Dusk had only spent another three minutes at the labor board after that. Ginger had promised to stop and talk with every one of the other farms and explain the situation. She would round out every extra set of hands she could convince them to spare. Dusk had a different solution.

The Library was still unlocked from when he had left in the morning, Barb had been enjoying the peaceful summer days of late, and even with the foal’s back in school, the small town library didn’t get a lot of guests. This left her with plenty of time to sun herself on the balcony and nap during the day while Dusk was away. That was until the loud bang of the front door slamming open echoed through the quiet house, disturbing her mid morning nap.

Even before she had reached the staircase she could hear Dusk’s voice ringing through the house. “Barb, I need you to take a letter. Right now.”

Even after that oh too brief stop at the treehouse, Dusk return to the Apple farm felt delayed by far too long. It had taken him nearly ten minutes to look up and make a list of the dozen labor unions in Canterlot, sending a form letter for them all though Barb’s magic, while also apologizing to the princess for abusing the magic note method, and requesting she ask one of her servants to deliver the Apple’s emergency request to the labor unions. He expected to hear back from her soon and thus had Barb lock up the library. She promised to catch up with him at the farm as soon as she could.

Even as he leveled his pace out to a jog, the sound of a voice calling to him rang in his ears. “Yo, Dusk! What’s this about then? You cancel our jogs to go running alone? Not good enough company for you this early in the morning?”

Looking up as he kept his pace up, Dusk was shocked to see Rainbow Dash casually flying but ten feet over his head. Her hair was a mess, but her teasing grin was wide and warm. Dusk wouldn’t have time to stop, instead shaking his head as he continued on, heading out of town while answering the inquisitive mare. “The Apple farm’s labor request got lost. Now AJ has no assistance for the harvest Dash.” Even as he spoke, a sudden thought sprung into existence. “Wait. Dash!” He pulled to a stop, watching the mare lazily halt herself and land before him.

Her powerful wings folding up behind her back, their twelve foot span folding enough to casually hide against her back. Standing on tiptoes and leaning in close she inspected him while he formed his thoughts. “Hmmm. Well you’re sweating hard eno…. Wait, what? Why now? I thought with Mac hurt, they’d have given her an extra dozen or so of the grunts just to make it up.”

His idea fully realized, Dusk grinned at the mare and clasped her shoulders, and spoke in a rich voice. “It’s not important right now. You gave the weather team the next few weeks off, right? Except for emergency duties they are all free?”

This time it was Dash’s turn to be embarrassed, as she blushed at Dusk’s close presence and warm hands on her body. But the urgency of the situation got her attention, and she would nod. “Well of course. Except for Flitter and Cloudchaser who were the first two to ask for time off out of town. The weather team rules say they can take up part time jobs, but only so many are allowed vacation time during harvest season. Too important a time of year for real time off. Why, how can we help AJ?”

"Tell them-" Dusk's voice cut off as he did quick mental math based on the figures he had seen on the labor board so recently. Clearing his throat he started again. "Tell them the Apple farm needs anyone who doesn't have work already. That AJ is paying fifteen bits a day and that I'll throw in another ten a day for anyone who lasts the week." With no real personal experience with the Canterlot labor union, Dusk already doubted they would be willing to send that many workers, even as close as Ponyville was.

Grinning, Dash saluted him lazily. "Right Captain. I'll leave a note at the school for Scootaloo. Don't want her thinking I've skipped out on her training. I'll see you when you finally get to the farm, slowpoke!" Before Dusk could answer her proud boast, the mare had shot into the air.

Warmly laughing to himself, Dusk would turn back towards the farm. His own voice lightly muttering. "I would never take you up on a bet that foolish Dash."

"The weather team? Dash I'm grateful for every extra hand you got, but they can't buck, and besides me nobody is gonna be strong enough to pull a cart." Applejack wouldn't stop her current trip back to the barn for their conversation, but Dash took the easy posture of floating along at eye level with the hard working farmer. "Now I'm far from unwilling to listen but how’s your gang gonna help?"

With a smirk, Dash thrust two fingers into her lips, whistling sharply at the team who had drifted back as the mares argued. Now they all rushed to gather in around their captain. She gave out orders in a big, bold voice, and the team scrambled to comply. "Thunderlane, Cerulean Skies! Take the cart to the barn!" The two stallions would swoop in and lift the harness from AJ's shoulders, and while the two had to work together to keep it rolling at the same pace as she had set, the fact was they could manage the challenge.

Swiftly shifting to face the rest of her gathered weather team, her keen eyes picked out three of the mares, a hand casting to point out four of the nearby trees. “Blueberry Muffin, Candy Floss, Wind Chill! Show AJ we can buck as well as any earth pony! Use those four trees as a focus and keep swapping one tree to the right every time you complete a figure eight!”

The trio of mares would inspect the trees for only a moment before launching into flight, Wind Chill starting them off in, at first, slow and lazy loops to form their figure eight laps, yet as each mare joined in, they also kept switching one tree to the right before starting a new figure eight loop. The continued laps soon speed up dramatically, until Dusk found himself lost telling the three mare’s blur of motion apart. Quickly the breeze kicked up by their swift motion was enough to cause the branches to rock and shake, apples getting caught up in the force of the three mares flight until they were unable to resist being plucked. Each mare would slow down in turn with wings flapping to direct the fruit trapped in the turbulence to cascade into the barrels below.

Turning back to face Dusk and AJ, Dash's smug grin was wiped clean when she saw the two stallions still hadn't cleared her line of sight. Turning to point at one of the mares yet to be picked for a job she called out harshly. "Sunny Rays, go push on the rear and remind them we have lap times to maintain!” Sudden realization dawned on her, and she turned to AJ, voice unsure. "Err.. what is a good lap time anyway?"

Unable to contain their own amusment, Dusk and AJ each took a moment to clear up their laughter and straighten up. "I could make it to the barn with a load like that in six minutes easy from here sugar-cube."

Giving a firm nod to AJ's words and momentarily chasing after her crew, Dash played it cool and ignored her friends' laughter. "You heard the woman! A good pegasus can make it in five minutes forty seconds! Now go go go!"

Turning back to Dusk, AJ let her shoulders lower a little, but a smile had returned to her lips. “Alright Dusk, you and Dash have a point. And I’m darn glad for the help.” There was a lingering pause before she turned to look back towards Ponyville. “And… Barb’s letters?”

Stepping in and taking her hand into his own, Dusk would gently apply pressure. “Do not worry Applejack. She will be here soon enough. It’s just that sometimes sending letter’s gives her heartburn and the burps.” Standing so close together, hand in hand and looking away from the weather mare, both would miss a involuntary twinge of her cheek.

The sudden arrival of Barb’s voice from somewhere above made Dusk halt, and snap his head back to hunt for her presence. “Dusk! I’ve got your answer, but it’s not promising.” The tiny dragoness had caught a ride from a mare Dusk didn’t recognize, the pegasus wings flap aggressively as she found her way to a safe landing. Hopping to her feet, Barb rushed to Dusk’s side, and offered him a single missive.

Shocked at the young dragon’s sudden arrival with only a single letter, Dusk pushed the last of the apples his magic still had a grip on into an empty barrel before snatching the letter from Barb, voice tinged with an edge of worry. “That bad?”

While he read, Barb waved goodbye to White Lightning, voice lifting high. “Thanks White! You saved me a lot of time!” The mare took off, waving in return as she flew to rejoin Rainbow Dash and the other mares who were harvesting back closer to town. “It’s worse Dusk. They won't send any help unless they get a formal request from Princess Celestia herself. Only one offered help without some kind of commendation or bribe from Celestia, and they wanted half a platinum bit per worker per day plus travel, food and accommodation on top!”

Dusk’s left eye started twitching, as he hurled the letter to the dirt, while hissing a breath of frustration between tightly clenched teeth. “Fifty bits a day? Before expenses? Thats insane! Even with my savings from my retainer from Princess Celestia, I’d only be able to afford to hire twenty workers for a week before going broke. AJ is already uncomfortable with me paying the weather team a bonus.” Giving a sigh Dusk looked to the ground, still working on numbers in his head.

Barb stepped up to Dusk’s side, while she picked up an apple that had fallen to the ground, brushing it off against her arm scales before biting down. With a mouthful of fruit, she questioned Dusk’s next move. “So are you going to ask Princess Celestia to intervene?”

Dusk shook his head, shoulders deflating as he sighed. “No Barb. I can’t be running to the princess with every little problem I have. I’ll just-” he paused, a conversation between AJ and Winona momentarily distracted him. He then let out another hiss in frustration, as he raked his fingers across his bare arm. “I’ll go talk to the other farmers. Maybe even the mayor and… and whoever is running the hospital project. Someone must be able to spare us a few workers for a week or two.”

“- you gotta agree Winona, I never figured the weather team would be half this good at harvesting. And Dusk?” The women's voices dropped low enough that he couldn’t hear them anymore.

While the dragoness continued to munch upon an apple, Dusk turned to finish plucking apples with his magic from the two trees he was working, only to be confronted by Applejack’s arrival. Her mood had at least started to improve. And now it was his turn to ruin it.

As Mayor Mare’s door slipped closed behind him, Dusk deflated. But a deal had been struck. Turning, he snatched up the sleepy dragoness who had drifted off as she leaned against the porch swing, laying the little lass across his shoulder while turning back towards town. “Seventeen farms down, and I only got thirteen workers. At least Mayor Mare managed to free up four stallion’s from the dam project for two weeks, that just leaves…”

“So just how many more of Fluttershy’s supplements did you take today Dusk?”

“Nurse Redheart.” Dusk suppressed a groan, and shifted the load of little Barb to his other shoulder, offering the nurse a small nod as he started to walk up the path towards town. There was no reason to dance around things, Dusk had found the mare was quick to pick up on any lies or half truths he fed her in the past. “The bitter herb smoothies? Two. The Dawn Blossom? Ask Applejack, I gave her the whole pouch to safekeep last week after Big Mac’s accident. So unless she is slipping them into the smoothies? None.”

Silence stretched between them as the walk continued, Dusk’s fingers stroking idly into the dragoness’ scales. With only two blocks left before reaching the library, the nurse at last broke the silence and spoke up. “I can talk to Dr. Horse in the morning. He and Mayor Mare are in charge of the new hospital project, I’m sure he will be able to free up another two or three workers for a week.”

Dusk would relax at last and offered the Nurse a nod. “He was with the Mayor when I saw her earlier. He said he could spare three at most with how far ahead of schedule they are, but only if you wouldn’t skin him. Apparently you were made head Nurse recently and never told me? Didn’t want Pinkie to host you a promotion party?”

Dusk had expected her to blush, or to fume, instead waiting for Dusk to place the sleeping dragon on the steps of the library while he hunted for his keys. Suddenly his arms were full of something else, warm, soft and yet firm in all the right places. Pressing him to the treehouse wall, the mare gaze lingered on his eyes while her lips locked against his own, leaving him stuck between forcing her off and pulling her in tighter. When she at last broke her aggressive kiss, he slowly shook his head. “You should know me and Rarity-”

The older mare put a finger to his lips to silence him with a low hush, and spoke tenderly. “I asked her weeks ago. She made a joke about you liking older mares. Besides, I might still want you as a stallion Dusk, but don’t worry. I’ve found a mare who enjoys keeping my bed warm at night, so don’t feel guilty for saying no.” There was a pause as she lingered too close, drawing in a quiet sigh of pleasure. “And Pinkie agreed to put off the party to coincide with the new hospital’s opening ceremony. We will be more than busy enough with harvest accidents before then.”

Even as she peeled away from him and walked off, Dusk realized, back towards the hospital, his mind reeled with her suggestive tone. “I need sleep, yet after what she said, I also clearly need to talk to Rarity. The mare was-” he paused his train of thought, and tried to banish it, yet it soon returned in force again. “Rarity suggested it? But why. I’ve no need for a herd. Besides, Redheart could easily have a man closer to her own age, and better company than a bookworm like me. Besides, she and Rarity don’t exactly share a lot of similar interests. Why would they want to be herd sisters.” As he unlocked the door and carried Barb inside, a last thought crept to mind, almost a jest to himself. “Older mares! Ha! Next she will suggest I ask Princess Luna on a date. Just think of the etiquette rules I would have to study just to avoid making a fool out of myself!” As he locked his door, he paused as he had a nagging thought. “I wonder if we have any books on pre-Nightmare Moon royal dining etiquette.”

The moon hung full in the starless sky as Applejack entered the barn again. Another heavy load rolling to a stop while her shoulders drooped from the stress. For a moment she turned to look to the sky, trying to remember when she had started this morning, and how many times she had empted a cart of barrels at this point. “This must be… load fifty? Sixty? I’ve totally lost count. But without any help from town we are so far behind. Oh Dusk, I wish you were here. I’ve been acting tough, but this feels hopeless. Mac’s not the only one good with math. I figure we are going to take almost thirty days at this pace.”

Forcing herself to step up into the cart as the barrels became too hard to lift out while standing on the ground, her eyes again raised, this time to the iron horse shoe on the wall. Lifting her current barrel, a yawn cracked her jaw wide open against her will. Exhaustion was seeping into her mind, sapping her of her strength and blurring her vision. Yet on that wall was a little bag. And in that little bag was… Dawn Blossom. She remembered Winona’s story about how strong just chewing one of the leaves had made her feel, how the canine had gone nearly a day without sleep afterwards, simply because she didn’t feel tired.

“The farm needs me clear headed for the morning. Even if I went and lay down now, I’d get three hours? Maybe four, then Dusk would arrive. And Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be far behind. If I take one leaf today, just to make sure I can get through the day, we will be so much closer to Dusk’s target. Then I can sleep soundly tonight when Dusk and the others go home. Get a proper rest and when I have time, apologize to Dusk and Fluttershy for taking his herb. Can’t be that expensive to replace.”

Within minutes the mare was out in the field again, pulling the cart while gnawing on the leaf. Already the juice it produced had taken the raw edge off her mind, and the pangs of pain from her back and legs. From the farmhouse, a single lamp was extinguished, and a long forgotten plate of dinner was repurposed as breakfast.

For the next four days, this hard but sustainable rhythm continued, Dash’s leadership of the weather patrol keeping the skies warm and clear with as few lost hours from the farm as possible. Dusk found himself working comfortably on into the late afternoon of that fourth full day of harvest when Big Mac arrived with a harness strapped to his hips rather than the shoulder straps all the others were using.. The powerful titan, offering a single slow nod to Dusk before Apple Bloom and Winona hopped from the cart to start loading it. Clearly worried, Dusk would step the taller stallion, and asked in an unsure voice. “So soon Mac? Its only been what? Two weeks. Isn’t this a little early to start working again?”

The normally mute titan leveled a pallid gaze on the shorter male, his voice dry and calm. “The nurse would agree. But half loads and no weight on the ribs made her relax.” For a moment the giant looked as if he wanted to say more, but he let it drop, and turned to once again face the farm house. Dusk was about to dismiss it when the stallion spoke to him over his shoulder. “She isn’t sleeping well.” Even as Dusk digested the stallion’s words, Mac had started a steady pace off towards the barn again. With filly and canine stalking him, Dusk knew he would not get another chance to speak with him in private anytime soon. He would have to go to another source to look for answers. Standing tall and gazing across the field, the mare was an easy sight to pick from those hard at work.

Applejack would set down her cart’s harness and stepped around it to start loading the baskets left behind by weather team members who had plucked and filled the load. As Dusk watched her, approaching with a casual pace to keep things natural, little signs started to pop up, all pointing to a short list of answers. She wasn’t just breathing hard from the effort of work, she wheezed a little. Despite her effort and the sun's blazing heat, she wasn’t sweating, but was clammy and shivered when even the smallest breeze picked up. And she was yawning incessantly, yet tried to hide it under her hat and behind her load. From so far away, he could not smell her, but already he would bet her sweat would have a mild hint of sweet grass and peach. All the signs were clear as day as he listed them in his head, she had been taking his Dawn Blossom.

As Dusk stepped up to lean against Applejack’s cart, the mare would wince at the sunlight glaring down in the bold clear afternoon sky. Noticing his close presence the mare would grin and offer him a nod her voice lifting before he could. “Dusk! It’s good you’ll showed up so soon. I was talking with Dash earlier and she reminded me we need to take a day off tomorrow.”

Shocked at her words, Dusk had to take a mental step back and reorientate, giving the mare a nod. “Oh good to hear AJ. After these last two weeks, I was worried I’d be the one asking you to take a day off.” To himself, the stallion found an uncomfortable conversation quickly being put aside. “Maybe she realized how much of a toll all this work has been taking her. I will talk to her about the herbs after she has had a day off to rest.”

AJ offered him a nod, her tone distant as she looked towards town answering him. “Yeah, well the team all needs time off to rest. And I made a promise to help the girls out with various small projects in town. Maybe the time off will get my mind off how slowly things are going so far.” Even while she spoke, Dusk’s chest fell in frustration, realizing she had no plans to rest up herself.

Forcing a cheery smile, Dusk would nod to the mare, putting a hand on her own. “Well, as long as you remember to take a few hours to rest up yourself. Maybe I’ll talk to Rarity about plans for dinner and you can join us once your done with the other’s projects?” Casting aside plans, he began trying to phrase his request to Rarity. “They are such close friends, despite their differences. I’m sure once I tell her about just how hard AJ is pushing herself, Rarity will rush to help show Applejack how much she is hurting herself.” For a moment he paused in thought, realizing the full depth of Big Mac’s presence earlier. “But if Mac hasn’t convinced her to rest, no wonder he is up and working the field already. Anything to take a little pressure off his little sister.”

The mare shifted to stand tall, unsure how to answer. The mare stumbled over her words. “I… err.” She paused for a moment, letting the silence drift between them, before forcing a cheery grin. “Of course Dusk. I’d love to join you two for dinner. If… If I’m not interrupting your date night. I know I’ve been in the way a lot of late.”

Realization dawned on Dusk. The mare really didn’t understand how much he had grown to care for her and her well being. Smiling, he gently gripped her hand over the cart, his eyes focused on her own, while his grip tightened in hopes of showing her the depths of his support. “When you have not had a night away from the farm in nearly a month? Besides, Rarity has missed your company as well. With how busy you have been with harvest as of late, she would love the excuse to have your company.”

The decision made for her, Applejack would nod in thanks, her voice relaxing, maybe even grateful. “Then dinner it is. I’ll be nice to see her again. It has been too long.”

Dawn the next day would find a painfully tired Applejack still working the field alone as the sun rose. Chewing on the last remnants of pulp that had been a leaf of Dawn Blossom, she fought to hold back a yawn that split her lips and squeezed her eyes tightly closed. For a moment she would rest her weight upon the barn wall, her skin absorbed the cool dew that had collected on the wood while she worked all night long.

What had meant to take a minute or two would last nearly ten as Big Mac cleared his throat, the noise jarring her awake. Staring up to her brother, the mare smiled lightly. “I’m off to town Mac, we are taking the day off. You should rest up. We got a ton of work to catch up on tomorrow you know!”

The stallion only sighed, his palm slapping against his face as the mare took off, heading to town alone. From the bushes behind him, Dusk stepped out, nodding to the older stallion. “Alright Mac. I’ve talked with Rarity and the others. We are going to have an intervention tonight so the others have a chance to see just how bad she is.”

Mac was busy, pulling his modified harness around his hips, buckling cart in place. “Then we work?”

Dusk gave a nod, releasing his own sigh. “We harvest whatever we can to pass the day while they get ready.”

Strolling back in from the fields, Winona called back to them. “She is out of sight down the road now Dusk. We can start whenever you’re ready.” The stallions waved to the caine girl, heading into the orchard for yet another day of work.

Fighting back harsh and ever growing yawns, AJ would make her way to the back door of Sugar Cube Corner. Pinkie sat waiting at the back step quietly talking with Derpy and the Cakes. The mail mare would grin as she pushed a package into their hands while blushing harshly, her voice only loud enough for the mare to make out from the distance. “Sorry again for the confusion. I’m just glad I made it back before you guys opened her package. I’m sure Bon Bon would have been awfully confused why she got all this flour.” The shared laughter made AJ smile approaching with a wave as Derpy turned to run off, a cheerful hello on her way out of town. “Hi there AJ! Sorry but no time to talk, duty calls!”

Her eyes blurry with the strain, AJ would wave to the mare before stepping in grinning up to the bakers as she leaned against the wall by Pinkie. “You're still here? Didn’t Pinkie say the train leaves soon?”

Laughter lost, Mister and misses Cake would look through the open door to the clock, a look of panic spread on Mr. Cake’s lips. “Oh dear! We had better hurry dear!” shoving the heavy box of flour to Pinkie, Mr. Cake would take his wife's hand, turning to rush to the train station.

For her part, misses Cake would suppress a frown, her own worried voice calling back over her shoulder. “Just remember AJ, we don't need anything big or fancy today. Just some cakes and the like to keep whoever comes in from harvest happy. Don’t need to make anything special!”

Pinky was a bubble of energy and appeared to not notice AJ’s continued heavy yawns. Waving excitedly to her employers, the mare would grin warmly. “No problem mister and misses Cake! Have a good anniversary and I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon!!! And don’t worry! Me and AJ will keep things nice and organized!”

Applejack’s proud grin flashed as she pushed the last of the load of turnovers into the Cake’s ovens. With Pinkie’s help they had filled the four main ovens in record time, the next load ready to go in once the first batch came out. Moving to join Pinkie in the front hall she leaned against the front counter, unable to resist allowing a yawn to crack open her jaws. With most of the ingredients back in the cupboard. It wasn’t a few hours later when Pinkie and those who arrived to pick up fresh blueberry jam filled tarts discovered that Applejack had confused buckthorn jam. With the powerful laxative coursing through their system it was only a matter of time before Redheart’s staff was inundated by poisoned ponies. By that point, AJ was already out of town, assisting Rainbow Dash.

Dusk accepted the wet towel that Winona held out, wrapping it around his head and letting the cool moisture soak in. The whole time his horn glowed in bold teal hues, drawing a breath and pushing the three barrels into place on the racks Mac had pointed out. Sweat drenching his shoulders, the young stallion would lean against the wall, panting a while to catch his breath before looking up again to the canine girl and her eager grin. “Any luck with finding the herbs? The bag should have a strong scent of Lavender.” Instantly having her attention peaked at his words, the stallion would answer her quickly. “It’s good for the lungs and helps me focus, so I keep a bottle in the bag regularly.”

Laughing a little, the woman offered a nod before scampering off across the barn. The stallion turned, shoving the last barrel another foot or two to settle it properly on the shelf. At last relaxing his magic, Dusk leaned over the balcony, looking down to Mac on the main floor. “Ready for the next load?”

Ripping a chunk from the apple turnover Granny Smith had brought them, the titan gave a nod, not one for words when they were not needed, Dusk would hop over the balcony landing in the back of the cart and catching his balance on the edge. Quickly moving to hop to the ground again, the stallion would pull the drenched towel off his head and from around his shoulders, tossing it onto the pile with Mac’s own. “Then let’s leave Winona to hunt for the herbs.” Turning to wave to Granny Smith, Dusk stepped behind the wagon again, giving a light push to get it moving, and quickly hopped to sit on the back of the cart, his weight so minor it was almost unnoticeable by the larger stallion.

Rainbow Dash took a step back and inspected the simple structure she had thrown together. Inspiration had struck while she had stopped to let her mind wander, The result was awe inspiring, a simple launching platform built from one heavily reinforced plank, properly balanced to eliminate any outside factors of friction. While only a simple seesaw up-scaled for an adult, already Dash could see the true potential her new invention offered.

Slapping her hands together, she leaned back against the ladder she had set up, the extra height provided by the jump from the ladder and platform, could probably add a lot of power to any launch. “This is simply… FANTASTIC!” Dash couldn’t help but declare her own brilliance, slapping hands together while patting herself on the back.

“This will go down his history as the Rainbow Dash Wonder Bolt Wonder Blitz Super Launcher Extreme Mark II” Her declaration rang out just as Applejack arrived, thus she really couldn’t have timed it any better. While normally Rainbow Dash would have noticed right away how poorly her friend was looking, with all her own excitement she wouldn’t take in all the extra effort AJ spent to force her eyes open, a dazed gaze inspected Dash’s work only momentarily. Resting her head against the cold stone of the cities reservoir, AJ was unable to help herself from letting out a burst of light laughter when she considered the name Dash had declared as her invention’s title.

At Applejack’s laughter, Dash would turn, forgetting altogether that she had agreed to help try and get AJ to exhaust herself into passing out. Instead, she glared proudly in defense of her invention, and pointed to the ladder, calling out sharply. “Alright Miss Sassy Pants. Just climb the ladder and get into jumping position. I’ll show you just how great this invention really is!”

Returning to the barn, Dusk could feel the overuse of his magic adding up, leaving him pale and sweating as he stood on the rear hitch of the cart and struggling to catch his breath. It was when Winona shoved the ground fruit and ice smoothie into Dusk’s hand while helping the taller stallion to sit on a chair, a fresh wet towel wrapped around his shoulders. “I found the bag and made up the smoothie you were talking about the other day.” Pausing a moment as he downed the cold drink, she spoke up, worry open in her voice. “I couldn’t find any of the Dawn Blossom Dusk. I think she already finished the last of the petals.”

Dusk leaned back in the chair, his bloodshot eyes closed while the wet towel was dragged over his face, while his aching horn’s hot tip dried out the cloth with its radiant heat. Speaking up only when the strong flavor caught in his throat while he was chugging the second mouthful. “Lavender???”

An embarrassed blush on her cheeks, the canine offered a shrug. “Well… you said its good for your lungs, and last time you came in with a load you were coughing a lot so I figured…”

Laughing a little Dusk looked over to Mac, a similar drink in his own hand, already empty. The tall stallion was lifting barrels from the cart, working with care but flinching with every load he lifted. A flick of his horn quickly snapped up the other four barrels, pushing them into place before the older stallion hurt himself with the heavy load. Mac glanced at Dusk and crossed his arms over his chest. “My bones are not that fragile.”

Dusk laughed, forcing down the rest of his drink and climbing back into the cart to lay down, his towel refolded to wrap around his head with a different wet spot focused on his horn. “Yes, but I can rest while you walk. If you do hurt something, I can’t pull the cart nearly as well as you can.”

A moment of silence passed between them as Mac reattached the harness around his hips, at last speaking up to the unicorn who lay half napping in the cart. “Valid point, but wearing out your horn will land us in just as hot of water.”

Everything was darkness. For a moment Dusk would turn around in the endless black void he found himself floating in once more. For a minute he was disorientated, twisting around in the void before a voice whispered to him from the distance. This one was a new tone, one he could not place, yet was somehow still very comforting in its own odd way. “You’ve mistaken yourself again. They keep encouraging you to push your limits. But your body isn’t as resilient as theirs.”

Dusk attempted to shift his body around, to look to the voice that whispered to him from behind, the feminine tones somehow oddly familiar as they cooed in his ear. Yet his body failed him, even his head unwilling to accept the simplest of orders to twist his head, or shift his eyes around. Fingers slipped into his hair from behind, while a second hand would wrap around his chest, fingers stroking against his flesh through the fabric of his shirt as it it did not exist.

Silken lips pressed in against the lobe of his ear, whispering across its surface with featherweight pressure. “Stop struggling. You’ve already done yourself enough damage. Now take my words to heart. Try not to show up here so quickly. I am not so lonely, that I wish you to visit this quickly.”

As the voice faded, Dusk’s memory began to clear, his mind piecing together the world, and a cold wet pressure that was surrounding a blazing iron spike that pierced his brain, forged from his overtaxed horn and the resulting mindbending headache.

Dusk opened his eyes, and realized he had been laid in the back of the cart, his head screamed with the burning pressure of a vision warping headache that refused to abate, even under the cold pressure of the half frozen cloth Winona had rushed out into the field. He still couldn’t even remember exactly when he had passed out, only that he had woken up to see the canine lass wrapping iced blankets around his head and piled up under it. Vaguely, he could hear Apple Bloom fuming at her brother somewhere nearby. “And you both thought this was better than just taking the same day off you wanted AJ to go on? Are you serious!” A groan thick with teenage resentment suggested he might need to say something to help calm the girl.

Forced to lift a hand up and grip down on the frame of the cart, Dusk leaned forward against the frame and looked over to the young filly. “Now Apple Bloom,” Dusk began in a worn voice, “you have to go easy on us. We just wanted to make sure your sister understands why we are so worried for her.”

Apple Bloom snapped around, pointing a finger angrily at the stallion, hands balled into angry fists to shake in his face. “And Sweetie Belle is busy back home now telling her sister how you passed out in the field. Bet that’s going to make her happy, right?”

The volume and anger in the mare’s tone were what really got Dusk’s attention, the stallion attempted to stand up, only to have the canine pushing him to lay back down, while Apple Bloom removed the the barrels from the cart with Winona’s help. The peppy canine girl would smile down to him, her own voice warmer than the filly. “After we empty this load, we are taking you to town. If Redheart’s too angry to see you, Sweetie Belle suggested taking you to the spa until you cool off.”

Relenting only due to the pressure of the resounding heat and pressure that rang in his head, Dusk would lay back down, and wrapped another wet blanket over his head. While Apple Bloom took the harness from her brother and Winona took up pushing to get the cart rolling, Dusk let his eyes slide closed. His last words before leaving was a call out to Big Mac. “If Applejack skips out on us tonight, send someone to get me. I’ll come back out and see if I can talk some sense into her.”

Young Apple Bloom did an impressive job hauling the cart into town alone, which allowed Winona to run on ahead and check up with Sweetie Belle and Rarity on Nurse Redheart’s temperament. Thus, when Apple Bloom turned the cart into town, Rarity and Sweetie Belle were waiting with the canine, the pair sharing a hushed conversation while watching the cart’s slow approach.

In a single fluid motion, Rarity landed at Dusk’s side, moving to remove the wet cloths from his horn, and applied a clear green balm to the base of his throbbing horn, which was still steaming from how much he had overstressed it past its limit. She spoke in soft whispers, as she leaned in close, brushing her lips across his cheek. “Oh Dusk you fool. You are as bad as AJ! You go out to get some work done while she is in town causing a rampage! And you end up working yourself into passing out at the same time, you are both hopeless and mule headed!”

As soon as the balm’s cool mixture came into contact with his horn, its effect shot a soothing wave of pleasure deep into the painful depths. Even while she spoke his mind shifted, clear thoughts forming up and bubbling to the surface while a tender kiss landed on the mare’s cheek. “What did she do Rarity? Nothing too serious? No big fires?”

Shaking her head the mare would look up answering something whatever it was that Sweetie and Apple Bloom were asking her. “Just go. The girls will have a spare room and something for his head, even if Aloe and Lotus are too busy to help us personally.”

While the muffled conversation continued between the two fillies and the canine girl, Rarity turned back to Dusk and stroked her fingers across his jaw, a deep frown creasing her brows. “I guess I’d better start from the beginning Dusk. And don’t expect any help form Redheart or her staff at the clinic. Applejack and Pinkie gave everyone a horrific case of... Well, have you ever eaten too many buckthorn berries in a day?”

Dusk couldn’t help but wince at the thought of what too many buckthorn berries could do to a healthy persons digestion. Moving to draw the wet sheet back over his face, his voice sad and distant. “Ok. Poisoned everyone in town. Great. Then what?”

Nervous, Rarity drew his hand into her own, her gentle caress soothing, even while she returned to the less enjoyable topic of the day he had missed. “Afterwards she went to see Dash, who I will admit, had done an impressive job building a take off platform. But she got carried away with her own great work and had AJ jump off and launch her from the platform. Well… one thing lead to another and they moved the platform by city hall. AJ landed the jump just fine but the increased force launched Dash so high, hard and fast that… well, Cadence said it was a wonder her wings were strong enough to handle the force and keep her from crashing face first into Canterlot Castle.”

“She threw her so hard she landed in Canterlot? Is Dash ok otherwise? Did Cadence say how long before she would be able to come home?” Worried now, Dusk attempted to sit up, yet even that simple motion was enough to set the somewhat pacified headache roaring, resulting in a painful bolt that shot deep into his brain.

Rarity quickly hushed him, her hands soothing the stallion back down while she smoothed another of the wet towels on his head. “Relax Dusk. She is on the train already, Barb says Cadence even stated in her letter that Dash was getting some attention from the Wonderbolts for breaking Captain Spitfire’s record airspeed. Not that they will accept it for the record books, much to Dash’s dismay.”

While Dusk would offer a little chuckle, glad to hear that at the very least that Dash had turned a bad thing into a good time, even if it had come from a life threatening feat of stupidity on both their parts. Rarity would continue, her voice lower, more worried. “And then there is the warren Fluttershy was helping out, just to the east of town. She was helping them conduct a census of their population for the first time, and Applejack was supposed to help keep them in line and organized because they've never done something so bureaucratic and organized. But even with Angel helping her keep them calm, she quickly started getting more and more frustrated when they made a little mistake, like stepping out of line to talk to a friend, or going to the bathroom. In the end, she started yelling and throwing things, and if you’ve ever seen a single bunny scared and running, you’ll never want to see five or six hundred of them stampeding in all directions, made only worse by the fact some of them had taken to eating the leftovers from Pinkie’s baking with Barb. Well let’s just say, the rabbit elders are NOT in the mood to talk to us anymore today.”

“Just how is Iron Gut? Please tell me she at least was able to handle whatever AJ did to Pinkie’s baking?” Worry tainted the joking nickname, Dusk peeled away the wet towels to look into Rarity’s eyes. “It’s just that I’ve seen her eat so many strange things in the past, surely she could handle these.. baked bads, right?”

Shifting to cup Dusk’s cheeks, Rarity smiled and offered him a nod before she leaned in and rested her cheek on his own. “Don’t worry dear. She appears to be up to anything. I even caught her picking them out of the trash. In the end I had to threaten to banish her from my boutique before she would leave them be.”

Dusk could only offer a nod, any attempt to think about how to fix all this was pushed aside by the roar in his ears every time he tried to focus on an answer. “Then let’s go to the spa. I need you to get Barb and Mayor Mare. I think everyone needs to know what is really going on here. Applejack’s pride be damned, we need people’s help and nobody is going to want to help us without a good explanation.”

Dusk was surprised how well things finally started going when he allowed Rarity to take charge of matters while he soaked in a hot bath in Aloe and Lotus’ spa. It had been a shock when the mares had ushered him past the family section of the building and into a spare room in the adults only side. With the chaos of the day’s events, the Spa mares had closed up that section, and had once again offered the family friendly side to the general public. Thus, alone with Rarity, Dusk would discover the other side of the spa.

While pornography was no foreign concept to the stallion, it was still something he had not dealt with on a daily basis, and while he was sure Lotus and Aloe would have termed the art on their walls ‘Artistic Nudes’ he had no doubt the real intent behind putting such erotic art in every room. Rarity had the decency to pick him up a pair of trunks from the treehouse before Barb came in, but not without teasing him about inviting the mayor to visit him in the adult side of the spa.

Now as Barb entered with the mayor and set up some paperwork on a portable desk, the stallion would turn to look to his young assistant, smiling fondly at the girl. “Before I get too busy with other things Barb, you sure you are ok? Rarity told me about Applejack’s cooking. Are you sure you are up to this? I can take my own notes.”

The young dragoness turned to grin up at Dusk in his tub, and laughed warmly, while Barb lightly stroked her own belly with an open palm. “I’m just fine Dusk. I don’t see why Pinkie and Rarity had to trash the leftovers and burn them all to ashes. I thought they tasted great personally.” She paused for a minute to stare at the art Dusk had pulled from the private spa rooms walls, all turned away to avoid further damaging the young dragoness’ mind. “But I still think you’re being silly about the art in this place. I think it’s really impressive that Lotus, Aloe and their cousins are so comfortable with their bodies.” She paused a moment before whispering under her breath. “Besides, I’d seen way worse than this before Shining moved out.”

Even before Dusk could answer, Mayor Mare warmly laughed and interrupted him, putting her hands on the portable desk and posing for the young dragoness, while suggestively thrusting her ass out towards the wall. “In my younger days, I use to pose for dear Davenport’s artistic sketch classes. I wonder if he would be interested in starting those up again. It was such a-” she paused as she licked her lips and gave a sultry smile to her husband who had taken over for her assistant today because she was one of the ponies that had taken ill. “-pleasure to have such creative artistic interpretations of my body.”

The older stallion blushed darkly and adjusted his collar, before pointedly changing the topic. “So Dusk Shine, you requested the Mayor come to you due to needing help with one of Ponyville’s most valuable citizens. What can we do to help you and miss Applejack?”

Glad to have someone on his side, Dusk would launch into a proper explanation of the details the mayor might not have found out yet. In the end, his point made, he made his request. “What I need is simple. If you could call an emergency meeting of the entire town, and all of the farms in the area, I will make my request to them all personally.”

Impressed at his solution, but still flabbergasted but the whole situation, Davenport asked the question on hand. “But Dusk. Even if we get everyone to show. How do you plan to get their assistance, other than to beg or resort to bribery?”

Here Dusk grinned, a playful wink offered to the older stallion. “That all comes down to math. You see we currently have done approximately three thousand six hundred of the fifty eight hundred cart loads of apples on the apple orchard. If I can get even two hundred people to help us out, we could be finished in eleven hours at a lazy pace. And with how much the Apple family does for those in town and the local economy, not to mention the fact they took none of their normal seventy harvest workers, I’m sure we can convince that many people to come to our aid if only for a single day.”

Floored by Dusk’s math and the simple logic of the situation, Davenport would jot some quick notes before nodding to his wife. “Miss mayor, I think he has a great solution to help the Apple farm out without serious hardship to the rest of Ponyville or the other farms. I’d even say that if you asked the other shopkeepers in the market, they would all be willing to lend a hand. With all the money the Apple’s spend in the market every year, most of all on post harvest barbecue, I doubt you’d find anyone unwilling to throw a hand in to help Applejack out.”

As Mayor Mare offered a nod in return, she turned to smile at Dusk, and spoke in a conciliatory voice. “I’ll go a step further. I’ll offer any business in the market a week off their stall rent if they or one of their employees volunteer to help the Apples out tomorrow for free. I might be mayor, but I’m also a landowner. If Applejack wants to pay me back, tell her to invite me to dinner after next zap apple harvest. I haven't had a fresh jar of that jam without paying Filthy’s markup in almost five years.”

With matters arranged, Dusk would return to the rich and icy fruit drink Rarity and Aloe had thrown together for him, his horn still hurt to touch, but it no longer throbbed, and when he drew at his magic, it no longer caused those brain splitting headaches.

Dusk, having just finished his speech, stepped back from the podium, still a little shocked at how many of those around Ponyville the mayor had been able to gather so sudden a meeting, most of all during harvest. As he left the stage before town hall he stopped to offer a nod to the unicorn mare with the electric blue hair. Even with the last four hours to relax and rejuvenate, he could tell his magic would be out of order for a few days to come. Mayor Mare had requested the entertainer’s assistance to set up town’s sound system in a hurry, and only now was he realizing he hadn’t had a chance to pick up her name. Stepping in and whispering a thanks to her while the mayor stepped up to the mic, Dusk wandered off the stage and down to where Rarity and Barb were waiting for him. “Was it any good? Do you think they will show in the morning?”

The mare grinned, stepped in close and wrapped her arms around his neck, while gently drawing him in close and resting her cheek on his chest. “Of course they will Dusk. With the mayor’s offer and how much everyone in town respects Applejack and her family? A day of their time is an easy request.”

From the distance a voice called that caught Dusk’s ears, causing him to release the mare and turn, eyes wide. “So, Weathermare Rainbow Dash. Is it common for Student Dusk to make speeches before the town? Because we would say he did quite well.”

It only took a moment for Dusk’s eyes to pick the speaker from the crowd, but for a moment he was sure he must be confused. In a ring of royal guards, both of the day and night watch, stood Princess Luna herself, dressed down in a simple black-purple silk robe. While the hood was drawn up to hide her trademark hair, the simple fact she towered a full foot over most of her guards made it hard for anyone to doubt who the mare was. At her side, Dash was laughing, and offered a small shrug to the princess. “I’ve never seen him give any speech before. But he is a sight for sore eyes.”

Splitting from Rarity, Dusk rushed to the ring of guards, and dropped to his knee in a deep bow. His eyes glancing once to the mare at her side, he first addressed his sovereign's younger sister, tone respectful and polite. “Princess Luna! It’s a shock to have you visit us here so soon! I hope that Rainbow Dash has been giving you a good impression of Ponyville. For what do we owe you the honor and the delight of this unexpected appearance?”

Even before he finished bowing his head, Dusk could feel the fingers of Princess Luna’s gloved hand stroking through the locks of his hair, her voice soft as a whisper and cooing when he left her a gap in conversation to answer. “We came with Weathermare Dash to insure her safe arrival, and we wanted to see more of this harvest that is giving you so much trouble. Our sister said your last letter was quite brief due to the troubles it has caused you.”

Even as Dusk realized just what Princess Luna was saying, the mare’s tender fingers continued to stroke though his hair, soothing his own frayed nerves while Dash casually dismissed the princess’ words. “It’s like I said Princess Luna. Me and Dusk figured we had it under control, but with the events of today its clear our friend Applejack hasn’t been handling the stress well.” Planting her fists on her hips, Dash would look over her shoulder, and inspected her wings. Still wrapped tight in bandages, the proud pegasus let her lip curl into a sneer. “And I don’t think Princess Cadence will put up with me ignoring her rules about no flying for a few days.”

Rarity would step up to Dusk’s side, offering the princess a low curtsy,taking no effort to break it until the princess acknowledged her presence with a nod before speaking up. “If it would please you Princess Luna, it’s getting very late, and Dusk has overworked himself quite badly today. I think it would be best for his health if we continued this conversation at my boutique. I’m sure I could put together some kind of tea that wouldn’t be an insult to your refined palate.”

With a glance to Rarity, the princess would flash a smile, nodding once in thanks to the mare’s kind offer. “It would be a pleasure to visit your home Seamstress Rarity. Our niece Princess Cadence told us about your kind company and sweet tea, it would be a pleasure to see just what you have to offer.” The mare looked back over her shoulder to the guards, snapped her fingers, and pointed to the one bat pony mare in the group. “Night Daughter Silken Flight, fly out to the Apple’s Orchard. If Lead Hand Applejack is still harvesting rather than sleeping in her bed, order her to bed on our name. If she refuses, inform her will visit her after we finish Seamstress Rarity’s tea.”

The silent guard gave Princess Luna a single nod before launching to flight, soaring into the growing dark of sunset. Dusk moved to at last stand up, several of the Princess’ guards stepped in to his side, aiding him to his feet and supporting him while he brushed himself off. After whispering a quiet word of thanks, the stallion stepped in beside Dash and the princess, speaking the question that was most on his own mind. “Forgive me for asking Princess Luna, but… err. Why do you keep calling people by such specialized titles?”

Flashing the stallion a grin, the princess would slide her arm around his own entwining them and pulling him closer to her side. Her voice bright with mirth, she was delighted to answer his inquiry “But Student Dusk Shine, it’s only polite. You all are constantly naming me with the kind honorific of Princess Luna when I have been derelict in my duties for far longer than any of you have been alive. It only makes sense I should return that respect and honor by calling you by the most appropriate title I can choose for you all, selected to personally signify you as all as best as possible. Princess Celestia, our sister, thinks it a tad taxing and convinced me to use simpler titles with her guards, and the commoners that I do not know well, but in turn she has accepted and will respect my choices to call my personal guard by such specialized names. Thus, you are Student Dusk. I have a feeling your studies will earn you a greater title in time, but for now, I think you will agree. This title best exemplifies your role in the world. A student of life, always exploring all the things that you might learn about the world.”

It was only forty minutes later in Rarity’s house that Dusk found himself having tea for the second time in just over a month with a member of Celestia’s family. If it wasn’t for all the times the princess had invited him back to her study, he might have found it strange.

What was strange, was Rainbow Dash’s response to the situation. Rather than finding a reason to excuse herself, the mare had joined them, and now sat across from Rarity and Princess Luna, attempting to hold conversation while ignoring every attempt the seamstress made to subtly suggest proper manners for the situation. Soup spoon in her tea glass, the mare chugged at the rich tea, heavy with too much sugar, while at the same time she chewed with earnest at the expensive sweetcakes Rarity had pulled from her pantry. “This really is good grub Rarity. I understand why Dusk makes up any excuse to have tea with you after our jogs.”

Rarity attempted to hold her tongue and instead simply offered her friend a nod, her breezy voice cheerful. “Well, I’m sure it’s not just my food that gets Dusk to come visit dear. After all, we talk about news from Canterlot, our recent reading, even some minor politics what with Dusk’s mother sending him letters about Griffon politics. It can be fascinating stuff. Apparently some onvoy requested permission to come visit some of the Wonderbolts next week.”

Mouth still full of food, Dash grinned back at Rarity. “What, Gilda? She promised she would visit. I can’t believe she got permission after all the crazy pranks we pulled at flight school!” When Rarity gasped and Dusk lifted a brow, the mare just offered them a shrug. “What? I was the top flyer in Cloudsdale. Gilda was studying with us as an exchange student. Well mostly she was showing off how the griffons were stronger flyers in bad weather than us. She couldn’t keep up in a real contest of raw speed.”

It was the princess who spoke up next, her own lips only lightly parted to flash her pearly teeth. “Such an odd collection of personalities you’ve collected Student Dusk Shine. We think the mares’ conflicting personalities will keep you for getting bored anytime soon. Have you already started dating both of them?”

Now it was Dash’s turn to be shocked, while Rarity pulled her cup up and held it before her lips, an attempt to cover her broad smirk. Dusk would swallow his own snack cake before shaking his head, and tried to clear things up for the princess. “No Princess Luna. It was Applejack who I was telling you about in my letter. She admitted she wanted to date me during the whole Grand Gala ticket affair. Your sister was kind enough to give me tickets for all my friends in the end. Rainbow Dash is…” And here at last he shut up, Dash’s foot under the table had shifted to crush his own, effectively delivering the message her eyes were screaming at him.

Rarity dove in with the save, her voice warm. “Me and Dusk have an understanding with Applejack. I am not some jealous filly and we are all good friends.” A sip taken from her tea, she spoke openly again. “Beyond that, if Dash wishes to speak with us about taking up some of his spare time, she can wait for things to blow over. We are far too busy right now for Dusk to go off dating two of my friends.”

The shared laughter between Dusk, Rarity and Princess Luna was broken off by the guards at the door allowing in Silken Flight. The mare marched into the dining room, bowed low to her princess, and spoke in a level voice. “Princess Luna, the mare Applejack had retired to bed at our request. However I have a feeling she won’t remain there long, I’d like to request permission to keep watch over the farm tonight to make sure she respects your order”

With a dismissive wave of her hand, Princess Luna offered the mare a warm smile, her attention turned to focus on Dash’s poor attempt to hide her embarrassment at the previous line of conversation. “Student Dusk Shine has explained his concept for the morning. He and his friends will go to speak with Lead Hand Applejack while Mayor Mare gathers those who are well enough to come help with the harvest. As we are here incognito, we will wait until after the villagers have gone to harvest before we return home. We do request you and as many of the guards who are willing to volunteer stay to help with the harvest Night Daughter Silken Flight. It will do you all good to spend time with normal people doing normal work. To see how they sweat to earn their bread.”

Not long after that the others discovered Dusk had passed out sitting up at the table. With the guards' help he was settled in a spare bed in Rarity’s drawing room while the Princess stayed up, talking with her hosts.

It wasn’t until several hours after they had all retired that the Princess found herself alone in Rarity’s inspiration room inspecting the silk bolts left scattered around on mannequins from one experiment or another. Silken Flight broke her focus when she asked a straight forward question, being careful to keep her voice down. “My princess, I’ve considered your request. We could do better watching him if you simply made an excuse of leaving one of my sisters as a guard for him. Or failing that, pick any of the unicorns. Most of them are already so in love with his reputation alone, it would be no trouble having one of them infiltrate the city and take up work while keeping watch over his actions.”

Dismayed at the distraction from her imagination, the towering Alicorn turned to look over her shoulder at the mare, her voice honest but sad. “Night Daughter Silken Flight, we want someone to guard him and report to us, not to warm his bed. He has taken a lover and several suitors are hounding him. A unicorn mare in town could pass unnoticed, but for the very same reason, we think any one of them would get too close and ruin the test. By the same note, openly posting one of your sisters to him might work, but in order to keep her from interfering, we would have to tell her everything. He is smart, he would notice the small signs that would quickly give our tests away.” Shaking her head, Luna stepped forward, wrapping a sapphire blue bolt of silk around her shoulders, inspecting the way it fell across her bare flesh. “We want his reactions to be genuine, and the griffon is a perfect opportunity to start. If your spies can not handle the surveillance, we will find a better solution, but we trust your judgement and will let you decide.” There was a pause, the pale ivory night goddess shifted to draw the robe low over her breasts, revealing ample cleavage like the mannequin across the room did. “Do the mares really reveal so much flesh? Or is it simply Seamstress Rarity’s style?”

Blushing at the sight inches from her face, the guard would shake her head, and answered softly. “So- so- some of both, Princess Luna. As Rainbow shows, not all mares have the body for such style.” Forcefully attempting to swallow a knot in her throat, the guard pressed on, back to the real reason for their conversation. “We can handle it. I wish you would just let me do it personally. I do not think with my loins, as the unicorn mares do, and you could easily disguise me as a pegasus.”

A finger touched the smaller mare’s lips, the princess released her silk bolt and stepped in close, shaking her head. “You are too valuable to us for other duties. ‘We can not place all our chips on this one hand of cards’ as the guards are fond of saying. Now help us pick something to wear and a color for our hair.” Stepping away, Luna appeared to totally miss the effect her presence and soft touch had on the shaken mare, now staring wide eyed like any schoolgirl in the presence of her secret crush. With an eye on the window, the princess spoke with joy at the day to come. “The dawn will be here soon and we don't want to miss this ‘harvest’. It sounds like such fun.”

It was still before dawn when Dusk awoke, the soft silk sheets of a strange bed might have been comfortable, but that wouldn’t keep the stallion from feeling like something was wrong. It was only when he rolled over, and saw the threat of dawn through the open drapes that the stallion realized he had spent so long sleeping. Violently rolling over and falling out of the small bed, Dusk grunted at the sudden shock of the short fall to the ground.

It took Dusk effort to stand up again, His body already starting a rhythm that had become common the last few weeks. As he was putting on his clothing from the day before, a soft voice by the door shocked his still drowsy mind “The Princess will not be able to see you this morning she has already left for home. She left a request you continue to write her as you have been, and that you act as host for this griffon emissary, since you could use the practical experience to go with what you have already learned from your mother.”

Before he could even process the fact that the bat mare was in the room with him giving orders, she opened the door and stepped outside. “Just… Just how long was she standing there watching me sleep? And why would Princess Luna leave so quickly?” Shaking his head, Dusk smoothed his shirt and redressed, forcefully attempting to disregard those bothersome trains of thought for now.

Stepping out into the hallway, Dusk discovered a short letter from Rarity taped to the door, the mare’s flowing handwriting resulted in a gorgeous but short note. “Dearest Dusk Shine. I awoke early in hopes of getting Pinkie’s assistance at making breakfast for the Princes and her guards but Luna has already left for Canterlot, and her guards were up and served me before I could offer. I will bring you and Applejack breakfast with Pinkie, see you at the Orchard shortly after dawn my love.”

A scent made him lift the note to his nose, Rarity’s perfume was subtle, but rich. A mixture of soft lavender, vanilla and rosemary notes. Stuffing the letter into his jacket’s inner pocket, the stallion made his way from the boutique, and into the predawn, the faintest suggestion of a cool dew on the air. An early hint to the rapidly approaching fall.

Applejack had only slept an hour, two at the most when she woke up and discovered the guard princess Luna had sent was gone. It had taken her another hour to decide that it really was safe, and she could return to the field. “My work is too important to lay lazy in bed. Why did you turn against me Dusk? I thought you of all people would understand how important my work is.” But the mare spent no more time thinking on that topic, dismissing the stallion’s betrayal. She would deal with him for turning against her when he had the courage to face her again.

Taking back to the field shortly after midnight, the earth mare returned to her harvest work with the same dedication she had before. Yet quickly two facts reared their head: She was at the edge of her strength, and without Dusk’s assistance she was going to struggle to manage a half hour lap. Refusing to to give up, the mare pushed her body to pick up the pace, lugging back the cart and panting for breath the whole time. Her brow soaked in sweat, yet she shivered from a chill in her bones that was not due to the slight night breeze.

The night would thus continue at a painfully slow pace, twice she found herself waking up face down in the mud, her memory just as muddy as her face. As the dawn sun started to rise she found herself standing before the bar with yet another load, the water barrel upturned on her face to wash the caked mud from her face and chest. With damp hair plastered to her face, she only just now realized Dusk was standing at her side when his jacket was thrown around her shoulders. Squaring herself to face the barn she couldn’t suppress a shiver that ran up her spine. Taking on a sharp tone, she spoke to the barn, not him. “So you’ve come to apologize for sending the princess’ guard after me without even hearing my side of the story first?”

Unable to suppress a sigh from leaking through his clenched teeth, Dusk stepped up behind the mare, placing his hands on her shoulders. “I was planing to talk with you last night, but I ended up overworking myself badly enough that I passed out on Big Mac. I still planned to return after asking for some help form Rarity and the mayor, but then Princess Luna showed.. But forget about that. We need to talk. You can ask others for help Applejack. You don’t have to do all this work alone. But when you started abusing the Dawn Blossom didn’t you think I’d find out?”

Throwing Dusk’s touch off her shoulders, Applejack’s breath was heightened, her eyes wide and filled with mix of shock, rage and embarrassment. Her voice filled with hurt, as she turned on the offensive, pushed away from him, and turned her head up, even curling her lip with a sneer. “What about you? Redheart gave you lots of strict orders, but the second I turned my back, you were begging for help from door to door. And then when I gave you a day off? You returned to the field and tried to set a record for scaring members of my family shitless. At least I know my limits.”

Dusk’s eyes found something more interesting than her words to draw on as his response. He lifted his hand, and brushed a clot of mud from her hair. With a twitch of his hand, he flicked the mud to the ground then looked back into her eyes. “I’m going to guess you were not with Rarity at the spa, so I’m going to say you’ve been suffering the side effects of Dawn Blossom withdraw. Bouts of exhaustion? Momentary blackouts? I wouldn’t be surprised if your not just shivering because of the cold water.”

“I … I didn’t invite you back on my farm Dusk! So why are you here? Go back to your warm bed and I’ll deal with this harvest alone.” In an attempt to hold back tears, AJ’s bloodshot eyes locked on Dusk’s own, refusing to blink.

It was Fluttershy who spoke next. The normally shy mare stepped around the corner of the barn, her eyes wide and ringed with tears “Applejack! We only want to help you! When Dusk and Rarity told me about just how bad things really were here I knew I had to come to your assistance! I’m your friend too, and I’m not as strong as you or good with leading people like Rainbow Dash, but I could still help.” A mug of steaming tea was held out, the normally timid woman stepped in between the stallion and her friend. “I brought you some herbal tea. It will help with the fatigue, but unless you sit down and let us help you, it will still take weeks before you're feeling better. Now drink it.”

Dusk took a step back from the two women, the smaller pegasus squaring hers while the larger earth mare tried to lock an angry glare at her normally sweet natured friend. But the pink haired mare was unrelenting as she pushed the mug into AJ’s hands, and in the end the mare took the offered mug, sipping deeply at the rich drink. Even before she could put it down, Rarity and Pinkie rounded the corner, the rich scent of freshly baked apple fritters strong in the air. Still pale, Pinkie was never the less bright and full of smiles. After shoving the sack of glazed fritters into AJ’s free hand, Pinkie wrapped the taller mare in her arms and standing fully extended on her tiptoes, she planted a warm kiss on the taller mare’s lips. When she finally broke off the kiss, she rested her head under AJ’s chin, tenderly nuzzling the taller woman’s throat. “I’m so sorry AJ! If I’d known you were so stressed out about the farm, I’d have never asked you to help while mister and misses Cake went out of town. I could have handled it myself. Heck, they would have let me close the bakery for the day to come help you properly. Don’t hate me for being a bad friend, please?”

Still trapped between Pinkie and the barn, AJ was given no time to process the situation, while Rarity stepped up, took back the sack, and ripped it open. With ease she pulled out a hot apple fritter, and placed it in AJ’s hand. This was, at last, something she could process quickly. “And you Rarity? Would you have closed your boutique just to help lug around apples if I’d asked?”

While the question had been edged with sarcasm, Rarity took it in stride, shaking her head. “No darling, I would have aided with moving things while my magic held out, but I’d of rather gone after the Canterlot labor board and their exploitation of your hard situation. I’m sure there must be some law that would prevent such ridiculous surcharges of a business in a crisis. But Dusk has solved that for us his own way.” Silent for only a moment, she perked up, grinning. “But I’m sure one or two of my clients are lawyers in Canterlot. It would be a pleasure to inquire for you darling.”

Applejack turned back to Dusk while Pinkie grabbed her elbow and made her start eating the doughnut, while glaze ran down their fingers. Able to only speak up between forced bites and sips, the mare watched Dusk closely. “And what was your solution Dusk? I ran your numbers a dozen times over in the last few days. Even with the extra help and Dash’s weather tea, we are seven or eight days short of finishing harvest.”

Before Dusk could answer, it was Rainbow Dash who answered, marching on the farm with an army behind her. “And what if I brought all of Ponyville to get harvest finished today? Would that be enough to bring a smile to your lips, sourpuss?”

Even in Dusk’s wildest dreams he had never expected to hit the full two hundred hands he had hoped to see come out this morning. Instead with Mayor Mare at her side, and Luna’s private guard in their entirety, the real shocking force behind them was near six hundred strong. From filly to elderly stallion, a massive portion of the collective population of Ponyville had showed up to assist with Dusk’s request.

Her jaw slack, Applejack would turn to Dusk, her head shaking in disbelief. “How could you get them all to help? How could you afford it? You didn’t ask the princess to order them, did you?” Even as she asked it, it was clear she knew that was not the true reason.

Shocked himself, Dusk needed a moment to clear his head before he answered her. “They are here to help you Applejack, because you have helped them in countless ways over the years and when I asked them to return the favor, and told them how badly you needed their help. They have come by the dozen to show you their support. Now let’s get started, and if you pick up another barrel or grab a harness, I will sick Pinkie on you.” While he had been joking, Pinkie flashed Applejack a grin that none could confuse as anything but threatening, even while the smaller earth mare continued to cling to her chest.

It was shocking how quickly work got done with so many extra hands. Suddenly two earth ponies pulled every cart, a hundred stood in the barns unloading loads and settling them on the endless shelves of the loft and both main stories. In only hours, carts were being sent back to town to Filthy Rich’s own warehouse rather than being left to wait for someone to have the time to spare. Before noon, the Cakes had teamed up with a dozen other cooks to start cooking a proper lunch for the massive collective, all the while Dusk, Applejack and Silken Flight handed out orders, Dusk’s well worn map of the apple orchard now quickly being filled in as entire acres were completed in a single trip. The whole time the line of carts buzzing around the farm moved in a endless stream to the bar and then to the main road to be lashed into a line to be taken back to town like all the others before them.

With Rainbow Dash’s weather team freed from doing all the hard work, a thin cloud bank was driven off to give the best of a sunny day to the workers, even if Dash herself remained grounded. Big Mac could only marvel and sit watching with his sister, glad when she fell asleep resting against his shoulder. They let her sleep through the massive lunch barbeque, and while Mayor Mare gave several speeches, Applejack was allowed to sleep through it all. It was the early afternoon when Dash and Fluttershy came to Mac and Silken Flight with Dusk sleeping in the back of a cart, still exhausted from his own hard work over the last few weeks.

Rarity would offer the best solution. “Rather than wake him, why not put Applejack in the cart with him, and park them in a dark corner of the barn. They both have earned a good sleep and we can handle cleanup without them.”

So it was that while a third the volunteers had finished and headed home before dinner, Mac found himself giving thanks to all those who had poured out to aid his family in their time of need. With harvest done before dinner got into full swing, Mac would draw a dozen barrels of the family's private reserve of cider, handing out mugs to any and every willing hand.

It was not until nearly nine when Rarity found herself checking up on Dusk and Applejack in the barn, surprised to see a quiet unicorn mare, whose name escaped her memory, already there. “You’ve been watching them the whole day?” In an attempt to avoid waking the sleepy pair, Rarity stood close to the pale unicorn, her crystalline sapphire hair tied in a signe massive braid that hung just past her hips. “If I had known someone had asked you, I would have relieved you hours ago. I’m so sorry.”

The quiet unicorn offered a small shrug, her silk shawl pristine, not even a hint of sweat maring the pale cobalt silk dress. For some reason she would speak up only after too long a pause, her voice cheerful, yet her words were carefully phrased. “It was no bother, really. Nurse Redheart checked in on them three times, and I got an excuse to watch the handsome stallions lifting heavy loads all day.”

Sharing a laugh at that, Rarity stepped onto the cart, and brushed a few locks from Applejack’s hair, admiring how peaceful the pair looked curled up in one another’s arms in the back of the cart. Sitting down and quietly brushing the sleeping Applejack’s tail with her fingers, Rarity looked to the other woman, her own mind too distracted by the events of her life to realize, she was being admired or scrutinized. “Stallions come and go my dear friend. It’s when one of value comes along that you need to recognize his presence. I’m glad I have Dusk. And after today, my dearest Applejack, show him you do too.” When the other mare simply lifted an eyebrow and looked at her, Rarity shook her head, leaning into Applejack, whispering to her friend’s ear. “If you want him, I will share him. Just make sure to ask first, because we have started making Sunday tea our date night, and you know how hard it is for me to rearrange my whole schedule when the new fall fashion season starts.” Laughing to herself, Rarity again thanked the watchful mare before turning towards town. “If you wish to go, just ask Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash to keep an eye on these two. Both are likely staying the night and enjoying the bonfire. No reason to keep you from family just because my sleeping friends need someone to watch them.”

Alone again, the quiet unicorn stepped to the cart once more, an old eye taking time to inspect the sleeping pair. It wasn’t until Silken Flight stepped from the shadows that she spoke up again. “We think it’s impressive that he could pull so many together with a simple speech about a friend in need.”

With no words and only a shrug, the bat pony stepped up beside her friend, watching the breath of the sleeping pair rise and fall. She answered only when a thought came to her. “Did you have fun today? Walking with the crowd and blending in? You are very good at it.”

With laughter that rang like a bell, the unicorn crossed arms with the guard, and placed her head on the mare’s shoulder. “We are good at it because people don’t look at one person out of place in so large a crowd. Now you are weary. Order one of your staff to watch over them for the night. The last train for home leaves in an hour and we wouldn’t want them to have to wait on us.”

Silken Flight would stiffen up at the unicorn’s close and familiar behavior, a dark blush spreading over her cheeks while she offered one rapid nod, quickly turning and marching away to find one of her squad in the mild chaos of a celebratory crowd.

Author's Notes:

So guys, here is part 2 of Applebuck Season. And Don't worry! Part 3 will be short and sweet. Unless something goes wrong I'll release it tomorrow, so catch up and let your imagination run wild!

And please keep leaving your thoughts and comments! It's really my biggest driving factor in continuing is seeing how your minds work with the details I feed you!