheatland's warehouses. She had Rainbow's weatherponies.
She had Rainbow, the best ace-in-the-hole she could ask for. The best friend she could ask for.
Maybe...
Applejack trotted through the ranks of workers, barking instructions with every breath she took. Every move she made was oiled, smooth, perfect. She wasn't Applejack anymore so much as the spirit of the orchard, and she knew what needed to be done.
The sun felt warm on her coat. This was definitely a summer's sun. Tomorrow, it'd be an autumn sun. They say time flies, but Applejack was sure the expression wasn't meant quite so literally. This whole ordeal felt like so much longer than five days. More like five weeks.
Even though she had rested herself up the night before, she felt mentally exhausted enough for it to have been five weeks. Maybe it was, and they had just slowed down the days so nopony noticed. They could already change the weather. Why not day and night cycles? It made about as much sense as everything else in this crazy world.
To think: without a pegasus nuts enough to cram a year into a week, all this would have been fantasy. A momentary dream, a fancy. Maybe one day, ponies would look at other things thought impossible, look at the rules and restrictions the world imposed upon them, and proceeded to ignore them entirely. Flying in space . Journeying to the centre of the Earth. Had ponies already done that? Applejack couldn't remember. Twilight would know.
All it took was a nutty pegasus and a couple of farmers. To think.
"Hey, AJ!" Rainbow called from above. "There's more weird weather going on in Ponyville and the Everfree forest. I'm going to deal with it," she shouted. "Can you handle things here?"
Applejack looked up at the pegasus, floating in the sky. For a minute, she looked ridiculous. A pony, flying ? But then again, Rainbow Dash wasn't an ordinary pony. She was like the very personification of fantasy and ambition to Applejack. The impossible dream made flesh.
I'm feeling awfully poetic today.
"Sure thing! Go get 'em," Applejack shouted back, stammering as she tripped over her unwarranted thoughts about her friend. Rainbow disappeared in a flash of colour, leaving Applejack with little more than a view of her rainbow trail.
Applejack swallowed. First, save Fillydelphia , she thought. Then you can worry about falling for your best friend.
Author's Note
Hope you enjoyed chapter 3! The remaining chapters will both be published tomorrow, so keep an eye on your feed if you enjoyed this story.
As always, feel free to comment and upvote, and I hope you enjoyed the story so far! Have a good one.
Summer to Autumn: Days 6 and 7
Memories of her unwanted dream during the trip niggled at the back of Applejack's mind as she stretched her hind legs for a day's worth of applebucking. The distraction made every movement feel clumsy and stilted. It didn't help that everything had felt so real. Like the brushing of feathers on fur wasn't just a side-effect of fatigue.
Maybe it was something about Rainbow kicking her perception of 'impossible' on its rear that had her thinking. Logic wasn't a factor for Rainbow , so why'd it have to be a factor for Applejack? Why'd she have to care when more improbable things were happening all around her twenty-four-seven? Why couldn't she indulge in some frivolous dreams now and then?
Because she had work to do, and frivolous got in the way.
She adjusted her hat as she stepped in front of the crowd amassed before the farm. Many hadn't ever bucked a tree before. That didn't mean they couldn't help.
Applejack made herself a promise. If she pulled off the one-week year, she'd ask. Maybe it'd be a mistake, but she'd ask.
She leapt onto a crate, tapping her hoof on the top of the box loudly. All eyes were fixed on her.
Time to speak.
"Mornin', fellas'," she said. "Today, we're turnin' summer back to autumn. Today, we'll be doin' what we've done all this for in the first place: harvest food for Fillydelphia." A fair few of the ponies in front of her gave excited cheers. She could tell from the look in their eyes that they were looking forward to the end. Applejack couldn't blame them. Her own muscles felt over-used and she desperately wanted to spend more than a half-hour on a meal. "This is our last push! Just one more ounce of effort, and we're through. And y'know what? We'll be heroes ."
She jumped off the crate with a broad, earnest smile on her face. From the front of the crowd, she found Rainbow's distinctive, unmistakable eyes.
Applejack bit down hard on her lower lip, and focus returned to her. She couldn't afford any distractions: not in front of so many ponies.
"We didn't blast some ancient monster with magic beams, and we didn't stand 'against some army from Tartarus 'neither. We farmed , and we did it well. All we've done is what we've always done, and we've done it better than anypony could have asked us to. We've been better farmers. We've been better weatherponies, organizers." She grinned. "Just one more season. Then drinks are on me! I couldn't have done it without you."
Especially you , she thought, eyeing Rainbow from the side.
"So let's get goin'!" she shouted. "It's smooth sailin' from here on out!"
Words, it was said, had more power over the world than ponies gave them credit for. It went beyond mere schoolyard taunts. If ponies knew the full extent of what a well placed word could do, the popular playground rhyme would go more like 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will create a great big black hole and swallow me whole, so I'll take the sticks please, and while you're at it here's my lunch money'.
It didn't have as good a tempo, but what it lacked in style it made up for in accuracy.
It's smooth sailin' from here on out!
The universe reared its ugly head, accepting Applejack's challenge. Winds kicked up by the pegasi's tireless efforts twisted and turned in just the wrong way. Heat that wasn't used to such violent disturbances pulled and tugged at the air, shifting clouds and causing electricity to bounce from one tree to another, gathering in intensity.
The Everfree stirred, preparing to spit out the worst of its weather.
It inhaled, like an opera singer readying to belt out a song of epic proportions.
The storm would come. Ponies who challenged the universe in such a blatant manner always got their comeuppance.
"The southern sector is almost clear!" Braeburn shouted as Big Mac loaded the apples into the carts. "We're makin' good time!"
Applejack delivered a hefty kick to one of the trees. Every single perfectly formed apple fell into the baskets arranged below. Rainbow had been kicking up a real storm up above the orchard, but down on the earth, among her trees... Applejack couldn't be beat. She let herself succumb to the raw energy of competition. Elsewhere, Rainbow flew around her tree at impossible speeds, the drag from her wings ripping apples and leaves alike from the branches.
Below her, Scootaloo picked the fallen apples up and tossed them into baskets.
"'Nother batch ready!" Applejack shouted, and a couple of ponies trotted to pick up her baskets of apples.
"This cart is full! We'll need another!" Braeburn bellowed.
"I'm moving onto the next tree!" Rainbow said, adding to the chorus of voices. It went on like this for at least an hour, their progress putting hundreds of farmers across Equestria to shame.
It wasn't until Thunderlane arrived with a worried look on his face that they hit their first snag.
"Rainbow Dash!" Thunderlane shouted, gliding in from above. "Ponyville's in trouble!"
Rainbow dropped everything she was doing at once, and flew up to her subordinate. Scootaloo nearly fell on her rump she was so taken aback. "What?" Rainbow asked. "This about the weird weather again?"
Applejack paused mid-buck, paying attention to their exchange. Thunderlane's eyes were wide and his eyebrows were drawn back: something had him spooked.
"Yeah," he said. "It's getting worse. The meteorologists back in town think it's coming from the Everfree now, too. Some bad weather there might have mixed in with what we've been doing, and... well, it's not pretty."
"How 'not pretty' is it?" Rainbow asked.
"We don't know just yet, but Ponyville's suffering from a nasty gale. We think the worst might be yet to come."
"What do you mean, worse ?"
Thunderlane's shoulders sagged. "They don't know yet. You know how the meteorologists are. They're always ranting about something or other. I just know that if nopony fixes the wind in town, there might be some damage," he said. "Broken windows and such."
Rainbow looked over at Applejack. "Can't have that," she said. "AJ! Can you survive without me and the weatherponies for a bit? There's something about side-effects from the one-week year happening in Ponyville."
Applejack nodded. "'Course. Make sure everything's fine on your end. We can handle the harvest here."
Rainbow nodded, her jaw set. "Okay, then. Thunderlane, get the others. They should be working around the orchard somewhere. Form up into three squads, then meet me at Town Hall. I'll go scout out the town for myself."
Thunderlane saluted. "You got it, boss-pony."
Maybe this is why nopony managed to cram a year into such a small period of time , Rainbow thought. They couldn't handle the weather backlash.
The winds certainly were extraordinary, she remarked. Ponies were hunkering down every time a strong gust of wind tried to sweep them off their feet, and shutters were already being closed despite the early hour to keep things from smashing window panes. Rainbow soared up into the air, controlling her position with careful and forceful wing-beats.
She evaluated the situation from above, her trained eye catching the small differences in wind direction from the orientation of the grass and what few clouds remained in the sky. It was clear even for a casual observer that the winds were coming from the Everfree forest. Perhaps, Rainbow thought whilst stroking her chin, the Everfree had absorbed a lot of the excess weather from their endeavours, and magnified them?
Rainbow stroked her mane. Perhaps part of the reason they got this far without noticing the backlash was because of the Everfree's unstable weather. It could have drowned out the disturbances Rainbow and her team had caused. If the Everfree hadn't been there... maybe they would have had a much harder time to actually succeed as much as they had.
It was a strange thought, one that warranted additional investigation... As soon as Ponyville's own weather was brought under control, that is.
Weather was a very cut-throat industry. If your sector was filling up with wind, you passed the buck onto some other poor pony's sector. The winds would die down somewhat on the way... Entropy, and all that... but you'd still end up making it somepony else's problem. It was something Rainbow never really liked about her job, but she dealt with it nonetheless. The weather went around, getting weaker every time, and eventually things would return to normal just in time for the next big weather disturbance. If it was really all that bad, it'd just get dumped into the ocean. Fish didn't mind so much when it rained.
Given that the Everfree was acting up enough at present, she wasn't about to dump the winds back in. Whatever was going on in there, she wasn't about to make it worse. No, she'd send it towards Canterlot instead. That big mountain would break the wind up pretty quickly, and it's not like somewhere that high up would notice a little extra wind.
Thunderlane and his crew assembled below her. Rainbow rubbed her hooves together, planning her next move.
"Okay, guys! Three teams. One above the Town Hall, one above Carousel Boutique, and one near South Road. Get there and start spinning. We need to create some eddy currents to pull the winds towards Canterlot, around the town."
"How long will this take?" Cloudchaser asked.
"It'll be a day job, most likely. We won't be heading back to the orchard." Rainbow eyed the Everfree suspiciously. "If we set the winds up right, we can reorient the currents and not have to worry about this whole mess during the night. We can still get our beauty sleep, hopefully. If we can't, I'll stay up and handle it on my own." She folded her hooves. "I've had a nice nap during the week, and you guys haven't. It's only fair."
"No way! I'll stay too," Thunderlane replied. Cloudchaser nodded.
"Yeah! I'm not leaving my boss-pony on her own all night doing weather duty."
Rainbow felt like grumbling, but didn't. "Well, let's get going and hopefully I won't have to! Let's get to work."
Apples were piled on the carts, the line of wooden vehicles stretching as far as the eye could see. Apples were in barrels, apples were in crates, and sometimes, apples were just plain littered across the floor of the cart, covered with a thick linen sheet to preserve it just long enough for it to get to Fillydelphia. It was more apples than the average pony could count. It was more apples than you could eat in a lifetime.
And there was still a third of the orchard left to harvest. Applejack wiped her brow, sweat pouring off her coat. They'd still be working well into mid-afternoon tomorrow, she realized. They'd only be able to get the cargo to Fillydelphia by nightfall. Quite literally, it would have taken her a week exactly to get from Wheatland farms burning to getting her shipment to the warehouses in the nick of time.
What a trip.
The temperature had gone down since this morning. It was definitely autumn again: right back at square one. The leaves were golden-brown or orange, matching the setting sun perfectly. It was almost as if it hadn't changed from when she had begun her insane project six days ago. Like nothing had even happened.
Her body knew what had happened, though. It was groaning and creaking in protest at every turn. Her muscles were an orchestra of fatigue. If Applejack didn't know any better, she'd have thought she had aged ten years in that one week. Or at least, this is what she thought ten years should feel like.
The ponies were beginning to disperse, satisfied with their day's work. There still wasn't any sign of Rainbow.
Applejack didn't like the sound of whatever it was her and Thunderlane had been talking about earlier. She desperately wanted to help Fillydelphia, but not so much at the cost of Ponyville's welfare. It didn't seem fair, or honest.
Not to mention, something about Rainbow's absence was more uncomfortable than usual. After a week of working so closely with her, she felt less like a friend and more like... It was odd. Someplace in-between friend and family, perhaps? And then there were those thoughts. Thoughts of feathers and bright blue fur.
For now, Applejack decided she'd go with 'partner'. It was a versatile word, and as far as Applejack was concerned, it fit the bill perfectly.
After all, they were partners. Applejack had gone to Rainbow before anypony else. It was practically as much Rainbow's project as it was hers.
And now that Rainbow wasn't on the orchard any more, Applejack wanted her back.
She examined the wheels on her carts, double-checking them for any sign of weakness. Any hold-up on the road would make for an unacceptable delay, given their narrow time-frame. One day late, and their food would have run dry. And then, they were in trouble.
It was exhilarating, though. Perhaps this was what Rainbow felt every time she crossed the sound barrier. If so, it was no surprise Rainbow was addicted to flying.
Not just flying. Adventure.
"Hey there, AJ!"
Applejack's ears flickered behind her head as she pinpointed the source of Rainbow's voice: hovering overhead, just above one of the carts. Rainbow daintily balanced on the edge of a barrel. Applejack swallowed, all the awkward thoughts she'd been having all day flooding back to her in a tidal-wave of confusion.
"Um... hey," she replied. "Did'ya sort out that weather problem?" she asked, quick to make conversation.
"Not quite. I think something might be off in the Everfree. Let me tell you, it's a good thing we're stopping when we are: any longer and we might get into serious trouble."
That, at least, distracted Applejack from wanting to get as close to Rainbow as possible. "How serious?"
"Storm serious. I think we'd have needed a team of weatherponies four times as big to control the messed up winds all week. As it is, it sort of... built up, and now it's spilling over all across the region. Like if you splash in a bathtub too much, it eventually spills over?" She tilted her head. "But, y'know, I have this theory, right? Like, here, this orchard, is the only place in Equestria where we could have done this." She bounced down to stand next to Applejack, intoxicating her with her proximity. "Your orchard might well be unique . The only place where you could cram this much weather into one spot in such a short space of time."
Applejack raised her eyebrow, ignoring the prickling feeling across her spine. "That's... how'd you figure that?"
"It's the forest, right? It might act as a kind of sponge for weather. All the little side-effects that should have blown up in our face way earlier were just getting sucked up by the big black hole of weird weather that goes on there."
"That's..." Applejack began, at a loss for words.
"...Really cool ," Rainbow finished. "I didn't think something as boring as a few trees next to a field could be cool, but yours might be the only one in all of Equestria that can throw out a harvest in a week. It's the worlds first true high performance farm. That's awesome."
"You think so?"
Rainbow nodded, her mane kicking back and forth. "Yeah, totally. In fact, there's a lot of stuff that's cool about you that I didn't think of before," she went on. "Like how you and your family stick together. That's pretty sweet. And how weirdly ambitious you are for a farmer."
Applejack pounced on her opportunity. "Well, there's a lot 'bout yourself I didn't think was all that special, 'neither," she said, tripping over her compliments. "Like how you never back down from a challenge, and how ya'll think nothin' is impossible 'til you go ahead and do it... and then, it ain't impossible no more, 'cause you've gone and done it."
Rainbow scratched the back of her neck with a goofy smile plastered across her face. "I am pretty cool like that, yeah."
Applejack's hoof extended out towards Rainbow. It went first towards her shoulder, where it intended to pull the other pony into a hug. It hesitated, and instead invited Rainbow to bump hooves. "That you are... partner."
Rainbow knocked her hoof against Applejack's own.
"Tomorrow, this all ends!" she said with an excited look in her eye, a sparkle Applejack had only ever seen when she was flying.
"That it will," she said. "You're the best partner I could've asked for."
"Likewise," Rainbow replied.
Thunderlane flew around Ponyville the next morning, eyeing the ground for any signs of wind.
The grass was pretty erect, and the leaves on the trees were immobile. What few ponies were out this early seemed completely unperturbed. Thunderlane himself couldn't feel any wind, and even though he was at a different altitude and position to most of them, he still knew that was a good sign.
Rainbow's plan seemed to have worked.
The boss-pony would probably be at the orchard for the final push. Thunderlane kind of wanted to be there himself, but what with all the strangeness around the Everfree, Ponyville was where he belonged. The ponies on the orchard would be able to handle themselves without him and the weatherponies, after all.
His eyes flickered over to the horizon.
His eyes narrowed.
What was the Everfree up to now ? A cloud of dust seemed to be kicking up around the orchard. Traces of rogue winds had spread between the orchard and the empty space between Ponyville and Canterlot, where Rainbow had redirected the earlier winds.
Odd.
If Thunderlane were a more observant pony, he would have noticed that the winds on the orchard and the winds moving away from Ponyville were going in opposite directions. If he knew what to look for, he'd have noticed that Ponyville wasn't so much out of the winds path, but rather was in the eye of a storm. He'd have noticed the humidity from the Acre's recent Winter and Spring had to go somewhere.
Not just any storm.
A hurricane .
The next day, the winds had gone from buffeting Ponyville to raging across the borders of Sweet Apple Acres, blurring the line between the recent microclimate and the rest of the world. In some small regard, it helped. Many apples were torn from their trees by the wind, meaning there was less to pick.
In so many other regards, it was a real pain. The sheets used to cover the apples on the carts were being tugged at, requiring additional fastenings to keep them in place. Ponies all walked at a slower pace, their eyes half-closed to ward against the wind and flying leaves, and barrels were often toppled onto their sides.
"Ain't there anything ya'll can do 'bout this?" Applejack asked as she loaded the last of the apple harvest onto her cart. "This'll make the trip a mite more risky."
Rainbow shook her head.
"Not without sending it through Ponyville," she said, grabbing a hold of her own cart to ground herself. "Sorry! We're just going to have to be extra awesome to compensate."
Applejack groaned, and climbed onto the drivers seat.
The column of carts was gargantuan. And each held hundreds, if not thousands of apples.
She had done it. The delivery was all that remained.
"Okay, then! Let's get goin', and hope we outrun the weather," she said, glancing at the winds tugging at the trees. She bit her lip. Perhaps their efforts had been a bit too disruptive.
Rainbow was on the cart behind hers, blinking each time her unruly mane whipped against her eyes. She whipped the reins, and the carts moved forwards.
Slowly at first, wobbling with each gust of wind, but surely, they began to crawl towards the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack had a firm grip on her hat as she passed under the sign. Her heart leaped in her chest as she realized she was on the last leg of her adventure.
If only this wind didn't give her such an uneasy feeling, squirming in her gut like a venomous snake.
Thunderlane noticed too late.
"Sweet unicorn horns!" he exclaimed, clutching his head as realization struck him. "They'll be heading straight for it!"
Applejack craned her neck as she turned back towards Rainbow, eyeing her surroundings with increasing suspicion. Applejack had already taken off her hat and stored it under a heavy sack of apples to avoid losing it. Her hoof had began to ache after holding onto it for so long.
"RD?" she shouted over the din. "Is it just me, or are the winds gettin' worse ?"
Rainbow looked over at Applejack, her expression uncharacteristically sombre.
"I noticed it too," she said.
"That normal?"
"Either it's very unusual," Rainbow replied, leaning in as much as she could so Applejack could hear, "Or we might be in the middle of a very, very big storm."
Thunderlane arrived at the acres, panting. The winds here were stronger than ever.
Oh, what have we done? We turned Ponyville into the staging ground for a hurricane!
"Boss-pony?!" he screamed, his lungs buckling under the strain. "Applejack? Anypony ? You can't go out there!"
A single, small, yellow head topped with a bright red ribbon stuck itself out of the farmhouse doorway.
"They already left," Applebloom said. "What's the matter?"
Rainbow grit her teeth as panic began to overtake her. The carts were slowed to a crawl, and tremendous forks of lightning crackled across the turbulent sky. "Shoot! It is a hurricane!" she exclaimed, and in an instant, the rain hit them, big droplets of water belting across their fur and manes. Applejack's blood went ice cold. In a flash, Rainbow was next to her, grabbing her by the shoulders, her eyes wide and filled with panic. "AJ! You need to stop the carts right now ! Everypony's in danger!"
Despair flooded Applejack's nerves, water soaking her to the bone. Had the instruction come from Rarity, she'd have dismissed her for not knowing what she was talking about. If it had been Twilight, she'd have stubbornly retorted that they could still pull through.
But Rainbow was supposed to be the pony who did the impossible . She couldn't give up. She wasn't supposed to.
"I can't!" Applejack shouted back, her voice shaking. "We've got the cargo! We need to send it to Fillydelphia!"
Rainbow threw her hoof out towards the countryside, beckoning Applejack to look.
The scene was horrifying. In the minutes since the storm had begun, it had spiralled completely out of control. Small bits of debris clattered across the ground and everywhere, the only sound to be heard was the howling, roaring, screaming of the wind. The carts creaked and groaned as the wind threatened to tear them off the ground.
"This'll only get worse the further away from Ponyville we go!" Rainbow said, squeezing Applejack's shoulders between her hooves, her grip clutching at the farmpony's fur as if she might fly away at any moment. "There's no point in losing all the food we've got!"
Applejack eyed the convoy.
"But... if we're too late, they'll buy . And then..."
Rainbow hesitated. "But... I don't know what to do about a hurricane."
Applejack leaned in, her forehead knocking against Rainbow's own. The wind whistled between them, but it sounded faraway and distant.
"I don't know what to do about Fillydelphia."
Silence fell upon the two ponies. Nothing but the roar of the hurricane around them bellowed in their ears. There weren't any words left.
Somewhere in the pit of apathy, words came.
"Well... isn't this the textbook example of being stuck between a rock and a hard place," Rainbow commented.
Behind them, one of the carts began to tip. Braeburn gave a shout of terror as he was thrown to the ground, unharmed, but dazed. The apples spilled out, lost to the storm like blood from an open wound. The cart was emptied like a shell tipped on its side.
"We're in a bit of a tight spot, yeah," Applejack said. She sighed. "But I don't want to give up," she said. "I've always admired you for not givin' up and I don't want to let what we've both done go to waste."
Rainbow swallowed. She looked up at the storm ahead. Then down at the ground.
"Look... I really want you to succeed. I really do," she said. "I've not got what you have. I've not got a family that'd move the world for me, and frankly, I don't think I'd do the same for them." She shrugged, an apologetic smile dancing across her lips. "I'm all alone. And I hate that. That's why I really do want you to make it, and help everypony, all at once."
Applejack couldn't see anything but the soft, vulnerable eyes of the pegasus before her. What might have been stoic pride was gone, replaced with nothing more than infantile loneliness.
It was painful to look at. So Applejack made it go away.
Her lips brushed against Rainbow's own, the merest sliver of hesitant contact enough to take the fright and confusion away from Rainbow Dash. As far as kisses went, it was a poor example. The wind kept blowing her mane in the way and both had sore throats from shouting over the din. Their eyes were both half closed and could barely see the other.
It was still enough to take the look away from Rainbow.
"If it means anythin', I think I'd like to consider you family," Applejack said. "And I'd move the world for you if I could."
Rainbow sat in silence for a second, as shell-shocked as could be. Somewhere in her brain, she knew she couldn't fight a storm alone. She wasn't blessed with a whole lot of reason, but she had enough to understand the concept of overwhelming odds. But her heart was different. The kiss had sent her blood pumping everywhere, through her veins and into her brain. The frantic adrenaline sparked one last atom of defiance, one iota of creativity. The rush of emotion drowned out the overwhelming odds until all that was left was the slightest glimmer of an idea .
For Applejack, it might even be a worthwhile one.
"'Kay," she said, and got to her hooves once more. "I've got an idea, but you have to be fast." She pointed towards the edge of the storm. "The further away we get from the eye of the storm, the stronger the winds will be. Now, I've done this for wind currents before. I'm going to ferry you through the storm by making a wind tunnel." She looked into Applejack's eyes, plunging into her gaze. "You won't have long. It's a difficult trick, and I can't keep it up. Usually you need at least two ponies. I can do it on my own... barely."
"Will you be all right?"
"Probably."
"You better be," Applejack replied, her combative attitude returning. "I ain't leavin' this road without you."
"You might have to," Rainbow admitted. When she was confronted with Applejack's stony gaze, she back-pedalled. "I'll meet you in Filly," she assured her friend. "I promise. You can get your food to your family, and then you can meet me there." She smiled. "It's the best option. I hate to sound all 'Twilight', but it's just logic ."
Applejack pulled her friend in for one last hug. On one hoof, she didn't want, no, couldn't bear to let Rainbow go do the impossible one last time. Then again, she couldn't bear to go back, either.
In fact, given where they were, going back might no longer be an option. It was move forward, or never get to Filly, ever.
"You're awesome," she muttered in Rainbow's ear. The corners of Applejack's eyes were wet, though she couldn't tell if it was just from the rain, or whether it was from something else as well.
"Likewise, partner," Rainbow replied, and pulled away.
Applejack felt her absence. It felt like pressing a sack of ice against her chest where once there was a beloved friend. More than a friend, even. More than a partner, probably.
She ignored it. It was time to be stubborn.
"Get moving !" she screamed to the ponies behind her, her voice cutting through the wind. "We've got five minutes! Make it count !"
Rainbow took a deep breath.
"This'll be just like redirecting that warm wind from the Everfree to the orchard," she said to herself. "No big deal. It's not like this version is actually a convoy of live ponies moving at a fraction of the speed."
All she needed to do was construct a funnel, of sorts. As she flew, the wind would follow her, sucked in behind her. Imagine a herd of dogs following a fox, a fox cunning enough to string them along a predetermined path. The wind was the dogs. Rainbow was the cunning fox stringing them along. Never mind that the fox usually got eaten.
The wind hardened the faster it went. It dragged the rest along with it.
Rainbow flew faster. She dragged the wind along further. She rolled, swinging from left to right, dancing close to the ground. The wind went with her, the eddies and currents clinging to her feathers like honey. The wind merged with her rainbow trail, and all of a sudden, she had turned the gale into a small, straight tunnel of still air.
Rainbow could already feel the blood drop from her head into her hooves every time she made a sharp turn. Instinct twisted her leg, compelling her to slow down. Stubbornness wrenched her leg out of the vice-like grip.
Rainbow closed her eyes. She remembered bringing a snowstorm to Applejack's door. Why? Rainbow liked to think it was because of the challenge.
She remembered dashing to Canterlot to get Celestia for Applejack. Why? Because Applejack needed it for her family, and Rainbow wanted to be a part of that.
And now she was doing this. Why?
I think it's because I love her , she thought. Who'd have thought?
Just like that, everything became easier. It wasn't a struggle any more: getting the convoy out of the hurricane was just one more thing she needed to do for Applejack.
Braeburn hopped onto Applejack's cart, holding his hat tightly between his hooves. The carts were lurching forwards, the wind dying down around them. Every now and then, a flash of colour could be seen passing them by, shielding them from the storm outside.
"What in the hay is she doin'?" he asked.
"Pegasus stuff," Applejack replied. "It'll probably work."
Braeburn widened his eyes, his muscles tensing. "Probably ?"
"I'd give us a fifty-fifty chance. Let's just move as fast as we can."
Applejack saw another rainbow flash before her eyes, and she drove the cart even harder. The longer it takes, the longer she has to keep that up. As if to provide additional motivation, another flash of lightning, followed by an almost immediate roar of thunder, snapped across the clouds above.
Lights began to dance across Rainbow's vision, taking her sight away from her. It didn't matter. Rainbow knew where to fly by feeling and touch alone. Each feather was a precision sensor, and every strand of fur was a nerve. She could feel the wind and feel where the ground was. If she paid attention, she could feel the difference in air pressure brought about by the ponies breathing, by Applejack's frenzied shouts.
On one side was the calm, still air of the inside of her makeshift wind tunnel. On the other, a maelstrom of wind gone mad.
Rainbow grit her teeth. She couldn't hear the wind any more. Her hearing had probably been drowned out by the sound of blood pumping through her ears.
Hurry up, AJ .
The first cart passed through the outside of the hurricane, where the winds were quieter, and the road was safer. Applejack was the first to exit.
"We're gettin' out!" she shouted, leaping off her cart to help pull the others. "Braeburn! Whatever happens, get these carts to Fillydelphia! Big Mac, help the others pull!"
Fear began to take over Rainbow's body.
I'm losing feeling in my wings, she realized. She'd have to fly by memory alone, now, and her memory wasn't as sharp as the nerves at the base of her feathers.
If the carts weren't out by the time she passed out, that'd be it.
Rainbow couldn't even move her hoof to wipe tears from her eyes. When she passed out, she could fly anywhere. Into a tree. Onto a rock. Down to the bottom of a river. Under one of the carts, even.
I don't think I'll make it to Fillydelphia, she thought to herself. Sorry, AJ .
"That's the last of 'em!" Applejack roared as Big Mac dragged the last cart out of the impromptu wind-tunnel. Just like that, the winds collapsed behind them, a cloud of dust obscuring everything behind. The carts kept going, just out of reach of the deadliest winds.
Free.
"We're out!" Braeburn hollered from the front of the convoy. "To Fillydelphia!"
Applejack looked back into the hurricane, shielding her eyes from the dust. There wasn't any sign of Rainbow. No rainbow trail. No flash of blue. No clear, confident voice.
Gone .
"Big Mac!" she shouted, grabbing a hold of her brother. "Whatever you do, do not stop going to Fillydelphia," she instructed. "Find Wheatland. He'll know what to do."
Big Mac's eyes stretched wide as he realized what Applejack was about to do. "Nope!"
"Do it, or else I'll make your life a livin' hell. I swear on my life, I will," she warned, shoving her brother away. "Don't even think of disobeyin' me this time."
Big Mac didn't.
Applejack launched herself into the hurricane once more, gripping the ground as tightly as she could with her hooves.
I'm coming, Rainbow ...
Night fell.
Time dragged out, stretching to accommodate the longest evening in existence.
Fillydelphia waited.
It waited, its eyes fixed on its dwindling food supplies. It waited, watching the horizon for the harvest everypony had been talking about for the past week.
The sun dipped over the horizon. At the exact same time, the convoy appeared on the horizon as well.
The more observant ponies dropped their jaws in amazement. It hadn't just been rumours. It hadn't just been exaggeration in the press. It was real , and it was coming. Sweet Apple Acres was on its way.
Even if it was arriving without the two ponies who set it in motion.
Author's Note
And that's the One-Week Year over: seven days to run through all four seasons. Only in Equestria would that be okay.
The final chapter is already out! Be sure to check it out. As always, have a good one.
"Extra, extra! Read all about it!"
It was to this chorus that the ponies of Equestria danced every morning. Newspapers traded hooves on the street, at coffee shops, train stations, and at work. In households, the paper would be divvied up and scattered across the members of the family. But the news, ah, the news was discussed around breakfast tables, in living rooms, and at work.
One name was on everypony's lips: Sweet Apple Acres .
Everypony with a newspaper was more than familiar with the name, but things had escalated from speculation to celebration. It was no longer a matter of wondering whether they could succeed or not, but of spreading the word that they had .
Sweet Apple Acres. It meant a lot of things, now. Once, it meant providing the best apples come rain or fair weather. Now, it meant providing the best apples come heaven or hell. It didn't mean security. It didn't mean being able to go into a store and knowing that's what you'd find. It meant guardian angel . It meant moving mountains for the good of Equestria.
Newspapers crossed hooves all across the country. But in Fillydelphia, it was apples that were being traded like hot cakes, and that was better news than any story column.
But even though Sweet Apple Acres was a name everypony now knew, two names were less widespread. Oh, many would recognize them for their exploits across the world. But right now, their names were drowned out by the name of the farm that saved a city.
But those who did know the names, those who knew what they had given to make everything possible, wondered.
They wondered: where are they ? And more importantly, when would they be back ?
Rainbow turned on her side. She was in her own bed. She could tell: beneath her head was a soft pillow, and her shoulders were wrapped in a thick blanket. She had to be home. There was no other explanation.
She grunted as she felt pain flare up her sides, and her hind leg.
The hurricane .
She tried to move, residual panic from the night before taking over. Her blanket and pillow tightened around her, keeping her still.
"Hush, now. Ya'll got mighty banged up, sugarcube," her pillow said, leaning close to Rainbow's ear.
Not a pillow. Applejack. Not her bed. A quick, makeshift shelter under the upturned cart. Not a blanket: Applejack's foreleg, wrapped around Rainbow's body to keep her warm.
"What happened?" Rainbow asked, letting herself be calmed by the sweet, warm feeling of Applejack's flesh against her own. "How many carts made it out? How many did we lose?"
Applejack pulled Rainbow closer, smiling broadly. "We only lost this one. The others all made it out."
Rainbow's eyes widened, surprise taking over. "All of them ?"
"All of them," Applejack replied, happiness creeping across her eyes, softening her every feature. "You did real good."
Rainbow tried sitting up, but realized her sides hurt too much to manage it. Applejack gave her a quick lift, propping her injured body against her own. Rainbow got a good look at her leg: a thick, harsh friction burn circled her hoof. Her sides were bruised black, and her head throbbed like it had been sunk into a freezer.
"I think I passed out," she admitted. It was a lie: she knew she had passed out. Whether from flying, or from knocking her head, she wasn't sure. Both, probably.
"You did," Applejack said. "I found you in the hurricane. You'd be on the ground one minute, then torn right back up to be crushed 'gainst the ground the next." Rainbow felt Applejack's grip tighten. "I've never been quite that afraid."
"And the friction burn?" Rainbow asked, gesturing at her hoof.
"I lassoed you in. Pulled you into this here cart. Then I just waited out the storm."
Rainbow examined her injured hoof. "Thanks."
"I'm sorry it hurt. I just... didn't know how else to get you down. Your wings were actin' like kites, and I wasn't fast 'nough to..."
"Oh, I meant it," Rainbow said, flashing her a smile. "I could have been smashed to pieces if you hadn't."
Applejack returned the smile. The pair sat in silence for a moment. Beyond the safety of the cart, she could hear birds singing. Autumn leaves, torn up by the wind, danced across the ground. Wherever the storm had gone, it was no longer there. The weather had thrown its tantrum at being used and bent to the will of mere ponies, and now it had gone to its room to sulk. The morning sunlight crept from behind the clouds, flashing across the grey countryside.
Applejack took a deep breath, her chest rising.
"So... about what we talked about last night?" she began, careful to avoid tripping on her words. Rainbow nodded.
"I remember," she said. "I think I feel the same way."
Applejack's stomach jumped into her throat. "Really?"
"Yup," Rainbow replied. "I only pass out for really special ponies."
Applejack stifled a laugh. "I guess that's about right," she said. "Celebration drinks in Filly, then?"
"You bet," Rainbow replied, a faraway look on her face. "It's a date."
Both ponies let themselves relax. Rainbow still winced from her injuries, but they felt like worthwhile pain. Like aching after a work-out. They didn't matter, because you had gained something in exchange. In this case, something wonderful.
Both ponies heard a knocking sound on the side of the cart. Applejack sat up, eliciting a yelp from Rainbow.
"Hello?" she asked.
"So this is where ya'll have been hidin' out," came Braeburn's familiar voice, followed by his gleeful expression as he popped his head around the outside of the cart. "I thought you'd have found someplace safe to wait the storm out."
Barrelling past him came Big Macintosh, who snatched his sister up in a bear-hug, squeezing the life from her. Rainbow toppled to the side, wincing from the pain in her sides. "Ow!"
"Ugh... air ..." Applejack grunted.
Braeburn knelt over Rainbow Dash. "You okay there, partner?"
"I might have broken things."
Braeburn gestured behind him. "That's fine: we came prepared."
Two doctors arrived with a stretcher. Applejack finally disentangled herself from Big Macintosh's grip. "Okay! I'm fine, ya'll can let go."
"Sweet! A stretcher," Rainbow exclaimed. "Just what I wanted."
Braeburn chuckled. "You don't look all that bad," he said. "I'm sure you'll be up and at 'em in no time."
"There's a whole crowd waiting for you back in Fillydelphia, miss Applejack," one of the doctors said. "We're all very grateful for what you've done."
Applejack blushed. "It were a team effort," she said. Big Macintosh handed her back her hat, which she slapped back on her unwashed mane. "We all pulled through in the end."
The group stepped outside of the makeshift shelter, revealing an ambulance cart. Twilight was there too, relief plain as day on her face. Applejack raised her head as she breathed in the fresh morning air.
"It's autumn," she said. "And it'll be autumn tomorrow."
What a nice thing to say , she thought to herself. It'd be nice to not have to spill sweat, blood, and tears over changing the weather in a day.
"Come on," Twilight said. "Let's get you to Fillydelphia."
Apple stands stretched as far as the eye could see. There were apple pies, apple treats, candy apples, and of course, the original, natural, Sweet Apple Acres apple in all its uncooked, unchanged glory. Applejack reckoned they'd get sick of them pretty soon... but for now, each and every one was amazing.
The warehouses towered in the distance, giant temples dedicated to preserving the fruit that had arrived in the city's time of need.
Rainbow limped after Applejack, her sides and leg in bandages. Her eyes span from one side of the street to the other.
"This is awesome," she said.
The sunlight poured from behind grey clouds, bathing the streets in strands of yellow light. The majestic concrete buildings were like an orchard all of its own, with ponies instead of fruit. And those ponies were all looking at Applejack and Rainbow.
It didn't take a genius to figure out who had been in charge of the whole ordeal. Everypony knew from how the ponies in charge of the apple stands tipped their heads towards the pair. From how mister Wheatland, overseeing the market square, gave them a little bow as they passed.
"Three cheers for Applejack!" came a shout. It was repeated just enough for it to turn into a roar. The crowd all looked towards the mare who made a year into a week, and cheered.
Applejack couldn't remember being happier.
"We did it," she muttered.
"It was your idea," Rainbow said, nuzzling her friend. "I'm just the pegasus who knew it was a crazy plan and still went along with it."
Applejack pulled Rainbow in as close as she could, their chests touching. Rainbow craned her neck back to avoid knocking heads with Applejack. Their manes brushed against their noses.
"I couldn't have done it without my crazy pegasus, though," Applejack said, and leaned in for a repeat performance of the night before.
This time, there wasn't any wind to get in the way. There was just Rainbow, Applejack, and a whole lot of cheering.
The End
Author's Note
And that there is the end of the story. I hope you enjoyed the ride. This is probably the story I worked hardest on, and it was a blast to write.
If you enjoyed the story, please upvote (as that helps it get noticed by other people who will hopefully enjoy it) and of course, feel free to comment with criticism, thoughts, or just to post cute pictures of cats. I like cats.
Also, a big shoutout to the 4th (I think it's the fourth, but I always forget) AppleDash contest on the AppleDash group. There's sure to be plenty of cool stories over there, and I'd recommend you check out my competition!
Thank you very much for reading, and have a good one. Cheerio!
