Anon of Canterlot High

Chapter Two: Manual Labor

You pulled into Sweet Apple Acres with your radio still blaring. You noticed some of the farmhands looking at you as you rolled down the rather long driveway, but you didn’t mind. They can suck your dick and fuckin’ like it if they didn’t like your music. You came to a stop in front of a white farmhouse. You turned your radio down and shut your vehicle off, taking a step outside onto the dirt driveway. You saw the same “help wanted” sign posted on the front porch, so you walked over to the house to ask for a job. Walking up the creaky wooden steps of the front porch, you felt a hint of nervousness in the back of your mind. Why the fuck were you nervous? You didn’t like that you were nervous. Get yourself together, Anon. You knocked on the front door and waited for an answer. You heard an “I’ll get it!” From inside, so at least you were going to be answered. When the front door opened, you were greeted by an orange-skinned girl wearing a Stetson, button up shirt and a denim skirt.

“Howdy, parter.” She said, leaning on the doorframe. “What can I do ya for?” The force of the south was strong with this one, where everything is bigger. The food, the accents, most noticeably her chest, which was slightly showing from the portion of her shirt that wasn’t buttoned up. You made sure that you only glared for a split second so you weren’t noticed.

“Yeah, I’m looking for a job.” You said. “I saw your sign while going down the road.”

“Well, I’ll be damned.” She said with a chuckle. “It ain’t everyday somebody comes lookin’ for a farm job. I’ll bet you were the one blarin’ that music too, weren’t ya?”

“Oh man, what gave it away?” You asked with a smirk.

“Smart one ain’t ya?” She asked. “Name’s Applejack, but everyone calls me AJ. Whichever ya prefer. I own the farm.” She held out her hand.

“Anon.” You said, shaking her hand. She had a very firm handshake, you liked that. Now if she knew about cars and was just as good in the garage as you were, then she’d be a keeper.

“Come sit.” She said, walking passed you and taking a seat on one of the rocking chairs on the porch. You obliged, taking a seat in one next to hers.

“Tell me why you want a farm job.” She said, crossing her legs.

“Well, I don’t mean to brag but I’m pretty built, so I can lift quite a bit.” You said, patting your arm. “That, and I think manual labor suits my personality more than food jobs or janitorial jobs. Stuff like that.”

“Are ya willin’ to take orders?”

“As long as I know you aren’t taking advantage of me.”

“Do ya have an attitude?”

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t.”

“Got any references?”

“Not exactly.”

“Alright, when can ya start?” Applejack asked, standing up from her seat. You were slightly taken back by how quick that happened, but you weren’t complaining.

“How about now?”

“Sounds good. I think I’m gonna like you, Anon. You seem to be honest enough and that’s my number one policy.”

“Word, I dig that. Thanks for accepting me.” You stood up from your chair and took a quick stretch.

“Anytime, parter.”

“So, where do I start?” You asked.

“Hmm,” Applejack hummed as she put her hand on her chin. After a moment of thought, she looked like she had an idea. “C’mon, follow me.”

You began to follow Applejack off of the porch to wherever she planned to take you. As the two of you passed your car, you noticed she was eyeing your ride.

“Nice ride ya got there.” She said. “70’ Challenger, right?”

“Well I’ll be damned.” you said, mocking Applejack from earlier with a southern accent. “It ain’t everyday you see a perty girl that knows her cars.”

“Are you mockin’ me?” She asked over her shoulder with a smirk.

“Perhaps.”

“Alright, well yer lucky I’m in a good mood.” She Said with a chuckle.

“We’ll see.”

The two of you continued walking towards a barn that was just off of the driveway. While walking behind her, you noticed that she swayed her hips when walking, nearly putting you in a trance. Even with that denim skirt on, you could tell that Applejack definitely packed in the backside. Not wanting to get caught staring on the first day on the job, you looked away from your eye candy. You and Applejack entered the barn, which was empty save for a man working on a tractor.

“Hey Mac!” Called out Applejack.

“Eeyup?” Replied the man, not looking away from the tractor.

“We got a new farmhand, I want you to show him around and give him some work to do.” Said Applejack, walking over to the man. You followed.

“Alright, I suppose I could do that.” He said, taking his head out of the motor and wiping his oil-covered hands on a rag. He was a very tall, standing at about six-five, muscular, blonde hair and blue eyes. The true look of a farmhand if you do say so yourself.

“Anon, this is Big Macintosh. Macintosh, Anon.” Said Applejack, looking at the both of you. You and Macintosh shook hands. You could see why he was labeled “big”.

“You can call me Mac, parter.” Mac said, with the same southern accent as Applejack.

“Alright, well I’ll leave you two to yourselves.” Said Applejack as she turned to leave the barn. “Mac, don’t go too easy on em!”

“I’ll try.” Said Mac. He tossed his oil rag onto the tractor and beckoned for you to follow him.

As you walked beside Mac, you decided to make some conversation with him. That was new, since you typically never did that with strangers. However, you felt as if knowing who this guy was could really help you out in the long run.

“So, how long you been working here?” You asked.

“My whole life.”

“Holy shit, really?”

“Eeyup.”

“How’d you manage to get the job?”

“Well Applejack and I been working here to help Granny Smith for as long as I can remember. She can’t exactly do it herself no more, so someone had to do it.”

“Hold on, I thought Applejack owned the farm?”

“Her and I do along with Granny Smith. It’s family owned.”

“Oh, so y’all are siblings? I couldn’t tell.” You said with a chuckle.

“Eeyup.”

“How old are y’all then?”

“AJ and I are 17.”

“No way, I can see AJ being 17 but you look a lot older than you are!”

“Nope. I can tell ya that we’re here, though.”

You found yourself in the middle of an Apple Orchard. What did you expect? It’s Sweet Apple Acres you dumbass.

“Neat. So what do we do?” You asked.

Mac grabbed a few baskets off of a conveniently placed trailer and set them on the ground, save for one.

“What ya wanna do here is take as many apples off this tree as it takes to fill a bushel. You could pick em one by one if you’d like, but I find it easier to just shake the tree and let the apples fall to the ground.” Mac violently shook the tree, stripping it off several apples. “Then ya just fill the bushel and bring it to the black barn, not the red barn.”

“Got it. Wouldn’t that bruise the apples, though?” You asked.

“It’s cider season, that doesn’t matter at the moment. I’ll be here to help ya out since it’s yer first day. You’ll get the hang of it quickly, partner. You look like you got enough muscle to lift two bushels at a time.”

“I bet I could do three to four if I wanted to.” You Said, looking at the baskets.

“Now that’s somethin’ ya don’t wanna do. You’ll overwork yourself and pass out, especially with this heat. Trust me, parter. I learned the hard way.”

“Alright, I’ll take your word for it. Shall we begin?” You asked, grabbing hold of a tree.

“Eeyup.”

You and Mac got to work, shaking trees and filling bushels. Carrying two bushels at a time, you walked to the black barn that Mac told you about and placed them inside. Piece of cake. Well, or so you thought. For about two hours you were fine, but the walks to the barn and back really began to kick your ass. You however, were far from a bitching quitter. So, you toughed it out.

“You alright, parter?” Asked Mac. “You look like you need some water.”

“That’d be nice.” You said, picking up a couple bushels. “I hate to complain, but I feel as if I might pass out without some.”

“I understand, it happens. Follow me to the barn and I’ll get ya somethin’ to drink.”

“Word, sounds good.”

You and Mac walked through the apple orchard to the barn. When you got to the barn, you tried your hardest to gently set down the apples and not let your fatigue get in the way of your job. You clumsily set the apples on the concrete floor and collapsed on a nearby hay bale.

“You gonna make it?” Asked Mac

“Yeah,” you said in between breaths. “Just gimme a minute.”

“Alright, well you can wait here while I get ya some ice water.”

“Appreciate it, man.” You said as Mac left the barn.

You lie back and take a moment to cool down. You loved warm weather, but the heat was really being a bitch right now. You took the end of your shirt and wiped off your sweaty face. You noticed that you smelled like man odor, should’ve reapplied your deodorant at home.

“Farm life not what you expected, sugarcube?” Asked Applejack.

You looked to your left and saw Applejack standing there, arms crossed and a smug smirk.

“It’s definitely gonna take some adjusting, but I’ll get used to it.” You said, sitting up.

“Taking a break already? You ain’t even been working that long!” Asked Applejack.

“Well Mac said I’d pass out if I didn’t get water, so he told me to wait here while he got me some.”

“Excuses, excuses.”

“It’s true ya know.” Said Mac, walking into the barn with some paper cups one of those five gallon drink coolers you see at parties. “You mus’ be crazy if ya think Anon would make it through the day without water.”

“I suppose yer right, my apologies.” Said Applejack.

“No biggie.” You said as you stood up from the hay bale. “I’m thirsty as a motherfucker right now.”

“Alright alright, here ya go partner.” Said Mac as he set the water cooler on the hay bales. “Drink up.”

You grabbed a paper cup and filled yourself up, quickly downing the ice cold elixir of hydration. When you finished, you poured yourself another and downed it again. As you continued to drink more cups, you heard Applejack chuckle.

“Slow down there partner, yer gonna give yerself a tummy ache.”

You finished another cup and let out a loud “ahh” of satisfaction.

“I’ll be fine.” You said, wiping your mouth. “Hey Mac, how long do you guys work for around here?”

“We usually go till dark.” Said Mac, looking at his watch. “I’d say we still got ‘bout a few hours of sunlight left.”

“Already eager to get off are ya?” Asked Applejack with a smirk.

“Nah, just curious is all.”

“Quit pickin’ on the new guy, AJ.” Said Mac, giving his sister a nudge.

“Quit bein’ soft on the new guy, Mac.” Retorted Applejack playfully, giving her brother a nudge. Unlike Applejack, though, Mac didn’t budge.

“We gonna get back to work?” You said with a laugh.

“I dunno, are ya?” Asked Applejack, looking at Mac.

“Now just what in the hell have you done today?” Asked Mac.

“Hey, I’ve been inside all day managin’ our finances, I been just as busy as you!”

“You know very well Granny Smith could do that!”

“Well I’m doin’ it outta the kindness of ma heart!”

“Kindness or laziness?”

“Shut it!” Applejack Said, giving Mac a playful punch in the chest. They both had a laugh and gave each other a hug.

“Alright, Anon and I’ll get back to work.” Said Mac. “Let’s get to it, parter.”

You and Mac began to make your way out of the barn when Applejack tagged along.

“I’m done with all the paperwork anyway, I might as well come help y’all.” She said.

“We could use an extra set of hands.” Said Mac. “Anon’s kinda slow.” He said jokingly.

“Can it!” You said, bumping Mac with your shoulder. He moved off to the side a bit when you bumped him, causing him to give you a look of surprise.

“Well, well.” Said Mac. “It’s been a minute since I’ve seen someone that could really push me. AJ can’t even move me.”

“Yeah right! Can too!” Said Applejack. “Remember that one time I basically whooped yer ass?”

“That was like what, when we were twelve?” Asked Mac.

Applejack let out an annoyed grunt as the three of you approached the orchard.

“Alright, lets get to it y’all.” Said Mac.

The three of you began to repeat the process that you had learned earlier. Shake, fill, carry, repeat. You worked for hours doing the same thing, stopping for water every now and then. When the sun had set, Mac decided that it was time to call it a day.

“Alright y’all, that’s good for one day.” Said Mac, setting the last bushels of apples in the barn. “Great work today, Anon. Glad to have ya here.”

“Yeah no prob, I appreciate you looking out for me earlier as well.” You replied.

“Anytime, parter.” Said Mac as he gave you a pat on the shoulder. “Would you and AJ mind cleanin’ up in here before ya take off? I gotta go ring the bell on the porch and let the farmhands know they can clock out.”

“Sure thing.” You said.

“No problem.” Said Applejack.

“Thanks, I’ll catch ya later Anon.” Said Mac as he left the barn.

“So, What do we do here?” You turned to Applejack.

“Basically ya just sweep all the dirt an’ shit to the outside and we can call it good.”

“Oh, word.” You said as walked over to a corner and grabbed a broom for you and Applejack. She thanked you as you tossed it to her. While she began to sweep, you took your sweat-soaked shirt off and stuff it in your back pocket, letting half of it hang out. You heard Applejack give you a playful whistle. “What? Can’t take a soaked shirt off?”

“Nah, that’s perfectly fine sugarcube.” Said Applejack. “Ya just look pretty darn fit.”

“Yeah, I’ve been a little bit of a fitness geek all my life.” You said, sweeping the garage. “I really went crazy with the weights over the last year, it dramatically changed my overall look.”

“Wow, What For?”

“Let’s say I didn’t have much to do.” You didn’t wanna tell Applejack about your last year, you didn’t want to make a bad impression on her. Especially since you didn’t tell her earlier.

“Uh huh.” Said Applejack suspiciously. “Alrighty then.”

The two of you finished your sweeping and closed up the barn. As you walked outside, you noticed some of the farmhands looking at you and whispering to each other. You decided to keep your mouth shut, no point in making a scene if they don’t have the balls to say anything to your face. You unlocked your car and climbed inside, flinching a bit at the cold leather seat. You turned the keys in the ignition and started up the engine. You heard a knock on your window, it was Applejack. You rolled it down.

“What’s up?” You asked.

“Can I get yer number? I need to be able to get a hold of ya when I need ya.”

“Ah, asking for my digits already?” You asked with a laugh.

“Shut up!” Said Applejack, giving you a playful punch in the shoulder. You opened your glovebox and pulled out a pen and asked for Applejack’s arm. You wrote your number down with the pen, and she gave you a smile. “Thanks, partner. Catch ya tomorrow?”

“Sounds like a plan, take it easy.” You Said as you put your car in reverse.

Applejack got up from leaning on your car. “You do the same, sugarcube.”

You backed out of the driveway a bit before turning around. You slowly drove down the driveway as you chose a station on the radio from your phone. When you found something you liked, you set your phone down, turned the radio up, and sped home to take a shower.