"Thank y'all for comin'!" Applejack told the assembled group once she had their attention. "I know we're all eager to get started, but there's a few things I think should probably be said before we begin. This here tree's been in Ponyville fer a long time, longer than most of us have been alive, so I thought we might take a little time first to recall just what this tree really means to Ponyville, since not many ponies remember. In fact, I only know of one. Granny? Would you care to take a few moments?"
"Aw, of course, Applejack," Granny said as she stepped in front of the crowd and briefly cleared her throat. "When Princess Celestia granted us the land fer Ponyville, we were all mighty grateful, so of course we wanted to do somethin' fer her in return. All the farmin' ponies gave her all their best crops, an' the crafts ponies gave all their best wares. But well, she's just one pony, an' she couldn't use all that stuff herself. So instead, in her wisdom, she asked us ta build somethin' fer her, that was really fer us, but we didn't know that at the time."
"She asked us ta build her a library. The Princess has always been big on learnin', and everypony betterin' themselves, so of course we said we'd do it. But at first, no pony could come up with a design, 'cause every dern one of them ended up lookin' like a barn!" she shouted as she stomped a hoof in mock frustration, causing the crowd to laugh.
"It was what we knew, after all. But the other thing we knew was trees. So, it was decided that we'd make the library out'a a tree. It might not look like the fancy libraries in them big cities, but that just made us like the idea more, 'cause we'd have somethin' they didn't. The only trouble was figurin' out how ta do it. Even in those times this magic weren't used much, on account'a the fact it's so difficult. But fer her, we knew it'd be worth it."
"So we grew her a library right out'a the ground!" she yelled, and many ponies whooped and cheered. "We couldn't think of any better gift fer earth ponies ta give then somethin' we'd grown ourselves. An' when she came an' saw it, she was mighty impressed. So much that she gave us one thousand books ta fill the shelves from her own personal library there in Canterlot." A hush went over the crowd as Granny's voice broke and she paused for several long moments, looking at the ground while biting back tears. When she continued, her voice was quiet, and unsteady.
"Books were worth a lot more back then than they are now. The wealth she put in ta that library was worth more than the whole town an' all its fields put together. We knew then that we had no hope of ever payin' her back fer her kindness. 'Cept in one way; we could use the gifts she'd given us."
"So that's just what we did, an' over the years it filled us with its knowledge, an' we filled it with records of our history. We called the place, "The Golden Oaks" ta remind us of its worth, an' not just 'cause of the things inside, but 'cause of what the Princess had taught us about our own worth by givin' us such a wonderful gift."
Her story told, Granny walked back into the crowd, still wiping tears.
"Thank ya, Granny," Applejack said, taking center stage again, and wiping a tear or two of her own. "So, as you heard, this tree's been mighty important to Ponyville, and while we may not be able to get back everything that was lost, we can start again."
"But now there's a new princess in town." She paused, momentarily lost in her memories. "Heh! Seems like just yesterday Twilight first showed up here in Ponyville and changed all our lives forever. And though I'm sure she'll get some good use out'a that castle of hers, right now she misses this here tree as much as we do, since she's got a lot'a good memories here, and I know many of you do too. So just like we did for Princess Celestia long ago, I can think of no better gift to give her than a library, especially one that means so much to her, and to our town. So today we rebuild this tree, not just for Ponyville, but also in honor of Ponyville's own princess, Princess Twilight Sparkle!"
The small crowd cheered loudly and stomped their hooves, and Applejack couldn't help but smile at the show of support from the ponies around her. If this didn't lift Twilight's mood, nothing would. "Alright, then!" she said when they'd finally quieted. "If y'all would take yer positions, we'll get started!"
Earth ponies from around Ponyville had gathered at the burned out husk of the old Golden Oaks library for this very special task. Thirty-two of them now faced the tree in a circle around it, with many others watching nearby.
What they were about to do was something that hadn't been done in a very long time. It was an earth pony magic that was rarely used, mainly because it was so draining on those that took part, but also because modern construction techniques had rendered it mostly obsolete, and the tradition had fallen out of practice.
When everypony was ready, Applejack began. "Alright, everypony! Just like we practiced and follow my lead! On three! One, two, three!"
As she said the word, every pony in the circle stomped down with both fore-hooves causing the ground to shake.
Thump!
After that first stomp, Applejack waited a second to do her own stomp, and then continued lightly tapping a beat to set the pace for everypony else. Just to Applejacks's right, Pinkie Pie followed her lead with a stomp of her own, and then after Pinkie, one by one, each pony in the circle stomped a hoof in turn in a slow wave going counter-clockwise around the circle.
Stomp.... stomp.... stomp.... stomp....
When the wave reached the sixteenth pony, halfway around the circle, all thirty-two ponies stomped a hoof in unison, shaking the ground again.
Thump!
The slow wave then continued around the tree until it reached pony thirty-two, just to Applejack's left, when again the entire circle stomped down together.
Stomp.... stomp.... stomp.... thump!
This continued for another round, and when Applejack was content with how things were going, she picked up the pace just slightly, the other ponies following her lead.
Stomp... stomp... stomp... stomp!
Each round, Applejack raised the cadence a bit, causing the wave to go just a little faster each time.
Stomp.. stomp.. stomp.. stomp!
By now, other ponies from around Ponyville had begun to notice what was going on, and trickled in to try to see what was happening.
As the pace increased, Applejack could begin to feel the ponies' magic start to flow into the tree. No change could be seen yet, but she knew there was a lot of energy going into the still living roots.
"Alright everypony! Get ready to step it up a notch!" she called out, and the ponies nodded and smiled. After another "thump," she said, "Now!" and the next "thump" came just eight ponies later, instead of sixteen, so that now they all stomped together just a quarter of the way around the circle.
To the other ponies watching, nothing had changed, but as the rounds continued, Applejack could feel the life begin to flow in the tree. When it was time, she said, "Okay, now give a big one!" and everypony used both fore-hooves on the next "thump," shaking the ground more than before.
THUMP!
At first, it seemed that nothing had happened. But then, very slowly, tiny green buds began to form around the rim of the tree, in stark contrast to the charred blackness from which they sprang. Applejack quickened the pace again, and watched as the buds grew.
Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp!
Within minutes the buds had become hundreds of tiny saplings sprouting from the rim of the tree, reaching for the sky. Pleased with the progress, Applejack backed out of the circle with Pinkie following her, and nodded to two of the earth ponies that had been waiting nearby, and who then replaced them in the circle.
The saplings grew tall as the dance continued like the beating of a sacred drum, and now Applejack started directing their growth, calling out to ponies in the circle to send these shoots here, or those there. Slowly, they began to grow together, as the walls of the old library began to take shape as a near-solid mass of green. Now the tricky part began.
"Alright everypony! This is where it gets fun!" Applejack shouted, and then smiled at Pinkie, who smiled back. "You ready, Pink?" she asked.
"You bet!" Pinkie replied.
Together, they leaped over the circle of ponies, their hooves coming down together inside the circle in time with the next "thump!"
As one, the ponies in the circle all turned to their right, and began walking in time with the beat, each step resonating from thirty-two ponies at once.
STOMP! STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!
If anypony in Ponyville hadn't noticed before, they certainly did now, and a large crowd had already gathered to watch.
As the ponies began their walk, the saplings began to weave themselves together, merging at their bases to form a solid brown wall that grew, and thickened. After they had circled the tree a few times, and everything seemed to be going fine, Applejack told them, "Okay y'all, now add the hop!" With each fourth step, all thirty-two ponies jumped in the air and came down with all four hooves, creating a beat that could be felt for many miles.
THUMP!
Far away in Canterlot, Princess Celestia looked out her window, Princess Luna stirred in her sleep, and every pony in the city stopped what they were doing to marvel at the sound that seemed to come from the very ground beneath them. They could feel the earth shake through their hooves, and each one wondered what it was, and where it was coming from. It was a safe bet most of the unicorns had no clue what was going on.
In only a short time, the ponies had increased their speed from a walk to a trot, and it was time for the next phase. There was no time to waste now, so Applejack and Pinkie pushed open the old door and stepped inside the tree. It was still black at its base where it had been burned, but it was now brown in the middle, and green near the top, with the open blue sky still visible above them. It was also growing by the second, and it was their job to shape it as it grew, since out of all the ponies assembled, they knew it best.
"Let's get to it!" Applejack said, and Pinkie nodded. In time with the rhythm they stomped on the floor to shape the walls, or on the walls to shape the ceiling, causing new growth to be channeled where it needed to go. To the ponies outside the tree, its growth appeared to nearly stop, but the earth ponies knew that the real growth was now going on inside where it couldn't be seen.
Soon Applejack and Pinkie Pie were surrounded by the beginnings of intricate bookshelves, and a ceiling that had formed above them, along with the stairway to the second floor. It was grueling work. The ponies outside were supplying most of the energy, but Pinkie and Applejack had to direct that energy using their own energy, and the more complex the detail, the more it took out of them.
When the main room was nearly finished, Applejack created doorways to the kitchen and study and they each took a room. They finished their rooms at nearly the same time, but couldn't stop to rest, as they then raced upstairs to work on the bedroom and observatory.
As their work neared completion, they ran though the whole tree once again, adding finishing touches where they were needed, as well as decorations. Stomping on one wall, Applejack caused traditional flowering vines to etch themselves into the wood, while on another wall, Pinkie Pie added a few streamers and balloons. Applejack gave her a sour look for that, but then smiled. The personal touch would likely do Twilight good anyway, so in that spirit Applejack changed her vines to apples. Pinkie caught on to the idea and grinned, adding butterflies someplace else. Diamonds and rainbows were added next, and soon cutie marks from many more of Twilight's friends, including those involved in the circle outside, covered the last of the empty areas on the walls. Now there was just one place left.
They smiled at each other as Applejack asked, "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"
"Yep!"
Stomping on opposite walls, Twilight's own cutiemark took shape, engraining itself across the sizable ceiling, where once a representation of Celestia's cuitemark had been.
Their work now complete, they hurried through the front door to meet the ponies outside, still dancing as the tree's branches continued stretching towards the sky. They turned to look at the tree, now from the outside, and what had once been a burned out stump now towered above them with new life. They nodded to each other, and in time with the rhythm again, they both gave their own final stomp, signaling every pony that the task was done.
In unison, every pony stopped dancing and gave a tremendous cheer that was echoed by the gathered crowd, along with stomps of applause. They'd been dancing for nearly an hour now, and every pony, including Applejack and Pinkie Pie, were exhausted and sweaty, but each and every one had an enormous smile across their face. The tree would still need a few things, such as glass in the windows, and books on the shelves, but the rest of it was there again, as good, or maybe even better than new.
Out of the corner of her eye, Applejack saw a purple blur swoop out of the air just before it tackled her and Pinkie Pie. Before she could properly get her bearings, she found herself wrapped in lavender hooves and wings, and felt something wet on her hide. Twilight had of course heard the commotion and come to see what was happening, and now that it was done, she couldn't hold back anymore.
"Oh! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Twilight cried, hugging them both tightly, her tears flowing freely down her face.
"Heh! Yer welcome, Sugarcube," Applejack replied, hugging her back and nuzzling her wet cheek.
"And thank you all, so, so much!" Twilight said, turning to the crowd around her. "I... I don't know what to say."
"I think you just did, silly!" Pinkie told her.
Author's Note
I wrote this mainly because it bothered me that they dug up the tree. The top of the tree may have been burned, but the roots were still alive, and I would much rather have seen them use some earth pony magic to bring the tree back. We've never seen earth ponies do anything quite like that before, but I like to believe they could, so I invented a way for it to happen.
Obviously Twilight couldn't stay there forever, and would eventually have to grow up and move to her castle. But it still would have meant a lot to her, and probably much of Ponyville, just to have the tree back again. And who doesn't want to see earth ponies do something awesome?
Thanks go to Light Shine for helping give a few suggestions for improvements.
