//-------------------------------------------------------// Applejack's Little Helper -by Lil_Miss_Rarity- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 2: The Search //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 2: The Search The Middle of Nowhere... Wow! This Sun is so hot! How long have I been walking? you think as you wipe some sweat off your forehead. You look back to check how far you've gone. Ponyville is still in view. But barely. "GRRR! You got to be kidding me! Why did Celestia choose today to make the Sun the hottest!?" It was the day of the Burning Sun. The anger is making you more hot and sweaty. And you drank the rest of your water. If you don't find some water and shade, you could dehydrate. But suddenly, you see something or somepony. "Hey, what's that?" They looked like ponies, but they had handkerchiefs covering their mouths, so you can't tell who they were. They run up to you and take your saddlebag! "Hey! What the-!" "Stay back and nopony gets hurt!" "Of all the rotten luck..." You know they'll try to harm you if you chase after them, but some of those things in the saddlebag, you actually need. So you run after them. But the Sun made you extremely weak, and therefore, you are unable to keep up with them. Soon, you lose sight of them. "Damnit!" You stop to catch your breath. *hufff* puff* "I can't believe it...They took everything..." The run has taken you far away from Ponyville, so trying to return was suicide. With almost no hope left, you just keep walking on the road. But Celestia must be watching over you, because a few minutes later, you find the ponies who robbed you, tied up by the hooves. There was a note attached to the rope. "Here you go, Strong. I just took the liberty of avenging you. No need to thank me. It's what friends do, right? Have some water. -Applejack" Next to the note was a bucket of water. You are so desperate for water that you dive right for it, not looking around to see if Applejack was watching or anything. You gulp almost all of the water. But you stopped yourself from finishing it. You know you need some for the road. You look down to pick up your saddlebag when you see something else in the dirt. It's hoof prints. "These must be Applejack's hoof prints!" You began to follow. But it didn't take long for the prints to disappear. But you don't need it. You can barely see a small shed in the distance. "Finally some shade!" You walk towards the shed. But as you open the door, you realize it is too small for you to fit in. Suddenly, your hooves are swept from underneath you. You smack your head on the ground, knocking you out. ???... You don't know how long you've been out, so you check your body for any changes. You're putting on a minor beard. But nothing else is out of place. You look around and you are not out in the middle of nowhere anymore. You see your saddlebag on a chair next to the bed you're in. "Ugh... Where am I?" *knock* *knock* "Hello? Strong? You awake?" "Applejack!?" "Hey, sugarcube. I see you woke up." You stare at Applejack. She looks more beautiful than in high school. "Uh, h-hi, Applejack." "What are you doin' here?" "I wanted t-to help you w-with farming." "Really? I'm flattered. But ah don't need any help." "But you sound like you need a lot of help in the letter." "Well, if ya'll are here, might as well let ya help me. Come on, ah'll give ya the tour of this fine farm of mine." Outside, 2 hours later... "And finally, here's the apple orchids, and over there is the equipment storage, but the only equipment in there is a shovel. Equipment is really expensive in the city." "That's really interesting." "Well, it's gettin' late. You best get some rest. Tomorrow will be a busy day!" //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 3: Work Day //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 3: Work Day That night... You have finished a meal of apple cider, eggs, buttered corn, and apple pie with Applejack and you volunteered to wash the dishes. After finishing, you decide to take a shower. You open the door to the bathroom, only to see Applejack in the tub. "Ahh! What are you doin'!?" "Oh crap!" "How'd ya'll get in here!? Did you unlock the door!?" "No, no, no! The door was unlocked! I didn't know you were in here! I'm so sorry!" "Get outa here!" You immediately dash out of the room. But got hit on the back of the head with a bar of soap. You run back to the guest room. You hide under the covers, trying to fall asleep. But it's not easy with that memory of Applejack in the bath flying through your head. You try to take your mind off it, but it is very difficult. You need your sleep. It will be hard for you to work the fields with the lack of sleep, if Applejack doesn't kick you out, that is. You try everything to fall asleep, but nothings working. So you head downstairs to the kitchen to get some milk. You hope that will make you fall asleep. You don't want to see Applejack while she's mad, so you run towards the fridge, grab the milk carton, grab a glass cup, and ran back upstairs. Luckily, the milk has worked and, before you know it, you are asleep. The next day... You wake up in a state of dizziness and blurry vision. You don't know what time you fell asleep, but you know it was late. "Ahg.... How late was I up last night?" You look at the clock and it is almost 7. The Sun was barely above the hills, but the light that was showing was brightly shining upon the farm. It was beautiful sight. And sort of hurtful. You realize you were staring looking directly at the Sun. "Time to head on down." *gulp* You walk down the stairs with shaking legs. As you head down, the fragrant of eggs and toast slowly fill your nose. You peek from stairs to see Applejack drinking coffee while reading the newspaper, "The Equestrian Gazette". Pretty popular in all countries except Ponyville, which has the newspaper "The Ponyville Index", instead. You walk into the kitchen. Applejack doesn't look at you. You awkwardly grab some eggs and toast and sit down at the table. It's quieter than the Annual Quiet Game Championship. Fluttershy always wins. You're always second place. "So.... How's the coffee?" She looks from her newspaper and looks at you with serious eyes. "It's fine." "So, about last night. I'm really sorry I walked in on you in the tub. I really didn't mean to. Please don't kick me out. It took me forever to get here." "Why would ah kick you out, sugarcube?" "It's just that when that happened, I thought you would feel uncomfortable with me around." "Don't worry. It take a lot more then that to make me kick somepony out." "Thanks, AJ." "No problem. Ready for a 'hole lotta  workin'?" "You bet!" You and Applejack clean up the table and head outside. You start the day with harvesting the vegetables and fruits, you planted seeds to grow new food, you buck all the apple orchids on the farm property, a quick brake, cleaned up the farm, and then put away the shovel and went back inside. The whole thing took about 13 hours! You are a mess. You're all sweaty and tired, mud on your hooves, and your mane was all out of place. You head for the bathroom again. You open the door and slowly peek in, hoping not to see Applejack naked again. "AJ, you in here?" ... "Guess she's not. Good." You enter the tub and turn on the shower. The feeling of hot water touching your body feels so good that you feel drowsy. The mud and sweat quickly come right off you. You try and find some shampoo. You found a bottle of shampoo, but there is barely any left. You don't see any body wash so you have no choice but to use the left over shampoo and use it to clean your body. The shampoo on your body starts to feel a little irritating. But you can handle it. Tomorrow was the day we go into town and sell all the fruits and vegetables you can. It was going to be a pretty long trip, so you're going to need your rest tonight. The next day... You wake up feeling fresh and ready to go. You grab your saddlebag, brush your teeth, wash your face, comb your mane, and headed downstairs. Applejack was downstairs already, checking her list to make sure she didn't forget anything. "Let's see here... We got the boxes and baskets we need for this here food, we got the tools and wood we need to set up the stand, and we got the bits for the train tickets. Eyup! We're all set!" She looks behind her and sees you standing on the staircase. "Mornin' Strong! Sleep well, ah hope?" "Yup! Slept really well surprisingly. So, we all ready for the trip?" "You betcha!" "Then let's get going!" //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1: The Letter //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1: The Letter Howdy, ya'll. I'm having a little bit of trouble on the farm. I can't pick all the apples fast enough before the Sun soils the rest. I didn't know how hard it would be to run a farm on my own. I don't have enough bits to get the farming equipment for myself, let alone enough to get equipment for Big Mac. It's a pretty isolated life too. The only time it ain't lonely is when I'm at the market place selling vegetables or fruits. I do get descent bits. Most of the time. Oh well, I got to get back to work. Those apple orchids aren't going to buck themselves! Bye ya'll! From yours truly, -Applejack It is a beautiful summer morning in Ponyville. Spike has just puffed out a letter from Applejack, who moved away to start farming on her own. But by the way the letter sounds, that isn't going very well. "Wow. It really sounds like she's having a lot of trouble farming on her own." Your sarcasm instincts kick in. "Doesn't it say right there that she's having trouble?" "Thank you, Strong. I saw that." "I'm just pointing it out." "I would love to go and help Applejack and all. But I have my own problems. I need to make a schedule for next month!" "But you already made one for the month after the next one." "I did?" "Yeah." The letter has you extremely worried about Applejack. You try to think of a way to help her. After long seconds of thinking, you know what to do. You plan on moving to Applejack's farm and help her get some bits. After packing only what you need, which included some food, clean clothes, water, some extra bits, and a farmer handbook, you say your goodbyes to Twilight and all your other friends, you start your journey to Applejack. But as you walked further, you realize that you don't know where she is. You walk back to Twilight's and asks where Applejack lives. She checks the back of the letter. She is somewhere between the road to Las Pegasus and Canterlot. You sigh and officially start your journey with very little useful information.