An Old Apple Friend

Cookie reached the bottom steps of the stairs. He felt gracious walking around with his freshly groomed mane in the company of others, as he has always been quite the attention seeker.  He slid into the kitchen from behind the stair guide, and was quick to notice the aroma of newly backed bread directing him to the pasty green coloured mare standing in front of a creaky, light green aga. Steam and a heavenly scent escaping one of the open doors of it. Cookie was so lost in the smell of wondrous bakery, that he almost ignored the fact that there were 3 other ponies in the room, Big Macintosh, sitting on a stool that was clearly too small for him in the far corner of the room at the table. Applebloom, sitting on the other side, facing the open door where Cookie had entered, and Granny Smith, stood at the aga.

“Oh mornin’ Cookie” Applebloom said, sitting up right on the stool.

Big Mac nodded at her, then turned to Cookie.

“How’d ya sleep?” Applebloom asked.

“How did I sleep?” He asked, walking closer to the table where they were sitting. “I slept brilliantly” He ruffled her mane. “And how did you two sleep?”

“Great, knowin’ ah had a guard pony protectin’ me as a slept”

Big Mac seemed confused, he obviously didn’t know about the drama that happened last night. Applebloom noticed his weird facial expression

“Oh” She scooted closer to Big Mac “Ah had that nightmare again” She said through her teeth as if it were a dying secret. “And ah thought he was you”

Big Mac nodded simply and accepted it.

“And how did you sleep” Cookies head notched over to Big Mac “you sleep well?”

Big Mac once again nodded “Eeyup” He Called.

Granny smith turned from her duties at the aga and placed a board of hot crossed buns on the table, the mere sight of the could turn any hungry pony into an eyeing statue.  “Y’all gotta get somthin’ in yer. Big day today”. Big Mac and Applebloom both grabbed a hot cross bun each and started devouring it like they were seconds from starvation.

Cookie just sat and watched, he did feel hungry, so he too started eating, even with his lack of apatite he did find the food rather tasty. While the food was being eaten, Applejack walked into the Kitchen from behind the stair guard, and stood where Cookie had.

“Alright everypony, gotta hard day ahead of us, gonna wanna  get ready” she said with her chest out, looking very leader ready.

It took everypony a few minutes to get outside after they cleaned up after breakfast, but once they were, a sudden cloud of realization came over them, the realization that they had work to do, a lot of work.

“Alright Apples, same jobs as usual” Applejack said, speaking to the Apple family. The rest of them walked off, but Cookie stood firm. “Oh, Cookie” Applejack stood back and thought long “hmmm…” She looked over at the carts Big Mac was heading over to “Oh, go with Mac and grab a cart. Once I buck a tree, you and Mac gotta gather and empty the apples in the loading bay, and let Bloom and Granny Smith do their work” She began to trot off, before stopping and turning “You alright with that”.

Cookie, eager to please the mare that was giving him food, drink and a roof over his head, happily obliged “More than alright, I’ll get right to it”.

Cookie walked over to where Big Mac was standing and hitched himself up to a line of carts, which was clearly built for Earth Ponies, for his wings didn’t fit in. So he had to keep them un-tucked from his sides, which made him feel uncomfortable. But, with a few minutes of fumbling around wings, he managed to find a spot for his wings.

Applejack stood at the first row of apple trees, she was quick to take position, facing away from the first tree. Her eyes narrowed and head lowered. Her hips ascended above her head with her back legs, at this point she was standing on just her front legs. Her back legs trusted backwards, striking the first tree with more than brute force, a crack struck the air, and the ears of everypony around her. Causing the apples to surrender and drop into the buckets placed under the tree. They fell perfectly, not one missing the buckets and rolling astray. Cookie was amazed by her strength; he knew he couldn’t even make one fall, let alone the whole batch.

Seeing Applejack Buck the whole first row of trees didn’t dampen his amazement, every time felt like the first.

Cookie was snapped out of yet another daze, by Big Mac, who was inching forward waiting for Cookie to respond.

“C’mon, our turn” He said in his burly voice.

Cookie began to drag himself forward with the cart behind him. Big Mac speeding off ahead of him, not in a fast way, but in a faster than him way. Cookie hadn’t walked ten paces and he was already feeling strain. He managed to reach his first tree, where he went on to empty the full bucket into his carts.

Applejack stood back after she’d bucked her last tree, perspiration visibly pouring form her forehead, she stood next to Applebloom over by the apple loading bay, she wiped her forehead and slumped herself on the ground next to Applebloom, who was staring off somewhere, with her hoofs resting in her cheeks, and had a silly cutesy smile on her face.

“What ‘cha lookin’ at?” Asked Applejack.

“Oh, uh...” Applebloom replied, half concentrating and mumbling “nuthin’”

Applejack looked off in the direction Applebloom was looking in, and narrowed it down to two possibilities of what she could be looking at; an apple tree, or Cookie. One of Applejacks eyebrow raised.

“Nuthin’ huh?”

“Yeah…” She looked up at Applejack.

“ya can’t be lookin’ at nuthin’”

“Just ma coltfriend” Applebloom said calmly, before realizing what she had just said.

“Your what?” Applejack asked seriously.

“he’s ma coltfriend” She moved closer to Applejack “but er, don’t tell him ah said it”

Applejack giggled "Alright I won't tell your coltfriend...That he's your coltfriend"

Cookie was struggling to pull his two full carts of apples, Perspiration dripping from almost all of him. Inch by inch, he moved closer to the loading bay, where her could finally stop and rest. He started to grind his teeth, and narrow his eyes. He could see his target and he wanted to meet it. He finally stopped outside the bay, his legs shaking and his mouth jittering from how hard he was grinding his teeth. His legs gave way, and he fell to the floor and rolled over. He’d done it, two full carts of apple. A cheeky smile claimed his face as you could see he was proud of himself.

Until a rumbling alerted him and a shadow covered his body. Big mac stood there, his head high and only lightly moistened by perspiration, and barely out of breath, Cookie raised his head and looked behind Big Mac, to see eight full carts of apples.

Eight full carts…

Cookies ears flopped down and he dropped his head, Big Mac hardly broke a sweat with eight carts, and here he is, collapsed on the floor.

“Good work boys” A cry came from the other side of the bay. Cookie looked up to see Applejack, Granny Smith and Applebloom, smiling and tired after the work. “C’mon, y’all head inside now, Applebloom and I''ll finish up here” Granny Smith said, entering the loading bay with Bloom.

Cookie dragged himself off the floor and into the barn.

“You did good out there Cookie” Applejack said from behind him.

“Thanks” he slurred out. “You weren’t bad yourself” He chuckled out.