Applejack had came back from a small party Pinkie Pie had arranged in the barn. It was her birthday so her friends joined the celebration, they wanted her to take the whole day off for them to take her out for a fun time. But AJ wanted to get some work done for the afternoon so she could get back to them at night. She dropped the saddle bag that was full of gifts onto her bed. She opened it and took them out to look over what she had received.
A book for many different apple recipes from Twilight, a candy apple covered in caramel and marshmallows that was wrapped nicely with a big red bow from Pinkie Pie, a new hat that Rarity sewed herself, a new lasso from Rainbow Dash and a small cage that contained a rare bug from Fluttershy.
The bug was purple with blue spots, Fluttershy had said this bug was to help sweeten fruit from trees with it's spray that it spreads onto the fruit. She told her that maybe this bug could help with her apple trees. When Applejack had asked where she found the bug, Fluttershy told her that it came from the outside of the Everfree forest. AJ was unsure about taking the bug but while not wanting to seem rude, she happily accepted it and said she would use it when she went back to working.
She picked up the small cage and looked at the details of the bug. The purple was a light color like Twilight's fur and the blue was as bright as Rainbow's. It looked like a ladybug that got into poison joke. But trusting Fluttershy's knowledge of the bug, she walked out of her room with the small creature.
She passed by Applebloom, "Oh! What's that sis?" She followed her, intrigued by the bug.
"It's a small critter Fluttershy had gave me. She said it'd help out sweeten the apples."
They made their way out of the house and went to the orchard, "How does it do that?" Applebloom questioned.
Applejack set down the cage and opened up the door to it. Picking up the small bug and bringing it towards an apple tree.
"She said the bug would spray the fruit and it spreads to all the other fruit."
She stood up on her hind hooves, supporting herself against the bark of the tree and she reached up as she placed the bug onto an apple.
"Is it doing it?"
"Fluttershy said this would take a while so we should come back to check on it in a couple of minutes. Til then we should haul these already picked apples back to the farm."
An hour passed and AJ wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Shoot that took longer than expected." She looked down at Applebloom setting down the bucket of apples. "Do you think the bug is done?"
"Oh that's right, I should go check on it before I head off with the girls. Come on Bloom." The sisters headed off back to the orchard and saw that the bug had settled back in it's cage. "Aw, I think it's tired from sweetening the apples." Applebloom picked up the cage to view the bug inside it.
"Well let's see just how sweet this bug made them." Applejack backed up to one of the tree, kicked her back hooves against it and knocked out an apple out of the tree. She caught it and saw how shiny the apple was. "Flutters didn't mention about how shiny the bug would make them!" She smiled as she could see her reflection in the red fruit. She took a bite out of it and her eyes widened, almost seeing a sparkle in her eye.
"That there is the sweetest apple I've ever tasted!"
"Lemme try!" Applebloom gave the cage to Applejack as she handed over the apple. The small filly eagerly took a large bite out of it. Her smile grew on her face, "it's like eating every apple dessert in one!"
"We gotta tell Granny about this right now."
Dawn on the horizon. AJ tells the news to her family and they decided to work all day tomorrow to get these apples baked and selling. While they were planning the schedule for tomorrow in the kitchen, there was a knock at the door. Applejack got up to answer it and was greeted by a hug from an energetic party pony.
"Hi Applejack! We came to pick you up for a night on the town!" Pinkie said as she bounced up and down.
"I'll go in a second, Pinkie. I've just gotta finish up tomorrow's schedule." AJ smiled at the pony's excitement.
"Okie dokie! We'll be waiting for you outside. We gotta go while the night is still young!" She bounced out the door.
Applejack finished up, saying goodbye to her family and went out to have fun with her friends.
As she stepped out, Applebloom went to go take the bug to her sister's room. She placed the cage next to her bed and watch the little bug fly around in it's cage. "I wonder if you can even make rotten apples sweet, I guess we can figure that out tomorrow."
She left the room, turning off the lights and shutting the door.
The latch to the cage was left open.
Later that night, Applejack came back home with a large smile on her face. She was almost happy enough to bounce like her silly pink friend. But not wanting to wake her family, she quiet made her way to her room and collapsed on to her bed.
"Today was a great day!" She looked over to the cage next to her bed. "Tomorrow is gonna be even better." She undid her hair and took her hat off, placing it next to the bug cage. She tucked herself over the covers. "Goodnight sweet bug." She dozed into a peaceful slumber.
The cage door opened.
Applejack woke up the next morning with a head start since she got up before her clock woke her. "Good morning-" Her eyes shot open when she saw the bug was gone.
"Where.. what-"
"Where could it have gone?!"
Quickly putting on her hat, AJ began her search. She looked through her whole room. She looked all over her house for the small creature but found it nowhere. Applebloom woke up from her sister's rummaging around in her room. She sat up and rubbed the tiredness from her eyes. "Applejack? What's going on?" Applebloom asked as she yawned.
The country pony turned to her younger sister, "The bug is gone is gone, sis. I can't find it anywhere."
Applebloom got out of her bed, "I'm sure it's just outside getting a head start."
Applejack looked outside the window to the orchard outside. "Yeah. Getting a head start.."
Applejack was setting up the carts for the afternoon. She was ready to gather all the apples she can today, after that she'll go on the search for the bug with Fluttershy. AJ felt a tap on her shoulder and she looked over to her brother on her side. "You ready to gather all these apples, Big Mac?" He nodded and they went to go set up with the first row of apple trees.
As Applejack worked, every now and then she'd twitch her ear like she felt something was bothering her. She kept thinking it was a fly that was getting too close. It went way for a minute until she felt an itch in her hair. AJ didn't let it get to her but then an hour later, she couldn't take it. She tried to scratch the back of her head but it wasn't enough.
"Big Mac? Let's take a break shall we? We've been gathering for a couple of hours now." She forced a smile to her brother and he agreed with her. Applejack ran to the barn as fast as her tired legs could into the bathroom. "Darn it, this has bothering me for too long." She took off her hair to see the bug in her hair.
But it wasn't alone.
A scream rang throughout the whole Sweet Apple Arces.
Applebloom ran into the bathroom, "Sis what happen-" Her eyes trailed all over AJ's hair and the bugs living in it. "Oh my.."
Applejack's bottom lip quivered at the sight. Her hoof moved over one the bugs and trying to pull it out. But instead of the bug getting taken out, she pulled her hoof away and strands of her blonde hair fell to the floor. Her eyes twitched when the hair hit the ground. "These.. Th-These things are eating my hair!" She felt them all crawl in her hair and multiplying in it. She ran past Applebloom and went for the door. "I'm going to Fluttershy's place before they start going for my fur!"
She left her hat behind.
Fluttershy was tending to her animals when she heard a knock at the door. She set the food on the floor, "I'll be right back everyone." She opened the door to see Applejack with small patches of her hair missing and the bugs living in her house. "Fluttershy, you gotta help me."
"Goodness!" She came in close for a better view of the bugs. "Is this the bug I gave you for your birthday, AJ?"
"Yes and it's living in my hair now. It's been eating my hair and I can feel it.. feeding off my blood too." Applejack almost fell forward at the end of her sentence but was caught by her friend. She lost of energy running over here and she grew weak from it. Fluttershy got the dazed pony into her home.
She sat her down and tried to think of an idea. "Maybe we can brush them out? But.. you'd lose a lot of your hair that way."
"I don't care if I do. I can feel them move all over me and I'm getting weaker. I don't want to feel this anymore."
Fluttershy got up to go fetch for a brush and came back to a colorless face of Applejack laying on the couch. She sat her up and turned her away from her to get a full view of her hair. The hoof with the brush in it shook with worry at the many bugs that were appearing and disappearing in AJ's hair. A bear came to set down a small bucket to put the bugs in. Fluttershy took a breath before she started. She brought it forward and slowly brushed out a bug until it fell off the strand of hair that followed onto the seat under her. The bear picked up the bug and put it into the bucket.
Hours of this process happening, she got as many as she could out of her hair but Applejack wasn't left with much afterwards. Patches of her fur were missing and most of hair we're gone though she was losing less of her blood. The bugs we're released back into the Everfree forest. AJ's hat had to be replaced due to the bugs that might have still lived in it.
"I'm sorry about all this happening, Applejack." Fluttershy apologized as she was snipping off the last of her friend's blonde hair.
"Ah it's alright, Shy. The bug wasn't all bad, all the fruit is all nice and sweet til next winter."
"But your hair.." The pegasus put down the scissors and she felt the back of Apple Jack's hair for any stubs left. She felt herself frown at the loss of her friend's mane and patches of skin being exposed in the air.
"Never mind about all that. It grows back." AJ brought her hoof to the back of her head to feel the smoothness of it and loss of some her fur. Fluttershy looked down at her hoof at the last strands of blond hair and she put them into the trash. Her view of the hair falling into the trashcan moved to her own hair. She brushed it with her hooves. Then she stopped when her face lit up with a smile.
"I think I know how to fix this."
They both went to Rarity's boutique for Applejack's hair problem, to which of course Rarity nearly fainted at the sight, but she helped her friends with it.
The sun was setting and the earth pony and pegasus both walked out the boutique.
"Thanks Fluttershy for helping me out with this."
The shy pony smiled, "Of course. It's the less I could do. Besides I needed a haircut anyways." She brushed out her new shortened hair that stopped halfway at her neck instead of going as it.
"I'll be honest, Flutters. I think pink is a good color on me." Applejack looked at the ponytail on the edge of her hair. The wig she was wearing was the same style as had it before but in pink.
Fluttershy nodded, "it certainly does suit you."
They shared a laugh before they both headed home.
