This takes place between Chapters 21 and 22 of A Cloaked Heart. Enjoy!
Applejack's Perspective
Applejack woke to the sound of the rooster crowing just outside her bedroom window to the right of her bed. She sat up and smiled as she looked out as the rising sun shone its warm light over the farm and the many acres of apple trees. From downstairs she could smell the apple pancakes that Granny Smith always made on Thursdays.
Jumping out of bed, she stretched and yawned before heading to the bathroom. After taking care of what was necessary and brushing her mane, she grabbed her Stetson from the nail in her room, swung it onto her head like she normally did and trotted down the stairs to the kitchen. Granny Smith was at the griddle already making her famous apple flapjacks and Big Mac was sitting at the table, reading over a newspaper and cradling a cup of coffee. "Mornin' Mac," she greeted jovially as she took her traditional seat, putting her hat on the back of her chair.
"Mornin'," he replied in his normal stoic way.
"Anythin' interestin' in that there paper?" she asked as she grabbed the comics.
"Eenope," he said as he turned the page.
Applejack held in a chuckle. It was the same thing that happened almost every morning. She'd ask if there was anything interesting, he'd say no, and the next sound would be a tired Apple Bloom coming down the stairs, yawning. Except that since it was still summer break, the little filly had gotten into the habit of sleeping in.
Just then three perfectly browned apple flapjacks flopped onto the plate in front of Applejack, steaming hot and smelling perfect as normal. The orange Earth Pony grabbed the butter and began slathering the pancakes with it before grabbing a fork and digging in with abandon. She was halfway through eating when Granny Smith trotted over to the stairs and shouted, "Apple Bloom! Git yer behind down those stairs! Yer breakfast is getting' cold!"
"Comin', comin'!" the young filly came tiredly trotting down the stairs, yawning and taking her place at the table. Her red mane was a mess, sticking up in different places, and her red bow, a keepsake from her mother, wasn't on her head.
"Good golly, yer a mess," Granny huffed as she walked over and began fussing with the little filly's mane. "Now hold still."
"Granny! Ah'm fine!" Apple Bloom whined, but she was still not strong enough to push Granny away.
"Hush up, young'un," Granny ordered as she pulled out a comb from a nearby junk drawer and began to brush the knots out of the filly's mane.
"Owowow! That smarts!" Apple Bloom shouted.
"Just deal with it, sugarcube," Applejack said after taking a sip of orange juice to wash down her pancakes. "If ya would comb yer mane, ya wouldn't be in this predicament."
"It's a paaAAin!" Apple Bloom winced as Granny pulled out another stubborn knot.
"Hold still," Granny said before turning back to Applejack. "Isn't today the day that Jethro feller comes tah help?"
"Ponyfeathers, yer right!" Applejack said. She'd almost forgotten about the weekly visit from Jethro, Ponyville's resident alien. It had been almost a month since he'd grown his new wings and gained magic and Earth Pony strength, and ever since then he'd been coming down to the farm to help once a week all day, mostly on Thursdays. She looked at the clock and saw that it read 7:24. He had a habit of showing up early despite Granny's insistence on him showing up on time. "He'll probably be here any minute now!"
"Ah swear, that young'un loves tah work himself to the bone," Granny said.
Applejack inwardly winced. She was instantly reminded of the story he'd told them all about his first marefriend Trixie and how her death had sent him into his own cycle of depression and overworking himself. "Ah'll keep an eye on 'im today, Granny."
"Good. Ah like that stallion, but ah don't want 'im collapsin' on our farm."
"He won't, Granny, ah'll make sure of it," Applejack promised as she cleaned up her plate and placed them in the sink. Grabbing her Stetson, she headed to the door. "Ah'm gonna go check on the cows, now," she said as she headed out into the cool morning air.
The familiar smells of the farm around her put her at her ease. The sweet smell of apples on the trees, the rustic smell of hay, and the various other smells she'd grown up with was as familiar to her as anything else in this world. From the side of the house, she heard the sound of barking as her pet Winona rushed up to her, barking happily. "Mornin there, Winona!" Applejack said happily as the young Border Collie jumped up to lick her face happily. "Eager this mornin' ain'tcha? Well, c'mon then! Time tah check on them cows."
The dog barked and fell into step with Applejack as they headed to the massive red barn. Even now, Applejack could see how old the structure looked. The paint was peeling, and a few of the window hinges looked as if they were about to fall out. She still hoped that selling her farm's food at the upcoming Gala would be enough to pay for Granny's hip surgery and fixing up things around the farm. As she approached the barn, she heard the familiar voices of the cows in the barn laughing at something. Another familiar voice spoke up above the laughter, "…could hear a pin drop in that store, I swear to God! And then Pinkie goes, 'Oatmeal? Are you crazy?' That mare is crazy, but in a good way!"
"That mare is a riot, dontcha know?" Daisy Jo, one of the more talkative cows, replied with a laugh. "Thanks for bringing us these oatmeal cookies, Mr. Bethridge."
"I remember you saying it was your favorite," Jethro replied. "And call me Jethro."
"They are my favorite, dontcha know? Oooh! Moooo!" Daisy Jo replied, sounding a bit startled.
"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Jethro asked, sounding concerned.
"Oh no no," Daisy giggled. "It just feels weird, is all."
"I've always wanted to try doing this, and I don't wanna hurt you, miss," Jethro replied.
"And just what in tarnation are ya doin with our cows?" Applejack called out as she entered the barn, looking around at the cows. "Where in tarnation are ya?"
Jethro's hand came up from behind Daisy Jo. "Over here, AJ," he called out before his hand went down. Applejack could hear the familiar sound of milk going into a metal pail. "Daisy Jo was kind enough to let me milk her, just to see if I could do it. Gotta use these hands for something, and since it's technically not my start time, I wanted to cross something off my bucket list."
Applejack walked over and found Jethro sitting right next to Daisy Jo's teats, his fingers wrapped around two of them as he pulled down. He was wearing a pair of brown leather boots, blue jeans, a dark brown T-shirt that looked like it had seen better days, and a large fedora on his head. She gaped as milk shot out more than she'd ever seen before, and her family had been milking them by hoof for years. "But how…?" she asked.
"I saw it in an episode of an old kid's show called Reading Rainbow," Jethro chuckled as he continued milking her. "And actually, she wasn't the first one I milked."
"He did me first!" Bessie, one of the other cows, chuckled. "Those hands are magic!"
Applejack saw color come to Jethro's cheeks. "You cows…I swear to God…"
"Jethro, how long have ya been here?" Applejack asked sternly.
"What time is it now?" he asked as he continued milking Daisy.
"Almost seven thirty," she replied.
"Whoa, already? I got here at, like, six thirty."
Applejack's eyes widened. "Jethro!"
"What?" he asked innocently.
"Yah don't need tah come in that early," she huffed.
"You do realize that I've been getting up before sunrise for the better part of a few years, right?" he asked. "Besides, I like these ladies. They're fun to talk to. What, when they're not stampeding through town." Jethro laughed at that.
"You get spooked by a snake one time and you're labeled for life," Moo-riella sighed.
"Listen here, sugarcube," Applejack said sternly, "ah can appreciate yah wantin' tah help on the farm, but don't just go doin' anythin' ya want, ya hear?"
"Oh my, now Applejack, don't go blaming him," Daisy Jo said. "I invited him to come in yesterday. I was curious about how humans milk cows, dontcha know?"
Applejack sighed. "Ah swear…ah don't want ya collapsin', and neither does Granny," she said.
He smiled and looked up at Applejack. "Thank you for your concern, I mean it," he said sincerely, "but I really wanted to try this, and these lovely ladies were willing to let me sate my curiosity. You really should try the Anthro form one of these days, AJ. Fingers are pretty useful. Guess the only downside would be you'd have to get into some clothes."
Applejack was about to say something when Winona rushed over to Jethro's side, tail wagging and looking up expectantly at him. Jethro saw the young dog and grinned. "I didn't forget about you, Winona," he said as he stopped milking, reached down for a small bag at his side, then pulled out a strip of meat and handed it to the dog, who eagerly chomped it up, barking happily as Jethro pet her. "Who's a good dog? Yes you are! Yes you are! Whoa!"
Applejack watched as Winona leaped onto Jethro, licking his face eagerly. She sighed. No matter how much trouble this strange alien stallion caused, she could never find it in her heart to stay mad at him. No matter what his faults were, she admired his honesty and his work ethic. And she was happy for the help on the farm. The incident during Applebucking Season had taught her a major lesson in biting off more than she could chew. "Easy there, girl," Applejack said, "git off the poor stallion."
Winona obeyed, and Jethro sat up, laughing hard as he brushed the dirt off of his pants before going right back to milking. Daisy Jo inhaled and mooed in satisfaction. "It's a shame you guys don't have the machines we have back on Earth."
"Ah'd prefer tah do them by hoof, if it's all the same tah you," Applejack replied stubbornly, giving him a small swat on the back of his head.
"Ow!"
"That's what ya get, now come on, it's time to start the day," Applejack said, grabbing his shirt by her teeth and pulling him out of the barn.
"Yeow! Hey, watch the shirt! Oof! Well, you ladies have a good day!" he shouted as Applejack pulled him further away.
"Have fun now, you hear?" Daisy Jo called out with a laugh as she returned to her pen. "Thanks for the cookies!"
"My pleasure!"
Applejack dragged him towards the front of the farmhouse where Big Mac and Apple Bloom were both waiting. "Alright, everypony," Applejack said after dropping Jethro in an undignified heap at their hooves, "we got our work cut out fer us today. Ah checked the apples in the southeastern fields yesterday, and they're plenty ripe. We're gonna be buckin' the apple there, but before that we gotta do our normal chores. Jethro, yer goin' tah the chicken coop tah get the eggs, Apple Bloom, ah want yah tah sweep up in the barn, and Big Mac, yer gonna be doin' what ya normally do, right?"
"Eeyup," was his reply as he chewed on a bit of hay. Every morning, Big Mac would go to the grain silos on the northern side of the farm and check to make sure no wild critters from the Everfree or the White Tail Forests had come sneaking in and chowing on their grain.
"When yer all done, head to southeastern fields and start yer buckin'. Ya hear that, Jethro?" she said, giving Jethro the stink eye.
"Aye aye, ma'am," he said, saluting and standing up straighter.
Applejack knew he was mocking her in jest, so she kicked some dirt towards him with a snort. "Behave now," she said. "Now move yer hides!"
One thing Applejack had learned about Jethro and how he worked on a farm was that he bucked with a rhythm. And he kept that rhythm by singing. And she liked his singing voice. It was robust and he knew how to keep a tune very well. She'd taken to stay close to where he was bucking the trees so she could hear the tune he would belt out.
Currently, he was singing the following: "On a summer day in the month of May, a burly bum came hiking, down a shady lane through the sugar cane, he was looking for his liking. As he roamed along, he sang a song of the land of milk and honey, where a bum can stay for many a day and he won't need any money. Oh, the buzzin' of the bees in the cool shade trees to the crystal water fountain! At the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings on the Big Rock Candy Mountain!"
Applejack smiled a bit at that. It was a catchy tune he was singing, whatever it was about. She continued to listen and mate a mental note to tell him to sing it to Pinkie Pie.
"Oh, a farmer and his son, they were on the run, to the hayfield they were boundin'. Said the bum to the son, 'Why dontcha come to that Big Rock Candy Mountain?' So the very next day they hiked away, the mileposts they kept countin'. But they never arrived at the lemonade tide on the Big Rock Candy Mountain. Oh, the buzzin' of the bees in the cool shade trees to the crystal water fountain! At the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings on the Big Rock Candy Mountain! At the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings…on the Big Rock Candy Mountain!"
"Mighty fine song ya got there," Applejack shouted as she bucked another tree, its bountiful treasure falling directly into the two buckets at the base. "Betcha Pinkie would love it!"
"I bet she would!" Jethro replied with a laugh. "You might like this one!" Clearing his throat, he began singing again. Applejack almost chuckled when he sang in some southern twang. "Well, life on the farm is kinda laid back. Ain't much an old country boy like me can't hack. It's early to rise, early in the sack! I thank God I'm a country boy! Well, a simple kinda life never did me no harm, a raisin' me a family and workin' on the farm. My days are all filled with an easy country charm! Thank God I'm a country boy! Well, I got me a fine wife, I got me an ol' fiddle, when the sun's comin' up I got cakes on the griddle, and life ain't nothin' but a funny funny riddle! Thank God I'm a country boy!"
Applejack bobbed her head to the beat of the song, and could almost hear the sounds of a fiddle playing to accompany it. She heard him clapping his hands to the beat as he sang. She had to admit, his attempt at a southern accent was pretty good. She heard him bucking the trees to the beat as well. When he hit the final note, she stomped her hooves on the ground in applause. "Mighty fine song there, pardner. Just one problem."
"What's that?" he called back.
"Yah ain't a country boy, yer a city colt!" she replied with a laugh.
"Hah!"
The day had gone very well, at least Applejack thought so. They'd taken a big bite out of the southeastern portion of the orchard by the time lunch rolled around. They'd had lunch (which consisted of deviled eggs, apple fritters, buttermilk biscuits, plenty of hush puppies, and sweet tea) at the family picnic table. Apple Bloom had really started to take a shine to Jethro, and he even let her sit in his lap while she ate. It warmed Applejack's heart just how caring the human was with her little sister, keeping her face clean and wiping it with a napkin whenever she got her face extra dirty with those hush puppies. Granny even approved and complimented him on how good he was with foals. Even Big Mac seemed to give his silent approval.
Applejack was really pleased when they finished the apple bucking a half hour before sunset. When she went to look for Jethro at his work area, he was gone, the stacks of apple barrels already sealed and ready to be rolled down in the new apple cellar. "Jethro? Where are ya? Ah was hopin' yah'd stay fer dinner!" she called out.
"He's up on the hill, sis!" Apple Bloom called out from a short distance away.
Applejack looked up and, sure enough, the human was sitting and leaning against the lone apple tree that overlooked the farmhouse. He was watching the sunset, as far as she could tell. She narrowed her eyes to get a better look, and saw a faraway look in his eyes along with a wistful smile. "Apple Bloom, tell Granny ta set the table fer one more. Ah'll be right back!"
"You got it!" Apple Bloom shouted as she galloped back to the farm house.
Applejack slowly made her way up the hill, not wanting to interrupt whatever Jethro was thinking about. She somewhat recognized the look in his eyes. He was thinking back to the past, remembering something good, she reckoned. He had a set of headphones on and she could hear him singing along with whatever he was listening to. "…So when you're near me, darling, can't you hear me, S.O.S. The love you gave me, nothing else can save me, S.O.S. When you're gone how can I even try to go on? When you're gone, though I try, how can I carry on?"
Quietly, Applejack sat down nearby and listened to him singing. She removed her Stetson and placed it beside the fedora he'd removed and set on the green grass. She watched him bob his head back and forth, singing the song he was listening to. When he finally finished, he picked up the small object he'd called a cell phone and tapped on it. When he turned, he saw her sitting there. Startled, he removed his headphones. "Applejack? How long have you been there?"
"Just a couple minutes," she said, moving to sit next to him. "Ah like that song. What's it called?"
"S.O.S. by a band called ABBA," he said.
"Sounds a bit bittersweet," she admitted.
He chuckled softly and looked back out at the setting sun. "You could say that. ABBA was one of Trixie's favorite singing groups. Sometimes we'd go and find a spot to watch the sunset and sing the songs together until the stars came out. It was on a hill a lot like this, actually."
Applejack's ears flattened. "Ah'm sorry, ah didn't mean tah interrupt ya," she said apologetically.
"No, it's alright," he said. "I was focusing on the good memories."
Applejack nodded slowly, then followed his gaze. The sun had just touched the horizon, and the sky was ablaze with bright yellows and oranges, deep reds and purples, and the inky blue of the oncoming night in the far eastern portions of the sky. A slight breeze blew through the trees, blowing through Jethro's longer hair and Applejack's blonde mane. She inhaled the sweet scent of the orchard before her. Finally, she said, "Jethro, do ya wanna stay fer dinner? Granny's makin' veggie pot pies tonight. Ah asked Apple Bloom ta tell Granny ta save a spot fer ya."
He chuckled. "Making it hard to say no," he smiled before he reached over and put his hand in Applejack's mane, stroking it gently. She allowed it, figuring it brought him some sort of comfort. That, and she couldn't deny that it actually felt good. "Dinner actually sounds good. I'd be honored to join you."
Applejack smiled, then stood and grabbed her Stetson. "Come along then, pardner. Granny doesn't like it when anypony's late fer dinner."
He spread his wings. "Guess I'll have to glide down there, then." And before she could say anything, he ran down the hill and jumped up, gliding down the hill towards the farmhouse.
She snorted and galloped after him. "Ya cheatin' varmint!"
"Hah!"
Their laughter could be heard all across the farm as they both made their way down to dinner, their hearts light and jovial, and their stomachs eager to be filled with good wholesome country vittles.