Chpt.3: Applebuck Season

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic series or any other ideas that I might have obtained my ideas from…Except for my OCs. Note that asterisk stars (*) at the end of the chapter, refers to facts that can help clarify the terms.

Ponyville...

It has been three days since the encounter with Daelyn in the underground spring beneath the Everfree Forest. In the following day, Twilight and her friends gathered all of the ponies to the town square, where they officially introduced Daelyn to them. Naturally, many of the ponies grew nervous at the sight of a teenage dragon that is slightly bigger than each and every one of them. Twilight and her friends gave a brief explanation of the reason behind Daelyn's presence here and ask them to treat him fairly as they would to any other pony.

Though doubtful, Daelyn made the final statement by formally introducing himself to the ponies while also implying that he will work to earn his keep. Should anypony need help, he will always be willing to lend aid. While some of the ponies that personally knew Twilight and her friends, like Mayor Mare, agreed to accept Daelyn, several others were still wary of him. This was to be expected as Daelyn knew that if he was truly to make himself at home in Ponyville, he will need to earn it. But right now, this would have to suffice.

Afterwards, Twilight and her friends helped Daelyn settle in. Surprisingly, the underground oasis that Daelyn discovered was fairly close to Ponyville so Daelyn dug a wide tunnel to the edge of town. They all pitched into set up a few furniture for him to use, including bed with a canopy of curtains above it.

Finally, when Daelyn has settled into his new home, it was time for him to begin his education under Twilight's supervision in the Golden Oak Library. For starters, Twilight was trying to comprehend the kind of power the young dragon had. It was obviously unique in Equestria. However, she can't help but wonder if there was another individual who had this power before.

As of now, Twilight, Spike, and Daelyn are searching through the books for the said information.

"Spike, found anything?"

"Nope, nothing." Spike said, "There isn't a single book that holds anything about the history about dragons...Well, at least, not in a dragon's perspective..."

"Well," Daelyn spoke up, "It's rather difficult for ponies to research about dragons' history without being close to dragons."

Twilight sighed, "I guess we can't rely on worldly knowledge on this. We'll just have to discover things as we go...Spike, quill and paper."

"Right."

"So, Daelyn." Twilight sat down in front of her student, "From what we already know, your powers seems to circulate around you and it influences other dragons' emotions."

"That's correct." Daelyn nodded, "Ever since my powers awakened when I was a little hatchling, they react in very strange ways. Whenever, I feel happy, everyone else seems to be in a better mood but on the other hand, if I feel down, everyone gets edgy."

"A power that can instinctively affect the emotions of others...Just like back in Canterlot..." Twilight thought, "That IS unusual. Do you know anything else?"

"Well for one," Daelyn continued, "Emotions isn't the only thing my power influences. It seem to also influence nature."

"Nature?" This caught Twilight and Spike's attention.

"Yes. My own emotions can easily be reflected by the nature around me. Whenever I'm depressed, the plants around me begins to die. But when I'm happy, they seem either grow stronger or begin to grow around me."

"...And this all happens by itself?"

"Pretty much. Yes."

"Hmm..."

"You know." Spike spoke up, "I was thinking. Even if Daelyn's magic is different, it can't be that different from a unicorn's magic. I mean, we can teaching him the same why how unicorns first learn their powers then when things begin to turn differently, we can try another way to teach Daelyn."

"You're right, Spike." Twilight glanced at Daelyn, "Since your magical energy seems to scatter all the time, I think our first step is to help you concentrate that energy on something...Like levitating objects. Should we start with that?"

"You're the teacher, I'm the student. You point the way, I obey." Daelyn smiled.

"Excellent." Twilight used her powers and grabbed a few wooden toy blocks and placed them in front of Daelyn, "I borrowed these from Pinkie Pie's place...though I am not sure why she had these...Daelyn, try focusing your powers in lifting these up and putting them together like a tower."

"Sounds simple enough." Daelyn nodded.

Twilight and Spike watched as Daelyn stared at the toy blocks and focused. His pupil began glowing bright yellow as the magical energy manifests around one of the blocks. It began to shake as Twilight and Spike smiled at high hopes. Suddenly, a leaf stuck out from the block and it suddenly grew and encased the entire block.

The second attempt on another block ended up the same way with leaves and roots forming from the block. Finally, after five unsuccessful attempts, Daelyn lowered his head, disheartened.

"Well...I guess I bombed the first test..."

Before Twilight could say anything, she noticed the plants that grew out of the blocks suddenly began to decay. Upon noticing this, Daelyn stopped and was flabbergasted at what he saw.

"Uuhehe...Oops. Did I do that?"

...

"Twilight." Spike said, "I think you need to teach Daelyn something simpler."

"Yeah, I guess." Twilight nodded, "Don't worry. We'll figure this out Daelyn."

Daelyn sighed, discouraged, "How do you plan to do that?"

"Well, we can-"

Suddenly, Twilight was cut off when they all felt the ground shake. As the entire library begins to rumble, Daelyn glanced at Twilight, "That wasn't me."

The three of them bolted out the library and went to see what was happening outside. Daelyn spread his wings and took to the skies to get a better look. It just so happens, Rainbow Dash was there.

"Rainbow! What's going on?"

"There!" Rainbow pointed in the distance and saw a large herd of cows charging straight for Ponyville, "STAMPEDE!"

At the yell, all of the ponies began to scram into their homes and lock their doors.

"Hey~!" Pinkie Pie vibrated gleefully, "This makes my voice sound silly~!"

"Pinkie Pie, are you crazy?! Run!" Twilight shouted.

"Everypony calm down!" Mayor Mare shouted, "There is no need to panic."

"But Mayor, whatever shall we do?" Rarity cried.

"Look there!"

Rainbow Dash point towards the cows and, there, Applejack was running with the cows along with her pet dog, Winona.

"YEEHAW! Move aside, Winona! Put 'em up, girl!"

While Rarity moaned and Pinkie Pie ate popcorn, Daelyn landed next to Twilight, "Shouldn't we help her?"

"No." Mayor Mare said, "Let Applejack do her thing. She has handled this before."

Right at that moment, Applejack and Winona successfully turned the cows away from Ponyville and successfully stopped them in their tracks. As the ponies cheered at Applejack's name as she and Winona headed back towards Sweet Apple Acres, Daelyn smiled, "Color me impressed...That pony was just...just..."

"Appletastic!" Pinkie Pie cheered.

"Exactly." Mayor Mare agreed, "We must do something to thank Applejack for single-hoofedly saving the town."

"Ooo~, I know. A party!"

A few days later...

Ponyville was prepped for a celebration in Applejack's honor. While Daelyn was still slightly concerned about his lessons, he decided to pitch in and help. He has never seen a pony do something like that and it was certainly worth taking note after saving a whole town from being trampled into the ground.

"We all ready?" Twilight asked.

"Just one last thing." She raised a banner decorated with Applejack's cutie mark on the balcony of the town hall, "Now we're ready."

"Is Applejack all set?"

"Actually," Rainbow flew down, "I haven't seen her all week."

"Not since the stampede." Pinkie Pie added.

"But she'll be here for sure." Rainbow reassured, "Applejack is never late."

Finally, the ponies all gathered in the town square where Twilight went up to the podium to announce the commencement of ceremony. Much to Daelyn's amusement, Twilight was getting constantly interrupted by her pony friends.

Eventually, she gave in and allowed Mayor Mare to speak, "Ah-ahem. And so, with no further ado, it is my privilege to give the prize, Pony of Ponyville Award, to our beloved guest of honor, a pony of the utmost trustworthiness, reliability, and integrity. Ponyville's most capable and dependable friend: Applejack!"

The curtains opened as everypony cheered, only to see that Applejack wasn't there.

"Cool! Way to go Applejack, that was awesome!" Spike immediately stopped cheering, "I mean- heh."

"Ah-ahem." Mayor Mare cleared her throat as a deafening silence rolled into the town square.

"Awkward." Spike muttered.

"I'M HERE! I'M HERE!" Applejack's voice was suddenly heard. She was walking towards the trophy with two baskets full of apples, which at the same time fell one by one in to every pony.

She yawned, "S-Sorry I'm late-whoa-I was just...Did I get your tail?"

Applejack walked over to the podium and spoke up drowsily, "Miss Mare, thank you kindly for this here...award thingy."

She continued yawning, "It's so bright and shiny and, heh, heh heh, I sure do look funny heh. Ooo-ooo."

Pinkie Pie joined her in the awkward moment until Twilight walked up to the stage, "Okay...Well, thank you Applejack for saving us from that scary stampede and always being there for every pony."

Applejack yawned loudly again, "Yeah. I like helping the pony folks and..." She yawned once again, "and stuff..."

For a few seconds, she had fallen asleep before, "Uh, Thanks."

Applejack grabbed the trophy with her teeth and dragged it all the way back to her family farm.

After a moment of silence, Twilight finally spoke, "Was it just me, or did Applejack seem a little-"

"Tired?" Rainbow Dash said.

"Dizzy?" Fluttershy added.

"Messy?" Rarity implied as Twilight and Rainbow looked at her awkwardly, "Well did you SEE her mane?"

Pinkie Pie offered her opinion. "Well she seemed fine to me. Whoo! Whoo!"

"Hm..." Twilight wondered.

"She clearly hasn't gotten any decent sleep these days." Daelyn perceived, "Her behavior has made it plainly obvious."

"How do you think that happened?"

Daelyn narrowed his eyes, "Judging by those two baskets filled with apples, I think I can picture why..."

Later, in Sweet Apple Acres...

When Twilight and Daelyn arrived to Applejack's farm, they saw her kicking apple trees for the apples to fall down into the buckets below the trees. However, she was having trouble trying to kick at the right place. From the lack of sleep, she wasn't concentrating right on her duties.

"Yup." Daelyn muttered plainly, "Looks like my suspicion was correct."

"What on earth is that pony doing?" Twilight asked.

"She's applebucking." Daelyn responded.

"Apple-...bucking?"

"It's their term for harvesting season. I remember hearing them mention that and saw them getting getting ready for it days ago when I first came to Ponyville."

"That's right..." Twilight recalled, "But why is she doing it alone? Hey! Applejack!"

Applejack stopped for a moment and fell asleep.

"Applejack!"

Twilight called again but Applejack still didn't budge.

"Applejack!"

No Answer.

Daelyn flew over in front of the sleeping mare and yelled, "Oi! Applejack! Wake up!"

Applejack finally shook her head awake and looked to see Daelyn in front of her as Twilight teleported next to him.

"Oh, howdy Twilight. Howdy, Daelyn." Applejack greeted.

"What is all this?" Twilight inquired, "Why are you harvesting apples by yourself?"

Applejack began walking towards another tree, "That's 'cause Big Macintosh hurt himself."

"What about all those relatives I've met when I first came to Ponyville? Can't they help?"

Applejack sighed, "They were just here for the Apple family reunion. They actually live all over Equestria and are busy harvestin' their own orchards. So, uh, I'm on my own Which means, I should really get back to work."

Daelyn was standing before her with a frown.

"Ahem..." Applejack gestured, "Hint hint...? Get back to work?"

"Whatever..." He moved out of the way.

"Umm...Could you step aside, Daelyn?" Applejack asked.

"I'm over here." Daelyn stated as the pony noticed in surprise, "Applejack, you look like you haven't been sleeping well recently. You sure you want to keep this up?"

"Eh, don't any ya'll three worry none, I'm just fine and dandy. Whoa!" Applejack said as she missed another tree.

Twilight teleported once again and asked, "Do you want some help?"

"Help? No way, no how."

"But there's no way you can do it all on your own." Twilight made her point.

"Is that a challenge?" Applejack asked aggressively.

"Uhm…no?"

"Well, I'm gonna prove t' you that I can do it! Now if you'll EXCUSE me, I've got apples to buck."

As Applejack walked away, Daelyn went over to Twilight and she looked at me, "Could you try to talk some sense into her?"

Daelyn shook his head, "I doubt it will make any difference...Applejack appears to be one of those extremely stubborn folks who will disregard everything other people say...Even her friends. Since she's so adamant to do this on her own, it's best we leave her be and see what happens."

"I'm just worried that if anything harmful comes to Applejack, I can never forgive myself."

"You don't have to. You already offered her your help but she turned you down almost immediately. Whatever happens to her next is her own doing, no one else's."

"Even if you say that..."

"Besides, her will is sturdy like a large tree inverted into the earth with firm roots and she isn't one to give up from a challenge." Daelyn indicated, "Now that I think of it, I can learn a thing or two from her, especially with my training being in a rough start."

Twilight blinked, "Sturdy like a large tree...? That's it!"

"What?" Daelyn raised a brow, confused.

"Come on, Daelyn!" Twilight grinned, before galloping, "I have an idea that can help you get started on controlling your magic. Follow me!"

With a perplexed expression, Daelyn ran off and followed his mentor.

Later, outside of the Golden Oak Library...

"So let me get this straight." Daelyn muttered, "You want me to climb all the way up to the top of this oak tree...without using the claws on my feet or wings?!"

"That's the idea." Twilight grinned.

Spike walked up, "We kinda made the mistake in getting you to use your magic on foreign objects like levitation. So instead, you will focus your magic into yourself, particularly your feet, so that you can stick to the oak's trunk."

"That's right. Also, you'll have to work extra hard than unicorns though." Twilight explained, "Unicorns conjures their magic from their horn and only from their horn. You, however, project magic from every part of your body which makes it more challenging for you to control it. So we are concentrating on your feet since you use it all the time. This will allow you to focus on how much power you need to channel in order to walk up the oak tree. The concept of using magic is to be able to control its flow of energy. If you can pass this, I bet you'll be casting spells in no time."

"Hmm..." Daelyn glanced up towards top of the oak tree and smiled, "Alright then. Let's get started!"

With that Daelyn got some distance before running towards the oak tree, much to Twilight and Spike's horror.

"Daelyn, no!"

Right when he landed his feet onto the trunk, it immediately burst and sent the young dragon flying. Twilight used her magic to repair the damage as Daelyn shook his head and regain his composure from the impact.

"H-How did that happen?"

Twilight walked over and helped Daelyn up, "I was going to tell you that you were using too much magical power."

"Level it down a bit." Spike added.

Daelyn stood up, "Alright. Let's try this again."

As he was told, Daelyn tried to channel a less amount of energy to his feet and made another attempt. While trying to get as high as possible, he noticed he was sliding down. Out of instinct, Daelyn instantly stopped channeling magic and attempted to use his claws to get a grip but it was too late and he was falling straight down.

*POW!*

Daelyn landed head first onto the ground. Twilight and Spike darted over to see if he was okay.

He quickly recovered from the impact and glanced back at the oak tree, "Mother of Titans...This is a lot more difficult than I thought. The balance of power has to be absolutely perfect. If I channel too much magical energy, I end up crushing the tree trunk and pushing myself off. Then again, if I didn't use enough-..."

"You tumble straight back down..." Spike finished.

Daelyn glanced back up towards the top and sighed.

Twilight placed a hoof on his shoulder, "Daelyn. I know you really want to get a hang of your powers quickly but these sort of things cannot be rush. Take it step by step and walk up the tree slowly. Focus more on balancing the power instead of being so focused on trying get the exercise over with."

"Mmm... Alright..."

Twilight galloped into the Golden Oak Library and reached to the highest balcony with a smile, "You can do it, Daelyn. You don't want other ponies to look down on you, right?"

"Come on, Daelyn! You got this!" Spike encouraged.

Daelyn appreciated the encouragement and took a deep breath, "Okay, here goes..."

He closed his eyes as he concentrated his magic to the bottom of his feet, trying to get just the right amount. Once that was done, Daelyn took one step onto the trunk. The energy was still a bit off so Daelyn slightly altered his energy output before continuing. With each step, Daelyn felt himself standing ON the tree but he also felt gravity pulling him down towards the earth. Still, he retained his focus and continued to walk higher. Twilight and Spike watched with smiles on their faces as Daelyn was finally making progress.

"WHAAAA-!"

*CRASH!*

A sudden crash caught their attention and knocked Daelyn out of focus as he fell onto the ground again with a thud. Twilight looked around and spotted a certain blue Pegasus hanging on her balcony.

"Rainbow Dash? Can I help you?"

"No me..." Rainbow muttered weakly, "I think somepony else needs your help."

"Applejack?"

"Yep."

Twilight sighed, "Should I get you to the hospital-"

"No thanks." Rainbow Dash mumbled, disoriented, "I'll be okay..."

With that, the Pegasus leapt off the balcony and glided away.

Twilight galloped down the stairway of her home and came outside, "Spike, I'm going to go pay Applejack a visit. Keep track on Daelyn's exercise until I get back."

"Got it."

With that, Twilight left. Spike watched as Daelyn continued to make attempts to get to the top of the oak tree. Each time Daelyn began to slightly lose focus on the climb, he used the horn on his snout to scratch the trunk and mark how far he was doing. With each attempt, Daelyn get's slightly closer to the top. It was slow but, at the very least, he was making progress.

After a good hour of nonstop climbing, Spike thought it was high time that Daelyn took a breather, "Hey, Daelyn. Why don't you take short break? You need to catch your breath once in a while."

Daelyn exhaled, "I could use one."

As the young dragon began to rest, Spike decided to get the chance to speak to Daelyn, dragon-to-dragon, "So Daelyn, what was it like living among the dragons?"

"Hmm..." Daelyn frowned, "Living among my kind isn't something I like to recall."

"S-Sorry." Spike replied, "I didn't mean to bring up harmful memories. I was just curious how it was to be among dragons."

Daelyn raised a brow, "From the way you say it, it sounds like you never interacted with any other dragon."

"The truth is...until you showed up, I've never met any other dragon."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. You see. When I was an egg, I was used in an entry exam for Twilight to get into Princess Celestia's School of Gifted Unicorns. She was having trouble trying get me to hatch until her magic somehow went haywire and Princess Celestia herself appeared to stop her. Good news though, the Princess agreed to accept Twilight as her personal protege and I became her assistant when I was old enough. We've been together ever since."

"Wow." Daelyn smiled in surprise, "I guess you can say that was fateful event."

"It sure is." Spike smiled.

"Well, Spike. You want to know more about me. I'll tell you." Daelyn sighed, "I lived in a small community at the edge of the Dragonlands. There, my clan lived in relative peace."

"Clan?" Spike asked.

"Yes. Dragons moved in clans, some are small and some are vast. Did you not know that?"

Spike shook his head.

Daelyn continued, "In the Dragonlands, each clan is led by a lord who bears the name of the clan as a surname. A clan holds the ruling family while also held members who serve that family as underlings. The clan I grew up with is known the Auburn clan, a sizable group of the common fire-breathing dragons. And the lord of the clan...was my dad."

"Wow." Spike muttered, "So does that mean, you're full name is Daelyn Auburn."

Daelyn's expression saddened, "It was...once. But after I was kicked out of the clan, I was not allowed to bear the clan name."

"What?! Why did they kick you out? Because you were different from everyone else?"

"No. Ever since I was a hatchling, I was clearly not like the other dragons. I can't even spit fire due to the magic I possessed. But they didn't kick me out because I was different. They did it because...I was trying to protect them."

"Protect them...What do you mean? What happened?"

"Well, you see, I-..." Daelyn stopped, "Twilight?"

Spike turned around and sees his unicorn friend was walking back with a distressed expression.

Daelyn didn't need to ask, "You went to provide help to Applejack and she said no."

"She said no." Twilight confirmed, "She's pushing herself beyond her limits. She already launched Rainbow Dash into the sky and it resulted into a rough landing. At this rate, I'm afraid she'll do something that could harm others."

Daelyn sighed, "As long as she doesn't get too involved with others while she's on her applebucking rampage then that's alright."

"No, it's not alright." Twilight said, "Applejack said she was going to Sugarcube Corner to help Pinkie Pie."

Daelyn's eyes widen, "Tell me that doesn't involve anything related to cooking."

"I hope not. Anyway, how's your exercise coming along?"

"See for yourself." Spike gestured to the tree trunk. Daelyn had made scratches onto it with his horn to mark himself and, much to Twilight's surprise, he has already made it a third of the way up."

The purple unicorn smiled, "Looks like you'll get this down quicker than I thought."

"I'm still not fluent with it yet." Daelyn explained, "I only managed a third of the way because was concentrating hard. I can't say I passed this exercise unless I can do this as though it was second nature to me."

"Still, you got to admit, you're doing great, Daelyn." Spike grinned.

Daelyn smiled before standing back up, "Alright. Break time is over. I'm heading back to training-"

"TWILIGHT!" Suddenly, a pony came galloping by in a panic, "We need help! There are a group of ponies sick down at the clinic!"

From that, the three raced down to the clinic, where Nurse Redheart opened the curtain to reveal many little ponies moaning in agony with green faces. Some of them were belching into buckets.

"By the Titans..." Daelyn muttered in shock.

"Oh no! What happened?" Twilight asked.

"It was a mishap of the baked goods!" Nurse Redheart answered.

"No..." Pinkie Pie mumbled as she was among the sick ponies, "Not baked goods...Baked bads! Gawk!"

"Applejack!" Twilight discerned.

"Mmm~...Want one?" Spike asked, eating one of the bad muffins that made the ponies sick.

"Ew! Spike! Are you serious? I don't want to get sick too!" Twilight responded.

"Don't mind if I do?" Daelyn asked as Spike threw a chunk of the bad muffins into Daelyn's mouth, "Hmm...Not too bad."

"You two can't be serious..." Twilight uttered in disbelief before remembering the cause of all of this, "Come on! We have to find Applejack!"

As Spike continued to eat the bad muffins, Daelyn followed Twilight back to Sweet Apple Acres, they had just made it to see Applejack sleeping upside down with a cart she was using to load apples into a bucket.

"Applejack. We need to talk." Twilight said.

"Whoa, huh?" Applejack spurred awake, "Oh, Twilight, Daelyn. It's just you two. I know what you're gonna say, but the answer is still NO."

"Not to upset your apple cart, but you NEED help."

"Hardy Har." She struggled with her position, "No I don't."

"Please, Applejack. Let us help." Twilight offered.

"Help? No thanks." She continued to struggle with the cart until she finally managed to get herself unstuck, "I'll prove that this apple can hand apples. Come on apples..."

Applejack continued to kick the tree, "FALL OFF!"

"AJ," Daelyn narrowed his eyes, "You do realize you're beating a...dead tree."

Applejack looked up and noticed that all the branches on the tree were bare, "I knew that..."

The disoriented pony continued to walk off as Twilight and Daelyn followed.

"Actually Applejack..." Twilight started, "I had something else to talk to you about. I just came back from Ponyville Urgent Care and-"

"You know, I'm a little busy to get lectured right now, Twilight." Applejack interrupted.

"But if you'd just let us help-"

"UGH!" Applejack groaned, "No, NO, NO! How many times do I gotta say it? I don't need no help from no pony!"

"Ugh. That pony is stubborn as a mule." Twilight told me.

"No arguments there..." Daelyn agreed, "What's the plan now?"

Twilight sighed, "Well, I guess we'll just get back to your training. I don't think I can take much more of this..."

As the two walked back over to town...something worse happened downtown by the time they came back: ponies were lying on the ground.

"The horror, the horror!"

"It was awful!"

"A disaster! A horrible, HORRIBLE disaster!"

Looking around, Daelyn nor Twilight saw anything damaged.

"I don't get it..." Twilight muttered.

"Our gardens, destroyed!"

"Every last flower, devoured!"

"By...by...THEM!" One of the ponies pointed toward a vast group of bunnies eating every flower they can get their hands on.

Fluttershy struggling to get them to leaving with her, "Oh my. Oh...Please stop, little bunnies. Oh no! Please, let's go home. Oh my."

"Alright. Enough is enough!" Twilight exclaimed as she glanced at Daelyn.

"Let's go."

The two raced over to Applejack's farm to see her trying to kick another tree while gasping for air between each word she muttered.

"Alright, Applejack." Twilight began, "Your applebucking hasn't just caused YOU problems, it's over-propelled Pegasus', practically poisoned plenty of ponies, and terrorized bushels of bouncing baby bunnies. I don't care what you say. YOU. NEED. HELP."

Applejack gave one last kick to the tree, causing apples to fall in her basket, "Ha! No I don't. Look, ah did it. I harvested the entire Sweet Apple Acres without your help. How d'ya like them apples?"

Surprisingly, nopony notice Big Macintosh appear next Applejack, "Um, how do YOU like THEM apples?"

He gestured towards another field of apple trees waiting to be harvested. To Applejack's utter shock, she began to mumble, "Where'd all the apple...?"

Applejack continued mumbling until she finally passed out.

Twilight began calling her name, trying to wake her up again, "Applejack! Applejack!"

"Huh?" Finally, she woke up but was still very exhausted.

"Oh, good, you're okay. Now Applejack, I completely respect the Apple family ways. You're always there to help any pony in need, so maybe you can put a little of your pride aside and allow your friends to help you?"

Applejack took one more look at all the trees, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, "Okay, Twilight..."

"I am not taking "no" for an answer-wait, what?" Twilight replied, initially thought Applejack would refuse again.

"Yes, Twilight. Yes. Please. I could really use your help." Applejack was even begging now.

Twilight chuckled and sighed, "Daelyn, stay here and look out for Applejack. I'm going to get the others."

"Roger that." Daelyn nodded. As Twilight ran off, Daelyn helped Applejack get up from the floor and walk her to her home.

"Thank you mighty, Daelyn. I appreciate it." Applejack said as they arrive back to her home.

"Don't mention it." I replied, "I'm just glad you are finally taking a break. Although...Call me curious, but care to explain why you are so diligent over this? I mean, it's understandable that apples are the pride of you family but why are you pushing yourself so hard?"

"Well..." Applejack spoke as she laid down on a nearby couch, "Apart from Big McIntosh, I am the only one who can actually do the heavy lifting on this farm. Granny Smith is too old n' frail while my lil' sis Apple Bloom is still too young. So, I had to handle many of the big stuff around these parts."

Daelyn nodded, "Family means a lot to you, Applejack...As it should for others. But shouldering all the burden is far too much for a single pony to handle, no matter how capable they are. It's never wrong to ask for help because as long as you're working hard but not too hard, you're not being unreliable. You got friends like Twilight who is willing to pitch in and give you support and when you do it together, the results can be so much better. Just like how you ponies helped me make a home in that underground oasis. If I had done it alone, it would have taken longer."

Appljack smiled, "I suppose yur right. Well, this may sound embarrassin' but...Would you be willin' to help me along everypony else?"

Daelyn blinked at first before smiled, "Absolutely. I would be honored."

Over the following day, Daelyn, Twilight, Spike, and their pony friends all worked to help harvest the apples. Daelyn was enjoying himself as he took this moment to practice his tree-climbing on the apple trees to go along. Finally after hours of harvesting, all the trees in Sweet Apple Acres have been harvested.

"How about y'all take a little break? I got some fine apple juice waitin' for ya!" Applejack called from over at the barn. She had a table with eight drinks of apple as everypony and dragons walked over to Applejack, "Girls, Daelyn, Spike, I can't thank you enough for this help. I was acting a bit stubborn."

"A bit?" Twilight raised her brow.

"Okay. A mite stubborn, and I'm awful sorry. Now, I know the town gave me the Prized Pony award, but the real award is having you seven as my friends."

With that, they started drinking the apple juice and was nothing short of sweet.

"Phew!" Rainbow Dash said, "All that applebucking sure made me hungry!"

Spike then walked over and held up a plate, "And I've got the perfect treat!"

He showed us the bad muffins that made so many pony sick.

"Eeew...Spike, I threw those all away." Pinkie Pie flinched, "Where'd you get them?"

"From the trash."

"Ooo~, mind if I have another bite?" Daelyn grinned.

"Be my guest."

"EW!" Everyone made disgusted faces at the sight of the two dragons feasting on the muffins.

"Come on, girls. Just a little nibble? Come on~." Spike encouraged. However, every pony declined his offer with disgust.

"Hey, Pinkie, Applejack." Daelyn called, "Mind telling me the recipe of these muffins, I think I'd make some for me and Spike."

"Gugh..." Applejack and Pinkie Pie moaned, "Don't remind us..."

Before getting back to work, Twilight smiled at her friends working together as always but she is mostly happy to see Daelyn also taking part in all of this, "Spike, take a note, please."

Spike brought out his writing utensils.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today, I have finally had my first successful teaching cession for Daelyn. Though, we had a rough start, I finally figured out a way help him begin his training. And right now, he is doing great and is enjoying himself as well. We still have a long way to go, but I have faith that this will work out for both of us.

All the while, my friend Applejack is the best friend a pony could ever have, and she's always there to help anypony. The only trouble is, when she needs help, she finds it hard to accept it, so while friendship is about giving of ourselves to friends, it's also about accepting what our friends have to offer.

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle

To be continued…

Next Time:

Chpt.4 - The Ticket Master

Princess Celestia sends Twilight Sparkle two tickets for the upcoming exclusive Grand Galloping Gala, an annual royal ball that is reserved only for the highest of pony society. Upon learning of the tickets, each of Twilight's friends insists she should be the one to go with Twilight, and the five start giving her special treatment to earn her favor. Unfortunately, these constant hassles toward his mentor was starting to rub Daelyn the wrong way as his annoyance and rage begins to manifest...

Here are lists of characters that are introduced so far:

Dragons

Daelyn - Voice by Brina Palencia

Spike

Ponies

Twilight Sparkle

Applejack

Fluttershy

Rarity

Pinkie Pie

Rainbow Dash

Mayor Mare

Nurse Redheart

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Seraphias here. Just got back from a vacation for the Holidays and I am glad to be back to write more. For those who watched Naruto, you may recognize Daelyn's first lesson is somewhat similar to a certain training in the first season of that show. I'd figure it fits well here.

Happy New Year's Eve, everyponies! XD

And as always, review for anything including holes & errors, as well as possible improvements. Also, I welcome new ideas anytime. It will inspire me and prevent writer's block from happening so don't be afraid to share! See ya!