The Harvest was just about finished.

This surprised Applejack to no end. Usually, the Summer Harvest would take a little over a week to finish, and even if her friends were present and Big Macintosh was on overtime, that time would be reduced to six days at best. And that also counted on the weather agreeing with them and the sun not being too much of a pain. What with it being summer - hence the name Summer Harvest - times were hot and clouds were cold. Good in thought, definitely bad in execution.

But this year, she had Delirious and his friends.

And this year, the Harvest had been completed in a matter of two days. Applejack wasn't entirely sure if that was because she whipped them into shape whenever they screwed around, or if it was because she fed them free food and they managed somehow. She didn't really want to discredit them, to be honest. They were helpful, and they achieved something she didn't ever think possible. It was a good idea to keep in mind that Sweet Apple Acres stretched for, well, acres of land.

But they still did it.

And that Harvest was just about finished.

Her train of thought returned back to its home station, and Applejack's green eyes lifted up and into the tree standing in the sunlight above her. Its green leaves swayed in the light wind, the wispy rustling reaching her eyes and giving her an odd sense of nostalgia. These were sounds she was used to. These were sounds she had heard all her life. She shut her eyes and imagined a better life, but could not. A smile crept onto her lips, and as she opened her eyes yet again, the tree came back into full view.

Creasing her cheek with her grin, she took a few steps toward it and eyed it up cautiously.

This was it.

The final tree.

"Just about" was mostly equivalent to "it's literally right here and we're done".

Applejack liked trees.

Everything about them.

Their life span, their leaves, their bark, their smell, their... everything.

Mostly what they bore, though.

Be it oranges, or apples.

Heh.

Apples and oranges.

She never really thought about it that way.

Applejack blinked, and this time she found the fruit of her profession sitting directly above her, nestled in the branches of the Final Tree. It was an odd thought, and she couldn't have shook it that easy.

She hummed a short tune.

Apples and oranges.

They couldn't be compared, as went the saying.

But, they could couldn't they?

They were both fruits.

They both had seeds.

And, as Applejack stepped forward once more, she also noted that they were both grown from trees. So apples and oranges could be compared after all, and their similarities were... easy. She frowned, wondering how such a popular expression could be so easily thwarted and disproved. Applejack shook her head.

She wasn't one for expressions anyhow.

But, apples and oranges...

They were apparently opposites.

Applejack gave a soft smile.

It reminded her of Delirious and her. Or of Vanoss and her. Or of Wildcat, or Nogla, and her. They were different. They weren't like her, not in the slightest. They enjoyed different things. They had different favorite things. They were different genders, different kinds of ponies. They came from different places. They were all nothing like her.

Especially Delirious.

Heh.

Applejack's smile deepened.

Apples and oranges.

A hoof involuntarily flew to her head, wiping the involuntary sweat off her brow and involuntarily flinging it to the ground by her hooves, where it collected on a patch of grass before sinking into the dirt beneath. She watched it go, strangely fixated. Shaking her head lightly, she looked back up and knitted her brow. No time to wander off, the Final Tree was standing right there, and she had a job to finish.

Yup.

She turned around, pushing her forelegs into the ground and leaning forward.

Apples and oranges.

A lot had changed since Delirious had arrived, and at that thought Applejack suddenly stopped and lowered her previously rising hindlegs. Placing all four hooves back onto the grass, she blinked rapidly. Had a lot changed since then? Thinking back to it, Delirious had only sprang up a little less than a week ago. Had her life been altered in those few days? Was it for the better? Could it possibly be for the worst?

Applejack liked trees.

But this tree's branches were growing, and they were growing too fast.

Pushing away the thought, she focused on more important things and swiveled around to look at the tree once more.

Boundless and bare.

She blinked.

Fixed and full.

Applejack cleared her throat.

That was weird.

She felt her head swim, and so raised a hoof to touch it carefully. As it subsided painfully, she shook her head yet again and leaned forward on her forelegs. Holding her breath in, she waited for three seconds, paused, and let it out in tandem with the full force of her hindlegs. As the hooves connected with the wood, she heard the unmistakable sounds of apples falling into baskets, and so she smiled. Wiping her brow, she looked to the sky and watched as the sun winked at her from behind the Macintosh Mountains.

She winked back, and turned tail to collect the apple baskets. Leaning over, she picked the first one up with her teeth and about-faced, depositing them in the nearby wagon. Her thoughts were clear, well, as clear as they could be when the idea of dinner slowly grew in her mind. And food soon became a major thought of hers, and so she quickly threw the remaining baskets into the cart and smiled to nopony but herself.

The Harvest was finished.

And so Applejack grinned.

"Are you fuckin' done yet? Jesus Christ we've been sitting here on our asses for like five minutes while you watched the sky move."

THWACK

"Ow! Asshole-"

"Shut up Wildcat."

Applejack looked.

Rainbow Dash hovered impatiently. Sweetie Belle dealt. Scootaloo looked at her cards and smiled. Apple Bloom looked at hers and frowned. Nogla quietly lay on his back. Vanoss pat his stomach. Wildcat yawned.

And Delirious grinned at her from underneath his mask.

She had seen it enough times to know when it happened.

She chuckled.

Buckin' weirdos.

She waved a hoof, and the group gained interest in a matter of milliseconds. Straightening themselves, they waited for Applejack.

And Applejack gave them what they wanted.

"...Fine, let's go get some dinner y'all..."

The cheer rang out, and Applejack was happy.

Heh.

Apples and oranges, huh?

Author's Notes:

It's a good song. Trust me. Sorry about the short and shitty chapter, I've got good plans for the next one.