As Stubborn As A Mule

One week ago, Applejack had successfully managed to deter a stampede of cows from flattening Ponyville. In doing so, the town (mainly Pinkie), had decided to throw a party in her honour, lining the town in decorations and other lovely things, celebrating the farmer's actions. Whilst we waited for the mare-of-honour to show up, myself and Rarity were placing the finishing touches on the decorations around the town hall.

"We all ready?" Asks Twilight, trotting up to inspect the decorations.

"Just one last thing." Replies Rarity, using her magic to levitate a nearby poster, decorated with apples, and hanging it over the town hall. "Now we're ready." 'Show off'

"Is Applejack all set?" Twilight says to Rainbow Dash, who had just flown over to join us.

"Actually, I haven't seen her all week" The Pegasus replies.

"Not since the stampede" Pinkie adds in, joining the conversation.

"But she'll be here for sure!" Reassures Rainbow. "Applejack is never late."

"Well let's hope your right, skittles, because here comes the audience." I say, pointing to the large crowd of ponies heading our way.

"Positions, everypony! Positions!" Cries Twilight, galloping towards the stage, followed by myself and the girls.

With the large gathering of ponies now quietening down, Twilight trots towards the microphone and begins her speech, levitating the

"Welcome, everypony! Today, we are here to honour a pony we can always count on to help in matters great and small. A pony whose contributions to-" She's interrupted, however, by a certain rainbow maned pegasus, scattering the unicorn's notes all over the stage, much to my amusement.

"Did you see Applejack's slick moves out there? What an athlete. This week, she's gonna help me with my new flying trick, and I know it's gonna be so awesome!" She exclaims, much to the delight of the crowd. She's then pushed out of the way by Twilight, who resumes her own speech.

"Exactly. And-" Once more, the poor unicorn finds herself cut off, this time by Pinkie. 'Strike two!'

"This week, I get to run Sugarcube Corner for the first time!"

"Is this even relevant?"

"What does that have to do with Applejack?" Questioned Twilight. Blinking in confusion, one can almost hear the gears in Pinkie's head turning, processing what she had just heard.

"Oh." 'Ding!' "Applejack, one of the best bakers ever, is gonna help me! Applejack makes everything great, so free samples for everypony!" Like Rainbow Dash, this pleases the crowd. Also like Rainbow Dash, Pinkie is shoved to the side by the unicorn.

"Oh-kay, that's great. Now if I could just make a point without being inter-"

"Twilight?"

"-rupted.."

"STRIKE THREE! WOOOOOO!"

"Twilight, I'm so sorry," apologised the introverted Pegasus. "but I just wanted to mention that Applejack is also helping me this week with the official bunny census, where we count up all the new baby bunnies that were born this season. She's gonna help gather them using her wonderful herding skills." Noticing the uncaring look the unicorn was giving her, Fluttershy retreated back off of the stage.

"Anyone else? Anyone? No? Well then, as I was trying to say-"

"Hey Twilight?"

"WHAT!?" Screams Twilight, her head shooting towards me, her right eye twitching in annoyance.

"Hi" I say, giving the flabbergasted mare a wave, innocent smile and all, whilst gesturing to the Mayor standing besides her.

"Urgh! Never mind" Mutters the exasperated unicorn, joining me at the back of the stage, giving me a shove which I playfully return. 'It aint fun being interrupted, is it?'

"And so, with no further ado, it is my privilege to give the prize, 'Pony of Ponyville' Award, to our beloved guest of honour, a pony of the utmost trustworthiness, reliability, and integrity. Ponyvilles' most capable and dependable friend: Applejack!" And with that, the curtains opened to the cheers of the crowd, and revealed...

...Nopony. The mare in question was nowhere to be seen.

"Cool! Way to go Applejack, that was awesome! I mean....heh " Noticing the looks we were sending his way, Spike quickly quietened down. "Awkward". 'More or less'. Clearing her throat in embarrassment, Mayor Mare, 'Oh my god her parents must've really hated her', began looking around for a way out of the awkward situation. Thankfully, a solution came.

"I'm here. I'm here!" Called out a voice from behind the crowd, it's owner being none other than Applejack herself. Pushing/stumbling her way to the front of the crowd, Applejack finally dragged herself onto the stage. 'She doesn't seem all right... She drunk?'

"Miss Mayor," She said, before pushing said mayor away from the podium, 'Isn't that assault?', "thank ya' kindly for this here...award...thingy. It's so bright and shiny and..heheh, ah' sure do look funny...heh.. " 'Yep, she's absolutely hammered. And she didn't even let me have any? Snide bitch.' The mare was then joined by Pinkie, who proceeded to join her in making faces in the award's reflection. 'Well, Pinkie aint drunk, she's just completely insane. Or both, I can't actually tell.'

"Okay. Well, thank you Applejack for saving us from that scary stampede, and always being there for everypony." Twilight said, trying to salvage what was left of the award ceremony.

"Yeah. Ah' like helping the ponyfolks and.....and stuff..." And then she fell asleep.

"I got this." I say to Twilight. Taking matters into my own hands, I walk up to the sleepy mare and, cracking my hands, slap the mare back into reality.

Lightly, mind you.

"Oh-uh-yeah-Uh....Thanks!" And with that, she takes one of the handles in her mouth and drags the trophy off of the stage, back through the crowd, and away to her farm, much to the confused stares of everypony else.

"Was it just me, or did Applejack seem a little..."

"Tired?"
"Dizzy?"
"Shitfaced?"
"Messy?" Noticing our questioning looks, Rarity attempted to explain herself. "Well, did you see her mane?"

"She seemed fine to me!" Pinkie said, before continuing her to make the noises that she and Applejack had been making beforehand. Sighing, I turn to Twilight, who had a look of curiosity on her muzzle.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" I ask Twilight

"That we go visit Applejack and find out what's wrong with her today?" She replies.

"Close enough" And with that, the pair of us began making our way to Sweet Apple Acres, with the aim of finding out exactly what was up with our apple farming friend.

But not before I helped myself to a couple of apples that had fallen from Applejack's baskets, much to Twilight's annoyance.

"That's stealing, Greyson" She pointed out.

"What you gonna do? Arrest me?" Her response is to magically chuck an apple at my head, promptly receiving an apple to her own, courtesy of LeBron Greyson over here.

Finally reaching one of the apple fields, we were able to spot Applejack kicking the nearby trees, causing all of their apples to fall into the conveniently placed baskets. Making our way towards the apple farmer, we quickly noticed the fact that after the third tree she had kicked, she began stumbling around.

"What on earth is that pony doing?" Questioned Twilight, upon seeing Applejack kicking over a full basket of apples.

"Being a clumsy twat?"

"Greyson! That's our friend you're talking about!" Rebuked the unicorn. Shrugging my shoulders, I begin walking towards Applejack, who was now standing still, looking at the floor, seemingly in a daze.

"Well let's not stand here all day, Sparky. Time to figure out what's up with her." Reaching the farm pony, I realised that, like she had done on the stage, she had fallen asleep. Looking at Twilight, I gestured to the sleeping pony. "She did this on the stage, as well" I say.

"Applejack!" Shouts Twilight, still a metres from where I was, whilst getting no reaction from the sleeping mare. 'Why is she still over there?' Suddenly, my vision is blinded by a bright light, forcing me to cover my eyes. Opening them a moment later, I realise that Twilight had decided to teleport from where she was, now appearing in front of Applejack.

"APPLEJACK!" She shouts, oblivious to my temporary blindness.

"Warn me, next time? I prefer not being blind, Sparkles." Turning around to stick her tongue out at me, the unicorn turns back to Applejack, who had now only just realised we were here.

"Oh, howdy Twilight, Greyson." Greets the sleepy mare.

"What is all this?" Questions Twilight, looking around the field.

"An apple farm?" I flatly say.

"It's Applebuck season" Replies Applejack, trotting to a nearby tree to continue working. She's stopped however, by Twilight, who had decided to once again teleport in front of her, leaving me behind. Rejoining the mares, I'm once more able to be a part of the conversation.

"-ple family calls harvestin' time. We gather all the apples from the trees so we can sell 'em." Explains the farm pony.

"But why are you doing it all alone?"

"'Cause Big McIntosh hurt himself."

"Big McIntosh? Who's he?" I ask.

"Ma' brother" Is her simple reply.

"Aah, got it."

"What about all those relatives I've met when I first came to Ponyville? Can't they help?"

"Will you please stop teleporting for five minutes? It's doing my head in, Sparky."

"They were just here for the Apple family reunion. They actually live all over Equestria and are busy harvestin' their own orchards. So, uh, I'm on ma' own." And then Twilight teleports in front of the stetson wearing mare. Again. 'I swear I'm going to slap her'.

"Which means, I should really get back to work." Says Applejack to an unmoving Twilight, who was blocking her way. "Ahem...hint hint? Get back to work?" This appears to get through to the unicorn, who finally relents.

"Fine" Sighs Twilight, stepping out of the way.

"Could ya' step aside, Twilight?" Says Applejack, appearing to be wobbling. 'Erm...You okay?'

"I just did......Applejack, you don't look so good." Points out the lavender unicorn. Getting a closer look, I can't help but nod in agreement.

"Yeah, you aren't looking to great there, AJ. I think you should probably take a brea-" And then karma bites me in the ass, with me being cut off.

"Eh, don't any of you three worry none, I'm just fine and dandy!" She says, trotting to a nearby tree, attempting to kick the tree, but missing. "Whoa!" She exclaims, before once more finding herself face to face with Twilight. Again.

"Do you... want some help?" This triggers something in the farm pony, who quickly begins shaking her head.

"Help? No way, no how!" 'That's what they all say, before they suddenly find themselves with no money and sleeping in a ditch at the side of the road.... As far as I've experienced, anyway...Good times.'

"AJ, she's just offering to help you out." 'Just take the hint?'

"Yeah, we are." She says, looking at me. Realising there was no way I was getting out of it, I nod in agreement. Happy with my answer, she turns back to the stubborn farmer.

"Besides, there's no way you can do it all on your own." This turns out to be a poor choice of words from the unicorn, as Applejack does not look to happy with that statement.

"Is that a challenge?" Says Applejack, getting into Twilight's personal space. Stepping closer to the pair in case one of them does something they'll both later regret, I'm thankful that Twilight decides to quickly diffuse the situation before it could escalate any further.

"Uhm... no?" Despite this, Applejack still believed that the unicorn was doubting her. To be honest, I didn't exactly have much faith in the farm pony either, but I wasn't the one being squared up to.

"Well, I'm gonna prove to you that ah' can do it! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got apples to buck!" And with that, the farmer trots of to buck the nearby trees, missing one or two in the process. Turning to the concerned unicorn next to me, I reassuringly pat her back.

"Welp, you tried Sparky, but that mare is pretty damn stubborn. It'll probably take a miracle before she decides to pull her head out of her own ass." I jokingly say.

"I guess you're right. Come on, let's head back to the library. It's time you answered a few questions of mine." She says, eyes shining in excitement and a wide smile adorning her muzzle. Unable to say no to that face, I sigh in acceptance.

"Fine, fine, whatever... As long as they aren't too personal, I'll try my best." And with that, she teleports the pair of us back to the library, where I quickly proceed to rush to the bathroom and throw up from how horrible teleportation feels, much to Twilight's amusement. 'Sadistic bitch'.

Standing on one of the libraries balconies, I'm subjected to numerous questions from the lavender unicorn, whose hunger for knowledge was....unnerving, to say the least. With every question she asked, she'd end up having at least a couple more, which she'd scribble down in that notepad of her's.

"What was your world called?"

"Earth."

"Where did you come from?"

"My mother?OW!Okay, okay, stop throwing books at me, for fuck sake! England, United Kingdom. Happy? Jesus christ"

"Who's the monarch of this 'United Kingdom'?"

"Good ol' Queen Elizabeth II, immortal beast that she is."

"Wait, your ruler is immortal as well?"

"Nope. I just say that because she's ruled for so long that many people think that she's a lizard, can't age, and is part of an organisation that plans on turning the world into some lovely utopia, or something like that."

"Uh huh... Anyway, what are those things on the edge of your....hoof? Claw?"

"These?" I say, wiggling my fingers. "They're fingers. This one here, is the thumb, and this one here-" I raise my middle finger, "-is my favourite out of them all." I smirk, the unicorn staring inquisitively at what I was doing.

"Oh yea, I've seen you do that before. What does that mean?"

"It basically means 'Go-Fuck-Yourself' in sign language." Hearing this, she blushes.

"Oh...Nice to know... Okay..uh... next question. What is your diet, exactly? Because, looking at your teeth, you seem to be an omnivore, correct?"

"Yep. I can both meat and vegetables, though I take it meat isn't exactly in popular demand round here, since I've yet to see any of you lot eat any, right?"

"You'd be correct. Ponies are herbivores, and so we can't eat mea-"

"I know what it means, Sparky. I'm not that dumb, contrary to popular belief."

"Hey, I don't think you're stupid." 'Aww, cheers sweetheart.'

"Daww, thanks Sparkles."

"Anyway, next question. What was your foalhood li-" 'Yea, no.'

"What did I say at the farm, Sparky?" I say, cutting her off. Blinking in surprise, she pauses in thought, before repeating what I had said earlier. 'Good girl.'

"Exactly. So, pick a different question." Before she could do so, however, both mine and Twilight's attention were directed to what sounded like screaming. And it was getting louder by the second. Realising it was now coming from above us, I looked to the sky, before suddenly feeling a strong force impact with my abdomen, being brought down to the floor by it. Looking to my chest, I realised that there was now a Pegasus laying ontop of me. A certain, rainbow maned Pegasus, to be exact.

"Hey, big guy." She says, giving me a sheepish smile. I raise my eyebrow.

"Next time, take me out to dinner, okay Rainbow?" I say, smirking in the process. Unable to contain a blush, she instead turns to face Twilight. 'Aah, the day I meet someone I can't fluster is the day I'll die. And hell, I'm probably immortal by now.'

"I think somepony else needs your help"

"Applejack?" Both myself and Twilight guess.

"Yep" Sighing, Twilight gets up and teleports away, most likely to Applejack's farm, leaving me on the balcony. With Rainbow still lying on top of me.

"So, do you wanna get up? Or do you want to stay on top of me all day? I ask.

"Well, you're pretty comfy to lie on, lanky, and I've not had my midday nap yet, so...."

"Knock yourself out, skittles" And with that, she dropped her head back down onto my shirt, wrapping her wings around my body like a pillow, before falling asleep, a goofy smile on her face. Shaking my head at how stupid the pair of us looked, I lay my own head back down, closing my eyes. Minutes later, I was out like a light.

I don't know how long I'd been asleep on that balcony, but when I woke up, Rainbow had vanished. Shrugging, I head back into the library, wondering if Twilight had managed to talk some sense into Applejack yet. I'd just reached the bottom of the stairs when, out of nowhere, a sudden bout of tiredness overcomes me, similar to the one I had experienced during the Gala ticket fiasco.

This time, however, it was much more stronger. So strong, in fact, that it forces me to one knee, attracting the attention of those present. Those being Twilight and Spike, who quickly rushed to my side. 'What the fuck is this?'

"Greyson! Are you alright?" I'm only just about able to hear their voices, as I stagger back to my feet.

"I'm fine.... I'm fine...Really, I'm good.. I just...stumbled on the last step. Lost my footing, y'know?" I say, reassuring the distressed duo. Thankfully, this seems to calm them both down. For the moment, at least. Hoping to change the subject, I turn towards Twilight. "So, Sparky. How'd it go with Applejack?" I ask, hoping that the stubborn mare had finally decided to take our advice and ask for help. Still looking at me with a hint of concern, Twilight shakes her head. "Not good?"

"Not good." She confirms. 'Seriously? This mare is out of her mind' "Do you know what that mare has done?" She asks.

"Well, you ditched me on the balcony with Rainbow, so....No?"

"Good job, Twilight." Chuckles Spike, much to the embarrassment of Twilight.

"Oh yea, heh, sorry about that." She sheepishly replies, ears flattening in embarrassment. 'What is it with ponies and being too goddamn adorable? I hate it and love it, and that is horrifying.'

"Meh, don't worry about it. So what did AJ do exactly?" I ask, curious to know what the mare had done now. One explanation later, involving a mass food poisoning incident, and I was rather....surprised. 'She's really this desperate to not take help? Holy hell, even I'm not this stubborn.'"

"Dear god, the mare is as stubborn as a mule." I say, shaking my head in exasperation. At this, the unicorn laughed.

"That's exactly what I said!" At this, I chuckled as well. 'Great minds think ali-' Our attention was drawn to a knocking on the nearby window, where, quite coincidentally, an actual mule was standing outside.. Looking inside. At us. 'That's creepy.'

"My friend here meant no offence!" Shouted Twilight to the possibly offended mule.

"None taken." Replied the mule, who proceeded to walk away. 'The hell?'

"Who the fuck was that? A friend of yours?" I say, laughing. At this, the unicorn picks up a nearby book and throws it at my head. Again. "Can you not use my head for target practice?" I ask, getting a giggle from both the mare and dragon.

"Let me think about it....No." Is her cocky reply, before she turns to the door. "I'm going for a walk, want to come?" She asks the pair of us.

"No thanks, I've got some comics I want to catch up on." Is Spike's answer, running up the stairs behind me. Now looking at me, I shrug.

"Sure, why not. I need to stretch my legs anyway after the nap I just had." I say, joining her at the door, opening it for her. "Mares first" I say, giving a comical bow. As with everything I do apparently, this elicits another laugh from Twilight.

"My, such a gentlecolt, Greyson. You must have had the girls back home swooning for you." She flatteringly responds, exiting the library, me following after her.

"Heh, you'd be surprised." Is my simple answer, closing the door behind us. Unsurprisingly, we're barely around the corner from the library before something happens, causing us to halt in our tracks. Three familiar mares were lying in the road, seemingly injured. 'Wait a second. I remember those three! They like my outfit.' Putting my hands to my mouth, I shout over to them. "OI! Flower Puff Girls! You good?"

"The horror! the horror!" Cries Rose. 'What's happened this time?'

"It was awful." Then cried Lily. 'Oh my god, get to the point'.

"A disaster. A horrible, horrible disaster!" Looking to Twilight for an explanation, it would seem that she is just as confused as I am.

"I don't get it." She admits.

"Join the club." Suddenly, two of the trio jump to their feet, with both Lily and Valley running off towards their respective gardens, leaving Rose on the floor.... For whatever reason. 'Is she even hurt?'

"Our gardens, destroyed!" 'By what?'

"Every last flower, devoured!" 'They'll grow back...'

"By....By....THEM!" Shouted Rose, pointing to something behind us. Looking to face whatever demon had done such a horrible crime, I was unprepared for what I was facing. A foe that was beyond me, a foe that could stare into your eyes and rip your very soul from your body.

A foe that had me in hysterics. Seeing the swarm of tiny baby bunnies just hopping around without a care in the world, eating everyponies' bushes of flowers was just so stupidly funny to me that I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of today's events. The sight of Fluttershy trying her hardest, yet failing, to round them all up and prevent any more flower genocide just added fuel to the fire.

"Oh my! Oh... Please stop, little bunnies. Oh no! Please, let's go home. Oh my goodness!" 'I really should spend some more time with her at some point. And the others, for that matter.' Turning to Twilight, I see that she has now adopted a face of serious determination.

"All right. Enough is enough." She said. "Come on, Greyson. We need to talk to Applejack and get it through that head of her's that she needs our help!"

"Yeah, in a sec, Sparky. I'm a bit..you're so cute..preoccupied, at the moment." I said, struggling to not die happy at that moment.

"With wha...Oh..." Turning to face me, she realised what had me so busy at that moment in time. Mainly, the baby bunnies that had decided to jump on me, mainly into my arms, nuzzling my face. 'I'm in heaven, and I don't wanna go'. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and I had to give up my fuzzy friends so as to help deal with Applejack, much to my disappointment.

Arriving once more at Sweet Apple Acres, we spot Applejack on a hill not to far. Thankfully with no teleportation involved, we make our way to it and up towards the farmer.

"-Must...finish...harvestin'" I just about hear her say, the lethargic mare struggling to even stand at this point. 'Yea, no. She needs help.'

"All right, Applejack. Your applebucking hasn't just caused you problems, it's over-propelled Pegasus'-"

"Into my chest."

"-practically poisoned plenty of ponies, and terrorized bushels of brand new bouncing baby bunnies. I don't care what you say, you. Need. Help!" Twilight finishes, staring straight into Applejack's eyes.

"She has a point, AJ. I'm a very stubborn individual as well, as you've already found out, but this? This isn't healthy. You need to take a break, and realise that you can't do it all by yourself." I finish, receiving a proud smile from Twilight. Applejack's answer is instead to kick the tree one last time, dropping the remaining apples in the basket.

"Ha! No, I don't! Look, I did it! I harvested the entire Sweet Apple Acres without your help. How d'ya like them apples?" 'Oh for fu...Who's that?' Coming up over the other side of the hill was the second biggest pony I'd ever seen, with Celestia being the first. The red stallion looked to the other part of the field, exactly where I was now looking, and turned back to the farmer pony.

"Um, how do you like them apples?" He asks, nodding his head to the direction in which there were countless other apple trees, still needing to be harvested. Upon seeing this, Applejack gasps and proceeds mumble incomprehensibly, before dropping to the floor, having fainted from shock and exhaustion. Whilst Twilight trotted up to her now unconscious friend, I instead turned to the red stallion.

"Hey, are you Big MacIntosh by any chance?" I ask, hoping that this was in fact Applejack's brother, and I wasn't making myself look stupid.

"Eee'yup." Is his answer.

"Nice. So you're AJ's big brother?" I ask, holding my hand out, to which he shakes with his hoof. 'Still don't understand how they can manage this.'

"Eee'yup."

"Uh huh.... You don't talk much, do you."

"Eee'nope."

"Fair enough. In a bit, big man." And with that, he heads back down the hill and towards the farmhouse. My attention is then turned back to the mares, who were now in conversation, most likely about how stubborn Applejack is and how much we want to help her.

"Oh, good, you're okay. Now Applejack, I completely respect the Apple family ways. You're always there to help anypony in need, so maybe you can put a little of your stubborn pride aside and allow your friends to help you." Suggested Twilight.

"Okay, Twilight." Applejack finally relents. 'It's about goddamn time.'

"I am not taking "no" for an answer-what?"

"She said 'Okay', Sparky."

"Yes, Twilight, Greyson. Yes, please. Ah' could really use your help." And with that, Twilight let out a sigh of relief, and looked towards me back to me.

"Greyson, could you wait here with Applejack whilst I go get our friends?" I nod, and she teleports away, leaving me and Applejack alone on the hill. Turning to the farm pony, I saw that she was sitting against the tree, deep in thought. Wanting to sit down as well, I take a seat next to her.

"So, AJ. We haven't talked much, have we." I say, trying to initiate conversation.

"No, ah' s'pose we aint'." She replies, a look of guilt flashing across her muzzle.

"Well, it's more my fault than yours, with me sorting myself out, so don't feel too bad." I reassure the mare, who lightens up slightly. "By the way, I was hoping to ask you something." This got her attention, and she turns to face me. "With me now living here in Ponyville for the time being, I need a job. To that end, I was wondering if there was any possibility of me lending a hand out here, on the farm I mean." Looking at Applejack, I see that she was pondering it, but was still unsure.

"Ah' dunno, Greyson. It's hard work, and ah' don't think those things right there can do what mine can." She replies, pointing to my legs. Realising what she was getting at, I smile.

"True, true. But, you don't have what I have." Getting to my feet, I reach into the tree we were sat under and pull out an apple that had yet to fall. Looking back at Applejack with a grin on my face, I see that her eyes were wide in surprise, forgetting about my height. 'Being 5 ft 11 does have its perks'. Realising how useful I could be on the farm, she nods, as I sit back down.

"All right, sugarcube. Maybe ah' could find something for ya' to do, if ya' willin' to put the effort in." At this, I chuckle.

"Willing to put the effort in? You serious? I nearly fell of a cliff, was almost killed by some...lion...monster...thing, and then sent flying into a pillar, nearly breaking my spine, and you're asking me now about putting in the effort? Do you know who you're talking to, AJ?" At this, we both share a laugh.

"Yea, I s'pose it was a dumb question, Greyson." She said, still chuckling. "How are ya' handlin' yourself, Greyson?"

"Hmm?"

"What with ya' been in a whole different world, ah' mean." 'Oh, this question again, eh?'

"Have you been talking to Rarity? Because she asked that same question like a week ago."

"Well, ah' was just wonderin' how you were feelin, sugarcube." 'Fair enough.' Telling her the same thing I told Rarity previously, she nods in understanding. "That's fair enough, ah' guess. Well, we'd best get a move on, looks like the girls are here." She says, nodding to the group of mares making their way towards the farm. Getting up, we make our way down the hill and move towards our friends.

A couple hours later, myself and the girls were still busy harvesting the remaining apple trees. Calling us over, Applejack lays out a table of refreshments for us. 'I could use a break, honestly.'

" How about y'all take a little break? I got some fine apple juice waitin' for ya!" She calls out. "Girls, I can't thank you enough for this help. I was acting a bit stubborn" She says, as we gather around the small table.

"A bit?" Remarks Twilight.

"Okay. A mite stubborn, and ah'm awful sorry. Now, ah' know the town gave me the Prized Pony award, but the real award is having you five as my friends." She admits, smiling at us all. 'I think I just threw up a bit.'.

"Phew! That applebucking sure made me hungry!" Exclaims Rainbow. Coming from behind me, Spike speaks up, who had only now reached the table.

"And I've got the perfect treat!" Turning to face the small dragon, I look to see what exactly the dragon was offeri-What the fuck?

"What the fuck are those?" I question, looking at the revolting cupcakes he was currently holding.

"Eeew... Spike, I threw those all away! Where'd you get them?" Cried a disgusted Pinkie Pie.

"From the trash." He said, as if it was meant to be some sort of crowning achievement. Hint hint: it wasn't.

"Ew!" The collection of ponies cried, disgusted at Spike's actions.

"Just a little nibble? Come on!" He persisted, following the retreating ponies and human

"Ew! Spike, that's gross!
"Ugh! Disgusting!"
"Get those things away from me before I ram them down your throat, you little bastard!"

Author's Notes:

And another chapter done. 5K words as well? Jesus, I didn't expect to write this much in a single chapter. Meh, oh well. Gotta say, I'm enjoying writing this story a whole lot more than I originally thought.

And what's wrong with our protagonist, I wonder? That wasn't the first time he had suddenly found himself feeling sapped of energy, and it may not be the last. Only one way to find out, boys and girls.

And on a happy note, I'm rather proud to say that by the time of this chapter being published, my story will have had over 1.5k views! Now, I know that may not sound like a lot compared to other, better authors, who have much more quality stories than I do, but it still makes me happy to know that over 10 people, let alone 1000, have actually taken the time to look at what I've written. Cheers, everyone. It does mean a lot, I can't stress that enough.

Know what else I can't stress enough? Feedback! Give it to me, guys! I need it, I want it, I fear it. Anyway, that's all for this AN. See you in the next chapter, folks. Peace.