Winter Wrap Up: Plant Team

[PyroBlaze]

Flora hadn't even noticed the figure approach as she watered the seeds being planted by Applejack. She was too engrossed in her work to notice the figure until he spoke, causing a surprised squeak to escape her as she hopped backwards, away from the figure. It seemed that a diamond dog was talking to her, and she blinked a couple times at him, trying to compose herself enough to speak.

"Umm... Y-yes, t-this is the right farm. The umm... The t-team leader is the m-mare seeding in front of me." Flora managed to get out, pointing out Applejack. Flora blinked a couple more times before hiding her face behind the part of her mane that hung down there. Her shyness was taking over again and she was drawing into herself. To distract her, she picked up the pace on her watering, making up for her stopping to talk to the dog. Then again, it would've been nearly impossible to talk with a watering can in her mouth, but she could've finished sooner. When she caught back up, she slowed so that she wouldn't run into Applejack from behind. She was focused once again on the work, lost in the repetition and the pace. Almost nothing could distract her now. The dog's questions had earlier because they were directed at her.

[DerpRavener]

'Spring Breeze' looked back and forth between Applejack and Cashmere over the course of their exchange, scrutinizing each in turn. The unicorn claimed that he'd be holding their group back, and wanted to switch to another group. 'Spring Breeze' was relieved that it wasn't her driving him away, but it didn't add up. Looking around, their group seemed to be moving as fast as the rest, and she hadn't needed to wait for him at any point. Even Cashmere himself didn't seem to believe what he was saying.

The false pegasus grumbled to herself. It was frustrating not understanding what was going on.

Applejack seemed to get it however. She agreed to the switch and added some...curious comments. Still, the situation was resolved easily enough, and soon enough Applejack had taken up the seed planting position in the group and introduced herself. Which 'Spring Breeze' felt was a good thing, up until the moment she realized an element bearer would working closely with her, in a position to see every little thing she did. If her disguise slipped...

The false pegasus knew this line of thought wouldn't help anything, and tried her best to force it out of her head. All the same, she couldn't keep a sudden tension out of her movements, though fortunately it wouldn't slow her down at all. She just had to hope nopony would notice.

After Flora, the earth pony working the watering can, introduced herself in turn, managed to mumble out “...Hello...the name's Spring Breeze...” before she turned back to the plow and threw herself into the work.

She was so engrossed in her work and concerns that she didn't notice at all when a diamond dog approached the group.

[SteelEagle]

Applejack moved forward as best she could, but within a few short moments it appeared as though good order was discarded in favor of worry because of her status. Now, wasn't that just the most bulltickle thing you ever did hear? She was a farmer before anything, especially before thinking she had done anything warranting ponies getting a bit nervous. The pony pulling the plow who introduced herself as Spring Breeze was tense and moved with a bit of a hitch to her. It did't slow them down terrible by any stretch but the fact it was because of Applejack didn't much help her cause any. Flora Bloom didn't stop watering but she was as shy as two rabbits meeting three rabbits after a long winter. Which the animal team might be experiencing at the moment. In any case, Applejack was pleased that the group wasn't slowing down even if their actions were a bit more disjointed. Cashmere better be feeling good 'bout all this.

"Nice ta meetcha, Flora. That's a pretty name- mah little sister is called Apple Bloom," She began before placing seeds in several holes that had been missed during her own worry. She had to pay closer attention.

"And howdy there, Spring. No reason ta act all tense 'round me. Just a farmer at the end of the day. What brought ya ta Ponyville?" Applejack asked, head bobbing up and down to look around and investigate newcomers as well as keep up with her seeding. It was during one of these excursions up top that she noticed a diamond dog approach, ad the cackles on her fetlocks stood on edge.

She wasn't a big fan of diamond dogs. She had good reason for her trepidation as far as she was concerned. Her interactions with them involved ponynapping and thievery of her livestock from time to time. They were just no good to her, but she had to keep in mind that there were the wild clans of diamond dogs and the more civilized ones who dealt with ponies just fine. It was the sort of idea that struck her as odd since her interactions had been roundly very poor, but it was happening somewhere and that knowledge made her realize that she needed to at least give them the benefit of the doubt as long as they introduced themselves and seemed to act the part. And Winter Wrap Up was the sort of activity that promoted friendship and cooperation among all ponies, so who was she to judge right off the bat? Didn't make it any easier or make her forgive or forget previous incidents, but this dog would get his due.

"Name's Applejack and yer at tha right place- this is Sweet Apple Acres," Applejack said, giving the diamond dog a strong hoofshake, "an' Ah think Ah have a good place fer you. See that dark red earth pony with the shade 'o green for a mane and tail with a cutie mark of some trees? Well, relieve the elderly pony behind'm. She's too dang old ta be seedin'. It's pretty easy work if ya got tha back fer it. Plow will till-" she pointed to Spring, who was doing that, "-seeder seeds-" she did just that, "-and the waterer waters," she finished and pointed at Flora as she did her work.

"Easy as Apple pie. If ya need any more help, jus' ask. And remember, stay out of trouble," Applejack finished as she went back to seeding.

[Smartbrony]

"Umm... Y-yes, t-this is the right farm. The umm... The t-team leader is the m-mare seeding in front of me." the mare replied. Well, that was lucky.

"Name's Applejack and yer at tha right place- this is Sweet Apple Acres," Applejack said, giving the diamond dog a strong hoofshake, "an' Ah think Ah have a good place fer you. See that dark red earth pony with the shade 'o green for a mane and tail with a cutie mark of some trees? Well, relieve the elderly pony behind'm. She's too dang old ta be seedin'. It's pretty easy work if ya got tha back fer it. Plow will till-" she pointed to Spring, who was doing that, "-seeder seeds-" she did just that, "-and the waterer waters," she finished and pointed at Flora as she did her work.

"Easy as Apple pie. If ya need any more help, jus' ask. And remember, stay out of trouble," Applejack finished as she went back to seeding.

"I will, don't worry." Soft Paw answered Applejack. He was about to just run off, but remembered his manners and turned around to say "and thank you", acknowledging both Applejack and the other mare. With that, he hurried to catch up to the team he had been assigned. It wasn't too difficult, but he didn't want to startle anypony, so as he got closer he slowed it down to a brisk walk, and addressed the old seeder politely. "Excuse me, but Applejack said I should switch with you." Soft Paw hefted the bag of seeds off of the elderly pony and fell in behind the plow pony. He thought he might try to make pleasant conversation with the red pony. "Hi there. My name's Soft Paw. How are you doing today?" It felt pretty cheesy, but it was a good conversation starter, or so he'd noticed.

[Mojo]

Granny Smith looked back at Filthy Rich when he answered her salute. Poor Granny and her failing memory! Of course Filthy Rich had been helping out for years.

"Of course ya have, Filthy! How could I fergit that? Ya gonna do plowin' or seedin' this year?"

Then the elderly mare turned towards a very busy AppleJack.

"Sounds good, AppleJack! I do need ta git started fixin' lunch soon. I kin use all the extra help I kin git! If'n ya have some youngin's in the group, send'm ta me, thar's plenty fer'm ta do in the kitchen with me!"

[PyroBlaze]

Flora blushed from behind her mane as Applejack complemented her name, revealing that the farm pony's sister was named Apple Bloom. She kept on watering, unsure of what to say now. She kind of listened as Applejack directed the diamond dog she had talked to, and half watched him as he went over to take over for an elderly earth pony that was seeding for one of the teams.

With the dog gone, she focused again on watering the seeds. Or, she tried to. She wasn't sure if that question that Applejack had voiced after talking to Spring had been intended for her to answer as well or not, and it was distracting her somewhat. She actually had to backtrack a couple times to get the seeds she had missed on her first pass through the area. Eventually, she decided to answer anyways, just to be safe. She didn't want to be rude by not answering the question.

"T-thank you for the compliment. Your sister has a very nice name as well. It s-seems to fit well, c-considering where she lives. It's kind of funny how names sometimes fit like that." Flora said before she realized was rambling and paused to get herself back on track. "I... I guess I came here to get away from the nursery for a bit, and to experience Winter Wrap Up here in Ponyville. I'll likely be getting plenty of business tomorrow, since it'll be spring and p-ponies'll need new plants for their gardens." She said, stopping when she realized she was rambling a bit again. After that, she just went back to watering the seeds Applejack had put in the ground.

[Pretzelparty]

"So... This is Ponyville." Thought the stoic pony as he disembarked the train from Canterlot. His four powerful hooves settling on the platform before the train left. The General Had been extremely busy due to some official R.E.A. Business In Canterlot.The royal guard still seemed to be somewhat rattled form the events of Nightmare Night this year and were still debating on where the love sucking leeches would show up. Brigadier General Brougham Trundlehoof himself... Had absolutely no idea. If there was anything that helped him think it was the combination of a calm atmosphere and a hard day's work. With Winter Wrap Up going on today it seemed that Ponyville was the best place to get just that.

The chance to clear his head of worries from work seemed like a welcome thought for the stallion as he walked towards town, soon finding himself at Sweet apple Acres and it seemed the work had already begun. So far he saw nopony he recognized; a shame that, since his daughter was supposedly helping out this year. The lack of a familiar face was not going to prevent This sturdy stallion from helping out.

Of the ponies who had already begun working he saw that there seemed to be three teams. One team was leading by plowing the lands and soil in preparation for the next team. The next seem was carrying bags presumably full of seeds to plant and bury in the ground. The last team was carrying Watering buckets to presumably douse the planted seeds.

It didn't take long for Brougham to figure out what team he'd be joining... or at elast asking to join. He had originally made a living pulling heavy carriages of tourists in Trottingham before his Career change and he was still pretty strong so Plowing seemed the best option.

The First thing he'd have to do though was ask permission to see if they were accepting any further volunteers. There was one elderly mare who seemed like she was pretty on the ball and would have a good idea of the situation so he trotted up to the green earth mare and spoke in an overly calm voice with the usual hint of his native accent in his speech,"Excuse me, Miss. But are you still accepting ponies who are willing to plow?"

[Blueblood]

In unfamiliar environments, Might Batsman was not an outgoing sort of pony. However, he was much more at home in this sort of place than in Manehattan. True, he was a cricketer, and not a farmer, but he was still a son of the open fields and open sky, and any place with fresh air and jolly comrades was all good to him. "Right-o! Suppose we'd best pick up our slack; our captain reminds me of one I had back in prep school in Trottingham. Brilliant at the wicket, a great leader, but you ought to be at sunrise fielding practice if you knew what was good for you!" He laughed, setting himself to the task of pulling the plow. It didn't come difficult to him; the colt was already filling out. Big Mac was on the other side of him, possibly as an example of the kind of stallion he'd grow up to be.

Meanwhile, Psmith was turning from his idle amusement with Cashmere to more serious concerns. Newcomers were among them, and not all of them were comfortable in the group. The diamond dog, in particular, seemed out of sorts, and this would never do! It was part of Psmith's principles that one ought to make social functions smooth, and he did his best to spread sweetness and light into any that he happened to find himself in. Whether or not his verbose efforts actually improved matters was up for debate, but at least he would try.

"Ah, greetings, comrade Soft Paw! It is a delight to see another fine worker in the cause of harmony. Let us extend the uncloven hoof of friendship to all!" The unicorn himself had no baggage with Diamond Dogs, so he could say things like that without any difficulty. As he spoke, he continued to water, dashing a bit here, some there, as each seed needed, like an artist giving that last final touch of paint. The true effect of the masterpiece, of course, would not be seen until much later, but it was something to be able to say that one had a hoof in it.

[RedCedar]

Red Cedar

Red Cedar smiled, listening to the Cricketer from Trottingham's fairly accurate description of most sports team members' captains he'd ever known. "Right-o! Suppose we'd best pick up our slack; our captain reminds me of one I had back in prep school in Trottingham. Brilliant at the wicket, a great leader, but you ought to be at sunrise fielding practice if you knew what was good for you!"

Red nodded. "Agreed, and we'd best do the same as on that pitch if we're going to get all these fields done by evening." he said.

After that, he turned his attention over his shoulder to the diamond dog who had taken up the seeding position behind his plough. This was a little unusual for him. He knew of diamond dogs around his home town, but they largely kept to themselves, so seeing one in a pony city seemed out of place. Nevertheless, he smiled and nodded. "'Lo, Soft Paw. I'm Red Cedar, and, so far so good." He grinned again before turning his head forward again and giving an extra pull on the plough to make up for the time spent chatting.

[RarityDash]

"I am most grateful for your appreciation! The artist is only there to serve and entertain the public. You remind me, in fact, of someone I knew once at school. A real artist in words; not only was she a wonder in impromptu poetry, but she inspired it in others, not excepting myself. 'Freestyle rap,' I believe she called it."

Lyra nodded at the colt's comments and then tilted her head aside. "Huh. I can't say I'm overly familiar with that kind of thing," she said. "My art is a lot more traditional."

"Lyra Heartstrings is a self-styled roving troubadour, roaming the far green lands of Equestria, singing winsome, lovelorn ballads to the fairest maidens of the land with my lyre firmly in hand, just as did so many fine bards so many centuries ago!" Lyra said with a bounce and a little twirl. "Course, by lands of Equestria, I mostly just mean Ponyville most of the time and by fairest maidens I mostly just mean Bonnie. Still..."

"Artists are all the same in principle though really, I would guess. Hearts full of love, heads full of stars and pockets full of emptiness," she gave another bounce and smiled. "And I prefer to keep it that way! Beats the stuffing out of actually doing work for a living," she added with a wink.

Speaking of which... as much as she wanted to do nothing, she was going to have to water things, she supposed. She gave a small sigh as she lifted her watering can. "Welp. Keep it up some day and I'm sure you'll be knockin' em dead with your poems someday, kid!" she said finally before skipping back toward Mr. Rich and Carrot Top with her watering can.

"Hiya, Carrot. Lyra is fine more or less, just not very eager," she said, answering the latter's earlier question. She then turned back toward Rich.

"now then... about my proposal..." she started cheerfully as she looked at the successful bussinesstallion with a grin on her face.

​

[DerpRavener]

"And howdy there, Spring. No reason ta act all tense 'round me. Just a farmer at the end of the day. What brought ya ta Ponyville?"

'Spring Breeze' couldn't help but chuckle at that. “All this and humble, too...Ordinary farmer my flank,” she muttered to herself, perhaps a little more loudly than she meant to. She was starting to relax, getting back into the rhythm of the work, and AJ seemed friendly enough although 'Spring Breeze' wasn't fully at ease quite yet.

There was a pause in the conversation as AJ dealt with the diamond dog, who...came here looking to help out. 'Spring' had dealt with diamond dogs before, but never once had the encounters been so friendly. Ponyville really was quite the place.

She watched the diamond dog go off and join one of the other teams for a minute before returning to the conversation. Flora mentioned how pony names seemed oddly appropriate to the individual. The false pegasus' ears perked up a bit. She'd noticed this before as well, but generally assumed it was coincidence. Was there something more to it? Is this something she should have considered for her own identity? She'd have to investigate it later. 'Spring Breeze' faded from the rest of the conversation, as Flora told Applejack some things she'd mentioned to 'Spring' earlier.

Then she remembered that Applejack had asked her the question as well. “I came to Ponyville because-” she paused for a moment. She contemplated giving a false answer, but didn't think she would be able to pull it off and it died in her throat. This was the Element of Honesty she was talking to after all, and she never even made it through infiltrator training! Though the very notion made her even more nervous, honesty seemed to be the best policy here.

“...because it's as good a place as any to lay low, I guess. I, eh...got kicked out of my home, by my family. My own fault in a lot of ways, though nothing to be done about it now either way.” 'Spring Breeze' shook her head. There was more she could say, but she preferred to avoid bringing the mood down. She thought it better to move in a bit of a different direction. “Ponyville's ideal in a lot of ways. Quiet enough to avoid too much attention, while still enough going on that a mare could get lost in the shuffle if she wanted to. And...I guess it's just a pleasant place to be. Ponies here have been very friendly so far.” Almost as an afterthought she added, “I should probably mention that I moved here just a few months ago.”

[Smartbrony]

"Ah, greetings, comrade Soft Paw! It is a delight to see another fine worker in the cause of harmony. Let us extend the uncloven hoof of friendship to all!" said a Unicorn waterer in the team to the right of his. The unicorn was a very eloquent speaker, and Soft Paw knew how to speak like that thanks to Canterlot society, even if he did learn it through mockery. With grand gestures, Soft Paw replied to the Unicorn in the grandest way he knew how, "Yes! Let the song of peace and merriness ring throughout all of Equestria, so that others such as myself shall know the joy and kindness that I have experienced in this fine kingdom!"

"'Lo, Soft Paw. I'm Red Cedar, and, so far so good."

Soft Paw returned his attention to the stallion pulling the plow, who identified himself as Red Cedar, and that everything was "so far so good." Soft Paw was taken aback by how far Red Cedar had gotten while Soft Paw was distracted with the Unicorn. He picked up his speed to catch up to Red Cedar, then slowed back down when he had caught up. "Red Cedar, you're accent sounds familiar, but I can't quite place it. Where are you from?" Soft Paw asked the plower.

[CaptainMcDerp]

The pink painter unicorn exited the train from Canterlot and set his hooves upon the ground of Ponyville. Feeling a little adventurous, he decided to join the traditional magic-less wrap up. Being a unicorn, and a rather spoiled one a that, he thought this would be a splendid time to build a little character.

He felt rather... bare without his usual hat, vest, and bow-tie. But wearing those things at a time like this wouldn't be the best idea. Especially since he may have to wear some sort of vest.

He strode through the little town, not knowing which team to join. But as his eyes settled on the green vested ponies, he noticed a familiar face. Cashmere was pulling a plow behind a rather strapping red coated stallion. A grin appeared on his face and he bowed his head ever so slightly upon approaching him.

"Why hello again Cashmere! Fancy meeting you here! I'd really love to chat right now but it appears there's a lot of work to be done so excuse me for a moment while I sign up"

Peachy skidded to a sitting position as a cream colored diamond dog with brown splotches caught his eye. He's never seen one in real life before but heard stories from many acquaintances. Some good, mostly bad. However this dog was offering to help wrap up winter it seemed, and the orange earth pony mare he was talking to quickly assigned him to a job. As Peachy watched the diamond dog take the position requested, curiosity struck. He must have a chat with the creature if he got the chance.

Thanks to various hints, including an extra hoof band nopony else was wearing, he quickly realized the team leader was the blonde maned pony who went back to planting seeds after assigning the diamond dog. He briskly approached and couldn't help but noticed her cutie mark was the image of a few apples. He took a bow as his horn lit up for a moment, trying to levitate a non existent hat out of habit.

"Greetings, love. My name is Keen. I'm quite a bit late but have you anymore jobs left I could assist with?" He glanced at himself. "I'm lacking any sort of vest but if they're in supply somewhere I'd be happy to wear one."

[SteelEagle]

Well, that went well. the Diamond Dog was quickly and politely on his way and that was fine by Applejack- he looked like the sort to not cause much of a rickus. Good on him! She wouldn't have to keep an eye out on him and that meant her attention could go back to seeding the fertile fields below. Their team continued the brisk pace and good progress as yet another entrant to the fields approached. A pink stallion with a charmer's voice and a musical cutie mark approached, trying to charm his way onto the plant team. Too bad for him that Applejack was resistant to his charms- and then good for him because she would take anypony willing to help! She stopped seeding and shook his hoof, nodding excitedly at more help.

"Well, we sure do have some spots open! As for vests, you can get some out by tha shed. Name's Applejack, glad ta see you could make it. See that dark red earth pony with the shade 'o green for a mane and tail with a cutie mark of some trees? And the Diamond Dog behind'm? You can water with that team. Just relieve that elderly stallion and yer good ta go! Keep pace and have a good'n!" Applejack replied, pointing out the team she wanted him at. That should make it an active little engagement for sure and their pace would be top notch now that they weren't weighed down by the elderly ponies who should have all just stuck together on the same teams. Oh well, it all worked out for the better now she supposed.

Flora ran a nursery? Well, wasn't that just sweet! When Applejack was a filly she had thought that a nursery with all sorts of foals could be sort of fun. She loved foals. They were so cute and tiny and loving. But then she became the primary caregiver to her little sister and the day in, day out grind that obliterated her social life and forced her to grow up too fast so young made her consider that maybe being surrounded by all those screaming, crying, and often stinky foals was not something she could do for fun. It struck her as very loving that other ponies would still do it and they always said it took a community to raise one properly. It did, maybe it did, but it also took some special ponies to sacrifice and Flora sacrificed a little bit of something for all those foals she watched.

"Well, Ah think that's very nice of ya ta run a nursery, Flora. And Ah guess Ah can see ponies bombardin' ya tomorrow with all those little ones, on account of it being a prime farmin' day. Good thing Apple Bloom is old enough to do some honest farm work or Ah'd probably have to do the same...unless Ah wanted Granny Smith to teach her some new bita mischief," She ended with a small chuckle. If anypony could teach Apple Bloom how to create fireworks from scratch using apple skins, it was probably Granny Smith. And that was a skill Applejack was happy keeping herself.

The real information, as sad as it was, came from Spring Breeze. Poor mare had been kicked out of her home by her own family it seemed like and she blamed herself. Now that was beyond the pale as far as Applejack was concerned, raising her blood in more ways than one as her face took a somewhat angered tint to the eyebrows. What sort of family did that to one of their own? That sort of betrayal and that sort of distasteful action made Applejack want to kick a fence across the sky. Nopony worth their weight in anything other than old manure did something like that. Family was family. Through thick and thin, through the good times and bad, through success and failure and being proud and being heart-breakingly disappointed in them, you loved each and every one of your family unconditionally. You bled for them, you wept for them, you laughed and danced and you smiled and you yelled and you bore out every piece of yourself for them and because of them and no matter what you had their back until you were six feet under. And even then it didn't stop, as the next generation and the generation after held your memory sacred and worked to live up to an ancestral bond that was eternal and caring. You didn't discard that no matter what they did, as even the most terrible villain could find redemption and love within his or her family if nowhere else. Spring Breeze's family couldn't have annoyed Applejack anymore than they had in just one simple sentence.

"They did what!?" Applejack yelled, her eyes incredulous and angry, "that's the most- those ponies- Ah can't believe family would even consider doing that! What are they, disloyal users or changelings!? That ain't a family, that sounds more like a dang prison gang. Tossin' you out like that! Shoot, Ah have half a mind to buck them into the ground. Where do they get off on treatin' family like that?! Huh! That-" She stopped herself, not wanting to waste the day on rage so she took a deep breath, "well, at least you're around good ponies. Nopony around here would dare dream of kicking out one of their family members or treatin' them like that. Such- uggh. I wanna kick them really hard. At least you're here and now that ya mention it, Ah think Ah've seen you before...or at least, you seem awfully familiar."

[SunsetSombra]

With all of the work currently going well and on time, Mac was really rather absorbed in his own little thought processes - life on the farm was going pretty well overall and winter wrap up was, to the best of his knowledge, moving well along that he could say he was rather impressed and relieved at the same time that so many ponies were once more prepared to put themselves into a situation where they'd be goin' home smellin' of farm and wet soil.

This, of course, was not much of an issue for Mac to deal with - indeed, he'd been doing this for as long as he'd been able to canter...but even the stoic stallion appreciated that it wasn't like he could do this work all on his own ( much to Appleblooms disappointment. ). Applejack was doin' a mighty fine job of keeping things on track, and everypony else was doing a bang up job of not only keeping track of what she was asking, but following the orders given too!

Aware of the ponies working alongside him, but only in passing, Mac looked around to get a good sense of where he was at in comparison, and felt pleased...whilst there were no doubt a good bunch of hardworkers amongst them right this moment, it was hard to deny that Mac was the one literally pulling his weight much more effectively. Keeping himself focused on his task for the time being, Macintosh stayed to himself for the moment - not really deliberately unsociable, he was just a bit tunnel-visioned where it came to the tasks he was determined to accomplish.

With a little persuasion, however, his attention is not entirely impossible to shift from his task for a brief period...it just took a little work to make it happen!

[PyroBlaze]

Flora kept her head down as Applejack directed another newcomer to the team with the diamond dog in it. She had nothing against the dogs, everyone deserved a chance to be good, and she had some good experiences with them while traveling with her dad as a filly. She knew some of them were bad, but that was true for ponies as well, that there were good and bad examples.

Flora looked up in confusion when Applejack responded to what she had said. When did foals enter into the conversation? She sat down, completely distracted from her task, and watched Applejack with her head tilted to the side in confusion. It took her a bit to realize what had happened. Flora giggled to herself about the mixup before getting back to work, trying to catch up. Of course Applejack would've assumed she meant that kind of nursery.

By the time Flora caught back up to her team, Applejack was responding to something Spring must've said that she had missed. She only caught the words after Applejack paused anyways. Spring's family had kicked her out? That was an awful thing to do to family. After a moment's hesitation, Flora steeled herself to rectify her lack of detail that had caused the mixup in information.

"It's not a n-nursery for f-foals, Applejack. It's a plant shop, it's just called a nursery for some reason. I mostly sell pre-grown plants for transplanting into gardens. I sell seeds there too though. I-I understand your c-confusion though." Flora said before continuing her watering. She always spoke easier when the topic turned to plants or her shop for some reason.

[RedCedar]

Red Cedar

Red Cedar held up on the ploughing one final time to allow Keen to fall in to his line as the waterer. He waved a hoof to the newcomer and then, seeing that he now had two fresh workers behind him, dug in his hooves and started making better time than he had yet all morning.

After getting back into a good pace, he turned his head to call back to Soft Paw immediately behind him. "I'm from Stalliongrad, to answer your question," he said. "I came here for a little vacation from the cold, to see the Spring weather come in before we got it up North. I didn't realize I'd be called on to help make it happen!" He chuckled as a thought came to him, pulling on the plough as he was. "Guess you could say the draught horse got drafted!"

He smirked to himself at his pun, until he heard the loud outburst from Applejack. She was ranting on about Spring Breeze's family disowning her in an angry tirade that was probably heard by half the farm. He had to agree, that was pretty low for a family to do. He looked sympathetically to the pegasus ploughing nearby, and then looked ahead and resolutely trudged on.

[CaptainMcDerp]

"Well, we sure do have some spots open! As for vests, you can get some out by tha shed. Name's Applejack, glad ta see you could make it. See that dark red earth pony with the shade 'o green for a mane and tail with a cutie mark of some trees? And the Diamond Dog behind'm? You can water with that team. Just relieve that elderly stallion and yer good ta go! Keep pace and have a good'n!"

After carefully listening to her instructions, Peachy nodded with a grin. "You have my thanks, Applejack. I'll get right to it."

As he headed for the shed to retrieve a vest, he realized the last of his sentence wasn't as formal as it usually was. Not exactly a surprise though. His speaking style was often a little influenced by his surroundings.

Peachy approached the shed and honed in on the stack of vests. His magical aura surrounded the vest folded at the top and it levitated towards him. However, it soon plummeted to the ground in a hurry. "Whoops." He mumbled to himself. There won't be any of that today. No magic was allowed in Ponyville's Winter Wrap Up after all. He gazed at the vest while it laid motionless on the ground. He's never really put clothes on without magic before. But with a small struggle and a little patience, he managed to slip his head through the neck hole. After that, getting his hooves through the respective openings was a breeze.

He trotted his way beside the elderly pony who was currently watering the seeds behind the diamond dog and dark copper stallion. "May I take over?" He grinned. "Applejack's orders." After the exchange, the dark copper pony held up on the plow long enough for Peachy to get in line. He gave a small nod after assuming his place. "Why thank you, good sir."

Peachy watched with a smile while the dark copper pony conversed quite pleasantly with the diamond dog. His story was interesting, as he ended up joining the event purely by accident. The pink unicorn chuckled at his pun before a sudden outburst took him by surprise.

"They did what!?"

He flinched at the sheer anger in Applejack's tone before turning his attention towards her. It seemed a mare was kicked out by her own family and the very idea had Applejack in a frenzy. That poor dear. He's lucky enough to have a family that cares for him. He couldn't possibly imagine the feeling of abandonment. Especially by his own family. The very thought of it sent his stomach into a knot.

After everything settled down, he turned his attention to the dark copper stallion ahead of him and the diamond dog, intending on lightening the mood a bit. "That's quite an interesting story you have. As for me, I decided to visit Ponyville with the intention of offering my assistance. Being from Canterlot, I simply wanted to experience a new way of life unlike my own. So far the experience has proved delightful and no doubt fascinating."

Peachy took a glance at the diamond dog as he continued to water the seeds behind him. "What about you, dear? What brings you to Ponyville during an event such as this?"

[DerpRavener]

"They did what!?" Applejack yelled, her eyes incredulous and angry, "that's the most- those ponies- Ah can't believe family would even consider doing that!-"

'Spring Breeze' was caught off guard by just how passionate Applejack was about family. In some ways she thought she shouldn't be surprised, given how the orange earth pony acted around her own family. All the same it was surprisingly intense given how cheerful her demeanour had been up until now. Fortunately 'Spring Breeze' was able to keep herself on track and the plow moving-

"What are they, disloyal users or changelings!?"

The false pegasus stumbled, faceplanting into the wet ground. She scrambled to her feet a moment later, almost throwing herself at the blow to try and keep it from losing momentum. Thankfully managing to get it moving, so as not to slow down the group. Hopefully they'd think she just hit a particularly slick patch. Hopefully. As she got moving again, she picked up some fairly strong sympathy coming her direction courtesy of AJ, as well as some from Flora though the latter was much more muted. In fact, there was a faint hint of sympathy in the air. She couldn't risk saying anything, but she was thankful. It would make her life much easier for the next day or so.

"That ain't a family, that sounds more like a dang prison gang. Tossin' you out like that! Shoot, Ah have half a mind to buck them into the ground. Where do they get off on treatin' family like that?! Huh! That-" She stopped herself, not wanting to waste the day on rage so she took a deep breath, "well, at least you're around good ponies. Nopony around here would dare dream of kicking out one of their family members or treatin' them like that. Such- uggh. I wanna kick them really hard. At least you're here and now that ya mention it, Ah think Ah've seen you before...or at least, you seem awfully familiar."

'Spring Breeze' waited a moment before responding, making sure Flora had a chance to speak. Something about how her nursery was actually meant to care for plants rather than foals. 'Spring Breeze' didn't really understand why plants would need that kind of care, but it wasn't the first thing she didn't know about. Yet another thing to investigate, at some point.

“I know my family had reasons for it. And they-...I used to think they were good reasons. Now I'm not completely sure. I've had a lot to think about these days, and plenty to time to think about it. As for me, well, I've seen you before. Once. You were kinda busy at the time, and probably didn't pay me much attention though.” Technically true. Who could pick out a particular drone amongst the swarm? “I was there during the invasion of Canterlot.” She paused for a moment. This brought back some memories. “I saw you there. You were a pretty good fighter, from what I remember. I was...less successful for my part, though I was still able to get away in the end.” It was a pretty loose retelling, but she'd managed to avoid saying either anything dangerous about herself or any outright lies, she thought. She came back to the present and with a small smile said, "So, er, yeah. Maybe you saw me there, and that's why I seem familiar?"

[Smartbrony]

"Guess you could say the draught horse got drafted!" Soft Paw didn't really get it, but when he realized it was meant to be a joke he chuckled a little bit and smiled. That changed though when he heard Applejack yelling. Soft Paw felt that he could relate to the poor pony. While it hadn't really been his biological family that had disowned him, a Diamond Dog's pack was just like a family. He would have dwelt longer on such thoughts, but the new pony behind him struck up a conversation.

"What about you, dear? What brings you to Ponyville during an event such as this?"

"Oh, well, I'm here from Canterlot as well. Though, not quite for the same reason. My mentor was asked if he would be helping today, but he was unavailable to, so he sent me in his stead." Soft Paw hadn't realized just how many others had come from Canterlot. So far, he included himself, the pony on his right, the pony behind him, and...........that was all he could remember right now. Then it occurred to him that he didn't even know the newcomer's name! "Oh, and I'm Soft Paw by the way." He added, extending a welcoming paw back for what they called a 'hoofshake'.

[Mojo]

As Granny Smith was turning around to return to the kitchen, she heard a deep voice asking her whether or not she was in charge of plowing. The elderly mare turned to face him and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head! This was a very strong, burly looking stallion! Although Granny really needed help in preparing lunch, she wasn't going to lie to this brave volunteer either.

"Ta tell ya the truth, sir, mah granddaughter AppleJack is in charge of the plowin' teams, but if'n you'd agree to it, I could use yur help in the kitchen more. I'm supposed ta be fixin' lunch fer all the hungry volunteers. I need help in the kitchen and I could sure use a strong pony like you to deliver sandwiches to them that can't make it back here ta eat. I know bein' in the kitchen with an old coot like me ain't exactly glamourous, but feedin' the troops is as important a job as plowin' the fields and plantin' the seeds. Whatdoya say, sir? Would ya be willin' to lend this old mare a helpin' hoof?

[SteelEagle]

Applejack calmed down slightly, her raised emotions flaring up and down with every second but the ebb and flow of them receding from their boisterous heights. It still was beyond befuddling that any family member would do something like that, let alone to a pony who seemed as relatively normal as Spring did. Granted, Spring seemed to be knocked off of her rhythm by Applejack's verbal tirade against her traitorous family but that was to be expected if you were having a particularly irate voice bellowing like a bullhorn right next to you. Incompetence was expected then. What was even more shocking was how Spring Breeze lived up to her name and breezily defended her family in a very feeble manner. Understanding was always a good trait to have Applejack believed but applying love and logic to the actions of disloyal rot was impossible. You couldn't penetrate the minds of traitorous swine. Subversion against such a base Equestrian ideal was troubling to say the least.

"Listen sugarcube, there ain't a reason strong enough ta kick a family member out short of 'em trying to kill one another. And Ah ain't heard of that happenin' in Equestria in...well, since long before Ah was born. Rest yer head easy knowin' that yer in good hooves in this town. Everypony is usually pretty friendly. As fer Canterlot, yeah, Ah can see that. Was just a bit busy kickin' some Changelings up and down tha city. And then getting captured, but Ah reckon the first part makes for a more interestin' story. At least you managed ta get away before anything really bad happened...well, Ah suppose nothing that bad ended up happenin' on account of Cadance and Armor. But did you hear about what happened here just this past Nightmare Night? Changelings impersonated mahself and mah friends and attacked the town. Ah was stuck in some sickly cocoon for much of it. We eventually freed ourselves but lemme tell you- cocoons are no fun. Mah sister got a medal for helpin' free her and gettin' herself broken like a twig in the process. See, us Apples don't shy away from nothin'! She's healed up well enough but Ah still feel bad 'bout. 'Cause ya see, Ah love mah family and they love me and we'd do anythin' for one another. And we sure as manure wouldn't kick anypony out!" And it was only because of what Flora said that Applejack continued.

Well, Applejack felt a little silly. That helped calm her calm down again. There she had been going off about foals and whatnot when out of the sky came the hammer of realization that she had made a few too many presumptions. Of course, who could blame her? It was a silly thing to name something the nursery if it was for plants. The green room would have been better. Green house would make the most sense. Who the hay would name it a nursery? But in the end she supposed it didn';t matter much beyond a bit of embarrassment. She chuckled as she continued seeding, wondering if she should start calling her fields the nursery. After all, she had plants and crops and that was all you needed! Maybe the pony who created the business treated flowers as if they were little ones? Yeah, Applejack would go with that flavor of insanity. She wiped the sweat off of her brow as the sun beat down- heck, maybe she would be a flower too, soon.

"Well, Ah feel a mite silly. Heh, that is a funny name. So ya sell flowers and plants, eh? Any of those carnivorous ones or just the normal types? And do you sell any crop seeds? Ah've been trying ta find a better supplier but my fetlocks are in a vice everywhere Ah go."

[PyroBlaze]

Flora listened as Applejack spoke about how families shouldn't kick out their own. She wholeheartedly agreed with that. Families shouldn't throw other members out, not when the one getting thrown out had done nothing to deserve it. She felt sorry for Spring, especially since the mare had faltered during Applejack's initial outburst. It was just horrible what had happened to the mare pulling the plow.

She smiled slightly as Applejack commented on the silliness of calling a plant shop a nursery. She often thought the same thing, but she wasn't the one who decided that plant shops should be referred to as nurseries. Flora waited until the questions stopped before answering any of them.

"Well, y-yes. I do have some of those. O-only about one or two though, they aren't exactly in high demand. N-not typically something you'd find around the house or in a garden. As for crop seeds, I believe I have those." Flora said, putting a hoof to her chin as she tried sorting through her inventory in her head. "Yeah, I've got crop seeds. You'd... have to c-come to Fillydelphia to pick the seeds though. N-not sure what you need. I... I suppose I could deliver the seeds to you here..." Flora said, trailing off at the end and finally putting her hoof down before continuing to water the seeds put in the ground.

[Blueblood]

There was something in Red Cedar's manner, the way in which he seemed to fall into the lingo of Might's chosen sport, that made the colt suspect that maybe, just maybe, he had found a fellow practitioner of his chosen sport. Much of the arbitrary rules and terminology of cricket may well have been invented as passwords and shibboleths, so that fellow devotees may recognize each other at a glance. The colt had to be sure.

"Say, you wouldn't happen to play cricket, would you?" Might wasn't even sure it was played up in Stalliongrad; outside of Trottingham and Canterlot, and the more upper-class outposts of society, ponies never seemed to. Ponies even thought him snobbish for preferring it to other sports, even though it was just the game that everypony played where he came from.

Psmith, meanwhile, was very much enjoying his conversation with Lyra. The slight eccentricity inherent in the mare suited his tastes; it reminded him in many ways of the amiable lunatics sometimes found in Canterlot drawing rooms, among which his own father was often placed. Marriage had, of course, toned down the madness in the old boy, and the lavender unicorns suspected that much the same was true of the musician now referring to herself in the third person.

"Circumstances of birth," He began modestly, "Have ever prevented my efforts to clear out all contents of my pockets, and so perhaps in consequence, the final polish upon my artistry has never come to fruition. Love and the stars do not also largely feature in that life, unfortunately. But, one must bear the burdens of one's station in life. If poetry is to me only an idle dabbling, so be it. If my craftsponyship be in prose, I shall give it my best. And so, to work!" And he set to the watering can again.

The air held the first breath of spring, but still had the cold, carrying quality of winter. All the words of the company could be still heard by everypony. But, even on the foggiest of days, the ringing voice of Applejack denouncing the fecklessness of Spring Breeze's relations would have filled the ears of all within a mile.

Something in it stirred Psmith to speech. Then again, anything could. "I rather think our hostess is rather hard on the family." He began, to nopony in particular. "I can see, from her unwrinkled brow, that she is unfamiliar with the true exasperations that a black sheep can put the rest of the wooly clan to. Suppose, for instance," he said, warming to his subject, "That a cousin of hers had been convinced of the superiority of some other fruit, for the sake of argument, we shall say pears. Now, if under this conviction, he had sought to demonstrate its truth by uprooting a significant part of that orchard and replanting it with his chosen specimens, well! I only ask you to imagine the inevitable. I give no judgment on the present case," Psmith added, judiciously, "But I think the family ought to have an advocate before the court. Reconciliation is the high road, but those who take the low call more for sympathy than censure."

Might could hear his friend's speech, and if he could, he guessed that most everypony could. He groaned. This was just the sort of thing the young colt feared in his friend; his aptitude to get himself involved in other ponies' affairs.

[RedCedar]

Red Cedar

"Say, you wouldn't happen to play cricket, would you?" Might Batsman had asked as the two of them plodded alongside each other. Red Cedar lifted his head and gave a shake. "Afraid not," he replied. "I knew what sport you meant, but that's about it. I don't even understand the game, really. Usually when I hear the word 'pitch' I think of hoofball." He lifted his head again and gave a smile. Actually, my favourite club is Trottingham Hotspur."