A cold breeze filtered through the windows at Sweet Apple Acres as an alarm clock rang loudly on a nightstand by the bed in one room of the family house, breaking the tranquil silence. An orange hoof emerged from under the covers and silenced the alarm clock with a faint click. Applejack pushed the covers back from over her head and got to her hooves, yawning deeply and peering out her window at the sky outside, still dark before the sunrise. She stretched her limbs out one leg at a time, luxuriating in the pleasant ache and the feeling of warmth returning to her legs. Taking the covers in her mouth, Applejack carefully made her bed and straightened out the pillows, fluffing them a bit with her hooves. Applejack glanced toward the alarm clock, now reading 5:02 a.m., and trotted across the hall to the bathroom, turning the knob with a forehoof before stepping inside. She flicked on the lamp in the corner of the room and examined her reflection in the mirror, noting the slight bags under her eyes but diverting her attention to her mane.
Her mane and tail were still in a ponytail from when she’d gone to sleep the night before, and she swiftly tugged out the hair ties around them before running a brush through her mane and tail, wincing slightly when she pulled the brush through a tangle. When her mane and tail were clear of all knots and tangles, Applejack carefully wrapped her hair ties around them before stepping close to the sink in front of the bathroom mirror. She turned the cold-water knob with one hoof and leaned down close to the bottom of the sink, splashing a few hooffuls of water onto her face before throwing her head back and shaking off the excess water, gasping slightly from the cold. Applejack flicked one of her ears to get some errant droplets off before trotting back to her room to retrieve a well-worn brown Stetson from a hat rack across from her bed as well as a length of rope hung up next to it. She slung the rope across her shoulders but paused to hold the hat in her hooves, examining it to make sure it was still in good condition.
Applejack glanced over to her bed and felt a pang of sadness when her gaze fell on the framed photograph of her and her parents when she was a filly, her mother holding a baby Apple Bloom and her father with one hoof over a young Big MacIntosh’s broad shoulders – Applejack mused how much he looked like her father now that he was a full-grown stallion – and a young Applejack standing in the middle, grinning from ear to ear. They were all so young back then, weren’t they? She shook her head to clear her thoughts and placed her hat on her head before quickly trotting down the hall towards the stairs – there wasn’t time to think about those things, there was farm work to be done.
Applejack’s hooves clip-clopped down the wooden stairs and towards the kitchen as the sky slowly began to brighten. She trotted into the kitchen to find Big MacIntosh already sitting at the family table, devouring a small tower of pancakes next to a cup of coffee.
“Mornin’, Big Mac,” Applejack greeted her brother with a friendly nod.
“Mornin,” Big Mac replied through a mouthful of pancakes. Applejack trotted over to the counter near the stove where a stack of apple-cinnamon pancakes and a small pitcher of syrup were resting. She reached up to the cupboard and took out a ceramic plate, carefully setting it on the counter to set a few pancakes and a drizzle of syrup. Applejack stepped over towards the family’s worn-out coffee maker and took a mug out of one of the cupboards, taking the coffeepot’s handle in her mouth and carefully pouring it into her cup. She reached over to the little pot of sugar and the pitcher of cream nearby and added a bit of both to her coffee – a dash of sugar and a dollop of cream – before taking the pancakes and the coffee to the table across from Big Mac.
“Thanks fer makin’ the coffee this mornin,’ Big Mac,” Applejack said, taking a bite out of one of her pancakes. Big Mac nodded in reply before finishing his last few bites of pancake and stepping back from the table.
“Plow’s in the main barn,” Applejack said. “Had to wash it yesterday, should be clean as a whistle for ya now.”
“Thanks, AJ,” Big Mac smiled, placing his dishes in the sink before trotting out of the house towards the barn. Applejack took a few more bites out of her pancakes and drank her coffee in a few gulps, feeling as if the warmth of the coffee was filling her whole body. She didn’t feel like she had much of an appetite but took another few mouthfuls before stepping back from the table and pushing in her chair. Applejack tipped the remnants of her breakfast into the trash with a pang of guilt before setting both dishes into the sink and trotting outside to follow Big Mac.
The cool air outside caught her off-guard and she shivered a bit before fluffing out her coat and trotting towards the chicken coop. The sun still wasn’t fully up yet but she could see the sky starting to change colors, the deep blues and blacks of the night sky giving way to rich purples and pinks and oranges. Applejack took a moment to gaze at the sunrise before reluctantly turning away to head towards the chicken coop; she didn’t have enough time to watch the sunrise. She trotted over to a little shed near the coop and opened the door to retrieve a bag of chicken feed in her mouth before stepping out and shutting the door behind her with one of her back hooves. Applejack returned to the coop and carefully poured a small pile of feed in front of the entrance before opening the door and knocking twice on the side of the chicken coop. One of the chickens poked its head out to see the pile of feed and scampered out of the coop, quickly followed by the rest of the chickens as they all crowded around the food. When they were all outside, Applejack took a cloth-lined basket from behind the coop and quickly slipped inside, moving from nest to nest and carefully collecting the whole, uncracked eggs before quietly leaving just as the chickens were done eating. As the chickens all filed back into the coop, Applejack nudged the last stubborn birds inside before shutting the door behind them.
Taking the basket of eggs in her mouth, Applejack trotted back towards the farmhouse and carefully opened the door to the kitchen to set the eggs down on the counter before turning and leaving again. Applejack yawned again as she trotted over to the barn, glancing around at the fence surrounding the farm as she did so. The apple trees were still young and harvest season wasn’t for a few months, so she needed to water the saplings and make sure all of the farm equipment was in working order. Trotting over to the fields of young trees, Applejack carefully turned the valves between the irrigation system she’d set up between the rows before returning to the main valve and turning it to the right with considerable effort. The pipes between the rows shuddered before letting loose multiple streams of water, showering the saplings as Applejack sat back heavily on her haunches, watching to make sure all the pipes were in working order.
Even after so many years of planting, growing, and harvesting apple trees, Applejack still found herself intrigued by how these fragile saplings would someday grow into strong, sturdy trees. She gingerly stepped over one of the piles towards one of the little saplings, ignoring the spray of water across her coat to reach out with a hoof and touch one of its new leaves, reveling at the frailty and the beauty of it, how its pale green veins crossed through it like strands of thread woven through a tapestry, how lovely such a small thing could be.
A burst of water hit her in the face and Applejack snapped out of her reverie, spluttering and shaking her head. She bounded back over the pipes to turn off the main valve and shook off her coat, the cool morning air ruffling her soaked fur and making her shiver. Applejack cantered away towards the barn to try and dry herself off faster, mentally chiding herself for getting sidetracked. She kept her gaze fixed on the barn and tried to avoid getting distracted by the sunrise, quickly reaching its sturdy double doors and pushing one open. The barn was empty save for a collection of farm tools leaning to either side and a smooth dirt floor. Applejack approached the tools and began to examine them one by one, looking for any damage or dirt that needed to be clean. With a flash of disappointment, she noted that all of the tools were in good condition and seemingly hadn’t been used since she’d cleaned them yesterday – which wasn’t a surprise, given that most of these tools were used for harvesting and tilling fields, and she didn’t need to do either of those this week.
Applejack briefly contemplated cleaning all the tools again just to have something else to do, looking down at the tools that she could say were dirty. The more practical Applejack scolded her for wanting to do something unnecessary and wasteful – she didn’t have an unlimited supply of soap, did she? – but the more emotional Applejack reminded her that it would be a good way to keep her mind off of things and it was certainly easier to avoid thinking about other things this way, wasn’t it? Applejack weighed both options in her mind before taking a deep breathe and turning to leave the barn. There were other things she could do to keep busy, she reasoned. There was always something that needed to get done on the farm.
Rainbow Dash stretched deeply on the grassy hill overlooking Sweet Apple Acres, reaching out one hoof at a time before laying down on the cool grass in the shade of a tall oak tree. She rested her head on the grass and watched the farm with her magenta eyes, tail flicking every so often as she waited. Rainbow tended to get bored rather easily though, so she spent some time climbing – or rather, trying to climb - up into the tree without using her wings. She eyed one of the lower branches and leapt towards it, grasping the branch in her front hooves before hauling herself the rest of the way up, back hooves scrabbling at the bark. Rainbow took a moment to lay on the branch and catch her breath before gripping the branch with all four hooves and swinging upside-down to find a pair of bright green eyes meet her startled magenta ones.
Rainbow squeaked in surprise and lost her grip, landing in the tall grass with a soft thump. She glared up at Applejack. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”
Applejack laughed – a warm, genuine laugh that never failed to melt Rainbow’s heart – and leaned down to nuzzle her marefriend. “Ah, my bad. Next time I’ll run up the hill hootin’ and hollerin’ so ya won’t miss me.”
Rainbow tried to maintain an annoyed expression but couldn’t help but grin. “Yeah, whatever.” She climbed to her hooves and pulled Applejack into a hug, burying her muzzle in the farm pony’s soft mane. “You’re late,” she complained.
Applejack sighed and rested her head on Rainbow’s shoulder. “Yeah, just… busy.” She pulled back and looked at Rainbow with a smile. “Still light out though, sugar.”
Rainbow nodded, glancing over at the sky above. Applejack was right; the sun was creeping closer to the horizon, but the sunrise still wasn’t finished. With a quick motion, Rainbow sprawled out on the grass and beckoned for Applejack to join her; the farm pony smiled and stretched out next to her, moving close enough that their shoulders were touching. Rainbow feigned an overexaggerated yawn and draped a wing across Applejack’s shoulders – Applejack gave her a wry smile, not having fallen for the old trick but comforted by the sense of closeness.
The sun began to sink lower towards the horizon as the pair watched, the bright blue sky giving way to warm tones of yellow, orange, and pink. Applejack sighed in contentment as she watched the sky, colors changing so quickly that the sky was hardly recognizable from one minute to the next. As she watched the sun falling closer and closer to the horizon with Rainbow, she felt the urge to leave, to do something productive, and her shoulders shifted. Rainbow was familiar with her gestures and turned to look at her, Applejack quickly turning to stare at her hooves to hide her embarrassed blush. Leaning in closer, Rainbow reached out a hoof and gently turned Applejack’s face towards hers, silencing the latter’s stuttered apologies with a kind look. “Hey, it’s okay. We’ve got time. Don’t worry.”
Applejack nodded and turned to look back at the sunset, taking a deep breath.
“Yeah. We’ve got time.”
