Equestrian Huntsmen

The next morning team RNJR and Qrow were awoken by a very chipper Applejack as she opened the barn door and shouted for them to come down and grab some breakfast with the family before they were shown what they’d be doing for the day. The five of them rose groggily, mumbling ‘good mornings’ to each other as they rolled out of their hay filled hammocks, stretching their backs as they stood, before heading out of the barn and up to the Farmhouse, trailing along behind Applejack as she rattled off chores.

“Well, we’ve got pigs and chickens that need feedin’, crops that need waterin’, and apple trees that need buckin’-”

“Wait, bucking?” Jaune asked curiously, he’d understood the other stuff, and he’d be more than happy to help with that, as it was something he was familiar with, but apple bucking just sounded...odd. Applejack nodded in response.

“Yup! Apple bucking, it’s how we get the apples off the trees ‘round here. Just kick the tree, and down come the apples.” The mare noted that they seemed somewhat confused at this, so she just continued on. “Anyways, we’ve always got bakin’ to do around here, and Granny Smith could use some help with that, cause we’ll be headin’ into market today with fresh apples, and apple pies, that’ll be a good way to get the townsponies used to y’all, so I’ll see about takin’ one of ya down there with me when I go with the cart.” She finished her explanation just as they crossed the threshold through the backdoor of the house and into the kitchen of Sweet Apple Acres.

“Well good mornin’ to y’all!” Granny Smith said as she tottered over to the table, balancing a plate of apple covered pancakes on her back. “You’re just in time! Breakfast’s just now finished!” As she finished the sentence, she felt the plate lift off her back, and turned her head to thank whoever took it, instead seeing Nora faceplanting into the pancakes, devouring them like a timberwolf would eat a pony.

“Nora!” Came the annoyed shouts of Jaune, Ruby, and Ren, causing Nora too look up, her face covered in apple syrup and slices as she sheepishly sucked a bite of pancake into her mouth.

“Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut guuuuuuuuuyyyyyyyys, they’re PANCAKES!” Nora licked her lips, “That are just as good as Ren’s!” The rest of team RNJR just gave her an unimpressed stare, while Qrow shrugged and took a seat next to Big Mac, who was making a good impression of a zompony. He smirked at the stallion’s discomfort.

“Hangover?”

“Eeyup.”

“Don’t drink much I take it?”

“Eenope.” Qrow smirked and gave the stallion a mocking pat on the back before settling down next to him.

“Well, we’ll just have to fix that.” He took immense pleasure in Big Mac’s groan as he laid his head on the table. Applejack gave him a glare that would have rotted half her orchard.

“Oh no you don’t! Y’all got Big Mac hungover, so ya can just take over any of the chores he can’t do. The last thing we need is Big Mac gettin’ sick so close to Applebucking season!” Qrow just shrugged, unconcerned with the work and studied the food on the table as he decided on what to take. Ruby sighed and shook her head as she took the space next to Applebloom, used to her Uncle’s personality by now. The rest sat down soon after, and surprisingly conversation flowed easily over breakfast, Applebloom all but begging Ruby to tell her more stories about her team before Applejack bustled most of them out the door and led Ruby, Jaune, and Nora to the orchard while Qrow sauntered off after Big Mac.

“Y’all just follow me while Big Mac takes Qrow out to the fields. With Ren helpin’ Granny Smith, I’m gonna be takin’ y’all to the southern orchard to help harvest apples.”

The four of them finally came to a stop after following Applejack through almost identical rows of trees for almost an hour. “Alright y’all, this here is how ya buck apples!” She quickly ran up to a tree before spinning around and kicking the tree with her hind legs, causing the apples to fall off into pre arranged buckets. “I was gonna have these trees done yesterday, but then y’all showed up, so I figure ya could help me catch up.” The three humans looked at each other, and shrugged before walking over to their own apple trees, giving them a hard kick.

The tree’s branches shook, but only Nora got any apples to fall.

“I guess we gotta do it our way guys.” Jaune said, grabbing a basket before scrambling up the tree and into its branches, picking the apples as he went. Ruby nodded with agreement and did an aura infused jump, landing in the top of the tree, where she began working her way down, picking faster than Jaune.

“I can do it her way!” Nora grinned excitedly as she pulled out Magnhild, slamming the head into the tree trunk, causing all the apples to fall out as if Applejack had done it.

Applejack just shook her head, glad at least one of them could do the job the Earth Pony way, even if she did need a hammer to do it. With her explanations out of the way, she got to work, bucking tree after tree, making sure she got every apple from the tree she hit before moving on to the next one.

Even though Nora was the only one who could even try to keep up with Applejack’s speed in bucking (and even then, Nora had to be careful so she didn’t knock down the trees), the three of them proved to be more of a help than a hindrance, cutting a couple of hours out of the normal amount of time it took Applejack to buck the amount of trees she was, and allowing them to be done with the bucking by the time Applebloom was sent out with wrapped up sandwiches, and water from Granny Smith.

The five of them all leaned up against a tree trunk, sipping their water and nibbling at their sandwiches, occasionally taking a bite of an apple that Applejack had handed them.

“Well, I gotta say, I’m impressed. I wasn’t expectin’ to be done harvesting by lunch, now we just gotta haul these here apples up to the barn, and you two can go help Big Mac and Qrow” Applejack nodded at Jaune and Nora, before she took a sip of her water, tipping her hat down over eyes as she took a moment to relax. Ruby cocked her head to the side in curiosity.

“What about me then? Am I going to the market with you?” Applejack gave her a nod, and Ruby shrugged, trying to seem somewhat nonchalant, even if she was excited about it. She couldn’t help but find the ponies adorable, and besides, she was a better choice for helping sell apples, seeing as how Qrow would most likely be too brash, Jaune would be somewhat shy about it, Nora would be impossible to control without Ren, and Ren would be too quiet. Ruby shot to her feet as she drained the last dregs of her water, putting her trash in a pocket of her combat skirt.

“Let’s get these apples carried back then!” Ruby said, grabbing a single basket and shooting off in a flurry of rose petals.

“She’s not gonna spill all of those apples on her way to drop them off, is she?” Applejack asked worriedly. Jaune gave a short laugh in reply.

“Ruby? Nah, she may be clumsy, but she can carry a basket of apples while she uses her semblance.” He got to his feet and brushed the dirt off of his jeans, getting an idle thought that they would need cleaning soon. “We should probably grab a few of these so Ruby doesn’t do all the work, if she does get tired, she might just end up spilling them.” With that they all grabbed a basket or two and began the trek back to the barn.

It was nearly suppertime when Ruby and Applejack got back from the market, having sold all of the apple pies and a few bushels of apples. They both walked through the backdoor of the farmhouse, Ruby looking slightly more tired than Applejack. The two of them flopped down at their spots at the table, eagerly awaiting whatever Granny Smith had cooked up.

“So, what all did you guys do today?” Ruby asked, looking at her Uncle and her team in curiosity. Qrow put his hands behind his head as he detailed his day, making it sound far more exciting than it actually was.

“-Then, the wheat attacked! It would have got Big Mac were it not for I and my mighty scythe!” Qrow said heroically, Apple Bloom looking at Qrow, eyes shimmering in adoration, Big Mac looking amused, Ruby laughing, and everyone else rolling their eyes at the display. Ren just mentioned his was spent cooking, and went back to listening to Nora blather on about whatever it was she blathered on about.

“Soup’s on everypony!” Granny Smith said as she put a large bowl of salad down with flowers and hay mixed in, before going to get the second bowl, until Ren grabbed it for her. “Why thank ya, whippersnapper. That’s mighty kind of ya.” Ren smiled in response, setting the second salad down, minus the grass and flowers.

“Why don’t y’all like flowers and hay?” Applebloom asked curiously, having noticed that the humans were only eating salad from the second bowl.

“Applebloom, they mentioned it yesterday, ya silly filly.” Applejack said, shaking her head before continuing on, “their stomachs can’t handle flowers or hay, can’t digest it.” Applebloom cocked her head, confused by Applejack’s choice of words. Her sister rolled her eyes, “They’ll get sick if’n they eat hay or flowers.” Applebloom’s mouth formed into an ‘o’ in understanding.

“Well why didn’t ya just say so?” Applejack facehoofed, while team RNJR laughed at the exchange. The eight of them moved to the living room at some point, just talking and laughing, until it was time for them to hit the hay, quite literally for the humans.

As team RNJR climbed to their loft, their spirits were considerably lower than they were when they left the Apple family’s home, well except for Qrow, though he always seemed to be in high spirits, regardless of the situation.

Over the course of the day, they’d been able to ignore the fact they were in another world, the ponies were just so much like… people, it had been as though they’d just been staying in someone’s barn for a couple of days, not trapped in a world where a winged unicorn controlled the sun and moon.

The sadness that the thought of home brought upon them settled over them like a heavy blanket, muting everything but their heartache as they climbed into their hammocks. Jaune stared up at the ceiling, thinking the same thing as his team. With a sigh, he was the first to speak.

“Are we ever going to get home?” The silence that followed was somewhat oppressive, but he knew that his friends were still awake, except for Qrow, whose snoring cut the air like Crescent Rose through a Beowolf.

“I think we are.” Ruby answered in a measured voice, clearly thinking it over. “If this Princess of theirs is as powerful as they say, then I think we’ll get home just fine.” The silence after that was much more comfortable before Jaune replied.

“What if we can’t?” His voice held a slight warble to it at the thought of his family. Sure, his parents didn’t believe in him, thought he would flunk out in the first semester, but they were still his family. Not to mention his seven sisters, he was worried sick about them, wondering if they were okay. He hadn’t been able to speak to them for months now, with the CCT gone. ‘They probably think I’m dead’ he thought sardonically. ‘That I died during the Battle of Beacon, just like Pyrrha.’ He quickly squashed the line of thought, not wanting to even entertain the thought of his partner, her image haunted his dreams and nightmares enough.

“Silly Jaune! Of course we’ll get home! When did you become such a pessimist?” Nora piped up, her bubbly tone forcing Jaune out of his depreciating spiral of pity and sadness. He managed to crack a smile at that. Leave it to Nora to make him feel better, sometimes she was better at that than Ruby.

“Nora’s right Jaune, we’ll get home, if Cinder could bring us here, then someone else should be able to send us back.” Ren said in his measured, calm voice. Jaune sighed in reluctant acceptance.

“Yeah….you guys are right, we’ll get out of here, and we’ll be back on the trail to Mistral in no time. Good night you guys.” With a chorus of replies, Jaune slowly fell into the realm of sleep.

Things fell into a bit of a routine over the next few days, Applejack would wake up the humans in the morning, and after breakfast, they would split off to do chores, whether they were simpler ones, like picking apples, or helping out with the rest of the farm, feeding chickens, pigs, and taking care of the rest of the crops at Sweet Apple Acres. Of course, it was over these days that their situation actually began to sink in, but team RNJR didn’t let this get them down, knowing that somehow, they would be going back home. It was hard to tell how Qrow was taking it however, as seemed to be going with the flow, seemingly not caring whether he was in Equestria or on Remnant.

Applejack and Granny Smith had noticed that they were depressed about their situation, and they had just the plan to ease their pain.

The Apple Family Reunion.

With Applebloom already acting like they were part of the family, Granny Smith had all but made them part of it. Treating them as more than just guests, and telling them stories of her youth, and just acting as though the five of them were just more grandkids for her to tell about her own youth. Applejack and Big Mac decided to go with Granny’s decision, though Applejack suspected that most of the reason Big Macintosh went with it was because he wanted more male friends to spend time with, seeing as how almost all of his time was spent doing chores and hanging around the farm.

It was with this thought that Applejack finally finished her trek to the barn, she smiled at how quickly she had gotten used to this arrangement over a week, and pushed open the barn doors. “Come on y’all! It’s reunion day! We gotta finish gettin’ everythin’ all set up before the rest of the family arrives!” She gave one of the support beams a hard buck to wake them up the rest of the way before continuing. “We got wood to gather, tables to set, and food to prepare, so let’s get started!” With that, she ran out of the barn, and headed back inside the house.

Team RNJR blearily headed up the path, stretching and yawning the entire way as Qrow just hummed a jaunty tune, hands stuffed in his pockets. The five of them slumped into the farmhouse, and all but Nora made their way over to the Apple’s coffee pot, halfheartedly fighting over who got the first cup until Qrow grabbed the pot out from in front of them, filling his up before passing it to Ruby. She quickly poured herself a mug before sitting down in her now customary spot beside Applebloom, and sipped her coffee happily.

As they dug into their breakfast, with Applebloom talking happily about how excited she was for the reunion, and telling Ruby her exaggerated stories about cheek pinching from her older family members, Applejack began handing out who was doing what.

“Ren, you’ll be helpin’ Granny and I with the cookin’, Ruby, you’ll be gatherin’ the wood, Jaune’ll be settin’ up the fire pits and kettles for apple butter and apple fritters, Qrow you’re helpin’ Big Mac with whatever he needs help with, and Nora you’ll be harvestin’ any extra apples we need.” She nodded in satisfaction, “I think that’s it, let’s get ‘er done y’all!” Applejack stood from her spot at the table and went to the counter to begin getting out the ingredients and bowls.

“What should I do, sis?” Applebloom asked before she could get into the motions of baking. Applejack sighed, she knew Applebloom wanted to help, but that was exactly what Applejack was afraid of, her sister’s “help”, tended to be more of a hindrance than anything else.

“Well sugarcube, with all the extra help we got this year, I don’t think there’s all that much ya’ can do…” Applejack felt her heart clench at Applebloom’s sad expression, her tail curled around behind her, and tears pricking her eyes. She sighed, “I’ll tell ya what sugarcube, if I have anythin’ I need help with, I’ll be the first to let ya know, alright?” Applebloom nodded morosely, knowing that it was a mere platitude, just as she was about to sulk her way back up to her room, however, Ruby blocked the doorway, keeping her from going to the stairs.

“I could use a little help with wood gathering, Applebloom. You’d be able to carry the smaller sticks that we need to start the fires, while I carry the bigger logs that will keep it burning, what do ya say little buddy?” Applebloom’s grin spread across her face as she followed Ruby out the door with a hop in her step.

“Well, that’s everythin’ all set up, and not a moment too soon, look!” Applejack called out as a veritable convoy of wagons, airships, and ponies appeared over the horizon. “Anythin’ else that’s needin’ to be done, Granny?” She asked, when she didn’t receive an answer, she turned back to look at the porch and saw her grandmother asleep in her rocker. “I’ll take that as a no.” Applejack chuckled before it was interrupted by Jaune coughing awkwardly.

“Uh..Applejack, are you sure that we should be here? They uh...won’t freak out like the ponies in town did will they?” He shuddered as another thought came to mind, “or like Lyra did when we went back into town?” That mare, Jaune had decided, was insane. Applejack’s chuckle became a full blown guffaw at this question.

“ ‘Course they won’t! They’re just as friendly as we are, you’ll be just fine! Besides, with all the help y’all have been givin’ us, I’d say you’re already part of the family!” Jaune smiled at that, noticing Ruby and Nora do the same at this statement. Ren’s smile was small, but he knew it was there.

“We’ll let’s get ya introduced then!” Applejack said with a smile, leading the five of them towards the crowd of ponies that had taken over the entire front yard of Sweet Apple Acres, and was slowly spilling over towards the fields.

Team RNJR felt a small shiver go down their spine as they approached the crowd, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Qrow transform and simply sit on Ruby’s shoulder.

“Coward” he heard Ruby mumble under her breath, which Qrow responded to by nipping her on the ear.

After multiple introductions, hoof shakes, and very sore arms, team RNJR sat tiredly against a few trees, relaxing after their latest bout of helping with baking. It seemed that the Apples really liked apple fritters, seeing as how they had an entire row of kettles dedicated to making it, right next to the apple butter kettles. They were just relaxing into a nap in the early afternoon sun when they heard someone ringing what they now recognized as Granny Smith’s dinner bell, and Applejack’s voice shouting out “Soup’s on everypony!”. They looked at each other, shrugged and got up, heading for the tables set out in the orchard. They got there just as Applejack was finishing up introducing everypony to someone, apparently perfectly timing their entrance with Applejack’s introducing everyone to somepony they couldn’t see among the crowd.

“- Qrow Branwen, Ruby Rose, Nora Valkyrie, Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Big Macintosh, Applebloom, aaaaaannnd,” she gestured over to Granny in her rocker. “Granny Smith.” Applejack looked over at the sleeping mare. “Up’n’attem Granny Smith, we got guests!” She said, causing Granny to get up and blearily make her way to the table.

“Wha? Soup’s on? I’m comin’, I’m comin.” With that, she took her spot at the table, the smell of food getting her woke up.

“Why, I’d say you’re already part of the family!” Applejack said to the only other pony that wasn’t seated, allowing them to notice the purple unicorn with what looked like a bipedal lizard sitting on her back.

Said purple unicorn then did a spit take, and looked incredulously at the Earth pony in front of her. She laughed nervously before sputtering out a farewell, “Okay, well, I can see the food situation is handled, so we'll be on our way!” She turned to leave, but found herself blocked by Applebloom, who was giving her puppy dog eyes that made Nora and Ruby’s begging look trivial in comparison.

“Aren’t you gonna stay for brunch?” She asked in a morose tone that tugged at everyone’s heartstrings, making it almost impossible to even consider saying no. Though the mare seemed to be trying her hardest too, anyone could see her resolve was crumbling.

“I’m sorry, but we have an awful lot to do..” everyone could hear the halfhearted tone in what was clearly a token resistance. Everyone at the table except Qrow and team RNJR let out a disappointed sigh, causing the unicorn to sigh and look at the lizard on her back before answering.

“Fine.” This brought a round of cheers to everypony at the table as she was herded to a chair in front of Jaune. He gave her a nod and handed her a plate of apple fritters.

“Hi, my name’s Jaune, what’s yours?” He kindly introduced himself, a small smile on his face as he grabbed a piece of pie. The unicorn looked at him and his friends curiously before introducing herself.

“I’m Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s personal student, and Overseer for preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration.”