Applebuckin' Concussion

by PonyThunder

Rating: everyone
Tags: Applejack, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Apple Bloom, Comedy, Big Macintosh
Length: 1268

Applejack breaks her hoof and is unable to buck apples for awhile, but that doesn't stop her from using her head. Literally.

Applejack breaks her hoof and is unable to buck apples for awhile, but that doesn't stop her from using her head. Literally.

Published 2017-08-30 19:40:06 UTC
Last updated 2017-08-30 19:40:06 UTC

Applebuckin' Concussion

A warm summer breeze blew softly above the rolling green hills of Sweet Apple Acres, causing the sounds of rustling grass and leaves as it blew into the apple orchards. Birds of all sorts chirped and tweeted, blissfully going about their simple lives flying from tree to tree, while the creatures on the ground below scurried about from tree to bush and back again. The air was peaceful, calm and quiet. A perfectly beautiful day, filled only with the blissfully serene sounds of nature.

That was, until two noises occurred: the first being a dull thump and the second a very angry pony.

"CONSARN IT!"

Applejack sat forcibly on her rump next to the tree she had just butted with her skull. She'd recently broken her hoof due to an unfortunate accident, and wasn't able to buck apples until it fully healed. And for a few days, that's exactly what she did, but it was after those few days that the itch to buck came back to her with the intensity of a thousand flyder bites. There was something about it, the feeling of imparting so much force to the tree, the sound of apples hitting the ground like a chorus of little thumps, and of course the feeling of a hard day's work.

And the beautiful sounds of apples hitting the ground did fill her ears, but not enough to know she'd gotten them all. She rubbed her forehead with a hoof, knowing fully well that doing so would do absolutely nothing to stop the throbbing pain. But she got quickly got up, careful not to put too much pressure on her back left hoof, and trotted several paces away from the tree and turned around.

"Alright, ya' little piece of tree bark, I may be outta commission fer apple-buckin', but that ain't gonna stop me from doin' my job ya' hear? Get ready to get apple-rammed!"

Applejack dug her three good hooves into the ground and began charging at the tree full speed with her head pointed down, determined to knock the rest of the apples from its branches. Moments later, the dull thump heard several moments earlier echoed throughout the orchard as she rammed her head into the trunk. A few objects fell down from the branches above and bounced off the grass below near Applejack, who was sprawled out on the ground next to the trunk.

She stared dreamily into the sky while on her back. "...Got 'em..."

After several more moments of recovery, Applejack clumsily returned to her hooves, still feeling dizzy from the whole ordeal. Just then, Apple Bloom called out to her. "A.J.? Is that you? What in tarnation is goin' on?"

Applejack shook her head and tried to locate where Apple Bloom's voice was coming from, craning her head in the opposite direction and yelling loudly out, "What? Where are ya? I can't see you!"

Apple Bloom walked right up next to her. "I'm right here, sis."

"Oh. Whatcha' need?"

"Nothin', just curious about them sounds comin' from the orchard the past few minutes. Are they comin' from you?"

In any other circumstance, Applejack would have given an honest answer. But due to the lingering effects of smashing her forehead against a tree trunk, her element of honesty was a little fuzzed out. "Uh, nope."

"Oh...well alright. What are you doin' out here then? Shouldn't you be restin' your hoof after breakin' it?"

In her dizzy stupor, Applejack hadn't realized she'd have to explain why she was out in the orchard when she should have been resting her broken hoof, but now she had no choice but to fabricate another reason. "Oh, I'm just restin' it. Doc's orders to give 'em a little fresh air and uh, whatnot."

"Okay, well, lemme know if you figure out what's makin' all that racket."

"...Will do!"

Apple Bloom trotted off back the other direction, leaving Applejack alone with the apple tree she had rammed herself into a minute ago. However, due to some temporary memory loss, she didn't remember that. So she went back to preparing herself for another charge.

"Alright, ya' big ol' twig, I may not be able to buck ya' with my hooves, but that ain't gonna stop me from doin' my job ya hear? Get ready to get apple-smashed!"

Applejack dug her hooves into the ground once again, in the same ruts she'd dug previously, and charged towards the tree in a full gallop. Her head smacked into its trunk once more and shook violently for a few moments as she fell down to the ground.

The sounds of a few more apples falling to the ground filled her ears. Or at least, that was what she thought she heard, since she started experiencing hearing issues.

Regardless, she repeated herself out loud. "...Got 'em..."

Then, in a dizzy stupor, she came to an interesting observation about the tree. "This here tree seems awfully full of apples," she said while rubbing her increasingly bruised forehead with her hoof.

Just then, Big Macintosh called out to her from afar just after she had returned to her hooves. "A.J.? What're you doin' out here?"

Applejack couldn't hear him.

Confused, Big Macintosh repeated himself. "Applejack? What're you doin' out here? Is everything okay? I thought you were restin' yer hoof."

Still unable to hear him, and due to another lapse in memory, she started trotting off away from the tree to get ready to ram it once more.

Wondering if perhaps Applejack was in a sour mood, Big Macintosh shrugged and walked away, only to hear Applejack yell out a similar version of the thing she'd already said twice before.

"Alright you persistent little fella, maybe I can't use my hooves fer apple-buckin', but that don't mean yer safe from being apple-charged!"

Not realizing she was talking to the tree, Big Mac immediately reared his head back, eyes wide as Applejack began charging in the direction of the tree, which happened to be slightly in his vicinity. As she charged the tree without realizing Big Macintosh was nearby, he galloped off with a fear in his heart that could only be described as sheer terror.

As the dust settled from Big Macintosh's hasty escape, Applejack's charged towards the cheer with a face of pure determination. With a large whump, her forehead made forceful impact with the trunk of the tree and caused a jolt to travel through her body that she felt all the way through to her hooves. But when the sound of her impact finished echoing throughout the orchard, the sounds of objects falling to the ground once more briefly filled the air. Applejack, however, did not hear them at all. Nor did she see anything. In fact, she was completely unconscious, laying on the ground beneath the tree she had so vehemently been trying to get every last apple to fall to the ground without using her injured hoof. What she had failed to realize, however, was that the tree she had been repeatedly ramming her head into was not an apple tree at all, and that the objects that were falling to the ground were not even apples.

Laying unconscious on the grassy ground beneath an oak tree with her hooves sprawled in every direction, tongue sticking out and eyes completely shut, Applejack was surrounded by a sea of acorns.

Author's Note

This one is short and simple. I just thought the idea of Applejack ramming herself repeatedly into a tree was funny, and this was the result. I hope you enjoyed it :twilightsmile: