The sun was setting over Sweet Apple Acres, lighting the ground up with the beautiful colors. Purple, orange, pink and red shone and blurred together, creating a beautiful mix of glowing light and faded pastel colors.
A small filly stood with a slightly large stallion. She was the color of fresh oranges and had a mane that was so blonde it looked like the sun had given it the color. White freckles dotted her small face and her blazing emerald eyes were full of annoyance. She tried to make herself look taller by straightening her legs, puffing out her chest and craning her neck, but she failed and only fell forwards.
"C'mon Big Mac! Ah can haul it!"
The filly's voice was squeaky and very feminine with the western accent to it. She tried to glare down the red stallion with the death glare, but only succeeded in making him laugh. The stubborn filly crossed her forelegs and looked away from him.
"Ah'm a big filly, ah'm five whole years old! Ah can haul a wagon full of apples!"
Big McIntosh nudged her with a beige hoof. "Applejack yer too young to handle a cart of apples." He said sternly, pushing her back up with the tip of his hoof. "Ah'm older and stronger than ya, that's why ah handle the carts. Now c'mon, it's time for ya to go eat dinner, ah need to finish this load." He trotted to a nearby cart and hitched himself up and started hauling it away.
Applejack frowned. "Alright Big Mac." She started trudging away, head down. She bumped into something and fell back with a squeal. Something rolled past her hoof and she saw the apple cart she had loaded earlier roll down the hill slowly and come to stop at the base.
"Oh no! Granny Smith told me never to touch the apple carts, what if she sees? I'll bring it back up before she sees it." She started trotting down the hill and tumbled over with a squeak. She rolled and bumped into the cart, nudging it again but there wasn't another hill for it to fall down.
She went under the rope and it fell loosely around her hooves. Applejack leaned down, pulled it up with her mouth and started pulling. It was so light, she just hopped to the base of the hill and began to climb. The rope snapped taught in her jaw but she ignored it. The weight of the cart struck and she struggled to haul it, it felt like she was dragging a boulder! She felt it go up the hill slightly and the weight became heavier.
Big Mac saw the apple cart slowly coming up the hill. "Applejack..." He groaned, but stayed where he was. Maybe it was a good idea to see if she could haul it up. He remembered the cart behind him and started hauling it. A shrill cut off scream made him stop dead and he turned to see the apple cart slide down the hill. An orange filly chased it and jumped into the cart, but it flipped over and he could hear her squealing.
Applejack was almost at the top of the hill. She smiled despite the rope in her mouth. She was gonna do it! But as the filly wasn't watching where she was going, her hoof struck a rock and she fell forwards. She screamed and the rope came out of her mouth.
The cart was free and it started rolling down the hill fast. The rope dragged behind it and Applejack stood up to go get it, but the rope hook her right hindleg and dragged her down, pulling her with it. She struggled free, turned on one hoof and pelted after the cart. Her hindlegs pushed down and she flung herself up high and into the cart in an attempt to weigh it down so that it would stop. But she felt it lurch over with the added weight and apples started spilling out. She jumped out, landed on an apple and fell. The apple cart crashed down on top of her and she started screaming.
Big Mac pulled his yoke off and started running towards the cart. "Applejack! Can ya hear me?" He hollered and sprinted down the hill, skidding to a stop beside the cart. "Jackie?" He tapped the cart with one huge hoof, but was aware of a sniffling coming from the cart.
Applejack was crying. She was trapped in between layers of apples. She heard the tapping and knocked on it with one hoof before crying out in pain and crying even more. "It hurts it hurts it hurts!" She wailed. What if she had broken her leg? What if Big Mac was mad at her? She curled up in a ball and cried into her hooves.
Big Mac saw a small opening, the cart was crushing an unfortunate apple. He jammed his shoulder under it and heaved, pushing it up and spilling apples everywhere. He saw a small orange blaze underneath a layer and he pushed the apples aside with one dinner plate sized hoof, revealing the small filly.
Applejack felt light blaze onto her eyelids and light up the blackness. She opened them reluctantly, tears blurring her vision. Big McIntosh was standing over her, his green eyes glowing with the reflection of the setting sun. She realized she was on top of a lot of apples and tried to adjust herself into a sitting position. Her hooves slipped on the apples and the leg she thought she had broken knocked on the ground and she whinnied, holding the foreleg above the ground before tumbling off the sheet of apples with a squeak. Her legs splayed out and she landed flat on her belly, her chin rested rather comfortably on the grass. She looked up at Big Mac with big scared eyes that had tears swimming in the corners.
Big Mac reached down with a huge hoof, which made Applejack whimper. He gently stroked her mane. "Ya hauled yer first cart AJ... Ah'm proud of ya." He said, leaning down and nuzzling her cheek. He noticed she was still crying and looked at her closely. Was she hurt? "What happened? Y'all ok?" He asked, bending his legs and kneeling down in front of her, looking into her eyes with his concerned orbs.
Applejack saw herself reflected in the big green irises. "Ah think ah broke mah leg!" She cried out, looking at her foreleg which was hurting her. She whimpered and drew back slightly. "What if ah can never buck? Ah haven't even started buckin' yet!" She wailed and looked up at her brother. "What would ah do?"
Big Mac gently lifted her tiny leg in his hoof. He noticed that her hoof was slightly swollen and had a rather large bruise on it. She whimpered slightly at his touch, but other than that she didn't utter a peep. He recognized it and chuckled. "Applejack ya didn't break yer leg, ya just sprained yer hoof. Ah do it all the time, it's natural here on the farm. Don't ya worry 'bout nothin', yer gonna be fine." He soothed.
Applejack smiled. "Yay!" She bounced onto her hooves but lifted her leg with a squeak. "It hurts!" She neighed, sitting back down. "Ah'm gonna be stuck here forever, how can ah get back to the barn if ah can't walk?" Tears started forming in her green eyes again. She bowed her head. "Ah never should've tried to haul that cart." She pouted miserably.
The red stallion smiled sympathetically. He picked her up by the scruff of her neck and she squealed loudly before relaxing. He placed her on his back, right between his shoulders. He felt a foreleg drape over one shoulder and Applejack's head rest on the base of his neck. She started walking slowly back to the barn.
"Shouldn't we get the cart?"
"Yer more important than a cart full of apples."
Applejack smiled and snuggled into her brother's fur, feeling it warm her. Her jaw gaped in an enormous yawn and her eyes half closed, growing milky. She rested her head down again and sniffled slightly.
Big Mac stopped in front of the barn. "Jackie we're here." He said and turned his head slightly to look at her. The sight made his heart skip a beat and a smile spread on his features. "Ah forgot, yer just a little filly." He sighed and settled himself down, looking at the sunset.
Applejack was sound asleep. Her quiet snoring filled the air around them and a small bubble was coming from her nose, growing bigger and then deflating with each breath. The sun dyed her fur the colors of a sunset and made her fur glow slightly. She was adorable, her mouth was slightly open and her breath whistled through it. It was the apple of Big Mac's eye.
Big McIntosh nuzzled her mane, her ears brushing against his nose. He smiled warmly at her then turned his attention back to the sunset. "Yer gonna be a strong mare Applejack, stronger than anypony ah know. Yer gonna buck the trees till they shake, because yer strong. Yer mah little ray of sunshine and ah love ya." He murmured, closing his eyes. Applejack twitched slightly on his back and then went still.
Big Mac opened his eyes, which were now bright with an idea in his head. "Ah've got a present for ya." He said and slowly got up as to not disturb the precious filly on his back. He walked slowly and quietly in the house and into her room. He slid the small pony off his back and wrapped his forelegs around her, placing her up against the pillow and tucked her in, leaving her forelegs out.
Applejack stirred slightly, but didn't open her eyes.
McIntosh left the room for a few minutes and then came back. He lifted her foreleg and wrapped it up with some ivory colored bandages. He draped it back over her belly gently and then took the second object from the edge of the bed, placing it on her and then backing to the doorway. "G'night AJ." He whispered and then closed the door gently.
~~~
The next morning, Applejack would wake up with her hoof wrapped in bandages and a stetson on her head.
~~~
Applejack's pelt was slicked with sweat. Her signature stetson rested on her head and blocked out the glare of the sun. The worn material brushed her hay colored mane and rubbed against her ears. Most ponies would say it was uncomfortable, but Applejack had been wearing this stetson almost her entire life.
The orange mare was hauling a cart full of apples, her older brother Big McIntosh Apple beside her. They were both exhausted from a long day's work of bucking apples. Their green eyes were half closed-which was usual for Big Mac-from exhaustion and their steps were slightly slower.
Applejack ducked from behind the rope when they reached the barn and pulled the carts inside. She looked back outside and noticed from the distance a couple of apples had rolled down a hill, just past the fallen tree. "One sec Big Mac, ah'm gonna go grab those apples. No sense lettin' 'em go to waste." And with that she sprinted out of the barn despite her exhaustion.
The fallen tree-the one that had crushed Big Mac's ribs before last Apple Buck season-loomed in her path. She never broke stride. Her hooves hit the dirt hard and she took a flying leap over it, her belly fur brushing against the thick trunk. She smiled in satisfaction as she sailed over it, but her smile quickly turned to a panicked holler.
The ground had sloped down in the hill, she had misjudged the distance. Her hooves churned midair before she arced downwards, sailing towards the ground. Her front hooves tried to grip empty air as the ground zoomed closer and she crashed into it, carving a pony shaped dirt track. She moaned and scrambled into a sitting position on her haunches. Her stetson had landed slightly ahead of her and she leaned forwards to pick it up, placing a forehoof on the ground.
"OW!"
She hollered again and recoiled from the ground, gripping one front hoof. She grit her teeth and shut her eyes tight, then opened them and looked at her limb. Her hoof was swelling rapidly and a large black bruise was forming on it. She moaned loudly, closed her eyes again and was aware of a clopping noises. Something brushed past her and she opened her eyes to see Big McIntosh in front of her.
Big Mac picked up her stetson and put it back on her head. "Sprained hoof?" He asked, looking at her holding her foreleg which had a swollen and bruised hoof.
Applejack nodded. "Ah'll be fine, nothing ah haven't handled before." She grunted. She pushed herself up and placed her front hoof on the ground before placing her sprained one on the soft grass. She cried out the minute weight was placed on it and her leg crumpled beneath her and she ended up saving herself by falling on one knee.
Big Mac was there instantly. "Y'all ok?" He asked, his green orbs filling with concern.
Applejack groaned loudly. "Ah sprained it good this time." She muttered. "How am ah gonna get back to the barn? Ah can't even walk." She groaned.
Big Mac chuckled. He scooped her up with one foreleg, she was tiny compared to him and managed to push her up on his back. He trotted back to the barn. "We'll get ya all fixed up." He told her. "Hang on!" He took the leap and cleared the tree, hitting the floor with a muffled thump. There was no reaction from the mare on his back. He stopped in front of the house. "Alright AJ, y'all can get off now." He turned to look at her and nearly lost it laughing.
Applejack had fallen asleep. A bubble grew bigger and deflated form her noise with each breath, her loud snoring filled Big Mac's ears and the sunset glowed on her fur, lighting it up with different colors and making it glow like a fire.
McIntosh sighed. Memories of the first time she had sprained a hoof filled his mind's eye and he smiled warmly. He stepped into the house, placed her in her bed and wrapped up her hoof. He had started keeping a roll of bandages in there, she got bruised up a lot. He adjusted the stetson on her head and sighed. "G'night Applejack." He whispered and backed into the doorway, closing the door gently.
~~~
Applejack woke up. She had dreamed of the first time she had ever hauled an apple cart again. She lifted a hoof and felt the stetson on her head, so much like back then. She adjusted it with a smile. A dull throb was coming from her other hoof and she looked down to see it swathed in bandages, just like before. She let out a dreamy sigh and her eyes closed halfway as the memories flooded over her. It was like a hot bath, a pleasant tingling feeling spreading throughout her body.
She wouldn't trade these memories for the world.
