chipmunkfanatic - Why thank you. I do try my best to make sure that things stay interesting.

HYBRID BATTLESHIP INFINITY210 - I'm glad you enjoy it. I plan to keep to the Tuesday morning update schedule, so tune in then for new chapters.

A/N - Howdy everypony! Another week, another chapter. Not much on the news-front, though is anypony else miffed that there wasn't a new episode this week? Also, don't for get to vote on what you'd like me to post as a reward for you all being awesome; the poll will only be open till next Tuesday, the 22nd of April.

I walked along the path to Sweet Apple Acres at a leisurely pace, wanting to take my time and enjoy the scenery. Off in the distance to my left, I could see Fluttershy's cottage, though I was too far away to make out if the butter-colored Pegasus was home. It took what I guessed was around twenty minutes to for the orchard to come into view; I could see a typical ranch-style farmhouse and a big, red barn surrounded by acres and acres of apple trees. Guess this place really earns its name.

Since I hadn't seen Applejack in town, I figured she might be on her farm. Seeing that the barn doors were open, I decided to head there first to see if she might be inside. I approached the open doors and looked inside. Not seeing anyone in plain sight, I decided to knock and announce myself. "Hello? Is anyone in here?"

For a moment, there was no response; figuring there was no one home, I turned to leave. When I did, I came face to face with a bright red pony that was with a short-cropped, orange mane with big, soulful green eyes. He also had a sprig of wheat in his mouth and three freckles under his eyes like Applejack did. He was wearing some kind of yolk for attaching himself to farm equipment, and it looked like the fur over his hooves had been trimmed back, revealing them.

This pony was bigger than most, only being about fifty centimeters shorter than me instead of roughly seventy like most of the ponies I'd met so far. "Well howdy partner, you must be Blake; Applejack told me about you last night, said you were a new resident. What can I do fer ya?"

Well, he seems nice. "Hi there. You seem to have me at a disadvantage; you know who I am, but I don't believe we've been introduced before."

"Well shoot, where are mah manners. Name's Big Macintosh, though most folks just call me Big Mac."

I held out my hand, and after a moment, it dawned on the big farm pony what I was doing as he held up a hoof and we shook. "Nice to meet you Big Mac. I was looking for Applejack, any idea where she might be?"

Ne nodded his head and looked off towards a section of the orchard. "Eeyup. She oughta be in tha south orchard 'bout now. Just listen for her buckin' and you'll find 'er."

I nodded. "Thanks Big Mac. I'll see if I can find her. See ya later." With that, I turned and headed in the direction Big Mac had pointed me to. I made sure to keep track of the sun's position, to give me a rough direction to go to get back, as the orchard was rather large and I didn't want to get lost. I wandered around the south orchard for what felt like hours, but was probably closer to forty five minutes. I was ready to head back and see if I had somehow missed her when I heard the *CRACK* of something hard smacking against a tree somewhere relatively close by.

Finally, I was starting to think I'd never find her out here. I began walking towards the sound, picking my pace up to a fast walk in case she was ready to move on to the next part of the orchard or even back to the barn. Soon enough I heard another *CRACK*, followed by Applejack grumbling from close by, seemingly right in front of me. "Durn apple worms, always messin' up our crops!" This was followed closely by a dull thunking sound that came from Applejack's direction.

Before I had a chance to call out to Applejack, I was stopped dead in my tracks by a fiery, lancing pain that blossomed from my groin and etched a path up my back and into my kidneys. "Oh God, my giblets!" I groaned as I sunk towards the ground clutching my injured tenders, watching the offending object roll away; a fist-sized red apple with a little green worm poking out.

"Oh ponyfeathers, did Ah just hit somepony?" I heard applejack call out, sounding somewhat closer.

I groaned again and managed to find my voice, "Just me Applejack."

Moments later, I saw the orange cowpony weave her way through a few close-by trees, making her way over to me. "Oh mah gosh, are you alright Blake?" She asked worriedly.

I attempted to get back on my feet, "I'll live, though I'm not sure I'll ever have kids… not like I could anyway, y'know, being one-of-a-kind and all…" I huffed out, still in pain.

Applejack chuckled "Heh heh, yeah, Ah guess you're right; Ah'm just…" She stopped speaking for a moment and her jaw dropped as what she had just said struck her. "Oh mah gosh Blake, Ah'm so sorry, Ah didn't mean it like that!"

I waved a hand dismissively, "Don't worry about it; I know you didn't mean any harm. Besides, I need to come to terms with it at some point."

She moved over next to me as I was talking. "Here, at least let me help ya up; that was one hay of a kick I gave that apple… Ah hope Ah didn't crush yer dumplin's."

I started chuckling at that. "Never heard it put quite like that before." With Applejack's help I managed to get to my feet with a groan. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine in a bit." I said as I rubbed my back over my kidneys.

"Well, Alright Sugarcube; if yer sure. So, what brings y'all way out here anyway?" We started walking back towards where she had been before as she asked me that.

I shrugged. "We didn't really get to talk much before or at the party, so I thought I'd stop by and say hi; maybe see if you wanted to talk some. I know a lot of the others have been really full of questions about where I'm from, and I definitely have questions about this place. Plus, I'd like to get to know all my new friends better."

Applejack looked up to me with a wide smile. "Well that's mighty neighborly of ya Blake. Ah'm afraid there ain't much ta tell about me though; Ah live here on tha farm with mah big brother Big Macintosh, mah little sister Applebloom and mah granny, Granny Smith. Ah was just out here buckin' some apples ta take ta market fer tomorrow. If ya want, Ah can show ya how it's done."

I grinned at the orange farmpony's offer. "Sure AJ, I'd like to see how it's done without hands."

Applejack gave me a confused look. "Well, how do y'all do it with hands?" She asked as we reached a small copse of trees with squat wooden buckets resting underneath them; most were overflowing with apples and the trees above were bare of their sweet fruit.

I shrugged, "We just use a ladder to reach the fruits and pick them by hand, or use harvesting equipment to do it for us; though I'm not really sure how that works, I don't really know much about farming. My thing has always been construction."

"Pickin' 'em one by one sounds tedious, it'd take forever ta harvest this whole orchard like that." She rubbed her chin with a hoof. "Though havin' a machine ta do it fer me would be a big help… actually, we just ran a couple a no-good salesponies outta town a little while back tryin' ta sell somethin' like that; though it ran on magic, and from what Lyra told me, y'all don't have magic where yer from. Fortunately, we got a quicker way ta do it; here, let me show ya!" She said enthusiastically as she backed up to a nearby tree.

I watched as she shifted her weight to her front legs and brought her hind legs off the ground and tucked them under her briefly before launching them at the tree and shaking all the apples off of it in one, powerful buck. Somehow, every apple on the tree fell into one of the buckets without missing. I whistled at the feat. "That was amazing AJ, how'd you do that!?"

She just chuckled at that. "It's all thanks ta Bucky McGillycuddy and Kicks McGee here." She said as she lifted her left and right hind hooves respectively.

Something came to mind just then, "Hey AJ, doesn't that hurt? I mean, I've felt other hooves before, and they were relatively soft. Can your hooves change hardness somehow, or are yours just really used to bucking?"

Applejack scratched the side of her head for a moment before looking down at her hoof. "Ya know, Ah never thought about it before, but you're right; they do seem to get harder and softer depending on what Ah'm doin'. Don't really know why or how though, Twilight might know more; you should ask her later."

"Hmm… that sounds like a good idea, she does seem like the type who'd know something like that. So, mind if I give bucking a shot?"

She chuckled again. Man she's got a cute laugh. "Ah don't see why not, though don't go hurtin' yerself, Ah don't wanna hafta haul yer flank all the way back ta the farmhouse."

I nodded an affirmative, "Don't worry, I'll be careful. Now don't laugh too hard, I'm gonna give it a few practice kicks to see just what it takes." She simply chuckled and nodded.

I looked around briefly for a tree that still had fruit. It only took a moment to locate one that looked like it would be relatively easy to handle; I walked up to the tree and planted my left foot gently on it to gauge the distance. After a few adjustments, I was satisfied that I wouldn't injure myself when I kicked it, and pulled my foot back and stomped with a fair amount of force on the tree. It shook, but no apples fell off of it.

I stood back for a moment, eying the tree. Hmm… guess I need a bit more oomph to get the apples out. I stood back and adjusted my stance, again measuring to make sure I didn't hurt myself. After a moment, I pulled my left leg up off the ground and shot it forward in a side-kick. This time I had better results, knocking several apples loose and into the buckets; however, there were still many left on the tree.

I adjusted my stance one last time, preparing to unleash the strongest leg strike I knew, the spinning kick that had knocked the timberwolf's head from it's shoulders only two days prior. After my stance and distance judgments were made, I spun quickly on my right foot, planting my left solidly on the trunk of the tree; my foot was saved from the majority of the impact by the polymer shank running through the sole of my hiking boot. This time, when my foot impacted it's trunk, the tree released every single apple that was left on it.

When I looked back, Applejack had a broad grin on her face. "Hoo-wee Blake, where'd y'all learn ta buck like that?"

I returned her praise with a shrug. "I took a few self-defense classes when I was younger, apparently there are more applications for some of that stuff than just keeping yourself safe from attackers."

Applejack's smile dropped somewhat, "Was your world really that dangerous?" She asked, thankfully sounding concerned for me instead of afraid of me.

I shook my head. "Not usually, but it never hurts to take chances, you never know what might happen; it's already paying off for me here."

Her smile returned at this, "That's true. Ah sure could use a competent farm-hoof like you around, a lotta ponies woulda ended up hurtin' themselves tryin ta show off or bein' too gung-ho. Too bad Ah couldn't afford ta pay ya…" She sounded somewhat dejected at that last part.

I smiled as an idea came to mind. "I could come around and lend a helping hand; you don't need to pay me for that."

She shook her head, "Ah couldn't ask ya ta do that Sugarcube, if'n you were gonna work fer me, y'all should get somethin' outta it."

I figured she would say something like that, and already had a rebuttal ready to go. "I would be getting something out of it AJ; the satisfaction of helping a friend." I chuckled slightly, "Plus, it'd be great exercise for me, and I gotta stay in shape somehow."

She chuckled and gave me a broad smile. "Alright alright, y'all made yer case. Help me get these here bushels back to the barn and Ah'll think about it on tha way." She looked around momentarily. "Now where in tha hay did that cart run off to?"

I looked around as well. "I don't remember seeing one out here, are you sure you brought it?"

"Ah know Ah did! That's how Ah got all these baskets clear out here." She said somewhat annoyed. "Now where in tarnation did it go? It couldn'ta just walked away, could it?"She let out a frustrated sigh, "Well, Ah guess there ain't nothin' fer it, we're gonna hafta carry 'em back by hoof."

And so we got to it. There were a dozen bushels in all, meaning that no matter how we sliced it, we were going to be making multiple trips. Before we did so however, I found a few green branches lying on the ground and managed to fashion them into a makeshift yolk for carrying more bushels at a time. When I had them lashed together with some of their own branches, I took my shirt off and wrapped it around the middle of them to provide some padding for my shoulders. By the time I had done that, Applejack had somehow managed to load a bushel onto her own back. Since I had been busy creating my carrying pole, I hadn't seen how she'd done it.

Applejack looked at the yolk quizzically. "What in the hay is that fer, Blake?"

I walked over to a pair of the bushels and knelt down next to them. "I'll show you AJ." And with that, I hooked each end of the yolk through the rope handles of two of the baskets and hefted the whole thing onto my shoulders. "This is what it's for; it'll let me carry twice as many of these baskets per trip."

"That's mighty inventive, think there's enough spare wood ta make one fer me?" After quickly looking around, we discovered that I had used all the suitable wood making the one I was using. With a shrug and an "Oh well" from Applejack, we made our way back to the barn with our payloads of apples.

The walk was made in relative silence; however, I noticed AJ glancing over at me from time to time, seemingly with a slight blush on her face. I didn't call her on it however; instead deciding to mess with her a bit. Figuring the reason for the looks and the blush was my bare torso, I stretched and flexed every now and then when I would notice her looking in my direction; a decade of construction had given me a toned and muscular physique after all. Her blush got just little deeper every time she looked over, confirming my suspicions. I didn't keep it up for too long though, breaking the silence, "Heh heh, enjoyin' the show AJ?"

Her blush turned a deep crimson. "Y'all saw that?"

I smirked mischievously, "Saw what? I didn't see anything. I wasn't putting on a show for you or anything." I said with a wink.

Applejack just rolled her eyes. "Yer terrible Blake." She said with a chuckle.

It took four trips and most of the remaining daylight, but we managed to haul them all back safely. Apple bloom joined us on our third trip, firing off question after question; most of which were directed at me. We also made plans to meet at their tree-house, or the 'Cutie Mark Crusader Headquarters' as she called it, over the weekend. She told me how to get to it from the barn, and the directions were simple enough, so I decided not to bother having either her or her sister show me where it was.

Once we made the final trip back to the barn, Applejack introduced me to her granny, Granny Smith. The elderly lime green mare seemed to right in the middle of her naptime as she kept dozing off. Applejack and I quickly decided it would be best to let her get her rest.

When we were done carrying all the bushels back to the barn, Applejack and I had worked up a sweat and were both breathing hard. "Whew, I gotta say Blake, yer one hay of a hard worker. If ya really wanna help out 'round tha farm, Ah won't say no. Ah'll even look into a way of payin' ya fer yer troubles. Just stop on by whenever ya feel like and we'll find somethin' fer ya ta do."

I held out my hand and Applejack shook it with a smile. "Thanks AJ, I'll try to stop by early so I can help out and we can get more done before it starts to get hot."

The orange farm pony nodded with a wide grin. "That sounds like a smart idea Blake. But fer now, y'all better get headin' back ta Twilight's before it gets dark. It ain't dangerous or nothin' at night, but travelin's easier when ya got light ta see by."

I nodded as I turned to leave. "Good idea AJ. I'll see everyone bright and early tomorrow morning then." And with that, I headed back towards Ponyville, turning around briefly to wave as little Applebloom called out a last farewell. I made my way back into Ponyville just as the last rays of the sun vanished behind the horizon and the moon began its nightly journey across the heavens. I noticed something odd tonight; the previous moon had been full, but tonight there was only a thin crescent. Odd, I'll hafta ask Twilight about that too.

As the sky blossomed into full night, I noticed something else that I had been too distracted to the previous night; the sheer beauty of the night sky. The sky where I lived on Earth had a fairly starry sky, or so I thought; here, the sky was a vast blue-black tapestry of countless glittering stars, completely blowing away anything I had ever seen on Earth. I had no idea how long I had been looking up at the shimmering sea of stars in the sky before I realized that I had stopped walking and was just standing there on the dirt path, gawking in wonder at what must be a common sight here.

I decided to watch the sky for a little longer before I headed for my new home, and looked for a good place to do so. It only took me a moment to spot a tree off to the side of the road, it seemed the perfect place to sit down, lean back and watch the night sky. Every so often, a shooting star would whiz through the starry sea, painting a white streak across it for just an instant.

I could tell I had been there for some time, as the moon was in a noticeably different spot from where it had been when I sat down. Before I could space out and continue enjoying the splendor again, I heard the muffled clop of hooves making their way towards me through the grass between my resting spot and the path I had been on.

"There you are… I was starting to get worried something might have happened…" I heard the familiar voice of Twilight say from my right.

I looked away from the stars to look at her. "Sorry Twilight, I was on my way back from Applejack's farm, and I saw all this." I gestured at the sky.

She looked at me with confusion. "The sky? What's so special about the sky?"

I sighed as I looked back up at it. "I've never seen anything like it… Earth had stars in it's sky too, but there was so much light pollution from all the big cities, you couldn't see but a tiny fraction of what you can here. It's breathtaking to me…"

Twilight walked over and sat down next to me. "I never really stopped to think about it, but you're right… it is beautiful, especially if there are so few stars where you came from."

We sat in silence for awhile and just watched the shimmering expanse, basking in the beauty and each other's company. I wasn't sure how much time had passed when I heard Twilight shuffle a little on the grass, lying down before leaning over and resting against my side. The contact made me smile and I wrapped my arm around her to return it. The moon had moved again in the sky when I was brought back to the world by quiet snores coming from the purple unicorn still wrapped in my arm.

I looked over to her to see that she had fallen asleep with her head resting against my chest. It was then that I decided it was finally time to head back home. Not wanting to wake her, I carefully lifted her onto my back. She shifted slightly as I got to my feet, but remained asleep; she was also lighter than she looked. I made our way back to the library carefully so as to not wake the kind unicorn. It didn't take too long to reach the library, and it was fairly easy to find as the path practically led right to it.

I bent my knees somewhat in order to reach the doorknob without bending. I opened the door and turned sideways before carefully scooting through the door; minding my sleeping passenger so as not to bump her on anything. After a moment of careful navigating, I was safely through the door and closed it behind me. I caught a quick glimpse of the old-fashioned cuckoo clock on the wall which showed that it was just after midnight. I then turned and headed up the stairs in order to tuck Twilight into her bed and make my way to her own.

I pulled back the star-patterned covers of her bed before carefully placing her in it and pulling the sheets gently over her. Twilight shuffled slightly and moaned softly with a slight frown,, but still remained asleep. I leaned over to her and planted a small kiss on her cheek, the fur surprisingly soft, feeling remarkably like skin against my lips.

Twilight smiled at the affection and snuggled herself deeper into the comfort of her bed. I couldn't help but smile at how cute she looked when she was asleep. I turned around and made my way to my room as quietly as I could, trying not to wake either Twilight or Spike, who was already fast asleep in his basket near Twilight's bed. When I got to my room, I removed my sweat-stained clothes and lay them aside, remembering that the princesses had commissioned Rarity to make me a full wardrobe. I decided to make that first on my list after helping Applejack tomorrow.

For now, I decided it would be a good idea to hang them up outside to air out. After that was done, I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth with the new brush and paste I had gotten from Colgate earlier, finding it to have a light minty flavor and a pleasant tingle. That task accomplished, I headed back to my room, stopping briefly to check on the still-sleeping Twilight, who still had a content smile on her face and was breathing steadily and quietly, indicating she was in a deep sleep now. I tip-toed the rest of the way back to my room and quietly closed the door behind me before turning around and making my way to my new bed. The thought struck me that even though this was my second night here, this would be the first time I would be sleeping in this bed. I didn't think long on this however; as exhaustion caught up with me and I quickly drifted off to sleep.

I could only hope that this sleep wouldn't be a troubled one.