Jump to content

[Sweet Apple Acres] The Apple Barn Contract


Hippo

Recommended Posts

Big Mac gritted his teeth and struggles to get back to a more conscious state - he was NOT going to get beaten so easily, even if he was feelin' like a big ol' bowl of jelly at this moment in time. Big Macintosh wasn't the type to simply lay there and take things like this lying down, and this wasn't a situation he could fall asleep on!

" Ah ain't beat... " He mutters, as he shook off the daze - struggling to ignore the huge shooting pains down his back and his left hind leg.

Looking at Klondike, he struggles to crawl back up to all fours, grunting in sheer pain and effort as he manages to haul himself off of the other pony, shaking his head again as a warm wave of nausea washed over him...he'd no doubt wrenched or damaged something in the fall.

" Get...Get up, we gotta get... " he says, almost fighting to keep himself together mentally. " We gotta get outside an' help 'em... "

The red stallion didn't particularly look all that great, and truth be told he wasn't particularly feeling all that good right now either. Still, he wasn't about to let that stop him from doing what was best for the family, or the barn...and if he had to fight his own health then dern it, he was gonna do just that.

" A l'il tumble like that ain't gonna keep ol' Macintosh down! " he says, feeling a little more coherant and confident despite how his body felt.

" C'mon - ah do declare we gotta get outta here while the gettin's peachy! "

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ajbanner.png

Looking through the debris, Apple repeated her brother's name until she saw Klondike's lone hoof wave from the ashes. "Where's Big Mac!? Is he ok!?" Confidence and sibling rivalry aside, Applejack couldn't shade her true concern for Big Mac. And if Big Mac was standing right behind her listening to this, she would be sure that he would take in as much of this as he could. But Applejack wouldn't risk that possible foolery for the well being of her only brother.

As Klondike pointed out, a big black stallion emerged from the smoke and burnt barn material like shaking his legs and wobbling to keep his stance. Applejack could see that he was hurt, but she was already relieved to see that he was, for the most part, alive and well. "Macintosh! You're ok! Well, of course you're ok. I mean. You look awfully, black." Applejack giggled at the misfortune of her bigger brother. Seeing him in good spirits at least gave her the permission to maintain a teasing laugh from the other side Apple family tree branch.

But as he began trotting up and out of the debris, Applejack could see he was having troubles. So she grabbed a spare rope that was hanging idle on a hook from inside the unburnt side of the barn. She then lassoed her brother and pulled on her end of the rope. Her intention was not to drag her brother, but to help him with extra leverage. After it looked like Big Mac had successfully gotten out of the burnt rubble of the barn, which was littered all over the barn floor, Applejack spit the rope out of her mouth and trotted outside to gather everypony around. "Ok, ya'll! Looks like we did a fancy job of puttin' out an over sized collection of a fire. And it's all thanks to your hard workin' efforts!" Applejack looked at Holly Dash who was nearby and nodded. Twilight Sparkle was on her way running towards the remnants of the barn, and Granny Smith was scurrying about worried about her kin. She was so cute. Winona ran around the ponies in celebration and gave a few gleeful barks. Applejack chuckled. "Heh, heh. Yup, Winona, you helped too."

The barn wasn't completely destroyed. But thanks to the over-confident nature of three fillies who wanted their cutie mark, a better portion of the top half of one end of the barn was caved in and non-existent. Applejack stood towards it and looked at the barn with interest. "Well, we could always rebuilt it, but, where do we start?" Applejack spun her brain around as she began a domino effect of worry and doubt. "Oh, land. How in Ponyville are we gonna rebuild this here barn, finish our apple tree harvestin', continue selling product at the market and have it all done by the time the annual Sweet Apple Acres harvest party begins? We're gonna need all the help we can get." Applejack witnessed Klondike on the inside of the burnt barn and sparked an idea. She had recalled his open invitation during the running of the leaves for any handiwork they needed on the farm. A heavy renovation of a barn that had fire damage she'd hope would not be too handy for his hooves. She pranced up to Klondike, almost playfully to introduce her question sensitively. "Uh, Klondike, is it? I was wondering if you'd be able to contract for us the rebuilding of a barn. You know like, an apple barn, for an apple farm, heh, much like the one you just fell in." Applejack gave a flirtatious smile hoping that Klondike would deliver her first life line, as she would need many of them to get finished with all of the work that needed to be done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

" Ah ain't beat... "

Klondike returned the giant red stallion’s gaze with his own confused, raised eyebrow stare. Immediately realizing what Big Mac was about to do, he could not help but close his eyes, wince, and turn his head off to the side as his hoofs moved up to cover his head. He was certain that this would be the last straw that would literally break the pony’s back.

“Sweet Celestia and Luna! I still have repair orders back at my shop!”

" Get...Get up, we gotta get... "

Klondike’s regretful and, what he assumed to be his final thoughts were cut short as he realized a distinct lack of a giant pony falling on him and heard Big Macintosh telling him to get up. Without missing a beat, he lowered his forelegs and opened his eyes to look at Big Mac. He didn’t look good. Not good at all. In fact, he looked to be in pain and yet…

A l'il tumble like that ain't gonna keep ol' Macintosh down! C'mon - ah do declare we gotta get outta here while the gettin's peachy!

“Look at him.” The little pony in his head told him. “He’s obviously injured and here you are scared of being squashed again and complaining about your unfinished orders? What happened? Without a second thought you dropped everything to rush out here and help, and now you’re just laying here? Sure, you’re hurt now too, even if you’re too absentminded to notice, but you fell down the side of a mountain and still managed to finish a race! Get… up! You both rushed into the barn, you both fought that fire, and you both fell with the floor! There’s still so much more to do! You telling me repair ponies leave jobs half done?!”

“Declare?” Klondike called out as his right ear came to life in a series of twitches as the commotion and voices from outside reached it. He immediately turned on his side and began to get up. Cracks and pops sounded out as his own pained body came to life again. He was going to be sore for a long time but there was still tons of work to be done.

“HA! Declare! I declare you are right Mr. Macintosh!” He practically screamed as he trotted up to Big Macintosh with a devilish grin across his muzzle. With a slight nod of his head, he motioned for the pony to go forth and positioned himself behind Big Mac just in case he slipped and slid down the slope. He figured he could catch him if that happened, or at least act as a support. Likely not, but it was the thought that counted, right?

"Macintosh! You're ok! Well, of course you're ok. I mean. You look awfully, black."

Klondike looked ahead and through the settling smoke and dust he saw the Stetson wearing pony from the race. Within seconds, a rope was thrown down and expertly lassoed around Big Mac and, with a few tugs from Applejack and Big Mac’s own will power, the giant red pony was out of the debris. Klondike though, simply laid down as he tucked his legs underneath him and let out a shallow sigh he didn’t realize he was holding in.

“Heh, with determination like that, no wonder they run such a huge farm…” He thought to himself as his right ear twitched a bit. He began to look around and spotted two of his three spent fire extinguishers. The fall had knocked them loose and the third was likely lost in the debris.

Slowly, Klondike stood back up and gathered them before re-strapping them to his back and then made his way up the slope and out of the debris.

"Ok, ya'll! Looks like we did a fancy job of puttin' out an over sized collection of a fire. And it's all thanks to your hard workin' efforts!"

No sooner had he cleared the debris than his thoughts began to wonder as he remained inside the barn and looked at what was left of it. Looking through the hole that was once the second floor of the barn, he could not help but let out a low whistle as he took in the sight.

*whistle* “Wow, this poor barn needs some major repairs and remodeling… Maybe I should offer my…“

He kept scanning the area and damage and then turned to look at the ponies gathered outside before looking at himself. Like the barn, he was synched, covered in ash, dirtied, wet, beat up and creaking a bit. Although the creaking was likely just his joints and body complaining that he didn’t stay away from the fire or stayed laying in the debris to avoid aggravating any injuries like a sane pony would after such a tumble. Obviously though, all the ponies in this town were crazy.

“Shower… I should go take a nice warm bath and then come back tomorrow. Yes. No sense offering my repair services when I look like I need repairs myself, hehe. Yes. Shower and tomorrow…”

With that thought in mind, he began to trot his way out of the barn and past the gathered ponies as his right ear twitched in the direction of the playfully cantering pony with the Stetson hat that was cantering up to him. In an odd turn of events, Klondike actually paid attention to his twitching ear and turned to see the pony approach him. Maybe it was the smoke inhalation?

"Uh, Klondike, is it?”

“Hi! Yes, that’s my shower, er, name.”

“I was wondering if you'd be able to contract for us the rebuilding of a barn. You know like, an apple barn, for an apple farm, heh, much like the one you just fell in."

Klondike looked at Applejack as she gave him a flirtatious smile and then looked past her at the barn, and then back at her again. He then kept staring at her for a second or two and then quickly trotted around her and headed back to the barn entrance. As he trotted, his expression became one of concentration and concern. His tongue even stuck out a bit as he focused on the barn.

As he got close to the barn doors, he nudged one with his head and closed it and then proceeded to do the same to the other door. He stopped right before it closed and, tongue still sticking out and the expression still firmly plastered on his face, he looked at the gathered ponies and stepped into the barn right before pulling the door close behind him.

Only a few second had passed before a series of thundering thumps and bangs could be heard coming from inside the barn. The sounds where making their way around the outer wall of the barn and resonated throughout the whole structure.

*THUMP… CRASH* “AH!”

Five seconds of silenced passed by and then the thumping resumed making its way around the structure. This went on for about five or ten minutes before quieting down.

Without warning, the barn doors flew open again and Klondike stepped out with a goofy smile on his face and trotted over to Applejack. New pieces of charcoaled debris hung on his coat and on his head.

“Good news!” He announced in a loud triumphant voice. “Since your barn didn’t fall down on me entirely…” He brushed off the debris from this mane. “I am happy to say its stable enough to wait till I can gather my tools and order materials. Just… don’t let any pony go inside till I can stabilize it a bit better.”

Klondike gave her a smile and a wink before he began to trot around her, his goofy smile not once leaving his muzzle.

“I’ll be back tomorrow to take measurements and better notes that don’t involve anypony stomping around inside the barn trying to bring it down on themselves. Should be able to start next week but I’m sorry I can’t really say how long it will take me to finish it on my own.”

He stopped trotting around Applejack and simply sat on his haunches in front of her as he tapped one of his hoofs on his muzzle.

“Hmm… I guess that still applies, yes. Definitely still applies.” Klondike spoke to nopony in particular as he continued to tap his muzzle.

“Yes, definitely… Good news Miss Applejack!” He suddenly stood and began to slowly make his way past Applejack and towards the road to Ponyville. “To rebuild this barn, it will cost you 30,000 bits. That includes the materials and the repair pony. Me.” He stopped and turned around while smiling and pointing a hoof at himself. “However, I’m a pony of my word and the offer I made for any pony that crossed the finish line still stands. SO… you get a 75% discount plus a 5% discount because I like your hat and you have a very pretty smile. So, that will only be 6,000 bits.”

He looked at the gathered ponies and took a second to smile at each one individually before turning around and heading out of Sweet Apple Acres once more, calling out in as loud a voice as possible.

“Plus, for any able pony you can get to help, I’ll knock off 1,000 bits off the price and oh sweet Celestia and Luna do I need a nice warm bath…”

And with that, Klondike made his way further down the road back to Ponyville.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Granny Smith, still concerned about the 'fallen' ponies in the barn, was still 'running' and shouting for help. She still had no idea the fire was already out and that the two ponies in question were fine. Then she heard Twilight Sparkle's question. It confused the elderly pony at first, but then, poor Granny was confused by most things in life.

"What? Huh? Oh, yes child, you can stop the rain now. But could you be a dear and help my grandson and the brave pony that's with him? They're trapped in the burning barn behind me, see?"

It was then that the gray maned mare slowly pivoted around, turning to face the barn to see that the fire was out and that everypony was safe.

"Oh, I see. Applejack, we need to start thinking about gittin' this barn fixed. I'll go get my tools!"

Trying to 'run' again, Granny Smith started to move towards the mane house, but not getting very far.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

jen_pony_header_250.png

Twilight looked anxiously at Granny Smith as she waited for an answer, finally after a minute or two Granny gave the all clear and Twi let the cloud break apart into the air over the barn. Just as she let out a sign of temporary relief, everypony stepped out of the barn. Some ponies were looking a little better than others. Applejack looked alright aside from being covered in rain water but Big Macintosh looked like he was in pain. Twilight frowned as she trotted over to the rest of the ponies "Big Macintosh! Are you alright?" she sounded very concerned.

She looked over at the barn to assess the damage, the whole second floor appeared to be beyond quick patch job repairs. The fire had done a lot of damage to barn which is a shame because it was just recently rebuilt after the parasprite infestation. The roof was caved in over most of the second floor and down on the ground were burnt bits of roofing. The barn was going to need a lot of hard work to be as good as new, but nopony knew about honest hard work better than AJ and Big Mac.

Twi's eyes widened as Klondike started giving an estimate for barn repairs, but it only took her a second to realize what he was really doing. "Well, I'll do what I can to help out" she paused "I think there might be a book or two about construction in the library".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Big mac Glances at Twilight, putting on a brave face as he tried not to betray himself too much - oh he was hurtin', no doubt about that, but this was Big Macintosh...he knew that ponies looked up to his sturdiness as much as they could, and he couldn't simply be seen submitting to the pain shooting through him.

In all likelyhood, he'd probably broken something - but for the moment he had to walk it off...although he knew nausea was starting to show it's ugly head...

" Ah'll be... okay... " He grunts, shifting position - he went to chew on the haystalk, but found himself strangely at a loss when he realised that he'd lost it in the burnt out mess that had once been their barn. " Figure ah'll just...ah'll jus' worry about mahself later, ya'all need... " - His pause mid-sentance came because of himself trailing off, his gaze kinda unfixed as he felt himself start feeling a little light headed.

He tries to shake it off, resuming a stoic look around at the others once again, although he clearly wasn't exactly 100% to anypony observant enough.

" Ah can't take a break yet... " The red stallion said with an annoyed, yet slightly sprained snort. " Ya'all are gonna need mah help out here! "

He knew he was being downright stubborn as a mule about it at this juncture, but he was a part of the apple family - they were known for both being stubborn and self-sacrificial when it came down to anything about their work. No, Macintosh wasn't going down without a fight!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ajbanner.png

Applejack saw Klondike trot with confidence with a goofy smile on his face as he responded positively to her request. However, at first, she wasn't sure what he was trying to say with his actions. Closing the doors behind him in the burnt up barn, violent noises were being had that caused Applejack to duck for cover and display her hooves over her ears. "What in all things that hay seeds are good for is that pony doin' to mah barn!!!"

Several minutes later, when Klondike exited the barn and spilled his diagnosis accurately, Applejack became immediately understanding of the reasons behind his solitary time in the barn. Klondike began expressing his concerns and needs in order to get the barn repairs and ready to use, and it sounded like it was going to be finished with plenty of time before the harvest party. As Klondike mentioned the tools he needed and the time it would take, Applejack began speaking in between his pauses for gratitude. "Yes. Yes." Applejack showed a smile until Klondike gave his financial side of the contract.

"...30,000 bits."

Applejack's pupils shrank and she started to lose control of her composure and began to sway nervously as she stood. Even after Klondike expressed his discount, Applejack was still shocked by the amount of zeros she was trying to count in her head. It didn't help that she wasn't too good at mathematics either. And as Klondike began explaining that he would knock down 1,000 bits for every able pony that gave hoof labor, Applejack began sporadically looking around for the six able ponies that would allow her to fall into Klondike's favor. Applejack was funny about money sometimes. Several ponies realize that she can be frugal at times, but they didn't completely understand the fallout that occurs in her mind every time a huge expense comes to her farm. As she looked around, she saw a Twilight who was looking pretty withdrawn at the time, Granny Smith who was now on her day-long mission to the tool shed, a blackened Big Macintosh who was obviously hurt, and Holly Da-. "Hay, where did Holly Dash go?" Applejack began wondering if she had scared her away with the barn fire, and realized immediately that her 'able pony' recruits were not looking as good as she'd hoped.

After Klondike left, Twilight gave a short lecture on what she could do from the library. Applejack sprung to her attention. "Yes, Twilight! That'd be jus dandy! You do a bunch a readin' on how to fix things and come back with as many books on the subject you can find." Applejack, however, was blinded by her own ability. "And then ya'll can read to me as I help Klondike fix this barn." Applejack spit to the side in her confidence and revealed a confident smile of determination.

Applejack then looked towards her brother Big McIntosh as he expressed his stubbornness that ran evidently through the family. "Uh, are you sure, Big Mac? You seem a little hurt." Applejack knew that on most days she could count on her brother, but she knew that if he was hurt, it would be painful for him and productivity would go down. Besides, Applejack kind of liked it when her brother watched her do all the work. She felt empowered last applebuck season when he was spectating instead of participating. Although, Applejack would never admit it out loud.

Applejack then turned to Granny Smith, who was still just beginning to leave the area for the tool shed. "Good job, Granny, you go get the tools and bring them to me, and it'll help me fix the barn with Klondike's help."

With each implication, Applejack was starting to lose sight on exactly what the best way to get this barn rebuilt was. It was good that she was confident, but her stubbornness and pride in thinking that she will do most of the work was starting to brew inside of her. And not only that, but she began to be blinded by what she thought was her friends and relatives' inabilities. Could she trust her friends?

"Holly Dash! You around, girl? I need as many hooves as possible if I'm gonna get this barn rebuilt."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

hollydashcharacter.png

Holly Dash was still under a pile of rubble when she began hearing her name called. With her efforts to go inside and rescue Big Macintosh and Klondike completely ignored earlier, she had been lost when the burning area of roof caved in, and had been struck on the head by a falling beam. Her head was foggy, and her lungs burnt from the smoke, but she was alive, and now woken up thanks to the yelling of Applejack outside.

She tried to yell for help, but found only coughs and sputters were manageable. She was beginning to get scared. With her body crushed under the weight of the beam, panic began taking hold. Though, she was at the least, thankful that the fire was no longer alive.

In a desperate attempt to get attention, she did the only thing she could think of, and started magicking things near her, hoping somepony would notice. She could not manage to lift the heavy beam from her, but started throwing scraps and broken pieces of lumber in every which way, desperate to get freedom. She gritted her teeth, black soot grinding between her top and bottom jaw, and managed to throw a larger chunk of wood, its heavy weight giving it an added distance in her throw, and colliding with a loud thud onto the rear flank of a certain red and orange-maned stallion.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With everything that had been going on, Big Macintosh had found himself distracted enough from his own pains that he could focus on everything else...it didn't matter to him right now that he ached all over, and that his overall effectiveness was affected right now, he had to keep up with what was going on and how they were going to tend to the situation that was now currently presented to them...

And then a heavy chunk of wood flew and slammed into his already-hurt flank, causing the stallion to neigh out loud in both surprise and sudden pain.

Dangit, for a normally sturdy pony such as Macintosh, he wasn't used to feeling even remotely fragile - He sure as heck hoped that this would pass soon.

After momentarily regaining his composure, he looked at the wood plank and tried to get a good idea as to where it had come from, before noting that there seemed to be a pile of moving wood, soot and celestia knows what somewhere nearby - promptly realising exactly what it was that he was looking directly at

" Well, ah'll be... " he says with a low drawl...raising a hoof to point at something. " Ah do believe miss Holly dash is over thar! "

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

ajbanner.png

A day had past and Applejack was getting ready for the rebuilding of her barn. She was so happy to have so many ponies willing to help. She was just hoping enough would help to lower the cost of the rebuilding, as per Klondike's contract with her. Klondike had helped with the overall know-how in building such a large structure. Applejack secretly hoped it would soon be the biggest in all of Ponyville. With the growth of the business lately, the barn fire may prove to be a blessing in disguise.

Applejack walked out onto the area around the barn to take a last look into the rubble that rested there. She ran a checklist in her mind to make sure everything was taken care of. Klondike would surely bring most of his tools, but the farm had plenty more if they needed them--Big Mac could help with that. Granny Smith would probably do a pretty good job keeping the hard-working ponies' bellies full with her tasty apple pies. Holly Dash was still around. Applejack had hoped that the event of the fire didn't scare her off from the farm for good. She could really use that set of hooves, not to mention an extra boost of unicorn magic.

And then there was Apple Bloom. Since her little sister and her friends were the cause of all this trouble in the first place, she would be a little put off at first if she decided to try to help. But Applejack knew she wouldn't be able to keep her sister from trying her best. Maybe a construction cutie mark was in Apple Bloom's future.

Sitting near the entry arch of the farm, Applejack waited on her friends. She had pulled a cart full of bottled apple juice to greet her friends as they arrived.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Down the road, not too far away from the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres, a metallic jingling could be heard getting closer and closer with each hoofstep the pony took. Klondike had woken up early, a rather rare occurrence, and gotten everything ready to begin the reconstruction of the new barn. His satchels and hiking bag combo, which looked too heavy for a pony of his size, were filled to the brim with tools from his shop and the jingling that sounded out from it lived up to the name of his repair shop.

As he got closer to the entrance, it was visible that he was wearing a yellow hardhat on his head with two holes for his ears to poke out of. And, as he got even closer, a rather content but absent minded look was clearly plastered on his face. Also, it was clearly visible that he was covered in bandages. His right ear, with its nonstop twitching was bandaged up, as well as his head, portion of his neck, and his mind section.

“Hi Miss Applejack!” He called out as he approached the arch of the farm. “How are you this fine morning? Great weather for getting lost in work.”

He stopped right in front of her and reached back into one of his satchels and pulled out another yellow hardhat in his muzzle which he quickly placed on top of her Stetson hat. He paused for a second as he looked at her, reached up with his hoof to straighten it out, and then walked on by her.

Looking around the entrance, he noticed that there didn’t seem to be any other ponies there yet. So, quickly turning to look back at Applejack, he sat down on his haunches and cocked his head to the side a bit.

“So how many ponies are helping us today Miss ApplejaAAAH.”

The weight from the satchels and hiking bag won against gravity and Klondike’s own weight and began to lift him off the ground as they settled on the ground behind him. Now Klondike found himself on his back and looking at the sky as his hooves dangled in front of him.

“Oh hey, my fetlocks look like they need a trim and look!” He pointed to the sky. “See? Perfect weather for getting lost in your work.” Klondike then let his head dangle over the bags he lay on and looked at the barn behind him, which was now upside down to him. He began to use his hooves to frame in the barn.

“Oh yes, definitely, once we get the ground right side up, this job is going to be very enjoyable. Hmm, should clear out the debris first and then we…”

He began to moves his hooves around as he pointed at seemingly random things and mumbled to himself the details of the reconstruction. For all intended purposes he was already lost in his thoughts and plans for the job to come.

“Hmm, yes, should ask her how many ponies we got for this job…”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Mac was still sore from the previous days events...it ached the pony to sit down and stand up a little, but the red stallion had always made it a point to never betray his inner feelings, but instead get on with whatever needed to be done and then tend to his own needs quietly and away from any prying eyes, although he had relented to a small amount of bandaging from Applejack - leaving his midriff trussed up in a small plethora of bandages that the older stallion felt both unnecessary and cumbersome but had nonetheless allowed to give his young sister some piece of mind that she had at least attempted to look after her brother in some way.

He made his way from the farmhouse, having just finished himself a fairly large sized apple fritter for breakfast, another insisted moment from applejack who had wanted him to keep himself in good condition to help out around the reconstruction of the barn - Mac knew he was still in good condition enough to do so as long as he didn't overdo it, but his sister was being a little overbearing in both her concern for his wellbeing and in her need to rebuild the barn in a hurry...although the stallion couldn't blame her for that, it was a pretty important thing to ensure that the barn was restored post haste as they would need it to store food and supplies over winter.

He could see Klondike laid out on his back, which caused the stallion to crack a small smirk as he walks over towards the pre-occupied pony and poked him lightly with a single hoof, raising an eyebrow as he did so.

" Ah reckon ya'all would be able t'do a better job right side up! " the male pony says with his typical drawl, entirely too amused that this rather eccentric individual would be the one they'd be relying on to rebuild their family barn. " S'how I usually prefer to work, at least! "

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It had already been a busy morning for Granny Smith. The elderly green mare cooked breakfast fritters for her family and was preparing to cook even more food for the ponies who were coming to help rebuild their damaged barn. Granny now realized she was too old and frail to use a hammer or perform any heavy labor. Her task was to make sure all of the workers were well fed.

Wondering outside to take a break from her cooking duties, Granny Smith slowly walked over to the place where Applejack stood with her apple juice cart.

"Any ponies here yet, dearie?" she asked as a pony emerged in the distance, pulling a large wagon behind him. As he got closer, even Granny Smith could see the stallion's Paint markings and the large peace sign cutie mark on his flanks.

"Top o' the morning to ya, Applejack, Granny Smith!" Mojo neighed as he rode up to the pair of mares. "Heard bout yur barn fire, wanted to come and lend a hoof, if you'll have me."

"This feller's handsome, Applejack," the gray maned mare whispered, giving her granddaughter a playful nudge. "Maybe you and him kin git hitched."

Hearing Granny's whispering made the Paint stallion blush a bit. Although Mojo was quite a 'ladies colt', his reasons for being here were purely innocent.

"It's all cool, ladies. Got some supplies you're gonna need for the job, and I'm quite a skilled carpenter meself. I grew up on a farm so I know a thing or two bout fixin' barns."

"Don't jist stand thar, AJ, invite that feller in!"

"Name's Mojo, Miss Smith, at yur service," he said as he gave a respectful bow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

hollydashcharacter.png

Holly trotted into Apple Acres with a cheerful bounce in her step, and a pack on her back. She had a bandage wrapped around her head from the thunk she had recieved from the fallen barn, but otherwise she was fine. It had taken a good scrub at the Ponyville Spa to get all the ash out of her fur though, but she did it. Her mane was back to it's trifecta of colors, bright and colorful as the day she was born. She trodded along towards where she saw a few ponies gathering near the broken and burnt barn, and when she saw Applejack she broke out into a run, a smile on her face.

"Applejack, Applejack, Applejack!" She called loudly as she ran to the group, a big grin on her face as she announced, "Ah brought some berries and Ah thought we could all have a big fruit salad for breakfast!"

She beamed at the apple family and the assembled crew, her eyes glistening, "oh, I mean....if it's okay with you, Ah mean, that is. If Ah use some of your apples, that is....if it's okay, that is....just don't want nopony goin' hungry...that is..."

She withdrew a little, still smiling, but blushing and feeling as though she may be asking a rude question.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

jen_pony_header_250.png

"I'm late!" Twilight squeaked, as she ran around her bedroom trying to gather together all of the books she had been reading the night before. She fell asleep at her desk late last night while doing research for the barn project. "ooohh this isn't good" she whined to herself, a few of the books weren't where she'd left them. Thinking that Spike may have put them back for her she headed into the main room of the library. It was quiet and empty so Twilight paused and took a deep breath to clear her mind and refocus. "Ok where could they be..." still talking to nobody but herself, she glanced around the shelves until she finally saw the two big books she was looking for! The mare smiled and quickly used her magic to float them right into her already stuffed saddle bags.

Twilight always hated being late, so she rushed through town as fast as she could until she finally saw Sweet Apple Acres farm. A little out of breath, she slowed down to a trot as she walked through the farm looking for the rest of the crew. "Hi Applejack!" she said cheerfully when she saw her friend "Got as many books as I could find on the subject of barn building!".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ajbanner.png

When Klondike walked up he was revealed with so many bandages, that only one of his ears was actually unbandaged. Applejack had assumed that he would only be able to hear out of that one. The gratuitous amounts of wraps that he had on made Applejack nervous as to how mistake-free Klondike would be in building the barn. She didn't want any mess-ups, and she certainly didn't want anypony hurting themselves.

Klondike, wearing his own hardhat had an extra hat and propped it on top of Applejack's cowgirl hat on top of her head. He then straightened it out. Applejack gave a puzzled look after Klondike had walked past her. As politely as possible, she removed the extra hat from her head and shoved it into a nearby bush. Applejack was going to respond to Klondike's quick question of number of ponies helping, but was then shocked as he fell to the ground in his own pile of clumsiness. He then began ranting on his fetlocks and continued talking about how cooperative the weather was going to be as he looked up at the sky.

“See? Perfect weather for getting lost in your work.” Klondike, still upside down, held his hoofs up in measurement to the ruined barn.

Lost is right, Applejack thought. For the first time, she began to doubt his competence. “Um, are you sure you can handle this Mr. Klondike? I mean, it’s very nice that you’re willing to do this and all, but I don wanna impose if it’s too hard to handle.”

At that moment, Big Macintosh had walked out under his own power despite the minor immobility AJ’s bandages gave him. “What’er you doin’ out here, Big Mac? I thought I told you to stay inside until we needed help finding a special tool.”

Applejack coughed a grunt to excuse herself and spoke back to Klondike. “Well, actually, I’m not sure how many ponies will show up. We’re hoping for as many able ponies,” Applejack glares at Big Macintosh , “as possible.”

“Oh, hi Granny Smith! Mr. Klondike is here. And it looks like we got another one coming up, not sure who it is though. I don’t think I’ve seen this pony before.” Granny Smith nudged Applejack after Mojo walked up and offered his help. Applejack, despite her friendliness, stood up against her joking granny for just a nervous moment. “Oh, hush, Granny.”

She then looked at Mojo, smiled, and then proceeded to grab his hoof in a surprisingly casual hoofshake. “We’re so glad you came to help. It’s greatly appreciated!”

Applejack took a quick look around and saw a silly pony on his back doing eye measurements at the barn, a brother who was gnawing at an itch under his bandages, a crooked green Granny would was hobbling around uttering nonsense, and a strange pony that she didn’t know at all. Applejack gave a nervous gulp and began to sweat profusely.

“Applejack, Applejack, Applejack!”

Applejack was alarmed by her name shouted three times in a row. Holly Dash had bounced up to her and offered some fresh fruit to make breakfast with. If it had been any other day, Applejack would have had no problem accepting a fine gesture from one fruit grower to another. But today, her sensibilities had somehow left her a little stressed and she responded with fake smiles. “Um, uh, sure.” Applejack looked at some of the fruit she brought and smelled it. It smelled amazingly fresh picked. But for some reason, Applejack lacked the energy to crack a satisfying smile. The worry of the barn being built without problems was getting to her. She only hoped that the ponies wouldn’t notice her being so preoccupied. “Yeah, there are some fresh red delicious over by the well, knock yourself out. And talk to Granny Smith over there, she's going to cook all of our food today."

Lastly, Twilight Sparkle had been running up to the farm. Applejack had seen her from a far. As Twilight turned the corner to the farm entrance, she slowed to a casual pace. Applejack trusted Twilight very much. At least until she tried to do something she had never seen before. Twilight, being somewhat of an unpredictable pony with all of her fancy magic, sometimes would make Applejack nervous. Fortunately, it hadn’t happened yet. Twilight expressed to her the joys of finding all the books she could on construction. But, before Twilight could speak another intellectual word to the orange mare, she interrupted. “Great, Twilight. Thanks for your brainy skills.” Applejack hastily grabbed Twilight and shoved her to where Klondike was still lying on the ground. “This here’s Klondike. He’s the stallion I contracted to help with building the new barn. You jus tell ‘im everything you’ve learned about construction.” Applejack rotated Klondike so that his unbandaged ear was facing Twilight. “And make sure you speak into his good ear.”

Applejack looked around and counted all the ponies. “Seven. That’s seven including yourself.” Applejack nervously gulped again. “Seven able ponies.”

applejack_nervous_smile_by_ivan_chan-d3h5fyr.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Klondike had almost finished picturing the newly rebuilt barn in his mind’s eye. However, the onslaught of muttering and hoof movements had yet to die down. It was very likely that his mind had shifted gears towards another project waiting for him back at his shop.

A sudden poke caused him to startle a bit, letting out a sudden yelp, and he immediately found himself looking at the upside down, raised eyebrow expression of Big Macintosh.

"Ah reckon ya'all would be able t'do a better job right side up!... S'how I usually prefer to work, at least!"

Klondike’s expression quickly changed from surprise to amusement as he listened to the giant red pony talk and made no effort to right himself up, instead just continuing to lay on his back strapped to his satchels and bags.

“Mr. Big Macintosh... No, that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. Mr. Big Mac? Mr. Mac? Mr. Big?...” Klondike brought up, or rather, down a dangling hoof to scratch at his chin as he looked at Big Mac appraisingly. “Well you are big, and heavy. But I reckon you might be right about being right side up.” He gave his chin a few more taps before turning to look at the barn again.

“I do like a challenge though…” He finished off with a toothy upside down grin, his right ear twitching and tugging at the bandages furiously as it tried to draw his attention to the newly arrived ponies.

Klondike though misinterpreted the twitching and instead looked at Big Mac again.

“Hey, she got you too?” He said pointing a hoof at his bandages. Without waiting for a reply, he began to reach towards his own belly to tug at the bandages wrapped around it, trying to remove them. “Dat little pony with dhe little white hat wifh de cross on it foalnapped me on dhe way cho my shop after dhe fire…” With an exasperated sigh, he finally gave up and let go of the bandages, no longer impeding his speech, and let his head dangle atop his bags.

“Dragged me inside a building with some really squeaky beds and began wrapping me up. She kept saying it looked like I hit my head.” Klondike suddenly stopped in his tale as he cocked his head to the side a bit in thought.

“Odd… the more I talked to her, the more convinced she was that I've hit my head way too mu-” Klondike stopped talking again, this time with a more severely confused expression across his muzzle. He was no longer looking at an upside down barn or Big Mac like he had when he started his tale, but instead he was looking at an upside down purple unicorn with pink streaks in her mane.

Klondike had been so caught up in his tale that he hadn’t even noticed Applejack rotate him around so that he was facing Twilight.

“Oh… Hello Miss ummm…” He paused for a minute as he looked past Twilight at the other gathered ponies, a sudden realization dawning on him.

“Seven. That’s seven including yourself… Seven able ponies.”

Klondike simply looked back at Twilight, then at Applejack, and then at the gathered ponies. Without a word, he reached back towards his side and began to undo the straps to his satchels and bags. Within a few seconds, he rolled off his bags and landed on the ground with a slight thump before picking himself up into a sitting position in front of everypony.

“Seven able ponies for what?” He looked at Applejack for a few seconds before he remembered what he was at the farm for. “OH! Right, right…”

Klondike immediately sprang up to his hooves and began digging through his satchels. He pulled out five hardhats, just like the one he had. He set two aside and immediately picked one of those up in his muzzle and placed it on top of Twilight’s head. He frowned a bit as he watched it wobble atop her horn and then removed it, quickly going back to his bags to pull out a small hoof cranked drill which he then used to make an extra hole in the hat. He did the same for the other hardhat he set aside and then began to place them on top of the gathered ponies’ heads, Applejack included.

“Perfect, I have enough hats for every able pony. Could have sworn I brought six hats, but I seem to be missing one.” He paused for a second as he found his gaze inexplicably drawn to a bush, his right ear constantly twitching towards it. He then turned his gaze to the ponies wearing a hardhat, making a motion with his hooves as if counting digits... Twilight, Big Mac, Applejack, Holly Dash, and Mojo. “Yup, seven able ponies for the job.”

With a content look, and obviously ignoring the fact that his math was way off, he once again began digging through his bags and soon enough began to pull out tools and pieces of paper with pictures of the barn drawn out. Within a few minutes, his satchels were empty and tools lay across the ground neatly organized. He had even pulled out a small folding table which he now stood behind of.

“Okay, Construction 101… Safety. You must wear your hardhat at all times. A pony with a hardhat is a happy pony." He paused for a second as he smiled at the gathered ponies. "My teacher taught me that one." He said with a wink before continueing. "If you remove your hardhat while inside that barn, I will duct tape it to your head.” He brought out a roll of duct tape and set it on top of the table and smiled at everypony. "That one I thought up myself after the Running of the Leaves race. Funny thing, it seemed like such a good idea at the time, ductaping my number to my flank, but then when I tried to take it off I peeled my fur number and all. Took a while for..."

After a few more minutes of safety talk (as well as tangents with no revelance), such as being aware of your surroundings, putting away tools, keeping a relatively clean workspace, etc, etc. He was ready to lay out the plans for the rebuilding of the barn.

“So any questions, comments, concerns, ideas, final wishes, berries or fruit salads before we-” He paused for a second with a confused expression on his muzzle.

“Odd, why am I thinking of berries and a fruit salad?” His right ear was twitching towards Holly Dash as questioned himself about it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Big Mac was not one to sit out when a job needed to be done around the farm - no...after everything that had transpired around the loss of the barn, he wasn't prepared to simply just sit down and let Applejack 'nanny' him or make him feel any less capable of doing what he had done for years already.

No, Mac was still every bit the pony that had been here when the barn was rebuilt by their folks so long ago...something that he had helped keep in decent shape over the years to keep the farm equipment and animals safe, come winter or rainy seasons.

At this point in the conversation, Big mac couldn't help but think of all the times her ambutious nature had run away with her actual ability to fulfil a task...and it almost had looked that the most recent rodeo event had had some kinda lesson-fulfilment for her, followed by the odd arrival of the flim flams and their ridiculous contraption that appeared to have no actual practical purpose other than Cider...but it was soon clear that AJ's mind was too full of her eventual victory towards the end and as a result seemed to almost revert the ponies point of view back as it had been - and Big Mac knew enough that it was never a good idea to let your pride run rampant.

However, knowing better than to challenge AJ whilst her head was full of fancy ideas, he remains quietly observant - eventually the chatter comes around to the odd pony whom had righted himself moments ago, which led to amusingly silly moments...themselves in turn leading the apple stallion a little uncertain as to whether this guy was an actual repair pony, a clown, or some bizarre mixture of both - regardless of the answer, the discussion soon got turned into a fairly odd discussion about health an' safety, something that the red stallion was more than slightly familiar with. He'd only gotten himself in the barn predicament beforehand because they had figured it was rescuable...which, as they soon discovered, was a fairly wrong decision to roll with in the end.

When the opportunity for questions was raised at the end of the rather oddball ponies speech about health and safety...he paused for thought, deciding if he had anything he needed to toss out there to perhaps poke fun of the klutzy inventor. Luckily, the red coated stallions mental cogs provided him with JUST the playful jab he was looking for.

" Hmm...'scuse me, but Ah gots t'ask... " Big mac begins, with a small musing exhalation of air, looking at Klondike. " But have Ya'all ever built a barn before? "

Edited by Robikku Pegasus
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"That thar fruit salad idea sounds dandy fer breakfast, youngin'!" Granny Smith shouted towards Holly Dash. "Of course we'll use our very own apples to put in it! Bring what ya got and foller me to the kitchen!"

As Granny Smith slowly led Holly Dash towards the kitchen, Mojo put on one of the available hard hats as he turned to answer Big MacIntosh's question.

"I have experience, chum!" the Paint stallion neighed proudly. "Used to build all sorts of things back on me family farm. That's why I came a-runnin' when I heard about your misfortune. I know between all of us stout ponies, we can have this barn repaired in no time! Who's in charge here? Mojo's ready, willin' and able to get started! Even brought me wagon just in case we need any hoof tools or other items!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

[[OOC: I'm so sorry for the delay, everypony....RL and stuff kind of hassled it's way into my net life....sorry....sorry...]]

Holly Dash smiled with delight at the acceptance of her breakfast idea, and nodded fervently as Granny Smith even approved of her idea. She set down her basket of fruit, and yelled after Granny Smith, "Ah'll be just a moment, Granny, Ah gotta go get some fresh apples!"

With a quick nod to the gathered ponies to mark her leave of them, she ran off to the orchard, to the red delicious trees Applejack had specified.She looked up at them, and considered for a moment simply magicking them off the branches. That wouldn't do, though. She was on an apple farm, wasn't she?! These apples needed to be...applebucked!

She giggled in excitement and pulled a few bushel baskets up to the tree--sure, she would only take one of them, but no reason she would waste apples by letting them fall on the ground.

She turned her rump to the tree, and rose up as she had seen done before, and smashed her hooves into the tree. A trickle of apples followed. She frowned, and hit the tree again, harder. Then harder again, then smacked it a few more times in annoyance. She sighed, and looked up at the tree, annoyed. Finally, realizing that this may be something that took some work to get good at, she magicked down some apples into the bushel basket, and headed off towards the house, grabbing her own fruit along the way.

"Granny Smith!" She called out to the old mare upon entering the home, looking around curiously. She'd never been in AJ's house, and had no idea where the kitchen was, "Where are ya?!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

ajbanner.png

As a second hard hat topped on AJ's cowgirl hat, she sighed. Listening to Klondike's rules about safety, Applejack decided to just deal with it so that the construction can begin soon. As he lectured about safety and then other stuff that was off-topic, she snapped. "Are we gonna get started on this thing!? We need to start building this thing pronto!" Applejack had heard Big Mac's input as far as the pony's experience in barn building. Applejack gave her thoughts openly. "Of course he's built a barn before." Applejack rolled her eyes. But then hesitated in thought before turning to Klondike. "You have built a barn, haven't you?" Applejack overheard the painted stallion's quite response that he had. At least that was one other pony who knew what was going on.

((OOC: Twilight Sparkle is not going to leave the setting, but her character will be inactive for a while. Go ahead and include her in the story in your posts as long as it doesn't require a direct or immediate response from Miss Sparkle.))

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Klondike paused from his thoughts about fruit salads as he heard Big Mac address him.

"Hmm...'scuse me, but Ah gots t'ask... But have Ya'all ever built a barn before?"

He paused for a second as he tilted his head to the side a bit and observed the giant pony.

“Well, I ha-“

"I have experience, chum!"

"Are we gonna get started on this thing!? We need to start building this thing pronto!"

Klondike’s head swung around to look at the pinto pony with a smile before looking at Applejack in turn. His bandaged up right ear was twitching furiously again as it kept track of everything being said. He opened his muzzle to answer, his thoughts picking up from their interruption and pieced together something that only Klondike’s mind could manage.

“La Señorita Applejack tiene razon. Tenemos que start pronto with the experienced chum…”

He looked at the gathered ponies expectantly, waiting for their agreement before slowly bringing his hoof up to his muzzle in deep thought as his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

“Wait… that made no sense. Why would I have chum? And experienced chum at that…” He questioned himself before immediately bringing up his head to look at the gathered ponies again. “I remember the sailor ponies back from when I worked on fixing a dock saying chum is for fishes. Are we building an Aquarium? I thought you hired me to rebuild the barn after the fire…” He looked at Applejack questioningly.

He took a moment to look around before setting his eyes on the plans in front of him. Yup, the plans still had a barn drawn on them.

“Well, aquarium or not, we’re building a barn!” He announced triumphantly as he shot a hoof in the direction of the barn. “And that my friends I know how to do!... The aquarium though, might leak a bit.”

He immediately brought his hoof back and slammed it on the plans.

“Alright! First we stabilize the barn!” He announced as he looked at Mojo. “Mr. Yoyo! You and I will take some 2 by 4’s and nail them diagonally to prevent swaying and then prop the sides like so…”

He immediately trotted to a pile of wood that had conveniently been dropped off during his safety speech and, picking up a hammer and a few nails in his mouth along the way, plucked three 2 by 4 studs and effortlessly carried them to the barn on his back before propping one against the side. In one fluid motion, he held the stud diagonally against the wall with one hoof, propped himself on his hind legs, held the nail in place with his other hoof and swung the hammer against its mark, driving it in all the way to its head in one strike. He then took the other two pieces of wood and propped them at a 45 degree angle against the sides.

The whole event took him less than a minute, his talent and the years of experience fixing-up all sorts of things, big and small and swinging a hammer showing clearly.

Klondike immediately walked back to the table and looked at Mojo. “Mr. Mojo-yoyo, you’ll take the other side, and I’ll join you on this side.” He then looked at Big Mac and Applejack. “We have to clear out the barn from the debris before we can make more of a mess. Mr. Big Mac, strap yourself to a cart while Miss Applejack loads you up with the burnt wood. Bring it out here and dump it. Mr. Mojo and I’ll lend a hoof as soon as we’re done outside.”

Ears suddenly perking, he looked to his side at Big Mac before giving him a challenging but friendly grin. “Hope you’re up for some hard work. Just cause you and I are injured, or so that crazy pony told me, don’t mean we take it easy. Of course though, if you need a break or a few dozen…”

Klondike, in his own odd way, had obviously caught on to Big Mac’s jab about his skills. He patted the giant pony on the withers before letting loose a giant toothy grin at him.

“Alright, I don’t know when we lost one of our helpers…” He was referring to Holly Dash who was now helping Granny Smith. “But as soon as we clear the mess, we’ll begin taking out the remains of the burnt out floors, walls, and ceiling. Then we’ll rebuild the main supports for the ceiling, rebuild the second floor…” He looked at Applejack. “Please don’t surprise us like last time… And then well replace floorboards, walls, ceiling, and apply a nice coat of fire retardant oil, my own mix, to the surfaces.”

His plans laid out, Klondike, who was caught in the moment, did the next thing that came to mind. He shot his hoof out and held it above the plans on the table.

“Already every pony! Let’s do this on three!”

Apparently Klondike, aside from being absentminded and odd, could be cheesy too. But, he was just excited to finally get to work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seemed like things were finally getting organised - Klondike had at least inked something of a workable plan, and the rest of the group seemed to be quite eager to assist them all in getting the job underway. If there was one thing Macintosh liked to see, it was a solid plan put into play when a project such as this was put into motion - for most things, Macs overall daily life was the usual routine around the farm of tending to applebucking and various other common tasks in the day to day running of Sweet Apple Acres.

For a moment, the conversation about Aquariums threw him off a little - it was a little disconcerting that Klondikes tangential thoughts would somehow lead him to something as bizarre as that, and Mac was left with a quizzical expression on his features whilst Klondike seamlessly goes right back to discussing the Barn.

After a few moments of the pony rattling off details, it finally seemed as though they were ready for action...Macintosh being asked to go hitch himself up to a cart to assist Applejack in the moving of the burnt wood from the previous barn - the only remnants of what had come before. Macintosh simply gave a nod and moved to go and get what was required...after all, this was a time where actions said and did more than any words could ever do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

'I'M IN THE KITCHEN, DEARIE!" Granny Smith called out, hoping Holly Dash would follow the sound of her voice to the countertop where the elderly mare was starting to chop up veggies. "If we're gonna feed all them thar hungry work horses, we're gonna have to git crackin'. Ol' Big Mac kin eat a whole passle of grub all by himself!"

Meanwhile, out at the barn, Mojo followed all of Klondike's instructions to the letter, helping him with the new support beams and all the other things the larger stallion asked him to do. The Paint pony could also sense the tension developing between Kiondike and Big Mac. Mojo let all of Klondike's mispronunciations of his name pass. After all, he was the 'Pony of Peace' and little things like that didn't bother him. But it was the tension between the two large stallions that concerned him. Mojo waited until the two stallions were between him before he addressed Klondike and Big Mac.

"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?"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

[[i apologize---AGAIN to everypony in this RP. >_> I won't bore you with my reasons, but just....RL again....]]

Holly Dash smiled and trotted towards the yelling Granny Smith, and jumped a bit as the first thing she saw when she walked in was Granny Smith with a knife held in her mouth, looking positively terrifying! But.....the knife quickly went to work on slowly chopping up vegetables, much to Holly's relief.

"Granny Smith, Ah got them apples, and some strawberries---and--.....why ya choppin up them veggies? Veggies are naasty...Ah was just gonna make a salad with fruit....and lettuce, Ah guess--but only cuz it don't taste like nothin'," she crinkled her nose at the sliced carrots and celery, sticking her tongue out, "Ah aint eatin' that...."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...