Bingtang Xueli was warming up. His movements were fluid and powerful, every action brimming with strength and rhythm. As his body grew more flexible, his muscles began to quiver. With a resolute gaze, he leaped into the air, spun three hundred and sixty degrees, and drove his hind hooves into an apple tree. The sheer impact felt as though it could shatter the very fabric of reality; beneath the terrifying pressure, the apple tree shuddered violently, and a few leaves drifted down.
Then, clutching his hind hoof, he rolled around on the ground.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!"
Watching this spectacle, Applejack and Big Macintosh shook their heads and offered their respective assessments.
"Good form, but completely useless. Zero points."
"Yup."
Since Big Macintosh was injured and harvest season was already underway, Bingtang Xueli had volunteered to help Applejack gather the apples. Yet judging by this display, Applejack and Big Macintosh figured the apples would rot on the branches before he ever finished.
"Guess we'll just have to do it ourselves."
Reluctant as she was to let her brother overexert himself, Applejack could only nod in agreement.
"Man, we've got our work cut out for us. I've never seen so many apples waiting to be picked."
"Yup, but how are you supposed to manage all these apples by yourself?"
Surveying the endless sea of apple trees, Applejack felt a flutter of panic, but her stubborn pride refused to let it show.
"Oh, come on, Big Mac, don't worry about it. Go take a load off. There isn't an orchard out there that Applejack can't handle."
To emphasize her confidence, she waved a hoof—and promptly poked Big Macintosh right in his injury, eliciting a sharp hiss of pain.
"S-sorry," she offered with a sheepish grin. "Anyway, I'll have at least half of it done by today."
Big Macintosh remained deeply skeptical of Applejack's confidence, which only stoked her stubbornness further. She insisted she would harvest every single apple tree by herself, just to wipe that look off Big Macintosh's face.
Yet taking one more glance at the sprawling orchards, Applejack couldn't help a nervous swallow.
What Applejack was thinking, Bingtang Xueli had no idea; all he knew was that he had been rolling around on the ground for ages and not a single pony had paid him any mind. Talk about a blow to the ego.
After one more failed attempt to help Applejack—which was met with a stern rejection—Ponyville's resident loafer hoisted his violin onto his back and headed for the town square to soothe his sorrow with a song.
Not to brag, but while his apple-kicking leaves much to be desired, Bingtang Xueli's musical talents were top-notch. It took no time at all for a crowd of idlers to gather and listen.
As the final note faded, just as Bingtang Xueli was congratulating himself on reaching unassailable heights of musical mastery, a voice rang out from the herd.
"Brilliant!"
Hearing this, Bingtang Xueli burst into laughter.
"Stay humble, stay humble."
Yet as the ponies continued pointing at him, calling him amazing, incredible, truly brilliant, Bingtang Xueli began to wonder. Could he really have reached such unprecedented heights? I know you all adore my music, but there's no need to keep chanting like that! And what's with those terrified looks on your faces? Are you really that intimidated by my talent?
At that moment, Bingtang Xueli looked over his shoulder. A massive stampede of cattle was charging straight toward Ponyville.
"Sweet mother of lemons, are those actual cows?!"
Chaos erupted instantly, and Ponyville launched into yet another of its signature stampedes.
Right then, an orange blur darted out near the edge of the herd. Bingtang Xueli squinted and saw that it was Applejack.
"Thank goodness! It's Applejack! We're saved!"
Working in perfect tandem with Winona, Applejack began steering the cattle away from the town, while Bingtang Xueli provided a fittingly dramatic cowboy march on his violin. The ponies cheered wildly for Applejack, punctuated by the exceptionally loud crunch of Pinkie Pie eating popcorn.
As everyone celebrated and cheered for Applejack, Bingtang Xueli felt a deep sense of pride in his cousin. Prompted by Pinkie Pie, the townspeople decided to throw a party in Applejack's honor.
A week later, the Ponyville square was bustling with life, festooned with balloons and streamers in recognition of Applejack's contribution. The Mayor was all set to present her with the Ponyville Outstanding Pony Award.
Yet just as Twilight Sparkle's lengthy preamble was interrupted, one after another, by the townsfolk, and just as the Mayor finished singing Applejack's praises, everyone realized the honoree was nowhere to be found. As murmurs of confusion swept through the crowd, Bingtang Xueli's voice rang out from the back.
"Make way! Make room, everyone! Applejack is here!"
The crowd parted to reveal Bingtang Xueli, trudging forward with immense effort while carrying a seemingly fast asleep Applejack on his back.
Bingtang Xueli was at his wit's end. Applejack had spent the entire week kicking apple trees day and night. He had watched her condition deteriorate with each passing day, but no matter how he coaxed her, that stubborn mule refused to get proper rest. She wouldn't even let him fetch her award for her; she insisted on claiming it in person. If not for Bingtang Xueli stopping her, she would have tried to haul two crates of apples along with her.
To top it all off, she had actually fallen asleep standing up while walking here! He hadn't had the heart to wake her, so he just carried her the rest of the way. Poor him and his frail frame—why must life be so hard every single day?
Finally, after overcoming trials and tribulations, Bingtang Xueli dragged Applejack onto the podium. Applejack stirred awake, though she still looked profoundly exhausted, sporting dark circles under her eyes big enough to hold a pair of strawberries. She delivered a brief acceptance speech, while Bingtang Xueli collapsed flat on his face, utterly exhausted.
"Are you okay?"
His friends gathered around to check on him, which made him feel a bit better.
"I'm fine, but I have to let you in on a secret."
"What secret?"
Rainbow Dash asked curiously.
"Applejack is a stubborn mule!"
Then, glancing back at Applejack, who was standing beside Pinkie Pie and grinning stupidly at the trophy, he added:
"And a dummy, too."
In the end, Bingtang Xueli managed to get Applejack back to Sweet Apple Acres. Fortunately, she didn't fall asleep on the return trip; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to haul both her and that oversized trophy all the way home.
Back at the farm, his renewed suggestion that she get some rest was met with yet another swift refusal. He could only help her bring the trophy inside, and when he came back out, he found Applejack relentlessly kicking an apple tree while a thoroughly exasperated Twilight stood nearby, preparing to leave.
"Xueli!" Twilight spotted him and hurried over. "Applejack, she..."
"I know, I know," Bingtang Xueli interrupted. "Now do you see why I call her a stubborn mule? If I offered to pick a single apple for her right now, she'd probably curse me out."
At that, Twilight and Bingtang Xueli let out a synchronized sigh.
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her. I won't let anything happen."
"Good luck. If you need help, come find me at the library."
With a flash of magical light, Twilight teleported away.
"Magic sure is convenient."
Just as Bingtang Xueli was marveling at the convenience of magic and turning back to resume his watch over Applejack, he noticed a problem.
Where was she?
He looked around anxiously in every direction. There was no sign of that orange Earth Pony anywhere.
Oh no. Could she have wandered into the Everfree Forest in a daze?
Bingtang Xueli searched all over the orchard, but there was no trace of Applejack.
Right, she might have gone into town!
Just as he was about to head to town to look for her, a blue flash with a rainbow contrail shot rapidly into the sky, then descended in a graceful arc.
What kind of crazy stunt was Rainbow Dash pulling now? Wait, is this really the time to be thinking about that? I need to find Applejack fast. In her current state, walking straight into a dragon's jaws isn't out of the question.
As he set off toward town, he happened to cross paths with Applejack on her way back.
"Where were you?"
"Nowhere much, just went to help Rainbow Dash with her stunt practice."
Well, at least it ended safely. Bingtang Xueli let out a sigh, and Applejack went right back to kicking trees.
Once she filled a few crates, Bingtang Xueli began hauling them toward the barn.
True, when it came to apple-kicking, Applejack had shut him down, but after some hard bargaining, she had at least let him help cart the apples back to the barn. Sure, he could only manage two crates at a time and moved at a snail's pace, but it was at least a way to lighten his cousin's load, right?
After giving her strict instructions to stay put and keep kicking trees without wandering off, Bingtang Xueli embarked on the long journey back to the barn.
When he returned, Applejack was gone again.
"For Princess Celestia's sake, just spare me!"
Already tired to the bone, Bingtang Xueli had to set off once more in search of his cousin.
This time, instead of running around blindly, he headed straight down the road toward town, and sure enough, he ran into Applejack returning from that direction.
"Where did you go? Didn't I tell you not to wander off?"
"Oh, sorry, Xueli, I forgot. But Pinkie Pie needed help baking a cake, so I went over."
Bingtang Xueli could only sigh in resignation, then resumed standing guard as she kicked her trees.
Then Twilight showed up, offered help, and was promptly rejected.
And then Bingtang Xueli bore the brunt of it.
"Didn't you say you'd keep an eye on her?"
"I told her not to wander off! I just went to drop off a single load of apples, and poof, she vanished! Don't worry, I'll stick to her like glue this time!"
After Bingtang Xueli's repeated assurances, Twilight teleported away once more. Determined not to let it happen again, Bingtang Xueli resolved not to budge an inch. There was no way he was letting Applejack slip away this time. He would stare at her without blinking—let's see how he could possibly lose this game. Forget Applejack; not even a fly was getting past him!
For the better part of the day, as Applejack worked for a bit, stood up to sleep for a bit, woke up, and went back to work, Bingtang Xueli remained completely motionless, locking his gaze onto her so intensely that his eyes grew red and watered.
Right then, a fly landed on his nose. Unable to help it, Bingtang Xueli sneezed, his eyes snapping shut for a fraction of a second. The moment he opened them again, Applejack was gone.
"What in the name of Star Swirl the Bearded?!"
Are you seriously dropping all pretense now? You're dropping your dignity entirely just to push the plot forward? Instant transmission is a thing now? Do you realize you're stepping on Pinkie Pie's narrative toes? Seriously, author, writing like this is asking to get yelled at!
Whether the author would get yelled at remained to be seen, but the author certainly knew that because Applejack had slipped away, Bingtang Xueli was definitely going to catch flak from Twilight.
Bingtang Xueli leaped into the air and dashed like a madman toward Ponyville. He searched high and low, checking every corner, but there was not a single sign of Applejack anywhere.
Just as Bingtang Xueli was tearing his hair out in a panic, the ground began to tremble. Squinting ahead, he saw a massive horde of rabbits stampeding straight toward Ponyville.
Then again, weren't these ponies overreacting a bit? Could a bunch of rabbits really turn the town upside down?
Looking closer, however, he spotted a familiar figure bringing up the rear of the rabbit pack.
"Thank goodness! It's Applejack! Welp, we are totally doomed."
Moments later, through the sheer mastery of Applejack and Winona's teamwork, the rabbits successfully overran Ponyville. The town was left stripped bare, ponies groaned in agony on the ground, Fluttershy frantically begged the bunnies to go home, and Applejack sauntered casually back toward the orchard.
Meanwhile, an enraged Twilight Sparkle was marching straight toward Bingtang Xueli.
"Just let me explain."
"Go ahead."
"Applejack can teleport."
Twilight stared at Bingtang Xueli as if he had lost his mind, while he simply offered a helpless shrug.
"Regardless, she's gone way too far this time. I have to make her stop and get some proper rest."
While Bingtang Xueli voiced his support for Twilight's intervention, deep down he knew it wouldn't work. Driven to his wit's end, he decided that if Twilight failed to talk some sense into Applejack this time, he was going to resort to some unconventional methods to force her to rest.
Twilight teleported ahead, while Bingtang Xueli marched back toward Sweet Apple Acres with fiery determination radiating from every step.
He returned to the farm, made a beeline for the barn, slipped inside to grab what he needed, and emerged carrying a shovel.
Arriving at the orchard, he immediately spotted Twilight looking deeply distressed as she tried to reason with Applejack.
"I don't want to hear you say no..."
Even from afar, Bingtang Xueli caught those words, and a surge of furious impulse took over.
Taking two strides in three, he charged straight at Applejack, launched himself into the air off his hind hooves, gripped the shovel with both front hooves, and roared, "Sibling Bond Shovel Strike!" With that, he brought the flat of the shovel straight down onto Applejack's forehead. She saw stars and promptly collapsed unconscious onto the ground.
"What did you do?!"
Twilight Sparkle cried out in utter horror, while Bingtang Xueli maintained a calm composure.
"Relax, I know my own strength; I didn't actually hurt her. Wasn't she refusing to rest? Well, with my Sibling Bond Shovel Strike, she's guaranteed to sleep for a whole day."
On the verge of hysterics, Twilight screamed right in his face.
"She had already agreed with me! She told me—I can't believe you! You actually! She was..."
Twilight was practically hyperventilating, while Bingtang Xueli finally realized something might be amiss.
Once Twilight managed to calm down, he learned that he had jumped the gun just a little bit.
"Uh, look, I admit I was a little impulsive today, but hey! On the bright side, at least Applejack is willing to accept help now and can finally get some proper rest, right? Oh, and do me a favor and keep this between us. When Applejack wakes up, we'll just tell her she passed out from exhaustion."
Bingtang Xueli offered a sheepish grin, earning a single raised eyebrow from Twilight.
The next day at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack and her friends were happily harvesting apples together, and with everyone pitching in, the job was finished in no time.
As for Twilight, this ordeal provided the perfect material to complete her report for Princess Celestia. After penning the final sentence—"Friendship also means accepting help from your friends"—she glanced over at Bingtang Xueli, whose face still bore the distinct imprint of a shovel, and quietly added one more line:
"Always think twice before you act."