What Starts as a Spark Will Burst into a Flame

Applejack stepped outside, taking a slow, deep sigh of the cool, early morning air around her. The world was still touched with that soft blue coating that told anypony outside that really, they should still be asleep. But Applejack wasn't asleep. Long used to such early mornings, the blonde-maned mare totally ignored nature's lullaby. What use was there sleeping until the afternoon, when there was always so much work to be done?

As a filly, this sort of early morning, when the dew twinkled on the grass, and Luna's moon, just heading back to its roost under the horizon, casting its milky glow over everything underneath it, would remind her of sneaking out after her bedtime, when the world was still new and exciting. It put her in mind of the days where she would raid the pantry, sneak out into the orchard with her makeshift picnic and sit under her favourite tree, dreaming of days where perhaps, she lived in the big city, or at least away from all these apples. Of course, that was a long time before she realised her true calling, and apples became her way of life. She could practically tell the time from the seasonal state of a full-grown apple tree, she was so in tune with orchard life. She felt much more at home under the shade of a red delicious tree than perhaps anywhere else, and to her at least, there wasn't anyplace better to live than Sweet Apple acres.

Of course, as she had gotten older, her time and willingness to go and stare at the moon for a few hours had diminished, and if she was honest, she hadn't done so in years. But that didn't stop her from looking back on those days where she could sort out what few problems she had just by setting up a little picnic for herself. Smiling, she reminisced on the way Granny Smith had always been so frustrated when food went missing without a trace… It was her little secret. It wasn't that she ever lied about it, of course not. She'd never do something like that. It was just that nopony had ever really asked her.

Now, she had her friends to confide in if she ever had a problem, so her favourite tree didn't really seem necessary. But it might have been nice to go there, every once in a while, just to feel nostalgic.

A lot of ponies might not see Applejack as a thoughtful pony, or even a particularly bright one, considering her accent, line of work, and of course the fact that there wasn't a horn on her head. (The unicorn dominated society had annoyed her greatly since the gala – perhaps, if earth ponies had a say in things, Canterlot wouldn't be so stuck up?) But this wasn't really the case. Sure, her arithmetic left a lot to be desired, and her grammar wasn't a great deal better, but she was full of what she liked to call 'down ta earthedness'. 'Down to earth' was a phrase that she liked anyway, because it implied that ponies connected to the earth were insightful, so the thought that she had a lot of it satisfied her. Besides, she could leave book-smarts to ponies like Twilight. It came easier to them anyway.

She looked out to the horizon, seeing a blush of pink tint the sky and the orchard beneath it. She had gotten up later than she had thought.

Stifling a yawn, she trotted out to the huge red barn that sat next to the farmhouse that was easily visible all over town, if you looked the right way. That was another thing that Applejack felt proud of. Not only was she the direct descendant of the oldest and founding family in Ponyville, all of their traditions were exactly the same as they had been the day her granny first set hoof on the featureless plain that would one day become her favourite place in the world. And not only that, but the farm still looked the same, to boot. Agreeably, every plank of wood in the whole farm had been replaced at least twice over the years, so saying it was the same building was a bit of a stretch, but at the very least, it was put together by the same family, and from appearances, it was exactly the same. None of this new-fangled technology was present on Sweet apple acres, as they were convinced that the old ways were the best, both for the apples, and the ponies farming them. Not to mention the fact that their last run-in with advanced apple technology had been less than enjoyable.

All in all, everything felt as it was, as it always had done, and as it always should do. Soon, Celestia's sun would rise high in the sky, and the beautiful summer's day would make the apples taste all the sweeter as they were shaken down and made ready for storage. Then, in a few months, the last of the apples would be squeezed into cider, and shipped all over Equestria to keep them sitting pretty over winter. The thought that everything was just right was a comforting one, and it kept Applejack's spirits up as she trotted inside the darkened barn, sweet with the scent of hay and apples, much like the rest of the farm. It was usually warm in the barn, especially in summer, and it was certainly warmer than outside. Trotting quickly to the corner of the barn, she fetched a dozen apple baskets and loaded them onto a cart. Along with those she had already set up the evening before, filling them up would take up about half the morning, and then she could come back for more.

Of course, things would be done a lot faster if Rainbow dash turned up like she asked her to, but holding Rainbow to her word when it came to manual labour was like trying to herd cats. She'd agreed to show up at dawn, which, to the multi-coloured mare, meant somewhere around mid-morning, and by noon, Applejack would know if she was coming or not for sure.

It amazed her that an athlete with as much physical ability as Rainbow could be so mind-blowingly lazy. In fact, it mystified Applejack thatanypony could spend so much time asleep, or just lazing around. If she spent anywhere near that much time without doing anything productive, she started to get fidgety. It just didn't sit right with her that anypony could waste time when there was work to be done.

Speaking of which, those apples wouldn't buck themselves. With a little struggling, she hitched herself up to the cart, adjusted her hat slightly, and trundled out into the dusk air once more. In about twenty minutes, Big Macintosh would be ready to work as well, hauling his bulk across the farm wherever his strength was needed. Together, they made for a pretty inelegant and inefficient system, but it worked, and probably would do for a long time, what with Applebloom getting steadily more and more capable on the farm as the years went by.

She could remember the day her little sister was born like it was yesterday, although she preferred not to. Too many… Difficult memories. But every moment of growing up with the excitable little filly had been a blessing to her, and had certainly made long winter nights all the warmer and more cosy with another set of hooves in the farmhouse to share a hot mug of cocoa with.

As per usual, thinking about her bouncy little sister immediately reminded her of another, more cheerful foalhood memory, one that became all the stronger as she dragged the old cart down the beaten earth track into the orchard, her condensed breath swirling around her face in the cold, dark air. It was her old treehouse, now rejuvenated into the headquarters and clubhouse of the 'cutie mark crusaders,' the three infamous fillies who had recently been voted a public pest by the majority of the town, much to the dismay of the members. That had given Applejack a good chuckle. They may have always meant well, but disaster and calamity seemed to follow them with every hoofstep. Living with one of them was a nightmare, no matter how much she loved her.

But all that was largely by the by right now. It was the peak of applebuck season, and she was burning dawnlight. In about half an hour, she'd be burning sunlight too, so there was no time to waste. She shook the thoughts out of her head gently, so as not to dislodge her hat, and then dragged the cart further down into the farm. On her left, she passed the section that she had completed the day before, and just beyond that was the one that Caramel had half finished. Just beyond that was where she was setting up for the day, so she hoped to get Rainbow to finish Caramel's work, mostly so she could keep an eye on the bone-idle pegasus.

Within ten minutes of dragging the bouncy, rickety old cart behind her, she made it to her station for the day. The pinkish blush on the horizon had gotten noticeably more intense since she set off, and it would be morning very soon.

With an agitated kick or two and a couple muttered curse words, she managed to unhitch herself from the cart by herself. It was pretty difficult when you only had hooves to work with.

Normally, somepony alone in the woods, especially at night, would probably feel at the least a little threatened or unnerved, possibly even scared. But there were few places that Applejack considered safer than Sweet Apple Acres, even when the timberwolves came calling.

Maybe somewhere like Manehattan, that might be scarier. She thought to herself as she grabbed the first basket between her teeth, trotting over to the nearest 'unbasketed' tree and setting it down. Nopony knows anypony there. Even your next door neighbour could have it out for you… That was a more alarming thought to the orange-coated farm mare. Down in Ponyville, everypony knew everypony, and the regular village meetings helped the community feel a lot closer.

She guessed it was a fear of the unknown. Sure, the farm was pretty close to the Everfree, and she could thank her Granny's parents for that. But she knew everything that was likely to happen, and even then, it rarely did. That and the fact that the whole place was just…home. Not in a literal sense, that was the farmhouse. But Sweet Apple acres was practically all she'd ever known, and it made her happy, and comfortable. If that wasn't home, then what was?

She smiled with satisfaction as she realised that her little daydream had carried her through the motions and she had laid out the baskets in more or less the right place. Ordinarily, she didn't much like to ramble, even in her own mind, but she could think about the farm for hours at a time.

There was just so much to do all the time! If it had actually bothered her, she would spend every waking minute complaining about how she never got a moment's peace. But of course, that wasn't true. Not really. Sure, she was more hard-working than Macintosh, inasmuch as she had less free time than he did, and she certainly did more work than Applebloom or Granny Smith, but she'd still get free days every now and then, and she almost always had Sunday afternoons to herself, in which she usually enjoyed a cold cider on the front porch. Simple pleasures, that's what it was.

Of course, she'd have even more free time if Rainbow dash actually came down and helped her like Applejack had asked. She couldn't tell if she was coming just yet, but if the last three occasions were anything to go by, it wasn't really worth leaving anything to anypony else.

Really, it mystified her that she asked her technicolour friend for anything, sometimes. She was supposed to embody loyalty, but she was about as reliable as Rarity's lips after a little too much punch. Still, out of all of her friends, it was Rainbow that she'd trust most to get some work done. Twilight was always busy with some, obscure magical duty, Fluttershy didn't have the strength, and Rarity felt that manual labour was uncouth. That only left Pinkie, and as much as Applejack appreciated her help, the way that the hyperactive pink pony did things was… Unnerving. So, unfortunately, the lazy pegasus was the only outside help she could get her hooves on. Or rather, when it suited her.

-.0.-

Clearing her mind, Applejack quickly set her hat square on her head and got to work, delivering a mighty buck to any tree unwilling to release its apples. To anypony unfamiliar to the work, it might be considered a gruelling, repetitive task that left the leg muscles in agony and the ankle joints feeling like they'd just been hit by a train.

But to Applejack, it was all that she had known. Her hind legs were toned beyond compare, and her sturdy ankles were all but indestructible, even when pitted against the most stubborn of trees. With an even tone and a smile on her face, she would trot over to the tree, her eyes expertly scanning the shape and condition of the tree she was approaching. From just this initial examination, she could judge approximately the best location to plant her hooves. Then, making her way over to it, she could get a feel for the bark and the density of the wood, if she needed to. All that would take was a couple good pats from her forehoof. After that, she would turn one hundred and eighty degrees, and take aim. Looking back, she would wiggle her rump just a touch, sizing up her opponent. Then, she gave a small flick of her tied back, sun bleached blonde tail, and she would throw her weight forwards onto her powerful forelegs, crouching a little and raising her mighty hind legs into the air. These legs would bunch up, her back would arch ever so slightly, and she would be ready. Like a compressed spring, her forelegs, back, and most importantly her hind legs straightened out with incredible force, and her perfectly synchronised rear hooves would smash into the wood with an almighty crack, the sheer power of the blow shaking up through the canopy and knocking the apples loose from the branches. If her aim was true and her force adequate, her buck was accompanied by a soft rumble of apples falling into baskets, and a few loose leaves would flutter around her. Of course, it wasn't always that easy. She did have to be careful not to put everything into every kick, as she might crack the bark, or worse, crack the bones in her legs. (It wouldn't be the first time.) However, she didn't have the problem that her brother would have, where here was every possibility that he could permanently damage the trees he was bucking.

But now wasn't the time to be thinking of her brother. From now until sundown was apple time, and that was what mattered to her. Well, except one thing – She couldn't help but notice, as the sun rose higher and higher into the sky, that Rainbow simply wasn't making an appearance.

It shouldn't have surprised her, and really it didn't, but it sure was annoying. If she could just get her hooves on that lazy, good-for-nothing, egotistical little-

Something high up in the air caught her eye, and she looked up, frowning and tipping her hat back to see more of the morning sky.

It was an unmistakeable sight. No other pony had that same blinding array of colours, or that same impressive turn of speed. It was impossible to be wrong about this – Rainbow dash was flying straight over her farm, without a care in the world. As if their conversation the day before (Not to mention the three days before that) had never happened. She let out a frustrated growl, leaving the tree she was about to kick and sprinted after her, weaving through the trees a little to keep below her.

"Rainbow!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, glaring fiercely up at the insolent mare.

"Yeah, what?" The multi-coloured mare's voice drifted dismissively back, and she didn't slow down.

"Why don't y'all come down here a little so Ah can talk to ya?" She shouted back, her patience wearing thin.

The careless blue mare dropped a little, putting her just inside talking range. After a good ten seconds of running, she eventually slowed down, and Applejack cantered to a halt. Frustrated, Applejack growled under her breath, before speaking up again, fighting to keep her tone polite.

"Y'all know ya tol' me yesterday you'd help me with the applebuck, Rainbow." She said evenly, the glare not leaving her features.

In return, Rainbow dash grinned her signature grin and scratched the back of her head a little, ignoring eye contact. "Can't help you today, AJ. I have uhh… Clouds to move from here…" She said quickly.

A quick glance at the beautiful blue sky was all the proof one would need that this was a weak excuse and a straight-out lie. She'd just spent the last thirty seconds looking straight up, and in that time, she'd not seen a single cloud. That did it.

"Oh, no, Sugarcube. You ain't skippin' out on me like you did last season. Y'all made me a promise, And Ah'm gonna make ya stick to it!" She snarled, taking a step forward. The lazy pegasus's antics had gone on long enough.

"How can you make me, if ya can't even catch me?" Rainbow said cockily, floating higher into the air and apparently missing out on just how irritated Applejack was. And with that she shot past her, wings pumping furiously, attempting to vanish into the treeline. Setting her jaw, Applejack took off after her, her hooves thundering down the orchard and trailing Rainbow almost perfectly.

Of course, she couldn't ever catch the slippery little varmint, even if she actually stayed close to the ground, which was unlikely. Even her legs were no match for the wings of a determined pegasus, especially one like Rainbow dash. No, if she wanted to get back at her, she was going to have to outthink her. Which, even for AJ, wasn't going to be difficult.

"Ah know y'all ain't tryin' ta run from me, Rainbow!" She called after her. "After all, without them wings, y'all'd be in a heap o' trouble!" Ever since the iron pony competition, that had been a touchy subject for the proud pegasus.

"Y-you're just jealous I have wings and you don't!" She threw back, her scratchy voice sending out a pretty clear signal that she was angry. It was easy to get Rainbow to spit her bit.

"Y'all are lucky you do, Rainbow! Ah'd be heck'a faster 'n you if Ah did!" She hurled back, losing her temper to the chase. She had to admit that she had a pretty short temper as well, and as honest as she was, she ended up saying a lot of things she later regretted in the heat of the moment.

Ahead of her, Rainbow screeched to a halt, rounding on her. A little surprised by her sudden drop in speed, she dug her hooves into the ground, ripping up a little turf and coming to a stop herself. But her angry glare was now mirrored by the features of her friend.

"Hey! I'm the fastest flier in Equestria, AJ! Nopony can match my speed!" She shot back, her voice getting all the scratchier as she got more and more irate.

"If y'all 're so fast, why can Ah get ya to stop so easy?" She asked, putting extra emphasis on 'easy'. She knew all of her friend's buttons, and she was pressing them all at once, just to see what would happen. Rainbow had hurt her by doing this, and Applejack wasn't going to let things rest until she'd returned the favor.

Rainbow zoomed in closer, poking at her chest in an accusing manner, their faces inches apart. "Maybe if you weren't so damn stubborn about things, I'd help out more often!" And with that she drew back, oozing with so much confidence and pride that Applejack felt like she could taste it. It tasted like unripe lemons.

"Ah'm stubborn, sugarcube? At least Ah know when it's the right ta help yer friends! Ah don't jes' think about mahself all the dang time! All you ever do is sit on your dang flank and sleep!"

"You have no idea how much I do around here! I have to move these clouds all damn day, traffic storms, and today, I have to keep the stupid clouds away from your stupid farm!" She fumed ,pressing her muzzle up against hers. Her magenta eyes blazed furiously, and it took the fight straight out of Applejack. To an extent, she was right anyway. She did have a lot more duties than Applejack ever liked to admit. She was beaten, and it was a waste of time fighting anyway. Rainbow or not, she had work to do. Bowing her head, she stepped down, looking away. In the edge of her vision, she could see Rainbow's triumphant grin. That was the part that hurt more than losing, more than Rainbow letting her down in the first place. She simply didn't give a damn about her feelings. Not looking up to face her, she motioned with her hoof for her to leave. Rainbow suddenly stuttered a little, and Applejack saw her move a little toward her, reaching out. But Applejack had had enough. She motioned again, more violently this time, and Rainbow got the image. Her wingbeats slow and soft, she began to drift away.

Applejack wiped her nose, sniffing.

"Ah thought y'all were trustworthy, Rainbow." She muttered, uncaring if Rainbow heard her or not. "Ah thought you were a good friend, and a good pony. Shows how wrong Ah can be." And with that she turned, plodding back to her current section of the orchard. "Element of Loyalty mah flank, Rainbow." She choked out, her head and tail hung low. It was going to be a long day, and for once, her heart really wasn't in apples.