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Description

In case anyone thought that Applecord was a joke or one-off thing haha lemme learn ya smth bud.
 
It took longer for the next post then I wanted because I spontaneously decided to do a whole lineless thing which I suck at but at least ya can have some backstory on these buckos !
 
Someone asked how they got together and while I got a lotta ideas n concepts one ofmy favorite is that Zap apples just SCREAM Chaos magic to me, you need to sing to the bees and jump over watering cans while wearing bunny outfits ? Don’t even tell me that’s not some jam that would get Discords goat.
 

 
Ears perking up Applejack lifts her head, the howling of timber wolves had stopped and a calm smile rises on her muzzle, legs stretching out and joints popping before she gets up, shaking the stray hay out of her fur, she’d rested by the barn, watching the trees loose their last leaves and listening to the wolves, waiting for the zap apple leaves to perk up before she’d get up and look for the pony who’d made it a point to help out with the harvest every year since the zap apples returned.  
Smiling to herself at the absurdity of this friendship Applejack had no choice but to admit to herself that by now she adored the goofing that came with the harvest.
 
Only a couple hours later she returned to the farm with a rather wry companion. Squiggling around her like a windsock and keeping her in a constant stasis between eye rolling and repressed snickers.  
Discord had again stolen her Statson and was making impressions of country folk that were so aweful they were belly achingly funny again.  
Occasionally snapping her tail at him in warning they made their way to the Orchard were the trees were growing more and more full with dark purpur leaves, filling back up after they’d just shed their usually vibrant green foliage.  
‘‘Goin’ mighty strong this year, ah reckon if it goes like this we can start harvestin’ at the end o this week !’’  
Smiling warmly as she passes the Orchards gates, welcomed by the scent of apples, hay and fresh soil Applejack jumps and snatches her hat off the distracted Draconequus’ head to put back on herself together with a mischevious grin.  
‘‘Now lesse how many pales I getta put down before ya can catch up with those aweful ribbons ah yers.’’  
Teasing she doesn’t let Discord reply before galloping towards the barn to get the first collection barrels out of there.  
‘‘For shame Applejack ! I have you know that my ribbon selection is of utmost quality, approved by Rarity herself !’’  
Acting faux offended he slithers after her, somehow it had become a habit to put gaudy ribbons around the apple barely, bright blue with army green spots, pink-red-orange striped, they were all objectively aweful but somehow it just was part of the ritual now.  
Applebloom would start on hiring the usual help for the harvest tomorrow but the first evening of preparations always just belonged to them, Discord yelling jokes, turning part of the grasses all shades of the rainbow, putting the ribbons up, stealing AJs statson and being absolutely overrun with histerical laughter whenever AJ actually cracked a joke back at him.  
While AJ put out barrels, complained about the gaudy ribbons that were kind of endearing to her at this point, Pushing discord around a bit, catching him with her lasso before he decided to repaint the whole barn purple again and generally just smiling despite sweat pearling along her flanks at the end of a long day of work.
 
Settling down when the last of the work is done, looking over the slowly blossoming bright teal flowers Applejack smiles, her home was flourishing and it felt deeply grounding, letting her tense muscles slowly melt into that pleasant after-work burn.  
The crunch of grass makes her lift her head, ears perking backward she smiles hesistantly but contently, letting her work companioin step closer.  
‘‘Well don’t you look like a well ridden horse ?’’  
Poking a bit of fun the draconequus settles down by the orange mares side, he had taken to walking more, over the times he’d helped out at the Orchard, enjoying the nature around him he’d come to enjoy feeling the soil and trees around him, the Orchard had become a bit of a home to him now.
 
Scoffing at his remark AJ rolls her eyes but her smile doesn’t wane.  
‘‘Ya’ll ain’t ever seen meh hunkered out ya darn noodle.’’  
When Discord lays down close she can feel the heat of his body close to her back, the warmth and scent of her companion relaxing her further, before long she was leaning into his neck, his jaw leaning against her head.  
‘‘Well don’t you know how to make a Draconequus curious lil lady.’’  
Another scuff with a slightly wider smile now she knew no pony who’d call her small aside from this darn critter, but it’d become an endearing term, can’t let the small bugs itch ya too much.  
Closing her eyes and letting her body be supported by discord she just listens the rustling leaves, the others breath, the distant chirp of birds, the noises of her home.  
Despite his general proclivity for wild antics, right now after all that work and seeing Applejack all tuckered out he was at rest, enjoying the shared time and closeness of the mare.  
And suddenly he didn’t want to leave the Orchard again.
 
______  
Now with bonus MarbleShy ! (gilda is prob around somewhere, watching whatever she n marble had been cooking lol  
Alright kiddos so enjoy my horrible rushjob of a mini fic bcs I had the time pfpt  
so summary: Discord is bored bcs everyone is busy and annoying AJ is fun, and before long that turns into a fascination for the zap apple harvest and him offering to help out not bcs he enjoys watching bunnyAJ jump over watering cans tho that’s a bonus  
tldr: still love this damn ship  
also I am aware that the flowers and apples don’t pop up at the same time but give me some creative liberties man :V

 
More of the next gen:

safe2164613 artist:eqq_scremble121 derpibooru exclusive40236 applejack199641 discord37436 draconequus20196 earth pony442111 pony1592477 eqqverse34 g42016782 apple21102 apple tree4272 aurora borealis675 cuddling10672 evening774 female1792011 food100673 glowing18796 headcanon2983 lineless5529 male547162 mare734554 ship:applecord40 shipping252843 straight178024 tree48854 zap apple507 zap apple flower8 zap apple tree70
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Lunar Supporter - Helped forge New Lunar Republic's freedom in the face of the Solar Empire's oppressive tyrannical regime (April Fools 2023).
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The Applecord man
This is a sorta prequel that didn’t fit bcs derpi has a character limit rip
 
 
_____  
Fluttershy had nothing much but an apologetic smile for her old friend.  
‘‘I know, I know, I would love to meet for our usual time Discord but right now is a bad time.’’  
The Draconequus was pouting fiercely, floating upside down in front of the small cottage doors, he’d wanted to spend some time with his favorite cream Pegasus and he’s never been good at taking no for an answer.  
The reason for Fluttershys coy apology became apparent when another small grey shape poked her head around the corner of the door, pressing close to the mare, avoiding Discords line of sight.  
Of course that mousy earth pony was taking up his friends time.  
Scoffing annoyed, with his eyes on Marble Pie, Discord is about to snap something when his attention is grabbed by Fluttershy’s stern eyes, one wing over her marefriends side her head tilted to protect Marble from her friend hostile gaze.  
‘‘I look forward to our usual tea date.’’  
Speaking with a more solid tone of authority in her voice Discord is taken aback before pouting again and avoiding his gaze, he wanted to be a jealous cat about the other pony stealing Fluttershy’s attention from him but seeing her more confident and a bit protective was an oddly comforting sight so he had a hard time hating the small grey pony.
 
‘‘Fiiine fineee, I don’t want to intrude on the lovebirds’’  
Flipping over himself he smirks teasingly, quickly making both mares flush and sputter a bit, Shy’s feathers bristling, despite her new confidence Discords directness still threw her more often then not.  
‘‘But I hope there will be extra spicy tea cakes to make up for today.’’  
He was openly teasing and more relaxed now, letting Shys body relax a bit and her soft smile return.  
‘‘I’ll make sure to make some nice snacks.’’  
A Small mew behind her makes her take a peek at Marble, her ears perking up excitedly.  
‘‘Oh we could bake together !’’  
Looking back to Discord with those big excited eyes Fluttershy is visibly sparkling in excitement.  
‘‘Marbles Family has the most unique recipes I am sure you would love them too !’’  
Seeing her so entwined with her new partner Discord realized it was indeed time to leave the two to their own.  
Snapping his fingers he stands with a suit, had pulled into his face and little briefcase to make a dramatic exit.  
‘‘Well sweetie, I have loved our time but I can tell when I am not needed, so I will be off.’’  
Tipping his head at Fluttershys amused face, her excitement derailed to see her friend off she waves her free wing after him as he takes off his head and floats off in an odd mimicing of Mary Poppins.
 
Seeing Fluttershy moving on and growing out of the little shy filly he’d first met was tough, she was becoming her own equine and it became more and more evident how much he was clinging to that one mare for company.  
Huffing annoyed as he floats along with the wind and realization that he outta socialize more, the ancient spirit surveyed the town underneath.  
Ponyville has been busy growing just like Shy had, a bustling city with new shops and ponies excitedly crowdwing to learn the history of equestrias heroes, seeing the Friendship Academy Twilight had build, the fashion empire Rarity started here, the CMC who build their fantastic youth camps…  
All of it had an odd comfort blossom in the Chaotic creatures chest, bonding with these little ponys had made him appreciate their work and be proud of their accomplishments, but at the same time there was a detachement that was hard to pinpoint.
 
Over the entire expanse of the growing city the one thing that had not changed a bit was the outskirts, that sea of green with a single bright red beacon sitting in the middle, home and pride of the Apple family.  
Seeing the lone but proud farm house Discord smirked, overcome with the urge to tease his favorite stubborn earth horse.  
Out of the mane 6 he’d probably interacted the least with Applejack, she knew to avoid him and was much too good at shooting down his fantastically hilarious japes ! So occasionally he made a point out of teasing her, thinking back to past escapades and the rare moments she gave him a reluctant smile he was reminded that she was her own pony ever since he’d known her, maybe that’s why he was the least close to her.  
She didn’t need him and could defend herself from his pranks, close to a polar opposite of Fluttershy.
 
Lost in thought he’d drifted closer to the Orchard until his musings were interrupted by the broad orange form of applejack moving inbetween trees.  
Smirking to himself his fur and scales peel apart into leaves, his body floating down with the next gust of wind, flurrying around AJ before meeting up again to recombine his body in front of a startled apple horse.  
Grinning widely he can’t get as much as a word out, the loud rushing of wind that had carried him down only picked up further and with a violent gust ripped the leaves off the trees around them.
 
Blinking he raises an eyebrow, the previously lush Orchard was not made of nothing but naked branches, with AJ being the most colorful spot infront of that sad grey look, for an outside it looked like the Draconequuses appereance ruined the entire acre of trees.  
Applejack, who’d taken a step back when the creature appeared, was frowning fiercely as Discord was an unwelcome interruption to her work at best.  
when her vision is framed by a rush of dead leaves and roar of wind loud enough to knock a stallion off his hooves she tries to figure out what the Draconequus is doing here and what he’s just done to her trees, as his arrival followed by a storm of leaves is not a promising entrance.
 
When the deafening gust wanes she is scowling and ready to tell Discord off, seeing the empty branches pressing all the wrong buttons in her minds immediately.  
‘‘Discord !’’  
AJ, barks in annoyance but Discord doesn’t let her fall into an angry bout of yelling.  
‘‘Why hello Applejack ! What a surprise to see you here .’’  
He bows dramatically and smirks up at her, hoping to push her buttons a bit more but instead of that angry green scowl, when he looks up to her AJ is focused on the trees behind him with big eyes.  
He is about to stretch out and joke about how his appereance had mesmerized her but he doesn’t get to that.
 
Jumping forward with a sudden excited sparkle in those usually harsh green eyes Applejacks ears are perked like an eager filly, a giddyness to her statue when her eyes next fall on the chaos spirit.  
And without warning and with the energy of a whole hoard of ponies, the power of the apple clan behind her she howls at his face.  
’‘ZAP APPLE SEASON !!!’’  
Now if he’s not gone entirely deaf by this point he can hear the cheering of the mare as she darts around, he mostly knew Applejack as a calm hardworking straight-mare so this whole outburst was not just confusing but also surprising, not to mention that he’d never bothered to learn much about the apple farm so ‘zap apples’ were a foreign concept to him.
 
Slinking after the earth pony he watches as AJ bellows from the top of her lungs that the Zap apples were coming, having a little excited dance with Big Macintosh and throwing Applebloom around in the same breath, the whole family seemed to be absolutely in awe over this.  
Discord was mostly ignored which was an odd affair for the flashy chimera tho he couldn’t help but enjoy the genuine excitement around the family, Big Mac was only visiting the Orchard and Applejack had taken on legislation of the place entirely by herself since the passing of previous matriarch Granny Smith, the loss of their last guardian had colored the apple household in a grim mood and had AJ throw herself into her work even more so this little celebration had Discord bouncing with the good mood even tho he had no idea what was going on.
 
Unbeknownst to the Draconequus Zap apples were a long held treasure of the family, an important and unique crop that was as much effort as it was a treassure and something that they’d missed for many years.  
Zap apples had never had a really regular scedule but they would appear at least every other year, not to since the loss of Granny Smith tho, maybe it was the less then magical atmosphere or maybe the fruit themselves were mourning but ever since her passing the Apple Orchard had not seen another blooming of the Zap apples.