[Sweet Apple Acres] Painting the Farm Orange (Closed; Red Cedar/PretzelPony/SteelEagle)

[Hippo]

Applejack stirred the pot of oatmeal. The oatmeal was prepared fresh, made with oats and apple chunks, some cinnamon for added sweetness. It was easy and quick. Applejack pulled some bowls out of the cupboards and pour oatmeal into them. She then slapped the bowls on the dining table in the kitchen, including putting one in front of her favorite sister Apple Bloom. "Here ya go!" Applejack had a big day ahead of her. She needed to get the apples in the North field prepared for harvesting. Some of the young trees in that area of the orchard needed some tender loving care, and it was of great importance that she do it today and no later, as the seasons would sure ripened the harvest to a raisin if time was lost.

Fortunately, she had help. After an incredible Running of the Leaves, Applejack had finished fourth, behind her best friend Rarity, a very red pegasus Fire Walker, and of course, her new friend Presteza the unicorn. Presteza had made a wager with Applejack during the race, involving Applejack modeling or Presteza working the farm. To race ends, the two had agreed to honor both each others' wager in fairness and good sportsmareship, something Applejack was very proud to illustrate to Apple Bloom on this day. "Hey, Apple Bloom, before you dig into that mess o' yours, why don't you go upstairs to the guest room and wake Presteza up. It's been almost ten crows past dawn!"

Presteza was already proving to be a restful pony, one that would defiantly join Rainbow Dash in one of her epic naps, should she get a chance to hover close enough to her fluffy clouds. Applejack had a lot to do today, but she still wanted to give time to Presteza for the fair wager trade. She was hoping it wouldn't take long.

[SteelEagle]

Applejack made the best oatmeal in the long and treasures history of oatmeal, going back to the days of old Quakey's! Well, that mighta been a small exaggeration and maybe it had just as much to do with Granny Smith's family recipe standing the test of time but none of that really mattered because quite simply it was the breakfast of Princesses. Farm fresh oats received in trade with local farmers seemed to have that earthy taste that just danced so well with the slight sprinkle of cinnamon. Tying it together was the small chunks of apples that had been boiled beforehand, making them soft and yummy to the core. Applejack placed a bowl in front of her and even before she moved her hoof away the little filly had started attacking it with abandon.

After all, today was gonna be a really busy day for the little one. She had more planned today than during any school day, that was for sure! She was going to help Applejack with the farm for much of the day which by itself would be enough for most fillies but for Apple Bloom it was just the start. She had to help out with the guest, a new unicorn friend of Applejack's. That would be nice, right? Applejack had a good track record of unicorn friends. And after all of that was said and done, she was going to meet up with her fellow Crusaders and discover her cutie mark! A wonderful, fantastic day to be Apple Bloom. Well, that was every day. Only negative was when her sister interrupted the oatmeal devouring machine masked as a filly and told her to go get the guest who was in the guest bedroom. Weird, since Twilight didn't use the guest bedroom when she sPent the night.

"Sure, Ah guesh," Apple Bloom replied, still noshing on some oatmeal in huge smacks. She bounded up the stairs and rather energetically and impolitely shoved the door open.

"Rish and Shine, Preshy! It'sa-" she gulped the oatmeal down, giving a satisfied sight, "it's a beautiful day!"

[Pretzelparty]

Presteza's sleep schedule had been pretty messed up ever since her travels had begun. The young mare's passion for her painting often kept her up into the late hours of the night. The Running of the leaves was one of the day's she was lucky enough to have had a good night's rest when she had been lacking in a bit of inspiration. Now it was back and she was making heavy use of those eyes of hers to enjoy the sight of Sweet Apple Acres the previous night so sleeping in seemed only natural.

Her dreams had been filled with her usual ego boosting scenarios. Her work being lavished with praise and her being named not only the greatest artist in Equestria but the world! Eventually she was even asked by the princesses themselves to paint a mural for them! She was quickly taken out of her dream By the loud slam of the guest room door being opened and soon being followed by the sound of a familiar voice.

"Rish and Shine, Preshy! It'sa-" she gulped the oatmeal down, giving a satisfied sight, "it's a beautiful day!"

Presteza practically flew out of her bead as she jumped in surprise from the filly's enthusiastic entrance and greeting. The mare soon fell with a noticeable thud on the bed and looked around in surprise, her eyes eventually setting on Applebloom. With a bit of a wry chuckle she let out a sigh of relief,"By Celestia ya scare- er...startled me Applebloom... I though somethin' 'ad exploded!" she said as pulled herself out of bed and let out a long yawn. "an' it was jus' gettin ta the good part too..." she added with a bit of a pout.

Shaking out her bedraggled mane a moment she walked over to the window that the filly had opened, "It sure is a beautiful day! So wot do ya think is the plan on the farm taday? Applebuckin'? plowin'?... Actually I should prolly be askin' yer big sis shouldn' I?" Taking a few steps towards a counter she left her saddlebags on she began to nose through them eventually taking a bottle from the bottom of them , eventually she managed to unscrew the top with her teeth and popped one of them pills inside in her mouth.

While she felt a bit embarrassed by her brother's appearance at the running of the leaves she had to admit the allergy medication he brought with him was a great help to deal with any issue the mare would have while outdoors during the more pollen-ridden seasons. grabbing her scarf in her teeth she pulled it towards her and with a swift motion wrapped it around her neck.

"But first... I smell food!" With that the mare quickly made her way (hopefully along with Applebloom) to the kitchen. Seeing Applejack already at the table she gave her the simple greeting of,"Mornin'!"

[Hippo]

Applejack slide a glossy plate in front of Presteza, who approached the table with a morning salute. The plated had two eggs on it, over easy, and three hay bacon strips, all shaped in the form of a smile. "Morning, Pressy! Time to eat up. Scarf down that there breakfast and we'll start the day."

Applejack retreated to the kitchen counter and started washing a couple dishes. After a short session of scrubbing, she untied her apron and hung it up on the wall. She walked towards the table and sat on the opposite end Presteza was sitting. There waiting at the spot on the table was Applejack's hat, which she grabbed and flipped on to of her head. She was ready to go, but there were things on her mind. "So, what kinds of paintings we're you wanting again. Like, what kind of poses?"

​

[SteelEagle]

Preshy must've been dreaming about a special somepony or that crispy side of hay bacon strips and Apple Bloom had played the part of the joy-killing spoiler of fantasy, which if that was the case at least meant Preshy had a better reality to groggily accomodate herself to. Or in this case, jump up and act as if Apple Bloom had given her a good shock. Why, it was so much that it was all Apple Bloom could do just to stop herself from letting all her oatmeal out in a furious chuckle. Some ponies weren't mornin' ponies on account of being awfully mean, others just because they woke so slowly that the day was done by the time they kicked into high gear. Preshy was a different sort, the type that was ready and rearing to go but had their dreams snapped short seemingly every night. Good dreams never lasted long enough and the nightmares lasted eons, just like everypony else. As Presteza got up and out of bed and fought a losing battle with her mane, Apple Bloom followed close by snogging on her delicious, nutriotious, and all together perfect oatmeal.

"Well, what do we have planned? Well, Ah figure just tha normal routine. Ah already did most of mah mornin' chores, Applejack some early mornin' work too. After breakfast, some bit'a free time 'till we hit the North fields for, Ah dunno, six, seven hours. Just normal farm work, Ah think. Buckin' some of the failed crop off of the trees, weedin' so we can start preparin' for harvest, corrallin' all manner of critter and that should just be 'fore noon. Nothing too time consuming Ah think but Applejack's the one you should ask, on account of her, ya know, runnin' the whole thing," Apple Bloom blathered for a while, eating her oatmeal as she went and following the guest. Once Preshy had left the room, Apple Bloom made sure to close it and lock it- Preshy would have a key of course, and the Apple Bloom was all about giving guests all the privacy they wanted or could possibly. Of course some times when Twilight spent the night for some reason she and Applejack went into the room and locked the door, but Apple Bloom had always figured that was because the window frame in Applejack's room was on the fritz. Not that she had checked, but Twilight was a Princess and Abby would not act like a disloyal user.

They trotted down to the kitchen, where Applejack had set up Preshy's plate and went about doing some light dishes. Apple Bloom took the cue when Applejack returned to the table, trotting to the sink and finishing the dishes- washing her now empty bowel and drying everything else, and in the mean time giving the two older ponies some measure of privacy...well, as little as could be given when y'all are only a few feet away.

[Pretzelparty]

"Well, what do we have planned? Well, Ah figure just tha normal routine. Ah already did most of mah mornin' chores, Applejack some early mornin' work too. After breakfast, some bit'a free time 'till we hit the North fields for, Ah dunno, six, seven hours. Just normal farm work, Ah think. Buckin' some of the failed crop off of the trees, weedin' so we can start preparin' for harvest, corrallin' all manner of critter and that should just be 'fore noon. Nothing too time consuming Ah think but Applejack's the one you should ask, on account of her, ya know, runnin' the whole thing,"

The silver maned mare nodded as the little filly listed off the day''s activities, each sentence the filly ended accompanied by a bob of the painter's head as she listened. While some ponies may have been discouraged by the description of so much labor it seemed presteza was more delighted by the idea,"Awesome! I'm sure this'll be more interestin' than sittin' on my backside all the time like back 'ome... and maybe yer sister could teach me how ta use a lasso later." Back at her family's manor in Trottingham she was barely allowed to do anything by herself, instead her family had butlers and maids to help her with what she needed. One could say the chance to so some work on a farm such as this one could be viewed as a sort of breath of fresh air.

As the mare sat down she inhaled deeply, savoring the smell of positively delicious food. The Apple family's foodstuffs never dissapointed her. when she helped out on the last zap apple harvest she had some of the best meals she'd ever had in her life.

"Morning, Pressy! Time to eat up. Scarf down that there breakfast and we'll start the day."

Pressy gave a wide grin,"Ya don' 'ave ta tell me twice!" with that the mare dug in, while she definitely was eating fast she was clearly savoring every bite. After she had finished off her eggs it looked like she could just burst with joy, managing to speak through a mouthful,"Thish shtuff is sho good!" before gulping down. The mare was soon snapped out of her elated state when her new friend spoke up and asked her a question.

"So, what kinds of paintings we're you wanting again. Like, what kind of poses?"

"Oh well. that depends mostly on what kinda stuff ya like doin' I usually like paintin' ponies when their doin' what they love! I like capturin' ponies in scenes er poses that they normally wouldn't be seen in but show a part o' themselves others don' get ta see often! Since I hear ya love doin' what ya do on the farm it shouldn't be hard ta get some o' the first type... Maybe when we're done with everything else I can paint a picture of ya usin' yer lasso. Also I'm still up fer painting everypony in yer family if ya like... which reminds me..." the mare looked back to the filly at the sink,"Uh ... sorry abou' yer mane the other day Applebloom." she said with a nervous laugh.

[Hippo]

Applejack smiled and nodded. "Well, you're right about that, I pretty much love everything doin' on the farm. This is my life, and I wouldn't trade it for anything else. But uh, something most ponies don't normally see me doin'? I don't think paintin' me apple bucking qualifies then." Applejack was at first stumped. It was hard to think of something that Applejack wasn't often seen doing. Her life was so transparent, and she shared her activities to any pony who ventured outside to meet her. "Most of my things involve being out with other ponies, selling apples to them, winning races, being friends with Rainbow Dash. You know, the usual. So it's hard to think of something I do where no pony can see me. Unless... ...I got it! You could draw me while I do my accountin' work. I can do it at my desk in mah bedroom! And yeah, sure we can do the lasso thing, but only after I finish the important stuff first. So which would you like to do first?"

​

[SteelEagle]

Apple Bloom followed quickly the conversation between Pressy and Applejack as they scarfed down their breakfast, mindful all the while that she'd have to sit there bored for at least part of it. She was already a bit full from her simple normal breakfast and today, like most others, would not treat her kindly if she over-ate. It was a bit of a fallacy that the Apples were big overeaters, ya see, on account of one simple fact. Apples never ate more than they needed nor less than they wanted, appetite as fit as fiddles and taste buds as wet as whistles. Still, maybe she'd get some hay bacon or something later, you could never say no to such deliciousness. Maybe she would put some hay bacon strips over some scrambled hay. Maybe she'd just cook a new breakfast. She was an Apple. She'd eat everything she needed and everything she wanted.

The two mares were talking mostly about how to arrange for Pressy to get her painting done and what to show Applejack doing in it, which struck Apple Bloom a bit on the odd side. You could paint her big sister doing any thousands of things she did and make a pretty bit if you asked Apple Bloom. Heck, maybe just as the mare took a well deserved nap in the field near sunset Pressy could set her station up and capture that. Or maybe an owlbear would attack and Applejack would fight it off, or Equestria would be attacked by a giant ponification of anger, or maybe Applejack would just have to spend a simple day bucking apples all day long. That would be worthy of a painting anyway! But her accounting work? That was boring. Of all the things to do, it was just boring boring boring. Apple Bloom wasn't opposed to good old fashioned paperwork gettung done but it was sorta lik the black sheep of the Apple Family relations of work. But they were big ponies making big pony decisions and big pony mistakes. But Pressy's apology for Apple Bloom's mane stole a chuckle nonetheless.

"Aww, y'all don't have ta apologize for that. It didn't do any real damage, just had to get a good shower and a have a serious combin'," She offered, finishing the dishes up and taking her seat.

"But, uhh, accountin'? Seems a bit...uhhh...well, Ah mean, what sorta paintin' do ya do? Is it like real cool artwork or do ya create pieces that ponies put in their bedrooms ta fall asleep ta? 'cause if ya do, accountin' is a good choice."

[Pretzelparty]

"I got it! You could draw me while I do my accountin' work. I can do it at my desk in mah bedroom! And yeah, sure we can do the lasso thing, but only after I finish the important stuff first. So which would you like to do first?"

"But, uhh, accountin'? Seems a bit...uhhh...well, Ah mean, what sorta paintin' do ya do? Is it like real cool artwork or do ya create pieces that ponies put in their bedrooms ta fall asleep ta? 'cause if ya do, accountin' is a good choice."

Applebloom summed up her feelings about the idea of accounting. While Accounting was probably a very important aspect of the farm it didn't really seem like the kinda thing that Presteza could see Applejack doing with boundless enthusiam that was worth painting,"Well, Applebloom I usually paint the really cool stuff, ancient ruins, foreign lands et cetera. I'm sure... accountin' can be fun but Is there anythin' else yer sister does that not many other ponies get to see?"

In regards to the what chores they should do it was probably best that the pony who more or less ran the farm gave her instructions,"I'll follow yer lead Applejack, Like I told ya in the race though. I'm really good at Applebuckin'. I had plenty o' practice on the road and helped out with the Appleoosa harvest." said the mare rather proudly, her chest puffing out a bit. The silver maned unicorn was indeed very good at bucking apples, not being good with her telekinesis had pretty much forced her to learn to do it on her travels out of necessity and through her practice she had become very good at it and could buck with the best of them!

[Hippo]

Applejack couldn't help but interject, as it seemed her little sister was going to be the one with the initiative again and try to get Applejack in the pose she may not want. The last time Apple Bloom's suggestions got considered, Applejack ended up locking lips with one hundred different ponies in exchange for a few apples on sale. Though the event was a success, Applejack was very reluntant to stuff pictures from the sale into the family photo album for it to be remembered by all future generations. "Ancient ruins? Foriegn lands? Well, we don't have anything that exocit on the farm. Unless, you'd think the far west field, where all the bats hang out infestin' our old apple trees we don't harvest any more would be ancient or foriegn enough." Applejack scratched her head. "What do you think Presteza? We can do whatever you think would be great, and then latter I'll see how powerful your kick really is."

​

[SteelEagle]

Going to the west field wasn't the worst idea. Maybe they could take all sorts of artsy stuff about the bats out there and somepony outside of Ponyville would take a liking to them. Hopefully then ponies would want to take care of all the bats and have them move out of the west orchard, every last one of thoise family sucking apple terrors. Then they could finally, after many years, tend to them. How long had it been going on? How long had they had to babysit those dumb creatures? It had cost the family thousands and thousands and thousands of bits between cleaning it up before fields of rot before it started attracting all sorts of nasty buggers in the other fields, not to mention not being able to use the land itself. And then the vampire fruit bats had shown up and her sister had allowed them in too! Gahh! Her family was the best family in the long history of Equestrian families, but sometimes Apple Bloom thought that she should run things. In any case it didn't matter what she thought, only what Pressy did.

"Yeah, that might be intetestin'. Ah think that maybe y'all should just go about tha day as normal, see when yer inspiration strikes. Rarity says that the smallest thing can inspire tha biggest idea, so maybe just see what comes up? But what about all that foreign land stuff? Sounds pretty fun. Where ya been ta, Pressy? Ah haven't been too far from Ponyville, 'cept a few times to Canterlot or tha Crystal Empire. See anyplace exotic'r strange?"

[Pretzelparty]

"Ancient ruins? Foriegn lands? Well, we don't have anything that exocit on the farm. Unless, you'd think the far west field, where all the bats hang out infestin' our old apple trees we don't harvest any more would be ancient or foriegn enough."

Presteza chuckled, "Naw, I don' think that's quite what I'm lookin' for... besides thanks ta yer friend Fluttershy I have a nice little Fruit bat who's willin' ta model fer me anytime. 'e's actually asleep back in the room right now." True to her word, back in the guest room there a small fruit bat hanging on one of the rafters. "Fresco sleeps mostly durin' the day so 'e won't be any trouble."

"What do you think Presteza? We can do whatever you think would be great, and then latter I'll see how powerful your kick really is."

"Yeah, that might be intetestin'. Ah think that maybe y'all should just go about tha day as normal, see when yer inspiration strikes. Rarity says that the smallest thing can inspire tha biggest idea, so maybe just see what comes up? But what about all that foreign land stuff? Sounds pretty fun. Where ya been ta, Pressy? Ah haven't been too far from Ponyville, 'cept a few times to Canterlot or tha Crystal Empire. See anyplace exotic'r strange?"

"I think Applebloom's idea is pretty good actually! Let's start with the chores n' stuff first. like I said I enjoy paintin' ponies when they're doin' what they love so I'm sure I'll get a nice view o' ya while we buck apples tagether... I promise I'll leave some fer you" The mare said the last part slightly teasingly. Presteza was extremely confident in her bucking abilities. When you're traveling on the road and can't use telekinesis you need to get food off of trees somehow. Despite her sheltered upbringing this mare was plenty strong enough to clear a tree of fruit if she wanted and as she'd proved in the running of the leaves she had an almost boundless source of energy that could keep her going for quite some time.

Turning to Applebloom the mare's eyes gained a bit of a twinkle of excitement,"Well, Applebloom... I'd say one o' cooler places I've been was Unyasi! I had this awesome adventure where I found this cool lost city in the Brackenweald with this kinda crazy pegasus who loved Daring Do... a little bit too much. I still have a souvenir from that place actually!"

Sitting herself up she looked at a hat-rack by the front door where she had hung her rather weathered looking conical straw hat. The poor accessory looked like it had been threw quite a lot in it's life. There were quite a few rips and holes in the surface that could allow bits of anypony's mane to poke out... if it was going to be a particularly hot day she might have to make a new one for tomorrow,"By the way, Applejack. could I borrow some straw sometime ta make myself a new hat tanight?"

[Hippo]

"Oh all right." Applejack said almost as if she felt defeated. But instead, it was more that she wanted to impress yet another guest of honor to the farm with the best possible outcome, and bucking apples wasn't necessarily what Applejack had in mind. But, to her judgement, the other two left that was exactly what they should do. And all the better for Applejack to get some work done. "Apple Bloom, stack a few more of those baskets onto the wagon and I'll pull it out to the South field. Today, we're harvestin' the Cameo and Honeycrisp trees!"

Outside, Applejack tied a girth around her waist and started pulling the wagon train, which had three wagons full of empty baskets. She would need all three wagons as several trees needed bucking. While walking towards the destination, Applejack responded to Presteza's earlier gestures. "Yeah that bat better stay put, or I'll have to send him with his friends in the West." Applejack said sternly, but then winked. "You say you've been to Unyasi!? That's amazing! What's it like there? Are there any apples?"

​

[SteelEagle]

Apple Bloom felt pretty darn good that her idea had some traction in the mind of the fancy painter pony, if only because what Applejack counted as excitement could be construed as either in the camp of physical activity or paperwork. There were there times that Applejack had Twilight over and she taught her everything there was to know about life, or so she said to a confused Apple Bloom, but that seemed to just involve another locked door and hushed voices in the room. A bit silly that they weren't gonna try whatever that was since Twilight seemed to like it so much, got really excited about it sometimes. But oh well, this was gonna be a lot better! But before Apple Bloom could follow up on her big sis's orders, Presteza started recounting where she had gone in her somewhat action packed life.

Unyasi was where all the zebra lived, right? Well, aside from all teh zebra who lived outside of Unyasi, but it was their homeland nonetheless. Not many ponies tended to go there aside from a few outcasts but that just meant it was the stuff of myth and legend. She read enough that she knew it wasn't all that wild compared to Equestria, but it was still an exotic nation. She was still a filly given to exaggeration in belief. Tales of lost cities and adventures with adventurers who were more familiar to her after a single meeting than other ponies were after a dozen, all made sense to her in the sense it only could to a filly. Less as an outsized realization that what you were hearing was the exception that proved the rule of normalcy and more a belief of a land of myths and adventures as common as flowers. She listened and bit her tomgue with a thousand questions long enough to follow her sister's orders, but no more than that.

"Got it, Applejack!" She replied excitedly, gathering the extra baskets lickety split and sending them up into the cart, jumping in it herself just before Applejack took off. It was a rocky ride but that's how you knew it was a ride worth taking down at the farm. That bat better follow orders, but it seemed well behaved. No doubt or else they'd have another hungry mputh to feed for the day and no offense to Presteza, but feeding the bats was a pain and took a lot from the farm's future. No biggie- Apple Bloom slid down onto her back and just listened to the two talk as Applejack broached the subject of Unyasi, only tossing out a single question.

"Mysterious city, huh? What was that like?"

[Pretzelparty]

"Yeah that bat better stay put, or I'll have to send him with his friends in the West."

As the mare walked out the door with the two apple siblings she gave a nod and a chuckle,"Don' worry, Applejack! Fresco's a good little guy... I'll intraduce you n' Applebloom to 'im later" The mare spoke the truth; Fresco was a good little bat. Ever since she'd gotten her from Fluttershy's animal shelter he'd proved to be a great friend. Fresco loved meeting new ponies or griffons and since he was a small guy he never really had to eat much.

From What Applejack shouted to Applebloom it seemed they were going to be bucking some particular type of apple trees in the south. Presteza didn't really recognize either of the types of apples that Applejack mentioned... but at least one of them sounded delicious just from hearing it's name! She'd have to depend on the more experienced apple farmers to tell her which trees to buck when they all got to the south orchard. For now though the ride (while bumpy) was pretty relaxing and peaceful. As the cart bounced slightly from the occasional bump on the road the mare began to hum to herself before she could pick a steady rhythm to hum to it seemed her friends had some questions for her!

"You say you've been to Unyasi!? That's amazing! What's it like there? Are there any apples?"

The mare nodded enthusiastically, "It sure was Amazin' sadly there aren't many apple trees there... and most of them seem ta grow on there own. When I tasted the ones that were there they were pretty good but nowhere near as tasty as apples in Equestria. " The mare sat up a bit and closed her eyes as she pictured the land of Unyasi in her head from her vivid memories before she spoke again,"First place I saw was the veld durin' it's dry season; or 'Msimu wa Moto" as the zebra's called it. " The mare paused a moment in her speech and grabbed a piece of paper from her saddlebag as well as a pencil, holding both of them aloft with her telekinesis and soon beginning to draw down the landscape as she described it. " The Veld was a huge area, stretching out as far as the eye could see. There were long fields of dry amber colored grass around the landscape and some weird lookin' trees that had almost no trunks. They just looked like branches that sprouted up form the ground and because o' the weather they didn't 'ave any leaves on 'em!" As she finished the description she took the paper and gave it to the filly,"Ya can keep that!" on the paper was a extremely detail sketch of the veld exactly how the mare described it. "By the way Applejack, I don't know if ya heard me earlier but could I borrow some straw ta make myself a new hat?"

"Mysterious city, huh? What was that like?"

Pressy's ears perked up a moment as she heard the yellow filly inquire about her journey to Mbili'Pembe,"Y'know Applebloom... I kinda wonder if you'd believe everything I told ya about it... but have ya ever read any Daring Do? Cause the City was a lot like one in 'Daring do and the hunt for the flying city' Except this one was hidden by some weird mysterious magic that let i-oof!" As they hit a particularly large bump the mare was launched from the cart but luckily the pony managed to land on her feet,"Darn bumps! I was just gettin' ta the cool part too!" The mare gave a slightly disappointing huff as she began to look around. If the two apple family members took a moment to look around it would seem they have reached their destination.

[Hippo]

As Applejack trotted down the orchard path pulling the wagon with the two ponies in it, Applejack listened closely to Presteza descriptions. She sure was an adventurous pony. And to start out, Applejack couldn't have been happier to hear that her apples still stood the test of Equestria--and beyond. "See Apple Bloom! I told ya we should keep that 'and beyond' part of our orchard slogan!" Applejack didn't really have anything to prove, nor was Apple Bloom assuming that she was trying to prove Applejack wrong. It was just the best assurance an apple pony could ask for that someone who traveled as far as Unyasi still considered Sweet Apple Acres fruit to any other.

When Presteza drew the veld she described, Applejack could see the telekinesis take effect onto the paper she had magically held out. She was amazed at how she was able to draw and talk at the same time. Applejack could barely talk and trot at the same time. "Wow, that place sounds like an apple trees worst nightmare!" Applejack smiled at her own remark. "Yeah there should be a hay bale laying around just about anywhere. You find one, you can use the hay to make whatever you want. How long does it take you to make a hat out of straw?"

As Presteza was telling the story of the city she was at, Applejack halted the cart and ungrithed herself. "We're here, but uh, go ahead and keep tellin' ya story, Press." While Presteza continued her story, Applejack squared up against a cameo tree and struck it hard with her two hind legs. Apples rained from the tree, some inside baskets, most of them outside the baskets. The Cameo apples were pretty brilliantly colored. It featured a red and yellow texture, but never orange. And it was sometimes hard to tell if it was red with yellow streaks, or yellow with red streaks.

​

[SteelEagle]

Hearing about the successes and the plights of apples in unyasi got Apple Bloom thinking. What sort of food did zebras from Unyasi even eat that had apples? She figured that everypony had Apple family tastes when it came to a bounty of apples, but they weren't everypony. They were everyzebra. Everyzebra was different from everypony by a wide margin and they probably needed different recipes. Did they still like apple pies? She had to gigure that they must lovebthem on account of their extreme rarity in those parts. If Apples were rare, pies must have been rare delicacies. Maybe the Apple family could strike a deal with Unyasan elite and Apple Bloom could be declared an Unyasan Princess Pony, and she'd have a whole empire to rule. Then she could find some rare apple method to get apples to grow there easy and she'd be the most famous pony in the land of zebras. Good plan, needed to talk to Zecora about Unyasan high society fashion!

To make the rocky trip better, Presteza hoofed over a rather detailed sketch of the area she was talking about- which Apple Bloom was hearing about in a fractured way as the cart was bouncing about rather fierce for a while- and it did not dissapoint. How skilled was this mare? Even if she had never told Apple Bloom, the little filly could almost feel the 'Veld" coming off of the page and smacking her in the face with its character. She was a darn good artist. When Apple Bloom was a royal pony in Unyasi surrounded by her unique apple trees she'd have Presteza be her official court artist. She would make the little Empress of the Plains a real beauty to behold on paper! But more important, a Daring Do style adventure in Unyasi tickled Apple Bloom's fancy something fierce. Her eyes lit up- but then she remembered that Applejack was right there and Applejack didn't really approve of her sister reading Daring Do at her age. The content was maybe a bit much, but Applejack didn't know about Apple Bloom's super secret hidey hole in the floorboards. All was well.

"Well, uhh, Ah wouldn't know anythin' 'bout 'Daring Do and the Search for Maredrid', or, uhh, anything else of tha like that is above mah age level," she said diplomatically and with an exaggerated wink as they arrived at their destination. Apple Bloom bounced out and soon her sister cracked against a cameo tree, the large produce falling from the sky like the most beautiful rain. She had tried to get some of her friends to sing 'Apple Rain' but it was a pretty poorly written song by her own admission. Most of the apples fell away fromthe buckets but that was okay- Apple Bloom quickly galloped off to find each stray apple, tossing them into the baskets as she helped her sister keep the apples in line. Silly apples and their sillier trees, they couldn't handle the sisters today! Abby did save one Cameo however, throwing the fruit to Presteza.

"Here ya ga Pressy! Its a cameo, yellow with red streaks and super juicy!" The filly said with a smile before rejoining her sister.

[Pretzelparty]

"Yeah there should be a hay bale laying around just about anywhere. You find one, you can use the hay to make whatever you want. How long does it take you to make a hat out of straw? We're here, but uh, go ahead and keep tellin' ya story, Press."

The mare coughed abit as her landing from the wagon kicked up a bit of dust around her. "Hm... I think maybe... Ten 'r five minutes? I'm still not able ta get the shape of 'em right but that flat cone shape is easier ta make." Looking around she noticed Applejack was right about there being a couple bales of hay around. There was definitely enough to make a new hat for herself, but right now Applebucking seemed like it deserved more of her attention at this moment. She could make her hat once they finished applebucking, if they got around to plowing that would probably be the time she'd need her hat most. For now the shade the leaves of the healthy looking apple trees was enough to keep her from overheating. Going over to the wagon again she put her saddlebag onto her seat just as Applebloom spoke up.

"Well, uhh, Ah wouldn't know anythin' 'bout 'Daring Do and the Search for Maredrid', or, uhh, anything else of tha like that is above mah age level,"

Well that kind of 'diplomatic' tone was a bit familiar. Presteza had taken that tone and said many things like that everytime her mother asked her if she was reading those "Silly" Daring Do books. It wasn't hard finding a place to hide all her Daring Do books in the huge manor house so she could usually just read to her heart's content when she was a filly until she heard any of the serving staff nearing her at which point she hid the books away again. Looking to Applebloom she smiled and continued her story, "Well as ya obviously don't know about..." she began in a teasing tone. "The city I went to was actually floatin' high above the ground! Higher than I think even Rainbow Dash has ever flown! It had this weird magic shield around it that kept anypony from ever seein' it normally."

Walking back over to the trees, she went over to a tree Applejack had yet to buck. Speaking of Applejack it seemed that she had already chosen her tree and started her weak, meanwhile applebloom tossed the painter an apple presumably to taste for herself. Deciding to take out the middle mare she caught the apple in her mouth and took a bite rather than using her telekinesis. Soon she took another bite and another and another until the apple was gone save for the core and stem, "These taste awesome!" she said ecstatically before rearing back in her excitement. "Thanks!"

"Here ya ga Pressy! Its a cameo, yellow with red streaks and super juicy!"

Not long after she chose her area of trees she backed up towards one and lifted up her hind legs, before thrusting them out with a powerful kick accompanied by a loud thump and all the apples raining down from the tree. "Yeehaw!" she shouted as the fruit rained down, "How was that?"

[Hippo]

"A floatin' city!? I would never believe that had it not been for a place like Cloudsdale! But higher than RD can fly?" Applejack was mystified by the story. Of course despite it being a simple reflection of somepony else, she had to just take their word for it. "Was it in space? Twilight tells me that there's this thing called an athomirror or some-such that we're in and when you escape you go into space with the moon and the stars. Is that where the city is?" Applejack had no expectations for the answer. If she found out she was lying, well Presteza would have to explain herself. If she wasn't, then this is one amazing story.

As Presteza squared herself up against the trees like Applejack did, Applejack got to witness something she rarely sees. The mare hit the tree with good force, jostling the tree enough to cause several apples to fall. The vibrations from the tree shook the ground, and the ground to Applejack's feet. The music of feeling that sensation was something Applejack could hardly explain. Constantly being on the delivering side of those blows, she could honestly say it was a experience to be had. No wonder ponies gave her that look she she bucked apples off trees. She always figured it was because they were afraid to get hit my falling apples. "Well gosh, that was a power hit there, Pressy! Maybe only a third as powerful as me, but very powerful still!" Applejack walked softly over to another tree before giving it a stern look and kicked it her with hind legs, causing yet another rain of apples.

​

[SteelEagle]

Apple Bloom liked the concept of flying cities. Yeah, they were common as green grass in Equestria where you had pegasi cities floating above the ground in all shapes and sizes, but in Unyasi such a thing was unthinkable. Why the hay would they ever need to be up there? They were zebras. Like Earth Ponies, they tended to have their hooves firmly planted on the ground. They had no reason to be up in the sky lollygaging about. But heck, that just made the whole thing that much more interesting, especially since it was higher than a normal pegasi city! She wondered if she should tell Rainbow Dash or Scootaloo but the both of them would probably freak out and wanna petition Cloudsdale to be pitched even higher in the sky. Silly pegasi with their heads in the clouds.

They had bigger fish to scoot out of the pond though, Apple bucking! Abby did her fair share and was pretty proud of her increasing haul. She still had a long way to go to come close to her big sister but nopony ever was gonna come within two miles of her. Well, except Big Mac. But Apple Bloom didn't have a quarter of the strength of her siblings yet nor did she have all that experience. She was, despite her protestations otherwise, still just a little filly. She had pretty good technique though and despite not kicking with the same power as Pressy, she got a haul only slightly less- one day her little Apple legs would be strong and taut like a coiled spring just like Applejack. Until then, she'd have to make do with simply contribution. In any case, it was good to see pressy do well. Spending time with Pinkie Pie made her realize that any success in Appl bucking needed to be treasured as highly as one's own life.

"Yer doin' pretty good thar, Pressy. Why, we might just be able ta buck all these apples in time for Twilight's visit tomorrow!" The filly added jovially, slipping out unintentionally plans for the next day.

[Pretzelparty]

"A floatin' city!? I would never believe that had it not been for a place like Cloudsdale! But higher than RD can fly? Was it in space? Twilight tells me that there's this thing called an athomirror or some-such that we're in and when you escape you go into space with the moon and the stars. Is that where the city is?"

"She must've meant the atmosphere, it's a big layer of gases that contains the world's air!" While the young painter may not have looked exactly like it, she was actually pretty well educated. This was really not too surprising given her upbringing, being born into a rich family had it's perks. "The part the city was at was called the 'stratosphere', so it was reeeeeeeeeeeeallly high above the highest clouds that cloudsdale ever made." Walking to the next tree she decided to put a little bit more power into her next kick in the hopes of bringing down more apples. It seemed that Applejack was already impressed by what she could do already though!

"Well gosh, that was a power hit there, Pressy! Maybe only a third as powerful as me, but very powerful still!"

Once again taking careful position in front of the tree she lifted her hind legs up and gave the tree another powerful buck that seemed to shaken the tree to it's foundation until another rain of apples came down, this time there were a bit more then last time although she didn't completely strip the tree. Looking back to Applejack she smiled at her compliment, "Thanks! Maybe if I keep at it I'll be as good as you are one day... I'm still pretty sure I can outrun ya though! ya better tell me when yer ready fer a rematch!" she said in a playfully challenging tone.

"Yer doin' pretty good thar, Pressy. Why, we might just be able ta buck all these apples in time for Twilight's visit tomorrow!"

Suddenly the mare went wide eyed at Applebloom's words. "HOLY CROP!", she shouted in surprise with even more surprising volume, loud enough for her voice to echo over the entire orchard. Galloping to Applejack she almost went nose to nose with the farm-pony, "Applejack, why didn't ya tell me the princess was visitin'?! Sweet Celestia, we gotta get this stuff done!" she said in a frantic rapid fire manner that continued into her next sentence. "Brushes... oh no I need some brushes! if I'm gonna ask ta paint 'er I can't show up lookin' unprepared! I mean I gave princess Cadence the best I had and I can't let our newest princess have any less!" Before Applejack could reply though the painter's hoof collided with her face and she groaned,"Oh no... I can't be worryin' about this now! We gotta get ta buckin'"

Galloping towards another tree the mare reared back and gave another strong buck, and then another to make sure she got all the apples off. If anything this pony had energy to burn as she speedily moved on to the next and the next trees and repeated the process. It might be pretty obvious that she should really be pacing herself though as if she put all her energy into bucking she might not have enough for the rest of the chores!

[Hippo]

Not only was Presteza confident that her story was in fact true to her words, but she was also proving to be a bit of a mindful one as well. Applejack wasn't at all familiar with parts of the air around her. Most of her business was in the fertile ground. And according to Twilight, no plants can naturally exist in space as far as she knows, so what was the point of going that high? Presteza knew what Applejack was talking about, which was more than she could say about herself in this conversation. Fortunately, she kept focus on her bucking skills Applejack admired, and Applejack responded against her competitive voice. "Are you kidding? Any time. Any where. 'Cept not here right now 'cause we gotta get these trees bucked." Applejack quickly removed herself from a competitive glare and hit another apple tree, apples again raining from above, most of them artistically falling into baskets that were placed underneath previously.

When Apple Bloom mentioned Twilight coming tomorrow, as Twilight always does every Tuesday, Presteza bolted out an interjection of surprise. As Applejack heard this, she bolted to Apple Bloom and covered the filly's ears with her hooves. She figured that Presteza never meant to be profane, nor did Applejack think she got to Apple Bloom's ears in time. The damage had probably been done. But wow, Presteza sure liked to talk colorfully.

Applejack smirked at the issue though. "Calm down, Sugarcube. Twilight isn't quite like the others, and least not yet. She still maintains several citizen roles here in Ponyville. It's just that more recently she has been more busy. But not too busy to visit the farm every week. She is my friend after all!" Applejack put her hoof around Presteza after she hit another tree. "Tell ya what, I'll introduce you and try to get some time set aside, that way you don't have to rush. But, you're right, we wont be able to do that today."

"Fetch some more baskets out of the wagon, Apple Bloom." Applejack walked over to another tree, progressing through the orchard of unharvested apple trees. She squared up and bucked the tree, another rain of apples falling.

​

[SteelEagle]

Presteza had a complete mental breakdown when she found out that Twilight was coming over, the sort of breakdown that no Apple would be caught dead or alive having. It made sense for a pony without all of the cool and and logic of the Apples to break down, but over Twilight? She was as normal a pony as a Princess could be and far from flawless or deserving of such panic. Heck, Pressy's panic reminded the filly of Twilight when the Princess would panic over magic or books or something else equally silly. maybe Presteze could go avant garde and paint Twilight during one of her weaker moments as part of a really weird series that explores the foibles of Equestria's rulers. That'd be the bee's knees and would make her all rich and famous. Of course Twilight wouln't like it and would probably turn her into a toad as a joke for a few hours in the name of research, but who could put a price on the arts? Well, you probably could. The price was toad.

"Don't fret 'bout Twilight comin' over. She comes over just about every other day, even spends the night with Applejack a lot! They play all sortsa games and get really excited in their room. Maybe you can join them!" Apple Bloom added innocently as she bucked a tree, a few more apples raining down and through good fortune finding home in some baskets. Before long she was sure to own the record for most apples bucked in a year by ponies named Apple Bloom, a prodigious honor if there ever was one. It was good in any case to see the bucking go as well as it was. In just a few short strokes she had filled up her small allotment, and Applejack ordered her energetic little sister to go fetch more. No problem there- they sure as heck needed all the baskets they could get at this rate!

"Ah got it, Applejack!" The filly bellowed as she raced to go get more.

[Pretzelparty]

"Are you kidding? Any time. Any where. 'Cept not here right now 'cause we gotta get these trees bucked."

​

Galloping onward to the next tree she delivered another powerful kick to the tree, sending down another shower of fresh, ripe, apples. Making sure to dodge any apples that came close to head she managed to address applejack's statement, the last part getting a chuckle from the still excited mare, "Well, obviously not now! I mean we got so many trees ta buck fer the princess! If I don't do my fair share she might not wanna let me paint her!" The second she finished her statement she once again bolted to the next group of trees, giving another great example of her energy before she heard the Apple siblings speak up again.

"Calm down, Sugarcube. Twilight isn't quite like the others, and least not yet. She still maintains several citizen roles here in Ponyville. It's just that more recently she has been more busy. But not too busy to visit the farm every week. She is my friend after all!" Applejack put her hoof around Presteza after she hit another tree. "Tell ya what, I'll introduce you and try to get some time set aside, that way you don't have to rush. But, you're right, we wont be able to do that today."

​

As the painter continued her bucking spree she eventually started to slow down as she heard Applejack's reassurances. She'd already managed to buck quite a few trees free of their apples in her previous frenzy (she might have actually shaved a couple minuted off of their work in this part of the farm.) Soon though her slight frantic mindset died down and she let out a sigh of relief as she heard the princess was more like a normal pony than the rest of the princesses. Once Applejack managed to place her hoof around her she pretty much calmed down completely and laughed in embarassment, "W-wow! Ya'd really do that?! thanks so much Applejack!"

"Don't fret 'bout Twilight comin' over. She comes over just about every other day, even spends the night with Applejack a lot! They play all sortsa games and get really excited in their room. Maybe you can join them!"

Presteza blinked a few times at Applebloom's sudden statement, after a moment a slight smirk spread over her face. The kind of look that betrayed a hint of inspiration but also gentle teasing before she turned to Applejack,"Oh-ho! Maybe that could be the answer ta our previous paintin' dilemma..." The mare vividly pictured the scene in her mind and began to elaborate, "Paintin' the close bond between the ponies' of equestria's newest princess and her intimate relationship to on who represents good an honest folks that make the life royalty and nobility possible!" Even though the silver maned pony was pretty sure such a scenario might be a bit invasive, she really did mean it partly in jest.

[Hippo]

Some days, Applejack had an urge to experiment with how many apples she could put in Apple Bloom's mouth at one time. If for no real reason than to keep the filly from talking, it might serve a better purpose than a silly stunt would ever have in the satisfaction of a dare. And how the hay did she know so much about what Twilight does when she came over? Apparently those wooden floorboards in the barn aren't as sound resistant as she thought. "Eat yer salad, Apple Bloom."

On the other hoof, Applejack had no issues with the three spending time together. It would be a better, more efficient, use of both Twilight and Applejack's time if they all had a date for lunch of something. It all depended on how Presteza's art style was and how long it took her to do her thing. "Calm yer hooves, Presteza. No reason to rush. Besides, you still haven't painted me." Applejack winked. She wasn't in need of it, but for as long as the unicorn expressed her desire to paint Applejack doing what she does on the farm, she sure did a lot of the process bucking trees and without a paintbrush in her telekinesis. She herself squared to a tree and bucked it just in time for a new basket delivered by Apple Bloom to arrive underneath the tree. "What poses were you lookin' for again?"

​