|
|
Post by Applejack on Feb 17, 2012 3:46:06 GMT -5
Although a pony's work is never done at Sweet Apple Acres, winter is always one of the more peaceful seasons. Not much grows, and everything just sort of settles into a calm, leaving the Apple family with just a little maintenance work every day, and maybe some baking. But today, Applebloom eagerly offered to help Granny Smith with the baking for today, leaving Applejack with little work for the day. So, she decided to go for a peaceful walk out through the orchard.
She never much minded the cold, and so only wears a scarf to keep her warm, aside from her hat of course. She trudges through the snow, stopping here and there to make sure the trees are keeping through the winter. She quietly hums a tune to herself as she walks, not really paying too much attention to anything other than the trees and her own thoughts at the moment.
|
|
|
|
Post by Big Macintosh on Feb 17, 2012 4:10:50 GMT -5
Winter was, in a way, both a blessing and a nightmare for Big Macintosh. With the apple trees bare until spring, most chores lay in and around the house--meaning the stallion got to spend more time with his beloved sisters and Granny. The danger lay in the inability to occupy himself with work; though there was generally something to do around the farm, he faced a much greater possibility of having too much free time on his hooves.
And for Big Macintosh, that was nothing short of alarming.
So, the earth pony did his best to remain busy. He'd spent the past several days doing odd-jobs, mostly fixing up various things on the farm that the rest of the year kept the Apples too occupied to bother with. At the moment, he was busy hauling back a wagon-load of lumber, perfect for the hole in the barn that the Cutie Mark Crusaders had created when they thought building a catapult might be their special talent. (The existence of the hole was a constant reminder of how wrong they'd been.) It wasn't a priority task, but without much else to do, Big Macintosh figured it may as well be.
So, pulling the cart along the dirt path--which he'd swept clear of snow the previous day--he ambled along peacefully until he caught sight of his sister. Applejack never seemed as bothered by the lack of labor as he was, one of the few things in Equestria that could make Big Macintosh feel a little jealous. Of course, this wasn't nearly strong enough to make him upset, so he simply gave a faint smile and called out to his sister. "Mornin', AJ. Ah thought you'd be helpin' Granny Smith?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Applejack on Feb 17, 2012 4:25:07 GMT -5
Knock
Knock
Knock
Applejack held her ear to one sickly-looking tree, holding an ear to it. "Nope, still healthy as ever inside." She tipped her hat back just a little, turning that ear into the air now, instead. Yep, it was definitely that old cart, which could only mean...
"Oh, hey there Big Mac. Nah, Applebloom seemed so excited to help Granny Smith ah just couldn't say no." She chuckled. "Ahm sure she won't make too big of a mess with Granny watchin' her. And... well, Winona seemed more'an happy to help clean up any mess of apples they spill."
With a smile, she stepped through the snow over to meed him at the road. "So how about you? What're you up to?" She asked with a smile, peering into the cart.
"Catapult hole?" It wasn't a question so much as an obvious statement of fact. "Need any help?" It occurred to her then that she never really offered her help like this before, not that it was ever a problem.
|
|
|
|
Post by Big Macintosh on Feb 17, 2012 23:37:16 GMT -5
"Oh, hey there Big Mac. Nah, Applebloom seemed so excited to help Granny Smith ah just couldn't say no."
Big Macintosh smiled at the thought of little Applebloom helping out in the kitchen. Knowing his baby sister, she was probably doing everything just a little too eagerly; the filly had plenty of exuberance when it came to helping others. Granted, that excess of energy often meant she was a bit more harm than help--but her heart was in the right place. After a moment, the stallion's smile faded and his eyes widened; baking involved the oven. And if Applebloom and her friends had managed to put a hole through the sturdy barn wall with a small, makeshift catapult, he could only imagine what his sister might accidentally do with fire. Apparently noticing his look of alarm, Applejack continued, reassuringly sounding much less worried than he.
"Ahm sure she won't make too big of a mess with Granny watchin' her. And... well, Winona seemed more'an happy to help clean up any mess of apples they spill."
For all that Applebloom was unintentionally destructive, Big Macintosh had to agree Granny Smith could keep her under control. After all, what their grandmother lacked in youth, she made up for in utter determination--sometimes bordering on bullheadedness. Relaxing, Big Macintosh gave a solemn nod. "Eeyup."
"So how about you? What're you up to?...Catapult hole?"
"Eeyup," Big Macintosh replied simply, glancing ruefully at the planks he was hauling. It was going to be a difficult task; after all, it was a large hole. (Apparently, both rocks and Sweetie Belle made excellent projectiles.) What with stripping away the broken boards from the building, cutting the new ones down to size, attaching them, and painting them, it was going to take quite a while.
Well, at least it was something to do.
"Need any help?"
Arching his eyebrows, Big Macintosh turned back to look at Applejack. Needless to say, he hadn't been expecting a question like that. It wasn't that he and his sister never worked together; quite the contrary, in fact. But their work only tended to overlap in the orchards, when the trees needed tending or harvesting. Doing a task like this together was rather more unusual. But the red pony had no objection. After all, how could he object to spending time with his sister.
"Uh, sure," he replied happily, giving the cart a tug to get it back in motion. "We have ta get rid of the broken boards." Glancing slyly at Applejack, he asked, "Hope your legs ain't forgotten how to kick."
|
|
|
|
Post by Applejack on Feb 18, 2012 13:46:19 GMT -5
"Eeyup"
It seemed to Applejack that she spent more time working with Big Mac than actually spending time with him as a sister, oftentimes to the point of forgetting that he's a pony of so few words. Not that it mattered much to her, he gets his points across, and doesn't waste time doin' it.
"Ah figured ya would. Can gettcha outta the cold even faster with two ponies workin' the job." she smiled. She would've said something about getting the work out of the way... but she just figured that he'd find something else to work on, as usual.
"HA! Is that a challenge?" she raised her hind legs, bucking the air a few times before starting to walk alongside her brother. "With apple buckin' season so long gone, Bucky McGillycuddy and Kicks McGee have been rarin' for some action." she laughed a bit "Ain't rusty in the least."
|
|
|
|
Post by Big Macintosh on Feb 19, 2012 22:05:03 GMT -5
"Ah figured ya would. Can gettcha outta the cold even faster with two ponies workin' the job."
"Eeyup," Big Macintosh replied once again. After all, there was nothing but good sense in what Applejack said (for once), no point in denying or complicating it. Not that he noticed the cold very much; the fact that he remained so constantly active kept him plenty warm. And even if he was cold, that wouldn't keep him from working for long. He wouldn't let it. This was all pointless speculation, though, so the stallion simply resumed heading for the barn, explaining the job to sister on the way.
"HA! Is that a challenge?"
Had it not been for the faint smile, the way Big Macintosh rolled his eyes at that might have seemed weary or irritated. As it was, he was simply more amused than anything at Applejack's tendency to react to comments as 'challenges.' She'd gotten better about it, but the previous applebuck season was still fresh in his memory--he'd been lucky that Applejack hadn't worked herself to death.
"With apple buckin' season so long gone, Bucky McGillycuddy and Kicks McGee have been rarin' for some action. Ain't rusty in the least."
"Ah know the feelin'," Big Macintosh replied honestly. In a way, he was glad that there was a unicorn filly-sized hole in the barn; there had been times when, for lack of a real job to do, he'd been forced to essentially make up new ways to keep busy. But doing so always just made it even more apparent to him that he was substituting work for, well, leisure; at least he could write this off as legitimately necessary.
Not that he'd share these thoughts. These were nopony's problems but his, and he didn't see fit to burden somepony else with them.
Shortly, the siblings reached the barn, approaching the eastern side. A good few feet above the ground, about level with his neck (and Applejack's head), the faded red boards had been quite clearly smashed through; at least four needed to be replaced. "Alright. We gotta replace those 'uns, but first we gotta get what's left of 'em out." Glancing at his sister, he continued, "Buckin' 'em's the fastest way, but ya gotta be careful to only buck the right ones."
[[And that definitely doesn't sound like the setup for a video game minigame.]]
|
|
|
|
Post by Applejack on Feb 19, 2012 22:30:52 GMT -5
Applejack nodded, an amused smile crept across her face as the hole came into view. She knew the girls were building a catapult. Sure she thought it was a bad idea, and told them so. But even if she told them no, it's not like they weren't likely to do it any. In fact, they probably would have caused more damage trying to keep it hidden from her. All she saw was Sweetie Belle hitting the barn. She was shocked and worried then, but now it just seemed funny to her. "Heh..."
"Ah know the feelin'"
She didn't really read too much into his statement, taking it as just conversation at this point. Besides, less talking means she can get out of the cold faster too. The eager pony tipped her hat back, walking over and turning around. "Yeehaw! Feels good to be buckin' again." she called out excitedly before she raised her hind legs, giving a powerful buck against the plank of wood.
|
|
