My Little Pony: My Little Pony The Martian

AMICITAS Mission Three – Mission Day 340

ARES 3 solar day 335

"So," when the starlight turned off the magic field projection and everyone walked towards the open space next to the life support system equipment, Mark asked, "Whose story are you going to tell me today?"

"I've been thinking about this," Starlight Glimmer replied slowly, "Today I took some time to sit down and look up the dictionary, and looked through every word that started with 'apple'. Finally I found it.' Applejack' is an alias for apple brandy. At the same time, the word also means 'jacked', and obviously 'very strong', which fits her temperament quite well. So now when I mention her There could be a more appropriate name than 'Hard Cider'."

"Did you find the breakfast cereal?" Mark couldn't help but ask.

This time Starlight just glanced at him and continued, "Then let's talk about Applejack today. I've known Applejack for several years, but I really can't think of many stories related to her. Talk. Berry, what about you?"

"I've known her almost since I was born," Cherryberry replied, "but the only stories I know are a bit embarrassing. Like the time she caused a rabbit stampede..."

"What's going on?" Mark said he couldn't understand.

"...or that time a group of fruit bats invaded her farm and she ended up accidentally turning Fluttershy into a bat horse."

"What did you say?!" Mark was even more stunned after hearing this.

"Anyway, you all know, I don't really want to tell these stories," Cherry Berry concluded, "because it would be so unfair to her. She's a really good horse, not a... well …Yes, Enos. Not like Enos. And definitely not like Cletus or Rothko.”

"I know what you mean," Starlight took over. "She's strong, she's brave, she always keeps her cool, and she never abandons you, but she's not the kind of horse to go on adventures on her own. Am I right?"

"Yes, that's what it means!" Cherry Berry agreed, "She is always willing to help any horse. This is quite magical - she runs the largest farm in the whole town, but she can still find time to help such a horse. Lots of other ponies running around.”

"That's what got her into trouble with Rabbit," Starlight said. "I read in Twilight's book before that there was a time when Applejack not only worked on her farm, but she also had to Helping other horses, she was so exhausted that she lost consciousness. She worked so hard that she even forgot to sleep at night."

"Yes. One year she was the only horse to go to...well...the big party attended by all those arrogant ponies in the capital? She went there to work. She could have gone there to meet other horses and have fun, But she just refused and only wanted to make money to support her family.”

"I remember that," Spitfire said. "My captain bought a pie from her. He said it was the best pie he had ever eaten. But there was a big table of free food there. It was all in vain. .”

"Uh..." Cherry Berry changed her posture and rubbed her hooves in embarrassment, and exchanged a few glances with Fei Huo. Unfortunately, this little incident inevitably made Applejack look a little impatient. Finally, she came up with a sentence to smooth things over, "At least, her intentions were right."

"Maybe you can try telling me who she is first," Mark suggested. "Maybe it will be easier to remember the story."

"All I know about her is from mission briefings," Dragonfly replied. "Applejack, the element of honesty. Easily able to get away with it as long as she doesn't outright lie. Endlessly powerful, gifted Earth pony farmer. Skilled. Rodeo contestant. The de facto leader of the Apple family, with family members located in every corner of the country and abroad. If you accidentally fall directly behind her when fighting with her, you will be forced to experience a long dormancy—— Her kicks are deadly. Her lasso skills are superb."

"Wait a minute," Mark had something to say, "leaving aside how to use it, how did an earth pony make a lasso?"

"I don't know about that," Xiao Ting replied, "I have never been exposed to rodeo. In short, he is a highly skilled and experienced monster fighter. He almost never panics. He is extremely competitive and very stubborn. Xiao Maldives Space Center, senior mission control flight director."

"That's more than I know," Fireball said. "I just hear her on the radio sometimes when I'm on the station."

"I don't know much," Spitfire added, "most of the Rainbow Dash I know tells me."

The discussion, which had always seemed sparse, could barely be maintained for a while, but now it was simply discontinued. "So," Mark, who thought the situation could still be saved, continued to try to enlighten the topic, "Monster hunters, right? What kind of monsters are there?"

"Well, for example, we changelings are one kind," Dragonfly just said, and was immediately hit hard by flying fire on the head. "Ouch!"

"Bragging about being evil, what did I say?" Pegasus warned.

"As for this, let me think about it," Starlight took stock. "Since I first met her, the monsters she has fought include a, uh, a creature that is a hybrid between a bear and an insect but is larger than both. ...A kind of, well, I've read about it in your books before - by the way, it's called a chimaera, that kind of tiger-goat-snake hybrid monster... In addition, there are sea monsters , manticore, hydra, horse-eating plant and, uh, wild dog made of wood infused with dark magic." As she spoke, she rubbed her hooves uneasily and hesitated, "And, uh, me. "

Spitfire stood up and walked towards Starlight. Seeing this, Spitfire quickly prepared himself for a beating and stretched out his front hooves to protect his horns.

"Feihuo, sit down." Cherry Berry would not tolerate this behavior spreading and scolded her immediately.

Spitfire glared at Starlight, pointed her hoof at her own face, then pointed at the unicorn opposite her with a "I'm watching you" attitude, and then sat back down as ordered.

"Okay..." Mark, who was watching, continued to ask, "A wild dog...is it a wolf? And is it made of wood?"

"That's right," Starlight replied, "The back of Applejack's family farm is adjacent to the Everfree Forest. Every once in a while, monsters, especially wooden wolves, will often come out to attack, and Applejack beats them away every time. .”

"Yes. She has always been like this. I still remember one time..."

Applejack and I had just finished reading the book. Our family found they couldn't safely let me harvest cherries without making me vomit, so they sent me to, uh, Applejack's father's mother, whose name was a nice tart baking apple. Even though they didn't really have much money to pay me, Applejack put me to work. Farm work is like this; if the harvest is good, the market price will drop to the point where you can't make a penny back; if the price is high, it means that everyone has nothing to gain, and you naturally have nothing to sell. . Farming requires a lot of hard work to survive.

In short, Lightning Apple was just becoming popular at the time. The Lightning Apple is a magical fruit. Applejack's, uh, grandmother's jam made from harvested lightning apples is very popular throughout Equestria and can be sold for a lot of money. The revenue in this area is fundamental to supporting the operation of the farm. The story I heard was that those other crops were barely making their money back. But the time when the lightning apples are harvested is also the time when the wood wolves are active. Whenever we hear them howling at night, we know the Lightning Apples are about to appear.

So we were tending some regular apple trees, and then we heard a roar and smelled something like a soaring box. Wood wolves are made of rotten branches, trunks, moss, vines, and the like, so their breath is smelly.

Wait—magic wood still needs to breathe?

Timber wolf is like this. So we only had about two seconds to react, and then two wooden wolves emerged from the Eternal Free Forest and rushed towards us. A wooden wolf is six times as long as a pony and almost three times as tall as an average pony. They are deadly creatures that cannot be tamed or reasoned with. They're not like manticores, they're even worse than hydras. They are pure evil. The purpose of these two is to kill me and Applejack and take back the lightning apple tree for the forest.

Then, of course our reaction is to turn around and run away. But just as we passed under a low-hanging branch, Applejack was no longer beside me. She used the branch to swing her body up, and kicked down over the branch - snap! ——Landed exactly on top of the nose of the first wooden wolf. It fell down with Applejack, and she kicked it hard between the eyes with its hind hooves. This one was solved just like that - this time it just fell apart.

But at this time, the second wolf was almost on top of her. I thought she was definitely doomed now. I screamed for her to run, but instead of running for her life, she found a piece of the vine-covered fragment of the timber wolf that had just been killed. She threw the piece of wood into the second wolf's mouth, where it got stuck - once it takes a bite, a wooden wolf usually doesn't let go easily. Then she pulled the vine and circled it several times around the wood wolf's hind legs. The wolf tried to pull her back, but all it did was pull the vines tighter and tighter, and finally tore off both hind legs cleanly.

The second wolf wanted to turn around and bite her again, but turned around but could not see her. Unable to find her, it turned back, just in time to see her flying towards it. Then there is no more.

We spent the rest of the day collecting fallen wood, hauling it all away and burning it. The remains of the wood wolf must be disposed of by fire. If you don't do this, the spell will heal itself after a day or two. And it was all rotten wood, so a lot of good wood was wasted to get the fire going.

So we basically didn't get any work done that day. When we went back to see her grandmother, Applejack didn't say much about her killing two woodwolves. Instead, she apologized for not finishing the job!

That was just, well, about three years after we got our respective cutie marks. To be honest, we were just kids at the time. And even then she already had her current characteristics; she didn't brag, she wasn't even willing to show off. But no matter what kind of work is given to her, as long as she relies on honest hard work, she will do it beautifully.

"Wow! So you are saying that she saved your life when you were children?" Mark looked in disbelief. "Where did your parents go when this happened?"

"My parents have their own farm to take care of." Berry replied. "It's much smaller than Applejack's, so sometimes we go to my aunt's farm down south to help out and make some extra money. But Applejack Her parents passed away when she was very young. Her sister was still a baby at that time. So now it is just her eldest brother, little sister, Ajie, and their grandmother who are taking care of the farm. During the harvest season, they may still There are friends and relatives willing to help.”

"Oh. Wow. This is too bitter." Mark sighed, "So that's why she's named Applejack? Does she drink a lot?"

"No more than...wait a minute, are you asking her if she gets drunk often?" Berry thought for a moment, "No. They make cider at home, but she only drinks it when she's with her friends. Have a drink. She’s not the same as my cousin Berry Punch (mistranslated as Berry Kick).”

"They make Applejack too," Starlight murmured softly.

It must be emphasized that the Apple family is proud of the quality of its own cider, whether hard or soft. They are only sold during the short season in mid-autumn every year, after the leaves change color. Other farms often use fallen fruits and partially rotten apples as raw materials, but the Apple family always insists on high standards and strict requirements for raw materials. They set aside a section of the farm's apple trees specifically for cider production. When it was launched, ponies were even willing to queue for days just to taste their cider.

Daisy told me this once. I think if the sea was filled with cider, Daisy would grow gills.

Well, back to the point... But the Apple family doesn't sell apple brandy of any kind. They do keep a few barrels of cider for aging each year; only those very close to the Apple family get to take a sip. But if you dare mention apple brandy to someone’s face, you’ll be turned away. They won't sell it and refuse to even acknowledge its existence.

But...let's put it this way, Twilight Sparkle really tried her best to teach me how to correct my evil ways. I still have a lot to learn. But there were times when I felt like there was no hope no matter how hard I tried. Everything felt so hard, so... well, out of reach. And once I got into big trouble. I won't tell you the details because...well, honestly, because it's embarrassing, but it might reflect poorly on your friends if you ever learn to use magic. In short, it took me a long time to clean up the mess and go around to apologize.

One night, I stayed on a balcony in Twilight Castle and stared at the stars in a trance - this happened before I started school. I have always wondered whether I have this ability. If I spend the rest of my life alone in a cave in the mountains, everyone will be much more relaxed. I've even picked out the right cave.

Then Applejack came out and asked me what happened. I said, "It's okay, I'm fine." Don't do that in front of Applejack. You can mislead her and fool her, but you can't lie to her face, because she can see this trick.

She just shook her head after hearing this, then took out a small clay pot from her saddle bag, unscrewed the stopper, and poured me a little bit - probably, uh, Mark, your test tubes can probably hold two. "Well," she said to me, "drink some of this and go to bed quickly. Everything will be fine by tomorrow morning. Well, it'll be the afternoon actually, but you know what I mean."

I took a whiff and asked, "What is this?"

"Apples," she replied, "well, mostly apples at least. It's a family secret. We don't talk about it."

Not only does it smell great, it tastes even better. I can still remember the smooth apple flavor and the warmth from the bottom of my heart. Unfortunately that was the last thing I remembered before I woke up in bed with a splitting headache the next morning, a pot of freshly brewed coffee and two painkillers on the nightstand next to me. Once the hangover wore off I definitely felt better. This actually led to another accident, but that's a digression.

Cherry Berry stared blankly at Starlight Glimmer, her jaw almost dropped. "Have you actually tasted the Fruit of the Gods?" She asked directly in Pony language, "I thought it was just a legend! I thought it was just the kind of thing that grandparents always talked about about Granny Smith's parents being in the original horse. It’s just a hearsay story about how much better life was when the town was first built compared to now!”

"Berryberry, please calm down!" Starlight hurriedly explained, "I only experienced this once. Applejack never mentioned it again, and I certainly didn't dare to ask again. The Apple family really didn't want to talk about this. It’s okay! And please speak English!”

"Well, is this fruit wine really worth making such a fuss about?" Mark said, "I tried apple brandy once when I was in college. I wasn't very interested. I still prefer beer."

The glares of Starlight and Berry all turned to Mark. The glares were colder than the Martian atmosphere outside the cave farm and were enough to freeze him into ice. "And beer," they sneered.

Tingting looked at Fei Huo, "Well, I guess there is no chance of holding a welcome home drinking party in Ma Town after we go back?"

Spitfire knocked the changeling on the head again, and then asked, "Commander, can I hit the changeling when she says something stupid?"

"Don't kill first and then show off!" Ding Ting scolded angrily.