May 17th, 993 Domina Solaria

A hatless Applejack peers up at the cloudless night sky as she trots to the sorting barn, grimacing at the dark image on the bright moon. She sighs at the reminder, like all ponies, of the threat to Princess Celestia’s benevolent rule. Countless petitions must have been made over the millennium to get it changed, but Princess Celestia has been adamant in her decision. Maybe someday she might finally be amenable to changing Luna’s Moon to something other than a gross caricature of the alicorn’s sister. Not like Applejack would make that request, no ma’am. She’s got a soft spot for keeping things the way they are.

It’s been another week, so time for another meeting of the mares. This time, though, would be special.

She pauses just outside the dimly lit barn door, a slight frown accompanying the slight narrowing of her eyebrows. Doug didn’t think to come here, did he? It’s quiet inside, except for the occasional rustle of a page. She ducks behind a pile of apples destined for composting. Her hoofsteps seem extra loud as she takes the final few steps, gently easing the door open.

The rusty hinges squeak something fierce.

Applejack grunts in frustration, her attempt at subterfuge spoiled before it even got a chance to start. She brusquely pushes the door the rest of the way, ignoring the alarmingly loud squeal of metal on metal, peering inside her barn to see who might be hiding out.

Not really hidden, and trying to appear as small as possible behind a small table that doesn’t conceal her entirely, is Fluttershy. The candle right next to her doesn’t help, either.

“Hey, ‘Shy,” Applejack greets, sighing to herself. She glances back. “Sorry about the noise.”

“Oh, um,” Fluttershy stammers, slowly getting out from behind the table. “I-i-it’s n-nothing…”

“What’cha lookin’ at?” Applejack asks as she trots over to the table with the candle.

“Y-your order forms,” Fluttershy says, a hoof pushing the stack of papers towards Applejack. “You certainly grow a lot of apples here.”

“That we do,” Applejack says with a grin. “Could always use the help, too. Ya know, if ya ain’t too busy.”

“Um, if you’re sure,” Fluttershy says dubiously.

“Ah wouldn’t have asked if Ah didn’t think ya could haul it,” Applejack says with a reassuring grin. “Ya grow stuff in your gardens, right?”

“S-some,” Fluttershy concedes. “It’s mostly for the chickens, though. And the bunnies.”

“See? You’d fit right in.” Applejack smiles and nods.

“Y-you’re sure?” Fluttershy shrinks down a little more.

“Didn’t Ah just say so?” Applejack says with growing frustration. She sighs as Fluttershy tries to disappear under the table. “Come on, ‘Shy. Out from there. Gotta make a good impression on the others.”

“T-they don’t like me?” Fluttershy ekes out, sniffling. She does come out from under the table, much to Applejack’s relief.

“Fluttershy,” Applejack says sternly, “Did ya bed Doug in front of ‘em, in front of all of us, or not?”

“I-I did,” Fluttershy whispers.

“Then you’re a part of the herd.” Applejack has to hold her hoof back from cuffing Fluttershy on the ear like she might Big Mac or Rainbow Dash. “Ya don’t need to hold back around us. We’re friends. More’n friends, we’re herdmates. Got it?”

“Y-yes,” Fluttershy says, slightly louder than before.

“Good.” Applejack gives the pegasus a warm smile. “And Ah wanna hear from you tonight. No sittin’ quietly in the corner, got it?”

“Mhm.” Fluttershy nods, though she doesn’t look that sure.

Applejack joins Fluttershy at the table and gives the junior mare a soft nuzzle, then turns to the papers. They glance up as Rainbow Dash enters the barn.

A blue ball cap with a white brim rests on her head, a brown Stetson precariously perched on top. She goes to her customary spot, turns around once and plops down, grinning at her two herdmates. “Sup.”

“Evenin’,” Applejack says neutrally. Fluttershy merely nods with a curious look at the noble amassment of hats.

It doesn’t take long for Rainbow Dash to zone out. The other two mares silently read through the order forms. Eventually Rarity enters, horn glowing under her fedora, and after a brief inspection of the hinges and a soft squirt of liquid she closes the door, mercifully silent.

“Good evening, everypony,” Rarity says, her horn putting away a small container of oil while she pulls out three hats. Two ball caps, one red, orange, and yellow, the other blue, purple, and green, levitate to Rainbow Dash. Magenta eyes light up as the cool hat completes the towering pillar of hats, and her chromatic tail thumps happily against the ground. An almost sparkling Stetson levitates to Applejack, a pristine duplicate of her old hat.

“Thanks, Rares,” Applejack says, donning her new hat. “Felt like somethin’ was missin’ without this on.”

“Speaking of missing,” Rarity says, turning to Fluttershy. “Would you like a hat?”

“She can have this one!” Rainbow Dash pipes up, flicking the warm hat to Fluttershy.

She squeaks in fright and drops down, only for the ball cap to land perfectly on her head. A yellow hoof reaches up, waving frantically, only for Applejack to sigh and haul the pegasus to her hooves.

“Come on, ‘Shy.” Applejack sighs. “It’s just a hat.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy stands on her own, a wing adjusting the ball cap. “I knew that.”

“On to business,” Applejack says, clearing her throat as Rarity settles down next to Rainbow Dash. “First off; welcome, Fluttershy, to your first meeting of MohA!”

“Moe ha?” Fluttershy asks curiously.

“Mares of Herd Apple,” Applejack continues. “We’re all busy mares, so we try to meet up at least once a week to discuss herd matters, any issues we’re havin’, or just shoot the breeze.”

“Will Doug be here?” Fluttershy looks around the barn, not spotting anything out of the ordinary.

“Nnope,” Applejack says with a short shake of her head. “Mares only. Them’s the rules.” She glances around. “Though, now with four of us, we might need to bring him in as a tiebreaker. But Ah don’t see us gettin’ deadlocked on many issues.”

Fluttershy, and the other two mares, nod along.

“Any complaints on how sharin’ Doug’s been goin’?” Applejack glances at each mare in turn. Fluttershy shakes her head, Rarity purses her muzzle but says nothing, and Rainbow Dash pipes up.

“We could mix it up a little,” Rainbow Dash says. “I mean, nothing against Fluttershy, but I’d like to see how Doug is with each of you.” She motions between Applejack and Rarity.

“I would be amenable to that,” Rarity says with a slight raise of her nose, trying not to look at Applejack too venomously. Applejack pointedly doesn’t look back at her.

Rainbow Dash continues, “And maybe mix up who goes morning and who goes evening?”

“Ah hate mornin’ Doug,” Applejack mutters to herself, then clears her throat. “Ah guess we can look into that. You can hoof that, Rares?”

“I’ll draw up something,” the unicorn says, unfazed. “Next week?”

“Sure.” Applejack glances around the room, seeing no further topics. “Now, Ah’m sure you’ve all heard rumors of Princess Celestia visiting various cities on the upcoming Summer Sun Celebrations.”

“Rumors?” Rainbow Dash says with a cheeky grin. She’s, for once, glad her position as head weathermare gives her a slightly better view of things that are going to happen to the town. “They aren’t rumors.”

“Then it’s true?” Rarity’s eyes widen as a wide grin consumes her muzzle. “Princess Celestia will be coming to Ponyville!?”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash exclaims with a loud cheer. “We beat out Sire’s Hollow, Hope Hollow, and Hollow Shades for the last spot!”

“And we’re closest to Canterlot,” Applejack says with a heady grin.

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash stares up at the ceiling as she tries to remember. “She’ll start with the furthest of the major cities - well, technically Vanhoover is farther away, but Manehattan pushed ‘em out of line - and work her way inwards. Vanhoover, Baltimare, Fillydelphia, Las Pegasus, Rainbow Falls, Cloudsdale. And then…”

“Ponyville!” Rarity shouts, her mind whirring through possibilities: the different dresses she might wear, that she might make, the ponies who will come to her shop! “Think of all the attention we’ll get! The nine hundred, ninety ninth year of Princess Celestia’s rule!”

Applejack chuckles. “Heh, all those celebrations are gonna be in January. The big one thousand.” She pulls her hat off to fan herself. “Never thought too much about it, that Ah’d live to see the thousandth year of Princess Celestia’s reign come to an end.” She glances at her herdmates. “Think y’all will make it up to Canterlot?”

“Absolutely,” Rarity says, nodding fervently.

“No way I won’t be in the ‘Bolts by then. I’ll probably be performing!” Rainbow Dash winks at Applejack, too far away to nudge her in the side. “But, you know, I’ll probably have to come visit you here for the ‘after party’.”

“Heh, we should be focusin’ on what we’re gonna do for Ponyville’s party first.” Applejack glances between the four. “Now, Ah know it’s not somethin’ we gotta solve tonight, but Ah’ll be disappointed if Herd Apple don’t have the most impressive contributions.”

“You got it!” Rainbow Dash exclaims, grinning as she glances at her herdmates. “We’ve got way more varied talent than all the other herds!”

“That’s the spirit!” Rarity says, nodding along. “We will be bold! Daring! And, most important of all, fabulous!”

“Eeyup!” Applejack says heartily, though her mood turns somber quickly. “Now, even though this event is gonna bring in a lot of bits, hopefully, it’s gonna be expensive to set up.”

Rainbow Dash nods glumly. “Mayor Mare talked about potential budget cuts for the weather team. Nothing big, but we might be a little short hooved in the coming years. But it’ll be worth it!”

“Things are already pretty tight around here,” Applejack says, catching herself before she can glance at Rarity.

Rarity must have read into her body language despite that. “I’ve said before that I want to keep Carousel separate from the herd.”

Rainbow Dash frowns. Her own salary contributes to their general herd fund, minus a bit of spending bits. At least Applejack feeds her for free, though she occasionally gets roped into helping out during cider season. Which doesn’t come free, sadly, though they give her a nice discount on the finished product. The sweet stuff only, at least for eight more months.

“But,” Rarity continues, “I can see about helping more around the farm.”

Applejack nods, turning to Fluttershy. “‘Shy? Any ideas?”

Fluttershy shies down, not used to being put on the spot. “Um. N-no.”

“Nothin’?” Applejack frowns.

“Well,” Fluttershy says quietly, “you already have chickens. I-I don’t think adding more will help.”

“No, and Ah don’t wanna get into the egg sellin’ business. Hard enough keepin’ track of apples.” Applejack sighs, her attention turning to the other two mares.

“Have you thought of pigs?” Fluttershy suggests.

“Pigs?” Applejack nearly spits out. She grits her teeth for a moment. “Ya mean, for export?”

“Mm.” Fluttershy nods, slowly standing a little straighter. “You’ll be able to make a decent profit, especially with the farm.” She motions to the order forms, then outside to the pile of less-than-perfect apples they’d turn to compost.

“But… we’d be raisin’ pigs just to send ‘em away.” Applejack sighs. “I’d need to run it past Granny.”

“Of course,” Fluttershy says gently. “But we’d be able to get to know them. And it’s better to have known and lost, than to never have known at all, right?”

Applejack takes a deep breath. “Ah suppose we can give it a shot.” She startles backward as the barn door slams open.

“Hide me,” Big Mac says quickly as he gallops to the back and hides among the crates.

“Weren’t ya gamin’ with Doug?” Applejack demands, irritated at the interruption.

“Nnope,” Big Mac says, peeking out.

“It’s been two hours,” Applejack huffs. “What have ya been doin’?”

“He just finished explaining the rules,” Big Mac says, hunkering down even more.

Next Chapter: Ch. 94 - Skin of the Loyal Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 60 Minutes