trans_9 | Doing the Dirty Work [Open!]

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Doing the Dirty Work [Open!]

How did Applejack stand working so hard around the farm? Her secret was simple: combining work and play. She'd brought the same styl to Hydroponics, where she'd sectioned off a small patch of the ground to be a place for some of the animals to play. The grass was dug up and seeds were planted elsewhere, water was poured, and Applejack herself was pounding her legs into the dirt. Making mud! Her bright orange coat was now coated in brown, and the longer she worked, the further she sank.

But this wasn't very fun. Back home, she'd done---yeah, that was what was missing! She hopped out of her little mud pit, tracked dirt across the grass, and set off at a fast trot. "Yee-haw!"

If anypony happened to be hanging about, they'd be splattered when the large pony came crashing down, rolling in her little pit of dirt. Her hat sat some distance to the side, miraculously untouched by the splattering of mud. Surely most would know to stay away from such a display.

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Mindy gladly took it: who would give up the opportunity to actually touch a talking pony, for goodness sakes?

"Well, fingers to come in handy for punching, but I guess that's what your bucking would be for. Maybe you should have somebody make you some armor or something. Maybe even some kicking boots?"

"I'm working on a trade for it. Apples are still taking their sweet time to grow," she shook her head, flicking her gaze up to the old tree. It would come along in time, it always did.

"Anyway, training. Right. How about a gallop?"

Mindy took a look at the tree "Did you check the fertilizer and all? Maybe it needs more...uh, alien animal poop or something."

She was a New Yorker after all, not a farm girl.

"A gall-oh, like a run? Sure, why not?"

"Nah, they're growin' fine. But even with magic it takes time." What a wonderful art farming was, but it definitely took some patience. Wasn't for everypony. Applejack took a breath and straightened herself out, already warming up for the exertion. "Okay! Ready when you are."

Mindy made sure to stretch out pretty well. She had figured she would be able to make things grow faster, but if not, that would make sense anyway.

But now for the race. She stretched her neck and back. "Ok, ready, set, go!"

And she took off at a steady pace.

"Let's go!" Applejack hollered in her usual farm voice, running hard. Not enough to leave anypony behind, but fast enough to start shaking off some of the dirt. She'd get dirty again, but cleaning off this way was fun.

"How're you feeling?"

Mindy grinned. "Feeling just fine, actually. I'm not the type to run out of stamina quickly. They might say that's because I'm young, but I work darn hard at this!"

And that question brought about one of her own. "Wanna speed up?"

"I can see that," Applejack said appreciatively, cheering and charging forward. All was going well.

"Sure thing, sugar!" And they were racing across the grass, spirits high. She could get used to this.

This was one of those moments where it was actually nice to just be Mindy, and just be a girl. Sure, she was being way more athletic than most, but that was because she had always been that way. how often did she get to play in mud, or just act normal for a little bit?

She sped up, grinning. Yup, she was definitely bringing her A game to this race.

"Gonna make me work for it, huh?" Applejack taunted, leaping into the air and putting on a burst of speed. "I think I like you already!"

This was already getting good.

"No point in doing it unless you put in your all!" Mindy called out, and was surprised to see that the pony was actually going REALLY fast. She was going faster than most humans. MAN, but she liked this pony's style!

Not that it meant she was gonna slow down anytime soon. She picked up the pace, starting top gain her second wind.

"Got that right!" Applejack cheered. She knew by now that people had their limits, what with only two legs and all, but this little one was surprisingly resilient. Not unlike herself navigating a world of unicorns and pegasi.

She dashed around a tree, then another, admiring them as she went. "Would you look at that!"

Mindy knew all too well about how limited people were when it came to speed: often, it was what made the difference between living and dying. It was why of all the things she learned on the ship, speed was always her number one concern. Applejack (easy to remember, she had the cereal enough times) looked like she did the same.

And it looked like Applejack was showing no signs of slowing down, so neither would she. Honestly, she had to wonder how she constantly got roped into these competition situations all the time.

Applejack whooped, going on for just a little while more. When she was about done, she slowed and leapt in the mud. going for a roll.

"Could use a bit of a cooldown," she explained.

Mindy stopped when she did, and though she wasn't about to go jumping into a mud hole, she DID see a little place where the animals washed of, and promptly jumped in, not bothering to take off her shoes and socks.

A moment later, she settled near Applejack, soaked to the bone. "Ah, that's better."

"Oh---whoops," Applejack laughed, flicking her mane as some of the water splashed her. "Guess I coulda done that too. But that's alright, I ain't done yet!"

Which meant she was gonna be rolling in the mud all day long. "But I think I'll just settle down for a bit. How're you?"

Mindy laughed. The pony looked actually cute when her hat was off, not that the hat on was bad. Her wide eye stare was pretty funny too. She thought whatever happened, they should at least make sure to protect these pony girls during the war.

"I'm good. I usually don't randomly take off in a race, but as you saw, I'm still pretty good at it! You do that as a hobby too?"

"Sure thing! A little friendly competition never hurt anypony." Provided that it stayed friendly. Applejack knew all too well what would happen if it didn't.

"So you're training for the war out there, huh." She still wondered just how people so young were being drafted. "I was worried before, but now that I know what we're up against."

It's worse.

"No, I guess not." Once gain, bullshit from the girl who was queen of competition. She had been in several in the last few days, and while she hadn't exactly won any of them, she had learned quite a bit from them all, and was more than glad they had shown her different ways of managing herself in a fight.

She sighed. "Something like that. I'm still only just a little girl, anyway. I'm trying to see what I can do to help. We might act like its OK, and I'm sure they want to protect us children from getting too upset, but even I know when there's an uneasiness in the air, you know?"

Applejack sighed. "You shouldn't have to be out here like this. I wouldn't want my little sister here, as much as I miss her. But you're an awfully bright gal."

An image of little Apple Bloom flashed in her mind before she spoke again. "Guess we've all gotta be ready. But we won't be alone, right?"

"If I wasn't here, I'd be dead, or inactive in the pods," Mindy said. "You're not going to hear me complaining. An thanks: you seem like a pretty kick a-butt pony. Also, we don't have talking ponies, so that's pretty cool."

She shook her head. "No, these guys on the ship, I know a few of them. In my world, they're comic book superheroes. I know a bit about what they can do, so we at least have that on our side."

Again with those comic books! "They're the ones with powers, right? Flying around and blowing stuff up?"

No, she wasn't envious. Not at all.

"Something like that, yeah," Mindy said, shrugging. "It's weird though. In my world, they're fictional stories. They're not supposed to be real. Yet we're here, and its not only superheroes, but the ones written in my comic books, with the names and powers and everything! It's just weird."

Oh, she understood being envious. Mindy was pissed for a good long time being surrounded around heroes with actual powers.

"I know the feeling. You hear things, think it's an old pony's tale, but then it turns out to be real."

How did those things happen to her? "Like the tale of Nightmare Moon. Supposedly a princess got all jealous of her sister and got sealed in the moon for a thousand years. We all thought it was a lot of nonsense, 'til she broke outta the moon and threatened us."

That had been a fun night. For varying definitions of 'fun'.

She nodded, although it was still a little weird to have these sort of things being told to her by a pony, of course. But once you really thought about it, wasn't every kind of story like this different? Who was she to say one was better than the other?

Mindy raised an eyebrow. "No kidding? That's pretty severe punishment, to seal somebody up in the moon for a thousand years, just for getting jealous. I'd be plotting some pretty nasty things then."

Had My Little Pony gotten more bad ass without her knowing?

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