Bruised Apples, Lightning Storms

When Rules Bend

I let the satisfaction of my work flush my face, not bothering to wipe away the sweat on my forehead. It's my hard work that got it there in the first place.

This is my moment. Out there, it's all false smiles. Forced expression. Limited, controlled. Not one sincere word. Here...well, I suppose there won't ever be anypony else to be anything but honest.

Even as my working spirit began to dwell, the smirk remained etched across my face. This was the only good part of the day, might as well draw it out.

"Did it hurt when you fell from heaven? Cause it sure flippin' did when I fell for you."

I didn't just hear that. There is no way in Hell I just heard that. Suppressing the urge to buck whomever spoke, I cracked my neck with the force of looking back.

The ugly snarl I bore evolved into a stunned shock. Laying smack in the middle of the barrow was a pony. A pegasus. In the shade of the trees, I could tell jack else about the details. The mare couldn't have been any older than me, but she was smaller by far. Judging by the angle of her foreleg, it was broken. She had passed out the second I turned. Looking up into the branches, she must have fell at least...30 feet.

This...was weird. Not weird, unique even. Who the fuck just randomly hides out in apple trees, breaks their leg, throws out the worst pick-up line in history, then passes out? And she was a pegasus, for Celestia's sake! At least SHE could have just-

My eyes softened, watching the snoozing girl in the barrow. Thinking about it was painful. Her fluffy ears had fallen, covering part of her face. In sleep, I watched as her lips curled into a small smile. I'd never seen that before. So pure...

Despite the apparent comfort she had, it would be better for her to get some rest in an actual bed. Turning back around, I shifted the harness to prepare for the extra weight of the new "passenger". I began my trot out of the orchard. The barrow didn't feel any heavier.

Shouldn't I take her to the hospital?

I glanced around at the pegasus. The leg had swollen slightly, still stuck at that horrible angle.

I could mend that.

I mean, since she's a pegasus, she probably originated from Cloudsdale, which is hours away, even if you can fly. Looks like a minor, so she wouldn't have a house. She must've ran away, at her age...

The barrier of trees was visible by the feeble light they let into the entrance of the orchard. I trot a bit quicker, eager to relieve the tension of my muscles, and, admittedly, find out who this mystery mare was.

Exiting the barrier, I resisted checking on the pegasus.

"You'll be fine," I reassure her," it wasn't that harsh of a fall."

Even if I knew she couldn't hear me, it was almost a comfort just to have someone there with me. It made the endless fields and orchards smaller.

Parking the apple barrow at the opening of the orchard, I untangle myself from the reins, stretching my back, squinting in the early afternoon sunlight. My gaze wanders and lands, unwillingly, on the mare.

Her coat was a pale blue, practically white against the boldly-colored fruit. My eyes darted automatically to her mane; Practically pastel despite the literal rainbow of tones adorning it.