Ponyville [Sweet Apple Acres] The Apple Barn Contract

[Hippo]

Applejack looked puzzled. She didn't know what the hay Klondike was spitting out of the thing he calls a mouth. Gibberish, and then something about an aquarium, and then more nonsense, it was all making her very nervous. And if it wasn't enough for Applejack to speak up and question anyway, her brother Macintosh went ahead and began to speak his mind a little. It was one of the few times Applejack stepped behind him on it. And this time, like most situations where Big Mac decided to question first, she agreed.

After the exchange, Applejack looked at her brother with a shrug. "Well. I guess we just better listen. Cleaning this debris out first does seem like the right idea." Applejack was put in her place, and she didn't like it. She wanted to do things her way, but was overly aggravated, not to mention confused, by the goofy stallion that took lead on this rebuilding of the apple barn. Great Celestia, Applejack hoped he knew what he was doing.

Applejack started grabbing burnt pieces of rubble with her mouth and throwing them on the cart that Macintosh was pulling. It was hard work. Not really any harder than bucking apples, but she'd rather be bucking apples. Applejack looked at Mojo and called him over. "Psst! Mojo, come over here!" Once he arrive, Applejack expressed her concern. "Mojo, don't you think that this here stallion is a few apples short of a bushel? I'm worried that this is gonna get even more disastrous with somepony like him in charge. What do you think?"

[Chonico]

As Klondike walked by Mojo, his ears suddenly perked up.

"Hay big dudes, chill out! I'm feelin' some negative jives here with you two, and that's not cool. All of us are gonna have to work together to get this job done. Mellow out and relax! Think of all the ponies here on the farm that are dependin' on us to fix this barn. Let's not have a bad scene here, dudes, ok?"

He couldn’t help but look at the painted pony quizzically and cocked his head to the side a bit as an ear drooped down. Didn’t last long though as a suddenly smile of comprehension formed and he picked up a hammer in his mouth and banged the head against one of his horseshoes. His ears took aim at the hammer as it gave off a low twang.

“Nhope, shounds fine chew me!”

Apparently he misunderstood jives for vibes. Only to somepony like Klondike would that seem the obvious meaning of Mojo’s comment. Still, ‘A’ for effort. And, content with his analysis of the hammer’s vibrations, he set it on his back and began walking towards his self appointed job of bracing the sides of the barn to prevent further structural weakening.

“But you are certainly right Mr. Mojo, we need to work together to get this done proper and on time.” He called out as he rounded one of the barn’s corners and went out so sight.

Klondike didn’t waste any time getting started his task, confident that Mojo’s words rang true and everypony would do their part. Soon enough, banging sounds began to echo as he applied board after board to the sides of the barn, his own attention span and awareness of the surrounding world becoming tunneled as he focused on the task at hoof and he began to hum a merry tune.

The whole task didn’t take him more than a few minutes, and soon enough he found himself walking into the barn. Mojo was there talking to Applejack, but as far as Klondike’s awareness of his surroundings went, a bear on a unicycle wearing a tutu could have been there and it still wouldn’t have registered. His bandaged up right ear however was aimed at the Apple siblings and Mojo, twitching constantly as it seemed to pick up a conversation that its owner wasn’t ever aware was taking place.

Nope, Klondike simply continued walking further inside towards what remained of the stairs while still humming his tune. And, once he reached them, he took a cautious step on them and they wobbled underhoof.

They weren’t stable. That wouldn’t do if they had plans to remove the burned out wood from the second floor were most of the damage was located. Well, what remained of the second floor anyways thanks to Applejack’s skill with a rope. Nope, Klondike simply rounded about and trotted out of the barn, still completely oblivious to the existence of anypony else in the barn, and towards the pile of wood delivered for the job. He came back minutes later lugging in a decent amount of planks and tools.

Ready for a new task, Klondike couldn’t help but grin to himself and within a heartbeat, he climbed up the dangerously damaged steps and when he reached the top, he did the one thing that probably would only help feed Applejack's concerns... He jumped and landed heavily on the steps and the whole thing came down, with him riding it to the bottom like a pony on a surfboard riding a wave. Once on the ground, unscathed by some miracle of Celestia, he picked up a hammer and a plethora of banging, sawing, and more banging engulfed the inside of the barn. Within 20 minutes, he had built a brand new set of stairs.

He eyed his work with a satisfied gleam in his eyes and then trotted up the steps to what remained of the second floor. Once he reached it, he finally seemed to recall there were other ponies around and call out to them.

“No pony walk under this area right here.” He appeared off to the side and pointed at a section on the first floor, off to the side a few feet away from where everypony else was standing. “Gonna be dumping some stuff there and don’t want anypony getting hurt.”

Well, he sure was setting the example, wasn't he?

No sooner did he say that, the he disappeared out of sight and reappeared again with a piece of burned out wood in his muzzle that he let drop onto the area he pointed at.

Klondike had already started to remove the burned out wood on top. Hopefully nopony else was falling behind.

[SunsetSombra]

Big Mac decided to simply get on with the assigned task quietly - for the most part, during times like this, the red stallion took himself into more of an internal moment of both reflection and focused thinking...allowing himself to quietly do what needed to be done without letting himself get distracted from the task at hoof by anypony else.

Whilst Applejack and the others loaded up the cart, he thought briefly about what he felt about the situation in general - his thoughts taking him back a little to when he as a young colt and AJ as an enthusiastic filly helped out trying to repair the barn alongside their own folks for the first time. Whilst AJ wasn't really able to do much physically, her undeniable tenacity and desire to take part showed early...often getting the little fillyjack into trouble - during their first barn repair, she had been allowed to help mac do a similar task they were doing now by taking small broken pieces of wood and tossing them onto the small cart that Mac was pulling. Even as a colt, he had still been a relatively 'large' pony, and this turned out to be just what was needed. Whilst the folks focused on doing the central repairs, AJ and Mac were responsible for the cleanup of the more 'scrappy' pieces of wood and materials left over during the 'event' itself.

As he continues now to quietly pull at the cart and assist his sister in helping to clear away the burnt remains of what had once been the very same barn, he couldn't help but feel a small twinge of sadness...it wasn't often Mac got nostalgic or misty eyed, but this was something that they had done the best they could to keep up to what had it originally had been. Seeing it now as a charcoal black mass of rubble and burnt planks...

Well, t'was not the best thing to see for a pony whom had had many fond memories of it.

Still, despite the ridiculousness of how it happened, he didn't take it out on Applebloom - she was young and prone to being hyperactive little thing...and with any luck, this whole situation would teach her a little lesson about what it means to pay close attention to what you're doing

His thoughts turn to the here and now, looking over at the rebuilding operation - Klondike helping them out at full gusto, and not doing a bad job at all at reconstructing and building what was needed. Mac couldn't deny the ponies love for his work, or the time and effort he was putting in to helping the apple family when they needed it the most. Still, he seemed a little scatterbrained at times, and Mac wasn't entirely sure if leaving the project in his hooves was entirely the best plan of action...but considering he seemed to be doing an otherwise adequate job, it really didn't seem to matter much.

Still, for the moment...Macintosh remained consciously focused on the job at hoof - his role was to be the heft and the strength of the group, and right now he was doing his part to keep things clear and tidy. For the time being, he would do what was required...if he should be needed elsewhere, then he would happily lend himself to whatever other capacity anypony might need him for, once he was obviously more free to do so!

Edited April 28, 2012 by Robikku Pegasus

[Mojo]

Mojo cocked his head to one side as he watched Klondike's hammer demonstration and then turn to smile at AppleJack as he whispered back to her: "This dude does seem rather bonkers at that, love. But his heart's in the right place. Cleanin' out the old rubbish left by the fire before startin' to fix the barn up makes good horse sense to me, babe. Betcha if all of us work together, we can get this all done before ya can say 'Bob's your uncle1'"

Meanwhile in the kitchen, a warm smile came across Granny Smith's face as she heard Holly Dash describe her dislike for vegetables.

"You youngin's is all alike," the elderly mare said politely. "In all my years trottin' round on this here farm, I've helped many foals love vegetables. Jist cause this is Sweet Apple Acres don't mean we eat only apples and sweet things. Giv'm a chance, youngin, betcha can learn to like'm too!"

[knight]

Holly flattened her ears against her head, glaring stubbornly at Granny Smith, before turning her nose up in the air, "No. Ah AIN'T havin' any. Ah don't like 'em and Ah never will!"

She magicked some of the apples out of the barrel, and picked up a knife to start slicing them, while humming softly, "Ah s'pose it cain't be helped, though. MOST ponies eat veggies---Ah'll just give mine to somepony else."

She placed the sliced apples into the bowl with Granny Smith's mix of vegetables, and gave an agreeable smile to Granny Smith, "Ah ain't no young'n, neither!" She added as she continued chopping apples with the elder mare, "Ah'm a full grown mare, thank ya very much!"

[Hippo]

Applejack continued her nervous wreck of a personality, dodging the pieces of wood that flew around when Klondike fell and collapsed the old stairs that remained in the barn. She couldn't understand how we would ever be able to do anything right.

She then started picking up the remaining pieces of rubble, making sure it was clear of any new construction paths. She could see the tiny amounts of emotion from her brother, seeping out of his deep exhales as he pulled the cart of rubble away. This wasn't really easy on anypony, she realized.

Applejack listened to Mojo, in all of his wisdom that he spoke. But something bounced out that didn't hit Applejack quite right. She turned to him and grabbed him by the mane, pulling his face to hers. She was not smiling. "Did you just call me babe!?" Applejack hesitated and then continued. "Don't call me babe!" Applejack released Mojo. "Ok?" Applejack's sudden burst of emotion was pretty surprising, even to her. She must have bottled up her worry more than she realized. But she didn't really like to be called somepony's 'babe', not unless it was from someone she knew well.

Not too long later, Applejack noticed that within a short amount of time, Klondike had finished building the new stairs. "Wha- what!? Already!?" Applejack began stepping carefully on the first step to test its sturdiness and proceeded to walk upwards, wincing as she placed her hoof on the next step. Its seemed alright. Applejack couldn't believe it. How did such a silly pony measure up to build something so fast and sturdy like this?

Applejack began watching Klondike work, as she had now become very interesting to her. After realizing that Klondike was practically oblivious to the other ponies in the barn, she made a quick switch of the hats, replacing her hard hat with her cowpony hat that she wore everywhere. Afterwards, Applejack wanted to see what Klondike was doing, so she stood right below where he was working, next to the accumulating pile of rubble. One of them almost her, and she yelled. "WHOA!"

[Chonico]

Klondike had been working on removing the burnt out pieces wood from the top floor for a while now. Every piece he removed, he simply slid across the floor towards the ledge and down onto the pile that had built up on the spot he had warned about earlier.

He wasn’t really paying attention to that though, his hooves seeming to know what they were doing as his mind was somewhere else. His own focus had shifted from that task to small creaking noises coming from the ceiling. While his hooves moved, his head was tilted back and looking at the ceiling with his ears aimed at it, his right ear twitching every now and then.

"WHOA!"

Klondike’s right ear suddenly gave a forceful yank towards the noise and dragged his head with it. His focus quickly reset on the world around him as he trotted over to the ledge and looked down to see Applejack standing next to the pile. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Something was off about her...

Within a minute, he disappeared from the ledge and quickly trotted towards the stairs, down the stairs, and up to Applejack. He simply smiled his goofy smile as he sat down in front of her.

“You know Miss Applejack…” He talked to her in his regular cheerful voice to get her attention. “I think I made a mistaken with my assessment about the barn.”

He reached over and bit the brim of her Stetson hat and removed it off of her head and set it aside.

“We might have to stabilize the roof sooner than I thought. Thing might come down on us at any moment.” Oddly enough, his voice was still rather cheerful even though he just said everypony might be squashed by a falling roof.

“Thing about your barn though, it is very well built. Any other case, I would have suggested we tear the whole thing down and build a new one.” He looked away from her and up at the ceiling and around the barn. “But whoever built in and repaired it before put a lot of effort into it.”

He looked away from the barn and down at his own hooves as he brought one up to tap on his chin.

“Yes, definitely pride and care in their work.”

Klondike quickly removed his own hardhat and placed it on Applejack’s head. Underneath his hardhat though, was a small roll of duct tape and he quickly tilted his head and let the roll fall to the ground in front of him.

“Now… Mr. Big Mac and Mr. Mojo, can you go out and bring in the two tall, heavy 12 X 12 inch beams please. We are going to secure the roof before it collapses on use.”

He looked over at them before looking back at Applejack.

“And, because I want us to be safe and not get hit on the head as you almost were, I’m going to secure the hardhat on your head Miss Applejack…”

*Shrrrrrrriiip*

He took the roll in one hoof, and with the other he pulled a strip from it by biting it off. The strip though quickly stuck to his hoof and he began to waggle it around trying to get it off. Instead, that only made it wrap around his hoof.

“Hmm…” He looked at his hoof with the duct tape wrapped around it. “Am I supposed to pull with the grain of my coat or against it to avoid tearing a patch of my coat off?”

Klondike stared at his hoof and then at Applejack, using his other hoof to tap his chin.

*Shrrrrrrrriiiipppp*

He tore another piece from the roll of duct tape.

“Guess we both get to find out later, right Miss Applejack? Oh, and don't worry, you can wear your other hat on top if you want.”

((OOC - Oh Klondike... This should prove interesting XD ))

[SunsetSombra]

Big Mac had gotten over the initial nostalgia shock after the declaration from Klondkike that the barn seemed to be mostly salvageable, which had helped him to reign in the quiet bubbling emotions that he himself had been a little surprised by initially...it wasn't often that he got caught up in something and reacted quite as emotionally as he had, which almost left him feeling a tad embarrassed.

Mojo's little misplaced comment at Applejack and her subsequent reply made Mac roll his eyes, distracting him now from any internalising thoughts of anything prior...he didn't care much for ponies who ticked his sister off, but since this was most likely just an accident on the part of the laid back pony, there really wasn't any point in doing anything - she seemed to be handling it herself just fine as it was.

It was about now that Klondike called out his and Mojo's name - calling for the both of them to go and tend to getting the heavy beams that were prepared.

Giving a small nod, and a small glance over in mojo's direction, the red stallion turns and heads towards where they were currently kept - he wasn't going to worry about what Mojo had done, he just wanted to focus on the task at hand...which was a more important focus for him!

Edited May 10, 2012 by Robikku Pegasus

[Mojo]

"Deary, when ya git to be MY age, everypony's a youngin!" Granny Smith giggled as she turned towards Holly and smiled. "If'n ya don't want ta eat veggies, then I'll fix ya somethin' else. Can't have ya starvin' on us now, can we?"

Meanwhile, Mojo was stunned at AppleJack's response. Apparently, the hippie brony's diction has gotten him in hot water again.

"AppleJack, I meant nutin' by that remark, love. It's just an expression, no need to freak out, it's all cool! Please excuse me, I think the boss man's called for me," Mojo said as he rushed up to help Big Mac bring the 12 x 12 beams Klondike requested.

[Hippo]

Applejack saw Klondike come down and give his explanation of the work needed done. She couldn't read him at all. His facial expressions never matched up with his words, and his actions never matched perfectly with his explanations. Pretty much any time he was talking, it had little to do with everything about his persona. He removed her hat. "Hay! Don't take mah hat away!" Applejack said as Klondike ignored, telling her that the bar was to come down. "What!? But you were fixin' it! Have you spit your bit er somethin'?" Klondike proceeded to put his own hard hat onto her head and take duct tape to fasten it to her head. Applejack stared back at Klondike in an attempt to visualize her deathly ability to defend herself. "You wouldn't dare!"

((Sorry. I know my post is kind of short with not much to work with. We can have skip posts if need be. And, Chonico, you can play this however you want. AJ is probably going to put up a fight, so you can imply that in your next post if you wish. Just make it interesting within the confines of AJ-plausability, and I'll follow suit. She doesnt have to have her way, but she's not just gonna lie down and take it.))

[Chonico]

"You wouldn't dare!"

“Of course I wouldn’t dare let your barn be destroyed… or spit my bit… Actually, I’m not even sure what that means.” Klondike answered cheerfully as he looked off to the side, completely missing the point of what Applejack just said. “That’s why I’m trying to speed things along a bit. Mainly the roof being stabilized so it doesn’t fall down on us. And speaking of which…”

Klondike approached Applejack, duct tape in hoof.

- - - - - - - - - -

As Klondike continued to help clean the debris while Big Mac and Mojo got the beams for the roof, he could not help but feel a slight sense of accomplishment. Off to the side, Applejack was wearing her hardhat, duct tape free.

They had come to an agreement. As soon as they finished fixing the roof, she'd be free to wear her nicer looking stetson hat instead of the hardhat. But until then, the hardhat would stay on, duct tape free.

It hadn't been an easy to reach agreement though, there had been a lot of dodging, literally, before it was reached. That, and Applejack took the strip of duct tape intended for her hardhat and taped it onto Klondike's nose. It didn't faze the odd repair pony though, he simply laughed it off, saying that if he was going to put duct tape on her head, it was only fair she did the same.

Still, he couldn't help but lick at it every couple of seconds, trying to get it off while going crossed eye and trying to look at it. Maybe if he got it wet enough, once he got back to his repair shop he'd might be able to peel it off without peeling the fur stuck to it. Oh well, problem for later he supposed.

Well, back to work. He simply smiled and waved as he saw Big Mac and Mojo bring in the beams for the roof. This was going to be easy.

"Could you two place them off to the side? Miss Applejack, do you have a length of rope?"

[SunsetSombra]

everything seemed to be going smoothly at least - Big Mac was thankful for the small mercies, since one never knew when something potentially might just go entirely wrong and cause problems down along the road. A project like a barn reconstruction invited many chances for disaster, but thankfully it at least seemed that the bizarre 'foreman' that was Klondike seemed to know enough about what he was doing to keep things in order.

Mac was relatively glad that his partner in bringing the beams in was a relatively easygoing worker - after a small moment of negotiating and making the best of what space and strength they could take between them, they were able to at least bring in a few beams at a time...and whilst the work itself wasn't initially the easiest to handle with a pony he wasn't familiar with, Mac found himself having fewer troubles with sharing the work than first expected.

They were just about finishing up on the last run, and Klondike was asking for a usable length of Rope...Mac looks at the pair of them a moment, before working with Mojo to shift the last of the beams to their desired location, returning to Klondike and giving a small nod.

" Eeeyup - we keep a few lenths o'rope in th' storeshed... " comes the reply from Mac, pointing a hoof in the direction of aforementioned destination.

" Ah'll jus' say be careful...it's 'bout time o'year that ya may see snakes roamin' around down that way - they don't take kindly t'intruders! "

Edited June 13, 2012 by Robikku Pegasus

[Mojo]

_{As she waited for Holly to answer her, Granny Smith continued on with her work in the kitchen.}

_{"By the way, Holly, I sure do appreciate yur help with all this food," the elderly mare said, "we gotta lot of hungry hard workin' ponies to feed soon."}

_{Meanwhile, Mojo continued working along side Big Mac with the beams.}

_{"There we are, chum!" the hippie brony neighed as the two placed the last beam together. "All square and level. Big Mac, I didn't mean to get off on the wrong hoof with your sister. Any pointers on how I could get back in her good graces?"}

[Hippo]

It was true. Applejack and Klondike had made an agreement. Their agreement was this: Applejack has to wear the hardhat for protection, at least until the roof is finished. And in return, Applejack would not have buck Klondike to fertilizer for messing with her head, and much more personal, her hat. Until the roof was in place, the stetson hate hung patiently waiting for it's mare to wear it once again.

Applejack was sitting on one end of the building with her hooves crossed. It wasn't as if her and Klondike weren't on speaking terms, but one could guess that she thought she got the shorter end of the deal. She looked up to Klondike's questions. "Rope? Do we have a length of rope? Uhm. Yeah." Applejack was sour. And she was starting to get annoyed at Klondike's, well, Klondike in general. "How long a rope?"

[Chonico]

Klondike listened intently to both ponies, his right ear twitching from one to the other as they spoke. He still had the piece of duct tape stuck to the front of his muzzle. For all intended purposes, it looked like the silvery piece of tape had now become part of his face until he could remove it.

"Rope? Do we have a length of rope? Uhm. Yeah. How long a rope?"

Eeeyup - we keep a few lenths o'rope in th' storeshed... Ah'll jus' say be careful...it's 'bout time o'year that ya may see snakes roamin' around down that way - they don't take kindly t'intruders!

He tapped a hoof to his chin and flapped the piece of duct tape as he considered what he had just heard and looked back and forth between Big Mac and Applejack. His eyes lingered a bit on Applejack as he observed her sitting off to the side with her hooves crossed. She didn’t look… happy.

“Hmm, well…” He turned to address Big Mac and only took a few seconds to look up at the highest point of the barn and then back at the floor, the silvery piece of duct tape stuck on his muzzle waggling all over place. “I’d say we need a rope long enough to reach that cross beam up there and back to the ground. So, 100 hooves in length should do it.”

Klondike paused as he looked at Big Mac for confirmation that they might have something like that in the shed.

“OH! Also another rope perhaps a good 8 hooves in length so that I can use it as a safety line once I get up there to secure the new support beams. Actually, two lengths… Mr. Mojo, you're coming up with me. You aren’t too heavy.” He added as he looked around the area he stood and then up at the ceiling again before adding nonchalantly with a smile. “No sense falling… again. Wasn’t fun the first time and you were rather heavy. A Unicorn would make it easier but I like the challenge.”

He continued to smile as his right ear twitched and his attention shifted towards Applejack. He looked at her for a few seconds before turning back to Big Mac.

“I’ll go look for those ropes in your shed, Mr. Big Mac. If you ponies could keep cleaning up we can finish this up faster than I can fix a barn.”

It was a bit unclear if that was a lame attempt at a joke or not, but as he made his way past Big Mac, he leaned in closed and whispered into his ear.

“Mr. Big Mac, I think Miss Applejack is feeling sick.” He paused as he looked back at Applejack and waved at her before turning back to whispering to the giant red pony. “She kind of looks like she swallowed something bad… Actually, if it was bad, why did she swallow it? You’d imagine a pony would just spit it out. But spitting ain’t polite. So if you eat something bad, is it still impolite to spit it out. What if…”

As Klondike started walking away towards the door of the barn, he continued to talk to himself as his mind drifted on that weird tangent he’d managed to talk himself into. It was not clear what his point in mentioning Applejack's supposed ailment to Big Mac was, maybe he thought he should check up on her, but it was plainly clear that he was completely unaware of the faux pas he had committed by removing Applejack’s hat.

[SunsetSombra]

Mac found himself confused by the parting words of Klondike - there really wasn't all that much Mac knew about what had taken place between the pair of them, and it only made the red stallion all the more bemused that the confusing pony would seem to want to elucidate on a point that Mac had clearly missed somewhere along the line. All he could do for a moment is watch in amused confusion as Klondike headed on out...before shaking off the moment of confusion as he settled once again on handling the task at hoof.

However, it wasn't long after that that he found himself being queried by Mojo in regards to AJ.

" Any pointers on how I could get back in her good graces? "

Ha chuckled slightly, looking at the hippy pony with a slightly raised eyebrow - there really wasn't going to be any easy answer to that, and Mac exhales sharply as he simply shook his head in response. " Ah reckon...ya'alls should jus' keep workin' at it - she may be a l'il sore 'bout it now perhaps, but ah figure that if ya'all jus' give yer all an' work like ya'all be doin' right now, you folks'll be laughin' it up again in no time at all. "

Mac glances over at AJ for a moment - she was clearly getting more and more rattled by the events taking place, and he sorely wanted to give her all the brotherly encouragement he could, but he knew enough that she's probably need just a little space to get her head clear of her current mood...

That, he always found, was the much better solution for dealing with a slightly riled Applejack.

[Mojo]

Granny Smith continued to talk to Holly as she worked in the kitchen preparing lunch for the soon-to-be-hungry work crew.

"I got other things I kin fix ya to eat. How about a good ol' peanut butter sandwich? Y'know, sometimes there ain't nutin' in the world like a good ol' peanut butter sandwich with some zap apple jam on it! Whatdoya say, Holly?"

At the worksite, Mojo listened with interest to Big Mac's advice. The hippie brony wanted to spread 'peace' everywhere he went, and it would seem poor AppleJack could use some peace and tranquility at the moment.

"Thanks, chum," the Paint stallion said to Big Mac as he continued to work. When he got close enough to Applejack to be heard, he began to speak to the troubled mare.

"Cheer up, miss. I can tell you're rather knackered about this unpleasant scene. When I feel me own dander startin' to surface, I close me eyes and go to my 'happy place.' I let me mind wander to somethin' that makes me feel jolly. Always does the trick! Miss Applejack, what is YOUR happy place? Some peaceful corner of this lovely farm? A quiet, mellow stream? Think upon that special place..."

Mojo hoped his natural peaceful 'nature' would rub off on the blonde country mare. This situation could prove to be the ultimate test of his 'special talent' for making other ponies feel more peaceful and calm.

I don't know what the story is with Holly Dash, she seems to have missed a few turns with this 'rotation'. River, let me know when AJ and the crew want to stop for lunch, ok?

[Hippo]

Applejack overheard the conversation about ropes, and she gave her input with a monotone attitude. "Yes, they're all in the shed, go ahead and look through 'em. I doubt we have one that is exactly eight hooves long though, and I don't take kindly to someone cuttin' them, since I use them for lots of special things. Jus' be careful." With her hooves still crossed, Applejack leaned against the inside wall of the unfinished barn, unable to gather motivation for unnecessary movement or speaking.

Then Mojo came to talk to Applejack, this time, without touching her. He explained his 'happy place' idea and left her with her thoughts. Applejack looked uninterested, and didn't flinch much to Mojo's attention. However, she did hear what he said. Looking around her, she waited until no one was looking at her, and she closed her eyes and attempted to find her happy place. It took a few seconds, but she accomplished it.

Applejack was reclining on her favorite apple tree, Willard, which was located on her favorite part of the farm, and yielded her favorite kind of apple. As she reclined with her hat tilted downward, apples magically fell of the tree and rolled their way towards Applejack, in which she would eat them one by one. Over and over, she would take an apple and eat it, take and apple, eat it, take and apple eat. Meanwhile, in the backdrop, a apple mansion could be seen, being built next to the now old barn. Everything looked great, and Applejack's life seemed pure. Everything was great. Until she realized that she couldn't stop eating the apples. Because she was hungry.

Applejack's stomach growled, and woke her up a little. Applejack knew she was being a pain in the petooty. But maybe the fact that she hadn't had anything to eat for a while was the reason why. She contemplated telling Klondike, and his train of thought to stop and take a meal break. Granny would probably be ready for the ponies anyway.

[Chonico]

It didn’t take long for Klondike to find the ropes where Big Mac told him they’d be. Lucky for him, he also had not found any snakes. Well, maybe. Odds were that even if there were snakes in the shed, he paid them no heed. Ignore them and they ignore you, sound theory right? Well, that was hardly the reason why Klondike had not noticed any snakes.

No, he had been too preoccupied listening to the oddest of sounds. Like the sound of an earthquake except without the shaking earth underneath. It had been somewhat constant and nearby, and his right ear had not stopped twitched at all.

He had managed to find some decent sized lengths of ropes and as per Applejacks instructions, Klondike had made sure not to cut them. He’d just find a way to deal with the slack when the time came for it.

“Better to have enough, than not enough. Then you are left short and nopony likes being left short. The more to go around the better and everypony is happy. I doubt ropes are a source of happiness though. Maybe licorice ropes…Oh! And some cupcakes! You can never have enough of those to go around. And apples and cookies and…”

Klondike’s one pony sided conversation carried into the barn as he walked through the doors with the ropes dangling around his neck. He paused a quick moment to look at the ponies in the barn.

“Chocolate pudding… that’s always great with some apple slices!”

He couldn’t help but notice how they all looked so tired and hungry. They had been working for a long time now. A break was in order and with a quick lowering of his head, he slid the ropes off of his neck and brought up his face again to reveal that goofy smile that seemed to constantly be plastered on his face.

“Say, is anypony else hungry? I don’t know why but I’ve been feeling rath-GRRRROWL”

Klondike’s stomach decided to finish the sentence for him when his mouth was open and allowed for the hungry growl to almost echo through the barn. Klondike’s mouth suddenly clamped shut as his eyebrows raised, his right ear twitched, and he wore a surprised expression on his face.

“There’s that sound again…” He commented as he looked at one of his forehoofs and raised it off the grounds as if looking for something. Maybe he was expecting to find the San Ponydreas Fault underneath it.

“I swear that sound’s been following me for a while now.” He commented as he continued to examine the ground beneath his hoof.

[[OOC - I ain't dead yet! Just a bit busy!]]

[SunsetSombra]

Macintosh took a brief look around as everypony started to look as though they were in serious need of some time out - even Klondike, who had started today with a vigour that he couldn't fault {Even if he was a little bit of a pain here and there with other things} was beginning to give signs that he'd probably just about reached a physical limit hitherto unknown before today...and Mac's assessment of the situation was only compounded once Klondikes belly gave the most ungraceful growl, which caused him to break out into a light smirk - yup, seemed like time for them to hold up and take five.

The stallion trots over to his sister and clears his throat loudly, prodding her with a hoof for a moment before looking to the rest of the groups and speaks out loud, deciding that now was probably the best time to approach the topic that was beginning to be clearly in everyponies mind.

" Hmm - Well, ah think... " He speaks, drawling slightly as he raises an eyebrow, chuckling softly.

" Ah think it's high time we all took some time t'get somethin' to eat - ya'all look like you're 'bout to keel over from 'xhaustion. "

Looking around at the handful of ponies that all seemed as though they really hadn't eaten a good meal all day, Mac almost surprised himself when he too heard his own stomach give it's own audible growl of gentle protest, prompting Big mac to give a small sheepish grin as he realised his own hunger.

" Eeeeeyup - ah think that prob'ly goes for mahself, too! "

[Mojo]

Working hard in the kitchen, Granny Smith lost all track of time until her own stomach began to rumble.

"Lands sakes! It's purt'n near lunchtime already!" the now panicked gray maned mare bellowed. "We best git our cabooses in gear, Holly! Soon we're gonna have a crew of hungry workers to feed! I hope I got enough grass sandwiches and hay homefries to satisfy that bunch! I don't know about the newcomers, but I know Big MacIntosh and AppleJack can sure eat like horses!"

After hearing herself, Granny Smith gets a stunned look on her face, before she shrugged her shoulders and went back to work. Meanwhile, back at the barn, Mojo couldn't help but overhear the growling stomach of AppleJack.

"Beggin' your pardon, love, but you sound like you're hungry," the hippie brony said, "maybe now would be good time to break for lunch. To lighten the mood of our crew, I offer to get me ol' guitar out and play some mellow tunes while we dine. Does that sound groovy, doll?"

[Hippo]

Big Mac trotted next to Applejack and suggested lunch. Applejack nodded her head in agreement. Then Mojo came. Love? Doll? Applejack's shade of orange showed a little redness, especially around the ears, which were perked sturdy holding her hard hat firmly in place. She looked at him and angled her eyebrows. She did not yell, however. "It's Applejack. Apple. Jack. Ok, Sugarcube?" Applejack shrugged off and walked towards the cottage. Applejack sure was hungry. Even her manners were completely out of wack. You didn't have to convince her to eat at a time like this. However, until her belly is full of Granny's confections, one might want to avoid her wrath. And if you must approach her, make sure her rope is many steps away.

Speaking of ropes, Klondike seemed to have one in his possession at the moment, but was also starting to experience the reminders of consuming food. However, he seemed awfully confused. Applejack waited for him to collect his thoughts, but when she realized there wasn't much collecting being involved by evidence of the way he was talking, she decided to set him straight. "Oh for-, you're hungry, Klondike! OK!? YOU'RE HUNGRY!" She walked up to the triangle which hung so gracefully off of one of the archways that pierced the surrounding fencing. She rang it, and spoke with conviction. "Soup's on everypony! Get your kiester inside the carrot cottage right now or, so help me Celestia, I will tie you up and drag you there myself." What a lovely doll.

[Chonico]

Klondike stopped looking at his hooves and the ground beneath them as Applejack helped him find the source of the noise. He looked at her and then looked at his own stomach. He could see it rumble.

“Oh… that explains a lot…” He commented to himself with arched eyebrows as he turned to look at the rest of the ponies there. “Usually can’t think or stay focused on an empty stomach… Although I’m pretty sure I ate breakfast. At least I think I did… Hmm, maybe I didn’t…”

Klondike began to bring up his hoof to tap against his chin before stopping dead in his tracks. He was now hearing a metal ringing followed by…

"Soup's on everypony! Get your kiester inside the carrot cottage right now or, so help me Celestia, I will tie you up and drag you there myself."

Klondike looked at the ropes hanging from his neck and then at the rest of the ponies, specifically Applejack. It was clear that some gears were moving behind the scenes as his expression took on an appearance of deep thought. There was a slight glimmer in his eye, the kind one gets right before they say or do something profound that changes the course of Pony History.

“…”

Klondike bit the ropes and, taking them off from around his neck, flung them off to the side away from prying eyes.

Perhaps that glimmer in his eye had been his instinct of self preservation kicking in. No pony could be sure though as Klondike trotted out of the barn with a content smile on his face… and headed in the opposite direction of Carrot Cottage… walked half way across the yard, stopped, turned around, and started heading in the right direction.

“Would make sense to head towards the buildings with carrot décor, right Miss Applejack?” He commented contently to Applejack as he walked past her, unaware or rather oblivious to how close he came to being hog tied and dragged.

Lunch should prove interesting.

[SunsetSombra]

It seemed as though the mood was starting to get a mix between hungry and lively, now that it seemed that work for the most part was being put aside for the ponies to take time for themselves, preparing to go get some lunch. Macintosh watched the scene amongst AppleJack, Klondike and Mojo with a slightly amused raised eyebrow - seemed like they were all getting on well enough, albeit in weird ways.

Klondike was currently rambling to himself about various things, whilst Mojo was currently trying to do whatever it was that he could do to apologise to Applejack for whatever perceived slights he'd made against the apple family mare. Of course, now that the subject of lunch had actually come up, it seemed as though Mojo had switched gears and suggested that the idea of guitar playing through lunchy, which Mac couldn't argue against...perhaps the mood would even inspire a little light conversation amongst all of them before resuming anything afterwards - afterall, if Mac knew one thing, it was that work was a lot easier when you had a proper comaradarie amongst those you were working with!

" Sounds like a good idea t'me. " he speaks up, looking over at Mojo for a moment.

" can't say there's a great deal of anythin' that works better with an apple family lunch than some good music, if ya'all ask me! "

[Mojo]

"Gotcha, pal!" Mojo neighed back to Big Mac. The excited Paint stallion trotted towards the carrot cottage, stopping at his wagon along to way to pick up his guitar. "Will be jolly good for me to sing for me supper, or lunch as the time permits! I'll think of what songs to play after I get a bite to eat."

Granny Smith was way ahead of everypony, having set up the dining room of the carrot cottage to seat and feed all of the eager workers galloping towards them.

"Lands sake! Here they come!" the gray maned mare shouted. "Let me see. Got the table set. Plenty of sandwiches on the table already. Got baskets of biscuits, fruit and hay settin' all around too! We'll need ta keep the apple juice flowin' Holly! Betcha this herd of ponies is gonna drink at least a barrel of it before this meal's done!"

Granny Smith stood at the ready, holding open the door at the sound of approaching hooves.