[Appleoosa] Harvest Time (PM to join)

[PedestrianWolf]

Durham shook his head. Just as soon as he had gotten Apple Cinnamon's attention, she ran off to tend to the fallen unicorn. Young fillies, what could you do? At least Braeburn was taking an interest in keeping them in line. He supposed that was the golden stallion's job, seeing as this was his orchard, and he was in charge of the harvest.

Durham swaggered over to the closest tree with baskets underneath it, and gave it a practiced kick. Apples rained down, and mostly hit their targets. He was getting better at this buckin' business.

"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."

Sorghum Sweet did her best not to snort in derision. She had fallen from much taller things than an apple tree, and not gotten more than a few bruises. However, she was an earth pony, and not as delicate as a unicorn, she supposed. Instead she moved closer to Braeburn's side to be his stray apple spotter. Fortunately for her she had not seen the look he gave her earlier, or she would have been crushed.

Arrow Plain wandered over towards them. "I'm sorry you weren't as areodynamic as me. Maybe next time, huh?" she sort of apologised, then smirked and walked away. This time Sorghum did snort. "Must be from the feathers you have for brains" she muttered under her breath.

[Lux]

Apple Cinnamon breathed a sigh of relief that both Arrow Plain and Sorghum Sweet were ok. She wondered what gave the unicorn the idea that she could fly, although admittedly the earth pony sometimes wondered what it would be like if she was born as another pony type. Still she was happy being herself and had no desire to go strapping on a pair of wings and trying to fly from a tree.

"Well Ah'm glad you are both ok," she said to Arrow Plain and Sorghum Sweet, "Now let's get back to these apples. They're not goin' to turn themselves into pies on their own."

She then returned to where Durham red was, who was doing his best to tackle as many trees as he could.

"Well that was somethin' unexpected, wasn't it? Well your sister is ok an' so is that unicorn who tried to fly. Looks like you're doin' ok, so let's just keep gettin' these apples an' we'll be done in no time!"

[brianblackberry]

Braeburn gave a sigh of relief, finally the little "crisis" was over and they could get back to the business of apple bucking; they were on a tight schedule after all, in a few hours the apples needed to be in the bakery for the pie making if this harvest was to be a timely success.

The goldenrod stallion's relief was short lived though as he spotted something ominous in the distance, a line of dark bluish-gray clouds, it was a squall line. Unlike the weather in most of Equestria, which were controlled by the pegasai, the Pinto Desert was still mostly wild and thus outside of pony control, save for Appleloosa itself. A consequence of this was "wild weather", storms that formed by themselves by whatever mysterious means in parts in unknown that occasionally rolled into the area. This was a problem as such weather could be at best very drenching and at worst, violent, and Appleloosa lacked an adequate pegasai force to combat such storms in the air. All that could be done was to weather such storms, preferably indoors. Right now however apples needed to be bucked, which luck though, they could be done before the storm hits, if they could stay focused that is.

Braeburn didn't want to worry his volunteers with the weather just yet, so he decided to focus on the team. Presteza was eager to show him her bucking skills as she kicked the tree next to her. She was surprisingly good at it, something not common in unicorns, who for the most part struggled with bucking. Braeburn sat on his haunches and stomped the ground with his fore hooves in approval, "yeeeehaaaa, that's the way ta' do it Miss Presteza! Yer bucking' skills are impressive! Have y'all have some practice before? Maybe yer parents are earth ponies? Whatever th' case, glad to have you as part of this team!" It didn't hurt that she was pretty cute as well, which only added to Braeburn's warm smile as he couldn't help but wonder, 'single?'.

No time though to stare at pretty mares, there was bucking to do and Braeburn promised a little green maned filly she would get to assist him, "let's get to buckin' Sorghum, need to get 'em to the bakery as soon as we can, then time for makin' delicious pies!" Braeburn rubbed the earth filly's mane and positioned himself to kick the nearest tree, as planned he was just slightly off with his kick; it worked. Most apples made it safely into their baskets but a few bounced on the ground off to the side for Sorghum to get. Maybe if there was time, he'd ask her to buck a couple trees herself, she may enjoy that and it could help build confidence.

"As soon she has the apples in th' buckets Arrow, y'all get 'em on the cart." It was burdensome, but the unicorn filly needed some sort of reprimand, besides if it got too hard, he would help her out, after all she was still a filly and that storm was not getting any slower.

[Pretzelparty]

"yeeeehaaaa, that's the way ta' do it Miss Presteza! Yer bucking' skills are impressive! Have y'all have some practice before? Maybe yer parents are earth ponies? Whatever th' case, glad to have you as part of this team!"

The golden tan unicorn blushed a bit and smiled proudly at the acknowledgment of her bucking prowess. Braeburn was pretty sharp, she had indeed had practice! Presteza had been bucking since she was filly when she started traveling with her big brother. The peppy stallion was half right about her parentage too, Presteza's father was actually an earth pony and a brigadier general in the Royal Equestrian Army. "Thanks, Brae! Yer actually right on both guesses! I been buckin' since I was a filly and my dad's an earth pony... so I guess yer actually right and a half!"

While the ponies who had volunteered to do so gathered up the apples and put them in the baskets, Presteza made sure to move on to the next tree. If there was no time to lose she had to make sure she bucked as many apples as she could. The next tree she was sure to line herself up perfectly and as soon as she was sure she had herself just right, she lifted her hind-legs up with another powerful kick she made the next tree rain down apples around her. "Yahoo! I got another buncha apples freshly bucked over he--"

*Bonk!... Bonk!... Bonk!*

It seemed that in her excitement Presteza failed to notice she was still underneath a few apples on the tree and with that powerful kick it was almost like the apple were retaliating by sending three of it's minions to give her a few bumps on the head leaving the mare slightly dizzy and with bit of a goofy expression on her face.

[Mojo]

"I know that any pony that ain't got wings ain't flyin!" Sheriff Silverstar answered Arrow Plain. "Now git yur head outta the clouds an' git ta work! All of us have gotta do our part if'n we're gonna have them apple pies ready fer our buffalo friends on time!"

"The Sheriff's right, Arrow Plain," added Louise LaMare as the brown Pegasus mare hitched herself to a wagon. "There's plenty of time to dream of flying later. For now, we all have a job to do."

As the Sheriff resumed his apple bucking, Doc Holly Day nodded in approval to the things he and Louise had told Arrow Plain. As the gray furred unicorn stallion continued kicking apple trees, he turned and saw Presteza's mishap with falling apples.

"Miss Presteza!" Doc Holly Day shouted as he galloped up to the dazed unicorn mare. "Are you alright? Do ya need medical attention? I got mah black doctorin' bag here and am ready to help ya! Looks like ya got some bad lookin' bumps on yur head."

[Hippo]

Arrow took more delight in conversing with Braeburn and following his instructions, not necessarily because he was a force to be reckoned with, but he seemed to be the only adult not trying to get on her case. Why was it so important for adults to keep Arrow down? It was almost like they were trying to treat her like a slave. But as Braeburn directed some suggestions towards her, wanting her to follow Presteza's path of bucking, Arrow would willingly accept. And she would do so in the most motivated way possible, like that of a pirate. "Aye aye, captain Braeburn!" Arrow saluted. She shuffled her hooves towards the wagon when her back was carrying something heavy and she trotted lightly and gracefully towards the next basket that needed to be carried over. The only thing missing was a pegged leg and maybe a sword.

Presteza, who hit herself with raining apples, didn't seem like she would be that affective. Arrow needed to make sure she would stay motivated. "Come on, stop fooling around, we got a job to do!" As Arrow shook the mare lightly, she refused to recognize the irony in which she was slapping somepony else with a short responsibility lecture. While she stated, she also felt a burst of wind coming from the west, and she raised her head in enjoyment of such a breeze. Usually a breeze like this wouldn't come to a desert!

​

[PedestrianWolf]

Sorghum squealed a little in delight as Braeburn ruffled her mane. This was turning into a pretty good day, despite falling out of a tree earlier. Ooh, maybe she'd get her cutie mark in apple picking! Wouldn't that be just wicked awesome?! She stood to the side as the golden stallion kicked the closest tree. Apples rained down, but a few missed the basket and bounced on the ground. Quick as a shot, she scooted over to the base of the tree to pick them up and drop them in the baskets. "How was that? Was that good? Do you need me to go faster? I totally can!" The little filly gazed up at Braeburn with eagerness in her eyes. She wasn't going to let him down, no sir'ree!

Durham nodded and smiled at Apple Cinnamon. "Yeah, I don't know what got into those two fillies. As long as everypony stays on the ground from now on, we should be done with this chore right quick."

As he was lining up to buck the next tree, he noticed a change in the breeze. Looking up, he saw the sky starting to darken in the west. Bad news. "Looks like a storm's comin." he said, more to himself than anyone around him. There were still a fair amount of apples in the trees, and the clay-red stallion saw an opportunity to show off, one he couldn't resist.

"Hay, miss Cinnamon! I bet'cha I can buck more apples than you! Countin' only the ones that fall into the baskets, of course. Ready, GO!"

[Lux]

"Ah' sure hope so too," Apple Cinnamon said as she struck yet another tree causing a shower of apples to fall around her and into baskets, "I don't want to go tryin' to pluck ponies from a tree or worryin' about catching them."

Purging another tree of its apples, the brown mare felt the breeze and upon hearing Durham's remark about a storm coming looked up to see a darkening sky in the distance.

"Yep, those sure look like storm clouds to me. We better get things wrapped up or we're going to be some drenched ponies."

It seemed that Durham who Apple knew was clearly trying to flirt with her now offered a challenge to her, one that she was happy to oblige.

"All right then. Whoever gets the most trees done before the storm rolls in wins. Get ready to start in three... two ... one!"

With that the mare got the first tree cleaned of apples with two good hits before heading to the next.

"That's one fer me!"

[brianblackberry]

Braeburn gave a bright smile when Presteza revealed she was a veteran bucker after all with an earth pony sire. “Is yer father an apple orchard farmer? Perhaps Ah know him from one of the great fruit marketplace faires that go from town to town! Say, Ah never caught were yer from.” A unicorn who may also be into apple farming, which in Braeburn’s mind begged the question, would she be interested in apple farmers?

As much fun as flirting may be, there was still a schedule to keep, so such chatter would have to wait, or least be subtle enough not to interrupt keeping pace with the bucking. Bareburn quickly hit the hooves of his hind legs against a couple more trees, this time a bunch of golden delicious fell into the baskets, the best kind for pie making and thus the most common on his farm. Not every apple made it into the basket of course, a few fell off to the sides, scooped up by an ever enthusiastic Sorghum. If his cousin Applejack saw how “poorly” he was bucking, she’d certainly give some good natured ribbing fun his way, but it still would be worth it to see the adorable smile of the green maned filly as she dropped the wayward apples back into the baskets; she was so enthusiastic! “Ya all are doin’ really well Miss Sweet. Ah knew it be a right tootin’ idea to ask if y’all be mah assistant; th’ best one Ah’d ever had!” The only one he ever had, well except for Apple Pie, but she mostly focused on bucking; besides it didn’t hurt none to give the little golden filly reasons to have confidence in herself.

Braeburn was about to comment more on Sorghum’s excellent skills at apple picking when he heard a few unusual thuds. He turned to look only to see that somehow Presteza managed to get herself clobbered on the head with several apples! Braeburn galloped over to the stunned mare and offered his forehoof, “Miss Presteza, y’all be alright? Hear, let me help y’all up, y’all can lean on me if y’all like.”

[Pretzelparty]

"Miss Presteza!" Doc Holly Day shouted as he galloped up to the dazed unicorn mare. "Are you alright? Do ya need medical attention? I got mah black doctorin' bag here and am ready to help ya! Looks like ya got some bad lookin' bumps on yur head."

The dizzy pony stumbled around a bit, blinking a few times and shaking her head as if to shake off the dizziness... it wasn't helping, "I -I uh... I'll be fine." The mare reached up to feel her head for the aforementioned bumps and patting around the crown of her head, "See I can't even fee--EEOUCH!" she shouted as she touched her hoof to one of the still tender bumps on her head. The mare chuckled wryly before looking at the doctor, "Well... I guess I could give ya a sec ta look me over", while she was eager to contribute she knew she couldn't very well buck apples if she was seeing double and injured.

“Miss Presteza, y’all be alright? Hear, let me help y’all up, y’all can lean on me if y’all like.”

The mare went wide eyed and thought a minute, "I might not get this chance again..." The mare nodded and rubbed the back of her head a bit, making sure not to touch any of those tender bumps on her head. The still dizzy mare made her way over to the apple stallion and nodded at the same time trying not to smile too much, "I guess I could use somethin' ta rest on... but only for a li'l bit. I wanna make sure I buck my fair share ...and more. Cantering over to the apple stallion, her walking was a bit wobbly as the dizziness was still affecting her and she took a spot beside Braeburn and leaned against him smiling, "I'll be glad ta take ya up on yer offer!"

“Is yer father an apple orchard farmer? Perhaps Ah know him from one of the great fruit marketplace faires that go from town to town! Say, Ah never caught were yer from.”

Oh yeah, Braeburn had asked her a question before she had been beaned (or perhaps Appled) on the head. Since she had a moment and the doctor would be probably be taking a bit a to inspect her head she may as well answer the handsome stallion, "Actually 'is side o' the family could've been. 'e said before Trottingham became a tourist 'eavy place 'is family were farmers but after that they began runnin' a carriage and cab service... So maybe I'm even better at plowin' than Buckin'! " she said with a playful laugh. While she waited for the doctor to finish his work she leaned a bit more against Braeburn, making the most of her situation.

"Come on, stop fooling around, we got a job to do!"

While Presteza was busy enjoying her time with Braeburn it seemed a certain yellow filly was voicing her objections despite having been quite the troublemaker a few moments ago. While it was a tad annoying to hear such a thing for from Arrow she still didn't want to load everypony down so she looked to the doctor and asked, "So how do I check out, Doc'?"

[Mojo]

As Presteza leaned on Braeburn, Doc Holly Day gave her aching head a quick look over.

"Well, from what I kin see, yur noggin jist bruised a little, no broken bones," the mustached unicorn stallion said as he levitated a helmet up to her, "I don't need ta wrap yur head up in bandages, but I'd suggest that if yur still feelin' up ta apple buckin', ya best wear a helmet. This one will do, gotta protect yurself, y;know ma;am. I do have some medicine if'n yur in pain, do ya need any?"

"Alrighty here, folks, we need ta git ta harvestin'," Sheriff Silverstar said as he kicked a nearby tree. "You youngin's keep workin' yur assigned tasks, every bit of effort helps us reach our goal!"

Louise LaMare rode off pulling a wagon full of apples and then returned just in time to hear the Sheriff's speech.

"Ok, I'm ready to haul another load of apples!" the brown pelted Pegasus mare neighed. When she saw Doc Holly Day with Presteza and Braeburn, she turned to ask. "Are you ok, Presteza?"

[Hippo]

Arrow had a problem. Her problem was that there were ponies that wanted to race. And among these ponies, Arrow was left out. Of course, she wouldn't be left out if Presteza had participated in the so called 'race'. So it was Arrow's duty to get her favorite unicorn of the day motivated to get back to bucking apples, so that Arrow could be part of race involving apple bucking and apple tossing. "Come ON!" Arrow pressed her face against Presteza's leg and tried to push her in the right direction, but Arrow's frail body held no leverage against the strong unicorn. Instead, the yellow mare walked over to Braeburn, giving in to the offer of leaning on the stallion. "Oh brother." Arrow rolled her eyes. Was this pony all the sudden a soft delicate fashion pony from Canterlot? Just a second ago, she was one of the strongest buckers in the field today. "How am I supposed to pick up stray apples if my bucker doesn't buck?"

​

[PedestrianWolf]

Durham Red was happy to see that Apple Cinnamon took him up on his challenge. Without looking to see what the other teams were up to, he put his head down and started buckin' trees. Apples fell down around him like a rainstorm. Most of them found their way into the baskets, but he didn't pay any attention to the ones that didn't. This was a race, you couldn't just stop to pick up strays! Besides, somepony was probably going to get them, eventually...

Sorghum Sweet happily raced about, picking up the apples that didn't quite make it into Braeburn's baskets. She was so pleased when he told her she was the best assistant he ever had. Pleased? Heck, she was practically over the moon! But then, disaster! One moment her golden crush was buckin' apples and ruffling her mane, and the next, he was gone! The little filly looked around, only to see that Braeburn had abandoned her to go attend to the unicorn mare who had apparently bumped her head. Her blue eyes brimmed with tears when she saw that... that hussy! Leaning up against him and cooing at him like some wounded flower. How dare she!

Sorghum's emotions reeled, from despair to jealousy and anger. She had to get Braeburn's attention back to her. But how? She was a sturdy earth pony, so feigning injury wouldn't work. He'd expect her to be strong. Well, she'd show him just how strong she was, darnit! She stomped over to the nearest tree and kicked it, hard. A half dozen apples fell down, along with a few leaves. She kicked it again, harder this time. About a dozen more apples. Frustrated, Sorghum reared back and kicked with all her tiny might. Apples and a few loose twigs dropped from the tree like she'd hit the jackpot on a slot machine.

"HA! Beat that!" she said, looking over towards the adults. But none of them were looking her way. Presteza was still leaning up against Braeburn while the doc bandaged up her head. "Not good enough, huh? Fine. I'll show you..." Sorghum grumbled. She trudged over to one of the filled apple baskets. Grunting under the strain, she hoisted it onto her back and wobbled over to the waiting cart. "Got a basket for you, Miss LaMare." Then she turned around to get another one. "I'll show you, I can be just as strong and helpful as any mare twice my size."

[Lux]

Apple Cinnamon suddenly saw Durham Red take off buckin' trees. She noticed that there were a few apples that missed the baskets and fell on the ground. She only could hope that those who were responsible for picking up the apples wouldn't miss those, leaving them to rot rather than be part of a pie.

In quick succession, the mare struck several trees, causing the apples to rain down into baskets. She took her time, making sure that each tree was free of fruit while keeping an eye on her competition. With any luck she could catch up to him and perhaps even beat him in this race.

[brianblackberry]

Braeburn sighed in relief as Doc Holly gave Presteza a clean bill of health. The last thing the goldenrod stallion wanted was the harvest to be greatly delayed or worse, a pony getting seriously injured. Thus far he's had an excellent record of safety when it came to the bi-annual bucking harvest; if a pony was hurt, it was on his watch and ultimately his responsibility and fault, after all he was supposed to be supervising!

"Well Miss Presteza, if y'all are feel in' up to it, Ah'd be proud to have y'all continue helping' w'the buckin'. If y'all rather though, y'all can rest, up to y'all." He hoped she would keep going, they were starting to fall behind, and he could use all the help he could get, and for a unicorn, she was pretty darn good at the job!

The only part that actually made him cringe was when Doc Holly suggested she wear a helmet! What a ridiculous thing to have for bucking, a helmet! Sure she got hit by a few stray apples, but there was no need to treat the pretty mare like some kind of foal. Braeburn had a much better solution! "Here ya go Miss Presteza, this will be much better than any ol' helmet!" Braeburn took off his Stetson and placed it on Presreza's head, adjusting it slightly with his hooves so not to be in the way of her horn, "looking' good!"

As much as would like to admire a mare wearing such a fine hat, little Arrow Plain was right, there was a lot more bucking that needed doing, and pronto! That dark gray wall of clouds was starting to get perilously close and Braeburn much rather not having to try and harvest during a storm. "Y'all don't worry Arrow, Ah'm sure she'll be back to bucking', and if not, well Ah'll just go twice as fast, y'all and Sorghum will have plenty to grab!" Braeburn quickly turned around and kicked the nearest tree with his hind legs, causing all the apples to fall, a few bouncing off from the baskets and rolling on the grass. "See, there y'all go, 'nuff for you and Sorghum! Say.. where did she go anyway?"

Braeburn quickly spotted and trotted over to the little goldenrod filly, passing Apple Cinnamon and Durham Red on the way, complementing the pair, "looking' good y'all, almost as fast as Ah!" He quickly stopped right next to the filly and lifted the basket from her back, easily placing it in the cart, "best leave that to LaMare and the Sheriff lil' filly, those baskets are heavy! Plenty of lonely apples need picking' off the ground, just look at how enthusiastic lil' Arrow is! Ah'm sure between you two, y'all can get them all!" He gave her another playful rub on her mane. No way he was going to let such a little filly carry those heavy baskets! The only thing that be worse than an adult pony getting hurt during this is if a foal did!

Braeburn sighed before turning back to the trees, hopefully… Hopefully, all the distractions and problems have been dealt with; the wind was picking up, time was of the essence!

[Pretzelparty]

"Well, from what I kin see, yur noggin jist bruised a little, no broken bones," the mustached unicorn stallion said as he levitated a helmet up to her, "I don't need ta wrap yur head up in bandages, but I'd suggest that if yur still feelin' up ta apple buckin', ya best wear a helmet. This one will do, gotta protect yurself, y;know ma;am. I do have some medicine if'n yur in pain, do ya need any?"

"Well Miss Presteza, if y'all are feel in' up to it, Ah'd be proud to have y'all continue helping' w'the buckin'. If y'all rather though, y'all can rest, up to y'all. Here ya go Miss Presteza, this will be much better than any ol' helmet! looking' good! Y'all don't worry Arrow, Ah'm sure she'll be back to bucking', and if not, well Ah'll just go twice as fast, y'all and Sorghum will have plenty to grab!"

Upon hearing the doctor's suggestion the mare gave her own cringe, a cringe in near-perfect unison with the stallion she was laying upon. She appreciated the doctor's concern, but a helmet? really? she'd look utterly ridiculous in such headgear. Lucky for her it seemed her close friend Braeburn had his own remedy for the situation. Presteza blinked as she felt the stallion place his stetson on her, blushing a bit as she realized just what he had done. Wow, he even said she looked good in his hat, she originally thought she wouldn't be able to pull off a stetson but apparently she was a lot more versatile than she thought when it came hats. "Thanks, Braeburn! I'm sure it'll keep me safe!"

"Come ON!" Arrow pressed her face against Presteza's leg and tried to push her in the right direction, but Arrow's frail body held no leverage against the strong unicorn. Instead, the yellow mare walked over to Braeburn, giving in to the offer of leaning on the stallion. "Oh brother. How am I supposed to pick up stray apples if my bucker doesn't buck?"

​

Suddenly the painter felt something pushing against her hindleg, looking behind her she saw the filly she'd saved earlier taking her job seriously. "Y'know what, Arrow? yer absolutely right!" said the silver mane mare, puling herself to her hooves again and stretching for a second. "Sorry fer keepin' ya waitin'... but now that I'm back in action, ya better be ready ta catch those apples!" Looking to her side she noticed a certain goldenrod filly coming over with some apples in a basket, "Nice job, li'l filly!" she said cheerfully going over to Sorghum, "Thanks fer pickin' up my slack um... wot was yer name again?" While the filly hopefully answered a certain pegasus flew over to the formerly injured unicorn asked...

"Are you ok, Presteza?"

To that the Silver maned unicorn could only grin eagerly as she adjusted the borrowed hat on her noggin, "Never better! best get ready ta catch some apples, Miss LaMare. Cause I'm gonna give ya a ~real~ Workout!" Galloping towards a series of un-bucked trees and true to her word, she put her skills to great use and swiftly kicked three trees with enough force to strip them of their apples on the first try. This time she nimbly dodged any apples that came down towards her, making sure neither her nor Braeburn's hat were damaged.

[Mojo]

Doc Holly Day was taken a bit back when he watched Braeburn countermand his orders for Presteza to wear a helmet. But, in the end, the older mustached unicorn just smiled and nodded, seeing how well the young unicorn mare liked wearing the hat. Besides, the good Doctor had a hunch that more was going on between those two than a simple hat exchange... young love, even Doc could remember what that was like, long ago...

Anyway, satisfied that his 'patient' was now out of danger, Doc Holly Day returned to apple bucking as did Sherrif Silverstar, who was now filling more baskets with apples quickly.

"I'm beatin' ya, old sawbones!" the Sherrif bragged moments before he spotted Doc Holly Day's horn glowing and a half dozen apple trees being shaken at the same time, dropping apples down into waiting bushel baskets.

"What was that, Wild Bull Hiccock?" the unicorn physician laughed.

"Big show-off!" the mustached lawpony neighed as Doc levitated all his baskets into Louise LaMare's waiting cart.

"Glad to hear you're alright, Presteza," Louise said with a sigh of relief. "Wow! My cart's nearly full again! We keep this pace up and we'll catch the other teams in no time!"

"That's the spirit, Miss LaMare! EVERYPONY! Keep up the good work!"

[Hippo]

An extrovert for sure, Arrow was energized by the wind. The Great Pinto, however, wasn't the breeziest of places in Equestria. Arrow had yet to see what it's like anywhere else, and Appleloosa was sure to be the least likely place a filly of her attitude and progression would be. Regardless, here she was, picking up apples at a quickened pace, only to the satisfaction of beating the other ponies and to the beating heart that rang with the feeling of air rushing through her mane.

Arrow looked up and finally realized why. A storm was coming. And the storms were always violent in the desert because of the isolated dryness and the funnel effect of the mountains. Or at least, that's what Arrow's brainiac school teacher taught her on the one day she ever paid attention in class. She paused. "Oh no. We gotta hurry if we're going to beat the storm." Of course, Arrow was stating the obvious. And just like when somepony else states the obvious, they are hardly thinking about it at all. Arrow wasn't concerned for her safety. That was something the adults did for her. Instead, she was imagining the lift that a nice polite storm like the one coming in from the horizon could give her. Arrow imagined a pair of artificial wings on her front legs and bam! She would be flying.

All she had to do was find something that would resemble wings.

​

[PedestrianWolf]

Sorghum Sweet felt the weight of the basket lift off her back before she made it to the apple cart. Looking up, se saw the shining visage of her crush, Braeburn, with the wind gently blowing in his mane. "Best leave that to LaMare and the Sheriff lil' filly, those baskets are heavy!" he scolded her, with a playful rub of her head.

She started to protest that she was strong enough to carry baskets, thank-you-very-much, when Presteza walked up to her. "Thanks fer pickin' up my slack um... wot was yer name again?" Sorghum gave her a look, and was about to answer, when she noticed that the unicorn mare was wearing Braeburn's hat. He gave her his hat! How... how could he? The little filly's big blue eyes started to fill with tears, so she turned her head away and mumbled her name towards the ground. As soon as their attention was away from her she ran off, further into the orchard and away from everypony else.

Durham Red kept his head down and his back legs kicking. Braeburn had wandered past and complimented him and Apple Cinnamon on their work so far. He looked up to check his progress. Not too bad, lots of filled baskets, but quite a few strays on the ground too. As he turned around to check on the oncoming storm, he noticed his little sister running away with her head down. Instantly worried, Durham stopped what he was doing and followed her into the trees.

"Whoa there. What's wrong, little sis?" he asked, once he had caught up with her. Sorghum turned and looked at him with tears streaming down her cheeks. "He..." she sniffled. "He gave her his hat."

"Huh?" Durham was confused for a moment. Looking over his shoulder at the other ponies still at work buckin trees, he saw that Braeburn was not wearing his signature Stetson. Instead, a very pretty unicorn mare had it on. Figures. While he was busy putting the moves on miss Apple Cinnamon, trying to impress her, the golden boy of Appleloosa was flirting with an out-of-towner. He glared in their direction.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about him, lil sis." he said, dropping his head down to look Sorghum in the eye, and lifted her chin with his hoof. "He doesn't deserve to have such a good assistant as you. Why don't you come pick up stray apples with me for awhile? I sure could use your help."

[brianblackberry]

Braeburn smiled broadly as Presteza promised to take care of his hat; we was reasonably sure she would come through on her pledge, and even if she didn't, it wouldn't be that much of a big deal. Applejack's hat may have had deep meaning for her, but when it came to her cousin Braeburn and his own Stetson, it was just simply just an outward expression of farmer and Apple pride. "Ah'm sure y'all will Miss Presteza, and may Ah say, your as purdy as an apple tree wi' all the blossoms in th' spring!" He winked as he trotted on; there was no rule that said he wasn't allowed to flirt a little bit during the harvest.

Braeburn trotted through the orchard, checking on the progress of the others before getting back to bucking the remaining trees. Most were doing pretty well, although the old doc was "cheating" by using magic. "Hey now Doc, w'all supposed to get 'em apples the Apple family way, which means the earth pony way, wi' the legs!" Braeburn gave a nearest tree a swift kick of his hind legs, causing the whole tree's contents of apples to fall into the buckets, "it's good exercise, 'specially for an elder pony such as yerself." Braeburn smiled and winked, it was a tease as he wasn't really strict about magic being used, it wasn't Winter Wrap Up, there was no official tradition, just the usual way of doing things.

Arrow Plain was right though about the storm, which made it more unusual that Sorghum Sweet and her brother, Durham Red, elected to suddenly run to the other side of the orchard, where the trees had already been cleaned of apples. What where they up to? "Just keep going everypony, are time is short, that storm looks something' fierce and it's about upon us!"

Braeburn galloped over to the siblings, unsure what to think, all he could do is inquire. "Howdy! Is everything alright? All these trees have been bucked already an' all, so Ah figured something' must be amiss." Braeburn rubbed the back of his mane with his forehoof, he didn't want to be too prying," Ah mean if it's family business, Ah just get out of yer manes, but w'all could really use yer help right soon before the storm hits."

[Lux]

Apple Cinnamon had her head deep into the mindset of competition that she at first didn't see that Durham had stopped when seeing his sister in obvious distress. Eventually though exhaustion caught up with her, forcing her to stop clearing the trees and rest.

"Buckin' apples sure takes a lot out of me. Guess Ah'm a bit rusty from my life living on mah family's farm."

She turned in time to see Durham walking off with her sister, disappearing into the other part of the orchard.

"Now where is he doin'? He was so willing to prove himself to being the perfect stallion that Ah can't tell what's going on. Hope things are ok."

She debated whether to follow the two, but seeing Braeburn following suit, Apple decided it was best to rest up in case the cute stallion decided to return and finishe the race. She sat down under the shade of the nearest tree devoid of apples, taking time to recuperate before resuming her chores.

[Pretzelparty]

"Ah'm sure y'all will Miss Presteza, and may Ah say, your as purdy as an apple tree wi' all the blossoms in th' spring!"

Presteza could feel her cheeks heating up as she heard the stallion compliment her. As usual she prefered to be considered hot rather than pretty or cute, but hearing such a compliment come the charm ridden stallion that is Braeburn made it much more appealing to the ear. She could feel herself positively flood with energy, she felt like she could buck every tree in the orchard by herself with how great she felt having gotten her second wind from the assistance of the kindly doctor and friendly farm-stallion.Before Presteza could make use of this energy she felt it leave almost as quickly as it came. what cause this sudden loss of morale was the sight of the response from the filly she'd spoken to before.

Sorghum gave her a look, and was about to answer, when she noticed that the unicorn mare was wearing Braeburn's hat. He gave her his hat! How... how could he? The little filly's big blue eyes started to fill with tears, so she turned her head away and mumbled her name towards the ground. As soon as their attention was away from her she ran off, further into the orchard and away from everypony else.

"H-Hey. Hold on! Wot'd I--" Before Presteza could say anything more, Sorghum galloped off towards the already bucked trees and soon out of sight. "Did... I say...?" the mare looked at the ground and sighed. Did she do something to upset the filly? If she did she couldn't think of what it was. She took a deep breath and reviewed what just happened in her head. Soon she realized that Sorghum's mood seemed to change once she laid eyes on Braeburn's hat. It was about now that Pressy started putting the pieces together... Sorghum's attempt to show she could buck just as good as she could in front of Braeburn, the look of heartbreak upon seeing Braeburn's hat on her head. The mare's hoof soon collided with her face as she thought to herself,"Oh no..."

Pressy was about to try and go after her but the sight of a large brewing storm on the horizon made her stop. If this Harvest was gonna be done in time, Appleoosa was going to need this pony at the frontlines before this storm hit. She still planned on going after Sorghum, or at least at first until she heard Braeburn's instructions;

"Just keep going everypony, are time is short, that storm looks something' fierce and it's about upon us!"

Pressy let out a sigh, She may be a boisterous and occasionally egotistical little pony but she really did hate hurting other's feelings; Sorghum being no exception. Braeburn was right though, she was needed here so all she could do was try and tell him a message in the form of a yell before he fully galloped into the distance,"Oi, Mister Braeburn. If ya could tell that filly I wanna talk to her later I'd appreciate it!" Pressy resolved to try and apologize to sorghum as soon as she could if Sorghum was willing to listen.

For now though, duty calls. Apple needed to be bucked and this pony was the pony for the job so she took a deep breath and galloped over to another group of trees. Delivering a powerful kick to each trees trunk she brought down plenty of apples for the gatherers to catch,"Ya guys, better be able ta keep up!"

[PedestrianWolf]

Braeburn trotted over to the two siblings, looking concerned. "Howdy! Is everything alright? All these trees have been bucked already an' all, so Ah figured something' must be amiss."

Sorghum Sweet hid her face behind her brother. She did not want the golden stallion to see her crying like some little foal. Durham Red stood tall, shoulders squared, and looked Braeburn right in the eye with a steady gaze. "Nope, everything here is just fine." he responded in an even voice, not friendly but not hostile either. "I was just letting my sister here know that I needed her help over on that side of the orchard." The red clay stallion pointed with his hoof towards the trees he had just been buckin', with the stray apples laying in the grass beneath them. "You don't mind me takin' her away from you now, do ya? I mean, it's not like you really need a stray apple chaser." he added in a lower tone, so Sorghum wouldn't hear. He knew that Braeburn only made up that job for her so she would feel like she was contributing to the apple harvest. It was a nice gesture at the time, but now that she had gotten all upset it would be best if he separated the two of them for awhile.

"Oi, Mister Braeburn. If ya could tell that filly I wanna talk to her later I'd appreciate it!"

Sorghum heard Her, that unicorn who had stolen her crushes attention away. She wondered what on earth she would want to talk to her about. Maybe rub it in that Braeburn liked her better? That she was a better apple bucker? The tears started to come faster, but she angrily brushed them away with her fetlock. No, she would Not let them see her cry! She was a strong earth pony, darn it, and she wouldn't let hurt feelings prevent her from finishing the job she started.

Durham led his little sister back towards the trees where Apple Cinnamon was waiting for them. Sorghum rubbed the last of the tears out of her eyes, and set to work picking up all the apples that hadn't fallen into the baskets. Not as fast or with as much enthusiasm as before, however. Slowly, the feelings of disappointment in Braeburn were replaced by disappointment in her brother. How could Durham let so many apples fall carelessly on the ground? As long as she kept her head down and focused on her task, she didn't think too hard about who was flirting with whom on the other side of the orchard.

Durham sauntered up to Apple Cinnamon and gave her his most charming smile. "Sorry about that. Little family matter to sort out. My sister will be helping us pick apples for the rest of the afternoon. Shall we get back to it?"

[Mojo]

Sheriff Silverstar laughed when Braeburn reminded Doc Holly Day that using magic was cheating.

"HA HA! Ya old hack! Bet ya can't buck trees the Earth Pony way!" the brown lawpony cackled as he gave one strong kick to a nearby tree, causing nearly every apple in the tree to tumble downward into waiting baskets. "Try en top THAT without yur magic!"

"I'll show ya what this OLD HACK kin do, sonny!" Doc Holly Day laughed, backing towards a tree loaded with apples. Marking a spot on the bark with a chalk 'X', the red maned unicorn proceeded to deliver one swift two legged kick with his hind legs. To the Sheriff's amazement, every single apple from the tree fell into waiting baskets.

"HAY! No way past a dog's hind leg could ya bring down so many apples with one kick! Ya gotta be usin' yur magic agin!"

"Didn't use a bit of magic, old friend. I used advanced calculus in mah mind ta find the best location on the tree to bring the proper amount of force ta.."

"You an' all that thar fancy book learnin'! I jist say, kick them trees till all the apples fall!"

"I think Doc Holly Day is working smarter, wouldn't you agree Braeburn?" Louise LaMare asked after she had returned from delivering a wagonload of apples to the bakers. "C'mon everypony! Got an empty cart here! Ready for more bushels of apples!"

"Y'all heard the lady, let's git'r loaded up agin!" Doc Holly Day shouted as his horn glowed all around his apple bushels. Levitating all of the apple bushels towards the wagon, the Doc's spell accidentally floated a stunned Sheriff Silverstar upward too.

"PUT ME DOWN! I AIN'T NO BUSHEL OF APPLES!" the floating lawpony shouted, his four legs flailing in the air.

"Whoops! Sorry bout that," Doc Holly Day giggled before dropping him to the ground.

"I orta arrest ya fer tryin' ta make an officer of the law fly!"

"Guys, please don't quarrel, we have a job to complete! Not only is there a storm coming, but our buffalo friends will be here in a few hours to pick up their pies." Louise said sternly.

"Reckon yur right, ma'am," the Sheriff said.

"Sorry about all this, ma'am," added Doc Holly Day.

[Lux]

Apple Cinnamon waited patiently from a distance as she saw Durham Red head to his sister. She took the time removing a few apples from trees while looking over to see things were ok. She wondered what the trouble was, but didn't want to interfere on personal matters. Finally the two returned looking like their issues were at least resolved to some extent.

"Alright, Ah'm glad to see you two are ok. Durham and Ah were havin' a friendly competition about who can clear the most trees. Want to join in Sorghum?"