[Appleoosa] Harvest Time (PM to join)

[Lux]

Apple Cinnamon blushed at the compliment as although the earth pony was not boastful, she did like it when ponies admired her efforts.

"Why thank you sugah!' You know, ah' do remember where you live in town. This is mah' first apple harvest too in this town, but ah' like it so far."

It didn't take a genius to know that Durham Red was flirting with her, flexing his muscles and trying to prove his strength. He was putting on a show the likes of a three ring circus! But Apple didn't mind and decided to play along with his advances.

"Well, ah'd be happy to have you on this team. Ah' can use a big strong pony like you to help me with these apples."

In a surprise twist, Braeburn actually recommended that Durham be part of her team! She wondered if her cousin was playing matchmaker on the side seeing the grain miller pony's advances.

"Sounds good cousin," the earth pony said before turning to the stallion, "Well it looks like your wish has been granted. So, Ah' guess we'll get started then."

[Mojo]

"Arrow Plain!" Louise LaMare shouted, "I cannot believe you could do such a thing!"

As the still airborne Pegasus mare immediately hovered down for a soft landing on the ground, Sheriff Silverstar was still with Sorgham Sweet.

"I'm powerful surry bout all this, Sorgham, but you kin be assured that the one that done this to ya's gonna git what's comin' to her!" the mustached lawpony said as he looked up at guilty party. "What in tarnation's gotten inta ya, young filly? You were lucky the Doc was around ta save poor Sorgham from gitt'n hurt! I'm gonna let HIM handle this cause we gotta newcomer ta greet. Doc, she's all yours."

"Sheriff, I'm so sorry! I had no idea she was going to pull a stunt like this."

"It's ok, Miss LaMare, ain't no real harm done, jist don't go given anymore Pegasus rides ta foals. This here ain't no time fer horseplay!"

"Yes Sheriff," Louise neighed sadly as Sheriff Silverstar walked towards the newcomer. Meanwhile, Doc Holiday stared at Arrow Plain still up in the tree.

"Young filly, yur in a peck of trouble now! I ain't never seen such a dangerous prank in mah entire life! What have ya got ta say fer yurself?"

The Sheriff now stood in front of the newly arrived mare.

"Howdy ma'am! Welcome to the Appleoosa Apple Orchard! Today's harvest n' bakin' day so that's why the town's nearly deserted. I'm Sheriff Silverstar, the law in this here town. What's yur name, miss?"

[Hippo]

The first thing Arrow noticed was how non-aerodynamic Sorghum was. Arrow knew that pushing her off would result in some kind of fall, but the golden filly didn't even flail her hooves around like most foals. Just as Sorghum was saved by levitation magic, Arrow scolded the filly for her style of fall. "You call that falling? I've seen rocks that have better soaring capabilities." Arrow then hid most of herself behind the leaves of the tree she was in. Even though the adults knew she was trouble at this point and knew she was up there, she still felt the need to hide herself, as if she was truly that stealthy.

When Sorghum raised her own voice against Arrow, she realized just how ungrateful this filly was. Why, Arrow was just trying to have a good time. How dare she get mad at her for trying to liven things up. "What? You're made at me? I should be mad at you! You are by far, the worst assistant I've ever had! And I don't want to play with you anymore either!" Arrow was sour. No pony with no aspirations to fly was going to get the better end of her. She would be persistent in her own way, knowing full well that she was doing what was best for her dreams and goals of flying.

What did Arrow have to say for herself? Arrow looked down and replied, "I would say that I'm a lot better at falling than that other filly, whatever her name is."

​

[Pretzelparty]

Just then he noticed a newcomer, a light golden colored unicorn mare with a white mane, she appeared familiar, as if he ran into her before. "Howdy! Say, haven't ah seen you back when ah was visiting' may cousins in Ponyville? Y'all seem familiar."

The mare gave a chuckle,"Sweet Celestia! Ya already forgot me Braeburn?!" pushed her hat off her head with her hoof and let it rest on her neck, hanging on her with a string that was looped through the curious sunhat. She straightened her mane a bit although it still looked messy as usual,"I mean I was a bit more tidied up that day but I didn't think I looked that different!" Presteza looked around at the other ponies practicing their bucking and grinned.

The Sheriff now stood in front of the newly arrived mare.

"Howdy ma'am! Welcome to the Appleoosa Apple Orchard! Today's harvest n' bakin' day so that's why the town's nearly deserted. I'm Sheriff Silverstar, the law in this here town. What's yur name, miss?"

"S'a pleasure Sheriff, Name's Presteza! Think I could help ya out with the harvestin' I'm pretty good at applebucking... well actually I'm pretty good at buckin' in general. When ya travel as much as I do ya gotta find a way ta get food." The unicorn did seem to have a fair bit of strength to her build, especially in her hind legs. Having spent a great deal of her journeys running from threats as well as kicking out some of the ones she could take hoof to hoof she was stronger than your average unicorn,"If ya want I could give ya a demonstration!" she said proudly.

[Snowshoe]

Of course there were more ponies to evaluate. What of those who were poor at bucking? Fortunately Dapper Dan's question gave Braeburn the opportunity to explain. "Well if y'all are good at bucking', ah need y'all the most at the trees fill in' the baskets. The ponies who don't have that natural knack for buckin' trees will take the wagons of filled baskets to that building over thar and offload 'em." Braeburn pointed to a nearby small stone building on the edge of town, just down the path from the orchard, it was actually a large bakery, where the apples will get processed into pies once every tree had been cleared. "Although you look like y'all got the hang of it now, so if y'all want to be on the bucking' team Dapper Dan, that be swell!"

"Gotcha!" Dapper Dan said to Braeburn. Simple as that, it would seem. Hit the trees, collect the apples, move on. He wasn't strong enough to lift the baskets on his own, physically, so the unicorn ended up just pushing the filled basket of apples to the nearest wagon, though maybe that would be the easier job. Then again, it wasn't supposed to be easy! It was supposed to represent the tradition of hard work and dedication put in to making a town like this, and farming the earth pony way! So he took Braeburn's advice and trotted over to a nearby tree to get back to work. He lifted his hind legs, took careful aim...

And missed. Not from any fault of his own, but the shouting nearby distracted him. Nursing a sore left hindleg, he trotted over toward the Sheriff. He looked around at the assembled ponies, tilting his head and adjusting the glasses that kept slipping a little on his snout. "What's going on?" he asked. "I heard a whole lot of yelling from over here," he explained, looking up. There was a pony in a tree, and a group of them on the ground. He stood confused for a bit. This was supposed to be one of those awesome, cheerful festivals. Why was everypony shouting over here?

[brianblackberry]

Braeburn blushed, he didn't mean to be forgetful, especially when it came to a pretty filly. Truth was he remembered her, just that he was occasionally bad with names, and this was one of those times, awkward as it were. "My pardons Miss Presteza, Ah can be kinda fergetful when it comes to rememberin' what t' call a pony an' all." Breaburn blushed a little as he put his Stetson back on; not wanting to cause any offense, the goldenrod stallion figured the best route to take was one of charm, " but y'all don't look different t'aint all; just as fetching as always Miss Presteza! Welcome to the APPPPPPPPLELOOSIAN HARVEST!"

Anymore charming would have to wait as Braeburn had to deal with the incident between the two fillies. Truth was Braeburn wasn't all that good at handling such situations, simply because he had little experience interacting with foals outside his own little cousin, Apple Pie, and she was typically very well behaved and never went off to cause any sort of mayhem. He and his cousins Applejack and Big Mac when they were young on the other hoof, a troublesome trio unlike any other!

He was in charge though, so something had to be done. Of course first was poor Sorghum; he didn't want any pony to feel they couldn't contribute. Apple Pie was little and there was always something she could help with, same with his cousin Applebloom. Of course both were farmer kin and grew up working in orchards, Braeburn had no knowledge of the green maned filly's background, still he was determined now more than ever to make sure she felt she could be part of the crew. He gave her a large, warm smile and a wink, "well Miss Sorghum, y'all can help collect any stray apples that don't fall into th' buckets when we all buck 'em. No pony hardly ever gets all the apples ta fall in place. If y'all like, y'all can be my personal stray apple spotter, wha'cha say?"

That just left the troublsome filly, Arrow Plain. Braeburn didn't get her at all. There were pranks, and then there was what looked like to him, pointless cruelty. "Y'all come right down here now missy! Don't think ah can't see you hidin' in that tree now! Don't make me buck y'all down from there!" He wouldn't really do that, just she doesn't know that!

[PedestrianWolf]

Sorghum Sweet's eyes grew wide. Braeburn wanted her to be his personal apple spotter! He wanted her to spend the morning with him, at his side, picking up any stray apples that didn't fall in the baskets. She squeed with delight. But wait... Braeburn almost never missed the basket when he bucked apples. There wouln't be any strays for her to pick up. That must mean... he just wanted her company. How awesome was that!

The filly smiled up at the goldenrod stallion in adoration, and answered him with a sigh, "Of course! I'd love to be your personal assistant." She started to daydream, her and Braeburn running in slow motion through the apple orchard, grinning and laughing with each other. The sunlight dappling his golden coat, and her braids bouncing gently against her back. They'd share an apple, him biting one side and her biting the other, until they met in the middle for a kiss. The thought of it made her blush and sigh some more. The fact that he was an adult stallion, and she a mere blank flank filly never once crossed her mind.

Durham Red panicked a little when Apple Cinnamon mentioned that she knew where he lived. Did that mean that she also knew about all the dumb things he had done to impress all the other local ladies? Maybe, but she was still talking to him, so... perhaps he had a chance with her after all.

"Well, ah'd be happy to have you on this team. Ah' can use a big strong pony like you to help me with these apples." Her accent was so charming, he almost missed what she said. He definitely heard the 'big strong pony' part, though. Durham puffed up his chest with pride.

"At your service, my lady." He bowed again, keeping his balance better this time. Strutting over to the next tree, he was about to give it a good swift kick when he noticed the commotion at the other side of the orchard. His heart sank into his stomach when he saw his little sister in the middle of it. Abandoning the tree and the lovely miss Cinnamon, he galloped over to where Sorghum was standing with Braeburn.

"What is going on over here? I leave you alone for five minutes and you've got half the town shouting." he scolded.

Sorghum Sweet scowled at her brother. "It wasn't my fault, honest! I was just trying to be friendly with that weird unicorn filly, but she pushed me out of a tree and then said I was bad at falling."

Durham looked confused, then angry. "She did what? Why were you in a tree? Nevermind. If you can't stay out of trouble, I'm going to send you back to the mill with cousin Franz."

Sorghum's lower lip quivered and her eyes opened wide, imploring her brother not to send her away. "But, Braeburn just asked me to be his apple helper! I ain't gonna get into any more trouble, don't send me back to the boring old mill. I wanna help with the harvest!" The little filly looked like she was about to cry. This was a trick of course, but she really did want to help, and not by sewing up the flour bags that were being sent to the bakehouse.

[Lux]

Apple Cinnamon smiled at the stallion's willingness to help. Sure part of the reason was to impress her, but as long as he was helping and not overly trying to flex his muscles or flirt with her it was fine. Plus the brown earth pony didn't mind a little attention. Before he could continue, the two heard a sound of a pony in distress which Durham seemed to recognize as a familiar voice and took off running.

"Hey, wait up," she said as she took off after him. It was then that she came upon ponies yelling at each other.

"Hi there," she said to the one pony, "You must be related to Durham. What happened exactly?"

[Mojo]

A very angry Louise LaMare flew back up to Arrow Plain, who was still up in the tree.

"I trusted you!" the brown Pegasus mare yelled out, "I gave you the benefit of the doubt when nopony else would! You can just stay up here in this tree for all I care!"

"Now now, Miss LaMare, jist leave her be fer now," Doc Holly Day said, "Braeburn's handlin' the situation. We ain;t got time fer this tomfoolery! The other apple pickin' teams are gittin' ahead of us! We need ta git back ta work."

"Yes sir," Louise said as she flew back down to the ground. Meanwhile, Sheriff Silverstar began to address Dapper Dan's questions.

"Howdy Dapper Dan! Don't ya fret none, this here's jist Arrow Plain causin' more ca-motion. That filly's more trouble than a pack of tumbleweed toads in a burlap sack! Looks like Braeburn's takin' care of it."

Then the mustached lawpony turned his attention back to Presteza.

"No need ta demonstrate yur apple buckin' ability, I'll take yur word fer it. If'n ya want ta, go right ahead and jump in ta help Braeburn's team. Plenty of trees here that need bucked, and this here team's running a bit behind the others. We need all the horsepower we kin git fer this apple harvest. We got a long way ta go! Our buffalo friends are gonna be here before we know it fer their apple pies."

Doc Holly Day, now that Arrow Plain was being dealt with, began using his levitation magic to remove apples from nearby trees, move large wagons over into position for loading and then floating already filled baskets into them. Louise LaMare began taking empty baskets over to the tree where other team members were bucking down more apples.

"Here's some more baskets, Dapper Dan," the brown pelted Pegasus mare said as she brought them to him.

[Hippo]

Ut oh. Adult ponies started talking to Arrow. Arrow never liked bigger ponies, because most of the time they never understood her. They never liked to see her point of view, and were always trying to make her do things that she didn't want to do. Braeburn even threatened to buck Arrow Plain out of the tree. In a time like this, giving up was not an option, but survival was. Arrow started breaking off small branches in the tree, ones that had plenty of leaves adorned on them and start swinging them around, trying to see how much air traction they could give Arrow, should she decide to use them as a way to propel her somewhere else after a long successful flight. It hadn't ever worked before, but it has got to work eventually, right?

Arrow shouted towards all the older ponies. "I'll jump if I have to! Don't make me do it!"

​

[Pretzelparty]

Braeburn blushed, he didn't mean to be forgetful, especially when it came to a pretty filly. Truth was he remembered her, just that he was occasionally bad with names, and this was one of those times, awkward as it were. "My pardons Miss Presteza, Ah can be kinda fergetful when it comes to rememberin' what t' call a pony an' all." Breaburn blushed a little as he put his Stetson back on; not wanting to cause any offense, the goldenrod stallion figured the best route to take was one of charm, " but y'all don't look different t'aint all; just as fetching as always Miss Presteza! Welcome to the APPPPPPPPLELOOSIAN HARVEST!"

The golden-tan mare chuckled, a slight blush appearing on her face at the comment, "Still as much a charmer as before, huh?" she said in a teasing tone. "I betcha that's gonna get ya inta trouble one day... but fer now thanks fer the welcome!" It was nice to see this particular stallion again, his cheery attitude and bright personality was a welcome sight during her time at the Apple family's ranch in ponyville and he wasn't half bad looking either. The mare blushed a second at that last thought before Braeburn headed off to attend the currently tense situation with the filly in the tree and one other filly on the ground along with a colt.

"No need ta demonstrate yur apple buckin' ability, I'll take yur word fer it. If'n ya want ta, go right ahead and jump in ta help Braeburn's team. Plenty of trees here that need bucked, and this here team's running a bit behind the others. We need all the horsepower we kin git fer this apple harvest. We got a long way ta go! Our buffalo friends are gonna be here before we know it fer their apple pies."

"Awesome! Don' worry sheriff I won' letcha down!" said the eager young mare before taking the mustachioed stallion's hoof and shaking it vigorously. Tossing her hat into the air the mare caught it on her head, her horn poking through the hole she made for it,"I'm sure those Buffalo won't need ta wait long!" she said before galloping over to Braeburn's group in time to catch the goldenrod stallion engaged in a conversation with a small green maned filly. Presteza was about to speak up to Braeburn and the rest of his group but she was cut off as the Stetson wearing stallion made his declaration.

That just left the troublsome filly, Arrow Plain. Braeburn didn't get her at all. There were pranks, and then there was what looked like to him, pointless cruelty. "Y'all come right down here now missy! Don't think ah can't see you hidin' in that tree now! Don't make me buck y'all down from there!" He wouldn't really do that, just she doesn't know that!

Well... that seemed a bit out of character but she went on the assumption that Braeburn was bluffing, if he wasn't well she could still likely be able to catch the filly should she come tumbling down... however she would likely have a few choice words for Braeburn if it did come to that.

Arrow shouted towards all the older ponies. "I'll jump if I have to! Don't make me do it!"[/bg]

Suddenly it looked like she might have to have a few choice words with the young filly she didn't know instead the way this was going. With a tap of Braeburn's shoulder she said with a playful wink,"Looks like I'm in yer group, Mister Braeburn. " she leaned in a moment and whispered quietly into the stallion's ear,"If she -does- jump I'm sure we could both catch 'er" While the mare waited for Braeburn's response she smiled at the little green maned filly and said,"'Lo there!"

[brianblackberry]

Braeburn felt for the poor filly, he didn't want her to get into trouble and be sent away by her brother just for being the victim of a cruel prank. "Tis' wasn't her fault Durham, she was pushed out as near as Ah can see. Ah figure if she personally helped me out, no more hard will come to her, y'all have my promise!" For Braeburn, it was important for young ponies to get involved in the harvest, and to encourage them, especially if they showed genuine interest like Sorghum Sweet did, "Ah'm glad y'all want to personally assist me; Ah'm sure with yer help we'll have 'em apples all in the wagons in no time!" Normally he was good enough he never would need an apple spotter, but the goldenrod stallion figured he could kick a few trees slightly off kilter so a few apples would miss the baskets.

Of course that left the trouble making filly, Arrow Plain, to deal with. Braeburn had hoped his "threat" of bucking the filly right out of the tree would have been enough to convince her to come down, but now she was threatening to actually jump! This filly was either seriously troubled or just being a drama queen; he hoped for the latter.

Braeburn turned to Presteza and whispered, "well Ah was hoping that she'd just climb down if Ah pretended Ah was going to kick th' tree, but now Ah dunno… If she jumps are y'all able to catch her with yer magic? If not, Ah believe Ah can run under her in time and catch her if needed." Braeburn preferred the unicorn magic, it was safer all around, as even catching the falling filly on his back may still hurt her some, and he really wanted to avoid that if at all possible.

[Mojo]

"Don't worry none, Braeburn, I got it covered," Doc Holly Day said, his horn glowing at the ready in case the wild eyed filly decided to jump or gets bucked out by Braeburn. "One way er another, we need ta end this here foolishness fast. We gotta lot of work yet ta do!"

Meanwhile, Sheriff Silverstar shook Prestza's hoof.

"That's the spirit we like ta see here on Apple Harvest Day!" the lawpony cheered before he looked back at Braeburn and Doc Holly Day. "Oh that Arrow Plain! Well, never you mind all that, Prestza, best commerce ta apple buckin'. We got plenty of baskets, jist gonna need ta fill'm up! Reckon I best help out cause we're fall'n behind!"

The Sheriff walked over to the tree next to Dapper Dan and started kicking it. Quickly, Louise LaMare swooped down, placing baskets underneath the tree just in time to catch the falling apples. The brown Pegasus mare then landed next to Prestza.

"Hi there! Glad you're joining the team! I'm Lousie LaMare, and looks like I'm in charge of baskets for this group. Find a tree and start kicking it, I'll have baskets ready for you to fill!"

[PedestrianWolf]

Durham frowned down at his little sister. He really didn't want her to get in trouble and hurt herself, their mother would never forgive him. But he also didn't want to look like a big meanie in front of miss Cinnamon, who had followed him to the site of the commotion.

"Tis' wasn't her fault Durham, she was pushed out as near as Ah can see. Ah figure if she personally helped me out, no more hard will come to her, y'all have my promise!"

"Well, as long as she won't be a bother to ya, I guess it's allright." If Braeburn wanted to have a little moon-struck filly following in his shadow, that was fine by Durham. He knew she wouldn't stray from the golden stallion's side. That meant that he was free to continue getting to know Apple Cinnamon a little better. He turned to smile at her. "It's all okay now, nothing to worry about. Shall we get back to work?"

Sorghum Sweet squealed a little when her brother agreed to let her help Braeburn. She did a little happy dance right where she stood.

"You must be related to Durham. What happened exactly?"

Hearing the mare address her, Sorghum looked up and saw the pretty Apple Cinnamon. Ah, no wonder her brother wanted her out of the way. There was a lady to impress! Well, that was allright.

"Oh, nothin' much. I was gonna pick apples from up in the tree, but then I got pushed and fell down. It's okay though, I'm gonna help Braeburn instead!" The filly beamed and sighed to herself again. She turned to gaze upon the golden stallion, only to see he had been joined by a pretty unicorn mare. She seemed to be pretty familiar with him, winking at him and whispering in his ear.

"'Lo there!"

"Hello, yourself." Sorghum looked sidelong at the newcomer. She wasn't sure she liked the way that Presteza was standing so close to Braeburn. And that she would be working on his apple buckin' team. But never mind that, a certain little yellow pain in the rump was still making trouble up in the tree.

"I'll jump if I have to! Don't make me do it!"

"Go ahead, you crazy so-and-so!" Sorghum shouted up into the tree at Arrow Plain. "I dare you! In fact, I Triple-Dog Dare you!" The little filly sat back with a smug smile on her face. She knew that if the little unicorn was crazy enough to jump, that one of the adults on the ground below would catch her. And then boy, would she get it!

[Hippo]

As Arrow peered at Braeuburn, and the new unicorn pony that approached him. The colors on the pony's pelts seemed to shift colors, but Arrow was sure that was because of the haze in the air at being so high in the air. She couldn't hear what they were snickering at with one another, but it was obvious to her that it was of great importance as it related to her being in the tree. She was against everypony underneath her who didn't have wings. Typical Arrow situation. Instead of celebrating the instigation, Arrow kicked back and sat on a branch, feeling the wind run through her mane and ears. The air was different up here. It was faster, more powerful, and breath-taking.

But, the yellow filly couldn't rest, because there seemed to be a little attitude from the test subject. When Arrow looked down, she could see the filly instigating back at Arrow, even triple-dog-daring her to jump.

Arrow stood up. "Ha! I refuse to jump. No way! I mean, why would I jump? When I can fly!!" Arrow skipped off her branch and angled her branches with leaves in her hooves out evenly. In that moment, the air was rushing past her, it being very exhilarating, and the land beneath her appearing as an avoided obstacle, that no longer held her down. Arrow felt free. She wouldn't trade this for anything in the world.

Which was a shame, considering only a second after liftoff, the rush of air started blowing up. She was falling. Arrow, realizing the situation, took desperate measures and started flapping her branches in hooves as fast as she could. But it was no use. Arrow suddenly felt about as light as a lead balloon. Come on, Arpy. You got this. The yellow filly tried using the downward momentum to try and lift the rush of air under her prosthetic wings.

​

[brianblackberry]

Braeburn smiled warmly at the little golden earth filly after her brother seemed accepting of his assurances. He didn’t blame the stallion, Durham Red, as he would be just as understandably cautious with Apple Pie’s safety. Making sure the filly was safe was only half of it, he also was going to make sure Sorghum Sweet felt wanted, indeed needed, by him and the rest of the harvest team. Every pony should feel welcomed as an essential part in this, the most important of Applelossian traditions.

Even the troublesome ones…

Braeburn simply didn’t understand why Arrow Plain was being so difficult like this. He certainly didn’t want to buck her out of the three and wouldn’t even consider doing so if he didn’t have Presteza and her unicorn magic right there with him. However he had little choice, the yellow unicorn filly was holding up the entire harvest with her antics. Braeburn looked at Presteza and whispered, “get ready tah catch her”, and then he turned around to prepare a precise buck of the tree to send the filly down where the unicorn mare could best levitate the filly to safety.

Unfortunately before Braeburn’s best laid plan could come to fruition, Arrow Plain leaped out of the tree like some crazy griffon. “What in tarnation is she doin’?!?” There was no way those branches she flapped with were going to keep her from falling; was that her plan?! Brabeurn galloped with a panicked expression on face to where he thought, he hoped, she would land. At least he could break her fall… somewhat.

[Pretzelparty]

"well Ah was hoping that she'd just climb down if Ah pretended Ah was going to kick th' tree, but now Ah dunno… If she jumps are y'all able to catch her with yer magic? If not, Ah believe Ah can run under her in time and catch her if needed."

The question gave Presteza pause. Her magic hadn't been reliable since she was a foal. Despite being from a line of very talented magic using unicorns in trottingham, her own magical prowess left ... well, almost everything to be desired. The only things she had ever been able to lift with telekinesis without either sending it flying or breaking it were her paintbrushes when she was painting; when she was calm and didn't doubt herself. She was confident in her physical aptitude but catching a crazy filly with magic spells she wasn't too sure about, even if she had been working on channeling what little magic she did know through her favorite paintbrush.

"Actually I'm no' very good when it comes ta magic, Braeburn... I did learn a little wind magic so I could try and catch her in a whirlwind but tha's kinda risky and might make her a bit dizz--" before she could finish her reply she was greeted by tan pegasus bringing with her some baskets and an upbeat attitude

"Hi there! Glad you're joining the team! I'm Lousie LaMare, and looks like I'm in charge of baskets for this group. Find a tree and start kicking it, I'll have baskets ready for you to fill!"

Presteza would have loved to engage the mare in a nice chat but right now the little filly in the tree was more important than the apple harvest,"Nice ta meetcha Louise! After that filly comes down I'll start up alright?" It seemed the little green maned filly who was helping out also was willing to say hi but before the golden-tan unicorn could respond the situation quickly escalated and then seemed to be resolved.

"I'll jump if I have to! Don't make me do it!"

"Go ahead, you crazy so-and-so! I dare you! In fact, I Triple-Dog Dare you!"

"Ha! I refuse to jump. No way!"

After hearing Arrow seemingly refuse to jump she looked to Sorghum with a look of which the best description could be "Masked annoyance", obviously not approving of her trying to egg on the yellow unicorn in the boughs of the tree. Looking to braeburn she was set to voice her relief,"I was gettin' kinda worried the--"

"I mean, why would I jump? When I can fly!!"

"please let me have heard that wrong." she thought for a split second before turning to see Arrow leaping out of the tree ,gaining a bit of distance and then rapidly plummeting downward. Braeburn took off to try and to catch her before she hit the ground although with the speed Arrow was falling one couldn't help but wonder if both ponies would make it out of this incident unhurt. She didn't have time to get her paintbrush out to try and do her suggestion from a few seconds ago so she galloped towards the falling filly, aimed, and concentrated her best. If there was a time she needed her magic not to mess up it was now!

The silver maned painter's horn soon lit up a bright blue color. In her desperation not to mess up she could only repeat in her mind while she tried to visualize what she desired to happen, "Don' mess it up! Don' mess it up! Don' mess it up!" Her eyes were shut tight in worry as to how this might turn out, slowly she opened them to see that Arrow Plain was now engulfed in her magical aura and floating mid air. For a moment Presteza's jaw dropped and she looked like she could explode in her elation,"Holy crop! I did it! I caught 'er!" suddenly arrow quickly flew over and into a large pile of hay that gave her a soft landing, all the wile surrounded by Presteza's magic aura,"uh... whoops." she said with an embarrassed grin.

[Mojo]

"What in tarnation!" Sheriff Silverstar shouted when he saw Arrow Plain fall out of the tree.

"ARROW PLAIN!" Louise LaMare shouted from a distance as she had been placing baskets under trees at the time. The determined brown pelted Pegasus immediately took flight, flapping her wings with all her might as she watched the poor unicorn filly falling.

"OH NO! Gotta act fast!" Doc Holly Day neighed, turning to run towards the tree as his horn began to glow. But before either the fast flying Louise or the galloping Doc Holly Day could reach her, the newcomer unicorn mare had already used her own magic to catch Arrow Plain, saving the reckless filly from certain physical harm.

"That was some fancy magicin' thar, Miss Presteza! Absoltively!" the Sheriff shouted.

"Well done, young mare!" added Doc Holly Day as Louise made a turn in the sky and then came to a landing beside them.

"Thank goodness you saved the day!" Louise neighed before turning towards Arrow Plain. "Why would you do such a foolhardy thing, young lady?"

"I was about ta ask the same question!" added the Sheriff.

"An' I got a better question," the Doctor said as the unicorn stallion turned towards Sorghum Sweet, "why on earth would you dare Arrow Plain ta jump, young filly?"

[Lux]

"Well alright then.Glad to see that you are ok," Apple Cinnamon said to Sorghum Sweet, "Next time Ah'd think about climbin' up a tree to fetch apples if Ah' were you."

Durham Red then asked if she was ready to resume harvesting.

"Yeah, I think we can get goin' again," she began but the quickly saw a unicorn pony with of all things fake wings diving from a tree.

"What in the hay.." she said seeing the Pegasus crashing into a hay mound.

"Are you ok there," she said running to the hay and pulling out the unicorn, "What gave you the idea to leap out of a tree and think you could fly all of a sudden?"

[PedestrianWolf]

"Why on earth would you dare Arrow Plain ta jump, young filly?" the doctor who had caught Sorghum when she fell asked her, after the little unicorn had come safely down from the tree.

She rolled her eyes and sat on her rump with an exaggerated sigh. Adults could just be clueless sometimes.

"She's jes' doin' it for attention, and to cause a disruption.", she replied, uttering a phrase she had heard her teacher at school use on more than one occasion. "'Sides, I knew one of you would catch 'er."

Sorghum stood up and looked up into Braeburn's sungold face. "Can we get back to the apple pickin' now, please?"

[Hippo]

As Arrow's eyes we're closed during the free fall, she concentrated so hard as if she could control the air around her legs to support her in the middle of the air. The second of free fall took a while, her thoughts progressing with adrenaline with every extra wisp of the air resistance felt against her pelt. The whooshing sound played the song of Arrow's heart, and her heart sped up to match the melody's beat. It was exhilarating!

And then, right as soon as Arrow predicted failure, a trigger in her mind that had developed since the last twenty times she tried this, had completely passed. She was still in the air. Arrow would begin flapping her legs again, this time with more satisfaction, and less anxiety. She wasn't falling anymore! Arrow could no longer feel the resistance against her belly, and she had the freedom to move around as she wanted.

Another second later, Arrow would find herself buried in a haystack, unharmed. Immediately, Arrow stuck her head out of the stack and looked around. Almost half a hundred hooves away she saw the tree she fell, scratch that... ...flew from! Her eyes grew to the size of saucers and her mouth opened with glee. "Did you guys see that!? I flew!"

​

"Why would you do such a foolhardy thing, young lady?"

"Because if I hadn't, I would have never been able to fly." Arrow saw that Louis was that same pegasus adult from before, the one who had helped up there in the first place. "Sheesh, a pegasus like yourself should know what it means to learn how to fly."

​

[brianblackberry]

Braeburn stepped back and forth, attempting to situate himself to catch Arrow Plain on his back now that she actually did jump. Fortunately for the goldenrod stallion, his other idea came through first as Presteza caught the crazy filly with her magic in mid-air. “Yeeeehaaaa! Ah knew y’all could do it Presteza! That’s some right amazin’ mag-“. Before he could finish his praise, the yellow unicorn filly was fling uncontrollably into a haystack. Braeburn wasn’t sure what happened, but at least it was a soft landing for what it was worth.

Despite all the trouble the filly had caused so far, Braeburn’s first instinct was to gallop over to Arrow to see if she was alright. After all, the annoying unicorn was just a foal. “Hooo weee! Are y’all alright, lil’ filly?” Turned out not only was she alright, but even excited by the whole fiasco. Sorgham claimed the unicorn filly was doing it only for attention, and despite Braeburn look of slight displeasure towards the green earth filly for her lack of concern, ultimately he knew she was right.

More importantly, being in charge meant Braeburn had to deal with the situation. He gave the unicorn filly a stern look, “now you listen missy that was ah right crazy thing to do. Ah dunno why y’all think y’all could fly as ah unicorn, but y’all put yourself and others in danger with the stunt y’all pulled. First off y’all need to apologize to Sorgham for pushin’ her outta the tree!”

Braeburn turned to the rest of the assemblage, they had lost too much time already. “Get together in y’all groups now, we’re behind schedule with the buckin’, and we still have to get ‘em ready for the pies! We need buckers, runaway apple collectors, and ponies to carry the buckets! We’ll can’t disappoint all them ponies and buffalo now!” He’ll have to be faster himself, but not too much, he still intended to keep his promise regarding Sogham and not buck every apple into the bucket.

What about Arrow Plain though? Braeburn still wanted her to participate, despite what transgressed, but she shouldn’t get off completely scot free for what happened. “Arrow Plain, you’re on basket duty; it’ll be your job to help move all the full apple baskets onto the carts, and to pick up any strays that fall out.” It was still an important job, just the most inglorious and often most tiring one when it came to the orchard, especially fro one so small.

[Pretzelparty]

"That was some fancy magicin' thar, Miss Presteza! Absoltively!"

"Well done, young mare!"

"Thank goodness you saved the day!"

This was unprecedented for the young painter. Back home when she was learning magic she was never really scolded for messing up but she wasn't really praised for it either; usually she'd get some sort of insincere remark about how it was a good try. This was different though! this was genuine praise from ponies who appreciated her magical attempts.. even if she did kinda mess up by sending arrow into the Hay pile.

“Yeeeehaaaa! Ah knew y’all could do it Presteza! That’s some right amazin’ mag-“.

The mare felt a deep blush on her cheeks as even Braeburn himself complimented her even if he was interupted once he saw how she'd sent Arrow into the haypile. Walking over to the group that was assembling over by the Hay pile with the yellow filly emerging from it she made up a quick little fib to save some face,"Sorry, Mister Braeburn. I jus' kinda thought the hay might be a softer place fer her ta land then yer back." she said with a slightly nervous chuckle "Is she okay?". Seeing as Arrow was already out and about that seemed to be a rather redundant question at this point. Braeburn seemed ready to get to work to as he soon began to give instructions to everypony.

“Get together in y’all groups now, we’re behind schedule with the buckin’, and we still have to get ‘em ready for the pies! We need buckers, runaway apple collectors, and ponies to carry the buckets! We’ll can’t disappoint all them ponies and buffalo now!”

The golden tan unicorn gained a bright grin, this was going to be fun! She hadn't gotten to use her bucking prowess to help anypony but herself before. Galloping over to one of the trees close enough so everypony to see... especially Braeburn. "I call dibs on this tree! Braeburn ya wanna tell me how I do with this one?" she then looked to miss LaMare."Oi, Miss LaMare! Get ready ta 'ave those baskets o' yers filled ta the brim!"

Positioning herself before the tree trunk she took a breath in preparation. With a quick and fluid series of motions she lowered her head, lifted her hindquarters in the air and soon kicked her hindlegs, her hooves hitting the tree with a powerful impact. The tree shook for a moment and for about two seconds it seemed like the mare had failed to get any of the apples to come down. Once that second ended however , all the ripe apple effectively plummeted from the tree; all of them just waiting to be caught and baked for the coming buffalo. "I hope ya don' mind if I borrow that in'erjection o' yers..." taking a deep breath she reared back and let out with a passionate,"Yeeeee-haw!"

[Mojo]

Hearing Arrow Plain's explanation caused Sheriff Silverstar, Doc Holly Day and Louise LaMare to all 'facehoof'.

"Ya call THAT flyin'? That thar's more like FALLIN'!" Sheriff Silverstar shouted.

"I can't believe it!" Louise added, "this obsession with flying is going to be your downfall yet, Arrow Plain!"

Doc Holly Day just shook his head before turning back towards Sorghum Sweet.

"And YOU, little filly! Darin' other ponies ta do dangerous stunts jist ain't right and y'all know that! Whether Arrow Plain was lookin' fer attention er not, that's no reason to dare her ta jump from a tree! She couldda got seriously hurt."

Then the three ponies (along with the rest of the group) listened to Braeburn's directions.

"Hear that y'all? This group's behind schedule! Me an' the Doc will help y'all git caught up!"

"Sounds good ta me, cause I'm a better apple bucker than you are, Sheriff."

"Quit yur braggin' ya ol' sawbones and commence ta kickin!"

"I'll be happy to pull an apple cart!" added Louise.

"Braeburn, great idear puttin' Arrow Plain on apple catchin' duty! That'll keep her from gitt'n up in any more trees!"

"I agree, Sheriff. The fillies and colts kin handle the baskets, we need ta catch up with the rest of the folks in the orchard."

Soon, Sheriff Silverstar and Doc Holly Day were kicking apple trees, as if they were in competition with each other. Louise hitched herself to a nearby cart and walked around, waiting for other ponies to load filled baskets of apples into it.

[Hippo]

Arrow was immediately talked down by the adults. They couldn't possibly understand. Except for the pegasus LeMare, and Arrow couldn't find out what her problem was. If anypony here understood the sensation, it would be her. "Sheriff, what do you know about flying? You're an earth pony!" Arrow's attitude against Appleloosa's law force sure was gutsy, but not all that surprising, considering Arrow's encounters with the stallion was probably just as often as her parents.

And with Louise's down talk, Arrow was annoyed at the resistance. Throw some encouragement her way every once and a while maybe? "Actually, Miss LeMare, I think flying is just the thing to help me 'take off'." Arrow jumped with a hoof in the air, and then plopped playfully back into the haystack she was crawling out of.

Arrow shuffled with a smug face towards her randomly desired location when she ran into Braeburn, probably the most important pony on a day like today, and to Arrow, the biggest thorn in her side. "Oh alright." Arrow gave into the stallion's demands. Her fight was over, for she had gotten the gratification of seeing her ideas come to fruition. Tomorrow, she would be ready for more.

She walked slowly towards Sorghum. "Hey, pony," Arrow looked to the ground. "I'm sorry you weren't as areodynamic as me. Maybe next time, huh?" Arrow smirked and then walked away towards the baskets. Arrow wasn't knowingly being snarky. Rather, she was told to apologize by Braeburn, and Arrow's most rational way of apologizing was just that. Her life was based on the success of flying, no matter how unrealistic or unwavering it was.

The yellow unicorn filly trotted innocently over to where some baskets were left for her to carry. After picking up a stray apple near it, she scooped the basket on top of her. Her frail body able to carry the weight, but only barely. And she did it with a resilient smile. She was a martyr of all dreamers of flight, an inspiration of all the ponies of the sky who were wrongly accused. It was an honor, and she would carry the basket of apples as she was instructed, despite the weight keeping her from feeling the bliss of weightlessness.

​